The Grapevine. January The New Year. Romeo United Methodist Church. Dr. John Bailey, Pastor

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1 The Grapevine January 2017 The New Year Dr. John Bailey, Pastor Romeo United Methodist Church Church Office: Church Fax: Anne Wilber, Church Secretary Cynthia Forsgren, Choir Director Linda Schenburn, Christian Education Kari Reid, Treasurer Ed LaLonde, Praise Band Grant Groomes, Youth Director The GRAPEVINE is published monthly. The intention is to communicate and promote the entire program of the Romeo United Methodist Church to members and friends. Your articles, comments and suggestions are welcome. The editor reserves the right to edit content and space as required. Linda Eastman, Editor Phone: Dear Lord, as this New Year is born I give it to Thy hand, Content to walk by faith what paths I cannot understand. Whatever coming days may bring Of bitter loss, or gain, Or every crown of happiness; Should sorrow come, or pain, Or, Lord, if all unknown to me Thine angel hovers near To bear me to that farther shore Before another year, It matters not my hand in Thine, Thy light upon my face, Thy boundless strength when I am weak, Thy love and saving grace! I only ask, loose not my hand, Grip fast my soul, and be My guiding light upon the path Till, blind no more, I see! - Martha Snell Nicholson Romeo United Methodist Church Page 1

2 2017, a new year, a new beginning. Most of us think that way-a fresh start, a time for change. But doesn t each day afford us those same prospects? We awake each morning with a multitude of new opportunities to go, to speak, to do. We make a choice on how we will use each day for God. For some people, it would be easier to quit smoking than to allow God to direct their lives. Following something we cannot see or touch or even prove exists is nearly impossible for some. It is less complicated to follow the corporate ladder or the money trail. It takes no effort to simply go along with a crowd no matter which direction they are going. But God has given us a directive to spread the Gospel, to make disciples, to follow Him, and to worship Him. It is not always easy, but it is what God tells us. Start each morning with a conversation with God. He is always ready to listen. He will give you guidance for the day. He will carry your pain and your burdens. He will offer you hope. He loves us more deeply than any human can comprehend. He loves us when we are angry at him and even when we don t love him. He will always be there for us. Let 2017 be a new tête-à-tête with God. Pastor Bailey Pastor s Paragraphs Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born As you may have noticed around the church, we have a new nativity for display on Main Street. Over the years RUMC has probably had a few different creches. Anyone remember the white wooden cutout set? What other displays have there been in our history? The hope for this set is that it will be lasting and grace the outside of our church for generations. The Holy Family and star are from Bronners and are part of a series that includes additional pieces should we ever want to enlarge the display. Memorial Committee was able to purchase the pieces from their existing funds and the manger display was hand crafted by Dave Schenburn, Laf Robeson, and Bob Stoner. And now a plea for support. As with any new possession, there is a need for caretaking. Setting up and putting away takes planning and work. RUMC needs a good volunteer team to manage our outside advertising displays such as event signs, Advent and Lent displays, and lighting. If you have a heart to serve in this ministry need, please contact the office. Membership and Confirmation Classes If you are interested in Membership or Confirmation Classes, please contact the church office at We will then let you know more specific details when they are available. If you are transferring from another Methodist church, the membership class is optional. The Confirmation Class will begin in early Romeo United Methodist Church Page 2

3 JANUARY VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE FELLOWSHIP TIME 1 st Breakfast 8 th Anna Bonani, Sue Rhoads, Carol Wilson 15 th Theresa and Tom King, Mischele Makhlouf 22 nd Ann and Paul Heller, Sandy Edwards 29 th Marilyn Bracy, Pam Couture, Linda Eastman 9:00 Service GREETERS 1 st Betty Walton & Cindie Wade 8 th Sandy Edwards & Kathy Loba 15 th Ginny Powers & Joyce Pelto 22 nd Gayle Beitel & Naomi Stasak 29 th Craig & Judy Engwall 11:00 Service 1 st Open 8 th Don and Lynda Adkins 15 th Joy and Lafayette Robeson 22 nd Ellen Dennis 29 th Open VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS COMMUNION STEWARDS January 1 st - Pews 9:00 a.m. Pat and Ron Sebastian Laurie Bennett 11:00 a.m. Marty & Karen Rastigue Seasonal Flowers Mary Jo Hosler Baby Blanket Ministry Ilene Lock College Ministry Paula Groomes Fellowship Hour Becky Laseke Greeters Gayle Beitel Nursery Jen Lamb Sound Board Dave Beskin Ushers Craig Engwall Communion Marilyn Bracy LITERIGIST SCHEDULE 9:00 Service NURSERY SCHEDULE 9:OO A.M. Service 1 st Open - Combined Service 8 th Faris Family 15 th Kirtley Family 22 nd McClay family 29 th Ginny Powers 11:OO A.M. Service 1 st Combined Service 8 th Lamb Family 15 th Louchrisa Smith 22 nd Dale & Jenny Teller 29 th Joyce Benham & Hayleigh Faris 1 st Sue Coker - Combined Service at 10:00 a.m. 8 th Gwen Beskin 15 th Nancy Domke 22 nd Steve Domke 29 th Sandy Edwards 11:00 Service 1 st Combined Service 8 th Marty Rastigue 15 th Joy Robeson 22 nd Alex Stork 29 th Steve Trenchemontagne USHERS SCHEDULE Traditional Service 1 st and 8 th Janet Bauer Lead, Becky Laseke, Ed Buckner, Kathy Smith,Ann Heller,Paul Heller Chris Bennett Lead, Ron Sebastian,Patricia Sebastian,Doug 15 th and 22 nd Forsgren Contemporary Service Combined Service (1 st ) Jeff Groomes, Tim Welch Dory Hill 29 th Craig Engwall Lead, Judy Engwall, Jeff McClay,Linda Eastman Brian Rosso Romeo United Methodist Church Page 3

4 Sun 1 st RUMC January 2017 Calendar Communion Sunday New Year s Day Dehanging of the Greens New Year s Breakfast Mon 2 nd Office Closed Today Tue 3 rd His Table Community Meal UMW Officers Meeting Staff Parish Relations Committee Meeting Combined Service at 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Wed 4 th D.E.L.T.A Youth Group 7:00 p.m. Tue 10 th His Table Community Meal 5:30 p.m. Wed 11 th D.E.L.T.A Youth Group 7:00 p.m. Tue 17 th His Table Community Meal 5:30 p.m. Wed 18 st D.E.L.T.A Youth Group 7:00 p.m. Tue 24 th His Table Community Meal 5:30 p.m. Wed 25 th D.E.L.T.A Youth Group 7:00 p.m. Sat 28 th UMW Quarterly Meeting 9:30 a.m. Tue 31 st His Table Community Meal 5:30 p.m. Connector s Corner Connecting comes in many forms: This past Fall, a small group from our church consisting of Laf Robeson, Gregg Stevenson, Jen Teller, Pastor Bailey, Bob Stoner, Dave and Linda Schenburn, helped Mike and Jen Powers to paint a portion of their home. In return, Mike was so thankful, he donated a new Jump Starter for our church. Mike thought it might be helpful if anyone at church needed to power up their car battery. May we give all of this to the Glory of God! Dave S. Weekly Meetings Kitting Class Tuesday 1;30 p.m. Room 107 His Table Community Meal Tuesday 5:30 p.m. Fellowship Hall Praise Band Practice Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Santa s Workshop Wednesday 10:00 a.m. Art Room GAMMA (6 th 8 th Grades) Wednesday 6:00 p.m. Bell Choir Practice Wednesday 6:45 p.m. Choir Practice Wednesday 7:30 p.m. DELTA (9 th 12 th Grades) Thursday 7:00p.m. Communion Sunday First Sunday of each month Traditional Service Sunday 9:00 a.m. Sanctuary Fellowship Time Sunday 10:00 a.m. Fellowship Hall Prayers for Church Sunday 10:15 a.m. Prayer Room 106 Contemporary Service Sunday 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary SIGMA/Young Adult Group Sunday 7:00 p.m. Methodist House Bagels are back! The first Sunday of every month orders will be taken. The second Sunday of the month bagels will be delivered. Don t worry if you miss the bagel order; we will always have extra bagels available for sale! All proceeds will go to the New Sound System! We wish to thank RUMC members for their cards, meals, and prayers. Our ankles are not yet 100% but we are moving with a little more confidence. We are sure Arizona sunshine will aid us through walking exercises. The Johnsons 2017 Offering Envelopes The Offering Envelopes are available in Fellowship Hall. If you do not see your envelopes, please contact the church office at Romeo United Methodist Church Page 4

5 Caring from Within The friends and family of RUMC pray God s peace be with Laura Salsido and family. Laura s mother passed away. You are in our prayers. Financial Snapshot of the Operating Fund as of 11/30/16 Actual Budget Difference Income $340,547 $394,462 $-53,915 Expenses 377, ,462 17,252 Deficit -36, ,663 Finance Committee SANTA S WORKSHOP ** Your church needs your Financial Support! Thank you to all the ladies who worked so hard in Santa s Workshop this year. Your creativity and hard work helped to make the Christmas Bazaar a huge success. In addition, we had fun and fellowship. Santa s Workshop has developed into something greater than I ever anticipated. The Workshop will start up again on Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Everyone is invited to attend. If you don t feel you are a crafty person come anyway and join us for a cup of coffee and fellowship. We really do have a good time on Wednesday mornings. This year we will be making some new items and can always use your ideas as well. We can also use donations. The donations have helped us to keep our costs down. This year we can use the following: Stuffing/batting Needles and pins Buttons Lace Christmas cards Glue/fabric glue Baskets Old Jewelry Zippers Plain gift bags (all sizes) Unused craft kits Velcro Please drop items off in the bin outside the church office. Remember all proceeds from the Christmas Bazaar go into a fund to air condition Fellowship Hall. Caring from Within The friends and family of RUMC pray God s peace be with Chris Karson and family. Chris s father passed away. You are in our prayers. 114 Cormorant Drive Swansboro, NC David and Charlie Krawchuk Romeo United Methodist Church Page 5

6 Volunteer Opportunity January Needs: Juice Cereal Oatmeal Pancake Mix SpaghettiOs Soups Chili Canned Fruit Pork n Beans Coffee Tea Crackers Deodorant (men s and women s) Toothbrushes Toothpaste Toilet Paper Dish Soap Laundry Soap Needs for our Diabetic Clients: Jello - Sugar Free Splenda Pancake Syrup Sugar Free No Sugar Added Fruit Samaritan House is always in need of gluten free, sugar free and low sodium items. Did you know that a Bridge Card (Food Stamps) will not buy personal care items (bath soap, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc.) Any non-perishable food items and toiletries that you can donate are appreciated. Custom Hospice is located in Royal Oak but we service a population of families in Romeo and the surrounding communities. We are looking to expand our Volunteer Department and are looking for people with a passion to help care for those in their own backyard. I would be happy to come and speak with your men s or woman s groups regarding our service and this opportunity. I am also happy to talk about end of life choices and care, if you and your congregation would find that to be of benefit. I live in Romeo and am fairly accessible to meet these needs. Please do not hesitate to let me know where I can help promote end of life care within your congressional family and to promote this exciting opportunity. Enjoy your day! Michele Bedford, RN BSN Director of Clinical Services Hospice O: F: Please bring your donations to Samaritan House, Van Dyke (between 28 & 29 Mile Roads) in Washington Twp. on Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can contact Samaritan House at (586) Samaritan House will be closed for the Christmas Holiday from December 20 January 2, Income tax preparation Beginning January 28 and continue through April 15. Samaritan House, in cooperation with Accounting Aid Society and VITA, will offer both Federal and Michigan State Income Tax preparation to individuals with a gross income of $35,000 or less and families with a gross income of $54,000 or less. This is a free program, and appointments are necessary. Please call to schedule an appointment. We've been busy! During the past year, we provided emergency food assistance to 4,984 people. We aided 73 people with emergency utilities. We aided 21 people with shelter. And we provided Christmas gifts to 243 local families and the residents of 13 area nursing homes. Romeo United Methodist Church Page 6

7 YAHAs CHRISTMAS PARTY A group of 46 YAHAs enjoyed a Christmas Party on December 8 th. Hostesses Joyce Benham, Marilyn Bracy, Sue Rhoads, Sandy Edwards, and Mary Ann DeForest got the group started with some Christmas Questions to share while enjoying some appetizers and drinks. Then the meal was enjoyed by all, including some who hung around the dessert table. After the meal, there was a game of "Who am I" trying to guess which Christmas item they were. We ended the afternoon with singing led by Judy Larimer and accompanied by Judy Howard on the dulcimer and Gary Corbin on the banjo. Everyone was very generous with their donations of hats, gloves, and scarves for Samaritan House. Thank you to Ed Buckner and Barry Benham for the dish clean up and Jim Larimer for the photography. Good Food Fun Games Yummy Desserts Joyful Singing Marilyn Sue Sandy Joyce Mary Ann Warm Hats, Gloves, Scarfs Romeo United Methodist Church Page 7

8 1 st Cruz Russell Katie Smith Jessica Blanchard Jacob Blanchard 3 rd Joyce Benham Elaine Roberson 5 th Nancy Garner 8 th Ed Buckner 11 th Chris Smiles 13 th Judy Howard Rachel Wilber 14 th Kristin Kage 16 th Susan Rhoads-Sidote John Wiers 18 th Shelly LaLonde Lauren Borovich 21 st David Beskin Louchrisa Smith Laura Forsgren 23 rd Doris Hicks Alex Stork 24 th Kristen Springer 25 th Melissa Lewis Laurie Bennett Sarah Tsukamoto 26 th Beverly Kuzminski 28 th Evan Balon 31 st Patricia Manery The Ladies Bible Study Making Sense of the Bible, by Adam Hamilton, led by Amanda Stork was a big success! Kay Nicholson, was a member of the class, was convalescing and was not able to attend the last class. So, all the ladies attending packed up everything and went to Kay at WellBridge. It was a great finale, to another inspiring Bible Study. Thank you Amanda Stork for your leadership and vision! CHRISTMAS CRAFT BAZAAR 2016 The 10 th Christmas Craft Bazaar was a huge success. We want to thank everyone that volunteered in any way donating to our Santa s Workshop, the ladies who created our items every Wednesday, making soup or baked goods, working at the Bazaar or helping with setup and clean up. It is such a blessing to be part of a generous and caring church family. Your time and efforts were greatly appreciated. To date we have raised around $1700 which will go into the fund to air condition Fellowship Hall. Sharing Tree! This is a local mission through Samaritan House to ensure struggling local families will have Christmas gifts. It takes a village there were 461 volunteers who donated 1794 hours to serve 277 families and 15 nursing/care centers, including 970 individuals and 471 children. Thank You to everyone who participated!! Romeo United Methodist Church Page 8

9 Christmas in the Manger Story Presented by the Odyssey Children This story was shared by: Angel - Joseph Zaiglin Star - Cate Zimmerman Donkey - Josh Sova Ram - Amira Adams Ox - Joshua Kirtley Shepherd - Andrew Rosso Wise Men - Cyrus Adams and Luke Bartholomew Mary - Aubrey Zimmerman Baby Jesus - Eddie Zaiglin Coordinators - Laura Zaiglin and Shelly Rosso Cast: Josh Sova, Aubrey Zimmerman, Luke Bartholomew, Alex Stork, Cate Zimmerman, Eddie Zaiglin, Joseph Zaiglin, Brooke Howie-Wade, Griffin Wagester, Ty Wagester, Andrew Rosso, Audrey Rosso, Cyrus Adams, Amira Adams, Juliet Zimmerman, Carter Lee, Joey Weeks, Chrissy Weeks, Jacob Kirtley, Joshua Kirtley The Meaning of Christmas A DVD created by Alex Stork and the Odyssey Children was viewed. Amazing Grace The Odyssey Bell Choir performed. Led by Brooke Howie-Wade Drummer Boy Alex Stork played his drum and the children sang. Directed by Nathan Bartholomew Silent Night Griffin Wagester played his guitar as Eddie Zaiglin sang and signed. Youth Leaders: Alex Stork, Griffin Wagester, Josh Kirtley, Jacob Kirtley, Chrissy Weeks, Joey Weeks, Luke Bartholomew, Brooke Howie-Wade Christian Education Christmas Planning Team: Laura Zaiglin Shelly Rosso, Brian Rosso, Dr. Stasak Nathan Bartholomew, Dave Schenburn Romeo United Methodist Church Page 9

10 With the tables decorated differently, the ladies wanted to make sure to hear the stories about different items used on the tables. Sharon Burnette and Judy Engwall put different china sets together and created a stunning holiday table with blue and red. Mary Jo Hosner s table featured Nita Glover s dishes from her father and was complemented with Joann Higby s sterling silver featuring a sculptured rose. Ginny s table featured red and white and the ladies decided to create an Advent Tea box so they will have everything ready for the next year. Judy Larimer always features something unique and this year every lady at her table had a special surprise with one of her famous cupcakes and an ornament with their name on it. Sandy Edwards table featured every place setting with a different tea cup brought by each lady. They also shared copies of the book, A Christmas Tea as well as The Memory of a Christmas Tea. Beth Carr s set of china was used at Naomi Stasak s table. And who could ever forget Linda and Beth s red and white dishes and featuring a huge red and white palm tree of a clear plastic trunk filled with white and red balls for their center piece. Every year it is interesting to hear the stories about each table items and to see the creativity of our ladies. A special thank you goes to Jim Larimer who came and substituted for Tom King who came down with a cold. Jim and Jim Wellser made a great team in the kitchen keeping the pots boiling and afterwards had the kitchen cleaned and straightened up in no time. Again Susan Joul and James Bernezey performed a beautiful medley of Christmas music. Susan loves our piano and commented on how she loves to play on such a fine instrument. And after a day of teaching, James comes and fills our church with the brilliant sounds of his violin! The ladies just sat back and appreciated the great artistry of these two fine musicians. Mischele Makhlouf was a behind the scene helper as she gets the lights on, meets the musicians, sets the mikes just right for their instruments, and finally operated the new sound board for the music portion of the evening. A special thank you also needs to be given to Nita Glover who put up and decorated the Christmas tree and Mary Jane Johnson who made the large just right size deep red and gold floral and pine cone arrangement used on one of the side serving tables. The prayer meeting began with the Biblical reading from Luke by Kathy Loba who read it from her own family Bible. Charlie Krawchuk s reading of The First Christmas Story was an article describing Luke as the only literary writer in the New Testament. Judy Engwall s reading of I Knew You Would Come was a very old story of how two young boy s prayers for help were answered. Every year near the end of August the do list begins for the Advent Tea with arranging for the music presentation. Then little steps of preparation begin and a simple evening event is in the making! Thereafter, the evening can only be accomplished when everyone helps in so many ways to make it a great success. Everyone s efforts making the tea a lovely evening is deeply appreciated. Thank You, Dr. Naomi Stasak Thank you ladies, for making the tea another wonderful success. Everyone enjoyed seeing how lovely everyone made their tables. Right up to the last minute, ladies came with items to make their tea table special. Romeo United Methodist Church Page 10

11 On the last Sunday of Advent, Cynthia had our choir sing a song titled, God s Gift of Love. Many people in church were sure they were familiar with the melody. It is often featured as one of the world s most famous musical scores for piano. The melody to the song is known as Chopin s Nocturne in E Flat. The Nocturne starts out slowly and pensively while stating the musical theme which is repeated three times. Our choir sang the words God s gift of love every time the theme was repeated by the choir, the music and words became more descriptive of God s love for us. Finally, the words of the song and music become very passionate and the choir members are rapidly singing, then there was a slight pause and the beautiful words, God s gift of love are sung and the music calmly came to an end. This nocturne of Chopin s was written sometime between , when he was about 20 years old. He dedicated this work to Madame Camille Pleyel but it really was composed to honor her husband, a wealthy piano manufacturer who became a close friend and supporter of Chopin. Cynthia found this lovely song in the church attic! She was up behind the old organ pipes and saw an old box. Dusting off the dirt, she found the box contained 50 year old copies of the magazine, Choir Herald. Recognizing the treasure she had uncovered, she began to study the music in each of the copies and found this song in preparation for a Christmas season. At that time the footnote to the song only identified the melody as a Chopin melody. Thank you Cynthia. Again, our choir presents lovely music each Sunday because of your sincere interest and dedication to providing the finest church music. MEADOW BROOK HALL TOUR The Holiday Walk at Meadow Brook Hall was enjoyed by 18 women of Romeo UMW on November 29 th. What a magical way to get into the holiday spirit. The tour was interesting and the holiday decorations were beautiful. Each year the decorations change so you never see anything twice. Even though everything was beautiful, the highlight of the trip was listening to Cynthia play the organ. The gentleman playing the organ when we arrived asked Cynthia if she would like to play because she seemed very interested in what he was doing. When she sat down and started playing he was very surprised at how quickly she picked up all his instructions. He invited Cynthia to inquire as to playing the organ on a regular basis during this Holiday Walk. When we finished the tour we met at Kruse & Muer on Main for lunch. This was a very nice outing for our UMW. Caring from Within The friends and family of RUMC pray God s peace be with Paul Evola and family. Paul s mother passed away. You are in our prayers. Make your reservations now for Samaritan House s 7 th Annual Pasta and Chicken Dinner. The event will be held Wednesday, February 1 at Greystone Golf Club and Banquet Center. Entertainment will be provided by strolling magician and comedian, Jason Abbott. Adult tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Children 12 and under are $10. Please see Mary Jo Hosler or Nita Glover for tickets. Romeo United Methodist Church Page 11