Mission Statement To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. THE PASTOR S PAGE

Transcription

1 DECEMBER 2016 First United Methodist Church of Wabash, Indiana F I R S T E D I T I O N Mission Statement To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our Covenant Together: Love. Lead. Teach. Transform. THE PASTOR S PAGE 110 N. Cass Street, Wabash, IN I pray that you are getting ready for a wonderful Advent. There are the activities the town offers with kids programs at the schools and theater offerings at the Honeywell. There are family and office parties to celebrate relationships and successes over the last year. In the middle of all the activity a little child cries, inviting us to compassion. In the middle of the mess, a third shift, minimum wage worker invites us to the wonder that God has drawn near. In the silent night toddlers in angel wings beckon us to kneel before the newborn king. Crystalline snow and steaming hot chocolate entice us to wonder and simple innocence. Once upon a time, God came near. Once upon a time, God became one of us. Once upon a time, heaven and earth kissed in the cries of eternity wrapped in time and swaddled in a shepherd s blanket. Now we are called to go. Go and tell the least and the lost this Story. Go and invite others to meaning and wonder in the middle of the mess. Go and declare, God has come near to us! I pray that you will invite someone to become part of God s story this year. Shalom, Rev. Kurt Senior Pastor Rev. Kurt Freeman Pastor of Visitation Rev. John Cook office.wabfirstumc@cinergymetro.net Phone: (260) FAX: (260)

2 IMPORTANT DECEMBER DATES December 7pm Cantata December 24 Christmas Eve Services 5pm Children s Program 11pm Traditional Candlelight Service December 25 Christmas Day 9 am Worship BYOCC (Bring your own candy cane)

3 Advent is upon us. It is time to prepare for the coming of our Lord! I invite you to participate in our 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service. The children are going to be leading this service. Rehearsals have already begun. If your child(ren) are interested in taking part, please see Elizabeth Freeman as soon as possible. We are rehearsing during the 10 am worship service, after the Children s moment. Children will be learning that Christmas is Jesus. We still have room for singers, dancers, bell ringers, readers and worship leaders. There will be no Sunday School on December 25. Also, GRU s crew will not meet the first Sunday of January. There will still be someone available in the nursery. KIDS HOPE Neighbours Neighbors is our church s opportunity to pray for the teachers and staff at OJ Neighbours Elementary who so generously give of their time to care for kids in our community. I have put a list of all the teachers and staff at OJ Neighbours on the table in the lobby. What I am asking is that you commit to pray for one or more person on the list by putting your name on the line beside a teacher and/or staff member. It's that easy! In December, we will be doing something special for all the teachers and staff. I would like to pick a day when we take them a variety of snacks. This could be cookies, cupcakes, granola bars, fruit, nuts, Chex mix, or whatever else sounds yummy to you. I will give more details once I coordinate a date with the school. Thank you in advance for volunteering! Please let me know if you have any questions. Tracy Peas, Kids Hope Director BOOK remarks 2017 Our Book Club will not be in December and will resume on January 17, Book titles and dates below: January 17: Dying for Justice by Harvey Coble (You will need to purchase this book. All others are made available by Indiana Humanities Organization) February 21: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers March 21: Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown April 18: The Shoemaker s Wife by Adriana Trigiani May 16: Mr. Penumbra s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Sept. 19: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton Oct. 17: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Nov. 28: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai & Christiana Lamb Monthly s are at The Great Wall restaurant 12:30 pm. Please contact Sondra Harrell (260) if you have questions. NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR JANUARY NEWS IS DECEMBER 15

4 KIDS FIRST NEWS CORNER REMEMBER F.I.S.H. THE FIRST SUNDAY of each month is Collection Sunday for F.I.S.H. Please bring dry and/ or canned items you would like to contribute to the Friends In Service Here food pantry, to church, on December 4. All contributions will be delivered to F.I.S.H. during the week. Suggested Items: Canned fruit & vegetables, cereal, pasta, tuna, canned meat, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce. Your donations are greatly appreciated. PLEASE REMEMBER TO COMPLETE THE CONNECTION CARD The weekly blue connection card is so helpful to keep the office informed with new information on our congregation for addresses, phone numbers, addresses, your family members, birthdays and anniversaries. It also assists the attendance secretary with her record keeping too. Thank you! CHURCH CONFERENCE On Sunday, December 4, following the 10 a.m. worship service, the congregation will be voting on the requests submitted to the Memorial Fund for consideration. Please remain in the sanctuary following the service. BOY SCOUT TROOP 429 FUNDRAISER BREAKFAST A freewill donation breakfast will be held here at the church, on Saturday, December 10, from 7am 10am. Bring your appetites, family and friends. Stop by and meet our troop members and leaders. Troop 429 Fall Fundraiser Update We are very excited to report that our Rise & Roll Donuts and Coffee fundraiser was a huge success!! We want to thank everyone that supported us in this fundraiser! We need your help. We have openings for a fulltime caregiver and a part time caregiver. If you know of any good prospects that is looking for a job and loves to work with children please let them know. Thank you. Missie Edwards, KF Director Christmas Wish Tree Kids First will have a Wish Tree, located by the daycare entry door, at the bottom of the stairs. On the tree, you will find wishes from each of the caregivers of things they would like or need for their class room. If you would like to grant a wish, please feel to take as many wishes as you would like off the tree. When bringing the wrapped gifts in please be sure to have the paper ornament attached to the gift. NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR JANUARY NEWS IS DECEMBER 15 Merry Christmas & God Bless Missie and Staff

5 Contribution Statement: As in the past, many of our church families have asked how much do I owe to meet my pledge commitments for this year. We will be mailing contribution statements at the end of November. These statements will show the pledge total thru December 31, 2016 and the amount donated through November 30th. The amount (if any) required to meet these annual pledges by the year end will also be indicated Pledge Statement: If you have made a pledge to our Church Budget or Visions for Generations for 2017 will be on your pledge statement. Please review this information to ensure we have them listed correctly. If you believe you had made a pledge to the church budget or Visions for Generations and it is not listed, or for any other questions please notify our church office. Approved Budget 2016 FINANCIAL REPORT October Monthly Amount Year to Date Percentage $424, $35, $353, % October Year to Date Income $23, % $373, % Expenses $39, % $347, % Difference ($15,990.05) $42, GENERAL BUDGET OVERVIEW Beg Balance Income Expense Ending Balance $40, $373, $347, $66, EXPENSES Actual YTD Actual YTD Percentage Anticipated YTD Annual Budget Percentage of Budget Missions & Tithe $ 58, % $ 55, $ 66, % Staff Parish $158, % $158, $ 189, % Ministries $ 18, % $ 26, $ 31, % Trustees $112, % $113, $ 136, % TOTAL $347, % $353, $ 424, % NON BUDGET MISSIONS INCOME October Year to Date UMCOR US Disaster Relief $ $ 2, UMCOR Mathew $ $ Kids First Day Care $ $ Mel Rennaker, Treasurer

6 December 2016 Birthdays & Anniversaries Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 B Melissa Ford 2 3 A Dan & Tammy Ford 4 B Lennox Fansher B Dan Stauffer B Amy Ford A Terry & Shirley Keaffaber 8 B Tammy Ford B Bettie Miller A Travis & Christa Schuler 9 A Lamoine & Sally Scott 10 B Rex Reimer 11 A Derek & Megan Palmer A Joe & Lynne Getz A John & Angela Hostetler 15 B Sabrina Wagner 16 B Bill Rager 17 B Ida Gerber 18 A Robert & Susan Vanlandingham 19 B Rebekah Freeman 20 B Jacob Schuler B Susan Stewart 21 B Dan Ford 22 B Lynne Getz B Josie Ridenour 25 B Cindy Hoffman 26 B Katie Ogan 27 B Tom Ehret B Alexander Reed B Jennifer Wagner 28 B Jenna Halderman B Susan Hunter 29 B Larry Curless B Kelsey Sommers 30 B Whitney Myers 31

7 December 2016 Events & Meeting Schedule SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE 8:00 a.m. in the Chapel 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary 9:00 a.m. Adult Classes & Preschool through 12th Grade Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 10am-Staff mtg 5:30pm Trustees 2 3 Gillespie holiday 10am-5pm 4 2nd Sunday of Advent (purple) & Communion 9am-Children s Xmas rehearsal 9am-Advent study (conf room) w/pk KF Xmas Wish tree F.I.S.H. collection 5:30-7:30pm-FUMC Youth 5 12 noon-prayer (prayer room) 6pm-Cub Scouts Pack 7pm-Boy Scouts 6 6pm-Ad council 6:30pm-Wesley Academy Bd mtg 7 9am-UMW FUMC 7pm-Choir 8pm-Cantata 8 7pm-Wesley Academy program am-10am-Boy Scouts Free Will Breakfast 11 3rd Sunday of Advent (purple) 9am-Advent study (conf room) w/pk 11:30am-1pm-Club 345 5:30pm-7:30pm- FUMC Lafontaine noon-prayer (prayer room) 7pm-Boy Scouts 7pm-9pm-Emmaus Bd 13 6pm-Cub Scouts Den mtg pm-8pm-Cantata 16 6pm-Cub Scouts Lock-in starts 17 9am-Cub Scouts Lock-in ends 18 4th Sunday of Advent (purple) 9am-Advent study (conf room) w/pk 5:30-6:30pm-FUMC Youth White Elephant Exchange 7pm-Cantata noon-prayer (prayer room) 7pm-Boy Scouts 20 11am-5pm-Red Cross Blood Drive 21 7pm-Choir Kids First closed Wesley Academy closed until Jan 9 Church office open 8am-Noon 24 Christmas Eve 5pm-Children s Program 11pm-Traditional Candlelight Service 25 Christmas Day (white) 9am Worship BYOCC (bring your own candy cane) 26 Church office & Kids First closed 27 Church office & Kids First reopen 28 7pm-Choir