parkwood.net The Newsletter of Parkwood United Methodist Church

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1 parkwood.net The Newsletter of Parkwood United Methodist Church December 2004 Our Mission We are a family of believers celebrating and embracing God s grace and seeking to answer Christ s call to care for and transform the lives of all people. MAKING JESUS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON As I have been making preparations for Christmas, I have been thinking about the birth announcement God sent when Jesus was born: Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Glory to God in the highest! In the midst of the Christmas frenzy, how can I glorify God? How many gifts should I buy? How much should I spend? I don t want to seem cheap or disappoint the one I love. Should I charge what I can t afford right now? What am I trying to accomplish? What I like to see is that amazed and thankful and surprised response when my gift impresses someone I love. God got that reaction from the shepherds, the Magi, Mary and Joseph. God got that reaction by giving Himself. There s no present you can give that s more wonderful, less expensive, or more rewarding than yourself. No gadget or jewelry or clothing you give will last as long as a relationship in which you invest time. Peace on Earth. When my children were young, the time and money pressures at Christmas sometimes caused conflict at home. I also noticed that the more gifts my children received, the more selfish they became. How can we achieve peace in the Middle East when we can t achieve it in our own families? This is the time of year to learn peacemaking; to make peace with yourself, your God, your family and your neighbors. While we were still His enemies, the scripture tells us, God gave us the very best gift ever. Good will toward men. Goodwill is more than a charitable organization where we take our old clothes. Good will is an attitude. There are times when I ve had a bad attitude. Like myself, you probably have had good reason to dislike others, to be cynical, critical, or pessimistic. It s easy to let those attitudes influence the way we treat others. I moved to North Carolina from Philadelphia in I remember how different my driving experience was. Total strangers would smile and wave. It was hard to believe that people could have good will toward me; a stranger. Is it risky to have good will toward men? Yes. It always is. God wasn t a bit surprised when we nailed His gift to the cross. But that s the kind of God we serve. The kind of God who risks everything to become a baby because of His love for us. Merry Christmas! Pastor Bob

2 Parkwood UMC Newsletter December 2004 Page 2 Congratulations David Thompson Strikes Gold Our own David Thompson won a gold medal in golf on November 7 th at the Special Olympics of NC s Fall Games. The competition was held on the Winter Park Gold Course in Winston-Salem, NC. David s combined two day score was a blistering 128. This is the first gold medal for David in the 13 years he has been playing golf. His home course is the Hillandale course in Durham. David is also a huge basketball fan. He says his favorite team is Kentucky but this reporter knows for a fact that he is also a Carolina Tar Heel fan. David has been playing basketball all of his life. His teams have earned silver in two previous competitions for the NC Special Olympics. His brother John is head basketball coach at NC Wesleyan University in Rocky Mount. David says that on the golf course he has a good tee shot and a good putting game. He would like to compete in the national level of the 2005 games in California. We are proud of our own David Thompson for being such a competitor. Poinsettias If you would like to place a Poinsettia in the sanctuary during the Christmas season in memory of or in honor of someone, orders are being taken until December 5 th. The cost is $3.50 per plant. Please make checks payable to PUMC. United Methodist Women The UMW will not have a general meeting in December. A garland will be placed on the wall in the back hall for socks, mittens, gloves, and hats. These will be donated to the less fortunate in the community. The garland will remain in the hall until the end of January. Toys for Tots Donations In preparation for the holiday season, the XYZ Seniors Club is again sponsoring the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. We invite the entire PUMC family to join us in this worthwhile project by donating new, unwrapped gifts for ages infant to 15 years. You may place them in the box provided in the hallway through December 10 th. They will be delivered to the Reserve Unit in Raleigh on December 11 th. Thank you. Live Nativity This year Parkwood United Methodist Church will have two performances of our Live Nativity Program, December 19 th at 6:00 pm and December 24 th following the Christmas Eve Service. There will be a rehearsal prior to the performance on the 19 th. All cast members are asked to be at the church at 3:30 pm. We are looking for cast members of all ages. There is a signup sheet posted in the church hallway. Contact Laura Denny at or laura@lldenny.com for more information. United Methodist Men On Saturday morning December 11 th we will meet at the Golden Corral on Hwy 55 at 8:00 am. We will discuss the upcoming Christmas Dinner Campaign and will elect officers. Please plan to attend. Second Annual UMM Christmas Dinner Basket Food Campaign The UMM will be collecting food for it s annual Christmas Dinner Food Basket Campaign. Last year, we were able to give 10 complete Christmas Dinners to families in our community who needed help. In addition to providing a complete Christmas Dinner, we were able to give enough food for several days as well as a $25.00 food gift card. This was done through your generosity. There is a box under the UMM bulletin

3 Parkwood UMC Newsletter December 2004 Page 3 board for you to put your donations in. If you wish to give a monetary donation please give it to Ron Byrd or Bob Newlin or just put it in the collection plate and mark it for the UMM Christmas campaign. Below is a list of food that we will need to collect: 10 - Boxes Instant Mashed Potatoes 10 - Cans Cranberry Sauce 20 - Cans Chunky Sweet Potatoes 20 - Cans Peas 10 - Salt & Pepper Packs 10 - Tubs of Margarine 10 - Packs Dinner Rolls 10 - Frozen Turkeys - see Ron Byrd 10 - Jars Sweet Pickles 20 - Cans Pears or Peaches 20 - Cans String Beans 10 - Cans Gravy David Thompson Jan Schwarze Mark Sherriff Lauren Skidmore Linnie Skidmore Willy Powell Fred Tromm Bill Youngblood Linda Youngblood Florine Layman and Jimmy Layman, who faithfully went to the booths each Friday to count merchandise and get things in order for the games. Thank you to all of the Parkwood Family who supported this effort! Margaret Eiland Urban Ministries of Durham For the month of DECEMBER PUMC will collect Meats and Green/Yellow Vegetables for the Urban Ministries Food Pantry. If you can volunteer for a couple of hours on the 3 rd Thursday of the month at the food pantry, please call Priscilla Thompson ( ) or Jan Schwarze ( ). Football Booth News The 2004 UNC Home Football Season ended on November 6 with nearly record breaking sales and completing a successful season for us. Our sales totaled almost $88,000, which was good for a season with three evening games. On behalf of Chris Abbott and Rick Cheek, I thank all of those who came out and worked so hard to make this a success! There were 40 people in all who worked at the games. Be sure to thank these volunteers for their efforts: Chris Abbott Frank Berkes Allie Cheek Debi Cheek Kelly Cheek Rick Cheek Riley Cheek Cameron Clark Ron Clark Ryan Clark Bob Eiland Margaret Eiland Ann Farmer Eddie Hanson Janice Jarrell Sue Keefer Bob Kretzu Cosette Kretzu Isaiah Lincoln Arlene McCloskey Mitch McGee Amelia Muse Matt Muse Melissa Muse Bob Newlin Susan Oglesby Mary Powell Relief Shipment to Liberia The next shipment to Liberia will be in early January Now is the time to be collecting for the wonderful United Methodist ministries reaching out through evangelism and love in this struggling country. For a list of immediate needs, information and opportunity please see: Music Ministry Chancel Choir 7:00 pm December 8, 15, 22, 29 Handbell Choir 6:30 pm December 9 Praise Band 7:30 pm December 9, 23

4 Parkwood UMC Newsletter December 2004 Page 4 XYZ (Seniors) Club News (extra Years of Zest) The XYZ Club met at the church on Thursday, November 4, for a covered dish luncheon. The program for the meeting was presented by XYZ Club member Virginia Spranger on Medicare Lookout. Virginia is a volunteer with SHIP (Senior Health Information Insurance Program) which is a state Medicare program under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Insurance. She gave a talk on how seniors can help prevent Medicare/Medicaid fraud and be on the lookout for Medicare/Medicaid billing errors, and/or abuse. Literature and important telephone numbers were provided. The meeting opened with a Thanksgiving devotion led by Pastor Bob Kretzu. As one of our continuing Fall service projects, those attending the meeting donated 60 cans of food for Durham Urban Ministries. Many thanks to all of you. On Wednesday, November 17, as an outing, 25 club members toured the Duke Center for Living facilities. Jennifer Davis, a therapist on the Center s staff, presented a program on Relaxation Techniques to help us reduce stress and other harmful effects on our health and well being. This was followed by lunch at a local Cracker Barrel Restaurant. The next club meeting will be held at the church on Thursday, December 2, at 11:30 a.m., for a Christmas covered dish luncheon. A representative from the Raleigh U. S. Marines Corps Reserves will be our guest speaking on the very worthwhile Toys for Tots service project. As we prepare for the holiday season, the XYZ Club is, for the third year, sponsoring the U. S. Marines Corps Reserves Toys for Tots campaign. Not only is this project for club members but it is also open to the entire PUMC family to donate new, unwrapped gifts appropriate for children ages infants to 15 years. Club members are asked to bring their gifts to the meeting and there are collection boxes in the hall of the church for those wishing to bring their gifts at other times. The deadline is December 10. Interested seniors are invited to become part of this club. Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month, unless otherwise posted. In addition, outings are usually planned for every other month. Please contact Jimmy Layman ( ) or Beverly Whitmore ( ) if you have questions. Bible Study The Thirteen Apostles Who were they? Can you name them? What were their occupations? What was their relationship to Jesus? To each other? Where did they preach/teach? How and where did they die? Do you want to learn this and more? Join us for 7 Tuesdays beginning January 4 th and ending February 15 th at 10:00 am at the church or 7:00 pm at our home Covewood Court. The book we will use is: THE THIRTEEN APOSTLES by J. Ellsworth Kalas. Sign up by December 15 th - we will order the books from Cokesbury. Book price is $10.00 Herb and Jan Schwarze UMYF On December 12 th the Youth will have a Progressive Dinner and Christmas Party at 5:00 pm. PUMC List If you would like to receive PUMC new and prayer request, contact Bob Newlin (Bob.Newlin@Duke.Edu) and ask him to add you to our list server.

5 parkwood.net Editor Needed! Publisher: Jean Billings parkwood.net is usually published on the 25 th of the month. Please have all newsletter information to the office by the 20 th of the month. PARKWOOD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 5123 REVERE ROAD, DURHAM, NC Non-Profit Organizatio n U. S. POSTAGE PAID Durham, N. C. Permit No. 717 Pastor: Bob Kretzu Office: PumcOffice@ParkwoodUMC.org Address Service Requested