Oak Grove Senior Adults are Invited to Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island for the Storytelling Festival in February

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1 December 2015/January 2016 VOLUME IV, ISSUE X OAK GROVE UMC SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY Editors: Tony Frilingos & Mary Lou Gilbert Creative Editor: Dean White Comments? ajfrilingos@comcast.net Oak Grove Senior Adults are Invited to Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island for the Storytelling Festival in February Join Oak Grove United Methodist Church, Senior Adults, for a bus trip to Epworth By The Sea, at Saint Simons Island, GA, Friday through Sunday, February 5-7, Departure from OGUMC will be at 8:30am on Friday, February 5, with a planned arrival at Epworth in midafternoon. The bus will return to OGUMC at approximately 6pm on Sunday, Feb. 7. Epworth By The Sea is a Christian Conference and Retreat Center Overlooking the Frederica River on beautiful St. Simons Island, Georgia. It is a place for worship, study, fellowship, strolls along the river bank, lovely gardens, and rocking chairs on the front porch. The Oak Grove group will be housed on the campus of Epworth with an affordable package deal for double or single rooms, six meals, transportation by charter bus, a Saturday afternoon tour of the area, and tickets to the Storytelling Festival. Four renowned storytellers will delight your heart: Donald Davis, Carmen Agra Deedy, Andy Offutt Irvin, and Bil Lepp. Be prepared to laugh, shed a few tears and enjoy their stories. (A printout with more detail about the storytellers is available at the OGUMC office.) Completed registration forms and fees must be received by the church office by the extended date of December 20. Registration requires a deposit of $ and completed medical forms. The remainder of fees owed will be due by January 2, Please join us for this wonderful trip! For more information contact Ann Marney ; or Mary Lou Gilbert ( ).

2 Reflections on the Oak Grove UMC Veteran s Day Celebration Wednesday Night, November 11, 2015 We are collecting names of Veterans to be placed in the church data base. We have approximately 75 names on our list but we know there are more Veterans at Oak Grove UMC. Printed lists can be found in the brochure rack in the hallway by the church library. If you are a Veteran and your name is not listed, please contact Susie Mobley in the church office, , ext. 221 and add your name to the list. A TENT Meeting for Senior Adults Thursday, January 28, 10am Noon If it is your desire to remain in your own home as long as possible, you must start to plan now, says Scott Morrison, President of Brightstar. Scott will be our TENT meeting speaker on January 28th, and will present important information from the National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC) about what you need to do to plan on aging in place. We will have a time of storytelling. Coffee and snacks will be provided. Cost is $5 per person, and a registration sign-up will be available in the O.G. church office, until January 27th. Adult children of aging parents are invited to attend with or without your parents TENT MEETINGS

3 The Poetry Project This poem was submitted by Dr. Sylvia Babu. Written by Rabindranath Tagore, ( ), one of India s greatest poets. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free; where the world has not been broken up into narrow domestic walls; where words come from the depths of truth; where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into dreary desert sand of dead habit; where the mind is lead forward by Thee into ever widening thought and actioninto that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Good Humor from the Canton, Georgia Library Class on Introduction to Facebook Hi Seniors (& other non-facebook users), For those of my generation who do not use and cannot comprehend why Facebook exists: I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook while applying the same principles. Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passersby what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I have done the night before, what I will do later and with whom. I give them pictures of my family, my dog, and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawn, standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch, and doing what anybody and everybody does every day. I also listen to their conversations, give them the thumbs up and tell them I LIKE them. And it works just like Facebook. I already have five people following me: two police officers, a private investigator, a priest and a psychiatrist. Calendar Dates for Senior Adult Ministry January Lunch Bunch takes winter break! January 19 Sr. Adult Council Meeting, 4pm, room 114 January 28 Tent Meeting, 9:30am - noon, Fellowship Hall February 2 Lunch Bunch, Quilts, Cornbread, and Old Tools, Fellowship Hall * February 5-7 Epworth By the Sea, St. Simon s Island, Storytelling Festival (chartered bus) February 16 Sr. Adult Council Meeting, 4pm, room 114 March 1 Lunch Bunch, Storytelling, Presented by Story Telling Festival Participants, in Fellowship Hall * March 12 9am-3pm (Saturday) Cascade UMC, N. GA Gathering of Older Adults, North GA Conference March 15 Sr. Adult Council Meeting, 4pm, room 114 Oak Grove Senior Adults are Invited to Brunch for an Introduction to Kings Bridge 9:30am, Tuesday, January 19, Reservations are Required A Complimentary Brunch is offered on Tuesday, January 19, at 9:30am to senior adults of Oak Grove Church who wish to know more about Kings Bridge Retirement Center, located at 3055 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA There will be food, music, an introduction to Kings Bridge, and tours. Reservations can be made in the Oak Grove church Office, no later than Sunday, January 17th. Participants may drive themselves, carpool with each other from Oak Grove Church, and upon request, a church bus will be available to pick up passengers who cannot drive themselves. If you wish to participate, please call the church office at and reserve a space.

4 Oak Grove Church, Music Director, Ed Scruggs invites everyone to come and enjoy the special Christmas Music program this year. Invite your friends and family to join you, because tickets are free and you may choose which program you will attend, the 4:30pm or 7pm performance. Tickets are available now in the church office Monday - Friday, Sunday mornings. There will be an addition of more ensembles to the music this year, and the church balcony will be closed to accommodate the singers. However, overall seating will be increased over last year, by offering a second performance. Present your ticket at the door as you arrive for this special night of music. There is a yearning in hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow... O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel Please visit our Senior Adult Ministry page on the OGUMC website: Go to Ministries and click on Senior Adults. You will find that Tom Landers regularly adds new information, video clips, photos, and links. You might even see yourself there if you have attended Lunch Bunch or other programs in the last several months. Welcome! Visit often!

5 So Far Away: Twenty Questions and Answers About Long- Distance Caregiving A helpful and free booklet for Long Distance Caregivers has been recommended by the Atlanta Regional Commission on Aging. To view the book on-line go to Google or Internet Explorer and type in this link: LongDistanceCaregiving. If you have trouble accessing the book, contact Mary Lou Gilbert at mlougilbert@comcast.net. Giving Thanks! Thanks to the Oak Grove United Methodist Men, and all Barbeque volunteers, a cash gift has been donated to Senior Adult Ministry for support of Lunch Bunch, from the Annual Barbeque proceeds. The gift was given in memory of Burke Linder, who was a dedicated and beloved volunteer at the Annual Barbeque for years and years. We are grateful for a recent memorial gift in memory of church member, Mrs. Mary Disbrow, to Senior Adult Ministry. Thanks to everyone through the years who has contributed to the Oak Grove Senior Adult Ministry Fund. Your gifts are making a difference. Thanks to all who volunteer to drive the church buses on Sunday mornings and for our senior events held off campus. Thanks to Dean White for making our Dispatch newsletter look nice, and for artwork on posters and numerous other projects by Virginia Sowell. Thanks to the church office staff and volunteers who help us keep up with reservations and phone calls. We thank God for Oak Grove United Methodist Church and for ways in which God is at work among us. The Suggestion of a Most Unusual Christmas Gift th In the November 8, issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, writer Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., in his GENEALOGY article, recommends giving the gift of a DNA test for someone. This could help sort out some aspect of your genealogy. Remember, if you don t test, you will learn nothing. If you do, you could connect with relatives who might help you solve some genealogy questions three main groups that test DNA for genealogy often offer a discount at this time of year: familytreedna.com; ancestry.com; or 23andme.com. All three offer the autosomal test; only FamilyTreeDNA offers the Y- chromosome test. Christmas ~ Anon Every time a hand reaches out To help another...that is Christmas Every time someone puts anger aside And strives for understanding That is Christmas Every time people forget their differences And realize their love for each other That is Christmas May this Christmas bring us Closer to the spirit of human understanding Closer to the blessing of peace! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the 2015 Senior Adult Council of Oak Grove United Methodist Church: Barbara Adams, Julie Anne Alexandrov, Charlie Beckham, Nancy Crovatt, Tony Frilingos, Barbara Fountain, Dorothy Fulcher, Mary Lou Gilbert, Jim Golden, Nancy Harte, Cindy Kallal, Tom Landers, Bill Lyles, Ann Marney, George Nash, Philip Pingree, Linda Lee Saye, Madge Watson. And from our special friend and volunteer: Dean White.