Epworth Events. A Journey to Joy. Join Us! Christmas Eve Candlelight Services Sunday, Dec. 16 5:00 pm Monday, Dec. 24 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm Epworth UMC

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1 Epworth United Methodist Church 680 8th Avenue SW Valley City, ND Non Profit Organization US Postage Paid Valley City, ND Permit #40 Presorted Standard Rate Living, Sharing, and Growing in God s Love A Journey to Joy RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY Join Us! Christmas Eve Candlelight Services Sunday, Dec. 16 5:00 pm Monday, Dec. 24 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm Epworth UMC Epworth United Methodist Church 680 8th Ave SW Sunday, December 2nd at 2 pm. Sponsored by the Barnes County Ministerial Volunteer, Share, Enjoy! All are Welcome! Thursday, December. 27th, 5:30 pm 680 8th Ave. SW Valley City, ND Ph Fax: Dayne Zachrison Pastor pastor@epworthvalleycity.com Home: Cell: Anita Tulp Office Administrator Newsletter Editor office@epworthvalleycity.com Home: Cell: Dawn Thomsen Director of Christian Education christianed@epworthvalleycity.com Cell: Rydel Samuelson Director of Youth Ministries youth@epworthvalleycity.com Cell: VirLyn Hoff Congregational Care Coordinator virlynhoff@yahoo.com Cell: All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. Luke 2:3-4 When I was a child, I remember always taking a summer vacation. My parents had both enjoyed travel their whole lives (my Dad had been stationed at the South Pole for six months before he met my Mom), and they wanted to raise a family that loved to travel. I remember the annual visits to Nebraska, but also family trips to California, and the annual trip to Medora. Looking back on it, and with confirmation from my Mom, there was a particular shape to some of those trips. There were years where finances were tight, but my parents still wanted to get away, even for just a day. What was the cheapest trip to Medora possible? This might be it: We would pack the cooler and food box in the car with snacks and drinks, and leave for Medora early in the morning. We would stop in Bismarck at the Kmart north of the Interstate, and buy sub sandwiches (my Mom held the line at bringing sandwiches from home). We would also get to have any Happy Meal we wanted at McDonald s, as well as a cone (my Dad has always loved ice cream cones.) Upon arrival at the Roughrider Hotel in Medora, my Dad would purchase the General Admission tickets (we went on a kids free day, a losing proposition for Medora) and we would then go to Chimney Park and eat our sandwiches and chips and maybe spend an hour or two walking around the shops. My Dad would wait in line for the gate to open, holding a quilt to mark our seats. When the gates opened, one of us would have to go down with our Dad to hold down the other end of the quilt, and the rest of us would follow about half an hour before the show. When the Musical had ended, we would bundle back into the car and head home, all the way back to Jud, stopping for gas at the truck stop in Dickinson with the cheapest gas. The memory of these trips is special to me, because they were great family days, and I can see the choices my parents made that valued seeing new places. This Advent and Christmas season, Epworth is going to concentrate on the places of the Advent story. We re going to see Nazareth and Bethlehem, and the road in-between. We re going to visit the Temple, and the deserts, and the River Jordan. On Christmas Eve, we will see the hillsides and the heavens, and the stable where Jesus was born. But, most importantly, we will see the Journey to Joy that is available to all who come to Christ. Continued on pg. 9

2 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 9am Sunday School 2pm Service of Remembrance 4pm Valley Troubadours Concert 7pm The Vine 9 9am Sunday School 4pm North Valley 4-H 7pm The Vine 16 9am Sunday School / Sunday School Program 11:30am Open Table Planning 5pm Early Christmas Eve 23 9am Happy Birthday Jesus Party 12:15pm Meals on Wheels Delivery 30 9am No Sunday School 3 Valley Troubadours on break 10 6pm Valley Troubadours SCC 17 Bring treats for Christmas Trays 24 Christmas Eve Church Offices noon 5 & 7pm Christmas Eve Worship 31 New Year s Eve Church Offices noon 12pm Volunteer Thank You 4 9am BC Ministerial 12pm Rotary 5:30pm Nurturing Parents 11 12pm Rotary 3pm All Staff 5:30pm Nurturing Parents 18 10am Christmas Tray Assembly 12pm Rotary 5:30pm Nurturing Parents 25 Christmas Day Church Offices closed 5 5pm UMW Christmas Party 7:00pm Youth 7:00pm Choir 12 9am Building Better Moms 4:30pm Confirmation 7pm Confirmation 7pm Youth 19 5:30pm Church Family Supper 6:30pm Ministry Teams 7:00pm Living Low Carb 7:00pm Youth 7:00pm Choir 6 4pm Girl Scouts 7pm Cub Scouts 13 4pm Girl Scouts 7pm Cub Scouts 20 4pm Girl Scouts 7pm Cub Scouts :30pm Open Table Community Meal 7 10:15am Faith Communities Alive 14 6pm Wedding Rehearsal :30am Men s Breakfast 10am Girl Scout Event 8 9:30am Christmas Program Practice 15 9:30am Christmas Program Practice 5pm Perleberg/ Stoppleworth Wedding Wishing you Joy and Peace this Christmas 2 nd Noel Pritchert Don Enger 3 rd Tom Vagle 4 th Annette Nielson 5 th Mike Watterson 9 th Marty Rohrbeck 12 th Paul Owen 13 th Bill Mason 14 th Peggy Bultema Holly Schroeder 17 th Jim Burchill Katie Clark Nathanial Storbeck Katy Van Dyke 18 th Austin Shape 19 th Todd Burchill Kevin Tulp Mary Mortensen Wally Otteson 21 st Meredith Cummings Jacob Retterath 24 th Carol Peterson 28 th Eden Cuypers Ellen Drevecky Patricia Triebold 29 th Kyle Vareberg 30 th Abby Rohrbeck 31 st Wayne Winkler Celeste Breske 8 th Kim & Joel Owen 14 th Amy & Carl Martineck 15 th Jennifer & Dan Elston 20 th Liz & Dennis Fick 26 th Deb & Jim Hegdahl 28 th Avis & Dwayne Richter Kitchen Care Please refer to the poster in the kitchen for care and clean up after kitchen use. Have Questions? Please call: VirLyn Hoff ( ) or Carol Peterson ( ) The next funeral will be served by the September serving group. December Greeters 2nd Ted & Mari Kay Wieser 9th Paul & Brenda Lint family 16th Kevin & Anita Tulp 23th Pastor Dayne, Aimee, & Camille Zachrison 30th Rob & Rhonda Marshall Serving for December CHAIRS Amy & Jerry Noeske Deb Bruns Jack Bruns Stephanie & Clark Kruta Marian & Lance Drevecky Judy Nicholson Jackie Owen/Clark Katy & Curt Van Dyke Mari Kay & Ted Wieser Serving for January CO-CHAIRS Carol & Ty Peterson Mary Lee & Steve Nielson Ruth & Bruce Batsch Celeste & Dean Breske Laura & Duane Borchert Liz & Dennis Fick Robert Hansen Rose & Brad Knutson Scott Miller Julie Munkeby/Drew Janelle & Brad Noeske Michelle Wobbema Avis & Dwayne Richter Your serving group provides the fellowship of Sunday mornings and the comforting presence that all need following a funeral service. These are important ministries that we provide for one another within the community of believers. It is a way to reach out to those who have not found that gift of the Holy Spirit as being real in their own lives. Please take seriously your assignment to one of the serving groups. If the month is not a fit for you, please contact VirLyn Hoff, Carol Peterson, or leave a note in the office with Anita.

3 10 October 31 November 26, 2018 Stewardship Daily Expenses/Maintenance $15, Building/Trustees Capital Campaign/Construction loan 2, Choir Music Memorial Open Table Ministry Parking Lot Sunday School offering Upper Room Sunday Worship Attendance November November November November The Vine 5 The Vine 7 The Vine 6 The Vine 3 Sunday School Attendance November 4 39 November November November Mortgage Balance 1/1/2018 $508, Mortgage Balance 11/19/2018 $466, Last Principal Payment Principal paid year-to-date in 2018 $41, Interest paid year-to-date in 2018, $22, Total paid year-to-date in 2018, $63, Principal paid in last 30 days $ Interest paid in last 30 days $ 1, Daily Interest accrual $ day Interest accrual $ 1, When this account was refinanced, that established a maturity date of 3/15/2019. Since our payments have pushed our actual next due date out to 2019, the account currently reflects a due date of 3/15/2019 for the payoff balance of the loan. We will either have to pay off the account or refinance by that date. Thanks to all who have contributed. Wayne Winkler Greetings from your Epworth Finance Committee The church has many great ministries. It takes your support to support these ministries. Your giving to the church in the past year has helped fund many expenses outside of the current budget. These include the parking lot project, the capital campaign, and the coffee kiosk. These all are great additions for the church. As your finance and stewardship committee, we feel it is important that you have an understanding of our church s financial position. Through the end of October, year to date giving is behind our projected total by $34,852. On the expense side, our spending is $6,174 dollars below the budgeted expense total. We understand giving is a very personal issue and we respect that. The people of Epworth have risen to the challenge in the past. We hope you give as you are able to help us meet this challenge again. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the stewardship and finance committee members. They include Curt Van Dyke (chair), Avis Richter (treasurer), Pastor Dayne, Lori Glaser, Tami Hanson, and Matt Nielson. Thank you. Curt Van Dyke, Chair Radical Hospitality Thank you to everyone who worked so hard this week to decorate the church for Advent and Christmas. We have a number of committed volunteers who make that happen, from pre-school to adult. The Trustees have had the carpets cleaned in our public spaces, and we are ready to host the church and community events for this season. Spiritual Growth We have multiple ways in which encourage Spiritual Growth here at Epworth. During this Advent season, the Adult Sunday Morning Study (meeting at 9:00 am in the Library) will be Faithful by Adam Hamilton. That study will also be the context for our Advent prayers, available for your use at home during the weeks of Advent. We also continue to use the Deep Blue stories and videos for our children and Submerge for our pre-teens, as well as study opportunities for our Junior and Senior High classes. The Adult FaithLink Group is also meeting a need for study and conversation, gathering in the Sunrise Room at 9:00 am on Sundays. 3 Signature Ministries In addition to our Mitten Tree that provides mittens to all of our Valley City schools, we will again be sharing our love with Washington Elementary. Over the last year, we have found some ways in which we can support the teachers and students at the school next door. This year, we will be supporting the students with our Christmas Eve offering. Through the work of the PTO and generous gifts from parents and teachers, a Needy Student fund has been established at Washington. Our Christmas Eve offering will be a gift to this ministry. Funds are distributed through requests from teachers to support children and families who have financial needs that might otherwise go unmet. We invite you to be generous with your Christmas Eve offerings that we might help children. Collaborative Leadership We will be again hosting an Open House for our volunteers on the last day of the year. This is an important chance to thank all of the volunteers who make ministry possible here at Epworth. Watch for your invitation in the mail. Working with our District Superintendent, we will be creating a new framework for Leadership at Epworth in the coming year. We hope to direct the volunteer hours that people devote to ministry more directly toward changing lives, and free up some of the volunteer hours that are currently used to attend meetings. Join us for the Sunday School Christmas Program! Sunday, December 16th, 10:30 am

4 4 Christian Education, Dawn Thomsen, Director Happy Birthday Jesus Party! On Dec. 23rd, we will have a Happy Birthday Jesus Party during our Sunday School hour. We will watch our Deep Blue video and then continue with games and more fun. No Sunday School There will be no Sunday school on Dec. 30th. Classes will resume on January 6th. We hope everyone enjoys the Christmas Holiday! Christmas Program The elementary Christmas program for kids in Preschool through 6th grade will be presented on Sunday, December 16th at the 10:30 worship service. The program is titled Mary Did You Know? Parts have been assigned. Please help your children to know their parts & songs. I have ed out the song titles that we are singing. There are five practices left: Sunday, December 2nd, December 9th and December 16th at 9:00 AM during Sunday School, and Saturday, December 8th & December 15th at 9:30 AM. The rehearsal on the 15th is a dress rehearsal so it is very important to be there if possible. Winter Weather Reminders In case of bad weather, please remember to listen to KOVC on Sunday mornings for any cancellation notices. We will try to get any announcements on the air as soon as we can. Any announcements will also be posted to the church website, or the church Facebook page. Please use your own judgment when it comes to travelling in bad weather conditions. Safety comes first! Be sure to Like our page Epworth United Methodist Church on Facebook; as well as sign up for our s on the website (click on the sign up in the right corner of the page) for all updates & activities. The greatest gift you will ever receive will never be found under a Christmas tree. It is far too valuable to be stored in any other place but in the depths of your heart. -Anonymous Have a blessed and happy holiday season! Merry Christmas! Dawn christianed@epworthvalleycity.com We Love Washington School Please help support Washington School by clipping Box Tops and by bringing them to the Church. The collection box is located in the kitchen. A list of participating products can be found in the office. 9 Continued from page 1 As we read the story of Mary and Joseph, I wonder how closely it matches the story of families travelling today? Should we read it as a family flying to a week at Disney World, or as a family seeking refuge in a strange land? Did Joseph have the resources to stop at the waystations and purchase meals from the Roman soldiers or did they pack a big bag of food to take and eat along the way? What kind of journey should we be remembering and recreating? As we begin our Christmas shopping and baking and decorating, it s also important to remember where this journey is meant to take us. Christmas is not an end in itself, but part of a longer journey of faith. As we travel the dusty roads of the Holy Land, let us also travel deeper into the stories of Jesus love and God s care for all the world. Let us journey toward the joy of a stable, but also toward the joy of salvation and grace. In Christ, In memory of Shirley Owen Paul Owen to Building Fund Darrell & Becky Schroeder to Music fund Don & Bev Enger to Building Fund Jack Bruns to Building Fund Shirley Owen Family to Memorial Dwayne & Avis Richter to Endowment In memory of Lorraine Baasch Don & Bev Enger to Building Fund In memory of Elizabeth Beth Schlotman Gordon & VirLyn Hoff to Endowment Marlys Christ to Memorial Pat Nielson to Endowment Lorraine Baasch April 16, 1929-October 21, 2018 Sincere sympathy to Don and Lisa Baasch and family on the loss of their mother, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother. Lorraine led an active life on the farm with her husband Bill and enjoyed gardening, canning, playing cards and square dancing along with spending time with family. Lorraine will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Don Wright Dec. 2, 1927 October 29, 2018 Sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Don Wright. Don s life will be celebrated here at Epworth on June 14, Don was a long time member of Epworth and will be missed by his many friends and family. Elizabeth Beth Schlotman July 13, November. 20th, 2018 Sincere sympathy to Dorothy Olson and family on the loss of their loved one. Beth was the eldest daughter of Dorothy and Vince and grew up in Valley City as well as Epworth. Family was very important to Beth and was very evident in the decision to move back to ND. Beth, her family and others in the Olson family have continued the family tradition of serving as greeters for the Christmas Eve Service. She will be missed! The Faith Communities Alive core group will be meeting December 7th at Epworth. We will be going over surveys and putting together programming to start in January. Stay tuned! Keeping food at safe temperatures helps prevent foodborne illness. Look for tips on the table tents! As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to your self; and it shall be food for you and for them. Genesis 6:21

5 8 5 Veterans Honored with Quilts Each year, the Valley Quilters Club honors selected veterans for their service by giving them an honor quilt that was pieced and quilted by Valley Quilters Club members. This year, three of our Epworth veterans were among those honored on November 1st Dale Neuberger, Tom Vagle, and Dave Vareberg! Each received a beautiful patriotic themed quilt. A reception followed in the Faith Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Thanks for your service! Poinsettias You are invited to bring a poinsettia to share as a part of our Sanctuary decoration in honor or in memory of loved ones. Please give names to Anita in the office. Decorations Each year, we continue to upgrade and vary the Advent and Christmas decorations at Epworth. If you would like to make a gift toward these expenses, these gifts will be named on the poinsettia insert that is shared on Christmas Eve and in January. Our Christmas Eve gift is an ornament in the shape of the Bethlehem Star. If you would like to gift an ornament to other members of your family, or to help defray the costs of these gifts, the ornaments are available for $6 each. Community Service of Remembrance This year our Community Service of Remembrance will be here at Epworth. We will gather on Sunday, December 2nd, at 2:00 pm to remember loved ones that have passed in the last year. Sponsored by the Barnes County Ministerial Association. Valley Troubadours Christmas Concert Sunday, December 2, 4 pm Epworth United Methodist Church Monday-Tuesday, January 1 & 2, Church Offices Closed Wednesday, January 9 Confirmation, 4:30 & 7:00 pm Wednesday, January 16 Church Family Supper, 5:30 pm Ministry Teams, 6:30 pm and Ad Council, 8:00 pm January 14-17, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Sunday, January 27 UMW Sunday Tuesday, January 29 Open Table Community Meal, 5:30 pm Hello Everyone, The youth group is doing fantastic things. We have done another surrender topic: surrender sin. We learned and talked about what it means to surrender our sin to Christ. This was a very important and emotional topic for some of our youth. It was a great evening. We got to help and play games at our Indoor Trick-or-Treat. We had about 7 or 8 youth help with this. It went over well and all the children that came in had fun. We also did a scripture lesson on compassion and what it means to be compassionate. It was a great lesson with a lot of different outlooks being shared by everyone. The Senior High class is doing lessons on the teachings of Jesus. We have talked about what it means to believe in Christ, what we think the kingdom of God looks like, and what the parables have to do with us. This has led to great conversations because we do not all think the same when it comes to these topics. Over the weekend of November 9th through the 11th we took 10 youth down to DAKYOUTH. It was a great trip and it was full of excitement and worshipping GOD. The youth went to classes full of different topics and ways to love God and how to show it in the church. They got to see old friends and make new friends in Christ. The next big event is YOUTH 2019!! This event is a mission/service trip in Kansas City. This is happening July 7th through the 14th in There is a $100 down payment for this trip. I will be sending out a letter on how to sign up soon. Please be looking for the letter. God s Peace, Rydel Coming Soon! YOUTH 19 is just around the corner! Save the dates July 7-14, 2019 Start planning today! Don t miss out on this great ministry opportunity! Youth Group Schedule: Attendance November 7 9 November November 21 No meeting November 28

6 6 Our 2018 year s program theme of Sacred Spaces: Encounters with God and Neighbor ends with the Christmas Story. God s emissary, the angel Gabriel, has a sacred encounter with Mary. Mary is told God has chosen her to birth the Christ child. Gabriel has a sacred encounter with Joseph. Joseph is told to wed Mary and raise the child. Pregnant Mary and pregnant Elizabeth spend three months together, a scared space of care and preparation for motherhood. Then Christ is born a sacred space of the unlimited Creator of the Universe choosing to be limited by human form! God with us! We each have the opportunity to experience the sacred presence of God with us. One of the gifts of Christmas! United Methodist Women will share this gift of the presence of God s love through the Christmas visitations. Dates for the Christmas parties at Sheyenne Care Center, Legacy Place and Bridgeview Estates will be set soon so watch for the schedule. Christmas visitation trays will be prepared Tuesday, Dec. 18 beginning at 10 am. Both help to pack and help to deliver and visit are needed. Faith Hope Love in Action. Contact Michelle Grebel or myself. Circles DO NOT MEET in December. Our Christmas Unit program is Wed. Dec. 5. Business issues at 5 pm. Light supper at 5:30 pm followed by program and music directed by Becky Schroeder. All Epworth women are invited and welcome to attend! In honor of all babies, please bring a package of 4, 5, or 6 size diapers for the Open Shelf ministry..... and they shall call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. (Matthew 1: 23b) VirLyn Hoff, UMW Unit President Christmas Trays Christmas Trays will be prepared Tuesday, December 18th, 10:00 am at the church. All are invited to donate. Suggested items include: Christmas cookies, treats, microwave popcorn, sweet breads, crackers & cheese, fruit, and hot cocoa mix. Items may be dropped off at the church Sunday, Dec. 16th--Tuesday morning, Dec. 18th. Both men and women are invited to help with delivery and visits. 7 Congregational Care Church Family Supper Shoebox Christmas Thank you Thank you to everyone who filled a Christmas Shoebox, wrapped boxes, and brought boxes! Thank you to Anita for the article in the November Newsletter and the Sunday Bulletins regarding the Christmas Shoebox Project. The total came to 68 boxes! Thank you to Mike Watterson and Pastor Dayne for delivering the shoeboxes to the Spirit Lake Ministry Center. Merry Christmas to the children of the Spirit Lake Nation and to each of you! Randi Watterson, Mission Team Mitten Tree Ministry Last year, we collected 30 pairs of mittens & gloves as well as 16 hats and distributed them to our Valley City Schools mid-january. This ministry was greatly appreciated as lost or forgotten mittens are common. If you would like to help keep little hands and heads warm this winter, please bring items of all sizes to the church. Now is the time to check out the sales and clearance items! Christmas Tea The Epworth UMW will announce dates for the annual Christmas Tea for our residents at Sheyenne Care Center, Legacy Place, and Bridgeview Estates soon! Please check the bulletin for times and places. Please contact VirLyn at if you would like to help with this ministry. The next Church Family Supper will be held Wednesday, December 19. Serving will begin at 5:30 pm and continue as people arrive for ministry team meetings. All are invited to these times of food and fellowship. Please join us. VirLyn Hoff, Congregational Care Coordinator The United Methodist Women will be hosting Christmas Teas at the Sheyenne Care Center, Legacy Place, and Bridgeview Estates. If you have family members that you would like to include for this Christmas ministry, contact VirLyn Hoff. Details to be posted in the bulletin. If you can assist with this event or Christmas trays, please contact VirLyn Hoff. Open Table Served on the last Tuesday of every month, this ministry is something to look forward to for many in our community. Planning meetings are held on a Sunday after worship and dates are listed on the calendar and in the bulletin. All are welcome to attend and help! Donations of food items, cookies, funds, and helping hands are welcome. Our November Open Table meal was a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, ham and all the trimmings! We served 61 hungry people! Volunteers are needed to help keep this ministry going. Note: Due to the last Tuesday falling on Christmas Day, our next Open Table meal will be moved to Thursday, December 27th. Serving begins at 5:30 pm. All are welcome! The Open Table Team