Join Us on a Journey Through the New Testament in the New Year

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1 December 2018 Join Us on a Journey Through the New Testament in the New Year The Fleming family s gift to you this Christmas is a copy of the Faith Sharing New Testament, a new Bible that you can use for your own spiritual growth and in your ministry of sharing faith with others in the coming year. Beginning in January, the Fleming family and many of your church leaders are embarking on a journey through the New Year and through the New Testament... one chapter per day, one day at a time. We invite you to join us! Inside This Issue Christmas Season Special Services 2 Aqua Vitae Party 2 Share the Light Flower Calendar Table of Grace New Members Thanksgiving Meal ReCap Operation Christmas Child Prayer Shawl Ministry Coming Soon NOMADS 5 UMW and UMM 5 A list of our daily readings will be printed in each month's newsletter. Daily notes to guide you in each day s reading will also be included in our Sunday bulletin and posted to our website and Facebook page. To get the most out of your readings, you may want to use the method described below. Read, reflect, and respond...then, come join us in worship our services will often include reference to scriptures we have been reading in the preceding week! S.O.A.P.Y. Method of Bible Study Step 1 Read (10-15 minutes) Open your Bible to the daily passage. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read. Underline anything in the passage that God reveals to you as a personal word of encouragement, direction, or correction. Mark off the passage once you have read it to keep yourself accountable. Step 2 Reflect (10-15 minutes) When you have finished reading, spend a few minutes reflecting in your journal. The first few pages of your journal should be set aside as a Table of Contents and a list of prayer requests. Use each of the following pages for daily reflection. (You may want to write only on the front of each page, saving the backs for future reflection.) Number each daily page and record the date of the entry, then use the SOAP method. S = SCRIPTURE Write the verse or phrase from the reading that captured your attention. You may copy it directly from your Bible, or paraphrase if you d prefer. O = OBSERVATION Record an observation that the passage has revealed to you about your faith or life in general. A = APPLICATION Write the specific way you will apply the teaching in your life. P = PRAYER Write a prayer to God about what you have learned. Y = YIELD Record the way your life will be different. What in your life must you yield to let God teach you? As you are changed, what spiritual fruit will your life yield? When you have finished, title your daily entry and record it in the Table of Contents with the page number for future reference. Step Respond (10-15 minutes) gaumch.org Spend a few minutes sharing what you have learned with a partner and then listening as your partner shares with you. ~ David Fleming

2 Come Celebrate and Worship with Us this Holiday Season The Longest Night Music Ministry News Please join us in the church sanctuary on Sunday, December 16 at 6:0 p.m. for beautiful Christmas music of a different nature. The Chancel Choir, Jubilee Bells, and guest instrumentalists (violin, cello, French horn, oboe, English horn, flute, vibraphone, and piano) will lead us in a winter service of hope and healing entitled "The Longest Night. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service When winter drops her shroud of shadows over the world, even the light of day seems filtered and fragile. Our spirits can sometimes bend at the weight of life and its harsh realities. The heaviness of grief, the challenges of illness and aging, the loss of a treasured relationship - these are just a few of the real life challenges that hold our hearts captive during this time of year. The whole world seems to be alive with sparkling lights and festive music while there are hearts breaking with despair and loss. And so, we pray, Lord, we are wounded and weary. We long for healing and comfort. We seek You in our brokenness, and reclaim the light that is found only in Your grace. Amen. A "cookies and hot cocoa" reception will be held in Fellowship Hall after the service. Bring your whole family and friends to share in this unique event. We hope you will join us for this service of hope and healing. You are welcome, just as you are. Aqua Vitae (Emmaus & Face-to-Face) Christmas Party Thursday, Dec 6 5:00 p.m. Fellowship Hall Members of Aqua Vitae will gather in Fellowship Hall on December 6 for their annual Christmas Celebration. Kim Carter, Director of Camp Tanako will be our guest. Bring your favorite festive potluck dish to share. Dress is casual, but you might wish to wear Christmas themed items (reindeer antlers, Santa hats, Christmas sweaters, jingle bells, etc ) to get into the spirit of fun. Our evening plans include: Potluck dinner Fellowship & Crazy Games (with prizes) Special Christmas Music Worship Presentation to Camp Tanako If you wish to donate to Camp Tanako, please contact Karen in the church office. We will also accept donations on the day of the party. Come join the fun! Fellowship Hall will be decked out for the party, so all we need is YOU. 2

3 Support Methodist Family Health Since 1899, Methodist Family Health has helped rebuild the lives of Arkansas children and their families. These children have been abandoned, abused, neglected, and they are dealing with mental, emotional, behavioral and spiritual issues. On Sunday, December?? we will take a special offering to support children and families who benefit from Methodist Family Health s programs and services including inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, outpatient counseling, residential treatment centers, group homes, emergency shelter and more. Would you share your light of hope with the thousands of children and families throughout Arkansas that Methodist Family Health serves each year? Your contribution makes it possible for Methodist Family Health to continue our mission of giving the best possible care to children and families by treating the whole person: emotionally, behaviorally and spiritually. Please give as you are able. You will be Sharing YOUR Light with a child and family in need. New Flower Calendar for 2019 Place Flowers in Honor or Memory of a Loved One A new flower calendar for 2019 has been posted on the table outside the church office. If you would like to place flowers in honor or memory of a loved one or in celebration of a special occasion, add your name by your choice of date. We will contact you for wording to be put in the bulletin. Cost of the flowers is $8. (same as last year). After nine months of planning by a dedicated Task Force our Sunday evening community meal debuted on June, As we reach the close of our first six months we rejoice in its success. Five teams of grand volunteers have provided thousands of hot, delicious meals to our guests. The problems encountered have been few and easily solved. With help of the community food bank, our costs remain very low. We have many new friends who share the meal with us each week. Some have become volunteers, others share the news of a good place to be welcomed and fed. They express their thanks to us every week. The entertainment before the meal has been stellar, with not only Grand Avenue s talent on display, but guest musicians from all over Garland County (and even other states) bringing their music to our stage. There are too many people to thank to list them all here, but each task force member, team leader, table host, musician, set up/clean up person, drink server, children s activities coordinator, cook, dishwasher, greeter and grocery shopper is truly treasured and appreciated. They have done the amazing job of making this new ministry a success. Grand Avenue is a fellowship of generosity, friendship and kindness that overflows into our feeding ministries. If you have not visited Table of Grace, join us anytime.

4 Welcome New Members On Sunday, November 18 Logan and Heather Hudson joined our congregation. Logan is from Little Rock. He and Heather met online through e-harmony and were engaged six months later. They now call Hot Springs home, where they live with their two dogs, Daffy (a Boston terrier) and Sadie (a dappled dachshund). Logan is employed by MidSouth Engineering. Heather was born in Seoul, South Korea and was adopted as an infant by an Arkansas couple. She works for The Caring Place, and has a passion for working with the elderly. Please add the Hudsons to your church directory: Pastor David Fleming welcomes Heather and Logan Hudson to our church family. Logan and Heather Hudson Logan s Cell: Twin Pines Street Logan s lhudso@gmail.com Hot Springs, AR Heather s Cell: Heather s heather.nicole101@gmail.com Thank you to everyone who offered prayers, set up tables, donated funds, baked pies, or gave of their time to serve others at our community Thanksgiving Meal. We served a record number of meals - 595! (25 eaten at church and 170 carry-out meals). Thank you Grand Avenue Volunteers! The final count of Operation Christmas Child boxes brought by our community was,799. God bless those who took the time to pack a shoebox to spread the Good News! Twenty-six GAUMC members worked a total of over 200 hours to get these boxes packed and up to Little Rock for the beginning of their trip around the world. Special thanks to Joe Peters, Jay Leak, and David Crooks for renting, loading, and driving the truck and trailer used to transport these boxes to Little Rock. In addition a big thanks to all the volunteers who worked the relay center to receive boxes. Over 1,000,000 children will learn about the love of Jesus because of this annual project. It's never too early to begin packing boxes for 2019! Ask Karen for empty boxes to fill whenever you feel called to do so! Sincere thanks to the Keenagers for the fruit basket that Carole Hahm and Floyd Dickinson delivered. We especially enjoyed the visit. Thanks! Gene and Shirley Barbee Dear Friends of Langston Magnet School: We would like to thank you for your generous donation of $500 to be used for students who wish to participate in the local Pee Wee sports programs. We appreciate your support of our students and our great school. Eileen Ellars, Principal Prayer Shawl Ministry Find out how YOU can participate! Ministry s organizational meeting to be announced in January.

5 Retirement with a Purpose NOMADS (Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service) are mission volunteers and individuals who travel with a purpose. A ministry of the United Methodist Church, specific to RVers wishing to be involved in Christian service, they demonstrate God s love through work and by listening to the people with whom they work. David and Pat Crooks have been mission volunteers with the program for several years now. David shared his experiences with GAUMC s United Methodist Men during their November meeting. NOMADS are people who: are looking for retirement with a purpose enjoy traveling in an RV want to share their Christian faith enjoy using their skills in service to others They undertake new construction, remodeling, and repairs for churches, children s homes, camps, colleges, outreach missions and disaster rebuilding. Team members do maintenance, cleaning, painting, electrical, drywall, sewing, flooring. With God s help, NOMADS pretty much do it all. The Mission Statement of the NOMADS is Rebuilding lives, homes, and facilities with God s love and our hands which allows them to fulfill needs by being the hands and feet of Christ. The United Methodist Organizations/Agencies that NOMADS work for provide a safe place for members to park their RVs with RV hook ups (Electric, Water, and some way to deal with sewer). The Agencies plan, organize and supervise the work for the team as well as provide the supplies to complete the work. Members travel to the project at their own expense, bring their own tools, provide their own meals, and pay for any incidental expenses. And in the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. ~James 2:17 David Crooks presents the program on NOMADS to the November meeting of United Methodist Men. UM Outreach is collecting Peanut Butter and Jelly during December. UM Women & UM Men Circle of Grace will enjoy a potluck and cookie exchange in Fellowship Hall on Thursday, December 6 at noon. Carol Dickinson will present the program. Deborah Circle will meet at Kay Furo s on Monday, December 17 at 6:0. Bring hors d oeuvres and a $15 gift. Mary Esther Circle will meet at West Shores on Tuesday, December 18 at 2:00 p.m. Ruby Circle will meet on Monday, December 10 at 6:15. (Location to be determined) UM Men will meet on Thursday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. Jim Morrissey will serve his delicious chili. Come with a $10 or less gift to play Dirty Santa. 5

6 G United Methodist Church 81 Quapaw Avenue Hot Springs, Arkansas We re Here to Serve You Senior Pastor - Rev. David M. Fleming Chancel Choir Director - Kathie White Ukulele Band Director - Peggy Phillips Church Secretary - Karen Copelin Non-Profit U S Postage Paid Hot Springs, AR Permit No. 170 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Phone: (501) Fax: (501) grand.avenue@sbcglobal.net The Longest Night A winter service of hope featuring Grand Avenue UMC s Chancel Choir, Jubilee Ringers, and guest instrumentalists December 16, :0 p.m. Everyone is invited to a cookie reception in Fellowship Hall following the program. (Be sure to pick up a small gift from our choir.) 6