The Methodist. Children s. Christmas. Program. Wednesday, December 7 ~ Noon ~ Christmas Around the World. Practice: Saturday, December 10 10:30-Noon

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1 The Methodist A Publication of The Seward United Methodist Church 1400 North 5 th Street Seward, NE December 2011 Vol. 7, Issue 12 UYMF Cinnamon Roll Sunday THIS WEEK! December 4 Senior High School Christmas Cookie Walk Sunday, December 18 Do you need help with your Christmas baking? Find the answer...inside Wednesday, December 7 ~ Noon ~ Tickets will be on sale Sunday December 4th, before or after the services. During the week you can stop by the church office and purchase one. Tickets are $4.00. Reservations are needed by December 5th. Children s Christmas Program Christmas Around the World Practice: Saturday, December 10 10:30-Noon Children s Christmas Program: Sunday, December 11 During the 8:15 & 10:30 Worship Services. Inside you will find a schedule of all the services held at SUMC during December.

2 Heartwarming Worship Worship Schedule 8:15 a.m. Worship 9:15 a.m. Sunday School for all ages 10:30 a.m. Worship 11:30 a.m. Fellowship for all CAN T BE IN WORSHIP? Watch us on Cable 13 at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday and 10:00 a.m. on Thursday mornings. December 4 December 11 December 18 December 24 December 25 January 1 8:15 & 10:30 Worship Cinnamon Roll Sunday Children s Christmas Program during 8:15 & 10:30 Worship All Music Sunday during 8:15 & 10:30 Worship 6:00 Christmas Eve Worship 10:30 Christmas Eve Worship Communion at both services 9:30 a.m. Worship No Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship No Sunday School Prayers of our Church JOYS AND CONCERNS Please remember those with on-going health concerns through the month of November: Jim Henry, Cletus Bender, Connie Atkinson, Dean Goings, George Joy, Phil Wurst and Leona Ebers. Please call the church office if you have a prayer request.( ) Our prayers are with the family and friends of Betty Endicott, mother of Judy Sommerfeld, who passed away November 25, Services were held at SUMC November 29, We extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Virgil Jackman, father of Brent Jackman, who passed away November 25, 2011.

3 Risk Taking Missions BLUE VALLEY COMMUNITY ACTION PANTRY Collection item for December 4 Boxed Meals UMW WORKDAYS January 14 February 11 March 17 Join the UMW from 8:30 a.m. until noon for fun, fellowship and sewing!! HEIFER INTERNATIONAL *Pray for Heifer International *Share the Heifer story with others *Decide whether to contribute at this time Include contribution with completed Heifer Order Form and Envelope *Write checks to Seward United Methodist Church *Place gift in the offering plate or take to the church office BE A HEIFER HELPER Mission-Outreach Committee invites you to celebrate the holiday season with Heifer International. Your financial gift to Heifer International will provide gifts of livestock and training that will enable families to Improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. These animals are considered living loans because in exchange for receiving their animal and training, each family agrees to give one of its animal s offspring to another family in need PASSING THE GIFT!!!! KNIT WITS The Knit Wits will be meeting once a month, every third Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Please notify a member if you have a need for a shawl or you know of someone who can use a shawl for extra comfort. Call Sarah Shively with questions. ( ) THANK OFFERING RECEIVED We received $ from our thank offering on Sunday, November 6th, thanks to all the Sunday School Children and all the adults for their contributions. The money will be used for mission work thru the United Methodist Women. U.M.C.O.R. will use it for the project with the most urgent need.

4 Risk Taking Missions SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CHRISTMAS COOKIE WALK Sunday, December 18, 2011 Do you need help with your Christmas baking? Let the High School youth make your cookies for you. Come and choose from the wonderful variety of delicious holiday treats. Cookies will be available following both services. If you would like to donate some homemade (from scratch) cookies it would be greatly appreciated. Please have them here before the 8:30 service. Proceeds from the Cookie Walk will go towards the Senior High mission work. If you have questions please call Tep Reeder at thanks again for your continued support!! Bright Beginnings WOW WHAT A MONTH! Bright Beginnings has done many things over the past month! We had a Bright Beginnings Family Thanksgiving Dinner with over 30 people attending. We also had a float in the first annual Lighted Christmas Parade, and.won THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT AWARD! We had families and friends ride on the float, thanks to all of them! We have a calm month ahead of us! We are going to slow down in the daycare and just enjoy the Christmas Season! We will be decorating the next couple of weeks so please stop by and see us!

5 When our kids were very little, at Christmas it seemed that they were more interested in the box than the toy that came inside. Now that they are a little bit older, boxes don t seem to hold the same fascination that they once did. Most of us rip through the bows and the wrapping to get to the main event the present that is inside. It s what s inside that really matters. The same holds true for our lives, and of our celebration of Advent and Christmas. We can string up the lights, decorate the tree, and bake till we re blue in the face, but if we don t have Christ in our heart, we are just going through the motions. If we fail to keep Christ as the center and focus of Christmas then we have truly lost the point. It s what s inside that really matters. Merry Christmas! Gracious Generosity NOVEMBER - BY THE NUMBERS Offerings Received in November: General Funds:$32, Trustees Funds: $3, Average Worship Attendance for November: 269 Mission Share/Apportionments remaining in 2011: $2, The Seward United Methodist Foundation is excited to co-ordinate a One Book, One Church event featuring Tom Osborne s book Beyond the Final Score. During January, small groups of adults and teens will be meeting to discuss the book. Watch the bulletin and January newsletter for dates and times. The highlight of this all-church event is a presentation by Dr. Tom Osborne on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in the Seward High School theater. Tickets for this presentation will be available in early January. There will be no cost for tickets, but you must have a ticket to attend. Beyond the Final Score ($22.99), and Secrets to Becoming a Leader ($6.99), also by Tom Osborne, are available for purchase before his visit to Seward. To purchase a copy, please contact any member of the Foundation, call the church office, or visit Chapters Books & Gifts. Please note that Dr. Osborne has said he will not sign autographs the night of the event.

6 Miscellaneous UMW NEEDS United Methodist Women are in need of a person to take charge of the kitchen supplies. Connie Doehring has done a marvelous job keeping supplies in the kitchen the past two years. Now as of January 1st she will no longer be able to serve. Therefore we are looking for someone willing to take on the responsibilities. Connie would be willing to tell you the basics. Job Description is as follows: Check kitchen periodically Check church calendar for events Purchase items needed Contact people: Jeannie Jeary ( ) Kay Schroeder ( Wednesday, December 7 ~ Noon ~ Tickets will be on sale Sunday December 4th, before or after the services. During the week you can stop by the church office and purchase one. Tickets are $4.00. Reservations are needed by Monday, December 5th. POINSETTIAS The time is here to order your Christmas Poinsettia. You can call the church office at or send this form to 1400 North 5th. The cost is $ Orders must be received by Monday, December 19 th. Name Number of Poinsettias In Memory of In Honor of Paid Owes

7 Vital Faith Formation The Nurture Committee has mailed ever one a devotional booklet to be used during the Advent Season. If you did not receive one, please call the church office at , or stop by and pick one up. MEMORIAL TREE There is a beautiful Christmas tree near the front of the sanctuary. We are asking you to decorate it! You are invited to bring an ornament in memory of loved ones and place it on the tree. Our hope is that the tree will be filled with loving memories by Christmas! Attention Ladies: Please join the Evening United Methodist Women for a cookie exchange and a time of fellowship. When: December 15 th at 7pm in the Fellowship Hall Bring 1 ½ dozen cookies to exchange & share plus an extra container to Take home the cookies you select. Also, please bring paper products to be donated to Blue Valley. Hope you can join us. CHILDREN S CHRISTMAS SERVICE Christmas Around The World All Sunday School children (Preschool though 6th grade) are invited to be a part of our Christmas Program. We continue to practice songs and speaking parts each Sunday, and are looking forward to sharing the Christmas message in this special way, Please note the dates and times listed below. Sunday, December 4 - Program practice during the Sunday School hour Saturday, December 10 - Program practice from 10:30 a.m. - noon Sunday, December 11 - Sunday School Program at both 8:15 and 10:30 services. Students will be served a snack and be supervised by Sunday School staff between services. NO SUNDAY SCHOOL SUNDAY DECEMBER 25 AND SUNDAY JANUARY 1. (One church service at 9:30 a.m.) Cindy Mavis, Program Director and Sunday School Teachers

8 Miscellaneous BAZAAR 2011 Still going after 50 years. The bazaar was a success due to the wonderful support. As of November 27th the Bazaar total for 2011 is $3, A complete report will follow as to the distribution of the Bazaar Funds. We thank those who transported items to the church, those who helped set up and decorate those shops, those who provided food for both the Coffee Shop and Kitchen and who provided all the gift items for the gift shop. We thank those who took care of the money and who helped box, pack, consolidate and put away. And we thank all those who made purchases. We needed all of you. Let us have a bigger and better bazaar next year! ~Bazaar Committee United Methodist Women Dear Pastor, On behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities a their families we would like to thank you and your congregation for their generous support of our annual Honey Sunday Fund Raiser. A special thanks to Jack and Lynette Broderick or their help. The ARC of Seward County Louise Warnshulz, chairperson Dear Pastor Griger and the Members of Seward United Methodist church, On behalf of the SHS football team, coaches, and parents, we thank you for the use of the very nice facilities for our weekly team meals. It was a wonderful setting for team fellowship and I was very proud our church stepped up to volunteer to help the team for this event. Thank you for supporting Seward High Football. Sam Brauer, SHS Football PET RESCUE The Blue River Pet Rescue is now looking for foster parents to assist with temporary placement of puppies, dogs, kittens and cats. If you have an interest, please contact Terri, , for more information. FOOD NET THANK YOU! God is good. God s people are caring. It s so wonderful to go from empty shelves to full shelves for Food Net. And what a blessing to be able to help people, families with children, single families on a fixed income. The need is great, especially during this holiday season. Thanks for helping the Food Net help others. The volunteers!

9 Miscellaneous Building Improvement Committee Update The Building Improvement Committee has begun meeting with representatives from architectural firms to get ideas and suggestions about the best way to proceed for our church. Once all of the ideas and suggestions have been received, we will be able to visit with the church membership in an effort to decide which way to go. As new information becomes available, we will keep you posted! Dear friends in Mission, Because you gave, UMCOR is able to Be There and Be Hope on your behalf. Thank you for your generous gift of $2, to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for Disaster Response in the Horn of Africa. 100 % of your contribution will go towards bringing healing and hope to people in need. We give thanks for your generosity. Roland Fernandes,General Treasurer, UMCOR General Board of Global Ministries JUST4THFUNOFIT WE WIIL BE BACK! Watch the announcements and newsletter for our January event. Please turn in your pledge cards and Walk in Faith! Thank you! HELP WANTED Seward UMC is looking for someone to be hired as a paid nursery attendant. Work will begin in early This person would be responsible for opening and staffing the church nursery for the 10:30 service of worship (or 9:30 if there is only one service). This worker will need to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the service, and stay until all children have been picked up, and ensure that the nursery is clean and has been put back in order for use by Bright Beginnings on Monday. Interested parties should submit their resume to the church office by December 12. SUMC Environmental Stewardship Statement Monthly tips on how we can continue to meet our stewardship responsibilities toward God s creation. Reduce the number of bulletins printed and the number of pages per bulletin. Maintain the church s appliances to maximize their efficiency and replace those that are old and inefficient.

10 Seward United Methodist Church 1400 North 5th Street Seward, Nebraska Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Seward, NE Permit No. 62 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Phone: ; Fax: Website: Doug Griger, Pastor; Every Member, Minister REMEMBER Call the Church ( ) or Pastor Doug if you are going to be hospitalized and wish to have the Pastor visit. Due to privacy laws, hospitals cannot disclose information. JANUARY MAILBOX DEADLINE IS Tuesday, December 27 Submit your news by Tuesday, December 27. You can articles to the church at or call Cindy, office administrator, at Local Church Activities Chair persons for December are: Jan Matzke ( ) Gretchen Sutherland ( )