Plan to join us as we begin a fantastic New Year!! See more details inside...

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1 Gospel Gazette J A N U A R Y Plan to join us as we begin a fantastic New Year!! See more details inside... Messy Church is a way of being church for families based on creativity, hospitality and celebration. Our participants will meet Jesus in every component of Messy Church and experience the unconditional love and grace of God. Pastor Gary s Bible Study James: To Walk and Talk 5-week Bible Study on the New Testament letter of James each Wednesday beginning January 9 th, 6:30-7:45 pm in the Chapel. THE FIRST WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY IN 2019 IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 9th, INCLUDING: Point of View: The Way Forward The Ministry Staff of the Church will lead a 4-part study session from January 22 to February 12 at 2:00 pm in the Chapel.

2 P a g e 2 G O S P E L G A - The Church Staff would like to extend a HUGE thank you to our Church Family for the LOVE OFFERING!! MANY HANDS MAKE THE WORK GO FASTER... Plan to help take down the Christmas Greens on Monday, January 7th. We ll 9:00 am the Sanctuary. ICE-SKATING On Wednesday, January 2, the children will leave the church at 10:30, have lunch at Chick-fil-a, ice-skate from 12:00-1:45, and return to church by 2:30 pm. Each student needs $8 for skating and money for lunch. They should wear tall, thick socks, jackets, and gloves. A notarized parental consent form is required. Preschoolers are welcome with a parent. RSVP to Ms. Janet at by December 30. Messy Church is a way of being church for families based on creativity, hospitality and celebration. Our participants will meet Jesus in every component of Messy Church and experience the unconditional love and grace of God. Our first Messy Church is Sunday, January 13 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in Friendship Hall. Business card-sized invitations are available for you to carry with you and invite families to attend. We are currently screening potential volunteers to help with intergenerational activity centers and dinner preparation. You can stay current on all of our Messy Church activities at facebook.com/messy-church-in-mount-dora. If you would like more information, please contact Janet Westlake, Minister of Discipleship, at or janet@mtdorafumc.org.

3 J A N U A R Y P a g e 3 FOOTPRINTS FUN-OMENON Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 pm Children from birth through fifth grade are invited to Bible study and activities to help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. Interested in being in on the ground level of our 2019 Vacation Bible School planning? Join us for regional VBS training on Saturday, January 19. RSVP to Ms. Janet FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE RETREAT God s Masterpiece is our theme for the Fourth and Fifth grade retreat on January The cost is $20. RSVP by January 16 to Ms. Janet. S.A.Y. it with Love.Send A Youth to camp! We learned about the entire life of Jesus during the week I was at camp. The story that touched me most was the one where he died on the cross. I knew before that Jesus sacrificed his life for us. But that story really stuck with me this time. I was lucky to have this experience. Camp brought me closer to Jesus. Our third through twelfth grade students will attend June The cost for a week is $420. If you would like to donate toward the cost of our students attending camp, donation envelopes will be available beginning January 27.

4 P a g e 4 G O S P E L G A Z E T T E James: To Walk and Talk We live in a world which struggles with ethical standards. But that is nothing new. That is a human condition which we have been struggling with since we were created. James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem, wrote his letter to address the ethics of a Christian life. Though we know that, as Christians, we do not live under law, but under grace. Still, there are rules we often feel compelled to follow, or else God will be mad with us, we will miss God s blessing, we won t be good enough and on it goes. Our focus will be on striking a balance in our faith between the walk and the talk, between believing and living, between knowing and doing. Plan to join Pastor Gary for a 5-week Bible Study on the New Testament letter of James each Wednesday beginning January 9 th, 6:30-7:45 pm in the Chapel. Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life is the study text for the Wednesday morning Bible Study. Sessions begin on Wednesday, January 23 from 9:30 to 11:30 am in the Chapel with Janet Westlake, Minister of Discipleship. The book is available in the church office for $12. Point of View: The Way Forward The work and preparations for the 2019 General Conference continues. Part of our work and preparation at a local level is to make known what the issues are and provide avenues for discussion among members of the congregation. The Ministry Staff of the Church will lead a 4-part study session from January 22 to February 12 at 2:00 pm in the Chapel. Childcare is available with a reservation. This series is identical to the ones we held during the month of September. To participate, please call the church office

5 J A N U A R Y P a g e 5 Hello friends! Over the past two years, we have experienced significant growth. During this school year alone, we have seen students come to know Christ, students serve other students, and numbers that are nearly double what we experienced last school year. On any given Wednesday we have over 100 students come through our doors. To help us sustain this growing ministry, our SPPR committee and Church Council created the new staff position of Assistant Youth Director. I am excited to announce that our congregation has hired Linda Smith as Assistant Youth Director. Linda has served as a volunteer in children and youth ministries for over twenty years. For the past two and half years, she has served as a critical leader within Barefoot Student Ministries. Linda and her family have been active members of First UMC Mount Dora for over nine years. Linda brings many essential skills to our team and each student that walks through our doors senses the sincere love she has for them. I am thrilled to have Linda as a new staff member and believe that God will continue to work through this ministry and our congregation. The next time you see Linda, please congratulate her on the work she has already completed and the work she will continue in the future! With Grace and Peace, Brian

6 P a g e 6 CHRISTIAN BOOK CLUB The FUMC monthly book club, is usually held the second Wednesday of each month in the Chapel at 3:00 PM. Plan to join us Wednesday, January 9th as we discuss: Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloz Lake Cares now has a Resource Fund up and running. And yesterday, a reason to tap into it was presented. Vi and Jennifer, Resource Advocates, share this story: A distraught woman stopped by the pantry asking if we could help her nephew. She said he had been living with her and just learned that his children were the children that perished in that tragic fire in Youngstown, Ohio this week. There were five children, two died in the fire and three died at the hospital. (I believe the four younger children were his, ages 3, 4 and 1 yr old twins) His wife escaped by jumping from a window and is in critical condition in a Cleveland hospital. The aunt told Becky, our assistant director, that he desperately wanted to get to Ohio but neither he or she had the money to purchase a ticket. She was hoping that Lake Cares could offer some help or perhaps direct them to an agency that could. Becky and Irene discussed it and decided it was a job for the Resource Advocates. As I talked with him, it was all I could do to keep from imposing my middle class values on him. Why was he in Florida; was he looking for work; was he paying child support; were he and his wife separated? I had a million questions, but I resisted the urge to judge. I told him how sorry I was for his devastating loss and that Lake Cares would do all we could to help him get to Cleveland. I got on the internet and within thirty minutes I purchased a one-way ticket to Cleveland on Frontier Airlines. The total cost was $106. He will be leaving Orlando tomorrow morning and hopefully will be at his wife's bedside by early afternoon. The Resource Fund was established to help where we thought we could make a difference in someone's life. Buying a plane ticket for a bereaved father wasn't what we expected, but it seemed like the right thing to do. The Lake Cares Resource Fund will be used to offer financial help in the client s time of need. This fund will be used discreetly and solely at the discretion of the Resource Advocates. Needless to say, they hear sad stories daily and the opportunity to help will continue to present itself. The hope is that the members of MDFUMC, in addition to supporting the Lake Cares pantry, will consider donating to the Lake Cares Resource Fund. Please label your donation, Lake Cares Resource Fund, and place it in the offering plate or mail it to the church office. Your prayers and financial support are appreciated!

7 J A N U A R Y A NOTE FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE The new 2019 Contribution Envelopes are in the Conference Room behind the Sanctuary. Please pick up your envelopes so you will be ready to start using them in January!! If you haven t had a chance to send in your estimate of giving card, please prayerfully consider what you are able to give and turn your card in as soon as possible. To date we have received 121 cards from households totaling $463, which is 64.34% of the 2019 budget. Exercise Come join our exercise group on MWF at 8:00 AM in the Chapel. It is free and for all ages. Our goal is to improve balance, endurance, mobility, posture and our brain. We do this as a group because it is more fun, more of a challenge and commitment and because I wouldn t do it by myself alone. WHY VOLUNTEER DURING THE ART FESTIVAL? It encourages others and extends radical hospitality to them It strengthens the volunteer s personal faith It allows us to tell Christ s story and show God s love and grace If you would like more information about volunteering February 2 and 3, contact Janet Westlake, Minister of Discipleship, at or janet@mtdorafumc.org. New Ways to Give Giving App Download the GivePlus Church app to set up one-time or recurring donations. Online Visit to set up and manage your onetime and recurring gifts.

8 2019 January ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED First United Methodist Church of Mount Dora 440 EAST SIXTH AVENUE MOUNT DORA, FL Phone: Fax: WE RE ON THE WEB! Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid MID FLORIDA, FL. PERMIT #57062