Once You Believe, Anything Is Possible

A monthly publication of the First United Methodist Church of Glendale December 2018 Once You Believe, Anything Is Possible The above phrase comes from an Advent Study series by Ed Robb and Rob Renfroe, The Wonder of Christmas. Christmas is sometimes referred to as a season of wonder, yet sadly, it can feel more like the season of stress and financial drain. This year we ll be invited to bring the wonder back into Christmas. Each family/individual will receive a devotional book containing a daily Bible reading, a thoughtful meditation, reflective questions and prayer. I hope each of us will make room in our busy lives for the presence of God and the wonders of this season of love. It will require that we look beyond what we see, believe in things we cannot explain and trust that anything is possible. I look forward to making this journey with you, and I pray this year the wonder of Christmas brings you joy, hope, peace and love enough to share with everyone around you! Yours in the wonders of his love, First United Methodist Church 7102 N. 58th Drive Glendale, AZ 85301 Phone: 623.939.1409 Fax: 623.236.9284 Email: rebecca@glendalefirstumc.com Web: www.glendalefirstumc.com Office Hours: Monday Thursday 9:00 am 3:00 pm; closed Friday at 12:00 pm Sunday Schedule 8:00 am Lay led Communion 9:00 am Worship 11:11 am Worship 10:10 am Sunday School Classes for all ages Rev. Kim Gladding, Senior Pastor

Page 2 Circuit Rider December 2: First Sunday of Advent The Wonder of Christmas: Give Us Eyes to See Read: Matthew 1: 18 24 Preaching: Rev. Kim Gladding December 9: Second Sunday of Advent The Wonder of Christmas: Show Us the Way Read: Luke 3: 1 6 Preaching: Rev. Kim Gladding December 16: Third Sunday of Advent The Wonder of Christmas: Keep Us Humble Read: Luke 3: 7 16 Preaching: Rev. Kim Gladding December 23: Fourth Sunday of Advent The Wonder of Christmas: Give Us Courage to Believe Read: Luke 1:39 45 Preaching: Rev. Kim Gladding December 24: Christmas Eve 5:00 pm Children and Family Service 7:00 pm Candlelight Service (no communion) 11:00 pm Candlelight Service with Communion December 30: First Sunday After Christmas Christmas Best Gift Read: Luke 2:39 52 Preaching: Rev. Tom Wick The Chancel Choir is excited about sharing a Christmas Gift with you, your family and friends. On Saturday, Dec. 22 at 7:00 pm, the choir delivers Silent Night! Holy Night! a Christmas musical. This spirited celebration is filled with classic carols and hymns, along with stirring new songs. Songs include: Let There Be Light with We Three Kings; My Soul Magnifies the Lord with Angels from the Realms of Glory; Blessings; Tell the World; What Christmas Really Means with Birthday of a King; Tell of His Wonder Finale (Silent Night! Holy Night! / Jesus, What a Wonderful Child / Go Tell It on the Mountain). Your attendance and support are very important! This celebration combines the pageantry of the season with the majesty of the traditional music. If transportation is holding you back from attending, contact Larry Del Rae or any member of the choir. Transportation is available! Help us fill the sanctuary on December 22nd!

December 18 Page 3 The Miracle of the Arks Noah had great faith in God and the miracle of the Ark came to pass. At first it must have seemed ridiculous, but Noah persevered. On Rally Day 2017, our Education Team launched a campaign to raise money for Heifer International. We thought maybe we could raise enough money to send a pair of rabbits to a country that was struggling to maintain a food supply. Some of us had that much faith, but Lisa Sanchez, our team leader, had a much larger vision she was aiming much higher. Because the Education Team led the way, our church has now been able to send two Gift Arks through Heifer International! Another miracle! A Gift Ark donation includes two water buffalos, two cows, two sheep and two goats, along with bees, chicks, rabbits and more. This Gift Ark goes around the world, from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas. Wherever it goes, it helps: Care for entire communities with milk, eggs, honey and wool Provide income by supplying an abundance of goods to sell Sustain farming by providing livestock to work the land Improve the lives of families for generations Lisa says that this miracle is because of God s perfect timing. Not our timing, but God s. Thank you all for having faith that still believes in miracles. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the miracle of the Arks! See your Sunday bulletin folder for the Christmas poinsettia order form. The cost is $10.00 per plant. Poinsettias will be placed on the chancel on Sunday, December 23, and may be taken home after the 11:00 pm worship service on Christmas Eve.

Page 4 Circuit Rider Church News & Notes For more information, contact the church office 623 939 1409 or rebecca@glendalefirstumc.com New Members We had seven new members join our church on Sunday, October 21: Sue Baker, Janet & Darrell Copeland, Ken & Nancy Hailey, and M.H. and Nadja Irons. Some are pictured below, be sure to welcome them to our church family! We like to give a Christmas gift to each of our staff members as a token of our appreciation for the work they do for us all year long. Additionally, we provide a Christmas lunch for the AZTEC cleaning crew, as well as our staff and volunteers who can join us for lunch. We need your support to do this, and are asking for donations to make it possible. Use your giving envelopes and designate Staff Gifts in the space that says Other. Donations will be accepted through Sunday, December 16th. Thank you very much! Janet and Darrell Copeland Nancy & Ken Hailey Sue Baker From the Treasurer Don t forget that all giving for the 2018 tax year must be received by Sunday, December 30. The counters will make the final deposit on Monday, December 31. If you use online banking, please make sure your checks arrive in our office the week before so they will be included on your 2018 giving statement. Boxes and packets of giving envelopes for 2019 will be available at church the first two Sundays in January. As always, you can stop by the office for more envelopes and we keep a supply in the church narthex, too. Thank you!

December 18 Page 5 Update from Nurture The person who does things that count, doesn t usually stop to count them. Unknown I have a special request this month. I know that not everyone is active on social media, but it is an avenue for sharing the love of God with the community. We are sharing positive, encouraging messages of hope and love with the community around us. We are helping them get to know us. We are inviting them to join us. Therefore, I have been participating in several trainings for improving church social media presence. One of the most important things I have learned is that social media posts need people. To that end, our Facebook and Twitter pages need you. Yes, you. When you are participating in any of the wonderful ministry and outreach activities that we offer at First Glendale, don t be afraid to toot your own horn with photos of your actions. If you are doing something fun, like opening the church for Glendale Glitters, or volunteering at the Welcome Center on Sunday morning, or participating in the coffee hour; if you are involved in a mission activity, or a bible study, or participating in the church wide Advent study, you can help share our love of God with the community. We would love to add a selfie or photo of you as a congregation member participating in one of the many activities around the campus. Here are just a few ideas: When you volunteer to help at Glendale Glitters, take a selfie with the welcome station, or at the church corner sign. When you are helping to prepare the shoeboxes with the missions team, show off that work that you are doing. If you are helping with the coffee hour, take a photo of the wonderful spread and decorations. If you are participating in the Trustee s work day, take before and after photos. Any activities can be an opportunity to let the community know who we are. You see, people in the community want to see what we are doing. They want to get to know us as much as we want to get to know them. When someone is looking for a new church, one of the first things they do is check the internet for more information. While we have a beautiful church, the congregation forms Christ s family here at First Glendale. People are the ones who hold out the welcoming hands and invite those they don t know yet to come and sit with them. You are that person. So, if you are willing to let the world know your love of God and of First Glendale, share your photos with Christine, at nurturegfumc@gmail.com Anyone in any photos must give permission for me to use them. Please don t send me photos of anyone who has not given their permission. Some church members of church are not willing to share their photos online. I am proactive in making sure that we do not share unwilling photos. So please ask before sharing. Family is an important part of First Glendale. The education team is continuing their hard work on the Christmas program. I can t wait to see what they are going to do. We have Glendale Glitters, which includes music and movie activities. We also have Family Movie night. Family movie nights are once a month and snacks are sold to raise money for the general fund. If you have family visiting, be sure to bring them along. God bless you and keep you safe, as the weather grows colder. Christine Jones, Director of Nurture

Page 6 Circuit Rider United Methodist Women Choose New Leaders for 2019 The November UMW meeting was well attended. The nominating committee presented the slate of officers for 2019, and there was unanimous acceptance. Officers will be installed at the first general meeting in 2019. These include: Linda Triolo, President; Linda Biggar, Vice President; Sue Baker, Secretary (assisted by Sally Dixon who will record Executive Board meetings); and Treasa Birchett, Treasurer (assisted and trained by Karleen Miller). Becky Miller will continue as Chairperson of Esther Circle; Treasa Birchett will move into the Chair for Lydia Circle. Others in the leadership team include: Vesta Roper and Azzie Turner, Coordinators for Spiritual Growth; Jeanne Rumbold, Coordinator for Education for Missions; Erma Garling, Coordinator of Social Action; Jo Ann Kissler, Coordinator of Membership Care; Becky Miller and Sally Dixon, Coordinators of Program Resources. Eileen Allen will be the Sunshine Secretary. The Nominations Committee consists of Helen Jackson (Chair for 2019), Marty Cole (Chair for 2020) and Pam Jackson (Chair for 2021). West District training of all UMW officers and coordinators will take place on January 26, 2019 in Fellowship Hall. There will be more information about this in the next Circuit Rider newsletter. The group made a World Thank Offering, and Linda Triolo introduced the guest speaker, Christie Robinson, who is the Outreach Coordinator for UMOM (United Methodist Outreach Mission). Christine Jones, Eva Ndavu and Linda Triolo reported on the Desert Southwest Conference Celebration which they attended in Las Vegas the previous weekend. Eva Ndavu, UMW President The church on the corner by the park The church with the candy canes The church with the beautiful windows The church with a heart in the heart of downtown Glendale If you were trying to describe our church, would it be with one of those phrases? I have heard the first three used to identify us, but I favor the fourth phrase and pray that it is true. Most of all I hope that people will remember us as the church that invited us in and we found God. We are in the midst of the Glendale Glitters celebration and every Friday and Saturday night through Christmas we have the opportunity to throw open our doors and invite everyone to come inside. We need helpers to welcome, guide, protect and to share our history and God s love. Will you please help? Contact Rev. Tom Wick or Genny Riner to tell us what night you will help. Watch your bulletins and emails for a schedule of free concerts and programs for many of the nights.

December 18 Page 7 Church Work Day Saturday, December 15 In October, members and friends of First Glendale generously donated $30,909.75 to support the operation and programs of our church. This includes monies received for the Brad Riner Assistance Office, Capital Improvement, Missions, and other designated funds. With this amount received, we remain behind the level of income we budgeted to receive at this point of the year. Most of our obligations have been paid, however sadly we have only been able to pay one half of our apportionments which goes to support our ministering to the world. As we are now in the last months of 2018, members are encouraged to review their personal finances and if possible give a little extra to help the church with its financial obligations as we prepare to close our books. The Finance Committee thanks everyone for their continued support. May GOD continue to bless our church. Ted Turner, Chairman Finance Committee The trustees are planning another work day for Dec. 15, a Saturday, at 9:00 am. Our last work day was very successful. We accomplished the tasks we planned, except for polishing fixtures and wood in the sanctuary. We wound up doing a deep cleaning on our kitchen, and not going into the sanctuary at all. The upcoming work day will be a general cleaning, inside and out. If you know of specific tasks needing to be done, let Linda Triolo know. The glass doors and windows of the fellowship hall need frequent cleaning. Other trustee news: we signed a contract on November. 8 with Pinnacle Fencing Solutions to fence in our courtyard with a decorative, six foot security fence. Hopefully this will be a big improvement for cleanliness and security. Missions Team Report We have had a busy fall! Our Homeless Meals began in September. Our Youth and Karen Render are again serving the meals at the women s shelter. Our committee members are the cooks. We welcome anyone who would like to participate. We are thankful for those who keep the bus in good running order, since Karen drives it to the shelter. Gail Dameron organized the Operation Christmas Child (shoebox ministry) again this year. On November 15, we packed 96 boxes this year, full of gifts for a child. The shipping costs were covered by your generous donations. We are always looking for new ideas of ways to serve our community. We welcome you to visit or become an active member of Missions. Our meeting time is the 3rd Thursday of the month in Fellowship Hall, Stage Area at 6:30 pm.

Page 8 Circuit Rider Our Sanctuary will be open Friday and Saturday nights from 6:00 pm 9:00 pm through December 22. Programs begin at 7:00 pm and are FREE. Friday, November 30... Movie: The Man who Saved Christmas (A World War I Christmas Story) Saturday, December 1... Movie: Miracle at Christmas: Ebbie's Story (A Scrooge Story) Friday, December 7... Movie: Christmas for a Dollar (Christmas during the Great Depression) Saturday, December 8... Christmas Carol Sing a Long Friday, December 14... WOW Band Christmas Concert Saturday, December 15... Echoes of Praise Concert Our Christmas Gift Friday, December 21... Silent Night, Holy Night Dress Rehearsal Saturday, December 22... Christmas Cantata Silent Night, Holy Night (First UMC Chancel Choir) First United Methodist Church 7102 North 58th Drive Glendale, AZ 85301-2434 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID Glendale, AZ Permit No. 22 Deadline for the January 2019 Newsletter is December 14. Your items for the newsletter should be submitted to the church office by 3:00 pm. email: rebecca@glendalefirstumc.com fax: 623-236-9284