Mountainside United Methodist Church Connecting People to Jesus On Gratitude by Tony Robbins The Beacon No.172 12.2018 In my office, you can see a picture of me with Tony Robbins and his wife, Sage. I get emails from Tony all the time. I want to share with you this one he sent to me just before Thanksgiving. May it be a blessing for you, too. In Christ, Pastor Mills Thanksgiving is a cherished time for us to slow down, get present to the moment, and reflect on the people, places, memories, and magic moments that make life itself so special. We come together with our family and friends to share in the spirit of gratitude. Often around the table we ask: what are you grateful for? It's such a powerful question. I invite you to take a moment with me to consider all the things in your life big and seemingly small that you could be grateful for. After all, it s what the season is all about. And just by focusing our awareness on appreciation, we uncover even more of the miracle it is to be alive. Gratitude is the antidote to anger you can t be grateful and angry at the same time. So as you spend time with those dear to you this week just notice all there is to appreciate. What could you choose to be happy about? Who could you say thank you to this year? What if we chose to be grateful for the gifts, the challenges all that life offers us. What if we took on the belief that everything in life is happening for us, and it all serves our growth and evolution? When we view our lives through the lens of gratitude and appreciation we experience a level of freedom and fulfillment like never before. Sometimes in life it s when we lose one of our blessings our health, our mobility, a loved one, a job, a friend that we put aside our grumblings and gain a true appreciation for all the gifts that grace our lives. So, let s choose gratitude this Thanksgiving. Share with those you love and the people around you what they mean to you. Thank them with simple kindness and voice your appreciation. Send a note, share a smile even if it s with a stranger. You might even consider offering a prayer you don t have to be religious or spiritual to do it. The most powerful prayer I know is simply: thank you. Yours in deep thanks and gratitude, Tony Recognizing Good Work Each year we recognize the church staff for their great work and dedication. The Pastor Parish Relations Committee (PPRC) will be accepting donations for staff Christmas gifts on Sunday th and 16th. Please give your contribution to one of the PPRC members or put it in an envelope marked "Staff Christmas Gift" and place it in the collection plate. If you would like your contribution to go to a specific staff member let one of the PPRC members know or write their name on the envelope. PPRC members are: Bob Mason, Mary Jackson, John Beach, Earl Robinson, Anne Merkley, Bob Van Allen
018 December Schedule of Worship and Special Events December 1, Saturday 5:00pm Ignite! Youth to River of Lights, First Sunday in Advent 9:00am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:10am Contemporary Worship 4:00pm Hanging of the Greens December 5, Wednesday 5:45pm Advent Prayer Service, Second Sunday in Advent 9:00am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:10am Contemporary Worship December 12, Wednesday 5:45pm Advent Prayer Service December 15, Saturday 5:00pm Ignite! Youth Christmas Party, Third Sunday in Advent 9:00am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:10am Expressions of Joy Christmas Music Adult Fellowship White Elephant Christmas Party Please bring a wrapped gift to exchange and snacks to share on December 14th from 5:30-7:30 in the old Fellowship hall. Contact Ruth Porter 505-259-3484, or Margaret Langdon 505-263-9558 if you have any questions. Food Pantry Tally During October the food pantry gave out 272 food boxes. 188 were for seniors, 384 were for adults, 18 to 59 years, and 252 were for children. 2 were repeat families. 203 families were from Bernallio county. 37 were from Santa Fe County. 27 were from other counties. The closing on 10/31 was 2 hours early because of the minor fire or the numbers would be a little higher. We are thankful that there were people there and it was only minor damage! December 19, Wednesday 5:45pm Advent Prayer Service, Fourth Sunday in Advent 9:00am Worship: Choir Cantata 10:15am Sunday School 11:10am Contemporary Worship Christmas Eve, 4 4:00pm Christmas Eve Family Worship Service 7:00pm Christmas Eve Classic Service with Candlelight and Communion Christmas Day, 5 Merry Christmas! th, First Sunday of Christmas 9:00am Sunday School 10:15am Combined Worship led by the JUG Band December 31st, New Year s Eve 8:00pm Watch Night Service 9:00pm Board Games (Everyone is invited!) 8:00pm 8:30am Youth Lock In Expressions of Joy A Choral group of 20+ will be performing on Sunday the 16th. The performance will begin during the 2nd service at 11:10am. Don't miss it! 2
Serving in December 4 4 4 Liturgist Bob VanAllen Janet Vertrees Dan Salzwedel Bob VanAllen Jack Brisbin A/V Tim Spears Joe Vertrees Dana Roberson Tim Spears Joe Vertrees Ushers Rob & Susie Easterling Rick & Dale Freeman Gary & Dana Roberson Larry Braner Tomi Taylor Brent & Shelley Bateman Dan & Luan Salzwede Paul & Linda Mizell Julie Hall Dick Porter Bill & Dee Butler Julia Beach Judy Hall Dave & Anna Berst Brent & Shelley Bateman Greeters Larry & Cathy Braner Don & Mary Jackson Dan & Connie Patterson Jim & Jane Ann Lunn David & Claudia Broadwater John & Anne Merkley Lowell Wagner Mary Ann Buck Ruth Porter Joan Berish 018 4 Ira & Flossie Blackwell David & Claudia Broadwater Gary & Dana Roberson Mary Ann buck Earl Robinson Coffee Dick Porter Bill Butler Larry Braner Larry Braner Welcome Center 1st Service open 2nd Service open Children s Church 1st Sunday Kathy Foster 2nd Sunday Linda Ellis 3rd Sunday Kitty Woods 4th Sunday Kathy Freas Nursery Lydia Montano Laura Krout Kaeli Manzanares Welcome Desk - 1st Service Pam Ruppenthal 2nd Service Anne Merkley - 1st Service Margaret Langdon 2nd Service -1st Service 2nd Service -1st Service 2nd Service 4-4:00pm 7:00pm Dec 30 Ira & Flossie Blackwell Sheila Dotson Cathy Braner Linda Ellis Margaret Langdon Christmas Eve Service Cathy Braner Linda Ellis 3
018 Mission Opportunities In St. Croix Us Virgin Islands St. Croix was ravaged by back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria in September of 2017. In response to this disaster, a partnership has been formed between UMVIM, FEMA, and Lutheran Disaster Response. UMVIM teams are needed to repair/rebuild homes for residents of the island. The focus of this effort is on homeowners who might otherwise fall between the cracks due to lack of insurance or inability to qualify for sufficient assistance. The Southeastern jurisdiction of UMVIM will be sending teams to St. Croix through 2019. If you are interested in being part of a future team please contact Bob Van Allen or Don Ferris for additional information by emailing rvanallen5@comcast.net or donferrisfamily@msn.com. Members of team doing block work One home owner moving back into her home Team 10 served 10/6 through 10/20 Budget Report As of 11/30/2018 MONTHLY November Budget Needs November * GF Contributions YEAR TO DATE Budget Needs Actual Expenses Budget Needs Actual Expenses $30,104.00 $29,867.00 Year to date Budget $377,079.00 $367,573.00 needs $25,127.00 Year to Date *GF $377,407.00 Contributions 2018 Difference -$4,740.00 Difference +9,834.00 We have been blessed with some substantial pre paid annual pledges, giving us a solid financial start to the year, which places us ahead of our budget income projection. *GF (General Fund) 4
The MUMC Website 018 The Church s website is modified at least once or twice a week. We want it to be current, because if the website looks the same every time you visit it, the viewer will stop visiting. Most of you don t visit it often, but the website is loaded with information, especially of interest to those looking for a new Church Home. In this light, it is actually an outreach ministry to the community. Our website has all the usual stuff - the pastors name, the church address and a map to the church, a link and phone numbers to contact the church office or the minister, and much more. If you study the screen capture of the website, I have identified some of the features that are on the website. Occasionally, we have several current events that are highlighted using a Splash image at the top middle of the screen. In this event, the website randomly selects one of the Splash images to load. For some of these Splash images, there is an underlying link to more detailed information. If you click on the Splash image, the information screen comes up. But, you may miss these unless you refresh your browser. Most browsers (Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Explorer) want you to think they are fast, so they keep the last screen loaded for a website address. But if you hit the Refresh Button (see image below), the actual current website screen is displayed. If there are multiple Splash images, if you refresh the screen several times, you will see all the Splash screens. The website will appear pretty much the same, irrespective of which browser you use. The refresh symbol is pretty standard, although it may be placed in a different location. Please take the time to explore your website. And if you have any suggestions, there is a link at the bottom of the left black panel where you can click to send an e-mail to Dave Thompson, the Web Master. Ignite Come to IGNITE! our youth program at Mountainside. All youth, grades 8th- 12th, are invited to come. Bring a friend and join us for food, fun, and fellowship Saturdays, twice a month, at 5:00pm at Mountainside UMC. We are currently looking for adults who would be interested in becoming part of a host team for IG- NITE! This includes contributing to a meal, activity, or leading a study for our youth. If you have any questions about how you can be a part of this ministry, contact Jack Brisbin at 505-206-0026 or Lu Brisbin at 804-832-0606. 5
018 Dear Upward Youth Sports Prayer Partners, Thank you again for another year of faithfully joining in to pray as ceasingly as possible for the youth s Christian sports program. In addition to all that you can think about to pray for the many Upward activities, below are 50 MORE items, one per day! The Upward annual program runs almost all year around but with more intensity for everyone s special needs during the 100+ days from the middle of October to the last Saturday in February. We are SO BLESSED to have SO MANY Volunteers. Let s keep praying for each and every participant! 6 The opportunity to invite families to our church Our prayer commissioner Our league director A positive spirit on the court on Saturday (Second game day) Those leading halftimes today Our league director Our prayer partners 1st 2nd grade coaches 3rd 4th grade coaches 5th 6th grade coaches Our cheerleading commissioner (Third game day) Those leading halftimes today Our boy s coach commissioner Our girl s coach commissioner Our referee commissioner Referees Picture day to go well Operation of clocks, scoreboards, and other details (Fourth game day) Those leading halftimes today Consistent prayer among prayer partners Players and cheerleaders with difficult family situations The witness of coaches at home and at work Parents who are not involved with their child s league Those without a church home Church members to reach out to those without a church home (Fifth game day) Those leading halftimes today Safety for everyone traveling Halftime commissioner Players and cheerleaders moms and dads Work assistants on Saturday The witness of players and cheerleaders at home and at school The ministerial staff (Sixth game day) Those leading halftimes today Families of our ministers Children in first-grade Children in second-grade Children in third-grade Children in fourth-grade Children in fifth-grade (Seventh game day) Those leading halftimes today Children in sixth-grade Pictures to be distributed smoothly after picture day Church maintenance crew Our host commissioner Volunteers to come forward for follow-up with calls and visits Enthusiasm to remain high (Eighth game day) Those leading halftimes today Preparation for the awards celebration Safe travel for all guests to the awards celebration Awards celebration To follow the Mountainside United Methodist Sports ministry visit our website at: http://mumsm.org/ (This is the Church s FB Page) Facebook Upwards at Mountainside (This is the Upward Program FB page) Tweet to #MUMSMupward (This is the Upward Program Twitter page) for participant and related program information e-address: upwardsports@mountainsidemethodist.org
Veterans' Day 018 On November 11, the sanctuary of MUMC was filled with patriotic and military songs as the Mountainside veterans chorus celebrated Veterans Day. The 17 member group of veterans were joined by the congregation in their opening song America, the Beautiful and followed that with America (My Country Tis of Thee). The group then sang a medley of military songs of the various branches of the service, while other MUMC veterans in the congregation stood as the song of their branch was played. The group then sang the chorus of the Lee Greenwood favorite Proud to be an American (God Bless the USA) and closed-out the performance with God Bless America, joined by the congregation. Participating in the veterans choral group were: Dick Anderson, Brent Bateman, Ira Blackwell, Jack Brisbin, Claudia Broadwater, Don & Mary Jackson, Tim Kleinhenz, Jim Lunn, Tom Michel, David Miller, Dan Patterson, Rich Troyanowski, Bob Van Allen, Lowell Wagner, Vern Willan and Sky Wood. Another veteran, Dave Berst was busy taking pictures of the event. The veterans wish to express their heartfelt thanks to Vera Kleinhenz for working with the group and preparing them for the performance and Shelly Bateman for also helping the group. Photos by Dave Berst 7
018 Mountainside United Methodist Church 4 Penny Lane Cedar Crest, NM 87008 office@mountainsidemethodist.org www.mountainsidemethodist.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Newsletter Submission Guidelines If you have an article or photos you would like to submit to the Mountainside United Methodist Church's newsletter, The Beacon, please follow these guidelines: Submit articles as a pdf, Word document, or within the body of an email to office@mountainsidemethodist.org or to the Newsletter Editor at jeanneillustrates@gmail. com. For photos, please always send separate jpg files attached within the email with each photo titled in this manner: ArticleTitle_MonthYear An example might be FoodBoxes_Jan2018. The deadline for submission is the 20th of every month. We are especially interested in Mission oriented messages. Thank you for submitting to the newsletter. December Birthdays Carla Miszkiel 12-01 Doug Peek 12-10 Luke Schwebke 12-01 Lowell Wagner 12-10 Beverly Spears 12-01 Eric Manzanares 12-12 Butch Deuto 12-02 David Berst 12-15 Lynda Scofield 12-02 Jeff Neill 12-19 Butch Deuto 12-02 Kelsey Carrillo 12-24 Dale Hall 12-03 Ruth Porter 12-24 Joe Balestri 12-04 Susie Easterling 12-25 Scott Morrow 12-04 Lilian Neill 12-25 Bobbi Carrillo 12-05 Andree Peek 12-26 Sheila Dotson 12-05 Lewis Pearsall 12-27 Mary McClellan 12-07 Eden Coffman 12-27 John Manzanares 12-08 Paul Mizell 12-28 Fran Nimick 12-08 Kate Douglas 12-29 Rev. David Bachelor 12-09 David Christopher Berst 12-30 Steve Hoffman 12-09 Nicole Neill 12-30 Bette Wilson 12-31 8