The Union Hill Herald Union Hill Presbyterian Church December 2018 From the Pastor s Desk Holiday Shopping Once upon a time, Thanksgiving was a day for us to step off the world s treadmill (or rollercoaster) to enjoy time around the table with family. Parades and football games were on TV, the aroma of the day s meal filled the house, and we shared time and conversation and laughter. Of course, such Norman Rockwell images are not the reality of every home and family, yet the fourth Thursday of November was generally a time to unplug and unwind. What happened? Somehow, the rush toward buy, buy, buy and get, get, get has turned Thanksgiving into an opportunity to swallow an energy snack in order to hit the stores at midnight, or 5 pm, or 2pm, or It s enough to give us indigestion! I like to think we have plenty of wonderful things going on here at Union Hill that help us ring in the season while maintaining healthy boundaries, relationships, and focus on anticipating the arrival of Jesus Christ in some new way. As long as the world has us thinking of holiday shopping, why not be mindful of how we can be shopping for ways right here at Union Hill to be faithfully honoring our beliefs in a contemporary world that challenges and distorts so much? 1
For those of us who attended the Interfaith Thanksgiving Gathering at Town Hall November 18 th, it was a blessed time to share fellowship in the community of people whose beliefs and practices are variously distinct or similar to our own. Completing the Grateful book study that same morning, I realized what fascinating minds and hearts fill this congregation! After worship on Christ the King Sunday, a focused group of merry members decorated the sanctuary to usher in the Christmas spirit. Ladies joined together December 1 to reflect on their personal anticipation of Advent. The next day, we bridged the gap between church and home by creating Advent wreaths to grace our tables and remind us to focus during this time of faithful, expectant waiting. Over the four Sundays of Advent, consider being among those who begin our worship with lighting the Advent candles and leading our special readings. For the young, and those who love them, please come to youth group on December 9 th when we reprise last year s elf run, shopping for a young family nearby who appreciates our church s help with gifts for their young daughter who is about to be a big sister. Holiday Cheer? What could be more fun than adding an OOH RAH to a HO HO HO to support John Traflet and the Toys for Tots train? We are blessed with a dynamic Sunday School program. We have already been educated (and entertained) by our first two Family Fellowship Worship Services. Resist the temptation to rush off to the mall on Sunday December 16 th. Come to 10 am worship and receive the message of Christmas through the presentation of drama and song that is our Christmas play and pageant! Resist letting the parking lots and pushing and shoving of the malls get to you. If you are shopping for meaning, for fulfillment, for hope this holiday season, consider doing some holiday shopping right here at Union Hill! May you have a truly blessed Advent and Christmas Season, Pastor Tim 2
Christmas Eve Worship Services 5:00 pm Family Service 7:30 pm Candlelight Service We hope you will join us, and please feel free to invite friends and neighbors. All are welcome to join us on this special night! If you would like to order a poinsettia for the sanctuary on Christmas Eve, please speak to Ruth Petersen after church or email her at ruth.sen@hotmail.com. Orders are due by December 17 th. The Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service It was wonderful to have Pastor Tim be part of the leadership team who presented the community service on November 18th. It was a time of faith and fellowship, bridging the differences in our religions to bring out our similarities. A goodwill offering was collected to support the Denville Food Pantry. Thank you to all the Union Hill members who attended! 3
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS! Our Sunday School students have been busy preparing for the Christmas program to be held on December 16 th during worship. This year s production, The Curious Lamb was written by and is being directed by Amy Clarkson with support from Vicki Harrison and Jennifer Smith. Following the worship service, Community Life is preparing a special Coffee Hour to celebrate. Aretha Franklin s protégé made her debut at the second Family Fellowship Worship Service which was held in November. The theme this year is The Ten Commandments and we covered Commandments 3 & 4 in this service. Debbie Tomkins and Vicki Harrison put on a skit demonstrating that God tells us in those two commandments that he wants our R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Vicki has also designed stone tablets which we add to with each service and display throughout the year. The next Family Fellowship Service will be in February. On Sunday, December 2 nd Estelle, Patrick & Meghan Harnisch helped Debbie Tomkins write out approximately 50 Christmas cards for distribution on 12/6/18 at the Caroling event at Morris View Healthcare Center. Thank you to all three of them for patiently writing out so many cards and working diligently on the project. Thank you to all the students who have stepped up to be lectors recently! You are very much appreciated! Thank you to Kate Clarkson who will continue teaching the K-3 rd grade students this spring with the help of Emma Petersen, Matthew Baresh, and Sean Clarkson. Julia and Jenna Curran remain our sitters for the pre-k group, but adult volunteers are still needed for the spring session. Please speak to Vicki Harrison for more information. 4
UHPC Youth Group On November 11 th, our Youth Group members spent time discussing Veterans Day and the service and sacrifice of our current and past veterans. They wrote out cards to be delivered to those currently serving in our various military branches and to those who are veterans within our congregation. Thank you to Carol Fosburg & June Kibe for their help in the kitchen. Youth Group is open to students and their friends in 6 12 th grade. We meet approximately twice a month for meetings, Bible Study, mission projects, and field trips. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (when we remember to update!) Upcoming Dates: December 9 th Santa s Elves December 27 th - Alumni Open House Pie Sales Continue! Don t forget to order your delicious apple or pumpkin pie for the holiday season! Pies are frozen and ready to bake. Please speak to Jennifer Berk to order your pie or for more information (berkj44@gmail.com). 5
ASP Open Mic Night Thank you to everyone who performed at our Open Mic Night on November 17! It was a fun evening with a wide variety of music. A goodwill offering was collected which will help offset the costs of the Appalachia Service Project trip this summer. Your support of this outreach mission is very much appreciated! In addition, please remember that Shop Rite gift cards continue to be available for purchase in Cosman Hall during coffee hour. The gift cards can be used at any Shop Rite. Purchasers pay face value for the cards, and Shop Rite donates 5% to help defray the cost of the ASP trip. If you shop at Shop Rite, please consider supporting this important mission outreach. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to Amy Clarkson. 6
From the Union Hill Church Preschool December is an exciting month at Union Hill Church Preschool! We are enjoying all the fun and festivities of the season. Students are hard at work making Christmas gifts for their parents, and learning holiday songs that we will sing for our families and friends. We welcome parents who want to come in and teach the children about holidays that they may celebrate Diwali, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year. All these presentations are enjoyed by the children and the staff alike. It is our goal to build a foundation of diversity, love and respect in our community. Tours of the school are available for anyone who may be interested in registering for the upcoming school year. Please call the preschool office at 973-361-5983 for more information. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year! Jill Head, Preschool Director Community News Denville Food Pantry The Denville Food Pantry is grateful for the support it receives from our church members! From weekly donations, to support for their Thanksgiving Food Drive, Union Hill has been an active part of their mission. For Christmas, anyone who would like to donate a new, unwrapped toy for a local child may do so at Town Hall until December 17. If you would like to leave it in the Narthex with the food donations, it will be gladly brought to town hall before the due date. 7
Denville s Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Annual Christmas Tree Sale Stop by to pick up a beautiful fresh tree, wreath or roping! Weekends Friday November 30 th through Sunday December 16 th Union Hill Farm Stand (25 Cooper Road West) Fridays 4 to 8 PM, and Saturday and Sundays from 10 AM to 4 PM January Newsletter The deadline for the January newsletter will be December 28. Please send all submissions to mcadams4@optonline.net by that date, or speak with Karen to make other arrangements. Thank you! Union Hill Presbyterian Church 427 Franklin Road Denville, NJ 07834 www.unionhillchurch.org Rev. Timothy Clarkson, Pastor Director of Music: Ms. June Kibe Preschool Director: Mrs. Jill Head Admin. Assistant: Mrs. Debbie Tomkins Newsletter Editor: Mrs. Karen McAdams Church Office: 973-361-9020 Union Hill Church Preschool: 973-361-5983 Worship Service 10:00 am Sunday w/ Sunday School (through High School) and Toddler Care 8