We are a Stephen Minister Church

We are a Stephen Minister Church with it with Christ at our side. What better guide do we have than God s Son. Serving this month: Usher: Dave Mott Liturgist: Gary Erickson Next Newsletter Deadline January 24, 2016 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) Here we are already starting a new year. If you are like me, you may have spent a little bit of time looking back over the year that has passed and remembered both the good and the bad. I know every one of you have memories that you will keep with you and some that you would rather forget. That is the way life is. What does the New Year bring? That is an interesting question. If we knew the answer, we may live life a little differently. However, we do not know and we can only deal with what is presented to us as we go through the days ahead. Remember in the Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge gets a look into his past, present and a possible future. These visions caused him to change his life forever. He became a new man who was no longer inward focused, but was looking out to where he could help others. What I do know is that we have hope because of the promise given in the above scripture verse. Because God loved us enough to send his one and only Son to save us, we have hope that no matter what comes our way we can deal There are always transitions and changes in life. Friends come and go, there are deaths and births, wellness and illness. How we deal with them is most important to how we will view the event in the future. In our house, we have a small saying that I would like to share with you this day. Every situation we run into can be looked at like this: 10% is the situation 90% is how we deal with it. So, where are you going to spend your 90%? Are you going to look at it as a positive growing experience or are you going to let it bring you down and drive you into places that are not good places to be? The choice is yours. What I can say is that Christ is with you no matter which choice you make. If you go down into the pit, then all we can do is look up and God s hand is reaching out to pull us back up. What I would like you to think about in the days, weeks and months ahead is when something happens ask yourself: Where is God in this moment? What I know you will find is a better understanding where God is at work in your life. This works a lot better than a New Year s resolution because God will not leave when we forget about looking for God. A resolution will. May God s blessing on your life be great in the year 2016. Pastor Gary

Outreach continues to be really busy. Thank You for your help and generosity to the Operation Christmas project. Because of your generosity and caring 200 area families had a Merry Christmas. Thank you again. 2015 Fourth Quarter Loose Change went to the Hayward Food Shelf. We do not have final numbers as of the printing of the newsletter. Watch the emails and Sunday morning announcement screen for the update. 2016 First Quarter Loose Change will contribute to Zimbabwe Scholarships In Zimbabwe, education costs $135.00 for a child to receive 1 year of education. Gary and Cathie Erickson have more information on the children that will benefit from our help and would be more than willing to share it with you. Outreach is now collecting Hats, Mittens and Scarves for the children of St. Francis Mission School on the LCO Reservation. Leave them on the table in the fellowship hall. The last day to contribute is Jan 18th. KIVA Update Our initial investment was $565 which allowed us to do the following! 211 Loans given $5,875 total amount loaned Loans given out to 56 different Countries. Summary of Operating Revenue & Expenses As of November 30, 2015 Actual Budget Variance Income $ 115,753 $ 123,801 $(8,048) Expenses (113,780) (125,690) 11,910 Unpaid Apportionments (4,101) * 0 (4,101) Net $ (2,128) $ (1,889) $ (239) *Awaiting appoval of apportionment reduction request

Stewardship Results We have a generous and committed congregation! It s a pleasure to report that we have received a total of 41 family/individual pledges for 2016 totaling $90,160 which is $18,490 more than the amount pledged in 2015. 27 families increased their pledges for next year and 11 families that did not offer a pledge last year offered one this year. This is wonderful news. The pledged amount will factor heavily into setting the budget for 2016, along with an increase in fundraisers, and an anticipated reduction in apportionments and pastoral expenses. Since the operating budget won t be finalized until mid-january, there is still time to aid the financial planning by making a pledge, if you haven t already done so. Pledge cards are available at church, or simply send an email or a note stating your intention. Thank you to all the members and friends who have committed to the church s ministry with your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. Ruth Pechacek Treasurer Helping Hands If you are in need of help with winter projects, please contact Pastor Gary. Email pastor@haywardumc.org or call 715 634-3883 with your requests for help. Who can request a Stephen Minister? Stephen Ministers are intended for anyone facing a situation in life during which having a caring, Christian companion to share it with would be helpful. It may be as life changing as grieving a death, or as simple as the accumulation of many of life s stumbling blocks that suddenly become overwhelming. If you need support and Christian love, a Stephen Minister can be helpful. Please contact Shirley Bartholomew or Pastor Gary with any questions.

Children s Sunday School For the month of December the students learned about the Advent Season. They followed the same pattern as in the worship service. They had lessons and Bible study for Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. There was also an Advent wreath for their bulletin board. They took time for a fun project by making Advent ornaments for their Christmas trees at home. Now for eight weeks into the new year they will be starting a whole new series all about the Beatitudes. They will learn what Beatitude means and where to find them in the Bible. These will become clearer as they study each one. Carol Loveland Gordon Brown, Jr. sent the following note regarding his Father, Gordon, Sr. My Dad is now residing in a Skilled Unit at Arbor Acres Retirement Center in Winston-Salem, NC. His new phone number is 336.464.9956 and you are welcome to call him if you would like. His mailing address is my home address, which I ve listed below. And all of his family was with him over Christmas. Happy New Year! Gordon Brown, Jr. 3131 Springs Farm LN Charlotte, NC 28226 The Christmas tree was donated to the church from John Sigafus & Allen Heinkel Complements of Keystone Masonic Lodge of Hayward. Dear HUMC Family, A note of appreciation and thanks for the Chamber of Commerce gift certificate. I am grateful for your thoughtfulness and especially for being a part of our faith family. It is a privilege and joy to serve with you. Love and Blessings, Jan Erickson Thanks everyone for the Chamber Dollars. It is a joy to be your Choir Director. Happy New Year, Shirley Anderson Thank you to the generosity of this church for the Chamber Gift Certificates. You are truly a family. Blessings, Carol Heinrich Robin Frame With a grateful heart Thank you to all who sent cards of condolence and remembered Tom and I in prayer during the recent passing of my father. I was blessed to be raised by parents who had great faith and witnessed it in their daily living. My father's dementia prevented him from remembering who I was, but it could not prevent him from singing hymns of faith. Praise God! Sandy Blumenberg

2016 HUMC Garage Sale Please begin to consider items for our Spring/Summer Garage Sale. Acceptable items exclude electronics. Other items in good useable condition are welcome. Set aside these items until next spring. Please see either Bruce Konkler or Bethe Wiberg for further information. Men s Group meets the first Saturday of every month. Breakfast and conversation at 8:00 am. Feb. 26 Mar. 25 Book Club Book Club meets on January 29 at 11:15am at Flat Creek The book A Dirty Life: a memoir of farming, food and love by Kristin Kimball will be discussed. Everyone is welcome! Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling Left Neglected by Lisa Genova The Hayward Library has 10-12 copies available each month. Just ask for the Methodist Book Club book. Attention all women of the church! Women in Conversation invite you to join us on the second Monday of each month at 10 AM in the Fellowship Hall for a time of socializing, devotions, refreshments, and much laughter. Some of us even bring needlework to do! Our main purpose is getting to know one another better, but we also work on projects which raise funds for the church budget or particular needs. One example of this is the large commercial refrigerator which was bought with money from our pasty sales. Please consider being with us soon. For more information, call Connie Hatch, 715-638-2200 or Carole Dannehl, 715-462-3364.

Witness and Growth Committee Witness and Growth will meet on January 11, 2016 at 11:30 AM. See you at the church.. Nurture and Care Committee Nurture and Care will meet on January 11, 2016 at 11:30 AM. See you at the church.. It may come on some quiet day in November with a hush so deep and so profound it seems to press on everything. All living creatures feel it. They watch the skies and wait. Suddenly the air is white with drifting flakes and tension drains as the ground is speckled with white. The first crystals rustle as they settle onto leaves and into crevices, and then almost magically the earth is white and winter has come. Sigurd Olson When You Buy, Stores Will Donate What if there was a way that the church could earn money every time you purchased something online? Well, there is! You can shop online at hundreds of your favorite stores, including Amazon, and the store will donate a percentage of the purchased cost to HUMC s ministry. It s easy and free to sign up. Go to UMCmarket.org to set up an account and select Hayward United Methodist Church as the recipient. You can then order by logging into this site whenever you want to order from the stores. Or even easier, select the option to put UMCmarket into your browser. Then you don t have to go through UMCmarket.org to order. Instead, when you log into Amazon, or JCPenney, or any of the other direct store sites, a little box will pop up telling you what percentage they will donate to the church. You just click yes to accept and move on with your order. The store makes the donation not you. This program is a wonderful way to help the church achieve its income goals and support its ministries without any cost to the congregation. As we move into the holiday season, more of us are ordering gifts online, so this is a great time to begin cashing in on this opportunity. So, to all you online shoppers, please join me in using this convenient way to raise money. If you have any problems signing up, please call Ruth and she will help you get enrolled. Ruth Pechacek, Treasurer 715-634-2510

TALES FROM THE BLACK FOREST Rainbows and Christmas Last night, near the middle of December, we drove through town, with all its Christmas lights glowing. We were driving to the Presbyterian Church, to join a throng of other attendees at a concert here in Bloomington. Singing, were a group of about 15 singers called the Whiffenpoofs. They were a choir of male seniors from Yale University. The group had its beginning in 1909, and as they indicated, they are not the originals. But, like other college ensembles, they tour the country, and also the world. The Wiffenpoofs, dressed in black tuxedos, white shirts and ties, sang acapella, did a marvelous venue of harmony, and included several solos by various members, to the backing of sounds supplied by the other Wiffers. I heard one complaint, however, that there weren t any Christmas tunes, considering the time of the year and the church setting. I suspect that the group was of mixed races and ethnic performers and perhaps they were uncomfortable singing one religion, or any religion, over the others. But, as I was mesmerized by the slowly, clearly vocalized words, there was one song that was, if not in word, a Christmas tune. The song was the Rainbow Connection, by The Muppets. I know that the song has been adopted by the Gay Rights Movement, and before that, the thought by Jesse Jackson as a motto in his campaign for President. But, it is in essence a Christmas Carol. Listen to the words: Why are there so many songs about rainbows? What s on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions. And rainbows have nothing to hide. Once, when we were canoeing in Canada, in the Boundry Waters, we saw a rainbow touching down across the lake, with a glistening golden hue, and someone suggested we paddle over there and see if there were a pot of gold, but we knew that was an illusion, not a possibility. Further in the song: Who says that ev ry wish/ Would be heard and answered/ When we wish on a morning star/ Someone thought of that/ And someone believed it/ Look what it s done so far/ What s so amazing/ That s keeps us star-gazing? There have been moments of world peace, and peace within families, and peace within a person like me! And what do you think we might see/ Someday we ll find it/ the rainbow connection/ The lovers, the dreamers and me. The rainbow connection is Jesus, and he believed it, and he lived it. You can, too. Luke says it, Luke 1:68-79, That we might serve him (God) without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days, for you will go before the lord to prepare his ways to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. We can do it, the lovers, the dreamers and me. The Wiffenpoofs sang it. Who knows what God has to reveal in the most unlikely of places? Pastor Black (retired)

Hayward United Methodist Church P.O. Box 587 Hayward, WI 54843 www.haywardumc.org Mailing Address Goes Here ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Mark Your Calendars January 2 8:00 AM Men s Breakfast @ the Coop Restaurant January 4 10:00 AM Worship Committee January 7 10:00 AM Outreach Committee January 11 10:00 AM Women s Group January 11 11:30 AM Witness & Growth January 11 11:30 AM Nurture & Care January 12 12:00 PM Trustee s January 18 10:00 AM Ad Council January 19 3:00 PM Nursing Home Ministry January 24 Newsletter Deadline January 29 11:15 AM Book Club