Focus our thoughts on God First United Methodist Church Rev. Rhonda Kouterick, Editor Message from Pastor Rhonda December, 2015 1 P a g e Just as the night sky so long ago was shattered by a thousand lights singing Glory to God in the highest heaven And on earth peace among those whom he favors! So may our darkness be shattered by hope, peace, joy God s love come to earth Immanuel. Wishing you all the joys of Christmas! Pastor Rhonda & Lon Volunteer Appreciation Gathering Wednesday, December 9 th. You know who you are you give of your heart, your time. God knows who you are too. We love our volunteers at First United Methodist Church and we want to celebrate you on Wednesday, December 9 th at noon for an informal gathering in the Narthex. Stop in join us for fellowship and FOOD. Please come - members of committees and teams; those who orchestrate and help with Winter Fantasy, Dinners, Missions, Outreach; those who make soup and bake pies; those who keep up our beautiful, informative bulletin boards; those of you who work behind the scenes, picking up the sanctuary every Monday, and watering our plants; those who graciously change our outdoor sign for various events; those who work in the library; those who prepare cards for our folks at home or in the hospital; those of you who count offerings and go to the bank; those who keep our bills paid; our trustees who keep things working and give so much of their time; those who teach Sunday School, lead, sing in the choir, work in the Nursery, fill the quiet bags and advertise our fund raisers. Those who help with worship, preparing the altar, giving the Children s message, leading the call to worship, ushers, greeters; Those who mow our lawn and plant & weed flowers; those who take care of our Memorial Prayer Center. I m sure I missed mentioning some volunteers because we are so blessed to have so many of you You are the Church and you are awesome. Our Staff as well you go above and beyond, keeping our building clean and in good repair, packing and delivering Thanksgiving baskets, and visiting our friends in need. Join us! The world is hugged by the arms of faithful volunteers Volunteers are love in motion! ***************************************************************************************** The Ecumenical Council of Pastors of Horseheads and Big Flats invite you to a Longest Night Service on Sunday, December 20th at 4:00pm at Horseheads First Presbyterian Church, 2943 Westinghouse Road. Many of us recognize that the holidays, while wonderful can also harbor painful or sad memories of past losses. The Longest Night (or Blue Christmas) Service is one that allows us to recognize both of these realities for us. Please join us for this service, and stay for refreshments afterward. For more information, please call First Presbyterian at 739-3854.
United Methodist Woman 2 P a g e There will be no December meetings for Deborah Hannah Circle and Electa Circle but please save this date: Thursday, December 10th at 6:00 PM. The United Methodist Women's Christmas dinner is scheduled at the church. You are asked to please bring a dish to pass along with your own place setting. The entertainment will be the talented "Treble Makers." This is open to all women. Plan on an evening of delicious food, holiday music and fellowship. Dec. 2nd is United Methodist Giving Tuesday. Gifts given online to UMCOR Advance projects that day will be matched. Reminder: Fair Trade items and Canaan Olive Oil will be available for purchase at the Winter Fantasy Dec. 5th and at the Peanut Brittle Booth on Dec. 6th, 13th and 20th. The fair trade proceeds will help reduce the Border Buddies mission house mortgage and the olive oil will help support the mission work of Robin and Nathan Smith. We may have the opportunity to wish both the Millers and the Smiths Merry Christmas as they will be visiting their families in the area. With Christmas coming, please take a few minutes on December 13th to sign the Christmas cards for the missionaries that our church and UMW help to support. Thanks to Connie Gillette, we will have lovely hand-made cards ready to sign on a card table in the narthex. United Methodist Student Sunday will be celebrated at our church on Dec. 27th. We hope to see our college age members that are home for the Christmas break. The UM Special Sunday offering taken that day will help provide scholarships and loans for United Methodist students who qualify. United Methodist Men December 12 th Breakfast and Carols 8:30 a.m. Everyone is invited. Would you like to purchase a brick in memory or in honor of someone? Red Clay Bricks are $65. The brick will be engraved with up to three lines with up to thirteen letters (including spaces) per line. Gray Granite Bricks are $95. The Granite bricks will line the sidewalk to the Garden. Please write your check to FUMC and put Memorial Prayer Center in the comment line and turn this form into the Church Office. Please engrave my brick as follows: Your name: Address: Phone: Outreach (reaching out to our community) December 20 th Gifts and baskets to be distributed Our Friends at Home Parish Visitor Cindy Ellis (739-5185) This is a difficult time of year for some folks. Let us keep our church family in prayer. Jack Coombs is coming along. Mary Campbell is feeling better. We keep Gayle Swank, Elaine Saunders and families in prayer. Karren Harter keeps busy thank you to Karren for her dedication to the Winter Fantasy. We keep Lon Kouterick and the entire Kouterick family in prayer as Lon goes through treatment. Linda Williams and family in prayer. Steve McIntosh is waiting for a surgery date. Thank you to Mary Daniels for creating Thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards for our At Home members. May we all feel God s nearness during this Advent and Christmas time. THANKSGIVING BASKETS: Thank you for your generosity this year. We were able to help 15 families with a Thanksgiving meal. God loves a cheerful giver!
Media Musings Just when her admirers thought she was finished writing about people from Mitford, author Jan Karon has written another story in her series. Come Rain or Come Shine focuses mostly on Dooley and Lace but includes many of the other characters from her previous books. Delightful as always!!**another favorite and prolific author is Max Lucado. We just discovered his book Grace: More Than We Deserve-Greater Than We Imagine. Lucado says that God has enough grace for everyone all the time and most of us aren t aware of it Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.***someone brought us Happiness According to Jesus: What It Means to Be Blessed by Bobby Schuller, the grandson of Robert Schuller. Tony Campolo says it is a positive message in this downbeat world. Schuler believes that when we find happiness in Jesus, we are better able to do things for others and make our world better. Hope Mayhew Missions Team The Africa 360 Steering Team commissioned the creation of a bobble head of Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb, more affectionately known as "BobbleWebb," that serves as a fundraiser for Africa 360. If you would like a BobbleWebb of your own, you can receive one for a donation of $100 or more to Africa 360. Just a reminder that you can still contribute to Africa 360. Your gift, no matter the size, will 3 P a g e go to the Imagine No Malaria campaign to buy bed nets, and also for scholarships to Africa University. Make your checks to FUMC and mark Africa 360 in the memo. Stewardship If you were not able to turn in your 2016 pledge card on Sunday, November 22, the pledge card box will be available in the Narthex. Please return your pledge card as soon as you can. This act of your faith will enable us to be more effective in our planning for 2016. Thanks to all for your generous support of our ministries. The following poem by Lesely Barfoot is appropriately called Parallel and illustrates that our church has the same needs as our children. PARALLEL Invite a child to grow and give him loving care the food he needs, the warmth she seeks and pretty clothes to wear. Invite a child to thrive by reaching out your hand. Try hearing all his longings and show you understand. Teach her to smile in friendship and share her gifts with others. Be sure he knows all people are his sisters and his brothers. Don t expect perfection, that s not the way life is. Enjoy the unique qualities that make her who she is. Invite your church to grow and give it loving care the goods it needs the warmth it feeds to everyone who s there. Invite your church to thrive by reaching out your hand In warm and friendly greeting new folks will understand. Be sure to smile in friendship and share our gifts with others. and realize all people are your sisters and your brothers. Don t require perfection, that s not the way life is. Enjoy the unique qualities That make it what it is.
Worship Team Worship Music Frédéric Chopin s Fantaisie-Impromptu was presented by Barbara Cunningham on November 8 th - given to the glory of God that was definitely a worshiping moment for the congregation as it touched the inner core of each listener s spirit. Barbara stated: The melody of Fantaisie-Impropmptu s middle section was used in the popular song I m Always Chasing Rainbows plus background music of cartoon, films, and radio drama. We definitely were blessed by Barbara as she shared her musical gift by playing the harmonic and tonal elements of this piece without sheet music in gratitude we give enthusiastic applause!! As in the past, the Worship Committee will be accepting donations for Christmas Poinsettias to be displayed in the sanctuary on December 20 th. Your Christmas Poinsettia will be available for you to take home after the 9:30 pm Christmas Eve service or on Sunday, December 27 th. The cost is $15.00 and your memorial/honor remembrances will be listed in the bulletin on December 24 th Deadline for donations is December 16 th. I/We wish to contribute $15.00 towards poinsettias in honor/memory (circle one) of: GIVEN BY: Help us decorate our Christmas Tree on December 13 th by bringing in white or gold ornaments to hang on the tree in the Sanctuary during the first hymn. Living Memorial Fund Memorial/honor remembrances will be listed in the bulletin on D3ecember 24 th I/We wish to give to the Living Memorial Fund in: honor/memory(circle one) of Given by: Phone: Amount enclosed: Turn in to the office Special bulletins are needed for Advent, Christmas Eve, and Epiphany. If you would like to donate $30 to honor or remember a loved one please contact Shirley in the office 739-1943 Staff Christmas Giving- Our church as a devoted staff. They give of their time & talents to ensure jobs well done. Our staff consists of Pastor, Rhonda Kouterick; Christian Ed Directory, Louise McIntosh; Church Administrator, Shirley Weston; Music Director, David Peckham; Parish Visitor Cindy Ellis; Superintendent of Buildings, Jamie Olcott; and Lullaby (Nursery), Joan Ostrander. It has been a tradition at this time of year to give these people a monetary gift to say thank you. If you would like to make a donation for the staff Christmas Giving, please mark your donation as Staff Christmas Giving and put it in the collection plate or turn it in to the office. Your generosity is appreciated. Thank you Staff Parish Dear Horseheads UM Church friends: I cannot ever thank you enough for all your prayers and caring support! Truly is a difficult time, as is not a 2 nd daughter /sister has gone to join her heavenly family! God has a plan, and Trust & Faith are my answer to everything! Love & God Bless Mary Brown (Terri Brown-Wensel) Thanks everyone for all the cards and notes you sent to Steve on his 80 th birthday. He (and I) enjoyed each one. It meant a lot to both of us. Love to each one of you, Reverends Steve and Nancy Parr. We want to thank the workers who keep the church campus looking well-groomed. Lance Muir is constantly fixing something and keeping things up-to-date. Mowers are Jack Coombs, Joe Colvin, Jay Baker, Carl Drake, Brent Arnold, Marshall Updike, Tim Walker, Al Dedrick, Gordon Gillette, Charlie Hackett, Dalt Flatt, and Larry Cobb. Doug Mayhew mowed the back 40 and the perimeters. He and Marshall Updike purchased and put fertilizer and weed killer on the law. Myrna Flatt and Hope Mayhew purchased and cared for the flowers around this sign. Larry Cobb is always working on the landscaping in the prayer garden. We are blessed to have these and so many more volunteers at First Church. 4 P a g e
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 6 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Service Communion 5 p.m. 13 Combined Service at 10:30 a.m. Pot Luck luncheon 7 14 1 Bone 8 Bone 7:00 p.m. Trustees 15 Bone 5:30 p.m. Birthday Party for Jesus Living Nativity Begins 2 8:30 a.m. Winter Fantasy Prep 3:45 p.m. Missions Team Staff Parish 9 Noon: Volunteer Appreciation gathering 6:15 p.m. Faith 16 Last Day to order poinsettias 3 Bone 11 a.m. Praying Knit Wits 4:00 p.m. Winter Fantasy set up 7:00 p.m. Outreach 10 Bone 11 a.m. Praying Knit Wits Noon - Ecumenical Council 6 p.m. UMW Christmas Dinner 6:15 p.m. Faith Under Construction 17 Bone 11 a.m. Praying Knit Wits Christian Ed. Stewardship 4 1 p.m. Dress Rehearsal for Advent Service 11 12.UMM Breakfast & Carols 5 18 19 20 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Service Communion 4 p.m. Blue Christmas - First Presb 21 22 Bone Church Council 23 24 & 9:30 p.m. services Church office Closed 25 26 Closed 27 Combined Service at 10:30 a.m. no Sunday School 28 29 Bone Church Council 30 31 5 P a g e
United Methodist Church 1034 West Broad Street Horseheads, NY 14845 607.739-1943 HhdsFirstUMC@stny.rr.com NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PERMIT #66 We re on the Web! www.hhdsumc.org December 5 th Winter Fantasy from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. December 6 th Lessons and Carols at 5 p.m. December 9 th FUMC Volunteer Appreciation gathering at noon December 10 th - UMW Christmas Dinner at 6 p.m. December 12 UMM Breakfast and Carols at 8:30 a.m. December 13 th 10:30 a.m. Children s Pageant (10:30 a.m. service only) Pot Luck Bring White and Gold ornament to hang on tree during the first hymn December 15 th Birthday Party for Jesus Living Nativity begins December 20 th Longest Night (Blue Christmas) Service 4 p.m. First Presbyterian Church on Westinghouse Road in Horseheads December 24 th with choir; 9:30 p.m. service with communion Nursery available during the service December 27 th Student Sunday Combined service at 10:30 a.m. no Sunday School 6 P a g e