Aldersgate
Advocate
Beside the Alabaster Jar December 5, 2008
Dear
friends,
We have
entered the season of Advent, when too often the busyness of our secular
preparation for Christmas interferes with the sacred preparation to welcome
Christ into our lives. I invite you to
right now pause whatever you are doing, take a deep breathe, and be present to
this moment.
One of my
favorite poets is Ann Weems and I especially enjoyed a dog-eared book of
Advent/Christmas poems Kneeling in Bethlehem.
Ann’s poem “In Search of Our Kneeling Places” reminds us to take that
spiritual journey to Bethlehem along with Mary and Joseph.
In each heart lies a Bethlehem,
an inn where we must ultimately answer
whether there is room or not.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
we experience our own advent in
his.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
we can no longer look the other way
conveniently not seeing stars
not hearing angel voices.
We can no longer excuse ourselves
by busily
tending our sheep or our kingdoms.
This Advent let’s go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us.
In the midst of shopping sprees
let’s ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.
Through the tinsel let’s look for
the gold of the Christmas Star.
In the excitement and confusion, in
the merry chaos,
let’s listen for the brush of angel’s wings.
This Advent, let’s go to Bethlehem
and find our kneeling places.*
Please
plan to join us during Advent for Sunday morning worship at 9:30 and 10:45, for the Children’s Christmas
Pageant on Sunday, Dec. 21st, and Christmas Eve services at 7:00 and 11:00.
The early service will include our children’s choir and a theme
conversation, as well as the traditional candle lighting ritual. We will serve Holy Communion at the 11:00
p.m.
service followed by the candle lighting ritual.
On Sunday,
Dec. 28th we will have one service at 9:30 a.m.
Please note the change in
time.
Pastor Sharon
* Weems, Ann, Kneeling
in Bethlehem, p. 19
Among our People
Please
keep Cyndy, Dirk, Jack, Lillian and the Bourne family in your prayers. We received word that Jan passed away
recently. Al and daughters, Abby and
Angie are in our prayers at this time
To
all our Aldersgate Friends:
Thanks
for all your many cards, phone calls and especially your continual
prayers. The power of these prayers can
be seen in the results of my surgery and recovery. Kathy and I greatly appreciate
them all. John
***
Dear
Aldersgate friends,
We
would like to thank all of those who expressed their sympathy in the loss of my
father. Our many friends from church
have helped us all get through a very difficult time. Your thoughts and prayers
are deeply appreciated.
Love, Kurt, Aimee,
Bradley, Jared, Ryan and Kate
***
To
all our friends at Aldersgate:
Thank
you for the beautiful bouquet and the many cards and remembrances. We are grateful to God for Jan’s life, for
your friendship, and for your kindness and prayers. Alan, Abby, and Angie
***
Special
thanks to Janice for her tasteful decorating talent in our Thanksgiving altar -
beautifully speaking of our many blessings!
Thank you, Janice!
***
To all of
you that helped with the Outreach donation of 30 Turkey boxes to 30 Families in
need we thank you....We could not do all we do without you so thanks to all the youth, congregation and adults that helped
with buying groceries, picking up turkeys, distributing meals, breaking down
boxes and filling boxes WE THANK YOU! We are truly blessed here at Aldersgate
and I know you made 30 families very thankful this Thanksgiving. Deb, Gail, Joe, Jim, Cheryl and Maureen
***
Dan thanks
the team of Victor, Bob, Don and Zeke for helping decorate the Sanctuary for
the Christmas season.
We thank you, Dan, for all your help with the
construction outside and inside our church building, and for your watchful care
of our Church.
***
A special
thank you to Deana for making our church kitchen sparkle in preparation for our
Faire.
Speaking
of the Holiday Faire and Festival, thanks to Bonnie for chairing the Faire, to
Betty and all the ladies who helped make wreathes and center pieces; the aroma
in the Fellowship Hall was delicious! To all the crafters, bakers, our youth
groups, and Pastor Sharon for introducing us to fair trade items from
Nicaragua, and all those who worked and
gave up precious hours of their time to make the Faire successful and a happy
place to spend time and also make purchases – thank you!
We are
reminded again at this season of warmth and caring that some of our people
would love to receive a Christmas Card from you. Here are some names that you might want to
send greetings to:
An Address
for the Recovering American Soldiers:
Recovering
American Soldiers
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
Dirk and
Gigi Van de Kraats
27 Doe Drive
Billerica, MA 01821
Edna Cosma
(Janice’s mom)
Wingate at
Lowell
500 Wentworth Avenue, Room 60B
Lowell, MA 01852
Lillian Maines
Sunny Acres Nursing & Rehab Center
254 Billerica Road
Chelmsford, MA 01852
Charlotte
Lombar
20 Summer
Stret, #303
Chelmsford, MA 01824
Barbara
Curran
270 Littleton Road, Box 46
Chelmsford, MA 01824
Thank you
everyone!
Prayer
Our Aldersgate Prayer Shawl Ministry meets on Monday
Afternoons in the Concord Room from 2:30
– 4 PM.
It is a warm and friendly group of folks who love to knit, quilt or
whatever handwork you enjoy and would be happy if you would come and join
us. If you would like to give a Prayer
Shawl to someone you feel would feel comforted by a shawl, please let us
know. We have made many shawls, and lap
robes. We also helped with the craft
table at our Faire. You are welcome to join us! If you have a project in mind – share it with
us!
Hear Your Change Jingle in the Offering
Plate
With the change that we accrue we
were able to send a gift of $500 to the Billerica House of Correction for their
Prison Ministry in memory of Jim. We
also designated funds through the month of October to Global Aids. In November the change we collected will be
used to help provide paper goods for our Feeding Ministry at Eliot Church.
Thank you for your continuing contributions to this project. Every little bit helps!
Christmas Memorial
Poinsettias
Once again
we will decorate our sanctuary at Christmas with several beautiful
poinsettias. We will purchase several
larger plants that will not be distributed but will remain in the sanctuary
beginning on Christmas Sunday (December 21).
If you
would like to make a memorial donation of $8 each, please fill out this form so
that these memorials can be listed in the Christmas Sunday bulletin.
The
deadline is Sunday, December 14, 2008.
I/we wish
to make the following memorial donation:
Number of
memorials__________________
Please
indicate how you would like the memorial(s) listed: It would be helpful if you
would
print the information. Thank you.
Given by:
Please
return this form with your gift of $8 for each memorial donation to the Church
Office, or put it in the offering plate.
Checks should be made payable to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, marked “Poinsettias.”
Our
Financial Health
The
results of Aldersgate’s Stewardship devotion, “Seeking Something Better,” our
2008 financial status, and the 2009 budget were reviewed at the December 3rd
Church Council meeting. We are happy to
report 9 new pledges for the coming year and an increase to date in total
pledged of about $5,000 more than this past year.
However,
in spite of positive efforts by the church committees to contain costs, we have
over-spent our income in 2008 by about 10%, seriously cutting into the
financial pad we once enjoyed. Further,
in spite of intent to level fund or decrease our 2009 expenses where possible,
we face another deficit in 2009 due to forecasted expenses beyond our control,
such as rising energy costs. A summary
of our financial situation is in the table.
|
Anticipated Income
|
|
Pledges
|
$212,344.00
|
|
Other Anticipated Donations
|
$43780.00
|
|
Other Income (Building Use, Church Fair, etc.)
|
$21710.00
|
|
Total expected
revenue
|
$277834.00
|
|
|
|
Expected Expenses
|
|
Conference Apportionments
|
$39099.00
|
|
Payroll and Management
|
$169412.12
|
|
Property Expenses
|
$46564.00
|
|
Mortgage
|
$15788.16
|
|
All other programs
|
$15100.00
|
|
Total expected expenses
|
$285963.28
|
|
|
|
|
Deficit
|
$(8129.28)
|
We are
committed to funding our current expenses each year and have
decided to not recommend a deficit budget to the Charge Conference.
One important conclusion from the Council meeting was to let you know of our
financial situation, and ask you to consider increasing your 2009 pledge beyond
what you have submitted during the recent stewardship drive, and/or consider an
end-of-year donation beyond your 2008 pledged amount. If every participant could give an average of
$2.00 more per week, we would have a balanced budget for 2009. Pledge forms are available from the church
office, or can be provided to you if you call the church office.
We are
blessed as a congregation! Thank you for
prayerfully considering what you can do to keep Aldersgate operating the way we
want!
Important
Notice
The Annual
Charge/Church Conference will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 7 PM.
All Chairpersons are requested to submit a written report by Monday,
December 8 for inclusion in a booklet.
Thank You!
Please
Note – the “Santa Tree Program”
There
are still ornaments on the Christmas Tree – please take an ornament (or two)
and be sure to have all gifts wrapped, with the ornament on the top of the
package, by Sunday, December 14.
Food Collection for
Thanksgiving Baskets
Thank you to
all the families that donated a multitude of food items for the Thanksgiving
Baskets! Our Outreach Committee
distributes them to families in the community.
All Age Advent Program
On Sunday, November 30th, everyone had
the opportunity to make their own individual crèche, and each one was creative
and artistic! We also all enjoyed
gingerbread and gingerbread cookies.
Thank you to the following for helping: Nancy and
Nicole, Terri and Annalise, Laurie, Bill, and Paul, Lee Williams, Susan and
Brendan, Cate, Jim, Peter and Debbie, Wendy, Jill, Christine, Luann, Dawn and
David, Niles and Walker, and Zeke.
Christmas Pageant – Sunday, December 21st
– 2nd Service
This year’s pageant that the church school will tell
is titled, “Benjamin’s Top”. All
children and youth are invited to be part of this special worship service. Cheryl will go to each classroom to sign up
anyone interested in participating. The
roles in the pageant are: Joseph and Mary, narrators, angels, shepherds and
shepherds with speaking parts and assorted animals.
Worship Arts Program
Tuesdays,
4 – 5:30 p.m. Ages 3 years old – 6th grade
The children will be creating special bulletin
covers for Christmas Sunday. They are
also learning some special songs that will be sung during worship and on
Christmas Eve. All children are welcome
to join us, please see Cheryl or Carol if you have any questions or concerns.
Children & Youth Music
Programs
Angels: Sundays, after theme conversation – for children ages
3 – 1st grade; Tuesdays, 4:55 –
5:30 p.m.
Choiristers: Tuesdays, 4:10 – 4:55 p.m. – for
children in 2nd – 6th grade
Miller Bells: Thursdays, 6:00 – 6:45 p.m. – for children and
youth in grade 5 and higher
Youth Music Ensemble: Thursdays,
6:45 – 7:30 p.m. – for
youth in grade 6 and higher
BABY SITTING FOR THE AFTERNOON AT ALDERSGATE!
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14TH FROM 1:00 – 6:00 P.M.
The Senior Youth will offer babysitting services at church so you can
go Christmas shopping or do any other activity before Christmas. We will have crafts, games, watch a movie and
have healthy snacks for the children to enjoy.
Please sign up on the sheet located in the hall downstairs.
NO CHURCH SCHOOL ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28TH – MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Epiphany Sunday, January 4th
The wise men will arrive on this Sunday and visit the
church school classes and be part of our worship service. Each class will have
an opportunity to talk to the kings and enjoy cupcakes. Maybe you will find the coin and be a “king”
for the day!
JUNIOR YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
Cheryl Ortolf and David Driscoll are very excited
about all the fun and spiritual things we will be doing this year! This exciting fellowship time is for youth in
grades 4- 6.
Friday,
December 12th – Skunk or Turtle
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Are you a skunk or a turtle in the way you deal with
anger? We will play games, explore our
feelings with art, and create a special snack related to anger.
Tuesday, December 30th
– New Year’s Eve – Eve Party hosted by Senior Youth
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
The senior youth will be providing fun games to
play, food and fun as we celebrate the beginning of a New Year! Bring a baby photo of yourself, and a snack
to share.
Friday, January 9th
– Movie Night
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
We will watch a movie and enjoy popcorn and
candy! We will post what movie we watch
at the beginning of January.
SENIOR YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
We are a fun group of spiritually focused youth who
celebrate Christ’s presence among us by engaging in community and group
activities, church participation and mission projects.
All youth in grades 7 – 12 are welcome to join us at
any time; you do not have to be a member of the SENIOR youth group. We ALWAYS welcome friends, and remember that
you are an important part of this group!
Babysitting
Services – Sunday, December 14th
This
will be a fundraiser. We will offer
babysitting services at church for parents to go Christmas shopping. You can sign up for a block of time to help,
you do not need to be there for the full time.
We will offer games, crafts, snacks and watch a children’s movie.
Lowell Wish Volunteer Time – Saturday, December 20th
8:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
We will meet at church – I
will have munchkins, and then drive to the Lowell Wish Project to volunteer for
2 hours. Friends are always welcome to
join us as we help the community.
New Year’s Eve Eve Lock-In – Tuesday, December 30th –
Wednesday, December 31st
7:00 p.m. – noon on Wednesday
The Junior Youth will join us for games and
activities from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. – bring a
baby photo of yourself and a snack to share.
Then we will party all night!
Bring games, movies, movies, etc. as we celebrate the start of the New
Year! Bring $5.00 for Chinese Food. Bring a sleeping bag, friends, etc.
POTLUCK DINNER AND CAROLING PARTY FOR
SENIOR & JUNIOR YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES
Sunday, December 21st
4:00 – 6:30 p.m. at church
All Junior Youth and family members are invited to a
combined youth group event with the Senior Youth and their families! Bring your favorite dish to share, we will
provide drinks. We will go caroling first
in nearby neighborhoods – bring a flashlight – we will provide Caroling books. Then we will return to church to eat. Friends are always welcome and remember to
dress warmly! A team of helpers will
keep the food warm in the kitchen until we return – if you would like to help
do this, please speak to Cheryl.