FELLOWSHIP UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
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Fellowship Flame
(Newsletter)
Sunday's
Sermon
DECEMBER 2009
THE
FELLOWSHIP FLAME
A WORD FROM THE PASTOR (Johnny Liles)
ADVENT. The dictionary meaning is “1. The coming or arrival,
especially of something momentous”. As
in the advent of the computer. “2.
a. The birth of Christ. b. The
four Sundays before Christmas.”
I think of these four Sundays
as a time of getting ready for the celebration of the coming of Christ –
Christmas. I don’t know for
sure, but I have an idea when these four Sundays were first called Advent,
that is what was intended. I
don’t know when that happened and it doesn’t matter.
What matters is how we prepare in our hearts for that celebration.
All of us will do a lot of thinking about Christmas.
It may be that most of our thoughts will be about the gifts, the
dinners, the parties, friends and family.
It is my desire there will be some serious and significant thought
about what God has done for all people with the birth of Jesus the Christ.
Maybe this will help you to
think about the meaning of Christmas. You
are invited to write down your favorite Christmas Carol that is in the Hymnal
or The Faith We Sing. On
Christmas Eve at 4:00 PM we will use many of your selections for the time of
worship. The scripture related to
the Carol, or the scripture on which it is based, will be read as an
introduction to each selection. The
“sermon” will be with the children.
There are three other
activities to be emphasized with you. The
first one is the service of “Carols and Choirs” on Sunday, December 6,
7:00 PM at Big Beaver United Methodist Church.
There are at least eight choirs from eight different churches
participating. Each choir will
sing a Christmas Anthem. All of
the choirs will join in singing the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
That alone will be worth your effort to attend.
Between the anthems the congregation will sing a carol.
We are promised a visit by Saint Nicholas.
That is Saint Nicholas not Santa Claus.
The next emphasis is the
Children’s Christmas program as the closing of worship on December 13. It has been several years since we have had children to
present a program. I hope you
will attend.
The last date of emphasis is
the Liles Open House. Wednesday,
December 30 beginning at 3:00 PM, Lynda and I will be welcoming you to our
home for food, fun and fellowship (we furnish the food and you furnish the fun
and fellowship). If you stay past
our bedtime, we may go on to bed so you can go home when you get ready (last
one out, put the dog out and turn out the lights).
Our address is 434 Taylor Avenue, Rochester. Most of you will be coming from south of Rochester.
The simplest directions are: go north on Rochester Road; in Downtown
Rochester, turn left (west) on Fourth Street and go until it ends at Taylor;
turn right and our house is at the next corner on your right (a brick ranch
with a brick paver driveway.) We will be delighted to have any of your family and friends
you will bring with you.
Lynda joins me in wishing you
the most wonderful Christmas of your life.
The peace of Christ be with
you.
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN (Liz Travis)
There
is the usual reminder about Campbell labels and Education points (used by
Redbird Mission). And don’t forget the UMCOR coffee – makes a great gift
for a host/hostess during the holidays. But the most important thing to put on
your calendar is the Annual Christmas Lunch on Tuesday, December 8 at 11 AM.
Always a good time; a Christmas program is planned. RSVP to Liz Travis or
Norma Wesch. (Lasagna and rolls – yumm!)
WORSHIP (Jeff
Walker and James Sawyer)
By
now, you’ve ordered your poinsettias and have the Christmas Concert December
6 marked on your calendars. Christmas Eve service will be at 4 PM on December
24; the “unhanging of the greens” will be January 3, 2010 following
Worship. We’ll probably feed you as well.
A WORD FROM
THE TREASURER (Pamela Kyle)
We had a very busy Fall Season at Fellowship! There was much activity
around maintaining the Church through painting of the exterior, stain
and paint in the Sanctuary, replacement of the broken sign covers on the road
sign, and stripping and waxing of the tile floors. The Church is shining
like a new penny – and all of the bills have come due (just like at home!).
In order to complete this work, we took $5000 from our savings and when we
were all done, we had spent all of that and were down to about $300 in the
checking account! These much needed maintenance / repairs depleted our
"cushion". These repairs, as voted on by the Trustees, were not
an extravagance. It is critically important to protect the exterior of
the building and the sign from weather damage and the floors are protected
through proper maintenance, not to mention that all of these actions give us a
great "first impression". As we look ahead to
Christmas and the New Year, consider 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and reflect on
God's love of a cheerful giver. As always, a copy of the
Treasurer's Report is available to anyone upon request.
A PRAYER FOR THOSE
SERVING OUR COUNTRY (Jill Biden in USA Weekend, November 8)
“Dear
God: I pray to give all of our soldiers the courage and strength to do the
duty that is required of them. May they always remember our appreciation for
the sacrifice they are making for us. We are thankful for the men and women
who are willing to risk their lives to protect our freedom. I ask you to go
with each one of them and protect them wherever they go. Amen.”
May
we always remember how precious their gifts are and be aware of how much we
support them.
PASSION
PLAY IN OBERAMMERGAU, GERMANY
(Joyce and Karl Henn)
Like
to travel? Beginning July 27, 2010, the United Methodist Michigan Conference
in offering a 9-day trip to the world-famous 400-year-old Passion Play in
Oberammergau, Germany, and to other Alpine Wonders.
WORDS OF WISDOM FOR DECEMBER
We could learn a lot from crayons:
some are sharp, some are pretty,
some are dull, some have weird names,
and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND
A HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ONE AND ALL
This
page was updated on December 5, 2009