December will soon be here. We celebrated Christ the King Sunday on Nov. 25. The first Sunday of Advent is Dec. 2.

Advent is the beginning of the Christian year. It is the start of everything we as Christians believe in; the baby born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger. Please take some time out of your busy schedule and reflect on how this event impacts your life.

The annual hanging of the greens will take place on Dec. 9, followed by a pass a dish luncheon We will be having a Cornish Hen dinner on Dec. 11. On Dec. 16 we will have the presentation of “Once Upon a Star-lit Night”. There are a few more surprises in store for this month. Please plan on attending church each Sunday during Advent.

This past Sunday we were able to finally give the award certificates to Cindy and Lew Jenkins, Jr. They are the Lay People of the Year for Riverside UMC.

Pastor Gail will be starting Membership Classes again after the first of the year. Anyone interested in joining the church is asked to contact her. We are growing, one disciple at a time.

If you haven’t turned in your Stewardship Card for the 2008 budget year please do so as soon as possible. If you wish to designate a portion of your pledge to a certain area please be sure to indicate that on the card.

Hopefully by the end of December we will have the roof on the education wing of the church. The funding came through and we

have had many fundraisers to support this. We will be having more fundraisers in the future to help repay the loan for the roof.

On Christmas Eve we will have a Candle light service complete with Communion served at the rail This will be a family oriented service. Invite your friends and neighbors to attend.

Peace and Blessings to you.

Pastor Gail