As we begin the year 2008 I wish to invite the people of Saugerties United Methodist Church to have as their 2008 church resolution a goal of increasing our worship attendance and church membership, but above all else...reach people for Christ.

Church studies have shown that people come to church at least at first, because someone invited them to attend the services of worship, sat with them and acted as their shepherd until they were assimilated into the life of the congregation. This means that the best means of reaching people, for the cause of Christ, is already sitting in the church pews.

How can we accomplish this goal? If each one of us brought just one person, 2008 would really be the “year of the Lord.” Now I realize that for some of us it is not easy to invite others but when we look at it as being in Christ’s ministry, then we will be empowered by His Spirit. You have special relationships with people that no other person will ever have. If you can gently lead, nurture and support another person, what a wonderful honor it is to be a part of this vital work.

Fanny Crosby wrote the words to a beloved hymn, “Rescue the Perishing,” after she had visited a service in a NYC mission where she had been impressed by the great physical and spiritual needs of the men who were present.

We have a message that people need to hear and you and I are the servants of the King who can bring others to the Throne. Will you join us in this goal?

Simon Peter was given the nickname of “Stone” long before his character merited the title. Insecure he was always letting his emotions get the best of him. Like many of us, he was a strange bundle of contradictions, sometime loveable and affectionate, at other times hard and cruel; sometimes courageous and loyal, at other times cowardly and traitorus. He had very definitely become a Christian by establishing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He would have been the first to tell you that he obeyed the first commandment, that he most certainly did love God with all his heart, soul, mind and spirit. That second commandment that Christ mentioned... the one about loving neighbor as self– well, frankly, he had not thought about it much. That is not until God stepped into his daily routine and forced him to think about it. It happened in Joppa and today we will look at what took place.

In interpreting the text, which is our sermon title today, there are two ways of doing this:

concern for the other person’s welfare as I do for my own. I shall seek that person’s happiness with the same earnestness as my own.

neighbor AS yourself” not as much as yourself, but as though that person were yourself.

In Protestant Christianity there are no sacred places, no sacred people, no sacred things, or jobs– sacred in themselves, that is. Rather, everybody and everything and every job is first of all earthly– part of the world, secular, profane in that sense. Sacredness, therefore, is not a stable, built in essence of anything or anybody or any job, but instead sacredness comes to characterize any profane thing or person or job that serves our Holy God.

Christianity consists in the commonplace, that has been a hallmark of genuine Christianity– its recognition of the holiness of the everyday. After all it is the practical, ordinary things that we do, or don’t do, that worry us. And so it is there that God meets us most often, not in the high summits but on the flat plateau of the commonplace everyday life.

Did You Know?

That the church office has a second phone number? While it is used for internet service, many times it is available. If you receive a busy signal at 246-7802, you are invited to call 246-5123 which goes directly into the pastor’s office. Please note that the answering machine is not connected to this number.

Our Jr. Confirmation Class will begin on February 3, 2008 at noon in room 17. We ask that people interested in this class register by January 6, 2008. The classes will be held each Sunday at noon until May 4 with Confirmation Sunday being May 11.

Your schedule may be busier than ever, but with the new UMC.org, you can access spiritual support from the people of The United Methodist Church 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. Through UMC.org you can privately and conveniently submit a prayer request to the Upper Room Living Prayer Center and their Covenant Prayer Groups.

To visit the Prayer Request feature, just click the “Pray” button on www.UMC.org. You can also submit a prayer request over the phone to the Upper Room Living Prayer Center by calling 1-800-251-2468.

Souper Bowl of Caring

“Lord, as we enjoy this Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without even a bowl of soup to eat.”

This simple prayer at a worship service years ago planted a seed in the ears of those who believed they could make a difference and has led young people throughout this country to use this Super Bowl Sunday as a special time to help those in need in their communities.

Super Bowl Sunday is coming (February 3^rd) and we will be joining with thousands of people in our country to seek donations of food for people in need. We are also mindful of the fact that after the holidays, the food pantries are usually in greater need than ever.

Last year, the Saugerties United Methodist Church collected food and donations totaling $437.00, all going to our local Food Pantry. Let’s make 2008 at our church even more successful than last year!!

Our Sunday School will have several “soup pots” available in the Narthex before and following the Church Service every Sunday during January, for your food donations and on Sunday, February 3^rd for your donations of food and/or money. You may also send your donations payable to Saugerties United Methodist Church to the church office. 100% of the food and money collected will be donated to the Food Pantry here in Saugerties.

Please join with our young people in this most important effort.

Thank you,

Ann Mittag

As of December 12, we have received 62 pledges totaling $102,906 for the 2008 fiscal year. We are close to our goal of $106,500. Please consider pledging if you have not already done so. It is the total of our pledges that is used in determining the budget for next year. Remember – your pledge can be changed if your financial situation changes.

Visitations

The Member Care Committee would like to visit shut-ins and elderly members of the church during January. If you know of someone who would like to be visited, please let Pastor Buddle or Joan Robinson know. The visitation schedule will be announced in church in case anyone would like to participate.

A Big Thank You

To All Well Workers and Contributors

The 2007 Board of the Well, Lucy Abbott, Elizabeth Biggart, Isabel DeCelle, Joan Hopf, Karen Wurzel, Evelyn Yaeger, write, “Customers speak about how helpful it is to have our store here in Saugerties. Thank you for your work that has made it possible for us to keep the doors open for yet another year.” SUMC folk have sorted, sold and helped in any way they could over the past many years. Some members of our fellowship were instrumental in starting the WELL.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

The 2008 schedule is as follows for people to staff the store during open hours:

Always Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 11:45 – 4:00

JANUARY 16, 17

MARCH5, 6

MAY 21, 22

JULY 9, 10

SEPTEMBER 10, 11

DECEMBER 10, 11

Please call Karen Reynolds @ 246-0309 or e-mail treynolds9@hvc.rr.com to let her know when you will be able to work in January.

All Women Are InvitedWHEN: Sunday, January 20, 2008

Following worship service

WHERE: Church lounge

Come and enjoy a casual lunch together. We will explore the possibility of re-forming a Unit of United Methodist Women @ our church.. Sheila Peiffer, a Catskill-Hudson District officer of UMW from Coeyman’s Hollow UMC and Barbara Sanborn, president of UMW @ St. James UMC will be our guests. The meeting will be about an hour in length. Please come and please bring all of your creative insights as we consider this exciting possibility.

Any questions, please direct them to Joan Robinson or Karen Reynolds.