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JANUARY 2008
(The letter below refers to the Vernon community Thanksgiving service held at St Bernard;s church on Nov. 21st.)
Dear friends
The collection at the Thanksgiving Eve Service was $2,490.38. One half of the collection $1,245.19 was sent to the Tri-Town Fuel Bank and the other half was sent to AmeriCares for use in Darfur.
A special thanks to Ricki who called us to leadership and witness. May this tradition continue and grow into a collaborative outreach to those in need within our community and across the globe.
Deacon Mike
Perhaps you are not aware that an opportunity for fellowship and study presents itself each Sunday morning from 9:15 to 10:00. Then you may be missing out on something special for you, as an adult member of our church family. Along with the good fellowship and sharing, we have spent some time this past Fall exploring the nature of God, comparing Christianity to other major world religions, taking another look at the Bible, exploring our United Methodist roots, and reliving the Christmas story. In January, we will begin looking at the book of Revelation, under the able leadership of Jim Haag. This promises to be an exciting and informative journey through a book of the Bible that contains many mysteries. You won't want to miss out on this opportunity. The class is open to all. Homework is limited and there are no mid-term or final exams. However, there are ample opportunities for fellowship and sharing. So, make it one of your New Year resolutions to be part of this class! Come on down!
Merry Christmas!
God is good! Not only did he give us a Savior, but he's brought us to the end of another year, safely, and with hope in our hearts for the year to come. Your Finance Committee has been busy in the budget-building process and wrapping up the details of the Fall financial campaign. We are happy to report that we exceeded last year's pledges by a small amount, in spite of some things that made that difficult. We thank all who took their "talks with God" seriously, especially those who increased their pledges. We are also happy to report that 4 new pledgers were added to the ranks. The down side was that we lost 4 pledgers and 6 of our faithful found it necessary to reduce their pledges. The total amount pledged is $59,609; $41,113 to Program & Ministry, $9,064 to Mission & Outreach, and $9,432 to the ROOF Fund. This, all from just 31 pledges. When you do the math, that averages out to $1,923 per year per pledger. Wow! We would find it difficult to be a functioning church without this support Praise the Lord for committed givers!
The pancake breakfast was not a roaring financial success, but it did provide an opportunity for fellowship around the breakfast table. That's as important as any financial reward! We look forward to a generous Christmas offering to close out the year, then it's on to 2008! There's a lot of excitement and challenge waiting for us there, but God will see us through once again, we can be sure of that!
Fund balances at the end of November, 2007, are as follows:
Program & Ministry |
$9769.23 |
Fuel Fund |
$1755.80 |
Shared Expense Fund |
$865.37 |
Program Reserves ("Visions") |
$295.85 |
Mission & Outreach |
$518.94 |
Memorial Fund |
$6824.70 |
Building/Renovation Fund |
$66883.65 |
General Contingency Reserves |
$1000.00 |
Trustees Bequests |
$3783.24 |
Dave Howe: Chair
Christmas baskets
VUMC assembled six food baskets for Christmas. Despite the weather and cancellation of services on Sunday, December 16th, all of the items for the basket made it to the church by Thursday, December 20th After the Advent service that evening, the adults took their turn at assembling the baskets (they did not use the children's "ring around the table method"). Kevin and Colleen Morgan delivered the baskets to Hockanum Valley CC on Friday along with the many scarves, mittens, hats and gloves from our Christmas tree.
Many, many thanks to all who participated in this project - you made Christmas a better season for a number of families.
SPECIAL EVENT COMING UP!!!
FEBRUARY 20, 2008 Springfield, MA
The Harlem Globetrotters in a Benefit for the NothingButNets Campaign
The event, spearheaded by members of the East Longmeadow UMC, is being held in partnership with the MassMutual Center, the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Harlem Globetrotters. Group tickets are being offered to United Methodist Churches at significant discounts over public prices. Tickets are $30 each and a portion of each ticket sale is donated by these generous sponsors to benefit NothingButNets.
About this exciting family event
A full day of family events on February 20, 2008 is included in one low ticket price:
1:00 PM: Basketball Hall of Fame
2:30 PM: Globetrotters Autograph Session
3:30 PM: Depart Hall of Fame and Shuttle to local churches for food and relaxation
5:15 PM: Arrive at MassMutual Center for Globetrotters University (Educational Program)
7:00 PM: Globetrotters Game begins
Ticket prices include the entire day's activities; however, participation in all events is not required. Ticket holders may attend any or all of the above events. For example, if you only wished to attend the Globetrotter Game at 7:00 pm, you could use your ticket only for that event.
If you would like to support this program but are unable to attend, you can still purchase the tickets and donate them to a local Springfield area agency such as the Boys and Girls Club.
Please note: Reservations and purchases must come through United Methodist Churches. Individual ticket sales are not available.
A sign-up sheet is available in the fellowship hall
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Following is an excerpt from Bishop Peter Weaver's newsletter (Cooper Community Center is one of the programs your mission dollars supports)
IN THE SNOW AGAIN, Thursday morning I was blessed to be at the ribbon cutting and dedication of TECH FOR TOTS a new program at our United Methodist Women related Hattie Cooper Community Center in Roxbury. Through partnership with a number of folk, a computer lab for preschoolers and after-schoolers has been established at the Center. It is truly an example of what someone has called "High Tech and High Touch" meeting in an exciting combination of learning and caring. Children as young as two are using the computers (boy, did I feel dumb!). One five year old that I talked to was exploring the globe via computer including zeroing in on Africa, taking pictures of lions, and putting them, via computer, into his scrapbook (boy, did I feel dumber!) Cooper Center has been changing lives and doing fantastic ministry for ninety one years with the support of the United Methodist Women and churches....what a great way to be partners in ministry with children.
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As we end the year 2007, your Mission and Outreach Committee again gives thanks for the generosity and support from all of you. You are such a caring and giving community. We ask your prayers for the coming year that we may continue to use your gifts in a manner which will benefit those most in need.
January 20th: Human Relations Sunday - special offering.
January 30th: VUMC to serve at Cornerstone Soup Kitchen.
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The next Mission & Outreach meeting will be Thursday, January 17th, at 7pm at VUMC. These meetings are open to everyone.
Lydia Dingle
Jan. 6 |
Epiphany of the Lord |
Isaiah 60:1-6 |
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Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 (UMH 795) |
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Ephesians 3:1-12 |
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Matthew 2:1-12 |
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Jan. 13 |
Baptism of the Lord |
Isaiah 42:1-9 |
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Psalm 29 (UMH 761) |
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Acts 10:34-43 |
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Matthew 3:13-17 |
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Jan. 20 |
2nd Sunday after the Epiphany |
Isaiah 49:1-7 |
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Psalm 40:1-11 (UMH 774) |
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I Corinthians 1:1-9 |
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John 1:29-42 |
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Jan. 27 |
3rd Sunday after the Epiphany |
Isaiah 9:1-4 |
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Psalm 27:1, 4-9 (UMH 758) |
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I Corinthians 1:10-18 |
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Matthew 4:12-23 |
Lay Assistant |
Children's Story |
Acolyte |
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January 6 |
Roger White |
Sunday School |
Kylie Bowman |
January 13 |
Jim Haag |
Shirley Howe |
Garrett Eastman |
January 20 |
Jim Haag |
Bob Mattern |
Kylie Bowman |
January 27 |
Colleen Morgan |
Roberta Williams |
Garrett Eastman |
Please submit (preferably by e-mail) any articles you have for the February issue by Friday, January 25th. Anything not received by 6:00 p.m. on that date will not be included in the newsletter. Thank you for your cooperation.
Roger White - editor, pro tempore
E-mail vumcnews@sbcglobal.net
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