Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
The final lesson of A Savior Is Born will be held this Sunday. Adults, please feel free to join us this week for a video (it will be working this week!) and some discussion. We meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Fireside Room. Childcare is provided.
Our mission emphasis for the month of December will be Imagine No Malaria. Malaria is a disease of poverty that strikes hardest at the most vulnerable members of society: pregnant women and children under the age of five. A child dies every minute from this preventable disease. Five dollars provides a lifesaving course of medication, and ten dollars protects an entire family with a bed net. Our Christmas Offering will also be given to Imagine No Malaria. In response to Christ’s saving grace, how many lives will you help save this month?
Worship Service for Sunday, December 20
Advent Wreath Lighting -
Hymns - Angels We Have Heard on High and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Olga’s selections -
Prelude: I Saw Three Ships
Offertory: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Postlude: Herbei, Oh Ihr Glaubigen(O Come, All Ye Faithful)
Anthem - Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Scripture- Mark 8:31-9:1
Pastor Mike’s sermon - The Kingdom of God is Powerful
Liturgist - Dave Landis
Please join us for light refreshments following the worship service in our Fellowship Hall. Nancy O. Stafford will be your host for the month of December.
Inside each bulletin this Sunday, you will find an invitation to attend one of our Christmas Eve services on December 24. Our 7:00 pm service will be the traditional candle light service with carols and readings. A nursery will be available at the early service. The 11:00 pm service will begin with a 20 minute piano concert by Olga and will be followed by carols, readings and communion. Please take these cards and share them with a neighbor, a family member, or a friend.
We have 10 Welcome a Neighbor Bags this Sunday that will need to be distributed to new residents in our community.
Monday, December 21, is the deadline for all articles and items to be included in the January 2016 issue of our church newsletter, The Ambassador. Please send your items to Janet at wumcjanet@watervilleumc.org.
Are you running a little behind on your financial giving this year? Want to give a few extra dollars this year? In order to have your giving count on your 2015 financial statement, all monies need to be deposited by Tom Wiggins by noon on Thursday, December 31. You may contact him either at home (now that he’s retired!!) or by email at financialsec@watervilleumc.org.
If you have not had the opportunity to submit your Estimate of Giving Cards, we will gladly accept them at any time. You may place them in the offering, send them via the mail, or send an email to Tom Wiggins at financialsec@watervilleumc.org. If needed, additional Estimate of Giving Cards are located on the hallway shelf outside the Church Office marked as “2016 Stewardship Campaign.”
A big Thank You to those of you who have already picked up your new 2016 Giving Envelopes. We are down to only 19 sets of them on the shelf outside the church office! Since they cost close to $5.00 each to mail, we would really appreciate your help in getting them picked up by the end of the year.
Two important items to put on your new 2016 calendar…
There will be a Celebration Service for the appointment to District Superintendent for Rev. Scot Ocke on Sunday, January 10 at 3:30 p.m. at the Monroe Street United Methodist Church located at 3616 Monroe Street in Toledo. Our Bishop, Gregory V. Palmer, will be preaching at that service.
Theatre-for-the-World dates have been announced for 2016. Their first show will be, Harmony Romances, a small-cast comedy by local playwright, Ron Hill. Performances are slated for March 4, 5 and 6. The show is a humorous look at how a church funeral committee reacts as one of their own rekindles a romance with her long lost high school sweetheart over the internet. Gossip is not encouraged, but these folks can't resist sharing their crazy thoughts on this relationship. Look for more details in the January 2016 issue of The Ambassador!
And finally, a BIG Church Mouse Thank You to Ted Myers. During this past week, Ted has installed new, updated, faster computers in the church office. It feels like we are now operating at almost Star Wars warp-speed!! Thank you so much for all the time you spend making sure that we are “up and running” in the office and around the church. You are a huge blessing to Waterville United Methodist Church!!!