Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
Just heard from Bob Hires. He reports that Millie has been released from St. Luke’s Hospital and has been moved to Otterbein on Black Road in Monclova and is in room #10.
Our December Mission Focus will be IMPACT WITH HOPE (formerly ISOH/IMPACT) is a community based organization with a clear picture of God’s desire for us to help children, their families & communities in desperate need wherever we find them (1 Peter 4:10). They mend broken bodies, bones and spirits by serving the needs of others.
For over 50 years, IMPACT WITH HOPE has reached out across the globe and touched the lives of the poor, sick, and suffering. They are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance. Their medical teams bring hope by providing medical care to children and their families locally, nationally and internationally. They also supply mission hospitals with supplies and equipment that are desperately needed.
Their disaster and relief aid programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. They offer food, water, and a network to provide temporary shelter for children and their families in need. Their Bucket Brigade, Kids Against Hunger and Keeping Kids Warm & Kozy ministries reach out to provide the basic essentials for children and their families in crisis. By meeting the critical needs of families in crisis they create hope, and give children and their families a chance to rebuild their lives.
Through Seeds of Hope, IMPACT WITH HOPE and their international partners work with children, families and entire communities to provide micro-enterprises, job training skills, community feeding programs, and educational opportunities for children. These programs reach out and touch the lives in impoverished villages and neighborhoods help individuals break the cycle of poverty and give them hope for a better tomorrow. Mission envelopes are available in the pew racks.
The Because of Bethlehem small group study begins on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. in the Fireside Room. Pastor Mike is teaching this class.
The Prayer Time in the sanctuary will begin at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
Worship Service for Sunday, December 4: Second Sunday of Advent
Call to Worship
Lighting the second Advent Candle
Song of Worship - O Come, All Ye Faithful
**There will not be a Children’s Moment this Sunday. All the children should report to their Sunday School classrooms at 10:20 a.m. and then will proceed to the Community Room at 10:30 to practice for the Children’s Christmas Program.
Olga’s Selections:
Prelude: Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Offertory: Sing We Now of Christmas
Postlude: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Stewardship Campaign Report - Tom Wiggins
Sanctuary Choir Anthem - Who Would Send a Baby?
Scripture- Luke 1: 46-47, 49
Sermon - Worship Works Wonders
Celebration of Holy Communion - Passed in the pews
Closing Hymn - To God Be the Glory
Choral Benediction - Our Christmas Prayer for You
Liturgist - Tom Quinn
Parents of Sunday School children - please have your child bring their Greatest Journey folder with them to church. Stephanie Shelton will be keeping the folders at church until January and updating them for 2017.
Terry Myers is your Fellowship Host for December.
Theatre for the World is HERE!! The show will be presented tonight at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. There is still time to invite your family, friends and neighbors to this family-friendly show that is filled with music of the season.
This Sunday is the second Sunday in Advent. We began a new Advent study last week. Because of Bethlehem, written by New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado, will be offered on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall and again on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the same location. Sign-up sheets for the studies are located on the bulletin board in the main hallway and you are welcome to jump into the study at any time. The cost of the study book is $10.00.
WUMC SITE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:
WUMC has contracted with Total Ground Solutions (TGS) to move the donation of dirt by the Browning Masonic Community to our property on Waterville Monclova Road. While TGS was the lowest bidder, they were selected due to their existing reputation with Browning as they are the contractor for their villas phase 1 and 2. Other factors in the selection were their ability to meet our timeline and they offered a do not exceed cost in their quotation. TGS also offered an opportunity to further reduce costs by donating equipment for our congregation to lay the EPA regulated erosion control. A group of 29 people joined together on Nov. 19th to perform this work- which only took 1 hour thanks to the blessing of many hands! This saved us $2,800! Thank you to everyone who served at this event! We thank the Waterville Fire Department for the use of their warm space for our fellowship! We thank the Mirror for coming- check this past week's Mirror for our photo & article! We also thank TGS & the contractor Matt Gruber for bringing the skid loader and staying the entire time to operate it to help us lay the erosion control. This made the job go quickly!
The excavation was tentatively set to begin 11/28, but rain this week has delayed the crew. Currently they have staked the property and are waiting for utilities to be marked. Then they will move dirt. You can also see the new erosion control, a black "tube", all around the property. We will update next week on the work happening.
Any further updates will be found weekly on the back of your church bulletin and in the Friday E-Blast.
PNO follow up from Cara McMillan: WUMC hosted another Parent's Night Out on Saturday Nov 19th. The evening was a great success filled with lots of smiles and laughter! 39 kids attended & enjoyed crafts, science experiments, & fun activities! We also welcomed a special guest, Eli Martin, for a magic show that delighted all ages! It was a wonderful night serving God and extending WUMC into the community. We want to give a HUGE thank you to the 11 amazing WUMC volunteers who made the evening fun & safe for all! And thank you to Thrivent Financial for sponsoring a portion of the cost & giving us awesome "LIVE GENEROUSLY" shirts!
Christmas cookies are needed for the Fellowship Time following the Children’s Christmas Program on December 11. If you would like to provide a plate of cookies please sign-up on the sheet on the bulletin board in the main hallway or contact Stephanie Shelton at 567-202-5035. She asks that you have your cookies to church by 10:00 a.m. on that morning. If you are dropping them off earlier, please label “For Children’s Christmas Program.”
The Christmas poinsettia plants have been ordered for December. Order envelopes are located in the pew racks, in the attendance pads and in your bulletins this week. The price will remain $7.00 this year. You may order either a red or white plantand have it be in honor of or in memory of someone or make a donation to our Building Fund. All plants will be displayed during our Christmas Eve Worship Service and you will be able to take the plants home following the service. Your name and your flower’s dedication will be printed in the Christmas Eve bulletin. We have ordered 30 red plants and 5 white plants this year. (Five red plants and three white plants have already been spoken for.)
A date has been set for ringing the bell for the Salvation Army kettle at the Waterville Kroger Store. We will be volunteering on Saturday, December 17 from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Karen Wiggins has placed a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. We are looking for folks to volunteer for one hour slots during the day.
Toledo’s inner city children and is a ministry of The United Methodist Church. During the cold winter months, they have extra need for NEW hats, gloves/mittens and socks. If you would like to support this ministry, there will be a basket in the Fireside room for collecting these items. The final day to donate will be January 15. Our Women’s Ministry will deliver them to the Friendly Center.
As the year draws to a close, new opportunities for 2017 are just around the corner. New sign-up sheets are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway for Greeters and Fellowship Hosts. Janet is almost finished with the 2017 Altar Flower calendar. There is also a new Prayer Partner list on the Prayer Table in the sanctuary. Where is God calling you to serve?
Be a Blessing and “Break a Leg” TFTW Gang,
Church Cathy