Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
Happy to report that Millie Hires is now out of the hospital and is regaining her strength at Otterbein on Black Road in Room 204.
November’s Mission Focus will continue to be Operation Christmas Child. OCC delivers great joy to millions of children around the world through shoeboxes lovingly and prayerfully packed with gifts that will bring delight to a child. In the hands of local churches, every gift-filled shoebox is a powerful tool for evangelism and discipleship—transforming the lives of children and their families around the world through the Good News of Jesus Christ! We dedicated 276 shoeboxes at WUMC last Sunday. 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, November 27: First Sunday of Advent
Call to Worship
Lighting the first Advent Candle
Song of Worship - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Children’s Moment - Mission Jar for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes
Olga’s Selections:
Prelude: Joy To The World
Offertory: Medley – Angels, from the Realms of Glory and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Postlude: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Sanctuary Choir Anthem - Is Your Heart Prepared for a King?
Scripture - John 1: 10-14
Sermon - God Has a Face
Closing Hymn - Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
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.
Dawn Buskey and Barb & Steve Crandall are your Fellowship Hosts for November.
Our Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Collection has wrapped up as of Monday afternoon. Thank you to all of the volunteers who staffed the room and loaded the shoeboxes into the shipping boxes, baked the cookies, unloaded boxes out of cars and trucks, loaded the shipping boxes into the trailer and delivered the boxes to the church in Bowling Green. A big Thank You to Anne Stevens for heading up this project each year. Keep praying for the shoeboxes and the children who will be receiving them. If you are tracking your boxes, please let the church office know when you find out their destination.
Theatre for the World is almost here! Brian has placed a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the main hallway for ushers and folks to host the Intermission Cookies/Coffee time. We will also be in need of cookies, brownies, etc. for those times of fellowship.
You will find invitations to No Ordinary Christmas Miracle in your bulletins again this week. Please share them with your friends, family or neighbors.
This Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent. We will be offering a new Advent small group study beginning that day. 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.
Here is an update on the Site Development for the property on Waterville-Monclova Road:
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. We are particularly excited about this as it not only saves us $2,800, but also gives us all an opportunity to participate in the project, enjoy each other’s fellowship, and God’s grace. Twenty-eight brave people showed up last Saturday to lay down the erosion control and we finished the job in a little over an hour. A time of food and fellowship followed in the room in the Fire Station. Thank you to the Fire Chief for the use of the room and for allowing us to park in their lot.
Any further updates will be found weekly on the back of your church bulletin and in the Friday E-Blast.
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.”
Thank you to all who have donated paperback books for the military in the box in the main hallway. Your response has been overwhelming! That being said, the woman that was collecting the books now has an apartment full of books and she needs to stop the collection of the donated books for now. She may want us to resume at some point in time, and when that happens, we will let you know.
The Christmas poinsettia plants have been ordered for December. Order envelopes are located in the pew racks and in the attendance pads. The price will remain $7.00 this year. You may order either a red or white plant and 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.
Parents of children in Sunday School – Next Sunday, December 4, we would like to have the children come straight to the Community Room at 10:30 a.m. There will not be any Children’s Moment during the worship service. This will allow for an extended time of Christmas Program practice.
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.
The Friendly Center serves 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.
And finally, the Church Mouse would like to thank the following folks who stayed after church last Sunday to “hang the greens” in and around the sanctuary and downstairs in the Fireside Room and Fellowship Hall : Kyle and Lisa Galton, Frank and Robin Lipinski, Penny Greenlese, Barb Page, Jason and Sandi Hood, Charlotte Pritchett, Karl and Connie Kirkman, Christie Wielgopolski, Terry Myers, Ann McVicker, Jerry and Melva Robinson and Doug and Cindy Box. The church is all decorated for Christmas and it looks fantastic!!!!
Be a Blessing and Happy Thanksgiving,
Church Cathy