ALDERSGATE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH January 2015 Inside this issue:
Birthdays/WNL Meals
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Table Talk/UMM
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Camp Chestnut Ridge/
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Sunday Morning Worship Quiet Day/Epiphany Ring/
5
Outreach Update/ 6 DivorceCare/Indoor Soccer Children’s Music & Arts Ministry/Volunteers Needed/Music Rehearsal Times/
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Inside StoryWorship Won- 8 derings/Spotify Trustees/Nursery/
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January Lay Assistants
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L E T’ S M E E T A T
W E D N E S D AY NIGHT LIVE ! Wednesday Night Live Returns Jan. 7th - Sanctuary Prayer Time begins at 5:00 in the Sanctuary. The Wednesday Night Fellowship Meal is held in the Family Life Center from 5:30 until 6:15 pm. Immediately following the meal is Table Talk. This will be in the Family Life Center from 6:30-7:30 pm. If you had dinner, you can stay at your table! If not, please come and join us from 6:30 - 7:30 pm
TABLE TALK A few months ago I started talking with Jane Brannock about a thought that had been on my mind for a while. It started when I saw a conflict within many families. I was hoping to get young parents and children to get involved in classes at church; but it wasn’t happening as often as I had hoped. One of the things I kept hearing over and over again was that it took away from family time. Whoa! Wait a minute! Church should enhance families, not make it tougher. Ironically, as much as churches talk about promoting families, it seems rather odd that as soon as a family enters the Family Life Center that we immediately separate them from each other. Little Johnny goes to his class, and Susie to hers, Mom goes to a class she likes and Dad to a class for him. Meanwhile, even the grandparents are in different classes. That’s not all bad, of course. We learn at different rates and have different experiences depending on our ages. We have different interests and needs depending on where we are in life. So, we’ll continue that model, I’m sure. But, what if?...
Experience What if families came together and talked about the same Biblical/Spiritual subjects at the same time, even with each other? Or, if you’re not in church with your extended family (like most of us, actually), wouldn’t it be cool to learn from those younger or older about their perspectives on Biblical topics? Could we do something where the generations co-mingled together and learned from one another? I know I gain so much from the wisdom and experience of those who are older than me, and I’m now finding that I’m gaining incredible insight from younger people who see things in a way that I just never have considered before.
know. But whether you are hearing it for the first time or the one hundredth time, all people at the table should be able to take part in the discussion. We can all learn from each other. So, we will have 9 year olds and 90 - year olds listening and sharing together. I invite you to come and be a part of this unique gathering of food, faith, and fellowship starting on Wednesday, January 7th. The dinner will begin at 5:30 pm. We will shift gears to the Bible Study beginning at 6:30 pm. See you there!
Enter Table Talk… In January and February on Wednesday nights we will gather for a meal like we always do at 5:30 pm. But after the meal we won’t go anywhere. Instead, I’ll Have a Blessed New Year, lead a short Bible study; Pastor Doug and then we’ll talk about it with the people with whom we just ate dinner. The stories are Bible stories that all Christians should