` 120 WEST MAIN STREET, NEW HOLLAND, PA 17557 Church Phone: 717-354-0226 Website: http://nhumc.us/ Pastor: Ray Voran Pastor Email: revoran@gmail.com
DECEMBER 2014 A BANNER SEASON Our church is blessed in with many talented, dedicated individuals who are involved in the various functions and ministries -- each of whom deserve our appreciation! So it seems unfair to only mention a few right now, but that is what I am going to do. As you enter the sanctuary this Advent and Christmas season, I am sure you will notice the beautiful decorations put in place by Tim and Nannette and their crew. I know that it all looks great but I want to make sure that you do not miss the banners that they have made. These will display the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love -- the four virtues represented by the Advent Candles and also the subjects of the four sermons during Advent. We all love to receive presents at Christmas. We also enjoy giving presents and the good feeling we have when we see that our gifts are appreciated. At the same time, our lives easily become hectic and stressful (at any time of the year, but especially during the month of December). While it is nice to give or receive the perfect presents, let us not miss the Presence of the One born in the manger -- Christ the Savior. It is His presence that provides hope (a wonderful gift that gives the strength to press on through difficulties, knowing that the problems in life are not the final word. Ultimately we belong to Jesus and look forward to eternity in with Him!), peace (It is so easy to feel like the world is defined by conflict -- from the personal level to the international level -- but He offers peace and assurance instead of stress and worry!), joy (In a world full of sorrow and disappointments, we are offered joy -- not because there are no problems but because we can be filled with One who outweighs the problems!), and of course love. (Jesus entering our world to offer Himself as our sacrifice is the ultimate example of love -- we may doubt many things but we never have to doubt that God loves us!). I pray that this season we can all know the hope, peace, joy and love that comes with the presence of Jesus, and that we will share these gifts with all those within the church and everyone in our community.
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Blessings and Merry Christmas, Pastor Ray
Our Worship Service starts at 9:00 a.m. every Sunday. 10:00 a.m. Time of Fellowship 10:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Ignite Gathering
…… Following the service, Christmas Tea in Fellowship Hall Sat., Dec. 20 …. Christmas program, 6:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 21 … Choir Cantata during worship service Wed., Dec. 24 … Christmas Eve Service, 7:00 p.m.
Contacting Pastor Ray ~ email: revoran@gmail.com Home: (717) 656-0812 Cell: (717)333-6939 Look for me on Facebook: Ray Voran
Regular Events Knepper Care Group – Second and Fourth Mondays, 7:00 p.m. Naval Care Group – Second and Fourth Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. Community Senior Center – Second Thursday, 10:00 a.m. Community Meal – Third Thursday, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Seniors meet at Yoder’s Restaurant – Third Saturday, 11:15 a.m. LUMINA ministry – Second Thursday
Coming Events Sat., Dec. 6 ….. Christmas on Main activities … 7:00 p.m. Trio Jolie in sanctuary 2
Changes to Child Workers Policies – Training Available You may have already heard about this, but new laws concerning mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse will take effect January 1, 2015. This will have an impact on the Safe Sanctuaries policy of the United Methodist Church. Everyone who works with children and/or youth will have to attend training on these changes. We are invited to a training and information session on these changes scheduled for Tuesday, December 9 at 7 PM at EUM Church. Please let me know if you cannot attend this meeting. -- Pastor Ray
Picture Frames Needed I am looking for tabletop picture frames to use for our church welcome table that will be placed in Fellowship Hall. All shapes and styles are fine. If you have a frame or two gathering dust in a closet and would like to donate it for the project, I would be happy to put them to good use. You can place your donated picture frames on the church mailbox counter, with a sticky note indicating “for Anne Williams.” Thank you in advance!
Thank you to those sending cards to me. I appreciate all the attention you give me. Bless you, in Jesus’ name. -- Bob McLean
Thank you for the cards and expressions of sympathy following the death of my brother, Bill Lewis. -- Betty Hostetter
-- Anne Williams
Thanks and Cheers
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On November 8 the bake table at our annual Holiday Bazaar was filled with items from the many kitchens of our parishioners. Thank you to those who contributed the tasty treats and to those who purchased them. You helped to make our day a success! -Cathy Williams, Carolyn Middleton, Liz Lennon, Anne Williams, and Fred Naval (who set up the tables for us)
Saturday, December 6 On Saturday, December 6, New Holland will be celebrating Christmas on Main with many activities throughout the Borough to bring in the Christmas season. We at New Holland UMC will once again participate by hosting the children’s craft activity from 2 to 5 p.m.; the
4 musical entertainment for the family by Trio Joie beginning at 6 p.m.; followed by the traditional annual Christmas Tea in Fellowship Hall. Trio Jolie is a locally based instrumental trio consisting of a flutist, cellist, and oboist. They will be performing a mix of classical, secular and familiar Christmas music for your families’ listening pleasure. Coffee, tea, punch and cookies will be served at the Tea. Please come out and support this event.
A sign-up sheet for items needed for the tea has been placed in the sanctuary. Please contact Norece Richwine to donate and/or help with the activity (656-2509).
We have reason to celebrate! In the spring of 2013, all of us here at New Holland UMC began a fundraising effort to “Raise the Roof.” Although this church has a history of rising to the occasion when funds are needed, I really expected it to take several years to raise the total amount to pay for the new roof- $26,400. But as you see when you look at our Lego model outside the sanctuary, we have done much better than that! Thanks to the great generosity of our church family, we our able to terminate this fundraising effort for we have met our goal! (in only 18 months!-a great achievement! And also a wonderful Christmas present today and for the future). We will officially recognize this accomplishment on Sunday, December 21 during the worship service. Once again, thank you for your faithfulness and generosity. And mostly, thanks to God for His faithfulness in providing. Blessings to all, Pastor Ray, the Finance Committee and Trustees!
Prayer and Praise
• Sheila Arment, who had knee replacement surgery • The confirmation class which joined our church
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• Family of Charlotte Maclay who passed away on Oct. 10 • Family of Bill Lewis, brother of Betty Hostetter and uncle of Jeff & Karen Miller, who passed away on Sept. 30 • Eileen McComas, ongoing health concerns • Jeremiah and Joshua, infant twins who were born prematurely
who helped in a multitude of ways. It takes many hands to build a successful bazaar -hands that build, cook, bake, create, sort, arrange, count, and help customers (and also make purchases!). This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate to the community what our church family has to offer. You did a great job and worked well together as a team. You can be proud of your efforts. The preliminary report on profits follows: Gift Baskets 250.00 Books 138.50 Crafts 1475.85 Attic Treasures 131.60 Christmas 59.80 Room Food 292.30 Bake Table 319.25
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Total as of end of November $2,667.30 Blessings and thanks to all. Pat Williams, Bazaar Chair
Free Community Meals 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. December 18, 2014 Third Thursday of every month Ranck’s United Methodist Church at the New Holland United Methodist Church Dinner is served with all ages welcome. -- Dee Kopicz, Outreach Chair at Ranck’s United Methodist Church (610-223-8207)
Holiday Bazaar News The Holiday Bazaar for 2014 was successful. Many thanks to all the individuals 5
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SERVER SCHEDULE FOR THIS MONTH Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 28
Nursery Heather Bressi, Marvin Mondesir Shirley Givler, Florence Petit-ton Loretta Zimmerman, Guy Petit-ton Jane Keene, Sharma Menard
Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 28
Lay Readers Ray Welk Selma Wells Francesca Artus Jim Boose
Dec. 7 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 28
Tellers Win Hall & Pat Williams Karen Miller & Shirley Givler Sandi Rapp & Cathy Williams Julie Mitton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have You Read … The Update from Mutare, posted on the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairs, is the newsletter from Larry and Jane Kies. They report that African University is in the final stages of extending their irrigation system to the most fertile field on the farm. Trenches have been dug and they will lay pipes to plant our first irrigated crop in this area (they should have been able to plant in late October). He tells an interesting story about how even the less-marketable part of the US chicken industry are used in this African country. In Zimbabwe even the heads and feet are consumed. One large commercial poultry producer marketed these items packaged together as “walkie-talkies.” 6
As to the Ebola scare, risks of exposure when students returned to the university from their home countries were realized. Screening was done, and university life went on as usual. They are thankful that they escaped the scourge. The Kies newsletters are regularly posted on the bulletin board. Learn about them and give to their support.
Happy Birthday Dec. 1 Ryan Miller Dec. 2 Alida Gauthier Dec. 4 Juliet Mitton Dec. 5 Jennifer Bell Dec. 5 Kira Corrie Dec. 7 Peg Cessna Dec. 8 Richard Hall Dec. 12 Millie Grubb Dec. 13 Brian Corrie Dec. 16 Loretta Zimmerman Dec. 17 Laura McLean Dec. 19 Conner Brendle Dec. 19 Joyce Wilbur Dec. 25 Beth Anne Knepper Dec. 25 Deb Smith Dec. 27 Larry Knepper Dec. 28 Tim Arment Dec. 29 Jane Keene
Happy Anniversary Dec. 19 Gary & Loretta Zimmerman Please call the church office (354-0226) so we can update our records if your name was missed.
ELECTRONIC GIVING As you probably know, the Finance Committee and Church Council have been exploring the possibility of offering electronic giving as an option for everyone to use as we faithfully tithe to the church. The results of the survey that was taken were basically 50-50‌..23 people said they did not think they would use electronic giving while 22 said they would either use it or consider using it. Studies show that organizations that begin to use electronic giving see an increase in donations.
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The finance committee has studied the issue and information received from Vanco, the company that is endorsed and used by many churches within the United Methodist denomination. They would include a link on our church website that would make it possible to donate directly to the church using a credit or debit card or also through a direct transfer from any bank account. When using this service, you could choose to make a one-time gift or an ongoing donation (weekly, monthly etc.). You would always be able to view a history of your electronic giving. The service will be free for two months and then cost $25/month. We would be able to cancel at any time. Many of us already use direct transfers to pay utility bills or to make other payments electronically. The church council has decided that in order to move forward, it is best to continue to pursue this option. We hope to be able to offer electronic giving by January 2015. We do welcome any comments and want to address any concerns. Please see Sandi Rapp, Selma or Hank Wells, Pat Williams or Pastor Ray with any questions. Thank you!