Hey everyone,
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I know Rachel and I had a wonderful time connecting with families and eating way too much delicious food.
So, for this week’s Messenger, I want to tell you about an important way our church is looking to bless some people in need and how you can be a part of this work and service.
As many of you already know, on November 23rd, there was a local fire that displaced numerous families at the Hunter Hills apartment complex. Since then, Family Promise (a wonderful organization we’ve worked with before) has been covering the living expenses for these families (food, housing them at local hotels, etc.). However, Family Promise needs help to meet these costs, and they have asked all faith communities in the local area to assist them in covering these expenses.
In light of this, our church leadership has decided to take a special offering this Sunday to support these families. If you choose to give to this important cause, you can leave an offering in a designated offering basket in the back of the sanctuary. In addition, our church leadership has also committed to match the total that we receive and raise, so long as that total is within reason.
Finally, if you cannot join us this Sunday, you can also directly give online by going to this link. Please note that we will not be able to match any online giving through Family Promises’ website, so a physical offering is preferred.
https://familypromisehc.charityproud.org/Donate/MiniCampaign/17120
Peace,
Pastor Chris
Whitehouse Wind Symphony Concert
At 3 pm this Sunday, December 5th, our church will be hosting a musical performance by the Whitehouse Wind Symphony in our sanctuary. This event is open to all and free of charge. After this concert, our church will also be handing out free hot chocolate to members of our broader community during the Main Street Holiday Parade.
Cookie Exchange
On Sunday, December 19th, we will have a cookie exchange in Fellowship Hall. How this event will work is that after service, people will be free to create a tray of cookies that they can then take home with them to enjoy (for health and safety reasons, we will not be eating in Fellowship Hall). There will be servers wearing gloves and using tongs that will serve any cookies that you’d like. If you are interested in baking cookies for this event, please email Beth or Grace to let them know what recipe you will be preparing and how many cookies you’re planning to prepare (we’re asking for a minimum of 6 dozen). Their emails are not-in-oz@embarqmail.com and gespeut23@yahoo.com. In addition, all extra cookies will be used to create trays that will be sent to our Police and Fire Departments and the Flemington Area Food Pantry.
Christmas Eve Service
This year’s Candle Light Christmas Eve service will be at 7:30 pm. We’re looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior with you!
Redemption of Scrooge
Our Adult Sunday School and Tuesday small group are currently going through an Advent book study on The Redemption of Scrooge. In this book, author Matthew Rawle explores what Scrooge’s story tells us about God’s redeeming love. Adult Sunday School meets on Sundays at 9:00 am in the A-Wing conference room, and the Tuesday small group meets on Tuesdays at 1 pm in the same location. If you are interested in learning more or want to join either group, you can contact Bruce LaPenta at blapenta@embarqmail.com or Lynn Becker at lynnsnowbecker@gmail.com.
Leadership Council Meetings
Our next Leadership Council meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, December 7th, at 6:30 pm in the conference room in A-Wing. Also, the minutes from October’s meeting have been formally approved and are now available for anyone who wants to read them. You may email Gretchen for a copy at flemingtonumc@yahoo.com.
Last Call: Operation Christmas Child