The
Messenger
First
United Methodist Church of Mexico
From the pastor…
There
was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others
know how he felt about religion and religious holidays.
His wife, however, did believe and she raised their children to have
faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ despite his disparaging comments. On one
snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their two children to a special
Christmas Eve service in the community in which they lived. They were to talk
about the birth of Jesus that night. She asked him to come along just like she
had done so many times before, but he refused her once again...
"That story is nonsense!" he barked. "Why would God lower
Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!"
So
she and the children left, and he stayed home.
A while later, the winds
grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the
window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He then sat down to relax before
the fire for the evening when he heard a very loud thump... Something had hit
the window. He looked out but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow
let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his
window.
In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently
they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm
and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or
shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles,
blindly and aimlessly. And a couple of them had flown into his window, it
seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would
be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they
could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and
opened the doors wide, then watched and waited hoping they would notice the open
barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't
seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to
get their attention by waving a lantern, but that just seemed to scare them, and
they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke
it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn, but they still didn't
catch on.
Now he was getting
frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they
only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the opened
barn doors. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would
be warm and safe.
"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see
this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"
He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow
a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out
loud. Then he had an idea! He went into the barn, got one of his own geese and
carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He
then released it.
His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn -- and
one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a
moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed loudly in his
mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he
thought about what he had said to his wife earlier that evening. "Why
would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"
Suddenly
it all made perfect sense to him. That is what God had done! We were like the
geese--blind, lost, and perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could
show us the way, and save us!
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and
pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Jesus Christ had
come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to
his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:
"Thank
You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"
Author ~ Unknown
A
Merry and Blessed Christmas to you all !
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Real Love… God showed how much He loved us by
sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life
through Him. This is real
love. It is not that we loved
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our
sins. Dear friends, since God
loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
1 John 4: 9-11 |
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Worship Schedule for Advent November 27:
First Sunday of Advent
9:45am Candle lighting of our windows December
4:
Second Sunday of Advent
10 am
Service
of Lessons/Carols December
11: Third Sunday of Advent
9:45am Chrismon Tree December
18: Fourth Sunday of Advent
9:45am
Sunday School Christmas
Program
11am
Christmas Cookie and Delivery by the Jr. and Sr. High Youth Groups.
December 21:
(Wednesday)
7 pm “Service
of the Longest Night”
December 24:
(Saturday) Christmas
Eve 7 pm
Family Christmas Eve Service:
Carols and Candles
11 pm
Candlelight Communion Service December
25: Christmas Day
9:45 am “Casual
Christmas” Service (And,
watch our bulletin for the date and time for Christmas-caroling in the
community!)
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CHRISTMAS
COOKIE DELIVERY On Sunday, December 18, the Junior and Senior UMYouth Fellowship Groups will decorate Christmas cookies and deliver them to the homebound in our area. If you know someone who would appreciate a visit from the youth and Christmas cookies from our church, please ask Sue Morton to add their name and address to the list. Sue’s number is 963-3566. |
HARK! Hark!
the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King; Peace
on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
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IMPORTANT
DATES Dec.
3: Craft/Bake Sale- Fellowship Hall, 9am-3pm Dec.
4: Christmas Concert-Presbyterian Church, 3pm. Dec.
4: Live Nativity at the Freihofer Farm, 5-6:30pm. Dec.
5: Mission Team Departs for North Carolina
Christmas Shoebox Processing Center. Dec.
10: January Newsletter Deadline Dec.
17:
UMMen’s Breakfast Meeting, 8:30am. Dec.
18:
Christmas Cookie Decorating and Delivery for Jr. and Sr. High Youth
Groups, 11am.
Dec.
24: Christmas Eve Services: 7pm, 11pm Dec
25:
CHRISTMAS DAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve |
THANK
YOU, THANK YOU TO… ~ Maple Help Stock Farm (Hurlbuts) for donating apples for the Sr. High Youth Group Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, November 6. ~ the Jr. High Youth Group for making and donating two pumpkin pies and two apple pies to Monday’s Meal. They were happily served on Monday, November 7. ~ All who contributed to, and assisted with, the Shoebox Packing Party on Sunday, November 6. ~ Dave Hubbard for finding a way to keep the Fellowship Hall/Drive way door open when we are carrying in numerous items. Dave also nailed a holder for the Allen wrench key. ~ those who helped at the recent bloodmobile, and those who donated blood. ~ Karen Ringwald for organizing the successful Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza event held at our church on Saturday, November 5. ~ all who continue to contribute returnable cans and bottles to the UMMen’s Club.
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POINSETTIA
SALE to BENEFIT the GRACE E. MOORE SCHOLARSHIP FUND The
poinsettias will be $12 this year.
If paying by check, please make it payable to: The
Grace Moore Scholarship Fund. In
Memory of:_________________________
(and/or) In Honor of:____________________________
Sponsored
by:_________________________
Total Number of Poinsettia Flowers @ $12 each:_____ This
coupon can be mailed to PO Box 255, Mexico, NY
13114, or placed, with cash or check, in a collection envelope
marked Poinsettias.
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RECIPE CORNER: This month’s recipe comes to us from Barb Lindovski. Barb
made these Christmas cookies for the coffee hour on November 6, when we
held the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Packing Party.
Thank you for sharing Barb. Mint
Chocolate Chip Cookies 1
pouch sugar cookie mix
½ cup butter or margarine, softened Mix cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg in bowl, until soft dough forms. Stir in crème de menthe baking chips and chocolate chips. Using a small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature. |
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OPERATION
CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOE BOXES AND MISSION TRIP
Fifty-three
shoe boxes filled with useful and fun filled items were packed at the
Sunday, November 5th “Packing Party” held at our church.
These 53 boxes joined over 20 more already filled and waiting in the
sanctuary for the November 20th departure to North Carolina.
Thank
you to the many people who filled the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas
Child. The number of boxes grew
even greater before they left our church on Sunday Nov. 20th, on
the first leg of their journey to waiting and eager children around the
world.
Our shoeboxes boxes were delivered to the Vorea Community Church in
Orwell, and from this drop-off location they will be transported to a
collection site in Booneville. Next
they go by a large tractor trailer to the North Carolina processing center.
From
this center each box will be inspected by volunteers who will then insert
the Gospel booklet “the Greatest Gift of All”, written in the language
of the country the box is destined to go.
This
year a mission team from our church, comprised of Wayne and Rose Ann Myers,
Alicia Weber, Connie Main, Sue and Duane
Morton, Lori Behling, Diane Tupper, Shawne Helker, and Kathy Duchien
(from Lycoming UMC), will travel to Boone, North Carolina as volunteers to
process the hundreds and thousands of shoeboxes going to children. The shoebox ministry is a wonderful way to show God’s love to children in need in such places as refugee camps and orphanages, and share the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus. |
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Help
Wanted: Part-time
Youth Director Seeking
a Christian to work with youth of all ages; developing and strengthening
youth programs in an active church. Minimum 10 hours a week. If interested, please call: Mexico First United Methodist Church at 963-3066." |
CHURCH
CHANGES! New
Pew Cushions!
As of mid-November, the sanctuary pews have been cushioned.
Come, sit comfortably, and enjoy worship. Handicap
Elevator Work Set to Begin! By early December those who pass through the fellowship hall will see the elevator work in process. Watch for updates. |
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CHRISTMAS
IN MEXICO – December 1 – 4 Again this December our church will be participating in the town-wide “Christmas in Mexico” celebration on Saturday, December 3. Please come to the Fellowship Hall between 9-3 that day to enjoy a delicious lunch, then browse and purchase hand-made gift items from the various craft vendors. The women’s Friendship Unit of our church will be sponsoring the craft/bake sale that day. Thank you for your generous food donations to the bake sale table or kitchen. The Friendship Unit will use all proceeds to benefit our church and its programs. |
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Laundry
Detergent & Coffee Collection On December 11, an empty coffee pot will be in the narthex for a collection for the men at Unity Acres. The Outreach Committee will use the collection to purchase laundry detergent and coffee to give as a Christmas gift to the men. |
Nursery
News: In the church nursery Deb McCoy is serving as the adult nursery teacher, with Andrea Ross as her assistant. Every Sunday these two will be in the upstairs newly refurbished nursery room to take care of infants through 5 year-olds while their parents attend the worship service. |
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CHRISTMAS
GIVING TREE OPPORTUNITY Again
this Christmas season, the women’s Friendship Unit will be hosting a “GIVING
TREE”.
From November 27 - December 18, an artificial Christmas tree will
be set up in the narthex ready to be decorated with donated hats, gloves,
mittens, and scarves that will then be given to the local food pantry and
to Operation Reindeer for distribution to families in need within our
community. Last
year several warm winter hats, scarves, mittens, and gloves from this
collection were distributed.
As of this writing we already have 40 pairs of colorful, warm
mittens knit by Norma Dunkley, to add to the tree.
Thank you to Norma and to all who share with those less fortunate. Merry Christmas! |
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Monday’s Meal Cooks: Coffee Hours: Sanctuary Angels: December 5: Jeff Beardslee and… Muriel DeLong Dec: Madelyn S. and Zenola B. December 12: Kelly Freihofer and… Jan: Esther G. and Barb L December 26:
Maggie Palmer and…
Christmas Day
March:
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Unity
Acres Donation On September 22, four members of our church’s Outreach Committee made a scheduled visit to Unity Acres in Orwell to present Unity Acres Board of Directors with a check for $2,300.* After careful and prayerful thought, the Outreach Committee decided to make this generous donation to aid in the necessary repair of an aged and potentially unsafe chimney in one of the buildings housing 16 of the residents, the nurse’s station and the carpentry shop. Shortly after our visit we received a thank you letter expressing the grateful appreciation of the Unity Acres Board of Directors “for our kind concern for the needs of the men at Unity Acres.” *These funds represent a portion of the monies allotted to the Outreach Committee from the Buck Bequest Memorial, to be used in the field of outreach and missions. |
The
Arks are on Our Tables |
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New
Address… Helen
Griffin 725
Parsons Circle SE Palm Bay, Florida 32909 |
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Pedals,
Pipes & Pizza Pedal, Pipes & Pizza was a great success! We have Abel Searor and Elliot Ringwald to thank for talking about and playing the pipe organ so well. The audience was very pleased with the surprise guest vocalist from Syracuse, Tyler Spicer. The audience stayed and spent quite a long time with the "Instrument Petting Zoo" organized by Fred Ringwald with the help of the Hall family. We also have the Bake Shop Eatery in Mexico to thank for the pizza, and Behling Orchards to thank for the fresh apple cider. Finally, last but not least, we have Carolyn Hiler to thank for creating this wonderful program in the first place. |
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Need
to Contact our Church??
Our Church Phone Number:
315-963-3066
Our Church Website: www.mex1umc.com
Our Church email address: fumcmexico@verizon.net