For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1Corinthians 1:18
December 2013 Volume 2, Issue 12
Inside This Issue:
The Circuit Writer • What’s Been Said, page 2 • Theological Word to Know, page 2 • Church Calendar, page 3
• Church Worship Schedule, page 4 • Faith is Fun, page 5 • Christmas @ the Parsonage, page 5
Service of the Longest Night
What Better on Christmas Eve?
It’s easy to see why many people call December “the most wonderful time of the year.” We know, however, for many people it is anything but wonderful. As others celebrate and rejoice, for some this will be the first holiday season without a loved one. Maybe it’s a spouse who has passed on, or a child in the military stationed somewhere around the world. For many, the darkness of depression, loneliness and despair far outweigh the joy others celebrate. As a church, we would like to recognize the pain of those in our community by hosting a Service of the Longest Night. Saturday, December 21st is the longest night of the year, literally. The winter solstice marks the occasion when the hours of the day are outnumbered by the hours of night. We’ll use this time as a means of acknowledging what many are going through, and offer a message of God’s hope. The Service of the Longest Night is scheduled for Saturday, December 21st at 12pm. Help us by inviting those you know who may find this holiday season difficult, and make plans to join them as a means of support and Christian care. Contact our office if you have any questions.
Make sure to include worship in your family’s Christmas planning. On Christmas Eve we are hosting two worship services. The first is scheduled at 3pm and will take place at the Shiner Nur sing & Rehab facility. This is a great time for the residents and their families. Also, at 7pm, we are meeting at the church for a candlelight service. What better way to welcome Christ into the world again than by sharing in worship together. We hope you will make plans to join us for either of these meaningful times.
Live Nativity Okay, wise men, it’s time to get your act together. Shepherds and angels, you too! December in Shiner means it’s time for our Live Nativity. On Sunday, December 15th, from 6:30-8pm, we are hosting our annual drive-through retelling of the greatest story ever told. It’s a wonderful time for families to view scenes from the story of Christ coming into the world. Make sure to invite your neighbors and friends, maybe even some people you don’t know. And make sure to sign up to help as well. It’ll take all of us to make sure this is a success. Contact our office, or Judi Hewitt for more information.
The Circuit Writer
Page 2
What’s Been Said Have you ever read something and thought, “That’s exactly what I was thinking!” I have too. I’m glad there are others who have better communication skills than I do and are able to write and tell stories because they are often able to say the things I only wish I could. It’s happened many times when I couldn’t quite explain what was rattling through my mind that I used what someone else had already said or written. That’s good because people often have a need for answers to important life questions. For example, what do you say to someone who is hurting beyond measure? What kinds of helpful words, really, could I offer that would help someone battling depression, anxiety or fear? The good thing is I don’t always have to worry what to say. Someone has already told us, “Today…a Savior has been born to you” (Luke 2:11). For those who are hurting, lost and burdened with fear, there is what God has already said. Therefore, I don’t need always need the perfect speech or all the right words. I just need to remember what we’ve already been told. This Christmas, let’s share what’s been told: Emmanuel—God with us! Blessed Beyond Belief,
Words From Wesley
Let us then receive every trial with calm resignation, and with humble confidence that He who hath all power, all wisdom, all mercy, and all faithfulness, will first support us in every temptation, and then deliver us out of all . —Sermon, On Temptation
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11
Theological Word to Know Incarnation The term literally means “embodied in flesh.” As Christians, we speak of God’s incarnation. That is, in the person of Jesus, God is embodied in human form. Therefore, when we see Christ, we see what God looks like. Jesus is God “in the flesh.”
Christmas in the Park Make sure to thank the United Methodist Women. Members of the group will be representing our church this month at Shiner’s Christmas in the Park, Thursday, December 5th. The ladies will hand out cookies to everyone there. If you’re interested in providing cookies, homemade or otherwise, contact our church office. You can also sit with the group at the park. Finally, if you’re there Thursday, make sure to stop by and say hello!
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9
1 Communion Sunday Nursing Home Devotion, 3pm
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16 Zumba, 6pm
23 Zumba, 6pm
30 Zumba, 6pm
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29 Christmas at the Parsonage 3-6 p.m.
Zumba, 6pm
Mon
Sun
31 Zumba, 8am Men’s Breakfast, 8am
24 Zumba, 8am Men’s Breakfast, 8am Christmas Eve service 3:00 p.m. NH 7:00 p.m. Church
Zumba, 8am Men’s Breakfast, 8am
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10 Zumba, 8am Men’s Breakfast, 8am UMW Christmas Party @ C. Hilschers
3 Zumba, 8am Men’s Breakfast, 8am Shiner Quilter’s Meeting, 6pm
Tue
25 Merry Christmas!
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11
4
Wed
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19 Zumba, 8am Food Pantry, 9-11am
12 Zumba, 8am Food Pantry, 9-11am
5 Zumba, 8am Food Pantry, 9-11am
Thu
www.shinerfumc.org
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20
13
6
Fri
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the world
DECEMBER 2013
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21
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Sat
The Circuit Writer
Page 4
What St. Francis can Teach United Methodists Francesco di Bernardone was the kind of rebel a teenager could admire. He dressed oddly, spent much of his time alone and quarreled with his father. His father eventually brought him before the local religious authorities, accusing the 25-year-old Francesco of shirking his responsibilities. In one of his first public acts, the young man stripped naked, placed his clothes at the feet of his wealthy cloth merchant father and renounced his parentage. From now on, he said, he had no father but God. Not exactly what you expect of the namesake for the current pope. Yet, the man Christians around the world celebrate today as St. Francis of Assisi is likely the most popular saint outside the Bible. Francis’ popularity extends to The United Methodist Church, where hundreds of congregations annually hold blessings of the animals around the time of his feast day on Oct. 4. At least seven United Methodist congregations in the United States bear the name St. or Saint Francis. The reformer did so much more than inspire countless birdbath statues, Laytham said. For centuries, he has influenced Christian ministry with the poor, preaching, peace and, of course, pets. He also offered a radical illustration for what it means to follow Christ.
“His life is a great example and motivation that we need to find that path of faithfulness in our own day,” But Francis, who lived from around 1181 to 1226, easily could have chosen a life of soft beds and stylish clothes. He grew up a member of his day’s nouveau riche. The world of business left its mark on him during his earliest days. He was baptized Giovanni (for John the Baptist), but his father changed the boy’s name to Francesco after a successful business trip to France. By all accounts, Francis led a dissolute youth preoccupied with social status. But that all began to change after he was taken prisoner in 1202 during a war between Assisi and neighboring Perugia. He returned to freedom seriously ill and contemplating his future. He lived when the pope commanded an army, and princes of the church could live like kings. But during his recovery, as he later recounted, a dream urged him “to follow the Master, not the man.” He turned to prayer, penance and alms-giving. One day while praying, he said, God called him to “repair my house.” So, in 1206, he sold some valuable cloth from his family store to rebuild the run-down chapel of San Damiano. That led his father to drag the young man before the religious authorities. Francis’ break with his family was final. After repudiating his inheritance, Francis became a friar who showed complete trust that God would provide for his needs.
Sunday Worship Schedule (Please let us know if changes are necessary) Flower
Lay Reader
Prayer Ministers
Ushers
Organist/pianist Donor
1st Thomas Stluka
Kitty & Laddie Vincik
8th Clarence
Karen & Elson
Littlefield
Schreiber Robert & Shirley
15th Dick Nance Wittman
Communion Sunday
Irene Cerny Don Minear
Joe Sestak, Thomas Stluka,
Christmas Flowers
Don Minear
Trevor Stluka, Betty Britsch 22nd Paul Koone
29th Carolyn Hilscher
Eva Eddy & Carol Gambrel
John Britsch
Don Minear
Irene Cerny
The Circuit Writer
Faith is Fun
Page 5
UMW News The Shiner UMW held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 12th. A delicious soup, salad, bread and dessert was served by Nancy Littlefield. The ladies decided to pay the postage on some of the Operation Christmas Child boxes that were delivered. A total of 40 boxes were picked up by the Yoakum UMC and delivered to Gonzales. The UMW will also purchase Christmas toys from the Food Pantry to give to the needy boys and girls of the food pantry clients. Thursday, December 5th will be the annual Christmas in the Park, and the UMW will host a cookie table once again. All are invited to come and bring cookies to the church office before Thursday or to the park that night. The meeting was adjourned and was noted the December Christmas party will be at Carolyn Hilscher’s on December 10th.
A Few Announcements • We’re happy to
Christmas @ the Parsonage To celebrate the joy and hope that is Christmas, we would like to invite each and every one of you to this year’s Christmas as the parsonage—it’s Christmas at our house. This is our small gift to each of you and we hope you will be able to make plans to attend. You don’t need to bring anything, and by anything we mean, well, anything. No gifts, no food, no drinks, no nothing. We’ll have everything we need to enjoy a great time of fellowship and Christmas celebration. This year, Christmas at the parsonage is scheduled for Sunday, December 29th. We’ll start about 3pm and be done when we’re done. It is a come and go event. Don’t feel like you need to be there exactly at 3. There’s no way you can be late. Just be there. “Where is the parsonage?” may be a question some people have. Easy. We’re that house behind the church. We hope to see you there. —John, Gloria, Brittani, Ashlei & Nathan Fletcher
announce we will have a children’s bell choir at this year’s Live Nativity. Please thank Laura Stluka for her work with the children. Also, they’ll be bells playing one Sunday this month! • A few youth are preparing a Christmas skit to share with us this month. Be on the look out. • Christmas poinsettias will be delivered on December 15th. After our Christmas Eve service, please feel free to take yours home. • We are taking a Christmas Eve offering this year, and designating it to go to our church’s Imagine No Malaria campaign (imaginenomalaria.org). It’s our hope you will help us be as generous as we can. We want to offer the largest gift possible to ensure others are cared for around the world. • The church office will be closed December 31st through January 3rd. • As a reminder, all of our sermons are available to online on our website. Oh, and we have a website: www.shinerfumc.org
Shiner First United Methodist Church P.O. Box 122 102 Church Street Shiner, TX 77984
Circuit Writer: December 2013 Rev. John Fletcher, Pastor Mary Kristynik, Church Coordinator Text “SFUMC” to 39970
Phone: 361: 594. 3830 | Fax: 361. 594. 3660 Sunday School 9:30 am | Sunday Worship 11:00 am Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm www.shinerfumc.org /ShinerFUMC
Reading With the Pastor Freedom of Simplicity
Happy Birthday Josh Kaspar 12/3 Carlyne Littlefield12/12 David Littlefield—Danny Patton 12/17 John Littlefield 12/20 Claudia Williams 12/27 Amy Othold 12/31
I think this is a life-altering book! We live in a busy world that demands every ounce of energy and time; and we wonder why stress and discontentment are so rampant! God’s grace of simplicity frees us from that world. God’s simplicity of heart brings peace and the life God really desires for us. This title is also available as an audio book. Every Christian should read it! Pastor John blogs at www.anotherjohn.com
Happy Anniversary Terry & Kathleen Bowman 12/10 David & Josh Kaspar 12/18