From Pastor John
Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year!!
Those are the words that we’ll say a lot over the next month. I do also have to say that Emily and I get to say some new words this year, since his birthday comes so close to New Years. We get to say Happy Birthday to Jack…..not that we’re looking forward to that at all :)
Really though, I want you to take a look back at those words that are most common at this time of year. From where we are today we read them as being filled with joy, happiness, and the bring to mind memories of gifts and time spent with friends and family. As I’m getting ready to spend this season in a very different way than I ever have before, I’m feeling more of those things than I normally do at this time of year. But, I want you to do something this year.
Take some time to reflect on what the experience would have been like for those first Christians who began to celebrate Christmas. They wouldn’t have been Mary and Joseph on Jesus’ birthday, but would have been the folks that first heard the story told that Luke and Matthew would write down in their gospels.
They wouldn’t have had the same sorts of traditions that we do, there probably wouldn’t have been a lot of gifts that were given. A meal was probably shared, but that wouldn’t have been all that unusual for their community. But they still had joy, and they were happy because of what they were celebrating.
These would have been very different celebrations than what we would normally do, but they were just as meaningful. They knew that the regular day to day existence of their lives might not change a lot, but how they saw that life and how they looked towards living it was different. For them, and for us its more complete and hopeful than it otherwise would be.
To tell someone merry Christmas, at that time would have been to say, not that I hope you have a good day or a good season, but that I hope your life is changed for the better through faith in Jesus Christ.
While others may not know it, as you wish them a Merry Christmas, or even a Happy Holidays, let that be your prayer for them, that their life is changed through faith in Jesus Christ. It may not be today, or it may not be tomorrow, but by offering that as a prayer our hope is that in time they will come to have that faith that can change lives.
Peace,
Pastor John
PS: This Sunday during our in person worship we’ll be collecting a special offering for our March to the Manger. The gifts from this special offering and from our Christmas Eve offering will go to our sister church, the Betula UMC in Mozambique. Please give generously to support our brothers and sisters.
Remember you can forward newsletter on to folks that might be interested and they can subscribe to our email list to stay current with what’s going on.
Announcements
The Orpha Circle Christmas Lunch is Dec. 8th (tomorrow as of the writing of the newsletter) at 12:30. It will be down in the Fellowship Hall and all ladies are invited to attend. We’ll share in a Christmas lunch and fun program together.
Christmas Program
The kids Christmas program is Sunday Dec. 12th during our in person worship service. It will also be online the following Sunday at 9am on our church Facebook Page.
After the program we’ll have a special Pizza and Sandwich Lunch that everyone is invited to. If you’d like to help with that, we are still looking for some donations for pizza. You can either sign-up to bring a donation at, Lunch Sign-Up, or you can give money directly online by clicking on, online giving, and then choosing Pizza/Sandwich lunch from the dropdown menu.
On Saturday Dec. 11th from 10am-7pm we’re ringing the bell for the Salvation Army at Walmart in Brookfield. We’ve got a couple of spots left that you can sign-up for. You can sign-up online and even bring a friend with you when you go. So far the weather looks like it will be a little cool, but it won’t be the crazy cold of past years (and there is a little hut with a space heater that you can use too).
Monthly Calendar
Mondays
7am-7:30am Scripture Reading on KDWD 99.1
Tuesdays
4pm Centering Prayer Live on our Facebook Page
5pm Prayer Group in the Elementary Sunday School Classroom
Fridays
7am-7:30am Scripture Reading on KDWD 99.1
Sundays
9am Facebook Worship
9am Adult Sunday School in the Fellowship Hall
10:10am Worship in the Sanctuary
Other Church Events
12/5: 2nd Sunday of Advent
12/6 3pm-5pm: The Food Pantry is open in the Fellowship hall
12/8 12:30pm: Orpha Circle Christmas Lunch
12/11 10am-7pm: Salvation Army Bell Ringing
12/12 3rd Sunday of Advent: 10:10am Kids Christmas Program, Pizza/Sandwich Lunch after worship
12/14 4:30pm: Community Prayer at Bethany Baptist Church
12/19: 4th Sunday of Advent
12/24: 4pm Family Christmas Eve Service, 7pm Traditional Christmas Eve Service
12/25: CHRISTMAS DAY!
12/26: Relaxed worship at 10:10am with Christmas Questions
12/31: New Years Eve
1/1/22: New Years Day
1/2/22: Jack Pinkston Baptism in the afternoon (everyone is invited)
Community Calendars
Marceline School Calendar
My Country 99.1 Community Calendar
Office Hours
Beth: Wed-Fri, 8am-2pm
Pastor John: Monday all day,others by appointment (or stop in)
We have many ways to give this year. Some of those ways have already been mentioned, and some are still coming. On Christmas Eve, our offering will go to our Sister Church, Butula UMC in Mozambique. Please give generously to them this year as they have been hit hard by the pandemic.
We are also collecting donations for our Christmas Food baskets. We have several families that we are helping this year.
You can give to all of these by online as well.
All donations will go to help kids in the Marceline School District, and they will go a long way to help many kids.
When Sunday comes either on, or right after Christmas Day, its often a challenging Sunday. So, on Dec. 26th, we’re going to have a relaxed worship service with lots of singing and answers to questions that you have always had about Christmas.
You can replay to this email, call Pastor John (816-520-7841), or stop him at church between now and then and give him your questions about Christmas. It could be things like where did Santa come from, how many wise men were there, what’s the deal with all the British themes in our Christmas traditions and so on. Let me know your questions and we’ll see what kind of answers we can find!
Year End Giving
We’re coming up on the end of the year, and also the end of the tax year. There are a variety of ways that you can make an end of year contribution. This includes everything from making an additional offering to giving stocks or other similar items. You can find out more by downloading a brochure from the Missouri United Methodist Foundation. If you have questions, please contact Pastor John.
Prayer List
Breakthrough Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, come show us how we can be the spiritual heart of this community, Amen
Goals: Grow in faith, Understand our role in the community, Listening for God's voice daily
Groups:
Church: Denomination, Conference, Area UMC's, Area Churches
Schools: Students, Teachers, Administrators, Employees
Government: Leaders, Local, County, State, National
Young Adults, Newcomers, Unchurched
Situations: Hurricane Relief, Wildfires, Covid-19 Pandemic, Racism, Economic Disparity
Individuals: Glenn Lindbloom, Vicki Gregg, Ron Klingsmith, Wayne Sisson, Anna Hanson, Mark Ewigman, Gary Faris, Erin, Nova, & Jenny, John Falkenstine, Meadow Lapinski, Sam Bush, David Munson, Goldie Cupp, Fay Leppin, Shirley Holt, Joni’s niece, Tony Tucker (Eleanor Logue’s son), Harold Meyers, Adam Litchtenberg, Blake Linebaugh, Bill Westfall, Pat Watkins, Kris & Wyatt Ard, Kristen Gibson, Pat Biswell, Bob Marriott, Gene Liebhart, Gary Carlson, Kyle Lake, Linda Ewigman, Kara Robinson, Angie Builder, Bob & Pat Magee, Zoe Tolliver, Joan Sportsman, Shane Cavanah, Dan Brooks, Wayne Heins, Ruth Farris, Lynn Fellmann, Thomas Wellman
Pioneer: Mabel Worley, Marilyn Mears
Life Care: Annie George
Lenoir Woods: Ed McLachlan
Military Service
Patric Munson, Nick Cain, LTC John Casey Welch, Tyler Nanneman, Jeffrey Tucker, Kelly Tucker, Brandon Wellman, Heath Floray, Steve Graves, Michael Pyrtle, William Leukenotte, Kerry Lowrey
Parting Shots
Below are an assortment of pictures. They are from a variety of places this month.