Hello Church,
It’s that week! Its time for good food, and time spent with friends and family. I also hear there’s a lot of football going on right now….you know, the world cup is currently taking place (sorry, that was a bad football joke).
Advent is starting on Sunday and I think we’re in for a good Advent Season and a very good Christmas. We have more Advent devotion books back in the back of the sanctuary. They’ll be starting on Sunday. Don’t forget Peanut Night is this weekend too. And at 7pm Saturday night there will be a kids program at 1st Baptist Church if you want to go.
Just a quick note about the Christmas Program and the Live Nativity that we used to do. The Ministerial Alliance decided to stop doing the Live Nativity for many reasons. One of which was that it was getting harder and harder to get enough people to make it go every year. Instead, we’re working on a new tradition based around a kid’s program on Peanut Night. This is the first year of trying it, so we’re still get it all together. If you hear someone saying something about the Live Nativity, please direct them to either me or Pastor Brian Baker. There are some rumors going around that are unfounded. This was a choice that the Alliance made as one way of doing things was coming to an end and putting together something new.
Below, take a look at some important announcements and sign-ups. We’ve got a number of different things going on this year, and new things to check out.
Important Announcements
Advent starts this coming Sunday!!!! We’ll have a full list of activities that are going on at Worship on Sunday. Watch for more info to come out about it. If you would like to light one of the Advent candles, let me know. Also, after church on Sunday we’ll be decorating for Christmas. Please stay after if you can to help.
Add Dec. 22nd to your calendar! That’s our day to ring the bell at Walmart. We’ll have a sign-up soon. Help us to help folks all around the county.
Parting Shot
What’s the first thing that you see when you enter downtown Marceline at this time of year? Take a look at the end of this email for what that is.
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Have a great week!
Peace,
Pastor John
Going On This Week
Community Calendars
Marceline School Calendar
My Country 99.1 Community Calendar
Worship Links
Youtube Services, Messages
Worship Music Lists: YouTube, Spotifiy
Send a note or a message to these folks!
Get caught up!
You can always get caught up on sermons if you’re behind. We try to have them posted on Monday morning, so check back if it hasn’t been posted yet.
Prayer & Devotions
The Hours
Prayer Guide - PDF (book format), Online Format
Morning | Evening | Night Prayers
Daily Devotions
Seedbed Devotions, YMI
The Upper Room, Our Daily Bread
GPS Guide from Church of the Resurrection
Daily Meditations from the Center for Action & Contemplation
Other Resources
Bible Project great Bible Study resource for really engaging the Bible
Five Day Bible Reading - Read through the Bible in a year
YouVersion Online Bible
Prayer List
Groups: Church: Denomination, Conference, Area UMC's, Area Churches
Schools: Students, Teachers, Administrators, Employees, Parents
Community: Food Pantry, Ministries in Linn County, Ministerial Alliance
Government: Leaders, Local, County, State, National
Situations: Pandemic, Racism, Economic Disparity, Mental Health, Natural Disasters
Individuals: Vi Fregoe Drescher family, Donald Scott family, Patty Orph family, Estella Cupp, Junior Logue, Crystal’s friend Hannah, Gene Taylor, Richard Terrell, Marla Stubbs, Kyle & Carol Lake, Erica Pamplin, Pat Watkins, Vivian Dunn, Kim Corbin, Shirley Oliver, Rick Freeman, Jeff Linebaugh, Dorothy Downing, John Smith, Brenda Lain, Jake Jacobs, Ron Klingsmith, Wayne Sisson, Mark Ewigman, David Munson, Goldie Cupp, Tony Tucker, Linda Ewigman, Angie Builder, Bob & Pat Magee, Zoe Tolliver, Dan Brooks, Ruth Farris
Pioneer: Mabel Worley, Marylin Mears
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 Shot
I love when we start decorating for Christmas. In recent years one of my favorite things has been to watch when the nativity goes up outside. There’s so much that we’re told we should do at this time of year so that we tell people to remember the reason for the season. Sometimes one of the best ways we can do that is not to directly confront people, but just to let Jesus be seen. There’s always more that we can do, but as so many walk and drive by our corner every day, this is a great place to start.