Peace Email News: Come Home for Christmas!

PEACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Email Newsletter - December 2, 2016

THIS SUNDAY IN WORSHIP

DECEMBER 4, 2016

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Sermon: Rev. LeeAnn Inman

Come Home for Christmas: "Come Home to Love"

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:1-16

Have you ever been homesick? The season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time when folks long for a home they once knew, or perhaps more likely in this transient culture, a home they wish they knew. The prophet Jeremiah speaks eloquently of such a home, pointing homesick souls in every age to the place God wants for us: destination...LOVE-the love anticipated in the coming Messiah.

"Come Home for Christmas" - Peace Advent Events

UM Women's Christmas Luncheon & Program - Saturday, December 3 - 11:45 a.m.

Traditional Christmas Cantata - Sunday, December 11 - 11:00 a.m.

Christmas Under the Stars - Wednesday, December 14 - 6:45 p.m. Dinner (soup, salad, and bread) at 6:00 p.m.

Young Adult Throwback Lock-in - Friday, December 16 - 7:00 p.m.

Praise Team Christmas Cantata - Saturday, December 17 - 7:00 p.m. & Sunday, December 18 - 9:30 a.m.

Peace Youth Christmas Party - Sunday, December 18 - 5:00 p.m.

Christmas Eve Worship Services - Saturday, December 24

5:00 p.m. Children's Service

6:30 p.m. Contemporary Candlelight Service (Nursery)

8:00 p.m. Contemporary Candlelight Service (Nursery)

9:30 p.m. Traditional Candlelight Service with Communion

Christmas Day Worship Service - Sunday, December 25 - ONE COMBINED SERVICE at 10:00 a.m.

New Year's Day Worship Service - Sunday, January 1 - ONE COMBINE SERVICE at 10:00 a.m.

UMW Potluck Luncheon & General Meeting - December 3

"Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings." Even if you haven't seen It's a Wonderful Life (and why haven't you?) you have probably heard this saying. But is it true?

One of Advent's most beloved Scripture passages is the angel Gabriel's visit to the Virgin Mary. Joseph had his own angelic encounter, of course. An angel visited him to assure him that Mary's child was from the Holy Spirit. So it was through angels that news of Jesus Christ's coming into the world was first revealed.

Then after Advent, on the holy day of Christmas itself, angels were everywhere around the birth of Jesus. An entire host of them visited the shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem. They sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace amongst those whom he favors!" (Luke 2:14). Around the time of the Epiphany, an angel shows up again. Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream. The angel warns him to take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt following the visit of the Wise Men.

We don't talk that much about angels these days. Perhaps we should. Join us on Saturday, December 3rd at 11:45 a.m . to celebrate the birth of Christ. Please bring an angel and your favorite dish to share.

Kids' Day AND Night Out - December 3 & 11

There are two Kids' Night Out/Kids' Day Out in December. Take a much needed break OR get some Christmas Shopping done while the kids are having fun. Kids PreK-5th grade can join us for crafts, games, and dinner too. Fun is guaranteed. Cost is $15.00 for the first child, $10.00 for the second child, and no more than $30.00 max for the family. Check out the schedule below:

*Saturday, December 3rd: 6:00-10:00 p.m. - Let it Snow

*Sunday, December 11th: 1:00-4:00 p.m. - Christmas is Here

Second Saturday Campus Workday - December 10

In the spirit of stewardship season, the Trustees and Church Leadership are asking you to consider making a small commitment of your time in service to your church home. Starting on December 10th, we are going to hold a monthly second Saturday campus workday . Our commitment is to have a specific list of chores or projects to complete each month, and that our work will begin at 8:00 a.m. and be finished no later than 12:00 noon each month.

This will be an opportunity for many people to contribute their gifts and time in a way that will be rewarding and fulfilling. And you might meet some great people along the way! No obligation to show up every month. No skill set or handy man capabilities required. Just love for our church and the desire to serve. In the spirit of stewardship, we hope you'll consider pledging some of your time!

Christmas Cantatas - December 11, 17 & 18

One of the wonderful musical traditions here at Peace are the Christmas Cantatas shared by our very talented singers and musicians, and over the next two weeks you will have opportunities to experience the joy of hearing from our Chancel Choir (Sunday, December 11th, at 11:00 a.m.) and our Praise Team (Sunday, December 18 th, at 9:30 a.m. and a bonus evening performance on Saturday night, December 17th at 7:00 p.m.). The Chancel Choir performance is "A Christmas Festival" and features creative arrangements of classic Christmas carols organized around topics such as bells, children, and the nativity. It also includes contributions from our children's choir and narration that explores our worship theme of "home." The Praise Team has combined favorite songs from the last few years of their Cantatas, a sort of 'best of' performance, tied together with original narration from our own Heather Tuel.

On both the 11 th and 18 th , you can visit these special musical services and also attend one of our other services that morning featuring regular worship, including the sermon in our "Come Home for Christmas" series. Keep in mind, Christmas Cantatas are a great opportunity to invite neighbors and friends to join us for the first time. Everybody loves the music of the season!

DORKs Christmas Cookie Sale - December 11, 17 & 18

Our Peace Youth DORKs (Daughters of the Risen King) will be selling home-made Christmas cookies on the church portico between worship services on December 11th, 17th, and 18th while supplies last. The cost is only $5 per dozen and they will be gift wrapped!

Proceeds support the DORK's annual retreat. For special orders and more information please contact Gigi Sangster 407-932-8000 .

Share Your Christmas - December 11

Do you have NEW or GENTLEY USED items that you would like to give away for someone to use as Christmas gifts? Then this event is for you! As part of our "green" Christmas, Peace is sponsoring a day of sharing where folks can bring in items and others may take them to give to their families and friends (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).

On Sunday, December 11th, simply bring in gifts to donate and place them on the tables located on the church portico. Everyone is then welcome to "shop" in between worship services. This is re-gifting with purpose. Remember, this is Christmas without money, but only open hearts. If we have any leftover gifts - they will be donated to local charities. For more information contact the Church Office.

Christmas Under the Stars - December 14

Join us on Wednesday, December 14th for an evening of celebrating the Christmas story unplugged and outdoors. It's a wonderful Peace tradition, Christmas Under the Stars. We'll meet out back around the fire pit overlooking the lake for acoustic carols, scripture, dramatic monologues from some of the familiar characters of the Christmas story, communion, and hot cider and s'mores!

This is a family friendly event for all ages, held under the beautiful night sky. A dinner of hearty soup and bread will be available beginning at 6:00 p.m. (arrive when you're able) with Christmas Under the Stars festivities officially starting at 6:45 p.m. This is a great event for inviting your neighbors and friends. Call (321-947-8930) or email Eddie if you have questions or want to volunteer to bring soup or bread!

Connect with Hunter's Creek Nursing & Rehab

As we seek stronger connections with our immediate community, we've been building relationships at Hunter's Creek Nursing and Rehab, right around the corner from us. Members of Peace have been hosting church services the first Sunday of each month (with one of our affiliated retired or active clergy members presiding) and are coordinating volunteers for the other Sunday church services (at which other local clergy preside). People from WeServe Weekend and other Peace members have collected various items for dementia patients (to use for memory & sensory exercises), bingo prizes for weekly bingo games, and Christmas cards for residents to use.

The United Methodist Women are currently collecting purses and empty cosmetics for dementia patient exercises. If you would like to volunteer to help out with church services (regularly or just on an occasional basis to fill in when the regular volunteers can't make it), or if you would like to donate bingo prizes or teddy bears for the "teddy bear hunts," please contact Andrea Rowlison at (407) 312-2663 or email her at [email protected].

Be Part of an Advent Tradition: Light the Advent Candles

Advent wreath with red candles isolated on white background.

As we're "Coming Home for Christmas" during worship this Advent season, at every service we would like to have groups lighting the Advent candles together. Who means "home" to you? It can be people you're related to, people you study the Bible with, people who you do ministry with together, or just people who are your friends. One of the great things about Peace is the surprising ways we get connected to one another, and one of our great seasonal traditions is lighting the Advent Candle during every Advent worship service. Sign up at the Welcome Table or preferably ONLINE HERE!

Annual Peace Christmas Gift Card Drive

Once again this Christmas season, we'll have an opportunity to have a direct impact on local families who could use some extra help through our Christmas Gift Card Drive. You can donate gift cards to major retailers (Target, Wal Mart, Publix, etc.) and we will distribute them to families from our congregation, as well as others connected through our Meals Assistance Program. Gift cards give families the dignity to make decisions for themselves-they are the most knowledgeable about their greatest needs. We get to be a generous part of sharing God's love in a meaningful way. We suggest small denomination gift cards ($10 or $20 amounts), so we can distribute them more easily (but as many of those as you like). You may also designate contributions to this cause, and we'll purchase the gift cards for you! Here are the many ways to contribute:

*Bring in actual gift cards (if put them in the designated envelopes on the Gift Card Tree and fill out the envelopes, you can get tax deduction credit from the church - if you just drop them in the offering plate, that's okay too, but we can't credit you with the donation).

*Make a donation by text. Text 407-269-8307 with the amount and the word, Christmas (example: $25 Christmas). Keep in mind, a small service charge will be deducted from text donations, and if this is your first time donating by text, you'll have to take a couple of minutes to set up your account-it's easy!

*Go to the donation tab at our website and select Christmas Gift Card Drive 2016 to donate by credit card.

*Use a traditional check or offering envelope to make a donation, specifying Christmas Gift Card Drive.

Children's Ministry News

Candy Cane Reindeer for Sale:

The candy cane reindeer are back again this year. The Children's Ministries will be selling the cute little hand-crafted canes perfect for adorning your Christmas gifts or sending along in Christmas cards. They are only $1.00 and this year all proceeds will go to our Christmas Gift Card Drive. Set aside some money to support this cause and creatively dress your packages. The reindeer can be pre-ordered through [email protected] or you can pick them up that the Welcome Table on the portico starting on Sunday, December 4th.

45s Update:

Kids ages 4th and 5th grade are always welcome to join us every Sunday from 4:00-6:00 for games, Bible Lessons, small group and dinner. Meet on the portico to participate in this wonderful pre-youth group experience. Bring $3.00 to help cover the cost of dinner. We will be going Caroling on Sunday, December 12th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. and then take Christmas (12/25) and New Years Day (1/1) off. For more information contact Julie Chatfield at [email protected]

Christmas Eve is around the corner and the kids will be in charge of leading the 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Worship Service. Kids can read scripture, read lessons, carry props, lead carols, or dress up for the nativity scene. All ages can be a part. There will be one dress rehearsal on Thursday December 22nd from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary and arrival time on Saturday December 24th will be 4:15 p.m. If your child is interested in participating in this special worship service, please contact Julie Chatfield 321-689-6899 or [email protected] .

Staff Christmas Love Offering

The Peace Staff Parish Relations Committee is collecting a Christmas Love Offering for our Church staff. This is a special tradition of Peace and a great way to provide some extra recognition for the hard work of all of our staff. If you are able, please provide a contribution to the Staff Love Offering by placing your donation (marked "staff offering") in the offering plate, in the box on the table at the rear of the sanctuary, or by giving online at www.peaceumcorlando.org no later than Wednesday, December 21st. Thank you!

Creative Ideas for Year-end Giving

Thank you for your generous gifts throughout the year to support the ministries of Peace. As 2016 comes to a close, we invite you to prayerfully consider a special year-end gift. Your partnership in faith, prayer and giving makes all the difference. You'll find creative and tax beneficial ideas for year-end giving on our Peace website: www.peaceumcorlando.org

Disciple Fast Track New Testament Study Starts in January

Join our Disciple Fast Track study! Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about or refresh your understanding of the New Testament. The 12 week daytime course will start in January. We have Monday morning class at 10:15 a.m. (starting on January 9th). There will be a small charge for the New Testament workbook. If interested in joining the class, you can call or email the Church Office (407-438-8947).