December 21, 2018
Paradise Valley United Methodist Church
Noel: Dueling Divas' Christmas Album
The Dueling Divas, PVUMC Music Staffers Andria Fennig and Ashley Strawser, have a new Christmas album for purchase. All proceeds go toward the PVUMC Piano Fund.
Buy a CD on Sunday morning for $15 (cover art by the multi-talented Modern Worship Pastor Christopher Wurpts) or buy online. What a wonderful gift for family and friends!
Pastor's Message

  Dear Friend in Faith,

I have always loved the title for Jesus, “Prince of Peace.” It speaks of a deep hope for God’s work in our world, to reconcile our differences, to put an end to war and damaging conflict. I know this is a very large hope, one that often seems so distant. Yet the early Christians felt called by God to a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18), spiritual work that is vital to every age and church.

We live in a time so given to anger, whether around the state of the world, politics, or frustration with the busyness of life. For some of us, the response to our differences is to get louder, which rarely helps. Jesus as the Prince of Peace invites us into a way of facing ourselves and conflict so that God is able to speak, work and be present where the tensions are high, where people are likely to get pushed aside or be hurt. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to learn to do the important work of peace-making.

In the apocryphal Wisdom of Sirach, there is a helpful proverb: If you open your mouth against your friend, do not worry,...

Double Your Impact with the PVUMC Matching Gift Challenge
PVUMC has a 2018-2019 faith budget of $194,000 to fill over and above normal giving and we need your help to close the gap. A church member has generously offered to match up to $55,000 of faith budget contributions made during the fiscal year to make this goal more achievable. Please consider making a special gift now during this season of giving.
Sunday Worship at PVUMC
Paradise Valley United Methodist Church (PVUMC) invites you to worship with us at 8, 9:30 or 11 am this Sunday. Pick up a few business card sized Christmas Eve invitations after worship this Sunday, and invite a friend or neighbor to join you for a Christmas Eve service. There's still time!


Download your Looking Ahead for this Sunday and see what's on the schedule for this week. We include news and events as well as Prayers of Intercession so you can pray for others. Bulletins, the Desert Scroll newsletter and E-News are available online at our website.

Check our Calendar Online
See the website calendar at pvumc.org/calendar for all our children's, youth and adult activities, during the week and all year long.

Prayer Requests
 Submit prayer requests using our online request form, email prayer@pvumc.org or call the church office at 602.840.8360. Your request will be shared with our 200+ list of prayer warriors on email. If you haven't been receiving prayers, and are already on the prayer team list, please make sure you add " prayer@pvumc.org" and our new prayer chain coordinator's email, " ddoran@pvumc.org" to your safe sender and recipient lists. To make sure the E-News gets to you, add " paradisevalleyumc@gmail.com" to your email list of safe recipients.
Syrian Sweets Delivers Pre-ordered Gifts Sunday, December 23
If you pre-ordered Syrian Sweets last Sunday, come to church again THIS Sunday morning to pick up your gifts for the holidays. Syrian Sweets Exchange will have bakers on campus again 9 am-11 am on the patios outside worship. They will have your orders ready, just in time for Christmas! Thanks to your purchases of delicious gift boxes of baklava and mamool date-filled goodies, two Syrian families will have extra income for the holidays. Thank you for being God's love in action! RAFT (Refugee Assistance and Friendship Teams) at PVUMC has supported Syrian refugees since they first welcomed their first Syrian family to the USA in 2016. Read more about RAFT in the next article.
RAFT and Congolese Christmas
On Thursday, December 20, 2018, at 6 pm, members of Paradise Valley United Methodist Church RAFT (Refugee Assistance and Friendship Teams) brought Christmas to the Congolese refugee family, the Abwes, who arrived in May 2018 from Tanzania. Rebeka Abwe and her four children, ages 19, 16, 15 and 6, have been living in an apartment in Glendale, furnished by the RAFT team. The family is Methodist.

The Christmas celebration included adding a lighted tree to the apartment and RAFT team members brought craft supplies to make ornaments for the tree. A few hours later, the tree was covered in candy-cane reindeer, glittery pine cones and colorful paper chains.

RAFT members brought dinner and sang Christmas carols with the family. Cultural experiences like these are what help friendships grow.

To help the Abwes and other refugee families, email Keith Sobraske.
‌
Church Office and Campus Closed Christmas Day-New Year's Day
The church office and campus will be closed from Christmas through New Year’s Day, January 1, 2019, with the exception of the Wednesday night women’s AA group on December 26 and on Sunday, December 30, 2018 , when we have our Family Sunday worship at 9:30 and 11 am. The Church Office reopens Wednesday, January 2, 2019 and the Preschool reopens on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 . Blessings to you and your families this Christmas season and in the New Year from all of us at the Church and Preschool. 
Christmas Missions Offering
Paradise Valley United Methodist Church supports three missions with donations to its Christmas Missions Offering:

  • PVUMC Emergency Relief Fund
  • UMOM New Day Centers
  • Wesley Community and Health Center

You can donate online at GIVE NOW. Choose “Christmas Missions” from the drop-down menu. There is also an option for “Christmas-General Fund.” If you would like to designate to just one or two of the missions, please type your designations in the comments section, or leave as is so we can divide your gift evenly among all three. Should you decide NOT to donate online, we invite you to use the special offering envelopes in the pew pockets. Thank you for giving generously during the holiday season. You are God's love in action!

Serendipities Shop & Share
Shop at Serendipities, the church gift shop, on Sundays in December and designate 30 percent of your purchase proceeds to one or more local missions that the church supports:
  • Audrey's Angels
  • Mingus Mountain Camp
  • PVUMC Preschool
  • UMOM
  • Wesley Community Center

Thank you for subscribing. Update your profile/ email preferences below.

  Did You Miss the Sermon Last Week? Listen online.
If you missed last week's sermon, you can listen online at LISTEN: Previous Sermons.

End-of-Year Gifts
We invite you to give generously to your church this holiday season.The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has provided opportunities for donors to increase their giving and the end of the year is a perfect time to donate stock to PVUMC, avoid a capital gains tax and receive a tax deduction for the value of the stock. If you are age 70 ½ or older, a donation from your Individual Retirement Account can be very beneficial. The donation can qualify as your required minimum distribution for the year. The amount of the IRA donation is not included in your income, generally allowing you to pay less tax. Before making any tax-related decision, please consult your tax advisor. If you would like further information on giving opportunities, please contact Mickey Price, Church Administrator, or Monica Stern, Finance Ministry Team Chair. Read More

To make a donation online, visit GIVE NOW.

NOTE: Childcare is availa ble with a 48-hour reservation for all our
events and classes on campus. Call 602.840.8360, ext 134.