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Aldersgate United Methodist Church
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A vibrant and inclusive Christian community
growing in faith, love, health and service
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Aldersgate UMC
14230 SE Newport Way
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 746-9800
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Associate Pastor
Church Office
Children, Youth, Family
Preschool Director
Core Leaders
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Jan 6
Youth Homelessness
Jan 12-13
Youth Lock-In
Jan 13
Youth Sunday
Jan 16
Pastor's Class Resumes
Jan 19
Core Leaders Retreat
Jan 20
Bible Sunday
Jan 21
Martin Luther King Jr Day
Office Closed
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Feb 3
Dinner & Club 345
Dinner & Youth Group
Feb 4
Young @ Heart Potluck
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Church Leadership
Click these links to read the minutes of the Core Leadership Team and the monthly minutes of the Ministry Teams.
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Sermon: "Back to Basics"
Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5
This Sunday:
We've just celebrated the coming of the Christ Child. We have welcomed the gifts of the God-made-Human baby in our midst. And now we hear these words from the book of Matthew, that the baby grew up and told us to become like a child. Different from being childish or being a baby about things, we'll think about what it means to be made in the image of our God who took the initiative to enter human life as a child and then tell us to become like a child as well. We'll take this opportunity to approach the gospel message again, as if for the first time we heard it as a child, and see what it holds for us for this new year in this new time. We'll start our 2019 exploration of the foundations of our faith by approaching it in the way that Jesus instructed, as a child.
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New Year Blessing and Prayer
Rev. Brad P. Beeman
As the New Year begins, let's begin this season with a blessing and a prayer . . . .
The God of all creation continually bless and guide us as God seeks to make all things new. May this new year and the God who guides it bring hope to our hearts, focus to our minds, and cause our souls to be born anew. May we see the world through God's eyes and not our own, listen to the sounds of need around us with the ears of Christ, seek to serve more than to be served, and step out in faith as we face the opportunities before us. May God bless our thoughts, our words and our actions now as we move in to this new year, filled with new opportunities.
Please pray with me:
We thank you, O Holy One, for this new year filled with possibilities, and for all the potential it holds. Come, kindle in us a mighty flame of passion, so that in our time, in this time, many will come to know you and the wonders of your love. And may it be born anew in each of us as we seek to be Your hands, Your feet, Your voice, offering you and your love, all guided and filled by Your Spirit. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
May this be our prayer throughout this year as we simply ask God's blessing on what is to come.
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Office Closed Until January 2
Pastor Laura will be on vacation from December 25-January 4. She will be travelling to the east coast with her family. The church office will be closed December 25-January 1 and then manned by volunteers until January 8. In case of emergency, you may call the church office and leave a message on Laura's voicemail (extension 12). She'll check those and get back to you every few days while she is gone or you may call Pastor Laura's cell at 206-595-9607. For pastoral emergencies that require someone local, Rev. Kathryn Morse, pastor at Kennydale United Methodist Church and Rev. Casey Banks, Associate Pastor at Bothell United Methodist Church, will be available. Rev. Morse can be reached on her cell at 206-491-4045. Rev. Banks can be reached through Pastor Laura or Rev. Morse.
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Help Fold and Assemble Bulletins
This is a special request for a team of volunteers to help fold and assemble the Sunday bulletin on Fridays between 10am and noon.
For many years, probably 15 or more years, Alex and Jean Ritzen have faithfully done this job week after week without complaint. They have been a joy to work with. But now they cannot come every week, thus the need for volunteers.
It usually takes two people about 45 minutes to an hour to assemble the bulletins. With 4-8 teams of two on a rotating schedule (like the ushers or liturgists), you would only need to help every 4-8 weeks (unless you want to help more often then that.) In addition, there will be plenty of people for you to call when you need a substitute. Please contact Wendi in the church office if you can help.
Flo Monkman, Renee Kroese, Lew & Shirley Green have already signed up to help but we hope more of you can join them.
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Welcome New Choir Director 
We are pleased to announce that our new choir director is Allison Renn, who will start leading the choir January 2, 2019. Allison comes to Aldersgate from Wisconsin, by way of North Carolina and California. Fueled by her lifelong love of music, she consistently strives to inspire adults and children to embrace their musical talents in her varied roles as a music educator, conductor, vocal performer, and composer. She has taught in many public and parochial schools, focusing primarily on choir and general music programs. Additionally, Allison has been volunteering or working in churches since high school. Allison earned her undergraduate degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance form the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and she completed her graduate studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, focusing on Vocal Pedagogy and Performance. When not making music, Allison loves to read, sew, bake and play outside with her husband and three children.
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Youth Homelessness
Talk
Sunday, January 6
Have you read the article about homeless youth in the Seattle Times? King County is in crisis with over 1500 youth and young adults living on the streets. 20% of these young people have been kicked out of their families because of their gender identification or sexual orientation that is not acceptable to their families.
The CRC and Outreach teams have invited Kimberly Turner to speak on a program sponsored by Friends of Youth and The Y on how the community can address this problem It will be held on Sunday,
January
6 at 10:15am in Friendship Hall. Please put time on your calendar to either stay after 1st service or come early for 2nd service.
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Pastor's Class Resumes in 2019
Wednesday, January 16
The Pastor's class will resume on Wednesday,
January 16
. It is offered at 10:00am and 7:00pm, same class at two different times. For the first few months of the new year, we will do an in-depth book study on Brian McLaren's book, "We Make the Road by Walking." It is designed to be a year-long study for spiritual formation, reorientation and activation, or reactivation of our focus on faith. During each class we will examine more thoroughly the scriptures, commentary, and discussion questions presented in the book. We will be utilizing this resource for many of the sermons on our Sundays through Easter and beyond. Our Bishop has recommended this book as together we approach the upcoming General Conference. We will have the book available for purchase in January for $12.
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Are you Ready to Join Us?
On February 24, we will be welcoming new members to our congregation. If you are interested in finding out more about membership, please speak with one of the pastors. Membership is open to all adults who are interested and youth who have taken confirmation. We welcome those who transfer membership from other churches or those who have never been a member of a church before. All are welcome.
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Bible Sunday
January 20
We celebrate the tradition of presenting Bibles to our 3rd graders as a gift from the congregation. It is our prayer that this gift will honor our children's growing faith development and enhance their faith with God's word. We will present Bibles on
January 20
during worship. If your child is in third grad and would like to receive his or her Bible, contact Jen Hoerber at [email protected].
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Centering Prayer Group
In these turbulent times, prayer and meditation are essential. You are invited to the Centering Prayer/Lectio Divina group that meets at Aldersgate on Friday afternoons at 2:00pm. This is an opportunity to open your mind to God's insight. Interested - contact Sabrina Macintyre or Bob Olson.
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2019 Yoga Series
Starts January 5
Got a New Year's resolution? Vince Fratello can help with his introductory series of yoga classes at Aldersgate after the New Year. The classes will be taught at the most basic beginner level and will be organized to accommodate all body types and physical abilities. Class 1 always starts at the beginning so don't worry. The series will tentatively be ten Saturdays,
January 5 to March 9
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Class time will be
9:00-10:15am.
Students will be asked to bring a sticky
yoga mat (ask if you are unsure) and Vince will supply the rest of the props. The cost will be $50 per student for the entire series-you can try out the first class with no financial commitment and scholarships are available if needed. If you have questions you can contact Vince
. We hope to see you there!
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Kids Bell Choir
Resumes January 13
Calling all kids in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades to try something new. Time to ring, swing and shake, just to name a few. There's no music experience required, you'll be ringing just fine in a blink. There's laughing, ringing and some fun with tennis balls, come see what you think. Kids Bell Choir will start back up on Sunday, Jan 13th. Rehearsals are on Sundays from 6:30 - 7:30pm (first Sundays of the month will be right after Club 345 from 7:30 - 8:00pm) in the Sanctuary. Please contact Pam Johnson if you are interested in joining in on all the fun at [email protected] or (206) 200-8254.
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Youth Group (6th-12th Grade)
Youth Group meets on Sunday evenings from 6:00-8:00pm. All youth in 6th-12th grade are welcome. If you have questions about the youth program, contact
Jen Hoerber. Here are some upcoming events:
*Jan. 6 - Youth Group, 6:00-8:00pm (NO dinner tonight)
*Jan. 12-13 - Youth Lock-in Saturday, at 5:30pm thru Sunday morning.
This is Youth Sunday and the youth will be planning and directing both services.
*Jan. 20 - Youth Group, 6:00-8:00pm
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Club 345 (3rd~4th~5th Grade)
February 3
Club 345 is open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and meets once a month usually on the first Sunday evening for dinner and a fun activity. The next meeting is February 3 at 5:00pm. Volunteers are always needed to host the Club 345 activity or to provide the dinner. Please sign up on the CYF bulletin board by the church office.
C
ontact is
Jen Hoerber
.
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Friends of Youth Collection
The Considering Reconciling Committee is sponsoring a three week collection drive for Friends of Youth this holiday season. Friends of Youth is an organization that works with homeless youth in Bellevue providing counseling, transitional housing, case management, education, employment, and behavioral health management services. Approximately 20% of youth who are homeless in our area are estranged from their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The supplies we collect will be donated after worship on January 6. Bring your donations to Friendship Hall starting Sunday December 16.
The current list of needs includes:
- New underwear for youth (men and women)
- Socks
- Full-size soaps, shampoo, shaving products
- Fleece blankets
- Cleaning supplies for youth moving into transitional housing.
- New dish sets.
- New glassware sets.
- New pots and pans sets.
- New twin XL bedding sets.
- Laundry baskets and laundry soap.
- New shower curtain with matching towels.
- Gift cards for new apartment items for youth moving into transitional housing
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People with Health Concerns
*Ruth Carver's sister Sandra and husband Earle
*Wendi's father Lee
*Pastor Brad
*Dorothy Benneett's brother Jim
*Eathel Allyn
Additional Concerns
*Missionary Katherine Parker
To submit a prayer request to the Prayer Chain, email
Dorothy Bennet
t, the Prayer Chain Coordinator. You can also fill out a pew prayer card on Sunday and put it in the offering plate, or you can contact the
church office with your prayer request. All prayer requests will appear in the church newsletters unless you request otherwise.
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Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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