The Fellowship Newsletter for December 2019 Friends and family of CVUMC, here is what's happening in our church community

From The Pastor

“In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7     As the church community has now entered the Advent season, reading a portion of the nativity story from the Gospel of Luke is a passage that warms the heart and provides the reader with a litany of memories of when we first heard these words read by our parents, Sunday School, or at a Christmas Eve service. In again preparing our hearts to receive the Christ at Christmas, I would like to share with you two events that will be a part of this year’s Advent and Christmas celebration.     The first is of a matter of church stewardship business that generally takes place in the fall. However, with the new pastoral appointment taking place in July, and with our Charge Conference taking place in December, the 2020 stewardship campaign will take place in the first weeks of the New Year. We will then plan to dedicate the 2020 pledges at worship on the 19 th of January. In the New Year, the church family will receive a copy of the 2020 yearly budget, along with a letter and pledge card to help each prayerfully consider the gift they would like to present to the church in the New Year.     Second, as Connie and I have now settled into the community, we would like to invite you to join us for refreshments at our home in Santa Clarita after worship to 3 pm on the 22 nd of December. Throughout our ministry, we have celebrated opening our home to the church family to enjoy food and fellowship and we would like to continue this tradition with you. The Advent and Christmas season has always been a significant holiday in our lives, and when we celebrate this time of fellowship and food with our church family, this joy helps us to savor the Christmas spirit long into the New Year.     May each of you bask in the Spirit of Christ this Advent season, and may your lives be blessed by our Lord’s birth and presence this Christmas. Blessings and Mele Kalikimaka, Pastor Paul

Save the Date Sun. Dec. 1: First Sunday of Advent and Communion Sunday. Also, candles on the Advent Wreath will be lit today and again each Sunday until Christmas as well as Christmas Eve.  Tues. Dec. 3: Charge Conference meeting in Fellowship Hall @ 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served starting at 6:30. We hope you’ll attend to hear the year’s summary reports about our church activities and financial health as well as meet Rev. Jim Powell, our North District Superintendent, who will be attending the meeting. Sun. Dec. 8: (tentative) Board of Trustees meets after church, 11:30 – 12:00 Thurs. Dec. 12: United Methodist Women Board Meeting, 9 a.m. in Thee Room Saturday, Dec. 14: 10 a.m. to noon for the full run through of the Cantata, in costume with choir, kids, and all participants – Sanctuary. Sun. Dec. 15: Christmas “Beatles Love” Cantata during worship, 10 a.m. Worship is followed by special refreshments in Fellowship Hall Wed. Dec. 18: (tentative date) the gifts you have donated will be presented at the Christmas party at Learning Works Sun. Dec. 22: After-church refreshments at the home of Pastor Paul and Connie in Santa Clarita Tues. Dec. 24: Christmas Eve worship service @ CVUMC. Stay tuned for time. Wed. Dec. 25: Christmas Day

Music Notes By Barb Catlin-Bergeron, Music Director     In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to thank our wonderful choir for their hard work and dedication throughout the year. They add so much to our services each Sunday! Please help me thank Andrew, Camille, Debi, Diane, Jeanne, Jenny, Kathy, Mary, Peggy and Ryan next time you see them.      Speaking of choir, we are preparing to present our Beatles "Love" Cantata on Dec. 15th. If anyone has a hankering to sing and join in the choir, we are singing through all the parts Sunday, Dec. 1st after church - 11:30 to 12:1 5 with Ricky in the Thee Room. There's still time to come on up and participate vocally! I'm sure everyone has a secret desire to sing, "Taxman!"      Here's the schedule for the kids and parents, as well as choir. There's only one rehearsal to put this all together, so please be there!      Saturday, Dec. 14 th : 10 a.m.-noon: Run through with kids and everyone in the Sanctuary! We will block first for an hour, and then run the entire thing at 11 a.m. with the choir.      Sunday, Dec. 15th: 9 a.m. rehearsal . 10 a.m. worship service and performance of the Cantata. Please invite your family and friends! Have a blessed, warm, fun, and relaxed holiday season. Barb

During the holidays, many people feel great joy and family love. But for some people instead, there is sadness, loneliness, grief, disappointment, and many other feelings. We know that prayer makes a difference, for the person prayed for and also for the person lifting up the prayer. Perhaps you know of someone who is dealing with illness or whose health keeps them confined at home; someone who is experiencing sadness, grief, or other difficulty in their lives. What if we each take a moment every day to pray for them, and also pray for those in countries around the world who dream of a world of peace, greater equality, greater compassion and tolerance. Remembering each other in prayer will help those we pray for and will also create in all of us a greater sense of community, appreciation, and connection, one to another. “In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

Foundation The Foundation Board members are President Debi Bois, Becky Castano, Norma Ellis, Henry Garrett, Bettie Hull, and Chris Ruygrok The Foundation sends love and good wishes to all…..Merry Christmas!  This seems like the perfect time to share what the Foundation will be reporting to the Charge Conference on December 3, 2019. As of September 30, 2019: · 1.   We are up to date on payments to CVUMC *    $13,100 contributed to pastoral housing, more to come  *     $30,000 of our $40,000 pledge to general fund, final $10,000 payment to be made before the end of the year *     $9,000 for matching pledge funds · 2.   The closing balance in the Foundation’s Endowment Account at the end of  September was $1,076,109 · 3.   September Parsonage Account closing balance $554,125 Of course we could never have done any of this without the Congregation’s support.  Please keep us in your prayers, and consider a year-end gift to help support CVUMC, just talk to one of the Board members….   Debi Bois, President                    Hank Garrett, Vice President Bettie Hull, Treasurer                      Chris Ruygrok, Secretary Norma Ellis                                      Becky Castano

United Methodist Women The Board members are Kathy Garrett, Peggy Griffin, Connie Horton, Bettie Hull, Diane Lewis, Loraine Locke, Mary Marino, Linda Neate, Carmena Smith, and Cathy Wacker.

·         “World Thank Offering”: We held our “World Thank Program” by mail this year. All women received a letter, an insert with information about mission activities on every continent, two prayer sheets, and a tea bag to make a cup of tea to enjoy while counting our blessings. Anyone who is moved to participate in Mission with us may give your offering to Bettie Hull. If writing a check, it should be made out to CVUM W and in the memo line write “Thank Offering”.

·         Learning Works: Our annual Christmas tree board for “Learning Works!” was put up in Fellowship Hall on November 24. Each ornament on the tree identifies a gift for a child of a student at Learning Works. Connie Horton is facilitating the gift tree this year. Gifts will be delivered in mid-December when we attend the Christmas party at the school.

·         Reading Program reports: Please complete your Book Reporting log by Dec. 1 (or shortly thereafter) so that Cathy Wacker can submit them all to UMW North District on time.

·         The Bake Sale and Mini - Boutique just before Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, lots of delicious food and interesting boutique items, and lots of happy energy by everyone in the Hall. The money raised will be sent to mission programs locally and to programs through the Conference and National UMW offices. Thank you to everyone who supported us, who contributed food and boutique items, to all who helped set up and clean up! And Thank You to all for supporting Mission Outreach to women and children all over the world.

Montrose Preschool and Infant Care Center     Wow, has the month of November gone by fast at the Preschool!  We continue to have fun, fun, fun.     The children have been enjoying the new music center as well as all the activities that our New outdoor classroom specialist, Ms. Camille has been creating.      In the Classrooms…… you will see Turkeys everywhere. Turkeys made with hand-prints, turkeys made with real turkey feathers, turkeys made as head crowns and many other creative works. I guess you can guess the Thanksgiving theme here.     We ended the month with a very special day before Thanksgiving; Children’s Thanksgiving Feast. The children in all classrooms worked with their teachers on cooking projects to make side dishes for the real feast. Cranberries, mashed potatoes and cornbread plus turkey legs and breast meat along with chicken nuggets for the pickier preschool taste and pumpkin pies adorned the beautifully decorated fall tables for the special lunch before they went home on the early dismissal. Many parents also joined us in the prayer of “Lord we thank you” sung by the kids. A beautiful end to the month.     Next, Christmas planning……. stay tuned for “The rest of the story” Linda Taylor-Bell Director, Montrose Preschool and Infant Care

Board of Trustees Members of the Board of Trustees are Pastor Paul Tangonan, Richard Brace, Alan Del Castillo, Hector Castaneda, Andrew Delman, Connie Horton, and Linda Neate     The Board of Trustees will meet at some time early in December, possibly Sun. Dec. 8 after church, to roughly map out the projects which will be worked on by the NOMADS in January and figure out what supplies we need to buy.

Hector Castaneda cleaned the Sanctuary and Education Building gutters, one day before the storm arrived in mid-November. There is some new water damage to floors in the Education building ( not from the rain). Thankfully it was not from a burst pipe but from water on the floor when being mopped. The plywood flooring has been nailed down, some of the floor tiles in Room 3 had to be replaced, and the custodian is now using a different cleaning method. Thank you, Hector Castaneda, for being able to do that work over Thanksgiving weekend, when the children were not in school. Beautiful job!

The Prayer Team meets on Wednesday evenings at 6:45 p.m. Prayers are offered for all requests from the prayer cards placed in the offering plate on Sunday, and for the joys and concerns lifted up in church during Sunday’s worship service. If you have a prayer request, you may call Pastor Paul, Jeanne Lavieri, Diane Lewis, or the Church Office (818-249-6173). Any time you wish to participate in this small-group prayer team, you are always welcome. And you don’t need to commit to every Wednesday.

Thank You Our church wouldn’t have the special warmth and loving spirit it has without the volunteer help of many, many people. Thank you to all of you!

Ushers and Greeters on Sunday mornings: Melika Abdollahi, Melissa Abdollahi, Debi Bois, Janice Burke, Molly Burke, Bettie Hull, Susan Lockhart, Susan Meinke, Bill Snow, Jo Ann Stupakis

Liturgists/Lay Readers: Hank Garrett, Debi Bois, Janice Burke, Jenny Hambarsumian, Ricky Cosentino, Jeanne Lavieri

·         All those who brought refreshments for after church worship ·         Becky Castano: coordinating Sunday’s refreshments

·         our Musicians and Choir members : Barb Catlin-Bergeron, Ricky Cosentino, Tim Kobza, Alexis Sklarevski, Guest Pianist Yumi Gardner, Andrew Delman, Camille Sepulveda, Madeline Sepulveda, Debi Bois, Diane Lewis, Jeanne Lavieri, Jenny Hambarsumian, Kathy Garrett, Mary Marino, Peggy Griffin, Richard Brace

·         Janice Burke : Youth Group leader, Leadership Team chairperson

·         Arden Daniels and Carmena Smith : moderating the Thursday Adult Study Group

·         Jo Ann Stupakis and Connie Horton : Children’s Sunday School teachers

·          Edmond Hambarsumian and Kim Mawhinney: bringing us Sound and Video at every Sunday worship service ·         JoAnn Stupakis and Janice Burke , for the coffee we all enjoy before worship service begins

·         Bettie Hull, Cathy Wacker and Connie Horton : tabulating Sunday’s offering every Monday morning. ·         Marv Wacker: all the minor repairs on our campus every day, every week, and helping the Preschool with repairs

·         Molly Burke: keeping our church website www.cvumc.org up-to-date ·          Kim Mawhinney: writing and sending the church’s weekly Information Email every Friday

(If anyone’s name was left out, please let me [Linda Neate] know so I can make a correction in next month’s Fellowship. Thanks.)

December Birthdays and Anniversaries Birthdays                                                  Anniversaries 3   Sandy Saltsman                            6   Marv & Cathy Wacker 5   Norma Wirsig                               30 Ray & Lucille Catan 8   Tony Paiz                                      21 Tony & Dee Ann Paiz 10  Olivia Castaneda 11  Frances Stupakis 18  Caleb & Anna Brooks 18   Peggy Griffin 20  Ray Catan 23  Pam Kummer 23  Danny & Bella Castano 25  Christine Ruygrok 28  Chris Schmutzer 29  Riley Jucksch Check out our church website @ www.cvumc.org for up-to-date news!