What's Happening at UMC Madison 1/17/22

REMINDER

OFFICE IS CLOSED MONDAY FOR

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

Sunday, January 23rd is 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany

10:00am - Family Worship Service

11:00am - Fellowship Hour

The next Church Council meeting is Tuesday, January 19th at 7pm via Zoom. Email with link will be sent out.

Stewardship Series: Greater Than

The whole

is greater than the sum of its parts. -Aristotle

One aspect of growing as a disciple of Christ means that we are committed to responding to God’s wonderful generosity. Being generous is about aligning our priorities with God’s priorities, aligning our hearts with God’s heart. We grow in that generosity as part of our individual spirituality, we also grow in generosity within our faith community as the body of Christ. The disciples in the book of Acts understood the power of community and growing together in discipleship.

Together is greater than

alone.

Generosity is greater than

storing up.

And thriving is greater

than survival.

Join us for this series as we consider all that God has shared with us and what it means to live a life that is 'Greater Than.'

Moment for Dreaming Together

What is one worry you have or challenge you see our church facing that needs to be addressed?

Email Pastor Kate with your answers! @ leadpastor@umcmadison.org

Dear friends of the United Methodist Church in Madison,

Thank you for your continued faithful commitment to the United Methodist Church in Madison!

As we celebrate our congregation’s 150th Anniversary, we want to share the exciting ways that God has been moving in 2021 with the help of your generosity, as well as our anticipated opportunities and challenges going into 2022.

Here are just a few of the things God has done through UMC Madison this year:

We are reaching more families as we have seen tremendous growth from 3 students to 45 students at preschool/Daycare Acorn Academy as it reopened under the church’s ownership in the pandemic (formerly owned by Drew University).
We have welcomed two new international staff people: Student Assistant Pastor Woo Lim Kwak and Student Intern Domingos Francisco Fernando. These students are gaining valuable experience that will serve them in ministry for years to come in the US and beyond.
We have supported our neighbors through collecting coats and thousands of diapers, and we continue to support the efforts of the Interfaith Food Pantry of Morris County.
We have welcomed students from Drew University who are participating in the life of the church, including our new ‘Oikos’ program. ‘Oikos’ creates a welcoming space for the international student community and our congregants to share about their culture, language, and traditions of origin and provides a learning space for all to grow together.
We have baptized 3 little ones into our faith community and we anticipate welcoming 15 new members to the UMC Madison in spring 2022.
We have received over $100,000 of financial support through federal, state, and GNJ conference grants to sustain Acorn Academy through the pandemic, install a state-of-the-art security system for the church building, and begin a preschool tuition assistance program for international families at Drew University.

Even in the midst of a world-wide health crisis, God is doing great things! And all of these opportunities are possible because of your generous and faithful support through financial giving, volunteering, and prayer.

As we begin 2022, we will also be facing some challenges. Due to the pandemic, organizations that were renting building space from the church have not renewed their rental contracts. We will need to evaluate our budget and our mission going forward. In monthly meetings, the Church Council will assess our vision and mission for how to expand our impact and build missional partnerships with the church conference, our community, and Drew University in light of these new realities. The Trustees are in the process of evaluating our church properties to determine their best use. As we determine giving contributions for 2022, the Finance Committee will re-evaluate our expenses and make recommendations to the Church Council and SPRC for how to bring our expenses into greater alignment with our current financial realities and individual contributions.

In all of this, we invite you to prayerfully consider your contribution to our church in 2021 and help us close out our 150th Anniversary year strong. We would like to continue the vital work of the church in our community, even as we face present challenges.

Your donations can be given in one of three ways:

MAIL: 24 Madison Ave, Madison NJ 07940
WEBSITE: www.umcmadison.org/give
TEXT: ‘Give’ to 973-834-8658

We believe that the Spirit of God is leading us into a new and exciting season of ministry here at UMC Madison. We urge you to consider being a part of it!

Noreen O’Brien, Finance Committee Chairperson

Rev. Kate Hillis, Lead Pastor

Due to the uptick in Covid cases, we will not be serving food or drink during Fellowship Hour to protect our friends and neighbors.

Offering Envelopes

If anyone would like blank offering envelopes for the year, please pick them up in the sanctuary or see Lisa in the office.

Inez Walling

11/18/1928 - 12/27/2021

Inez Walling, 93, passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 27, 2021 following a short illness.

Inez was born in Nottingham, England on November 18, 1928 to Edgar and Clara (Wilson) Stubbings. After moving to the United States, she grew up in the Bronx, New York and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. After graduation, she began working in Manhattan at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, where she met her future husband, Jerry. Together, they moved to Madison, NJ in 1955.

After many years as an amazing stay-at-home-mom and, later, following her retirement from H.P. Higgs & Co. in Madison, she and her late husband enjoyed traveling throughout the country and dancing the night away on many, many cruises. She was a faithful member of the United Methodist Church in Madison where she served in countless ways, including president of the Friendship Club. She was an avid knitter and crafter, enthusiastic singer, and fabulous party-thrower.

She was the devoted wife of the late Jerry Day Walling for more than 64 years.

She was the loving mother of Jayne Jason (Dan), Craig Walling (Susan), Lynn Russell (Bill), Glenn Walling (Kristen), and Karen Kastel (Matthew). She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren: Dawn Walker (Gary), Dylan Jason (Erika), Janelle Jason, Deanna Anderson (Daniel) and Joy Jason, Megan and Elizabeth Walling, Frank Russell (Sarah), Shaun Russell (Becky), Jacob and Clara Walling, Luke and Grant Kastel, and Dale and Drew Walling, her great-grandchildren, as well as her brother, Donald Stubbings, and many loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son Wayne Walling and her grandson Thomas Walling.

A special Thank You to all her cherished friends and neighbors who have cared for and supported her so much in recent years.

Funeral Home:

Wm. A. Bradley & Son Funeral Home

Visitation Hours:

Friends are invited to visit at the funeral home beginning one hour prior to the memorial service

Funeral:

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.

Wm. A. Bradley & Son Funeral Home,

345 Main Street, Chatham

Memorial Gifts:

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Interfaith Food Pantry, 2 Executive Drive, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 (mcifp.org).

Oikos resumes next Sunday, January 23rd at 4pm. See you there!

Acorn Academy is hiring! When we say this is a great place to start, we’re not just talking about children preparing for elementary school. It’s also about our employees. When you join our staff, you’ll discover the joy of learning, as you grow and develop in your career, alongside the children in your care. As you inspire them to achieve, you’ll be inventing your future too.

-Competitive wages

-Health Insurance offered

-Supportive, working environment

Email Kareena Salo, Director of Acorn Academy:

KSalo@acornacademyofmadison.com

New COVID-19 Developments

There has been a significant rise in COVID-19 infections in the US and in Morris County in the last two months, largely due to the impact of new variants. The CDC recommends that all people regardless of vaccination status should wear masks indoors if they are in an area of substantial or high rate of transmission. While Morris County is at about 75% vaccinated, the transmission rate is also high in the entire state of NJ including Morris County, with 73% of new cases being the Omicron variant -- many of which are breakthrough cases in vaccinated people. At UMC Madison, we are asking that ALL people regardless of vaccination status wear a mask, sanitize hands, and maintain social distance to help keep one another safe. Thank you for taking care of yourself and your neighbors.

UPDATE:

There are emails pretending to be from Robb Shoaf and other members of our congregation asking for Amazon Gift Cards to be sent to a friend or relative. Please do not respond to these. If you're in doubt as to whether an email is real, please pick up the phone and call that person.

Please be aware that there are emails and texts from Pastor Kate going out to our members asking for money. Do not reply to these as we have not sent anything out. You can contact Lisa in the office at 973-377-1231 or church@umcmadison.org if you have any questions.

Here is a link from the Federal Trade Commission on how to recognize and avoid Phishing Scams.

How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams