REMINDER

Sunday, January 30th is 4th Sunday after the Epiphany

10:00am - Family Worship Service

11:00am - Fellowship Hour

January 23, 2022

To our Friends of the United Methodist Church in Madison,

As chair of the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), it is my responsibility to share with you the news that we will be receiving a new pastoral appointment effective July 1, 2022. As announced during worship this morning, and further described in a letter from Pastor Kate, she has accepted a job offer to become the Regional Director of Resourcing for the northern region of the GNJ Annual Conference.

During these past 4 years, Pastor Kate has been a tremendous leader for our congregation. She has helped us navigate through many challenges and has helped us create a vision that will guide us for years to come. We are eternally grateful for her contributions and will deeply miss her faithful leadership, support and guidance.

Transition can be a difficult time, and I ask you to be in prayer with Pastor Kate and the SPRC, and also the Bishop and the Cabinet as they work towards the appointment of a new pastoral leader for our church. We all move forward from this point, knowing in our hearts that God is with us and will guide us down the path that best serves God’s needs.

I, along with the entire SPRC, am here to ensure we have a smooth transition over these upcoming months. We pledge to keep the congregation informed as we progress through the transition. We will remain in close contact with District Superintendent Reverend Williams, who will be assisting us throughout this process. We also ask for your support, as there are many ways for members of the congregation to become involved with the transition. One example of this support will be the creation of a Transition Team. The Transition Team will be comprised of persons who can provide good insight into the nature of our congregation and will play a key role in helping to manage the transition process. This week, the SPRC will be asking several of you to serve on the Transition Team. We ask that you prayerfully consider our request and hope you will agree to join us on this journey.

While saying goodbye can be difficult, we want you to know that each and every one of you will be in our prayers as we prepare for a new chapter in our ministry. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Kevin O’Brien

Chair, Staff Parish Relations Committee

kevinob48@gmail.com

Combined Madison, Chatham, & Summit UMC

Youth Group Gathering!

Sunday, February 6, 2022

6:00pm-8:00pm

The United Methodist Church in Madison

24 Madison Ave

Madison, NJ 07940

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.'

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.

Oikos will meet next Sunday, January 30th at 4pm on Zoom.

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

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

Church Office Hours

Monday - Friday

9:00am - 3pm

If you have any news or announcements you would like to go into this weekly email, please contact Lisa in the church office at

 973-377-1231 or church@umcmadison.org