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Here at Burke UMC, we welcome all to experience Christ's life-changing love as we worship, learn, and share in caring community!
We believe that a holistic approach to discipleship includes engaging in all the core ministry areas of worship, learn, care, and share. This includes all ages, from the youngest to oldest members of our community. Be sure to scroll through this newsletter and read about upcoming opportunities to connect and engage in December.
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December is here.
I love this time of year… like giddy, get excited for it. I feel like Will Ferrell yelling “Santa” at the top of my lungs. It is a big joke with my kids that all year long I will let them know “It’s almost Christmas”. I’m known to say it to them the day after Christmas. And I generally get the appropriate eye roll, but there is always a little smile on their face. It’s a joke, but at the same time, I kind of wish we all lived life that way.
Why do I love Christmas so much? Some of it is definitely nostalgia, but I think the part that I love is the way in which Christmas is centered around concepts like peace, love, hope… all the music seems to transport my heart to all that is good around us. It has this infectious ability to permeate our world in meaningful ways. And often, once Christmas comes and goes, we settle back into life and can forget this call to love and seek the good in the world. I remember in seminary when I was serving at a homeless shelter and talked to them about what they needed and the donations they would receive, they said don’t bring anything at Christmastime. At Christmas they would be so swamped with toys and things for the people there, they couldn’t even use everything. Then comes March… April… summer, they were desperate to get basic needs for those they were assisting. As I move into December, it is appropriate for me to say “It’s almost Christmas” as these Advent/Christmas ideas are forefront in December. But what if as we move through Advent, we keep the Christmas Spirit in our hearts once Christmas Day has passed and make it Almost Christmas year-round! Amen.
-Rev. Dr. Jason Snow
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"Santa's Coming!!!" Clip from the movie, "Elf" | |
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December 3: Advent Celebration, 5-7:30 pm
We are excited to hold our annual Advent celebration again this upcoming Saturday! The children's choir will kick off the event in the sanctuary from 5:00 to 5:30 pm. Afterwards we will have activities for the whole family including our nativity where you can visit Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, crafts, trivia, food, and live animals. We hope you'll join us! A huge thanks to Terri and James Cubeta for organizing this event again this year.
Able to volunteer to help out? Click HERE to sign up!
December 11: Lessons and Carols, 9:30 am
A joyful retelling of the Christmas story through song and scripture. Featuring four of our music groups: Celebration Ringers, Chancel Choir, In His Name, and Joyful Ringers.
December 21: Longest Night Worship Service, 7:30 pm
Grief doesn't go away just because the holidays are here. If you've lost a loved one recently, are going through a hard time, or are simply in need of a quiet, reflective space this season, we invite you to join us.
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December 24: Christmas Eve Worship Services
We will have family services at 10:30 am and 5 pm. Then, our traditional candlelight services will be at 7 pm and 9 pm. Our 10:30 am and 7 pm services will be livestreamed!
December 25: Christmas Day Worship Service, 9:30 am
Please feel free to come in your pajamas or other comfortable clothing and enjoy our Charlie Brown Christmas.
January 1, 2023: New Year's Day Online Worship, 9:30 am
We will welcome in the New Year with an online-only worship service with Katie Glick preaching, available through our website or on Facebook. NOTE: there is no in-person service on January 1.
**For information regarding communion element pick up for our online community, please read below
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Speaking of Christmas... support our ministries while you shop!
If you shop on Amazon, be sure to add us to your account through Amazon Smile so we can earn money as you buy gifts for loved ones this holiday season. To add us as your charity of choice that receives a portion of the proceeds of your purchases, go to smile.amazon.com -> Your Account -> type in Burke United Methodist Church. It's that easy!
Church Office Closed The Week After Christmas
Please note that the church office will be closed the week between Christmas and New Years to allow our church staff time to rest and spend time with their families after a busy Advent season. If you need anything from our staff, please reach out with ample time for them to complete your request before Christmas.
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Advent is underway, with our 4 week sermon series called, "Making Room"!
Communion for Online Community
If you're a part of our online community, you may pick up take home Communion elements this week during office hours (9 am-3 pm). For the Longest Night and Christmas Eve worship services, you may pick up take home Communion elements from the office the week of December 19.
All About Communion:
At Burke UMC, we celebrate Communion monthly, usually on the first Sunday of the month; and on other occasions such as Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, our Weekly Lenten services, and Longest Night service.
We want you to receive the Communion elements in a way you are most comfortable. As you come forward to the chancel area, our options include: you may receive a piece of bread from a common loaf that you may dip in a common cup; you may receive a piece of bread and pick up a single-use cup of juice available in trays near both sides of the altar rail; or you may select individually packaged elements from a tray near both sides of the altar. Gluten-free elements are also available on request. If you are unable to come to the front, notify an usher and Communion will be brought to you at your seat. You may dispose of your cup/wrappers in the small trash containers that may be found at the altar rail, the rear of the sanctuary as you exit and by the Wiggle Room door.
Attending worship with us in-person, but have family who were unable to attend? You may pick up take-home Communion boxes after worship at the Connection Center. We welcome you to offer these to family and friends within your community.
If you plan to join us via livestream for worship on Communion Sundays, we offer take home Communion elements during the week preceding each Communion Sunday. You may pick up the take home boxes in the office, Monday-Friday, during regular office hours and have them available for online worship.
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Short Term Advent LEARN Classes:
Son of Man
If you are interested in learning more about what we really mean that Jesus is God and Human, then take our introductory Advent class- Son of Man! We will talk about the some of the most central and basic aspects of our faith, and we will aim to get to know Jesus in his historic context. This class, led by Rev Ev, meets in Room 5. No pre-reading required!
Shepherds and Wise Men
The key events of Christianity were the primary focus of art in Europe for many centuries. Artists used a variety of approaches in showing the birth of Christ, adoration of the shepherds and arrival of the wise men. This two-session Advent class will look at paintings and sculpture from the Gothic through Baroque eras to sample many different interpretations. The class will be taught by Roz Hoagland, who is a retired art historian who taught at Northern Virginia Community College for 40 years. In retirement, she continues to take groups to Europe to study art and architecture. She and her husband have been BUMC members for more than 35 years. The class will meet in Room 10 on December 4th and December 18th at 10:30 AM. All are welcome!
For information on our long term classes, visit burkeumc.org/learn! Reach out to Pastor Evelyn with questions about which class might be the best for you.
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The Lighthouse Bookstore Is Back!
You can find the bookstore at the end of the hallway when you walk through the main doors, past the sanctuary and the coat racks. The bookstore contains books for current and upcoming classes and some nice study journals are available as well. There are also some new gift items and a beautiful selection of greeting cards made by the very talented Cards of Comfort folks.
How to pay:
The black drop-box on the second shelf has envelopes you can put your money/checks in. Please make sure to write the item(s) purchased on the envelope before you drop it in the box. All prices are suggestions. If you can't afford an item or don't have the money on you, no worries. Please pay what you can. Purchases are made via the honor system, so the bookstore is ALWAYS OPEN! Heather Mercer will be at the bookstore to provide assistance and answer questions after service every Sunday until 11:30 am.
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Christmas Tree Sales: Sales continue through December 11 (or earlier, if sold out). You can still sign up to volunteer through this link.
Christmas Eve Greeters:
We're in need of greeters to make people feel welcome on one of the most joyful nights of the year -- Christmas Eve! We need 2 people or one family for each service. You can sign up by clicking HERE.
Sunday Morning Coffee:
Our Sunday morning coffee and tea fellowship continues! Sign up to help prepare and clean up this service one morning this month or next. You can grab a Sunday that works for you by clicking HERE.
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Thanksgiving Boxes
Thank you to everyone who donated items for our Thanksgiving Boxes. We distributed around 120 boxes on November 19th to our co-op families and the left-over boxes are being used to stock our co-op shelves.
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Potholder Project
Co-op volunteer, Beth Myers, coordinated the Thanksgiving Potholder Project for the second year in a row. Hand weaved potholders were created and mailed into BUMC from all over the country! Beth collected a total of 662 potholders from 49 weavers living in 21 different states! Beth distributed a potholder to every family that received a Thanksgiving box from BUMC. Additionally, she was able to distribute potholders to two different Baltimore area food pantries. Thank you Beth!
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Teddy Bear Brigade:
Thank you to everyone who donated stuffed animals for our annual Teddy Bear brigade! This collection goes to Gleaning for the World, an organization that distributes teddy bears to children in need as a result of trauma and disasters. Jim Coile drove the church truck FULL of donations to Gleaning for the World delivering 2,695 stuffed animals!
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Feeding Ministries
We are in need of volunteers for our various feeding ministries! Interested in joining a team that cooks monthly for organizations in our community? Be in touch with Katie Glick (katieglick@burkeumec.org).
Burke Gives Back Community Co-op
Our co-op continues to grow and to serve the community in meaningful and profound ways! In September we registered 73 new families and served 209 families total! We always welcome non-perishable food donations in our donation boxes in front of the church. You can also sign-up to volunteer with us by visiting the BUMC website and clicking on the Share tab.
Rising Hope Angel Tree
Thank you for your support of the Rising Hope Angel Tree! All of the gifts for that effort are covered!
BUMC’s Co-op Parent Shop
On December 17 we will be having our second annual Parent Shop for our co-op families. Parents will be able to come to the shop and purchase two gifts for each of their children. In order to make this event a success we need donations of gifts for children of all ages. We have begun accepting donations in the Donation Center! We invite you to pick up a gift for the Parent Shop while you are shopping for your loved ones. We also need volunteers who can be sorting and organizing the gifts leading up to the event. Be in touch with Katie Glick (Katieglick@burkeumc.org) if you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer.
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Click below to see highlights of upcoming opportunities for kids and youth this December! Visit our website for a full list of opportunities. | |
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Leadership Board:
Our leadership board continues meeting monthly. We are grateful for their wisdom and commitment. Their next meeting will be January 19th at 7 pm via Zoom. If you'd like to attend, you can register for the meeting by clicking HERE.
Treasurer's Report:
At this time, financial giving is running about $15K below 2021 levels. We currently forecast a potential $60K budget deficit by year end. As such, we recently moved money from our contingency funds to the general operating account to cover the deficit. There is some good news, however, as we were recently notified that BUMC will receive $25K from a American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Non-Profit Sustainability Grant. This money will be used to help offset this deficit.
Our dollar assets at the end of October totaled $446,139.41. The majority of the our dollar assets are in restricted funds (funds given for specific purposes) which cannot be used for the general operating account. Please prayerfully consider supporting the general operating account when making your gifts.
We are pleased to report that the total number of pledges increased for the coming year, leading us to project a $40K income increase over 2022. Families increased their individual pledge amount by almost 8% compared to 2022 and 12 new families pledged for 2023.
The November church Leadership Board approved our 2023 budget, which is somewhat reduced from 2022 but aligned with our projected income for the new year.
As of the end of October, the outstanding church mortgage balance was $237,618.90. At the same time, the Church Facility Care Endowment Fund account was valued at $23,406.42, down a bit from the initial $24,000 investment in September.
With the end of the year fast approaching, tax season looms over the horizon. Now is a great time to consider making an additional tax deductible contribution to our church. In addition,
for those in the congregation age 72 and older (who must take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs before December 31st), please consider a Qualified Charitable Deduction (QCD). A QCD is a direct transfer of funds from your IRA, payable directly to a qualified charity. Amounts distributed as a QCD can be counted toward satisfying your RMD for the year, up to $100,000. The QCD is excluded from your taxable income.
Just ask you IRA custodian to send your QCD directly to Burke United Methodist Church and enjoy paying less tax while supporting BUMC’s mission.
Your tithes and gifts continue to be essential to the successful operations of the church. Our members are continuing to give faithfully. Thank you for your continued support!
Bill Cultice
BUMC Treasurer
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SEJ Conference Elects New Bishops
We will welcome a new bishop, Rev. Sue Haupert-Johnson, in Virginia after the new year. Bishop Lewis will be moving to serve the Mississippi Conference in the new year.
Rev. Tom Berlin, Rev. Dr. Connie Mitchell Shelton, and Rev. Dr. Robin Dease were elected as new bishops and will serve throughout the Southeastern Jurisdiction. General Conference 2024 has been scheduled for April 23 - May 4, 2024 in Charlotte, NC.
For more information about news across the SEJ, visit sejumc.org.
Annual Conference 2023:
Julie Chapman, Katie Glick and Jane Wilson were elected as District at-large delegates. We are grateful for their willingness to serve in this way. Keep an eye out for more news in the coming months leading up to Annual Conference. The gathering of our of Annual Conference will take place on June 15-17, 2023 in Roanoke, VA.
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