Letter From the Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

As we are beginning the Advent season, I want to share with you a story I’ve told before: 

“An African tribe set off on a long march that would last them many weeks. After walking for several days, still far from their destination, they stopped and made camp for a few days before going on any further. When asked why they did this, they explained that they needed the time of rest so that their souls could catch up with them.”[1]

So that their souls could catch up with them. Now I think this is appropriate because we are entering a busy few weeks – preparing for Christmas. Even though Covid still has a presence in our lives, we are able to do more this year. We can be with family or friends which means there will be more planning, decorating, shopping, wrapping, travelling, on top of work and all the other activities and responsibilities we have in our lives. Which means that more than ever we need to be reminded to stop and rest and be mindful of the state of our souls. Because think about what it is we are preparing for. It’s not just a day on the calendar, or season of the year. We are preparing for the coming of God into our world. And, hopefully to come more deeply into our hearts and minds and souls.

I’m afraid it’s so easy for us to take the Christmas event for granted. We’ve packaged it into a nice story we tell on Christmas Eve as we sing and light candles. Which, don’t get me wrong, is truly beautiful and meaningful. But the coming of Jesus is so much more than that. Theologian Frederick Buechner helps us put Jesus’ birth in a bigger perspective. He writes, “When Jesus was born, the whole course of history was changed. That is a fact as hard and blunt as any fact. Art, music, literature, our culture itself, our political institutions, our whole understanding of ourselves and our world – it is impossible to conceive of how differently world history would have developed if Jesus’ birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did. For millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living life. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him.”   

Think about that! It’s an incredible message! An incredible reality! One that should make us want to stop and reflect on, and consider the impact Jesus can and should have on our lives. So in this busy season, may you find time to stop to think about and reflect on your relationship with Jesus Christ, and to ask the question, “how is it with my soul”? Has it caught up with my being?

As we await the One who is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.   

[1] Adapted from Sabboth: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest by Wayne Muller.

Children and Youth ~ Hannah Stelter

Upcoming Activities:

Family Christmas Celebration - December 11 @ 10:30am

On December 11 we are going to have our 2nd Annual Family Christmas Celebration! There will be cookies to decorate and ornaments to create and families of all ages are welcome! If you are interested in helping out, please let me know! If not, I hope to see you there!

Youth Group

Middle School Youth Group meets on Thursdays from 4:00- 5:00pm. For the month of December, we are going to study Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love! There will be no Middle School Youth Group on December 23 or December 30 due to Winter Break.

High school Youth Group will continue to meet on Sunday afternoons from 4:00-5:00pm. The High Schoolers are also going to study Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love! There will be no High School Youth Group on December 26 due to Winter Break.

Sunday School

Sunday School will continue to meet during the 9:30 service! We have two classes: Kindergarten – 1st grade and 2nd – 4th grade! Each week, children are invited to attend the first part of the church service with their parents. During the children's moment, they are invited up to the altar for a short lesson and discussion. Afterwards, they are taken to their Sunday School classes for the remaining part of the service for a longer lesson and activities. Pick up will be in their Sunday School classroom!

Nursery

Each Sunday, we offer Nursery care during the 9:30 service. We are so excited to welcome Moriah Leonard as our new Nursery Attendant! Moriah and her family have been a part of John Wesley for many years and Moriah is very active in the youth group. Please feel free to stop by and say hi to her in the Nursery on Sunday mornings!

Recap:

Youth 20 Hour Famine:

From lunchtime on November 20 to Breakfast on November 21, 11 youth and 3 adults spent time fasting, serving, praying, and more during the Youth 20 Hour Famine! We had so much fun getting to serve others while also learning to be thankful for our many blessings. After writing and reading the prayer for the 9:30 service, we collected donations for World Vision, an organization that helps to end world hunger! Together, we raised over $1600 for World Vision! A special thank you to everyone who donated! And a big thank you to our chaperones, Oz and Tamra, and our cooks, Amy Clatanoff-Brown, Carrie Leonard, and Colleen Karsner! We are grateful for all of you!

Worship Ministry ~ Diane Huban

It has been a pleasure to see so many of you returning to church and we certainly hope the trend continues. In the coming weeks, you will begin to see some of the more familiar aspects of our worship service like acolytes, the choir processional, the children’s message, singing "Give Thanks" to name a few. We are also planning on the usual array of poinsettias for the Christmas season. (Please see Donna’s article about flower donations.) While we know that many of you look forward to the return of the 8:30 service, we plan to continue with the single 9:30 service at least through Christmas. The energy radiated by a full church is so powerful that we hesitate to diminish it by dividing the group. In addition, Sunday December 19 is our Cantata Sunday which is traditionally a single service. As we have throughout the pandemic, we ask your continued patience as we inch our way back to normal while attempting to provide a meaningful worship experience for everyone.

ADVENT REFLECTIONS

Isaiah 40 tells us:

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

How will you, personally, prepare the way for the Lord? The Worship Ministry Team invites you to be part of Advent Reflections. During Advent Pastor Rebecca will be preaching on Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. As a follow up, on Tuesdays beginning November 30^th, the sanctuary will be open from 3-7pm for personal reflection on these themes. Inspirational music will be playing and questions for reflection will be available. Before you leave we encourage you to share some of your reflections by writing them down on the special note paper provided and placing them on the altar. When you arrive Christmas Eve, you will find all the reflections adorning a Christmas tree in the narthex.  

While it is our sincere hope that at some point during the Advent season you will be able to find time for some quiet reflection with God in the sanctuary, we know that it may not be possible for everyone. Therefore, we will also be sending the questions for reflection out via email and then at your convenience, you are welcome to drop by the church, grab a tag and place it on the altar. 

Needless to say over the past year, our daily routines as well as our mindsets have been altered in so many unexpected ways. Advent Reflections offers you the perfect opportunity to sit quietly, worship God and reflect on messages of hope, joy, love and peace that God sent to us through his son Jesus Christ.

Christmas Eve Services

Back by popular demand we will be offering our outside Christmas Eve service beginning at 4:00pm. It’s such a fantastic way to bring worship outside our walls and invite the community to join us in celebrating the birth of Jesus. The service will feature a live nativity, luminaries, scripture reading and carol singing. We will conclude the service with prayer and the singing of Silent Night at 4:25. At 7:00pm we will hold a traditional, in-person, livestreamed service in the sanctuary.

We all want to put COVID in our rearview mirror, but unfortunately, it looks like we are not quite there yet (not to mention predictions for a rough flu season). In addition to your patience, we also ask for your flexibility. Given the continued increases in COVID cases, there is a potential that things could change. In the meantime, for the health and safety of all those who wish to worship in our sanctuary, we strongly recommend that everyone wear face masks when attending indoor services. It is a small concession to help ensure that everyone has a healthy and happy Christmas season. 

Music Ministry ~ Linda Brouder

Our Music Celebration has been rescheduled to December 3rd at 7 pm. A big thank you to our Choir and Bells who are working so diligently on our special celebration of music. Also, a special thanks to Tom Hoke for all of his work coordinating and promoting this celebration. We are indeed a blessed congregation!

Spiritual Growth ~ Sheldon Keller

Advent Study: "While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent" by Mary Lou Redding

What a busy time! In addition to the usual… people are buying the gifts and then wrapping them, decorating the house and maybe the yard too, sending out cards, making visits, preparing for the Christmas dinner… and the list goes on and on… Well, we would like to make this holy season even BUSIER! In a GOOD way! We are now offering two (we had four, but the Tuesday morning session is now FULL and the Thursday Zoom one has been cancelled) opportunities for you to spend some time reflecting on the meaning of Christmas during this Advent time.

We will be reading While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent by Mary Lou Redding.

In the words of one bookstore’s promotion….

 This book offers new ways of connecting study participants with their own faith questions. Group members have the chance to look at some biblical figures on whom we don't always focus during Advent. Somewhat surprisingly, Tamar, Ruth, Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the Magi ask questions that resonate with contemporary Christians during this season. Designed as a complete Advent study, this book offers readers unique perspectives on the events of Christmas, a fifth session for the week of Epiphany, an introduction to the spiritual discipline of breath prayer, and much more.

Right now the following sessions are open:

Sunday, 10:30 AM at the church led by Jenn Linton (already begun) (check with Jenn)

Monday, 6:30 PM at the church, led by Deb Mack (begins tonight) (check with Deb)

The books are offered at no charge. You can sign up by contacting Ruth at the Church Office at 508-548-3050 or jwumcfalmouth@comcast.net or the session leaders. Please do it immediately.

Make your Advent season a little busier… in a GOOD way!

Outreach/Missions Ministry ~ Julie Immelt Whelden

Belonging To Each Other:                                                                 Reverse Advent From now until December 19th we will be collecting items for the Belonging to Each Other Men’s and Women’s houses to truly show them that we care for them. We will be putting a stocking and some special items together for the about 12 people who have been chosen for the Belonging To Each Other Homeless program homes. We have 3 Sundays to collect some very special items for people who don’t usually have the means to get simple things like you and me. (Gift cards will help them purchase items that are not available at the Falmouth Service.) Small Gift Cards to Dunkin Donuts, Walgreens, Walmart, Stop n Shop food/gas, phone minutes. Also donations of New Items: Bibles - Sanitary Products – Men/Women Deodorant – Chapstick – Gloves/Mittens – Candy – Deck of Cards – Journals – Small Games – Puzzles – Gummi Bears – Sour Patch Kids – Etc. Please drop gift certificates in the office to Ruth and place items in the bin in the fellowship hall.   

Changing the World:                                                                 Venezuela Baby Project The season of baby Jesus reminds us of the babies in Venezuela that are in dire need of nutritional baby formula. The first years of life are the most important in brain development and having the nutrients helps tremendously. 

Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod:                                          Saturday December 4th Habitat is starting the wall-raisings for the Willett Way site in East Falmouth. This is such a blessing for the six families who will be working on their new homes with approximately 35 volunteers. We are excited to be 1 of 6 churches to help by providing snacks on the Third Saturday of the month until the project is complete. If you would like to help prepare regular sized muffins, pre-sliced coffee cake, sliced tea breads, and hand-held fruits such as mandarin oranges please email or call Julie Immelt Whelden. Jimmelt11@aol.com or 508-221-4958. Our first Saturday will be December 18th. Snacks will need to be dropped off at church by 9AM the Third Saturday of the month to be delivered in time for mid-morning snack. 

A CHRISTMAS FAIR “THANK YOU!” From:   Aline Ward

WOW, What a wonderful comeback from COVID!  We built it and the people came, they came in the cold, wind and rain! 

It is with much gratitude and THANKS to everyone who contributed to making this year’s Christmas Fair such a huge success! Some of us wondered if the people were ready to return. Well, we got our answer, Yes, they certainly were! It certainly exceeded my expectations. Someone asked how much money I hoped to raise from the sale, I thought about it and finally said, “you know, I’ll be happy with whatever we make but I’ll be happiest if lots of people walk through our doors and they leave happy with their shopping experience.”  And from so many comments I have personally received, even in the grocery store, people were so impressed and that makes me very happy and very proud of our church. We do have a Can Do attitude!

As your chairperson I’m so appreciative of everyone’s efforts. This year's Fair was my 16th overall and my 8th Fair for John Wesley. It’s been my pleasure to orchestrate this production, to organize it but most importantly to make sure it looks organized, clean, full of interesting product and finally it has to look appealing to the shopper, it has to look festive for the shopper because really it’s all about the shopper. So that’s my job…but we all know none of this can happen without the station chairs, my job doesn’t exist without them. We owe so many thanks to the chairs who stepped up this year to make this all happen….

Here they are, our chair people for this year's Fair. Let’s make sure we thank them!

Karyn Briggs, Larry Briggs, Henry Brown, Lynne Brown, Eileen Burt, Ted Burt, Noreen Byrne, Jean Dawson, Becky Dickens, Danna Dimock, Linda Duane, Kate Finemore, Maryellen Geoghan, Tom Hoke, Marti Jeglinski, Mark Karsner, Sharon Mulcahy, Matt O’Connor, Christine Quesnel, Sue Sievert, Patrick Shanley, Bonnie and Tim Valade & Larry Ward

And thank you to the many volunteers who supported these chairs. We had church members, we had family members, we had members of the community and we had one youth member, Karlee Meissner. Good job faithful servants.

My sincere THANK YOU!!! As of 11/20/2021 I am happy to report we are currently over $30,000. WOW! Our final number at 12/21/2019 (PreCovid) was $31,066. Can we beat this number in 4 weeks? I’m feeling confident, are you? We can do this!

Any questions or comments?  Contact me….Aline Ward,  Aw7050@comcast.net, 

or 508-444-6038

Together as a church family we can do great things.

With Much Love…..Thank You!!!!

In God’s Service,

Aline Ward

The bake table was once again a popular place to grab a few goodies. Eileen says, if you make it she will sell it and she kept her word!

Aline and Karyn were still smiling! It truly is heartwarming to see the community enjoying this event.

The line was long, the weather was cold and rainy but people were glad to come to enjoy our fair!

Church Mouse

As I said before things are really getting busy around here.

I investigated the stuff in the basement of the house next to the church and it is overflowing. All kinds of boxes which I could not investigate because of all the people in the basement. Did not want to go there after dark.

That big truck arrived again and started unloading beds and boxes. Lots of people were helping. That truck has something to do will blood, so I decided this is not the place to be so I wondered off and came back for the crumbs on the floor.

All week workers were all over the church preparing for something. All the furniture was moved out of the rooms and the Fellowship Hall (that big room). Loads of things came from the basement. There was so much activity I stayed away until everyone was gone. I investigated each room and was amazed at all the stuff that was in the basement was moved upstairs into each room. Then I realized that this is The Fair everyone was talking about since I returned. Over the week the church was transformed into one big store with all kinds of goods. Jellies, jams, craft things, wreaths, books, something called attic treasurers, a “silent auction”, hardware, jewelry, kids’ room, wood carvings, homemade candies, a boutique, a clothing store, and my favorite, baked goods. In addition, they served dinner and lunch. Everyone was so happy even though they stood in the rain waiting for the door to open. But before that happened, I heard Pastor Rebecca saying a prayer with all the volunteers in the Fellowship Hall so I bowed my head. The door opened and the people rushed in to their favorite table. I found a good place to stay so I could see all that happened (I did not want to get trampled). I was tired that night and slept well. The next day more people came and left with more goods. Food was served and a found a few crumbs on the floor, thank you. During Sunday service Aline announced that the money raised was $28,000 and again everyone clapped. I am beginning to understand that is a good thing.

One afternoon as I was taking a nap, I heard noise in the Sanctuary and investigated. Two women were practicing for a concert. One played the piano and the other a big stringed instrument that sat on the floor. People arrived and they started to play. I watched from my secret hiding place and it was a wonderful afternoon of music.

I heard banging in the education wing one day, so I investigated. I found a plumber, Gabe, installing a new boiler in the basement under the building. Glad the Trustees replaced it before the cold weather arrives as I spend time in the Education Wing. The sofas are so comfortable.

One night I heard voices so I investigated and young people and some adults in the fellowship hall. I overheard them talking about an overnight famine retreat. They were doing several projects including raking leaves in the back of the church. They were staying overnight and sleeping on the floor in some sort of bag. I overheard them talk about raising money for World Vision. The volunteers prepared dinner and breakfast for them. I found some crumbs on the floor as that is my job.

Recently I heard noise and people were decorating the church again. This time it was called Christmas decorations. I do like the green trees with the lights. The altar looks nice with the four green bags with words on them. I better stay away from the bags. I might fall in and not get out. Not sure what the words mean.

I found out that the first word is HOPE. Pastor Rebecca spoke about it on Sunday and I sort of understand. I knew I would learn a lot from Pastor Rebecca.

Whew, this was a busy month. Merry Christmas to you all.

The JW Church Mouse

Announcements

Joy Stosz would like to thank all the people over the years who have bought her poetry booklets at $10 each. 575 booklets have been sold for a current total of $5750 as of December, this year. All of the money has been donated to the church.

December Meetings and Events at JWUMC

Thursday 2nd - SPRMT 4 pm

Friday 3rd - Musical Celebration 7 pm

Sunday 5th - LGBTQ+ Discussion 1 pm

Monday 6th - TLT 6:30 pm

Tuesday 7th - Blood Drive 10-4 pm

Monday 13th - Finance Ministry Team 4 pm

Tuesday 14th - Trustees 3:30 pm

Monday 20th - Blood Drive 10 am - 4 pm

Friday 24th - Christmas Eve Outdoor Celebration 4 pm

Friday 24th Christmas Eve Service in Sanctuary 7 pm

Friday 24th - Office Closed

Friday 31st - New Year's Eve - Office Closed

Weekly Meetings:

Sunday - Advent Study 10:30 am*

Sunday - High School Youth Group 4 pm*

Monday - Advent Study - 6:30 pm*

Tuesday- Bible Discussion Group with Tim Cline 10 am

Tuesday- Advent Study 10 :30 am*

Tuesday - Advent Reflection Time in the Sanctuary 3 - 7 pm

Wednesday- Prayer Meeting 11 am

Wednesday- Handbells Rehearsal 5:45 pm

Wednesday- Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7 pm

Thursday- Advent Study via Zoom 10:30 am

Thursday- Middle School Youth Group at 4 pm*

*(Through Dec. 19 th)

Birthday Wishes for December: 20th ~ Dick MacKenzie, 26th ~ Jeff Warburton, 29th~ Hannah Stelter

Let us celebrate life among our church family. It's a great thing to have a birthday, a gift from God. Please give your birthday information by recording it on the calendar on the Fellowship bulletin board.