December 1, 2023

Dear Centenary Family,

This is an exciting season for us here at Centenary as we enter into Advent. I hope you’ll take time to read the newsletter and see all the opportunities for worship, fellowship, and service this month.

This Sunday is our Stewardship Commitment Sunday. We invite you to bring your estimate of giving card and present in as we come forward to celebrate Holy Communion together. We will have baskets at the front of the sanctuary for you to present your cards. If you would like to submit it online, you can do so here.

Next Sunday, December 10 will be an exciting day. Our choir will lead us in a service of Advent lessons and carols and that will be followed by our Christmas luncheon together.

I’m working on a sermon for this Sunday based on I Corinthians 1:3-9. As we enter the Advent season in preparation for Christmas, this is a good time for us to take stock of all the gifts God has given to us. I suspect if we take time to do that, we’ll realize we have many more gifts at our disposal to help us on this up and down journey of faith and life. The greatest gift of all, of course, is the gift of God’s grace offered to us all—the gift of being accepted by God as a beloved child. My title this week is It’s Not Too Early to Open Your Gifts!

I look forward to the journey toward Christmas with you and am anticipating that we all discover God’s grace in new ways in this season.

Peace,

Matt

Sundays at 10:30am

In person and online.

Friday Walk In Lunch Program

In this season of celebrating harvest and Thanksgiving, those of us at Centenary UMC are especially grateful for the many volunteers who for more than 40 years have made (and currently make) the Friday walk-in lunch ministry possible.  If you are ever able to join us, you will notice pans clattering, warm voices murmuring, and wonderful smells all around.  If you can stay awhile, you might also notice one guest juggling, another playing the piano, or another breaking out in song!  On a typical Friday, thanks to dedicated volunteers, 100-120 lunches are served to our guests who come with varied backgrounds. Some are unhoused or transitionally housed, and others are housed with minimal resources remaining.  Many are local and familiar, while others are passing through. Many have a disability or mental health challenges.  Although COVID required many adaptations of take-out meals, the program in 2023 resumed full service of a hot meal and several hours of building access.  Guests work on puzzles, peruse the bookshelf, or charge their phone.  Some come with friends and others seek friendship with volunteers, but all guests receive a break from the challenge of daily survival in a place where they can feel welcome, safety, and belonging. 



A small case in point.  A few weeks ago, one of our guests, a young man in his thirties, asked about two of our long-time volunteers who greeted folks at the door and handed out numbers for the feeding queue.  We explained that both men had died while indoor feeding was suspended due to Covid.  He seemed visibly upset.  Why?  

“They always remembered my name…”

Christmas Eve Offering

As our tradition, our Christmas Eve offering will go to United Methodist Family Services. UMFS is an unwavering champion for high-risk children and families in Virginia. UMFS serves children in foster care and children struggling with mental health and behavioral challenges. They provide foster care and adoption programs, specialized education schools, and mental health programs. Your support of UMFS through this offering will help high-risk children achieve a brighter future. Thank you for supporting this transformative ministry.

Christmas Cards for McGuire Hospital

We will once again send Christmas greetings to our military veterans at McGuire Hospital this year. There will be a box located at the entrance to the Sanctuary for your cards. Deadline to contribute cards is December 17. Please address the envelopes with: To a Veteran, To a Hero, To a Brave Person, etc. Inside the card, please thank them for their service to our country, their devotion to freedom, their sacrifice, admiration for their service, etc. Please sign your card.  Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge these women and men after all they have done in service to our country. 

Estimates of Giving

This Sunday, December 3, we will offer our Estimates of Giving in worship. We will continue to receive them through December 31. You can also submit your estimate online or mail it to the church.

To read more about it, or to submit your Estimate of Giving online, please use the buttons below.

Help needed for set up and clean up.

Please contact the church office if you can help.

Zoom Bible Study

Wednesdays at 10:00am

An email with more information and the Zoom link is sent out every Tuesday. If you would like to join us, contact the church office to be put on the email list for all the details.

2024 Offering Envelopes

If you use offering envelopes, they are now available for pick up. The boxes will be available on Sunday. Just look for your name on the top of the box! If you want a box of envelopes and don't see your name, please contact the church office.

You may notice that your envelope number has changed. We are ordering fewer boxes, so if you had a higher number - you have reassigned a smaller number!

If you do not use offering envelopes, no worries! You can continue to give online or send a check without an "official" offering envelope. But, please do not put an envelope number on the check, unless you are using an offering envelope.

Benefit Concert for Afghan Refugee Resettlement

On Thursday, December 7 at 8:00 p.m., Drew Willson is playing a benefit concert at The Tin Pan, a delightful dinner-and-music venue in Henrico, Virginia. All proceeds from ticket sales go toward Afghan refugee family resettlement in the Richmond metropolitan area. Drew will be performing original songs and stories with a fantastic band including Shea Tuttle on bass and vocals, Lee Covington of the ButterBean Jazz Quartet on piano, and Jeff Rothman of Suggesting Rhythm on drums. Ticket information can be found here. (Separate from tickets, you can also support the effort by making a donation.)

Online Giving Made Easy

Use the QR code to quickly get to

our online giving page.