Dear Centenary Family,

This Sunday, we celebrate the day in the church year called The Baptism of the Lord. As a congregation, we will reaffirm our baptismal covenant. And if you have not been baptized, I invite you to consider whether this is a step God may be inviting you to take.

There are many dimensions to the meaning of baptism. We’ll talk about some of those on Sunday in the sermon based on the Gospel reading for the day, Matthew 3:13-17 and is entitled, Don’t Forget—You are Blessed!  I’ve been focusing my attention on the voice from heaven in Matthew 3:17 that announces to all who will hear, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 

I want to focus on that sentence with you this Sunday. Jesus heard God bless him as a Son in whom God delighted, to whom love was given, whose being, identity, and calling were affirmed and blessed.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of blessing.  Has someone ever blessed you in such a way that made you see yourself as a person of worth and value, as someone with gifts and potential? It’s important, isn’t it, from a very early age to know that someone values us.

We bless one another in many ways. Our words can wound and scar or lift and heal. A gentle loving touch, a hug, can signal to us the love and blessing of another. 

I think Centenary has been really good and blessing people. We’re a church that wants to build others up, especially others that are often excluded, ignored, or forgotten. 

As I think and pray about a vision I might share with you for our church as we head into 2023, it would be this: How can we be a church where we help one another experience God’s blessing in the way we need it the most, and then invite others to hear, feel, and claim God’s blessing for their lives? How can we grow in our capacity as a congregation to be a blessing to our city and to our world?

There’s more to come on this topic in weeks ahead—and we’ll begin this journey of living into God’s blessing in 2023 this Sunday. I look forward to worship with you this week and to following God’s Spirit as we discover what God has in store for us in 2023.

Peace,

Matt 

Sundays at 10:30am

In person and online.

The funeral service for Sally Jordan will be held here at Centenary at 11 a.m. Monday, January 9. A reception will follow in the social hall. Interment will be at the cemetery of Scottsville Baptist Church, Scottsville, VA at 2 p.m. You can read the bulletin here.

Wednesday Bible Study is back!

Join us next Wednesday as we gather together on Zoom to look at the scripture for the upcoming week. An email will be sent out with more details on Tuesday.

* Please not that Wednesdays, Jan. 11 & 18 we will meet at 11:00am.

We will then move back to our regular 10:00am time.

If you would like to be added to the Bible study email list,

please contact the church office.

The Chosen - Season 3

Join us Sundays following the 10:30am worship service in the social hall.

This week we’ll start off with a brief review of Season 2 and then watch S3, E1, Homecoming, which is Jesus’s presentation of the Sermon on the Mount and what it means to have a spirit of conviction. We also see Jesus preparing the disciples to be sent out in ministry.

Stewardship Campaign

We journey through the season of Advent we have the great opportunity to celebrate together the greatest gift ever given the world. God came to us in Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world, he sent his only Son…”

The one thing that unites us at Centenary is that we are all recipients of this gift. Another thing that unites us is our desire to respond in gratitude, doing all we can to make sure others know that this gift is for them as well.

This is also a season in which we review our ministry over the past year and look forward to what God is calling us to do in 2023. As we look towards 2023, let us join together in thanking God for all God’s blessings and asking God what we are called to do in response to God’s grace and goodness.

Below are links to our Stewardship letter, which contains more information, our budget and NEW! - a link to pledge online!

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. Envelopes will be available in the Christmas Eve bulletins. Click here to learn more about UMFS.

Give here and select CHRISTMAS OFFERING in the

fund pull down menu.

2023 ALTAR FLOWERS DATES

It's that time of year again, the weekly altar flower calendar is being set up. Time to choose that special date to honor or remember friends and family or recognize a special event. You may sign up in any

of the following ways:

1. Select a date from the list placed in the office hallway
2. Request a date using our online form. You will be contacted to confirm the date.
3. Call the church office to chose your date the "old fashioned way" in person.

You may select any date that is open. First come is first served. Costs. $44.00 for the first Sunday Communion Sunday (2 arrangements). $22.00 for all other Sundays (1 arrangement). You can pay online here. Please choose Flowers-Altar from the pull down menu.

UMW - Smethie Circle

CHANGE OF DATE

Patsy Marrs Wilson has arranged for the circle to tour the 

Children’s Health and Wellness Building on the UMFS Campus

at 3900 West Broad Street.

We will meet there at 10:30 on February 1st.

2023 Offering Envelopes Now Available

You can pick up your 2023 envelopes on Sunday or any morning during the week.

Please be aware that some envelope numbers have changed. If you no longer use offering envelopes, please do not put an envelope number on your check.

A big thank you to those who placed poinsettias on our December altar. 

That was a beautiful outreach.

The altar flowers were enjoyed for

6 services over 16 days.