Adult Forum
There will be an Advent Study from November 27 to December 18 led by our pastors, Pat Bruns and Joe Agne. We will be using the study, Child of Light, written by Beth A. Richardson, the editor of Alive Now and a friend of FUMC. We meet at 9am in the Parlor. All are welcome!
Child of the Light eCourse with Beth Richardson
The Christmas season has become more of a chaotic consumer ritual than a nurturing spiritual time. This online retreat invites you to experience Advent and Christmas differently this year. Advent, which includes the four Sundays before Christmas, is for Christians a time of waiting, a time to prepare our hearts, minds, and spirits for the birth of the Christ child. Christmas, then, is the twelve days from December 25 through Epiphany on January 6. It is an opportunity to carry the joyful spirit of Christmas forward into the new year.
“Take time for God: that’s exactly the challenge God gives us during this season,” writes our retreat leader Beth Richardson, a Deacon associated with FUMC. She is the Editor of Alive Now, a magazine published by The Upper Room that seeks to nourish people hungry for a sacred way of living.
This Advent/Christmas e-course is based on Richardson’s book Child of the Light. It is designed to help you find a quiet center, a time out from busyness, to be with God. Daily emails include readings, reflections, and prayers inspired by Advent hymns.
For more information on the course and how you can register, visit this site: Child of the Light
Sacred Bites
Join us for Sacred Bites on Tuesday, November 29th, at the Lazy Dog Saloon (on the Pearl Street Mall at 14th and Pearl). Gather around 11:30 am for catching up and ordering lunch; discussion of the week’s scripture passage, Mark 1:1-8, begins at noon. Please join us!
Family Life Ministries News
Family Life Ministries folks will be hanging FUMC’s Advent schedule on doors in our neighborhood after church next Sunday, November 27. Please join us! Email Betsy for more info; click on her name above.
FUMC children present “The Very Important Christmas Pageant:The Story of the Birth of Christ Told with Humor, Mystery and Awe!” during worship on December 4th. Come and see the story told in this special way. The pageant was written by Dennis Hartin and is directed by Jennie Elliott.
Help BCAP Make the Holidays Special
Many of Boulder County AIDS Project’s clients live at or below the federal poverty line and rely on our food pantry to supplement their basic nutrition. Each holiday season BCAP endeavors to offer additional food items around Thanksgiving and the December holidays so that these clients may have a special holiday meal with their families. Please consider helping us provide a special holiday meal to those in our community living with HIV/AIDS. Just $24.50 buys a complete holiday dinner with turkey and all the trimmings.
Want to help? Here’s how:
1. Bring any or all of the above items to BCAP weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (before December 14th for the December holidays.)
2. Or send a monetary donation to BCAP:
ATTN: Holiday Meal Fund, 2118 14th St., Boulder, CO 80302
To make a donation by credit card or for more information contact Eric Berkemeyer at 303.444.6121.
United Methodist Women (UMW) News
Please mark your calendars for these upcoming UMW events! The Sarah Circle has moved their meeting to Tuesday, November 29, at 9:30 am; they will meet at Frazier Meadows Manor. Please contact Joan Nordgren at 303 440-1047 for more information. The next Working Women gathering will be Thursday, December 1 at 6:30 pm at the home of Connie Takamine; contact Connie with any questions.
Coming Attractions! December 11, world famous UMW Holiday Bake Sale. Calling all bakers for cookies, pies, cakes, breads and any other goodies. Proceeds go to support mission around the world and locally. December 14th at 1:00 pm, our Christmas Tea. Come celebrate Peace with Mother Earth, join in a carol sing and share fellowship.
UMW is faith, hope and love in action!
November’s Mission Offering
The November Thanksgiving Offering is a special one, allowing us to show our gratitude for our many blessings over the past year and reflecting our hopes for the future. Your donations will be split in three ways, benefiting fellow people near and far.
Locally, our YAMs (Young Adult Methodists) decided that one-third of the offering will go to Community Food Share.
The UMC World Service Fund will also receive one-third of your offering, connecting our church to a long list of Methodist mission and ministry in national and international programs.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Global Fund will receive the final third of your offering, working to support programs that fight hunger and poverty, assist the displaced, and respond to disasters in the areas of greatest need.
Please give generously and help to make the world a better place for all to live in, in the spirit of Jesus as we worship together. You will find “Mission Offering” envelopes in the pews. Thank you for your caring about people in our community, throughout our country, and around the globe.
Grocery Shopping Cards
Purchase your King Soopers and Safeway grocery cards on sale each Sunday following worship. Join this easy fundraising project-$5 for each $100 purchase benefits the designated project. This month, funds support our church’s Worship and Music Committee. Stop at the table in the Parlor to purchase grocery cards or to learn more about the grocery card program.
Poinsettias for Advent
The Music and Worship Committee will be ordering poinsettias for the Advent season. The poinsettias will be used in the chancel to celebrate the season and may be taken home on December 25, 2011 after the Christmas Day Service. A 6-inch pot of red poinsettia is $10.00. Please make checks payable to FUMC, memo: Poinsettia. Order through the church office or place in offering plate by December 4th. (The original deadline has been extended!)
World AIDS Day Concert Thursday, 12/1, at FUMC
Our church is proud to partner with the Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) to present a concert commemorating World AIDS Day. BCAP welcomes the Resonance Women’s Chorus, directed by Sue Coffee and the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, directed by Ben Riggs, in concert here at FUMC on Thursday, December 1st, at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at www.bcap.org, by calling BCAP at 303-444-6121, or at the door. All proceeds benefit BCAP. World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1st each year around the world. It has become one of the most recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, remember those who have died, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. Mark your calendars for this special day, and the moving concert!
Help With Stage Crew for Amahl 12/10 and 12/11
Evanne, Gerald, and the Chancel Choir could use some help with stage crew for the two performances of Amahl and the Night Visitors on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:00 pm, and Sunday, Dec. 11 during worship. Please contact Evanne if you’re interested: 303.442.3770, ext. 139.