The Cornerstone

for and by the People of the United Methodist Church

firstumcgouverneur@gmail.com, www.gouverneurumc.org

December 2018 315-287-2440

Meet Jesus * Follow Jesus * Serve Jesus**

Advent in Narnia - Advent 2018

Our Advent theme this year is “Advent in Narnia” Using themes from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first in his series The Chronicles of Narnia, we will prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ-child. We have some fun and meaningful opportunities to help us center our hearts and prepare room for God-with-us, who comes to make a home in our hearts. Here’s what we have planned:

Advent in Narnia StudyFour Wednesday Evenings at 6:30pm, beginning on November 28th. Join us as we discuss Heidi Haverkamp’s book of reflections for the season. Don’t want to attend class? We will happily order a book for you.

Church Decorating/Narnia Movie ViewingJoin us on Saturday, December 1st for a fun day. We’ll start at 10am, decorating the church for the season. At 12pm, we’ll enjoy a delicious lunch of soups and breads. At 1pm, join us in viewing the film, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Units 2 & 4 Christmas LuncheonUnits 2 and 4 of the United Methodist Women will meet at 1pm on Tuesday, December 4th for lunch at the Casablanca. Hope to see you there!

Pastor Beth’s Open House

Stop by the parsonage at 32 Barnes St. between 5pm-8pm on Sunday, December 9th. Come enjoy soup, chili, and more Christmas cookies than you can count! Drop in for a few minutes, or stay for the whole time. Children are welcome!

Christmas Cookie Sale and Gingerbread House Contest On Saturday, December 15th from 10am-12pm we’re having a Cookie Sale at the church as a fundraiser for our ministries. If you can donate homemade cookies, please contact the church office. Want to come and shop? Cookies will be for sale by the pound. Can you make a creative gingerbread house? We’re having a contest with prizes this year (details TBA), and you’ll be able to vote during the cookie sale!

Community Christmas CantataOn Sunday, December 16th at 3pm, head over to the Presbyterian Church for the Annual Christmas Cantata. We have several First UMC folks participating in this event that we want to support!

Advent in Narnia Activity Night

Join us on Tuesday, December 18th at 6pm for a night of craft projects and activities related to our Advent in Narnia theme. Fun for all ages!

Blue Christmas/Longest Night ServiceFriday, December 21st, chapel. Sometimes it is hard to feel as "joyful" as everyone else seems to be during this season, especially if you are dealing with grief, sadness, and loss. Come and join us in this sacred space where we acknowledge this struggle together, and find hope and strength in the promised Christ child.

North Gouverneur UMC’s Christmas “Eve Eve” There is no morning worship at N. Gouverneur UMC on December 23rd. Instead, we’ll gather at 7pm that evening for a special worship service, our own Christmas Eve, a day early! All are welcome!

Christmas Eve WorshipMonday, December 24th at 5pm and 9pm: Join us for worship filled with song, scripture, drama, and candlelight as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! At 5pm, Pastor Beth’s brother and sister-in-law Todd and Emma Quick will perform dramatic monologues of the nativity story. At 9pm, we'll

celebrate with Holy Communion. Hope to see you there!

December Worship Calendar 12/2/18 - First Sunday of Advent - Advent in Narnia: The Wardrobe and the Lamppost - Isaiah 9:1-7, Matthew 7:13-14, John 1:1-9, Sacrament of Holy Communion.12/9/18 - First Sunday of Advent - Advent in Narnia: Always Winter, Never Christmas - Isaiah 55:1-15, Romans 8:18-25. 12/16/18 - First Sunday of Advent - Advent in Narnia: Father Christmas - 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Ephesians 6:10-17, Sacrament of Holy Communion. Select Strings joining us in worship. 12/23/18 - First Sunday of Advent - Advent in Narnia: Aslan Is on the Move - Malachi 3:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:46-55. 12/24/18 - Christmas Eve Services at 5pm & 9pm. Luke 2:1-20. 12/30/18 - First Sunday after Christmas Day: Christmas Hymn Stories. Scripture TBA.

Pastor Beth’s Open Hours

Pastor Beth has some “office hours” out in the community each month. Drop by to chat any time, stop in for a word of prayer, or sit and stay for lunch. She’ll be at Oswegatchie Coffee on Wednesday, December 12th from 11am-2pm. Open Hours at Cambray Terrace will resume in January. Hope to see you there!

Christmas Book Fair Stop by the church Dec1st -Dec 10th during regular office hours (Monday-Friday, 9-1) or on Sunday Mornings. We will have books on display to help kids thrive emotionally, socially and spiritually. View sample books and place an order by

December 10. All books are sold at a special discount Orders should arrive in time for Christmas.

Concert

The University Chorus from St. Lawrence University will be in concert at Gunnison Chapel, St Lawrence University, Canton. Friday, November 30, 2018 - 8:00pm and at the Indian River High School Theater on Sunday, December 2, 3 PM. Several members of our congregation will be participating in his event. The theme of the concert is Eternal Light, on the program is Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen, a truly beautiful piece with words that bless. The text of one section is:"Come, Holy Spirit, Send forth from heaven The ray of thy light. Come, Father of the poor, Come, giver of gifts, Come, light of hearts."The concert is free.

Angel Tree

Council of Ministries will once again host the angel tree with the names of local children. The angels will list gender and age of children receiving the gift as well as a suggested item. They will also will be color coded by family so you can decide if you want to choose siblings or not. Items that may make life a bit easier for the adults (like laundry detergent) will also be on the tree. Please leave all items unwrapped in order to let the adults see the items before the children. We will provide the families with the needed wrapping paper.

NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR THE JANUARY EDITION IS MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th.

Finance Committee News

Not everyone gets excited by numbers and finances, but the financial support of the church and our mission and ministries are a crucial part of the life of our congregation. We are still behind on our Shared Ministries payments to the Annual Conference, but thankfully, the rest of our bills are current because of your generous giving. “Shared Ministries” doesn’t sound like a normal bill one would pay each month, like your electric or fuel, but it is still a very important bill we need to pay each month. Shared Ministries are one of the ways we stay connected as a United Methodist Church, and one of the ways we can do more outreach together with other churches in our area than we can do on our own. We are still working on solutions to increase our ability to pay our Shared Ministries payments.

Some good news: The Rip-a-thon final total is in and…drum roll….. $4499.50. Awesome job!

If you like to do your shopping online don’t forget to use the Amazon Smile option. You can help the church out while you do your shopping. The church receives a percentage on qualified purchases.

The date for the cookie sale has been set for December 15th. We will have many varieties of cookies. You purchase the cookies by the pound. You can have 1 of all or all of 1 or any combination in between, your choice. We will be looking for volunteers to make cookies. So if you love to bake and would be willing to donate some cookies please let someone on the finance committee know. Thank you, your support will be greatly appreciated.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching as I write this, I wish to express how thankful I am to be part of The First United Methodist Church family.

Jackie Prashaw, Finance Chair

The Finance Committee: Jackie Prashaw , Vicky Reed, Heather Bowman, Stephen Jadlocki, Don Schuessler, Glenda Schuessler, Pastor Elizabeth Quick

UMW NEWS

The ladies of the UMW will once again be organizing Christmas gift bags for elderly and shut in members of our church. Delivery will be after church on Sunday, December 16th. We need delivery drivers to take bags to the beloved members of our congregation. Please contact Sally Hayden if you can help.

Fall Bazaar

Thank you very, very much to the following people: Wayne Hayden, Rick Wood and Steve Jadlocki for your help with setting up for the bazaar and to Wayne and Steve for helping tear down and replace the tables and re-arrange the classrooms.

Thank you to the kitchen help: Linda Love, Phyllis Wells, Carol Venton, Bonnie Simmons, Mary Tesmer, Jennifer Callicott, Gail Ferguson, Kris Battersby and Helen Harrington,

Also, to Units 2, 3 and 4 for all the delicious candy, baked goods, crafts and knit goods. Such great ideas for this year’s bazaar.

Thank you to everyone who supplied the food for the luncheon, everything was sold and many compliments on the soup this year.