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Footprints

A publication of UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF LUDINGTON 5810 Bryant Road, Ludington, MI 49431 (231) 843-8340 Email: office@ludingtonumc.org www.ludingtonumc.org Believers seeking and sharing the character of Christ

1,8,15,22 Contemporary Worship & Sun-day School 9:30 am, Traditional Worship 11:00 am 1 First Sunday of Advent, Commun-ion, Food Pantry, Oasis Rehearsal 6:30 pm 2,9,16,23,30 Flower Ministry 10:00 am 3,10,17 Intercessory Prayer 9:30 am, Bell Choir 5:00 pm 3 Trustees 7:00 pm 4,11,18 Rug Ladies 9:00 am, Catered Meal 6:00 pm, Pastor’s Study 7:04 5,12,19,26 Men’s Emmaus 7:30 am, Women’s Emmaus 1:00 pm, Chancel Choir 7:00 pm, Praise Choir 8:00 8 Reel to Real 12:30 pm, Oasis Rehearsal 4:00 pm 9 Grief Group 4:00 pm, Evangelism Com-mittee 6:30 pm 10 Staff-Pastor-Parish 7:00 pm 12 Finance Committee 5:00 pm 17 Women’s Book Study 6:30 pm 18 Worship Committee 11:00 am 24 Christmas Eve Worship 7:00 and 10:00 pm 25 Merry Christmas! 29 One worship service at 10:00 am 31 New Year’s Eve The church office will be closed December 24, 25 and 31 and January 1. United Methodist Women and Legacy announcements are inside this newsletter.

Advent and Christmas at Our Church December 1 First Sunday of Advent - Communion and Food Pantry Day December 8 Second Sunday of Advent - Children’s Christmas Program at 11:00 am Service December 15 Third Sunday of Advent December 22 Fourth Sunday of Advent December 24 Christmas Eve - Worship at 7:00 and 10:00 (not 11:00). Child care provided at the 7:00 service. Both services offer Communion and candlelight. December 25 Merry Christmas! Potluck with Pastor Dennis and Laura; time to be announced December 29 Service of Lessons and Carols at 10 am

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Wednesday Night Meals will be held through De-cember 18. Marcia Sadler will again prepare and serve

us these meals at $7.00 each. The meals will be followed by singing and devotions and Pastor’s Study. Meals will resume January 8, 2020. We continue to serve coffee,

punch and goodies from 9 am to noon on Sundays in the narthex.

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Legacy Activities in December Dec. 1 No Legacy - Thanksgiving Break Dec. 8 Salv. Army Bell Ringing, Time TBA Dec. 15 Roller Skating at Johnny’s 1:00 pm Dec. 22 & 29 No Legacy - Christmas Break

Oasis Rehearsals in December Dec. 1 6:30 pm Dec. 8 4:00 pm

In Our Church this month

2,4,6,9,11,13,16,18,20,23,25,27,30 Women’s Closed AA 10:00 am 2,4,16,18 Cub Dens 5:00-7:30 pm 3,17 Webelos 5:00 pm 4 Mediation 12:00-3:00 pm 5 Mason County Historical Society Meeting 6:00 pm 7 Emmaus Gathering/Potluck 3:30-9:30 pm 10 Cub Scout Pack 4196 5:00-7:00 pm 12 Garden Club 12:00-4:00 pm, Emmaus Board 6:00 pm

Our Northern Waters District of The United Method-ist Church will host a Super Saturday Training Event from 9 am to noon January 18, 2020 at the District Office in Traverse City. Three seminars will deal with significant topics in the church: Disaster Ministry, Spiritual Gifts Discovery, and Intergenera-tional Ministry. For more information, including where to RSVP, see our church office bulletin board.

Acolyte Schedule 9:30 Worship Service

Dec. 1 - Bella Gasaway & Corbin Wagenmaker Dec. 8 - Maddie & Bella Gasaway Dec. 15 - Corbin Wagenmaker & Maddie Gasaway Dec. 22 - Bella & Maddie Gasaway Dec. 29 - Corbin Wagenmaker & Bella Gasaway

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If you would like to write a Christmas greeting to the MARC missionaries (Mission Aviation Repair Center), their address is Collier & Allyson Hard 125 Fern St. Kenai, AK 99611. Addresses for our nursing home folks are on page 8 of this newsletter. The church sent cards to people on our military list; if you did not get to sign the cards and you want to send one, please call the office for the address(es).

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Dear Friends,

As we begin the Advent Season, it is time to be thank-ful, and prepared. Advent is a time to look forward, to get ready for something bigger than ourselves. Many of us have already started our Christmas decorations; Christmas music has been playing since before Thanksgiving. It is a festive, yet somber time of the year: a time of joy and a time of reflection. It is a time of gathering in community to praise God and to pre-pare our hearts once again to receive Jesus the Christ. I am excited that we have agreed to have Rev. Jim Noggle from Machar Consulting and Coaching to as-sist us with planning for the future. I will be putting together a team of 12 persons to meet with Jim and me for a period of time as we look toward having a clear vision, established goals, and a plan to make things happen here in Ludington. This would be a great opportunity to get on track and have plans in place to move forward. As most of you know, I am planning to retire in 2021, and with these plans in hand it will be helpful to the Bishop and Appointive Cabinet to bring in a new pastor whose skills and in-terests would best fit these needs. In some recent conversations the question of authen-

tic contemporary worship has come to the surface. It

has been suggested we might wish to look at changing

some aspects of the first service to come closer to a

more contemporary worship, as our current service is

more blended than not. Interested in helping make a

transition? Please contact me so we can talk.

The next study we will engage in on Wednesdays will be The Book of Joy, which features a dialogue between Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama. In a world that seems to find too little joy, this will be a wonderful reminder that there are reasons all around us to find joy in life.

This year, once again, Laura and I would like to invite those who wish to share dinner on Christmas Day with any who do not wish to be alone. If there is inter-est, we will furnish the meat (ham and turkey) and would ask others to bring side dishes. We will put a sign-up sheet in the office for those interested, and will ask for commitments no later than December 18. On Christmas Eve we will have two worship services, one at 7:00 and one at 10:00. There will be no 11 o’clock service this year. One service will feature the Bell Choir and the other will feature the Chancel Choir, with the same message given at both services. The service for December 29 will feature Carols and Lessons and will take place at 10 am. There will be only one service on that day. Please write these ser-vices down on your calendar. In closing, it is not too early to think about the season of Lent. Laura and I are thinking of hosting a Lenten Study to help prepare us for the celebration of Easter, with a mix of old and new opportunities to draw near-er to the Lord. If there is interest, we would love to hear from you. Holy Week will feature opportunities to use your talents too, as I hope to use some dramatic readings to bring this week to life. Please contact me for this as well. Enjoy the snow, play with the children in your life, and be at peace within… Blessings to all,

Pastor Dennis

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The Common English Bible This is the Bible that we are now using. And here are the reasons why. It is the most readable, reliable, and relevant scripture to date. It is built on the assembled knowledge of a di-verse, cross-denominational group of 120 biblical scholars, translating directly from the original ancient texts, not revising tradition or inserting church doctrine. To-day, you can’t get any more accurate than that. I encourage we each get one and start reading it. I got two of them and can hardly put them down! One is the CEB Study Bible (this one expands my knowledge) and the other is Lectio Divina, which expands my spir-itual depth. It would be fun to have a discussion group on either or both of these. The denominations represented are from the follow-ing faith communities: African Methodist Episcopal Church, American Baptist, Anglican, Baptist, Baptist General Conference, Church of the Nazarene, Disci-ples of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Free Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Free Method-ist, Mennonite, Moravian, National Baptist, Presbyteri-an (USA), Progressive National Baptist, Quaker, Re-formed Church in America, Reform Judaism, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist, United Churches of Christ, and the United Methodist. Interested? Want to order? Call me. Let’s talk. #843-8340. Shalom, Judy

Thank you, October 6 Fall Festival Helpers! It couldn’t have happened without you: Each one of you! Jim and Jane Clark, Joan Kaatz, Donna Possehn, Christy Faust, Laurie McKinven-

Copus, Marcie Anderson, Janelle Schade, Karlyn Bray, David Bossick (Ludington Daily News), Cindy and Mike Genter, Becky Sopha, Allan Carlson, Dale Bonser, Janice Wolff, Chris Wegener, Sharon and Bill Alexan-der, Karen and Wayne Disegna, Pastor Dennis Brom-ley and Laura Ruhle, Scott Stauffer, Debbie Chrystal and John Drees, Lauren and Jake Soper, Dennis Ta-bor, Alan Wernette, Kathy and Ted Radke, Brenda Begnoche and most especially Betty Tabor, George Faust, Cindy Cooper and the youth. Thank you, youth of the church! This couldn’t have happened without each one of you! Lily and Sadie Stauffer, Rachel and Heidi Faust, Chandler Gordon, Hannah Frey, Abby and Devin Kinney, Danielle Bray, Meagan and Jackson Ely, Corbin Wagenmaker and Dustin Lucht! You are all awesome! Please let me know if I have forgotten anyone. Each one of you counts. I followed the sign-in sheets, so if you were there and helped but did not sign in I will list your name next month with a heartfelt thanks to you as well. Judy Downing

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Toys for Tots: You are invited to join with our Sunday school classes as we collect toys for children and gifts for teens for the Salvation Ar-my. Our box isn’t as full as we had hoped for . Can you he lp

us? December 8 is our last collection day. Many thanks! The Sunday School Christmas program will be on De-cember 8 at the 11:00 service. Students from Legacy will join with our children as we present ‘Twas the Evening of Christmas and ring the Krystal Bells under the direction of Mrs. Judy Shoemaker. Following the performance we will return to the Gathering Area for cake and punch. Families are welcome to join us for refreshments. Don’t forget to invite Grandma! Submitted by Betty Tabor

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Community Table Ministry From Jennifer MacDonald & Evangelism Committee

Thank you to all who have helped with the Communi-ty Table Ministry! Your service is truly appreciated by the people of our community. For those who would like to participate in the next Community Table event, December 17, 2019, 4:15-6:30, please sign up at the Welcome Desk in the narthex! We are in need of : Supply transporters--Helping transport food from

our church to Community Church Table set-up--Disinfecting tables & surfaces, put-

ting out condiments, and wrapping silverware Waiters/Waitresses--Carrying plates of food to

our guests Drink service helpers--Pouring drinks for our

guests Food service helpers--Dishing out plates of food Dish washer & dryers--Keeping up with washing

& drying pans, silverware, and serving utensils Table washers--Keeping up with wiping down ta-

bles when guests are finished Conversationalists--Sharing a smile, a compliment,

a listening ear, and a way God has blessed you with our guests.

Henderson Settlement Trip

In the 16 years we’ve been going to the Henderson Settlement in Frakes, KY, we have worked on many outreach programs in the community there. They have included room additions, new roofs, and interior re-pair and remodeling in the homes. Besides working on projects in the community we have also spent many hours working at the settlement, at the Henderson farm, in the community center, in after-school pro-grams, and in general maintenance projects around the settlement. Another important part of the Henderson experience for us is the opportunity to interact with volunteers from other churches during the free time, and in morning worship and evening programs. This year was again a rewarding experience and, as always, a little different from other years. Due to financial diffi-culties the settlement had to cut the volunteer work season short. This meant that we were part of the last work group to be at Henderson Settlement for this year. Seven of us made the journey this year and we worked on projects in the community that needed to be com-pleted before the closing. The community projects all went well; no one was seriously injured (just minor cuts and scrapes ). Our women workers opted to work in the opportunity store at the Settlement and had a brief period when they thought that they might actual-ly be done with the sorting and unloading of clothes, but then more boxes of clothes arrived to keep them very busy. We had cool mornings and warm after-noons. We didn’t get any rain till Friday and by then we were working on an inside project. Every morning began with a short worship service put on by the different work teams. We went first so that we could set the standard and not have to try to meet someone else’s. For the first time since we’d been coming there was no pastor available so we were una-ble to close the work week with communion. If you want to move out of your comfort zone and experience a mission trip, going to Henderson Settle-ment is a great way to start. Think about it because I’m sure there will be another trip there next year. Wayne Disegna, Mission Chairperson

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UMW Executive Board will meet on Friday, Decem-ber 6 at 1:00 pm. Thank you to all of you that made the 2019 UMW Fall Bazaar a big success. Estimated profit totaled about $5400! The day was indeed a success! Thank you to all of the men and women who made and do-nated wonderful items to be sold and to those who took the time to search their homes for Second Time Around items to be sold. Thank you to the men for their help on Thursday and Saturday with moving items all over the church; to the women who have worked all year on rugs, all week on the delicious food, and all day Friday and Saturday doing the set-up and the sale; and to all of you that came to eat and make purchases. An additional blessing is the forging of new friendships that takes place as we work togeth-er with others we did not know before! Thank you and bless you! You won’t want to miss the UMW Christmas Tea on Saturday, December 14 at 1:00 pm. Becky and Phyllis are coordinating a marvelous musical program that I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy! The UMW ladies are planning beautiful and delicious treats to eat and there is always wonderful fellowship together. Please be sure to reserve this time on your calendar for this treat for yourself and maybe a guest or two. See you there!

Dear Friends in Christ, We are truly blessed to have support from churches like yours. Financial support is always needed but even more we appreci-

ate your prayers. This thank you is from not only us but from all those you help who will never get to thank you personally. Larry Lange, H.E.L.P. Ministry

Thank God for all of the blessings I’ve received. It was so good to be back in church again! I appreciate all of the prayers and cards. Sandy Sgro Dear Friends, Thank you so much for all your prayers and thoughts during my recent eye surgeries. They went very well indeed...I can play the piano and see the smallest notes perfectly now! My thanks even more for praying for our son Luke, his students and school when they ex-perienced a threat. Even when we don’t see each other often, we feel your presence, support, and love. God Bless and Peace, Carla Iris Thank you so much for your gift of $50. Your gener-osity fills my heart with thankfulness and I rejoice to the Lord that I have such a supportive church at home. I have a feeling it was due to my singing on August 18, but singing is something I love to do for the glory of God and I would be glad to sing for the church at any time -- no payment necessary! Once more I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, generosity, support, and continuous prayers for myself and other college stu-dents from UMCL. Love and prayers, Emma Taranko

Continued from previous page

Bellringing for Salvation Army

Our church is working with the Salvation Army to collect donations at the west (food) door of the Ludington Walmart Monday through Friday, No-vember 29 through December 24. Lots of Bellringers are needed. We sure need your help! Please see us be-fore or after church to reserve your ringing hours. Thanks! Steve & Cyndi Scott Angel Tree Ministry: Christmas gifts for the chil-dren of female inmates of Mason County Jail If you would be willing to purchase and wrap a gift, please sign up in the narthex for a child, OR if you would be willing to make a donation toward the gifts and food boxes for the families, please make out your check to UMCL and note “Angel Tree” on the memo line. The deadline is December 8. Thank you for your help.

United Methodist Women Karen Genson, President

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ONGOING PRAYER LIST Bill Alexander Nancy Anderson Bill, Butch & Pat Bromley Luella Burke Allan Carlson Deborah Chrystal Vi DeMeester John Drees Anne Estle John & Kathy Fletcher Bob & Betty Ford Cindy Genter Gregg Heimall Rev. Bill Huether Erving Johnson Bob Jones Shelley Kocher Dan Laliberte Joan Maclam Sue Major Stan McCallum Ken McClellan Ed & Maralee McCumber Sean Nelson Judy Penrod Donna Peterson Dean & Marilyn Raven Bea Riffle Toni Rumsey Max Schipper Sandy Sgro Janice Soper Dale Swanson Pat Trowbridge Stub Willick Janice Wolff Linda Wolven Barb Woodworth

OUR MILITARY PEOPLE SSgt Joseph Archer, TX SSgt Daniel J. Cook, NC Kevin D. Coyne, deployed CS 2nd Class Emily Gibson, VA Matthew Heard, deployed Ensign Gregory Heimall III, VA Melody Houk, CA SSgt Jacob Hunt, VA Catherine McNaughton Rizzo, AK SPC Christopher Myer, KY Paul Nickelson, MI NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING Rosie Abrahamson Eldred Chavalia Myra Easton Sharon Fusari, Virginia Dave Hullinger Phil Hunt Sherry Johnson Nancy Kelley Tom McCumber Dick & Donna Nelson Ruthie Peterson Bob Rasch Marian Riffle Roland Vandenheuvel Ellie Westcott Matthew Wilson (Greg’s son -Oklahoma) HAITI: Baudin School, Baudin Methodist Church, Ranquitte Methodist Church and Pastor Odeles Du Rosier MARC: Alaska Ministries, Collier & Allyson Hard

Ongoing Prayer Concerns

PRAYER REQUEST CARDS are located in the pews, the narthex and the Volunteer’s Desk. Requests are prayed over on Tuesday mornings and are kept confidential. They are prayed over for 30 days unless up-dated for a longer period of time. All prayer requests are kept in the office. If you have an urgent prayer request, you may activate the prayer chains by calling the church office at 843-8340. If the church office is closed, you may call Lynne Gohn (843-4746).

OUR COLLEGE STUDENTS Briona Carrier - WSCC Nate Carrier - Poland Emma Fountain - CMU Luke Fountain - Kalamazoo College Zachary Genter - Michigan Tech Noa Gohn - GVSU Rachel Gohn - Cornerstone U Kayla Gottwald - GVSU Cory & Rachel Ives - U of M Ana McCallum - Spring Arbor Breanna McMaster - Harrisburg Coll, PA Jordyn Sanders - U of M Tristan Scribner - Ferris Mallory Shinn - Hope College Meredith Sparks - CMU Emma Taranko - GVSU Rachel Verbus - Towson Univ., MD

HENDERSON SETTLEMENT AND OUR MISSIONARIES THIS MONTH ZAMBIA: Soweto-Kapisha UMC; Pastor Bernard & Betty Lumene & Lord’s Mountain Orphanage; Bwafwano Care Project and Minerva Phiri

“The angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you - wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11 CEB

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Remember Our Nursing Home Residents at Christmas

Ludington Woods 502 N. Sherman Ludington, MI 49431 Nancy Kelley Sherry Johnson Rosie Abrahamson Dick & Donna Nelson Oakview 1001 E. Diana St. Ludington, MI 49431 Myra Easton Dave Hullinger Tom McCumber (Room 2) Ruthie Peterson Marian Riffle Roland Vandenheuvel Ellie Westcott

It’s time to order poinsettias to decorate the narthex! You may place your completed order form and check in the offering plate, or bring or mail them to the church office. Make checks out to United Methodist Church of Ludington. ORDERS AND CHECKS MUST BE IN THE OFFICE BY END OF DAY DECEMBER 8. Poin-settias will be red. They will be in the narthex December 21 and 28.

4” Plant $7.50 each = __________ Single $16.50 each = __________ Double $28.50 each = __________ Triple $36.00 each = __________ Given by (your name) ________________________________________________________________________________________ In HONOR of ________________________________________________________________________________________ and/or In MEMORY of ________________________________________________________________________________________

MediLodge 1000 E. Tinkham Ludington, MI 49431 Eldred Chevalia (Karlyn Bray’s Dad) Phil Hunt Bob Rasch Matthew Wilson (Greg’s son) 1120 Illinois Muskogee, OK 74403-7411 Village Manor 1100 E Tinkham Ludington, MI 49431 Allan Carlson Phyllis Larsen Tom Westcott

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Coloring Page

Merry Christmas from the Staff at United Methodist Church of Ludington: Pastor Dennis Bromley Judy Downing Laurie McKinven-Copus Cindy Cooper George Faust Becky Sopha Carleen Shinn Rogene Lathouwers Roseann Shook Rachel Faust Briona Carrier Renia Carrier

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Footprints A publication of UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF LUDINGTON

United Methodist Church of Ludington

5810 Bryant Rd., Ludington, Michigan 49431 (231) 843-8340 Fax: (231) 843-0070

Email: office@ludingtonumc.org Web site: www.ludingtonumc.org

Rev. Dennis Bromley, Pastor

Rev. Laurie McKinven-Copus, Office Manager, Footprints Editor Cindy Cooper and George Faust, Youth Directors

Rev. Judy Downing, Director of Christian Education, Office Manager

Rebecca Sopha, Music Director Rogene Lathouwers, Accompanist

Carleen Shinn, Hand Bell Choir Director Roseann Shook, Renia Carrier and Rachel Faust, Nursery

OFFICE HOURS

Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

SUNDAY MORNING Adult Bible Studies 8:15 am

Contemporary Worship and Sunday School 9:30 am Traditional Worship 11:00 am Nursery 9:15 am - 12:15 pm

The Footprints deadline is the third Monday of each month.

United Methodist Church of Ludington 5810 Bryant Road Ludington, MI 49431 Address Service Requested

Non-Profit US Postage

PAID Ludington, MI Permit No. 163

INSIDE THE DECEMBER 2019 ISSUE OF FOOTPRINTS

Bits & Pieces…….…......…...…2 Calendar………....…….…….11 Christian Education…….…….4 Coloring Page……..…………..9

Henderson Mission Report.…5 Nursing Home Addresses…...8 Pastor’s Letter…..………..….3 Poinsettia Order Form…..…..8

Prayer Ministry……..…..……..7 Thanks……………………….6 United Methodist Women……6 You Can Help…….…………..5

Copyright c 2015 HarperCollins Christian Publishing. http://www.reverendfun.com