upcoming stuff a stocking events · jill cole beth walker december 8 alex & carla vento david...
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FHUMC Monthly Newsletter • December 2019
United MethodistChurch HELPING EACH OTHER TAKE OUR NEXT STEP CLOSER TO CHRIST
UPCOMING EVENTS
1217 Forest Hill Road • Macon, GA 31210 • 478.477.1161 • www.foresthillsmacon.com
FOR SANCTUARY RESPITE MINISTRIES
Only God knew what would blossom from the birth of Sanctuary Respite Ministries. What happens every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to 2pm looks a lot like the kingdom of God to me. Friends gather with other friends to share life, to support and to love one another in the name of Christ. Oh - and there’s balloon volleyball and Wheel of Fortune too.
I asked Leigh Hinton, our director of Sanctuary Respite Ministries, what this ministry means to all the people involved:
“Sanctuary Respite Ministry allows families living with a memory loss diagnosis to thrive. Sometimes in the celebration of what was, we are unable to see the beauty of what is. Sanctuary Respite Ministry celebrates them both, and allows our friends to find refuge from the catalyst that set them on the path to us.
We are proud to be that safe place, and we’re honored to serve our community by sharing joy, meaning, and connection through the love of Jesus Christ. Sanctuary Respite Ministry is for all. Whatever cross you may have to bear, carry it right on in or leave it at the door; we’re going to love you either way.”
To keep this important work going and welcome more friends through the doors of SRM, we need your support. In the main hallway of our church (down from the ministry center), you will find a fireplace with stockings ready to be stuffed! Choose a contribution that you would like to make, take the ticket stuffed in the stockings, and make a gift that changes lives moment by moment. Your generosity is a memory that will last forever.
Stuff a Stocking DECEMBER 8 One Step Worship Service 6:00 PM // Ridge Campus // p.3
DECEMBER 10 *Goodtimers Christmas Gathering 6:00 PM // Ministry Center // p.3
DECEMBER 11 *Kid’s Christmas Party // p.3 5:00-6:00 PM // Kids Hall
*Operation Christmas Child 1:00 - 5:00 PM // Atlanta // p.5
DECEMBER 13 *Parents’ Night Out // p.3 5:30-8:30 PM // Kids Hall
DECEMBER 15 Elementary & Pre-K Sing // p.3 9:45 AM & 11:00 AM services
A Christmas Carol Book Club 4:00 PM // Garden Room // p.4
*Youth Christmas Party // p.4 6:00-8:00 PM // Ministry Center
DECEMBER 21 *Operation Christmas Child 10:00AM-2:00PM // Atlanta // p.5
DECEMBER 24 5:00 PM // Modern Service 7:00 PM // Traditional Service 11:00 PM // Candlelight Service
DECEMBER 29 *Youth to Centenary UMC // p.4 6:00 AM // Meet at FHUMC
10:30 AM // One Combined Worship Service*Registration Required at www.foresthillsmacon.com
2 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
WAYS TO Keep Faith AliveMake a list of what you are grateful for today.
‘Tis the season! Christmas songs, decorations, lights, as well as plans to gather with family and friends fill our world. As stimulating and happy as this time can be, it can also be exhausting. For the Church, this Christmas pre-season is a season of simplicity and waiting, of preparation and discipline, of Advent.
Preparation and waiting are not obvious values of a culture that tends to sing, “We need a little Christmas now…” As a result, we see that the season of Advent continues to be more and more defined by qualities of commercialism and consumerism. In his book, Being Consumed, William Cavanaugh observes that what characterizes a consumer culture is not attachment but detachment. We do not hoard money; we spend it. We do not cling to things; we discard them to buy other things, often the newer version of what we already own. This disposition is known as consumption.
Consumption is an important subject to address in Advent because for the Church, consumption is a spiritual characteristic—a way of looking at and interacting with the world. Want and acquisition are principle motivators of consumption, cultivating restlessness and urgency for the consumer. Our desires are constantly being wooed by “better” and “new.” This is an enslavement of the soul as desire increases to continually consume with no idea why. Desire itself becomes our only value.
Adversely, fasting and almsgiving have been historical practices during the Christmas pre-season of Advent. These practices remind the Church that we are the ones being consumed in the newness of life that only Christ brings. Through fasting and charity, we prepare for the feast as we are formed into reflections of the Christmas glory—the self-giving love of God.
Thus, in the midst of a season that thrusts us into Christmas through the music, parties, shopping, and baking, we must ask ourselves how will we be intentional about making Advent a time of simplicity? Perhaps we set apart a day to fast; a day in the season to refrain from consuming. Maybe even make it a weekly practice. Another consideration—seek out tangible ways for simplicity to become generosity. What are the needs of others around us for which we can provide?
Advent is the season for the Church to live in expectation of the reigning Christ. It is a period of simplicity as the Church remembers the humility of Christ’s incarnation. It is a time of discipline as the Church acknowledges that life in the Kingdom looks drastically different from life in the world.
TIS THE SEASON: HOW FASTING PREPARES US FOR FEASTINGAdapted from Jonathan Powers’s article: www.seedbed.com/tis-the-season-how-fasting-prepares-us-for-feasting/
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES5:00 PM Modern Worship Service • 7:00 PM Traditional Worship Service
11:00 PM Candlelight Blended Worship Service
Sunday, December 29 at 10:30 AM Combined ServiceNursery available for children infant to 3 years old. No children's church for these services.
Find Joy thisChristmas
3 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
*Online registartion for Kids Ministry events is located at www.foresthillsmacon.com/children under Upcoming Events.
DECEMBER 1 Barbara Ricks
Carolyn Hurley Sherie Moses
Jill Cole Beth Walker
DECEMBER 8 Alex & Carla Vento
David Archer Brenda Lambert
Kay Hefner
DECEMBER 15 Marnai Boose
Andy Martin Diana Hullings
Brandi Groebner Kalyn Shreve David Archer Laura Heacox
DECEMBER 22 Brian Utley
Andy Wilson Andy Martin
Rennata Wilson
DECEMBER 29 Nursery available for
children infant to 3 years old. No children’s church.
KIDS MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS
THIS MONTH IN KIDS CHURCH
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 135:30PM-8:30PM
Parents! Need a night out minus the kids? Be sure to sign them up for PNO! This event is for all children who are Nursery age through 5th Grade. The cost is free, and dinner, games, crafts, and a movie are included. Deadline to register is Wednesday, December 11. *Online registration required.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 115:00-6:00 PM
For Kids Age 3 - 5th GradeThis will be the last Kids Connect
until January 15th.
CHRISTMAS GATHERING Tuesday, December 10 // 6:00 PM Ministry CenterJoin us for an evening of fun and laughter! The Forest Hills Men’s Quartet will bring a wonderful evening of entertainment that you will not want to miss! Bring an hors d’oeuvre to share! Christmas Punch and Coffee will be served.
Elementary and Pre-K Choirs
SING IN CHURCH December 15th at 9:45 AM and
11:00 AM services.
Join us for our December One Step Worship Service on Sunday, December 8 at 6:00 PM and bring your favorite Christmas cookies to share. Baxter and Desmond will be preaching a Christmas message and we will have a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement as we share the joy of Christmas with others. This is a great season to invite a friend who may be thinking about going to church for the first time.
One Step... WORSHIP SERVICE
4 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
Committee Meetings:• Trustees - 2nd Monday as
needed, 6:30PM, Conf. Rm. Contact: Lyle Brooks
• Staff Parish - 2nd Thursday, 6PM, Conf. Rm. Contact: Melissa Smith
• Finance - 3rd Monday as needed, 6:30PM, Conf. Rm. Contact: Tommy Pollock
Women’s Ministry:• UMW Circles will be having
holiday celebrations this month.Please contact your circle leader for the date, time, and location for your event.
Men’s Ministry:• Prayer Breakfast - Every
Tuesday, 7AM, Min. Ctr.
Children:• Kids Connect: (3K-5TH
Grade) Every Wednesday, 5-6PM, Kids Hall (Kids Connect ends Dec 11, Will resume on January 15)
Youth:• Jr. High - Every Sunday,
4PM, Min. Ctr.
• Sr. High - Every Sunday, 5:30PM, Min. Ctr.
Older Adult: • Singing Saints
Every Tuesday, 11AM, Music Suite
• Game Day - Every Tuesday, 12PM, Min. Ctr.
JUST A REMINDER
In Memory Of: Alice Virginia Clark, Melanie Parsons, Walter Vollenweider, Bill Moses, Betty Farr, Agnes Kingry,
Dale Freeney, AV Elliott
Forest Hills UMC receives many donations given in memory or in honor of loved ones. Acknowledgment of Forest Hills’ gratitude is sent to each person who makes a donation. A letter of recognition identifying who gave a donation is also sent to the person or the family of the person who was honored/remembered. Here is a list of all who have been honored and remembered through a donation to FHUMC this past month:
YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY: Sunday, December 15th, from 6pm-8pm in the Ministry Center. Food, games, and prizes will be made available to all!
CENTENARY UMC: We’ll take 10-12 volunteers down to Centenary UMC at 6am on Sunday, December 29th, to serve breakfast to some of the less fortunate population of Macon. HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts afterwards, and we’ll be back in time for the 10:30am combined service!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL BOOK CLUBEveryone loves the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge during the Christmas season. During Advent, Scrooge has so much to teach us about how to value the true gifts of the important time in our spiritual lives. So with that in mind..... you are invited to join me in reading A Christmas Carol book club with accompanying daily devotional. We will read the book and use the devotional every day. On December 15 at 4pm in the Garden Room we will meet for a book club discussion and spiritual wisdom found in this classic work of literature so beloved. Contact Teresa Edwards to get your devotional books to be ready to start on the first Sunday in Advent. And of course - God bless us, every one!
5 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
GREETERSDECEMBER 1
9:45 AM - Narthex Carolyn Scarborough
9:45 AM - Canopy Trice & Juanita Burger
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Fran Christianson
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Back Door - Margaret Ann Hunt
11:00 AM - Narthex Barbara Coon & Nancy Gandy
DECEMBER 89:45 AM - Narthex - Jean Holland
9:45 AM - Canopy Tom & Ann Adkisson
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Barbara Wolfe
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Back Door - Carolyn Dunn
11:00 AM - Narthex Pete & Judy Peterman
DECEMBER 159:45 AM - Narthex
Sara Johnson
9:45 AM - Canopy Ron & Diane Clark
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Barbara Ricks
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Back Door - Ann Crawford
11:00 AM - Narthex Wayne & Scotty Peale
DECEMBER 229:45 AM - Narthex
Patsy McCarty
9:45 AM - Canopy Bob & Linda Brown
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Brenda Lambert
9:45 AM - Ministry Center Back Door - Judy Fountain
11:00 AM - Narthex Carole Newberry &
Barbara Stefano
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Charlotte & Asbury Stembridge, Sr., Dillon Lewis, Chuck Brooks, Mae Jones, Mandy Holloway Martin, Beth Holland, Andy McKenzie, Drexel Shelton, Joan Roe, Bill Hall, Louie & Melba Holmes, Linda Clark, Mary Irby, Susan Clarke, Nita Wrye, Jim & Lin Palmiter, Catie Phillips, Derek Lancaster, Linda Morgan, Brenda Hutcheson (Joyce Pyles daughter), KC Caldwell (Karen Lebow granddaughter), Denise Andrews, Carol Moran (Barbara Coon’s sister), and the Family of Louise Priester.
Those serving in the military: Payton Smith (Army), Matt Parrish (Army), Chris Allen, Sgt. Daniel Brennan, Sgt, Jeffrey Dyson, Justin Layman, Matthew Nylund, 1st Lt. Jamie Peacock, Kelley Sanders, SSgt. Stephanie Wammock, Bryan Caldon (Navy), Hunter Curl (Air Force), and Jacob Parrish (Army).
Please update request through church office if request needs to remain for the next month’s newsletter.
PRAYER CONCERNS
Thanks to all who faithfully packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child this year, especially to the gracious hostesses and all the ladies attending the Martha Circle’s packing party! On November 24, we delivered over 250 boxes to Pine Forest Baptist Church to be trucked to the Atlanta processing center and on to over 100 countries around the world!
We have two confirmed opportunities to enjoy fellowship while volunteering at the OCC processing center in Atlanta: Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 1-5, and Saturday, Dec. 21 from 10-2. We are also waitlisted for Dec. 7 and Dec. 14 from 9-1 on either day. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please call Lynn McMullen at 478-320-0496 or talk with Sondra Hinson in the office to sign up. It’s always a blessing to be a blessing during the Christmas season!
6 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
MISSIONS OFFERINGFor the last 4 years, Forest Hills has sent money that you have given to the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home. The money that is donated goes to let these boys know that they are thought of and loved on their own special day. You have been providing small birthday gift cards to the boys at the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home with this money!! And these cards and gifts have been a highlight of the birthday attention these boys get! Now we need to replenish our funds so we can keep going! Our
FINANCIAL REPORT
December Missions offering will go to this blessing for the boys.
The Georgia Industrial Children’s Home (GICH) is a residential program here in Bibb Co. that has cared for children for over 117 years! It is designed to serve male residents ages 11-21. GICH works with youth who have emotional and/or behavioral disorders and are considered to be at a higher level of need. They live on the campus in cottages with a home-like environment where youth can excel. The goal of GICH is to support and guide the youth in their learning process to make positive choices, opening doors to potential career paths and opportunities and ultimate success in life.
Contributions for the 2019 Tax Year need to be received by the church office or post-marked by Tuesday, December 31. Online contributions will also need to be completed by midnight Dec. 31 to count toward 2019.
Back packministryby Brenda Lambert
We are grateful to Northway church small group and Mercer students for volunteering this month.We are currently serving 1,730 students.Praying for safe holidays for all our children.
For the Month of October 2019: Monthly Budget .................................. $88,458.33October Revenue ............................... $66,732.16October Expenses .............................. $90,291.67October Apportionments paid .............$8,823.10
Year to Date for 2019:YTD Revenues as of 10/31/19 ....... $909,360.40YTD Expenses as of 10/31/19 ....... $857,086.36YTD Surplus/(Deficit) ....................... $52,274.042019 Apportionments paid ................... $89,291.00
GREETERS
DECEMBER 245:00 PM - Canopy Brenda Lambert
5:00 PM - Ministry Center Back Door - Kay Hefner
7:00 PM - Canopy Joe Middlebrooks
7:00 PM - Narthex Ned Newman
11:00 PM - Canopy Juanita Burger
11:00 PM - Narthex Barbara Coon
DECEMBER 2910:30 AM - Canopy
Randy & Dot Rowland
10:30 AM - Narthex Eloise McCullough
& Sue Hummel
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
7 December 2019www.foresthillsmacon.com
Macon Outreach is collecting SOUP for those in need. If you are able to donate, please place your items in
the Missions Cabinet at the canopy entrance.
Standing in the airport in Philadelphia, getting ready to board a plane that would carry me and 18 others from Forest Hills UMC to Rome, I had no idea what awaited us all on this amazing journey.
Of course I thought I did. Most of the things we dreamed of were completely true. The water was as blue as you imagined it would be. The Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini took your breath away. The Parthenon in all its ancient beauty and power made us stop and wonder about time and all the people who had come before us. Pompeii stirred up the truth that life is lived daily and the future is unpredictable. Seeing the churches, walking the busy streets and flinging a coin in the Trevi Fountain in Rome topped off our experience.
Yet for all of us, the experience was more than what we saw, did, ate, or dreamed that it would be. The moments that stood out for me were the ones where it was so obvious that Christ was in our midst - like at the table in a local Greek restaurant looking at the faces of these friends. In their faces I saw the face of Jesus through their smiles, laughter and generous spirits. Standing on the bema in ancient Corinth knowing that Paul walked these paths and defended the faith on the very platform where we stood changed us. Praying in the quiet chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica for Forest Hills
and many friends back home grounded me in a deep sense that our home with God is everywhere. Gazing upward in the Sistine chapel took us into a sacred experience words fail to describe.
When you travel in this world with others, our understanding and experience of God just gets bigger which expands our faith and builds our trust in the Holy One and the people around us. So on behalf of this group that flew around the world and came home to this beautiful place we call Macon, we say: Gratzie!
Ciao Ciao, Teresa
Our Journey on Paul’s Journey
December 24th Open Half-Day (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
December 25th - 26th Closed for Christmas
December 27th Open Half- Day (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
January 1: Office Closed for New Years
CHURCH OFFICE HOLIDAY HOURS We are growing and thriving in each
new day! We are so grateful for each and every person who has touched this program through service and prayer. It belongs to us all.
Join us Monday, January 13 from 6-7PM at the Ridge Campus for a volunteer refresher course and new volunteer orientation. Please RSVP to [email protected]
SANCTUARY RESPITE MINISTRY
STAFFBaxter Hurley, Pastor [email protected]
Teresa Edwards, Adult Discipleship [email protected]
Jeremy Wilson, Family Pastor [email protected]
Mike Adkins, Youth Director [email protected]
Kelly Miller, Children’s Director [email protected]
Jessi Timmerman, Children’s Director [email protected]
Brant Snow, Organist
Doss Edwards, 8:30 Worship Leader
Tammy Humphries, Executive Pastor [email protected]
Nahcole Crist, Financial Secretary [email protected]
Sondra Hinson, Receptionist/Hostess [email protected]
Leigh Hinton, Sanctuary Respite Ministry, Director • [email protected]
David Café 1040
The Bookers Amazima Ministries
Sam Joh nson My Vision for Refugees
MISSIONARIES
1 Harriet Crawford Jean Lewis Bobby Batchelor
2 Hannah Fleckenstein Joe Parsons Alex Prather
3 Denise Andrews Cornelia Lawson Nahcole Crist
4 Laura Cox Laura Green Barbara Stefano
5 Asbury Stembridge Margie Jones
6 Grace Holloway Alexander Jones Bob Dailey
7 Carol Preston
8 Wyolene Merrell
9 Karl Bechtel Holly Hall
10 Selina McKay
11 Chuck Collier Reg Smith Wayne Peale
12 Mae Thompson
13 Ben Oxley Mary Grace David Tim Jestel
15 Charlene McAleer John Edwards Kirk Nylund
16 Ruth Welesko Kahlen Johnson
17 Randy Sorkness
18 Sondra Hinson Emilie Clarke
20 Marcus Gandy Lindsay Hall Brianne Sherwood Jean Fountain Ginger Jackson
21 Anthony Allmond Jen Frankum Hannah Johnson Joel Murphy
22 Ron Richardson Tim Hemingway Rachel Heacox Ellie Hurley
24 Angie Hilliard Carol Ellerbee
26 Kate Arnold Pat De Reinoso Grady Carter
27 Andy Wheeler Andrew Willis
28 Emily Allmond Sam Whitley Rodney Miller
30 Bill Roe
31 Mike Martinek Jimmy Greene
Blended Worship 8:30 a.m. in the Music Suite
Modern Worship 9:45 a.m. in the Ministry Center
(Live-Streamed & Archived on our Facebook page: @foresthillsmacon)
Traditional Worship 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary
SUNDAY SERVICESIf you would like to include information
in our next newsletter, your information must be submitted by the second Wednesday of the month.
You may email Stephanie Davis with your announcement at
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE
NON-PROFITUS POSTAGE
PAIDMACON, GA
PERMIT NO. 63
Forest Hills United Methodist Church1217 Forest Hill RoadMacon, Georgia 31210
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS