The Evangel

Church

News and Upcoming Events

2

December Birthdays and Anniversaries

3

Serving our Lord in December

3

Prayer Concerns 4

December Calendar

5

Inside this issue:

Watseka United Methodist Church ‘Moving with Jesus into the community to share God’s Love’

Pastor’s Note . . .

You are invited to celebrate the true gifts of Christmas this season: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. It’s the most wonderful time of the year—or so the old song goes. Yet we have to admit that it doesn’t always feel that way. We can all rattle off a list of the reasons why we feel a twinge of stress or sadness mixed with happiness or excitement when the carols start playing in every public setting. Hectic sched-ules, rampant materialism and reminders of personal wounds are just a few of the reasons. Whether you are the person who is ready to relax and savor the season be-cause you did all your shopping and preparations months ago or the person who dreads the busyness, responsibilities or loneliness that steal your joy this time of year, the Christmas season offers a unique opportunity to experience God’s love and grace in the midst of real life. Christmas can still truly give us a taste of the most wonderful time of world history. Jesus—the Messiah, the Savior—came as the light into the darkness and stress and pain of the world—our world. That world then, just like our world now, including our lives, needs the light to illumi-nate, clarify, guide, and heal. Christ’s coming brings that ultimate light and His peace, joy, and all-consuming love. Those are the true gifts of Christmas. And He is worth celebrating. Join us for our Advent worship series as we celebrate how Jesus’ birth changed everything and brings us hope, love, joy, and peace even today! You will find the weekly worship schedule below. May each one know the immeasurable riches of God’s grace this Christmas and a blessed New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Bob

Advent Worship Series Make your Christmas preparation more meaningful by including worship this Advent Season. Join us for our series, The Gifts of Christmas: Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. Who doesn’t need those gifts? Most likely, each of us. This is a great time to invite someone to come with you to worship. Share the blessings of Christmas with others. Our weekly foundational Scriptures and themes are pro-vided to assist you in preparing your heart and mind for worship.

December 3: Foundational Scripture: Romans 15:3; Theme: The Gift of Hope

December 10 (Children’s Program; Holiday Meal): Foundational Scripture: John 3:16,17; Theme: The Gift of Love

December 17 (March to the Manger): Foundational Scripture: Luke 2:10-12; Theme: The Gift of Joy

December 24 (One morning service at 10 a.m.): Foundational Scripture: Luke 2:13,14; Theme: The Gift of Peace

December 31 (One morning service at 10 a.m.): Guest Speaker

December 1, 2017

Special points of interest:

▪ Children’s Christmas

Program—See Page 2

▪ Christmas Caroling—See

Page 2

▪ Christmas Eve Schedule

—See Page 3

January

Evangel Deadline Articles for the December

Evangel need to be emailed to:

newsletter@watsekafumc.com

or brought to the church office

by noon, Dec. 15.

Christmas Eve Schedule

Jesus’ birth changed everything, and gives us hope and peace even today. Cele-brate with us on Christmas Eve. We will offer three services. Each one is designed to inspire and help us celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please invite someone to join you for one of these special services. 5 p.m. Candlelight and Cake (This service is specially planned with children in mind. This is a fun family service. Children are welcome to wear their pajamas.) 7 p.m. Candlelight and Communion (Come enjoy the Chancel Choir and other music, along with Holy Com-munion and candlelight service. This will be a wonderful way to celebrate Christ’s birth.) 11 p.m. Candlelight and Communion (There is some-thing special about concluding worship as Christmas day arrives. Come be blessed by special music, sharing in Holy Communion, and the candlelight service.)

Morning Worship Schedule Change

On Sunday, Dec. 24 and Sunday, Dec. 31, we will have one combined morning worship at 10 a.m. Please be sure to put these changes on your calendar. We will resume our regular Sunday Schedule on January 7, 2018. Confirmation Class

Pastor Bob will be offering a Confirmation class be-ginning January 7, 2018. The Confirmation class is an opportunity for youth to grow in their relationship to Christ and his church and in service to the world. If you are in-terested in having your child confirmed, please let Pastor Bob know. If you would like more information, please contact Pastor Bob. The class is being offered to youth in sev-enth and eighth grade.

Church Council Meeting, Oct. 19

Jessica Fehland gave a presentation of the New MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). It will be open for all mothers. The Church Council passed a motion for the church to sponsor and host this outreach program. A motion was passed unanimously to accept the 2018 Church Budget. A motion was passed unanimously to receive the report from Nominations to be passed to Church Conference for approval. Pastor reported on the pen ministry the Evangelism Team is doing and also on the Goody Baskets the Evan-gelism Team will be delivering to the Police and Fire de-partments. Martha Howe reported the UMW may have a possible new leader. Terri Anderson reported for the Worship committee. There will be an All Saints Sunday Service, an Advent Study, one service Christmas Eve morning at 10 a.m. and three Christmas Eve Services: 5 p.m. Family Ser-vice, 7 p.m., and 11 p.m. All the evening services will be candlelight services. On New Year’s Eve morning there will be one service at 10 a.m.

Page 2

Church News . . . Salvation Army Bell Ringing

Each year our church helps in ringing the Salvation Army kettle bell. This year we will be doing so Friday,

Dec.1, and Saturday, Dec. 2. Other churches in the community will be ring-ing the bell other weekends. Seventy percent of the money received will be available for use in the coming year in our community. The money is used to help people with various needs includ-ing utilities, rent, medicine and clothing. If you would like to ring the bell either

Friday or Saturday, please contact the church. This is a fun way to share God’s love with others.

The Sunday School Children invite you to...

“Christmas Star Trip:

Our Faith Awakens.” Sunday, Dec. 10 10:30 am service

The children have been working hard— we hope you will join us for our little church tradition.

Holiday Meal-

Plan to join us on Sunday, Dec. 10, for our annual Holiday Meal immediately following the 10:30 a.m. worship service. This is a great time to get to know others from our church around a great meal and also a great time to invite someone to join you. Everyone is welcome. The Hospitality Committee will pro-

vide ham, potatoes, rolls, drinks, and table ser-vice. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Christmas Caroling

Join us Wednesday, Dec.13, for a fun evening of Christmas carol-ing. This is a great way to share the message of Christmas love and peace. Christmas caroling is a great event for the whole family and anyone who enjoys sing-ing and being a blessing to others. We will be caroling inside at two or three area locations. Meet us at the church at 5:30 p.m.

The Evangel

Finance Report: (October 2017)

General Fund Balance, Beginning Balance 2016 General Fund ...... $26,484.26 January 2017 correction ....................................... $8.00 YTD General Fund Income ....................... $194,574.55 YTD General Fund Expense .................... -$206,089.70 General Fund Balance ................................ $14,977.11

Page 3

12-1 Jacob Onnen Jeffrey Weber 12-2 Jayden Anderson Shyan Bradfield 12-3 Marti Menges 12-5 Spenser Elliott Zachary Hickmqn Austin Kingdon 12-6 Brian Bohlmann 12-7 Elizabeth Orme Kristin Zack 12-8 Joel Koonce Ryan Markley 12-10 Rachelle Williams 12-11 Kristina Bolt Loren Kohler Kristel Sattler 12-12 Duncan McKenna 12-15 Jo Newman Sue Rieches 12-16 Eric Meyer Carolyn Swartz 12-17 Deborah Johnson Debi Custer 12-18 Ashley Copeland Lindsay Lohrens Jack Naese Joyce Reutter Eldon Sprau

12-19 Florence Pew Jones 12-21 Lindsey Brown Elaine Hickman Mary Kohl Lynn Overacker 12-22 Kayla James Karl Knauth Kathy Orme 12-23 Andrew Gaines 12-24 Jessica Bryant Carol Saucedo 12-25 Garrison Bailey Allison Naese 12-26 Megan Gaeten Janice Johnson Kyle Markley Marge Palmer Stephanie Sterrenberg Matthew Strough 12-28 Beverly Owens 12-29 Kyle Flota Engel Kaufmann Jason Scott 12-30 Mike Rabideau

12-3-1994 Nancy & Joel Davenport 12-7-1968 Beverly & Lyle Kofoot 12-8-1979 Debi & Doug Custer 12-17-1988 Lauri & John Zumwalt 12-27-1981 Carol & Marvin Bull 12-30-1994 Peggy & Fred Cahoe 12-30-1978 Ruth & Reid Storm 12-31-1998 Rochelle & Kenny Thompson

Food from the Heart -

Supplies are being gathered for the 2017 Christmas Basket Distribu-tion that will take place on Satur-day, Dec. 16 in the Fellowship Hall. Persons receiving from Toys for Tots will pick up a basket from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Seniors and other families will pick up after 1 p.m. Packing of the baskets starts at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14 in the Fellowship Hall, and volunteers are most welcome!

Serving Our Lord in December

Children’s Message: December 3: Diann Peabody December 10: Debi Custer December 17: December 24: December 31:

8 A.M. Service

Ushers/Greeters: December 3: Velanne & Craig Gocken December 10: Debi & Doug Custer December 17: Joan & John Cook

10:30 A.M. Service Ushers/Greeters: Soni & Steve Knapp, Jack Swan,

Laura Anderson Christmas Eve:

December 24, 5 p.m.: Nancy & Gordon Langellier December 24, 7 p.m.: Dorothy & Joe Koonce, Teri & Josh Anderson December 24, 11 p.m.: Volunteers Needed

Liturgist: Jon Yelenick Acolytes:

December 3: Joshua Scott & Jace Naese December 10: Maggie Dickte & Jace Naese December 17: Joshua Scott & Abigail Neukomm December 24, 10 a.m.: Mackenzie Valentine & Natalie Petersen

Radio Broadcast Sponsors: December 3: Lyle & Bev Kofoot in honor of their 49th

anniversary December 10: Mike & Sherilyn Rabideau in memory

of those who have served our country December 17: Joel & Nancy Davenport for the many

blessings in their lives December 24: Elaine Hickman in honor of Zachary &

Vanysah Hickman December 31: Reid & Ruth Storm in celebration of

their 39th anniversary Nursery Attendant Support:

December 3: Paul & DeDe Yenerich December 10: Reid & Ruth Storm December 17: Steve & Soni Knapp December 24: Adam & Deena Knapp December 31: Support Needed

Sunday School Perfect Attendance

Those achieving perfect attendance for the month of October were: Pre-school– H.S.: Abigail Neukomm (Polly Neu-komm). Chapel Class: Carol Christy, Brooke Storm, Rhonda Leitz, Pastor Bob Sabo, Diann Peabody. Choir: Barb Sabo, Helen Gerber, Hannah Mitchello, Lyle Kofoot, Bob Burd, Sherrill Stichnoth, Jessica Feh-land, Charles Leitz, Amy Dickte.

December Anniversaries

December Birthdays

In Our Prayers - Joe Elliott (Janet Bunting’s brother-in-law & Theresa & Wes Clement’s son-in-law), Sharon Nelson (mother-in-law of Melinda’s niece), Michelle Atwood (food pantry volunteer), Steve Redman (Dorothy & Joel Koonce’s nephew), Jennifer Redman (Dorothy & Joel Koonce’s great-niece), Ralph & Pat Johnson, Jim & Sienna Petti-grew (Melinda’s brother-in-law & sister), Tony Norrick, Gloria Tensley, Pastor Kevin & Mary Nourie, Margaret Maxwell, Florence Nimz, Steve Swigart (Joe Swigart’s son), Ernie & Ila Bailey, Pat Ferguson (cousin of Shirley Pearson), Mary Bricker, Presley Carman, Bernice Clut-teur, Annabel Iliff (friend of Janice Johnson), Sheila Jef-fers, Barbara & Budd Newell, Sheila Siebert, Lois Lytle, and Robert Dannehl. Military Personnel: Mark A. Dominquez (grandson of Florence Nimz), Anika Sawyer, Cpt. Jeremy Willough-by, Jaren Swan, SGT James K. Redman, AB David J. Leitz, and Robert Gaetan.

Postage Stamps Help Missionaries

The cancelled stamps that arrive on your mail can help support missionaries in Africa. This is how: The Marion Mission Storehouse in Marion, Indiana is collect-ing cancelled stamps. The stamps are then sold to stamp collectors. The money gained from the sale of these stamps is used to help defray the cost of shipping con-tainers of clothing, medical and school supplies, and shoes to Africa. The Marion Mission Storehouse is a distribution cen-ter much like the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Illinois. Its focus is supporting the life and work of the United Methodist Church in Zambia, Africa. Since 1999 Lucille Ping has been collecting stamps from people in the church and sending them to Marion Mission Storehouse. Lucille has retired from this position, but the collecting of stamps will continue! The UMW is thankful for the many years she has headed this mission project! It is important that the saved stamps have a ¼” margin of paper around all the perforated edges of the stamps. Stamp collectors will not purchase the stamps if they do not have this ¼” margin. Please consider saving the stamps you receive in your mail! The stamps may be given to Diann Peabody or may be left in a container on the table outside the church office. Diann will also accept untrimmed stamps, but there has to be a large margin of paper around all sides of the stamps. This saving of stamps is one small way we can help make a difference in overseas mis-sions.

Last Deposit of the Year

Last deposit of the year will be made on Wednesday, December 27th. Any giving received after this date will be in with your 2018 giving.

Page 4 The Evangel

United Methodist Women -

Hello! My name is Hannah Mitchello. I grew up in rural Watseka and have been a member of FUMC for the past two years. My husband Frank and I have been married for 2-1/2 years, and we have a beautiful baby girl, Carrie Jo, who is the light of our lives! I am super-excited to begin leading our United Meth-odist Women unit this coming year! The UMW in our church has been a great blessing in my life. It has helped me to connect with other women, grow spiritually, and help others. The women in our UMW are some of the finest, most caring and dedicated Christian women I know. I am passionate about this ministry because it can, and IS making a difference in the lives of women and children around the world. Our UMW is a welcoming, safe environment for women of all ages. We seek to fol-low Christ and serve Him better together, to grow spiritu-ally and become more deeply rooted in our faith. Through our Iroquois River District pledge to mission, we support mission work worldwide, giving aid to over 400 mission programs and organizations. I encourage all of you women to fill out the UMW survey that can be found in the Narthex. To learn more about United Meth-odist Women and what we do, check out the Response (located next to the UMW Reading List books) or visit www.unitedmethodistwomen.org. I can't wait to share more with you next month! Until then, have a blessed Christmas season! From our retiring president, Martha Howe: We are looking forward to a new beginning for our United Methodist Women’s unit under the direction of Hannah Mitchello! If you have not turned in your UMW Survey, please do so quickly in order for a new start in January A total of $3350 mission money was distributed in November to Cunningham Children’s Home, Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, the Arc, IMH Hospice, Redbird Mission, Henderson Settlement, Watseka Area Food Pantry, Watseka Ministerial Association Fund, Pas-tor’s Discretionary Fund, and Ruth’s Update ministry, plus our pledge of $2,200 to the Iroquois River District. A big thank you to everyone who supports the UMW activi-ties!

Food Pantry Update - Special food items for December are canned fruit and cake & brownie mixes. Please make sure the items have a current “best by” date. During the month of October 130 families were served at the food pantry: 301 adults and 136 children. Eastern Illinois Foodbank delivery is Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 8 a.m., and the trailer will be back from Midwest Foodbank on Friday, Dec. 8 around 11 a.m. Volunteers are needed each time to help unload and put items away. Sincere thanks to all who donate their time, grocery items, and monetary gifts to our food pantry. We could not carry on this vital service to our community without your help!

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Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Watseka IL 60970

Permit 85

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Our Mission: Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our Vision: Moving with Jesus into the community to share God's love.

Watseka First United Methodist Church

301 South Fourth Street Watseka, IL 60970

Pastor--Rev. Bob Sabo Phone: 815-432-4903 Fax: 815-432-5070 Church Website: www.watsekaumc.com Church Email: melinda@watsekafumc.com Rev. Bob Sabo Email: bobsabo@watsekafumc.com Evangel News Email: newsletter@watsekafumc.com Office Hours: 8:30a.m. - Noon and 1 - 4:30p.m. (Mon. thru Fri.) Sunday Worship Times: 8:00 a.m. Informal Worship 10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

"Go Make Disciples of All Nations" Matthew 28:19

First United Methodist Church Watseka

As the Christmas season approaches, it seems we are all looking for ways to help others. This is a time of giving and, for some, a time of receiving. This year we all have an opportunity to give. The Christmas Shop is a donation-based ministry created for financially struggling families who are having a hard time during the holidays. Sometimes, families are trying so hard to pay bills and buy groceries that there isn't much left over for toys and clothes for Christmas. This is where The Christmas Shop comes in. All a family has to do is show up and they are gifted a coupon that is good

for four free bags of whatever they want from our shop, free and no questions asked. A family can also benefit from complimentary gift wrapping, hot choco-late and yummy goodies. If anyone is wondering how they can help with this program there are a few different ways. First, dona-tions of children's clothing, sizes preemie-juniors (no stains, please), and children's toys (brand new or gen-tly used with all working parts) will be accepted at the church office up until Monday, Dec. 11. Second, do-nations of wrapping paper and trimmings will also be accepted at the church office. And lastly, your time as a volunteer to work the shop, wrap gifts or hand out goodies. There are two dates scheduled for the Christ-mas Shop to be open: Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10am-3pm, and Saturday, Dec. 16 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Please contact Emily Seibring if you would like to help in anyway. The phone number is 618-521-9259. Our hope is to take the stress out of Christmas shopping for families so they can get back to the things that really matter during this time of year, re-membering the reason for the season—Jesus Christ, and spending time with the ones who mean the most to them. All kids deserve to have a great Christmas morning opening up a special present; and, if we can provide that for even one family, it will have been a success. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

The

Christmas

Shop