a blest messiah born, christmas cantata · page 2 advent: a time to prepare for the coming of...
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December 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 12
Advent 2
Discipleship 3
In Reach 4
Student Ministry 6
Children’s Ministry 9
Calendar 11
Lifetree Cafe 12
Inside this issue:
Connecting Generations to Grow Relationships with God, Others, and Creation
A Blest Messiah Born, Christmas Cantata Chris Klaus, Minister of Music and Worship
The Advent/Christmas
season is upon us and
we would like for you to
make plans to attend
worship on December
1 5 a t 1 1 : 0 0 .
The Chancel Choir has
been hard at work
preparing a wonderful
cantata that we hope
will be an inspiting gift
to you and your family
as we celebrate the
coming and birth of
Christ. The full descrip-
tion as given by the Lo-
renz Publishing com-
pany:
“The Christmas season
opens a portal in time
through which words
and melodies from many
centuries flow into our
busy modern lives.
Composer Larry Shack-
ley skillfully blends
some of the most be-
loved ancient carols
into a fresh, captivating
retelling of the
story of Jesus'
birth. It begins
with God's eternal
plan of redemp-
tion, then starts
the Christmas
story with the An-
nunciation. Along
the way, Larry
presents delightful
new settings of
favorite carols
such as The
Friendly Beasts;
What Child is
T h i s ? ; D i n g
Dong! Merrily on
High; and Good Chris-
tian Friends, Rejoice. A
Blest Messiah Born con-
tains rich moments of
reflection as well as
high-spirited rejoicing.
It is enhanced by hints
of Renaissance rhythms
and melodies, and the
lyrics of the carols flow
together with the poetic
narration to portray the
events of the nativity
story.”
The Chancel Choir will
be accompanied by our
own Cherry Keeton as
well as a small chamber
orchestra to include
Huntsville Symphony
Associate Concertmas-
ter, Jeff Dortch. We are
also excited to be able
to include both children
and adult soloists as
well as narration to help
guide us through the
retelling of the Christ-
mas story. Please mark
your calendar, as you’ll
not want to miss this
beautiful work! Bless-
ings and Peace to you!
Page 2
Advent: A Time to Prepare for the Coming of Christ Hughey Reynolds
Advent, a word that
means “coming,” is the
four week period pre-
ceding Christmas Day.
In Christian practice,
Advent has served as a
time of repentance to
prepare for the return of
Christ to gather the
faithful for eternal life
in heaven and to prepare
our hearts to celebrate
the birth of Jesus in
Bethlehem. Histori-
cally, the celebration of
Jesus’ birth was a
twelve day period from
December 25-January 6.
What gets lost in our
society and church cele-
brating Christmas early
is Advent, the expecta-
tion of Christ’s return to
gather the faithful and
our penitent preparation
for His coming. Past
generations of Chris-
tians knew that the same
practices of fasting,
prayer, repentance, and
charity that prepare us
for the return of Christ
put us in the right frame
of mind to celebrate Je-
sus’ birth at Christmas.
How far have we moved
from the historic Chris-
tian observance of Ad-
vent?
Years ago, when I real-
ized the importance of
Advent and how it was
all but lost in our early
Christmas celebrations,
I attempted to observe
Advent in the church by
singing only Advent
hymns until the Sunday
before Christmas. The
plan was to sing Christ-
mas carols after that un-
til January 6. I also read
scriptures on the first
three Sundays in Advent
that pertained to the re-
turn of Christ and to
John the Baptist’s mes-
sage, “Repent,” and
“Prepare the way of the
Lord.” This attempt was
not popular, to say the
least. When I asked that
the church not decorate
the Christmas tree until
the Sunday before
Christmas, I crossed the
line. I was becoming a
liturgical Scrooge in my
attempts to reclaim Ad-
vent as a penitent sea-
son rather than a cele-
bration of Jesus’ birth.
With age, and with the
growing ability God has
given me to think in
terms of both/and rather
than always seeing ei-
ther/or, I have modified
my insistence that we
observe Advent and
Christmas separately.
When He walked the
earth in human form,
Jesus’ greatest ministry
was not within the con-
fines of the Temple,
synagogues, or inherited
religious traditions, but
rather out in the world
engaging people at their
point of need and em-
powering them to reach
their greatest human
potential. In the same
way, Jesus has con-
nected with people in
the world outside the
church in the only way
many in the world can
accept him. He does
not come cloaked in
power executing judg-
ment and condemnation
in the world but in the
form of a newborn baby
who needs to be held
and loved and nurtured.
Yes, Jesus comes in the
form that brings out the
best in human beings.
We will prepare for and
celebrate the coming of
Jesus on the four Sun-
days of Advent during
all the morning and eve-
ning services. On each
Sunday, we will light a
candle in the Advent
wreath recognizing the
gifts God brings to us in
Jesus: Christ our Hope,
Christ the Way, Christ
our Joy, Christ the
Prince of Peace. On
Christmas Eve, at the
Candlelight Commun-
ion services, we will
light the Christ candle,
marking the moment of
Jesus’ birth and the sal-
vation of the world
through him. Keep a
holy and joyful Advent
this season to prepare
for the birth of Christ in
your heart, in our
church, and in our
world.
Page 3
Welcome New Members
Frank & Jennifer Barger
and son, Grant
Jeff & Nicole Cleary
and children, Aiden & Nora
Russ & Enzie Willett
and daughter, Emma
Discipleship Chris Martin, Associate Pastor
Follow-through is defined
as the continuing of an
action or task to its
conclusion. I need to have
that framed and hung in
front of my desk so I am
constantly reminded of the
i m p o r t a n c e o f
follow-through. Back in
September and early October, I shared a three-week
sermon series on discipleship in all our worship
services. One very important component in the
discipleship process that I laid out for our church was
something I called “congregational discipleship.”
This was essentially forming numerous small groups
to study the Bible using a resource called a
Life Journal. I asked members of the congregation
to respond through our Connect Cards if you wanted
to participate in our discipleship efforts, and many of
you did. But here’s where my follow-through left
something to be desired.
After the discipleship sermon series was finished in
all our services, I began to try and form some small
groups on paper. I also went to a couple of Sunday
School classes to talk in a little more detail about the
process and to encourage more participation. But as
of today’s date, November 18, not a single group has
started meeting and herein lies my follow-through
problem.
However, I intend to correct this very soon! There
are currently four available options for you if you
would like to participate in a small group:
Groups with Leaders:
Sandy Reynolds-Couples and Individuals
Jane Smith-Women’s Group
Chad & Michele Rutherford-Couples and Individuals
Chris Martin-Men’s Group
These groups will start meeting during December or
early January. Times and meeting places for these
groups are still being determined and if you would
like to be a part of one of them, please let me know:
chrismartin@ lathamumc.org or 256.881.4069.
Advent Schedule
December 1st
5:00 PM Hanging of the Greens
December 15th
8:55 AM Children’s Program
11:05 AM Chancel Choir Cantata
5:00 PM Children’s Choirs
at Redstone Village
6:00 PM Happy Birthday Jesus Party
December 22nd
8:55 AM Confirmation Service
5:00 PM Christmas Caroling
At Harbor Chase/Homebound Members
December 24th
5:00 PM Candlelight Communion Service
9:00 PM Candlelight Communion Service
White Christmas Offering
During the Advent season we will be collecting
offerings for the United Methodist Children’s
Home. Your gifts give these children not only the
basics such as food, clothing and school supplies,
but also a home and love they may never have
known before. Please consider giving generously.
In Reach Ministries
Marvene Borntrager & Liz Hall Zeman, Staff Leader & Coordinator of In Reach Ministries
Page 4
We would like to take
this opportunity to thank
everyone who volun-
teered their time this
year to help with In
Reach Minis t r ies :
Whether you hosted a
care givers’ luncheon,
took blood pressures,
helped a widow get
through the first year
without her loved one,
delivered flowers, baked
a casserole, built a
wheelchair ramp, made
a prayer quilt, took
someone to the doctor,
visited a homebound
member or sent cards.
Each of you blessed so
many lives with your
contributions. Latham
is a church family with
caring folks who are
willing to reach out and
touch lives in so many
ways. We have had vol-
unteers come from the
recipients of these gifts.
It reminds us of the
“pay it forward” on a
local television channel
here in Huntsville. Do a
good deed and it will be
passed on and on. We
never know how much a
gift of some kind
touches someone. They
may be inspired by the
Holy Spirit to do the
same by passing it on.
Again, Liz & I would
like to thank each of
you for your service
here at Latham and look
forward to 2014 to see
where the Lord will lead
us.
Ramp Program is
Available
Church members are
reminded that LUMC
Opportunities to Serve at
Casserole
Ministry
Transportation
Homebound Visitation
Care Givers’
Luncheon
Altar
Flower
Delivery
In
Stitches Ramp
First Year Initiative
Grief
Recovery
Please contact Marvene in the church office
(256-881-4069) for more information.
Congregational
Health
Ministry
Homebound
Card Initiative
has a ramp building
ministry. If you need a
ramp built to enable bet-
ter accessibility to your
home, please call
Marvene.
Alzheimer’s Support
Group is Forming
The Healthy Ministry
Team is starting a sup-
port group for those
whose loved ones have
Alzheimer’s Disease. It
will start up sometime
in early 2014. Contact
Marvene for info.
L Y R E T L A S P I P E T I T
O B E D E D O M O R G A N P E
Z N M T A M B O U R I N E G N
C E I B E N A I A H U R M J R
Y T C S D O N T K D C E U M O
M H L H C G A J T U L B R A C
B A U E A I H O S I A V T A J
A N D B S R A S P L T S S S E
L E A A T T I H J E E H N E D
S L S N A O E A E R N O I I U
G F A I N L N P H B I P B A T
O L M A E O K H I M R H E H H
N U A H T I I A E I A A L A U
G T U I S V M T L T L R L R N
R E B M U R T U B K C A S P I
Amasa, Bells, Benaiah, Castanets, Clarinet,
Cornet, Cymbals, Dulcimer, Eliphelehu, Flute,
Gong, Harp, Instrument, Jeduthun, Jehiel,
Joshaphat, Jubal, Lyre, Maaseiah, Mattithiah,
Mikneiah, Nethanel, ObedEdom, Organ, Per-
cussion, Pipe, Psaltery, Sackbut, Shebaniah,
Shophar, Tambourine, Timbrel, Trigon, Trum-
ber, Unni, Viol, Zechariah
Word Search
Music & Musicians of the Bible
Worship in the Orchard
Page 5
Going Through Grief
A Guide to Understanding, Surviving,
and Supporting the Grief Process
Mondays, 6—7:30 PM
November 25—Hope for the Holidays:
Surviving Grief When Everyone Else is
Celebrating
December 2—When the Heart Breaks:
The Experience of Grief
December 9—The Bridge: Surviving Grief
December 16—Winter Without Spring:
The Problem of Complicated Grief
Presented by: Rev. Carl Malm, M.Div. from
The Center for Loss, Grief & Change
An Inter-Faith Ministry of the Huntsville
Association for Pastoral Care
Pre-registration requested, but not required,
Call 256-883-6539 or 256-881-4069
Student Ministry Richie Hall, Minister of Students and Communications
Page 6
Ohana! Welcome to
Latham’s Student Min-
istry update. We have
had an incredibly busy
month! We’ve spent as
much time away from
campus in the month of
November as we have
on campus. On our first
Sunday night of the
month we had a fall
party at the home of
Ben and Ginny Bent-
ley’s with delicious
food, a cool bonfire, and
tremendous hospitality.
We put together a joint
youth night with Alders-
gate’s youth group the
second Sunday of the
month and called it,
“Deeper.” We had great
worship, a fantastic
guest speaker (youth
minister from Cove
Church over in Hamp-
ton Cove), and a fun
photo/video scavenger
hunt across South
Huntsville. We have
had one “normal” Sun-
day night Culvert up in
the youth wing, but our
last Sunday of the
month we took a phe-
nomenal group to the
Downtown Rescue Mis-
sion to help them pre-
pare for their largest
meal of the year –
Thanksgiving Dinner.
We enjoyed a rather
“tame” Lock-In the sec-
ond weekend of the
month. We had a re-
spectable turnout, tons
of food, fun games, cool
movies, spirited devo-
tion, and a really good
time. We enjoyed a
joint effort Drive-In
Movie with the Student
Ministry at Lacey’s
Spring UMC the third
Friday of the month; but
due to the wet condi-
tions, we moved the
movie and events inside
the fellowship hall to
w a t c h
“Courageous” (which
happened to be the stu-
dents’ pick!) We’ve
kind of danced around
looking for a new per-
Page 7
manent location for our
Wednesday afternoon
“TnT” (Talkin’ N Tu-
toring time) since The
Coffee Tree shut its
doors in October, and
have been meeting at
Meridian Street Café
just across the street
from Grissom High
School for the past cou-
ple of weeks. Addition-
ally, we spent one Tues-
day afternoon with our
friends over at 305 8th
Street playing games
with them and having
fun.
December promises to
be a busy month as
well. The Student Min-
istry will be sponsoring
a “Parents Night Out”
on December 6. We’re
doing this for two rea-
sons: 1) to give parents
a night out to go on a
date – or possibly do
some Christmas shop-
ping without the kids,
and 2) raise money to
buy gifts for one boy
and one girl from Angel
Tree Ministries (our De-
cember Mission Pro-
ject.) We’re going to
have movies, board
games, gym games, ap-
propriate video games,
and plenty of responsi-
ble & watchful eyes to
ensure that all the kids
left in our care have a
fun and safe time to-
gether. Saturday, De-
cember 7th, we’re going
to actually go shopping
for our “angels” and
deliver the purchased
presents to the desig-
nated drop-off location
in the mall.
Given how busy the Ad-
vent season tends to be
with all of the extra
things we’re called on
to do (office parties,
family get-togethers,
end-of- the-semester
cramming, etc.) we’re
scaling back the Student
Ministry event calendar
to allow our students to
spend more time with
family (and to finish the
first semester well.) We
will continue to meet in
our Discipleship Groups
on Sunday mornings,
The Culvert on Sunday
nights, and will meet the
first two Wednesday
afternoons of the month
for TnT, but the only
other events on the Min-
istry Calendar are gym
games Thursday, De-
cember 12th at 6PM and
Group Skating Friday,
December 27th at 6PM.
Student Ministry, continued from page seven
Page 8
We have a lot coming
up the next few months,
so please “stay tuned”
to the calendar posted
on bulletin boards
downstairs across from
the infant nursery and
the youth bulletin board
upstairs next to the
Youth Wing. You can
also check out the
church’s and/or Student
Ministry’s Facebook
page or the student por-
tion of our website,
www.lathamumc.org for
up-to-date information.
Please continue to invite
friends to all our extra
fun events AND to The
Culvert on Sunday
nights. If you or a teen-
ager you know is look-
ing for a positive and
dynamic group to join,
please tell them to give
us a try. We’re growing
quite steadily and al-
ways looking to add to
“the family.” All are
invited to come check
out what it’s all about.
Pumpkin Patch a HUGE Success! Susan Terry, Minister of Children and Connect
Sunday’s @
5:00PM
Children’s Ministry Susan Terry, Minister of Children and Connect
An EPIC battle was
waged in our Sunday
night program, THE
TREEHOUSE, in Octo-
ber. It pitted the Pre-
school/ Kindergarten/
First Grade against the
Second/Third Grade and
the Fourth/Fifth Grade.
It was a very important
battle, with lives hang-
ing in the balance. The
LEAST little bit of
change could mean the
difference between go-
ing home the victor…or
just going home!
OK…it wasn’t really
THAT dramatic, but the
three groups joined the
Latham Child Develop-
ment Center in collect-
ing change for the Coins
for a Cure Campaign.
The youngest group tri-
umphed over other two
with $31.82. They were
followed VERY closely
by the 2nd/3rd graders at
$31.12, and the 4th/5th
grade were hot on their
heels at $29.41. In all,
we collected $92.35!!
May not sound like
much, but when you
combine it with all the
other collections around
the country, I’m sure it
will make a difference
in many lives. Well
done TREEHOUSE!!!
Future mission projects:
December: Pajamas
January: Pet food/
supplies for local animal
shelter.
Page 9
It still baffles me that in
an economy as bad as
Huntsville has been in
the last year, we had the
best year at the Pump-
kin Patch on record!
Pumpkins sales totaled
$20,212. Latham gets to
keep 33% of that so,
with our cut plus the
donations given, we
made around $8,000 for
the children and youth.
I guess some people
would question the
Pumpkin Patch being
considered “an out-
reach” of the church
(after all, we are selling
something) and maybe
they have a point. But it
certainly is a way to get
to meet our neighbors,
hear their stories and
share some of our own.
It’s connected us to
some people that have
never experienced
“church people” except
through the kindness
and helpfulness of those
volunteers who work
The Patch. It’s a way to
start a conversation…
and that is what rela-
tionships are all about.
Once you get the con-
versation going, sharing
your faith with someone
is just a little bit down
the road and a much
easier journey.
Many thanks to all those
that helped unload
(again…thanks to God
for letting the rain hold
off until we were done),
to those that worked,
and to those that started
the conversations with
o u r n e i g h b o r s .
WELL DONE!!
Thanks to YOUR participation all
year in the Operation Christmas
Child monthly collection we were
able to pack 112 boxes, and YOUR
generous monetary gifts will get
them all shipped.
Page 10
Operation Christmas Child-Monthly Collection
.
Page 11
December 2013 Event and Birthday Calendar
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 Hanging of the Green 8:30a Blood Pressure Ck 8:30a Blood Mobile White Christmas Offering UM Children’s Home Betty Booth John Rose Genette Stephens Doris Owen
2 1p Morris Tutoring 6p Hope for the Holidays 6:30p Finance Meeting Kyle McCarter Elfriede Schlumpf Mike Wilkinson Peggy Holmes Charles Hester
3 1p Morris Tutoring 6p BOS Mtg 7p Charge Conference Margaret Pearson Shannon Briggs Em Wills James Brahm
4 3:15p Youth/TNT 6:30p Elderberry Trip David Parson Linda Moore Danny Braswell
5 7a Youth Prayer Breakfast 6p Singles SS Class Party Kathy Brown Rose Battle Tom Parker Roy Lewis
6 5p Kairos SS Class Party 5:45p Parent’s Night Out/Youth Sue Reid
7 8:30a Youth/OCC
8 Food Pantry Sunday Tamami Seay White Christmas Offering UM Children’s Home
9 10:30a Circle 2 & 6 Christmas Party 1p Morris Tutoring 2p Jo Walton Lit-erary Group 6p Hope for the Holidays Tyler Clark June Young Lynette Gough
10 9:30a Circle 3 1p Morris Tutoring 1:30p Circle 1 CJ Chua Carol Lessley
11 3:15 Youth/TNT 6p Fellowship SS Party Sara Jane Chil-dress Fran Nicholson Clara Conley
12 7a Youth Prayer Breakfast 9:30a Northeast Dis-trict Committee on Ministry 10a In Stitches 10a Circle 5 1p UMW General Mtg 6p Youth Games 7p Troop #364 Committee Mtg Derek Wells Zella Hope Christopher Sims
13 6p UMM Christmas Party Ladies’ Night Out Bella Och Sara Carson
14 10a Chancel Choir Rehearsal 1p Children’s Cantata Rehearsal Dawson Angle Debbie Rose
15 8:55a Children’s Christmas Program 11:05a Christmas Cantata Scott Rose Jim Kirsch Patricia Morris Dana Craig Catherine Chua
16 1p Circle 6 Mtg 1p Morris Tutoring 6p Hope for the Holidays Gippa Kendall Marvella Prevatte Gerri Cogburn
17 9:30a Circle 4 1p Morris Tutoring Helen Hagler Ian Lee Nan Favor Nichole Hanson
18 10a Circle 2 Mtg Carol Patty Doreen Foster
19 7a Youth Prayer Breakfast 11:30a Elderberry Luncheon Kathy Smith Mary Jane Speake
20 11a Latham Ladies Christmas Lunch-eon
21 Cookie White Nat Hurford Kendra Lee
22 11:05 Confirmation Bruce Rogers
23 7p Circle 7 Mtg Clarence Collins Althea Nicholson
24 Office closed at 11:30a Cindy Wells Sheila Parton
25 Office/ CDC Closed Amy Angle Christy Worsham Rebecca Schultz
26 Rachel Peveler Barbara Herrington Rocky Frew
27 6p Youth Skating Don Beaver Dorothy Wendt Pat Sinopole
28 Dorothy Rowe Cindy Towry
29 Dan Speake Gabriel Wood Diana Underwood Jan Weaver
30 Austin Duncan Jeremy Och Caitlyn Cope
31 Church office closed 11:30a Carol Wells
Every Sunday: 7:45a Band Rehearsal
8:30a Morning Watch 8:55a Orchard Service
10:05a Sunday School 11:05a Liturgical Service
2:30p Garage Band
3:30p LAMBS 5:00p Pastor’s Bible Study
5:00p Treehouse
5:00p Women’s Bible Study
5:00p The Culvert-Youth Service 5:30p Celebration Choir
5:30p Cherub Choir 6:00p Bible Study
Every Monday: 8:30a Bend & Stretch 6:00p Just Faith 6:00p Praise Band
Every Thursday: 8:30a Bend & Stretch
6:30p Lifetree Café
Every Wednesday: 10:00a Ladies Bible Study 1:30p Wesley Singers
6:00p Boys Scouts
6:00p Jubilation Handbells 7:00p Ladies Bible Study 7:00p Chancel Choir
109 Weatherly Road
Huntsville, AL 35803
Phone: 256-881-4069
Fax: 256-880-0305
On the web: lathamumc.org
Connect with the Staff
Lifetree Café
Rev. Dr. Hughey Reynolds, Senior Pastor
Chris Martin, Minister of Discipleship
Susan Terry, Minister of Connect & Children’s Ministries
Richard Hall, Minister of Youth & Communications
Chris Klaus, Minister of Music & Worship
Marvene Borntrager, Staff Coordinator for Inreach
Anita Banks, Business Administrator
Traci Harris, Director of Child Development Center
Cherry Keeton, Organist
Joey Evans, Pianist
Latham United Methodist Church
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Join the conversation each Thursday Night at 6:30 PM. An hour long experience
is packed with interesting stories, fascinating people, and lively
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