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The Good News Of Emmanuel

December 2013

1963 - 50 Years Serving Christ and Community - 2013

“The hinge of history is on the door of the Bethlehem stable”, wrote Ralph Sockman. You know, I think he has a point. God has intervened in history but never as He did in that stable in Bethlehem. God filled that holy spot with family, animals and the Christ Child. Of course, there were even people in that ancient day who chose to ignore what was happening in the Bethlehem stable.

“During my childhood,” wrote Isabel Champ, “our family lived on a farm. When I recently revisited the area, I drove out to see the house. How on earth did the four of us ever fit into those tiny rooms, I wondered. Suddenly it was easy to understand why my parents had hidden our Christmas presents in the huge white barn way out back. One year my Grandmother spent the holiday with us. I can’t remember to this day where she slept or even sat down, but I do remember that my parents decided to put up our Christmas tree in the barn to save space. Well, that Christmas morning, with the wind howling and snow drifting high, we bundled up and dashed out to the barn. Daddy said the cows could wait to be milked until we had opened our gifts. They didn’t seem to mind - they stuck their heads through the stanchions and, along with our pony, Trixie, contentedly began chewing hay. Their bodies made the barn warmer, their nostrils puffing small jets of steam into the icy air. It wasn’t until years later that I realized just why that Christmas, celebrated in the drafty old barn with the animals looking on, was so very memorable. After all, it was in a lowly stable that Christmas began, wasn’t it.” A blessed Advent from the Pastor and Staff of Emmanuel United Methodist Church.

Pastor Erich E. Hamm

THE ANGELS ARE HERE!! The Angel Tree is available in the Narthex adorned

with the names of Angels for you to take and shop for

this Christmas. All gifts are to be returned to the

Church on Sunday, December 8th so

that they can be blessed before distribution day on

Wednesday, December 11th from 10:00 am to

2:00 pm in Corton Hall.

PLEASE DO NOT WRAP YOUR GIFTS.

They may be put into gift bags.

Donations of homemade Christmas cookies are

requested for gift distribution day on

Wednesday, December 11th. You can bring your

cookies in on December 9th, December 10th or early

on distribution day

THE STORY OF THE CANDY CANE

There were once two villages in a far off land. One was in a valley and one was on a mountain top. The folks in the mountain village wanted to give each person in the valley village a gift of love at Christmas. The people in the valley were having a difficult time but those in the mountain village were doing well. (Sometimes when we are on a mountain top we can help those who are going through a valley in their lives too.) That is what these mountain-folks wanted to do also. So a committee was formed of townspeople to see if someone would be able to think of something special. Money was limited, and each gift had to be of equal value to each person. After much time, discussion and consideration a decision was finally reached. An elderly gentleman, who had loved Jesus for many years, and who was well respected and loved came up with the idea of a candy cane. Now you are thinking, what is so special about a candy cane and how can it even be tied in with Christmas. Here is how and why. 1. The candy cane is in the shape of a shepherd’s staff. Jesus is our Shepherd

and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, trusts him and knows he is totally safe with him. A sheep will follow no other shepherd but his own. This is how we are to be with Jesus if we truly follow Him (John 10:11, Psalm 23;1)

2. Upside the candy cane is a “J”, the first letter of Jesus’ name. (Luke 1:31) 3. The wide red stripe represents the blood He shed on the cross for each one

of us so we can have eternal life through Him. He redeems us and cleanses us with His shed blood which is the only thing that can wash our sins away. (Ephesians 1:7, Luke 22:20)

4. The white stripe represents the sinlessness and purity of our Lord. He is the only human being who ever lived on this earth who never committed one single sin. Even though He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned.

(1 Peter 2:22) 5. The narrow red stripe represents that by His stripes or wounds we are

healed. Before the crucifixion Jesus was beaten, the crown of thorns was placed on His head, His back was raw from the whip. We are healed by these wounds. He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed.

(1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5) 6. The flavoring in the candy cane is peppermint which is similar to hyssop.

Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. (John 19:29, Psalm 51:7)

7. When we break our candy cane, it reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken for us. When we have Communion this is our reminder of what He did for us. (1 Corinthians 11:24)

8. If we share our candy cane, and give some to someone else in love, because we want to, it represents that same love of Jesus because He is to be shared with one another in love. (1 John 4:7,8)

God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus. He loves us so much He wants us to spend eternal life with Him which we can do if we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior and Lord. (John 1:12, John 3:3, John 14:6)

TO THE CONGREGATION

OF EMMANUEL UMC -

Thank you for your thoughtfulness

in remembering Bonnie and me with

the prayer blanket and the monetary love gift. Your love,

thoughtfulness, cards and prayers are deeply appreciated in this

our time of need.

Pastor Warren

Family Promise December 2013

Thank You Emmanuel for supporting Family Promise. As of the writing of this article, our first week of hosting a family has been a success. All of our volunteers were gracious, kind and examples of what the bible tells us a Christian should be. Every person I asked for support said ‘yes’. God worked in all of us this week. Our family was a mom (Tonya) and her two teenage children, a girl (Janiece) and a boy (Chris). She is so grateful to be part of a program that allowed her to keep her family together instead of sending her son to a men’s shelter. She is also grateful for the outpouring of kindness shown them everywhere they have gone as well as helping her to get to work so she could keep her job. The kids were very quiet but polite and respectful. Chris was excited over the Pop Tarts and the video game set up in our “Lounge” thanks to the youth. Janiece really enjoyed the bacon. Such small things that we take for granted. I feel so blessed to be part of this ministry. I’m sure many of you know what a wreck I was the week prior to our host week, worrying things were not going to go as well as “I” wanted. How He showed me what to expect when I simply asked. What a testimony to the talents God has given us, allowing us to provide a safe and loving place for this family and those that will come after them. Our next Host Week is the week of Valentine’s Day. Please send me suggestions on how we can show our next guests the special love God has for all of us. Nannette Bell

The Emmanuel Emmaus Community

invites you to Christmas Carol with

them on Saturday, December 20th.

We will meet at 5:30 at the church for a

pot luck chili dinner. If you have any

questions, please contact Beverly Jones.

A. Newsletter deadline Sunday, December 15th B. Thanksgiving Thurs. November 28th C. First Sunday in Advent December 1st D. Spaghetti supper Friday, Dec. 6th 4:30 – 6:30 pm E. Angel tree gifts dedication Sunday, December 8th F. Angel tree gifts distribution Wednesday. December 11th G. Finance meeting Monday, December 9th 6:30 pm H. Leadership Team Meeting Monday, December 9th 7 pm I. Christmas caroling & Chili Saturday, December 21st, at 5:30 J. Manger scenes Sunday Dec. 22nd K. Christmas Eve services & fellowship Tuesday, December 24th 5 pm & 7 pm

MEMBERSHIP – Marianne Layton

Our 2013 Charge Conference, chaired by Dr. Gary Spencer, District Superintendent, is now a thing of the past. At that time seven inactive members were removed from our rolls. Twelve names of inactive members were read for the first time, to be removed at the 2014 Charge Conference. Sometime in the spring of 2014 additional inactive members will be identified for first time reading at the same time. It is an ever continuing effort to maintain our membership records in as accurate a form as possible in order to truly depict our membership status. The statistics are presented to the Charge Conference and are included in the end of year status reports prepared and presented to the Atlantic Central District and the Florida Conference. As inactive members are removed we continue to welcome n e w m e m b e r s t o o u r congregation. On Sunday, November 17

th, we welcomed

Wayne Watson as a member. His wife, Ann, is a long time member, having joined on March 10, 1974 and they both have been very supporting through the years. They volunteer at the monthly Spaghetti Suppers in the kitchen helping to serve our diners. Welcome Wayne!

LUNCH BUNCH – Marianne Layton

The November group met and dined at Dustin’s, with approximately 24 ladies present. The meals are always tasty and the group had a great time socializing, as usual, with trading stories and happenings.

In December we will dine at our

favorite Christmas location, Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty located at 2200 S. Orlando Avenue, Cocoa Beach. It will take place on December 10

th at

11:30AM and if you want to carpool meet at the church at 11:00AM. Also please be reminded that Mary Ann Harms is our coordinator and makes all contact with our chosen locations, to include day of event and onsite interface at the time of arrival.

PLEASE CALL MARY ANN HARMS TO MAKE YOUR

RESERVATION ASAP BUT NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6

TH.

AS A MATTER OF COURTESY TO MARY ANN HARMS, PLEASE DON’T WAIT UNTIL

THE LAST MINUTE TO LET HER KNOW.

GENESIS PANTRY –

Nancy McBride

T h e G e n e s i s P a n t r y continues to run quite smoothly. Our clientele also continues to grow - as I said last month serving 15 people a day is now most common. Although it does not always happen, we are averaging 30 families a week. We will not be receiving any donations from Dollar Tree until January due to their collection of Toys for Tots. So we really do appreciate all of the donations you offer. They truly do help.

HAPPY

HOLIDAYS

TO ALL

PUMPKIN PATCH - I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for a great pumpkin patch season. To all the people who either volunteered, made baked goods, unloaded endless pumpkins off the truck, those who prayed for a successful year, and the support of the community by purchasing the pumpkins, we could not have done it without you! Thank you all very much! To those who did not participate this year, we invite you to join us next year for Pumpkin Patch.

Happy Birthday!

December 01 - Ray Marcum December 03 - Michael Farnham December 04 - Harold Ayers December 05 - Golda Yeager December 05 - Ann Watson December 05 - Debbie Duhon December 07 - Sandy Bliss December 07 - Pat Langford December 07 - Shane Schaeffer December 08 - Hannah Langford December 09 - Fran Cerasoli December 09 - Jody Hiers December 14 - Bruce Hann December 18 - Phyllis Burchell December 18 - Brooks Jones December 19 - Holly Chapman December 20 - Glenda Reither December 20 - Gene Corton December 22 - Lauren Childs December 23 - Marion Taylor December 23 - Evelyn Sansom December 26 - Krystle Pond December 27 - Peggy O’Steen December 28 - Patricia Nolf December 29 - Reba Debusk December 30 - Holly Ford December 31 - Robyn Martin

Happy Anniversary!

Dec. 11 - Sandy & Skip Bliss

Dec. 14 - Carolyn & Todd Morley

Dec. 19 - Carol & Kel Nolf

Dec. 20 - Nancy & Charles Hamilton

Dec. 22 - Eulah & Ken Walters

Dec. 23 - Joyce & Bill Clark

Dec. 25 - Sally & Larry Willis

Dec. 28 - Pearl & Bruce Hann

Friday, December 6th

4:30 pm to 6:30 pm

$7.00 Donation Family Price: $22 [2 adults and 2 + children]

Great Food and Fellowship!

The church office and

Genesis Pantry will be closed on

Decmber 24th thru January 1st.

NATIVITIES ON DISPLAY

You are invited to bring your Nativity set(s) to church so

they can be displayed on Christmas Eve in Corton Hall. Re-

freshments will be served following both services (5:00

and 7:00 ) and the Nativities will be setup on display for all

to enjoy. If you have one or more that you would like to

share on Christmas Eve, please bring it to church the week

of December 15th thru the 19th. Include some information

about the set, such as country of origin, how long you’ve

owned it and any other detail you would like to share.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Sunday Schedule

9:15a - Casual Service

9:45a - Adult Sunday School

11:00a - Classic Service

Kingdom Kids Club

2

10a - 12p - Genesis Pantry

4p - 6p - Girl Scouts, #14 & 15

6:30p - Trustees, KR

3

10 - 11:30a - Bible Study, #14

6:30 - 8:30p - CS #377, CFH

7 - 8:30p - Praise Team, S

4

6:30p - Bell Choir

7:30p - Chancel Choir

5


2p - Peace Cir., CFH

5:30p - Prayer & Praise, S

7p - Men’s Bible Study, KR

7p - Women’s BS, CFH

6

Office Closed

4:30p - Spaghetti Supper, CFH

7

8

Sunday Schedule




Kingdom Kids Club

9


6:30p - Finance Meeting

7p - Executive Leadership Meet

10

10 - 11:30a - Bible Study, #14

11:30a - Lunch Bunch

6:30p - CS #377, #14 & 15

6:30p - Magnolia Lakes


11

10a - 2p - Angel Tree

Gifts Dist., CFH


12


6:30p - CS #377, 14 & 15



13

Office Closed

14

8a - 11:30a - BS #285, CFH

15

Sunday Schedule




Kingdom Kids Club

16


4p - 6p - Girl Scouts, #14 & 15

17

10 - 11:30a - Bible Study, #14

6:30 - 8:30p - CS #377, CFH


7:30p - Faith Cir., KR

18


19


6:30p - CS #377, 14 & 15



20

Office Closed

21

5:30p - Caroling & Chili, CFH

22

Sunday Schedule




Kingdom Kids Club

23


24

Office Closed

5p - Christmas Eve Service

7p - Christmas Eve Service

25

Office Closed

26

Office Closed

27

Office Closed

28

29

Sunday Schedule




Kingdom Kids Club

30


31

Office Closed

n e 7 1 the good news of emmanuel · n-n e id 7 1 d. 5 ed is ... the good news of emmanuel december...

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