Dear Church Family,

Thanksgiving at First U First United Church of Gridley

Open Bibles One Another Beautiful FeetSpiritual Growth Authentic Worship

United by common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

December 2013

I never thought I’d be one to hang Christmas lights out in the yard. I never envisioned myself decorating the yard with lights only to willfully leave them on while the power meter spins. Over the last few Christmases, however, my Scrooge-like heart of stone has begun to melt and a few weeks ago I found myself doing the unthinkable; I went out and decorated the front of our house with Christmas lights.

I think it began a few years ago at our Christmas Eve can-dle-light service (my favorite Christmas tradition). Each year as we encircle the sanctuary holding candles, we wit-ness a visual representation of the theological significance of Christmas. The glowing candles in the dark sanctuary are a beautiful picture of the glory of light. Without light, we’re lost. Christmas is a celebration of the light of Christ coming into the darkness of this world to show us our way home. Jesus is the light of truth, the One who illumines the way to the Father.

When John the Apostle began his account of Jesus’ life, he did not write about the manger scene that Matthew de-scribes or the shepherds in the fields like Luke did. John wrote about light. He opens his story of Jesus’ life, stating, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (1:9). Jesus is Truth embodied. His life lights a pathway for all who desire to live in obedience to the Word of God.

The glory of Christmas, therefore, is the Incarnation of the Word of God, the Light of God coming into the darkness of the world. The Son of God has come to earth, to show us all what it looks like to live in accordance with the truth of God, and he calls his followers “out of darkness and into his marvelous light” (1 Pt. 2:9). As one who has been called out of darkness and into the light of truth by the grace of God, I no longer think it ridiculous to string lights around my lawn in the cold. It may sound crazy, but each of those lights is a glowing reminder that Jesus has come into this world and rescued us from the darkness of sin.

Whether you’ll be hanging lights this year or not, let’s rejoice that Jesus Christ has come into this world to illumine our path, and may the twinkling lights of the season be a re-minder for each of us to “walk in the light, as He is in the light.” (1 John 1:7).

Inside this newsletter:Pastor Andy’s Letter

Membership ReaffirmationFirst U News

Milestones/AttendanceNovember Photos

Blessings,Andy

Christmas EveCandlelight Service

December 247:00 p.m.

Tickets on Sale Todayfor First U Only!

Ticket prices$15 general admission$25 VIP seating and

Meet & Greet Rend Collective

before the concert

Pastoral Staff Andy Huette, Sr. PastorBrett Monge, Youth Director Grant Stauter, Discipleship Pastor

406 W. 7th Street, PO Box 280, Gridley, IL 61744 Phone 747-2299 web:www.1stu.org

Youth GroupsSr. High - Wednesdays 7:30 pmJr. High - Sundays 2-3:30 pm

Sunday Worship ServicesMorning Worship 9 am-10 amJ.A.M. (ages 3 - PreK) 9 am-10 am every SundayChildren’s Church (grades K-5) 9-10 am 1st & 3rd SundayCommunion and One Another lunch 4th Sunday

December Calendar12/14 JAM/Children’s Church Party @ 9:30 am12/15 Christmas Program after worship12/19 Little Lambs Program @ 6 pm12/14 Christmas Eve Service @ 7 pm

Check our website calendar to stay up-to-date: http://www.1stu.org/#/events

2 3

Attendance & Offering11/3 283 $ 7,58011/10 240 $ 7,90311/17 308 $ 6,57911/24 311 $ 7,596

December Birthdays4 Isaac Porzelius6 Linda Schoppet9 Kim Edwards10 Ken Hall11 Dennis Foor12 Susan Laiming14 Jacob Richard16 Whitney Butikofer17 Madison Rosenberger19 Lois Klein20 Drew Neal20 Gabby Stanhouse22 Kaylene Butikofer25 Ben Klein27 Bev Nelson29 Lily Wettstein30 Karmelle Meiss30 Hannah Wenger31 Tiffney Palmer Anniversaries4 Kevin & Kathy Yergler4 Mark & Stacy Ludy7 Mark & Kaylene Butikofer7 Ben & Lois Klein28 Steve & Lisa Barnhart30 Derek & Sarah Meiss

2014 Membership Reaffirmation

Book Review: “Things I Wish I’d KnownBefore We Got Married,” Author, Gary Chapman

Closing 2013Where did the year go?!!!Annual ReportsMinistry Team Leaders:Team budgets are due today, December 1, to Mark Ludy, Finance Team Chair.

The Sr. High Youth Group operates the First United Christmas “post office” in December.

On December 8, 15, and 22, bring your Christmas cards for First United fami-lies. Drop them off in the Family Center. They will sort your cards and have them ready for pick-up during Coffee Fellow-ship. Donations for their service are wel-come but not necessary.

Current members are not required to turn in an-other signed covenant. Current members still need to reaffirm their membership, but this can be done in the following ways prior to the end of the calendar year.

1. A slip of paper will be in the bulletin each week during the month of December on which a current member can mark his/her desire to reaffirm membership. This reaffir- mation can be placed in the offering plate.

2. An email can be sent to office@1stu.org stating one’s desire to reaffirm membership.

3. A phone call can be made to the church office (747-2299) stating one’s desire to reaf- firm membership.

Prospective members should attend a new mem-ber’s class (or make arrangements to get the material from the class) and also schedule an introductory meeting with pastoral staff to discuss the prospective member’s testimony of faith, baptism, and the content of the membership covenant. At this point a prospec-tive member may sign and return a membership cove-nant and then plan a time to be introduced to the con-gregation in the Sunday morning worship gathering.

On Covenant Sunday, current members will ver-bally commit to the membership covenant, and new members will be introduced to the congregation.

If you have any questions, please see a Leadership Council member: Steve Barnhart, Denny Foor, Al Hany, Andy Huette, John Krone, Matt Wenger.

If the weather is bad . . .1. Go to our website www.1stu.org and click on the “winter weather notice” tab on the home page. Closings will be listed there.

2. Watch WEEK channel 25 or HOI channel 19 for closings.

3. Call the church office at 747-2299 and listen to Voice Mail. It will tell you if a service is cancelled.

4. Youth Group activities are cancelled on days when EPG schools are closed or close early for weather. Postcards with this information are in the foyers for you take home.

Please send your family’s collection directly to Life-song. All donations re-ceived before December 31 will be matched up to $300,000.Lifesong for OrphansPO Box 40Gridley, IL 61744

Family Christmas ProjectLifesong Advent Calendars

Youth Groups and Christmas

The Jr. High Youth Group will take a break and not meet December 22 and 29. They will resume meeting on January 5.

The Sr. High Youth Group will take a break and not meet on December 18, 25, and January 1. They will resume meeting on January 8.

Christmas BreaksChristmas Post OfficeFirst United’s annual Covenant Sunday will be on the day of our annual meeting, January 19, 2014. On that day, the updated membership list will be published and new members will be introduced. The process for reaffirmation will be the same process as was used last year.

“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning . . .”Ecclesiastes 7:8

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . .” 2 Corinthians 5:12

Kara Swartzendruber was baptized on November 17. She is the daughter of Duane and Lori Swartzendruber.

Christmas PartyJAM and Children’s Church

Saturday, December 149:30-12:30

Games, food, fun and practicefor the Christmas program!

Please bring one canned good for the Gridley Food Pantry.The Christmas program is

Sunday, December 15 afterthe worship service.

My daughter is planning her wedding. We’ve been treasure hunting at garage sales for several years look-ing for the perfect glass containers for her candy bar reception. She even knows the song her fantasy fiancée must have play-ing in the background as

he proposes to her. So when I attended Gary Chapman’s marriage conference in September, his book caught my attention. On the back cover it says, “Before you plan your wedding, plan your marriage.” I took it home and began reading it right away and wasn’t long into it before I realized Brianne and I could be doing this together, a great mother-daughter bonding experi-ence, I’d hoped. The author, Gary Chap-man, who is a renown Christian counselor takes his experience in 35 years of therapy and lays out workable solutions for couples

in very simple and practical ways, then completes each chapter with helpful dis-cussion questions.

This book is not a book on how to plan a wedding, but how to plan on having a successful, Christ-centered marriage. While the wedding festivities last only a few hours, the marriage, we pray, will last a lifetime. This would be a great Christmas gift for young people in (and out of) dat-ing relationships, engaged couples, newly-weds, and even old married folk. —Tammy Sanders

Team ministry reports for the Annual Report are due to Keri Hany by December 20.Annual reports will be available by Sunday, January 12. The annual meeting is January 19, 2014.

ExpensesPlease submit 2013 expense receipts for reimbursement by December 27 so they can be paid under the 2013 budget.

2013 GivingPlease submit checks and cash by Sunday, December 29, 2013 to be recorded in 2013.