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The Evangel

December 2017

Larned & Garfield United Methodist Churches

Note from the Pastor

Merry Christmas to all! It does seem so that is where we are at, I can hardly even keep focused on all that is going to happen in the month of December because a Neon sign is flashing Christmas is here, and I am so not ready. Yet into this crazy time the church cal-endar invites us into a time of waiting and anticipation; and a time of reflec-tion. Advent (those 4 weeks leading up to Christmas Eve) is supposed to be a time for us to look around and ask ourselves if we are ready. But not if we are ready for the turkey, the family, the presents or even if we are ready for school break. Are we Ready for Christ’s return? In scripture this is not a question asked with the nuclear bombs going off in the background, or the sense of dread conjured up by the books about the end of time. It is a questions asked

with the same sense of anticipation as we have while we ponder what will be under the Christmas tree. It is a ques-tion asked with the understanding that Christ has already won the victory, and all that is left to happen is the party. Are we Ready for Christ’s return? Is also a serious question intended help us remember that the important things aren’t the presents under the tree, but the gift we have already received - love. So have a Merry Christmas

By giving yourself time to remember this precious gift you have received, and rejoice in all the ways Christmas reminds you of God’s love for you!

Peace & Joy in Christ, Bethann

What’s INSIDE

2 Finance Note

2 Thank Yous

2 Birthdays & Anniversaries

3 December Calendar

3 Cookie Bakers

4 Announcements

5 MOMs Preschool

6 Wacky Wednesdays

6 G2G Update

7 You are Challenged

7 Prayer Concerns

8 Sunday Schedules

Welcoming December 3rd

By Profession of faith: By Baptism: Dianne Connelly Peyton Solko Barbara Nelson Chasitty Solko Joey Solko Miguel Ibarra Recognition as part of our Family: DeAnn Baker Gavin Solko & Zoey Solko Chris Baker

Gift Exchange We are so excited about everyone who has signed up for the Gift Exchange! You will draw names as you leave church on Sunday, December 3rd. If you are unable to be here that Sunday and have added your name to the draw-ing please come by the office by Friday, December 8th to draw a name. Gifts will be exchanged on Sunday December 17th. If you are unable to be here please drop off the gift that you have gotten to the individual or to the church office by Friday, December 15th. Remember no more than $3 on the gift and let’s have fun getting to know each other!!

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Patty Holaday 12/02 Brenda Froetschner 12/04 Carlos Ibarra 12/05 Michael Reece 12/05 Phillip Reece 12/05 Jay Shaver 12/05 Ted VanHorn 12/05 Janae Woods 12/05 Larry Stude 12/06 Alice VanCleave 12/06 Terry Rainbolt 12/08 Brooke Butler 12/11 Connie Fox 12/11 Kirsten Gabel 12/11 Vivian Nelson 12/11 Glenna Taylor 12/11 Beth Zook 12/11 Thyra Frazier 12/13 Addison Snodgrass 12/13 Joni Turner 12/13 Dolores Morton 12/16 Jeff Burris 12/18 Jacob Shaver 12/18 Kelsey Parr 12/19 Deanna Kent 12/21 Shirley Leslie 12/21 Cade Parr 12/21 Jack Smades 12/22 Lee Fischer 12/23 Reaghan Burris 12/24 Karla Sanneman 12/24 Virginia Best 12/28 Liz McDonald 12/28 Marsha Reece 12/29 Cindy Grant 12/30 Judy Shaver 12/30 Allison Fox 12/31 Peter & Cheri Phillips 12/01 Allan & Patty Smith 12/12 Paul & Del Fischer 12/18 Leonard & Cindy Grant 12/19 Don & Jan Reinhardt 12/28

Again, this year, Larned UMC was blessed with another successful Tur-key Dinner. Thanks to the Pinkstons and Reinhardts for planning and coor-dinating the event. They give a tre-mendous amount of time in the prepa-ration for the meal and silent auc-tion. Thanks also to those faithful servants who provided food, cooked turkeys, worked for three days in the kitchen, worked in the dining room setting up, cutting pies and serv-ing. Those who come to share the meal with us are greatly appreciat-ed. Without diners there would be no meal. As tired as we may be by the time the last pot is washed and put

away we know we have been blessed. God gives us the strength we need when we think we can't do anoth-er thing, He gives us the joy that is expressed in the laughter we hear from the workers, and He blesses us in our serving. To each and everyone of you, THANK YOU.

I would like to thank the ladies who offered to do the luncheon for Kathry-n’s service. The offer was greatly ap-preciated. Since we were having graveside service only at Belpre, it just didn’t work out. The offer meant a great deal to us though. Thank you for thinking of us at this very painful time. -Joan Buhrer.

Thank You . . .

Over the next several months members of the Finance Team will be sharing articles with you regarding their faith, their passions, their thoughts about church life, and of course some will share thoughts on church finances. What words come to mind when you hear the word journey? I think of something that may be lengthy, fearful of the unknown, excited to experience something new, interacting with people I don’t know, and joyful to have the opportunity to step into new territory. It reminds me of the Prayer of Jabez. Jabez prays to God saying “Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory.” As Christians we are on a life-long journey striving to reach perfection. Within that journey there are many facets; one being a journey to a more generous life. God is the owner of everything. He entrusts to us His gifts only to manage, not to own. Deuteron-omy 14:22-23 “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce (Tithing is returning to God 10% of

what He has given to us)…The pur-pose of tithing is to teach you to put God first in your lives.” Brian Kluth says “When we give to God, we are just taking our hands off what already belongs to Him. Fear is probably the #1 factor that prevents us from tithing, fear that we will not have enough money for our-selves. That fear is an opportunity; an opportunity to develop a closer relationship with God and to trust God’s promise of never leaving us or forsaking us. Begin your journey to a more generous life with prayer, pray that God will remove your fears and ask God to help you grow your trust in Him. As Christians we need to make it a priority to support our church through our gifts to God. Give to God what’s right, not what’s left. I pray God will relieve you of your fears, that He will give you confidence in believing He keeps His promises, that God will be the priority in your life and you will have a life filled with generosity.

Finance by Janice Froetschner

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

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10:00am Network Mtg in Parlor

3

New Members Draw Names for Gift Exchange Worship 8:45am GUMC 10:15am LUMC Joni Johnson, Nursery

4 5

10:00am Prayer Group

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9:30am Men’s Coffee 10:00am UMW 5:45pm Wacky Wednesdays 6:30pm Adult Bible Study 7:30pm Choir

7 6:00pm GUMC Bible Study

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10:00am Worship Service Walk Thru

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Worship 8:45am GUMC 10:15am LUMC Chasitty Solko, Nursery

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6:00pm Girl Scouts

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10:00am Prayer Group

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9:30am Men’s Coffee 5:30pm Trustees 5:45pm Wacky Wednesdays 6:30pm Adult Bible Study 7:30pm Choir

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2:00pm Worship at Country Living 6:00pm GUMC Bible Study

15 16

10:00am Worship Service Walk Thru

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Gift Exchange Worship 8:45am GUMC 10:15am LUMC 10:00am LUMC Hymn Sing Ruthann Snodgrass,

Nursery

18 19

10:00am Prayer Group

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9:30am Men’s Coffee 5:45pm Wacky Wednesdays Christmas Program 7:30pm Choir

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6:00pm State Theater Movie Night

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10:00am Worship Service Walk Thru

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Worship 8:45am GUMC 10:15am LUMC Brooke Stahlecker, Nursery Christmas Eve 5:30pm GUMC 7:30pm LUMC

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Office Closed 10:00am Prayer Group

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9:30am Men’s Coffee

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29 30

10:00am Worship Service Walk Thru

December 2017

December Cookie Bakers

3rd Rosie Shelton 10th The Hill Family 17tth _______________ 24th Betty Delaney

31st Diane Hiebert

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We are excited to offer access to this Library, free to you.

If you would like to access this please send your email address to the church office (umlarned@cox.net) and we will send them an

invitations. If you have questions please

contact the church office.

Come visit with our

members who live at

Country Place Living

Center on December

14th at 2pm, for a

worship service with

the residents.

5th Sunday: Hymn Sing will be December 17th

at 10:00am Food Pantry Collection will be

December 31st

Suggested Donation Items: Hamburger, Tuna or Chicken Helper, Any Kind of Soap (dish, body,

laundry), Canned Fruit (especially Pineapple), and Cereal.

Christmas Eve Services: Garfield at 5:30pm

Larned at 7:30pm

Larned’s Christmas Eve offering will go toward the Circles Ministry starting in Pawnee County.

The 1st goal is $3000 to fund someone to help build connec-tions and coordinate things as we get started. This ministry

has proven successful in helping people get out of poverty, by giving people the tools they need to reach their goals.

Adult Bible Study Join Us!

Read Thru Chapter 4 for 12/6/17

The Good Book offers a user-friendly guide to the

Bible's biggest ideas.

The Adult Class meets in the Parlor at 6:30pm on Wed.

Volunteers are needed to help in the Budget Shop This Holiday Season

Please contact Susan Fox (620-804-1106),

Geneva Pivonka (620-285-6039) or Shirley Leslie (620-285-6298)

for Information.

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November was a busy month for MOMs Preschool as they prepared for their fall program of Stone Soup and Thanksgiving. On November 16th MOMs hosted Stone Soup, which is their fall program where the children have a chance to show off what they have learned, sing a few songs and share the Bible verses they have learned so far. Then they share the Stone Soup they made with their families and guests. The tradition is based off of the Children’s Book “Stone Soup” and the children each bring something to add to the soup to make enough to feed everyone. This years program went very well and the families, guests and children each enjoyed it a lot. In our preschool children are not only learning about

the basics they would learn in any preschool, they are also learning Bible verses and about God’s love for them. Each month Miss Brenda chooses a new verse for the children to learn, but it is not just a practice in memoriza-tion, she ties lessons into the scripture to help the children learn not just the words, but the meaning, of God’s word. December promises to be an equally busy month with learning about the Christmas story and continuing to learn all the basics. If you have never had a chance to visit MOMs Preschool Miss Brenda is more than happy to show you her rooms and chat with you about her passion and vision for the Preschool and the young lives she is helping to shape. Thank you Marilyn Bell & DeAnn Baker for coming to Stone Soup and helping to support the Preschool.

MOMS Preschool

Brenda Holopirek -Director - 620-338-6317

August & September

Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the

kingdom of God unless they are born again."

- John 3:3 (NIV)

December Verse of the Month He loved us and sent His Son.

1 John 4:10b (TLV)

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Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes

While some of our youth went to help put out the luminaries out at the hospital the rest helped put these 15 shoe boxes together for kids all over the world. Thank you to those who took the time to donate and to put their own shoeboxes together. I love this project—while I started doing individually because I liked the idea of giv-ing to kids who actually need something. After traveling to schools in Zimbabwe where they not only don’t have textbooks but also don’t have paper or pencils; or chalk for that matter I understood that the school supplies were just as precious as the toys. Just think of the kids and all the joy these will bring. Maybe as much as the kids bring with them every Wednesday night! See you at Wacky Wednesday!.

Congratulations to the Stahlecker Family on their new son & brother,

Brody Dirks Born November 22nd Weighing 10lbs 1oz

So things are slowing down as we come closer to finishing the big projects, but work still continues. Throughout the month we have been getting little fixtures fixed in all the bathrooms, things like shut off valves and sings this work will continue as we have 14 bathrooms to keep in working order. The big part of this project was finished, with the main pipe being replaced due to a crack. Most of this is stuff we wont see, but it should reduce the likelihood of a major breakdown. Some of the finishing touches have included a waxing of the floors on the main floor. For this we thank the guys

who helped from the church—Dean, Jim, Mark, Wayne, are the ones I know about; and the Red Hats who were very detailed and hard workers. They put up to 9 coats on some sections. It clearly needed it. There was a set back in the sanctuary with another leak, but the new roof has a 10 year warrantee so they will be coming back to determine where the leak is coming from. There are still several projects left to finish so keep giving, and we will keep getting things done.

Wacky Wednesday Christmas Program

December 20th at 5:00pm

The Youth have been working on a special presentation.

Join us for a celebration of Jesus’ Birthday!

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Prayer Concerns New Concerns: Ruth Kazmier, Donna Campbell, Lillis Stambaugh, Lyndell & Connie Fox, Rob Marshall, Darin Beckwith, Christina Frick, Karen Grossman, Maggie Froetschner, Donna Stejskal, Karla Sanneman, Jaquelyn Shultz, Bob Pivonka, Joann McAlister’s Father Dennis Elder, Felicity Wilder, Beth Zook, Trisha, Mike Hall, Mary Webber, Janice Wilder, Travis Brown

On Going Concerns: Pat Mitchell, Marti Turner, Trista Allison, Dale Zook, Marilyn Smith, Donna Whalen, Jacob Woods, Amy Derley, Christian Wegehaupt, Joel Davis, Mike Snyder, Tiffany Dick, Amy Derley, Joan Rainbolt, Easton Fitzpatrick, Faye Hogan, Allison Stejskal, Laura Arnold, David Stude, Terry, Michael Wilder, Trista Allison, Valerie Hall, Evalina & Howard Craig, Ernest Wilder, Amos & Donna, Debra Wilder, Michaela Garcia, Travis Hall

Shut-ins & Long Term Care: Mildon & Ida K. Yeager, Phyllis Deckert, Polly Newport, Wilda Jantz, Dora Bowman, Kenny Eye, Darlene Knox, Glenda & Harold Kirkham, Helen Froetschner, Irene Hiebert, Phyllis Neidig, Opal Weaver, Jadene Colglazier If you have an update on any of these people please let the office know. Thank you.

You are Challenged!

On November 26, 2017, every member of the congre-gation was challenged to give a small challenge gift to the church on birthdays and wedding anniversaries. These gifts will be used to enhance current ministries and/or start new ministries. There are so many exciting things happening with youth ministries. WWWJ is serving over one hundred people each week. The kids have so much enthusiasm for the program, they are so eager to learn about Jesus. All the laughter indicates they are also having lots of fun. Stop in any Wednesday evening and see how this ministry is impacting our kids and the joy they express. The Youth are really getting involved in performing ministry, they are eager to serve others and quickly volun-teer for projects. The youth are leading Children’s Church and helping in the Nursery. They filled flood buckets this fall for hurricane victims and filled the Christmas Shoe Boxes that will go to needy children. This fall they did community service on “Make a Difference Day.” We are witnessing our youth be the feet and hands of God. What could be more exciting than seeing them grow in their faith? Hopefully, you will accept the challenge. It may take a few years to grow these funds into an amount that can influence our future ministries. We want to ensure we are

able to continue to build ministries and make disciples. This challenge is a simple, fun way to help facilitate us in attaining our goals. Everyone can participate. The smaller children can bring pennies to church amounting to the years old they are on their birthdays. We will sing Happy Birthday to them and count out the pennies they place in a special jar. Adults may also do this or they may place their gift in an envelope and place it in the offering plate. Please identify on the envelope that your gift is a “Challenge Gift” or “Future Ministries Gift.” These funds will be tracked and you may ask anytime about the balance. Please cut out the challenge card below and put in on your fridge, bulletin board, bathroom mirror, where ever

you will be reminded frequently of the challenge.

YOU ARE CHALLENGED! Ensure your church is ministering to future generations.

ON YOUR BIRTHDAY AND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

GIVE A CHALLENGE GIFT

Poinsettias have not been ordered this year. If you would like to personally purchase one in Memory of or in Honor of a loved one you can drop it off at the church on December 22nd and we will use them to

decorate the church for Christmas Eve. We will still include a list of who the poinsettias are in memory/honor of in the Christmas Eve Bulletin if you will write their name on the sheet in the hallway.

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The EVANGEL

Giving Through Service: Larned UMC

Dec. Communion Stewards: David & Debbie Woods

Gary & Terry Rainbolt

December Ushers: Dan Sanneman, Melvin Murphy,

Gary Rainbolt & Virginia Fox

December Greeters: David & Debbie Woods

Lyndell & Connie Fox, and Donna Campbell

Garfield UMC

Ushers & Janitors: Steve & Marilyn Hall

The Evangel Larned UMC 701 Main Larned, KS 67550-3011 (620) 285-3183

If would like to receive this as an electronic newsletter instead,

please notify the church office at umlarned@cox.net

or 620-285-3183 Thank you for helping

reduce paper waste.

RETURN ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Garfield UMC Worship @ 8:45 am

Larned UMC

Worship @ 10:15am

December 2017

Sunday Schedules

GUMC Schedule:

8:45am - Worship Fellowship & refreshments following Following Worship Garfield Sunday Kids

LUMC Schedule:

9:45am - Fellowship Time 10:15am - Worship Service 10:30am - Children’s Church

Christmas Eve Services: 5:30pm - Garfield Service 7:30pm - Larned Service