Advent/Christmas at First Church
| Dec. 2 | Noon | First Friday Concert Series presents Harps of Grace—Sanctuary |
| Dec. 3 | 11:30 am | UMW Christmas Luncheon at Brown’s Run Country Club (Call Church office for reservations.) |
| Dec. 4 | 3:00 pm-8:00 pm | South Main Street Candlelight Tour (Our church is a part of this great event!) |
| Dec. 9 | Deadline for Poinsettia Orders | |
| Dec. 10 | 10:00 am-12:00 pm
10:00 am-12:00 pm |
UMW Annual Cookie Walk—Weatherwax Commons (All are welcome!)
Children’s Christmas Program Rehearsal—Fellowship Hall |
| Dec. 11 | 5:30 pm
7:00 pm |
Children’s Christmas Potluck—Fellowship Hall
Children’s Christmas Program—Fellowship Hall |
| Dec. 13 | 5:30 pm | FREE Community Christmas Dinner—Fellowship Hall |
| Dec. 18 & 19 | 1:30 pm | Caroling to Homebound members—Meet at church |
| Dec. 24 | 6:45 pm
7:00 pm 7:30 pm |
“Come & Go” Communion—Chapel
Pre-service music begins at 7:00 pm—Sanctuary Christmas Eve Candlelight Service—Sanctuary |
| Dec. 25 | 10:30 am | Christmas Day Service—Sanctuary |
| Jan. 1 | 10:30 am | New Year’s Day Service—Sanctuary |
Pastor’s Reflections
Crossing Barriers at Christmas
“We were sharing Christ not only through our songs, but more importantly through our interactions and relationships, our hospitality, respect, laughter, recognizing the humanness in one another, learning about another culture – all of that and more were part of our time together.”
These are some of the reflections of Amy Palmer, who was but 13 years old when she joined the First United Methodist youth choir as they traveled to Japan for an exchange program with Japanese Christians back in 1986. She not only received but learned hospitality when some of their young people came to Middletown for a visit: “Getting to know Mari Tsuchido the year she was here for her cross-cultural experience also gave me a sensitivity toward other exchange students at high school, college and beyond.” Amy says of her overall experience, “I honestly cannot put in words the ways that P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S shaped my call to ministry, yet I know that it was one of many influences from First Church that made me who I am today.”
Who she is today is Amy Palmer Haines, one of our most respected United Methodist pastors in the West Ohio conference, having served on our Board of Ministry, as an Assistant Superintendent, and now the lead pastor of Springboro United Methodist Church. Her childhood friend, Mari Tsuchido, became Mari Tsuchido Shew, the wife of Rev. Dr. Paul Shew, also from Middletown First, and now one of our most respected United Methodist missionaries, currently serving as a professor of literature and university chaplain at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan.
Paul and Amy are but two of the dozens of alumni of the P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S program, which stand for “People Relating Our Mission in Study, Extension and Service.” It lasted from 1969 to about 1994, and was initiated by Ivan and Eleanor Dornon, United Methodist missionaries who had been members of our church.
As part of this year’s preparation for Christmas, the season we call Advent, we are going to officially remember P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S and its lasting influence on our congregation. On Sunday, December 4th you will see a thousand paper cranes adorning our sanctuary. This is an ancient Japanese practice that has today become a symbol of hope and peace for many people around the world. We feel this is not only very appropriate for the season, but for the present ministry of our church. As most of you know we have many new Hispanic members, and like the P.R.O.M.I.S.E.S program, their presence has made a positive difference, particularly in our ministry with children. We have hopes it will be a lasting difference. As Amy Palmer Haines said this of her experience: “We realized the world is greater than we knew, and began to honor one another’s cultures while finding commonalities. When we as youth crossed barriers, it affects us for the rest of our lives, our world view and faith journey.” My hope is that one day our current group of children will likewise be able to speak of crossing barriers as an act of faith.
On the evening of December 11th you are invited to our church’s annual Christmas pageant, where children of several different backgrounds will join together to sing a message of hope, love and “peace on earth.” I invite you to come, and share in the singing and celebration.
I am proud of this church – proud of its tradition of true hospitality, proud of our heritage of bringing all kinds of people together, proud of our ability to share the Good News in a new and changing world. Surely this is the mission of Christ, both why he crossed the barrier between heaven and earth to come to us on Christmas, and why he now stays in our hearts.
Peace,
John
Mission Moment
Two Towers—The Fires of Tansen in Nepal
(with apologies to Tolkien)
Update from Dr. Les and Debbie Dornon, missionaries to Nepal working in the Tansen Hospital
Two towers (chimneys) are now part of our daily view from our lovely home. Why? Originally, the hospital incinerator was down below the hospital, but with the installation of the new oxygen concentrating plant, it had to be moved. The only place that seemed to work was just below our house. Unfortunately, as in many things done here in Nepal, the new incinerators have not been put together correctly – whenever paper is burned, we have “snowstorms” of ash floating over our house and garden. Fortunately, it shakes off our laundry, but it isn’t much fun to have to clean off the sitting area and garden each day.
One advantage of having this here near our house, is that the hospital administrative officer lives below us – and he has the power to get things done around here! So – we are implementing a better system of recycling (no longer burning noxious rubber or plastic, shredding paper, etc.) and fixing the internal design of the burners so that it should be a much better overall system as time goes on.
We are thankful for many things in the midst of smoke and ash…the bad smoke no longer floats into the pediatric ward of the hospital which used to occur almost daily, the new oxygen concentrator is running well and is helping financially and making staff’s lives easier with piped oxygen, and more items are being properly recycled which will help the environment!
In the aftermath of the election in the U.S., we watch and pray. Many people are not happy, and there is lots of “smoke and ash.” But we are thankful that God is still on the throne – and that our trust is in Him. And we will look for the good things which are happening. Love and prayers from Nepal!
In Him,
लेस (Les) and देबी (Debbie)
Our garden area covered with ash.
New incinerator with two “towers.”
Want more stories & photos? Check out our blog at dornonnepalmission.wordpress.com
News from the Pews
Thank You Note!
We work with other churches in our community as often as we can. We contribute to and partner with The United Methodist Gathering as they seek to minister to the poorest among us, and of course we also participate in the SHALOM program that actually started in our church with the late Roy Ickes as its first leader. At this time of year, we work with Holy Family Catholic Parish to provide Thanksgiving baskets for those most in need. Here is a note to us:
Thank you for your generous gift to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Holy Family Parish in Middletown. Your thoughtful and kind contribution towards Thanksgiving Baskets is deeply appreciated. It will help us continue our mission to serve those who are in desperate need in our community.
As you know, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is a volunteer organization that depends solely upon the generosity of caring people to allow us to fulfill our mission to assist those who request our help.
Thank you again for your donation and your continued prayers and support.
God Bless You,
Ray Kelly, President of St. Vincent de Paul Society
Holy Family Parish, Middletown
Gifts of Love!
All of the volunteers who work in the Emergency Food Program and the Pantry wish to thank first Church for their continuing support of these programs. As we have said many times before, we can’t do this outreach without your help! Please remember us, and especially those we serve, in your prayers and we will give thanks in ours for your gifts of love to these programs. Have a Very Blessed New Year!
United Methodist Women Annual “Cookie Walk”
December 10, 2016 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
First United Methodist Church | Weatherwax Commons
Cookies, candy, cupcakes, or snacks sell for $6.00 a pound. For an additional charge of $3.00 we will wrap your cookies on our Peppermint Candy trays. Our special Peppermint Candy Trays come in all sizes and prices. As a side note, if you or your friends have a nut allergy, it is good to know that all nut related cookies and treats are sold in a separate room. All proceeds benefit in house and local missions.
Trustees Year-End Review
As we celebrate our anniversary, it’s interesting to find out what maintenance projects are necessary on a historic, 125 year old building.
Our theme for 2016 was stopping leaks! At the beginning of the year you may remember that the wall near the piano was letting water into our sanctuary…not good, so the outside masonry was repaired and the wall re-plastered. To prevent leaks of another kind, Nick Murphy installed a new computer server and firewall in the office system. Now we are as technically up-to-date as possible. Our biggest project this year was the replacement of the education wing roof. This $40,000 expenditure was the first step in fulfilling the Trust the Future promised improvements. This roof was badly needed. We had leaks in the basement too because of the age of our old boiler pipes. Greg Cooper, our Building Superintendent, replaced these on his own time with new copper pipes…he is such a blessing to us! Of course there’s always something unexpected that happens; this year it was a sink-hole in the back parking lot! Apparently there was a dry well under the pavement that no-one knew about and eventually the lid gave way. The whole well has now been replaced and will last at least another 125 years. Moving outside, we want to thank Barb & Dave Balsmeyer, Brenda Byrd, Katie McNeil, and probably others for keeping our gardens looking so great. If you haven’t gone out to where the fountain is you will be amazed at all the beautiful plants, flowers, shrubs, figs, and grapevines. Mark Frazer and Mark Yeakle have been working on illuminating the big stained glass windows for special evening services like Christmas Eve. This month, we are having the cracked plexi-glass on the sanctuary windows replaced to protect the stained glass, as well as replacing some windows in Fellowship Hall. One of the things we’re most excited about is a chairlift that goes from Weatherwax Commons down to Fellowship Hall—thanks in large part to a private donation. Thank you to all of you for supporting these projects.
Children’s Christmas Program—Dec. 11
The children will be performing the Christmas Story again this year through word and song! The performance will take place on the stage in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 11. There will be a potluck prior to the program at 5:30. Chicken provided by the church. Please bring a favorites side dish or dessert to share. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dress rehearsal will be on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the church. We hope to see everyone at this special celebration!
Christmas Caroling—Dec. 18
Every year, a group of people from our church carols to our homebound members to bring them some Christmas cheer. This year, we are encouraging the children to come on Sunday, Dec. 18. There will be a lunch after worship service and all our invited. We will all gather at the church at 1:30 p.m. to get ready to depart.
Music Notes by Mary Ellen
Christmas Day is on a Sunday this year! While many churches traditionally have some sort of service on Christmas Day even when it’s a weekday, we have not. Some churches will not have services on Sunday BECAUSE it’s Christmas Day! Gratefully, we look forward to this opportunity to worship with our church family on one of the most wonderful days of the year. Christmas Day has fallen on a Sunday three times so far in this 21st century and I have always loved the special energy and fellowship that it brings. This year, the choir will be singing the aptly named “Christmas Day” by Gustav Holst during our Christmas Day service. Holst, who was famous for writing “The Planets” and the music to “In the Bleak Midwinter,” arranged this medley of carols for his choir at Morely College in London, England in a year that Christmas fell on Sunday in 1910. It’s a wonderful interplay of carols that weave in and out of each other and sometimes right on top of each other. We can expect to sing lots of wonderful Christmas carols together as a church family as well. Make this a special time for your family by pausing from the craziness of opening presents and feasting to recognize the true reason for the season!
January……ugh…lots of dark dreary days and the excitement of the holidays are over. What is there to look forward to? Well, the GOOD news is that we start off 2017 by celebrating Epiphany on New Year’s Day! We gather as a church family to look to the bright future we have as children of God! 2017 is a blank slate–and as you gaze at all those days of the unwritten future remember the words of John Wesley and pledge in this year to do “All the GOOD you can, by all the MEANS you can, in all the WAYS you can, in all the PLACES you can, at all the TIMES you can, to all the PEOPLE you can, as LONG as you can”, and suddenly the year is filled with opportunity and purpose! Create your own personal “epiphany” to discover how service to others enriches your own life ten-fold!
Soup n’ Sandwich Hymn Sing—Jan. 29th
Bring soup or sandwiches to share and join in an after-church “sing.” Tableware and drinks provided. Call out your favorite hymn or one you have always wondered “How Does THIS song go?” All 3 hymnals! Bring your singing friends!
2016 First Friday Concert Series @ First UMC
At NOON in the SANCTUARY
 |
DECEMBER 2 | HARPS OF GRACE
If one harp at a concert is wonderful, then MORE harps at a concert must be…..Harps of Grace! Experience the lavish sounds of multiple harps as they herald in the season with a concert like none other! We can’t wait to see those majestic instruments and hear the music….it will be like…shall we say…..heaven?!? JANUARY 6 | JIMMY ROGERS One of the most frequent performers in our series over the years, the audiences keep wanting more. Hear Jimmy in his high-energy, hard-drivin’ style of blues and old time rock and roll. Winner of the 2014 Cincinnati Blues Challenge in the Solo/Duo Category. This concert series would not be possible without the support of the Middletown Community Foundation, the Barnitz Fund, Miriam Knoll Foundation and the congregation of First United Methodist Church, Middletown. Thank you for your support!! |
Community Ministries Corner
CMC Holiday Giving Opportunities
During the holiday season, we look to give back and make someone’s holiday a little special. Please take a look at these giving opportunities here at First Church.
Gift Bags for the Women’s Shelter
Last year was such a great success that we are looking to fill about 30 gift bags for the women of the Center of Hope again this year. Gift bags are available on the Christmas tree in the Weatherwax Commons. After speaking with the administrator at the center, this is what was suggested we place in the bags: journal & pen, soaps, lotion, shampoo & conditioner, comb, toothbrush & toothpaste, and lip balm. Simply fill the gift bag with these items and return to the tree by December 11th.
Giving the Gift of Giving to the Men’s Shelter
This year we are going to give the men at the Hope House in Middletown the gift of giving. We are collecting toys such as puzzles, coloring books, crayons, and games that are suitable for a variety of ages. These items will be used for the men who have contact with their children to be able to select something to give to their child at a Christmas party at the Hope House. Please place these items, unwrapped, under the tree by December 11th.
Thank you for your generosity in this season of charity and reflection of all our blessings.
The Giving Tree
This year we will be continuing our support for the children of The Gathering. The Giving Tree is located in the Commons area and will have tags on it for your selection of a child and the needs of that child. Please have your gifts returned to the church by Dec. 11th.
FREE Community Christmas Dinner—Dec. 13
Our church is hosting its annual FREE Community Christmas Dinner on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. The dinner will take place at the church in Fellowship Hall and everyone is invited to come. The church van will be by before 5:30 to pick up those who live in the high rises in Middletown. Volunteers to help us with serving and cleaning up are always needed. Cookies and dinner rolls are needed for the dinner, and any monetary donations will be greatly appreciated. We hope you can come and join us as we celebrate the Christmas season and please bring a friend!
December Birthdays
1 Pat Lyke
2 Elizabeth Evers
3 David Irwin
4 Justin Daniels, Tommy Dixon-Gordon
6 Jean Jordan
7 Allison Palmer, Fred Sander
8 Helen Hackney, Jared McDaniel
10 Henry Folgoso
11 Esther Johnson
13 Don Stamper
14 Terry Hines
16 Marcia Greenham, Cecil Jackson
17 Rev. John Wagner
18 Dorothy Youtsler
20 C.M. Jenkins, Kelli Wilson
22 Kathy Wright
24 Tom Buchert
25 Rick Lyke
26 Ashley Palmer, David Young
27 John Nichols
28 Hayden Jenkins, Dee Markle
29 Nita Driscoll
30 Duane Gordon, Belinda Hausman, Matthew Youtsler
January Birthdays
2 Mindi Dickson
6 Sylvia Maynard
9 Glenna Combs
10 Dave Kramer, Chris Urso
12 Bob Beagle
13 Kathy Hieber
18 Jim Hogg
19 James Irwin, Eric Taylor
22 Pat Schaefer
25 Brett Dickson, James Thomas II Irwin, Phyllis Lolli
26 Alex Mills
27 Christopher Keaton, Dr. Walter Roehll
28 Wilma Mucha, Andrew Youtsler
30 Shelby Grace Rutledge, Carolyn Tucker
31 Dixie Davis