LARAMIE FIRST UMC - Clover Sitesstorage.cloversites.com/firstunitedmethodistchurch24... · 2015. 11. 23. · party! All youth grades 6-12 are invited to participate in Youth Ministries

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 1

Pastor Pete Phillips 1215 E Gibbon St.

913-961-3082 307-742-8121

[email protected] [email protected]

www.laramieumc.com

In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1.4)

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God...(John 1.12)

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his on-ly Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3.16)

LARAMIE FIRST UMC December 2015

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1.5)

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 2

Our Children’s choir (the Singing Shepherds)

meets in the movie room upstairs Sunday

mornings from 10:30-11 am. All children are

invited to participate!

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s

Halloween Carnival! A good time was had by all!

58 adults and 27 children feasted on a delicious

chili dinner prepared by loving hands prior to

playing carnival games and “shopping” in the prize

room. Thank you to all who shopped, cooked,

served, set up, cleaned up, ran games and

donated cookies for dessert. All proceeds were

donated to UNICEF!

Thank you to all who prepared a

box, donated supplies and/or

shipping expenses, or helped

pack boxes for Operation

Christmas Child this year! All

boxes are due back to the Church

by November 22. Volunteers

helped pack 37 boxes at our packing party. Thank

you to all who helped with this.

As the holiday season draws

near, please keep an eye out

for our Giving Tree, placed in

the narthex. We have

ornaments listing the wishes

of the family in need from our

community. We will also be

asking for donations of grocery

gift cards for Wesley students.

Thank you in advance for

helping to make someone’s

Christmas a special one!

Welcome to Family Sundays! Family Sundays will

be held on every 5th Sunday. The entire service

will be geared to families, from the music to the

sermon. Sunday school will NOT be held on

Family Sundays. The first Family Sunday will be

November 29. Family Sundays in 2016 will be

January 31, May 29, July 31 and October 30.

Children who attended all Sunday school classes

offered in a month will be receiving attendance

awards during the church service the first Sunday

of the following month. Congratulations to the

following children for perfect attendance in

October!

Preschool: Halle Phillips

K – 2nd grade: Lisia Taufa

Macy Phillips

3rd – 5th grade: Paul Taufa

Vaughn Hime

Ben Malone

Jr/senior high: Frank Crum

Autumn Hime

Brook Malone

December 13: The Cantata will be performed

during the 9 am service. So all can enjoy the

Cantata, Sunday School will NOT be held..

Children are invited to sit with their parents

during the Cantata. At the conclusion of the

service, we will have a church wide potluck

brunch in Wilson Hall. Our children will be

providing the entertainment for our brunch.

Each class will present a Christmas skit, and

the Singing Shepherds will be performing

several songs as well. We hope to see you all

there!

December 20: No formal Sunday School,

rather a Veggie Tales movie will be shown in

the video room during the Sunday School hour.

December 27: No formal Sunday School

January 3: Formal Sunday School resumes

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 3

@Safeway: Purchase a $10 Reloadable Safeway Card from Wesley. Each card comes with $10 on it.

Add funds to this card and a portion of the proceeds (between 3-5%) will be given to Wesley.

@Amazon: Visit smile.amazon.com and select “The Wesley Foundation At The University of Wyoming” as

the charity. Amazon will give 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Wesley.

@PayPal: At your convenience, make a donation to the Wesley Foundation via PayPal. Contact Rev.

Debra if you have any questions

@Phoneraiser: Recycle used cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and inkjet cartridges in the

church office.

News from Reverend Debra... We want to thank everyone who supported Wesley

through donations, help, and who joined us for

Thanksgiving Lunch. This is one of our major

fundraisers for the year and it wouldn’t happen without

your support! Thanks as well to all of you who bought

Christmas greenery. We hope they add joy to your

Christmas season!

December is a crazy busy time for students. The

holiday season mixes with finals and semester’s end

making it difficult to celebrate Advent and the coming of

the Christ child. Wesley Foundation, the members of

FUMC Laramie, and the student leaders are working

together to help tame the chaos. Food For Finals,

December 13-17 fills the stomachs and hearts of many

young people in Laramie. All students from Wyo Tech,

LCCC and UW are invited Sunday through Thursday for a

hot meal and a chance to relax in the midst of finals. If

you or your group would like to sponsor a meal one

night please contact Rev. Debra.

Thursday lunches continue to be a highpoint of the

week for students and for the Wesley Director. It’s more

than just lunch – it’s a chance to meet people from all

over campus. (Freshmen to grad-students, from across

the county and around the world, who’ve come to

Laramie to study everything from veterinarian medicine

to economics, to dance and music, gather around the

table. Accounting and engineering students, education

majors and rugby players, share a meal and talk about

faith and life, family and school.)

Students shared their thoughts about why they

come to Thursday lunches:

I love Wesley because it's a great way to live out

your Faith in college, meet other believers

attending UW, and enjoy a great meal! I also

love Laramie UMC because it gives young adults

many opportunities ‎ to lead in the church and

help develop their Faith! Whether it is helping

out during the service, helping with Sunday

school, Bible study, youth group or any activity

going on! Shelby, Freshman

Once I make it to lunch on Thursday, I know I can

make it through the rest of the week. Melissa,

Freshman

I like Thursday meetings because I get to see new

faces. And Rev. Debra is fun to be with. It makes

me feel belonging to a society I don't belong in.

Mavis, PhD. Student from Ghana

Thursday lunches are accepting of everyone –

whether you come to church or not.

It’s a detox time from engineering. Austin G.

I love Wesley lunches because they are accepting of

everyone, despite background. Going to

lunches makes me feel supported and cared

for. Sydney

Wesley isn’t confined to the University of Wyoming!

This month we are taking lunch to Wyoming Technical

School. Students from the University as well as church

members are bringing pizza and home-baked treats in

the hope that lunch is a universal form of fellowship and

faith. Who knows where we might go next!

For more information on Wesley, contact Rev. Debra

Juarez: 303-570-5180 or [email protected] or

check us out at WyomingWesley.com or on Facebook at

Wesley Foundation in Laramie.

Weekly Schedule:

Sundays

9:00 am Worship

10:30 am Wesley Conversations (Wesley Lounge)

Thursdays

Noon-1:00 pm Lunch at UW Student Union –

downstairs in The Garden

Office Hours Call or text to meet – 303-570-5180!

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 4

United Methodist Women will have ONE

meeting in December, a combination

Unit meeting and Christmas Party. This

event is held on Wednesday, December

9, which is the SECOND Wednesday of the month

at 9:30 am in Wesley Hall with the Sunshine Circle

serving as hostesses. The festivities include a

Christmas program, the installation of the officers

for 2016, and a short business meeting. There

will be an optional gift exchange at the party. If

you wish to participate, please bring a wrapped

gift that morning. Gifts can include

baked goods, items from the bazaar,

or purchased items. If you have

questions, please contact Sidney

Walter or Susan McGraw who are

cochairpeople of the gift exchange.

For our Community service project, a voluntary

cash collection will be taken for the Laramie Soup

Kitchen. All women of the church are invited to

attend this event to enjoy delicious refreshments,

to share a time of warm fellowship, and to join in

the celebration of the Christmas season.

Anyone who still has books from the Reading

Program should return them to the UMW Box in

the Church office no later than the Unit/Christmas

Party on December 9. Members who have

completed the Reading Program for 2015 but

have not informed Carol Lane should do so

immediately.

The Executive Committee of UMW is not

scheduled to meet in December. The Committee

will meet Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 10:30

am in Room 104.

November was a great month for youth at

FUMC. We went out for coffee, wandered around

the church blindfolded, went ice skating and had

a candlelight prayer time. December promises to

be a busy month as well.

By the time you read this our hope is that the

new, improved, decorated, painted and furnished

youth room will be complete (or mostly complete.

Thanks to the trustees for providing funds for the

remodel of Room 210 (by the camel). Brittany

Singhas, Josh Decker and the youth have worked

hard to make this a place of their own.

Youth Group usually meets at the church from

6:00-7:30 pm. but on Sunday, December 6 we

will meet at noon for lunch and a Fast Food

Progressive Dinner. Appetizers at the first stop,

entrée at the second, and dessert at the third.

December 13 we will explore Christmas stories

and traditions. Who knows, there might be a

quiz! And on December 20, let’s celebrate with a

party! All youth grades 6-12 are invited to

participate in Youth Ministries at Laramie UMC.

Parents, we need a driver or two for the Fast

Food Progressive Dinner on Dec. 6 at noon. For

more information on youth events call Rev. Debra

at 303-570-5180 or email [email protected].

December Youth Schedule:

Sunday, 12/6: Noon-1:30 pm, Fast Food

Progressive Dinner

Sunday, 12/13: 6:00-7:30 pm, Exploring

Christmas!

Sunday, 12/20: 6:00-7:30 pm, Christmas Party

– Check for Details

Sunday, 12/27 & 1/3: No Youth Group for the

holidays

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 5

Dec. 6 Greg Jordan

Dec. 13 Denny Coon

Dec. 20

Dec. 27 Harold Colby

Dec. 6 Doug Hendricks

Jim Andersen

Gary Crum

Harold Colby

Chris Bammerlin

Dec. 13 Betty Stinson

Virginia Porter

Jeanie Mahaffey

Dec. 20 Taylor & Milie Leaming

Ed Nowak

Randy Anderson

Tami Howe

Dec. 24 We need 4 each for 5:30 and 7:30 pm

Dec. 27 Rollin & Carolyn Abernethy

Sandy Kerr

Mark Gunnerson

Dec. 6 Susan Ballard (HD)

Jan Mahlum (HD)

Joan Ryan (ED)

Barbara Fresquez (ED)

Dec. 13 Don & Sigrid Merriam (HD)

Sidney Walter (ED)

Muriel Forney (ED)

Stephanie Wodahl (L)

Dec. 20 Bernie & Jean Kolp (ED)

Mark Gunnerson (HD)

Jeanie Mahaffey (HD)

Dec. 27 Milie & Taylor Leaming (ED)

Bob & Sylvia Hansen (HD)

Sandy Honken (L)

ED– East Door, HD—Harney Door, L- Lobby

The January 2016 Newsletter deadline is Dec. 6. We need your

articles early so we can get the newsletter out before Christmas.

Be sure to send all your Newsletter articles to the Office by this

date.

Oct. 25 149

Nov. 1 124

Nov. 8 135

Nov. 15 117

Year to Date Average 124

Dec. 6 Mark Gunnerson

Marilee Wear

Diane Mercil

Dec. 13 Rick & Mary Maturi

Randy Anderson

Dec. 20 Cal & Loraine Van Zee

Steve Tomasini

Dec. 27 Ron & Linda Van Ekeren

Jeanie Mahaffey

Wesley Wreaths will be available for pick

-up Sunday, Nov. 29 in Wesley Hall.

Prices are similar to last year’s pricing.

Extras will be available at the UMW

Christmas Bazaar.

We are selling the wooden folding

chairs in the north Narthex entryway

for $10/chair suggested donation to

the building fund. You can see the

chairs Sunday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-

6:00 p.m. For more information,

contact Denny Coon at [email protected], or if you

wish to purchase chairs, please come during office

hours.

Dec. 2015 The Reminder 6

First United Methodist Church

1215 E Gibbon Street

Laramie, WY 82072-2845

(307) 742-8121

[email protected]

www.laramieumc.com

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 27

Laramie, WY 82070

Dec. 1 6:00 pm Trustees

Dec. 1 7:00 pm Church Council

Dec. 6 January NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

Dec. 8 12:00 pm Endowment

Dec. 8 6:30 pm Pub Theology

Dec. 9 9:30 am UMW Christmas Meeting

Dec. 9 5:30 pm Wesley Board

Dec. 14 7:00 pm Christian Ed Meeting

Dec. 24 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm

Christmas Eve. Candlelight Services

Dec. 24-25 Building Closed

Dec. 31-Jan 1 Building Closed

Sunday

9:00 am Sanctuary Worship

9:45 am Children’s Sunday School

10:00 am Fellowship Time

10:30 am Kid’s Choir

10:30 am Christianity Through a Wider Lens

10:30 am In the Grip of Grace

10:30 am Wesley Conversation

12:00 pm Walking Through the Bible

6:00 pm Youth Group

Monday

10:00 am Women’s Bible Study (7 & 14)

Tuesday

9:00 am Membership Care

Thursday

6:30 pm Bells

7:30 pm Choir