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RAMSEY MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

5900 Hull Street Road, Richmond, VA 23224, 804-276-4628, www.ramseymemorial.org

The Messenger El Mensajero

December-Diciembre January-Enero

2016-2017

Just these lines my friends to say…

Are you an ‘Advent Christian’? I’ve always loved Advent, and so does one of my favorite

Christian authors Henri Nouwen. He has written about ‘the spirituality of waiting.’ How

will we mark the weeks of Advent this year? How will we wait with hope?

From “Waiting For God” by Henri Nouwen:

Waiting is not a very popular attitude… In fact, most people consider waiting a waste of

time. Perhaps this is because the culture in which we live is basically saying, “Get going!

Do something! Show you are able to make a difference! Don’t just sit there and wait!” …It

impresses me, therefore, that all the figures who appear in the first pages of Luke’s Gospel

are waiting. Elizabeth and Zechariah are waiting. Mary is waiting. Simeon and Anna, who

were there at the temple when Jesus was brought in, are waiting. The whole opening of the

good news is filled with waiting people…

Waiting, is waiting with a sense of promise. “Zechariah... your wife Elizabeth is to bear

you a son.” “Mary... Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son” (Luke 1:13, 31). People

who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something

that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. So waiting is never a

movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to

something more. Second, waiting is active. Most of us think of waiting as something very

passive, a hopeless state determined by events totally out of our hands…But there is none

of this passivity in scripture. Those who are waiting are waiting very actively. They know

that what they are waiting for is growing from the ground on which they are standing…

Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is

happening where you are and that you want to be present to it…

Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty

waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we

are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. As we wait we remember him

for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to

welcome him when he comes.

I hope this helps your Advent waiting… may we prepare our hearts for the coming of the

Christ Child. During this most holy season of Advent: come to Worship, to the Advent

Bible Study, the Christmas Cantata, and join us for the Living Nativity and Bethlehem.

Come with Advent hope, and as a community of faith as we continue waiting in holy

expectation. May God’s Blessings be on all of us in this season of celebrating the first

Advent and waiting for the next one!

Pastor Deb

Christmas Cantata, December 18th

11:00AM “Heaven’s Child”

Christmas Eve Services, December 24th

HORARIO DE NUESTROS SERVICIOS

DE NAVIDAD

5:30PM Servicio en espanol

7:30PM Carols, Communion, and

Candlelight service

There will not be an 11:00PM service.

Holy Communion will also be offered out-

side for Living Nativity volunteers and

neighborhood guests.

EL SACRAMENTO DE LA COMUNION

SE OFRECERA A NUESTROS INVITA-

DOS DE LA COMUNIDAD Y VOLUN-

TARIOS DURANTE EL NACIMIENTO

EN VIVO.

Christmas Day, December 25th

10:30AM Combined Worship service

All are welcome to wear pajamas for a

casual Christmas morning gathering.

SERVICIO DEL DIA DE NAVIDAD, 25

DE DICIEMBRE SERA UN SERVICIO

COMBINADO A LAS 10:30 AM.

TODOS ESTAMOS INVITADOS A VE-

NIR EN NUESTRAS PIJAMAS.

Living Nativity and Bethlehem:

EL NACIMIENTO EN VIVO Y EL

PUEBLO DE BELEN

Our nativity will be December 22nd—

24th and the Bethlehem ministry will

be December 22nd–23rd. Please con-

tact the church if you would like to

volunteer!

LOS DIAS PARA NUESTRO NACI-

MIENTO EN VIVO SERA LOS DI-

AS DEL 22 AL 24 DE DICIEMBRE

Y EL MINISTERIO DE BELEN SE-

RA A PARTIR

DEL 22 AL 23

DE DICIEMBRE.

Office Hours/HORAS DE OFICINA

The Church office will be closed

December 26th and re-open on January

2nd. LA OFICINA DE LA IGLESIA

ESTARA CERRADA A PARTIR

DEL 26 DE DICIEMBRE HASTA EL

2 DE ENERO .

Worship Times/HORARIO DE

SERVICIOS DE ADORACION

Our early morning worship service

will be changing to 9:00AM, starting

on January 1st. NUESTRO PRIMER

SERVICIO DE LA MANANA HA

SIDO MOVIDO A LAS

9:00 am COMENZANDO

EL DOMINGO 1 DE

ENERO .

Desde un Rincon pastoral,

Y había una profetisa, Ana, hija de Fanuel, de la tribu de Aser. Ella era de edad muy avanzada,

y había vivido con su marido siete años después de su matrimonio, y después de viuda, hasta

los ochenta y cuatro años. Nunca se alejaba del templo, sirviendo noche y día con ayunos y ora-

ciones.…Lucas 2:36-37.

Hay una canción muy popular que dice así: Vienen los vientos de navidad y a todos trae felici-

dad, un año nuevo comenzara que mucha dicha nos brindara, cosas pasadas hay que olvidar,

recuerdos tristes debes dejar. Recuerdo haber escuchado y cantado esta canción desde mi muy

temprana edad, y la razón es porque siempre me trae una sensación de esperanza, un llamado a

olvidar lo malo y a trabajar en lo bueno, en lo que ofrece armonía y bondad. En esta estación de

adviento, navidad y año nuevo es mi deseo mis hermanos que igual que Ana, la profetisa, la

viuda que vio al recién nacido mesías, la que no se alejaba del templo sirviendo noche y día con

ayunos y oraciones, sigamos esperando con paciencia y en servicio, bondad y armonía el regre-

so de nuestro Salvador. No dejemos que la tristeza, la incertidumbre, la inseguridad de un futu-

ro incierto nos robe la bendición de ver, de sentir al mesías prometido caminando a nuestro la-

do. Sirvamos a Dios y a nuestro prójimo, no importa quien sea, de donde venga o si se parece o

no a nosotros o comparte una misma opinión; sirvamos a Dios y rogamos a Dios con ayuno y

oración por todos nuestros hermanos, y todas nuestras hermanas que al comenzar el año nuevo

puedan sentirse confiadas y confiados, seguros y seguras que la presencia de Emanuel, del Dios

con nosotros brillara como nuestro SOL de Justicia y Esperanza.

Es mi oración, que en estos tiempos de muchas ocupaciones e inseguridad, el Dios de bondad y

misericordia, aquel que conoce que peregrinos y extranjeros somos en esta tierra nos acompañe

siempre. Que el Sol de Justicia brille en vuestros rostros y que su paz y esperanza de un mañana

mejor nos inspire a seguir esperando en Jesús y su pronto regreso. Mis ayunos, oraciones y ser-

vicios para todos y todas ustedes, mis hermanos en Cristo Jesús.

Felicidades en estas temporada, les bendigo con la gracia eterna de Dios el Padre, con el amor

encarnado e incondicional del Hijo y con la eterna compañía del Espíritu Santo, nuestro Conso-

lador.

Su hermana en Cristo,

Pastora Norma Aguilar

BIRTHDAYS—CUMPLEAÑOS

John Hall 1

Ann Hallinan 1

Morris Sings 1

Robin Davis 3

Kacky Grubb 3

Julia Lainez 9

Louise Smith 10

Joyce Walsh 12

Nancy Hoover 14

Mary Brame 16

Jeanne Barnard 17

Tray Rives 18

June Bryant 20

Laura McHale 20

Beth Lane 20

Janet Sheek 21

Oswaldo Aguilar 22

Cecil Goolsby 24

Ann Harris 24

Sally Wheat 25

Gail Barker 26

Scott Cummings 26

Keishla Rodriguez 26

Laura Coleman 28

Margaret Grant 28

Matthew Meadows 28

Miriam Ferrer 29

Phyllis Tyler 2

Cache’t Brown 3

Milton Bonilla 5

Jean Chandler 5

Carol Hotchkiss 9

Maria Ahles 10

Patricia Finestone 10

Pattie Madison 12

Lois Crafton 14

Jane Cummings 14

Darlene Sweat 14

Katherine Rivera 15

Katie Smith 16

McKenzie Jump 17

Craig Lane 17

Adam Madison 17

Rodney Taylor 17

Chante Jacobs 18

Sue Newman 19

Hazel Stewart 19

Dolores Thomas 21

Jimmie Early 25

Sherry Fox 25

Violet Williams 28

Carolyn Wood 29

Tammy & Freddy Heller 17

Peggy & Jimmie Early 19

ANNIVERSARIES—ANIVERSARIOS

In Memory

The Ramsey Church family remembers those

who have claimed the promise of resurrec-

tion this year. We offer prayers and thoughts

to the family and friends.

Ramsey Iglesia recuerda a los que amamos

que han muerto este año . Oramos por las

familias y amigos de los mencionados aquí .

Carol Acree Mary Dunbar

Shirley Mucha Betty Raper

Bernie Gerring Chris Griffin

Gladys Farmer Pat Dyson

Elaine Pollard Carolyn Hatchell

Sherman Guffey Iggy Gerring

Herndon Smith Louise Childress

United Methodist Women News:

December 3: UMW District Advent Ser-

vice Huguenot UMC, 10661 Duryea Dr,

Richmond, VA 23235

Registration: 10:00 a.m.

Program: 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Speaker: Karen McElfish, VA Conference

Vice President

January 14, 2017—Special Celebration of

the 25th Anniversary of United Methodist

Day at the General Assembly will be held

at Centenary UMC, starting with lunch at

noon.

January 21, 2017-“Day Apart” at Rich-

mond Hill Retreat Center.

This will be a day retreat with limited seats.

It will be $20.00 for the day.

We would like to thank our entire Ramsey family for the cards, thoughts, calls and

prayers since David’s accident on September 1. It has been a challenging couple of

months, but he is stronger every day and doing well. David is now walking without a

cane and navigating stairs with no issues. Also driving again… freedom! His leg

should be as good as new by year’s end. He will require another surgery at the end of

November to remove five pins currently in his wrist. While his fall was serious, we are

truly blessed as it could have been much worse.

Again, many thanks to all and God bless.

David & Pam Rives

Youth Group:

We are 25% of the way towards our fundraising goal. We are selling

coupons that are redeemable for one dozen donuts, and bags of ground

Krispy Kreme coffee. They make great stocking stuffers, and they are

also good for anyone who is signed up to provide snacks for the coffee

hour.

We are grateful to the Flynn’s for hosting our annual

youth bonfire at their home on December 4th.

S’mores will abound!

We will be hosting our 3rd annual Richmond District youth dodge-

ball tournament on Sunday, January 15th at 4:00PM. We typically

have 7-8 different church youth groups represented, with 80+ peo-

ple filling the CLC. There is a pizza dinner provided by Ramsey,

and a golden trophy cup up for grabs. We can always use more helpers, so contact Sa-

rah to volunteer!

Bikes for Christ

Worship and Praise UMC is having a

“Bikes for Christ” drive, with a goal of

1,000 bikes for needy children and families

in our community and surrounding counties.

A single bike costs $50. Do-

nations must be received by

December 5th, with checks

made payable to “Worship

and Praise UMC”.

CARITAS

Nov 5-12, we served the men of CARITAS.

We averaged 31 men each night for dinner,

lodging, breakfast and a bagged lunch. In

addition, we offered nightly showers, 16

haircuts, 33 loads of laundry cleaned, new

socks for everyone and fellowship. The

men were a quiet group and very apprecia-

tive of our ministry. One of the men said we

were much nicer than many other churches.

Our ministry was supported by local mer-

chants (Fresh to Frozen, Costco, Sam’s,

Kroger, Martin’s, Wegmans, and Food Li-

on).

We served 224 dinners and 224 breakfasts,

and 250 bagged lunches. There were 104

volunteers and 436 hours served during the

week. Many more hours went into the plan-

ning and shopping for the week. A HUGE

thank you to everyone who supported this

ministry. There is one position left on this

ministry team for planning next year.

Please contact the office if you would like to

help.

~Joan McGowan

Mission Dinner & Speaker

We had over 30 attend and enjoyed the soup, salad and dessert fellowship after-

wards. Linda and Mark said “they always feel at home when they visit Ramsey”. Lin-

da shared with us some of the challenges the “Jubilee Project” is facing and some of the

successes their work has had. As always, Ramsey was so generous with their donation

of approximately $400. The need there is overwhelming but I know the additional

funds will be of great help. Please keep this community in your prayers along with Lin-

da and her team. Thanks to all those who helped in the kitchen and a special thanks to

Carol and Gary for their delicious home made vegetable soup and dessert.

- Russ Cottrell

WHITE CHRISTMAS

White Christmas Program continues…..FOOD NEEDED!

When you receive this newsletter it will be only 3 weeks till Christmas and 2 weeks until our

White Christmas Program’s distribution of Food Bags and gifts to our sponsored families.

Our recipients this year are the elderly; the grandmothers caring for their grandchildren and fam-

ilies who have faced displacement by the forces of nature. They come from our congregation,

our neighborhood, and our food bank folks. We are sponsoring 8 families this year.

I hope you can help make their Christmas a little cheerier by donating food for their tables. We

try to give a turkey, milk, eggs, and butter along with enough canned /boxed goods to last about

two weeks. You can contribute any of the items below by placing them in the tubs around the

church marked WHITE CHRISTMAS FOOD. Items will be collected through Sunday,

December 18, 2016, after which the items will be sorted and distributed to our sponsored fami-

lies that afternoon.

Items Needed:

Classes: Items to be contributed:

Children Peanut Butter, Jelly,

Spaghetti/Macaroni/Pastas and Sauce

Youth Canned/Dried Soups, Mac & Cheese

and Young Adults (soups that children and older adults would like)

Agape Canned Fruit (Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Fruit Cocktail,

Applesauce, etc), Bisquick, Loaf Bread

Escuela Dominical Rice, Beans

Kirkie Powell Canned Meats (Tuna, Salmon, Chicken, Corned Beef),

Coffee, Vegetable Oil

New Spirit 4 lb bags of sugar, Cake/Muffin Mixes, Potatoes (White

& Sweet - Fresh or Canned), Rice and Beans, Cereals

Otto Whitt Canned Vegetables (Tomatoes, Green Beans,

Peas, Corn, Butterbeans, Beans, etc.)

Come and See Spaghetti/Macaroni/Pastas and Sauce

Advent Study

Go from “Bah, Humbug!” to a Blessed Ad-

vent and Merry Christmas. This year’s Ad-

vent Study is The Redemption of

Scrooge. It will be offered for four weeks,

11/27—12/18, at 9:45am in the Sanctuary.

From the ghosts of Christmas past, to the

life of the present, and the resurrection of

Christmas future, this Advent study will “

bless us every one” . Invite a friend and

join us for this powerful study.

DESIGNATED GIVING

If you have someone on your Christmas shopping list that already has everything, please

consider Designated Giving. Instead of buying that person a gift he or she really doesn’t

need, just write a check to Ramsey Church. Designate the money for something that might

interest this person – missions, the Food Pantry, the Children’s Ministry, Caritas, church

maintenance, or anything else. The church will send an acknowledgement note to the per-

son explaining your gift.

So this year, skip the trip to the mall and instead try Designated Giving.

There are envelopes in the back window for your convenience.

Thank you,

The Finance Committee

Blood Drive:

Many thanks to our Blood Drive donors

who came out to donate on Sunday,

November 6, 2016. Our quota was 14.

We had 13 people screened for donation

and 10 units were given. Your commu-

nity thanks you for sharing your health

to help others.

Valentine’s Dinner Dance

Saturday, February 11, 6:00PM

Come dressed for a

night of music, fun,

dancing, food,

fellowship, and our

photobooth!

Tickets are $15.

UMC District News:

“Chat and Chew” with Bishop Lewis:

All clergy and laity of the Richmond District are invited to join Bishop Sharma D.

Lewis for an afternoon “Chat and Chew” to be held Sunday, December 11th, at

Woodlake UMC, 15640 Hampton Park Drive, Chesterfield. The event begins

with a clergy session at 2:00pm, a dinner for clergy and laity at 4:30PM, and a

laity session from 6:15pm to 8:15pm. Some questions to ponder:

“What do you desire from your new Bishop?”

“If you were Bishop, what would you focus on?”

District Conference and Leadership Training:

“Your community is your church”. This training event takes place on January 8,

2017, 1:30pm-5:00pm at Reveille UMC, 4200 Cary St, Richmond, with keynote

Speaker Rev. Ben Campbell. There are sessions and workshops for every minis-

try of the church, including: Trustees, finance, SPPRC, Food Justice, Social Me-

dia, Mission, Youth, Church Partnerships, and Cross-Racial/Cultural ministry.

Registration deadline is December 9th.

Anniversary Celebration:

The Conference Legislative Committee is hosting a 25th anniversary celebration

of United Methodist Day at General Assembly on Saturday, January 14 at Cen-

tenary UMC, 411 E. Grace St, Richmond. Registration is at 11:00am, for more

information email Randy Harlow at [email protected].

55+ Luncheon

Don’t forget the change of date for December! The December 55+ Luncheon

will be on the December 2nd, the first Friday

of the month. The theme will be “The Real

Reason for the Season”. Please bring a canned

food item for White Christmas donations.

RSVP and bring a friend!

Children’s Ministry

¡Nuestra fiesta de Navidad preparada para nuestros niños y niñas está ya muy cerca! Ven-

gan y únanse a esta gran celebración el sábado 17 de Diciembre a partir de las 2:30 de la

tarde hasta las 4:30 pm, aquí en nuestra iglesia de Ramsey. Los niños y niñas tendrán la

oportunidad de visitar la Tienda de Navidad y escoger un o dos divertidos regalos para

mamá o pápa, abuelos, hermanos y hermanas. ¡ No te lo pierdas te esperamos!

Our Christmas party for our children is getting closer!

Come and join us on Saturday, December 17 from 2:30 to 4:30

pm, here at Ramsey Memorial . On that day, the children will have

opportunity to visit “The Christmas Shop” and get one or two fun

gifts for mom and dad, grandparents and siblings. Don’t miss it,

we'll be waiting for you!

Please come join us in mission and fellowship!

COMIDA COMUNITARIA GRATUITA:

POR FAVOR , ÚNASE A NOSOTROS EN MISIÓN Y

COMUNIÓN.

December 31st at 5:00 PM in the CLC

And

January 28th at 5:00PM in the CLC

TTMPG

The Thursday Morning

Prayer Group invites you

to join us on Thursday

mornings at 9:30AM in Room 105, to

study, share, and pray together for one

another, for our church, and for our

world. Together, we’ll call on the Holy

Spirit to guide us in dividing our prob-

lems with the Lord while strengthening

our bonds of love and devotion to God

and His word.

Prayer Beads:

If you are interested in making Pray-

er Beads and learning

about different ways to use

them, please contact the

church office so we can

schedule a workshop.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

8:00AM Care A Van

9:30AM Prayer Group/Shawl

6:00PM James River HS

7:00PM Estudio Biblico

2

12:00PM 55+ Luncheon

6:00PM James River Home-School

3

6:00AM BUCS

10:30AM Come & See

12:00PM BWSL Dream-Chasers

2:00PM McGuire Park Circle

4 2nd Sunday of Advent

8:30AM Worship Service

9:45AM Advent Study


11:00AM Escuela Dominical

12:30PM Servicio en Español

6:00PM Youth Bonfire

5

8:00AM Care A Van


6:00PM EL/CIVICS

6

6:00PM BWSL DreamChasers

7

10:00AM Pickleball


8

8:00AM Care A Van




9


10

7:30AM Hazel Gibbs


11 3rd Sunday of Advent


9:45AM Advent Study



12:30PM Servicio en Español

6:30PM Youth Group

12


6:00PM EL/CIVICS

13

11:00 Ada Mae Bookman Cir-cle


6:00PM Hazel Gibbs Circle

14

10:00AM Pickleball


7:00PM Trustees Meeting

15

8:00AM Care A Van




16


17

10:30AM Come & See


18 4th Sunday of Advent


9:45AM Advent Study

11:00AM Christmas Cantata


12:30 Servicio en Español

No Youth

19


20


21

10:00AM Food Pantry

10:00AM Pickleball


7:00PM Finance

22

8:00AM Care A Van




23


24 CHRISTMAS EVE

5:30PM Servicio en español

7:30PM Worship service

25 CHRISTMAS DAY

10:30AM Combined Service

26 Office closed 27 Office closed 28 Office closed

29 Office closed

8:00AM Care A Van

30 Office closed

31 NEW YEARS EVE

5:00PM Neighborhood Sup-per

DECEMBER—DICIEMBRE 2016

JANUARY—ENERO 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 NEW YEARS DAY


9:30AM Sunday School




6:30 Youth Group

2

8:00AM Care A Van


3


6:00PM SPPRC

4

10:00AM Pickleball


7:00PM Administrative Coun-cil

5

8:00AM Care A Van




6


7

6:00AM BUCS

12:00PM BWSL DreamChas-ers

2:00PM McGuire Park Circle

8






6:30 Youth Group

9


10

11:00 Ada Mae Bookman Cir-cle


6:00PM Hazel Gibbs Circle

11

10:00AM Pickleball

2:00PM Nina Woodfin Circle


7:00PM Trustees Meeting

12

8:00AM Care A Van




13

12:00PM 55+ Luncheon


14


15






3:00PM Youth Dodgeball

16


17


18

10:00AM Pickleball


7:00PM Finance

19

8:00AM Care A Van




20


21


22






6:30 Youth Group

23


24


25

10:00AM Food Pantry

10:00AM Pickleball


26

8:00AM Care A Van




27


28


29






30


31


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D 4 rch December-Diciembre January-Eneroramseymemorial.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/December...Christmas Cantata, ... EN VIVO. Christmas Day, December 25th ... Recuerdo