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January February 2013 Contents: Pastor's Message . ...... . ..... . 1 Working As One .. . ............ 2 Ca1endar ... ..................... ...... 3 Ladies Page .. ......... ... .... . ... 5 Care Ministries .. .............. 7 Guiding Ligltt LITTLE UTICA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Reverend Elizabetlt Morey 474-3516 Linda Honicker, PPRC Chairperson 315-626-6576 Donald Day, LU Lay Leader 315-598-6327 A Message From The Pastor: Here's a bit oftrivia to start your new year: Did you know that January was named for the Roman god Janus? He had two faces - one looked to the past and the other into the future. A new year is a gift - an opportunity for us to look back, reflecting on where we have been - to celebrate the ways God has worked in and through us. It's also a time when we can look with hope to the future - offering to God the best of who we are, allowing the light of God's love to shine through us into the dark comers of this world. In all the joys and sorrows of 2012, God was with us; and the promise of Emmanuel, God with us, continues into this new year. The beginning of a new year also offers us the opportunity to make changes in our lives. We call them "resolutions." In case you haven't thought about any New Year's resolutions yet- or your resolution to "stop putting off until tomorrow what you can do today" hasn't kicked in yet, I invite you to consider the following suggestions as we enter 2013: Everything I needed to Know, I learned from Noah's Ark Don't miss the boat. Remember, we are all in the same boat. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. Stay fit. When you're old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Build your future on high ground. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. Speed isn't always an advantage - the snails were on board with the cheetahs. When you're stressed, float awhile. Remember, the ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Whatever the fury of the storm, when you are with God, there is always a rainbow waiting. From the Joyful Noiseletter God's blessings to all for a happy, healthy and Spirit-filled new year. Just a Thought . ......... . ...... 6 Grace and peace, Pastor Betty

January February 2013 - Little Utica United Methodist … - feb 2013...Everything I needed to Know, I learned from Noah's Ark Don't miss the boat. Remember, we are all in the same

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January

February

2013

Contents:

Pastor's Message . ...... ...... . 1

Working As One .. . ............ 2

Ca1endar . .. .................. ... ...... 3

Ladies Page .. ......... ... .... .... 5

Care Ministries .. .............. 7

Guiding Ligltt

LITTLE UTICA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Reverend Elizabetlt Morey 474-3516

Linda Honicker, PPRC Chairperson 315-626-6576

Donald Day, LU Lay Leader 315-598-6327

A Message From The Pastor:

Here's a bit oftrivia to start your new year: Did you know that January was named for the Roman god Janus? He had two faces - one looked to the past and the other into the future. A new year is a gift - an opportunity for us to look back, reflecting on where we have been - to celebrate the ways God has worked in and through us. It's also a time when we can look with hope to the future - offering to God the best of who we are, allowing the light of God's love to shine through us into the dark comers of this world. In all the joys and sorrows of 2012, God was with us; and the promise of Emmanuel, God with us, continues into this new year.

The beginning of a new year also offers us the opportunity to make changes in our lives. We call them "resolutions." In case you haven't thought about any New Year's resolutions yet- or your resolution to "stop putting off until tomorrow what you can do today" hasn't kicked in yet, I invite you to consider the following suggestions as we enter 2013:

Everything I needed to Know, I learned from Noah's Ark Don't miss the boat.

Remember, we are all in the same boat. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Stay fit. When you're old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Build your future on high ground. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

Speed isn't always an advantage -the snails were on board with the cheetahs.

When you're stressed, float awhile. Remember, the ark was built by amateurs;

the Titanic by professionals. Whatever the fury of the storm, when you are with God,

there is always a rainbow waiting. From the Joyful Noiseletter

God's blessings to all for a happy, healthy and Spirit-filled new year. Just a Thought .......... . ...... 6 Grace and peace, Pastor Betty

Volume 9 Issue 1

Working Together As One

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New Year's holidays! Winter has certainly arrived in our part of God's country. I wanted to use this space to catch up on some of the various ministries we have here at Little Utica.

The United Methodist Men have been very active as usual and you will read more about what they've accomplished in this issue. One of the ministries they have for 2013 is helping to replenish Hygiene Kits for Church World Service. I've provided a list of new items that are included in each kit, should you wish to support them by donating. The men are collecting items between now and early April.

Hygiene Kits

*One hand towel measuring approximately 16"x28" (no fingertip or bath towels) * One washcloth * One wide-tooth comb * One nail clipper * One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper) * One toothbrush (in original packaging) *Six standard size Band-Aids

Page 2

Our sister church in Warners has also asked for Little Utica' s support in helping to replenish the Emergency Food Pantry. As Barb Ressequie related to me, "The food pantry is in dire straits= almost emp­ty! The need for additional food for families certainly is much higher than the amount of food our church can provide at this point. We have currently depleted the canned pears, peaches, applesauce and fruit cocktail along with having minimal canned corn and beans. Much needed items are peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti sauce and pancake syrup. Please pray for the "work" we do through the pantry for families in our community and remember our food pantry as you grocery shop in 2013." For more information, contact Barb at 638-0557. Little Utica keeps a bin in the parlor where food pantry items are collected to take over to Warners.

The 2012 CROP Walk was held on Sunday, October 14 and began as a very wet, dreary day. However, the skies cleared in time for the 1:00 pm start time. Walking for Little Utica were Steve and Kathy Weller, Don Day, Anne Welytok, Connie Horner, Sherry Pedder and Doug and Caroline MacEwen. Marj Olds also raised funds, but was unable to walk with us this year. There wasn't the usual crowd on hand at Onondaga Lake Park - we think the earlier rains had scared them off. We don't have the exact totals just yet, but I know we raised just over $1 ,000 this year! Many thanks to our great fundraisers and especially to everyone who supported us with your donations. The funds are used by Church World Service locally, nationally and worldwide to help others with hunger issues. As a side note, Church World Service was on-scene along with the United Methodist Committee on Relief in New York and New Jersey helping others through the disaster which occurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Please pray for those who were impacted and for those helping them to rebuild.

Many thanks to everyone for supporting all of our ministries and we look forward to 2013 where we will continue to be the hands and feet of Christ as we help those in need throughout our community.

Blessings, Doug MacEwen Board Chairman

Pl~g,_•e be praying ---~ -~ ~---:::5--- for ...

LONG TERM CONCERNS

Amanda Bassett, Ann Benedict, Jeanette, Jim, Megan, Bob, & Ron Billings, Duane Bunyea, Al­berta Carpenter, Art Coville, Clarence Crandall, Sylvia Day, Jim Gravelle, Margaret Gravelle, Nick Grasso, Jacob Hadcock, Bonnie Jarrett, Gladys Kline, Betty Luke, Ellie McAllister, Ar­den Painter, David Pittsley, Don Pittsley, Tiffany Rothrock, Mattie Rose, Roxanne Stewart, Mike Warner. Richard Mosher, Margaret White, Arlene Williamson, Lawton Williamson, Shaun William­son,

OUR NATION:

Our President Barack Obama, his cabinet, our congressional leaders, and the men and women of the Armed Services

OUR CHURCH:

Our church families, our Bishop, Mark Webb, our District Superintendent Rev. Darryl Barrow, and the Enoch Thomas Cluster.

OURPASTOR:

Rev. Betty Morey

Dear Friends at Little Utica UMC,

My sincere thanks to all of you for the beautiful floral arrangement, the reception food, the cards and e-mails of sympathy with many spe­cial notes added, as well as the memorials sent at the passing of my dear husband, Wade. The kind­ness and sympathy shown to me and to our family will always be remembered.

With love and gratitude, Bonnie Jarrett

Do you know how you can serve your church? The Chairman of the Administrative Council and a Trustee are positions needing­someone to answer the call to serve. Please let Rev. Betty know your intention.

Page 3

DATES TO REMEMBER

Administrative Council Jan. 10

UMM at Warners Jan. 12

Human Relations Day Offering Jan. 20

Lay Leader Certificates Presented Jan. 20

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 21

Charge Conference Jan. 27

Souper Bowl Sunday Feb. 3

Administrative Council Feb. 5

Shrove Tuesday (Pancakes @ 6pm) Feb. 12

Ash Wednesday Feb. 13

Pot Luck Supper 6 pm

Worship Service 7 pm

Valentine's Day

President's Day

Newsletter Deadline

Administrative Council

Daylight Savings Begins

LENTEN SERVICES SCHEDULE:

Feb.14

Feb.18

Mar.3

Mar.S

Mar.10

Lent begins on February 13 with the Ash Wednesday service at 7 p.m. Lent is a time of reflec­tion and introspection; a time when we remember and reflect on Jesus' mission and ministry in this world and his sacrifice on our behalf. It is both a time of self-denial and a time for "taking on" special acts of devotion and study.

The Enoch L. Thomas Cluster announced the following dates and places for this year's Lenten Ser­vices and invites you to join in:

February 17 - Little Utica UMC

February 24 - Ira UMC

March 3 -Hannibal Center UMC

March 10 - Martville UMC

March 17 -Hannibal UMC

March 24 - Bowen's Comers UMC

Please note as well:

February 12 -Shrove Tuesday

-at Warners UMC 6 pm

February 13 - Ash Wednesday Service

- at Little Utica UMC

Happy Birthday

Jeanette Billings Paige Burtch

Art Coville

Roy Friot

Ray Honicker

Dan McKalsen

Diane Weller

Arlene Williamson

Happy Anniversary

Ed & Lila Windhausen

The Beauty Of a Snowflake

Helen Steiner Rice

Megan Billings Charlie Burtch

Debbie De' Aprix

Jack Hermann

Caroline MacEwen

Robin Osier

Kathy Weller

June Wilson

In the beauty of a snowflake,

Falling softly on the land,

Is the mystery and the miracle

Of God's great, creative hand,

For what better answers are there

To prove His Holy Being

Than the wonders all around us

That are ours just for the seeing

BE HIS VALENTINE

For God so loVed the world,

That He gAve

His onLy

BegottEn

SoN

That whosoever

Believeth In Him

Should Not perish,

But have Everlasting life.

John 3:16

(Lowell Yoder; The Joyful Noiseletter)

Page 4

November-December Income Snapshot

November December

Loose $ 452.00 $ 466.00

Pledges 3306.00 2618.00

Regular Donations 755.00 1620.00

UMWPledge 2000.00

Chadwick House 150.00

Wade's Memory 175.00 Hanging-Greens

Hurricane Collection 120.00

Christmas Offering for New Jersey

Totals* $7315.29

439.00

$5790.29

* All income was not itemized

Here are the expense numbers for November and December

Nov

Clergy Support $0.00

Parsonage Utilities 347.64

Church Utilities 232.16

Missions 0.00

Operating Expenses 631.70

Apportionments 805.33

Total Expenses 2,016.83*

General Fund Bal $6,366.57

* Not all inclusive

Offering Envelopes for 2013

Dec

$1,514.37

327.16

1,339.89

174.69

1,057.57

805.33

5,219.05*

$6,269.81

Envelopes are available on the table in parlor. Please remember to put your name on it as they are not numbered. I would have no way of tracking them.

Thank you.

Candy Burtch Financial Secretary

Thanks to Linda Honicker for the colored page in our last edition.

Page 5

The Ladies Page

The ladies filled 41 boxes for the Operation Christmas Child Project. I thank everyone who filled the boxes for boys and girls; they made some poor children very happy at Christmas time.

We collected hats and mittens for the third graders at Seymour Smith School located on the west side of Syracuse, one ofthe poorest sections ofthe city. I didn't count the number but there was a very nice varie­ty for both boys and girls. Thanks to all those who donated to this project.

On December 12, the ladies held their annual Christmas pot-luck dinner with a gift exchange . Each lady was happy with the wrapped gift they chose with many seasonal presents revealed; this is always a fun event and much laughter is heard in the parlor. As you know, laughter is good for the soul.

Our first meeting for 2013 is Wednesday, January 9 at 6:30pm., with the Call to Prayer and Self- Denial Program. An offering will be taken which will support programs that will enable organizations to train women, children and youth to master financial skills, i.e. budgeting, establishing credit, etc. Our group is open to all women of the church. Come join us.

Carole Menzel

Hanging of the Greens

The Saturday evening program Hanging of the Greens on December 1 was well attended. We started with a free spaghetti dinner put on by the Care Ministries group. There was such Christian fellowship while preparing the meal-"oil in the pasta water or not" was the question of the night. Desserts followed the meal. There was a nice group--many first-timers were gathered around the table. Many participated in the program that followed and our new interim pastor, Betty Morey, was introduced to us by Rev. Vivian Sum­merville who gave the benediction. Pastor Betty read the Christmas Story from the Book of Luke. The com­mittee of Joyce Barber, Karen Friot, Kara Friot, Carole Menzel, and John Snow, Jr. thanks all those who had a part in this program and to those who attended. Our offering brought in $150, which was sent to Chadwick Residence, a place for homeless women, some with children. They can stay for up to two years while they learn new skills, acquire jobs, etc. Chadwick Residence is located on Valley Drive in Syracuse. Our sanctu­ary was arrayed with poinsettias, wreaths, candles and other seasonal decorations.

Craft Fair 2012

I would like to thank all those who helped out in the kitchen, baked cookies and made items for the UMW tables and those who came to shop to let us have another successful craft fair. Plans are underway for the 15th Annual Craft Fair to be held tentatively on November 9, 2013.

Candy Burtch, Chair

Just A Thought by John Snow, Jr.

There should be an "e" in the word tradition.

We all have traditions when it comes to Christ­mas. The church is no exception. Before there was an official Hanging of the Greens, the Sunday School de­partment led by Carole and Aunt Karen decorated the church and the tree. It was "tradition" for mistletoe to be hung above the doorway leading into the sanctuary. Frannie D's "Upper Room" was always decorated as well. She was our Sunday School teacher once we grad­uated from Carole's class. Another tradition was watch­ing Mr. Billings take all the erasers and pencils that the old kids had thrown into the light fixtures from the bal­cony. Decorating the tree was always fun. We only had white lights in those days. The garland was gold. Cris­mons that Betty and Jean made before I was born were delicately placed. Carole telling us what they meant and to be careful so we didn't break them. These are fond memories. And even though we do things differently, the basic ideas are the same and it brings to me a sense of comfort.

I guess that is what traditions do; make us com­fortable. And that is not a bad thing. Tradition is not a bad thing. Seems funny me saying this because I am al­ways wanting to change things. I joined the Ad Council soon after I was Confirmed at 12 years old. I spent the next seven or eight years learning how Church func­tioned. It was at some point around 20 years old I found my place in church leadership and decided to try to forge a path to new things. I have always tried to keep the traditions in mind, because they are important. After all, why would I join the church ifl didn't like it's tradi-tions? Change is part of our tradition. Our pastor is not dumping blood from sacrificial animals on us every Sunday. We can meet freely in a building, not having to hide in caves and fear for our lives. We can read the Bible in our own language. We do not sing "a-men" at the end of our hymns. We did until about 1989. We can wear jeans to church, even if our mother thinks we shouldn't. We can sing "Are We Yet Alive" without sounding like we have one foot in the grave. We have to sing "The Palms" though, every year, it is nonetheless tradition.

Tradition should have an "e". Trade has to hap­pen. We trade ideas and communicate to come to an un­derstanding and agreement. This is great stuff. And as long as it is for the good of the church and not to satisfy some strange power trip, why not try new things?

Page 6

New things can be blended with the old things. We say the Nicene Creed sometimes in church. It is the product of a huge gathering in 325 and again about 50 years later. It was here that tons of people met to figure out just what the church would do, how it would do it, and what to believe and not believe. I am sure tempers flared. Supporters of one doctrine had to make deals to gain support. I bet many TRADES happened. "I'll vote for Mark if you vote for Luke" kind of thing.

I believe it is time for our own "Council of Nicaea." We should sit down in some fashion and figure out where we are going. What traditions are we going to keep? What needs to be changed? And we all have to communicate and put self­interests aside. We need to figure out where we are going and what we are doing. It should be our resolution this year.

One Christmas tradition I failed to men­tion is that of taking down the tree. It was taken out down the center aisle and placed on top of Carole's car. I think that tradition needs to come back! Just a thought ...

"Have a heart that never hardens,

A temper that never tires,

And a touch that never hurts."

Charles Dickens (Bits & Pieces,

"Believe while others are doubting.

Work while others are wishing.

Save while others are wasting.

Listen while others are talking.

Smile while others are frowning.

Commend while others are criticizing.

Persist while others are quitting."

William Arthur Ward

The Joyful Noiseletter; 2/10

United Methodist Men What a wonderful productive year we had.

Let me share with you some of what the members of our UMM have done in 2012.

1. February we held our first "Dinner & Movie night"

2. April our mission team 1 0-day trip to Haiti 3. May was our second "Circle of Friends

Concert" at St. Paul' s 4. July we held our annual BBQ. 5. Wounded Warrior Project: We continue to

send $20 to them monthly. 6. 2012 Men ofthe Year~ Warners: John

Resseguie~ Little Utica: Donald Day. 7. Youth Camper Scholarships awarded. 8. Collection taken for Super Storm Sandy

Relief Mission 9. Day away trip to Corning to make hand­

blown glass ornaments. 10. December's meeting was our 61

h Annual breakfast with our wives.

These are the projects the members of the UMM have taken on this past year. We are so very proud of Tom House and his team for the work they did in Haiti on our behalf. Youth camper scholarships remain a priority for us. Most of the funds we raised this past year was for the scholarship programs for 2012 & 2013.

Our 2013 project is one that touches us all deeply. We are doing a Tribute to Pastor Wade. We are tentatively planning it for Saturday April 27, with a potluck lunch at noon and the movie to follow at Little Utica. An offering will go toward Camp Casowasco and Watson Homestead. These were two Christian pro­jects near and dear to Wade.

Please come and join us. We gather every sec­ond Saturday of the month for a breakfast/devotional meeting. I am looking forward to our next breakfast, Saturday January 12, at Warners.

Donald Day, District UMM Prayer Advocate

John Snow, Sr, June Wilson, Carole Menzel, Dale Snow, Linda Young, John Snow, Jr and Karen Friot went Christmas caroling on Sunday, Decem­ber 9th. They sang and delivered care baskets to 11 homes.

Page 7

Care Ministries

The Care Ministry com­mittee has an Emergency Food Pantry available. All requests are confidential. Please contact: Jeannette Billings at 678-2131.

***************************************** The "Care Ministry" is a team of church

members supporting each other as each member leads a micro-ministry to help our local senior citi­zens. We also have events for the community. We have about 10 team members and other church members who support us by either giving dona­tions or attending our events. We just finished our second year. During the year we sent out greeting cards from our church members, we had six free senior lunches, serving approximately 45 diners every time and also delivered meals, we had a pro­gressive supper, nursing home visits, we have a emergency contact in place for the community, we made home visits, a fund raiser bake sale, gave homemade afghans' and walker bags to an area nursing home, planted a garden to help support the area food pantry and our community, went Christ­mas caroling and delivered 11 care baskets, deliv­ered Easter baskets, had a spaghetti dinner, and a poinsettia sale. An osteoporosis prevention exer­cise class is offered for seniors. The team has many other programs and events planned for the new year. We are always looking for new mem­bers.

I would like to thank everyone on the "Care Ministry" team and everyone from church who has supported us through the last year.

Dale Snow

Lands of The Bible Cruise.

There is one question I am asked over and over. Are we safe in the Holy land? The answer is yes, please read on.

Let me share with you some of what we saw and where we went on this Life Changing Pilgrim­age to the Holy land. As we followed some of the Journey of Saint Paul. Educational Opportunities Tours allowed Rev. Dennis Lawton, pastor of the Harmonsburg Pa. UMC, Rev. Caroline Simmons, pastor of Saint Paul's UMC Syracuse NY and my self to take our group on a fantastic journey through lands we had only previously read about. We left Syracuse on November 9, 2012 for our over-night flight to Rome. Setting sail on the Norwegian Jade on November 10 for Alanya Turkey. We visited the Aspendos amphitheater and ventured to nearby Perge where Paul preached on his first journey. Alanya, Turkey has one of the most beautiful ports I have ever seen.

We cruised overnight to Cyprus, visiting Pa­phos, the first city Paul visited on his initial mission­ary journey. Barnabas and John Mark accompanied him on this part of his journey. We were able to have free time, shop from local craftsman and sam­ple local food.

We continued overnight to Israel and docked at the Port of Hiafa. There we stayed for two days. The Port of Ashod, Israel was closed do to the trou­bles that week. They had rockets being fired into that port, so we took long bus rides to tour the Holy land. No one cared .... Oh what we saw and experi­enced. We traveled to Jerusalem where we were called home and once you see and visit Jerusalem you are truly Home. We sang at the Church of Saint Anne. We walked the entire Via Do1orosa ending up at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where we wor­shiped. We went to the Upper Room and prayed, stood on the Mount of Olives and wandered among the olive trees ofthe Garden ofGethsemane. What a day we had. Prayers were lifted, and tears flowed down most everyone's face. We were home. Praise God! We ended our day of touring at the Western Wall, where so many of us placed prayers for those and ourselves we gathered from families & friends. We returned to our ship. Changed our walking clothes for dinner and sat and talked about the day for hours .... no one was tired, just filled with excite-ment.

The following day we toured The Galilee. What a place! So much of what Jesus did in his

Page 8

lifetime was done here . . . same places we were stand­ing, WOW! Mike Abu-Libdeh was our Israeli tour guide; .no one describes the Bible in Living Color like Mike does. He is truly a gifted and spiritual man who serves our Lord & Savior so very well. We met Mike two years ago on our fust trip and have stayed in touch with him ever since. These trips have changed me; Mike was a big part of that change.

We left Israel for our overnight cruise to Port Said, Egypt. We toured Cairo and the Great Pyramids at Giza. Took a camel ride and almost lost Dennis to two shady camel drivers, but we got him back. It was a good laugh that night on board ship .. . but scary as it was unfolding. Egypt has such wonders to see; you just have to be extra careful of your surroundings and people approaching you. We will be smarter next time around. The Cairo Museum was fabulous . This was my second time there and I was still in awe and wonder of all I saw.

The next day it was the Port of Alexandria and the tour of that beautiful city. We saw the site of the ancient library and lighthouse. Walked down into the catacombs of the old city. We walked down all 115 steps and yes back up ... that took some time.

It was back to our ship and the two-day cruise back to Italy. We all had a time for reflection, relax­ing, fellowship and great lectures. Bishop Goodpaster was traveling with us. Wow, he is so gifted. We total­ly enjoyed every minute we spent in prayer and fel­lowship with him.

Day twelve we arrived back to Italy and had to say goodbye to many of our travel mates. It was a tearful parting. We shared so much together in those twelve days we truly bonded and saying goodbye was not easy. Rev. Caroline, Joan, Dorothy, Shirley, Rich­ard, Gloria, Joyce and Donna from the Syracuse area all stayed and went on to Rome. We toured the old city and had the chance to visit, tour, pray and have Thanksgiving Dinner in the Vatican. The Vatican might be the Holy City for all Catholics, but for me it's a Holy city for all Christians. The power and maj­esty of the area, you can feel the presence of God.

Well I hope I was able to share with you a lit­tle of what my group & I experienced. Rev. Dennis, Rev. Caroline & I are working now on our return trip to the Holy land for April2015 We will Visit Turkey, Jordan & Israel with more free time and more time at Holy Sites. E.O. will work with us and allow us to customize our tour.

I hope you will join us. Come to Jerusalem.

Continued on page 9

-------------------------- ------------

You too will feel God has called you HOME. I hope you can see how much we enjoyed our tour by the big smiles in the picture.

Blessings, Don Day . Lay leader Little Utica UMC

From the Lay Leader's Desk 2012 has been an active year for Bible Study,

Lay Servant Ministry classes, and Probe Staff Devo­tionals & Study. We have put a lot of time this year trying to discern the Word of God and how it will en­rich our lives and enable us to evangelize to others. Always keeping in mind our mission as United Meth­odist is to make disciples and share the Good News.

Our Bible Study class, after 6 years, has fin­ished its last lesson in the Old Testament. Our last class was on December 6th. We opened with prayer, song & scripture reading, then sat down for our cele­bration dinner of homemade Pizza. After dinner we finished our study of the Minor Prophets What a fan­tastic journey it has been. We have taken our time to read, study and shared the Word of God. Every mem­ber of the class has a new understanding of what God is saying them.

The Probe Staff, consisting of members from Phoenix UMC, Warners UMC and Little Utica UMC, have been working together this past year. We under­took the study, "Unbinding the Gospel", along with a 40-day prayer journey. This study was lead by Pastor Wade & Pastor Kim from Phoenix. A solid bond was formed by this devotional study between the three churches. More on this wonderful study in 2013 ... yes we will be offering this to all that want to take it.

Lay Servant Ministry: Little Utica has of­fered two lay speaking classes this year.

Page 9

A basic lay speaking course in the spring and an ad­vanced course in the fall. Pastor Wade & I were so excited to start offering two courses every year at our church, this will continue as long as I am Lay Leader. ·

It was my great pleasure to work so very closely with Wade on this project. After his passing I finished teaching our class on Spiritual Gifts. The class will be presented with their Certificates during morning service at Little Utica on January 20th. I am very proud of them. It was hard to continue after Wade's passing ... but they did it.

Our next class will be early this spring, more information to follow in the next newsletter on dates & time.

So much has happened this year, wonderful enriching times as well as deep sadness. Our faith and devotion to God has brought us through. Honor Wade's memory, "Love one another as God loves You". Blessings, Don Day Lay Leader

('Lord, el·en as we enjoy the Super Dow/football game,

help us to be mindful of those who are without a bowl

~[soup to eat." ·Souper Bowl ofCaml!) Foulldrng Pl'il)'e!

()..r l'"'.'f'r··in t>IH"duuc/r in /Y'J() .•. Hn• ,_,,. 9"'"" l" l>.t~t·lnm:hr~ >Ullio>D n icll'.n/Jith

roi1rd :S-41 millioo ;,, 'Oi Ill' l!clp rhr ncr~ in thrir ION I communitin. J~>itt !h.- Sou~r lloo<l ofC:r~ring urul rtpnlrnrl" God'i lmr in <trrion. Plnnr C:onfributr.

It's time for the Souper Bowl of giving. It will be held February 3.

Remember all the money and food collected will stay locally.

Let's try to outdo last year!

The Beautiful Snow Alice Hansche Mortenson

The beautiful snow! The beautiful snow!

Covering all of the earth below;

Even the spots unlovely and drab

Adorned as a bride so daintily clad!

And the air all around so refreshingly clean

Reminds me of God and His wisdom supreme,

Wrapping His hills in a blanket at night

0 give us a world in an etching of white!

And seeing His work it thrills me to know

That He washes a soul even whiter than snow.

And finding a life, once cheerless and bare;

He suddenly places His loveliness there;

Not transient, as snow is, but something to stay

Long after the snowdrifts have melted away.

Oh, I think of Him always whenever I see

The touch of His fingers on hilltop and tree,

Stooping so kindly His love to bestow,

Like a calm benediction, the beautiful snow!

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