North Shore United Methodist

December 13th- UMW Green Sunday

December 17th– Live Nativity at North Pole Village 6-9pm

December 24th– Christmas Eve Family Service @ 4:30pm Carols & Candlelight @ 6:30pm

January 5th– UMM Breakfast Meeting 7:30 am

January 5th– UMW General Meeting 10am

January 10th- UMW Green Sunday

January 12th– Creative Writers Meeting @ 6:30pm

January 14th– UMW Creative Hands @ Carol Bryant’s Studio 9:30am-2pm

January 21st– UMW Reading Circle 12:30pm

January 31st– Watoto Children’s Choir 6:30pm

December 2015

The

Let’s Dig It...AGAIN!

North Shore’s Christmas Miracle We have done some amazing things though Christ this past year in our own community; flood relief, assisting the NOMADS to have a place to stay while they assist with flood relief and rebuild, helping build a new home for a family in Deer River that lost everything in a house fire, Faith in Action, not to mention all the meals, comfort and local financial support. Last year Boerne Lutheran Church heard about our Christmas offering to dig a well in Africa to provide clean drinking water for the worlds most needy. They challenged their congregation to the same task and together we dug five producing wells. We will never know how many lives are being saved daily by this gift. Each well has a cross and the North Shore insignia. This year THEY have challenged US to Dig It…Again! Below is the information we received from our brother in Christ, Pastor Andrew Wambi, regarding the continuing need in Uganda for clean drinking water. Andrew is an amazing pastor with a heart for children. He was with us at every drill site last year. 1. Lubira village, Iganga district. This community has a school of

about 300 children. But the nearest water well is 2 km. So this community suffers greatly.

2. Kisirira village in Jinja district. The community has a great need for a clean water well. It has a newly planted church. Not only will the well provide clean water but it will also help this new church to reach out to the community for Christ.

3. Magola village in Bugiri. The nearest well is in 4 kms. There is a school and a church that really needs to be blessed with water.

We often take for granted this life giving resource as we freely turn on our faucets and showers. This Christmas lets keep up this tra-dition and give the gift of life. I will not be traveling to Uganda for this dig but the same team I traveled with will be going. If we all gave what we would spend for an average dinner at a restaurant we could change the world once again. So North Shore Can We Dig It??? Many Blessings this Christmas Season, Pastor Kim

North Shore Youth

Our first Youth Beach Retreat was a great success! We took 16 youth and 4 adult volunteers to Port Aransas and had a wonderful time building sand castles, playing head bands, worshipping our Lord, and learning more and more about our Creator! Our youth spent the weekend reflecting on how the Lord has moved in their own lives and why it’s important to share their uniquely God-written story with others. We looked at examples of Paul sharing his testimony and ended the weekend writing their own. It was a fantastic weekend of food, fellowship, and so much fun! A big thank you to all those who helped, prayed for, and participated in this retreat! Check out all the pictures from this retreat on our North Shore Youth Ministry Facebook Page! Happy belated Thanksgiving from our Youth Family to you! In this season of gratitude, this Sunday (Nov. 29th) North Shore Youth will be helping out at North Pole Village! We will be meeting at the church at 5pm and caravan over to the CRRC to eat some pizza and help prepare for this wonderful community event. We will meet back at the church at 7pm for our students to be picked up. This coming Thursday (Dec. 4th) I will be heading off for my Walk to Emmaus! I am incredibly excited for this time of retreat and opportunity to reconnect with our Lord and fellow daughters of the King! Due to this retreat, we will not be having youth on Dec. 2nd and Dec. 6th. We will return to our normal schedule the following Wednesday (Dec. 9th). Mark your calendars for our annual North Shore Youth Christmas Party on Sunday, Dec. 20th! We will be eating food, playing games, reflecting on the 2015, and looking forward to 2016. I continue to feel incredibly thankful for the love, support, and encouragement from our North Shore Family! Thank you for all you do to support our teenagers as they seek to know the Lord more deeply. We are so blessed by your prayers, service, and leadership! As always, please feel free to come hang anytime! Whether it’s cooking a meal, leading worship, or being a listening ear, I am always on the lookout for mentors and friends for our youth. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and praising the Lord for His goodness! Melissa Arishita youth@northshore-umc.org

W M U UNITED METHODIST

December UMW meeting/party was held Tuesday with a brief business Meeting and then food and fellowship and did I mention gift exchange. Loads of fun and lovely Christmas decorations. UMW General Meeting– January 5th @10am. We will be installing new officers and annual pledge service. Anyone interested in learning more about UMW is welcome to come.

UMW READING CIRCLE

Jan Booth

DECEMBER - No Reading Circle meeting. THURSDAY, JAN. 21st, 12:30 p.m., Discussion of Pat Summitt’s Sum It Up (postponed from October). THURSDAY, FEB. 18th, 12:30 p.m., Discussion of I Am Malala: The Girls Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzal and Christina Lamb (from the 2016 Reading Program).

CREATIVE HANDS – Carol Bryant We will meet at Carol Bryant's Thistle Dew Two Art Studio January 14 . Bring some craft ideas if you can - 9:30 – 2:00 sack lunch. We will discuss 2016 calendar. Thistle Dew Studio is next door to the left of our home: 2322 Valley Forge, Canyon Lake. Directions: FM 306 to Potters Creek Rd; First left on McIver Rd; cross two cattle guards; at the bottom of hill Private Rd sign; Valley Forge at the end of road is our home on the lake; take driveway to left to the studio. Carol’s Cell # 830-832-4483. UMW women are the best educated faith based group of women in the world. We must be educated to be able to address the needs of marginalized women, children and youth in the world. So plan on coming to the meetings on the first Tuesday of each month and get to know us and our mission, we are much more than a social club!

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Music News

Leading up to Christmas, we hear lots of Christmas music pretty much everywhere but church. Liturgically, Christmas begins after the 25th. So prior to that time, those of us who attend liturgical churches, miss out on singing our favorites Christmas Hymns and Carols. It would seem that by the time Christmas actually arrives and the liturgical calendar shows Christmas, the sec-ular use of Christmas carols has pretty much run its course. I have a few Christmas songs that I love to sing and some I love to hear. Choirs seem to gain more visibility and popu-larity during this time of year. I don’t really know how as-sociation developed, but I know choir activity picks up. Probably more people sing this time of year – peri-od. Christmas carols are generally easy and have catchy tunes and easy rhymes. My favorite Christmas Carol is Angels we have Heard on High. I really love the Gloria chorus part. Maybe is all of the running notes or maybe it is the challenge of being able to sing the whole phrase on one breath. Perhaps it is just the idea of angels singing – “Glory to God in the Highest.” What is your favorite Christmas music? Make a joyful noise. Marty

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PRAYER MINISTRY Greetings from the Prayer Ministry !!!. We pray all the time, but meet on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM if anyone would like to join us in the Prayer Chapel in the Education Building. Please stop and say hi to anyone of us. We would be happy to speak to you, take a prayer request or just chat about prayer and how wonderful and privileged we feel it is to be able to take your concerns, joys, praises, etc. before the Lord.

When I said, "My foot is slipping, " your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:18-19

BLESSINGS -

Annie Perez Katie Mason Pat Cahill Susan Fuqua Diane Kunz Joyce Ross

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The NET Ministry: The Importance of Feeling Displaced Those who have belonged to the same church for several years may not remember what being a visitor is like. A simple exercise can re-sensitize you: visit a church where no one knows you. Go outside your community, outside the denomi-nation. Go without knowing what to wear or what ministries are available. Pay attention to how you’re received. Ask yourself how you’d feel if you were longing for a church home right then. Note what this church does well, and what it doesn’t. Can you begin to see how going through this process can lead to important insights about our church? The NSUMC Family desires that our guests feel welcome. Welcome, however, does not happen automatically. It involves intentionally setting aside natural habits to show genuine care. It involves welcoming our visitors in the same way that Christ would: with open hearts. Look for a NEW FACE this week as we open our hearts. The body of Christ is a connecting ministry! Amen.

We are excited to announce that the Watoto Children’s Choir will be performing once again at North Shore UMC on Sunday, January 31st at 6:30pm. The choir is composed of 18 children accompanied by a team of adults whose performances are a unique blend of native African rhythms, contemporary gospel music and ethnic dance. Watoto Choir act as ambassadors to raise aware-ness about the plight of the orphaned and vulnerable children of Africa. Invite your friends, family and neighbors for this wonderful Concert. They are such a blessing to watch and hear their love for Jesus. We are looking for 8 families who would be willing to be Host Homes. Host Homes will need to be able to house them for two night, Sunday and Monday as well as be able to take them to your home and back to the church. If you are interested, have extra room and would like to host an Auntie or Uncle along with 2 or 3 children please call Myra in the church office no later than January 10th.

Pastor B’s Buzz

In this season of Thanksgiving and Advent there is so much to be thankful for and hopeful for! We’ve been learning lots in CrossFit about birthright and blessings thanks to Jacob and Esau’s story. Part of their story involved their parents having a “favorite” child. How blessed are we that we are all God’s favorite!!! Blessings are powerful!

? Have you blessed your children lately? ? Have they blessed you? ♥Maybe spend some time talking as a family about what a blessing is

and seek ways to bless each other throughout the month.

Words cannot express my appreciation for our phenomenal Children’s Ministry Team! They pour out Christ’s love every week to love on our precious ones. We are so blessed to get to serve our kiddos through our Nursery, CrossFit and Yacht Club programs, and other various activities throughout the year. It takes a team and I am blessed to serve with the best! Thank you! Thank you! And on that note, if you love Jesus, Children’s ministry might be a great place for you to serve. I’d love to share a cup of coffee and visit more. I learn and am blessed by these sweet ones every week! Christmas Craft Day was a blast! A huge thank you to the Mason family for all their help! We had a great bunch of crafters who were able to create some beautiful treasures for loved ones for Christmas!

Mark your calendar, you’re not going to want to

miss North Shore’s presentation of Charlie Brown’s Christmas! Join us for our Christmas Eve Family Service - Thursday, December

24th

at 4:30! Our cast is working hard and doing a

fantastic job!

Advent is a sweet season! We’re changing things up a bit for CrossFit and inviting the whole family to join us in the sanctuary for the beginning of worship. After our time of passing the peace, opening song, lighting of the Advent Wreath, and Story Time we’ll head over to the Faith Center for CrossFit! Our church family is excited about getting to see our precious ones in the sanctuary! In other Advent news - check out www.northshore-umc.org under “Children” for a link to our Family Advent Calendar or pick up one a church. It’s a guide for reflection, conversation, service, and Christmas fun for the whole family, for the season of Advent! Praying and hoping you have a sweet Advent,

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News from the Treasurer - Les Robertson

FINANCE UPDATE October 2015

OPERATIONS Pledges & other offering October Budget $27,920 October Actual $40,528 All receipts Year to date Budget $371,310 Year to date Actual $380,477 Expenditures October Budget $32,634 October Actual $29,683 All Expenditures Year to date Budget $390,944 Year to date Actual $347,403

SPECIAL GIFTS Month End Balance $44,542

BUILDING LOAN BALANCE Year 2015 Start Balance $402,522

October Balance $381,565

Endowment Fund Month End Balance $32,624

It’s North Pole Village Time! Thursday, December 17th from 6-9pm. Come enjoy part or the whole evening! We need fabulous folks for our Live Nativity and Carolers to help spread Christmas Cheer. No prior experience needed just a heart to serve. Let the staff in the church office know if you plan to help. Must arrive at CRRC Rec Center at 5:45pm to change into costumes. Can’t stay the whole time not a problem come help as you can.

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God Knew When the Four O’ Clocks Should Bloom

(Inspired by the Four O’ Clocks outside my window

and remembering my sister, Elizabeth Clark, and thinking of my special friend, Linda Yates)

God knew the Four O’ Clocks should bloom

In the waning parts of day, When the sun draws down and darkness falls,

Even on cloudy days.

We often look for flowers to bloom In the warmest of the day,

In spring and summer or in the fall On pretty cloudless days.

Yet you can see these trumpets bright A beauty our eyes want to keep,

When they sound their wonders with fragrant silence In the eve and when we sleep.

So it is with us, God’s children, Whom He wants to bloom in season,

With colors bright, even at night, And whose hearts can hear His reason.

When God is asking for us to bloom In waning or dark hours,

Let our colors be bright by feeling His might, For quiet hearts rest in His power.

It is common that flowers bloom by day In the fairest, pleasant weather,

But in the Lord our hearts find more When seasons we fret not, nor measure.

William J. Clark, Jr.

Community Needs CRRC-With the weather getting colder CRRC is looking for soups (all types the heartier the better) and Soap (bath and dish soap) Class– They are looking for newspaper (black & white– no color) and kitty litter. All items can be dropped of at North Shore and we will make sure to pass it along.