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January 2016
Volume XX Issue 1
“In worship, fellowship and service we seek God’s peace as revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.”
The Madison Methodist The Madison Methodist The Madison Methodist
MessageMessageMessage
The United Methodist Church in Madison
24 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940
“at the corner of Drew University”
[email protected] www.umcmadison.org
Tel: 973.377.1231
God’s House As we begin a new year it is my hope and prayer that we will continue to find ways
of living together within our families, communities, and world. 2015 brought many
challenges that are yet with us. Concerns about violence, injustice and the environ-
ment continue to follow us into yet another year.
So we begin anew in 2016. But do we?
So often what is new is a rediscovery of what is not-so-new. Recently, I re-
ceived an email about a man in New Zealand who decided to build a church. Not
just any church, but a church constructed out of trees. Yes, Brian Cox spent time
travelling the world, looking at different types of trees and then in 2011 began a 4 year project to build a church…that’s
right, out of trees.
What I find interesting is not that he was able to do it. Rather, his ability to see that God’s creation and the worship of
the Creator are linked. Really we don’t have one without the other do we?
It is not a surprise that people who visit this church find it a spiritual experience. Back-to-nature takes on a new mean-
ing. I wonder what it will take for us in the new year to look at the world a bit differently. What will it take for us to
appreciate the gifts God has given us? What will it take for us as a Church, as
Christians, in our communities, our nation and our world to find a better way?
Well, 2016 will give us that chance.
Grace and Peace,
IMPORTANT DATES
Jan 5—Trustees Meeting at 7:30 pm
Jan 10—Youth Council will meet after 10:00am service
Jan 12—Church Council Meeting at 7:30 pm
2
Staff & Elected Officers Pastor
Rev. Robb W. Shoaf, Ph.D Student Assistant Pastor
Chelsea Jackson Director of Music & Organist
Susan McAdoo, D.M.A. Director of Christian Education
Kathleen Keane Admin/Editor Natalie Dines Sexton Marlice Borecki
David Green Chair, Church Council Jeff Pfeifer Treasurer David Green Assistant to Treasurer Scot Guempel Financial Secretary Alan Voorhees Finance Chair Gordon Fleming Facility Management Vic Schumacher President, Trustees
Program Facilitators Nurture Ministries
Lisa Moro Outreach Ministries
Jeanne Eisele Witness/Igniting Ministry
Kris Pfeifer Worship Ministries
Lisa Carballo Education/Youth
Kathleen Keane & Chelsea Jackson
Trustees
Vic Schumacher Gordon Fleming Mike Kroeger Luke McKinnon Shin-Ok Ha Wade Merrick JoAnn Van Sciver Nori Tadano
Dan Engel
January 2016
Christmas Pageant 2015
We Had a Wonderful Christmas Pageant!
I want to express heartfelt gratitude to all the people who
worked on the Christmas pageant this year. The children and
adults who provided the talent to present the story of the
birth of Jesus in such a meaningful way should be ap-
plauded. Also, I would like to express appreciation to Nori
Tadano, who directed the pageant. Thank you to both Nori
and Karen Mancinelli for capturing such wonderful memo-
ries.
Sunday School Classes Resume Sunday, Jan. 10 Our regular class schedule will begin again on Sunday,
Jan. 10 and continue through the end of the month. Please
check your emails for special bulletins, teacher assignments
and acolyte responsibilities.
May I wish you a very Happy New Year!
Kathleen Keane
3
Other News ... Bits and briefs
January 2016
Coffee Hour Hosts Needed in 2016
T he coffee hour and fellowship time after our
Family Worship service is a vital element of
our ministry. It’s not only enjoyable, but an impor-
tant part of building community. Please visit SignUpGen-
ius if you are able. You can also call /email Natalie in the
office ([email protected]). Thank you!
Thank You!
T hanks to Susan McAdoo, Donna Conley, Jake and
Katie Antmann for helping us decorate the sanctuary
for the holiday season, and to all who contributed to our
Christmas Flower Fund!
Special thanks go to Vivian Bull for her beautiful
handmade Story of Christmas figurines. Also special
thanks to Marlice Borecki who makes all of our jobs so
much easier! Lisa Carballo
Live Nativity Show
On Sunday Dec 20, we held our Annual Open
House together with our first live nativity show. It was a
wonderful way to start off the festival season. Our youth
dressed in costume and we managed to capture some
great pictures.
Fair Trade Coffee Sale — Feb.7
During coffee hour in the church library
4
January 2016
February Newsletter Deadline: Jan. 21
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
3 8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 5 pm The Gathering
4 Church Office re-opens
5 7:30 pm Trustees Meeting
6 7:00 am Men’s Breakfast
7 8 pm Chancel Choir
8 8 pm AA
9
10
8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 5 pm The Gathering
11 8 pm AA
12 7:30 pm Church Council 8 pm AA
13
7:00 am Men’s Breakfast
14 8 pm Chancel Choir
15 8 pm AA
16
17 8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 5 pm The Gathering
18 Office Closed ML King Day 8 pm AA
19 8 pm AA
20 7:00 am Men’s Breakfast
21 8 pm Chancel Choir
22 8 pm AA
23
24
8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 5 pm The Gathering
25 8 pm AA
26
8 pm AA
27 7:00 am Men’s Breakfast
28 11:30 am UMW outing 8 pm Chancel Choir
29 8 pm AA
30
31 8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 5 pm The Gathering
5
January 2016
United Methodist
Women From the
Student Assistant Pastor
Nativity scene figures made by Palestinian refugee women in
the 1960s grace our Sanctuary windows, thanks to Vivian Bull.
Advent Festival 2015
Hello Everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New
Year! In the midst of Advent, the month of December was also a
busy time for the Church, filled with festivals, pageants and pro-
jects!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Angel Tree pro-
ject headed by Jeanne Eisele and Outreach. Our youth wrapped
these gifts on December 13th and they were graciously received
by both Family Promise and Roots and Wings.
The youth have also completed their Book Study on Shane Clai-
borne's The Irresistible Revolution. We hope to continue the
youth book study program, and pick it up again in the Spring.
Looking ahead, there will be a Youth Council Meeting on Janu-
ary 10th, in the sanctuary, after the 10 am service. Youth, parents
and all others interested are encouraged to attend as we will be
discussing Spring Projects.
Also, at the end of January and beginning of February the youth
will host our annual Souper Bowl of Caring event. During this
project we will collect canned goods and monetary gifts for the
Food Pantry. Any contributions to this project would be greatly
appreciated!
Lastly, as we embark on a new year, I want to bring attention to
the Church Blog, and encourage everyone to consider reading
and submitting to it. Blog submissions can be anything, and can
range from songs and photos, to poems and prose. Submission
anonymity is an option, and posts can be about anything, includ-
ing: a particular Bible verse you love, where you do or don't see
God working in your life/the world, or questions of faith you ex-
perience.
The blog can be viewed at umcmadison.wordpress.com and is
meant to serve as a form of outreach and engagement with the
world, and be a space for questions and explorations both for
writer and reader. Please contact me if you are interested in post-
ing!
As we settle into a new year and Church season, I hope we can all
take time to slow down, rest, and lean into the love and peace of
God.
In peace
Chelsea
The Naomi Circle of United Methodist Women had a joyful
day on Thursday, December 17, at the Morristown United Meth-
odist Church for the Music at Noon series featuring The Christ-
mas Singers with Patricia Ruggles. During the month of January,
the series will continue on Thursdays at 12:15, and the Naomi
Circle plans to return on Thursday, January 28, 2016, for a pro-
gram of chamber music. We will leave the Church parking lot at
11:30 am, so please call Laurie at 973-377-9407 if you would like
to join us.
Our local UMW unit is pleased to report that in response to our
annual letter of information and appeal for support, we realized
the sum of $765. Our sincere thanks go out to all who responded,
and to everyone who has been a friend and continued to support
UMW over the years with their prayers, presence and good
works. These funds will help greatly in our being able to con-
tinue to make a pledge to the Gateway North District of United
Methodist Women and to support other worthwhile local pro-
grams, such as the Neighborhood Center and United Methodist
Homes. Another annual outreach project of our local unit is the
distribution of home-baked cookies for house bound members of
the congregation, and this year we distributed 10 plates with a
poinsettia plant from the sanctuary.
6
January 2016
OUTREACH MINISTRY TEAM Connectionalism: a Methodist tradition since Wesley
Honoring God’s gift of Jesus by sharing with others
Christmas decorations are coming down but the celebration of
Epiphany reminds us of the wonderful generosity of our congre-
gation and friends during the Christmas season. The Church
School Baby Shower for Jesus filled a pack-n-play with many
essentials for families who are clients at the Interfaith Food Pan-
try. These much needed items included formula, diapers, wipes,
baby snacks and baby food for all ages and stages. It was an
extra special offering at Christmas to fulfill the needs for some
very young Food Pantry clients.
The Angel Tree donation project led by our youth brought in
thirty gift packages that were then wrapped and delivered for the
joyous holiday celebration where current and former Family
Promise guests gathered. In addition, gift cards were shared with
the young adults supported by Roots & Wings. Holiday gift
giving helps us turn our hearts to others less fortunate or who
are struggling just to fulfill the basic needs of life
The Advent/Christmas Offering is shared by two organiza-
tions. Roots & Wings, a non-profit support organization pro-
viding young adults who age out of foster care with safe hous-
ing, educational support, counseling, and life skills in order to
empower them toward self-
sufficiency. Global Refugee
Relief Advance #3022144
supports the efforts of UM-
COR and General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) to ad-
dress the global refugee and migration crisis in the Middle East,
Africa and Europe. Through direct service and partnership work
for relief response, trained representatives are monitoring the
treatment of migrants and providing support to address immedi-
ate and long term needs in refugee camps and for migrants seek-
ing asylum.
Our church is a connectional church
“Connectionalism constitutes one of the fundamentals of Metho-
dism, a tradition since Wesley, a central feature of our practice,
an essential in our identity. Connectionalism has expressed it-
self, … Through general agencies and their counterparts on ju-
risdictional, conference and congregational levels, United Meth-
odists have done their work, made their witness, carried on their
mission, and undertaken ministry. ..., Christian unity and inter-
religious concerns--knit United Methodism into a giant communi-
cation and programmatic empire.” [Essay by Russell E.
Richey, Questions for the Twenty-First Century Church
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)]
One word unique and basic to United Methodism is
“connectionalism.” All United Methodist leaders and congrega-
tions are connected through the broader church structure by cove-
nantal accountability that allows us to be in ministry and mis-
sional outreach around the world. The current refugee and mi-
grant crisis in the Middle East, Africa and Europe is an example
where our global connections work well to meet emergency
situation while planning for sustainable measures to address these
issues over time.
A recent note from Michael Nausner, former Associate Pastor
here at UMC in Madison and Drew PhD graduate, who is a Pro-
fessor at the Methodist Seminary in Germany, stated: “There
is very, very good work going on in spite of the logistic chal-
lenges churches and NGOs are facing. We’d have to sit for a
long time if I wanted to tell you just a fraction of all the fantastic
encounters and mutual enrichments that are taking place amidst
overwhelming challenges to provide decent housing for so many.
We are regularly having refugees visiting our services in Unter-
hausen (Germany), our Christmas celebrations, and our German
classes on a weekly basis. An abandoned police building next
door houses two dozen Syrian refugees who have become our
friends. They are with us every week for German lessons and
occasional meals. Earlier this week they in turn invited our stu-
dents for “Arabic food night” in the neighbouring Catholic
Church. Students and teachers are also meeting with them at
other occasions, going to the doctor with them or to authorities.
Two students will work more intensively with college students
from Damascus who show promise to be able to enter university
in Germany within a year or two. ... In Vienna the UMC is right
now taking in two Syrian refugee families into their church fa-
cilities… There are many, many examples like that. Amidst an
increasing amount of inflammatory rhetoric holy human encoun-
ters are taking place and friendships emerge. Not too few people
find a new meaning in their lives working for and with refugees.
...And, yes, the money to the outreach advance [Advance #
322144] certainly is well spent. The Germany [UMC] Central
Conference some months ago has started to offer financial sup-
port to churches who actively work with refugees.”
You are part of this connection through your financial contribu-
tion to our local congregation and through special donations
such as the Christmas Offering. One-hundred percent of our
giving to an Advance Project will go directly to support that
effort.
While one person, one congregation could not stretch their re-
sources far, together with many other Methodists around the
globe, our efforts pay off in outreach ministries. Thank you for
your continuing support of Outreach Mission.
Other Outreach News
Human Relations Day is January 17, 2016 and is one of
United Methodism’s six churchwide Special Sundays. Human
Relations Day calls us to extend a helping hand to those in cri-
sis so they can overcome formidable obstacles. The offering
supports Community Developers, United Voluntary Services
and Youth Offender Rehabilitation programs.
In Christ’s service,
Jeanne Eisele
7
Wade Merrick The Hunter Family
Blazier Family Patricia Luts
Our Church Family People we remembered in prayer
January 2016
Known Birthdays in January
Pledge Envelopes ready
Benjamin Engel
Jason Grzymala
Julie Guempel
Devin Koep
Greg Kroeger
Lauren Kroeger
Lucas Liston
Danielle Lozier
Erik Paul Manz
Alexsander Scott Merrick
Elizabeth Miller
Thomas Paddack
Dylan Pfeifer
Maggie Price
Lynsey Studer
Stephen Robert Van Sciver
Glenn David Walling
Janine White
News from
Family Promise
This Christmas season, our Church made the holidays
brighter for Family Promise families with the Angel Tree
project sponsored by the Youth Ministry. The gifts noted
on each Angel were purchased, wrapped by the youth on
December 13 and delivered to Family Promise in time for
the Holiday Party on December 17, which took place at
Bethlehem Church in Randolph. The families, staff and
volunteers celebrated the holidays with good food, pic-
tures with Santa, crafts and lots of fun with Sprinkles the
Clown.
At the Advent Festival on December 5, a variety of house
pins, designed by Lucinda a formerly homeless woman,
were sold, resulting in $135 in proceeds to benefit Family
Promise.
Our first date to help with the families hosted at St. Vin-
cent’s Martyr Church in 2016 will be the week of
February 15, 2016, when our Church will be asked to
provide volunteers to help on Friday and Saturday,
February 19 and 20 for the following times:
Friday, February 19, from 5:30 to 7 pm – 2 or 3
volunteers are needed to provide dinner;
7 pm to 9 pm – 2 volunteers needed to provide compan-
ionship;
9 pm to 8 am – overnight volunteers are needed;
Saturday, February 20, from 11:30 am to 3 pm – 2 volunteers needed to provide companionship and help with lunch Please let me know if you’re able to help with any of the above
dates or need further information.
Laurie Hagerich
Pledge envelopes are ready for pick-up.
Envelopes can be found on the table in
the front of the sanctuary. If you wish
to have your own numbered envelopes
please call Natalie in the church office.
The Gathering services will resume on January 10 at 5:00 pm.
The Gathering Service
8
Worship Schedule
Early Morning Worship 8:30 a.m.
Family Worship & Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Childcare is available for infants and toddlers.
Coffee and Fellowship 11:15 a.m.
The Gathering 5:00 p.m.
Do you receive our weekly email updates?
If not, please send an email to the church office ([email protected])
to be added to our email distribution list.
Check our website for more information: www.umcmadison.org
Christmas Eve Pageant 2015—The Team!