Please enjoy our newsletter from November – December 2014.
Beyond the Green Doors – November/December 2014 Newsletter
Beyond the Green Doors
The newsletter of the Peterborough United Methodist Church
November – December 2014
WE ARE A CARING, DEPENDABLE FAMILY IN CHRIST, SHARING GOD’S LOVE WHILE SEEKING SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
Spread the good news!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
(details of each in body of newsletter)
November 4th: Prayer Shawl Group
November 22nd: Holiday Stroll
November 23rd: Greening of the Church (after church)
December 8th: UMW
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR LOUREY SAVICK:
A word from Pastor Lourey on what Mission shares is to us as a church family and what tithing could mean to you:
Mission Share Giving: What’s it for our Church?
Trains lay speakers, subsidizes seminary education for your clergy, provides youth ministry, provides health benefits for retired and disabled clergy and families, helps start new churches, helps identify grant money for churches, provides consultants for churches, stewardship training, develops curriculum for Sunday schools, provides scholarship, develops Disciple Bible Study, trains and develops missionaries, provides counsel for treasurers and trustees, maintains resource library, appoints a pastor to your church, administers pension and health benefits and local church insurance programs, works for an inclusive denomination, provides equitable and strategic compensation to pastors, supports 4 camps and a conference center, holds annual conference sessions, and much , much more!
Mission Share Giving: What‘s in it for others?
Undergirds UMCOR so that disaster relief can be delivered, funds Health Clinics, sends out 1,812 missionaries around the world, supports urban ministry in Boston, Lynn, Lawrence, Portland, Worcester, Providence and more, supports rural ministries throughout New England, helps send Volunteers in Mission throughout the US and abroad, supports covenants with the West Angola Conference and la Inglesia de Cristo en Nicaragua, supports Africa University, advocates for a living wage, helps women experiencing crises, opposes use of landmines, works to eradicate racism, feeds hungry children and families in our Conference and beyond, supports economic ministries in Western Maine, supports ministries to college students, advocates for our environment, opposes the death penalty, opposes legalized gambling, provides scholarships for students around the world, funds 225 retirement homes, 70 hospitals, 8 two year colleges, 82 four-year colleges, and 13 seminaries, and much, much more!
10% Tithing Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness!
Tithing is the practice of giving away 10% of your wealth. In the Israelite communities, this was a portion of your livelihood—crop, animals, etc., that would provide for the Levites, who spent their lives studying and looking after the temple. Over the years, tithers have found that extravagant generosity has radically increased their joy, freedom, and sense of abundance. As our communities have grown larger, farther apart, and more diverse, we have also expanded our sense of “wealth” and “livelihood.” Methodists make a commitment to support God’s work in the world with Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. Some of us will dare to tithe our material wealth. Others, our precious time. Others, our abilities and knowledge. Others, our talk through evangelism and advocacy. Others will tithe prayers by dedicating devotional time to envisioning the future of our ministry… WHAT WILL YOU DARE TO TITHE?!
HOLIDAY STROLL
We would like to announce this year’s Holiday Stroll on Saturday November 22nd!
~ Please keep us in mind as you sort your stored items and holiday decorations; we are looking for donations of gently used holiday items and new items suitable for re-gifting.
~ Also as you shop for holiday ingredients and treats, remember we will be accepting baked goods.
~ If you make fine crafts you can make extras to donate for our craft table. We would encourage some “craft nights” for our church family.
~ If you would like to volunteer or otherwise get involved please contact our Stroll team, including Laura Nerz, Gladys Bugler, and Melissa French.
WORSHIP
The Greening of the Church will be Sunday November 23 after the Sunday Service. Please stay and join in the fun and decorating! The First Advent Sunday is November 30th.
Finance Secretary Report
as of October 26, 2014
by Ken Schultz
We are at 81.1% of the year and have received 77.6% toward our budget of $72,775 or $56,486.65. We have received 88.4% of the pledges or $31,905.
In addition to our weekly offerings, in the past two months we have received $616 in gifts toward our continuing Missions efforts, $25 for UMCOR, and $50 for other causes. Thank you for your generosity.
The Admin Council and various committees are working to finalize the budget for next year. Once again, your ideas are welcome and needed, as are your support and prayers. Thank you.
A MESSAGE FROM TRUSTEES CHAIR MATT KEENAN:
This (hopefully) wraps up another busy year of upkeep for our properties. The sanctuary painting has been completed; the driveway and parking lot sealed and striped; the damaged walls and ceilings in the basement have been replaced with new moisture resistant drywall and sealed with paint; the carpets in the sanctuary were professionally cleaned; and the vinyl floors in the fellowship hall, kitchen, bathrooms and hallways stripped and waxed. Thanks to everyone for helping out – especially Pat Woodward, Wendy Dunning, Andy Dunbar, Greg Robidoux, Greg Nerz, Steve Griggs, and Steve Gatcombe for cleaning out the basement and moving everything back in again.
We’ve been blessed with realizing income from our trust funds that have paid for the upkeep the last couple years, without negatively impacting the budget. Our hope all along was that these efforts to maintain the facility and increase it’s efficiency would result in less burden on the budget. As such we were fortunate to be able to submit another reduced budget request this year, for the second year in a row!
With fall comes the changing of the leaves, and also a change in tenants next door at the Wesley House. We have been blessed for the last several years to have had great caretakers in Tom and Patrick renting from us. They’ve rejuvenated the property from top to bottom, and maintained both lawns and gardens masterfully, treating it all like their own. We wish them well as they transition to homeownership in Antrim. In December we will welcome our new tenant: Carol, who is excited to be moving in and to be closer to Nonie’s where she works.
Submitted by: Matt Keenan – Chairman
Prayer Shawl Ministry
The Prayer Shawl ministry will meet the 2nd Tuesday of November, the 4th, in the red room at the church. Join us there!
Dear Church Family
Please don’t forget to fill out your pledge card and send in to the Financial Secretary at Peterborough United Methodist Church. The Finance Committee is counting on you to provide this information so we can prepare the budget for next year. Everyone’s support is needed if we are to meet our commitment to the Annual Conference and our church family. Remember you can tithe your time and energy as well as financial support. We know that not everyone is independently wealthy but talk about your pledge to your spouse, pray for guidance, fill out your pledge card, and return it to the church by 9 November 2014. If you don’t want to send it through the mail, place it the offering basket next Sunday. See you in church.
Jim Poplin
United Methodist Women
The UMW (United Methodist Women) will hold their Christmas meeting on Monday, the 8th of Dec. at the home of Phyllis Porter at The Villages of Rivermead. Please bring a favorite Christmas memory, ornament, etc. to share with the group. It might even be a favorite Christmas poem, or other short reading. It’s also our meeting for bringing a dozen Christmas cookies, and for us to make decisions on our mission charities. For questions, please call Barb MacInnes at her telephone number 554-8641. It’s a great way to start the holiday season, and everyone is welcome. Please speak to Phyllis or Barb so we’ll have a rough idea of the count.
Dear Church Family,
As I assume the role of web manager for the church, I would like to hear your feedback.
How do you use our current web presence?
Have you Liked the church on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/peterboroughunitedmethodist
Have you visited our website? https://www.peterboroughumc.org/
Are there things you would like to see added, removed, changed?
I encourage you to contribute as we move forward, sharing our love for our congregation, community, and faith. Thank you, Melissa French
MISSIONS MOMENT
As the leaves fall and the air turns crisp, the missions team will continue our good works into the winter.
Our booth at Peak Into Peterborough was well received, and we had lots of fun interacting with the families who attended. We reached out to the community, educated some people about Malaria, and raised money for this worthy cause. To date we have raised $442 of our goal of $1,000. We will continue to fundraise for Imagine No Malaria in the coming months.
The church youth will again have a table at the Holiday Stroll to raise money for the New Hampshire Food Bank. Their goal is to raise $500, which will provide 1,000 meals for needy families.
We have raised $235 for Heifer International, most of it from our highly successful pie potluck. The church youth will choose what livestock to send to impoverished families. Our goal was one goat, which is $120. We have exceeded our goal for this mission!
To date we have raised $112 for Gift Cards for the Hungry, an initiative which our church has begun to help fill an immediate need of hunger in our community.
As we head into the snowy season we will be focusing on Imagine No Malaria, the New Hampshire Food Bank, and the local organizations that our church supports every year during the holidays.
This newsletter is compiled by Karen Keenan. Any concerns with content can be addressed with Karen or with Pastor Lourey, or in person.