“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)

I’m thankful for a connectional system that brought

us together. When Boo left, you didn’t have to form a pulpit

search committee and go several months without a pastor. I

didn’t have to send out resumes and be unemployed a while.

One Sunday Boo was here and the next Sunday I was here.

Our connectional system, funded by district and conference

askings, enabled this transition. It also helps pay retirement

benefits for pastors like Tom Lynch who have served us faith-

fully. This spring Laura Lambert came to Trinity to provide

free Safe Sanctuary training; her time and travel was paid for

by conference askings. If we had no askings, would it be

worth losing all the benefits of our connectional system?

In 2011 each church will no longer be assigned a set

amount to pay for conference askings. Instead, all churches

will fund the conference budget by sending in 10% of all un-

designated donations each month. (This means 90% of all

undesignated giving stays here.) This is Scriptural. God calls

us individually to give 10% of our income back to Him (we

get to keep 90%), so Trinity will tithe its income to Holston.

Holston will also directly bill each church for the cost

of the pastor’s pension and health insurance. These costs will

no longer be included in the conference budget. Looking at

askings, pensions, and health insurance, for 2011 Trinity is

projected to pay LESS than in 2010, so this new formula will

benefit us immediately.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.” Can we “beat the system” by designating our giving

just to keep from sending 10% of it to the conference? Yes.

But would that please God? And think about this:

1. The more restrictions we place on our giving, the more

salary we will pay Chip to spend time keeping track of all

these extra designations each week.

2. If we redirect our giving to the Building Fund just to

avoid any of it from going for askings, what will we do if our

General Fund drops too low to pay the bills for insurance and

utilities and office supplies?

3. What if we ended up with big amounts designated for S.S.

literature, youth, and children, but we could not meet payroll

because there wasn’t enough undesignated money available?

The Trinity Torch Pastor: Rev. David Brannock, pastortumc2@embarqmail.com

Administrative Assistant: Donna Lowery

Financial Secretary: Jim “Chip” McKenna

Director of Music: Jerry Long aijhlong@embarqmail.com

Director of Youth: Amy Brown amybrowntumc@gmail.com

Director of Children: Jennifer McHan jennifermchantumc@gmail.com

Trinity Library: tumclibrary@embarqmail.com Custodian: Tim Cansler

Office e-mail: trinity8888@embarqmail.com Office Phone: (423) 638-7521

Web Page: www.trinity-um-church.org Webmaster: TBA Pastor’s Remarks

December 2010

Would it be worth all of this just to keep 100% instead

of 90%?

Do we trust God that little?

Why would the God who blessed us with generous

bequests from the Brooks and Holley families now let us sink

financially if we are faithfully trusting Him to take care of us?

Please give as the Holy Spirit leads you. And please

give regularly (if you miss a week or two or three, make it up).

Your attitude toward giving is solid evidence about how things

really stand between you and God. Thanks giving is a lot

more than just the fourth Thursday in November.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.”

Blessings,

Pastor David

Prayer List December, 2010

Praise! Happy Birthday Jesus!

For Our Armed Forces Justin Sayler Kenneth Kelley

Brian Benton Jamie Moseley

John Penland Joseph D. Carson

Justin Walter Steven Ayers

Thomas White David Jones

Steven Sams Stanley Keselicka

Jay Burns

For Trinity Members & Constituents Mike Franklin Iva Walker

For Family Members & Friends Kent Yates Bernie Sams Sandra & Bill Ricker Teresa Lynch Reverend Boo Hankins

Church in Mission Fran Lynch Baxter-Willow AK

Steve Geegbe/Richard Tefley - Home in Liberia Pastor Boo and Phyllis in Sudan For the Ministry of Our Church, Its Leaders, Pastor Brannock & Staff.

For Our Known Bereaved Family of Rev. Eddie Noe (Bybee UMC)

Healing Needed from Cancer Dale Ann (Dyke) Ladd Ronnie Hooten

Lynette Bradford Mary Peters

Hugh Well Jeff Rohn

Karen Broyles Payne Roger Ellis

Susan Ramsey Alan Seneker

Glennon Smith Victor Knapp

Rick Felton Stanton Whittaker

Richard Arwood Charlotte Nicodemas

Roger Solomon Jimmy Carter

Lynn Rollins Jerry Hackney

Evelyn Blake Michael Renfro

Mark Johnson Eddie Boles

Leonard Harrell Brenda Loveday Albert Rasnake

Families and Caregivers of those with cancer

For Our Nursing Home/Assisted

Living Members: Dorothy Wilhoit Bonnie Woody

Kenneth Blevins Anna Belle Hankins

For Our Homebound Members: Bob George Josephine Gilreath

Patsy Reynolds Evelyn Holley

Faye Reynolds Virginia Stegall

Virgie Gray Inez Lawing

Beryl Smith Doc Dowden

Nellie Basinger Mabel Philbeck

Belva Drake Helen Jeffers

Kitty Knittel

Report on Stewardship Campaign Thanks again to everyone who submitted TTMs during this year’s Stewardship Cam-paign. If you did not submit a TTM, but would like to have a TTM in the booklet that

the Stewardship Committee is going to prepare, please give it to Donna in the Church

Office as soon as possible. With respect to the financial results of this year’s Steward-ship Campaign, here are the numbers so far:

Unfortunately, we are almost $32,000 below where we were after the Stewardship

Dinner last year. If you have not yet pledged and would like to do so, Donna has blank pledge cards in the Church Office. If you pledged and feel called to increase

your pledge, please contact Chip McKenna. He is in the Church Office on Tuesdays

& Wednesdays. Besides the pledges received by November 14 towards the general

fund, we also received designated pledges totaling $3,600 for the building fund and $3,600 for missions.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this year’s Stewardship Campaign,

Tom Garland, Stewardship Chair

FOR 2010 FOR 2011

Pledges received at

Stewardship Dinner

$207,191 $175,517

Total pledges

eventually received

$230,723 To be determined

Total budget $334,063 $319,794

And the Word became flesh and lived

among us, and we have seen his

glory, the glory as of a father’s only

son, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

12/03 Brabson Gregg

12/03 Sue Shelton

12/04 Meredith Miles

12/04 Rita Garland

12/04 Tammy Street

12/05 Margaret Edwards

12/05 Terran Ayers

12/06 Faith McDonald

12/06 Mary Ann Ritter

12/06 Samuel R. Jones

12/07 Chris Horner

12/07 Cheryl Bounds

12/08 Barbara Sell

12/08 Robin Edwards

12/09 Jessica Freshour

12/11 Chris Thorpe

12/11 Doug DeBusk

12/11 Kathy Myers

12/12 Lucille Cutshaw

12/13 Joan Cook

12/13 Patricia Reynolds

12/14 Ken Miller

12/15 Andy Broyles

12/15 Rick Wills

12/15 Tracie Wilhoit

12/16 Paul Moore

12/16 Jennifer McHan

12/18 Donna Lowery

12/18 Caitlin McHan

12/21 Annetta Long

12/22 Carmen Gamble

12/22 Tonia Harmon

12/23 Emalee Gross

12/23 LeRoy Moon

12/23 Pat Rotan

12/23 Todd Wilhoit

12/23 Holly Hope

12/24 Ricky Paxton

12/25 Bart Gregg

12/26 Larry Neas

12/27 Amy Barham

12/27 Gracie Moore

12/27 Peggy Byrd

12/27 Revis Blakeney

12/28 Emalee Gross

12/28 Logan Sluder

12/28 Grady Reed

12/28 Star McHan

12/28 Tiffany Walker

12/29 Angel Carter

12/29 Lana Broyles

12/29 Tyler Miles

12/30 Gregg Sayler

12/31 Jaxon McHan

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

UMW NEWS December 9 - Maude Landmesser Christmas Meeting -

11:00, SFH/K (Georgia Lister: Hostess)

Lunch will be provided.

December 13 - Ruth Group Christmas Meeting -

6:30, SFH/K (Georgia Lister & Driscilla Harrison: Hostesses)

We ask that the group please bring finger foods &

a wrapped “White Elephant” Gift

December 14 - Shalom - 6:30 @ Debbie Oldenberg’s Home

Monthly Item

Trinity’s Food Bank item

for January is

Spaghetti & Spaghetti Sauce. Donations can be placed in the

cardboard boxes provided in either the Large Fellowship Hall

or the Old Narthex outside the Sanctuary.

Pick up will be

January 2 .

25 days until Christmas!!!

Dates to remind your parents of…

December 12th - Meet Me at the Manger-

(1st annual production) Caroling, Manger scene

and Christmas story, hot cocoa, coffee and cook-

ies, and at the end we will roast s'mores!

December 1st and 8th - will be the last two weeks to get ready

for our Christmas Program which will be on December 15th.

December 15th - the LAST Wonderful Wednesday of 2010!

Please mark your calendars for this event that our children

have been working hard on...

Thanks for all of your support of the children and also of me!

May God Bless you all richly in 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Jennifer McHan

I hope everyone is ready for a busy

Christmas Season.

These are the events for the youth for the

Month of December:

December 3: The youth will be providing the program for the ECHOES group.

December 5: Regular youth meeting night.

December 12: We will be participating in “Meet me at the Manger”. The program starts at 5:30 but we will need to be here earlier to help

get everything ready.

December 19: We will be wrapping presents purchased for a family.

December 26: There will be NO youth meeting.

We also have a few things that are to be determined:

-We will be having a youth Christmas party? -We will be having a Resurrection Parent Meeting?

(Details on these items will be coming soon!!!!!)

Come and Join us for a fun and happy end to our year!

Hope to see you there!

Amy Brown - Youth Director ________________________________________________

Upcoming Schedule for Wonderful Wednesday Meal - 5:45pm Program - 6:30pm

December 1 - Hanging of the Greens

December 8 - Youth Christmas Program

December 15 - Children’s Christmas Program

NO WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

December 22 & 29 and January 5

Jan. 12 - Study Topic in the Sanctuary with Pastor David

(Topic for January & February will be announced later.)

Trinity’s Music Ministries

Please Check Your Calendar!

Have you marked December 12th?!?

In the Morning (9:30): Festival of Carols With lessons from Scripture,

chancel choir, youth & adult hand bells & instrumental ensemble.

In the Evening (5:30): Meet Me At The Manger

Other December preparation includes:

5th - Chapel & Chancel Choirs

15th - Chapel Choir Wonderful Wednesday Program 19th - Chancel Choir with Adult Hand bells

26th - Youth & Chancel Choirs

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

Communion, Candlelight, Seasonal Music

CHOOSE: 5:30 pm or 11:00 pm

Many thanks to all who led November Worship!

Jerry Long - Music Director

Trinity United Methodist Church 524 Tusculum Boulevard Greeneville, TN 37745

RETURN SERVICE

REQUESTED

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U.S. Postage

PAID

Greeneville, TN

37745

PERMIT 135

The Morristown District

“Day of Vision”

will be Saturday, January 8

from 9:30-3:00

at Trinity UMC in Morristown.

Pre-registration is required by January 3.

Workshops this year will again be on

5 Practices of Fruitful Congregations. 1. Radical Hospitality—Rev. Ginger Isom

2. Intentional Faith Development—Rev. Brian Taylor

3. Extravagant Generosity - Patty Muse 4. Passionate Worship - Paul Jones

5. Risk-Taking Mission & Service - Danny Howe

6. Staff-Parish Relations Committee - Rev. Clark Jenkins,

District Superintendent

Brochures are available in the church office.

Trinity's Youth has prepared the "Adopt - A - Family Tree"

for Christmas.

It is set up in the large hall. This year’s family is a family of 5.

Father is 32 years old and is a logger by trade. Mother is 26 years old and recently laid off.

They have three sons ages 15, 7, and 3. The youth ask that you select a "snowflake" off the

tree, purchase that item, wrap it, tape the snow-flake to the wrapped gift and return to the large hall

by Dec. 5th.

We thank you in advance for supporting this worthwhile project.

The Crusaders Class Christmas Party

will be December 11th @ 5:30, SFH

_________________________________

ECHOES News On Friday evening, December 3rd

the ECHOES group will be having their

Monthly Dinner Meeting & Program @ 5:30, SFH. MENU: Ham, gravy, cream potatoes,

broccoli casserole, slaw, corn, rolls Tea, coffee & red velvet cake

The meal will cost $6.00 a person.

R.S.V.P w/ Lucille Cutshaw

(TUMC Youth will be the entertainment.)

“Meet Me at The Manger” You are invited to our church parking lot on

Sunday, December 12 at 5:30 p.m. We will have caroling and choir music,

hot chocolate, coffee, cookies, & marshmallows toasted over a fire pit,

with a spotlight on the manger to focus on the birth of Jesus.

————————————— YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!

Any individuals or Sunday School Classes

that would like to help with the expenses of “Meet Me At The Manger”

Please place your donation in the collection plate or give to Benna Bennett.

Please mark in the memo on your check, Meet Me @ The Manger Fund.

Thank you in advance for all your contributions to our Community Outreach Project!

_________________________________ The Evangelism Committee

would like to encourage each Sunday School Class to try to make an effort this week to reach out to people who- at one time- were

active, but haven’t been attending lately.

Make a phone call, if you can, and tell them you’ve been thinking about them. Let them know you care, and that you would like to

see them back in Sunday School again.