D

odgeville United M

ethodist Church

327 North Iow

a Street

Dodgeville, W

I 53533

Prepared especially for…

New

sletter D

ecember 2013

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” – Luke 1:30-33 (NLT)

It’s been one month since I wrote to you last. And now, we’re entering into Advent together—that very special time of year when we celebrate the coming into this world of God’s Son, Jesus. We celebrate his birth into our world and a new hope coming to our world. We celebrate a God who loves us so much that he would go to the extremes he did to save us from ourselves, so that we indeed experience some of what God originally intended for us when this world began. Advent is indeed a very special time of the year… If you remember, our Advent together was interrupted last year by my experience of chest pains while out on a walk, then in for bypass surgery on January 4 of this year. Then, we were separated by a long time of recovery from that surgery. Now, in Advent of 2013, we find ourselves once again separated physically, due to spine fusion surgery and recovery—necessary due to an accidental fall that didn’t end well… Suffering—though often relegated to the likes of Holy Week—seems an appropriate

seems an appropriate topic to touch on today. Why? Because … I believe all of us to be suffering—at least in some way during this Advent. I’m experiencing separation anxiety just a bit—hurting because once again I cannot be with the ‘flock’ God has entrusted to me during this very special Advent season. I’m still hurting because of my father’s death a little over a year ago—missing him. I’m a bit perplexed over life’s situation, still wondering what the purpose is of all that we’re going through together right now. Perhaps you’re experiencing a bit of the same? As we journey through this very special Advent season together (at least in spirit), please know that I am not dwelling on the suffering. What I’m dwelling on is the Grace of God that comes in the midst of suffering. That’s why Jesus came—the Advent. We were dead in our ‘sin state’ that we were born into. God knew that. And God took care of that through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus. So, during this season, no matter what you are going through—even suffering, keep your eyes on the one who came to offer us Grace—God’s Resources at Christ’s Expense. Again, that’s why Jesus came. And though our salvation cost him plenty, it is a gift to us; all we have to do is to accept God’s Grace—his Son, Jesus. Now, to bring you up-to-date, I’m still suffering just a bit physically due to the fall and spine surgery that followed. The pain levels are decreasing, but still present. Though I have recovered to the point where I can start doing some light reading &/or studying, my mental concentration isn’t what it used to be (possibly due to the pain meds, etc.). One PTL (Praise the Lord) I’ll share with you is this: My right arm, which was severely limited in its range of motion when I came home from the hospital, seems to be recovering over time—due to both therapy exercises and the internal healing process.

But, here’s my big prayer request for this season—my voice is still in need of much healing. I’m a preacher, you know. And right now my voice would not last through much more than about ¼ of a sermon or teaching time. And also (and this is huge for me), I still cannot sing—not even close. I believe with all my heart that God will restore these gifts to me, but not without our prayers … so I would appreciate your specific prayers along these lines. Folks, let this Advent be a time where you remember God’s Grace, would you? Let this be a time of new birth or re-birth in your life. Where do you need God’s Grace in your current journey through this life? Let that be our focus during this very special season of Advent. Our current reality may not have been in our plans at all, but we can all count on this: In this midst of what we’re going through right now, God is with us, Emmanuel… That’s the promise of this season! On the journey of life together,

Pastor Rom

Poinsettia Orders Opportunities to order Poinsettias for display in the

sanctuary during the Christmas season will be offered December 8th and 15th. Those who order plants may take

them home after the Christmas Eve service or the Sunday after.

God’s Creation Calendars Our youth group will be selling these beautiful 2014

Calendars in the lobby on Sundays. They make great gifts!

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN The UMW will meet for our annual Christmas Pot Luck on Thursday, December 5 at 6:00PM in Fellowship Hall. Please bring a dish to pass and join us for good food, fun, and fellowship! The Grace Post Circle will meet for their annual Christmas Pot Luck at 12:00PM—Noon—on Monday, December 16 at Louise Price’s home. Please bring a dish to pass and an item for “Pot Luck” devotions. The Evening Star Circle will not meet in December. The UMW will hold a Bake Sale on Saturday, December 7th at the Santa’s Secret Shop event held at Hill’s Pub. Please bring your items to Robin Digman’s home by Friday evening or to Hill’s Pub by 8:00 AM on Saturday. The UMW will provide refreshments following the “Sing-aLong” Messiah concert to be held at our church on Friday, December 6th, at 7:00PM. The UMW and Circles do not meet in January—we will resume our regular meetings in February beginning with the first UMW meeting of the new year on Thursday, February 6th at 7:00PM, in Fellowship Hall.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE TIMES:

5:00 PM

Ridgeway: Grace Service

7:00 PM

Contemporary Service

9:00 PM

Traditional Service

CANDLE

LIGHTING CEREMONY

Compassionate Friends will be

holding a Candle Lighting

Ceremony on Sunday,

December 8th at 6:00 PM at

DUMC.

DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 13 – Dean & Mary Terrill

29 – Dale & Nancy Mortimer 31 – Art & Margaret Humbert

CHOIR NOTES

The Choir will sing at the 9:00AM services on the following Sundays in Advent:

December 1, 15, and 22.

We will rehearse at 8:15AM before the services. We will also sing at the 9:00 PM service on Christmas Eve.

Please join us.

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 3 - Scott Godfrey 17 – Ivy Wilson 4 - Keith Bowers 20 – Mary Wilson 5 - Ken Dobson 22 – Robin Digman 5 - Mylee Mulder 22 – Dawn Van Epps 8 - Mary Terrill 23 – Rosemary Edwards 9 - Kaitlin Strutt 25 – Quintin Puckett 12 - Denise Tolzman 28 – Elijah Jacobson 13 - Matt Schlueter 29 – Mary Lou Oxnem 13 - Earl Welsh 31 – Julie Colden 14 - Kevin Houck 31 – A.J. Smith 14 - James Short

MEET MEL AND LINDA VANCE Mel and Linda Vance will be joining the members of Dodgeville & Ridgeway UMCs for the next two months as Pastor Rom continues healing. Mel and Linda Vance are retired United Methodist Ministers who have served in the Wisconsin Annual Conference for many years. Linda has served at Sussex United Methodist, Trinity UMC in Racine, and Salem UMC in Waukesha. Mel has served part- time at Colgate UMC and Immanuel UMC in Kenosha while he earned his PH.D. at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He has taught in the Religion Department of Carroll University in Waukesha for 20 years. Mel and Linda live in Madison and are members of First UMC. They help lead worship for the homeless on Monday and Wednesday of each week in a “Come as you are” worship setting. They also are active on various Boards and Agencies of the Church. They have two grown children and two grandchildren they adore. They look forward to joining the members of Dodgeville & Ridgeway in their journey through the Holy Seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany ushering in a New Year. They invite the congregation to pray for our Pastor and our Church as our faithful, loving, God comes out to meet us as we gather together.

Dodgeville United Methodist Church

CURRENT MONTH October, 2013 Monthly Income $ 12,972 Monthly Expenses Paid $ 17,850 Net Income for month $<4,887> Apportionments Paid 0 Unpaid Apportionments $2,176 YEAR TOTALS THROUGH CURRENT MONTH Years Income $109,083 Years Expenses Paid $139,203 Net Income for Year $<30,119 > Apportionments Paid $ 6,528 Unpaid Apportionments $ 15,232 TOTAL APPORTIONMENTS DUE FOR YEAR $26,112 APPORTIONMENTS DUE PER MONTH $ 2,176

Monthly Apportionments are part of our church budget. Some members choose to designate a portion of their

offering to apportionments. Year-to-date offerings designated to apportionments are $850. Year-to-date

apportionments we have paid to the conference is $6,528. 2012 Trustee Loan:Two $5,000 totaling $10,000 2013 Music Fund Loan: Two $5,000 totaling $10,000

“God comes right out and tells us why he gives us more money than we need. It’s not so we can find more ways

to spend it. It’s not so we can indulge ourselves and spoil our children. It’s not so we can insulate ourselves from

needing God’s provision. It’s so we can give and give generously (2 Corinthians 8:14; 9:11)”

– Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity

2014 Ministry Plan and Narrative Budget

What follows is our 2014 church budget as adopted by the administrative council. The overall budget consists of several smaller budgets proposed by committees, collated by the finance committee and acted upon by the council. For more detail, please do not hesitate to contact the church office. The overall budget can be divided into five areas. They are: general administration, property, program ministries, personnel, and WI conference apportionments. Budgeted Expenditures General Administration This area consists of what it takes to operate the church office, and includes such expenses as office supplies, postage, office equipment, etc. We are very fortunate to have an office manager who takes every opportunity to gain efficiencies. We are also very blessed to have a generous member donate a new copier to the church, which be a nearly $5,000 savings in the budget. 2014 Budget: $7,350* (2013 Budget: $7,450 difference of -1.3%)

* does not include the copier donation Property This area includes expenses related to the overall operation and maintenance of the church building and parsonage. Included within are utilities, insurance, maintenance and custodial services. As the parsonage ages, it has needed general maintenance and, beginning in 2014, money is budgeted to start replacing appliances…many of which are over ….years old. We are also looking into renovating the sound experience as we have been limping along on two separate systems, neither of which

can be patched together any longer…not even with duct tape! The 2014 budget also reflects an anticipated $2,000 savings in utility costs for the church as a direct result of the new roof and energy efficiency investments made in 2013. (Did you know utilities for the church alone cost $16,000 per year?) 2014 Budget: $30,080 (2013 Budget: $31,500 difference of -4.5%) Program Ministries Our church is active in several ministries, including adult education, children, youth, Stephen Ministry, prayer, visitation, worship services, multi-media, music, and much more. In many respects, the true work of the church takes place through these ministries and it is here that we can make the greatest impact on people’s lives. 2014 Budget: $8,875 (2013 Budget: $9,725 difference of -8.7%) Personnel This area includes the salaries, benefits and other expenses related to our church staff and compensated assistance. Positions included are the pastor, office assistant, lawn care, snow removal, accompanists and other positions necessary to fulfill the ministry plan of our church. For nearly 10 years, we have been blessed with the leadership and vision of our pastor. We all know Pastor Rom has had a very challenging year, yet his commitment to this church has not wavered. The pastoral support for the coming year will be $43,291 (2013: $42,300). Other staff and salary include: Office Manager $15,288 (2013: $14,742) Guest Speaker $2,180 (2013: $680)

Pastor of Visitation $2,000 (2013: $2,600) Connection Coordinators $0.0 (2013: $1,000) Multi-media Coordinators $1,500 (2013: $1,500) Accountant/Audit $500 (2013: $750) Youth Ministries Coordinator $500 (2013: $1,500) Nursery Staff $1,280 (2013: $1,280) Custodial Salary $2,080 (2013: $2,184) Snow/Lawn Care $2,100 (2013: $2,100) Accompanist Salaries $2,340 (2013: $2,340) Choir Dir/Worship Ldr Sal. $1,575 (2013: $2,250) Choir Accompanist Salary $405 (2013: $405) 2014 Budget: $103,736 (2013: $105,708 difference of -1.9%) WI Conference Apportionments Each United Methodist church pays an apportionment to the WI Council, where the funds are used to do God’s work on a state, regional and global level. Apportionment money is used to start and support new ministries as well as for disaster relief around the world. Did you know that, for every dollar of offering, 84 cents stays with the local church and only 2 cents goes to general apportionment with the remaining 14 cents funding conference ministries? For more information on apportionments, go to www.gcfa.org. An individual church’s apportionment is tied to its total professing members. Reflecting the change in membership, the apportionments for our church are as follows: 2014 Budget: $25,524 ($112 per member) 2013 Budget: $26,112 ($90 per member) Total Budgeted Expenditures: 2014: $180,565 (2013: $180,495 difference of +0.04%)

Revenues: Profit & Loss

Our primary source of revenue is our stewardship, meaning the offering given throughout the year. Other sources include wills/memorials, miscellaneous fundraisers, and investment interest. However, many memorials are given with specific designated use and are not intended to be applied against budgeted expenses. Did you know only 39.5% of our church members made at least one offering in 2012? Can you believe that? That’s about 1 in every 3 people made an offering at least once throughout the entire year. What does that say about what we truly value? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 As indicated below, our church does not have a profit/loss trend to be envied. Years where expenses exceed revenue have resulted in necessary decisions to not meet our apportionment responsibilities and to borrow from fund accounts established for specific designated expenses. Revenue Expenses Profit/Loss 2013 as of July 30th $72,262.08 $94,040.11 -$21,778.03 2012 $97,618.85 $110,001.09 -$12,382.24 2011 $124,137.86 $110,089.96 +$14,047.90 2010 $106,528.44 $123,543.04 -$17,014.60 2009 $103,806.45 $118,129.56 -$14,323.11 2008 $103,784.10 $110,937.76 -$7,153.66 2007 $97,889.18 $112,295.37 -$14,406.19

In short, our financial trend is not sustainable. Your church leadership has and continues to make difficult decisions to reduce expenses with minimal impact to ministry. However, this too is unsustainable without an increase in revenue…an increase in stewardship. In addition to your regular offering, did you know there are other ways you can boost the financial health of our church?

• Congress has reauthorized the IRA Charitable Rollover for 2013! This means that church members aged 70 1/2 or older, who have a Traditional or Roth IRA, can make a charitable gift from their IRA directly to our church before December 31, 2013. Their gift may qualify for their required minimum distribution and they will not have to pay federal income tax on the amount given from their IRA to charity. Please contact the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation to learn how you can use this IRA rollover to fund our church's operating budget, contribute to a special church fund or establish a permanent endowment fund to benefit your church in perpetuity. Contact the church office or call 1-888-903-9863 today!

• For those of you who like online shopping, did you know

you can direct a percentage of what you spend to be paid to our church? That’s right. The UMC Market is a site where you can shop online at over 1,000 stores and each will direct part of what you spend to our church in the form of a check, including a report showing it’s courtesy of your shopping. That’s money sent directly to our church for things you were going to buy anyway! Check out www.umcmarket.org for more information.

The Finance Committee absolutely welcomes any questions and suggestions you have. All members are welcome to attend committee meetings and please, never hesitate to contact me personally with your ideas. This is your church. This is our church. Together, we will grow the financial health of our church….God’s church. Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Stewardship & Finance Committee by Scott A. Godfrey, Chair 1652 County Road BH Highland, WI 53543 608-623-2607 home 608-574-2112 cell godfrey5@mhtc.net

“God comes right out and tells us why he gives us more money than we need. It’s not so we can find more ways to spend it. It’s not so we can indulge

ourselves and spoil our children. It’s not so we can insulate ourselves from needing God’s provision.

It’s so we can give and give generously (2 Corinthians 8:14; 9:11)”

– Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity

#296 Give to Grow Spiritually – "For a child has been born -- for us! ... and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings."

(Isaiah 9:6-7, The Message.)

“What can I give him … if I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb”.

When I think of ways to honor the Christ Child during this season, these words from the hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter” often come to mind. And, I remember the many wonderful teachers and caregivers who share the love of Christ with the children in my life:

The nursery worker who welcomed my five year old grandson to the nursery one day because he wanted to be with her and not in the class where he didn’t know anyone;

The many people at church who go out of their way to say “Hi” to our youngest grandson and smile when he offers a loud, little high-pitched “Hi” in return;

The Sunday School teachers who invite visiting children to join the group and hold their hand until they feel comfortable;

The usher who calls the children by name as they come in to worship and offers a “high five” to everyone who accepts;

The youth group leader who involves everyone in the leadership of an activity and encourages those who are a bit shyer than others;

And, the faithful attender who gives each week to the church offering so that these ordinary ministries sharing the love of Christ can continue to make a difference in people’s lives in your congregation and mine.

How will you honor the Christ Child this year? What is Jesus calling you to give of your time, talent and treasures? Remember that the ordinary is often extraordinary and every gift, whether large or small, is a good and perfect gift. Rev. Jean Ehnert Nicholas

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“Sing-a-Long” Messiah

DUMC Sanctuary Friday, December 6th, at 7:00PM.

BARNABAS HOUSE PRISON MINISTRY Inmate Outreach Sponsor Package

Send $6.00 per package, favorite bible verse, your name, address, phone or email to

Barnabas House, 206 S Iowa St, Dodgeville, by December 10th Also

Christmas Card Writing for Inmates

Community Thanksgiving Dinner A total of $247.75 was donated towards the Community

Thanksgiving Meal!

Christmas Offering Our annual Christmas offering will be put towards our

conference apportionment responsibilities.

Thursday, December 12th at 7:00 PM 206 S Iowa St

For more info call 930-CARE ____________________________________________________

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER

Saturday, December 25th, 12:00-1:30 PM at Culver’s. Reservations: for a delivered meal, or to eat at Culver’s, call at

574-4591. This dinner is made possible through Dodgeville Churches and the generous contributions of United Fund of Iowa

County, Culver’s, Salvation Army and other Iowa County Businesses, individuals, and civic organizations. Monetary

donations accepted at the door will be used for the cost of the meal.

“Spectacular, Specatacular”

Christmas Concert - Barneveld Lutheran Church Regionally and Nationally known musicians

Saturday, December 7th at 5:30 PM

Christmas Cookie and Candy Sale Faith Lutheran Church, Mineral Point

Saturday, December 7th 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Dodgeville Kiwanis Sponsored Community Christmas Social

Dodgerbowl Monday, December 16th at 5:30 PM

Dinner $11.00 Michael Massey will perform

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