In the Old Testament, God told the people of

Israel to offer sacrifices, hold special festivals,

and give of their offerings, but in Isaiah Chapter

1, God lets them know that he no longer approves

of their festivals, offerings, and

prayers. The prophet Hosea

said that God did not want

sacrifices and burnt offerings

(Hosea 6:6), and Amos said that

God hates and despises the

festivals and their gatherings.

God no longer approved of their

gifts and offerings (Amos 5:21-

22).

Was God confused? Did God change his

mind? No. The problem was not with God, but

with the people’s hearts. The people believed that

they could do whatever they wanted. As long as

they gave their gifts, held their special

celebrations, and “went to church”, God would be

happy. But that is not what God wants.

In each of the Scriptures mentioned above,

God tells them what he really wants from them.

“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take

your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing

wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.

Our Thanksgiving Offering

Sunday Worship at 10:00 am followed by Fellowship Time at 11:00 am

November 2018

Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of

the fatherless; plead the case of the widow

(Isaiah 1:16–17, NIV).”

“For I desire mercy, not

sacrifice, and acknowledgment

of God rather than burnt

offerings (Hosea 6:6, NIV).”

“Let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-

failing stream (Amos 5:21–24,

NIV).”

“He has shown you, O mortal,

what is good. And what does

the LORD require of you? To act justly and to

love mercy and to walk humbly with your God

(Micah 6:8, NIV).”

November is a time when our hearts turn to

thanksgiving, praise, and offerings of thanks. This

year, we need to make sure that our hearts and

actions are right. May we first give of our hearts

and service and then our gifts. When we live in

justice, mercy, righteousness, and humility, our

offerings will be acceptable and pleasing to God.

Pastor Jenni

The Nimmonsburg Witness Nimmonsburg United Methodist Church

918 Upper Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13905

Rev. Jenni Piatt (607) 724-5421 Nimmonsburgumc.weebly.com

NOW: Nurture, Outreach and Witness

Tuesday, November 6th at 6:00 pm

If you are interested in helping us formulate a plan for intentional outreach, please let Pastor Jenni know, and plan to attend this meeting.

P a g e 2 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

November 4, 2018 — Communion

24th Sunday after Pentecost—Green

All Saints Sunday—Special Service to honor

those who have gone on before us.

November 11, 2018

25th Sunday after Pentecost—Green

Lay Leader Don Birtch will be preaching.

November 18, 2018

26th Sunday after Pentecost—Green

Our special guest, George Miller, will be

presenting the message in song.

November 25, 2018

Last Sunday after Pentecost—

White

1 Chronicles 18:28-34

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon: “Thank You”

Lectionary Readings &

Sermons for November

We have assigned people to

read each Sunday. If the date

doesn’t work for you, please call

the office or switch with someone

for a different Sunday.

If you don’t want to be a Lay

Reader, please let us know and

we will remove you from the list. If you are not on

the list and would like to be a Lay Reader, please

let us know and we will add you.

The Lay Reader will receive a copy of the

Bulletin prior to the Sunday service so you can

review what you will be reading ahead of time.

Please contact Pastor Jenni if you have any

questions.

November 4 - Steve Randall

November 11 - Nancy Oakley

November 18 - Phyllis Bartlett

November 25 - Dennis Lockhart

December 2 - Dan Morgan

December 9 - Corey Hagerman

December 16 - Ellie Minett

December 23 - Judy St. John

December 30 - Cheryl Ryder

Lay Readers for November thru December

NIMMONSBURG UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

ANNUAL CHARGE CONFERENCE Sunday, November 18th at 1:00 pm

To be held at Hawleyton UMC, 901 Hawleyton Rd., Binghamton

At this important Conference, we will be voting on our Pastor’s support package, and our

Church’s leadership for 2019. All members of the Church are eligible to vote, and all

interested persons are welcome to attend.

We have been invited to come at noon and enjoy lunch with Hawleyton UMC prior to our

Conference. Please bring a dish to pass. Everyone is welcome!

Annual Charge Conference

P a g e 3 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

Thank You Lawn-Mowing Team

We want to say

“Thank You” to our

Lawn Mowing Team for

the wonderful job they

all did by mowing,

trimming, weed-whacking, picking up garbage,

weed removal and keeping our Church’s lawn

looking great all year long. This hard-working crew

saved the Church approximately $3,000 for the

year by handling this “in-house” in lieu of hiring a

lawn service.

Thank you to Rex Decker, Paul Derr,

Bruce Kellett, Dick Nemcek, Dick Oakley and

Jack Ryder.

If anyone would like to join our team for next

year, please let one of the Trustees know!

SUNDAY

SCHOOL ON

TUESDAYS!

For those of you who

cannot attend Sunday

School before Worship

on Sundays, we also

meet on Tuesday

afternoons at 2:00 at

Good Shepherd-

Fairview. If you are not

a current resident and

want to join this group,

please contact Pastor

Jenni.

P a g e 4 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

11/6 - Ian Randall 11/7 - Tom Savage 11/8 - Gary Edwards 11/9 - Craig Button 11/15 - Nicole Williams 11/22 - Peter Austin 11/23 - Colly Hagerman 11/24 - Barbara Zweig 11/25 - Gwyn Oakley Dody Rusin

11/26 - Taylor Oakley Shirley Savage 11/27 - Donald Schaffer Cheryl Weeks 11/28 - David Lindsey 11/30 - Melissa Burish Jim Tregaskis

Did we miss your special day?

Please let us know so we can

celebrate with you!

11/4 - Diane & Rick Brutvan Janice & William Kienzler Barb & Jim Zweig 11/14 - Elsie & Dennis Lockhart

Birthdays Anniversaries

November Birthdays and Anniversaries

CARDS AND 2019 CALENDARS

We are collecting new greeting cards (all occasion and holiday) and 2019 calendars to be taken to the Greater Binghamton Health Center. You can drop off your donations in the box by the church mailboxes. We will be distributing them on December 2nd, so please make your donations prior to that date. Thank you!

Christmas Shoeboxes for Boys and Girls Club The Nimmonsburg United Methodist Women are collecting Christmas Shoeboxes again this year to be donated to the Binghamton Boys and Girls Club at Christmas. All boxes should be colorfully wrapped (top and bottom separately) with a label on the outside indicating if it is suitable for a boy or girl, and their age. (Labels are available in the Church Office) Ribbons and bows may be used. Some empty shoeboxes are available if needed.

Suggestions for items to include: Mittens, gloves, winter hats, earmuffs, socks, games, crayons, coloring books, stickers, writing paper, pencils, erasers, puzzles, tablets, jewelry (for girls), special toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, shower gel, barrettes and hair ribbons (for girls), card games, game books, balls, checkers, jump ropes or other small toys. Please don’t include candy, gum or snacks due to allergies.

Please return your filled and decorated box(es) to the Church by Sunday, December 9th. If you have any questions, please contact Phyllis Bartlett or Cheryl Weeks.

Christmas Poinsettias for NUMC We are taking orders for Poinsettias to grace our Sanctuary for Christmas. Order forms

are available in the Church Narthex. All poinsettias will be red, and the price is $13 each.

Checks should be made payable to Nimmonsburg United Methodist Church and accompany

your order. Deadline for orders is December 16th. Please drop your order into the collection

plate or at the Church Office.

P a g e 5 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

Gas and Electric Costs at NUMC

We recently switched our electric and gas supply company to hopefully decrease costs by approximately $3,000 annually. But, our annual cost is still a large part of the church budget (about 10%).

Please help us to keep costs down by doing a few easy things: 1. Turn off lights when not being used. 2. Turn thermostats down to 60-62 degrees in unoccupied spaces. 3. In rooms with dehumidifiers, keep doors closed when possible. 4. Unplug any unused appliances, such as refrigerators if not being used.

Thanks for your help, Bruce Kellett and Rex Decker

Our Adult Sunday School

meets on Sunday mornings at 8:30

prior to Worship in Room 202.

We will begin study of

“Knowing the God You

Worship” on November 18th and

25th, and then for an additional ten

weeks starting on January 13th.

Everyone is welcome!

Adult Sunday School

The Munching Methodists will be meeting for dinner on Thursday, November 15th at 5:00 pm at Chili’s Grill & Bar located at 2553 Vestal Parkway in Vestal.

If you would like to join us for some good food and even better conversation, please contact Evelyn Erler at 621-8903 for reservations. We have such a nice time and hope you can come!

Munching Methodists

Thank you to EVERYONE who worked so hard on our Trunk

or Treat Spectacular, and a special thanks to Andrea Pickney

for her tireless efforts!

Please note new date:

December 2nd at 2:00 pm

Home of Judy Poit 722-6939

New readers are always welcome!

Book Club

Use GOODSEARCH as your internet search engine … every search you do raises $.01 for

our Church.

P a g e 6 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

Conklin Forks Collection

We collected $890.00 through our Fifth Sunday Offerings during October for flood relief efforts at Conklin Forks United Methodist Church. Your dollars will be matched dollar-for-dollar for a total of $1,780.00. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

George Miller at NUMC

George Miller will be here at

Nimmonsburg United Methodist

Church to sing and worship with

us on Sunday, November 18th.

He has an amazing and powerful

voice, and we are very pleased that

he will be joining us and

presenting the message through

song.

George will also be singing at Hawleyton

United Methodist Church on Saturday,

November 17th at 6:00 pm. Everyone is invited

to attend.

Sunday School Teacher

Rotation Schedule

Thank you to everyone who is part of the new Sunday School rotation schedule. If you are unable to do the week you are assigned, please switch with someone, and let Justin know. As we fill in names on the Sundays going forward, please let us know in advance if there are any Sundays you would prefer, or Sundays that you will not be able to do Sunday School. We are hoping to make this easy for everyone, and enjoyable for our church children.

Nov. 4 - Andrea Pickney and Nancy Oakley Nov. 11 - Justin Hagerman and Dick Oakley Nov. 18 - Shelly Schaffer and Annette Ryan Nov. 25 - Cheryl Ryder and Elizabeth Button Dec. 2 - Justin Hagerman and Patti Derr Dec. 9 - Andrea Pickney and Phyllis Bartlett Dec. 16 - Annette Ryan and Cheryl Ryder Dec. 23 - Elizabeth Button and Nancy Oakley Dec. 30 - Shelly Schaffer and Dick Oakley Jan. 6 - Andrea Pickney and Cheryl Ryder Jan. 13 - Justin Hagerman and Annette Ryan Jan. 20 - Shelly Schaffer and Dick Oakley Jan. 27 - Elizabeth Button and Phyllis Bartlett

Maines Paper & Food We received a check this week for

$242.00 from Maines Paper & Food!

Every six months, Maines sends us a

check based upon how much our members and friends

have collectively spent at Maines. You just do your

regular shopping at Maines, let them swipe your

GiveBack card, and the Church will earn 5% back!

If you have not already signed up, all you need to

do is fill out the Application in the Church narthex and

drop it off at the Church Office. Thank you in advance

for helping out!

Holiday Bazaar

We have just one more Craft Workshop scheduled for November 8th at 6:30 pm. If you are working on projects at home, please try to have them to the Church by

November 25th. We will be setting up the Bazaar on the 27th and it makes it easier if we know just what we have. We will need help setting up, so if you can volunteer to help, please contact Patti Derr. Thanks!

SAVE THE DATE!

After Worship on Sunday, December 23rd, we will be heading out into our neighborhood for

Christmas caroling, followed by lunch, cookies and hot cocoa back at the Church.

After lunch we will have some fun activities, songs and a Christmas story from Luke read by

Pastor Jenni and acted out with people in costume. Hope you join us!

P a g e 7 T h e N i m m o n s b u r g W i t n e s s

Nimmonsburg United Methodist ChurchNimmonsburg United Methodist ChurchNimmonsburg United Methodist Church E-Mail: Phone:

Bishop: Rev. Mark J. Webb BishopsOffice@unyumc.org Ofc: (855) 424-7878

Binghamton District Super.: Rev. Dr. David Kofahl BinghamtonDistrict@unyumc.org Ofc: (607) 748-0662

Pastor: Rev. Jenni Piatt ChurchPastornumc@gmail.com (716) 560-4400

Office Administrator: Marjorie McCoy ChurchOfficenumc@gmail.com Ofc: (607) 724-5421

Chair of Trustees: Paul Derr pakderr@gmail.com (607) 648-5471

Chair of Administrative Board Nancy Stockholm nannysegb@gmail.com (607) 204-0048

Chair of S/PPRC: Judy St. John estjohn@stny.rr.com (607) 773-0038

Nimmonsburg United Methodist Church 918 Upper Front Street Binghamton, New York 13905 (607) 724-5421