November 2017 Volume XII, Issue XI

Wingate United Methodist Church

P.O. Box 396

Wingate, NC 28174

Tracy Schumpert, Pastor

Pastor’s Reflections

Email Pastor Tracy tlschumpert@gmail.com or call 405-323-4425 to be placed on the weekly

email list! Every Monday a vibrant email is sent to everyone sharing ministries, missions and

events!

Be Thankful The Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Wingate UMC is Thursday, November 22 from 4-7 pm! The turkey and all the fixin’s will be provided by the many gracious people of the church including help from Gino’s, McDonald’s and Food Lion in Wingate. Thank you to our incredible organizer Ervin Hamilton who each year inspires us as a com-munity of faith to provide a meal for any and all who may or may not have food on Thanksgiving! Ervin definitely or-ganizes this meal with a heart of service to Christ. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall to bring a delicious side dish to share. We are also transporting to go meals to our homebound and anyone who is una-ble to come within our congregation. Please call the church or contact Ervin Hamilton if you would like a meal brought to your home. This is a dinner where we celebrate our community and all God’s great gifts!

Thanksgiving Day is a time to reflect and be thankful for all that God has given us! Although we mostly consid-er Thanksgiving Day to be something that is celebrated only in the United States of America, did you know other coun-tries celebrate similar holidays and feasts? For example: India celebrates harvest in various regions Canada celebrates thanksgiving in October The cornucopia is traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. It comes from Greek mythology and was said to be a

“horn of plenty” that was given by the Greek god Zeus. The horn was believed to magically produce an endless supply of anything desired by the one who owns the horn.

The Chinese Festival of “Chung Ch’ui” — on this day many in China eat moon cakes (small yellow cakes) to celebrate the harvest moon

The Jewish feast of Sukkot is observed during the harvest season Ancient Egyptians had a feast in honor of Min, the god of harvest and fertility Lamas Day, was celebrated in the British Isles. On this day people would take a loaf of bread to church. The loaf was

baked from the first harvest. Harvest Festival is celebrated in the UK and as time goes on many of the American traditions and foods are added to

celebration dinners. Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Croatia on August 5th. But rather than a thanksgiving

holiday it is really a memorial to the day that the city of Knin was seized by the Croatian Army during the War of Independence.

Other countries such as Germany, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and Korea also have thanksgiving and/or harvest festivals. Let us not only be thankful one day a year but celebrate the greatness of our God with thanks every day! All around the world people are reminded to BE THANKFUL! Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe…” Peace, Tracy

Council on Aging: Arthritis

Program

10 am, Tuesday, Nov. 28, Wingate

UMC Fellowship Hall

Free program, led by Dr. John Razzano, Chiropratctor,

who will speak about causes and symptoms of arthritis, as

well as tips and tactics for living as comfortably as possi-

ble with this condition.

Hanging of

the Greens

6:00pm December 3, 2017 Wingate UMC

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 7 PM

The Faith Club by Ranya Idiby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 AT 7 PM

Shepherd's Abiding by Jan Karon

Learning from the saints in how to live courageous and bold lives in faith.

Letting the examination of the saints of scripture guide us in what it takes for us to become them.

November 5 — All Saints Day — Revelation 7:9-17

Clothing of the Saints

November 12 — Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25

Stories of the Saints

November 19 — Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Thanksgiving of the Saints

November 26 — Christ the King — Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Shepherd of the Saints

It’s Over, It’s Over, It’s time is now done;

We fall back together to follow the sun.

Come Hide and Go Seek; again we can play,

That game which giveth itself not to day.

The bane of all night games has ended its reign,

And soft creeps the darkness to shield us again.

Daylight Savings Time ends November 5th — Fall Back!

P rayer Ministry

Continual Need: Emily Lawrence, Lynn Deason, Eddie Goodman, Charles Riddle, Kevin Neuberth, Diana

Starnes, Taylor Byrum, Polly Mohr (Sue Channell’s sister), Luther Johnson (Verma Johnson’s brother),

Lonnie Whitley (Carrie Wallace’s brother), Martha Burgess (Doris Wheeler’s sister), Aimee Risch (mother

of Victor Hendrix); Thomas Knight (Denise Henton’s friend), Scott Schumpert (Pastor Tracy’s brother), Na-

talie Wheeler (Doris Wheeler’s granddaughter)

Current Need: Molly Bentley; Bill Dunlap; Ervin Hamilton; Verma Johnson; Glenda Ohmann; Bucky

Henton; Matthew Ferguson; J. B Ashcraft (Randy Ashcraft’s father); Doris Wheeler; Sam Summers; Wes,

Alisha & Faith Kilby; Arlene Frye; Ann Barber, Joyce Goodman; Diane Griffith; Kay Knight; Rollin Chan-

nell; Arthur Johnson (Verma’s brother); Keenan Denard (Tonya Johnson’s son) ; Lisa and Daniel Brock (Co-

workers of Kurt Hendrix); Denise Henton, James Killenbec (Linda Ferguson’s uncle); Joy Osborne (Judy

Burnette’s sister), Chase Henton

Homebound: Carrie Wallace, Paul Perkins

In Assisted Living Facilities: Vivian Chaney Monroe Square

College Students: Douglas Lawrence (UNCC), Jonathan Helms-Brown (Wingate University), Kyndal Cas-

key (Wingate University)

Joys &Praises: Birth of Bryson James on October 2nd to Krista and Stephen Walden. Grandparents are

DeeDee and Robert Baker

Grieving a Loss: Vivian Chaney on the loss of her grandson, Jonathan Washburn

Missionaries: Rev. Umba Kalangwa, Tanzania, East Africa; Rev. Macklann Basse, Togo, West Africa

Always: Our World, Our Nation, Our Community, Our Church

The Girl Scouts hosted by Wingate UMC are raising money through the sale of poinsettias again this

year! Place an order in honor or memory of a loved one for display in the Sanctuary during the Advent &

Christmas season! See Ruth Rowe or contact Pastor Tracy if you are interested in purchasing a poinsettia.

We grieve because we LOVE! Grief Group

Mondays at 2 pm Wingate UMC Classroom

"How does the heart understand grief when it is broken by the death of a loved one? To survive and live for-

ward, those who grieve must find answers. As we grieve, slowly we understand that grief is not a crisis of

faith—it is a crisis of the heart."

Beyond the Broken Heart is an eight-week grief ministry program for those who have lost a loved one to death.

Within the sanctity of a grief group, there is opportunity to share with others and receive the spiritual and emo-

tional encouragement that leads to a life of renewed hope and joy. A participant book is included in the pro-

gram.

Mourning's Dawn Healing and Living with Grief November 12-14, 2017 Situated in the peaceful setting of Saint Francis Pray-er Center, in Stoneville, NC, Mourning's Dawn, offers a time and place for adults living with grief and loss. Over this three-day period, participants will explore and experience how grief and loss touch our lives physically, emotionally and spiritually and receive tan-gible means of support for the continued journey. Whether your loss is recent or you've been on this journey for sometime, you're invited to join in this time of support, remembrance and reflection.

M issions Ministry

By the O.O.C. Gleaning Ministry—The Gleaning Ministry had one mission during the month of October 2017. We received

1,000 lbs. of fresh produce from Creekside Farms of Union County. We made distribution to the Union County

Homeless Shelter and Iglesia Bautista.

Loaves and Fishes—The requested item for Loaves and Fishes during the month of October 2017 was cash dona-

tions. The total cash donations received will be reported in the newsletter for December 2017. The requested item

for November 2017 is (3) boxes of corn muffin mix. As always, substitutions are welcome.

Community Garden—Our garden remains unplanted for Fall due to prolonged dry weather. It seems that our tem-

peratures continue to be mild this fall, so when the rains come, we will sow seeds for green leaf vegetables. It is

possible that our Fall growing season will run right up to Spring. We are not discouraged. Thanks be to God!

Raised Garden—The garden continues to grow well, however, we have sustained some damage from grasshop-

pers. Our cooler weather should do away with that problem, and we should have a nice harvest later this Fall.

Missions Ministry—Our preparation for the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner is going very well. My thanks to all

who have volunteered or contributed money to help with this event. We can expect to have another terrific

Thanksgiving Dinner for our community. Our God will add His blessing.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. One in

10 Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 30 million people. And another 84 mil-

lion adults in the United States are at high risk of developing type 2 diabe-

tes. November is American Diabetes Month. Depending on your age, weight, and other

factors, you may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that

making healthy changes can greatly lower your risk. To help prevent type 2 diabetes:

Watch your weight — Eat healthy — Get more physical activity

The above is just one example of information that we will be sharing with our Wingate

and Smyrna congregations, now that we have partnered with Carolinas Health Care’s

Faith Community Health Ministry, and now have three trained Health Promoters : Pastor

Tracy Schumpert, Susan Mullis from Smyrna, and Susan Hendrix from Wingate.

Health Promoters bring attention to medical concerns and resources for those in the faith

community. The United Methodist Book of Resolutions details how important health and

wellness should be to people of faith. Because one of the emphases for the Faith Commu-

nity Health Ministry is mental health, this will be an excellent partnership for our ongo-

ing ministry with the church and mental health.

At our October meeting of the RHC: the Church and Mental Health group, we had a

great discussion of how what we have learned so far is impacting our personal lives, the

lives of those in our churches, and the connections we are making in the community. And

we are beginning to make plans for events at our churches in 2018, as well as our return

to Duke Divinity for on site training.

Our next study date is Sunday, Nov. 19 at 5 pm in the Wingate UMC Fellowship Hall. We

will work through session 4 in our books, and make plans for a possible all day study to

complete our booklet in January, before attending the Winter Gathering at Duke.

Loaves and Fishes Ministry

November Donations Requested:

Three Boxes of Corn Muffin Mix

As always, substitutions are welcome.

Wingate United Methodist Men’s Breakfast

Wingate United Methodist Women’s Group

The Wingate UM Men meet for breakfast once a quarter, on the fourth Sunday, at

8:00am. See you in the new year!

Flowers for Worship

If you would like to place flowers in the church for worship, please contact Pat Byrum by the Friday prior

to the date you wish to place them. If the flowers are in honor or memory of a person or event please in-

form Pat at that time so that proper notation can be made in the bulletin.

All women are invited to join the UMW for our next meeting. That meeting will

be our Christmas dinner gathering on December 14th. Site is to be announced.

Electronic Giving Everything we have belongs to God and we are simply managing those resources here on earth. Through our tithes and offerings, we demonstrate in a tangible way our love for God and our neighbors. We are excited to share with you an additional way to give to the ministry of the church at Wingate UMC! Use the convenient GivePlus Mo-bile app or go the Wingate UMC Website. Thank you and all givers for your contin-ued generosity to God's mission!

Views From A Loft (The Choir Loft, That Is)

By Kurt Hendrix

Though this newsletter is for November, it will arrive to everyone just in time for Halloween, so I’m going to

tell you a campfire story. Mind you, I verify the truth of the actual events as they occurred (the walk, at least), but

you’ll have to make up your own mind about how I interpreted them. Also, November is Native American Heritage

Month, so, as you’ll see, the story is appropriate for that too.

It was the summer of 1965 and I was a Boy Scout. In those days, the district’s big Scout Camp was Camp

Steer, on the Catawba River just at Buster Boyd Bridge. That land was long ago sold and is now built up with condos

and recreation areas, but then, it was mostly woods. Our Troop, 101 — St. John’s Methodist Church, was taking part

in a big jamboree at Camp Steer. I was fourteen and the Troop’s senior patrol leader. One of the many stories we told

around the campfires of Camp Steer was the one about the Swamp Dogs, giant dogs that roamed the woods around the

river and would sometimes attack unwary campers. On occasion, you would see the tracks of a giant dog in the mud

around the river banks. Of course, if you don’t know much about tracking, you may not realize that if a footprint made

in mud and the mud dries, the mud draws away from the center of the print. If the mud is then re-moistened without

being rained on so hard that it is actually destroyed, you are left with what looks like a fresh footprint that is much

larger than the foot that originally made it. When you find one of these, you make sure to show it to all the young

scouts in the area. You need good evidence for the best campfire stories and young scouts need to be wary in the

woods and not wander off by themselves anyway. Notice the unwarranted assumption that there were no canines in

those woods actually capable of making really large footprints.

I was returning to our Troop campsite from a senior patrol leaders’ meeting one night and decided not to fol-

low the road the long way around. If I cut through the woods, I could lop off a big loop of the road and get back to the

campsite faster and I knew these woods pretty well. I had my official, L-shaped, Boy Scout flashlight, of course, and

didn’t see where there would be a problem. If there was, I had my official Boy Scout hatchet and my official Boy

Scout sheath knife in their scabbards on my belt, so I was prepared. I was big into branding in those days. About a

third of the way into the short cut, I became aware of a feeling that I was not alone. Since no one knew I would take

that route, it couldn’t be any of my friends laying in ambush. Then the bush shaking began — one in front, one be-

hind, one to one side and then the other; no pattern; no noise of movement from one place to the other; no noise at all

except the rattle of the bushes as they shook. There was, however, something else — a feeling of amusement. Now, I

can assure that I was feeling absolutely no amusement at that moment. Something was playing with me and enjoying

it. Actually, four somethings, I figured from the movements. I hooked my flashlight to my belt, took the hatchet and

knife from their respective sheaths, put my back to a tree, and prepared to repel boarders. Silly, of course — anything

that could move like the unknown somethings could break cover and be on me before I got more than an impression of

movement — but if you’ve got to go down, go down swinging. The bush shaking stopped about then and I got another

feeling — satisfaction — not that they had scared me but that I was a cub who had chosen to fight rather than run.

They approved. Then, I was alone. I finished the walk in the woods with my hands filled with metal though.

The next morning, I took a couple of friends back to the scene of the encounter and do you know what we

found? Absolutely nothing. The story went around, but no one could decide what to make of it. I had a rep for hones-

ty, but surely, this was crazy. However, no one else that trip felt compelled to walk the woods at night. Eventually,

the story became part of the Swamp Dog story arc at Camp Steer. I later found out that there are some Native Ameri-

can folk stories about tribes of sentient wolf-like animals. Author Whitley Strieber tapped into the Mohawk legends

about these animals for his book, Wolfen. The Lumbee tribe here in North Carolina has stories about wolf-like animals

that could talk to the Lumbee shamans. Since the mouth parts of wolves don’t lend themselves to human speech,

might the shaman-wolf communications been via telepathy? When I watch Susan’s dog stare as she tries to convince

Susan it is time for her (the dog’s) evening treat despite what the clock says, I could believe dogs are capable of telep-

athy. The feelings I felt in the woods were certainly not mine — for one thing, at fourteen, I did not consider myself a

cub. Note, also, that these tales were things I learned after the incident in the woods.

So, what happened? A night time wood walk engendered weird thoughts in someone with a healthy imagina-

tion? Insanity presenting early symptoms which have been at least partially borne out by later life? Two races of

God’s creations had a chance meeting in a summer wood? Guess, if you will. Happy Halloween!!

Andy Small — November 4th

Gene Lamm — November 7th

Heidi Baucom — November 9th

Emily Lawrence — November 13th

Sam Summers — November 15th

Barbara Green — November 15th

Katelynn Miracco — November 17th

Douglas Lawrence — November 20th

Kristyna Carter — November 20th

Savanah Brown — November 21st

Eddie Goodman — November 23rd

Ervin Hamilton — November 25th