December, 2017

Thank You!

-All who participated in the Christmas Shoebox

Gifts, esp. Carol Hague for spearheading! 43

boxes were sent!

-Mark T., for blessed weekly messages and

helping set drums, etc., up.

- JoElin and Candy, for offering a GREAT

Thanksgiving Day meal at our church for the

community. And helpers! (Hazzards)

- Terri Stark(Italiain Wedding Soup), Adeline

(Squash soup and Turkey/Rice Soup), and

Peggy Lynn (5 loaves of delicious bread!!), for

making Appreciation Day so delicious!

-Adeline and Mark, for hosting meals before

the Wed night Bible studies.

- Arlene, for sharing so eloquently on Nov 19.

- John L, for also offering a very meaningful

talk on Nov. 19. AND for helping out in too

many ways to be listed!!

- All who are helping get ready for Dec. 9,

including Norma Jones, Sue B, and Sue D, for

working on the Cookie Walk; Patty (signs and a

craft table); Sandy (general oversite and the

White Elephant); Issy (for guidance and

punlicity); JoElin and Candy (LUNCH); and

Darlene, for handling the Silent Auction.

- Patty, for decorating, making outside signs,

and the Nov birthday cakes. Sandwiches, too!!

- Sandy T, for seasonal decorations and much

work in Thrift Shop and Coffee Hours, etc.

- Richard and Brandy, for setting up coffee

hours and ringing church bell on Sundays.

- Brandy, for much help with the mugs Nov 26.

- Darlene, for altar arrangements and greens

by the church steps.

- Barbara O, for great drumming!!

- Kim Hazzard, for organizing and cleaning up

the upstairs kitchen.

- The anonymous donor who paid for outside

work on church windows and grading, to

hopefully stop the leaks!

Winsted United Methodist Church

630 Main Street, Winsted, CT 06098

Mail: P.O. Box 380, Winsted, CT 06098-1515

860-379-6386

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Sunday, December 24 7:00 p.m.

Come and let themystery of God's amazing

love for the world speak to your heart as we

celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

Readings, songs and candlelight. Readers are

needed. Sign up in Fellowship Hall.

Happy Birthday!

(if YOUR birthday is not listed, please call the

church office. If some are listed that should not

be, please let us know.)

Missed in November: Mark Hazzard Nov. 16

December Birthdays

1 Linda Kellogg

4 Sue Dwyer

Bob Hope

6 Norma Jarvis

9 Vanesssa

Gagnon

11 Norma Jones

14 Richard Coon

15 Joel Gannon

16 John Lundy

18 Bill Perry

23 John Gouthier

27 Dick Palmer

31 Darlene Grant

May God bless you on your birthday and

throughout the coming year!

Celebration - Minna has a new great-

granddaughter, Violet, born to Zack and Haley

in Nov. This makes Pat a grandmother!

- Adeline Hazzard's daughter, Amy Alvarez,

earned her Masters in Human Resources on

Nov. 9.

Loss - Rev. Al Miller died in

Shelton on Nov. 17. Pastor Al was our beloved

pastor from 2007 until 2012. Our sympathy

and prayers are extended to Marion Ramsey

Miller and all their family. A memorial service

will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, at 2:00 p.m. at

the Shelton UMC.

Sympathy

- to Sandy, whose "other mother" died in NY;

- to Lin McGee, whose aunt died shortly before

Thanksgiving; - to Barb H and Jerry Hamilton,

who lost cousins..

Christmas Caroling -

Sunday, Dec. 17 after church

We will carpool to sing carols to

some of our members, then return to

the church for hot chocolate and

PIZZA. Fun for all ages!!

Christmas Tree in Sanctuary -

Cards on the tree will list items needed for

those living at the YMCA shelter. Usually

items such as pillows, soap, shampo,towels

are suggested.

Unwrapped toys will be taken to the Salvation

Army. Hats, gloves, and mittens are always

helpful, too. Needed by Dec. 17th.

Christmas Eve is a SUNDAY this year!

We will have our regular Sunday service at

10:00 a.m., and our Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service at 7 p.m.

I hate to complain, but there has been a lot of

noise going on in the Sanctuary. I flew down the other

day to take a peek at what was going on and what did

my eyes see - two men working on the ceiling. Okay, I’ll

let the noise factor go since it is something good for the

church. A couple of Sundays ago, I saw Kim Hazzard

rearranging the cupboards in the kitchenette, Shelby

Grant also was here and I spied her decorating the pots

outside, Darlene Grant and Debbie Kerr were here on a

Saturday and took down all the autumn wreaths, put new

bows and hung out the Christmas wreaths. At the same

time Candy Williams came in with a huge load of bread

and sweets and following her was Pastor Florence with

two huge boxes. Luckily one of the regular clients for

the food pantry helped Candy bring all the breads and

sweets in. The next week Candy, JoElin and Sam were

down in the kitchen. What’s going on? The monthly

dinners are all done. Then I find out that Jo and Candy

are making Thanksgiving dinner for anyone that wants to

come and come they did. Last I saw, there were 25

people here for lunch. And Candy and Jo were here all

day cooking, serving, and cleaning up. The next day in

came Patty and Corky Stark and they were here to clean

up downstairs and when Patty came up she said there

was nothing to do, that Candy and Jo had cleaned it.

Corky took out all the garbage and on Weds. there was

the usual crowd for Bible Study and lunch. And then I

heard Pastor Florence and Issy talking about

Appreciation Sunday. Well, now what is that? Come to

find out any member that has been in the church more

than 50 years got recognized. Pastor Florence handed

out some beautiful posters with a lovely picture of my

home (the church), taken by Perry Green. And after

church there were mugs for all with each individual name

and years they have been members. On top of that

Adeline made turkey soup and squash soup, Pastor

Florence made ham and bean soup, Terry (Patty &

Corky’s daughter) made Italian Wedding soup and

Peggy Lynn made loaves of oatmeal bread. Oh, I

almost forgot to tell you about my guest that slept in the

Sanctuary. I heard the sound of footsteps and they

weren’t footsteps I recognized. I flew down and low and

behold here was Sam (JoElin’s grandson) stretching out

in the pew. I couldn’t figure out how he could sleep on

that hard pew, but he did. The good news is Sam

doesn’t drool or snore - that makes for a nice guest!

Well, I guess that’s all from the Bat for this year. I can’t

wait to see the Cookie Walk, Fair and Auction and to

here the caroling and smell the pizza, and if you hear a

flutter of wings, that’s just me checking everything out.

Merry Christmas to all and a very Happy New Year.

The Bat

Georgette Benson’s New Address

Georgette has moved and will be missed by all. Her

new address is Georgette Benson, Oak Grove, 48

William F. Palmer Road, Unit 15, Moodus, CT 06469.

Her land line phone number is 860-891-8580.

CHURCH COUNCIL

One of the pending happenings brought up was the

“Freezin’ For A Reason” which the YMCA is having.

They invite anyone who would like to sleep out at the

Town Green on December 8th starting at 6:00 p.m. The

Council voted to send a donation of $100.00, but no one

volunteered to sleep out in the cold. The YMCA is

hoping to raise $10,000.00 to help the homeless. If you

want to sleep out, grab a tent and go, if you want to

make a monetary donation, there are papers in the

Social Room that you can fill out and send in. It was

also decided to go caroling on December 17th, after

church and then to come back to the church for pizza

and hot chocolate. The schedule for the Cookie

Walk/Church Fair/Silent Auction is Weds. After Bible

Study to set up tables, get the tablecloths out and the

risers. Thursday at 6:30 pm. the pricing and putting out

of items on the table will happen and all are welcome

that want to help. Friday we will meet at 6:30 p.m. and

finish what didn’t get done on Thursday nite. Saturday

workers should be here at 8:00 a.m.. If you didn’t sign

up and you want to help, just come when we are here. If

you can’t come at night, come during the morning or

afternoon, whenever you can. It was decided that unless

anything drastic came up, we would have no meeting in

December. Turns out we will call a brief one just to

approve the 2018 budget before the Church Conference.

Trustees

As you can tell, progress is being made in the Sanctuary

with not only the scaffolding work, but also the changing

of the light bulbs, which has been done by Barbara

Hawley and Ron Bessette. The Trustees recently had

two Masonry Company’s come to look at the pointing

because there is still water coming in. Barbara Hawley

was told there was no problem with the pointing by both

companies and got a quote for $880.00 to fix the spots

where water is getting in. They started doing that just

before Thanksgiving. Quinoco was picked to continue

delivering oil and service contracts have been obtained

for the church and the parsonage.

LOVE ENVELOPES

When you use a love envelope, the money goes to a

designated bill, usually oil. The first Sunday of the

month the money will go to our special mission fund.

When you make a pledge, it goes to the general fund

which pays all our bills. Please use your pledge

envelopes so that your donation gets credited to you and

the money goes to the right place. If it is put into a Love

Envelope, than we don’t know if it is your pledge or an

extra donation and not knowing, it goes to Love.

Norma Jarvis, Financial Secretary

As I sit in my study….

As I sit here and the Sun shines on my face I can’t help

but be reminded of the Song we sang this Morning,

“Shine Jesus Shine”. What a lovely celebration of

Thankfulness and Love as we Worshipped and then

shared our noontime meal with each other. A Day of

Appreciation, a day to celebrate our church family. Our

common bond as Christians who share our triumphs

and tragedies. In the short time I have been among you

I have witnessed both. I rejoice in the resilience,

prayers and love that is so evident among us. I’d be

foolish to think that it is of our own doing, but it is not.

Our God and Father watch over us, our brother Jesus

guides us in the way and the Holy Spirit dwells with in

us as we share our triumphs and tragedies. We are but

servants expected by Jesus, our Master, to make full use

of any gifts he has given us so that His Kingdom may

grow on earth, we must in the end give an account of

our administration of the gifts so freely given. We have

celebrated a great accounting!

As we prepare for the Advent Season during the darkest

days of the year we need to remind ourselves that

Christ’s light urges us to act on our need to pray daily,

reach out in Love, listen with integrity, listen to God,

speak the truth and act on spiritual stirrings. In these

the darkest of days, we must move through them to

accomplish all that the season demands. Gatherings,

shopping, decorating, greeting cards and lighting the

way with the anticipation of Emmanuel, Christ among

us. We have much to be thankful for and even more to

look forward to, Christmas Day!

As the days become longer this month let the Light of

Christ’s birth Shine for you and your Family at Christmas

and in the New Year. Be assured of my prayers during

Advent. Prayerfully and In His Service,

Adeline Hazzard, Pastoral Assistant

Poinsettia Orders

are due

December 14th .

Please see Norma Jarvis. Order forms are in

Sunday bulletins.

From the Pastor

Growing up, I heard folks talk about "greased lightning,"

and now I think I know what it means. The calendar is

racing by, Sunday after Sunday, sermon after sermon,

and now we are sliding fast into Christmas! Too fast!

Though the merchants seem quite prepared and eager

for the consumer-led frenzies, our world seems

anything but ready for a peace-filled silent night. We

live on edge, anything but peaceful as we hear reports

of missile launches, insulting tweets, and almost daily

reports of shootings and acts of terrorism. There seem

to be very few words of love or respect in this dark

time.

We are a society on edge. As I write this many are

concerned about possible tax changes and health-care

challenges, as well as who will be accused next of sexual

misconduct.

Into this messy mixture, Christmas comes. Perhaps not

totally different from the dark time into which Jesus

was born. The Romans ruled the land of the Jews back

then, and the Jewish king, who was serving under the

Romans, was so threatened by the possible birth of a

Messiah (competition) that he issued an order to mill all

boys under two years old. A very harsh, dark time.

This year, as Egypt has now experienced terrorism

against even its Muslims, and many countries, including

our own, have had to become more and more watchful

concerning terrorists and angry, disturbed mass

shooters or murderous drivers of vehicles, and as so

many of our families and church family deal with cancer

and other life-challenges, the peace we sing about in

our carols can seem just about impossible.

But that's where the true meaning of Christmas shines

through the brightest! Jesus was born into a dark, hard

world in a dark time, not only for the people back then,

but also for us today as we struggle to see a way

forward. The smallest light is best seen in the midst of

darkness; it may not be noticed when there's a lot of

other light around. To say it straight: God knew what

God was doing back then, and God still has a handle on

all the things that keep us awake in our nights. That's

the over-arching story of the Bible, that God's love for

us (I still wonder why!) is stronger than anything that

frightens us or threatens to "un-do" us. That's the

promise of Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.

This season, we can offer God our darkness and our

edginess and the things that make us anxious; doing so

is one way to give God the gift of our trust. Even if it's a

gift of desperation, it is nonetheless a very real turning

to God, which is what God yearns for us to do.

Offer your darkness to God. "Here, God, please take it,

because I am not doing so well with this part of life right

now. I need you." Then watch for God to surprise you

with some kind of glimmer of hope and life and light.

That's God' specialty!

If you receive Light, be sure to share it. That's what we

are called to do as a church, share God's love and light,

especially with folks who feel trapped in negativity. In

fact, at the end of the Christmas Eve service, as we light

each other's drip-prone candles and stand there in the

darkness marveling at the holiness of the moment, we

are practicing how to step out into the world as

followers and sharers of Jesus Christ. May it be so!

May you be blessed this Christmas. - Florence Eddins

The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost, To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brothers,

To make music in the heart.

- Howard Thurman

Operation Christmas Child Report

This was a very good year! We sent out 42

boxes! Thanks to all who were so generous!

Christmas Fair, Cookie Walk AND

Silent Auction

Saturday, December 9th 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Homemade Cookies needed!!

White Elephant, and COOKIES!

Soup and Sandwiches will be available.

COME and plan to help! - Please!

Sign-Up sheet in Social Hall.

Winsted UMC

630 Main Street

(P.O. Box 380)

Winsted, CT 06098

A Prayer for the Year's End

O God beyond every calendar, and every season

under the Sun, how foolish we can be with our

obsessions and fixations on time, its courses,

vagaries, and purposes. Speak to us with power

and wisdom from your secret dwelling beyond

time, which has a door in every heart, and a

window in every soul. Help us see with utter

clarity how you are at work in our lives, through

our lives, with our lives, giving birth to the

fullness of time and the goodness of creation.

Give us strength and courage to follow Christ

Jesus, all the time, for the sake of our time,

until the end of our time. Amen.