Sunday Schedule: Worship - 10:00 am Children’s Sunday School - 10:15 am

Vol. 20, Issue 7|November 2018

office@walnutumc.org

W A LNUT W ORD

Rev. Dr. Krista S. Givens Pastor

A YEAR IN REVIEW 2018:

What a year! 2018 has been filled with big moments

of profound revelation and small bits of everyday joy. The

challenges have been great, but through them all I have been

uplifted and comforted with the love of this congregation and

the support of a loving God. As I look back, I share these

thoughts with you.

Our worship services have been both meaningful and

uplifting. I continue to enjoy the spirit of our congregation. I

am grateful to our pianist, Grace Amador, and to our volun-

teer choir directors Linda Wilford, Bruce Rosenberg and

Margery Don, for their tireless efforts and their dedication to

our music program. The music program of our church is one

of the most cited reasons members have joined our church

and helps to lift our hearts in prayer and praise to our God.

This year, we have recruited and trained acolytes and

have implemented an information card for our visitors. We

are embarking on a Greeter program to ensure a positive

worship experience for our guests and visitors.

One of the additions to our worship schedule was our combined Maundy Thursday

service, hosted by West Covina United Methodist Church. Their congregation, joined ours

and Covina UMC for a meaningful gathering of community as we celebrated the Last Supper.

We look forward to many new opportunities to collaborate with our neighbor churches.

Our Children’s Ministry program, under the leadership of Carroll Martin, continues

to be a beacon of light in our community, reaching out to our families and to the greater

Walnut community. Our teachers are kind and knowledgeable and we are blessed to have

them: Liz Walters, Emily Martin, Charlotte Hill and Pam Zwingman. Our special events this

year have included our annual Easter Fun Day, Faith in Film showing of “Coco” and our Bible

Bowl.

Don Driftmier and I have been working with our youth, focusing on a monthly pizza

lunch gathering and varied activities throughout the year, including two bowling trips, Bible

Bowl participation and an upcoming Christmas party. They are a wonderful group of young

people and Don and I are blessed to be a part of their lives.

In the Spring, I started a Wednesday morning Bible Study group and we have studied

two books: Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton and Christianity and World Reli-

gions by Adam Hamilton. We will begin our Advent Study at the end of November, First

Christmas by John Dominc Crossan and Marcus Borg.

On a personal note, I am grateful to this congregation for your support for my non-

profit work with Friends of Padhar Schools, raising money to support schools, students and

teachers in rural India. In February, I traveled to India and spent almost three weeks visiting

schools and connecting with our contacts. We were blessed to have Rev. Jim Brewster and

Above: Ara Vidal, liturgist and Pastor Krista recess af-ter worship service, Oct.7th.

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Rev. Jimmy Nih as our preachers while I was away, and

Rev. Dr. Myron Wingfield preach for us the Sunday I re-

turned.

At the end of June, I was prompted to join the

CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) pro-

test of the Family Separation Policy. This was a departure

for me, but my faith made a public protest imperative, so I

joined 22 other clergy and laity from various faith back-

grounds. We were arrested and given a ticket for blocking

the street and I was fortunate that my ticket was paid

through a Go Fund Me fundraiser. It was life-changing in

that I’ve always been private spiritually and this was such a

public display. But it was well worth it!

In addition to my local church work, I am now the co-chair of the Leadership and Discipleship

Essential Ministry Team at the Conference level. This will require some additional meetings and organi-

zation on my part, but I am honored to serve in this way.

This Summer was a little different for me as I unexpectedly needed surgery and went on medi-

cal leave for a month. During my time away, Pastors Jim and Jimmy were essential in caring for congre-

gation members who were in crisis, especially the family of Carole Jude as she passed away in Septem-

ber. I am so grateful to have such caring and nurturing pastors to work with here at Walnut UMC. We

were also blessed by the preaching of Rev. Darin Arntson and Rev. Dr. Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, as

well as Pastors Jim and Jimmy, while I was on medical leave.

In September, as I returned to work after my leave, Pastor Jim was severely injured in a car

accident. He is still recovering each day, but I do miss his presence as my sounding board/cheerleader

and as the warm face that greets us each Sunday.

I continue to feel privileged to be a part of the ministry here at Walnut UMC. We have done

good work together and we have great work ahead of us. But in all of that work, God is present with

us, directing and guiding us to love one another as God loves us. Let us celebrate the year we’ve had

and the challenges and blessings to come in 2019, knowing that in everything, God is at work in and

through us.

Blessings to us all,

Pastor Krista

Above: On October 7, 2018, we dedicated a leaf of our Recognition Wall Tree to Mel and Lorna DePano for their gifts of music and love to our congregation. In Mel’s honor, we blessed the gifts of microphones and sound equipment the DePano family gifted the church. We are so blessed !

Above: Proud dad Alvin shows off his kids!

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Walnut United Methodist Women

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks and praise to God for all our blessings!

Thank you to everyone who helped at the Walnut Family Festival Food Booth on Oct. 13 in spite of the rain. It was a wonderful outreach to the community. Our November birthdays are Janet Harshman on Nov. 14 and Grace Amador on Nov. 21.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Please come to our next meeting on Saturday, Nov. 10 in the Fellowship Hall. It is an ideal time to come for your first time. All are welcome! Our program will be “World Thank Offering: Women Offering Community”. We will look at the Book of Ruth.

Books! Books! Books!

We will have a book exchange during our meeting! Please bring back your books. We will also vote on our yearly donation to East District and to our local Mission groups. Everyone’s involvement is appreciated.

Thanksgiving and Christmas donation ideas: World Thank Offering (blue boxes) at our November meeting Non-perishable Food Drive for Inland Valley Hope Partners until Nov 18- see the attached flyer. Serenity Foster Care and Adoption: Christmas Gifts for Foster children – We’ll select the children at our meeting!

Serenity Holiday Boutique- Nov. 16- Nov. 18 at 600 S Grand Ave. Covina, CA 91724 Hours: Friday 9:00 am – 7:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

David and Margaret Youth and Family Services- Open House Saturday, Dec. 8 from 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm. Please bring a gift card valued at $20.00. Address: 1350 Third St. La Verne, CA 91750

I look forward to seeing everyone soon! May God bless you with good health, hope, peace, joy, and love! Blessings,

Carroll Martin rcepmartin@charter.net

Advent Book Study

Join us Wednesday Mornings at 10:00AM beginning Nov. 28th as we study The First Christmas by John Dominc Crossan and Marcus Borg. In The First Christmas Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Cros-san—top Jesus scholars and authors of The Last Week—help us see the real Christmas story buried in the familiar Bible ac-counts. Basing their interpretations on the two nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Borg and Crossan focus on the literal story—the inner truth rather than the historical facts—to offer a clear and uplifting message of hope and peace. With The First Christmas readers get a fresh, deep, and new understanding of the nativity story, enabling us to better appre-ciate the powerful message of the Gospels.

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WUMC Children’s Ministry Dear Families, Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to everyone who donated coins and paper money to Friends of Padhar Schools on Sunday, Oct. 28 during our Trick-or-Treat time after the service. The children’s costumes were adorable! We were blessed to be able to see their costumes. Please bring non-perishable foods and/or canned goods to church. See the attached Wish List from Inland Valley Hope Partners. We’ll collect food for Thanksgiving for those in need until Sunday, November 18. Your help is greatly appreciated! In November, we will continue to study families in the Bible and focus on our families. “We will learn how families care for children as they grow and build loving relationships. Children will discover what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and be part of God’s big family.” (Deep Blue Curriculum-Abingdon Press) All children are welcome to join us in Sunday school each week. Families stay together at the beginning of the worship service. Soon the children enjoy a few moments with Pastor Krista, and then they go out to the Fellowship hall and/or nursery for Sunday school. In November, our main Bible verse is “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” Ruth 1:16. We will study families in the Old Testament. Nov. 4 Naomi and Ruth Book of Ruth Nov. 11 Hannah, Samuel, and Eli 1 Samuel 1:1-28; 3:1-21 Nov. 18 The Widow and Her Sons 2 Kings 4:1-7 Nov. 25 Esther and Mordecai Book of Esther May God love, guide, encourage, and bless your family each day! Blessings,

Carroll Martin rcepmartin@charter.net

Spotlight on Youth! Our church budget next year was approved with a $1,000.00 line item for youth ministries. That will buy a lot of pizzas for our monthly luncheons and insure funding for a bowling outing or two and more events to come. But there are many things mon-ey cannot buy, such as the setting up of the youth version of the Last Supper table setting for our meeting in the Lenten Season or the individual time lines the youth set for future aspirations. The service to our ministries as acolytes, liturgists and music ministries are part of our youth ministries. The upcoming Bible Bowl will also feature youth participation. A fun group and if you are of the right age, come and join the fellowship.

Don Driftmier, Youth Ministries

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November Calendar

If you would like to be involved in worship, there are many vital opportunities available: Singing in our Church Choir; Providing refreshments and flowers for the altar; Greeting people as they enter the church—offering a smile and some hospitality. If you are interested, please sign up on the sheet in the narthex. Thanks!

Date Liturgist Refreshments Acolyte

November 4 Jay Swartz Manacop/DePano Areanne Custodio

November 11 Ace Castillo Elaine Potter Sophia Hill

November 18 Marc Dorrel Carol Castillo Mikaela Hill

November 25 Liz Walters June O’Shaughnessy Angela Lie

Worship Volunteers for November 2018

Saturday, November 3 12:00PM Bible Bowl Sunday, November 4 10:00AM Morning Worship Service 11:20AM Choir Rehearsal Youth Pizza Lunch Monday, November 5 7:00PM Trustees Meeting Wednesday, November 7 10:00AM Bible Study in the Sanctuary Saturday, November 10 10:00AM UMW Meeting 12:00PM Choir Rehearsal Sunday, November 11 10:00AM Morning Worship Service 11:20AM Choir Rehearsal 1:00PM Charge Conference Meeting at La Puente First UMC Monday, November 12 7:00PM Finance Meeting Wednesday, November 14 10:00AM Bible Study in the Sanctuary Saturday, November 17 10:00AM Choir Rehearsal Sunday, November 18 10:00AM Morning Worship Service 11:20AM Choir Rehearsal Monday, November 19 7:00PM Preschool Board Meeting Wednesday, November 21 10:00AM Bible Study in the Sanctuary Thursday-Friday, November 22-23 Church Office is Closed Saturday, November 24 10:00AM Choir Rehearsal Sunday, November 25 10:00AM Christ the King and Thanksgiving Worship Service 11:20AM Choir Rehearsal Monday, November 26 7:00PM Church Council Meeting Wednesday, November 28 10:00AM Bible Study in the Sanctuary

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This month the children will learn about Thanksgiving. We will talk about the first Thanksgiving and how the Indians and Pilgrims came together sharing what they had and gave thanks. This will lead the children into sharing what they are thankful for and how they celebrate the holiday with their own families. We will finish out the month with a Thanksgiving Feast in class. We also like to give the children an opportunity to experience sharing and caring about others, especially those in need. We are joining the church in their food drive for Inland Valley Hope Partners. For the entire month, we will be asking the children (and parents) to bring in can and boxed food items. These will be donated to the church to help with holiday food baskets and the local food bank. This is a great way for the children to experience the joy of sharing and caring about others. Blessed is he who is kind to the needy, Proverbs 14:21 In chapel we will teach the stories of Baby Moses in the Basket from Exodus 2, and David and Goliath from 1 Samuel. The children will learn that God is always with us and pleased when we are brave. They will also learn it is important to acknowledge God for all He does and give thanks. This months Bible verse: “Give thanks to the Lord because He is good.” Psalms 106:1 Happy Thanksgiving, Sincerely,

Chris Torreyson, Preschool Director

PRESCHOOL NEWS

Walnut UMC Kids in Costume!

BIBLE BOWL Our 2nd Annual Bible Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Novem-ber 3rd from 12:00-2:00 PM. Children, Youth and adults are welcome to participate in this fun day of bible trivia, knowledge and fun! See Pastor Krista and Jay Swartz for more information.

Coming up this Fall November 3, 2018

November 11, 2018 Charge Conference at La Puente First UMC

1:00PM