Hiawassee United Methodist Church 1139 U.S. Highway 76 P.O. Box 609 Hiawassee, GA 30546

Sam Hamby, Pastor

Our Mission: Worship Jesus Christ;

Grow as Disciples;

Serve Others

Web : www.hiawasseeumc.org

Ema i l : humc@hiawasseeumc.org

Phone : 706.896.2818

Of f i c e Hour s : Monday—Thursday

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

20/20 Vision In 2020

I really began noticing a difference in my vision while I was a seminary student in my mid-20s. Since I was required to

read a lot of books, I realized I had to stop after each paragraph or two and rub my eyes trying to refocus to see the

words on the page clearly. I became frustrated with that process and how much time it was taking me to read each day,

so I made an appointment with an eye doctor. Although I was not given a diagnosis I could remember, I was told that I

could buy some reading glasses at the drug store and use them until I recognized I needed a higher prescription. The

doctor explained that I would eventually need a higher prescription than I could buy over the counter and I would have to order my glass-

es through a vision center. Since that time, I have gone all the way through the drug store prescriptions and am now climbing the ladder

of prescription numbers through the vision center. It has become apparent through the years that I need help to see clearly if I intend to

continue reading, writing, and functioning normally in my day to day life.

Our lives can be like our eyes that begin to see less and less clearly as the years go by. We grow up receiving our prescription for our lives

from our parents, extended families, communities, churches, schools, and society in general. While God created each of us and wants us

to know His prescription for our lives, His message can get distorted or lost as we grow up and respond to all the other messages in life

around us. While God wants to tell us He loves us and created us by His design for the purpose and destiny He has in mind for us, we can

lose sight of His vision because of all the other distorted images that bombard our lives. Are we just along for the ride? Can we regain the

vision and focus that God intended for our lives?

The answer is “No” we are not just along for the ride and “Yes” we can regain the vision God intended for us! Proverbs 29:18 says,

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” A prophetic vision is hearing and

receiving God's purpose and destiny for our lives. It is important for us to understand that God has plan and purpose for us. As members

of the Body of Christ, it's also important to understand that God has an intended plan and purpose for us together. This verse of scripture

tells us that we will go our own way and walk in confusion and chaos when we do not receive prophetic vision. However, this verse of

scripture also offers the solution to that problem. The one that keeps the law is blessed! That means that the person or the congregation

that learns to recognize God's instructions and begins to walk in those instructions also walks in the blessings of God. If you want the right

prescription for our lives or the right prescription for our congregation in 2020, we simply need to recognize that God does have a plan

and purpose for us. His Word provides all the instructions we need, and we will walk in blessings as we follow His instructions.

I am excited about this New Year! I know that a new year also brings new excitement and new challenges. What are the highs and lows

that you are aware of in your life as you begin this new year? What are the highs and lows that we face as a congregation this year? Some

of those things seem apparent and some of those things will seem like surprises as the year goes along. However, one thing is constant.

God does have a good, good plan and purpose for us (individually and corporately), and we will walk in

the blessings of the abundant life He has prepared as we follow His instructions He has revealed to us in

His Word. Begin this New Year walking in those blessings God wants to give you!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Sam

HUMC Mountain Messenger

Admittedly, most verses on greet-ing cards are not very memorable, so some-times Frances Ridley Havergal, the well-known British hymnwriter, sent a New Year’s poem to her friends that she had

written herself. In 1872, when she was thirty-six years old, she wrote “Another Year Is Dawning,” printed it on a specially designed greeting card, and sent it to her friends. Over it was the caption, “A Happy New Year! Ever such may it be!”

Havergal always gave God the credit for her work, and she liked to refer to God as her King. When she was asked about the process by which she wrote her hymns, she replied, “I believe my King suggests a thought, and whispers me a musical line or two, and then I look up and thank Him delightedly and go on with it. This is how my hymns come.”*

In this new year, we at HUMC have so much to be thankful for. Many challenges lay ahead, but our King is the Lord of every challenge! Be praying for and support-ive of our new Leadership Board, as they work through their new duties. Be praying for the upcoming General Conference, that God’s will be done. And be praying that God will give us the courage and strength to serve Him well in 2020!

*The Complete Book of Hymns, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, p.168

Another year is dawning; dear Father, let it be,

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;

Another year of progress, another year of praise

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace;

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love;

Another year of training for holier work above,

Another year is dawning; dear Father, let it be,

On earth or else in heaven, another year for Thee.

Director of Music & Worship: Hope Horkavy

JANUARY SCHEDULE: COMPUTER MIXER

Jan 5 Irene Kirchner Mike Henderson

Jan 12 John Whitaker Tommy Kirchner

Jan 19 Aaron Hamby Curt Carter

Jan 26 John Whitaker Aaron Hamby

Thanks to all who made our Advent/Christmas

Celebrations so Special!

Church Member Services Directory Massage Contact: Geri Baker 706-896-6108

Coin Collecting Club and Stamp Collecting Contact: Tayo Leduc 706-896-6001

1/1 New Year’s Day, Office Closed 1/3 @ 6 pm Going Solo Ladies Meet 1/5 Epiphany 19/9 @ 5 pm Leadership Board 1/18 @ 9 am HUMM Breakfast Meeting Weekly: Tuesdays @ 10:45 am Bell Choir Wednesdays @ 11 am Ladies Prayer Wednesdays @ 6 pm Bible Study Wednesdays @ 7 pm Choir Practice Thursdays @ 9 am Men’s Prayer Thursdays @ 10:30 am Bible Study

Looking Ahead………..

Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based pre-

ventive health screenings will be in our community on Monday,

March 16, 2020 at Hiawassee United Methodist Church. Ultra-

sound screenings to Identify risk factors for Cardiovascular dis-

ease include; Carotid Artery (plaque buildup-a leading cause of

stroke), Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (an enlargement or weak

area in the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart

to the rest of the body), Peripheral Arterial Disease (hardening

of the arteries in the legs), a Heart Rhythm Screening (an EKG to

detect Atrial Fibrillation-irregular heartbeat) and an Osteoporo-

sis Risk Assessment for men and women. Being proactive about

your health by knowing your risks helps you and your doctor

address problems early.

Register online TODAY at www.lifelinescreening.com/

communitycircle and receive your

“Community Circle” discount and your Preferred Appointment!

The Going Solo gals have had a good year and we will

finish out 2019 with our gift wrapping

& bake sale. Thank you to everyone

who helped with our bake sale. We

could not have done it without you.

In 2020, we will be doing more fun things.

Our first meeting of 2020 we will be discussing what we

can do to make it interesting. I hope we can bring girls

back to the group. 2020, HERE WE COME!

Growing Christlike, Having Fun

and Serving Others!

Remember to notify the office with any changes to your address or phone number.

Are you receiving the church emails and one calls? If not, you can email or call the office to be added to the list.

The Church Directory is available online and may be accessed through our website or through an ap on your smartphone. If you need help, contact the office.

Do you have something to contribute to the Newsletter? January 16th is the deadline for articles in the February Newsletter.

Support the Towns County Food Pantry when shopping at Amazon. Once you sign into Amazon with the following link, Amazon will donate a percentage of your sale to the Food Pantry. This is no additional cost to you.

Shop for great deals at smile.amazon.com/ch/80-0206686

2019 has been a busy year at HUMC.

Here are some of the ways your time, talent and treasure have been put to use this year:

January: Blueberry Sunday was celebrated with baked goods from our kitchens, all with a blueberry theme.

February: a number of you wrote devotions for a HUMC-wide Lenten devotional. HUMM invited the ladies to a

special Valentine Day breakfast.

March had 5 Sundays and on that 5th

Sunday, we celebrated the “Hands of Jesus” with brief testimonies of lo-

cal services in which our HUMC members participate. Also in March, Kevin Tharpe gave a presentation on es-

tate planning.

April included all the Holy Week activities. A special jug was set up for loose change which was included in the

Benevolence giving.

May was the giant Spring Fling sale. HUMM held a special Mother’s Day brunch for the ladies, neighbors and

friends. Memorial Day weekend saw the first of the HUMC bakers selling homemade goods at the Hiawassee

Music on the Square.

June had the bakers out again at Music on the Square.

July was the big 4th celebration with food, music and a dessert contest. Office relocation was started with the

painting of the rooms involved.

August saw the actual move of the office furniture and settling in with a new setup.

September was the start of the move to a Simplified Board organization for HUMC with weekly meetings to

discuss what would be involved and how to bring it about. September was staff appreciation month. Tom

Kirchner and Sandy Bradshaw spent a week at the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky.

October was Pastor appreciation month and the beginning of 2020 budgeting and pledging. This was also

kickoff month for Operation Christmas Child. AED training was held for the ushers and others. Craig Hill from

Family Foundations International spoke on the 27th.

November started with a celebration of those HUMC members who died over the past year. Then there was

the HUMM chili supper and pecan sale. Terry and Janice Simpson hosted a fish fry for members and guests.

Members of the new Leadership Board were chosen and their training began in earnest.

December began the Advent and Christmas season. The choir musical was on Sunday, Dec. 15. Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service was held on the 24th. Fifth Sunday was celebrated on the 29th. In addition, a special Bless-

ing seminar was held the first weekend of the month. Going SOLO held its second annual gift wrap and bake

sale. A community angel tree was set up with gift suggestions for members of two local families.

Submitted by Dawn Lamade

New in the HUMC library for December, 2019:

Beliles, Mark and Jerry Newcombe. Doubting Thomas? The religious life and legacy of Thomas Jefferson. (Biography) While Jefferson may seem to be the Patron Saint of the ACLU, his words and actions showed that he would totally disagree with the idea of driving God out of the public square. Regardless of Jeffer-

son's private religious views, he stood solidly against the state making theological decisions for its people. Therefore, he would stand solidly against the anti-Christian crusade being carried out in his name today.

Rubin, Jordan. The Maker’s Diet; the 40-day health experience that will change your life forever. (Family) Discover how Jordan Rubin's faith-based journey from near death to vital health led him to uncover the timeless principles of the world's healthiest people. By following The Maker's Diet, your health dreams can become a reality.

Gibbs, Joe. Racing to Win: establish your game plan for success. (Biography). Calling his plays by the bestselling Book of all time, Joe Gibbs tells you what made him a believer-in God, in his team members, and in himself. His incredible story of triumph and defeat in the high-stakes world of professional sports and in life will make you a believer, too.

Graf, Jonathan. The Power of Personal Prayer: learning to pray with faith and purpose. (Devotionals). In an easy-to-understand and encouraging manner, Jonathan Graf presents the keys to a dynamic prayer life. He teaches the founda-tional truths of what prayer is and how essential it is in our relationship with God.

Please check out your book or movie and leave the card, found in the back of the book or movie, in the box in the library on the shelf near the return box. This gives us an opportunity to find out what is being used and we can send you a gentle reminder

if you have forgotten to return a book or movie.

A listing of titles in the library is now available online. Go to our website for a direct link under “News” then click on Library and choose either Books or Movies.

HUMC Library Notes: Dawn Lamade Quiz Answer: Baal. (Reference 1 Chron. 4:33; 5:5, 6; 8:30; 9:35, 36, 39; Num. 22:41)

Church Giving Ministries

Many people and groups have benefitted from the generous donations from

HUMC members. These donations are not part of the church budget but are giv-

en for specific giving funds over and above HUMC budget needs. All told over

$13,500 has passed through HUMC designated for specific funds including those

listed below. Among the beneficiaries are:

Local community people who have needed temporary help with electric bills

or rent bills or gasoline.

Food Pantry recipients.

Missions, including monies for our missionary in Africa, Robin Broom.

Bibles for the jail ministry.

Find us on Facebook as Hiawassee United Methodist

Church. Please LIKE and FOLLOW us. www.hiawasseeumc.org

We generally treat January as a month of “improvement” resolutions; however, this time I intend to use it as a retrospective. In short, I want to look back at the Christmas story as it ap-pears in the second chapter of Luke. Specifically

at verses 4 through 7 and even more specifically verse 7 which states, “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (NIV).

Now, I have heard or read these verses probably a hundred or more time in my 85 years but they caught my attention this past year. Kind of like a song that you just can’t get out of your head. That phrase “no room in the inn” raised some ques-tions. Follow along with this process.

Joseph and Mary, nine months pregnant, just completed a journey of probably 90 or so miles. They were probably on the road for a week or more and the journey was difficult made more so by Mary’s pregnancy. Imagine them arriving in Bethle-hem. If Joseph had relatives there it is certain they had extend-ed hospitality to other relatives and could not accommodate Mary and Joseph and it is possible that they tried several rela-tives and perhaps even family acquaintances who would normal-ly accommodate these travelers as the law expected travelers to be treated with hospitality.

Well, nothing worked out for Joseph and Mary. They were probably hot and certainly tired from this arduous jour-ney. Bethlehem was a small town and they probably had only one “inn”.

Joseph asked for lodging and I just wonder what the individ-ual felt, who said there is no room. Certainly they could see that Mary was pregnant. And, I wonder if Joseph wasn’t tempted to grab that individual and shake them up. He had to feel down and angry. How did they end up in the stable? Who offered this humble lodging place for the birth of a king? Was it the innkeep-er? His wife? Perhaps his son or daughter? How did this inn-keeper feel later when he saw shepherds leave the their flocks and gather around the manger, a feeding trough, a makeshift nursery for Messiah? I wonder too if this innkeeper heard the heavenly host or saw the eastern star. Did you ever think about the events of this Holy night?

Perhaps it just does not matter. The real issue for us is the wonder of that night and the wonder of God’s introduction of His divine Son into a troubled world. But, I wonder! Do you?

From Our Lay Leader: Dale Gardner FAMILY FOUNDATIONS BLESSING GENERATIONS SEMINAR

HUMC was blessed to host the Blessing Generations Seminar presented by Family Foundations International on December 6th

and 7th. Those in attendance included 27 partici-pants (including 8 HUMC attendees) and 10 facilita-tors that came from the local surrounding area, At-lanta and even one attendee from Virginia. The seminar focused on attaining a deeper under-standing of how our ancestors and current family relationships have influenced today’s generation based on former generational blessings and curses. We learned how families in the Bible were affected by actions and words received from parents to chil-dren and the Biblical events that resulted from these actions and words. By learning of these prior events from a Biblical perspective, as well as seeing how our individual ancestors have influenced our current families, God has given us the path to changing our future generations. Spiritual warfare through prayer allows us to accomplish change by recognizing the negative messages we have re-ceived over generations (curses) and seeking God’s forgiveness and guidance in breaking the strong-holds of the curses and changing our families through blessings. Those who attended were given the “tools” of un-derstanding how prayer, both individually and cor-porately, can allow us to change the cycles that fam-ilies have lived with for generations. Another seminar from Family Foundations is planned for early 2020 and as soon as the details are available, you will receive the information. Please plan to attend as you will only receive bless-ings from going deeper into your relationship with Jesus. This ministry is a great way for us to reach out to and help our community. You can support this outreach ministry by your attendance and/or by contributing designated scholarship funds. Submitted by Irene Kirchner

Online Giving now available for

Credit Card

Debit Card

ACH transactions Visit our website: ww.hiawasseeumc.org

And click on the icon for online giving.

This month we are seeking a name that ap-

pears with some frequency in

the OT as the male deity of the

Phoenicians and Canaanites

(Ashtoreth was their female

deity); of a village of Simeon;

of a male member of the Reubenite house of

Joel who lived before the captivity of the

tribes and of a Benjamite, son of king Saul’s

ancestor Jehiel. The name we seek means

possessor or Controller. What is this name

that applies to two men, a deity and a village?

Financial Reports are available after the 1st of each month. Call

the office if you would like to have a report.

The ladies who live at Ms. Elaine's House must be approved by either the state Family or Drug Accountability Court. If they are in

Family Court it is because their children have been put into the care of the DFCS office. There are many requirements that must be met before they can be united as a family. They must have a job, an approved place to live, be clean from drugs/alcohol, and complete certain classes. As part of their stay at the house we do all that we can to help them meet their goals. We provide them with transporta-tion and a stable environment with rules that they must keep while living with us. No children are allowed to live in the house so they move when they complete the require-ments for Family Court.

All of them must go to at least 3 support group meetings a week such as AA or NA depending on their addiction. If they need a ride I will take them or if they are speaking I am often invited. Since all meetings are confidential the only thing I can tell you is that I learn from them. Most interesting is that there is as much celebration for a mem-ber's first visit as there is for the person who is celebrating 26 years. The stories are from the heart and you can see

both men and women grow stronger on a weekly basis. They always close with "it works if you work it". Some meetings are open so they can bring their children and one of the men always has his dog.

A suggestion for any holiday and especially Christmas is to stay close to other people who help you keep your sobrie-ty. There are always people available on those days for support or counseling. This year I was invited to the Drug Court's Christmas party where there were presents from Santa, an inspirational speaker, games with prizes and lots of food. It's a time to dress up, bring your family and enjoy a sober celebration. I feel privileged to be part of it all.

We give each inmate (both men and women) at Towns and Union County jails four Christmas Cards and four stamps each year. Special thank you to Carol Stutz who gave me cards/stamps for the women at the house. And thanks to all of you for prayers, support and encour-agement.

"Ms. Elaine"

Jail/Prison Ministry: Elaine McEver

Leadership Board News The new board met on 12/17 and

elected the following officers for 2020:

George Fell, Chairperson

Kathleen Schmidt, Vice-Chairperson

Pat Lee, Secretary

The first meeting of 2020 will be on

Thursday, 1/9 @ 5 pm

This meeting is open to all.