january 2016 january rochelle united methodist...

Rochelle United Methodist Church

709 Fourth Avenue

Rochelle, IL 61068

open hearts ~ open minds ~ open doors

JANUARY 2016

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Rochelle, IL

PERMIT No. 76

Rochelle United Methodist Church

709 Fourth Avenue Rochelle, Illinois 61068

Office: (815) 562-2164

Rev. Rob Hamilton

Pastor’s e-mail: [email protected]

Visitation Pastor: Rev. Dave Rogula

Church website: www.rochelleumc.com

Church e-mail: [email protected]

Office hours: Monday thru Thursday 8 a.m.— 3:30 p.m.

Please call for appointment.

Dana Cox, Administrative Assistant

Matt Hayes, Youth Director/Local Missions/Finance

Bruce Vickrey, Treasurer Don Horner, Lay Leader

Mark Ackland, Technical Director

Linda Kenney, Director of Music Judy Connolly, Organist

Please call to notify us of someone being

hospitalized or any other emergency. We’d

rather have 10 phone calls than none! We

want to be there for you. Call and let us know

when you need a pastoral visit.

JANUARY 2016

I can’t believe it is New Year’s already! Its the time of making resolutions, starting fresh, burning off a few pounds from the holidays. Have you con-sidered how God makes us -and all things- new? So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything

has become new! - 2 Corinthians 5:7 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert. - Isaiah 43:18-19 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

Revelation 21:1-5 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body

the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. - Ezekiel 36:26

VISION STATEMENT...We are a community of faith that seeks to connect people with Jesus

Christ and each other, to grow in the habits of Jesus and to serve others in the Spirit of Jesus.

Rochelle United

Methodist Church

PASTOR’S PEN BY PASTOR ROB HAMILTON

We will begin and end the month of January with special

guest preachers at both of our worship services.

Rev. Lisa Kruse-Safford will preach and preside over com-

munion on January 3rd, bringing us an Epiphany mes-

sage. Rev. Lisa Kruse-Safford is a dynamic preacher

and the Rockford District Superintendent.

On January 31, Rev. Young-Mee Park, our very own

Dekalb District Superintendent, will share a message

with us at both services and co-preside over commun-

ion with Pastor Rob.

SPECIAL GUEST PREACHERS

SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICE 9 AND 11AM JANUARY 10TH

Two Sundays after Christmas is traditionally when we remember the Baptism of Jesus. As part

of our remembrance of Jesus' baptism, on Sunday, January 10, 2016 instead of communion the

congregation will be invited forward to the baptismal font to remember and reaffirm our bap-

tismal covenant and be thankful. Those wanting to be baptized for the first time can be bap-

tized on this Sunday if they feel so moved. Additionally those who have yet to be baptized can

participate in this sacramental act by anticipating their baptism and being joyful. Baskets to

collect offerings for Benevolence will available to receive your offering.

The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s

Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. ~ Matthew 3:16—17 (The Message)

ROCHELLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Rev. Lisa Kruse-Safford Rev. Young-Mee Park

As we consider what new start to make in 2016 - be it a resolution or not - consider the challenge of being open for God to do something new in your life. As this new year begins ask yourself these questions penned by Lawrence Hull Stookey: Am I willing, indeed eager, to see God at work in new ways in my life? Will I work to identify God’s newness, particularly when it does not seem evident to me? Am I determined to trust in God’s ways, even if I am apprehensive about what they hold in store? Will I seek in all things to give thanks to God? As the new year begins, I pray all of God’s blessings upon us as we grow in the habits of Jesus in new ways together.

JANUARY 2016

Wednesday Night

Dinners will resume on

January 20th. If your

group would like to host a

dinner, please contact

Dianne Jenner for

information.


LITURGIST

January 3 Betsy Smith

January 10 Doug Zuehl

January 17 Merilee Loggins

January 24 Pat Casey

January 31 Matt Hayes

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

JANUARY 2016

FLOWER MINISTRY

Thank you to the Wednesday Night Dinners for the purchase of additional flat-

ware for the church kitchen.

My family and I would like to thank the congregation for their warm holiday wishes that came in the form of Christmas cards, treats, and warm greetings. Thank you for making our first Christmas in Rochelle special. Pastor Rob Hamilton, Meghan, Lily and Ella

January 3 Service Seekers

January 10 Monday A.M. Study

January 17 Missions

January 24 Garden Goodies

January 31 Youth

COFFEE HOUR GATHERING COFFEE

January 3 Bill & Leah Vanstone

January 10 NEED SPONSOR






January 17 Doug & Swan Zuehl

January 24 Kris Pierce

January 31 Yvonne Colville

January 3 Marvin & Marilyn Alderks

January 10 Gus & Armande Vasilopoulos


January 24 Jim & Marnie Moorehead


RADIO MINISTRY

USHERS

January 3 Megan, Callie, Carley & Katelyn Ackland

January 10 Matt & Jackie King and Bruce & Kathy Vickrey

January 17 Dean & Linda Cater and Marv Jensen

January 24 Youth

January 31 Kathy Windland and Janice Shaffer and Donna Windland

Church Council will meet at RUMC at 7:00 p.m. on the dates listed below. Everyone is invited to attend council

meetings. Voting takes place by council members only. We hope to see more church members become active in the

leadership of RUMC. Plan on joining a council meeting this year to learn more!

February 11, 2016 May 12, 2016 July 14, 2016 September 8, 2016 October 13, 2016 December 8, 2016


A MESSAGE FROM OUR VISITATION PASTOR BY PASTOR DAVE ROGULA

Theme: “Inner Strength: Greater Outreach”

Location: Dixon First UMC 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Target: For ALL who care about today’s church and its future!

Goal: To worship, train, connect and replenish laity and clergy of the Dekalb District of the Northern

Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church so Christ’s mission and ministry flourishes!

Administration is hoping to provide sessions on the following subjects: Conflict Resolution, Children’s

Ministry, Leadership Basics, Staff Parish Relations, Sharing Stories of our Church History, Methodism

& Apportionments, Prison Ministering, Best Church Financial Practices, and Statistical Reporting.

Registration is $15 per person or $50 per church (maximum regardless of how many attend.) The regis-

tration fee includes lunch and snacks! This event is planned to allow all participants accessibility to all

activities. Please let us know if you have any food allergies. Register for Child Care.

DEKALB DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil– no point.

JANUARY 2016

Dear Friends,

We draw strength from each other especially when we gather in so many different occasions and

circumstances. It’s like getting recharged and ready to meet whatever the future holds for us. Having

Jesus in our lives is what draws us together in these ways.

Rev. Gordon McClellan, in an article he entitled “The Three Wise Men” shares this: The three wise men, referred to in the Bible as the ‘magi’ (Matthew 2:7), have become a permanent part of the Christ-mas story. Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus have come to signify the “season of giving”. Not much is known, however, about these ‘magi’, other than that they were three wealthy men from “another country” (Matt.2:12), which many believe to be Egypt, and that they were sent by King Herod to Bethlehem, to “make a careful search for the child” (Matt.2:8). What lessons then, can we take from three men who we know so little about and who are mentioned nowhere else in the Bible?

It turns out that we don’t need to know anything more about the three wise men than we already do, in order to grasp the single most important lesson made by their brief appearance on the Biblical stage. The lesson is this: They didn’t expect Jesus to come to them, but rather set out to find and worship him them-selves. Once they knew that Jesus had been born, they made it their top priority to find Him and worship Him. In their simple act is revealed the importance of doing the same in our own lives.

On Christmas day we celebrated the birth of our Lord. But the example of the “magi” reveals to us

the importance of not simply acknowledging the birth of our Lord, but committing to finding Him and worship-

ping Him above all else. This is what these three men, who we know so little about, succeeded in teaching all

of us: that there is nothing more important than finding Jesus.

My prayer is that you have already found Jesus and will experience the best year (s) of the

rest of your life. May God’s blessings be felt by each of you this New Year as we work and build to-

gether the ministry of God’s Church. Have a Great New Year!

Peace & Joy, Pastor Dave

january 2016 january rochelle united methodist...

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