The Messenger

First & Wesley United

Methodist Church

89 Center Street

West Haven, Connecticut 06516

203-933-8795

December 2016

I love to officiate at baptisms, especially infant baptisms. The babies are

adorable and loved by all the church family. We thank God for giving them

life and guiding them through their lives.

When a baby is not yet born, the family waits for him/her. Sometimes the baby wants to stay in

his/her mother’s womb longer than expected. Then, every member of the family is concerned,

and the wait seems endless. Finally, when the baby arrives in the world, he/she gives us great

joy.

As the family eagerly waits for the baby, so too, we Christians wait for someone this Advent

season. He is also a baby. Baby Jesus, who was born in a stable in Bethlehem about two

thousand years ago, will be born again in our hearts this Christmas.

While waiting for a baby, his/her parents have a lot of preparation to do. They pray to God and

prepare for a crib, some clothes, and a few toys for him/her. Their nine-month wait is not

tedious but hopeful and active. Because of the hopeful wait, they do their best with joy.

We Christians also need to prepare before baby Jesus is born this Christmas. How do you think

we can prepare for this Advent season? First of all, we need to prepare a bed where Jesus will lie

down. Jesus was born in a humble manger. Thus, our hearts should be like that. If our hearts

are like a luxurious bed in a mansion, baby Jesus will not and cannot be born in our hearts this

Christmas.

Let us make our hearts humble and prepare a small manger for baby Jesus. Then, Jesus will be

born in our hearts this Christmas. When we have confidence that Jesus will come to us, it will be

joyous to wait for him this Advent. Let us have a spiritual, joyful Advent!

Sungmu Lee

Lectionary Readings for December 2016 December 4, 2016 Isaiah 11:1-10 • Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 • Romans 15:4-13 • Matthew 3:1-12

December 11, 2016 Isaiah 35:1-10 • Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46b-55 • James 5:7-10 • Matthew 11:2-11

December 18, 2016 Isaiah 7:10-16 • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 • Romans 1:1-7 • Matthew 1:18-25

December 18, 2016 Isaiah 7:10-16 • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 • Romans 1:1-7 • Matthew 1:18-25

December 24 & 25, 2016 Isaiah 9:2-7 • Psalm 96 • Titus 2:11-14 • Luke 2:1-14, (15-20) Isaiah 62:6-12 • Psalm 97 • Titus 3:4-7 • Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20 Isaiah 52:7-10 • Psalm 98 • Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12) • John 1:1-14

LIGHT

Light is a very special thing. It brings life and beauty to our world. The sun which shines upon

us is composed of a spectrum of colors. This is confirmed by light shining through droplets of

water and forming a rainbow in the sky or shining through a triangular glass prism. Light is also

symbolic of spiritual beneficence. As Christians we perceive the great light in Jesus revealing to

us our duty to God, to others and to one’s self. We receive wholesome spiritual instruction

which can improve our quality of life.

Like the moon, by itself, is barren, cold and dead; but it can catch the light of the sun and make

the night beautiful. Likewise, in the dark aspects of our spiritual world, each one of us can be a

beacon of light to radiate the pathway to righteousness.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp

puts under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the

same way, let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to

your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Rev. Benson A. Benton

DECEMBER 2016

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 10 Koinonia Café

6p Bell Choir

7p Adult Choir

2 6p Confirmation

Class

3 8-11 Free Community

Breakfast with

Santa

4 Pledge Dedication Sunday 9:15 Sunday School

10:30 Worship & Communion

11:30 Coffee Hour

11:30 Alternative Christmas

Market

12p Church Council

6p I/M Youth Group

5

6 10–12p Home Prayer Group

(101 Bellevue Ave, West

Haven)

5p Youth Choir

7p Stewardship Meeting

7 7:30p Advent Bible Study

8 10 Koinonia Café

6p Bell Choir

7p Adult Choir

9 10 10 Christmas Pageant

Rehearsal

3:30-5p

The Craft Corner

11 9:15 Sunday School

10:30 Worship

11:30 Coffee Hour

11:30 Alternative Christmas

Market

* “Wish List” Gift Due

* Christmas Altar Flowers

Order Due

12 6p Missions/

Outreach

Meeting

13 5p Youth Choir

7:30p Finance Meeting

14 7:30p Advent Bible Study

15 10 Koinonia Café

6p Bell Choir

7p Adult Choir

16 6p Confirmation

Class

6p Special

Olympics Holiday

Party

17 10 Christmas Pageant

Rehearsal

18 9:15 Sunday School

10:30 Worship &

Christmas Pageant

11:30 Coffee Hour

19 20 * Messenger Articles Due

for January, 2017

21

22 10 Koinonia Café

6p Bell Choir

7p Adult Choir

23 24 Christmas Eve 4p Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service

with Communion

25 Christmas 6:30 Christmas Morning Service

09:15 Sunday School

10:30 Worship & Communion

11:30 Anointing for

Healing & Wholeness

11:30 Coffee Hour

26 27

28

29 10 Koinonia Café

6p Bell Choir

7p Adult Choir

30 31

* As of November 20, 2016. For further updates, visit www.firstwesleyumc.org/calendar.

Adult Sunday School

The Adult Sunday School class is for anyone too old for the teenage class. We meet in Kendall

Hall during Sunday school hour for lively and wide ranging discussions on how our faith impacts

our daily lives Monday through Saturday. Our current guidebook is Faith is the Answer, But What

Are the Questions? By James W. Moore. The author says “Faith is the answer, of course, but still,

what are the questions, and how do we respond to them honestly, creatively, and redemptively?”

Come and join us for an energetic and enlightening time!

PRAYER GROUP

Prayer Group will meet on first Tuesday, December 6th

in Richard & Thelma

Reid's home, 101 Bellevue Avenue, West Haven, from 10AM to 12:00 Noon.

Please Join Us!!!!

PRAYER: Merciful heavenly Father, as we see in the future the season of Advent open our eyes, that we

may see You clearly,, open our ears that we may hear your voice and open our hearts that we may be a

vessel for your use. We praise your name and lift our thanksgiving to you for the sacrificial gift of your

son, Jesus! Bless this time of learning and celebration. Amen.

ISAIAH: 9-14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will

give birth to a son and will call him IMMANUEL.

Do you see a consumer's view of Christmas and do you see the Christian view of Christmas? Has the real

meaning of Christmas gotten lost in the shopping mall?

Jesus was not what most people expected --did not possess worldly wealth or majestic power. He resisted

world's obsessions with wealth, pleasure, power and recognition. Yet we have allowed materialism and

consumerism to distort our view of Jesus.

Have your celebrations charged throughout the years?

Real meaning of Christmas is celebration of a miracle....the birth of the Messiah!

Missions and Outreach

The committee met on Tuesday, November 16 and discussed current and future projects.

Thanks to everyone's generosity, 24 Thanksgiving "baskets" and $300+ in Stop & Shop gift cards were

delivered to our Covenant to Care social worker Lisa Fryer on November 15. These will help to brighten

her clients' holidays, and demonstrate God's Love to them. At that time, Ms. Fryer provided us with her

clients' "wish lists" for Christmas.

These were available, on ornaments for our members to choose from on Sunday, November 20. We

generously signed our names next to the appropriate name on the list, and took the "ornament". These

"gifts" need to be purchased, wrapped, "ornament" attached, and returned to church by Sunday,

December 11.

On Saturday, December 3 we will hold our second annual free breakfast with Santa from 8am to 11am.

There is still time to sign up to help set up or clean up on the lists in Fellowship Hall. You can also make

this a "warm" celebration by donating hats, gloves, and mittens into the red box in Fellowship Hall.

These will be distributed to any children who are in need. We will also be providing singing, crafts, and

small gifts for all the young children who attend. Come and join the fun, and see our "generous church"

at work!

On Sundays, December 4 and 11, we will hold our annual Alternative Christmas Market. Please take

advantage of the opportunity of remembering your family and friends with a donation to the following

charities: Heifer International, World Service of the United Methodist Church, W.H.E.A.T., Project

Hope, the Pharmacy Fund of the Hill Health Center, and Beth El Shelter.

We are looking forward to several activities for 2017: a free lunch and game afternoon in the Hill

section of New Haven, collecting for personal hygiene items for school girls in Africa, and fundraising

for our UMARMY teams. Come join us to discuss these and other ideas at our next meeting at 6pm on

Monday, December 12.

Our annual Alternative Christmas Market will be held on Sundays, December 4 and 11. The following will

benefit from your generosity: Heifer International, World Service of the United Methodist Church, W.H.E.A.T.,

Beth El Shelter, Project Hope, and the pharmacy fund of the Hill Health Center. Please consider remembering

your family and friends with a donation to one of these charities, and send them a card to notify them of your

generosity!

Pledge Campaign

We will be reaching out to the congregation beginning November 13 and for the next 3 Sundays to make a

commitment (pledge) for your time, talent and treasure. On December 4, we will receive the pledge cards and

give thanks for the generous response. Pledging a set amount each week allows the Finance Committee to be able

to set a plan of action for 2017. More information to follow…

Youth Choir Our Youth Choir is open to anyone in 1st grade and up. Below is our Schedule for December:

December 6th 5:00 PM rehearsal

December 11th SING IN CHURCH

December 13th 5:00 PM rehearsal

December 18th Christmas Pageant at 10:30 AM service

December 20th NO REHEARSAL

December 24th Sing in Christmas Eve service - 4:00 PM

December 27th NO REHEARSAL

January 3rd 5:00 PM rehearsal

Youth Group News Thanks to our youth groups for baking cookies for the church fair on Oct. 30th and for raking leaves on

November 19th. We have five people in our I/M (Intermediate/Middle school) group and 7 in our High School

Youth Group.

Our I/M youth group will meet on Dec. 4th, 6:00 PM - discussion/study on "The Incredibles". All students in 5th

grade through 8th grade are welcome!

The rest of December, there are no meetings. We will start up again on January 8th with our High School Youth

Group at 6:00 PM. All high schoolers are welcome to come!

CHRISTMAS ALTAR FLOWERS

Order Your Poinsettias

I (We) wish to order ___________ Poinsettia Plant(s) for the Altar at a suggested donation of $10.00

each.

Please make checks payable to First & Wesley United Methodist Church and write “flower fund” in the

memo section on the check.

In Memory Of ___________________________________________ or

In Honor of _____________________________________________

Given by _____________________________________________

Telephone # _____________________________________________

Taking plant(s) home __________ yes ____________ no

Plants to be given to shut-in __________ yes ____________ no

Orders must be received by Sunday, December 11th

. Please leave form in the offering plate or hand to

Mary Anne Hawkes (203) 933-1958.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT "Jesus means Christmas to Me"

The children will present a Christmas Pageant, "Jesus means Christmas to me" on December 18th

during our morning worship service.

In order to get this together we will be having 2 rehearsals on the following dates:

Saturday, December 10th 10:00-11:30 AM

Saturday, December 17th 10:00-11:30 AM

If you have a child in the church who would like to be a part of this, come to these rehearsals. The

children need to learn simple songs and we need some to dress up as angels, shepherds, wise men,

Mary, Joseph and some to do narration parts. It's gonna be FUN!

Sunday School News

Sunday School meets weekly on Sunday mornings from

9:15 – 10:15. The younger classes use a program called

Deep Blue. They meet in the sanctuary. The kids listen

to and read bible stories, sing songs, and learn bible

verses. After the opening lesson, students go to their

own classrooms to work on craft projects, play games, read, and talk about the lesson.

The older Sunday School class meets in an upstairs classroom in their comfy chairs. They

use a program called Submerge. They read stories, play games, make craft projects, and

talked about their lessons. Each week has a theme. The theme gives them an opportunity

to talk about issues they face as preteens and teens.

The Craft Corner, a group of youth grades 5 and up, met on Saturday, November 12 to

make Christmas Cards. We will meet the second Saturday of each month from 3:30 –

5:00. The next date is Saturday, December 10 to make more cards and paint Christmas

ornaments. Contact Gail Bartozzi or Jen Werle for more information.

Fundraiser

Just a reminder that Dave Smith is selling Stop

and Shop cards to members and friends of First

and Wesley. Whether for buying groceries or to

give as a gift, as an added bonus, you can earn

Stop & Shop gas rewards for every $1 spent on

gift cards.

It is hard to believe that more people don’t take

advantage of this marvelous way to raise money

for the church. If you buy a gift card from Dave

Smith you get the full face value at the register

and Stop & Shop sends a percentage to the

church. It couldn’t be simpler and it doesn’t cost

you a dime. The church has raised over $2,000.

Coffee Hour

“Coffee Hour ~ we are always

looking for kindhearted souls

to take a turn at serving coffee

after church. Meet your friends to chat in a

relaxed atmosphere. A sign-up sheet is available

in Fellowship Hall. You can also sign up online

on our website,

www.firstwesleyumc.org/Forms.html

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Articles for the October Newsletter are due

by December 20th. Please mark your calendars.

EVERYONE IS A REPORTER

If you give me the- who, what, when, where

and why, I will write your article for you –

Email to dollar.signs@snet.net or call

203-213-6363 and leave a message. Please

send me your email address to speed up

delivery of the newsletter.

Thank you, Bill Hunt

Pennies From Heaven

The Native American Penny Collection is ongoing

to provide very much needed food and fuel. Please

help the Sunday school students by giving them

your loose change each week to support those in

need.

November Birthdays

3 - Diane Soars

5 - Judy Juzwiakowski 6 - Julia Werle

8 - Hannah Cascio

Shirley Henrie

9 - Christine McGregor 10 - Bill Hunt Hyacinth Young

11 - Lisa Ammon

Tom Mark

Jennifer Skipper 12 - Katelyn Hickman

17 - Michele Sablone Benson A. Benton, Sr.

18 - Matt Heafy

20 - Ann Soule Jayden Abekah

21 - Mark Cascio Isaiah Singleton 29 - Raymond Geissler

30 - Florence Dzikas Stephanie Wilson 31 - Gina Quinn

November Anniversaries

3 - Peggy and Jim Jerrell

11 - Helen and Dave Smith

16 - Becky and Tom Baker

19 - Vera and Edward Marshall

27 - Linda and Dennis Kopec

If you would like to include someone for birthdays or

anniversaries please see below. Example- name change,

address change, marriage, birth, death, etc.

Email: firstwesleyumc@gmail.com or send to church office.

Pastors

Discretionary

Fund:

Please consider giving a “Love Offering” to Pastor’s

discretionary fund. You may place your gift in the

container on the back table of the sanctuary. If you

wish to write check to the church, please write

“Pastor’s Discretionary Fund” in the memo section.

Tell us if you have a member information change:

example- name change, address change, marriage,

birth, death, etc.

Email: firstwesleyumc@gmail.com or send to

the Church office.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Prayer Shawl meets the second Tuesday of every

month at the home of Chris McGregor or Linda Kopec.

If you would like to give a shawl to someone, please

see one of the members: Linda Kopec, MaryAnn

Hawkes, Edith Mulligan, Sue McMillian, Sharon Ewen

or Chris McGregor.

Alternately, there are blessed shawls in the church

office as well as letters to go with them and gift bags.

If you take one, please leave a note with the name of

the recipient. We try to keep a list so that we know

how many shawls have been given to friends.

If you don't knit but would like to be part of this

ministry, we would be happy to accept donations

toward the purchase of yarn. If you would like to

choose the yarn yourself, three skeins of Lion Brand

Homespun are needed for each shawl.

Thank you!

The Messenger First & Wesley United Methodist Church

89 Center Street West Haven, CT 06516

Phone (203) 933-8795

www.firstwesleyumc.org

Email: firstwesleyumc@gmail.com

Reverend Sungmu Lee

Sunday Worship Time: 10:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:15am

The December Newsletter