The Messenger - Alexandria United Methodist Church

1 The Messenger United Methodist Church 2210 Sixth Avenue East, Alexandria , MN 56308 Craig Haberman email: Office: 320-763-4624 email: Website: Mission: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world Vision: To Grow and Live in the Spirit of Christ January 2018 Editor: Kali Kaeter A Note from Pastor Craig Greetings! I hope you had a joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year. Additionally, I pray in the year ahead each of you will grow in love for God, for one another, and for who God has created you to be. I want to encourage each of you to attend our annual Church Conference, which will be held on Sunday January 21st, immediately following a potluck dinner, which itself follows our 10:30 Sunday morning worship service. District Superintendent Mark Miller will preside for our Church Conference. Some of you may be wondering What exactly is a Church Conference and Isn t a Church Conference a meeting that only elected Church leaders should attend?

2 The answer to the second question is No all who attend a Church Conference will grow and gain something, as does the congregation as a community. The answer to the first question is A Church Conference is a mixture of learning, sharing, fellowship, discernment, strengthening the community, as well as some business items and learning about upcoming District and Annual Conference events. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, emphasized practical divinity, which means putting faith and love into action. His primary purpose was to invite people to experience God s grace and to grow in their knowledge and love of God through disciplined Christian living. ( ) Wesley described five means of grace through which followers of Christ would experience God s love shed abroad in their hearts and grow in love for God and one another. He lists them as Prayer, Searching the Scriptures, the Lord s Supper (Communion), Fasting, and Christian Conferencing.

3 (Italics mine.) Here is a succinct summary of Christian Conferencing: To confer with Christian sisters and brothers can be a means of grace. Together we can study the Scriptures, discuss how best to apply them to our lives, and then hold one another accountable for living faithfully. In this way God can work through the body of Christ. For individuals, this happens best in small groups as we process the decisions we face daily. Such conferring offers some of the best opportunities for growth in faith and action. On a broader level, congregations and whole denominations use Christian conferencing to discern God s will and make decisions about their lives together. (Wesley Study Bible p. 1425.) I hope you will prepare your favorite dish/recipe on Saturday night/Sunday morning, then join us for worship on Sunday, January 21st, for our congregational potluck, and for a time of Christian Conferencing!

4 Pastor Craig Published by Alexandria United Methodist Church Telephone (320) 763-4624 Pastor: Craig Haberman email: Administrative Assistant: Kali Kaeter email: Director of Children s Ministries: Kayla Brunkow email: Director of Youth Ministries: Brenda Thomson email: Custodian: Denise Dropik Organists/Pianists: Alli Prestby Nursery: Karen Murphy and Emma Reilly Office Hours Pastor Craig M-W-F (9:00-1:00) T-Thurs (9:00-1:00) Kali Mon-Tue-Wed-Thurs-Fri Office is open (9:00-1:00) Kayla Tuesday (9:00-3:00) Wednesday (11:00-5:00) Thursday (9:30-2:30) Brenda Wed & Thurs (5:30-8:30) Reminder that we are following our Safe Sanctuary Policy the Church entrance doors will remain locked unless there are two people present in the building. Please call ahead before you come to Church , as there are times when we are not in the building, even though we are working. Also, most days someone is in the office before 9:00 and later than 1:00 CARE TEAM VISITORS are available to provide personal support to Church members in times of special need.

5 These may include hospitalization, rehabilitation, family crisis, or senior home visitation. The CARE TEAM is a compassionate, volunteer ministry of our congregation. Call the Church office to request a visit (763-4624). Worship Attendance 2017 2016 Service 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Nov. 26 53 64 40 121 Dec. 3 67 73 77 77 Dec. 10 61 84 54 79 Dec. 17 58 76 54 58 Community Events: January 11th: BLOOD DRIVE 1:00 pm 6:00 pm at Bethesda Lutheran Church , 1204 N Nokomis. January 23rd: The Written Gift - 6:00-8:00 pm at DMS Media Center. The Written Gift utilizes community outreach and education to promote advance care planning and patient choice. Nursery is available on Sunday morning during worship services and coffee fellowship time. Nursery is for children 5 and younger. If you have an older child and need a place to go with them during worship time, the Youth Room is available. There is a speaker in the room to listen to the sermon.

6 Toys are available in Cart Two. In your prayers, please remember all in positions of leadership, people serving in dangerous and difficult settings, returned and returning service people and their families, all who seek and await peace. ALL Church CONFERENCE Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:30 am All Church Potluck followed by meeting All are encouraged to attend! Publication Date for the next Messenger : is the last week of January. Articles for the February issue need to be in the office by NOON on Friday, January 19th. Parish News Happy Birthday to: Pat Baustian, who will be celebrating her 90th birthday on January 1st! Adult Sunday School: Beginning on Sunday, January 7th, there will be two studies both are six week studies. Both of these studies are DVD and book studies. The study taking place in the Youth Room is titled: Embracing An Adult Faith by Marcus Borg. The study taking place in the Fellowship Hall is titled: Embracing The Prophets In Contemporary Culture by Walter Bruggemann.

7 Additional information on these studies will be posted in the Narthex. Beginning on Sunday, February 18th there will be one study. This will be a six week Lenten study titled: Five Means of Grace by Elaine A. Heath. Information on this study will be posted in the Narthex the last week of January. Human Relations Day is Sunday, January 14th. When you give in the special offering envelope the generous gift strengthens community outreach and empowers at-risk youth. The Human Relations Day offering makes a difference for God s children everywhere. Thank you to everyone who attended the Children s Christmas program on Sunday, December 10th. A huge thank you to Jean Bristow, Tami Miller, Heidi Ryan and Nancy & Rick Christensen for their help in the kitchen for the potluck! Wednesday night activities for 3rd-5th Grade students resume on January 10th. We will have a meal at 5:30PM with activities from 6:00PM-7:30PM.

8 Camp Sunday is February 11th. We will have our annual Soup r Sundae lunch with freewill offering for camperships. SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday school resumes in January and we will begin our second unit of the Winter curriculum. We will meet weekly, with the exception of Easter Sunday, through Sunday, May 20th. UNIT 2: Jesus, the Greatest Prophet ANCHOR POINT: God sent Jesus to tell us about God. BIBLE VERSE: This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world. John 6:14 January 7th: The Visitors from the East January 14th: A Voice in the Wilderness January 21st: Jesus and the Children January 28th: A Boy s Lunch Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. Proverbs 22:6 Angel Tree Gifts Send off 12/19/2017 Today we had another joyous send off for our Angel Tree presents! Chris Kragenbring, along with 3 current students and 1 former REACH student, came to the Church to pick up the 120 gifts that our congregation purchased and wrapped this Christmas season.

9 Pastor Craig led us in a thoughtful prayer about the hope and light that God provides in our lives and the connection we must continue to have within our own community. After that, with smiles on everyone s faces, we got to work loading up two vehicles with all of the presents. While loading the gifts, Chris former student spoke about how much the Angel Tree meant to her when she was a REACH student going through difficult financial years in high school. She said that her family had enough money for food, but they did not have money for presents and was grateful for our congregation s generosity. She has since gone on to enroll at Moorhead State, where she is in her first year. It was wonderful to hear that she has decided to continue her education, which speaks to the student s hard work and to the dedication that Chris Kragenbring and our teachers have for their students. I know our Angel Tree is a small example of the love of Christ in their lives, but I believe it is a powerful symbol and a lasting one.

10 Thank you again for your generosity, it cannot be overstated. Have a Merry Christmas!! -Missions Committee- JANUARY VOLUNTEERS Liturgists: 8:00 Jan 7 & 14 Roy Good Jan. 21 & 28 Carol Meyer 10:30 Jan 7 & 14 Shawn Reilly Jan. 21 & 28 Kim Tryggeseth Ushers: 8:00 Jan 7, 14, 21 & 28 Chuck Bollen, Dennis Dischler & Helen Dischler 10:30 Jan 7 & 14 John & Sue Helgeson, Jim & Kathy Bridenstine Jan 21 & 28 Chris Springman, Dave Nelson, Tami Miller, Marsha Haugen Greeters: Jan. 7 8:00 Pat Vickerman 10:30 Mitch & Allison Loch Jan. 14 8:00 Darlene Lunemann 10:30 Bruce Jordan Jan. 21 8:00 Bernie & Betty Van Zomeren 10:30 Dennis & Arlyn Cin Jan. 28 8:00 Ken & Heidi Ryan 10:30 Otto & Phyllis Freier Acolytes: Jan 7 8:00 Izzy Bartell, Olivia Bartell 10:30 Chloe Loch, Olivia Reilly Jan 14 8:00 Noah Dirkes, Riley Runnoe 10:30 Logan Tung, Colin Reilly Jan 21 8:00 Desiree Galbraith; Kaitlyn Gimbel 10:30 Dari Meyer, McKenna Meyer Jan 28 8:00 Nicolas Witt, Joey VanRoekel 10:30 Lars Dropik Coffee Servers: Organists/Pianists: Jan.