Galveston United Methodist Church
515 S. Maple Street
PO Box 639
Galveston, IN 46932
Phone 574-699-7642
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
And in despair I bowed my head.
There is no peace on earth, I said!
For hate is strong, and mocks the song
of peace on earth, good will to men!
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
with peace on earth, good will to men!
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Worship Service:
Fellowship Time:
Family Ministry Time:
9:30 AM
10:45 AM
11:00 AM
Tom Hoffmeyer, Senior Pastor
Ryan Sibray, Director of Family Ministry
Extended Needs Prayer List
Please update the office on the condition of your prayer concerns.
Michelle Moss (Daughter of Nancy Moss)
Larry Hardin
Dear Church Family,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful
Thanksgiving. I want to thank everyone
who has brought us meals, prayed for us, and supported us in this
past month as we have adjusted to life with Lydia. We are so
thankful for everyone’s generosity.
As you all know, in December we have entered into the season
of Advent. Advent is a season of anticipation and hopefulness.
The Latin word adventus, in which this season derives its name,
translates to coming. As Christians, this season represents where
we celebrate the arrival of Christ on Christmas Day and look forward to the time where he comes again. It has a double-meaning
of celebrating an event that happened, the birth of Christ, and the
future anticipation of when he comes again to reign on Earth.
Advent, at its core, is a season of celebration and anticipation.
My hope is that during this season, we enter it with a spirit of
anticipation and joy of what Christ has done for us and will do
for us. In this busy season, let us find times to quiet ourselves and
anticipate that God will fill our hearts with a sense of joy. We
cannot expect to hear God, or connect to God if we are unable to
slow down and make time to listen. My hope and anticipation is
that if we take time to listen or worship God, that our hearts will
be filled with hope, love, joy, and peace. Let us this season celebrate what God has done for us and anticipate what God will do
for us!
Pastor Tom
Please remember our local missionary - Jenny Lee
Our members and loved ones in the armed forces:
Listed in alphabetical order
Tiffany Bilderback (Niece of Dave and Linda Johnson)
Tyler Burns (Nephew of Tim and Leslie Pickering)
Anthony Catt (Grandson of Phil and Glenda Bostic)
Zach Catt (Grandson of Phil and Glenda Bostic)
Danika Elliott
Adam Fisher (Step-brother of Leslie Pickering)
Brennen Garland (Great-nephew of Bob and Deb Lynas)
Kyle Hartman (Son-in-law of Dave and Linda Leonard)
Adam Junker (Son of Darrel and Linda Junker)
Kyle O’Brien (Son of John and Pat O’Brien)
Reed Price
Charles Schutt (Grandson of James and Patty Schutt)
Josh Smith (Nephew of Jean Sprinkle)
Dylan Tague (Grandson of James and Patty Schutt)
Please remember all the brave men and women serving in our
armed forces.
Praying for the Grieving
Families and Friends of:
Floyd Oliver, a good friend and
co-worker of Larry Gingerich, who
went home to be with our Lord on
Saturday, November 19.
Worship Committee News
Poinsettia order forms are available
on the Welcome Center and will be
taken until Sunday, December 4. If
you would like to order a poinsettia in
honor of or in memory of someone they
will be $10 each and will be joining the rest of the Christmas
decorations in the sanctuary on Sunday, December 18. They may
be taken home after the Christmas morning service. Please make
checks payable to Galveston United Methodist Church marked as
“Christmas flowers”. If paying by cash, place cash in an envelope
and mark “Christmas flowers” along with your name. Completed
order forms may be placed in the basket on the Welcome Center
or in the offering plate.
We would like to thank everyone who came to help with the
Hanging of the Greens. “Many hands make light work” and that
was sure true in this case.
The Final Few Details
Be sure to check out the online version
of the newsletter in January. By switching
formats, we’ve been able to reorganize
our news and put it all in an order that
makes more sense. We hope you will have
an easier time keeping track of the church
events, joys and concerns. Each month, besides the Newsletters
that will be on the Welcome Center for those who need them,
we will have plenty of Calendars with the Server Schedule and
Extended Prayer Needs List on the opposite side.
From Ryan’s Corner
Christmas will be here soon! I’m sure you are all already planning
holiday meals and shopping trips. Christmas is a time of great joy
when we celebrate the birth of Christ!
Often when we think of the Christmas story we think of kneeling
shepherds, singing angels, baby lambs, and wise men with great
gifts. However, if we keep reading Matthew, chapter two brings
tragedy. To avoid genocide, Jesus’ family is forced to flee to
Egypt.
This often overlooked part of our Christmas story shows us that
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus faced real tragedy in their lives. They
were forced to leave their home and they were strangers in a
strange land. Even worse, those children who did not escape the
wrath of King Herod were put to death!
Our Lord and Savior was a Middle Eastern boy fleeing his home
country under threat of death. It is in this spirit that I ask you to
spend some time this season praying about who is vulnerable in
this world and what you can do to make an impact on their lives.
Research. Donate. Volunteer. Make it a family activity. Use it
as an opportunity to show the young people in your life how to
give back.
And above all don’t let the distractions of the season keep you
from remembering your neighbor.
Ryan Sibray
Stewardship and Christmas
There is no season quite like the season of Christmas. It’s a
joyful time, full of parties, music, good food and friends. There
are also some stewardship lessons to be learned from the story of
the birth of Jesus.
During His adult life, Jesus taught us to give and serve.
When He first came into this world, He needed assistance. Jesus
was born without a place to lay His head. In coming into the
world this way He showed there is no shame in being poor or less
fortunate. When we practice stewardship, let us not neglect the
less fortunate. When we neglect the poor, we are neglecting Jesus.
The shepherds came from the fields bringing only themselves and their sheep. Their interest in Jesus was enough to be
forever mentioned in the story of the birth of Jesus. Their stewardship message is, if all we have to give is our interest, our caring, and our time to come and visit, those are important gifts to
give.
The Wise Men present an entirely different message than
the shepherds. Like a lot of us, the Wise Men had many blessings.
Not only did they come to worship baby Jesus but they also
brought Him gifts. The message here is that coming to church is
not enough. We are expected to bring our gifts with us.
The story of Jesus born in a manger, shepherds coming to
visit and kings following a star to find the infant Jesus, is a story
filled with stewardship messages. As you remember the story of
the birth of Jesus, try to apply some of the stewardship lessons.
During the Christmas season, let the abundance of love and generosity fill our hearts and spill out to others, especially those in
need. Make room in our hearts for the child born into poverty and
who came to give us life and share it with everyone we meet.
Merry Christmas
December Birthdays
1
2
5
6
9
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
25
27
28
29
30
31
Wade Tocco
Brooklynn Fye
Corky Cordell
Rex Klise
Sarah Lococo
Tammy Kirby
Lisa Moore
Robert Lynas, Zakary Kraner
Jenny Lee, Ed Smith
Nieta Green, John Zook
Cameron Rush
Jon Kitchel, Rich Mund, Lisa Roberts
Emma Kraner, Landon Elliott, Asher Sibray
Kayla Allison
Ronnie Roberts
Mary Ramsey
Cindy Marschand
Barb Pullen
Barb Wilson, Sue Kitts
Dan Kitchel, Tina Kitchel
Lara Ritz, Allara Henry
Linda Leonard, Tim Pickering
Jim Kitchel, Steve Smith
Ryan McFarland, Layton Pickering
Anniversaries
16
17
20
23
26
31
Ryan and Sara McFarland
Mike and Kathy Collins
Dave and Linda Johnson
Zak and Karissa Kraner
Gene and Carol Swank
Dean and Mary Ramsey
Cass County Mental Health Christmas Gift Drive
The Mental Health Association has many hospital patients and
several small groups that meet in homes.
The following gifts are needed:
 XXL and XXXL Pull Over Hooded Sweatshirts
 XXL and XXXL Long Sleeved Shirts
 Gloves
 Socks
Cash donations are also being collected and the mental health
workers will do the shopping. Items should be at the church by
Sunday, December 11. See Jeff Porter or Dan Ritz with any
questions.
The Children’s Christmas Store
The Children's Christmas Store will begin on Saturday,
December 10 at the Paper Pantry. The children of our
guests will be invited to “shop” for their families. On
Friday, December 9 at 9:00 AM we will be getting the
store ready for the “shoppers”. If you would like to help
with this set up, please contact Vicki Piatt, Linda Junker
or Carol Lee. Also if you would like to help the children
with their “shopping” on Saturday, December 10 from 9
-10:30 give Vicki, Linda or Carol a call. We'd appreciate your help.
On Sunday, December 11 and December 18 our church family
children will be “shopping” during children's church. The children
in preschool will also be shopping. We appreciate the generous
donations that have already come in for this major event and will
continue to accept donations until Thursday, December 8. We are
also in need of aluminum foil, bags and tape.
United Methodist
Women’s Fellowship
The Galveston United Methodist Women's
Fellowship will meet on Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 PM for our annual Christmas
celebration. Our program, “Baking Up
Christmas” written by Julia Bettencourt will
be presented by Carol Lee. We will also
have an ornament exchange that evening. A sign up sheet for
finger foods can be found on the bulletin board. Our Christmas
gifts again this year will be items for the Paper Pantry. Our Christmas party is always great fun. We invite and encourage all women
of the church to join us for this time of celebration.
We will again be providing bags to collect Christmas cards for
our shut ins and those in need of special encouragement during
the Christmas season. We invite everyone to help us make this a
extraordinary time for special people in our church family and
community by bringing in Christmas cards and placing them in
the individual bags. A list of those who will be receiving cards
can be found on the Missions and Opportunities table soon.
A big THANK YOU to those who helped us to collect quarters for
our veterans. We were able to give each veteran who calls Jackson
Street Commons home a roll of quarters along with other goodies
in their “thank you” bag.
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club will be meeting for breakfast
at 8:30 AM on Monday, December 5 at the
Small town Café in Galveston.
Rainbow Preschool
We talked about things for which we are thankful
or happy in November. We included them in
our prayers and conversation reminding us to continually give
thanks to God and have an attitude of gratefulness.
You are invited to the short Christmas Program presented by the
children on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 PM. Cookies and
drinks will follow in the fellowship hall.
We are thankful for you helping this children’s ministry of our
church with your support and prayers.
Rainbow Preschool Executive Board, Staff, & Families
Rainbow Preschool Opportunities
We will be selling nuts, kettle & caramel corn, again this year
made by a local business, Go Nutz! Gourmet Nuts and Snacks.
Orders will be taken until Monday, December 12. Delivery will
be before Christmas.
We continue to collect aluminum drink cans to recycle. They
may be dropped off at 124 W Griffith, home of Kent & Tina Moss
or at the church. Go to https://www.kroger.com and create an
account under “Community” then “Community Rewards.” Please
choose Rainbow Preschool in Galveston for us to get credit when
you swipe your Kroger card.
Education Committee News
Please sign up to donate for ECHO’s family
Christmas Dinner on December 13. You may
also donate money marked ECHO food in the
church offering or give to Tina Moss to shop
for you!
Advent Bible Study
Join Pastor Tom each
Monday at 6:30 PM from
November 28 through December 19
A virgin birth. God’s son…a helpless baby.
Fleeing certain death. Nothing about the
Christmas story is ordinary. Mike Slaughter
says it’s enough to confound the mind and
make the heart contrite. In his book, Down
to Earth, Slaughter presents a four-week
Advent study that opens up God’s Christmas
surprise to us and examines how it changed
everything.
Hope is born
A little child, a shining star,
a stable rude, the door ajar.
Yet in that place so crude, forlorn,
The Hope of all the world was born.
~Author unknown
Prayer Shawl Ministry
“Community Paper Pantry!”
A Community Outreach Ministry of
Galveston United Methodist Church.
Open the SECOND Saturday of every month from 9-10:30am.
The Paper Pantry provided 71 families with supplies in
November. In December, we will host the annual Christmas
Pancake Breakfast and Christmas Store for the children during
the Paper Pantry on December 10. All are invited to come out
at 8am to help that morning with either the Breakfast, the Children’s Store or the Pantry.
Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet on
Thursday, December 15 at 9 AM in the
Conference Room We would love for you
to join us for fellowship over our needles
and hooks. If you would like to learn to
knit or crochet or to improve your skill, please join us that morning. We have some great teachers in our group and they would be
glad to help. We end our time with prayer over each item brought
in and lunch together at a local restaurant.
We would like to thank everyone who made potholders and dishcloths for our veterans and scarves for our paper pantry families.
We are currently making prayer shawls so we will have enough
ready when they are needed. If there is someone you know who
needs a shawl, please feel free to take one from the closet in the
conference room. Our shawls are there for everyone. We ask only
that you put the recipients name on the list on the back of the
door. We appreciate the wonderful support our ministry receives
from our church family and would love for you to join us for the
morning or just pop in to say hello.
Operation Christmas Child—Shoeboxes
Operation Christmas Child delivers great joy to children around
the world with shoeboxes lovingly and prayerfully packed with
gifts that will bring delight to a child. In the hands of local
churches, every gift-filled shoebox is a powerful tool for evangelism and discipleship—transforming the lives of children and
their families around the world through the good news of Jesus
Christ!
Thank you for filling 130 shoeboxes with love and prayers for
the children who will receive them, showing them the Love of
Jesus.
From Jason, resident of Jackson Street
Commons: Thank you for the gift basket.