McMannen United Methodist Church

4102 Neal Road † Durham NC 27705

The MessengerThe MessengerThe MessengerThe Messenger

December 2014December 2014December 2014December 2014

Sunday, November 30 1st Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship

Sunday, December 7 2nd Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship

Alternative Christmas Market 12:15 pm Fellowship Hall

Saturday, December 13 Birthday Party for Jesus at 12:00 pm Fellowship Hall

Sunday, December 14 3rd Sunday in Advent, 11 am worship only

Christmas Cantata 11 am

Friday, December 19 Preschool Christmas Program, 10:30 am in the Sanctuary

Sunday, December 21 Last Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship

All-Church Christmas Caroling 3:00-5:00 pm

Wednesday, December 24 Family Friendly Christmas Eve Worship at 4 pm

Thursday, December 25 Merry Christmas!

Join the Journey To Christmas

P��� 2

Thur, Dec 4 Sander’s Family Christmas at Temple Theatre, Sanford, lunch at Mrs. Lacy’s, 11:20AM – 5:30PM, deadline 12/1 at noon -- $37 inclusive

Fri, Dec 12 Christmas lunch at Croasdaile Village, 12:00 —1:30 pm — $7 RSVP by 12/7

Thur, Dec 18 Trip with Aldersgate UMC to Danville to view Chrismon decorations, details TBA

Primetimers Exercise at 10:30 am Monday & Wednesdays in Fellowship Hall

To register or receive more information about a Primetimers Program please contact Jim Lore at 384-2102.

December Committee Meetings

Church Council Tues, Dec 2 @ 7:00 pm (FH)

SPRC Tues, Dec 16 @ 6:30 (FH)

Trustees Tues, Dec 23 @ 6:30 pm (FH)

Christmas caroling

All are invited to par�cipate!

Sunday, December 21

3:00 pm—5:00 pm

The Church Office will be Closed Wednesday,

December 24 and Thursday December 25

Our Church Family: Marti & James Bennett; Cordelia Blalock; Marian Clark; Amanda Ford; Matt Howe; Bobbie Morgan; Emma Jean Phelps; Dean Porterfield; Wendell Family; Preschool Families and staff

Friends and Family: Addie & Winston; Alli; Family of Todd Arrowood; Layne Baker and her father; Jerry Beauman; Linda Bird; Rev. Blakely; Family & Friends of Chris Butler; Amy Boone and Family; Carol Carson; Family of Ruby Causey; Robin Clements; Alida Cockerman; Mason Dermott; Mike Dermott; Mary Jo Hall; Heather James; Linda Kerns; Elsie King; June King; Lois King; Jerry Lassiter; Rod Mabry; Martinez Family; Grady McCutcheon; Bobby McDonald; Francis McDonald; Patti Morrison; Dolly Mueller; Mary Ann Norris; Natasha & Maxim; Bob O’Conner; Barbara R. ; Pam Rigsby’s mom; Louis Rivers; Family of Susan Rouse; Jack Snell; Gail Steinke; Alex Sykes; Grace Taylor (Katie Wagstaff’s mom); Alexandra Tong; Janet Truckner; Paul Turner; Nancy Via; Taylor Wagner; Sarah Webster; Renee Wendell; Alex Whitaker; Family of Kent Winberry; the unemployed and their families; the victims of violence; travel mercies; Christian Believer Bible study group; Iraqi Christians; our armed forces and military.

Care Facilities: Cleo Fox (Carillon Durham), Sadie Micol (Brookshire), Mildred Neal (Croasdaile Village), Bernita Linthicum (Elm Croft—Raleigh), Gertie Smith (Hillcrest), Cathy Young

C.L.U.B.S. C.L.U.B.S. C.L.U.B.S. C.L.U.B.S.

Movie NightMovie NightMovie NightMovie Night Friday, December 19Friday, December 19Friday, December 19Friday, December 19

7 pm in the 7 pm in the 7 pm in the 7 pm in the

Fellowship HallFellowship HallFellowship HallFellowship Hall

Enjoy free food, fellowship and friendship!

All Youth Grades 6-12

Sunday School

10 am in the Youth Center

Sunday Nights

5-7 pm Youth Group in the Youth Center

ZAZAZAZA

Supper mee�ng in the Fellowship Hall

December 18, 2014

6:30 pm

Presented by the McMannen Preschool twos, threes and fours

classes at

10:30 AM

Friday, December 19

in the sanctuary.

The preschoolers will celebrate Jesus as the very best Christmas present of all. They will share how important it is to share that very special gift with everyone around

them and not keep it to themselves.

December 1December 1December 1December 1————19191919 We will be collecting mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, ear

muffs and socks to donate to Urban Ministries and

then be distributed to men, women and children here

in Durham. You may drop any items off in

Jackie’s office (the sacristy), place them on the tree

yourself or give them to Jackie Rohde Bolen.

The Alternative Christmas

Market will be held on

Sunday

December 7 12:15pm

in the Fellowship Hall. The goal of the Alternative Christmas Market is to provide an opportunity this holiday season to give

gifts that have far-reaching, hope-building results.

Please keep in mind that you may choose to give a gift in honor of someone you love that will change the life of someone in need. We hope you’ll plan to support these

important programs:

McMannen Preschool

McMannen Servants at Work (SAW)

Interfaith Hospitality Network

Camp Chestnut Ridge

Heifer Project International

Please consider giving the gift of hope this holiday season because…

Hope is a very precious gift!! Please plan to enjoy lunch during the

Alternative Christmas Market. The menu will be soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, dessert and beverage.

This will be a fundraiser for the Youth and SAW, so please give generously!

McMannen Preschool News

Through our culturally diverse half day ministry to children

ages one to five, we serve as a place of child care

excellence for the community. We help parents of

preschool age children establish a base of faith and

learning by strengthening the bridge between education

and God's love. Please call Jackie Bolen at 919-383-1263 or

stop by any weekday morning between 9:30 and 11:30 to

learn more about this ministry. Applications are available

on our website mcmannenumc.org

Visit our website to pay tuition online!

Mcmannenumc.org

McMannen Preschool is participating in the Labels for Education Labels for Education Labels for Education Labels for Education program this year for the first time. We are trying to collect enough labels to purchase three butterfly gardens by the spring so we can watch the caterpillars turn into chrysalises, emerge as butterflies and then release them into the community. Each butterfly garden is 1,500 so we really need your help. Please click on the link below (our zip code is 27705) and look at the participating products. Labels can be dropped off in the big red box outside of the church office or turned into my box at the church.

Please feel free to stop by and say hi any time you are at the church. We would love to have you set up a time to come share your favorite book with us, bake cookies with us, do a craft with us or share any other gift or talent with us. Jackie is always willing to talk about opportunities for you to get to know us better!

Our Preschool kids love snacks!! We are always looking for donations of goldfish, Cheez Its, Nilla wafers, Cheeri-os, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cheese balls, ani-mal crackers and plastic bathroom sized cups. Any donations can be left in Jackie's office (the sacristy) or in the labeled box in the narthex.

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For mor_ inform[tion,

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Your recycled magazines would be appreciated

at

C.A. Dillon Youth Development Center

Suggested magazines:

cars, sports, youth, Our State, video games

Sunday, December 14

11:00 am

McMannen is a Hot-Spot drop off

location for the NC Diaper Bank. Their biggest needs are for size 4, 5 and 6 diapers but all sizes

are gladly accepted. Pull Ups and Swimmy diapers are also in high demand. Drop them off in the box located outside of Jackie's

office. One in three families face the daily crisis of diaper need. You can be part of the ongoing campaign to bridge this diaper

gap today, tomorrow, and in the future. Together we can provide comfort and peace of mind — one diaper at a time.

We are very excited to announce our new feature that allows you to make online payments for the following::

♦ Your tithe

♦ Preschool Tuition

♦ Fall Festival stew orders

♦ Vacation Bible School registration

♦ Children's ministries registration

♦ Servants at Work (SAW) registration

♦ Payment for classes or class materials

You have the option of using a credit card or having your checking account debited (one time or recurring).

Check out our website to make your payment online!

McMannen has a history of honoring

the work of our paid staff by

collecting donations for a holiday

bonus for each staff person. If you

are interested in participating, give

your gift to any SPRC member or me

by December 14.

Greg Pagett, SPRC Chair

Dennis Soberl

Larry Hawkey

Jim Wheeler

Renee Beard

David Pratt

Judy Hutchins

Diane Owens

Audrey Shaw

Carol Swinson

Bill Cole

.

“Servants At Work” Fundraiser

Pancakes with Santa and cookie

decorating for the kids!

Saturday, December 6, 2014Saturday, December 6, 2014Saturday, December 6, 2014Saturday, December 6, 2014

8:00 AM till 10:00 AM8:00 AM till 10:00 AM8:00 AM till 10:00 AM8:00 AM till 10:00 AM

McMannen UMC

4102 Neal Road, Durham, NC

Donations Accepted & Appreciated

Sponsored by “Servant At Work”, a ministry of McMannen United Methodist Church

Phone: 919-383-1263 / www.mcmannenumc.org / www.servantsatwork.org

Happy New Year! While that may be early for our society's calendar, it is indeed right on time in the life of the church. The first Sunday of Advent, which this year fell on November 30, is the first Sunday of the church year. So it's perhaps time

to think of things with new perspectives. As I write this to you, I must confess that my body is a bit sore and stiff from having sat at a table at the Mad Hatter bakery all morning, trying to catch up on a long list of overdue tasks related to the work God has called me to do among you and the greater community. I barely scratched the surface: sending emails to get or keep things rolling; planning worship for advent; thinking about how best to steward the shared resources of our church family. I've been surround-ed by an incredibly diverse population here in the old coffee shop! Probably 10 different nationalities, people of apparently different cultures and faiths, singles and couples, well off and struggling, old and young, professionals and job-seekers and students. What a blessing it is to live in such a diverse place!

For some reason, as I prepare for the Christmas season this morning, I have been pondering the subject of "leaving church." Do not fear; I am not resigning from my post. Instead, I'm reflecting on how the phrase has been used in a few different contexts:

I was recently talking to a friend not long ago who was moving and is facing the prospect of finding a new church

Some who have been consumed by God's missional Spirit talk with great excitement about reaching those who have never been to church, thus leaving the security of church walls

Many of our recently graduated high school students are now faced with independence and decisions about if or where they will worship and grow in their faith

I speak with adults on a regular basis who have left the church of their childhood and never looked back.

Sometimes first time church leaders wrestle with the new-found experience that church can be a messy place as leaders try to discern how to get along or disagree with integrity and grace, thus leaving the innocent church of their prior perceptions

In the midst of difficult societal issues, church folk often accuse other church folk of leav-ing the true church when they disagree about positions

Of course, it didn't take me long to make the connec-tion to a book of this title: "Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith" by noted author, preacher, and modern-day theologian Barbara Brown Taylor. Her book is filled with profound, wonderfully articulated and accessible reflections, such as this one:

“Although I never found a church where I felt com-pletely at home again, I made a new home in the world. I renewed my membership in the priesthood of all believers, who may not have as much power as we would like, but whose consolation prize is the freedom to meet God after work, well away from all centers of religious command, wherever God shows up.” ― Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

What is a "priest" in this priesthood of all believers, you may be asking? She answers the question in her characteristically beautiful way:

“...a priest is someone willing to stand between a God and a people who are longing for one another's love, turning back and forth between them with no hope of tending either as well as each deserves. To be a priest is to serve a God who never stops calling people to do more justice and love more mercy, and simultaneously to serve people who nine times out of ten are just looking for a safe place to rest. To be a priest is to know that things are not as they should be and yet to care for them the way they are.” ― Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

It strikes me, at the beginning of this Advent season, this new year, this time of preparation to remember Christ's coming, that we worship a God who left the temple to dwell among people. God was born in Christ, not in a regal ceremony, but in the overlooked stable; not among the pews of the temple, but on the margins and in the shadows. Jesus was born there, lived there, even died there on a hill far away from the city center. Jesus left church to find it and create it, reminding us, perhaps, that no matter how or if we leave church, God never leaves us. God is with us. Immanuel. In discovering that God is with us, we re-discover that we can, perhaps even must, return. Indeed, we never leave in the first place, no matter how far from the church walls we may wander.

Your fellow wanderer,

Pastor Ed

Please always refer to the

calendar on the McMannen

website for the most

up-to-date informa�on.

Download our calendar information: A file can be downloaded and imported into any calendar program that will let you import a comma-delimited text file. Most calendaring software, like Outlook, Lotus, etc. has this feature built right in.

• Simply click the ICAL symbol on the calendar (bottom left corner) on our mcmannenumc.org website to

download it to your hard drive.

• Then open your calendar software and import it.

4102 Neal Road

Durham, NC 27705-2320

919-383-1263

Fax: 919-383-0546

www.mcmannenumc.org

Church Office Hours:

D eadline for the

next newsletter,

“The Messenger”, is

Monday, December

22— 9 am for all

events through

January.

Sunday Mornings 8:45 am - Worship

(in Neal Chapel)

9:30 am - The Gathering

(in Fellowship Hall)

10 am - Sunday School

11:00 am - Worship

(in the Sanctuary)

Come and Worship!

Mission: Mission: Mission: Mission: To proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to live it out in loving witness to whomever we meet with the purpose of changing hearts and

strengthening the community of believers.

StaffStaffStaffStaff

Ed Priestaf, PastorEd Priestaf, PastorEd Priestaf, PastorEd Priestaf, Pastor pastorEd@mcmannenumc.org

919-274-8061

Jackie BolenJackie BolenJackie BolenJackie Bolen Director of Preschool

jackieb@mcmannenumc.org

Anggie Thompson Anggie Thompson Anggie Thompson Anggie Thompson Office Administrator

anggiet@mcmannenumc.org

Floalice Reaves Floalice Reaves Floalice Reaves Floalice Reaves Organist

John BentonJohn BentonJohn BentonJohn Benton

Director of Music Ministries johnb@mcmannenumc.org