DECEMBER 17, 2015

First United Methodist Church of Excelsior Springs1650 Rainbow Blvd. | Excelsior Springs, MO 64024

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Church CalendarDECEMBER 17 • THURSDAYMinister Covenant Group . . 10:00 a.m.Preschool Christmas Pgm. . . 7:00 p.m.

DECEMBER 18 • FRIDAYChristmas Open House at the Blevin’s home . . . . . 6:00 p.m.

DECEMBER 19 • SATURDAYPiano recital practice . . . . . 1:00 p.m.Second Milers Christmas party at the Davis home . . . . . . 6:00 p.m.

DECEMBER 20 • SUNDAYSunday School . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m.Worship Service . . . . . . 10:00 a.m.Jane Blattner’s Piano Class recital . . . . . . . . 11:45 a.m.

DECEMBER 21 • MONDAYBridge Group meets . . . . 10:00 a.m.Boy Scouts meet . . . . . . . 7:00 p.m.

DECEMBER 23 • WEDNESDAYChurch office closed

DECEMBER 24 • THURSDAYChurch office closedChristmas Eve service . . . . . . . 11 a.m.Christmas Eve Candlelight service . 11 p.m.

DECEMBER 25 • CHRISTMAS DAYChurch office closed

DECEMBER 27 • SUNDAYSunday School . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m.Worship Service . . . . . . 10:00 a.m.Service at Convalescent Ctr. . 2:30 p.m.

DECEMBER 28 • MONDAYBoy Scouts meet . . . . . . . 7:00 p.m.

January calendar events on page 5 »

This year, we have two services and two choices for families with busy schedules. Our first service will be at 11 a.m. and our second will be at 11 p.m.Whatever plans you have with family and friends, be sure to include time to celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Pastor Laura intends to celebrate in style this Christmas Eve!

Thursday, December 2411 a.m. & 11 p.m.

Christmas Open House • Dec. 18Pastor Laura and Jeremy Blevins are inviting the congregation to their home for a special Christmas Party Open House this Friday, Dec. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Their address is: 300 W. Dauxville Dr., Richmond, MO.

The church’s Treehouse Pre-school Christmas Program is this Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 p.m. here at the church. Everyone is invited.The preschool students have been practicing very hard with their songs. The three-year-olds will be singing some cute holiday numbers while the four-year-olds will be sharing their version of “The Night Before Christmas.” Don’t miss this fun night supporting our preschool.

2 DECEMBER 17, 2015

Brad Sams, husband of Megan Sams, joined our church family on November 29. During that same service, Brad and sons Collin and Ethan were baptized. Megan has been a member of our church her whole life, and we are so pleased that the rest of her family is becoming a part of our family. Please take a moment the next time you see Brad, Collin or Ethan to welcome them to our church family!

Mission Coordinator Sandy Cogdill would like to remind the congrega-tion of a very important mission with the GSC that helps with children’s nutrition. Harvesters’ BackSnack program provides a weekly back-pack filled with nutritious, child-friendly food for schoolchildren to take home over the weekend. Some of these children may not eat on weekends if not for this program.Our church has volunteered to help pack backpacks every other week on Mondays beginning at 10 a.m. The time it takes to pack the back-packs varies based on the number of volunteers who show up. We will not pack food during winter or

spring breaks.Here are the dates our church is scheduled to help through the rest of the school year:Jan. 11 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodJan. 25 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodFeb. 8 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodFeb. 22 . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodMar. 7 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodMar. 21 . . . . . . 3 weeks of foodApr. 11 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodApr. 25 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodMay 9 . . . . . . . 2 weeks of foodIf you want to learn more or if you want to volunteer, contact Sandy at 630-5926.

The following people are in need of our prayers.

Please help lift their needs up to God!

Death:• Jennifer Rechsteiner’s 21 year old son who was shot and killed. Jennifer is a co-worker of Brenda Schindler;• Corey Elliott family - continued prayers for Debbie Elliott over the loss of husband;

Recovering from surgery or sickness:

• Don Duncan;• Jane Blattner, recovery;• Carlye Weiss, Patricia Martinez’s former husband, is recovering from quadruple bypass surgery;• Linda Norred, Sandy Cogdill’s Sister, is recoverying from back surgery. Please continue prayers for healing;• Joe Gifford, Jerri Morris’ dad, fell and broke his hip, recovering from surgery – will be starting rehab;

Cancer Patients:• Andie Smith of Warrensburg – friends of the Jason Cole Family. Andie has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is going to start treatment soon. She has a husband and three young children. Prayers are appreciated;• Judy Graf – aunt of J.D. Biermann has kidney cancer. They are waiting to see if a mass found in her lungs is malignant;• Leonard Snodgrass has lung cancer. Leonard is a friend of the Shellenbergers;

• Eldon Hasapple, friend of Jerry and Phyllis Shellenberger, has colon cancer;• Dixie Hartless, cousin of Pat Ketron, has cancer;• Michele McCrackin’s cousin, Carl Powell, was just diagnosed with Stage II pancreatic cancer;• Susan Turner, liver cancer;• Joe Gifford, Jerri Morris’ dad, has bone and lung cancer;• Julie Van Liere, cancer concern;• Marla Edwards, rare and aggres-sive form of cancer;• Theresa Berry;• Deborah Cleeton’s friend, Joyce Clairaday, has stage 4 cancer;

General Health Concerns:• Pat Ketron, health issues;• Harold Rhodus, heart issues;

General Prayer Concerns:• Tobie Smith;• Safety for the people traveling over the holidays;• Everyone’s Christmas;• Jane Blattner’s piano recital on Sunday, December 20 at the church;

Praise & Joy:• Steve and Carolyn Rice have a new great-grandson – Mason Duane was born on Dec. 4.

To help with fellowship and hospitality time after worship, the Finance Committee voted to host the event for one month in each quarter of 2016.That means the hospitality time for the month of January is covered. The committee will purchase donuts every Sunday in January. The committee will also cover April, July and October of next year.Traditionally, the church has asked for volunteers to sponsor the hospitality time but understands the costs involved when there are so few volunteers. The finance committee hopes this step will help re-lieve some of that burden and give the church time to find more volunteers to host hospitality time in the remaining months.

Brad Sams joins church, joins sons in baptisms

Church will host hospitality time quarterly in 2016

DECEMBER ATTENDANCE UPDATEChurch attendance in December continues to grow with the addition of new members and returning guests. Attendance on Dec. 6 was 190; attendance on Dec. 13 was 174.According to our VitalSigns records, average attendance from July 1 to current is 147 per week. As a comparison, attendance from Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year was 110 per week.

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fifTH sUndaY fOOd drive cOllecTs 494 lbs.

METHODIST MISSIONS

in an effort to share their experi-ences and help our church learn more about our new mission project and ministry in Africa, the Mozambique initiative Team has created a four-week small group study about the Mozambique ini-tiative and its impact. This four-week curriculum in-cludes six high quality videos that share the story of the Mi’s work in Mozambique, a collection of origi-nal Mozambican worship music, and a corresponding study guide for small group discussion or ser-mon series material. The Mi Team is very excited about this material and pray that it will be an asset to our congregation as we learn to-gether about mission and service.Our church will launch this 4-week study in January, with your choice of one of two different meeting times.The first will be on Sunday morn-ings at 9 a.m. The first session begins on Jan. 10 and will run through Jan. 31.The second opportunity will be on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. These sessions will begin on Jan. 13 and run through Feb. 3.The study materials are $10. Con-tact the church office to learn more about ordering these materials. For more info on this study, please visit www.mzinitiative.com.

New small group study will explore

Mozambique

The church congregation collected 494 lbs. of food for the Good Samaritan Center during its November Fifth Sun-day Food Drive.Ron & Sandy Cogdill delivered the dry

goods and canned food donations ear-lier this month.Our church has a tradition to use every fifth Sunday as a food collection mis-sion for the GSC. The center is always in

need of protein food items like peanut butter and tuna. Our next fifth Sunday food drive will be in January. We’ll be collecting on Jan. 31. Please join us in this ongoing local mission project.

Veterans’ Ministry helps local vet

U.S. Army veteran James Wilson will have a merrier Christmas this year thanks to the generosity of a local resident and the Veterans’ Min-istries.Wilson, who lives in Crystal Lakes, was shot twice and injured in an explosion in Iraq before a second explosion sent him home from the war in 2004. After a long recovery,

he officially retired from military service on Feb. 15, 2006, and just last year he was awarded a Purple Heart for his service.Recently, Sally Nance, CEO of Excelsior Springs Hospital, won a $100 gift card and felt it could be bet-ter used by someone deserving. So she passed her prize on to the Veter-ans Outreach Ministries, a communi-

ty-wide organization launched by the United Methodist Men. These men and women had met Wilson during our recent veterans’ appreciation din-ner and decided to give the card to him and his family.On Thursday, they gathered at the Excelsior Springs Veterans Memo-rial to present him with the card and thank him for his service.

Our STAR TRee is in the narthex and had on it the wishes of six local families in need. We would like to have all the Star wishes filled and all gifts back under the tree by Dec. 20. Please purchase the gift requested on your selected star, wrap the gift, tape the star to it so we will know which family the gift belongs to, then bring it back to the church and place it under the STAR TRee.

Treehouse Preschool helps, tooThe preschool has adopted two families for Christmas. Both are single mothers; one with two children, the oth-er with three. These families are two of the six families the church adopted this year. More than 58 stars have been selected by the parents and their children.The gifts will be placed under the preschool tree in the narthex.

Church adopts six families this Christmas

4 DECEMBER 17, 2015

january 3 january 10 january 17 january 24 january 31Worship Leader: kent Powell Racene Bolin VonnaLee Davis Shelly Clevenger Andrew PriceVideo Tech: Brian Rice Brian Rice Brian Rice Brian Rice Brian RiceAcolytes: ellen Pranke, Jordin Price Jayden and Landon Biermann Brandon & Brennan Fry emily Rice, emily Meehan ellen Pranke, Jordin PriceChildren’s Time: Margaret O’Leary Melissa Biermann Mary Pettegrew Pastor Laura Darryl CoutsChildren’s Church: n/a Nancy Rucker Nancy Rucker Nancy Rucker Nancy RuckerNursery Helpers: Carol Dooley, Brenda & Morgan Schindler, kelly Smith, Mike kelley, Ron Cogdill, Andrew & Cindy Price and Ashley Pate Del Hennings Brenda kelley Janet HayMoney Counters: Ron Cogdill, Jim Morris, Julie Hale, Seth edwards, Jim Morris Ron Cogdill, Donna Simmons, Mellie Smith, and kelly Smith Cheryl Derdich and Donna Simmons kelly Smith and Julie Hale Van Driver: Brian Fry Brian Fry Brian Fry Brian Fry Brian FryGreeters: Darryl & Connie Couts Darryl & Connie Couts Darryl & Connie Couts Darryl & Connie Couts Darryl & Connie CoutsUshers: Gary Stewart, Brad Sams, Gary Stewart, Brad Sams, Gary Stewart, Brad Sams, Gary Stewart, Brad Sams, Gary Stewart, Brad Sams, and Seth edwards and Seth edwards and Seth edwards and Seth edwards and Seth edwardsHospitality: Church is Hosting Church is Hosting Church is Hosting Church is Hosting Church is HostingCommunion Steward: kelly Smith n/a n/a n/a n/aCommunion Servers: Connie & Darryl Couts, n/a n/a n/a n/a John & Donna Simmons n/a n/a n/a n/a kelly Smith n/a n/a n/a n/a

JANUARY SERVANT SCHEDULE

The 2016 Servant Schedule updated quarterly based on the information you provided with the 2016 Servant Commitment form. if you are a new member and would like to be added to one or more of our servant duty schedules, contact Brian Rice at brian@esmethodist.com. A Servant Commitment Form can also be found online at ESMethodist.com under Service + Giving tab. Just fill it out and return it to our church office.

In Memory of:• Brett Alan Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Jack & Cheri Ellis• Carolyn, Clint & Martha Williams . . . . . . . . . . . by Sonra Siegel• Dale Thomson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Sharon Thomson & family• Doris Roos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by The Art Roos family• Dusty Herzog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Jean Herzog• Ed Radley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Shirley Radley• Glenn Welton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by The Second Milers• Jerri’s mom and Jim’s parents . . . . . . . . . . by Jim & Jerri Morris• John & Lavona Neal, John M . Neal . . . . . by Carol & Dennis Dooley• Lowell Hellwig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Carol Hellwig• Mr . & Mrs . Curtis George, Richard George . by Judy & Ken George• Mr . & Mrs . David A . Martin, David C . Martin . by Judy & Ken George• Our parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ed & Cheryl Derdich• Our parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by David & Audrey Lodwick• Our parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John & Donna Simmons• Parents: Davis & Grubbs . . . . . . . . . . by Lowell & VonnaLee Davis• Ray, Ruth & Janet Pettegrew . . . . . . . by Mary & Robert Pettegrew• Richard & Vera Mast . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mary & Robert Pettegrew• Richard Schindler, Rick Rose . . . . . . . . by John & Brenda Schindler• Sterling Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Pete & Nancy Rucker• Tommy & Leola Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . by Carol Lautenschlager• Virgil & Betty Baker, Dolly Robertson . . . . . . . . by Cathy Logston

In Celebration of:• Elizabeth Meehan & Arther Murphy . by Joe & Susan Meehan and family• Finding a wonderful church family . . . . by S . Jason & Courtney Cole• Grandson Sam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Pam Grubbs• Our first great grandchild . . . . . . . . . . by Carol & Dennis Dooley• Our grandparents . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Joshua and Rachel Blevins• The community of Excelsior Springs . . . by S . Jason & Courtney Cole• The Spirit In Our Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Margaret O’Leary• The United Methodist Women and the FUMC . . . . . .Anonymous

In Honor of:• Andrew & Cindy Price & daughters . . . . . . . . by Shirley Radley• Dan & Debby Dorsey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anonymous• Donna & Deana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Al & Mary Miller• George & JoAnn Fry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Brian Fry• Helen Hilton . . . . . . . . . . by Jeremy, Laura, Joshua and Rachel Blevins• Jerri’s dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Jim & Jerri Morris• John & Mary Butler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Brian Fry• Lowell & VonnaLee Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anonymous• Margaret Hover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Melanie Smith• Our children & grandchildren . . . . . . . . . by Ed & Cheryl Derdich• Our family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Carol & Dennis Dooley• Our sons: Trevor and Jeremy . . . . . . . . .by Kent & Sharon Powell• Pastor Laura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Lowell & VonnaLee Davis• Pastor Laura & family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by The Second Milers• Phyllis Shellenberger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Jerry Shellenberger• Shirley Radley . . . . . . . . by Andrew, Cindy, Jordin, Holly & Rylee Price• SSG Erik Anthony Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Jack & Cheri Ellis• Tyler, Josh, Korey & Lillian . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Al & Mary Miller

The 49 poinsettias filling our sanctuary this advent season are a visible tribute to our church’s family and to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. These plants are dedicated to the memory of lost loved ones, joys and celebrations within our church, and in honor of those most important to us. Thank you to everyone who made this beautiful contribution to our church during this

most wonderful time of the year.

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The First United Methodist Church of Excelsior Springs1650 Rainbow Blvd. | Excelsior Springs, MO 64024Office hours: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday-Friday816-637-2138 | ESMethodist.com

SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT

Happy

Birt

hday

to:

Sunday School 9 a.m.

Worship Service 10 a.m.

ESNR Service: 2 p.m.

Boy Scouts weekly meeting

7 p.m.

Staff Pastor Parish Relations meeting

6:30 p.m.

Girl Scouts weekly meeting

6 p.m. Calico Quilters

7 p.m.

Prayer Shawl meeting 9 a.m.

Racene’s Quilting Strippers meeting

10 a.m.

Sunday School 9 a.m.

Mozambique Small Group Study

9 a.m.Worship Service

10 a.m.Safe Sanctuary Training

11:30 a.m.

BackSnack volunteers meet at GSC

10 a.m.Boy Scouts

weekly meeting 7 p.m.

United Methodist Men meeting

6:30 p.m.

Trustee’s meeting 6 p.m.

Mozambique Small Group Study

6 p.m.

Girl Scouts weekly meeting

6 p.m. Venturing Crew meets

6:30 p.m.PEO meeting

7 p.m.

Sunday School 9 a.m.

Mozambique Small Group Study

9 a.m.Worship service

10 a.m.

Bridge Group meets 10 a.m.

Finance Committee meeting

6:30 p.m.Boy Scouts

weekly meeting 7 p.m.

Worship Committee meeting

5:30 p.m.Mozambique Small

Group Study 6 p.m.

Preschool Board meeting

6:30 p.m.

Girl Scouts weekly meeting

6 p.m.

Sunday School: 9 a.m.Mozambique Study: 9 a.m.Worship service: 10 a.m.

Convalescent Ctr. service: 2:30 p.m.

BackSnack volunteers meet at GSC

10 a.m.Education Committee

meeting 4:15 p.m.

Boy Scouts weekly meeting

7 p.m.

Office Closed

Administrative Council meeting

6:30 p.m.

Mozambique Small Group Study

6 p.m.

Girl Scouts weekly meeting

6 p.m. Venturing Crew meets

6:30 p.m.

Epiphany Sunday

Second Miler’s Social TBA

NEW YEAR’S DAY

31Sunday School: 9 a.m.

Mozambique Study: 9 a.m.Worship service: 10 a.m.

Judy George . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 1Al Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 2Emily Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 2Linda McAninch . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 3Shirley Radley . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 4Michael Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 8Pete Rucker . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 8Sharon Thomson . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 8Mallori Wilson . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 10Cheryl Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 11

Kassie Robinson . . . . . . . . .Jan . 11Ron Cogdill . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 13Marvin Shepard . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 13Brian Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 14Scarlet Smarker . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 14William Sutton . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 15Dirk Jeffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 16Judy Jeffers . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 18Kerriann Robinson . . . . . . .Jan . 18Tommy Mouser . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 19

Jane Blattner . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 20Kathy Travis . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 20Rachel Blevins . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 22Johnna Garnett . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 23Vickie Findley . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 25Sharon Long . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 27Breanna Stewart . . . . . . . . .Jan . 27Tyler Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jan . 27Barbara Davison . . . . . . . . .Jan . 30Janice Hennings . . . . . . . . .Jan . 31

MLK, JR. BIRTHDAY

6 DECEMBER 17, 2015

METHODI$T FINAN¢EChurch building

updateBelow is a list of activities, in no particular order, handled by the trustees over the past

couple of months:

• Parking lot repair, filling the pot holes.

• Replaced the carpet in the sanctuary.

• Replaced the carpet in the pastor’s office and administrative office.

• Painted the administrative office.

• Steam cleaned the carpet in the Glenn Welton Fellowship Hall.

• Moved the nursery into rooms closer to the narthex, painted, cleaned and prepared the rooms.

• Added a dutch door between the two nursery rooms.

• Added a magnetic lock system to the main door, so it can be opened with remote control from the secretary’s desk.

• Replaced one AC unit and one large furnace unit.

• Purchased an AED unit and placed it in the narthex.

Projects in the works:

• Repairing the roof in areas where it leaks.

• Possibly adding motion sensors to outside lighting.

• More work on the parking lot next year.

• Repairing the sound system in the narthex and chapel.

• Getting bids on an electronic sign to replace our current one along the highway.

• Discussing adjusting our deposit fees for outside groups using our facilities.

• Setting up a commercial credit card with Westlake to receive a 10 percent discount on purchases.

Trustees

2016 Budget Allocation 2015 Budget Allocation

Finance Committee adopts strong 2016 budgetEarlier this month, the Finance Com-mittee unanimously voted to adopt a strong 2016 church budget of $349,700, feeling the breath of fresh air after funds from Glenn Welton helped establish a strong foundation.As discussed in October, the finance committee used $440,000 of Glenn Welton’s gift to pay against the $850,000 building loan principal. They then refinanced the balance, lowering our monthly payment to $2,706 from the previous $5,925. This restructuring helped lower the Church Facilities portion of our bud-get from 45% to 24%. Next, the finance committee set aside 10% of Glenn’s gift for missions. Part of this was used for the one-time pur-pose of paying our 2015 apportion-ments, which was 9% of last year’s budget. By relieving the church of that one-time debt, it allowed the finance committee the flexibility to include monthly apportionment pay-ments in 2016, which now comprises 8% of the budget. It also sets up the church to spend an additional 6% on mission work, both locally and glob-ally. It is from these funds that we will pay for half of the Mozambique well mission while raising the other half with our Thanksgiving, Christ-mas and Easter collections. With apportionments and missions com-bined, our church will spend close to 14% of its annual budget outside of our walls and for the betterment of our community.What remains of Glenn’s gift, approximately $100,000, was given

to trustees to help with repairs and upkeep of the church facilities. Some of what you see on the list on the left are a result of Glenn’s funds. A more detailed accounting of these funds will be presented in a future issue of FirstNews.

Watching our budget grow to $349,700 from $317,200 in 2015 and using 14% of that budget toward mis-sions is an exciting accomplishment and one our church should be proud of. As Pastor Laura predicted, if we focus on God first, He will provide.

Diversified revenue sources

improve financialstability

In previous years, the church’s budget was almost entirely dependant on

revenue from member’s commitment pledges and non-pledged giving.

This made planning, budgeting and growing very difficult.

This year, additional revenue sources like parsonage rent and Treehouse

Preschool tuitions help diversify our revenue sources and gives our church

a more stable foundation from which to plan and build.

Incorporating the preschool into our budget did increase our salaries and expenses, but it’s profitability helps

stabilize the church’s budget. Coupled with the savings made with Glenn

Welton’s gift, our church has never been in a better financial situation.

2016 Commitment

Pledges 54%

Missions 2%Parsonage Rent 3%

Treehouse Preschool Revenue

13%

Non-pledged money needed to meet budget

24%

Trustees 3%

YOUTH regrOUp; bransOn bOUnd in 2016The Methodist Youth Group jumped into action once again on Sunday, Dec. 13 when they offered a special brunch for the congregation during hospitality time.Using the brunch as a fund raiser, the eight youth and their families helped prepare and serve the dishes after worship, asking for a goodwill donation which earned them $455.The youth group, led by J.D. and Melissa Biermann, have decided to attend this year’s Young Christian’s Weekend at Silver Dollar City in April. The group is hoping to fund 30 children and their adult chaperones for the weekend - a cost of about $3,000 (or $100 per person).Youth helping Sunday were Joe Landry, Jewelya Griffey, Morgan Schindler, Abbi Danner, Mackenzie Cole, Jayden Biermann, emily Rice, and Landon Biermann.The youth group is open to anyone in the third grade or older. if you’d like to be a volunteer or a sponsor of the youth group, contact J.D. Biermann at (816) 810-7816 or jdbierman@hotmail.com.

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Safe SanctuaryTraining Day

is Jan. 10Safe Sanctuary training and certification is a requirement for any member of the church who will be working with our children, youth group or vulnerable adults. There is a $12 fee for this certification. The training will take place after the worship service and after lunch. Bring $5 and we’ll have pizza. Drinks will be provided. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex. For more information, contact Safe Sanctuary Coordinator Sharon Powell at 630-8498.

Christmas Program showcased many talents

God’s gifts in our church shown aplenty on Sunday, Dec. 6 when the children and youth of our congregation presented this year’s Christmas Program, “Hoz the Elf Learns About Christmas.”This original script, penned by Pastor Laura, shared a tale of our church’s own elf on a shelf named Eric Hosmer (you can call him Hoz).Bringing Hoz to life was Seth Edwards. Hoz interviewed several members of the congregation to learn more about our church and to make sure the children of our church knew about Jesus.

Helping narrate the story were Emily Rice and Brennan Fry.Telling the story of the birth of Jesus were Abbi Danner and Morgan Schindler; with Jordin Price as the Bethlehem Star; Jayden Biermann, Landon Biermann, Mackenzie Cole and Brandon Fry as angels; Andrew Price as Joseph; Cindy Price as Mary; J.D. Biermann, John Schindler and John Simmons as shepherds; Gary Stewart, Darryl Couts and Brad Sams as the three wise men.Directed by Melissa Biermann, this production was full of traditional Christmas songs under the musical

direction of Sharon Powell and a special number with bells directed by Nancy Rucker. This was the first Christmas program of our church to utilize multimedia with it, incorporating video animation of Hoz the Elf in between scenes and songs. The video was shot and edited by S. Jason Cole, one of our church’s newest members.There is without a doubt an abundance of talent in our church and this year’s Christmas program was a perfect representation of what we as a church can do when we put all our gifts forward for the glory of God. Well done, everyone!

NONPROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDEXCELSIOR SPRINGS,

MO 64024PERMIT NO. 3The First United Methodist Church

of Excelsior Springs1650 Rainbow Blvd. | Excelsior Springs, MO 64024Office hours: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday-Friday816-637-2138 | ESMethodist.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015REV. LAURA BLEVINSPastorLaura@ESMethodist.com

KAREN GLAMANNAdministrative AssistantKaren@ESMethodist.com

BRIAN RICECommunications DirectorBrian@ESMethodist.com

MICHELE McCRACKINTrustees ChairpersonTrustees@ESMethodist.com

Dustin McKinney, Music DirectorJerri Morris, OrganistMike Kelley, Nursery SupervisorWilma Smith, Nursery LeaderGina Smith, Nursery AssistantDarla Sims, Preschool DirectorJenna Olcott, Preschool Assistant

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long:

“Keeping up with the Methodists”The changing ways of church communication.

Dear Church family,This year has certainly been a year of change for our church. First, we welcomed Pastor Laura to our family in June and watched her bring our congregation back to life! Then in October, I joined the staff as Communications Director and turned everything on its ear!My role as communications director is just that: communication! It is my goal to keep every member of the church informed at all times or, at the very least, provide you with the resources to find church information when you need it.In our digital age, more and more young families are reliant on communication through their computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, etc. Our church was behind the curve in this area and so I spent my first few months on the job updating our church technology, our web site and now our social media.Now, church members can communicate daily via social media. Important announcements, prayer

concerns and last minute news updates can be found on our web site, Facebook or Twitter accounts. Email messages are sent out regularly to our members. Members wanting to make their financial contributions digitally can now do so through our web site, through PayPal, and soon through our iPad kiosk that will be available in the narthex.While I talk about all these changes, many of you might be feeling left behind in the dust. Those of you without email, without a computer and with no desire to use your phone for more than a phone call might think you’re lost and forgotten.Wrong.While our methods of communication are changing, nothing is being forgotten. We will continue our monthly print newsletter. We will continue our Sunday bulletins filled with events and announcements. We will continue mailing birthday cards, letters and more. And, we are reorganizing our calling tree beginning in January. With the help of Care Coordinator Sandy

Cogdill, we will be gathering phone numbers, addresses and notes on anyone who prefers their church communication this way.We will have a sign up sheet in the narthex for you to join the calling tree. If you don’t attend church regularly, contact Sandy Cogdill at 630-5926 and give her your contact information to be added to the calling tree.To get events and announcements to the church congregation, remember to contact me directly by any of the following methods:Email: Brian@ESMethodist.comCall or Text: 816-589-9966Note: delivered to the church office and put in the Communication Director’s mail slot.Our church is growing, evolving and becoming more active with each passing week. Keeping up with the Methodists is going to be something you’ll want to do, and I’m here to help.

— Brian RiceChurch Communications