MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

DECEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER RED VALLEY UMC

Greetings!

It ‘tis, once again, the season of expectancy! This, for the King household, has a dual meaning

this year. It is exciting to be expecting again the birth of another child to love, to coddle, to instruct, and

to share life together. There are so many different emotions and thoughts that take place when you are

expecting. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Where is the crib going to be placed? Is it time yet!? There are the days

that are hoped for like the six weeks of paternity leave to bond with the new addition to the family. As a

child of a pastor myself, I remember all too well the feeling of being moved frequently and the impor-

tance of having a strong relationship with my parents. And so, I am also hopeful to have a strong rela-

tionship with my children as well. Also perhaps to be an example of what a loving father looks like.

These are just a few of my thoughts and musings as we await the day for our child’s birth.

Though I have these thoughts of my own waiting, this season of Advent and Christmas are forc-

ing me to look beyond myself to the thoughts of two other couples waiting for a child’s birthday. The first

couple is of Zechariah and Elizabeth who have long awaited a child. They perhaps had thoughts that

God had overlooked them and/or were disappointed that they may not have a child at all. And then, all

of a sudden, Zechariah has a vision of an angel telling him that they are to be expecting a son. And not

only are the expecting a son, but their son will be the one prophesied about that would come to prepare

the way for the Christ child, the Messiah! And to top it all off; because of Zechariah’s moment of doubt,

he was unable to say anything about all that he had seen and heard. And so for nine months did he

have to muse his own ponderings to himself.

The other couple that we are to think about this season is that of Mary and Joseph. And did they

have some things to think through during their time of expectancy. Their son was given by miraculous

conception! Not only that, but he was to be the Messiah, the chosen one to save God’s people from sin

and death. It reminds me often of my favorite Christmas hymn, “Mary Did You Know?” I could not imag-

ine the conversation they had while waiting those long nine months for their baby to be born. But I dare

say, let us enter that conversation. What does it mean for you to have born to us this child we call Je-

sus? How is the world different because of the life we have in Jesus? What are you expecting and hop-

ing for when Jesus comes again? How are you preparing for that coming?

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Joshua King

About 1750 Jeremiah Early received a royal grant for several thousand acres of

rich, rolling valley land along the upper waters of Gills Creek located in what is now

northeast Franklin County at the foot of Windy Gap Mountain and known as the Red

Valley section. This land stretched from Windy Gap to Burnt Chimney. A house once

stood in the front yard of the Lovelace Place which was the home of Jim Ellis. Mem-

bers of the Early family lived there and this was the old Early homeplace.

Jeremiah Early gave some of the vast of land to Jubal who in turn turned it over

to his son Joab. Joab had two sons Henry and Jubal Anderson Early, who was a re-

nowned Civil War Officer. Jubal Anderson Early served as a Lt. General in the northern

Virginia Army. He was born 1/2 mile across Route 116 from the Lovelace Place .

The congregation at Red Valley UMC received an invitation

from the children of Dwight and Marjorie Griffin, to cele-

brate their 50th wedding anniversary on December 19th.

The invitation is posted on the bulletin board across from

the Pastor’s office.

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YOUR SPRC COMMITTEE - 2016

Dwight and Marjorie Griffin are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalms 37:3

The SPRC (Staff/Parish Relations Committee) is the Human Resources committee for Red

Valley. Members for 2016 are: Bob Weinhold, Chair, Mark Hathaway, Wylma Sumner, Brandon Meador,

Adonna Lemon, Lillian Palmer, Connie Dudley, Zack Brown, Jane Meador and the Pastor. Ex Officio

members: Delegate to Annual Conference and the Lay Leader.

Our biblical direction is given to us by 1 Corinthians 12: 4-13 and Matthew 18: 15-17.

The main task of this committee is to work with the Pastor in fine-tuning Red Valley’s vision and

mission for the year. If there is an issue or complaint related to either the Pastor or Lou Spencer, Red

Valley’s only other paid staff member, first read and discern what Jesus is telling us in the book of Mat-

thew. If the matter cannot be resolved by first discussing it with either the Pastor or Lou, then a WRIT-

TEN complaint can be turned in to any member of the SPRC. The complaint MUST BE SIGNED; anony-

mous complaints are not acceptable.

LOOKING BACK IN HISTORY

December 2015 Newsletter

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

As we approach the holiday-giving season, UMC #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to celebrate

the spirit of cheerful Christian giving by making a donation through The Advance.

On Dec. 1, United Methodists once again are invited to extend the spirit of giving thanks into

the Advent season by participating in UMC #GivingTuesday. Every gift made online through The Ad-

vance at www.umcmission.org/give on December 1, 2015 will be matched up to $1 million.*

When you make an online donation on December 1st, you will “Activate Love. Transform Lives.

Change the World.” Last year on UMC #GivingTuesday, United Methodists collectively raised $2.5 mil-

lion online through The Advance. As always, when you give through The Advance, 100 percent of your

gift directly supports the ministry you designate; overhead costs are covered through other channels.

Please consider joining the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation

of the world by putting love in action to change lives by making a generous gift on Dec. 1. Thank you

so much! Grace and peace, Rev. Joshua King

Page 3

RAMBLIN WITH JOYCE

#GivingTuesday

“Welcome to our upside down world”

Or so it may seem to us. When we turn on the television, radio or read the newspaper we are dis-

tressed. Seems our world is in chaos, with little hope of a change. We certainly can’t change it, only our

attitude about it.

But wait—I believe we’ve entered the “Season of Kindness”, this time between Thanksgiving and

Christmas. Why not extend it and pay it forward with forgiveness, giving and Love. May this season ex-

tend onto and through 2016. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love does-

n’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first”, Doesn’t fly

off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleas-

ure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always

looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. 1 Corin-

thians 13: 4-7, from the Message.

WOW—What an assignment! Will it be hard? Probably! But just remem-

bering all God has given to us, we can excel. His own Son Jesus came to

earth as a tiny baby, felt the things we do, and at the end of his earthly minis-

try went back to his father God, but left his holy spirit for you and me. May

we each be blessed by God’s gift of Love.

“May we share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shep-

herds and the wisdom of the wise men. May the Christmas morning make us

happy to be thy children, And the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with

grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus sake. Amen (Robert Louis

Stevenson)

BLESSINGS, JOYCE

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Page 4

Red Valley United Methodist Church

Lay Leadership for 2016

Pastor: Joshua King

Lay Leader: Dwain Severs

Asst. Lay Leader Bob Weinhold

Council Chair: Kellie Bonner

Finance Chair: Melanie Wheeler/Charlotte Weinhold

Secretary: Kathy Meador

Treasurer: Barbara Carne

Assistant Treasurer: Melanie Wheeler

Financial Secretary: Charlotte Weinhold

Delegate to Annual Conference: David Carne

Delegate Alternate: Kellie Bonner

Delegates to District Conference: Beth & Mark Hathaway, Diana Hackett

Youth Representative to Church Council: Trevor Bowman

Hermitage Guild Representative: Barbara Carne

Member(s) at Large to Church Council: Kent Wheeler

Church Council: Pastor, Lay Leader, Treasurer, Children’s Coordinator and Chairs of: Finance, Trus-

tees, SPRC, Worship, Education, Youth, UMM, UMW, Scouting, Evangelism, Communications, and

Missions.

Committee members are as follows. New members noted in bold. Please refer to Paragraph 258

in the Book of Discipline for the administrative responsibilities expected of members.

Nominations & Leadership Development (Chair - Pastor) (Para 258.1)

(Lay Leader)

Staff/Parrish Relations

(Chair - Bob Weinhold) – Chosen by NL&D) (Para 258.2)

(Pastor, Lay Leader & Delegate to Annual Conference

2016 2017 2018

Melanie Wheeler Trish Severs Tony Fink

Steve Spencer Jeannie Garber Kelly Meador

2016 2017 2018

Mark Hathaway Brandon Meador Zach Brown

Jane Meador Bob Weinhold Lillian Palmer

Wylma Sumner Adonna Lemon Connie Dudley

Board of Trustees (Chair - To Be Elected BY Trustees) (Para 258.3)

(Pastor, Lay Leader) (Non-voting members)

2016 2017 2018

Dale Sumner Jeff Powell Steve Spencer

Carrie Rothrock Alvin Meador TBD

Ron Rocke Kent Wheeler Linda DeBord

Finance Committee: Co-Chairs: Melanie Wheeler/Charlotte Weinhold

Members: Council Chair, Lay Leader, Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Dele

gate to Annual Conf., Chair or Rep. of SPRC, Chair or Rep. of

Trustees, Chair of Stewardship,

Ex-Officio: Lay Leader, Pastor

Members at Large: Connie Dudley, Jane Meador

Annual Auditor: Wylma Sumner

Endowment Committee: Chair: Elneta Amicucci

Members: Financial Secretary, Rep. from Trustees

Members at Large: Pam Buzzeo, Steve Spencer, Norma Naramore

Ex Officio: Lay Leader, Pastor

Worship Committee: Chair: Lou Spencer

Worship Heads: Liturgist: Beth Hathaway

(Scheduling/Training) Ushers: Mark Hathaway

Children’s Sermon: Darlene Wheeler

Communion Asst.: Barb Layman

Acolyte: Cindy Clay

AV Tech. Dale Sumner

Counter: Charlotte Weinhold

Evangelism/Hospitality: Co-Chairs: Dwain Severs/Gary Plunkett

(Nurture & Membership Care)

Members: Flowers/Cards: Noka Bishop

Visitation: TBD

Communications Committee: Chair: Beth Hathaway

Members: Pastor, Lay Leader, Barb Layman, Elneta Amicucci,

Darlene Wheeler, Lou. Spencer

Prayer Tree Coordinators: Darlene Wheeler & Lou Spencer

Page 6

KEY: Yellow highlight: the person has been asked and we await a response

Bold: New person holding this position

TBD: To Be Determined (If you are interested, please speak with any member of the

Nominations and Leadership Development Committee)

Education: Chair: Meagan Funck

Mission Committee: Chair: Mark Hathaway

Relay for Life: Linda Perdue & TBD

Love Bears: Barbara & David Carne

Shoe Box: Lou & Steve Spencer

Angel Tree: L. Spencer, L. DeBord, K. Meador

Wednesday Alive: TBD

Milk & Bread: UMM

USDA Team: TBD

Disaster Coordinator: TBD

Thrift Store: Rachel Maupin

Church Membership Records: Darlene Wheeler

Scouting Ministry Contact: Bob Weinhold

United Methodist Women: Diana Hackett

United Methodist Men: Dwain Severs

Youth President: To Be Voted

Jr. High Youth Leader: TBD

Children’s Coordinator: TBD

Bus Ministry: Chair: Ron Rocke

Authorized Drivers: D. Severs, K. Wheeler, D. Wheeler, M. Hathaway, J. King,

S. Spencer, M. Lacey, T. Wheeler, B. Weinhold, B. Layman

December 2015 Newsletter

The December meeting for the UMW will be held at the home of Elneta

Amicucci, on December 14th starting at 6:00pm. It will be a pot luck din-

ner so the food will be great. Just bring a dish and join in the fun and fel-

lowship. . The “Secret Pals” will be disclosed on that night. The church

bus will be available for usage on that night so meet at the church at 5:45

pm for those who wish to ride or car pool. All women are invited to attend

and are welcome, member or not, friend or relative, sister, mother, grand-

mother, all are invited. Bring a friend and a dish and join us for a fun filled

night.

Page 7

Our Children—”Show His Love”

MORE TRUNK OR TREAT PICTURES

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

Our Children’s Sunday School is putting together “Show His Love” care packs to be

kept in our vehicles. When you see someone in need as you’re driving, you can hand the

person one of these small care packages. They will be filled with travel sized toiletries,

and a small card made by one of our Sunday School kids. If you would like to donate to

our project, some ideas are: travel sized toothbrush and toothpaste, antibacterial, socks,

soap, think washcloth, stocking cap, small comb, etc. Please only travel sized toiletries,

as we are using quart sized Ziploc bags. Once we complete our care packs, we will have

Pastor Josh bless them and hand them out to our members so that we can all “Show His

Love” to those in need in our area. Please leave donations in the Sunday School Class-

room labeled “Show His Love” or contact Kelli Powell.

December 2015 Newsletter

New Bulletin Board

This serves as a reminder that effective October 2015, it is the plan for each of our

committees to place their minutes of each meeting on the bulletin board at the top of the

ramp. This is being done in hopes of being transparent and keeping the congregation in

the loop of what is happening at our church. Please, if you were not able to make it to a

meeting, but are interested in what your committees is doing, or what

other committees are doing, check out the minutes that are being

posted. Thanks!

All Christians are ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and each of us

have a gift to share. Every Sunday, we as the collective body of Christ come together for worship. And

while we worship, there are opportunities for each of you to share your gifts and talents. If you feel called

to serve in our Sunday morning worship, please contact our Ministry Heads and they will provide training

and schedule you to serve. Just recently we have added “Testimony” to this list. If you wish to share a tes-

timony of how God has moved in your life and would like to share your story,

Page 8

“Called by God

It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18C:32

I will sing of the mercies of

the Lord forever, With my

mouth will I make know

Your faithfulness to all gen-

erations. Psalm 89:1

Liturgist Beth Hathaway (540) 314-3673

Children’s Sermon/Church Darlene Wheeler (540) 427-1860

Usher Mark Hathaway (540) 890-6858

Communion Assistant Barb Layman (540) 719-0720

Nursery Bonnie Ingram (540) 721-3130

AV Tech Dale Sumner (540) 352-7292

Acolyte Cindy Clay (540) 526-6927

Counter Charlotte Weinhold (540) 493-6855

Testimony Rev. Joshua King (703) 727-6589

As we turn the corner from fall to winter, I would

simply like to remind everyone of our policy for

cancellation of services. If we are to cancel any

activities/worship, it will be posted on WDBJ7 and

WSLS10 at least one hour prior to the beginning

of the activity/worship and if you are a part of the

One Call callout, you will receive a message

through our One Call System. Ultimately, if you do not feel safe getting

out, then simply do not come. Please remain safe and enjoy the God

who creates winter wonderlands!

Page 9

DECEMBER WORSHIP SERVERS

Communion: (Barb Layman, coordinator): Counters: (Charlotte Weinhold, coordinator)

12/6 Bob Weinhold/Kathy Meador 12/6 Linda Perdue/Connie Dudley

12/13 Diana Hackett/Kent Wheeler 12/13 Kellie Bonner/Beth Hathaway

12/20 Steve & Lou Spencer 12/20 Frank Hackett/Darlene Wheller

12/27 Mary Bowman/Barb Layman 12/27 Frank Hackett/Tony Fink

Liturgists: (Beth Hathaway, coordinator): Acolytes: (Cindy Clay, coordinator)

12/6 Samantha Brown 12/6 Jack Powell/Ethan P owell

12/13 Connie Dudley 12/13 Parker king/Abby Clay

12/20 Bob Weinhold 12/20 TBD

12/27 Beth Hathaway 12/27 TBD

Ushers: (Mark Hathaway, coordinator):

12/6 Mark Hathaway/Maxene Dickerson

12/13 Steve & Lou Spencer

12/20 Mark Hathaway/Elneta Amicucci

12/27 Connie Dudley/Maxene Dickerson

If you cannot serve as scheduled, please make every attempt to trade with someone, note it on this list

and notify the appropriate coordinator. We have many opportunities to serve during Sunday morning

worship – please see one of these coordinators or speak to Pastor Josh if you have any interest in shar-

ing your awesome talents!

CANCELLATION POLICY

This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118::24

December 2015 Newsletter

The church needs volunteers to step up and help with the Dudley Elem. School an-

gels– They will have a total of 9 children (3 families) that are in need of Christmas assis-

tance. I would say that these 9 kids could be split if someone wanted to just take 1 child.

We need to provide the entire Christmas for these families including a meal. Please see

Lou to volunteer. Please pray about this - and if you are able to help I know it will be really

appreciated. Again - we will have specific items and sizes at church on Sunday but here

are the sex and ages:

FAMILY #1 FAMILY #2

Boy - age 11 Girl - age 9

Girl - age 7 Girl- age 7

Girl - age 6

Boy - age 3 FAMILY #3

Boy - age 2 Boy age 10

Girl - age 8

Thank you for your help!

Page 10

CHRISTMAS ANGELS

DECEMBER/JANUARY BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

Herb Altice 1/1

Samantha Brown 2

Hannah Juarez 7

Joyce Almond 8

Meagan Funck 9

Robert Buzzeo 10

Parker Allen King 11

Barbara Carne 14

Matt DeBord 16

Joshua Saunders 16

Mark Grant 17

Vickie Miller 21

Shane Clay 25

Jonathan Montgomery 25

Steve Spencer 25

Mary Hardt 26

Jackie King 30

BIRTHDAYS

Michael Buzzeo 12/3

Emma Spichek 3

Shaun Rinn 6

Jessica Rock 7

Dale Sumner 7

Sam Walker 10

Bill Almond 12

Camryn Grant 13

Kellie Powell 13

Ed Thornton 16

Braylen Meador 17

Darlene Wheeler 19

Susan Cecil 20

Bev Flowers 21

J.J. Perry 21

Ethan Powell 25

Joe Saunders 29

ANNIVERSARIES

Woody & Bev Flowers 1/29

Kent & Darlene Wheeler 12/16

Jim & Becky Ellis 12/27

Page 11

TIME CHANGE FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL & CHURCH SERVICE – Effective

Sunday, January 3, 2016, Sunday School (different studies are being offered for all ages) will begin at 10 a.m. The worship service will begin at 11 a.m. Thank you to the New

Pentecost committee members for their hard work, diligence, survey methods and listen-ing ears and establishing a plan agreed upon by the majority of folks who made their opinions known.

ADVENT STUDY – The Advent study mentioned in last month’s newsletter begins Sunday,

Nov. 29 at 6:30. Originally, consecutive Sundays of 6, 13, 20 (at 6:30 pm) and 27 (at 9:30 am) were to follow. However, due to the Christmas Cantata on the 20

th, that study date

must change. Please bring your calendar to this Sunday’s study and be prepared to schedule a make up date for the 20

th.

COUNCIL MEETING – Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. is the next council meeting. Chair

persons please submit agenda items to Diana Hackett no later than Tues., Dec. 1. If any-one has a particular item they want brought up at council, please notify the appropriate ministry head to get it placed on the agenda. The agenda will be placed in the bulletin, monthly, the Sunday prior to the council meeting (always the 2

nd Tuesday). Everyone is

invited to attend any council meeting, but only committee chairs have voting privileges.

CHOIR PRACTICE – Thursday, December 3 and Wednesday, December 16 from 6 pm to 7 pm. CHIMES PRACTICE – Sunday mornings at 9:30 beginning Sun-

day, November 29. If anyone is interested in playing chimes in the Cantata, please just show up for practice! No music reading necessary!

U.S.D.A. – Due to the holiday, the dates this month are December 8 & 15.

Wednesday’s Alive – There will be a meeting on Sunday, December 13, immediately fol-

lowing the worship service to further discuss whether Wednesdays are still Alive with meals at RVUMC. The primary focus of this meeting is to figure out if we have the inter-est, the cooking teams, clean up teams, extra volunteers to be able to serve meals on Wednesdays prior to bible study. We strongly encourage any and all who wish to provide input/suggestions on how you feel about this subject to come. If you feel lead to lead a cooking team – or maybe you and a friend can co-lead a team, please come and let’s talk about it. Several are sad the meals are not taking place right now, but it takes volunteers to purchase food, make it and then clean up those meals. The volunteers need more vol-unteers! If you are unable to attend this meeting, please direct your comments to Mark Hathaway at 354-7999, who is serving as an interim coordinator. A BIG THANK YOU to Steve Spencer for coordinating Wednesday’s Alive for the past couple of years. Due to a time change at his job, Steve had to step down. He has done a fantastic job in overseeing this weekly event. Anyone wishing to take over this endeavor if meals are voted to go for-ward, please contact Mark or Pastor King.

What’s going on …… by Beth Hathaway

December 2015 Newsletter Page 12

CHRISTMAS ANGELS – DUE BY SUNDAY, DEC. 13 - Lou wanted me to pass along

that RVUMC has secured nine families to shower with Christmas gifts; three families each from Windy Gap, Burnt Chimney and Dudley Elementary Schools. We need small groups, families or groups of individuals to adopt these families and help fulfill their Christmas wishes. Lou will provide a list of needs and sizes of clothing needed. You may also in-clude gift cards to a grocery store and/or non-perishable food items. If you prefer to do-nate money and have someone else do the shopping, please see Lou Spencer, Kathy Meador or Linda DeBord. Should you have questions, please call Lou at 420-1172. Think about what a difference you can make in the lives of these families at this most special time of year.

UMW CHRISTMAS PARTY – Monday, December 14 @ 6:00 p.m. All women are in-

vited to Elneta’s house for this annual pot luck celebration. Should you not wish to drive to her house, the church bus will leave the church parking lot promptly at 5:45 p.m. Secret Sisters will be revealed and new ones chosen for the coming year. Should you have questions or need directions, call Elneta at 540/420-0573.

CHRISTMAS CANTATA – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 @ 5:30 – Please come and enjoy

a lovely evening with music, song, scripture and chimes! Invite your friends, family mem-bers and neighbors to the festivities. The cantata begins promptly at 5:30 followed by caroling to shut-ins in the area, and ending up back at church for cookies and hot choco-late! The church bus will be used for carrying the carolers – the more voices, the louder we sing! All are welcome to help put smiles on people’s faces that are not able to get out of their houses. Please feel free to bring a batch of your own special cookies to share with others.

PASTOR ON VACATION – Pastor King will be on vacation beginning Monday, December

28. He returns to work on Monday, January 4. Please contact Dwain Severs at 540/521-1329 or Diana Hackett at 540/330-9926 in the pastor’s absence.

RE-STOCKING OUR FOOD PANTRY – Another reminder that Red Valley’s food pantry

is in dire need of replenishment. It is used as a supplement for families in the USDA pro-gram. Please think about them every time you shop and pick up an extra can of tuna, veggies, beans, and soup – only non-perishable items. Please check the use by dates as we cannot accept expired items. Thank you for helping with this ministry.

PLEASE HELP – We are always hoping for more volunteers to help with all areas of our

Sunday morning worship services. In particular, two areas of service with the greatest need right now would be Audio/Visual Technician and Children’s Sermon/Children’s Church. Perhaps you have a middle aged child or teenager who may like to handle the A/V part of our service? If you, or someone you know would like more information or would like to volunteer to help with the A/V component of the service, please contact Dale Sum-ner at 352-7292. If you have an interest in either delivering the children’s sermon once in a while or in helping with children’s church, please contact Darlene Wheeler at 427-1860. It takes many volunteers to keep things going smoothly and your consideration is greatly appreciated.

Page 13

Operation Christmas Child – Thank you all for filling a total of 43 shoeboxes. Red Valley

is proud to be a yearly sponsor of this world-wide mission. Thank you Lou & Steve for

delivering these precious packages.

JUST A REMINDER – I am glad to pass on any information you wish me to, but please keep in mind that if you are a chair person or in charge of a mission or group, and you need to put information in the newsletter, I strongly encourage you to write up your own para-graph, in your own words, to get the message out. If you are not comfortable writing, at least contact me and give me the gist of what you want said and I will write it for you. My job as Communications Chair is to ensure that all the people get all the information there is to be had. At times I feel challenged in making sure I am fulfilling that role. I try to listen to announcements in church, watch for e-mails, One Call notices, etc. but what I don’t know, I cannot pass on to others. So, please keep me in the loop about any news you would like to share. We are always in search of personal stories about your families; mar-riages, graduations, school news, new babies, pets, small group studies, how you ended up at RVUMC, etc. Get in touch with me and together we’ll share your story! (My cell number is 314-3673)

Re-enrollment of your Kroger Cards – There have been several announcements recently about the need to re-enroll your Kroger Plus card each year. This is a new policy in re-gards to the Community Rewards Program offered by Kroger. Kroger does not contact you when it is time to re-enroll so try to remember when your time is near. It will be one year from the date of your original enrollment in the program. If you do not re-enroll your card, it still saves you money when you check out and you get your reward points, but it will not earn points for Red Valley UMC! To check the status of your Kroger Plus card online and re-enroll if it has lapsed:

Go to www.kroger.com/community

Sign into your account, Click on “Community Rewards” and then “Re-Enroll”. If you have never signed up for Community Rewards, go to “Create an Account” first. Fill out nec-essary information, enter your Kroger Plus card number, under “Community Rewards” press “Enroll” and make sure to choose Red Valley United Methodist Church.

Kroger sends a check to RVUMC periodically; every little bit helps!

The church is still in need of a Children's Coordinator for next year. This person will organize the

events such as Easter Egg Hunt, VBS, Trunk-or-Treat and movie nights. If no one person is

found, we may look into splitting up the tasks. We are having a meeting right after church on

Sunday, Dec. 20th to discuss and would like for everyone interested in this position or in helping

with these events to please stay that Sunday after church. If those who have led these events in

the past can also stay and talk about some of the responsibilities and tasks involved and an-

swer any questions, that will be great. You can also reach out to Kelly Meador on the Nomina-

tions Committee at 540.797.1588 or kellymeador@hotmail.com or through Facebook under

Kelly Bain Meador if you are interested.

Thank you for sponsoring us in the color run!!!!!

December 2015 Newsletter Page 14

Church Mouse

Oh, here we are again! And Advent Season is upon us! Anticipation is the word of the month as we wait for the birth of the Christ Child. Our sanctuary is decorated and waiting for our arrival Sunday morning as we celebrate the 1st Sunday in Advent. We will hear familiar scriptures, both from the old and new testaments, foretelling the birth of the Christ child. We will follow Mary from the time she is visited by the angel telling her she is the chosen one who will deliver the Son of God, and our journey will continue all the way to Bethlehem where the Christ Child is born. Once Joseph learns his betrothed is with child, he has to decide whether he will break the engagement or continue his relationship with Mary. It is all a very complicated situation for the young couple to work through. I am looking forward to slipping into the new Sunday evenings Advent Study to really learn the nuances of the scriptures dur-ing this wonderful season.

Earlier in the year, we had a special collection to purchase mosquito nets. The goal of the “Imagine No Malaria” campaign was to raise 1,000,000 so that 100,000 mosquito nets could be pur-chased. Each $10 donation purchased the net plus education materials so the recipients of these nets would learn how to use the nets and the vital importance of using the nets each night to prevent family members from being bitten by infected mosquitoes and consequently, being infected with malaria. This campaign generated more than a million dollars for the purchase of mosquito nets. Every church in Virginia that participated in this campaign received a certificate of recognition for their gracious con-tributions. Our certificate will be displayed in our social hall. Many thanks, to each of you who contrib-uted to this campaign. Just think, you helped save over 100,000 lives. Bravo to Red Valley UMC!

Your favorite church mouse hopes you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family. And now as we focus on Christmas day, keep things in perspective as we send out cards, buy gifts, and bake our favorite Christmas goodies. The true reason for the season is to pay homage to the birth of the Christ child. Keep that thought to the forefront, let it guide you to be the hands and feet of Christ to those less fortunate. Experience the heart felt joy of giving to those in need.

Until 2016, I am respectfully, your Church Mouse. See you in the New Year!

RED VALLEY UMC

30 Red Valley Road

Boones Mill, VA 24065

Phone: 540-721-7545