May the miracle of Christmastouch your life!

"And she shall bring forth a son,and thou shalt call his name JESUS;

for he shall save his people from their sins."Matthew (1:21)

Cross and Flame

December 2013

I would l ike to open today’s pastoral letter

with Greetings of the Season; “Merry

Christmas” to you. The Advent Season of 2013

has already come around us, before we were

aware of it. December is an important month

for us because we wi l l close 2013, as wel l as

celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.

During the last Advent season our Frankl in

Grove Church fami ly participated in a Christmas

Miracle Project. Instead of spending money for

ourselves or our chi ldren, our church members

invested our money in a clean water project for

an African vi l lage. When I provided $1.00 (seed

money) for several volunteers in the church,

one of our church members made homemade

cookies with the seed money. She sold the

cookies to her fami ly, friends, and neighbors.

Final ly, she donated over $70.00 for our

Christmas Miracle Project. From a chi ld to a

nonagenarian, al l church members worked

together and made an amazing miracle for the

Clean Water Project. Last year, our church

donated $ 1,027 to Compassion International .

We bore beautiful fruits of miracle through our unity in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, we spent a meaningful Christmas. Just as we del ivered

Christ’s love and grace to the world last year, this year we wi l l participate

in another Christmas Miracle, cal led “Imagine No Malaria.” Do you know

this shocking actual ity? Every 60 seconds, malaria caused by a mosquito

ki l ls a l i fe, especial ly chi ldren in Africa. Mi l l ions of African's have lost their

l ives each year due to malaria. Since the 1950s, malaria has been

el iminated in the United States because we have protected ourselves and

our chi ldren in our developed medical care system. However, the

African's are sti l l fighting against malaria because they do not have

enough bed nets, medicines, and education to avoid malaria. Therefore,

the United Methodist Church is participating in a campaign, “ Imagine No

Malaria” to support Africa. As a part of One Body in Christ, as wel l as a

local church of the United Methodist Church, we wi l l participate in this

important campaign. Malaria is 100 percent preventable. Through our

generous giving, we can save the future of Africa because “nearly 90

percent of malaria’s victims are chi ldren under the age of 5 and pregnant

women.” Apostle John gave us an important lesson in 1 John 3:17~18,

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need

but has no pity on him, how can the love of God

be in him? Dear children, let us not love with

words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

As we already know, God so loved the world, so God

gave us the begotten Son to save us. Therefore, we

are sti l l experiencing the good news of hope, peace,

joy, and love in Christ Jesus during Advent season.

Loving Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This year, let us make another Christmas Miracle to save mil l ions of l ives

in Africa. As faithful fol lowers of Christ Jesus, we have to serve God’s wi l l

and righteousness by uniting our faith and actions. When we are

cheerful and generous givers in Christ, we will realize the true

meaning of the Advent season and Christmas. May God, the giver

of l ives, bless you and your fami ly during this holy season.

InGrace andPeace,Pastor Jin-HoHong

hristmas ProgramThe Children's Christmas Program will be duringchurch on Sunday, December 15th. The program isan adaption of The Christmas County Spelling Bee.The children and audience will come to a deeperunderstanding of what a truly wonderful gift Godsent us in a manger bed 2000 years ago. †

Please plan on attending and staying for theThird Sunday Lunch, December 15. The mealwill be ham and potatoes. The free will offeringwill be split between Sunday School and buyinghoneybees from Heifer. †

ClusterChristmasAdventProgram

December8th2:00PM

RochelleUMC.AllIwantforChristmas is. . .

Thanks be unto Godfor his unspeakable gift!

hristmas Program

ClusterChristmasAdventProgram

Eachchurchisaskedtoprovide2-3dozencookiesforrefreshments. TheoffertorywillgotoImagineNoMalaria.AnyoneableandwillingmaybringanewtoyfortheRochelleNeedyFamilyToyandFoodDrive. †

The Christmas Store wi l l once again

be avai lable for Sunday School

students who earn tickets this year.

Please consider donating items that

they can give as gifts to the people

in their l ives. You may bring your

donation to the church anytime

between now and Christmas. We

could also use wrapping materials

(wrapping paper/gift bags/tape/

etc. ) Christmas wi l l be arriving

before we know it! †

The Sunday School chi ldren wi l l be singing

with the church at the Frankl in Grove

Nursing Home on December 22nd at

2:00 pm . Let's help prepare the residents

for Christmas by joining in singing some

Christmas songs for a very appreciative

audience. The residents love the chance

to see chi ldren. We need adults there to

carry the tunes as wel l . †

This wi l l be a del ightful event for adults

as wel l as chi ldren. The evening

promises to bring " Joy to the World! "

Please meet at the church for prayer and

enjoyment of Hot Coco before going out

to carol . God wi l l ing we wi l l carol on

December 12 from 6-8 pm. †

"My heart is ready. God my heart is ready:I will Sing and make music for you. " Psalm 57:7

Issue 1

A Different Kind of Christmas

"Every year, we say we’re going to cut back,

simplify, and have a family Christmas that

focuses on the real reason for the

season—Jesus. Overspending, overeating,

materialism, and busyness rob us of our peace

and joy and rob Jesus of his rightful role as the

center of our celebration.

This book of devotional readings is designed to

draw your entire family into closer fellowship

with God as you respond to this Christmas

season and the call of God to live generously

all year around. The devotional includes thirty

short readings, Scripture, prayer, and stories

about helping others at Christmas." †

Beginning December 1 at 6:30 pm

Franklin Grove United Methodist Church

Ifyou are looking to experience the

spirit and joy ofChristmas, you will

find it at the Franklin Grove Christmas

Walk, on Friday, December 13th

from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Our church

will be serving complimentary soup

and brownies, so please stop by to see

us at the American Legion Hall. What

a great way to ring in the season with

friends and family. †

A Community Tradition

Issue 1

Come join us for music,

scriptures and fellowship

as we prepare for the

celebration ofour Savior. †

Tuesday, December 24

7:30 pm

Christmas Begins with

Christ

Franklin Grove United Methodist Church

Youreyesmaybehavingadifficulttimefocusingonthispicture, butthat'showdarkitwasat6:00amonTurkeySupperday. NOELECTRICITY.

Turkey Supper 2013

A New Memory Created"THANK YOU everyone for making this year'sturkey supper a success! ! This year created alot of memories from the electricity going out aswe were getting the turkeys washed and in thecookers to the awesome mentoring to thegrowing friendships. Pastor Hong saved themorning with his headband flashl ights so thatour turkey washers could keep working evenwithout l ights! We lost no time really since wecould keep on working in the dark! Talk about

having a lot of laughs! A HUGE thank you to the experienced turkeycarvers who mentored the newbies - watching the conversations goingon during that time touched a lot of our hearts who were witnessing God'spresence in the corner of our kitchen. And we carved 26 turkeys in arecord 1 hour and 35 minutes! Great job guys! ! As I have said, these arejust about my two favorite days of the year and the love of our churchfamily is so apparent on these days. The love in our hearts join togetherto bless our community with a wonderful meal! Thank you all again foryour time, donations and hard work! ! † In Christ's Love - Valerie "

Achallengingsituation, butitshowsthededicationoftheseworkers! ThanksDawn,Gary, PastorHong, Val, Jessie, CheriandDaveforgettingupwiththebirdstopreparethebirds!!!!

Issue 1

Thanks to many of you who donated a pie or two, ormore, to our Turkey Supper. With your kind donationwe were able to serve many of our friends fromdifferent communities. Your generosity as wel l astime was greatly appreciated.

Don't bel ieve a word hetel ls you Yun Hee, as hedoesn't even know howto play the piano!

Many of the younger oneshelped carve turkeys. Oh,that means you too Terry!

What kind of a deal is the Pastor trying tomake with you Arla? Good thing Jesse iswatching out for you! ! ! !

There is a story behind the cole slaw, l ike toomuch salt. Next year Val , use celery seedrather than celery salt! ! ! ! I t was sti l l del icious!

Wow! We had a great selection of cookies for thoseattending the Turkey Supper to choose from, and choosethey did. . .unti l they were nearly ALL gone! Thank you toal l the wonderful bakers in our church fami ly who tookthe time to bake and drop them off at the church. Thisl i ttle tradition of having cookies avai lable for the TurkeySupper is just one more way we try to make this a greatexperience for al l who attend. We even had the GirlScouts helping with the cookies and our drive throughhelpers were sel l ing cookies as wel l ! THANK YOUeveryone. Your wi l l ingness to jump in and provide ourbaked goods is very much appreciated! † Cheri

Craving isn't a bad thing, but we must real ize God created us to crave so we'dultimately desire more of Him in our l ives. Many of us have misplaced that craving,overindulging in food instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. Join us in the newwomen's bible study Made to Crave by Lisa Terkeurst. This study is broken in two 6week sessions that are video based. They prove bibl ical wisdom and encouragement,practical healthy l iving tips and personal stories to inspire you.

We are trying to set up a time starting in January that works for everyone who wouldl ike to join. Please contact Kel ly Vial l at ti lsy@i l l inoisalumni .org if you are interested. †

New Women's Bible Study

Franklin

Grove

UMC