The Willow Word A Publication of the Willow Glen United Methodist Church
God’s Family Growing Through Caring, Sharing and Serving
Signs of Christmas
You know the signs of Christmas: decorations in the store by Halloween, mail from charities begging for money, shorter days with more to do in them, more food and less sleep, more stress and less peace. But those aren’t the signs of Christ’s coming that are mentioned in the Bible. Jesus says that there will be signs, but they will be spiritual signs, not “Holiday Sale” signs. As the leaves on the fig tree are a sign that summer is near, “So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” [Mark 13:29] This Advent, we will be watching for the spiritual signs that God is coming into the world. But that won’t do any good unless we first recognize the signs in our own lives that we need God to come to us. That is where we will begin, but that is not where we will end. A god who is only concerned with personal transformation is not the Lord of all creation! We need a much bigger God than that. We need God to come into our families, our communities and our world. So on each Sunday of the season, our God will get bigger and bigger until there is no problem on earth that is too big for God. At the late service on Christmas Eve, you will hear a story about people 100 years ago who, at least for a night, came together to celebrate that. What can you do for the someone on your Christmas list that thinks they have a problem too big for them? We urge you to invite them to worship with you sometime this season. The best gift you can give them this year is a gift of hope. Here is the schedule of services for Advent: Advent 1 – November 30 God comes into our personal need Scripture: Mark 13:24-37 Advent 2 – December 7 God comes into our family and community Scriptures: Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8 Advent 3 – December 14 God comes into the world’s need Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 LightShine Children’s Choir will sing at the second service Advent 4 – December 21 Lessons and Carols tell the Christmas story Christmas Eve at 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. December 28 One worship service in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. More information about Christmas Eve services and Advent Family Nights on Page 3.
December 2014/January 2015 In This Issue: Pastor’s Page General Church News Children & Family MInistries Spiritual Development Women’s Page Mission & Service
Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7
2 Sunday Worship 8:45 – 9:45 a.m. Contemporary Worship 9:45 – 10:00 a.m. Fellowship Time 10:00 – 10:45 a.m. Christian Education/Sunday School 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Traditional Service 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Fellowship Time
Church Staff Rebecca Irelan Senior Pastor
Susan Smith Pastor of Children & Family Ministries Lisa Jacobs Director of Joint Youth Ministries Lorene Sheridan Director of Weekday Ark Ministries Robert Birnstihl Organist & Director of Music Ministries Tom Mounts Director, the Willow Glen Ringers Dee Davis Office & Facilities Manager Karen Kwon Wedding Coordinator
Pastor’s Page Walk to Emmaus November 2014
The Inconvenience of Transformation
For the first time in years, Willow Glen hosted the Walk to Emmaus weekends for both men and women in the month of November. Walk to Emmaus is a three-day retreat for Christian renewal and formation that enables participants to encounter God through Jesus Christ and learn about grace from other believers. For our staff, it was a lot of extra work to accommodate such a large group over such a long period of time (Thursday to Sunday two weekends in a row). For our musical groups, it meant moving things around, and for our regular building users, it meant using different rooms or rescheduling. For the building, it meant extra strain on the plumbing. And for two families whose loved ones died in the last several weeks, it meant that the day or time of the funeral had to be shifted around. The question arises: Was it worth it? The first people we have to ask are the three men and two women who went on the Walk. Tom Grubb, Craig Ramsay, Jose Soler, Deborah Lanphear and Rosa Soler — all members of our church — attended the Walk and came home profoundly moved by the experience. For some, the Walk was a life-changing encounter with God. For others, it brought moments of extraordinary clarity about life or a new confirmation of their faith in God. For all, it was a time to receive the hospitality of strangers and bask in the love of God, away from family and work commitments. For no cost other than inconvenience and a plumbing bill, we made it possible for God to touch and transform lives in a way that rarely happens on a Sunday morning. Speaking as the pastor, I’d say that it was well worth it. If you are intrigued by this Walk and wonder if you might want to take it, just ask one of our recent pilgrims. They would love to tell you about it. Blessings,
Pastor Rebecca
General Church News
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Growing Spiritual Redwoods, One Pledge at a Time: We Need Yours!
We got off to a slow start on our stewardship campaign this fall and pledges are trickling in. We have received about half of the number of pledges we normally expect to receive in a year, so please make an effort to return your pledge cards soon. The tally as of November 23: Operating Budget: 44 pledges: $156,382 Mission Possible (Renovation and Debt Repayment): 34 pledges; $41,218
Advent Family Nights
6:00-8:00 p.m., Woodhaven Tuesdays of Advent (Dec. 2, 9, 16 & 23) Do you have dreams of a simpler Christmas? Are you wishing for quiet time with your family in the glow of the Christmas tree and without all the clutter of life surrounding you? Would you like to spend some time in prayer and Bible study this season? Do you long for time with friends over a meal? We have just the answer. Gather up your family and drop in at Woodhaven on the Tuesday evenings of Advent, anytime between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. You’ll find friendly faces, a simple soup supper, and seasonal activities to nourish your spirit. December 2: Family activity night We’ll be making some Christmas decorations for our new tree in Woodhaven and to take home. If you have any ornaments at home that you’d like to hang on the Woodhaven tree, please bring them. December 9: Contemplative night Advent Kaleidoscope Bible study for adults and LEGO Bible time for children and youth December 16: Family Activity night We’ll be making nativity scenes together. December 23: Contemplative night Advent Kaleidoscope Bible study for adults and LEGO Bible time for children and youth We hope you’ll come in from the cold and crazy of the season and get warmed up at Woodhaven with your church family. If you would like to help by bringing soup or salad one evening, please contact Pastor Susan (
[email protected]). We would also like to have a host family each week to help with the set-up, greeting, serving and clean-up.
Celebrating Christmas
Christmas is a wonderful time to worship with your church family, and we hope you will join us on Christmas Eve for one of our two candlelit celebrations. Our 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service is designed for families with children, but is delightful for worshippers of all ages. Our children will share some special Christmas music, our praise band will lead us in familiar and contemporary Christmas carols, and the children will tell their version of the Christmas story based on the tradition of Las Posadas. The joy of Christmas is shared with energy and hope and peace at this service. Our 10:00 p.m. service is a peaceful candlelit service. The familiar words of the Christmas story combine with the beauty of familiar Christmas music to create a peaceful and renewing celebration of the gift of Christ into our lives. Come and hear the good news in a way that will speak to your life for the year to come. May all your Christmas celebrations bring you closer to the love of God.
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Children & Family Ministries Finding Room for Jesus
CrossWalk Faith and Fellowship for Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders
Friday, December 12 5:15-8:30pm Family Giving Tree Warehouse We’re heading out to the Family Giving Tree to be elves. We’ll meet at WGUMC at 5:15 p.m. and carpool to the warehouse in Milpitas for a 2-hour shift of sorting gifts and stocking their holiday store. The whole family is invited to participate in this service project together. It’s a great way to work together with your kids and their friends, and to get into the holiday spirit of giving. Watch your e-mail for more details, but please mark your calendar for this special project. Friday, January 9 7:00-8:30 p.m. Wesley Room & Kohlstedt Hall Theme: TBD Start the new year off right with friends and faith! Watch your inbox for more information about our CrossWalk 2015 kick-off.
Parent Meeting December 7 at 10:00 a.m.; Audition Workshop at 1:00 p.m. Join us as we tell about the birth of Jesus in the tradition of Las Posadas. It will be a slightly different take on the traditional Christmas story as the Sunday School children make some of their own choices about how to dramatize the events. In something of a choose-your-own adventure format, the children will be invited to participate in a workshop-style audition that will result in a pageant of their creating as they make decisions about music, characters, setting and staging. Choir: All of our Sunday School children become the Christmas choir. Rehearsals begin Sunday, November 16, at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday (at the end of Sunday School). Practice CDs are available from Pastor Susan. Cast: Auditions for solo, ensemble, dancing and speaking roles will take place on Sunday, December 7, at 1:00 p.m. The auditions will be held workshop-style as we work together to create the drama for Christmas Eve. *All parents of those children interested in auditioning must attend a parents’ meeting that morning at 10:00 a.m. in Woodhaven. We need your help! We will need parent help making simple sets (2 self-standing doors and a stable), and simple risers. Depending on the kids’ choices for the pageant, we may also need some help coordinating costumes. We will also need a photographer and videographer for the service, choreography and stage assistance. Please e-mail Pastor Susan (
[email protected]) if you can help in any of these areas.
All Wrapped Up! In Sunday School
With all of the hoopla that accompanies the secular celebration of Christmas, it’s easy to lose sight of the real reason for our celebration, so this month, we are focusing on generosity: making someone’s day by giving something away. We hope that as we prepare for God’s gift to us in Jesus, our kids will get wrapped up in showing others how God has been so generous to us. Generosity changes us when we learn how to give like God gives and we’ll explore biblical examples of God’s generosity to help guide our own giving. Our memory verse is a great reminder for us. “Be rich in good deeds… be generous and willing to share,” 1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV) In case we think that our ability to be generous is connected to how much stuff we have, being rich isn’t defined by how much we have. We’re not generous because we are rich; we are rich because we are generous. We’re accepting God’s generosity and getting wrapped up in sharing with others.
Making a Commitment to Faith in Sunday School
Learning something new is hard. The musical instrument doesn’t sound quite right when we first pick it up, and the ball doesn’t seem to go where we want it to when we start a new sport. We have to practice or rehearse. We have to commit to sticking with it even when we don’t feel like it. In order to get better, we have to put in some work. The same is true for our faith. It takes practice to grow and mature in our relationship with God. It takes commitment: making a plan and putting it into practice. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing in Sunday School this January. We’re kicking off the new year by getting back to the basics of our faith. Listening to God, praying to God, talking about God and living for God. Our memory verse reminds us about the importance of making a commitment to practice our faith. 1 Timothy 4:8a says, “Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way.” When we commit to practicing our faith and follow through on our plan, we’ll grow in ways that will impact our entire lives. What a great way to start the year!
Mission & Service
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Come Volunteer at the Family Giving Tree
Sunday, December 21, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Come be an elf for the Family Giving Tree – sorting and wrapping gifts for needy children in the valley. We will meet at the church at 4:30 p.m. and carpool to the Family Giving Tree warehouse in Milpitas for a 2-hour shift of Christmas wish fulfilling. This is a great project for older elementary children on up. Bring the family! E-mail Susan (
[email protected]) for more information or to let her know you’re coming.
Change the World Day of Service and Community
January 10, Cambrian Park UMC, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon You cannot do everything. But you can do something. One community, one person, one action could be the catalyst to change the world. Changed lives can change the world, and lives change when people choose to be available, go where needed, and do what they can. On Saturday, January 10, Willow Glen UMC, Almaden Hills UMC and Cambrian Park UMC will focus on serving others and learn what it means to be, go and do, but we cannot change the world alone. Plan to come and be counted doing something that counts. We will be preparing lunches for the homeless in our community, and collecting blankets and coats for them as well. Sign-up at fellowship time to bring items for the lunches, and bring warm coats and blankets to the donation box. Then come join us on January 10 to share hope and warmth with our neighbors. In order to make fleece scarves and hats for those in need, we will be collecting donations of fleece fabric (in ½ yard increments). Fleece can be purchased at any fabric store and is often on sale this time of year. Have fun choosing colors and patterns and bring your donation to the Building Hope box at church. Thank you!
Imagine No Malaria Campaign Update
Unlike many other diseases that are awaiting a cure, malaria was eliminated in the U.S. in the 1950s. However, in SubSaharan Africa, malaria continues to kill a person every 60 seconds. But there is hope! Imagine No Malaria is part of a global partnership, and together with our partners, we have cut the death rate in half in just seven years. So far, the UMC has raised $64 million for prevention efforts. Over 2.3 million bed nets have been distributed. More than 4.6 million people have been reached through lifesaving radio announcements. The UMC operates over 300 hospitals, clinics, and health stations in Africa where people can be diagnosed and treated. And we have trained 11,600 health workers to educate people about avoiding malaria. Last year, our Annual Conference set a goal to raise $2 million for Imagine No Malaria and each of our districts have accepted the challenge to raise $100,000. The El Camino Real District, of which WGUMC is a part, is about a quarter of the way to the goal. Our circuit participated in a San Jose Giants fundraiser this summer, and we will be dedicating our Christmas Eve offering to Imagine No Malaria this year. If you’d like to join the UMC, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UN Global Fund to eradicate malaria, please write a check to the church or donate through our Conference website at www.calnevimagine.org.
6 Women’s Groups Open to all, newcomers are welcome. Please call the contact listed below for information. Heart and Hand Thursday, December 4 7:00 p.m., Woodhaven Susan Smith Friendship Circle Third Monday Noon, Woodhaven Suzanne Selby
UMW Executive Board will meet Monday, January 5, at 9 a.m. at Woodhaven for the annual planning session. All are invited to attend and asked to bring a sack lunch. UMW is open to all women regardless of church membership. For more information about UMW, call Patricia Madsen.
The deadline for the February Willow Word is January 25. Please send your story ideas and submissions to Leslie Chamberlain
Women’s Page Christmas Luncheon and Program on December 3
Jointly sponsored by United Methodist Women and Willowmates, the Christmas Luncheon and Program on December 3 at 11:15 a.m. is open to all members, friends and guests of WGUMC. If you have not already made your reservation, it may not be too late to attend. Call the church office to see if you can be included. Luncheon will be served at noon, with Friendship Circle of UMW preparing a delicious Christmas meal. A musical program follows, too good to miss. Willowmates will bring unwrapped toys for the Sacred Heart Christmas toy program. Others attending are invited to participate in this giving program if they wish. Tickets are $10 each. Plan now to attend, and bring a guest! Membership in either UMW or Willowmates is not required – all are welcome. Child care can be provided if arrangements are made through Susan Smith.
Installation of Officers
UMW officers for the calendar year 2015 will be installed at a worship service in January, date to be determined. Officers for the year include: President Patricia Madsen Vice President, Ed./Interpret. Ruth Granfors Secretary, Memb/Nurt/Outreach Jane Vivian Treasurer Becky Morgan Social Action Pat Farrow Spiritual Growth Carmen McBride Program Resources Alice Singh Sunshine Beth Minton Nominating Committee Open
Goodbye to Wesley Women Circle
The decision was made to disband Wesley Women Circle due to inability of many of the members to continue to host or attend meetings. These women have met together for many years, as part of the larger unit of United Methodist Women. The members of Wesley Women Circle are invited to participate in Friendship Circle or to become Members at Large.
All Around Willow Glen Classical Guitar Concert Raises Money for Mission Possible
WGUMC is hosting a classical guitar concert fundraiser on Saturday, December 6, at 5:00 p.m. in Kohlsted Hall. The proceeds will go to the Mission Possible fund. Gillian Grubb’s classical guitar school is holding a student recital, with food and refreshment served after the recital. The age of the students ranges from eight years old to teenagers, and the music includes solos and group ensembles. All church members and friends are welcome to join us, if you come and plan to stay for the snacks after the recital please bring something to share. This opportunity for the students to play at our church encouraged their enthusiastic agreement to put on a concert at Lincoln Glen Manor, a Willow Glen retirement community, in December — giving the kids an opportunity to give of their talents to our senior neighbors!
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Building Hope Mission Trip to Mexico July 25-August 1, 2015 This is an intergenerational mission project and we invite anyone ages 5-85 to consider joining the team. Working with Amor Ministries, we will build two-room houses for impoverished, working families. For most of this week-long trip, we will sleep in tents pitched in a basic campground, work full days in the Mexican sun, rain or wind and shower with a bucket of water warmed only by the sun. This trip will change your life as you get to know and fall in love with the people of Mexico who live in these conditions every day. Amor Ministries has been building in Mexico for more than 30 years. Find out more about their work at www.amor.org The cost of the mission trip covers all mission expenses including transportation, lodging, food and the cost of the building materials ($725 for adults, $425 for children under 10). Your deposit of $225/adult and $125/child will be due by March 15, 2015. Come find out more. Informational meetings will be held at all three churches in January and February: January 18 Almaden Hills UMC 11:30 a.m. January 25 Cambrian Park UMC 11:30 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. February 1 Willow Glen UMC 12:15 p.m. See photos from the previous trips and hear about our experiences first-hand. Find out more about the mission trip including the daily schedule and building plan. Discuss trip safety and finances. Ask all of your questions, and have them answered by folks who have taken this trip before and want you to join the team for 2015. Contact Pastor Susan Smith (
[email protected]) or Lisa Jacobs (
[email protected]) for more information.
Willow Glen United Methodist Church
1420 Newport Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408-294-9796 wgumc.org
