December 3rd – December 10th

Website: honesdaleumc.org Email: [email protected] Phone: 570-253-3291

Sunday Morning Services are held at 8:30 & 11:00 a.m.

LIFE Joel 2: 28

Sunday School & Adult Christian Education classes are held at 9:45 a.m.

And that’s just the beginning: soon “I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters. The old will dream, your young will see visions. I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both. I’ll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below.”

The other day I ran into a teacher who is not a member of the church but recognized me as the pastor of the Methodist Church. We began to chat for a bit and she was talking about her class and the students she is teaching this year. She then stopped and commented about something that caught me off guard. She said, “You know, you can sort of tell which students have an active faith life. They tend to cluster together and support each other. In their writing they seem to have a different outlook on life even.” Now, how this teacher knew these students had an “active faith life” I do not know. Maybe she was just trying to bolster my ego. However, I can tell that these comments were probably not easy for her to say, after all no teacher wants to compare one student against another. But she felt it important for me to know. By now we have all read the numerous studies that point to an individuals religious life and overall health. Some of the most significant findings point to a positive influence of religious life and overall mental health. And while I have read these numerous studies, and well understand that theoretically having a faith does offer plenty of coping mechanisms for life, I have rarely heard about these positive effects from an unsolicited source. Confirmation Sunday is one of the worship days where we visibly recognize the faith commitments of each of our young members in the church. As I tell the confirmands, if you take the decision to be confirmed lightly or to please someone else, the act of confirmation will have little meaning for you. It is just another boring Sunday in the church. If, however, you are doing it from your spirit because you want a deeper relationship with God and your church... then this event will be incredibly powerful. This is not just a challenge for them but for the church at large. If we see this as yet another day when we bring new-young members into the church, then the end result will be just another Advent day with a bit of a longer service. If we choose to take it as an opportunity to grow and nurture these young Christians who have made a commitment in Christ, then we will hopefully give them a good grounding for life that will impact their overall wellbeing, to say nothing of the health of the church. On this first Sunday of advent where we celebrate Growth in Christ as well as Hope in our Lord, we look to these young Christians who just may be next years leaders in faith. See you in Church, + Rob

Advent: A Season to Celebrate Advent 1 (December 3) - Celebrate Growth Advent 3 (December 17) – Celebrate Recovery

Advent 2 (December 10) – Celebrate Healing Advent 4 (December 24) – Celebrate New Life

Choralaires Concert: “One Holy Night”

The Choralaires will be hosting their last seasonal concert TODAY, Sunday, December 3rd at 2:30, at BVM Queen of Peace in Hawley.

Hope to see you there!

United Methodist Men will be having a meeting on December 5th at 7:00PM in our Social Room.

Join us for Family Movie Night on The United Methodist Women will meet on December 9th at 6PM in the th Monday, December 11 , Sanctuary. Please join us for an at 1:30 p.m. in the Wesley Room. evening of Pizza, Popcorn, Polar Please bring box tops for education. Express, and PJ's! Bring a We will get them ready for submission to blanket/pillow! All are welcome. Red Bird Mission and share a few cookies during our time of refreshments and fellowship. All are welcome. There will be no This event is FREE! Please join us! UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

meetings in January and February. Please note our inclement weather policy: If school is released early or closed due to inclement weather that day, there will be no UMW meeting. XYZ members please mark your calendars for TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12th, at noon. Our annual Christmas party will be at the Zipperlen's again this year. No need to bring your place settings-- just a dish to share. We hope to see you there.

Noisy Change:

Last week we collected $157.03 for the Christmas Community Luncheon. Thank you all!!

Toys for our Town! On Saturday, December 9th, from 8:00 – 1:30 in our Social Room, we will be hosting our annual “gently used” toy sale with all items priced $5 & under. All proceeds go to a local charity.

Prayer Concerns Troy Johnson, Betty Mang, Jeff Judge, Charlie, Christopher, Pete Zuroff, Donna, Tara, Anna, Charlie, Becky Eldred, Dorothy Melody & Family, Sue Sadak, Jerry Murphy, Patty Figura,, Hunter Welles, Missy Robbins, Alberta Robbins, John Ryan, Evelyn Smith, Peter & Nancy Wilken, Pat Seipp, Lois Garrett, Drake Evans, Dorothy Gauch, Alvira Risner, Sandy Jones, Glenn Lee, Macey Hessling, Marquita Maher, Reese Burdette, military personnel: Kyle Lebrecht, P.O. 3rd class and his shipmates aboard the submarine U.S.S. Virginia on a 6 month deployment, & our deeply missed shut-ins. Please contact the church office with updates, or if a member is hospitalized & requests a visitation.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK: Sunday, December 3rd: ~ Confirmation & First Sunday of Advent 9:45 Sunday School – Education Building 11:00 ONE Service – Sanctuary Tuesday, December 5th: 6:30 Men’s Faith Study 7:00 United Methodist Men – Social Room Wednesday, December 6th: 9:00 – 10:00 Rob’s “Office Hours” -Black & Brass 3:15 King’s Ringers – Sanctuary 6:45 Chancel Choir – Sanctuary Thursday, December 7th: 3:15 Emmanuel’s Angels – Sanctuary 6:45 Wesley Ringers – Sanctuary Saturday, December 9th: 8:00 – 1:30 Toys for Our Town 6:00 Family Movie Night – Polar Express Sunday, December 10th: ~ Second Sunday of Advent 8:30 Informal Worship Service – Wesley Room 9:45 Sunday School – Education Building 11:00 Traditional Service – Sanctuary