Outside the Box: Creating JOY

Dear Fellow Ministers,

‘Tis the season! For some that is a joyous thing and for others it conjures up emotions that are difficult. For us all, Christ was born! That is our message, always. We hope that the church can meet people where they are on that roller-coaster of emotions and offer them Jesus Christ. We will have our Longest Night/Blue Christmas Service this Sunday, December 21, at 5 pm in the Sanctuary. We have our regular Sunday services with the Children’s Nativity this Sunday morning.

What an amazing blessing this past Sunday was, as all Sundays are at MUMC! We welcomed 11 new members to our church and centered ourselves around admonitions on patience from James 5:7-10. You can view our services on our website. You can also view the incredible Glory of Christmas Music Celebration from Sunday night by our Music Ministry. My goodness! God was present and this was a beautiful celebration!

View my video update to check out some of the Sanctuary enhancements, and click to review a Comprehensive List of Changes and Placement of Accessible Chairs. Upcoming videos will continue to feature highlights of the various upgrades as we help to educate you on the changes incorporated into our beautiful, accessible and functional new space.

Please let Pastor Bill know if you or someone you are inviting to worship with you would be interested in learning more about the church. Our next Explore Membership class will begin on January 11, at 3 pm. If you would like to know more, please contact Pastor Bill (Pastor of Welcome & Hospitality).

As we prepare for the 4th Sunday of Advent and next week’s Christmas Eve Services, thank you for the importance you place on worship and the shared life of our community of faith. Sunday is our Children’s Nativity, and I’m excited to get to see the excitement of the Christmas Story in the eyes of our children! Pastor Susan is preaching and will be basing her sermon around Matthew 1:18-25. Please pray through that text this week as God forms a sermon in us.

A special note of preparation for our Christmas Eve Services. We will be taking up an offering, 100% of which will go to Global Impact partners Matthews HELP Center, Wings of Hope (Haiti), and Matthews Free Clinic. We choose three different mission partners each year. This is one way we can live out our faith and we hope to show the generosity of Matthews UMC! This opportunity invites us all to give generously at one of 7 different services on Christmas Eve (with 6 & 9 PM also livestreamed – all details below). It is our goal to offer as many different opportunities to celebrate Christ as we can!

I am honored to get to be the Senior Pastor at Matthews UMC! Thank you for your love of Christ that creates JOY in this amazing church. I look forward to being in ministry with you this week!

In Christ’s Service,
David

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

ALL Candlelight Communion Services, except at 1 PM

1:00 PM KIDS & FAMILY Live Nativity & Animals Afterwards

2:30 & 4:30 PM KIDS & FAMILY Followed by Family Activities

4:00 & 6:00 PM TRADITIONAL

9:00 PM CONTEMPORARY

11:30 PM 30-minute VESPERS in Courtyard, Nativity & Animals (Park in Large Lot, Use Front Sidewalk)

*6 & 9 PM Services also Livestreamed

* Nursery (ages 3 & under) available for all services except 9:00 & 11:30 PM Christmas Eve Service Details & Ministry Events

ONE Combined Time of Worship: Sunday, Dec 28 at 9:30am in the Sanctuary (NO 8:15 or 11:00). Adult classes will meet at 10:30, Nursery available for kids under 3 from 9:15-10:45am. NO Kids or Youth small groups.

 

Scenes from the Glory of Christmas Musical Celebration, including the feature pic above.

 

Did you know that groups from MUMC decorated and wrote 270 personalized cards to staff and residents at Murdoch Developmental Center in Butner, NC? The Faith Sunday morning group, Kids & Youth in our Age-Level Ministries, Rainbow Express Ministries and The Micah Connection (MUMC Justice Ministry) were all involved in this project.

Did you know that the Micah Connection Creation Care Ministry shares monthly tips to care for the environment? Check out gift ideas to be thoughtful to our planet this holiday season in the December highlights on the group page on our website!

Did you know that our Inclusivity & Justice Ministries was featured among the Best of the Best of the most clicked resources by the Western NC Conference? Check out the article on “Developing a Culture in a Church” (by one of our very own) which also rated among the top clicked in the E-Lead publication.

Did you know that, while everyone is feeling generous, scammers take advantage of this season through email, text, robocalls, social, on livestream comments, event invitations and more? Do not click on unknown links or attachments. BE on ALERT for scam emails that appear to be from MUMC soliciting financial assistance, discreet favors or gift cards. Email [email protected] before responding to suspicious emails. Note: Our emails end with the @matthewsumc.org extension.

Did you know that YOUR generosity helped 260 individuals have gifts for Christmas from our Tree of Blessings? Global Impact Ministry partners included Blessed Assurance, Changed Choices, COSKids, Greenway Park Elementary, Matthews Help Center and Turning Point. All of these partners had tags on the Tree of Blessings and they send their thanks to you for your gifts. Gifts were distributed to young and old as recipients ranged from a 6-month-old infant to an adult 99 years of age, and everyone in between these ages!