Crosby United Methodist Church P. O. Box 1385 Crosby, TX 77532 281-328-2616 www.crosbyumc.

org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED__________________ _________________________________________________ VOL. XXXXV__ _ December 4, 2013 _ _ _ _ NO. 25

PASTOR PETERS PERSEPCTIVE

Are you waiting for a savior I am a wise man looking for a sign. I believe that the world is meant to be a fairer place and that I should help to change it. I have access to people of power and authority but I am not sure how to use my influence. Pray for me and for all influential ones who are waiting for a sign. I am a widow looking for a purpose. I am tired of being talked about, treated like a statistic, pushed to the margins of human conversation. I want to meet someone who will listen to me, someone who will not take me for granted for who I am or what I have to offer. Pray for me and for all people who are waiting to be taken seriously. I am an old man waiting for my death. I have looked at the world so long that it wearies me. I have prayed to God so hard for my people to be delivered from all that diminishes and destroys them. And I wonder, as my life closes, if change will ever come. Pray for me and all older folk who are waiting for a savior. I am a young mother waiting for my child to be born. I feel the new life inside me, I sense great promise throughout me, I know my love grows for the one I have not seen. Yet I fear that the world may be a hostile place for the little one who is to come. Pray for me and for all expectant mothers who are waiting for their children to be born. I am everywoman and everyman. In my loneliness, I am waiting to be visited; in my uncertainty, I am waiting to be reassured, in my happiness I am waiting for a deeper fulfillment; in my soul, I am waiting to be wanted. Pray for me, and for yourself, for we are all waiting. I am the Lord your God, I have waited on you, and have heard your prayer. Now is the right time and I am coming soon. So, prepare a way in the desert, a cradle in the hay, a meeting place in the marketplace, a table in an upstairs room, a cross on a hill, a grave in a garden, a throne in your heart as in heaven. For now again, I will bend down and remember you. I will answer your prayer, and your waiting will end in joy. (Copyright 1997 Wild Goose Resource Group, Iona Community) This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why; so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didnt go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. (John 3:16, 17 The Message)

CANDLELIGHT & CAROLS

Sunday, December 8th, 6:00 p.m.
This years program will feature familiar Christmas music by Rebellion, Celebration Ringers, the Chancel Choir, Gwen Moyle and Michelle Day. Amy Waltz will also provide Christmas music on her harp. We will have the opportunity to sing a lot of Christmas carols and songs while we enjoy appetizers and Christmas goodies. Please bring your friends, neighbors & family, to enjoy a fun evening of Christmas music and fellowship. The Family Life Committee is asking those attending to bring extra generous servings of your favorite finger foods (meatballs, pigs in a blanket, sausage biscuits, mini sandwiches, cookies, brownies, etc.) for all of our guests.

The Chancel Choir presents:

WERE YOU THERE ON THAT CHRISTMAS NIGHT?

Sunday, December 15th 8:30 & 10:45 a.m. Worship in the Family Life Center
Written by Paula, Doug and Chris Harrison, this is not the traditional Christmas story, but takes place over 30 years after Jesus birth. The scene is a typical day when a crowd has come to hear Jesus teach. Within the crowd are a number of people who have had some type of connection with Jesus birth. Each one tells his or her story, interspersed with music for the Chancel Choir and Rebellion Bell Choir.

MUSIC NOTES Dec. 4, 2013

Grandma got run over by a what?!? What do you mean, you sent the twelve drummers back?! For answers to these questions and a great evening full of fun, carols, and good food, please join us for Candlelight and Carols, Sunday, December 8, at 6:00pm in the Family Life Center. The season of Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and an opportunity to prepare ourselves for Gods great miracle, the birth of his son, Jesus. Music and worship are both very important parts of this preparation. The music ministry will provide several types of music to aid in our worship experience. Amy Waltz will play her harp in both worship services on December 8. Amy filled in on the piano for Gwen Moyle while she was on vacation last summer. Amy is a good pianist, but her primary instrument is the harp. She is a member of the Houston Harp Association, and is the primary harpest for both the Baytown and the Lake Charles symphonies. She also just happens to be my daughter. Were You There On That Christmas Night will be presented the following week, December 15, in the Family Life Center during both worship services. The Chancel Choir, Rebellion, and the Confirmation Class will participate in this work. Soloists and the Chancel Choir will provide special music for the rest of the Advent services and for the 7:00pm Christmas Eve service. Each service will also feature favorite carols of the season. See you in the loft, Paula

We have ordered 70 poinsettias this year to adorn our sanctuary during the Christmas season, and there are several plants available. Plants are $9.00 each and will be in the sanctuary beginning Sunday, December 8th. Forms are available on the credenza in the narthex, or you may contact the church office if you would like to purchase a plant in honor or memory of a loved one.

POINSETTIAS

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

Children of all ages are invited to select a costume and participate in The Journey, a short story that tells the story of the journey to Bethlehem. Following the service there will be a birthday celebration in the fellowship hall complete with piata and cake. Families who wish, can then return to the sanctuary to receive Holy Communion.

CHILDRENS SERVICE, 4:00 P.M.

TREE OF LIGHTS
Forms are available on the credenza in the narthex if you would like to purchase a light(s) or doves for the tree in the sanctuary in honor or memory of a loved one. You may also contact the church office at 281-328-2616.

Needed Weekly Received Nov. 24th Received Dec. 1st

STEWARDSHIP REPORT

$6,401.45 $5,709.00 $8,920.00

Come celebrate a traditional worship experience including Christmas carols, Holy Communion and the lighting of candles as we join our voices to sing Silent Night. Invite your friends, neighbors and family to join you for this wonderful evening of worship.

TRADITIONAL CANDLELIGHT SERVICE 7:00 P.M.

ATTENDANCE Nov. 24 Dec. 1 8:30 a.m. 53 61 10:45 a.m. 62 72 Hanging of the Greens 65

PRAYER CONCERNS
Remember in our prayers: Haleigh Shaver Polly Lowden, Kagan Lucas, Jillian Kutach, Wanda Rogers, Jeanne Webb, Charlotte Glenn,J ohn David Foyt, Nelda Johnson, Mary Michalsky, Martha Treadway, Dawn Chapman, Allie Harrison, Carol Simonton, Linda Featherston, Cheryl Omtvedt, James Matthew Edwards, Jim Giles, Jan Cox, JoAnn Hurley, Richard Hyde, Boyd & Bobbie Lamb, Sheryl Jamail, Jean Ellerbee, George & Ruth Owen, Ruth Cubley, Joanne McMurrey.

Change of Address:
Jeanne Webb would like for everyone to have her current mailing address. She does not have a phone number at this time. Mrs. Norma J. Webb Pasadena Care Center, Room 104 4006 Vista Drive Pasadena, TX 77504

Our military: Wesley Holloway, Brett Fregia, Slava Kirik,

Chris Buck, Jason Cox, Steven Cox, Natalie Ladner, Robert Tepera, Blake Adair, Eric Perez, James Hanggee, Daniel James, Justin Smith, Chris Neuendorff, Lucas Omtvedt