The Messenger

Colo & Collins United Methodist Churches November 2015

Pastor Lewis Flanigan
Church Phone: 641-377-2534
Email: coloumc@yahoo.com

Volume 11

Thy Kingdom Come

In The Best of William H. Willimon, he wrote:
Humor is thus a part of Easter because, as is in so
many good jokes, humor gives us a temporary escape
from the bounds of history. In a joke, things dont end
as they usually do in life. We are surprised. We smile.
There is room, God-granted space between the
determinations of history and time as God is making
time Gods. We are not to take the present too seriously, as if now is all there is that is going on in the
world. Thus the saints once spoke of Easter as the great joke God played on the devil. We are ultimately
hopeful and humorous about the future because we already have seen the future. The One who is, and is
yet to come, is also the one who has come. This new is not merely some future hope but is already
present as event, as newly enacted here and now.
We pray thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven The story of Jesus
from birth, to his teachings, to his death, to his resurrectionis the story of Gods Kingdom comenow!
While we await the fullness of Gods kingdom in the future, we know that it is here now.
Did you stop reading and look at your calendar? Thinking what does all this talk of Easter have to
do with November? Are we looking at the Fall of the year, harvest, and Thanksgiving? Of course, the
short answer is yes.
However, as Christians, when harvest comes, we sometimes our thoughts to the great harvest at the
end of time. In thinking of that harvest, I remember Galatians 6:7 (CEB), Make no mistake, God is not
mocked. A person will harvest what they plant.
This year, November 22nd is Christ The King Sundaythe last Sunday of the Christian calendar
the one just before Advent begins. It is a Sunday where we look ahead to the day when at the name of
Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11, CEB). The time when all are ushered
into the fullness of the Kingdom of God!
That means that November 29th is the first Sunday of Advent. This year, we will use Adam
Hamiltons Not a Silent Night to guide us during Advent. Advent is a time of preparationpreparing
for the first and second coming of Jesus. So, we pause to remember this part of Gods humor. God sent
his only begotten Son to a peasant woman, to be born in a stable rather than to royalty and to be born in a
palace. While Im sure Mary and Joseph didnt see anything funny about this, they could never have
imagined that people around the world would remember that night in awe. That is just the way God
seems to most often work.
And, God wants to work in and through us to make his Kingdom a reality in our time and in our
communities. God most often makes that happen as we live thankful lives for Him. Remember to take
time this month to thank God for who He is, what He has done, and what he continues to do through each
one of us.

Pastor Lewis

November Bible Verse: Genesis 12:1 God

told Abram: Leave your country, your family,
and your fathers home for a land that I will
show you.
If you missed our Unit Meeting, Sarah
Grover and family gave a wonderful program
about their mission trip this past summer. The
UMW gave her a thank you check and she just
told me this week the orphanage, where they had
worked on the floor, needed additional funds for
a sealant. Since she had just received our check,
she sent it on and our check was put to use
immediately! God will provide!! We had close
to 60 guests that night. A big thank you to the
committee: Doris Otto, Katy McKinney, Sandy
Hill, Dorothy Cerka and Judy Beckett for serving
a delicious dessert!
By the time you read this, the
Chicken/Biscuit dinner will be a memory!
Thank you in advance for helping in any way!
We will also have had our first workshop
Days for Girls! If you are interested in helping
with this worthy mission, contact Karen Cody.
November 7th is 'Ingathering so you still
have time to donate.
During the November circle meetings, a
collection will be taken for World Thank
Offering. Count your many blessings and share
with others.
Remember to save stamps for Missions,
Campbell Soup Labels, and BOXTOPS FOR
EDUCATION! Thank you to Myrna Johnson
for cutting and mailing the stamps and Kim
Halferty for taking care of the BOXTOPS! We
appreciate all you do!
The Unit Christmas Party is December 3rd
at 6:30. We welcome all women of the Church
to attend!
Thanksgiving Blessings,
Susan McKinney
UMW President

UMW Reading
Program Report
There are two
books I brought back
from the District
Meeting, that are from
the loan library. One
is The Journey by Stephanie Hixon & Thomas
Portert which is about forgiveness, restorative
justice and reconciliation. This book is for Spiritual
Growth in 2011. The Journey invites us to venture
into stories from the Bible and recent history and
discover our own call to and gifts for the journey.
There are examples from the Women at the Tomb,
the Prodigal, and Jesus, whose forgiveness of the
betrayal has left a roadmap for how we should live.
Drawing from their journey, the authors thread
stories from recent history, from South Africa to
SE Asia, Ireland to New Zealand and other areas
bringing grace and reconciliation.
A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk, is
a novel from the books last year in the category of
Education for Missions. This is a story of a 13
year-old girl who has a lot of problems in her life
in rural Tanzania. She wants an education where
girls are not wanted in the school and where girls
are expected to stay home, marry, and work in the
home. This girl proves that she can have a better
life by moving to another village and attends
school.
On the back binding of each book, there is
a colored sticker with initials showing which
division the book is listed with and the year it is
purchased. We can read books listed back to 2011.
When checking out the book, please write your
name on the card inside the book and leave the
card in the box on the shelf. When returning the
book, find the card, cross off your name and place
the card back inside the cover under the paperclip.
Any questions, ask Dorothy Dadisman, 377-2552.

Christmas in Colos Festival of Trees

There are still trees available to sponsor for the
Festival of Trees held at the library during
Christmas in Colo. Any individual, club or
business is invited to decorate a tree to be
displayed in the library and voted on by the
community. Cash prizes are awarded for 1st
Place and Mayors Choice. Please contact Katy
McKinney at 641-485-3149 to reserve your tree!

COOKIE
WALK
The Colo
UMW
will
once
again
host a cookie
walk during Christmas in Colo on SUNDAY,
Dec. 6.
We
need
home-baked
cookie
contributors!! You do not need to be in the
UMW to donate cookies.
We could also use a few good workers for
that afternoon, too.
Come join the fun and get into the
Christmas spirit!
Please let Sandy Cutler know (377-2874)
if you are able to bake 2 dozen Christmas
cookies (OR MORE!) for this event and/or if
you can help work
at our cookie walk
table. There will
also be a sign-up
sheet
in
the
Fellowship Hall.
United
Methodist
Mens Group
All men are
welcome
to
join
us
at
Nilands Caf
at 6:30 a.m.,
the
second
Thursday
of
each
month.
The next gathering will be November 12th.
(Each person pays for their own breakfast.)
Colo Church Council Report
The Colo Church Council met on Wednesday,
September 23rd, at 8:00 p.m. The following was
discussed and/or decided:
Mission & Ministry Plan was approved for
submission to the Charge Conference in October.
Parsonage Repair Team reported that the all the
windows have been caulked, and that others are
charged with investigating window treatments for the

large front window and cabinets in the main

bathroom.
Outreach has developed a Welcome Card to be
inserted in Welcome packets for new people in the
community. Also, a Thanks for Popping In Card &
Packet has been developed to give to first time
visitors.
One Committee Board Evaluation Team is
recommending no new changes to our structure, or
how it operates. However, they do recommend that
we follow through with communication goals
approved last year.
Nominations to be presented to Charge
Conference were also approved.
Pastor/Parish
Relations
Committee
recommended the following: a 1.5% raise in pastoral
salary for 2016; NOT to hire a secretary at this time;
to hire Jolene (Jodi) Hilleman as the Colo Custodian
to begin October 1st; to commit to long-term
relationship with Collins, instead of the year-to-year
parish relationship we have now; and to ask our
Conference Superintendent Harlan Gillespie to
conduct a Parish Ministry Workshop in late 2016.
All of these recommendations were approved.
Last Quarter Evaluations were reviewed.
W.O.W. attendance is the same as last year thru the
first two weeks. It was approved to purchase 2 new
TV/DVDs for classrooms from Memorial funds.
Worship Attendance thru September 13th is up 1
person per week average over last year. Church
Income thru September 13th is down from a year ago,
but about the same as it has been over the past 5
years. Church Expenses have been cut since May,
even though we conducted V.B.S. during that time
frame. The church continues to have all bills paid,
except for apportionments.
In Other Business:
No representative was appointed/elected to serve
on the Crossroad Days Committee.
(Any
volunteers?)
It was approved to be a partner in the Colo/Nesco
Backpack program.
To open our Facebook Page so all
members/attendees could post to our page, with an
approval process for those submissions before they
are actually posted.
Randy from Completely Kitchens will be here
September 30th to begin work on the steps from the
Youth Room to the East Entrance.
Harvest Auction is November 8th, beginning at
12:15 p.m. A lunch (freewill offering) will be served
by the youth, starting at 11:30 a.m.
12 - 8 tables will be sold for $20 apiece. Contact
Pastor Lewis.

NOVEMBER
BIRTHDAYS
Colo
1
4
5
7
8
9
10
13
15
17
18
19
20
23
25
29
30

Wanda Linn
Matthew Walter
Paul Cody, Edythe Meller
Robert Long, Becky Swanson
Frank Goerner, Brad Snodgrass
Kylee Fleming, Kyle Mens
James Wilson, Joseph Swigart
Sandra Deems
Sandy Cutler
Taylor Farren, Bill Schnur, Anna
Yeazel
Deanne Luke
Clint Otto
Quinlan Webster, Hannah Corbin
Reece Dodd
Mary Jane Christy
Eugene Colhoun
Sandy Hall

Newsletter by Email???
If you would prefer to receive the Messenger
only by email, please let us know. It is also
available on our Colo Facebook page.
Messenger Deadlines/Assembly
All articles to go in the Messenger are due in
the church office by noon on the 20th of each
month.
Due to Thanksgiving, the Messenger will be
assembled and mailed on Tuesday, November
24th, beginning at 9:30 a.m. All volunteers are
welcome and encouraged!

Pastoral Office Hours

Pastor Lewis keeps no set office hours. Call
for an appointment (404-273-4803). He will be
in and out of the Colo office on Monday,
Wednesday, & Thursday mornings. On most
Tuesdays, he will be at coffee in Collins and then
at coffee in Colo. Coffee is at the Community
Center in both towns.

Collins
2
7
11
15
17
22
23
26
27
29

Alina Goldie
Barb Kingman
Scott Shipton
Sarah Wright
Ron Phares
Jim Wright, Sr.
Laurie Coughenour
Josh Christain
Amanda Long Mroch
Lucille Lillard, Mike Hofer

November Anniversaries Collins

16 Mark & Darla Carver
19 Jeff & Miriam Titus
November is Hat & Mitten month at both
churches. We will be collecting them for
Bidwell-Riverside. They no longer have room
for a lot of clothing, so we will NOT be
collecting clothes to take. However, if you have
coats in good shape, we will take those.

Colo UMC Harvest Auction

Sunday, November 8
12:15 p.m.
Youth will be serving lunch from 11:30 to
12:15 in downstairs Fellowship Hall (Freewill
Donation); and the Auction will start at 12:15
p.m. in upstairs fellowship hall.

Colo & Collins United Methodist Churches

602 Fourth Street
P.O. Box 266
Colo, IA 50056

Non-Profit
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit # 2
Colo IA 50056

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

ADDRESS LABEL

November 2015 Messenger

Colo UMC Harvest Auction

Sunday, November 8
12:15 p.m.