The Messenger

A Wrightsville Hope Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 12

January 2017

Pastor James Wooster

A Note From The Pastor

Last year, when I received my end of the year giving statement from Ed, I was
shocked and embarrassed.
I knew what I had wanted to give in 2015. I knew that I hadnt been perfect. I can be
a bit absent minded (if you havent noticed), so I knew there were a few Sundays that I
had forgotten to bring my offering check with me. But still I expected to be close to my
giving goal. I was not. In actuality, I had given less than half of what I had intended
to give!
I know that I am not alone in this. We all like to think of ourselves as generous and
cheerful givers. But a 2012 study looked at those who believed they were tithing,
(Tithing is the biblical practice of giving 10% of your income as an offering). The study
discovered that in actuality only 3% of the group had given more than 5% of their
income. That means 97% of tithers overestimate what they are giving.

Inside this issue:

January Reading Plan
Wrightsville Hope
Information

Church Leadership
December Sermon Topics
Pray For The World
Ministry Team Leaders

5 Things To Pray In The

New Year

This N That

Outreach Ministries
Outreach Ministries
Hymn of the Month
Recipe Exchange

6
7
8
9
10

I think people mean well. I think very few people intentionally and knowingly set out
January Calendar
to withhold their tithes. But it happens for a variety of reasons. You forget to bring a
check some Sunday. You go away on vacation for a few weeks. Things get a little tight financially, so you hold
back temporarily. But before you know it the missed giving opportunities add up.

This is why I signed up for E-giving through Wrightsville Hope. Now I dont have to worry if I forget a check one
week. I dont have to double up on checks if I am gone through the summer. I know that my actual giving will
line up with my intended
giving. When I see my end of the year giving statement, I dont need to be
embarrassed.
I am not asking you to think about giving more this year. I am asking you to think about giving differently. Will
you consider e-giving? All it takes is one simple form giving us permission to authorize your giving. You choose
the amount. You choose the frequency (at this point you can chose once or twice a month). You decide when it
starts and you can even decide when it ends. You will submit a cancelled check with your form so that we can
verify all the information. Once your first offering is processed, we return the check to you and black out
financial information on the form you submit. Forms are kept in a secure location.
E-giving benefits you in that it enables you to be intentional about giving what you want. You determine your
level of generosity rather than it depending on the whims of the moment. E-giving benefits the church by helping
to stabilize the giving base.
If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Sincerely,
Pastor James

January Reading Plan

Day

Read

Wrightsville Hope UMC

Numbers 23:19-20

404 Hellam Street

2 Samuel 22:32-37

Job 8:5-7

Psalm 23:4-6

Psalm 27:10-14

Psalm 30:2-5

Psalm 40:1-3

Psalm 77:10-15

Psalm 84:5-7

10

Psalm 103:1-5

Worship Service

11

Psalm 126

9:00 AM10:15 AM

12

Proverbs 16:9

Small Groups / Sunday School

13

Ecclesiastes 3:11

10:30 AM12:00 PM

14

Isaiah 43:18-19

15

Isaiah 62:2-4

Reverend James Wooster, Pastor

16

Isaiah 65:17-19

Angie Holtzapple, Secretary

17

Lamentations 3:19-26

18

Ezekiel 36:24-26

19

Malachi 3:6

20

Romans 8:17-18

21

Romans 12:1-2

22

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

23

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

24

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

25

Ephesians 4:22-24

26

Philippians 1:3-11

27

Philippians 3:13-14

28

Colossians 3:1-4

29

1 John 3:2-3

30

Revelation 2:17

31

Revelation 21:1-4

PO Box 154
Wrightsville, PA 17368
717-252-2609Church
717-252-1342Parsonage

Morning Prayer and Reflection

8:30 AM8:45 AM

E-mail:
revwooster@yahoo.com
wrightsvillehopeumc@gmail.com
Website:
www.wrightsvillehope.weebly.com
Facebook:
Wrightsville Hope

Leadership Team

Donna Ream

Tim Lehman

As you read, ask yourself these questions:

Shirley Shank

Wanda Tracey

1) How would you summarize this passage?

Bill Stoner

Stephanie Abel

2) What does this passage have to say about the new

things God wants to do in your life?

Vicki Cumming

Debra Runkle

3) If this is true, what should you do?

The Messenger

Page 2

Pray For The World

January 1-7

January Sermon Topics

Stateless people, migrants, Refugees

January 8-14

Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the

Occupied Palestinian Territories

January 15-21

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United

Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Iran, Iraq

January 1

~ Communion ~

January 8

Old Testament Revisited:

David and Goliath

January 15 Old Testament Revisited:

Jeremiah

January 22
Pulpit Exchange:
Rev. Keith Schmuck at Wrightsville Hope
Pastor James at Fairmount UMC

January 22-28
January 29Feb 4

Cyprus, Greece, Turkey

January 29 Congregational Hymn Choice

Old Testament Revisited:
The Fiery Furnace

Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

Outreach Ministry Team Leaders

Notice
With the heating season upon us, and
being mindful of our church building
fire regulations, please keep all STAIR
TOWER doors closed at all times.
These doors are fire doors and need to
be kept closed. Please do not prop
open! Also do not place any items next
to HOT radiators or other heating
elements.
Please dress temperature appropriate
so you can remain comfortable during
the Worship Service and Sunday
School, especially if it is really cold
outside.
Wear layers or bring a
sweater with you.
Thank You!

Adult Activities Committee Christian Education Elevate Encounter Food Pantry Laundry Love Mission -

Twila Sentz 717-684-2273

Donna Ream 717-843-8309
Sue Bair

717-252-3342

Pastor Wooster 717-252-1342

Barb Latshaw 717-501-5297
Cheryl Wallace

717-683-2369

OAF Holly Particelli 717-449-1034

(Organized Appreciation for Forty-One) (Wrightsville Fire & Rescue)
Phoebes Closet -

Vicki Cumming

717-252-3261

RECS Vicki Cumming

(Rivers Edge Community Services)

717-252-3261

United Methodist Women -

717-843-8309

Donna Ream

Page 3

5 Things To Pray In The New Year

Adapted from: www.reviveourhearts.com/true-woman/blog/10-things-to-pray-for-this-new-year/
1. That we would number our days.
In Psalm 39, David prayed, "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me
know how fleeting I am!" (v. 4). Let this be our prayer as well. May we realize how fleeting our life is
and how important it is that we not waste our brief time. May we use every moment for God's great
glory and praise
2.

That we would know the love of Christ.

This is one of Paul's prayers for the Ephesians. It is a prayer that opens our eyes to seeing Christ's love
in new and fresh ways.
"That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what
is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (3:17-19).

3.

That we would love God's Word.

It was God's Word that started this blue marble that we call Earth spinning and twirling in the
darkness. It is His Word that brings life and sustains life. It is His Word that decreed redemption was
accomplished when Christ cried out on the cross, "It is finished!" And it is His written Word that shows
us the path of life.
Scripture tells us all we need to know about who God is and what He has done for us in Christ. It is also
His Word that changes us and sanctifies us.
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of
soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the
heart" (Heb. 4:12).

4.

That we would desire Christ above all else.

We cannot love God on our own. Left to our own devices, we would only love ourselves. Only God can
bring our dead hearts to life, giving us hearts that love and desire to obey Him.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of
stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Eze. 36:36)
Let us pray this year for hearts that love Christ above all else. Let us pray for hearts that are
dissatisfied with the fast-food offerings of this world. Instead, let's pray that we would develop a taste
for the rich and deeply satisfying love of Christ.

5.

That we would love like Christ.

Just as we can't love God on our own, we can't love others on our own either. We need to pray that we
would have a love like Christthe kind of love that seeks the best in others, takes the last place, serves,
and sacrifices. The apostle John said that we love because God first loved us. This year, may we focus on
the love Christ has for us, and may it propel us to love others as He loves us.

Page 4

This N That
Please Let Us Know!

Thank You!

When someone enters the hospital, please contact

Pastor James. Dont rely on the hospital to
contact him. On several occasions in the past,
people have been in the hospital and back home
again before Pastor James found out about it.

We are always blessed by the generosity of the

people of Wrightsville Hope during the Holiday
season.
The gifts, cards, food and other
remembrances mean a lot to us. We hope that
your holiday was as blessed as you made ours.

Church: 252-2609
Parsonage: 252-1342
Thank You!

Thank you!
Pastor James, Michelle,
Karis and Isaac.

Bulletin Board Displays

Help Wanted!

If you enjoy being creative and putting together

displays, I am looking for persons to adopt the
bulletin board at the 4th Street entrance (at the
mailboxes), for a month or two or three and decorate it!
The 2017 calendar is on the board and you can write
your name in the month or months you would like to
put your talent to work. If you have any questions,
please see Donna Ream.

We have an idea to give a small gift to the children of the

families we serve through the Food Pantry at times
through the year. We are providing food for the family but
would like to make the children feel special themselves.
The gifts of a small toy and/or book (Christian books
would be great) would be given at Christmas, Easter and
sometime in the summer to children up to age 11 or 12.
We are looking for someone or a group of people, who
would be willing to coordinate this project. If you are
interested or want more info, please talk to Vicki so we
can get this project started.

Opportunities For Service

~ Pray for our church, our community, our nation
~ Specific prayers for the children we touch on Sundays,
at Encounter and Elevate, that they see the love of Christ
through us.
~Come play games at Encounter as a way to show some
special children Gods love.
~Visit a Laundromat to share some quarters and a word
with people in need
~Volunteer - we can use help at the Food Pantry and
Phoebes Closet
~Elevate is still in need of a male small group leader for
the boys

Think Spring!
~ The Spring Fling Committee has set the date for
Saturday, May 20th for Spring Fling 2017!
Mark your
calendars now as a reminder!
We are also seeking
volunteers to help make soup for the Soup Sale. If you
would like to help with this, please see Donna Ream.

Do you like to sing?

Our Director of Music is looking for a few more people to join the newly formed Wrightsville Hope Choir!
They practice every Thursday night at 7:30 PM in the church sanctuary. Talk to Walt Fetterly for more information.

Page 5

Volume 1, Issue 12

Outreach Ministries
New Years Day Pork &
Sauerkraut Dinner
The Adult Activities Committee will be serving a Pork
& Sauerkraut Dinner in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, January 1st, from 12:004:00 PM. The cost is
$8.00 for Adults and $5.00 for Children. The Dinner
is open to the public and there will also be Handicapped Accessible Tables available upstairs in the
Adult Sunday School Room.

Laundry Love Mission

We have collected over $400.00 in quarters, so we need volunteers to once again visit the Laundromats in town! If GOD is
calling YOU, please call Cheryls Cell phone at: 717-683-2369
You can ask Cheryl to go along for a visit or grab a friend
(contact Cheryl for quarters) and go! Make random visits to
either of the Laundromats in town, offer to pay for the laundry
of the people who are there, explain who is doing this and why,
give church fliers and invite them to church. Youll find that
people are usually willing to talk. Some people have been very
grateful for the help, some refuse and
others have given
donations to help someone else but everyone gains from the
encounter.

Volunteers Needed!
Faith United Methodist Church in Hellam, is looking
for some volunteers to help with Lunch Bunch. Help
is needed the first Tuesday of the month from 8AM
until Noon and the first Wednesday of the month
from 10AM until 3PM.
If you are interested,
please call Faith United
Methodist Church at
717-755-3155 or
Karen Himes at
717-252-3034

If you have any information for future

newsletters, please submit it by the 15th of
the month.
Did your address, phone
number or e-mail address change? Let us
know so we can update your information.

Leadership Team Sub Sale!

The Wrightsville Hope UMC Leadership Team is sponsoring a sub and sandwich sale with the proceeds benefitting
the
building / improvement fund. They will be selling
the subs/sandwiches through Wednesday January 11,
2017. Pickup of the sandwiches will be on Thursday
January 19th 2017 with the time to be announced at a
later date. If you are selling
sandwiches at work or
other places you might want to mention that they will
receive their purchases on Friday January 20 th. It is also
advisable that you also collect the money when you take
the orders. We are getting all of the supplies from Sues
Market in Wrightsville and will be assembling the sandwiches ourselves the afternoon of January 19th, so look
out and listen for a call to help us do this. Order forms
are available at the mailbox area. Please turn in all order
forms to Tim Lehman (717) 501-2400 or any member of
the Wrightsville Hope leadership team (who are listed on
page 2 of the newsletter).

Vicki Cumming 252-3261

vjcumming@icloud.com
Denise Stokes 885-0532
denise-avon@comcast.net

Page 6

Volume 1, Issue 12

Outreach Ministries
Soup Cook-Off Fundraiser
The Encounter and Elevate groups will be having a Soup Cook-Off Fundraiser on Saturday, January 14, 2017. It will start
at 1:00 pm. and will be held in the Adult Sunday School Room.
$5.00 a ticket will get you to sample 12-15 different soups, bread, crackers and a sweet treat!
A donation box will be at each soup, and if you would like to drop some coins (or dollar bills) into the soup box that you liked,
the soup entry that makes the most money will be rewarded with a prize.
If you would like to enter a soup into the Cook-Off, please let Julia Ely know and she will sign you up!
So when the January weather is cold and frightful, come to Wrightsville Hope for the Soup Cook-Off on Saturday, January
14th at 1:00 pm. and warm up with samples of soup and great fellowship!
See Julia Ely or Norma Hilt for tickets!
Remember, the Encounter and Elevate groups welcome any food or money donations during the school year.

Soup Cook-Off Fundraiser

United Methodist Women News

~ The United Methodist Women will meet on Tuesday,
January 17th at 9:30 AM in the Adult Sunday School
Room. We will be planning our 2017 calendar. All
women are invited to join us!
~ The Prayer Shawl Ministry is in need of shawls. If
you knit or crochet and you would like to be involved,
please see Bonnie Shaffer and she will give you the
instructions. If you dont knit or crochet, we can always
use yarn or money donations to purchase yarn. If you
wish to donate yarn, please check with Bonnie on what
type of yarn is used.
~ The United Methodist Women are collecting items for
hygiene kits that are distributed through the food
pantry. The kits include: toothpaste, toothbrushes,
shampoo, deodorant, razors and shaving cream. There
is a box for donated items by the mailboxes in the 4th
Street Vestibule.

JAM Seed Ministry

Planting
Hope

There will be a box by the

mailboxes in the 4th Street
Vestibule to place your seed
packets.
The deadline to turn in seed
packets is February 19, 2017

Page 7

Volume 1, Issue 12

Hymn Of The Month

For the next few months we will be highlighting
some of Charles Wesleys hymns.
A CHARGE TO KEEP I HAVE
A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Masters will!
Arm me with jealous care,
As n Thy sight to live,
And O, Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!
Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely,
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.

About the Author:

If we wanted to write a hymn, most of us would not
turn to the Book of Leviticus for inspiration. But
Charles Wesley wrote sixteen hymns derived from that
Old Testament book. This hymn was composed after
he had been reading Matthew Henrys commentary on
Leviticus 8:35. In that verse the Hebrew priests were
commanded to be faithful in their duties in the
tabernacle. Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die
not, Moses had said (KVJ).
Matthew Henry
commented: We have every one of us a charge to keep,
an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide
for, a needful duty to be done, our generation to serve,
and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it
is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will shortly
call us to an account about it, and it is our utmost peril
if we neglect it.
Read 2 Timothy 4:1-2,5

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Page 8

Recipe Exchange
This Recipe was submitted by Bonnie Shaffer. This is an easy dump dessert.

Crock Pot Dessert

2 Cans of Pie Filling (your choice)
1 Box of Yellow or White Cake Mix
1 1/2 Sticks of Butter (cubed)
Instructions:
Put the 2 cans of Pie Filling into the bottom of the Crock Pot.
Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pie filling.
Place cubed butter on top of cake mix
**DO NOT STIR TOGETHER**
Put on High for 2 hours. Take lid off and cook for another 1/2 hour.
The consistency is like a dumpling. Spoon out into a bowl and serve with ice
cream if desired.

Calling all cooks and bakers! If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share, please e-mail or give
me a copy of the recipe, and I will include it in future newsletters.

Thanks!
Denise
denise-avon@comcast.net

Page 9

January 2017
Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

8:30 Pray/Reflect

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9:00 Worship

3:00 Elevate

9-12 Phoebes
Closet

3:30 Encounter

9-11 Women of
Wrightsville Bible
Study

13

14

20

21

27

28

10:30 Invitation
Small Group /
Sunday School

4-6:30 Phoebes
Closet
7:30 PM Choir

6:00 Epic of Eden

8

10

11

8:30 Pray/Reflect

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9:00 Worship

3:00 Elevate

9-12 Phoebes
Closet

3:30 Encounter

10:30 Invitation
Small Group /
Sunday School

12
9-11 Women of
Wrightsville Bible
Study
4-6:30 Phoebes
Closet
7:30 PM Choir

6:00 Epic of Eden

15

16

17

18

19

8:30 Pray/Reflect

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9:00 Worship

3:00 Elevate

9-12 Phoebes
Closet

3:30 Encounter

9-11 Women of
Wrightsville Bible
Study

10:30 Invitation
Small Group /
Sunday School

4-6:30 Phoebes
Closet

9:30 UM Women

7:30 PM Choir

6:00 Epic of Eden

22

23

24

25

26

8:30 Pray/Reflect

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9:00 Worship

3:00 Elevate

9-12 Phoebes
Closet

3:30 Encounter

9-11 Women of
Wrightsville Bible
Study

10:30 Invitation
Small Group /
Sunday School

4-6:30 Phoebes
Closet
7:30 PM Choir

6:00 Epic of Eden

29

30

31

8:30 Pray/Reflect

9-12 Food Pantry

9-12 Food Pantry

9:00 Worship

3:00 Elevate

9-12 Phoebes
Closet

10:30 Invitation
Small Group /
Sunday School
6:00 Epic of Eden

Page 10