Marilyn Christianson enjoys flowers brought to her by the Parish Visitor Linda Lovendahl. The flowers were used Sunday on the altar and then distributed to those who can't make it regularly to FUMC services. Marilyn invites her friends to come and visit her at Mantey Heights.
Students of Shannon Wytulka’s fifth-grade class at Wingate School in the Redlands were thrilled this month with her choice of craft project for their Special Pals. Special Pals is a program founded by her mother, Vicki Stites, which is still a vibrant tradition today. The 28-class members each made a fleece pillow to accompany their (pen pal) letter. Parish Visitor Linda Lovendahl, who coordinates the program, picked up the completed project on Thursday, January 19. Each month a new project is made and delivered with the hand written letter for FUMC parishioners who volunteered last fall to be recipients. A culminating luncheon will be held on May 10 when letter writers will meet one another.
The students took great pride in this project. Pillows were stuffed into plastic bags to ensure safe delivery. They were happy to show them off!
A Parish Visitor provides leadership for visitation ministries. This means that those parishioners unable to attend worship with the body of believers, such as at the Sunday services, may keep contact with the church and fellow believers through the visits of the Parish Visitor. The Parish Visitor brings DVDs, bulletins and other informative materials to the member at their home, provides Biblical studies, shares challenges and joys; and prayers. The Parish Visitor is an extension of the pastoral staff at First United Methodist Chruch and is supervised by the senior reverend.
Serving in this capacity is Linda Lovendahl. She is working on her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health at Adams State College and her Chaplaincy with Rocky Mountain College of Psychotherapy. January 2012 she was awarded a $1000 grant from the Philanthropic Education Organization for her studies.
Rev. Laura was featured in an article – complete with her photo – and the choir in the background.
then on Christmas day, the family Christmas eve service photo was a great addition!
Journey of faith leads to Christ’s birth
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER TOMLINSON—United Methodist Church in downtown Grand Junction had a Christmas pageant Saturday afternoon in which children could come and don costumes and participate in a Christmas processional and nativity scene. The children are sitting in front of the manger, with a cake in the foreground marking a special birthday for Christianity.
By Rachel Sauer
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Long before the silent, holy night, before wise men followed the star and angels sang hosanna, there was hope.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah, honored as a prophet, wrote the words more than 700 years before the child was born. There was hope and there was anticipation — decades, centuries, millennia of waiting and watching.
And there was a girl named Mary.
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”
The angel told her, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, that she was highly favored among women, and “she was troubled at his saying,” wondering “what manner of salutation this should be.”
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.”
“Everybody talk about oh, how awesome,” said the Rev. Joe Jones, associate pastor of Bethel Assembly of God Church in Grand Junction. “In reality, if an angel showed up at your door and said, ‘Guess what?’ are you really going to tell me that your response would have been, ‘Oh, cool’? I don’t know how many of us would have that kind of faith.”
But Mary did, the Bible says.
“She concludes that conversation with, ‘Here I am, a servant of the Lord,” said the Rev. Blaine Scott, pastor of United Methodist Church in downtown Grand Junction. “And she made herself available for the miraculous work of God no matter what the implications.”
By her side, steady, faithful Joseph — a carpenter, “a man of faith and courage,” said the Rev. Nature Johnson of Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Grand Junction. “He believed, and he risked everything.”
Then a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that everyone should be taxed. Joseph traveled home to Bethlehem with Mary. She was “great with child,” St. Luke says. The journey can’t have been easy.
“It’s a 100-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem,” Scott said. “And the last miles are uphill, so it would be like walking up to Glade Park.”
Then, once the couple arrived, there was no room at the inn, and it was time to deliver the baby. The only spot available for the couple was a stable.
“And it actually wasn’t a cozy, comfy, cuddly little barn,” Jones said. “It was really a cave, and it was cold and dirty.”
The setting was humble, but the baby came. And Mary “wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.”
Nearby, there were shepherds watching over their sheep in the fields. Suddenly, “the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.”
The savior had been born earlier that day in Bethlehem, the Gospel of St. Luke says the shepherds were told. A multitude of the heavenly host appeared with the angel and sang praises to God.
“What an awesome privilege that God didn’t make that announcement to royalty or to people in really high positions,” Jones said. “He announced it to those lowly shepherds out in the middle of the fields, and they were obedient.”
The Bible story continues — Jesus Christ growing and teaching, suffering and dying and, key to Christian faith, rising again.
But on that night, that silent, holy night, there was a baby in a manger and a star overhead.
Santa leads Reindeer songs with children
Josh Weaver has a heart-to-heart with Santa and tells him he wants a motorcycle for Christmas!
The youth group offered games and crafts after Santa’s departure so parent’s could have a night out.
Rhett & Clara Kempton visit with Santa. Rhett is delighted and doesn’t understand why his sister won’t hold his hand.
The youth group traveled to seven different locations, including various nursing homes and home-bound church members to deliver some Christmas joy singing carols and offering smiles and hugs.
It was a meaningful event for all involved. Above, the group visits Evelyn and Harold Motz’s house. On behalf of the youth group, may you all experience a meaningful and joyful Christmas season.
-Emily Kempton, youth ministries director
This Christmas the parishioners of First United Methodist Church remembered 38 members who worship at home with 1300 greeting cards. This tops all previous years! The bag prepared for delivery of the greeting cards by the Carft’in Sistas has a tremendous impact on the spirits of those who receive them. One recipient declared to the Parish Visitor when she looked into her gift bag to find more than 40 envelopes addressed to her, “This is Christmas right here!”
Above, Evelyn and Harold Motz open their bag of Christmas greeting cards in the comfort of their living room.
Pat and Jim White said they miss attending church. The fact their fellow parishioners remember them with Christmas greeting cards lets them know these relationships are still intact.
-Linda Lovendahl, staff Parish Visitor
Got to deliver a big donation check to Habitat for Humanity of Mesa County – fun being a part of what God wants to bless! Thanks to Vi Spitzer estate for the generous gift.
The neighborhood of Paradise Hills received a special treat on Sunday evening – a visit from our youth group! The kids roamed the neighborhood in search of old scraps of material people were willing to give away to create what was needed for our living nativity scene.
Once Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the angels, the shepherds and the animals returned with their props, the youth held a nativity worship service with Christmas carols and scripture in the basement of one of our parishioners.
Yours (O Creator) is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun. You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter.
Psalm 74: 16-17
Being prepared for winter conditions and driving is certainly not the only preparations occurring is it? There is much to prepare for! I’m sure your calendar fills in the blanks of to-do’s. As winter season arrives, ADVENT is the seasons of the Church year during which we prepare our lives — our hearts, minds, and spirits — for the coming of the Christ child. … During these four weeks preceding Christmas, we prepare our “outside lives.” Buying gifts, making family plans, attending special church services, baking goodies. We also prepare our hearts, minds, and spirits by sweeping out the corners of our hearts, cleaning up the clutter in order to make space for God’s hope, peace and love. Advent is often the busiest time of the year. And yet, we are called to make time and space to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.
Alive Now, November/December 2011
In the midst of many preparations, how can you build in some moments to spiritually prepare for Christ’s coming?
Psalm for a Winter Day
Lord God, creator of all seasons and ages, I praise you for all that is beautiful in this winter day of December coldness: the strong, black patterns of trees standing tall, the utter whiteness of snow as it layers the lawn, the stillness broken only by the sound of a brave snowbird, the bush under the rainspout drenched in ice.
Oh, all that is glistening with cold this morning, praise the Lord! All creatures snuggled away in nests, caves, and trees, praise the Lord! Oh, all peoples bundled in winter wear, scurrying to work, praise the Lord! Cars, trucks, and buses chugging along the freeway, praise the Lord! Horses, cows, and sheep on hillsides, braving cold, praise the Lord! Oh, crunch and crackle of shoes on frosty snowfall, praise the Lord! All ponds and lakes deeply frozen and lovely formed, praise the Lord! Little rabbits leaving deep footprints ‘neath my window, praise the Lord!
Yes, all the winter world, whose beauty we so often miss, whose weather we so often condemn, praise the Lord, and bless God’s holy name, for our world has wonders and tiny miracles if only our hearts as well as our eyes are prepared to see.
Joyce Rupp (adapted)
Now, the joy of God’s presence often comes in the internal quietness of peace and in the winter tranquility; away from distractions and stimulations of the external. The Psalmist states, “Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;” Winter can be a wonderful time of developing the discipline of waiting upon the Lord. Recall the popular verse in Isaiah 40 “Those who wait upon the Lord will find their strength renewed.”
This often comes in the form of meditation. It can be praying and pondering a concept, a reading, or even the practice of silent listening for God’s presence. How important it is to create quiet moments of spiritual reflection. So that the celebrative arrival of Christmas finds us prepared to receive the Savior with deep meaning.
After all, it’s in God’s Nature to prepare us to receive the Christ!
About the image: Ironically, the blue wintery morning occurred November 2nd. Yet the cold wintery weather has us hoping for a “white Christmas”.
Prints and blank greeting cards may be purchased in a variety of sizes, with a portion of the proceeds to support F.U.M.C. ministries. Cards are $3 each or 4 for $10. E-mail Rev. Blaine with your request or drop by his office to purchase some. No photo images may be printed without expressed permission.
