Service of Remembrance

Sunday, December 12

The holiday season can often be a difficult time, especially for those who have lost loved ones.  To help care for people facing grief and loss in the holiday season, Congregational Care will hold a Service of Remembrance on Sunday, December 12, at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel.  We will light candles, sing familiar hymns, read scripture, pray and hear an informal message.  We hope this is a time when we are comforted through our fellowship together and through the Christmas message that we hear in scripture and song.  Whatever the nature of your loss and however long you have borne it, we welcome you to join us.  Refreshments in the church parlor will follow the service, and child care is available.

Joys and Concerns

BIRTH

Isla Connelly MacIver

November 23, 2010

Daughter of Heather and Blake MacIver

IN MEMORIAM
Herscell Ransone Rochette

November 26, 2010

SYMPATHY

When we think of December, we think of gifts.  This Sunday night, December 5, we will focus on a different kind of gifts - the gifts we recognize in each other.  Come ready to affirm and be affirmed. 

Our schedule is normal:

4:30 p.m. middle school youth group/high school choir

5:30 p.m. dinner ($3.00)

6:00 p.m. high school youth group/middle school choir

Speaking of gifts, we receive so many blessings each day and an abundance around the holidays.  Please remember Tatiana and Jose, who feel fortunate to have adequate food, dental care and a chance to attend school.  We provide that support.  We committed to support these children and so far this year, we have raised $560.41 of our $720 commitment.  If everyone gives just $2/month, we will have more than enough to meet our pledge, so please bring your donations.

Next Sunday, December 12, we have the annual youth Christmas party at the Logues'.  Please bring an inexpensive, gender-neutral, wrapped gift for exchange in our "Thieves Christmas."  The party will begin after choir and run until 8:00 p.m.

Come ski at Wintergreen!  Our annual ski retreat is January 28-30 at Wintergreen Resort.  The cost for the weekend is $160 for food, housing, and skiing all day Saturday. The deadline to register is December 10 (no exceptions).  Please contact Dwayne (dwayne@reveilleumc.org) if you have questions or need a registration form. 

In Stephen Ministry training this week

Bringing the Relationship to a Close

At our Stephen Ministry retreat and throughout our training, we have talked with our trainees about Stephen Ministry relationships as a journey.  We meet people where they are and journey with them during difficult times.  It is in the journey together that brings healing and allows a person to move through the crisis to new life.  Our training this week focuses on helping our Stephen Ministers know how and when to close a relationship and to respond to closure challenges. 

Greg Peters and United Methodist Family Services (UMFS)

Throughout the years, Reveille has had connections with UMFS.  Our Advent offering this year will once again benefit UMFS.  Frequently, we have guests from UMFS who worship at the Point service on Sunday morning.  On Wednesday, December 8, Greg Peters, the president and chief executive officer of UMFS, will update and refresh us on UMFS and all the services they provide.  His program begins at 6:45 p.m. and will end at 7:30 p.m.

Before the program, come and join us for our fellowship meal. The menu will be sliced ham, baked yams, Gil's homemade potato salad, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, white house rolls, and red velvet cake.  The cost is $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 4 to 12 and free for anyone under 4.  Please make a reservation for the dinner by signing the friendship pad on Sunday morning or by calling the church office by Monday, December 6 at 3:00 p.m.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Are you singing along?  Reveille's Music Ministry will be singing, ringing and playing their way through this Christmas season.

Monday, December 6

Reveille Ringers and Reveille Ensemble will play at United Methodist Family Services at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 15

The children's choirs Christmas program will be at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, preceded by dinner at 5:30 p.m. for participants and 5:45 p.m. for everyone else.  Please make a reservation for dinner by Monday, December 13.

Sunday, December 19

Annual Open House at 4:30 p.m. and Christmas Concert at 5:30 p.m.  Details may be found in the article below. We will end with the congregational singing of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." Please bring your score from home, if you have one.

Friday, December 24

Candlelight Festival of Lessons and Carols at 5:30 p.m. with the Youth Choir, Primary Choir, and Elementary Choir. Contemporary worship at The Point with Holy Communion, with music led by CrossPoint at 7:30 p.m.  Candlelight Communion with music led by the college choir and friends at 11:00 p.m.

Don't miss Christmas at Reveille.

Cookies needed for Reveille Open House on December 19

Each year, when we have our annual open house, the dining table in Reveille House is covered with cookies and other sweets.  If you enjoy baking cookies, we hope you will share some of your cookies for this year's open house on December 19. If you would like to contribute cookies, please let Carol Uzzle know (359-6041, ext. 117 or discipleship@reveilleumc.org). 

Christmas Eve child care availability correction

In last week's listing of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany activities, there was an error regarding child care on Christmas Eve. Please note that child care will be available during the 5:30 p.m. service only for children age three and under. There will be child care during the 7:30 p.m. service, but there will be NO child care during the 11:00 p.m. service.

Have you turned in your pledge card?

Consecration Sunday has passed, but don't worry, you haven't missed your opportunity to make a pledge to the Sharing the Love of Christ stewardship campaign.

Reveille continues to receive pledges for the church's 2011 operating budget, which will fund our many ministries, programs, activities and all of our day-to-day operations in the coming year. 

Looking for a pledge card? No problem. You can find one at The Point, in the pew racks in the chapel and sanctuary, and in the church office. Call 359-6041 if you'd like to have a card mailed to you. To submit your pledge, simply drop it in the offering plate at a worship service or return it to the church office. 

Some Reveille members and friends give regularly without pledging. Our financial gifts, whether or not they reflect a pledge, support the many ministries and programs that Reveille provides. The advantage of a pledge is that it enables staff to develop an accurate budget and plan more effectively to meet the needs of the church.   

For more information about pledging and stewardship at Reveille, check under the "Administration" menu at www.reveilleumc.org.

Order Christmas poinsettias now

We have a new supplier for our Christmas poinsettias this year, and while the price will be lower, we need to have the majority of our order ready to be placed on Friday, December 10.  Please do not wait until the last minute to order. 

These poinsettias will grace our sanctuary and fellowship hall on Sunday, December 19.  To place a poinsettia in honor of or in memory of someone, please complete the appropriate order form. Pink forms for sanctuary poinsettias and green forms for fellowship hall poinsettias are available now in the chapel, narthex, fellowship hall, and church office. The cost for each flower is $9, and the deadline for orders to be received is Sunday, December 12.

Give to the Christmas mission offering

Yellow donation forms for our annual Christmas mission offering are now available in the chapel, narthex, fellowship hall, and church office. The beneficiary of this year's missions offering is United Methodist Family Services (UMFS), which provides various types of support for troubled children and families. Donations received by December 12 will be included in the listing of poinsettias and missions offerings on December 19.

Important information about year-end giving

Are you planning to make donations to Reveille in late December that you plan to claim on your 2010 income tax return?  If the answer is yes, following are the details you need to know.  Donations must be delivered or mailed and postmarked on or by December 31, 2010 in order to claim a charitable contribution deduction for 2010.  Checks that are placed in the church offering during the first worship service in 2011 will not qualify for a charitable contribution deduction in 2010, even if the check is predated to 2010 or was actually written in 2010.  However, checks that are written, mailed, and postmarked in 2010 will be deductible in 2010 though they are not received by Reveille until 2011.  If you have any questions, please call Glynis Holcomb, financial manager, 359-6041, ext. 118.

Recycle for Sunday school

During the month of December our children in Sunday school will need two recycled items that you might like to share with us.  Do you have old Christmas cards you would like to recycle? Our Sunday school teachers need cards with pictures related to the birth of Jesus - the holy family, shepherds, angels and wise men.  We also need toilet tissue rolls to be used for crafts. Collection baskets are located by the elevator in the alcove across from the welcome center and on the information table at The Point in the fellowship hall.

For those wishing to place flowers on the sanctuary altar, chapel altar or in the narthex on a Sunday, the calendar is now open. The cost for flowers is $32.95. Call Cheryl Arrington at 359-6041, ext. 114 to reserve a date.

Weekday School News

On December 1, the Reveille Weekday School sent Request for Contract forms to the parents of all currently-enrolled children. Parents of all new siblings and church members who would like to apply for the 2011 - 2012 school year may download an application from the weekday school website (www.reveilleweekday.com) or call the weekday school office.  Priority is given to siblings and then to church members if applications are received by December 31, 2010.  Please call the school office with any questions (359-4600).  Registration for currently enrolled children will take place during the month of January.  All other applicants will be notified by February 15, 2011.

A note of thanks

A special thank you to all who help prepare our sanctuary for the Advent/Christmas season:  the men who faithfully put up our Chrismon Tree, Harriet Mayes for supplying us with evergreens year-after-year; the women of the Wednesday morning Bible study for refurbishing and making new Chrismons, members of the Liturgical Arts Committee, and to all who participate in the "Hanging of the Greens" on Saturday, December 4.

Special Gift

Congregational Care Fund

In memory of Robert "Pete" Morris

Sunday, December 5

8:30 am      Worship* (Chapel)

8:30 am      Stephen Ministry Training Class (RH Ground Floor Offices)

9:30 am      Sunday School for All Ages (Education Building)

9:30 am      Discovery Sunday School Class Brunch (Reveille House Dining Room)

9:30 am      Worship at The Point (Fellowship Hall)

10:30 am     Coffee Fellowship (Fellowship Hall)

10:30 am     Glorious Gifts (Fellowship Hall)

11:00 am     Kids Under Construction (Chapel)

11:00 am     Worship* (Sanctuary)

2:00 pm      Richmond District UM Women (Church Parlor)

4:00 pm      Youth Handbell Choir (Sanctuary)

4:30 pm      High School Youth Choir (Choir Room)

4:30 pm      Middle School Youth Group (Room 200)

5:00 pm      Primary Choir Rehearsal (Room 104)

5:00 pm      Cherub Choir Rehearsal (Room 105)

5:00 pm      EGR Small Group* (Reveille House Parlor)

5:00 pm      Elementary Ringers (Sanctuary)

5:30 pm      Elementary Choir Rehearsal (Room 211)

5:30 pm      Sunday Night Dinner (Fellowship Hall)

5:45 pm      Primary Ringers (Sanctuary)

6:00 pm      Middle School Youth Choir (Choir Room)

6:00 pm      High School Youth Group (Room 200)

Monday, December 6

7:00 am      Men's Prayer Breakfast (Fellowship Hall)

12:30 pm     Prayer Ministry (Chapel)

6:15 pm      Reveille Ensemble (Sanctuary)

7:00 pm      Reveille Ringers (Sanctuary)

Tuesday, December 7

9:30 am      Staff Meeting (Reveille House Dining Room)

10:30 am     UMW General Meeting* (Fellowship Hall)

12:30 pm     Prayer Ministry (Chapel)

7:30 pm      Scout Troop 444 (Fellowship Hall)

Wednesday, December 8

9:30 am      The Seekers Class* (Church Parlor)

11:30 am     Covenant Group (Church Parlor)

12:15 pm     Midday Worship (Chancel)

12:30 pm     Prayer Ministry (Chapel)

6:00 pm      Wonderful Wednesday* (Fellowship Hall)

7:00 pm      Finance Committee (Reveille House Dining Room)

Thursday, December 9

7:30 am      Church Council Planning Group (Reveille House Dining Room)

12:30 pm     Prayer Ministry (Chapel)

7:00 pm      Chancel Choir Rehearsal* (Choir Room)

7:30 pm      CrossPoint Rehearsal* (Fellowship Hall)

Friday, December 10

12:30 pm     Prayer Ministry (Chapel)

* Child care provided