Now we are moving away from our celebrations of that child born in Bethlehem so long ago. But our reflections on our experience of Christmas, and on the Christmas and Epiphany stories, may yet provide a guide for self-examination as we consider our journey of faith in a New Year:

What trappings might we discard, in order to allow space to continually welcome the divine presence?
Remembering the travel of the magi: how far are we from the place where we find God? How do we experience that distance?
What or who are the "Herod's" that would thwart our journeys toward new life, hope, and peace?
What former paths might we want to depart from, in order to find the paths that lead us "home" to our deepest sense of being with God?

A New Year dawns, with ample opportunity to deepen our faith and put it into practice in real life. I look forward to journeying with you all!

See you in church!

In Faith,

Pastor Kelly signature

p.s. I hope to see you at the "State of the Church" event, Sunday, January 4th after the second service. First we will gather for a potluck lunch in the Fellowship Hall. We then move to the sanctuary (around 1:00) for reflections from Pastor Kelly and time for questions and answers. Come join in shared reflection and information on the big picture of DUMC's ministries!

January at a Glance

January 4th State of the Church Potluck Lunch and Address

January 11th FEED MY SHEEP offering

January 11th-18th Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter at DUMC

January 18th Special Offering: Emergency Disaster Relief

January 18th Small-group for parents begins: nurturing our kids' faith

January 25th African Team Ministries Craft Sale

See Church Calendar for details and more events.

January 18th Special Offering: Emergency Disaster Relief

On January 18th, we will hold a special offering that will be used for emergency disaster relief. Your Church and Society Ministry will disburse the funds from the offering to UMCOR . Here is a bit about UMCOR, from its website:

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering around the globe. UMCOR's work reaches people in more than 80 countries, including the United States. We provide humanitarian relief when war, conflict, or natural disaster disrupt life to such an extent that communities are unable to recover on their own.

UMCOR is a ministry of The United Methodist Church, and our goal is to assist the most vulnerable persons affected by crisis or chronic need without regard to their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. We believe all people have God-given worth and dignity.

While UMCOR cooperates with other aid organizations to extend our reach, our most important partners are the people we serve. We are confident that successful solutions to emergency or chronic conditions begin with the affected population. UMCOR provides these survivors not only temporary relief but long-term education, training, and support.

UMCOR spends 100 percent of designated donations on the projects our donors specify. When UMCOR donors give their time, money, and supplies, they join UMCOR as the hands and feet of Christ.

Please consider joining the offering this month.

Adult Sunday School Classes in December

Sunday mornings, 9:45-10:45 am

Adult Bible Study - Rothe Room

This winter, the Adult Sunday School lessons follow the theme "Acts of Worship." taken primarily from the Christian Scriptures. The first four lessons explore the awesomeness of God; the next four explore the discipline of prayer, and the last four are concerned with fasting, serving others, and reasons for good stewardship in relationships with others.

January 4th "A Model for Prayer"

January 11th Jesus Prays For His Disciples"

January 18th "Jesus Intercedes for Us"

January 25th "We Pray for One Another"

Contemporary Issues Forum - Walker Room

Meets between services on Sundays (9:45-10:50). If you have an idea for a forum or an issue you would like to speak about, please contact Susan Padgett at sdpadgett@sbcglobal.net.

January 4th: Volunteer Orientation for the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter (IRWS) with Rita Lundin, IRWS Coordinator

Our church will host the rotating winter shelter for one week beginning January 11th. All those planning to help at the shelter this year (including drivers) are urged to attend this meeting. Rita will review policies, discuss changes in this year's program, and will answer any questions and concerns.

January 11th: Yolo County Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) with Nancy Pacheco, Americorps Advocate Support Specialist

CASA's mission is to advocate for abused and neglected children in the juvenile dependency (foster care) system. Community volunteers are trained and supported by CASA's staff, and appointed by a judge to work with one or two foster children to make sure the children's interests are protected, their voices are heard, and their needs are met. Volunteers build relationships with their "CASA" kids, getting to know more about them and their lives. Come and learn more about this program, its work, and the volunteer opportunities it offers. DUMC member Celeste Cron will also talk about her experience as a CASA volunteer.

January 18th: The Verdicts in Ferguson and Staten Island: Some Food for Thought with Sandy Holman, Founder, Culture C.O.-O.P.

In her recent essay in the Davis Enterprise on the grand jury verdict in Ferguson, MO, Davis author, educator, and speaker Sandy Holman begins: "As an African-American woman who has African-American brothers, cousins, uncles and elders in her life, I have had to face the fact that there is a cost to having dark skin." Sandy is the founder of Culture C.O.-O.P., an organization which works to promote respect for equity/diversity, cultural competency, literacy, and a quality education for all. She will show clips from her forthcoming documentary, "The Cost of Darkness," and will discuss how institutionalized violence against black and brown men leads to deadly consequences. Sandy will also share some ways that we all can make a positive difference in our communities to address these critical issues. Come join in this important discussion.

January 25th: Great Decisions 2015 with Jim Tischer and Bob Medearis, Great Decisions Coordinators

The Great Decisions program, sponsored by the non-partisan Foreign Policy Association, it is the largest discussion program on world affairs in the country. The 2015 Great Decisions series will begin at Davis UMC on Tuesday, February, 3rd from 7:00-9:00 pm in the Sanctuary and will run through March 10th. This year's topics include privacy in the digital age, human trafficking, the Syrian refugee crisis, sectarianism in the Middle East, and more. Come learn about this popular series. The coordinators will provide a preview of the programs and speakers. Study materials will be available for purchase.

Pathway "Children in Need" Theme Team Update

This team seeks to explore whether our church has a calling to reach out to children in our community who are in various kinds of need.

The first ministry experiment this group chose is reading to children.

A kindergarten teacher at Korematsu Elementary has identified children in need of vocabulary enrichment. Volunteers from our theme team have joined with other volunteers from the community, under the direction of a reading specialist. We read (and talk about what we're reading) for 30 minutes once a week. The children receive this enrichment twice a week.

As of December there are 3 of us reading, with 4 more to start in January.

The initial plan is to get our toe in the water and find out how it feels to work with kids.

Later in January, our theme team will meet to discern about this ministry experiment. We will listen for God's guidance around these questions:

Was there energy, enthusiasm, "sparks" from our work?
What was each one's experience?
What is life-giving?
Why did we decide on this experiment - what did we hope for?
What did we learn?
What would we change? - or take away?

Everyone in the group will share and we will detect common themes.

Also:

What's next? Continue? Build? Change?
A next experiment? (change one variable? - or change direction?)

We will report back after January to let you know what's happening!

-- Louanne Horsfield and Margot Clark, members of Guiding Team

Pathway Small Groups Theme Team Update

Our team met 3 times to examine the interview data and plan an event. We decided to try a one time inter-generational event which would include a dinner followed by 'grandparent types' and small children involved in some kind of creative activity like cookie baking and decorating while their parents and other younger adults enjoy a time to be together. We talked to a number of the parents and young adults who liked the idea but thought that everyone is just too busy during the Holiday season. We would still like to have such an event after the new year and invite all people who are interested in planning such an event to join us after the new year.

Pathway Hospitality Theme Team Update

Thank you to all of you who are wearing your name tags on Sunday mornings! This was the first experiment of the Pathway Hospitality Theme Team, and many of the theme team members report seeing more people wearing their nametags. Many folks also have said they felt more comfortable introducing themselves to people because of the nametags.

In January, the Hospitality team will start working on the next experiment in the area of this theme. In the meantime, please keep wearing your nametag! If you need a nametag, please contact Anna in the church office. And if you are interested in joining the Pathway Hospitality Theme Team or sharing your thoughts about the name tag experiment, please contact Janice Morand at jxmorand@ucdavis.edu or (530) 220-0674.

Grace Garden Update

All is quiet in at Grace Garden now. The fava beans and crimson clover are growing. Bulbs and flowers have been planted - well, most of them. The leaves have fallen and need to be raked and put in the compost bins.

The flower arranging class last month was a great success and so much fun. Jim Schulte taught the fundamentals of making beautiful arrangements. Easy to do and always looks gorgeous. There were 7 adults and 3 children, the youngest about 3. The kids had at least as much fun as the adults.

January is almost here. It's time to start our seedlings in the hoop house. If any of you have time to spare come help plant the seeds. It's fun and warm in the hoop house.

Classes have been scheduled for the first part of 2015. January 31 will have Barbara Ohlendorf talking on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). February 21 Greg Link will talk on irrigation. March 7 Peg Smith will talk all about vegetables. April 11 will the Annual Plant Sale at Grace Garden. All events begin at 9am. There is never a dull moment in the garden.

Historical Notes

By Kathy Schinski, DUMC Historian

As I write this, I will be attending week three of the Advent groups. I am finding the group I am in to be very rewarding. We spoke of our "yearnings" ranging from superficial, to family and friends, to world problem solutions,and to our yearning for the coming of Jesus in this Christmas season. We spoke of yearning in relation to the George Herbert hymn being sung in church during Advent, and used some of his other works such as the poem "Love" to gain deeper understanding. The writing time was particularly valuable, providing a diversity of ideas, which carried over into the following weeks. Some people (including me) wrote 4th verses to the poem.

I also wrote, for fun, a comparison between the "yearnings" George Herbert expressed in his Hymn and those of the characters in Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's musical,"Into The Woods" (the movie version of which was released on Christmas Day). Some people thought I should put it in the Cross Section so here it is:

The "yearnings" of the "Into The Woods" characters provide an antithesis to the Advent yearnings in George Herbert's hymn. The "Into The Woods" characters "yearn" for things that seem important to them at the time, but, as they are willing to go to unscrupulous lengths to get them, their lives unravel when their wishes are granted. The refrain in the play is even similar to the hymn but with a world of difference!! The witch "yearns" for the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn...." Herbert "yearns" for "such a Joy as none can move, such a Love as none can part, such a Truth as ends all strife...." As we go into this New Year, may the "yearnings " we have expressed during the season of Advent lead us Out Of The Woods and towards "such a Life as killeth death, such a Way as giveth breath!"

(Sources: 1. " Into The Woods" by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. 2. "Come My Way, My Truth,My Life" by George Herbert.)

From Your Finance Ministry


	NOVEMBER ACTUAL	YEAR TO DATE ACTUAL

INCOME	31,943	339,467

EXPENSE	25,770	293,950

NET	6,173	45,517

WE ARE A GIVING CHURCH. . .

Throughout 2014, each month Church and Society asked for donations to support various ministries outside our church. The following is a list of the organizations supported and the amounts that were collected and donated to each organization.

Month Organization Amount

January Human Relations Day $528.00

February Yolo Crisis Nursery $378.50

Citizens Who Care $378.50

March One Great Hour of Sharing $907.66

April Heifer Project $477.50

Freedom from Hunger $477.50

May Peace with Justice $826.00

June Reconciling Ministries Network $492.00

July Africa University $242.00

Fairfield Orphanage $242.00

Ganta Hospital $243.00

August CommuniCare $334.50

Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network $334.50

September India Projects $630.20

October World Communion Sunday $314.50

Native American Ministries $314.50

November Yolo County Food Bank $682.00

Grace Garden $682.00

December Davis Community Meals $398.00

Fourth and Hope $398.00

Habitat for Humanity $398.00

Three other outreach missions that were spontaneously supported this year through the generosity of our congregation are:

Pastor's Discretionary Fund $1,409
Disaster Relief UMCOR $774
Alternative Giving Fair: Heifer Project $570

Volunteers Needed: African Team Ministries

Volunteers are needed to help with the African Team Ministries sale. Do you have a few minutes to help with the African Team Ministries sale?

We will be selling crafts from African Team Ministries on January 25th and February 1 (just in time for Valentine's Day, Graduation or Mother's Day gifts!!). Beth Flory would appreciate assistance with unpacking the boxes before the 25th, helping to sell after each service on both of those Sundays, and helping to pack up any unsold crafts for shipping back. If you are willing to help, please e-mail bethflory007@gmail.com or call Beth at (530) 756-2617. Thank you for your help.

Faith and Family Small Group begins January 18th

Pastor Kelly will lead a discussion group for parents based on the book "Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of your Children" by Elizabeth Caldwell. We plan to discuss ways of nurturing the faith of our children at home and in life while getting to know each other better. The book is geared towards families with preschool and elementary age children but anyone is welcome to attend. We will meet January 18, February 1, February 15, and March 1 (an every-other-week schedule) from 4:00-5:30 pm in Grace Cafe. The book is available in the church office; however, no reading is required. Child care will be provided by church nursery staff. If you have questions or would like to sign up, please email Ann Dillner (dillner@gmail.com).

Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter

January 11th-18th

Our church will host this shelter, which provides much-needed overnight housing for the homeless in the coldest, wettest months. This year we host from January 11th through 18th. In the coming weeks you will be hearing and seeing more information. Every night we will provide dinner for our guests. There are many ways for you to be involved with this important ministry. Rita Lundin, IRWS Coordinator for DUMC, will be taking signups on Sundays at fellowship time.

If you'd like to go online to volunteer, please be aware of the steps involved.

Instructions:

1. Go to http://irws.ivolunteer.com, select Davis United Methodist church

2. Choose a slot, click the Volunteer button and provide the required information.

3. Within a few minutes you will receive an e-mail from irws.dum_004@ivolunteer.com to confirm your intent to volunteer.

4. The slot will be locked for 10 minutes allowing you time to confirm.

After 10 minutes you may still confirm the slot, but it will open back up for someone else to take it.

If you have any questions send an e-mail to Rita at ritamae56@comcast.net.

Convening for 2015

The Twelfth Annual Celebration of Abraham

An Interfaith Fair for Justice

Sunday, January 25th, 2:30 - 5 pm

St. James Catholic Church of Davis

1275 B St, Davis, CA 95616.

The topic of the January 2015 Celebration of Abraham is "Justice." While a central concept in all the Abrahamic faiths, justice is not easily defined. Terms like righteous, equitable and impartial are often used to describe just actions. Though we find justice hard to define, we are aware that our world is far from just. The aftermath of Ferguson and New York has highlighted the issues facing us that deal with race. More locally, the increasing demands made at the Yolo Food Back and other food pantries and the growing numbers of homeless on our streets remind us that many in our communities are unemployed or underemployed and lacking safe, warm shelter. Examples of injustice abound.

Some injustice is so wide-spread that no one person or group can relieve it, but people of faith have stepped up to help alleviate some of the suffering it causes. Because there is so much to do we can feel we are helpless to make any real change, wondering "What can I do that matters?" But the pursuit of justice advances when ordinary people struggle; often the movement toward justice is small, but many small steps can change the world.

This year in conjunction with the Celebration of Abraham, we are planning an Interfaith Fair for Justice. Local organizations focusing on homelessness and immigration as well as groups teaching restorative processes will present their work and opportunities for the participants to fight injustice in Yolo County. We invite the public to come to the Celebration at 2:30 and spend the first half hour visiting their tables. Members of these groups are helping us to craft the table assignments. We hope each table can discuss participant's religious and personal understanding of justice. We trust some will choose to share their personal experiences of injustice. Finally, the table exercises will provide the chance for all to consider how they might take small steps toward making our community more just.

Finals Care Packages - Many Thanks!

A special thank you to the many folks who made the church's outreach to college student's "Almost Like Mom's" Finals Care Packages a success. This includes the cookie bakers, the many people who contributed money, oranges, tied ribbons on the bags to make them look extra beautiful, bought the goodies, stuffed the bags, many hands made light the tasks.

Here are some comments from a couple of students...."Your gift of lovingly-made snacks were so thoughtful! They made this finals week just a little easier to deal with...This gift bag was a compete, wonderful surprise. With all the stress, this thoughtful package made my day 100% better!.....The finals care package was the best thing that's happened to me all quarter...."

Mark your calendars. Winter Quarter care packages will be given out Sunday, March 15th, so we need cookies by Sat. March 14th! Thanks for all of your support.

Beth Flory

bethflory007@gmail.com, (530) 756-2617

Looking Ahead....

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Bridges District Revival!

Sat. February 7, 2015

9:30 am - 4 pm (Plan to stay for the whole day! Just putting your toe in the water won't work!)

Fairfield Community United Methodist Church!

Singing and Shouting! Praise, Worship, Prayer and the joy of fellowship!!!!!

Come and claim the power of new life in our District! There was a time

when we Methodists were actually criticized for our enthusiasm! It's time once to pick it up and lift it up and share our hopes and dreams for the life of the Gospel among us!

No "program" or "institutional agenda!" Just Holy Spirit worship and opening our hearts to God's love! God is indeed doing a new thing in our District and our Conference! Come, worship, celebrate and receive

the gift of Spirit, Worship, Fellowship and more!

Preachers: Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. Our Episcopal Leader and President of the UM Council of Bishops; Rev. Staci Current, Pastor, Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco
Worship Leader: Rev. Motoe Yamada
Music: Choirs, Bands, Soloists from Churches All Over our District!
Prayer Shops: Small Group Prayer
Learning and Dialogue Opportunities having to do with claiming new life and hope!
OFFERING: Special Offering for the Bridges District $100k Challenge for Imagine No Malaria!

Ongoing Events and Announcements

Large Cans of Juice, Fruit, for Grace in Action
At Grace in Action guests enjoy lunch, conversation, haircuts and other services when they stop by on Mondays and Wednesdays. Your donation of large containers of 100% fruit juice and canned fruit would help provide a nutritious meal. Donations can be put in the Feed My Sheep collections. For more information, see http://www.grace-in-action.org

United Methodist Women

UMW meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month at 1:30 pm in the Walker Room at the church. Guests and new members are welcome.

For more information, contact President Alice Lakin at 759-9978 or Vice President Rosa Washington-Olson at 753-2088.

The United Methodist Men

UMM will continue to meet weekly on Wednesdays from 7 - 8 am. Come join us for breakfast and fellowship at Black Bear Restaurant, 2nd & B Sts. Contact Jerry Beaman (753-4555) if you have questions or would like more information.

Prayer Chain

Do you love to pray? Particularly to pray for the concerns of others? If you are a person who prays, you can serve your church community by joining our prayer chain. It is often a great comfort to know people are praying for us or our loved ones or the cares of our world. Prayer chain participants are committed to praying for those in need. To join the prayer chain, contact coordinator Courtney Diedesch at courtney_ed@yahoo.com.

Do you need to be prayed for? Or would you like to request prayers for someone you care about? Our prayer chain is a group of folks who are committed to praying for any need brought to their attention. To request prayers for yourself, or someone you care about, or a concern that is on your heart, contact coordinator Courtney Diedesch at

courtney_ed@yahoo.com

Transportation Connection

As a church community we are called to take care of one another. If you need a ride to worship services and/or events, or if you can provide transportation, contact Gail Mitchell, our Transportation Connection coordinator. Gail can be contacted by phone at 530-574-1176 or by email at gailtalk@gmail.com.

January Birthdays and Anniversaries

Birthdays

01/04 Helga Medearis

01/12 Laura Young

01/15 Kim Coontz-Myers

01/14 Aiden Mangum

01/15 Shanti McClure

01/16 Sue Franck

01/20 Vince Sturla

01/21 Anna Sturla

01/21 Janice Morand

01/22 Jerry Olson

01/22 Andy Burke

01/22 Emily Johanson

01/25 Eva Brock

01/26 Susie O'Bryant

01/27 Kelly Love

01/30 Clara Robison

01/31 Jacqui Castanon

Anniversaries

01/02 Tina Denena and Amanda Seguin

01/03 Kim Coontz Myers and John Myers

01/09 Bob and Helga Medearis

If we don't have your birthday or anniversary please let us know.

Thank goodness for volunteers!

Did you know...

Karen Hudson-Bates writes our weekly call to worship and wrote our lovely candle-lighting liturgies for Advent.
Our new advent banners were made by Joyce Smuda, Dori Marshall, Blanche Shannon, and Cid Barcellos - with special thanks to Joyce for the design and initiative!

If you see these wonderful women, thank them for all their hard work!

And...

A big thank you from all your church staff: Anna, Ashley, Alice, Bria, Megan, Emma, Carolina, and Pastor Kelly for the wonderful Christmas gifts! This congregation is very generous, and giving to the staff Christmas gifts definitely reflected that generosity. Thank you so very much!

The deadline for the monthly Crossection newsletter is the 20th of every month. Submissions may be edited for clarity, accuracy, or length.

Quick Links...

Davis UMC

website

Davis UMC church calendar

Archive of past Crossection newsletters and weekly email news

Contact Information

Phone: 530-756-2170
Church office

davisumc@davisumc.org