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Join us for worship on Christmas Eve! Childcare is provided for all worship services. Our services will be at:
- 5 PM - Family-Friendly Worship (Sanctuary)
- 6:30 PM - Traditional Candlelight Worship (Sanctuary)
- 8 PM - Traditional Candlelight & Communion (Sanctuary)
- 8 PM - Bilingual Candlelight & Communion (Founders Chapel)
Christmas Offering
If you would like to give to the Christmas Offering, mark "Christmas" in the memo portion of your check. Special envelopes are available in the pew backs. You may also choose to give online at www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/give. Our Christmas Offering goes to the following:
- World Service Fund - The World Service Fund supports the worldwide mission of the United Methodist Church, including missionaries, higher education, discipleship ministries and much more!
- Kenya Guest House - The purpose of the Guest House is to provide a source of income for the church and to allow visitors a safe place to stay. Although we have worked on the Guest House over the last few years, we are still in need of funds to finish the project.
- Missionary Support - A portion of our Christmas offering will go to support for Ray and Lidia Zirkel, missionaries to Costa Rica, and to our Kenyan Evangelists.
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The First Sunday of Christmas, December 27
Behold: See the Christ Child
Rev. Jenn Pick speaking
ONE WORSHIP SERVICE AT 11 AM
No Sunday School | No Bilingual Service
Reception for Wren and Jill Robinson
Following worship, we will hold a reception to say farewell to Wren and Jill Robinson as they look forward to their next opportunity to further God's Kingdom. Please join us in the foyer for refreshments and fellowship.
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This Week...
Holiday Schedule
Please note that the church office will be closed on Friday, December 25, and Monday, December 28, for the Christmas holiday. The church will also be closed on Friday, January 1, for New Year's Day. The Thrift Shop will be closed from December 21 through December 26, reopen December 29, and be closed again December 31-January 2. You may still leave donations in the Thrift Shop drop box during this time.
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Opportunities to Serve and Give...
Top Need: Benevolence and Gift Cards
Our top need right now is for Benevolence Funds. We have been low for several weeks, and any funds that have come in have been dispersed immediately. A young homeless family came to us for assistance yesterday and we were unable to help with much. In addition to donations to the Benevolence Fund, we could also use gift cards for Wal-Mart, gas stations, and grocery stores. This is a difficult time of year to be without basic necessities. We appreciate your generosity that will help us help others in their times of crisis. You may give online, or drop checks/cash and gift cards by the church office.
Holiday Gift-Giving
It's not too late to give to our holiday gift-giving opportunities! This is a great way to give meaningful gifts this Christmas. See our Gift-Giving Catalog online at www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/gifts or pick up a printed copy in the Office, Foyer or Atrium.
God Can for the GRACE Food Pantry
We collected 151 items this week! Thanks for your generous donations! It's holiday time, so GRACE has a special list of needs for Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. The holiday food drive includes needs like coffee, cooking oil, juice, pancake mix, evaporated milk, canned broth, canned fruit, flour, french fried onions, gravy, green beans, stuffing and much more! Click here to view the full list (pdf). Please bring your donations to the God Can bins outside the church office or in the Sanctuary Foyer/Atrium.
Thrift Shop Schedule
Note that the Thrift Shop will be closed from December 21 through December 26, reopen December 29, and be closed again December 31-January 2. You may still drop donations in the drop box outside the Thrift Shop during closed hours.
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Opportunities to Grow...
Advent Devotional / 15 & 15 Throughout season of Advent, we have enjoyed daily devotional readings and thoughts that have been written by our pastors, Family Ministries team and some of the children in our congregation that have taken the place of the 15 and 15 readings throughout the season. We will resume our regular 15 and 15 readings, associated with the Sunday sermon, on Monday, December 28. You can view the daily devotionals on the 15 and 15 blog.
Mary and Martha by Fred Rigdon
The story of Martha and Mary found in Luke 10:38-42 can remind us of the importance of spending time with Jesus. Mary chooses to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his teachings over helping Martha with the housework and cooking. Martha is feeling stress from entertaining her guests and preparing the meal by herself. She is also feeling resentment toward Mary for not helping. When Martha complains, Jesus answers, "you are worried about and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing." Jesus then commends Mary because she has "chosen the better part." Keep reading...
Coming in January There are two new study groups beginning in January: "Simplify" and "A Disciple's Path." See the upcoming events above for more details. Also in January, we will remember our baptism on January 10, and begin a sermon series on "Holy Habits" on January 17. Consider how you may re-commit yourself to spiritual growth in the new year!
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Give 150 for the Next 150If you have completed your pledge card, we thank you! If not, please do so as soon as possible to help us with our budget planning! You may submit your commitment online, place your commitment card in the offering plate, or send/bring it to the church office. Additional cards are available in the pews and in the church office. Read more...»
As for our goals, here's where we stand at this point: 282 pledges, totaling $1,448,151, with 187 step-ups and 113 committed to auto-debit.
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Caught Caring...
Gifts Given
- A gift has been given to the Permanent Endowment Fund in memory of Jan Miller by the Seekers Sunday School Class.
- A gift has been given to Weekend Food in honor of Cathy Morris by Kathryn A. Watson.
The Wandering Thistle and Weir's Furniture
by Melissa Shumaker
I stopped into The Wandering Thistle to see what Christmas ideas they might have for those last few on my list. While I was browsing around, I received a return call from Weir's Furniture Store in Dallas in response to our donation request for the Grapevine fire victim family. After my call, I commented to the owner that if she ever needs furniture to think of Weir's as they were generously offering to help with donations. She asked for details about the family in need and then promptly started putting together a bag of handmade soaps and body scrubs for us to share with them. She has a very small store and handcrafts everything there, so what she donated is basically straight from her own hands. It wasn't a huge donation, but was a very sweet, spirit-led act on her part.
VAST and Be Our Guest Volunteers
Our church members were caught caring giving away copies of the devotional book, Jesus Calling at VAST to each child who attends our after school program and to our guests who attended our December Be Our Guest meal. Each household took home a book in either English or Spanish.
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First United Methodist Church | 422 Church Street | Grapevine, TX 76051
E-News is published every Wednesday afternoon. The deadline for submissions is Tuesdays at 5 PM. Send requests to melissiam@fumcg.org. Past editions can be found in the E-News Archives. |
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