Messenger 12/05/24
Second Sunday of Advent
For Sunday service, Amory Peck will be serving as our Worship Leader and leading us through the Opening Prayer and the Call To Worship.
This week’s scripture reading will be Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
A special thanks to this week’s Ushers, Claire Hirshi & Jenny Mannard.
To view the entire bulletin, click the link below.
Looking To Help Out?
We are currently looking for help for our Coffee Hour after Service.
Some of the ways you can help is by:
Assisting in the set up of coffee hour prior to worship starting
Bringing snacks, goodies, dessert to share
Assisting in clean up after coffee hour
The Coffee Hour is a great time for everyone to come together as a community and share their thoughts, ideas, and make a connection with other members at Church. To sign up or learn more, email Holly at office@gardenstreetumc.org or stop by the desk before/after service. You can also check out other volunteer opportunities such as Ushering and Flowers for Sanctuary.
Wesley Club Meal Volunteering
Wesley Club is very thankful for the generosity of Garden Street UMC.
Part of our hospitality as a congregation is to provide a meal for the students on Wednesday evenings. Please consider volunteering to provide a dinner. Generally, a meal for 8-10 people is adequate. There are several vegetarians.
Meals should be delivered to the Congregational Church fellowship hall by 5:45 pm on Wednesday. Please review the available slots below to provide a dinner for Wesley Club. Thank you for continuing to support campus ministry at GSUMC!
Click the link here to see open time slots. Email greg@gardenstreetumc.org for more information.
Holiday Joy Event – 2024
Sponsored by: Opportunity Council & Interfaith Coalition
Estimated Need - 106 Families/230 Children
Requested of GSUMC - Forty (40) $50 Gift Cards
(Fred Meyer, Safeway, Target, Walmart, or Winco)
Almost There!
Only 4 left to go to complete our tree!
If you are able and if you feel moved to participate in this wonderful community sharing event, please, the next time (don’t put it off!) you visit one of the stores listed above, purchase a $50 gift card and drop it in the offering plate no later than Sunday, December 8th . Or, if necessary, you can put it in an envelope and give it to Richard Drath who will be accumulating the cards for us and tracking our progress toward our $2,000 goal. Please write the dollar amount of the gift card in a visible spot so the recipient will know what it is. If you don't have a marker to do this, please include a note indicating the amount with the card and we will mark it.
Richard will see that all the gift cards are delivered to the FCCB event coordinator before Thursday, December 12th , the day the Holiday Joy Steering Committee will organize the gifts for the Holiday Joy Market that will occur here on Friday and Saturday, December 13-14.
If you are interested in helping with the event itself, please copy the link below, paste it into your internet browser, and click on it to go to the Signup Genius site where you will find a form listing the available volunteer activities, the date and times volunteers are still needed, and how many volunteers are still needed. You will also see the names of those who have already signed up. If you find something that interests you, select it, fill in your name and email address, and you will soon receive a confirmation from Signup Genius. You will be asked to complete the Interfaith Coalition Volunteer Form upon arrival. Be assured that your help will be very much appreciated. And if you need help with this process, feel free to call Myron Kirkpatrick at (541) 398-1960 or Kendra at (541) 398-2336 for help.
Vetted requests to Opportunity Council for assistance have increased to 118 families, 283 children, and 6 single adults - a 28% increase instead of the 15% originally expected. If you have the resources, please feel free to help push the gnome tree above the Christmas Star! Thank you for your loving generosity!
Intergenerational Orchestra
Come share music in worship on December 8th. All instruments and abilities are welcome. Music is easy/medium. No orchestra experience necessary.
Rehearsals will be:
Dress rehearsal Dec 7th at 10:00 a.m.
Performance will be Sunday, December 8th at 10:00am and 2:30pm.
Directed by Sharon Camblin. Contact Dallas at dallas@gardenstreetumc.org to join or for more information and the music!!
Coming up next week we have:
Tuesday (12/10)
Social Action Team - 6:30pm at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship for the 2024 International Human Rights Day Speaker
Wednesday (12/11)
Men’s Breakfast - 7:00 am at Avenue Bread on James St.
Sunday (12/15)
Christian Book Club - 10:30 am via zoom - “Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths,” by Karen Armstrong. Email office@gardenstreetumc.org to join
Choir - 1:00 pm at 2401 Cornwall Ave.
Sunday Worship - 2:30 pm at 2401 Cornwall Ave.
Cooke Walk - Immediately following worship (3:30pm) at 2401 Cornwall Ave.
Prayers
Please Pray for:
for Rachelle and her sons Max & Eldred
for Karen S. and her family
for John F.'s health
for all those working in social justice, climate activists, water protectors, those who hunger and our farmers, for the indigenous peoples through the world, and the ministries of UMCOR.
for Alex's mental health, and the safety of their friends.
Can’t make it in person? View the live on YouTube!
