First United Methodist of Redondo Beach
Weekly News
Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Sunday, December 1

 1st Sunday of Advent

8:30am

Informal Worship 

in Epworth Lounge

9:30am

Contemporary Worship 

in the Sanctuary

11:00am

Traditional Worship 

in the Sanctuary

  

Sunday's Scripture:

 Isaiah 2:1-5

  

In This Issue
eScrip
All-in-One Advent Fun
Youth Flashmob
Lay Looker
Advent Events
Prayer Quilting
Gardeners WANTED
This Week at Church...

Like us on Facebook


Adult Bible Study

You are welcome to join our regular Thursday Bible Study with Pastor Molly, each week at 11:00am in May Day Parlor.  NOTE: There will not be Bible Study on Thanksgiving Day.

A Church That Responds to the Needs of the Community

Shared Bread  

Every Wednesday, with help from neighbor congregations and many volunteers, we host Shared Bread, a free meal for the community.

(Click the logo for more information.)

escrip
Groceries = 
$$$ for Church
Looking for an easy way to support our church? Now you can do your grocery shopping and the store will give a percentage back to FUMCRB! Click the image on the left to learn how you can sign up for this easy giving program.  Our Stewardship Team can answer any questions! 
WANT TO STAY CURRENT ON
ANNUAL CONFERENCE NEWS? 

CLICK THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT TO LINK TO THE CAL-PAC WEBSITE.
thanksgiving-cooking-bnr.jpg

We wish you a holiday of gratitude & joy--may God's love be visible wherever you share food this weekend. We give thanks that you are a part of our church family.

Imagine...             

In a season where our calendars are already packed and our minds filled with to-do lists and shopping lists and menus, God invites us to do something wild: imagine.

 

During this season of waiting and anticipation we get to imagine what it can look like if we really put Christ's love at the center of things. We get to imagine how it changes us, and how it changes the world.

 

Each week, in worship, we'll do some imagining together. We also have prepared a devotional guide for you to use at home (or alone or with friends) during the week. As a congregation, we will also be helping support the work of Imagine No Malaria, an initiative of the United Methodist Church to eliminate malaria, worldwide. (This is one, very particular, way we get to imagine life-giving possibilities into reality. But more about that later...)

 

I hope you will join us for this journey, as we move toward Bethlehem and toward God's vision of love and justice together. I believe it will make this Christmas especially meaningful.

 

with gratitude and hope,

Pastor Molly

Contact Info
Pastor Molly Vetter
310-372-8445 x 102
Celebrating Advent in our Homes 
We have prepared a devotional guide for you to use during the season of Advent. It will be available to pick up Sunday (especially at the Advent Prep Party at 10:30). 
 
To observe Advent at home, there are just a few things you need: the devotional guide, an advent wreath, and a glass jar for collecting coins. All of these will be ready for you on Sunday at the Advent Prep Party, or you can download the guide, and use your own advent wreath and coin jar.
 
(This Sunday, families will also receive a paper chain, printed with verses of the Christmas story to read each day of the season.)
 
Throughout the season, we will be collecting coins for Imagine No Malaria, a campaign to end malaria worldwide.
Be an angel for someone in need this Christmas!

Each year George and Peggy Mercer team up with Faith United Methodist Church to travel to Mexico to share God's love with the Corazon community at Christmas time.  As a congregation we can help them by providing gifts for the children and families they visit. 

Sign up via Sign Up Genius today and remember this ministry as you shop this weekend! 

Fall Finance Pledge Campaign 
We have so much to celebrate in our ministry together--more than we can count--and we are grateful for the generosity of our congregation, which makes this possible.
 
After many of you made a pledge commitment this past Sunday, we have now received 52 pledges for $209,230. This represents 64% of our goal, and we are grateful for your generosity. We anticipate setting a church budget for 2014 at our December Church Council meeting on the 9th, and are very grateful for any pledges you can make before then (though we are happy to receive your commitment anytime.)
 
You can see the information we recently mailed on our website; you can also watch the video we shared (celebrating our rich ministries) by clicking here.
Join us for a *new* all-church, all-in-one advent celebration, on Sunday, December 8, from 4-6pm. This is THE party to be a part of--it will bring together families with children, older adults, youth, singles, mission-minded people, our UMW and more...

And, it's certain to include something of all the things you love about the season: sing Christmas carols, eat good food, make crafts to give, buy fair trade handicrafts, give to local missions, bring and wrap donations for Corazon, perform for your friends, listen to holiday music, hear the Christmas story, help decorate the Hall... and there will be cookies, too!
 
This event is sponsored by Children & Family Ministries, Youth Ministries, UMW, Missions and more. You can take care of all your holiday gifts--making crafts to give, buying things that support good causes, making donations to worthy organizations as gifts to loved ones. We will have opportunities to support Shared Bread, Imagine No Malaria, Corazon and 10,000 Villages (a fair-trade gift shop). You can take time to enjoy an afternoon with our intergenerational church community. Our youth will host the entertainment--and you can sign up to sing a song or perform you favorite carol or recite a poem at our informal coffee-house style open mic. Our UMW is hosting the food--sandwiches and finger foods (and cookies!!), so it's sure to be delicious. Pastor Molly will help us share the Christmas story to remember the good news at the heart of all our celebrations.
UMW logo-green
Click the icon above for more info about the UMW Reading Program

United Methodist Women 
Reading Program
Attention: All women participating in the UMW reading program. Please return your forms to Eloise before Thanksgiving or you may email the titles of books read to Eloise here.

 

Calling all 4-12th graders... It's Flashmob Time!!
  
This year the Youth Group has decided to take Christmas joy further into the community.  We're going to "spontaneously burst into song" in a few public locations this December.
 
All 4-12th graders are encouraged to join us this Sunday afternoon to learn a short carol medley from 3-5 PM.

We'll announce the "performance" times/locations as they are solidified so you come enjoy the fun!
Lay Looker Lay Looker, by Bob Peterson
Read Bob Peterson's column here and on our website! 

"Last Sunday afternoon, November 24, about 70 of us attended our choir concert which was also a concert by our Church Organist's Chamber Music Group called Definiens. The choir never sounded better, perhaps because they included a few other church choir singers as well as our own Pastor Molly Vetter. The Definiens musicians were all outstanding and played their own special arrangements of some familiar songs such as Amazing Grace, St. Louis Blues and..."

 

            [Read the rest of the Lay Looker by clicking here!] 

 
Please bring in your old Wrapping Paper:
 

We're collecting for the All in One- Advent Fun Crafting. Thank you!-
Family Ministries
Mark Your Calendars for Events in Advent 2013:
December 1: Advent Prep Party especially for families- Come prepare for the season to get tools for observing Advent at home: a devotional guide, an Advent wreath, calendar and coin jar. 10:30am in Fellowship Hall.

December 8: All-in-One Advent Fun at the church from 4-6pm. Food, crafts, missional gifts and festivities, for all ages. Organized by Youth Ministries, Children & Family Ministries, UMW & more!!

December 15: Children's Sunday School Christmas Pageant at 10:30am in the sanctuary, between worship services.

December 22: Festive Music in worship & the Walk to the Manger at 11am. Christmas Caroling in the afternoon (tentative).

December 24: Christmas Eve candlelight worship at 5pm and 11pm.

December 29: One Combined Worship Service at 10:00am.

prayers and squares
Join our New Prayer Quilt Ministry
Our next quilt workshop/meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 12, from 6:30-8:30, at the Pacific Inn, where Mary Emerson lives (5481 Torrrance Blvd). Anyone (regardless of sewing ability) is welcome to join us then. See our website for instructions on how to make a block to contribute to a group-made quilt top this month.
Sponsor a Quilt for Someone in Need of Prayer
Our prayer quilt ministry is ready to share prayers and quilts--if you would like to sponsor a quilt for someone you know, we simply ask that you ask the recipient's permission, and then be here on a Sunday to help people tie knots and say prayers. Request forms are available in the church office or on our website.
  
Thank you to everyone who "JUMPED-IN"
to help with our Thanksgiving Placemats for our Shared Bread ministry. :) 
This week in addition to our Bible Lesson (see below) we will be rehearsing our Christmas Pageant: "A Cosmic Christmas"

GARDENERS WANTED!!

If you enjoy being outdoors, and can give any time-one hour, two hours, one time only, or weekly- to assist our volunteer gardeners in maintaining our church campus, your help would be welcomed. NO experience necessary! Please call the office for more info. 

310-372-8445

Like us on FacebookLike us on Facebook!
Visit the page and "like" us so you can see and share the latest photos, news and links from the church.
This Week at Church...
Nursery 
The Nursery is open all three services for ages 6 weeks to 4 yrs old. Located right off of the parking lot across Epworth Lounge. Any questions email the Nursery Coordinator: Adriana Hwang

Children's Ministry

Children ages 3 and up will meet this Sunday at our regular Sunday School hour (9:30 a.m.). This week's Bible story is "God will Bring Peace" from Isaiah 2:1-5 (pg. 164-165 in the Spark Story Bible). We will also be working hard on our Christmas Pageant so please arrive on-time and ready to dance & sing! :)

 

Church R Us (4th and 5th grade): 
Join us for Sunday School at 9:30 am.  This week we will examine the story of Simeon, a man who recognized young Jesus as the awaited messiah. Also join us from 3-5 PM for Flashmob rehearsal (see article above)!

Youth Group (6th-12th grade):  
We're working on our Christmas Flash Mob!  Join us from 3-5 PM for Youth Group and practice!  
PRAISE BAND TIME CHANGE:  Due to the concert, praise band meets at 5 PM this week.
Middle Schoolers will meet for Sunday School this week!
 
Adult Sunday School:  Join us every Sunday at 9:30am for study and discussion of this week's scripture lesson.  (May Day Parlor)
 

Men's Breakfast: Our next breakfast is Monday, December 2 at 7a.m. All men of the church and their friends are welcome to join us for fellowship. At Billy's Deli, 5160 W 190th St, Torrance, CA 90503. map
First United Methodist Church of Redondo Beach
310-372-8445 main   310-372-5696 fax
Reverend Molly Vetter, Lead & Teaching Pastor PastorMolly@beachfaith.com 
Ernie Valenzuela, Administrative Assistant  x101  Ernie@beachfaith.com