Welcome to  Trinity Today  - monthly e-news and opportunities at Trinity UMC  

In This Issue
Master Calendar
The church's master calendar can now be seen online. Visitors can view both previous and coming months.  Click Here to view.

Hard-copies will be available in the Church Office or in the Narthex on Sundays. To add or correct information seen on the calendar, simply call the Church Office or email trinitymgr@cfl.rr.com
December Birthdays

12/01 - Eleanor Griffin
12/02 - Lisa Palmer
12/03 - Stan Lilly
12/04 - Mary Jane Boring 12/06 - Vanessa Beaty 
            Dail Helms
12/12 - Frank Knight
12/13 - Payton Ann Ebanks
            Olivia Salinetro
12/14 -Bill Latham
12/16 -Lorena Carr 
            Rick Jones
12/18 -Gale Gately
12/19 -Jamie Moor 
            Tyler Temperly
12/21 - Brian Fuller 
            Jackie Westlake
12/23 -  Harvey King
12/26 - Shirley Loban
12/27 - Robert Cox
12/28 - Lidia Carr
12/29 -Trall Heitzenrater 
            Herb Nerge
12/30 - Patricia DeWeese,
            Jan Lilly 
            Carol Plummer
12/31 - Dr. Taylor Griffin

December Anniversaries

12/10 - Les & Cindi Bricker
            - 12 years
12/20 - William & Leanne
            Adams - 18 years
12/20 - Cecil & Linda
            Chester - 51 years
12/22 - Alex & Vincetta Ford
            - 36 years
12/22 - Debby & Terry
            Williams  - 42 years
12/27 - Dr. Taylor & Eleanor
            Griffin - 56 years
12/27 - Jon & Karen Robbins
            - 29 years
12/28 - Mike & Carolyn
            Nicholson - 30 years
12/30 - Brian & Melissa
            Fuller - 29 years
2016 Leadership Team

A slate of officers and leaders for 2016 was prayerfully submitted and approved during the November 1st Charge Conference. T here are a few unfilled positions still. If  you feel called to do more, please contact P astor Brian at  bacarro072890@att.net   or call him at 386-734-4425.

For a listing of team members and the office they hold or area of ministry they will be leading in 2016, click here.

Breakfast at Trinity

Due to the Christmas holidays, the breakfast for the last month of 2015 will be on  Dec 11 . We always welcome new volunteers. Call Lana Saxon or the Church Office if you want to help.
 
The company that has been hired to perform janitorial services is doing a good job, and the recent problem with the elevator has been corrected.

The locks and code on the building were recently changed for security reasons. To get the new code, contact the Church Office.
 
The Church will be tented and fumigated for termites on December 28th. Timing is two days to set up, 24 hours for the spray and two days to take down. The fumigation is a necessary but non-budgeted expense. Any donations to help cover the $18,000 cost are both welcome and appreciated. To make a donation, mark your checks with "Fumigation" written in the memo line. For cash contributions, put in an envelope marked "Fumigation."

The Trustees wish everyone a safe and wonderful Holiday Season!

Charlie Daniels, Chair

Wesley House SCRIP Cards
 
Purchase your "scrip" gift cards for holiday shopping, dining or as gifts from  Shop with Scrip.com to benefit Stetson's Wesley House. The gift cards are redeemed for full face value and the Wesley House will receive a percentage of the sale. 
See Lynn Thompson or Conya Hartman for additional information.
Trinity Learning Center

The TLC Preschool will have its annual Christmas Program on Tuesday, Dec 8th beginning at 6 p.m. followed by refreshments in the Fellowship Hall.

The title of the program is "Someone Has a Birthday" and it will feature the three and four-year old students, with the two-year old class singing at the beginning of the program and again at the end.  Everyone is invited to attend!

Cindy Fox, Director

Pecans still for sale (but not for long!)

The cost is $9.50 for a one-pound bag. Look for the sales table in the Fellowship Hall in-between worship services or see Cindy Hunt. During the week, look for them in the Church Office.

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Poinsettias for Christmas
Orders are being taken for Christmas poinsettias to be used to decorate the Sanctuary from Dec 12-27. 
Cost is $7.50 each.
 
The deadline to order is  Dec 1.  Call or email the Church Office  immediately  to place your order. Payment will need to be made at time of order.

Christmas Candlelight

The holiday season would not be complete without a performance by Trinity's outstanding choir led by Conya Hartman!

Let There Be Christmas will be performed on Friday, Dec 18 and Saturday, Dec 19 beginning at 7 p.m. each night.

T
his is just one of Trinity's many gifts to the DeLand community. Tell your friends and neighbors to come and enjoy this popular musical treat!
Christmas Offerings

The 2015 Christmas Offerings (loose change) will go toward the following projects:
  • $565 balance due to fulfill pledge to the FL Conference Imagine No Malaria campaign
  • Christ's Closet and Faith In Action will split the remaining monies one-third and two-thirds, respectively.
Stephen Ministry

The mission of the Stephen Ministry program is summed up in St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians:

"To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" 
       (Ephesians 4:12-13).
 
These words describe why this ministry is so important to our church, what we do for people - both inside and outside our congregation, and the difference we hope to make in the world.

The Stephen Ministry program will start off anew in January. Won't you consider joining us? For more info, contact Lori Hansard at lgjbhansard@totcon.com.

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Merry Christmas to all our members and friends!
DECEMBER 2015


  Merry Christmas!   

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

That sounds a little strange to say as I write this in mid-November. Christmas advertise-ments have long been running, some stores have been decorated since  Halloween, and Christmas songs are on the radio. 

In reality, "Merry Christmas" is appropriate and relevant any day of the year. Many people celebrate Christmas as a feverish period of preparation followed by one day of celebrating. 

But for those who believe in Jesus, Christmas is much more than a target of buyers and sellers. It's a time of celebrating and re-embracing Immanuel - God's marvelous, mysterious, miraculous plan of "God with us!"

There are many ways to celebrate and participate in Christmas this year at Trinity. 
We will begin Advent on Sunday, November 29th by celebrating Holy Communion together at the altar rail. 

Our Music Makers children have been rehearsing since mid-September preparing for "The Plane Truth About Christmas" to be presented during both morning worship services on Sunday, December 6. Music Makers Sundays are always exciting, inspiring worship services, perfect for inviting and bringing guests with you to experience a worship experience led by our children!

Two evenings later on Tuesday, our Trinity Learning Center preschool will host its annual Christmas program. All are invited to attend this lively, lovely event which never fails to warm our hearts and send us well on our way to getting ready for Christmas!

Our Chancel Choir with many voices from our local community have also been rehearsing since September preparing for our Christmas Candlelight Concerts on Friday, December 18th and Saturday, December 19th at 7:00 p.m. each evening. 

"Let There Be Christmas!" is this year's theme which will be sure to inspire us and set our hearts on that babe born in Bethlehem to set us free. These two nights are wonderful opportunities to invite and bring guests with you as well as offering us all opportunities to serve as hosts, greeters, ushers, etc.

The Carr family cordially invites you to attend their Christmas Open House at the Parsonage located at 1698 Bent Oaks Blvd. on Sunday, December 20th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 

Christmas Eve worship services will be held beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the Veggie Tales Christmas, 7:00 p.m. with Carols and Candlelight, and 9:00 p.m. with Carols, Candlelight and Communion.

As you can see, December is full of opportunities for service, worship and events to bring and welcome guests into our church family. I look forward to seeing you there. Blessings on you all. Again, Merry Christmas!

                   Pastor Brian


MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Roger and Julie Baumgartner

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
Proverbs 4:23 NIV

A close-knit Christian family, Roger and Julie Baumgartner moved to DeLand 42 years ago from Atlanta. This has proved to be a blessing not only to themselves, their family and their church but to the community as well. Roger grew up in Daytona Beach and Julie was raised in Chicago. They met on a blind date at Florida State University and later married. Roger majored in Marketing. After working in retail for ten years, they decided to move to DeLand where their parents and Roger's brother lived. Julie has a sister in Jacksonville. Since Roger's parents were members of Trinity, it was only natural for Roger and Julie to join Trinity.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Trinity

Out of the more than 200 who had signed up for the dinner, we only had 39 people attend. Although it is sad that we had such poor attendance, we are not looking at it as a failure.  The extravagant generosity shown by our church members was tremendous. From the contributions for food and the pies that were brought in, to the turkey pickers, cooks, servers, and cleanup crew, we were truly blessed. The food was tremendous, as was the camaraderie of those who participated. Everything came together, as it should have! We are making plans for a Valentine's Dinner for church members on February 13, so watch for more details.

Steve & Karin Roland

Faith in Action News

From November 1-23, 34 families received assistance with prescriptions and insulin.
112 families received checks for gas which enabled them to go to medical visits and/or job interviews.

68 families received 1-day bus passes and 
3 families got 1-day reduced fare passes. 
And, finally, 34 families received fuel for camp stoves and grills, while 3 families got kerosene for heat.

Your support has made a huge difference in the lives of the many men, women and children we see every week.  Thanks and God bless you all for having such caring hearts!
 
Food donations needed this month:
 
Dec 6
hot and cold cereals
Dec 13
toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion
Dec 20
soup
Dec 27
peanut butter and jelly

Steve & Karin Roland
Evangelism News

Church business/invitation cards are now available in the Church Office and Narthex. 
Pick up some today and keep them on hand for when and wherever you go. 

It's a great tool to use when inviting your friends, neighbors, new acquaintances and (yes) even strangers to our church. Simply hand them a card and let them know how much you would like to have them join you!

For more ideas on how to spread 
"the good news" of Jesus Christ, 
c ontact Mark and Helen Jackson.
Taking the Next Step

Although the tally is not complete, we certainly took our giving to "the next step" and increased our pledge support by 
15% over last year.

Praise God!

Thank you to Mark Moor and the Taking the Next Step campaign leaders for their tireless efforts to inspire and teach us how stewardship will no longer be our way of raising a budget.  It will be God's way of raising disciples.

Tender Loving Care Committee

The Tender Loving Care committee is a group of dedicated men and women who enjoy organizing and planning for important social functions at the church. 

The committee has been divided into three teams, with each team responsible for coordinating all bereavement, wedding and special events at the church on a rotating basis.

Debbie Bennett, team leader, is asking that members who may have a gift for cooking, decorating, organizing, purchasing and cleaning to contact her about serving on this vitally important team. After all, T.E.A.M. stands for Together Everyone Achieves More and we all know that many hands make less work, right? 

Email  Deb Bennett  or  call her today at
740-9554 and you will be blessed from the experience!



    Music Makers 
    Christmas  Program
The Plane Truth About Christmas

When a family is stranded at the airport on Christmas Eve, they decide to share the true meaning of Christmas with their fellow travelers. Using props and costumes improvised from items in their suitcases, 
our beloved  Music Makers  will present their annual Christmas program. It will be performed on Sunday, December 6 at both services.

The Prodigal God

The title of Timothy Keller's book,
The Prodigal God, sounded intriguing. I always thought "prodigal" had a negative connotation, i.e., greedy, doesn't play by the rules, spends foolishly until it is all gone.
You know the familiar story of the Prodigal Son recounted in Luke Chapter 15 about a father and his two sons. The younger wanted his inheritance early so his father gave it to him and he immediately left home, partied hearty and blew it all in no time. The older son continued to work on the farm and remained faithful to his father. As expected, the younger son came home, tail between his legs not knowing his fate but his father, rather than berate him and demand payment for the spent inheritance, cried tears of joy for his safe return and threw a banquet in his honor.
 
Keller gives this story a little different twist... Click here to read more!


Building Committee Update

In January, 
the Building Committee will meet with our consultant, Larry Sykora,  to review the success of our "Taking The Next Step" Stewardship Campaign.  

In February, members will engage in the strategic planning process to learn more about the five-year plan and our vision for the new facility and needed programs. 

Armed with this knowledge, it is hoped that, with God's help, we will be looking forward to designing our capital (fundraising) campaign sometime in 2016.

Youth News


Quote for December:

"Our hearts grow tender 
with childhood memories and 
we are better throughout the year 
because we became children 
again during Christmas time."-
                                            
                                       Laura Wilder
 
Sunday, December 6
 Regular Youth 3-5
Sunday, December 13
 NO Youth
Sunday, December 20
 Christmas Party
 Time to be  announced
Sunday December 27  NO Youth

Merry Christmas to all youth and 
their families. We hope 2016 will be 
a good year for all.

Blessings,
Miss Lori & Mr. Jeff

Year-End Giving

As we approach the end of 2015, please ensure your pledge is fulfilled and consider making a special gift to our Building Fund or an area of ministry that is close to your heart. Make sure your gift is received in the Church Office no later than 12/31/2015.

NOTE: As the church will fumigated, the church office be closed from Dec 27th through Jan 1st, and there will be no one in the office to receive your gifts. 
Please plan now to place your gifts in the offering plate at one of the morning worship services on Dec. 27th OR mail it to the church office. Any gift received by mail showing a postmark on or before Dec. 31, 2015, will be recorded as a 2015 contribution.

Want more information? Contact Pastor Carr at bacarro072890@att.net 

or Carolyn Linder, Financial Secretary at carolyn-linder@cfl.rr.com.


"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." - Proverbs 29:18

Trinity's Administrative Council has contracted with
Momentum Performance Group,
based in New Smyrna Beach, to assist members with developing a five-year strategic plan.

The goal is to create a shared vision that will include our new church facility, new worship services, finding and supporting new members, governance, leadership development, new small group ministries and education programs, plus expanding our mission, outreach and marketing - all focused on our mandate to  make disciples of men and women for Jesus Christ .

Plans are to hold the day-long session on Saturday, February 27 th beginning at 9 a.m.  All TUMC members and long-time friends are invited to attend, so please keep that date open. More information will be forthcoming.


Sermon Topics in December

Dec  6 "The Plane Truth About Christmas"
Music Makers Christmas Program
Dec 13 "The Signs of Christmas Coming Close"
Dec 20 "The Signs of Christmas Come"
Dec 24 "The Signs of Christmas Come to Pass"
Dec 27 "One Day At a Time" - Rev. John Campbell preaching
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The Chrismon Tree

Our beautiful Chrismon Tree is up, meaning we are now in the season of Advent.  Do you recognize that each "ornament" has a Christian symbol on it? Do you know what each symbol means or re-presents?  Click here to watch this video to learn more about the tree, its symbols and their relation to the coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Office Angels Still Needed!

We are still looking for volunteer "Office Angels" to sit in the church office if Lori is away. The duty consists of answering the phones and opening the side door with a monitor bell. Days needed are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. If you would like to volunteer or need more information, contact Church Secretary, Lori Jones, at (386) 734-4425 or trinitymgr@cfl.rr.com

Altar Flowers

Flowers on the altar are now being provided by The Floral Boutique, located on South Woodland. Procedure to sign-up is the same. We have been very pleased with their large arrangements and accommodating staff, so please support this new business when you are in need of flowers. Here's a link to their Facebook page:  Flowers


News about Trinity's 
United Methodist Women


Trinity's unit of United Methodist Women (UMW) had its monthly Board Meeting on November 16th at 9 a.m. followed by a special ad hoc committee meeting, to discuss the future of the unit at Trinity.
 
It was voted and approved that the women's ministry stay connected to the Global UMW organization financially, but plans are to modify and restructure the unit within our own church. 

The "circles" will remain the same but our new focus is to be more project and interest-driven, as well as an emphasis on staying spiritually connected. To start, the group will reduce the size of the board.  The slate of officers for 2016 is as follows:
 
Leader
Melissa Fuller
Communications
Debbie Bennett
Treasurer
Donna Beaty

Monday, December 7th, 
Annual Christmas Brunch 
Fellowship Hall beginning at 10 a.m. 

All women are asked to bring in their favorite breakfast fare, and a special entertainer has been found to get everyone in the "Christmas spirit!" Each circle will be responsible for decorating their table(s) and circle leaders will serve as table hosts.

On January 19th from 10 - 12 a.m., another future planning meeting will be held in the Library to continue working on ways to restructure the unit.

All women of the church are invited to attend these events. For more in-formation, contact Lucy Halavin, president at lhalavin@hotmail.com
120th Anniversary Ornaments

To close out our celebratory year, on Sunday, Dec 13, members will be given a special commemorative ornament, as a way to remember this significant anniversary. The limited-edition ornament was graphically-designed by Jason Kellogg using a photograph of one of our beautiful stained glass windows. A table will be set up in the Fellowship Hall between services for pick-up.  After that, they will be kept in the Church Office.
Sermon Series  for January

In January, Pastor Brian will begin a sermon series based on the popular book " Lead Like Jesus" written by best-selling authors and speakers, Ken Blanchard ("The One Minute Manager") and Phil Hodges ("The Servant Leader"). Plan now to attend and learn more about embracing the principles of servant leadership embodied in Matthew 20:25-28.  Our spiritual journey may just be the spark that ignites a passion in you to live and lead differently!



Trinity United Methodist Church  386-734-4425  www.trinitydeland.org
306 W. Wisconsin Avenue, DeLand, FL 32720