Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie? Do you make a mean fudge brownie or a delicious lemon bar? Perhaps a chocolate chip cookie or a sugar cookie in the shape of a Christmas tree! Join us this Sunday, December 7, as we celebrate the Advent season and share together in a cookie swap. Please bring three dozen of your favorite cookies to the Fellowship Hall. Please also bring one index card with the recipe. After the 11:00 a.m. services, we will enjoy some cookies together. Goodie bags will be available for you to take some samples home with you as well. Everyone is also invited to take snapshots of the recipe cards and make the recipe in your home kitchen. Contact Pastor Denna with any questions (dhornby@fumcor.org). | | The Annual Service of Lessons and Carols is this Sunday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m. You don't want to miss this annual tradition! Come and enjoy the sounds of the season, and experience the incarnation as told through readings and Christmas carols for choir, handbells, organ, and brass. | | Poinsettia Deadline Extended | | |
If you missed the deadline to order poinsettias, have no fear! The deadline has been extended to Sunday, December 14. Please fill out the forms that are available with the ushers or in the main office and submit them with cash or check in the offering on Sunday or in the main office throughout the week. We still have 24 spots available for you to commemorate your loved ones. The Poinsettia booklet will be published after all orders are received and will be available for the final Sunday in Advent (December 21). Contact Josh Sumter (jsumter@fumcor.org) with any questions.
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At this time, all of our children have sponsors! If you would still like to help support these families and this year's Christmas Shoppes, we are collecting the following items to help supplement the gifts and food we will be giving:
- Manual can openers
- Spices (ex: salt, pepper, garlic, seasoning salt)
- Gift cards.(Fast food, movie theater, Amazon)
- Books
- Stuffed animals
- Volunteers—contact Ashley Craven at fumcorshoppes@gmail.com
All contributions are greatly appreciated and help us continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus .
| | Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday | | Join with the youth in good Christmas fun. Wear your ugly Christmas sweater to church on Sunday morning, December 14! Who will have the ugliest sweater? We will also have a photo booth for the ugliest Christmas photo! Join in the fun! | | Churchwide Christmas Caroling | | All are welcome to gather in the Choir Room (105) on Sunday, December 14, at 1:45 p.m. to retrieve caroling booklets and to go over some carols. At 2:00 p.m., we will travel to two or three assisted living facilities in Oak Ridge to sing carols to the residents and to visit with them. We will return to the church by about 3:30 p.m. to enjoy hot chocolate and fellowship before the Advent book study with the Rev. David Graybeal. The bus will be available for riding, and carpooling may also be necessary, depending on the group size. Please get in touch with Josh Sumter (jsumter@fumcor.org) if you would like to attend. | | Learn More About Jesus' Birthplace | | |
Join us for a special evening with the Rev. David Graybeal on Sunday, December 14, at 4:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Rev. Graybeal is the author of Bethlehem: An Advent Journey. He is a United Methodist pastor and member of The Holston Annual Conference who has served churches in southwestern England and east Tennessee. He is also an adjunct professor of religion at Tennessee Wesleyan University.
Through stories, personal reflections, travel experiences, and a deep Biblical insight, David will share about Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born. You can also come at 3:30 to enjoy hot cocoa, other warm beverages, and rich fellowship before the program begins. All are invited! For more information, contact Pastor Ken (ksauer@fumcor.org).
| | December Senior Adult Luncheon | | Join the Senior Adult Luncheon this month as Kyle Grainger, well-known TV personality and WVLT meteorologist, shares stories from his career and his involvement in community outreach programs. The lunch menu is champagne chicken, rice, cinnamon carrots, broccoli, rolls, and red velvet cake. Please RSVP by Thursday, December 11, by calling the church office at 865-483-4357. | | You Can Still Give Thanks! | | |
Our 2026 stewardship campaign is almost complete. We want to do more ministry next year, but we need everyone’s help! Your gifts will help us expand ministries like First Recovery and our outreach to children and youth.
We can’t accurately plan next year’s ministries until everyone turns in their giving estimates. If you haven’t made your estimate of giving yet, you can still turn it in to the offering plate, by mailing it to the church office (attn: Finance Director, 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830), or online at the link below.
We would like to have all estimates as soon as possible, so we can make 2026 budget decisions with good information. Thanks for your help in this vital matter, and thank you for giving in gratitude!
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December Special Missions Offering -
Clean Water for the Home
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The monthly Special Offering for December will go to support Clean Water for the Home. Since 2010, Clean Water for the Home has been providing potable water filters for families in Honduras. Water-borne diseases remain the leading cause of illness in third-world countries and the leading cause of death for children ages five and under in Honduras. A $50 donation provides a family with a Sawyer PointONE filter, the expense for delivery, water classes, and follow-up visits. The families who receive these filters are those with the most need! They are very appreciative. To support Clean Water for the Home and give to the December Special Offering, mail a check to the church with "Clean Water for the Home" in the memo line, or follow the link below.
If you would like to learn more about Clean Water for the Home, Steve and LouAnn Cristy will be speaking in the Fellowship Class during the Sunday School hour this Sunday, December 7.
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Worship for December 7
Second Sunday of Advent
Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7
Matthew 1: 18-25
8:45 & 11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship - Sanctuary
11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship - Multipurpose Room
Preaching: Rev. Ken Sauer, Rev. Clair Sauer
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In the Hospital
Mike Cates
Dee Crumm
Dismissed
Carol Stoops
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Offering 11-24-2025 through 11-30-2025: $62,543
2025 YTD Offering: $1,272,338
2024 YTD Offering: $1,206,160
November Special Offering (Shoppes): $1,810
Thank you to all of you who mailed in your financial gifts or continued to give online.
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