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Christmas Blessings
From the United Methodist Church
Please follow the link for a video Christmas
card here.
Thank You
Dear Church
Family,
Pastor Danita just delivered a beautiful quilt created by
Faye Hoffman on behalf of all of you. It truly is a
treasure.
I have felt lovingly covered with all your prayers and now I
can be warmly covered with this lovely gift.
Tom and I have missed seeing everyone as you are very
important and special to us.
Won’t be a huge event when we can once more gather! We look
forward to that!
Love to all,
Carole
Giving
Stewardship for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in our
lives and most definitely in our personal economics.
Many have lost loved ones and jobs, while others had to deal
with isolation and depression. In the midst of it all,
the church has continued to be the place of solace and
stability to keep us grounded and to be the witness to
the community of our faith.
Thank you for
being a part of the ongoing ministry of this church.
You are invited to renew your commitment to join us in
2021 by completing the Estimate of Giving
Form (by following this link) as our church family continues its work for
justice and peace in this community.
Thank you
again for your faithfulness in the past and we look forward
to you joining us in the future.
Bible
Study - Via Zoom
THE BIBLE FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE - ON ZOOM
Join us Tuesday mornings at 10:30am on Zoom for
our Advent Study, Almost
Christmas.
Reading
Assignment for Tuesday, December 22nd:
Chapter 4 of Almost
Christmas.
Questions
to consider:
—Reflect on
the questions at the end of Chapter 4 (p. 106)
—Of the three “Angel” carols (“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,”
“Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Angels from the Realms
of Glory”), which do you find offers the most altogether joy?
—What questions does the chapter and Epilogue raise for you?
Due to the pandemic, this class is meeting online through
Zoom on Tuesday mornings at 10:30AM. Please contact Pastor
Dave (pastordave@woodridgeumc.org) to join the conversation. It is a great way to
stay connected and all are welcome.
No prior bible reading or knowledge or expertise needed. No
question is dumb and no one is forced to read the bible in
one particular way. We will all learn as we go along
exploring what the text says, what it leaves unsaid, what
history and tradition tell us about the text, and how our own
experience influences our reading.
WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY ON ZOOM
The Wednesday Bible study class is at 6:00 pm is
taking a short break. It will resume January
6th. Please contact Pastor Danita if you are interested
in joining the group.
Opportunities/Events
Friday Lunch on ZOOM!
No, we aren't going to meet under the tent but
if you bring your lunch we can eat together on
ZOOM!!!!! Yep, at 12 noon on Friday we will have a ZOOM
FRIDAY LUNCH!! Join us.... TODAY, Friday,
December 18, 2020. Last one for 2020. Contact
the office for the link.
COVID-19 Safety Kits
The Woodridge Public Library is giving out free
COVID-19 safety kits, containing a child or an adult size mask
and hand sanitizer, through our Curbside Pickup service. Kits
were funded by the DuPage Health Department, and are
available while supplies last. To get a kit, park in a
Curbside Pickup space at the library and phone or text
the phone number posted to request kits for your
household; staff will deliver kits to your car.
Youth
Ministry 2020-2021
No Youth Group Zoom Sundays, December 20th or
27th. Merry Christmas!
Youth Group Zoom returns Sunday, January 3rd at
1:30pm.
All 7th-12th grade students are welcome. Contact
Pastor Dave for the Zoom link.
Upper Room Devotionals
The Upper Rooms for January - February are in. Contact the church office or call 630.968.6050 if you would like a
copy. There are a few available in the mailbox.
Sing-Along
Messiah
The Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra of New
York, is presenting a Sing-Along "Messiah", on
December 19th, beginning at 2:00, EST. It is free
(there is a link if you choose to make a donation).
Here is the link!
https://www.bardavon.org/show/handels-messiah-a-free-virtual-singalong/
Pull up words, using this link, to participate in the
singing! (If you have the score at home, use
that. This link provides only the words.)
https://www.toledosymphony.com/clientuploads/20192020season/TSOinHD/2020_0412_Messiah_Lyrics.pdf
Puzzle
Exchange
WUMC has started a PUZZLE EXCHANGE.
Every puzzle deserves a second, third, or even
fourth shot. Let’s share the wealth!
There is a bin on the northwest side of the
building labelled "Puzzle Exchange" by the north
narthex doors for easy exchange anytime you would like.
Bring a puzzle. Take a puzzle. Please make sure
that the bin is closed properly.
Discount on Disposable Face Masks
The General
Council on Finance and Administration has partnered with a
vetted company, On The Go Masks to provide discounts for
churches and the company is extending the discount
to individuals as well. Please see the flyer attached here for more information.
Morning
Prayer with Upper Room
Morning
Prayer with The Upper Room via Facebook
Live,
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11 a.m. (CT).
These guided prayer experiences are archived so you may join
them at your convenience if you miss it live.
Outreach
Opportunities
DUPAGE PADS
Due to the
continuing pandemic, DuPage Pads will not be using Downers
Grove FUMC or any church to house Pads guests until late
2021. They will continue to hotel guests at the
guidance of the DuPage Health Department for both the Pads
guests and the volunteers’ safety.
DuPage Pads has enough funds to house 70 hotel rooms through
March 31, 2021. Their goal is 115 hotel rooms
(approximately 150 guests) per night. Each hotel room
is approximately $45 a night which requires them to raise
approximately $450,000. Additional federal government
funding is uncertain at the moment.
Cold weather has arrived, and people are still very much in
need. There are several ways you can help:
- Food
and Toiletry Donations: Please consider
donating essential items
using this link using curbside drop off boxes
located in the DuPage PADS parking lot of 703 W. Liberty
Wheaton, IL 60187. Drop off hours are Monday-Friday
8:00am-8:00pm and Saturday-Sunday 8:00am-4:00pm. Please
do not leave donations outside of the scheduled times,
especially food items overnight.
- Monetary
Donations: A special fund has been set up for
this purpose. PADS is working hard to maintain and add
additional housing in hotels for guests, as well as
provide them with food. This requires significant
financial resources to sustain this long term.
Visit the PADS website here and look at the very top for the
link to donate.
- Bring
Food or Monetary Donations to DGFUMC: First United
Methodist in Downers Grove is collecting microwave meals
to bring to PADS guests starting November 5th.
Microwave meals may be brought to the church Monday thru
Friday 10am-1pm and monetary donations can be made on
the church website dgfumc.org using the Giving tab. The
church is located at 1032 Maple Avenue in Downers Grove.
Please
call or email Larry
Cash with questions at
630-808-8713.
December Outreach Offerings:
Save
Abandoned Babies Foundation
The
Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is a not-for-profit
volunteer group dedicated to saving babies from being
abandoned in dumpsters and other unsafe places. Our only
mission is to save the lives of newborns that might otherwise
be abandoned unsafely in Illinois.
Our grassroots effort began in March of 2000 when one of our
members read a newspaper article about a baby found in a
Chicago dumpster. We quickly learned that other states were
addressing this horrible and growing problem with "safe
haven laws."
We went to work, calling on anyone willing to help. The Save
Abandoned Babies volunteers drafted a safe haven law and
lobbied for its passage. The resulting Abandoned Newborn
Infant Protection Act unanimously passed both the Illinois
House and Senate and was signed into Illinois law in August
of 2001.
The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is now focused on
telling desperate girls and women that this option exists.
Making information about the law available to those who need
it will save innocent new lives.
West Suburban Community Pantry
The West Suburban Community Pantry offers food
for the hungry and resources to empower persons to improve
their quality of life. Our vision is a community
without hunger.
The Pantry operates year-round with a goal that
each eligible family in DuPage County as well as Bolingbrook
& Romeoville receive nutritionally balanced food,
including meats, dairy, and fresh produce monthly. We are
also registered as an emergency food pantry for Illinois.
With the help of volunteers and sponsors, our
vision is to eradicate hunger within the families and
individuals in the DuPage County area. We are dedicated to
providing food for the hungry, educating the donor community
about existing needs, and supporting advocacy efforts for the
hungry. We also work hard to encourage volunteerism and the
sharing of resources.
Retired American Flag Recycling
Woodridge UMC now
has an American flag recycling box thanks to the Eagle
Scout Project of Jack Kulaga. Bring all your old
American flags to church and put them in the box now located
in Bonfal Hall. When the box starts to get full, the
Woodridge VFW Post will be contacted, and they will collect
and decommission the flags.
Northern
Illinois Conference
NIC
Prayer Network
The
Discipleship Task Force invites laity or clergy who enjoy
writing to submit a devotion (250 words), including a
Bible verse and prayer. Share what is on your heart with
the NIC by emailing discipleshiptf@umcnic.org.
Prayer
Booklet For Times Like These from Our Conference
Don’t worry
about anything? That’s pretty hard to do these days! Yet it
is when we pray that we are able to pour our hearts and minds
out to God. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March,
the NIC Discipleship Task Force asked clergy and laity to
submit daily prayers, which were shared on the conference
social media sites and website. Those prayers have been
assembled into an online booklet, "Times Like These –
Prayers of the People," for your reflection and
devotion.
Click here to view the booklet online
Click here to download
Learning
with the Northern Illinois Conference
The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) staff,
with the assistance of the NIC Communications team and the
NIC Office of Congregational Development and
Redevelopment, are producing online learning sessions
via Zoom on Thursdays
at either 10 am or 1 pm with practical
information on how to do a variety of ministries during the
COVID-19 outbreak. There are also archived training sessions
available for viewing such as Intentional Discipleship, How is Your
Soul and financial helps. All of this can
be found here: https://www.umcnic.org/online-learning
Amazon Smile
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible
purchases to Woodridge United Methodist Church whenever you
shop on
AmazonSmile.
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same
prices, same service. Support WUMC by starting your
shopping here.
Ways to Connect
December
18th, 2020, Volume 11, Edition 51
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