From:                                         Woodridge United Methodist Church Communications <noreply@elexiochms.com>

Sent:                                           Friday, December 17, 2021 9:24 AM

To:                                               office@woodridgeumc.org

Subject:                                     Dream Fierce Dreams" - Woodridge United Methodist Church Newsletter

Attachments:                          163975459012.19.21_Worship_Guide.pdf

 

            Woodridge United Methodist Church

Join us on Sunday for worship services
at  10:00 am.

Instructions can be found below.
All are Welcome!

 

 

 

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

 

 

"Dream Fierce Dreams"

Don’t despair! We’ve almost made it. Christmas is just a week away! Sure, these next few days are literally the darkest of the year for us here in the Northern Hemisphere. With dark, cold, windy days, this last week before Christmas can feel as if it takes foooor-eeeev-eeeer.

 

But this week can also be the one most filled with wishes, wants, and whimsy. This week, perhaps more than any other, we simultaneously huddle close together in order to shut out the cold darkness and anticipate the arriving joy, wonder, and celebration that is Christmas. Our waiting, while buzzing with energy, is also tinged with melancholy.

 

This is, in other words, a time of dreams: always just out of our reach, always just a touch out of focus. That was certainly true for Joseph, as the story goes in the Gospel of Matthew. Joseph has a dream — and it changes everything. For him. For Mary. For Jesus. For us?

 

Why does Matthew focus on Joseph and his dream (no coat involved) while Luke focuses on Mary?

What’s so special about dreams?

Do we dare to still dream of a world filled with goodness and justice?

 

Pastor Dave will wrestle with those questions and more this Sunday, December 19th, in his sermon, “Dream Fierce Dreams.”

 

How would you like a full preview rather than just a teaser? We’re using a new song this Sunday and you can experience it now through this lyric video. You just might find its influence throughout the worship service this week.

 

All are welcome as we worship together Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in person and online via our Woodridge UMC YouTube channel.

 

 

Woodridge UMC is an open and loving United Methodist community striving to:       

Welcoming to all;
Uniting in service toward greater social justice for all;
Moving forward with understanding and acceptance of all peoples;
Creating disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.       

Our purpose is to offer a safe place and community to all races, cultures, religions, genders, sexual identities, ethnicities, age groups and other beliefs.      

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Sunday, December 19th

  • 10:00 am Worship Service
  • 11:00 am Communion (online)
  • 11:00 am Youth Group/Confirmation Class
  • 4:00 pm Filipino Baptist
  • 6:30 pm CSA Committee

Monday, December 20th

  • 7:00 pm Den 3
  • 7:00 pm Den 5

Tuesday, December 21st

  • 7:00 pm BSA Committee

Wednesday, December 22nd

  • Church Office CLOSED

Thursday, December 23rd

  • Church Office CLOSED

Friday, December 24th

  • Church Office CLOSED
  • 5:00 pm Christmas Eve Worship Service
  • 11:00 pm Christmas Eve Worship Service

Sunday, December 26th

  • 10:00 am Worship Service
  • 4:00 pm Filipino Baptist

 

 

 

Worship Services

In Person

We miss you and want to see more of you for worship in person Sundays at 10:00 a.m.! No registration needed, just walk in the door! As a way to keep the most vulnerable among us safer, we request you continue to wear a mask while in the building. Here are our updated safety guidelines: 

  • Please conduct a wellness check before your arrival.  If you are not feeling well, please stay home.
  • The Sunday morning worship service will continue to be recorded “live” for YouTube.  In preparation for the service, there will be sound, voice and light checks.
  • Masks/face coverings are required in the building.
  • Please no food or drinks in the building.
  • Socially distanced seating is available on the north side of the sanctuary.

Online

Where to find the YouTube Live Stream

The worship service is live-streamed every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel. All available worship service recordings are on our channel too.

 For ease of access, you can now the weekly worship guide attached to this email. 
 

NEW PASSING THE PEACE RITUALS

We recently implemented new ways to share the peace of Christ and have some fun doing so. Now that you’ve been through the full cycle, how was your experience of this? What ideas has it inspired in you that we could try? Let Pastor Dave know (pastordave@woodridgeumc.org)!

As a reminder, this is the current Passing the Peace schedule:

•   First Sunday fans

•   Second Sunday sign language 

•   Third wave movement Sunday

•   Fourth Sunday fist bumps

•   Fifth Sunday mystery

 

OFFERING OPTIONS

There are different options for getting your offering to the church.

  • Go to the website & click on the Giving tab at the top of the page or go straight there with this link.
  • Text 630.449.7121 with the amount
  • Drop off in the gold mail slot next to the east door of the church.
  • Mail your offering to the church.

 

WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

If you watch the online service, please email the church office at office@woodridgeumc.org and let us know that you joined us for worship, so that we might record your attendance.


New Lectionary Being Used
We invite you to join us on our new journey of utilizing a new "arrangement" of scripture lessons.  We are using "A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W" by Dr. Wil Gafney.  Womanist biblical scholar, the Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is an Episcopal priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and licensed in the Diocese of North Texas, and a former Army chaplain.  This lectionary includes the traditional four-fold model of an Old Testament scripture, Psalm, Gospel and Epistle lesson each week and uses gender-expansive language.  It specifically and intentionally makes women visible in these lectionary texts.  This commitment to the visibility of women and girls is challenging for some and refreshing to others.  We are in the process of making sure all of the copyright permissions are in order for us to show the designated scripture passages on our screens for our worship settings.  As soon as they are......  In the meantime, you are welcomed to Google her, check her website and/or purchase the resource.  Join us on this journey and please do not hesitate to give us your feedback.


SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION 1ST SUNDAYS
We will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion in person on the first Sunday of each month immediately following the livestream of our worship service. We will need a few moments to set up our ZOOM link for those who are not able to be with us in person.  Please remain seated following the postlude on the Sundays that we are serving communion.  Please remember that communion is available every Sunday via ZOOM.  Please contact the church office or Pastor Danita for the ZOOM link.
 

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR WORSHIP

If you want a prayer request shared during worship, please email the Pastor Danita at pastordanita@woodridgeumc.org by 8:00 am on Sundays.

(There have been requests that we include full names and/or more detailed information for people on our list of Joys & Concerns.  Please remember our services are broadcast on YouTube and are available to anyone who has internet access. Details are shared with our Prayer Ministry Team on Monday mornings.  You are invited to join them in prayer and share in this information by contacting the church office).


 

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Church Office Hours:  Special Hours Christmas Week
                                       Monday & Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

                                       Wednesday – Friday Office CLOSED.
The Church Office is CLOSED Wednesday, December 22nd through Monday, January 3rd and will re-open Tuesday, January 4th.

We ask that you call before visiting.

 

 

 

Announcement
Commitment Forms
If you have not turned in your financial commitment form for 2022, please do so as soon as possible.  Your commitment helps our Finance Team determine our spending guideline for 2022.  Your commitment to Woodridge UMC has been unparalleled in the past and we want to go into 2022 with that same attitude!  Let's do this!!!!!  Any questions, assistance or details needed, please contact our financial secretary, Walt Read, or the church office.


Opportunities/Events 

Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service

Yes, there will be one!!  But, it will be LIVESTREAM ONLY!  Be sure to tune in on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. for our 2nd Annual Blue Christmas/Longest Night worship service.  The past year has been a very difficult one for many reasons and we wanted to offer a time of quiet reflection and remembrance. The Blue Christmas/Longest Night worship experience is named that because it is held on the winter solstice ...the day of the year with the shortest amount of daylight and the longest night of the year.  Tune into our YouTube at Woodridge UMC on Tuesday evening and join us.


Christmas Eve Services
Celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, Emmanuel, God with us, this Friday, Dec. 24th at 5:00pm and 11:00pm. All are invited to worship with us as we commemorate God’s ultimate act of love and solidarity — joining us in our humanity through the babe of Bethlehem. Candles and carols at both services. 

The Bible for Curious People 
Our Tuesday study group is on Christmas break. The Bible for Curious People will return Tuesday, January 11th at 10:30 a.m.


Wednesday Bible Study
Our Wednesday Bible study meets from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  We meet in person (those who wish to) as well as via ZOOM (for those not able to be in person). will return Wednesday, January 12th at 10:30 a.m.  Please join us.


Two Ways to Helping Our Neighbors: Groceries & Clothes

GROCERIES: Today, Sunday, December 19th is the final day for donating grocery gift cards for our sister church, Trinity UMC in Joliet. THANK YOU to all who donated!

 

HAT & MITTEN TREE: This Outreach effort is very simple: We provide new winter hats and gloves for children in our community who need them. Just place your donations on the “tree” in the Narthex. We’ll collect the hats and gloves for a couple weeks and then donate them to the Woodridge School District 68 and begin collecting again.
 
Youth Ministry 2021-2022

TODAY, Sunday, December 19th: Confirmation Class and High School Youth Group at regular time: 11:00am-12noon. Music plays a large role in our Advent and Christmas celebrations. What are your favorites and why? Of which are you tired and why?

Looking ahead:

Dec. 26th & Jan. 2nd: No Confirmation class or Youth Group. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jan. 9th: Confirmation and Youth Group return at regular time.


Upper Rooms
Upper Rooms for January-February are now available in the narthex with a limited number in the mailbox.
 

In Memorium 

Gwen Kleinschmidt

Gwendlyn Kleinschmidt, surviving spouse of Rev. E. Dale Kleinschmidt, our former pastor, died on Monday, December 6, at age 90, in her home with her family by her side.  A visitation for Gwendlyn will be held on Wednesday, December 22, at the Laird Funeral Home, Elgin, from 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm, with a service of remembrance and celebration of her life beginning at 7:00 pm.
Words of comfort may be sent to the Kleinschmidt family at
davedkleinschmidt@yahoo.com.

Betty Waynick
Mrs. Betty L. Waynick, spouse of retired clergy member Rev. Leo Banks Waynick Jr. and mother of Tim Waynick, passed away Thursday, December 9, at age 86.
A memorial service will be held at Community UMC at 20 Center Street, Naperville, IL 60540 on Saturday, December 18, with visitation from 10 am to 11 am followed by a service at 11 am. The family requests that only those who are fully vaccinated please attend.  
   
Messages of condolences may be sent to Betty's family:
Rev. Leo Banks Waynick Jr.
1657 Fredericksburg Lane
Aurora, IL 60503-3673



Outreach Opportunities

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

As you have probably heard from neighbors and news media sources, the tenants of Woodridge Country Club Condos have had to vacate their homes because of extensive building repairs.  Mayor Cunningham and her offices have been working diligently to relocate these families.  However, there are some very serious needs for the families in their temporary spaces at nearby hotels. The immediate needs are as follows:

1.)  Cases of water;

2.)  Personal care toiletries (such as full sized body wash, shampoo and conditioners, lotions, etc.);

3.)  Children's activities/games, hot cocoa, snacks, family-sized cereal;

4.)  Monetary donations (addressed to Woodridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors).

Please feel free to assist where you can.  We will coordinate our efforts through the Outreach Committee and make a more concerted, church-wide effort in January.  However, you are invited to respond more immediately if you so desire.  Please watch our E-news for updates and details in the coming weeks.



United Methodists Respond After Deadly Twisters
United Methodists in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and neighboring states are coming to terms with the devastation of a string of tornadoes Dec. 10-11, while also mobilizing quickly to provide food, emergency shelter and other relief.
The storm system that struck on Friday evening into Saturday morning — including one tornado that caused destruction across some 240 miles — is blamed for nearly 90 deaths. 

A tornado collapsed the roof and walls of an 
Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., killing six people. The storm also caused damage to homes, silos and an FS Plant in several downstate towns. Illinois Great Rivers Disaster Response leaders are assessing needs at this time. Twisters sheared roofs and shattered windows at some United Methodist churches and parsonages, as well as badly damaging congregation members’ homes and local businesses in Kentucky and Tennessee. Read more.

How to help

Donations also can be made directly to the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference’s Disaster Response Fund, the Missouri Conference disaster response, the Arkansas Tornado Fund or the Illinois Great Rivers Conference Disaster Response Ministry.
 


DuPage Pads: Did You Know?

DuPagePads operates a Street Outreach call line for anyone who observes someone unsheltered or in need of services. Please notify our Street Outreach team at 630-682-3846, option 2, or email streetoutreach@dupagepads.org with the following information: 

Your name and contact information (for possible follow-up) 

  • Individual’s/Family’s Name (if known) 
  • Location (last seen) 
  • General Description

 


ONGOING OPPORTUNITIES


Suits for Success

There are donation boxes in the hallway by the coat rack just outside the narthex for both men and women's clothing.  The clothes are picked up, dry cleaned and then taken to area men and women's prisons for people being released.  NO belts, shoes, underwear or ties.

 

"Goin' Green" Shoes & Clothes Recycling Box

Located in the northeast corner of our parking lot, this receptacle is a convenient place to recycle any shoes and your clothes that are at or near the end of their usefulness.

Did you know discarded clothes account for more total landfill space than any other waste item? The “Goin’ Green” Box helps us reduce our waste.

How is this different from our “Suits for Success” ministry?

The big difference is that “Suits for Success” cannot accept shoes of any kind, nor can they accept belts, ties, or underwear. “Goin’ Green” accepts all shoes and clothes.

In summary: Keep bringing your gently used clothing donations to the “Suits for Success” collection boxes in the hallway.

For all shoes and any other clothes, instead of throwing them in the trash, put them in the “Goin’ Green” receptacle in the northeast corner of the parking lot.
 


West Suburban Food Pantry

We have a basket that we "inherited" from the Faith, Lisle church that is waiting for donations.  It sits in the narthex, usually near the sanctuary doors.  They did not stop operating during the pandemic and there is pending legislation in our state and nation that might cut their corporate donations in large amounts.  Let's replenish our basket!!!

 

Used Eyeglasses
There is a basket also in the narthex for collecting used eyeglasses.  Jorie would see that her sister, Kendra, got the eyeglasses and that they are recycled to the Lions Club and Gift of Sight groups.  Kendra is continuing this important mission. (Prescription eyeglasses only).
 

December Outreach Offering

Save Abandoned Babies


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.

 

Northern Illinois Conference
Prairie Central Winter Lay Academy
The Prairie Central District is having a Lay Academy - (Jan. 8 & 15) 8 am - 4 pm. at Plainfield UMC breakfast and lunch provided. Cost: $40. Register by January 3rd. 

The two Saturday event from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. will offer four classes:

   Leading Public Prayer 

   Heritage of United Methodism

   Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts

   Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition

Everyone interested in learning more about their faith, seeking support as they consider leadership positions, and enjoying fellowship with other believers are welcome.  Lay Academy’s goals are to enrich the individual as well as support the clergy of the local church. Click here for details and here for registration.



Prairie Central District
The new names of the districts, which went into effect July 2021, are Lake North, Lake South, Prairie Central, Prairie North, and Prairie South. We will be in the Prairie Central district.  Click here to read the list of churches in each district. Find the new district webpage here.


Prairie Central Monthly Lay Meetings
Please join our District Superintendent, Jeffrey Bross and your lay colleagues in the PCD every SECOND Thursday of the month beginning on September 9 and ending on May 12 at 7pm.  We will share news, have some prayer and devotion, hear the call story of a colleague and laugh with your friends.  We try to keep it to an hour but if something is really important and we need some extra time, we can do so.  This is a no-stress way to stay connected and get lifted up and know you are not alone.  
 
Please note that ALL lay persons who are in leadership at their churches are invited. This is not just for designated "lay leaders" but anyone who has an interest in the church and gathering with other lay persons.  
 
Hope to see you there.  Contact the church office for the link.
 

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

Northern Illinois Conference
Find out about upcoming events in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church by clicking this link  

      
December 17th, 2021, Volume 12, Edition 51

 

 

 

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