Rocky Hock UMC

2745 White Marsh Road

Wakefield, Virginia

Worship ............................ 9 AM

Fellowship ................. 10:10 AM

Sunday School ............ 10:30 AM

Ivor UMC

8511 Main Street

Ivor, Virginia

Sunday School ................. 10 AM

Worship .......................... 11 AM

N e ws le t te r o f the R ocky H ock - I v or U MC Charge

Volume , Issue December 2014

58 Boxes Collected for Operation Christmas Child!

This is the 13th year that

Rocky Hock UMC has partici-

pated in Operation Christ-

mas Child and the 9th year

for Ivor UMC. This year I de-

livered 40 shoeboxes from

Rocky Hock (last year it was

43) and 20 from Ivor (last

year it was 20, also). I have

delivered 782 shoeboxes

since we started this project.

Operation Christmas Child is head-

ed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy

Graham. Samaritan’s Purse has

brought the joy of Christmas and the

Good News of Jesus Christ to over

140 nations as they distributed more

than 113 million Operation Christmas

Child shoebox gifts that were provid-

ed by people like us.

The shoeboxes are filled with gifts

and include $7 to help cover shipping

and other project expenses. Samaritan’s

Purse puts the message of Jesus Christ in

each shoebox in the language of each

child and delivers the boxes.

More than 1.1 million children in nearly

100 nations have made decisions for

Christ after participating in the evangelism

and discipleship program of Operation

Christmas Child. Millions more can come to

know Jesus and grow in their faith through

The Greatest Journey, their life-changing

12-lesson Bible study.

Some of you knew Larry Rogers who

lived in the Rocky Hock area. His sister’s

daughter, Valerie Davis, lives in Boone,

North Carolina, and works for Samaritan’s

Purse. She wrote me to tell how a simple

Pastor Cliff says a

special blessing over the

shoeboxes before starting their

journey to children all over the world.

shoebox can point a hurting child to Jesus

and change his heart. Luis had been in a

gang since age 10 and got expelled from

school. He got a shoebox and started go-

ing to the Greatest Journey Bible classes.

At first, he only went because his mother

made him go. Then he started to listen and

take to heart what he was learning. The

tough gang member who used to beat up

other kids now follows Jesus! He is a lead-

er in his church’s youth group and has

turned his life around. She asked me to tell

the folks at Rocky Hock and Ivor that this is

how their shoeboxes are making a huge

difference for children around the world.

(Continued on page 3)

Contributed by Laura Anne Goodrich

Operation Christmas Child

Kidz Zone 2

A Baptism — Lena Fritzinger 2

Lunch for Hunters 2

Under Wraps Advent Study 3

A Study of the Prophets 3

Christmas Eve Events Back Cover

Gospel Music Fridays Back Cover

The Harvest Page 2

Contributed by Cheryl West

Kidz Zone continued its mission of

reaching out to the children in our

church.

Our New Year start-

ed in September with

the Book of Genesis

and the story of crea-

tion — Adam and

Eve, and Cain and

Abel. We invited for-

mer Pastor Ann Beale

to join us and present the Story of No-

ah’s Ark. The kids loved her presenta-

tion and are looking forward to her

returning soon. Carey and Shannon

Lee prepared a “Taco Bar” for the

evening and all present thought it was

a nice change from the customary piz-

za fare.

In October Dr. Heather Casey, DVM

joined us to discuss animals and to

help us answer the question, “Will ani-

mals be in heaven?” While everyone

had their own thoughts, we used the

scriptures to sort through the various

possibilities. The general consensus

was that it wouldn’t be heaven with-

out them. Thanks to Kip West for

bringing his choco-

late lab “Manac”

for some “hands on”

time with the kids.

Also in October,

we carved pump-

kins and made door

decorations from

corn donated by a

local farmer. The kids enjoyed a Zita

casserole prepared by Gayle Fritz-

inger and all went back

for seconds (some thirds).

They all left satisfied.

I believe the biggest

change I have seen in

the kids that attend reg-

ularly on Wednesday

night is the ease with which they now

pray openly when they are asked to

share with us. They have matured in

their choice of words and the way

they express their thanks and con-

cerns to God. This is truly a blessing

Kidz Zone Kids Growing in Faith

to us! It is a joy to watch their relation-

ship with God grow!

Thanks to all who assist us in this mis-

sion. If you know a child who would

like to participate or who might bene-

fit from this mission, please let them

know about this program. They can

contact me at 757-635-4836 for

more information. “Manac” is shown lots of love from

the Kidz Zone kids.

In top photo, Skyler Casey poses for a pic

with her pumpkin. Below,

Claire Lee gets help from

Laura Beaver with

carving hers.

Rocky Hock Outreach Ministry sponsored

a “Lunch for Hunters” on opening day

of deer season, November 15th. The

event was a great success, feeding approximately

50 hungry hunters. In addition to a wonderful time for

fellowship, the hot bowl of chili and cornbread hit the

spot on that “chilly” day!!

Hungry hunters are treated to lunch!

“Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons,

thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field,

And take me some venison;”

Genesis 27:3 (KJV)

Through water and the word

you have become

a child of God and are sealed

as Christ’s own forever.

Lena Marie Fritzinger

Page 3 Volume , Issue

Every Sunday is the same routine for

us. Rush to get out the door, rush to

get to church, try to slow ourselves

down to pay attention and get some-

thing out of preaching, rush through

fellowship and then reconvene for

Sunday School. When we get back in

the car to head home, Carey and I ask

the same questions of Claire and Jack.

“What did you learn in Sunday

School?” They always have an answer

but we have a hard time coming to a

place where there is an active discus-

sion about what we have all studied. It

is not long before the movie is turned

back on and we have returned to our

own world. We are no longer engag-

ing in our joint worship discussion.

When I saw the advertisement for

“Under Wraps” I was moved by the

Spirit to bring this to our family. It

would give us an opportunity to study

God’s Word at our level but also

have an active discussion with our

children on the same topic. It would

be the best Christmas gift our family

would receive this holiday season.

There will be two adult classes who

will be completing the Advent study

as well as a combined class of the

children’s department. Our Sunday

School Department will be blessed

by this ministry. If you are interested

in this study, please join one of the

classes.

Contributed by Shannon R. Lee

Operation Christmas Child

The Lord has used the impact of

Operation Christmas Child to estab-

lish a number of new Churches

around the world. Impoverished

children with nothing else to give

are now sharing the Gospel in their

communities. In the past year, more

than a half million children indicated

that they made life-changing com-

mitments to Jesus Christ through Op-

eration Christmas Child Discipleship

Program, a voluntary Bible study

taught by local churches. Testimonies

like these give us a world of rea-

sons to praise God for what He is

doing through Operation Christmas

Child.

Thanks to everyone who filled a

shoebox and/or paid for a shoe-

box. Most of us will never go to a

foreign country to spread the Word

of Jesus, but each of us can make a

contribution by participating in Op-

eration Christmas Child. Please con-

tinue to pray for those who deliver

the shoeboxes and those who re-

ceive them.

(Continued from page 1)

Unwrapping God’s Greatest Gift

This joyful program explores some of God’s unexpected qualities, presented

over the four weeks of Advent, plus an optional fifth week for Christmas:

God Is Expectant — Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:39-45

God Is Dangerous — Nahum 1:3-5; Matthew 2:1-3

God Is Jealous — Deuteronomy 6:13; Luke 10:27

God Is Faithful — Isaiah 49:15-16; Matthew 1:21

A Season of Joy — Psalm 96; Luke 2:8-14

Just as the first wrapped gift beneath the Christmas tree marks the new sea-

son, so the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day signaled that God’s hope and sal-

vation and redemption plan had come into the world. In Jesus, God gift-

wrapped himself in human flesh and was born in a stable so he could come and

live among us and offer us life and salvation that we could never gain on our

own. Under Wraps will include special sermons and worship activities, as well

as study groups and resources for adults, youth, and children. Join us this Ad-

vent as we unwrap God’s greatest gift, our Savior Jesus.

More information on

Ivor UMC has

been studying the

prophets in Sunday

School. The books

of Isaiah, Jeremiah,

and Lamentations

were just complet-

ed. Now it’s on to

the minor prophets. Going deep

into the scriptures is rewarding, and

class discussion always comes back

to relating what’s been studied to

how it relates to today. As we all

know, it’s the Living Word! Come

and join in at 10 AM.

Starting January 16th Southern Gos-

pel music will become a regular hap-

pening at Rocky Hock UMC. Mark your

calendars for the third Friday night of

each month at 7 PM. Plans are under-

way to have a Southern Gospel group

sing a one-hour concert at the church

once each month. This is a new out-

reach for Rocky Hock so tell your

friends, plan to attend. There will be

no charge for admission, but a love

offering will be collected and all pro-

ceeds will go to the group performing.

Watch the church bulletin for further

announcements regarding the specific

groups to be appearing.

Contributed by Charles West

Date: Friday, January 16th

Time: 7 PM

Location: Rocky Hock UMC

The Joys are a gospel trio from Vir-

ginia Beach. With a musical heritage

that began in the early 1960’s, James

and Vicki Addison along with Kim

Johnson continue to minister “with

songs, hymns and spiritual songs

singing...to the Lord.” (Eph.5:10).

The Joys have recorded six projects

with the current group mem-

bers. Revival is their latest release.

For more information, go to

thejoysofva.com.

Rocky Hock UMC

Program at 5 PM

Join in this celebration of the birth of Jesus

Christ. This special event will have a time of

singing Christmas carols, reading scripture,

telling the Christmas story, and the children/

youth will portray the manger scene.

Ivor UMC

Candlelight Service at 9 PM Let’s celebrate together the birth of our Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ!

The Harvest Volume , Issue

A Christmas Program

Sunday, December 21st

7 PM at

Rocky Hock UMC

Come and share in a

time of celebration of the season.

A reception will follow and

a nursery will be provided.