December 2015

Calling All Cookie Bakers!

St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church will have four Christmas Eve Candlelight services, includ-ing its third annual Christmas Eve under the Stars in Bluffton. The schedule for December 24 includes:

4:30 p.m. - Family Service with harp and ensemble at 20 Pope Avenue on Hilton Head Island

6:30 p.m. - Christmas Eve under the Stars, a casual outdoor service under a tent at Buckwalter Place, across from CareCore in Bluffton. The service includes Christmas music and carols with the worship band, children’s time, hot chocolate and cookies, a bon fire, and the telling of the Christmas story.

7:00 p.m. - Traditional Service including Communion with harp at Pope Avenue

9:30 p.m. - Traditional Service with Chancel Choir at 20 Pope Avenue

Sunday, Dec. 27: One service at 10:00am at Pope Avenue, and the regular 10:30am worship service in Bluffton in the Hargray Building at USCB on Hwy. 278.

Last year at our Christmas Eve Under the Stars in Bluffton, even in the

rain we had approximately 250 worship with almost 500 the year before.

Most of the families are people we don’t know, but who want an approach-

able place to worship Christ on Christmas Eve. As a part of our hospitality

ministry that night, we serve snacks that allow people to talk and enjoy a

sense of community. We need at least 40 dozen chocolate chip cookies

with NO nuts. If you can bake, email mkaelinhhiumc@gmail.com or call

the office. They can be frozen, so we will accept them anytime!

Thursdays Dec. 3, 10 and 17: Women’s Advent Study—The Women of Christmas 11am—12 noon in The Wesley Room Dec. 5: 10am Bluffton Parade Dec. 6: Teddy Bear Sunday at both Campuses Dec. 8: 10:00am Women’s Fellowship Friends 6:00pm Stephen Minister’s Christmas Gathering Dec. 9: Office Volunteer Luncheon 12:30 Dec. 12: Christmas Grace Shop at Coastal Carolina Hospital Dec. 13: —Children’s Pageant at USCB at 10:30am and 5:30 pm with Holiday Dessert at Pope Ave —Blessing of the Crèches at our Bluffton campus (Take yours to be blessed) Dec. 20: All-church caroling at Shelter Cove “Dove Street Festival of Lights” 6:00pm Please check our website calendar for other activities at: SaintAndrewByTheSea.com

Cares & Concerns

Fisherman Next Deadline

The Deadline for the next Fisherman is Thursday, December 30th.

Please submit your articles and photos to: standrewbytheseanews@gmail.com.

Year-End Giving

Continuing Calendar EVERY SUNDAY 9:00 Worship at Pope Avenue (note Dec 27 10:00 only) 10:00 Coffee and Fellowship 10:00 Women’s Ensemble - Music Room 10:05 Men’s Ensemble Rehearsal -Sanctuary 10:15 Sunday Studies for all ages at Pope AVe 10:30 Bluffton Worship - USCB 11:15 Worship at Pope Avenue (note Dec 27 at 10:00 only) 6:00 High School Youth at Pope EVERY MONDAY—SATURDAY 7:30am AA in C111 EVERY MONDAY 5:00 Couples Small Group - C111 EVERY TUESDAY 7:00 AA in B105 7:00 Boy Scouts (Check for location) EVERY WEDNESDAY 12:15 Healing & Wholeness 2:30 Adult Handbells - Sanctuary 6:30 Small Group - Bluffton Min Ctr 7:00 Chancel Choir EVERY THURSDAY 8:00 Men’s Devotional Group - C111 12:00 Lunch with Rev Dan & Matt @ Zeppelins 6:00 Middle & HS Youth at Bluffton Min. Ctr EVERY FRIDAY 12 Noon Soup Kitchen

See the Website for special holiday schedules and other activities:

www.SaintAndrewByTheSea.com

Halloween Fun

Our church offices will be closed this year from Christmas until Monday, January 4. Please keep this in mind as you make your year-end gifts. Any gift given in the offering plates through Sunday, December 27 or postmarked by Decem-ber 31 will be accounted for as a 2015 gift. (The IRS does not allow gifts in the offering on January 3 to be posted for 2015.) Please note on your check if any year-end gifts are to be considered as a pre-pay against your 2016 pledge or giving. These pre-paid gifts are always a great advantage to the church as we have large insurance premiums due each year in January. Another way to give is on-line through InFellowship which will securely accept your credit card, debit card or you can generate an e-check. As always, please mark your check or envelope with the words PLEDGE if the gift is to be attributed toward your estimate of giving. Questions about stock gifts should be directed to Nadine in the church office at 843-785-4711.

It was a great turn out at both Halloween celebrations! Kids and adults enjoyed snacks, games and fellowship. Thanks to all the adults who provided their Trunks and their Treats!

Delicious Texas Manor Fruit Cake Rings in gift tins are being sold in December by the Joy Class for Christmas to help meet their Capital Campaign Pledge. These cakes are filled with red cherries, chunks of pineapple, pecans and golden raisins— all baked in a delicious rich batter. The ring is 1 lb. 12 oz. and can make up to 20 slices for the price of $25.50. Contact Kathy Wilcox to place your order at 843 363-6643.

Fruit Cake Rings for Sale

Deepest Sympathy: Paula Renaker upon the death of her father George Wells and to Maggie Molony upon death of her husband Paul Molony on November 18. Our ill or convalescing: Fred Rappaport, Betty Luntey, Barbara Dill, Mary Rothert, Lin Frosh, Tex Uhlhorn, Lynda Castle

Christmas Grace, our shop to provide those in need with the opportunity to select gifts that best fit their family, will be on December 12. We are holding it in space provided Coastal Carolina Hospital, as many we are serving are participants in our BackPack Buddies program in Hardeeville. Volunteers are still needed from 9:30-noon or from 12:30 to 4:00. To volunteer contact Donna Evans at 304-646-9230. Gift wrapping paper is also needed. Please bring a roll or two on December 6 to worship at either campus, marked for Christmas Grace.

Please come to our pageant!

Sunday, December 13 10:30 am @ Bluffton (USCB)

5:30 pm @ Pope Avenue This year, we are excited to have our children from both

campuses be part of the pageant and present it at both locations! The pageant will be part of our worship time at USCB on the morning of December 13, and will be followed by our Holiday Dessert (thanks to the women of our Fellowship Friends) at Pope Avenue in the early evening of December 13.

Our children are eager to put you in the spirit of the season as they tell everyone the timeless

story of the birth of our Lord through word and song. Please save the date now and plan to be part of this Advent tradition!

The Women of Christmas

Dates: December 3, 10, 17 Time 11:00-noon Location: C111 (Pope Avenue Campus) Leaders: Kathy Stricker & Connie Borgianini A sacred season is about to unfold for three women whose hearts belong to

God. Elizabeth is barren, yet her trust in God remains fertile. Mary is betrothed in marriage, yet she is willing to bear God’s Son. Anna is a widow full of years, yet she waits patiently, prayerfully for the Messiah to appear in the temple courts. Following in their footsteps, you too can prepare for the Savior to enter your heart, your mind, and your life in a new way this season.

Please join us for this casual women’s Advent book discussion - and for a cup of Christmas tea! Just call or email Connie (conniebhhiumc@gmail.com) to sign-up. A limited number of books are available ($10). Books are also available to download on your Kindle or Nook. Participants are asked to read Chapters 1-3 prior to the first session.

Coming in January . . .

Please join us on Tuesday evenings for a four-week study of the Book of Revelation lead by our Senior Pastor, Neil Yongue, beginning on January 12.

Fellowship Dinner begins @ 5:30 Study begins @ 6:15

Check website and January Fisherman for more details.

Upcoming Studies

To the members of St. Andrew-By-The-Sea,

My family cannot express how deeply we are touched by this lovely quilt and the love poured into it for our Olivia.

The quilt arrived the very day we had to fit Olivia with a brace for her hip and were all feeling a little worried. Her lung is doing well and we will face surgery in December. She is so sweet and brings us so much happiness. All prayers have held us up and we are so touched by all of you and espe-cially Tony and Ginger. We thank God for you and His blessings.

In Christ,

Jane and Bob Taylor

NOTES FROM TIM Tim Reynolds, Director of Music

Happy New Year! With the beginning of Advent on November 29 we began a brand new Church/liturgical year. In A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press we learn that the church year is made up of Six distinct periods of Christian observances. Each focuses upon a different

aspect of the Christian experience and tradition. These periods or seasons do not necessarily occur on the same dates from year to year, but are related to the dates of the two principal Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter. (1) Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas. (2) The Christmas Season includes the twelve days from sunset Christmas Eve (December 24) through Epiphany (January 6). (3) The Season After Epiphany begins January 7 and lasts until Ash Wednesday. (4) Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter. The exact dates of Lent depend on the date for Easter Sunday. (5) Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21. Because the date for Easter moves between March 22 and April 25, the length of the Season After Epiphany and the Season After Pentecost varies. The Easter Season is fifty days long and goes through the Day of Pentecost. (6) The Season After Pentecost begins immediately after Pentecost Sunday and continues until the beginning of Advent. So…Happy New Year! As we celebrate Advent here at the Pope Avenue campus we will have a variety of musical guests and activities. Here’s a quick summary:

On Advent I, November 29, we were joined by harpist Phyllis Mauney. On Advent II, December 6, our Adult Handbell Choir will provide a powerful Prelude to start our services and we will be joined by our string quartet as well. We’ll also celebrate Teddy Bear Sunday. On Advent III, December 13, we will add poinsettias to our already festively decorated

sanctuary. On Advent IV, December 20, we will once again be joined by strings as the Chancel Choir

sings at both services for this final Sunday in Advent. On December 24 we have 3 Christmas Eve Services at the Pope Avenue campus and one service under-the-stars in Buffton. Check elsewhere in this edition of The Fisherman for all the service times and details.

On December 27 at the Pope Avenue campus we will have one 10:00 Service of Lessons and Carols.

AND – don’t forget the All-church Christmas Caroling at the Dove Street Festival of Lights at Shelter Cove Towne Centre at 6:00pm. Come and join in the festive music-making and help a great cause.

See you in church! Tim

Alternative Gifts

Bluffton (and beyond!) Advent Events

December 5th - Bluffton Christmas Parade (Parade starts at 10:00a.m.) On Saturday, December 5th, St. Andrew members and friends we will be walking in the Bluffton Christmas Parade. As we did last year, we are looking for adults, youth and children who would like to participate on our float and hand out candy. Meet at the Sugaree at the corner of Burnt Church and Bruin Road at 8:30am.

December 6th - Teddy Bear Sunday This special St. Andrew tradition continues at all worship services (both campuses) on the second Sunday of Advent. Bring a new teddy bear with you to worship to take to the altar during the last hymn. We’ll gather all furry creatures and distribute them to caring organizations in our community. Many of the bears will also be part of our Christmas Grace on December 12 – given to young children of the families that are a part of this caring ministry.

December 6th - New Sermon Series: A Better Than Perfect Christmas When A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired 50-years ago, we all could relate to Charlie and the gang seeking the real meaning of Christmas, even with a less than perfect Christmas tree. Come for this 3-week series as we look at what it means to be in a world preoccupied with the pursuit of perfection and come for joyous Christmas music.

December 13th - Children’s Pageant at USCB 10:30 service and ... Blessing of the Crèches

Bring your Crèche to church, and Pastor Daniel will bless it for you. December 24th at 6:30pm - Christmas Eve Service under the Stars at Buckwalter Place

When you don’t know what to give, consider giving a donation to one of St. Andrew’s funds. Your donation will be a gift that keeps on giving. Whether it’s Christmas, an anniversary, a memorial or other special situation, simply write your check payable to St. Andrew, note one of the funds in the Alternative Gift Brochure, and we can provide a lovely gift card that we can mail for you, or give to you to send. Information is avail-able at both campus locations.

If you were not here to get your Advent devotional booklet on the first Sunday of Advent, we still have copies available. You can pick up your booklet after worship. These daily meditations will help us all step back from the bustle and stress of the season and prepare our hearts and minds to rejoice in God's loving gift, Jesus Christ. Each devotion includes a recommended Scripture reading, a Bible verse, an inspiring message, and an uplifting prayer. If you would like to go green, the devotionals are also available electronically. You can download them onto your Nook, Kindle, or Tablet via: - www.barnesandnoble.com, - www.amazon.com

Advent Calendar of Devotions

From the Church Council

New Bluffton Church Campus Transformation Underway

As those of you who were at the recent Town Halls heard, we face some challenges with our oper-ating budget in the next few years which the Church Council has been addressing. These kinds of issues, while somewhat difficult, also provide the impetus to re-evaluate our ministry goals, priorities and effectiveness. Every area of the church is being looked at. For instance, the trustees have opted to cancel our contract with a security company for night door checks, and will be asking all those who use the facility to be extra diligent in assuring doors are locked as you depart. This will result in a savings of thousands of dollars. Another example is that we have reduced our advertising in the phone book as more and more people use the internet and social media to locate a church. The Staff Parish Committee made a decision at this time to maintain all pastoral and staff wages at the 2015 level for 2016, and the Recreation Outreach Committee has been working on ways to increase revenue and decrease the expenses for Upward. As part of the review, we have also taken a hard look at the Counseling Center. We can be very proud of the impact of our Counseling Center since the 1990s, and we have been fortunate to have had excellent counselors beginning with Amelia Smoot, then Ginny Clay, Angie Elliott and now Terry Karmel. We have considered the number of clients served in comparison to our output for salary, benefits and insurance. For this reason, the Church Council – working in conjunction with the Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee and Finance Committee - has voted to close the Counseling Cen-ter at the end of the year, resulting in a considerable savings for the church budget. A portion of counseling restricted funds will be used toward the year-end expenses of the center, and the remain-ing restricted counseling funds will be retained to provide financial aid for counseling to individuals and families who are referred by the pastoral staff. Current clients will be given appropriate referrals as well. Because our church still recognizes that there are many individuals who need counseling services but are unable to afford these services, exploration into the possibility of establishing an ecumenical sub-agency of an established community-based ministry to provide counseling services for residents of the Hilton Head community has begun. These changes and others being implemented have come with much prayer and deliberation, but also with the sense that God is leading us and will guide us as we seek to use our resources for the greatest impact for His kingdom. Please feel free to contact one of us should you have any questions or thoughts. -Keith Dodson, Church Council Chairman, Ann Brown, Steward of Personnel, Sherry Conrad, Counseling Center Steering Committee, Stuart Wilbourne, Chairman of Finance

In the November edition of The Fisherman, you read that we have identified a new location in Bluffton that would allow us to move from rented worship space on Sundays at USCB west of Sun City. Jeff Jones told us that our new Bluffton church campus would soon be housed in a former bar, concluding that “God can take anything and make it good again”! Here are a few benefits of relocating in early 2016 to the new site at 39 Persimmon Street in Bluffton: -It will provide us with a 7-days-a-week location for worship, meetings, youth programs and church events -It will give us maximum flexibility of worship space for more than 100 people with minimal set-up and tear-down requirements -It is located much closer to our Buckwalter Parkway property, site of the future “permanent” home for the Bluffton campus of SABTS, so is more convenient to and accessible from nearby neighborhoods -It will provide cost savings over time until we are ready to occupy our Buckwalter campus facilities -Ample parking will be close to the worship site on Sunday mornings

A more complete description of the renovations and other advantages of the Persimmon Street location will be covered in the January Fisherman. Join us in celebrating this new development as God’s plan is revealed for our future.

37th Annual Fall Festival - An Amazing Event! As we reflect and begin to unwind, we continue to be amazed at the efforts of this Fall Festival community. Together you moved and sorted piles of donations gathered from pods and other storage to transform empty classrooms and outside spaces into attractively arranged booths filled with beautifully presented buying opportunities on Saturday morning. And buy they did! Shoppers not only had a great time shopping but eating, listening to music and enjoying the festive atmosphere. One shopper told me she had come back three times! You offered service with a smile that

was genuine. At this time, with some amounts to still be added, our gross income should exceed $43,000. We are thrilled with the outcome and grateful that the Fall Festival is able to continue making a significant contribution to the mission ef-forts of St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church. We sincerely thank you (members, friends, regular visitors, pa-trons) for your help in making this year’s Fall Festival such a great success! Your generous outpouring of donations, hard work, mone-tary gifts, prayers and words of encouragement were overwhelmingly positive and greatly appreciated. Through the festival community's

efforts we can be assured that God's work will continue through our mission programs.

Blessings to you, our church family,

Todi and Beth Velkoff, Fall Festival Co-chairmen, 2015

Fifty hours of classroom instruction and practice; many more hours of reading and preparation for class; that’s what congregation members look forward to when they sign up to become Stephen Ministers. Stephen Leaders also commit to 50 hours of classroom time and many more hours of preparation when they start a new Stephen Ministry class. The many hours of class and prepara-tion, over the course of a 5-month period, are designed to teach class members how to provide meaningful Christian care to those facing difficulty. Potential Stephen Ministers study a variety of

topics, such as building trust with Care Receivers and helping them express their true feelings, listening with-out judging, maintaining boundaries between the Caregiver and Care Receiver, and how to comfortably pro-vide spiritual care. They also study specific situations, like dealing with grief, serious illness, loneliness, and even death. But since Stephen Ministers are not counselors, we learn to recognize when situations are be-yond the scope of our training, and how to get help. Through highly interactive lectures and extensive role-playing, the program instills principles that equip the student to provide Christ-centered emotional and spiritual care. Among the most important skills emphasized in the classes is active listening, very difficult to put into practice, but critical to effective care-giving. Active, compassionate listening is a primary benefit to Care Re-ceivers; Stephen Ministers are trained to listen without judging or offering advice, even if we have experienced similar difficulties as the Care Receiver. Only through listening can a Stephen Minister learn and truly under-stand a Care Receiver’s situation and help him or her express feelings comfortably. Throughout the 50 hours of training, emphasis is placed on the essential nature of strict confidentiality. Stephen Ministry works be-cause confidentiality is treated with utmost seriousness, without which few people would accept a Stephen Minister. Through lectures and practice, students learn rules of confidentiality and how to apply them. Addi-tionally, trainees learn to accept the fact that, while the Stephen Minister is the care giver, God is the cure giver. With this key understanding, we learn that we do not (and can not) fix whatever issue the Care Receiv-er faces. The goal of the caring relationship is to help the Care Receiver to discover his or her own solution, even though it may seem apparent to the Stephen Minister. This realization clearly establishes the role of the Stephen Minister in a caring relationship, but it runs counter to our strong results-oriented nature. At St. An-drew By-The-Sea, a new class of Stephen Ministers is taught about every two years in the Celebration Cen-ter, typically over the course of 20 weekly sessions, plus a weekend retreat at Epworth By The Sea Methodist Conference Center. Candidates must complete the training before they are eligible to be assigned their first Care Receiver. After successfully completing the intensive, highly interactive course, many of us firmly be-lieve that our time together has been the best 50 hours of training we’ve ever undertaken and that it has been a very real life-changing experience. For more information regarding Your Stephen Ministry, please contact: Scottie Lindsay - (843) 363-2213 or David Peterson - (843) 682-3639

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Hilton Head, SC Permit No. 46

Address Service Requested

20 Pope Avenue Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 785-4711 Fax: (843) 785-5716 standrewbythesea@gmail.com www.hhiumc.com

Rev. Neil M. Yongue Jr. Rev. Daniel Burbage Rev. Jim Morrison

Please Welcome Our New Members

Above - New Members attending on Hilton Head: (left to right) Bob and Nancy Ruhl, Chloe Webber, Walt and Bobbi Gasser and Linda Dawson. Below - New Members joining in Bluffton: The Tiller Family (Josh and Melissa with daughters Sarah and Kate who was baptized), Carol Jackson and The Fox Family (Charles, Meghan and baby Tripp who was also baptized).