Do you want to experience new

life this holiday season?

– perhaps a refreshing spring for a

parched and anxious soul?

Do you want to make room for Christ to be

born anew in your life?

Come back, join us in the journey to new life.

We don’t always get it right.

We’re a forge�ul people, we forget

whose we are.

So we come together every seven days,

that’s about the �me it takes to forget,

to wander.

Every Sunday we gather, and we bring

our story, our desert existence, our

places of dryness, to join with the

story of the faithful throughout �me....

and we let their survival of desert

wanderings inform our own.

We experience, in community, the manna,

the reliable sustenance we have access to

when we’re together.

There will be difficult stories of desola�on,

when people felt exiled from themselves,

when the word of life was lost,

and living water was scare,

when the prophets called the faithful

to return to the places of oasis.

We will hear the stories of Christ being born

into such a world,

how God chose to be incarnated, to put on flesh,

to shed the power of divinity,

and be suscep�ble to the arid landscapes of

existence– to live our lives and die our deaths–

to make sure we knew the love of flesh God has.

To remind ourselves of the goodness of crea�on,

and humanity, as part of that crea�on,

and our role as creators of jus�ce.

If we imagine ourselves as a nomadic people

traveling together to visit the Christ child born

anew into this world, we will know the saving

grace of a power beyond us, among us, and

within us.

We are sandblasted yet comforted.

There is thunder in the desert,

but also angel serenades

amidst the storm,

and we bloom – all in the desert.

We will create pa�erns of beauty

with the grains of wisdom, then be blown out

into the world and to make a difference.

Wise ones s�ll follow the star across the sands;

join us on the journey,

Shalom,

Pastor Kelly

(see page 3 for more Advent informa�on)

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DecemberDecember 2015 [ on2015 [ on --Line edition ]Line edition ]

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Edie B_ at East Village, Eleanor G_ at Wingate Hampden, Marilyn B_ at LifeCare, Wilbraham, Dottie B_ (Joan M_ ’s mom) at Birch Manor in Chicopee, Shirley P_ at Wingate E.L. and Arnold C_ at Emeritus in E.L., Joan K_ in CT Rehab.

Special health concerns: Ken E_ (Denise’s dad), Barbara K_ (Carol J_ ’s mom), Helen L_ , Grace M_ , Phyllis R_ . Baby Sammy D, Jeff J_ —cardiac care Diane F_ undergoing chemo

SOUP’S ON Thanks to all who've par�cipated in the soup and bread markets during the past few months. Together we raised $332 to support ongoing church missions. The next

marketplace will be held a�er the service on Sunday, December 6th. See you then!

THANKS FOR THE COOKIES Recently the United Methodist Women of ELUMC put together

special packages of cookies and other treats for our young students away at college. These are some thank you notes that were received.

United Methodist Women,

I would like to give you a huge thank you for the care package! Everything was so yummy and appreciated! Thank you all for thinking of me.

Lauren Dunlop

Dear UMW,

Thank you so much for the package of candy and cookies. The cookies were delicious and put a smile on my face. Thank you for thinking of me, I’m so grateful. I hope everyone is doing well, I wish you all the best!

Thank You, Rachel Jones

Dear Needlers and Menders (i.e. Theda),

Thank you for your commitment to Mission Shares and willing-

ness to mend clothing for a dona�on to the church's mission fund. I love that I belong to a congrega�on where when I need a Jedi Knight robe altered once for me and then again for whomever the actor is for the Advent skit, Theda says "no problem." I appreciate your dedica�on to making sure I'm holy but not full of holes. Pastor Kelly

MISSION SHARES FUNDS Blank greeting cards are on sale as a fund-raiser for our Mission Shares Funds. The cards are $3.00 each and are on display in the Social Hall.

The cards display original photos taken by Theda Cornbower.

MLK Breakfast January 16, 2016

9:00 a.m. Sheraton, Springfield

Tickets $35 Contact the church office for more informa�on

Congrats to Vance Gagnon who received the Special Mission Recogni�on Pin awarded by the United Methodist Women at the No-vember 22 service. Thanks to all his mission work at the Mission Share Marketplace (and cake baking), the Pioneer Valley Free Health Service, the Loaves and Fishes meal prepara�on, and Gardeners for God.

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A����� S�������� P��������

G����� �� W����� A community sand mandala will be created slowly, deliberately, medita�vely in the chapel throughout Advent.

The mandala, which means “circle,” is an ancient symbol represen�ng the universe. Sand mandalas which are part of the Tibetan culture, are not only lovely and colorful pieces of art; they are also meaningful offerings that ponder and celebrate the beauty of existence. They remind us that the winds of change are always present, that nothing is set in stone. Once finished, we’ll swirl it away and capture the grains in prayer jars.

A����� O���� An oasis of breathing room and refreshment in the desert landscape of busy-ness this season Thursday mornings 7:30 - 8 Panera with Zentangle Thurs. a�ernoons 4-5 in the chapel, with sand mandala or Zentangle.

What is Zentangle? It’s an easy-to-learn, contempla�ve, and fun way to create beau�ful

images by drawing structured pa�erns. Even though it has a specified series of steps, it results in a crea�ve expression that transcends its own rules. It’s intui�ve, relaxing, whimsical, �meless, portable, and a ceremonial medita�on art with quality materials.

It is an empowering and upli�ing experience to learn that you can deliberately relax and inten�onally direct your a�en�on while crea�ng beau�ful works of art . Supplies provided.

D����� ����� ��� If you’ve visited a desert, real or metaphorical, and are willing to share the stories of your travels, please let the pastor know.

C�������’� ����� �� ��� ������ We’re doing more than teaching our children the story of Jesus’ birth, we want to give them a curious apprecia�on of the beauty in crea�on

and a mys�cal experience of the vibrancy of the desert. Each week, we’ll follow Armadillo Ray’s enchan�ng experiences with various desert animals as they try to understand the moon.

The Biblical people find themselves in deserts quite o�en–be it literal ones like Sinai, where the people of faith wandered for forty years asking, what will be-come of us? Or the more metaphoric ones, like the �me Ja-

cob used a rock for a pillow and dreamed of visi�ng angels, or those �mes of exile when their temple home was destroyed, or the wilderness Jesus was driven and ministered to in. But we, also, have had our desert experiences.

Can the holidays with its cheer and fes�vi�es be its own kind of desert? Do the trappings of the season sa�sfy or is there a need to clear away the clu�er and excess and seek a more barren landscape? Is there wisdom and refreshment to be found in a more arid place?

This Advent, we hear from the ancient tradi�on of the Desert Monas�cs speaking to our life today. The Desert Fathers and Mothers, who lived in the Egyp�an wastelands in the 4 & 5th centuries, have come to be seen as the Olympians of the spiritual life. They are a powerful source of Chris�an wis-dom and the companion to our own Advent spiritu-al journey.

November 29 – 1st Sunday of Advent – Sandblas�ng

December 6 – 2nd Sunday of Advent – Comfort

December 13 – “The Memory of Angels” Cantata with special guest musicians from UMASS

December 20 – 4th Sunday of Advent – the Desert Blooms

December 24 at 7 p.m. service – Candlelight crèche among the cacti with first person narratives from those in the story and special guest musicians Star and Moon.

December 27 – Thunder in the desert

This series coincides with a major theatrical release of a story that has cap�vated genera�ons. From a galaxy far away and the arid land-scape of Tatouine, comes

the story of a force that connects all and empowers us to re-sist evil.. It tells of a love that has the power to call forth a re-sponse of the same kind. Coincidence? Probably not. Morn-ing field trip to see Star Wars: the force awakens, December 19th @Enfield. Leaves church at 8:30ish. Order �ckets online for 9:30 a.m. show and/or contact office by Dec 7 to a�end.

Seasons Seasons Seasons GreetingsGreetingsGreetings

from the Desertfrom the Desertfrom the Desert

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C RAFTY A PPL E F AIR

KNITTING N IGHT

Kelly Greene, Julie Dunlop, Emily Dunlop & Pastor Kelly (taking the photo) watch Theda Cornbower and Ruth Owen as they teach how to cast on stitches during the November 4th Knitting Night. The group came together to create prayer squares for those who can’t be with us in worship this Christmas.

The Cra�y Apple Fair was held on Saturday, November 14. It was a cold and windy day but the fair was well a�ended and everyone had a great �me. A special thanks to Sco� Grabowski and to all the volunteers who made this event a great success.

Kelly Greene and Louise House selling baked goods (photo by Bev Kalloch)

Some of the items featured at the fair were beau�ful quilted items from Clara

Lee's Quilts and sea glass and beach rocks that become symbols of peace and balance in the hands of Tidal Gems creator Maureen Wilson.

A N A TMO SPH ERE FO R WO RSHIP

At the Worship Planning Retreat, par�cipants each described the kind of worship they hoped to create: transforming, hope bringing, memorable, layered, invi�ng, radical, drama�c, not ordinary, genera-�onal, solid, challenging. And the results of such worship would be things like faithfulness, reach, inspira�on, comfort. Why else would so many (those on the worship team, those beyond the team, and those non-members and family members who get roped into helping) put in so much �me and effort to create a beau�ful and meaning atmosphere for worship? Thanks to all who helped create the desert scene. Those who loaned us sheets to re-create desert sands can retrieve your sheets a�er Epiphany!

Photo by Bev Kalloch

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“T�� M����� �� A�����” a spiritual composi�on journey.

Each year for the past four when I have sat down to write a Christ-mas cantata, I have found it to be

a reflec�on of my spiritual health journey. Each year pre-sents different challenges. Wan�ng to branch out, I includ-ed new instruments – oboe and clarinet – and was thrilled when two old friends agreed to play for me: Kirsten Likp-kens on oboe and Lynn Sussman on clarinet. Kir I met when teaching at WNEU, and Lynn was on the faculty of UMass when I was a grad student there.

I wanted to write a work that would be musically inter-es�ng and expressive, but also more accessible for the choir. My pal Ted Levine shared with me that he had an-other friend who composed extensively for church choirs whose technique was to write straigh�orward, accessible music that the choir could learn and perform easily, as-signing more complex music to solo singers and instru-mentalists. If you ask the choir, I think they will tell you that I have succeeded in this regard this year!

I had in the back of my head Carole King’s Fantasy album, which is a series of urban and suburban portraits framed by the Fantasy intro and coda: “I can step outside myself/and speak as if I were someone else/that’s one way I know you’ll understand; in fantasy I can be/black or white, a woman or a man.” The �tle movement began as a phrase inspired by Paul Simon’s “The Cool, Cool River” from his Rhythm of the Saints album: “these prayers are the con-stant road across the wilderness/these prayers are, these prayers are the memory of God, the memory of God…” As I looked again at the story of the Na�vity, it struck me how frequently the angels played a part. And so, “The Memory of Angels” was born.

One movement is worth touching on… Much later in Sep-tember, Pastor Kelly told me the theme for Advent was to be “Gree�ngs from the Desert.” What a rich and fasci-na�ng theme! As always, Spirit was at work and there was one movement le� to write, the story of Joseph. This be-came Desert Dreamer.

Rather than diving too deeply into the individual move-ments here, I plan to write program notes for the cantata when we present it in worship at 10 am on Sunday, De-cember 13, and I encourage you to join us for this ever-evolving holiday “tradi�on!” I will lead from the keyboard what promises to be an exci�ng and moving contempo-rary interpreta�on of the miracle of the birth of Jesus, the most wondrous sign ever of God’s great love for us.

Peace, J T

M��� ��� C������ A������! Let me introduce you to our wonderful professional guest ar�sts for this year’s cantata, “The Memory of Angels.”

Oboist Kirsten Hadden Lipkens lives in Hampden Ma. She freelances throughout New England, and has per-formed with orchestras from Virginia to Vermont, and teaches oboe at Smith College and Mount Holyoke Col-lege.

Clarine�st Lynn Sussman has been a member of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for over twenty-eight years. She has also performed with other orchestras, including the New Hampshire Symphony and the Albany Symphony. She teaches at Smith College, Amherst Col-lege, Deerfield Academy, and has taught in Australia.

Violist Susan Kirchhausen is a graduate of Florida State and the University of Massachuse�s at Amherst. A pri-vate music teacher in Central Massachuse�s since 1996, Susan has extensive experience coaching chamber mu-sic and conduc�ng adult and youth orchestras, and maintains an ac�ve performance schedule as a free-lance violist throughout New England.

Lynn Lovell is founder and President of WNEDBS (Western New England Double Bass Society). Lynn plays with the Pioneer Valley and Holyoke Civic Symphonies, City Stage and community theatres, and the swing band Gypsy Wranglers. Lynn teaches at Northampton Com-munity Music Center, Greenfield Community College, and the Amherst and Longmeadow High Schools.

Drummer Billy Arnold had extensive experience playing for the Motown record label with Junior Walker and the All Stars and other rhythm and blues groups. Currently he is the percussionist for the Young At Heart Chorus, and teaches at Springfield College, Holyoke Community College, Amherst College and the Community Music School of Springfield.

Soprano Lydia Barre� is a junior Vocal Performance ma-jor at the University of Massachuse�s-Amherst. She performs o�en in solo and opera concerts, as well as with the UMass Chamber Choir. Lydia plans to pursue a graduate degree in Voice and Opera Studies.

Bass-Baritone Xander Teplansky is Junior Vocal Perfor-mance Major at the University of Massachuse�s - Am-herst. He studies with Jamie-Rose Guarrine, and is heav-ily involved with music including The UMass Chamber Choir, The Hexachords, and various Opera endeavors as well as his solo work. Xander plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance.

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ATTENTION ALL PARENTS! Need some down time? Have some shopping to do? Lunch and a movie? It’s your day...spend it how you like! The UMY (with adult supervision) is offering childcare for infants thru 5th grade for our annual childcare day on:

December 5th from 9am-2pm Lunch, crafts, entertainment, and fun will be provided!!

To register your child contact: Rick at rickhutch@mac.com or call him at 531-6933

Christmas Cantata "The Memory of Angels"

by JT Cavicchia

in worship

Sunday, Dec. 13 10:00 a.m.

Bring your friends and family for this exci�ng

Advent musical event!

H�� T� W�� A� A������� Debate annoying family members like a pro this holiday season

(excerpt from an article in Vanderbilt Magazine)

❶ START ON COMMON GROUND Figure out where you and your opponent both stand on the topic. At some point along the way, there’s an assump�on that one of you has but the other doesn’t. That should be the focal pint of your debate - where the divergence occurs.

❷ ASK QUESTIONS AND LISTEN Once you’ve decided to engage, it’s important to get your opponent to clarify his posi�on. You should ask ques�ons and then paraphrase back what you’re hearing. He might not be able to ar�culate his posi�on as well as he thinks he can, and you could chalk up a small victory in the process.

❸PICK YOUR BATTLES Not every argument is important. O�en a debate will consist of mul�ple smaller arguments, some of which you can con-cede. You don’t have to win every point in order to win the debate.

❹ REMAIN CIVIL Avoid statements or behaviors that increase the level of defensiveness in your opponent, and also try to control your own level of defensiveness.

❺ ACCEPT LIMITS Most people don’t change dras�cally because of a single conversa�on or a single debate. You may wish that your crazy uncle would see the world your way, but it’s probably not going to happen. And if it does happen, it’s going to hap-pen in small steps.

Text by Seth Robertson Illustration by Nate Williams

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UMC Giving Tuesday is Dec. 1

UMC #GivingTuesday is Dec. 1, and United Methodists will once again come together to support the work of Advance projects and missionaries. Every gi� made online through The Advance on Dec. 1, 2015 will be matched up to $1 million. The missionary who receives the highest amount of online dona�ons on UMC #GivingTuesday will be able to direct $10,000 to an Ad-vance project of his/her choice! For a complete list of projects you or your team can support, visit The Advance at www.umcmission.org/give or download resources.

ELUMC has a special rela�onship with Gayle Lesure’s Open Hearts Ministry in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Her organiza�on is both a rural and urban ministry, especial-ly for single women with children. If you would like to support Gayle’s Open Hearts Ministry you can make an online dona�on to Gayle Lesure #982965.

As we enter the season of giving, we pause to re-

flect on the true meaning of the holiday season and how we can provide service to others. Whether purchasing dona�on items or shopping for loved ones, making pur-chases through UMCmarket creates a contribu�on to your ministry. It's a great way to give twice, at no addi-�onal cost to you. UMCmarket offers many savings opportuni�es for you while genera�ng dona�ons for your ministry. May we con�nue to give thanks for the indescribable gi� we have been given.

M��� O�� M��������� Jonathan McCurley (submi�ed by Lois Harris)

Jonathan is the Community Life Coordinator for the Asian Rural Institute in northern Japan.

The ins�tute is rooted in the love for Jesus Christ, and seeks to build

an environmentally healthy, just, and peaceful ecumeni-cal ministry in which all persons can live to their fullest poten�al. It emphasizes sustainable agriculture, sound ecological prac�ces, leadership development and com-munity development. The Ins�tute and Global Ministries are strong mission partners and the rela�onship has in-tensified in the a�ermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that adversely affected the region. Jonathan is a na�ve of Florida, and is a candidate for elder’s orders in the Florida Annual Conference. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and interna-�onal studies from Emory University in Atlanta, GA and a Master of Divinity degree from Garre� Evangelical Theo-logical Seminary in Evanston, IL. He plays piano and sings, and is fluent in English, Japanese, and French. He says “The greatest confirma�on of my call to mission has been as I have learned about my spiritual gi�s. My love of language has led me to study and live interna�on-ally and has inspired me to con�nue to learn so I can communicate the Good News with more people.”

D � �� � � � � U M Y M � � �� �� D � �� �

12/5- Youth Daycare

12/6- No UMY

12/13- UMY 6-8 PM

12/20- A�er church,

Christmas Luncheon

12/27- No UMY

SAFE SANCTUARY

T��� ������ �� ��������� �� ���������

� ���� ����� ��� ��� ��������.

Address Service Requested

East Longmeadow United Methodist Church 215 Somers Road, STE 2

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-2998 413-525-7416 • a reconciling congrega�on

www.elumc.org

THE SUNDAY EXPERIENCE

8:30 a.m. – Bible Study for Jr./Sr. High & Adults 10:00 a.m. – Worship & Kid Zone (pre-schoolers through Grade 5) Professional child care is provided for “Cribs & Creepers”/“Toddlers & Twos.” 11:15 a.m. – Fellowship Time

The Methodist Messenger is a journal of the ministry of The East Longmeadow United Methodist Church. Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.

The deadline for ordering Christmas poinsettias is:

Sunday, December 6, 2015 Please make checks payable to: “ELUMC” and write “Christmas Flowers” in the memo section. (Payment by check would be appreciated.) You may place your order in the offering plate, leave it in the church office, or mail it to the office prior to the deadline. The cost of each poinsettias is $9.00.

I would like to order _____ (number) poinsettia plants for the sanctuary on Christmas Eve.

Given by:________________________________________________________________________

In honor of:______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

In memory of:_____________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE PICK UP YOUR PLANT(S) AFTER THE CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE.

For the on-line church calendar follow this link:

http://57650311.view-events.com/

Christmas Cantata

"The Memory of Angels" Christmas Cantata No. 4,

by JT Cavicchia, Music Director

Featuring guest musicians:

Lydia Barre�, soprano Xander Teplansky, bass-baritone Kirsten Hadden Lipkens, oboe Lynn Sussamn, clarinet

Susan Kirchausen, viola Lynn Lovell, bass Billy Arnold, drums

Bring your friends and family for this exci�ng musical event!

East Longmeadow

United Methodist Church

215 Somers Road

East Longmeadow, MA

during worship

Sunday, Dec. 13

10:00 a.m.