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St. James United Methodist Church 646 Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH 03054 Rev. Sharon Lovejoy, Pastor Phyllis Riviere, Office Admin. Contact Us: Office (603) 424-7459 Email: stjamesmrmk@gmail.com Website: www.stjames-umchurch.org

St. James United Methodist Church 646 Daniel Webster Highway

Merrimack, NH 03054 Rev. Lynne Mentzer, Pastor

Robin House, Office Administrator

Contact Us: Office phone: (603)424-7459

Email: stjamesmrmk@gmail.com Stjames-umchurch.org

Facebook: St. James UMC Prayer Request email: sjprayerchain@gmail.com

Website: www.stjames-umchurch.org

Building Christian Community Within and Beyond the Church

On the Inside Pastor’s Message Page 2

Ministry Action Plan Update Page 3

Outreach Missions Page 4

Fellowship Opportunities Page 6

Heaven Sent Meals info Page 7

January meeting schedule Page 7

Community Connections Page 8

Kids Page Page 9

Calendar ----------------------------- Page 10

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Happy New Year, Church! By the time you read this, you may already have made your new year’s resolutions for the next twelve months. Can you name the three most popular resolutions? 1. Lose weight. 2. Get out of debt. 3. Spend more time with loved ones. In that order. What? You don’t make resolutions? Either way, you’ve probably given some thought to the challenges and blessings of 2019. I know I have … Here’s my off-the-top-of-my-head list of challenges and blessings for the coming year:

1. Challenge: The Special Session of the General Conference to vote on proposals by the Way Forward

Commission re: marriage and ordination of LGBTQI persons.

2. Blessing: The opportunity for inclusive attitudes and language to heal the heart and revitalize the

ministries of the UMC.

3. Challenge: The rise in personal and institutional stress levels that foment a culture of outrage.

4. Blessing: The corresponding rise in our need to move from hearts of war to hearts of peace as followers

of the Prince of Peace.

5. Challenges: Divisive politics. Illegal immigration. Global warming. Child abuse. Random violence.

Debt. Inadequate health care. Unsafe housing. Substance abuse. Estrangement. Fear. Distrust.

Burnout.

6. Blessings: The potential for all our challenges to remind us that we are not God.

You know what? These could all fit in the three most popular resolutions listed above. 1. Lose weight. I need to lose the weight of worry, stress, anger and powerlessness that make my

challenges seem so overwhelming. How? By adopting a healthier diet of prayer, humility, trust and

community.

2. Get out of debt. I need to stop investing in” junk bonds” like self-reliance and cynicism that generate

low interest rates and start investing in faith instead. How? The way to change can be found on my

change: “In God We Trust.”

3. Spend more time with loved ones. I need to spend more time with faithful friends. With soul mates.

With mentors. With children. With my hopes and dreams. Most of all, with the Son and Holy Spirit of

God.

PS: I just thought of one more challenge and blessing not limited to the next 12 months: 1. Challenge: To love and serve God and my neighbors.

2. Blessing: To be in ministry through the St. James UMC with each of you.

New Year’s Blessings, Rev. Lynne Mentzer

Pastor’s Message

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Below are quotes taken from the surveys we conducted in November. Question 1: What works well?

“I was laid off. It’s humbling to have to come here, but once you’re here, you don’t feel bad. People make you feel welcome.”

“The food helps a lot. Because I don’t have to buy these things, I have money to buy the things I can’t get here.”

“I love the fresh veggies and bread!”

“The people here are friendly, not intimidating. You don’t feel like a second class citizen when you come here. I’m 78 years old. I’m a widow. This really helps me.”

“You’re doing a fabulous job! I come here to help a single disabled man who lives in a trailer. I bring him what I can; what he doesn’t want, I keep. It helps out a lot.”

Question 2: What could we improve?

“I have rheumatoid arthritis. Walking is hard for me. Sometimes it’s hard to get all the way in here from the parking lot, especially in bad weather.”

“I’m OK with daytime hours but a lot of people work days. A Saturday or an evening would be good for them.”

“The ramp is hard for me. Once I got light-headed and almost fell. I’m on oxygen and I just couldn’t catch my breath. The ramp is too steep.”

“Some people have to rest halfway here from the parking lot. The long walk and the ramp are hard, especially for people with breathing problems or for those who have trouble walking.”

On Tuesday, December 11th, members of the coaching team met with food pantry leaders to share these results and brainstorm about how to make our food pantry more visible and accessible. All agreed that 1) relocating our food pantry would improve accessibility for guests and volunteers; 2) expanding the hours would allow us to serve those who work days; and 3) having a permanent home (v. a “pop-up pantry”) would increase our visibility. Our next coaching meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 17th. If you have questions or ideas to help us improve the accessibility and visibility of this mission of our church, please contact Molly Jenkins, Hannah Cote, Carole Vandermark, Bob Hurle or Lynne Mentzer. Thanks!

Coaching Team Update: “And the Survey Says …” We’re so excited to share with you what we learned this month from the volunteers and folks who come to our food pantry! As the Christmas angels sang, “Be not afraid, for we bring you good news of great joy!” Here’s the bottom line: what we’re doing makes a difference, how we’re doing it affirms the dignity of those we serve, and the only thing that needs improvement can easily be improved.

M.A.P. Ministry Action Plan

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“Thank you so much for the packages you sent for Christmas…Everything we received was appreciated. I thought you might want to know who received some of your packages. We’re a group of maintainers for the KC-135 – basically we are mechanics for the big planes that refill other airplanes mid-air. We come from all over the country and, although it is hard to spend the holidays away from our families, it is so nice to know that there are people, even people we don’t know, who are thinking of us back home…Thanks again, and I hope you and your family also have a wonderful holiday season. Sincerely, Staff Sergeant Christina Wampler” “Your stockings are reaching all sides of the camp here. I drove a couple boxes to mechanics last night and they absolutely were glowing. Camp Buehring is kind of off the grid so not a whole lot makes it this far. Everyone is very appreciative, v/r, CPT Cynthia Thompson LOGCAP Arabian Peninsula Regional contracting Center 1986thj support Detachment 408th Cibntracting Suport Brigade”

OUTREACH MISSIONS

Thank You from Operation Care for Troops

Louise Yeaton would like to pass along a thank you letter from Deborah Luszey at Operation Care for Troops:

Dear Louise, Members of Merrimack Library, Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church Knitting Group and Friends,

Thank you for your continued support of Operation Care for Troops with the donation of 242 scarves and 15 hats. Without the support of organizations such as yours, OCT could not fulfill its mission of shipping packages to deployed troops. As of our “Holiday Stockings for the Troops” packing event, Operation Care for Troops has shipped 106,937 packages to deployed troops! Here are some excerpts from emails that express the impact of your support:

Many, many thanks to everyone here at St. James for your most generous Christmas gift! I’m so grateful to God for calling me to be in ministry here with you, and I look forward to a new year ahead filled with opportunities to grow in faith and bless our neighbors. Thanks again for your generosity – I promise to put it to good use! Blessings, Pastor Lynne

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their workplace. The Clothes Closet would also like to thank the St. James Churchgoers for donating hats during the Treasure series in November. socks. Please join us after church on Sunday, January 13 to assemble the purses. We’d love to have your help.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE The food pantry will be closed on New Year’s Day. They will be open instead on Thursday, January 3 from 9:30-12:00. Both Food Pantry and Clothes Closet will resume their regular schedule on Tuesday, January 8.

ANGEL TREE Thank you for your contributions to our Angel Tree. Thanks to your generosity, we are able to help several families with groceries, gas, and other supplies. About $200 in gift cards were donated during Advent.

A Special Thank You from the Clothes Closet The Mastricola Elementary School 4th grade Student Council wrapped up their coat drive on Friday, December 14. They collected over 60 coats plus snow pants, hats and mittens. When we picked them up from the school, we found that they had even organized the coats by size! Jamie Cordeiro, the Student Council advisor said the kids were very enthusiastic about this service project. Isn’t it wonderful to see kids get excited about helping others? On the same day we received the coat donations, a representative from Tech NH, Inc. brought hats and mittens that they had collected at

Purses for the Homeless Update Approximately 140 purses have been collected so far. Thank you to everyone who has donated purses and items to fill them. We are still in need of face cloths, lip balm and

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FELLOWSHIP

Coffee Making Schedule - 2019

MONTH COMMITTEE

January UMM

February NOW

March Finance

April SPRC

May Generosity Team

June - August Volunteers

September Lay Leadership

October Missions

November Women’s Group

December Trustees

Thank you to the following committees for providing beverages and goodies following worship throughout the year.

Calling All Men! The St. James United Methodist Men (UMM) would love to have you join them for breakfast on the first Saturday of every month. Date: Saturday, January 5 Time: 8:00 am Place: Joey’s Diner, 1 Craftsman Lane, Amherst

The Women of St. James have been invited to a simple breakfast and a special presentation by Sandi Melius on the Nicaragua Covenant. Date: Saturday, January 12 Time: 10:00 – 11:30 am Place: First United Methodist Church 961 Valley St., Manchester, NH R.S.V.P. by January 9 to Karen Cassidy at (603)622-8863 or office@fumcmanchester.org

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January Fundraiser Thank you to all who have signed up to make Heaven Sent Meals! The pans are now available in the church office. The meals

should serve 2-4 people and will be sold at $8 each. Sign up to purchase meals on January, 6, 13, and 20 (or when sold out, whichever comes first). Meals will be ready for pick-up on January 27th. Donations are gratefully accepted in lieu of purchasing/making meals (make sure to note “Heaven Sent Meals” on your check). If you have questions, feel free to call Linda Wilson at (603)424-5447 or email her at lbw04@msn.com.

St. James Committee Meeting Schedule Since the first Tuesday in January is New Year’s Day, please note the changes to the Tuesday committee meeting schedule: January 8: Finance Committee January 15: Church Council January 22: SPRC January 29: Trustees

Mark your calendars! The next Youth Group meeting will be on Sunday, January 13.

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Senior High Winter Retreat (grades 9-12) - 7 pm Friday Feb 15– 11 am Sunday Feb 17

A winter weekend of fun in the snow. Have you hiked to Lookout on snowshoes? Walked across the frozen lake to Monkey Island? Enjoyed sledding on Shower House Hill? Now's your chance. There will be time to sit in front of the fire at the log cabin sharing stories, exploring our faith, eating s'mores, and playing games (Bowl of Nouns anyone? Avalon?). Bring any sleds, snowshoes, or favorite games! Registration cost- $95 per person - covers 4 meals, snacks, activities, and 2 nights lodging. This event will be

held at the Homestead Retreat (149 Arbutus Hill Road). To register for programs, or for more information, visit www.wanakee.org

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Red Cross Blood Drive We had a successful blood drive on November 9. 48 units of blood were collected, impacting the lives of 144 patients! St. James will host another blood drive on

Wednesday, January 30 from 11am-4 pm. Get a $5 Dunkin’ gift card by email when you come to donate!

Register at www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS

News from Wanakee

48 People Volunteer on Work Day

We were so fortunate to welcome 48 dedicated Wanakee enthusiasts for

our Fall Work Day. They raked leaves, continued our cabin re-screening,

took down curtains, repaired docks and the Cook's Cabin floor, and so

much more. Thank you all!

Building our Staff Team - Priority Deadline 1/8 We need your help assembling the best summer staff! Do you know an

amazing young adult who would thrive as they create one-of-a-kind

community, engage amazing children, youth and families, and spend

their summer outside on 227 transcendent acres? Few jobs provide as

much opportunity for personal growth, friendship, and inspiring service.

The priority deadline to apply is Tuesday January 8th Questions? Email

james@wanakee.org

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SMALL BLESSINGS

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January 2019

RC – Flying Eagle Remote Club FIN – Finance Committee CH Council – Church Council UMM – United Methodist Men ECOH – Eagle Court of Honor (Scouts)

GS – Girl Scouts BS – Boy Scouts CS – Cub Scouts

HHH – Home Health & Hospice SJH – St. Joseph’s Fitness Class YG – Youth Group

FH – Fellowship Hall CR – Conference Room S – Sanctuary P - Parlor UC – Undercroft CL - Classrooms