THE BRIDGE CARLISLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCHDEC/JAN/FEB 2017-2018

On a Sunday morning this fall, God brought a heart-broken woman to CUMC, in need of support from a caring Christian community. Cathy had just fled Florida and her home as a hurricane was drawing close. She knew she needed to evacuate and head north, but had no idea where she would go. As she drove, she realized gas and hotel rooms were scarce, so she kept traveling north, un-til she finally decided she’d come to Carlisle, where her son is a student at Dickinson College.When Cathy asked the bed & breakfast owners about a UM church nearby, they rec-ommended CUMC, where

their daughter is active in our Youth program. Cathy said as she walked in our doors she felt God’s presence with her. She soon learned that God would continue to pro-vide comfort for her through this church.Marian Gibble saw Cathy sit-ting alone in a pew, so she sat down beside her and in-troduced herself. As the two of them talked and Cathy shared her story and began to cry, Marian offered Chris-tian compassion and caring in a very tangible way. While listening to the sermon, Mar-ian remembers feeling she should invite Cathy to stay in her guest room if she need-ed a place to stay, so she generously made the offer.Cathy went forward after the service to pray with the prayer team, where Ron Chipriano and Pastor Mira spent extended time pray-ing with her. Sue Barnes then

sat and talked with Cathy and invited her to a women’s group dinner the following evening. Cathy later said she felt led by God to come here and remarked how wonder-ful and caring everyone was.Marian Gibble went further in following up with Cathy through the week, calling to check on her, inviting Cathy to her home, going for sev-eral walks with her, and meet-ing for lunch. When Cathy was able to return to Florida late in the week, she and Marian remained in touch by phone. Cathy feels she has a ‘life-long friend’, and has as-sured Marian she will contact her whenever she is in Carl-isle to visit her son.Cathy arrived in Carlisle feel-ing lost and alone, and left here feeling cared for and supported. Thank you Mar-ian and others for sharing God’s love one on one.

who visits us online?Gone are the days when people just rec-ommended a church to their friends and they walked in. Many people look us up on-line before they even step foot in our doors. In October, over 1,868 people found Carlisle UMC just by typing “Carlisle area church” into a Google search bar. Of those, 113 asked for directions and over 500 visited our website to find out more. A great church website design will en-tice them to visit and will be a great first im-pression. There is an average of 2323 people that visit our website each day! It’s really amazing what a strong online pres-ence does for CUMC!

sharing god’s love one-on-one

Marian Gibble

~ Sue barnes

volunteer spotlightNo matter if it is setting up or tear-ing down for a special event, Sun-day morning help, Mini Youth and on and on, this family is always there ready and willing to help in any way. I know that I can always count on them whether on a regular basis or even when I’m in a pinch. They will always go the extra mile to help make whatever we do a success.

children

december2 • Breakfast at Bethlehem, 9-11am, MPR

10 • Mini Youth Christmas Party, 5:30-7:30pm, Gathering

14 • KidsTime Christmas Event, 6:45-7:30pm, Gathering

24 • Christmas Eve Check out our Christmas Eve service times on Page 12

25 • Merry Christmas

MARK SCHORYChildren & Family Ministries Directormschory@carlislepaumc.orgwww.carlislepaumc.org/children

CUMC kids

WINTER/SPRING CALENDAR

will be out and available before January 1. It will

contain all the events and activities for

January, February and March 2018. You can pick one up at Info

Central in the Gathering, at the MPR and on the Children’s

Bulletin Board, or find it online at

carlislepaumc.org/children. It’s going to

be a great 2018!

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9:00-11:00AM2

3RD ANNUAL BREAKFAST AT BETHLEHEM

SIGN UP: CARLISLEPAUMC/ONLINESIGNUPS

Our 3rd Annual

Church-Wide Family

Christmas Event includes

breakfast, Sunbeams

Choir, puppets, praise

team music, crafts,

games and activities.

will once again make our “pan-cake bar” a huge success. I wanted to share my appreciation along with all those who help with children’s ministry for what they do to make this event a huge success. Of course there are many other volunteers who help in many ways. We are so happy to pro-vide this Chil-dren’s Ministry Christmas gift to CUMC.

For the past 2 years with our 1st and 2nd annual Breakfast at Bethlehem, we have had a very special group of people be-hind the scenes…they are our

kitchen helpers. As we look for-ward to our 3rd annual Break-fast at Bethlehem on Saturday, December 2nd from 9-11am in the MPR, we know that they

Behind the scenes Kitchen Staff: Shirley Garrison, Kathy Charette, Darlene Sheaffer & Joanne Monoski along with other helpers.

Jean & Bill Yufer, Laura & Jacob Stine

“I learned that Jesus is always with us and we need to trust him all of the time and have

faith in him.”

“My favorite part was the X-barnbecause we got to bounce on the

trampoline, play gaga ball, 9 square and other stuff. I made some new

friends this weekend.”

“I like horseback riding because my horse was

nice and I did something new. I learned that God loves me and I should

trust in Him.”

“My favorite part of the trip was getting to know the younger

youth. I enjoyed getting to know

them better.”

“I like laser tag because I was really

bad at it but I got bet-ter at it. I learned that God’s love never runs out even when I sin, God still loves me.”

“I learned that Jesus’ love never runs out. Even if

you make a mistake, Jesus always loves you.”

“My favorite washorseback ridingbecause it was

cool to be riding like a cowboy. I

learned not to get distracted and focus on God.”

“I learned that you can either trust or not trust in God. You cannot be

in the middle. You are either all in or

all out.”“Hanging with friends was my

favorite part. It was my favorite part because I grew a bond with new

people. It was lots of fun doing the activities with them.”

“I learned that God did a

big thing sending His son to die

for my sin.”

“the Go-cartswere fun because I got to

have fun with new friends.”

middle school retreat

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youthmiddle school

december3 • Youth Group, 5-7:30pm6 • Girls Cookie Party, 3-5pm10 • Youth Group, 5-7:30pm17 • Christmas Party, 5-7:30pm24 • No Youth, Merry Christmas!

JANUARY& FEBRUARY 2018

CALENDARWILL BE AVAILABLE

DECEMBER 3.

HIGH SCHOOLdecember

4 • Youth Group, 7-8:30pm11 • Youth Group, 7-8:30pm15 • Game Night, 7-10pm18 • Christmas Party, 7-9pm25 • No Youth, Merry Christmas!

JANUARY& FEBRUARY 2018

CALENDARWILL BE AVAILABLE

DECEMBER 3.

erin fleetYouth MinistriesDirectorefleet@carlislepaumc.orgwww.carlislepaumc.org/youth

the yoUth of the Carlisle UMCs CUMCyoUth13

3 Middle Schoolers made a first timecommitment to Jesus

12 Middle Schoolers recommitted themselves to Jesus17 Middle Schoolers said that this trip helped them

GROW in their relationship with Jesus.

Check out what the Middle Schoolers

learned on their week-end retreat Nov 3-5.

chuck bassettour brother in christ

adultsdecember

3, 10 & 17 • Advent Study, 6pm, Library5 • LIFT, 6:30pm, Pastor Mira’s Home Disciple 1, 6:30pm, Rm. 35, 12 & 19 • Disciple 1, 6:30pm, Rm. 37 & 21 • Women of the Word, 1pm, Library 9 • UMW Advent Breakfast, 9:30am, Gathering10 • Theology Pub, 6pm, CUMC Annex

january7 & 21 • Transitions, 6pm, Library9, 12, 16, 23 & 30 • Disciple 1, 6:30pm, Rm. 311 & 25 • WOW, 1pm, Library 14 • Theology Pub, 6pm, CUMC Annex16, 23 & 30 • The Wesley Challenge, 6:30pm, Rm. 10923 • LIFT, 6:30pm, Yearsley’s24 • LIFT, 6:30pm, Pastor Mira’s Home29 • Women of Faith & Friendship, 6:30pm, Michelle Williams’ Home

february4 & 18 • Transitions, 6pm, Library6, 13, 20 & 27 • Disciple 1, 6:30pm, Rm. 36 • The Wesley Challenge, 6:30pm, Rm. 109

6 & 20 • LIFT, 6:30pm, Yearsley’s7 & 21 • LIFT, 6:30pm, Pastor Mira’s Home8 & 22 • WOW, 1pm, Library 11 • Theology Pub, 6pm, CUMC Annex26 • Women of Faith & Friendship, 6:30pm, Michelle Williams’ Home

The Carlisle UMW will host a Com-munity Hymn Sing on Dec. 10, 3-4pm at Chapel Pointe, located on South Hanover St. The facility is able to broadcast the music throughout the home so that all residents are able to share in the event.Members of the congregation are welcome to attend.

Chuck Bassett, who passed away sud-denly last month, will be sorely missed by all his brothers and sisters here at CUMC. His faith was evident through his family, his teaching and his vol-unteer work. Those of us who knew him well recognized his humil-ity, his commitment, and his willingness to serve God in every-thing he did.Let’s look at Chuck’s life through just a few Scriptural ref-erences that certainly apply to him. In Deuteronomy 3:6 & 7, Joshua is told to be “strong and courageous; do not be discouraged.” Chuck Bas-sett demonstrated his strength and courage when his wife, Cindy, died at a young age, leaving him to raise his two children, Christa and Chad, by himself. In Titus 2:3, Paul tells Titus, his spiri-tual son, to “be reverent in the way you live and teach what is good.”

This is a perfect de-scription of Chuck’s life. He loved being an elementary teacher in Carlisle and serving as a Sunday School teacher. He connect-ed with his church fam-ily in so many ways, always responding enthusiastically to re-quests for his help and his leadership.In Matthew 23:23, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees about jus-tice, mercy and love.

Chuck’s life exemplified them every day. His volunteer work in Carlisle proved his dedication to serving oth-ers.In First Corinthians 13:12 & 13, Paul teaches that “now these three re-main: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Although we miss his presence, we’ve all been enriched by his faith, hope and love. Chuck left a legacy for us, and we re-member him with love and admiration. ~ ann cook

carlislepaumc.org/adults

cumc member & leader of new beginnings sunday school class

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connectdecember

9 • Movie Night, 3:30-8pm, MPR

11 • Line Dancing, 9:30am, MPR

15 • Knitted in Love, 1pm, Chapel

january8 • Line Dancing, 9:30am, MPR

19 • Knitted in Love, 1pm, Chapel

february 12 • Line Dancing, 9:30am, MPR

weekly connectSUNDAYSNarcotics Anonymous,6pm, Room 4

MONDAYSNarcotics Anonymous,8pm, Room 1

TUESDAYSAlcoholics Anonymous,6:30pm or 8pm, Building 33

Narcotics Anonymous,7pm, Room 4

AlAnon, 7:30pm, Room 1

WEDNESDAYSBridges Prayer Team,11am, Library

THURSDAYSCo-Ed Volleyball, 7pm, MPR

Narcotics Anonymous,8pm, Room 1

SATURDAYSAlcoholics Anonymous,8pm, Building 33 5

MOVIENIGHTFor me Christmas Season includes two important pieces: Christmas Eve Worship and Hallmark Movies. Although I now know many of these movies by heart, and the new ones I can always guess the ending, I love the movies of Christmas and I know I am not alone! This year our Advent Sermon series uses some of the most beloved movies as we explore again the story of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus throughout December. In ad-dition a special CONNECT Movie Night will occur Saturday, Dec. 9 with two of the sermon movies. Bring your friends and come join your CUMC family on Satur-day for movies and then Sundays to tie the movie and Jesus together. Popcorn during the movies and a hot dog bar for dinner will be provided between the two movies. ~ Pastor Mira

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

3:30pm - Doors open, bring blankets for kids4:00pm - Miracle on 34th Street

5:30pm - Hotdog Dinner bar6:00pm - Elf

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

~ lois weibley, Knitted in Love co-leader

The Prayer Shawl Ministry has been very active in recent years. We have expanded our ministry to include more than prayer shawls.Dozens of winter scarves have been given to C.A.R.E.S, dozens of baby layettes are gifted to new mothers within the church, Little Lights Learn-ing Center, and Carlisle Regional Medical Center.The hospital periodically has moth-ers who have nothing in which to clothe their newborns. One of the class members has shared with me how grateful those mothers are to

receive a baby blanket, sweater and a cap for their little one to wear when leaving the hospital. Our most recent undertaking is working with the SERVE pillar on the Homeless to Home project. When time allows, we provide afghans for families moving from a shelter to a home. With these new avenues of service, we can always use more members in the knitting/crocheting class. For more information contact Lois Weib-ley or Joy Felty.

Shepherds/LAMs and our Home Communion team visit at least month-ly based on personal schedules. Card and Altar Flowers are sent/delivered each week by our teams.

prayer shawl ministryAFGHAN PICTURED WAS MADE BY PHYLLIS DIFFENDERFER

samaritan fellowship kids busy bagsserve

december1-31 • Hosting Women & Children of Carlisle CARES overnight

3 • Angel Tree Gifts Due

20 • My Brother’s Table at Salvation Army, 4-5:30pm

Mission Central Work Day, 8:30am-Noon, meet in church parking lot

january5-12 • Haiti Trip to Mellier

17 • My Brother’s Table at Salvation Army, 4-5:30pm

Mission Central Work Day, 8:30am-Noon, meet in church parking lot

28 • VIM Trip to South Carolina thru Feb. 3.

february21 • My Brother’s Table at Salvation Army, 4-5:30pm

Mission Central Work Day, 8:30am-Noon, meet in church parking lot

weekly serveWEDNESDAYSHomework Club,6pm, Hope Station & Safe Harbour

THURSDAYSEmergency Assistance,9:30-11:30am, church office

LeTort Snacks, 3-4pm,LeTort Elementary School

SATURDAYSSamaritan Fellowship,8-10am, Room 3, 4 & 9

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SERVE teams that meet as needed or on their individual schedules: Blessed to Serve, Homeless to Home, Little Lights Readers, and Samaritan Kids

Imagine you’re a child, coming to Room 3 early on a Saturday morning with a parent to sit in a bare waiting room with about thirty-five persons you don’t know. People are trying to sleep; you and perhaps ten other children are wide awake and curious as any child would be. The adults are filling out forms so they can be interviewed. They are worried about losing a place to stay or having wa-ter, gas or electricity turned off, or keeping a car running so they can keep working. You, as a child don’t understand this. All you see is a big room with space to run around and play with other kids, or fuss because of something that bothers you that

morning. In the end, your parent is getting frustrated, because you are disturbing others, and envious of the energy and freedom from worry you obviously have. What do you do?Enter Samaritan Kids Busy Bags. When your parent checked in, some-one found out your age and gave you and your brothers or sisters each a big plastic bag with some crayons, coloring books, stamps, stencils, cars, and book marks to occupy you while your parent waited to be called. Those bags help keep the room and the nerves of the adults calm and give you, a kid, something to do and keep when you are finished. It’s not very much compared to the help your parent might get that morning, but it’s all yours. And somewhere there was a prayer lifted up for you that you, a kid, would be blessed.

~ charles reynolds shirley garrison, Samaritan Kids Team Leader

blessing othersIn November, CUMC joined others in our community to provide Thanks-giving dinner (turkey and all the sides) to over 1000 families in need in our community at Project SHARE. Project SHARE writes, “The reasons for our good fortune are many and the reasons that the needy find them-selves in this situation are also varied. We are called to bless all, and this campaign is a way for you to SHARE your love and compassion for our community in this caring region in and around Carlisle, PA.” In December, CUMC has two more opportunities to bless others in our community. Check out Page 9 for more info.

blessed to serve

This summer a member of our church asked us to look at the front sidewalk from the front door to the main sidewalk. A 2’X3’

piece was deteriorating and needed replaced. They also needed their back stoop repaired. So seven of us started this project of breaking up and removing the damaged concrete and replacing it. We used a small mixer one of our members had. While doing this we got to know one another while having some fun. It took us two days to complete this project and the home owner was well pleased. They also sup-plied us with water and ice tea.We as Christians are told and shown by Jesus Christ to serve one another. By showing love and compassion for others, everyone can serve no matter what the circumstances. To serve is to please God and show His love through serving. As Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves”. As believers in Christ we are to follow His example to serve others.

homeless to homeWe have been assisting with CUMC’s SERVE Homeless to Home mission. The purpose of CUMC’s SERVE Homeless to Home mission is to assist individuals/families with basic household starter needs to reduce barriers to independence as these folks move from a home-less situation into permanent hous-ing. Items such as basic kitchen and bathroom items, as well as cleaning supplies may be pro-vided. The needs almost always include bed linens along with an inflatable airbed. These items are provided through the generosity of many who donate items or make a cash donation.Requests for assistance come from the Cumberland County Housing Authority, Salvation Army and Safe Harbor. To date in 2017, CUMC has assisted ten individuals and four families for a total of 19 adults and nine children. CUMC’s outreach recently assist-ed a woman we met as a Carlisle CARES guest when CUMC hosted

CARES. She was from the Bos-ton area and went by that handle instead of her name. Boston was always upbeat even when things seemed to be working against her. No matter what was going on in her life, she would have a ready smile and hug for us. Her faith al-lowed her to remain positive and upbeat, as she believed that her life would get better. Boston was a CARES guest for more than a year, sleeping on church floors, but always grateful for the positives in her life.

We recently received a request to assist a woman moving into an apartment in Mechanicsburg. We were surprised and thrilled when we saw it was Boston! It was a wonderful reunion! She was happy that people she knew from CUMC were there as she started moving forward in improving her life situa-tion. She was not only grateful for the assistance of household items provided, but also for always feel-ing welcomed at CUMC during her nights when CUMC hosted CARES. Boston is employed as a personal caretaker with plans to continue to improve her situation. It is heartwarming stories like this that show the resilience and faith of people who often are at the lowest point of their lives. God’s plan of working through CUMC in meeting immediate and basic household needs for those in our community is making a difference!

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~ bill yufer

~ art & cindy kunst

advent breakfast

ira rmds - what are they?

Carlisle United Methodist Women will host a special Advent Brunch on Sat-urday, December 9 at 9:30am in the Gathering. All women of the Church are invited to join us in fellowship, and we would love to have your daughters and/or granddaughters join us as well. Our theme is “Gift of the Magi” and our special guests will be two young ladies – one who is originally from Ni-geria and has been a recipient of the Samaritan Christmas Shoeboxes, and the other a giver of the shoeboxes for the past four years. Our menu will feature fresh fruit, break-fast casseroles, muffins and beverages. We hope you will come for a time of relaxation and fellowship.

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wInter weatHerDuring the winter months, snow and ice will occur. How can you find out if church or events are affect-ed? • Check our website. In the event of weather-related changes, an announcement will pop up when you visit our home page. This will be the most accurate and quickest way to find out. www.carlislepaumc.org• Call the Office. As we are able, a message will be on the church answering machine for changes in worship schedules. 717.249.1512• Contact the leader of the ministry program. Unless a horrible storm, each program leader makes his/her decision based on many factors. Contact the leader of the event/ministry for details if you are wondering.

If you are aged 70.5 and older with an Individual Re-tirement Account (IRA), you must receive a required minimum distribution (RMD) from it annually. The RMD is a calculation based upon your age and the amount of funds in your IRA. The RMD is reportable as taxable income unless you take advantage of di-recting it to a charity. In December 2016 Congress enacted an option for distributions to be given to charitable organizations throughout the year in satisfaction of the RMD re-quirement. If you are aged 70.5 and older, you may transfer up to $100,000 tax-free to charitable organi-zations each year, even if that amount is more than your RMD. Many at CUMC are using these distributions toward

capital campaign pledges, blessing CUMC with the funds while not having to pay personal income tax on the RMD. To use your RMD for CUMC giving, the funds must come directly from the IRA administrator to CUMC to be tax-free. If you would like to do this, contact your IRA Administrator with CUMC’s address. Please be sure the check memo includes your name and where the funds are to be used (annual giving, Capital Campaign, etc.). CUMC has been richly blessed by the giving this year for ongoing ministries and to breaking ground on our new building in 2018. Please check whether giving by transfers from your IRA provides an additional tax benefit to you!

giving to cumc

alternative gifts 2017How can you teach your kids to give at Christ-mas? How can you bless a person in need? What can you get for those on your list who don’t need more stuff? Last year through CUMC over 100 families an-swered these questions by giving over $11,000 through our Alternative Gift program with gifts that went to our SERVE ministry partners and people in need. Gifts this year range from $2 to feed someone at Salvation Army to $50 to provide bedding for a person moving from homelessness to their own home - and many gifts in between! Our Alternative Gift for 2016 for LeTort Snack pro-gram was a $10 gift card given to families who have trouble providing meals beyond the school-cov-ered breakfast and lunch, particularly on holidays and long weekends. In January we took $1,475 worth of gift cards to Mr. Aaron Carmichael, prin-cipal of LeTort Elementary School. He was blown away by the generosity of CUMC. On behalf of his families and his school he was so thankful for these cards to help families and assured us the receiving families would be those who really needed the as-sistance. He followed up with an email and card again thanking CUMC for the gifts for these fami-lies. What an opportunity to partner with LeTort to share our love with these families…thank you to all who gave last year to LeTort and all our other programs through Alternative Gifts. 2017 holiday cards are available for gifts given in honor of loved ones. Alternative Gift brochures are available in The Gathering, MPR, and online. Gifts are available to purchase through Dec. 24.

anGeL treeCUMC is looking for angels among us who can provide a present under the Christmas Tree for children in our com-munity. CUMC has received 150 tags for children from Chil-dren & Youth Services and the Salvation Army in Carlisle. Names, ages, and gift ideas are specific for each child. Please follow the instructions on the tags as each agency asked for presents differently. Angel Trees will be located in The Gathering and outside the MPR starting November 19. Presents are due back no later than Dec 3. Thank you for being angels to kids in Car-lisle!

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GIFTS

- REVIEW -THE LIST. SELECT A GIFT.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

ALTERNATIVE

GIFTS

• that give hope •

2017

a funeral is a sad (but not tragic) event for christmasClyde & Sue had 4 children – 1st was Jeff – 2 years later was John – 2 years later was Jim – 12 years later was Joy. This is my family and I am the 1st of the children. The panel to the right was placed in my lit-tle brother’s coffin for his viewing and given to his widow after the funeral. Brother Jim was a Chris-tian and served his church well as evidenced by the fact that it took over 4 hours for all the visitors at the viewing to say good-bye.I was the 1st of the family to speak at his funeral. I blubbered my way through a reading of the story of Lazarus and Jesus’s words of en-couragement to Mary: John 11, Verse 23: Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”That was tough to read while look-ing at his casket but I knew in my heart that he was indeed alive and in the presence of Jesus.Brother John (aka The Preacher Man) was next to speak and be-ing a Southern Baptist minister he

has the gift of oration. He related the following analogy of the hu-man condition: “Growing up in the south, our family believes in the tradition of hunting for all sorts of game – a particular favorite is the raccoon hunt with the assistance of a good coon dog. Mine is named Hank. I must wait until late at night to enter the forest and release ole Hank who instinctively knows to begin the searchfor the scent of a raccoon. I wait and listen – then I hear it – Hank’s low moaning bark – OWW-WOoooo, OWWWooooo. I know he’s cut the trail of a raccoon. Now I follow Hank and his bark changes to a choppy bark – RRUFF, RRUFF.

I know Hank has the raccoon treed and when I find Hank the hunt is over.”“Life is much like the raccoon hunt. From the time we enter this world Death has cut our trail and is in pursuit. Eventually we find our-selves treed by the Grim Reaper and our time here allotted is fin-ished. Brother Jim finished his time here with us and that is sad – but it is not tragic because we know he was a saved Christian. It is tragic when the victim is lost and without hope when they find that Death has them treed.”My hope is that you, the reader, have accepted Jesus as your Sav-ior. If not – do it now. Because when you find yourself treed, with The Reaper staring up at you, Je-sus is the only one who can take you home to the place he has pre-pared for those who put their trust in Him. I will see Brother Jim again – Jesus said so.~ JEFF BOLEY

At the first Leadership Council meet-ing of 2018 on January 15, we will welcome three new members. On October 29, CUMC members elect-ed Wayne Henderson, Kerm Leitner, and Roger Woods to serve 2018-2020 terms. Wayne and Roger are new to the Leadership Council while Kerm Leitner was elected for a second term. Debbi Goeltsch will also be joining Leadership Council for a 2 year term (2018-2019) to finish the unexpired two-year term of Jack Maddox, who resigned on October 23. Among the new members, Wayne regularly attends the 8:15am Tradi-tions Service and also the 11am Cel-ebration Service when running the sound and media booth. Roger regu-

larly attends the 9:45 am Contempo-rary Service. Debbi regularly attends the 11am Celebration Service. The Leadership Council will be reor-ganizing at meetings in December at which time pillar and area respon-sibilities will be determined as well as electing the chair, vice-chair and secretary. Marian Gibble will remain as the Council’s appointed recording secretary. Monthly meetings will con-tinue to be held in the Library on the third Monday of each month starting with Executive Session at 5pm.We welcome our newest Leadership Council members and ask for your continued prayers for the Leadership Council throughout the year.

leadership council’s newest members

KERM LEITNER ROGER WOODS

DEBBI GOELTSCH WAYNE HENDERSON

For the past 17 years, Sue Barnes has been an integral part of our church as Ad-ministrative Assistant for the Pastors at our former Grace, then Welcoming Coordina-tor during the transition and into CUMC. As of December 15, Sue is ready for the next chapter of retirement that will include more traveling to see her daughters out of state and extended time with her husband in Cape Cod and Florida. When asked what she loved most, and will miss most, about her job at CUMC, she quickly answers “THE PEOPLE!” She has been amazed at how much she has grown to love and admire the incredible folks here and count them as her friends - and getting to meet guests each week was an added bonus. “This has been the best ‘job’ I could have ever

hoped for. To be able to do what I love doing and what God has gifted me to do, and have it count as employment has been a tremendous joy. I’ve worked with an amazing group of staff members, and the most dedicated and faith-ful volunteers I’ve ever known. I am proud to be a part of CUMC and look forward to continuing on our journey in a different role.” Although we cannot replace Sue, this position is critical to our staff and the Leadership

Council is working to hire a new Welcoming Co-ordinator with a start date likely in early January. Thank you, Sue for your gifts you have shared as part of the staff and how you have helped us be a church known for our welcoming guests. Blessings in your retirement!

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thank you, sue!

welcome GInnaH & BrYantWelcome to CUMC’s new childcare staff:Ginnah Etah is a junior--from the Bronx, New York--studying sociol-ogy and security studies at Dickinson college. She loves helping chil-dren grasp more about the world around them and is excited to start working at CUMC in the nursery. Ginnah also enjoys reading a good book, walking dogs for a few families in Carlisle and planning events for her peers on campus.Bryant Caballero is a freshman--from Dallas, Texas--pursuing a de-gree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dickinson College. He aspires to become a pediatric orthopedic surgeon some day. Bry-ant wants to devote his life to improving the lives of children through medicine. He enjoys working with children because of their energy, unconditional love and the fun that they expel. Bryant also admires their honesty, flexibility, imagination, creativity, resilience and bravery.

PRAY LIKE JESUS: Jan. 7-Feb. 11. We will be looking at the prayer Jesus prayed and taught his disciples to pray. We know it better as The Lord’s Prayer. The prayer is about who God is and our relationship with God. We learn to use this prayer as a powerful tool in our devotional lives.

RESTORED: Feb. 18 - Mar. 25 (the church season of Lent). We will be using the book by Tom Ber-lin of the same title to discover that we can be restored from the brokenness that we all experi-ence in our lives. We will learn how to become new in Christ!

sermon series for the new year

GINNAH BRYANT

reV. jim vanzandtLead Pastorjvanzandt@carlislepaumc.org

reV. mira hewlettAssociate Pastormhewlett@carlislepaumc.org

worshipSUNDAY MORNINGS8:15am - Traditional WorshipWorship in the Sanctuary with tradi-tional hymns, a full choir and tradition-al UMC liturgy.9:45am - Contemporary WorshipWorship in the Multi-Purpose Room led by our Praise Band using con-temporary music.11am - Celebration WorshipWorship in the Sanctuary. A variety of traditional hymns, songs from “The Faith We Sing,” and choruses of praise.

45 S West St, Carlisle, PA717.249.1512 • carlislepaumc.org12

We all have our favorite Christ-mas movies, the ones we watch year af-ter year – mov-ies that bring

friends and families together, that inspire us, and that make us laugh. And sometimes, they remind us of what Christmas is all about – the timeless story of hope and joy and love – the birth of a child.We will be using some famil-iar Christmas movies for our Advent Sermon Series begin-ning on Dec. 3. We will look at the theme of Hope through the eyes of Miracle on 34th St.; Love through the film Elf; Joy in It’s a Wonderful Life; Peace in the movie Grinch; and lastly on Christmas Eve night, the real story of Christmas in The Christ-

mas Carol. We will also be show-ing two of these films as part of a Family Night here at CUMC! Why not invite a friend or neigh-bor to attend our services and Christmas season activities this year?

In the morning we will have our regular schedule of services (8:15; 9:45 and 11am) followed by these special services later in the afternoon and evening:

4pm Communion Service, Sanctuary5:30pm Family Service, Sanctuary7pm Contemporary Service, MPR

7pm Service at Claremont10pm Candlelight Service, SanctuaryChildcare will be provided during all services

advent sermon seriesA Very Special Evening….Sunday, Dec. 17 at 4pm in our sanctuary we will hold our “Silent Night Service.” It’s for all who have experienced some kind of loss in their lives, whether recent or long ago, that makes the holi-days a different experience for them. I would like to invite you to join me and others for a quiet re-flective time to honor the memo-ry of loved ones and loss, and to experience the graceful strength of God in our lives. It is a comfortable time, so come as you are. Worship with quiet songs, hear comforting scriptures, and light a candle as a way to me-morialize our loved ones and oth-ers. The candles will be lit for all of our Christmas Eve services.Please join me in the sanctuary on this evening.

~Pastor Jim