Commitment Sunday on Oct 31

    Commitment Sunday will take place October 31, a wonderful opportunity to offer our promised giving for 2011 as a resolution to be more generous people, not by our own goodness but only through God’s grace. The Commitment Card and Stewardship Letter are available here, as well in the back of the church if you have not yet received these by email or mail.
     Children are encouraged to participate as well. There is a children's commitment card and a children's stewardship letter; as well as a Jr and Sr High youth stewardship letter, all of which can be downloaded here (Jr and Sr High youth are welcome to use the children's or adult commitment card).
     If you are unable to attend on commitment Sunday on 10/31, you may place your commitment card in the offering anytime, or you can mail to the address found on the card.
    If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Brann at 799-1981. Thank you for your generosity to your church family!

Gently Used Clothing and Other Donations!

Submitted by Sue Angell

Gently Used clothing was collected during worship 10/24 as part 2 of our Stewardship Sermon Series.  Rather than discard in the trash such clothing no longer worn by us, we wanted to donated it first to people of the congregation that know a needy family that could use them or recycle such clothing for ourselves that we might need.  If you have not had an opportunity to look at what was collected, they are in clearly marked boxes in Ellis hall which is open during the morning Thursday, Friday and of course Sunday 10/31.  All items still in the boxes on the Root Cellar day the it is open for donations, items will be brought to them. Since most of the clothing is career apparel and not active wear and the Root Cellar assists people working or seeking jobs by assisting them with the proper clothing, this seemed like a good idea by the Stewardship Committee. So take a minute to look over the items to see if there is something you or someone you know can use.

Trick or Treat for UNICEF will held after worship 10/31

2009 UNICEF Collection

Trick or Treat for UNICEF will held after worship 10/31. Be ready with your loose change after worship! Click here to learn more about UNICEF and the wonderful work of this mission organization around the world.

Mission Trip Planning Team meeting after worship 10/31.

The planning team for our 2011 mission trip will be meeting after worship Sunday, 10/31. Anyone who is interested in helping with or going on a 2011 mission trip from Peoples next year are welcome to attend. There are several options which we will be discussing over the next several months, including another trip to Wilmington, DE (which we found out is very meaningful for the urban children there to see a team re-visit), or a new trip to Appalachia or another area of the country. An international trip will most likely be in the future, but if this is your desire please attend so we can discuss. If you are interested, but unable to attend please contact Pastor Gwyneth at 409-5530.

Church Cleanup Day, Saturday, Nov 6 at 8am.

Church Cleanup Day, Saturday, Nov 6 at 8am. Please come join us as we spruce up the church inside and out! There will be plenty to do for all ages, from raking to dusting. Come for a half hour, 2 hours or the whole morning!

      Note from Sue Angell:   This is a fun time for all who love their church. Just like spring clean up, anyone can feel free to do indoor tasks or Fall Cleaning that call to you. Organize you agenday and bring a friend to help you. Those individuals who just love being out doors can rake or work in the garden. Walter Greer comes with a truck and we just load it with leaves. We have pruning of bushes and assisting the Trustees who are doing crazy things like putting on the downspout on the parsonage (holding ladder?),etc. Some have only an hour and that is OK too. Bring rakes, gloves, etc. COME ON DOWN!

What is All Saints Day?

All Saints Day, November 1, is the Christian Memorial Day on which all who died for their testimony of Jesus are remembered. The word Halloween itself is a contraction of All hallows evening, which is the original English-language Christian term for All Saints Eve. (‘Hallow is an old word for ‘saint.’). Most  churches celebrate on the first Sunday of November, and Peoples will be celebrating on November 7.

20 and Over Crowd Game Night, Nov 6 at 7pm.

This is a fun evening out for adults.  Join us as we play cribbage, quarkle, pegs’n jokers, or bring your favorite game. Singles welcome. Couples, this would be a great chance to get a babysitter and have a fun date night!

Church Auction Results

The 2010 auction was great fun, fellowship as well as fundraiser. The huge amounts that food items went for, especially in comparison to some very valuable items, brought the same idea to several people. Perhaps we need to consider a food auction next year!  Please let us know your thoughts.  Many thanks to Doreen Gay for all the work put into this "fun-raiser."  This earned for the church a total of $2,834.65 

Continuing Education for Pastors

Did you know that pastors in the United Methodist Church are expected to take classes and workshops each year? The requirement is at least 1 CEU per year, and a total of 8 CEU's per four years. It's not only required, but it's a good idea! Pastors are disciples, which means we are called not only to teach and lead others to Christ, but also to continuously learn and experience new ways of following Christ.
     Pastors Gwyneth and Jamie have attended a variety of workshops over their 5+ years of pastoral ministry, and just recently became aware of some classes geared to pastors at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA. On October 26, Pastor Gwyneth  took a class called, "Decision Making: The Way to Wisdom" with Garry Friesen, an Elder at a well known church in Portland, OR called Imago Dei.  Pastor Gwyneth saw several other United Methodist colleagues there, and the class was well attended.
   This particular seminar was on discerning God's will, and teaching your congregation about how they are to discern God’s will for their lives.  Christians should not be looking for an elusive perfect will of God for every decision. Rather God has granted Scripture and His wisdom sufficient in every decision. The seminar ended with the freeing concept of “faithfulness” over “success” as the goal of every ministry. Garry has written a wonderful book on which this seminar was based, called, "Decision Making and the Will of God."
   These seminars are open to laity as well as clergy. If you are interested, you may view more information at the Lifetime Learners link at Gordon-Conwell Seminary.

Mystery Ride 2010 Great Fun!

The 2010 Mystery Ride on 10/24 was another fabulous time for all who attended. Dick and Cheryl Matthews created the route with many fun questions along the way, to our mystery destination which was the Cookie Jar! The Cookie Jar donated cookies for the event as well, and we went back to church to have lunch together and review the answers. You can view the 2010 Mystery Ride Photo Album here.

Need Children's Items for Christmas Fair!

Submitted by Teresa Folley

We will be having a children's gently-used clothing table at the Christmas Fair again this year. If you have children, or know someone with children, we are in need of lots of donations!

We are specifically looking for gently used fall/winter clothing sizes infant-size 12: snowsuits, jackets, boots, mittens, holiday outfits and daily clothing such as dresses, pants, shirts, sweaters, pj's, shoes, etc. If you have something to donate you may drop it off to us in the Sunday School classrooms starting now.

We are also looking for plastic hangers, such as those that clothes come on from the store so that we can display items.

Thanks so much for your donations! Make sure to stop by at the fair to see if you can find a new outfit for your child, grandchild or other special little one in your life!

Painting Project

Submitted by Doreen Gay

     Ben Galvez, owner of Express Painting, was hired to do some long over due touch ups on the parsonage. We had areas on the exterior first floor that were peeling badly and even with all our good intentions, the trustees could not get to the job themselves. Ben and his crew arrived just in time seasonally speaking, they scraped, prepped where needed, and applied two finish coats of paint. The same was done to the trim, but only in limited areas. There is still much work that needs to be done to our parsonage and garage, which is well over a hundred years old. The trustees are committed to preserving and caring for this wonderful home as best we can, but as you can imagine, it is very expensive to do.   

     The Trustees also had Ben and crew scrap, prime, and put two finish coats on the breezeway windows, which have needed paint longer than I can remember! The crew inspected all of the windows and door frames of the church and touched those up as well. We're pleased to have this job completed and our beautiful stained glass windows preserved.  

     If you have a passion for painting and time to give, the trustees can always use your help as we personally take on many of the painting jobs needed inside and outside of our buildings. Please contact a trustee if this is your gift!

Stewardship Sermon Series Oct 17, 24 and 31

We are in the midst of the 2010 Stewardship Preaching Series on the topic of Generous Giving through God’s Grace. We hope you will prepare your hearts in prayer.

10/17 Zacchaeus The Value of Generosity Luke 19:1-9

10/24 Barnabus The Affect of Generosity Acts 4:32-37

10/31 The Widow The Challenge to Generosity Mark 12:41-44

    During the first week, Kathy Brann played the part of Zacchaeus, climbing a tree right in the sanctuary as the Scripture story was read! On the second week, folks are invited to bring in items to donate, such as a winter coat they no longer use, boots that don't fit, or a kitchen appliance collecting dust. After worship anyone in need of these items will be invited to take them, and anything left over will go to the Preble Street homeless center. 

   The third week is commitment Sunday, and all are invited to bring their pledge cards forward indicating their promised giving for 2011. We hope you will join us.

Church Auction Friday, October 22

Submitted by Sue Angell
Our really fun live auction is this Friday, 10/22.  The volunteer professional auctioneer is entertainment in himself.  Lots of good stuff up for bid and lots of reasonable prices.  It is not too early for Christmas shopping and the gift certificates for restaurants, stores, gas, etc. donated are just the ticket to give to those hard to buy for people.  The viewing begins at 6:00 pm along with "good eats".  COME, BRING A FRIEND AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.

Thoughts on the Bean Suppah

Submitted by Sue Angell

I spent Saturday evening fuming and fussing because the Portland Press Herald didn't put in my advertisement nor did the Forecaster and it cost us $300 in lost revenues. I was spitting mad!  After Pastor Jamie's sermon today and Chris Bowker's stewardship speech, I thought about it more deeply.  Yes, we lost revenue BUT we had wonderful fellowship.  Church people showed up to help and they were great fun to be with.  Casseroles and pies were delicious.  A couple of the workers noted a fellow that had come in with his son to assist with clean up at the end and they had that look of persons who were hungry and they encouraged the two to eat of the plenty left over and to take some home.  The leftovers were then placed into containers and Chuck and Joanne took this food to a shelter. Maybe this dinner was not about revenue but the Lord wanted us to feed the hungry. Hmmm.

Stewardship Devotion Begins Oct 11

    We are inviting EVERYONE to participate in our 21 day Upper Room Stewardship Devotion  found at the link here. This devotion was created especially for Peoples United Methodist Church and reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Upper Room magazine.     We invite you to use this devotional to reflect daily on God’s call to be good stewards of our resources during the 21 days of our Stewardship Series, “Generous Giving through God’s Grace.” You will find a suggested Scripture reading and devotion for each day, beginning Monday, October 11.  
   In addition, we are encouraging everyone to engage in at least one generous ACT each of these 21 days. Some suggestions are listed in the front of the devotion, but feel free to make up your own. A page is provided for you to record the acts you choose. We look forward to hearing about some of the ways you have blessed others and have been blessed yourselves as you have served and helped others.
     Through the last six months, we have been focusing on different aspects of stewardship other than money, such as how we are using our time and spiritual gifts to serve. However, during this upcoming stewardship series, we will be focusing much more on our financial resources leading up to Consecration Sunday on October 31 when we will offer our promised giving for 2011.
     More than any other topic Jesus talked about the issue of how we handle money. Our hopes are that we will all grow spiritually as we are challenged in our faith regarding this very important topic.

The Finance Committee
Keith Snoddy, Chris Bowker, Sue Angell, Kathy Brann, Walter Greer and Pastor Gwyneth

Advent Meditations 2010

The Advent Meditation booklet that members of Peoples United Methodist Church have contributed to with their thoughts and prayers this year will mark its 24th year. We hope you will take a few moments to create a meditation complete with Biblical verse and Prayer for this year’s edition. Click here for a Advent Devotion Form, as well as a sample Advent Devotion. Please pick one up, take some time to fill it out either on the paper provided or on-line and give or send it to Art Tordoff by Sunday, November 14. Advent booklets will be available on Sunday, November 28, the first day of Advent.

Art Tordoff

New Adult Sunday School Class Starting Soon

In approximately 3 weeks the Adult Sunday Morning Class will begin using a new text in our class.
It is titled, Elijah: Remaining Steadfast through Uncertainty written by Gene A. Getz. Chapter titles are as follows:
· Idolatry Comes In All Shapes And Sizes A Place To Hide
· Experiencing God’s Faithfulness
· Learning The Power Of Prayer
· Avoiding Rationalism
· Avoiding Double-Mindedness
· Majesty Not Magic
· Overcoming Depression
· God’s Counseling Model
· We All Need A Friend
· What Will People Remember

The cost of the text is $11 which is the suggested donation.  If you are interested please let me know by Monday, October 11 in order that I might place an order for the books. If you have not been a member of this class before please join us at 8:45 on Sunday mornings. Newcomers are welcome!

In Christian love and service,
Art Tordoff

Sunday School Gathering after Worship

After worship on 10/3 parents, children, Sunday School teachers and other members gathered for lunch followed by a Bible discussion led by Pastor Gwyneth on the upcoming Christmas Unit which will focus on the story of the magi called "Christmas Around the World" while the kids watched a movie. Andy described the 5 centers for this unit, as well as preliminary plans for the pageant. It was a great time! You can view a few more pictures in the Sunday School Gathering Photo Album.

Bible Discussion
    Adults learned some interesting things together on the story of the magi from Matthew 2:1-12. This story is typically read for Epiphany, the 12 day after Christmas, usually celebrated on the first Sunday of January. For most of church history, Epiphany was the primary day of celebration, second only to Easter. Only in the last few hundred years has the birth of Jesus had any significance in the Church. That's really great for the kids to learn about Epiphany! You can view a sermon poem, "Daughter of a Wise Man" by Pastor Gwyneth here.
    So who were the magi? They were astrologers from the east, so they were Gentiles, not Jews. They followed a star to Bethlehem which they took to be a divine revelation, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus.  Despite the popular hymn "We Three Kings" we don't actually know how many magi there were, only that there were three gifts. These typically symbolize the kingship, deity and sacrificial ministry of Jesus.
   Why would God reveal the birth of the Messiah to foreigners? This was an early indication that the Gospel of Jesus was expanding to include all the world, signifying the extension of salvation to the Gentiles. This is the primary meaning of Epiphany and why it is so important in the Church.
    We also learned how the Magi are mentioned in other parts of Scripture, for instance in the book of Daniel. In fact Daniel was made a chief of the magi, and due to jealousy he was thrown by his peers into the lion's den, which he miraculously survived.

Noah's Ark Sunday School Unit

     The first unit of Sunday School is already completed! It was a wonderful time for kids and adults learning together about God's covenant with Noah and the sign of the rainbow.
     In the arts center, kids made a rainbow with their hand prints, which was great fun and looks beautiful in the room. Some of the teachers put their hand prints up too - you can view an album of these pictures here.

      Many thanks to Andy Folley who led the Games Center, Teresa Folley & Angela Blanchette who led the Arts Center, Karen Jennings who led the Story Center, and Ellen Dunn who led music for the unit. Many thanks to other helpers as well.

Church Conference and Luncheon, Sunday, Nov 21

Our annual Church Conference will be held after worship  on Sunday, November 21 . We will begin with lunch, after worship.  Our District Superintendent, Rev. Mike Davis will be preaching that morning and then leading us in this important church meeting. Members only vote, but all are encouraged to attend.

   We would appreciate reservations for lunch so we can plan accordingly. Please RSVP to Chris Ward at 767-2516. Suggested $5 donation per person or $15/family.

Christmas Around the World Sunday School Unit Has Begun!

Submitted by Andy Folley
The Christmas Around the World Sunday School Unit Has Begun! On 10/24, littlest members 3 and 4 year olds will be studying the stars in the Peoples' Planetarium with Andy in the Ellis Hall mural room. 5 year olds will be learning about the legend of the Poinsettia with Teresa in the Ellis Hall rainbow room. Oldest members grades 3 through 5 will be singing the Christmas songs with Betty Lane. Finally our 7 year olds will be cooking with Tammy in the kitchen of the vestry.  As always these groups may be flexible to adjust for siblings and balanced groups.
     While we are teaching this unit we will also be working on preparing for the Christmas Pageant. There are many opportunities to help, including organizing costumes, collecting props, designing and building the set, taking photographs, designing the program, etc. The kids have already begun working on music, and official pageant rehearsals will begin in December. Our key volunteers who have designed sets and made costumes are unable to help this year so will definitely need more folks to step up to the plate.  Please contact Andy Folley to help out at 749-5702.

Christmas Events You Want to Mark on Your Calendar!

Coastal Christmas Fair, Saturday, December 4, 9am-2pm
Get your Christmas shopping done! Children’s craft area while you shop.

Hanging of the Greens Family Worship, Sunday, Dec. 5, 6pm
Kids hear the Christmas story and we decorate the church for Christmas together. Children are invited to bring one unwrapped child's gift for a needy family at the Root Cellar.

Horsedrawn Wagon Caroling Party, Sunday, Dec 12, 4pm
Join us for caroling around the neighborhood. Suggested donation $5/person and all proceeds will go to local missions. Reservations recommended.

Root Cellar Angel Gift Mission, Monday, Dec. 13, 9am
Come help wrap gifts for needy children in the Portland area. You can also participate in the program by sponsoring a child or family to buy them Christmas gifts.

Children’s Christmas Pageant, Sunday, Dec. 19, 10:30am
Celebrate the birth of Jesus as the kids bring the Good News!

Christmas Caroling in Nursing Homes, Sunday, Dec. 19, 1pm
Join voices together as we bring joyful carols to area nursing homes and shut-ins

Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship, Friday, Dec. 24, 7pm
Celebrate the birth of our Savior in this beautiful candlelight worship. Bring a bell!