Submitted by Art Tordoff: A great time was had by all at the 2010 Coastal Christmas Fair, a lot of fun was in the bargain and many folks from the community had a chance to experience the PUMC Spirit!
For those that may not recognize the event the pictures portray the Annual Church Fair which with the exception of once has been held on the first Saturday in December in the time that I have been an attendeeor member and that dates back to 1948. My guess is that its origins are somewhere in the early partof the 20th century.
Coastal Christmas Fair will take place this Saturday, December 4, 9am-2pm. Get your Christmas shopping done! Children’s craft area while you shop.
We would also love assistance in setting up the fair on Friday evening, and cleanup on Saturday afternoon. Many hands make for light work!
The youth group met together on 11/21 and made pumpkin pies for the Root Cellar as their mission project this Fall. Although the crowd was small this time everyone had a great time.
Our annual Church Conference took place on Sunday, November 21 after worship, with a beautiful luncheon prepared for us as well. This is the annual all-church meeting, with Rev. Mike Davis, District Superintendent presiding. The meeting began with a slide show reminding us of how Peoples has been active in ministry this year, followed by voting on issues such as approving lay speakers and pastoral compensation, receiving bequests, etc., as well as a video presentation by Bishop Weaver followed by table discussion on ideas for continuing to make disciples of Jesus Christ through outreach in our community and how we could partner with sister churches in this outreach.
Mike also commended our work as a church in paying off a significant portion of our mission shares this year and appreciates the many ways we are working as a church to be more faithful stewards of our resources as well as more joyful givers.
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The kids Sunday School have begun assigning parts for the Christmas Pageant. Be sure to attend worship this Sunday if you'd like your kids involved, or contact Andy Folley. The pageant this year is called Christmas Around the World, and will be completely different this year so very exciting. The kids will show us how Christians in Mexico, Korea, Ghana Africa and Sweden celebrate the birth of Jesus. There's rumor there will also be a visit from the Magi!
Everyone who attended had fun playing pegs'n jokers and 3-15 Rummy at the Peoples Fall game night. We hope more can join us next time!
All of the work is amazing so be sure to check it out and say thank you to those who cared enough about their church family to work so hard on a Saturday morning!
Brad and Betsy Morrison joyfully provide coffee and goodies for fellowship after worship every week, and have done this for a number of years. Every now and then when they are away, they call on some folks to fill in. This past Sunday Jody Fyles, Janice Huelin and Carol Bruneau worked together to provide this wonderful time of hospitality.
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.
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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.
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."
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.
Submitted by Doreen Gay
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. 
d 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. 
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.
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.
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. 
Coastal Christmas Fair, Saturday, December 4, 9am-2pm
Join us for caroling around the neighborhood. Suggested donation $5/person and all proceeds will go to local missions. Reservations recommended.
