“To know and follow Christ and to help others know and follow Christ.”

JANUARY > 2016

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Back Cover

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how do you sci-fi? {Youth New Year’s Eve Event}

December 31, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

MLK Jr. Day Worship ServiceJanuary 18, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

1340 3rd Ave SE | Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 | 319.363.2058 | www.stpaulsumc.org

1340 3rd Ave SE | Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Address Service Requested

Martin Luther King Day Worship ServiceJoin us on January 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through word, song and the presentation of the 2016 Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris “Who is My Neighbor” Award. If you would like to nominate someone for the award, go online to www.stpaulsumc.org and download the “MLK Jr. ‘Who is My Neighbor’ Nomination Form.”

“I have a dream…” the great Martin Luther King Jr. preached. May we at St. Paul’s enter into this year with the commitment to dream new dreams of the Beloved Community.

2016Special Offering

Calendar

Advent Greetings, dear friends!

I’ve been keeping this small round container of prayers on the conference table in my office. It’s the bundle of your Forward in Faith prayer slips that you had written in May to be tucked inside one of the Prayer Walls within each of our worship spaces. Do you remember those brown prayer walls? Do you remember what you prayed about seven months ago?

Today, I opened some of them up again, just to read a few. They are beautiful. Here’s some of the first handful I touched today:

“Move us to be generous that new generations will experience love, hope, and transformation though the ministries of St. Paul’s.”

“Lord, we praise you and love you. Please be with us as we journey forward in faith. Please draw us together as a people to move forward witnessing to your love, forgiveness and grace. We love you and praise you. Amen.”

“For peace, love for mankind, growth in faith, to help those who can’t, to be a disciple of Christ, to open our hearts and eyes.”

This prayer-packed container is full of your hopes, hurts, confessions, visions and passion for what God might do! Your prayerful preparation led us to a compassionate, inspired Church Conference that witnessed to your hopes for ministry through

Luke 3:15-16

The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. John replied to them all, ‘I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire...’

From Pastor SherrieLead Pastor

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Phase One Building design. (Read more about it on page 9) What a joyful time to anticipate what happens next! When sections of our own brown walls come down this summer, my prayer is that walls between any of us and God can come down, too. Walls between people and God are to be replaced with spaces of grace.

Join me in prayers for transforming our spaces and for God’s spirit in transforming us. Believe in God’s vision for us, which is more beautiful than anything we’ve yet to imagine.

Merry Christmas and God’s Blessings to you.

Pastor Sherrie

Welcoming

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As you all know, for many months we have been hearing about the many exciting changes coming to our building here at St. Paul’s. There have been countless hours of work and planning that have resulted in a recently approved building plan. What an exciting time for our members and our community!

What you may not know is that during the past year, there have been countless hours of work and planning for another project that will provide an equally impactful benefit to our church. This project has been quietly led by two St. Paul’s members that have generously donated their time and extraordinary talent. The project is a new church website, and the members leading the effort are Jade Hart and Michelle LeCompte.

A little over a year ago, the St. Paul’s Reaching and Receiving team identified that our current website was due for some updates. The current site, launched in 2009, has served as an increasingly valuable resource for members and as our virtual “front door” for those using the internet to find a new church or learn about St. Paul’s. However, in this digital age of connectivity, an inviting, easy-to-use website is essential, and also challenging. Our current site lacks the technology to meet the needs of today’s mobile visitors and devices.

Jade and Michelle graciously stepped up earlier this year to help lead the effort and develop a plan to move forward with the website project. Their professional experience with website development and willingness to donate their time to lead this project over the past several months has resulted in a lot of progress! There is a new site design through Church on a Hill Design, and work has begun to review, revise and rewrite existing site content. Jade is also working with Gary Lindsay and St. Paul’s ministry leaders to develop new site content that will be more inviting to newcomers and serve existing members better with improved functionality.

There is still work to be done, but we wanted to share the progress! Jade, Michelle, Gary and others will work closely with Holli Schneekloth, Director of Communications at St. Paul’s, over the coming months to continue with development of the new site, anticipating the site will be ready to go during the season of Lent.

Angie Evans, Reaching & Receiving

“Do this in remembrance of me…” 1 Corinthians 11:24The Lord’s Table is extended through a caring visit like this one with Lois and Sally. Throughout the Advent season, and any other time, please know that our congregational and pastoral care teams would love to share this sacrament of grace with you.

WorshipSunday

18:15 am | Communion Worship {Chapel}19:00 am | Traditional Worship* {Sanctuary}10:20 am | Sunday School for Children, Youth, & Adults10:30 am | Worship Café-Contemporary {Wesley Center}11:30 am | Worship Café-Contemporary {Wesley Center}12:00 pm | African Nationals Worship {Sanctuary}

TGIW {Thank God It’s Wednesday}

16:00 pm | Activities for all ages.

Thursday 10:30 am | Neighborhood Worship {Chapel}

Saturday 12:00 pm | African Nationals Worship {Room 117}

View Worship*Sunday’s 9:00 am traditional worship

may be viewed on:Mediacom Cable Channel 4**

at 6:00 pm Wednesdays**Note Channel Change for Mediacom

ImOn Channel 4 at 10:00 am Thursdays

Invite someone to join you and worship God!

On Sunday, Dec. 13, the children taught us to “Make Room for Christmas” during their Christmas Program. Good job to all the kids, and a huge thank you to the many youth and adults who worked hard so it could all come together!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, the 4:30 pm service is especially family-oriented, including children’s participation in the nativity scene. During the reading of Jesus’ birth, they can come down to the manger at the appropriate time according to which character they are playing (angel, wise man, or shepherd). At all the services (4:30, 8:30, and 10:30), children will also be given an activity bag with coloring pages, crayons, and a glow stick.

United Methodist Camps

Camp catalogs will be coming to church and homes in the next month or so, and many families will be making priorities for summer activities. At St. Paul’s, we offer financial support so that no St. Paul’s child and youth has to miss camp because of the cost. Donations to our campership fund are always used and appreciated! Just make a check to St. Paul’s with “campership” in the memo line. Talk to Pastor Allison with questions about camps or camperships.

Dates to KnowDecember 23 > No TGIW

December 30> No TGIW

December 27 > Come in your PJ’s and bring a blankie or stuffed animal to our Sunday School fun day.

July 8-10 > Mark your calendars for Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday mornings for a newly formatted VBS next summer!

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First Grade MilestonePlease join us in the Parlor on Sunday, February 7 from 10:20 am-12:00 pm to celebrate the Prayer Milestone, an opportunity for first graders and their families to learn about prayer. Milestones Ministry marks certain milestones in faith development and knowledge of the Christian faith. Milestones are for children and their parents/grandparents, so please attend together. Lunch is provided; siblings are welcome to join us after Sunday School. Please RSVP to Pastor Allison Warren by January 31 with the number for lunch and any dietary restrictions.

Fourth Grade MilestonePlease join us in the Parlor on Sunday, January 24 10:20 am-12:00 pm to celebrate the Baptism Milestone, an opportunity for fourth graders and their families to learn about Baptism. Milestones Ministry marks certain milestones in faith development and knowledge of the Christian faith. Milestones are for children and their parents/grandparents, so please attend together. Lunch is provided; siblings are welcome to join us after Sunday School. Please RSVP to Pastor Allison Warren with the number for lunch and any dietary restrictions.

Children’s DiscipleshipQuestions? Contact Pastor Allison at allison@stpaulsumc.org or 363-2058.

Youth Discipleship

Adult Discipleship

“How do you sci-fi?” This is the theme of our annual New Year’s and Christmas lock-in for WORD ministries. December 31, 2015 at 7:00 pm - January 1, 2016 at 7:00 am. This year is really exciting, as we now are welcoming in our Club 56 brothers and sisters, too (Club 56 stays until 10:00 pm). We are hoping to have St. Mark’s UMC join us, and we have a lot of fun events and activities planned. To go with our theme, we are asking everyone to dress up as their favorite science fiction character. Then we will be having a white elephant gift exchange (no more than $10), late night worship, with some sardines, murder mystery, a

movie, and chariot races mixed in. This is one of our outreach events where our teens are encouraged to invite a friend or two and to expose them to why having a relationship with Christ can be a lot of fun. Bring a friend or two and your favorite snack to share. Please join me in praying for this event that many would see the love, hope, and grace of God that night.

Happy New Year! Keith Pitts, Director of Youth Ministry

Keith Pitts, Director of Youth Ministry dressed up as his favorite sci-fi character, the fourth Dr. Who.

Youth Ministry New Year’s Eve Lock-In

Celebrate Small Groups!In our connectional groups, classes and small groups, we look to grow in faith, care for each other, and then go into the world renewed to spread God’s love. This takes time and effort to build relationships, so our Adult Spiritual Formation Team decided to model this by trying out our new St. Paul’s developed curriculum called Spirit Leads Us: Growth Group. Part of the intent of this new curriculum is to kick off small groups anywhere in the church and to develop facilitators so they will feel more confident to form new small groups. We met

in our home for six weeks with a wrap-up meal together to decide on our next steps. Look for some new small group studies in 2016 with topics from exercise and faith to a Dr. Who study. We found that our working relationship as a committee was enhanced by the faith conversations and fun, as well as all of us feeling more equipped to lead small groups in the future.

Now, we hope to spread this feeling to others in the church by building facilitators and by giving new small groups a place to start. We have several people who have shown interest in being in a small group based on the Photo Directory Surveys, and we will be contacting them. Also, we hope

anyone who would like to try a small group will contact the church to let Pastor Jonathan or the Adult Spiritual Formation Team know that you are looking to start the new year with a chance to grow closer to God and others!

Nancy Anton Jensen

2016 St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Special Offering Calendar

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Sending2016 St. Paul's United Methodist Church – Special Offering Calendar

January

3 Helping Hands Ministry

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17 Human Relations Day / Rural Life / Disability Awareness

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31

February

7 Food Bank – Fill the Truck

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21 Mission of Hope

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March

6 One Great Hour of Sharing / Christian Education

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27 Easter Offering (Easter Mission)

April

3 Food Bank – Fill the Truck

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17 Neighborhood Meals

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May

1 Ingathering

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15 Peace with Justice / Golden Cross / Native American

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29

June

5 His Hands Healing Mission

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19

26

July

7 Matthew 25

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21

28

August

7 Food Bank – Fill The Truck

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21

28

September

4 Emergency Fund

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18 African Nationals

25

October

2 World Communion / UM Student Day

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16 Family Promise

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30

November

6 Food Bank – Fill the Truck

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20 SPRINT – For Summer 2017

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December

4 Christmas Dinner

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18 Christmas Offering

25 Christmas Offering

JANUARY MAY SEPTEMBER

FEBRUARY JUNE

OCTOBER

MARCH JULY NOVEMBER

APRILAUGUST DECEMBER

18 blankets made by over 40 folks tonight at the November monthly mission. They’ll be given to Mission of Hope. This was one of our best missions yet! Lots of people working together for a common cause, and Greg Morton & Lee Moore cooked up pizzas for us!

At St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on Sundays and Thursdays we offer bread from Panera to anyone who passes through our doors.

Caring

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Health Notes: Kitties & Humans Our house sits in the middle of a field—a perfect haven for field mice. “A cat who liked to mouse might be helpful,” I said as my husband made the rounds of the traps. Our Indiana family had acquired a kitty, a newborn on the side of the road. Although they told her “You Aren’t Going to Stay” they fed her by hand to keep her alive.

I am sure you have already guessed we came home from Thanksgiving with a little gray kitty. We put her in our furnace room, and for a couple of days the food disappeared and poop was in the litter box. Then everything stopped. No food

eaten, no litter disturbed, no tiny meows. My husband tried to console me with his male wisdom—“we ought to know in a few days where she is.”

After 3 days I took a flashlight and went on a search. Finally I heard a tiny meow and saw the tip of a tail disappearing behind the insulation on a beam of the unfinished ceiling. Determined to rescue her, I climbed a ladder to within reach of her, and she began to hiss at me. I expected massive scratches as she clung to the wood with every nail. Finally I peeled her off the beam. As I started down the ladder, instead of resisting, she snuggled into my arms and began to purr.

Later I reflected on the comparison of the kitty and humans. We try to hide from God

and even to hiss at his attempts to care for us. We hang on with tooth and nail to our belief that we are self-sufficient. Yet inside we recognize how dependent we are on his grace. We are as eager for his touch as he is for contact with us.

Mary Horn, RNParish Nurse

Kim Calef, Kevin Lodge and Bev Stolfus are St. Paul’s UMC newly commissioned Stephen Ministers.

St. Paul’s Newly Commissioned Stephen Ministers Kim Calef, Kevin Lodge and Bev Stolfus recently completed their 50 hours of training for Stephen Ministry. They were commissioned at the 9:00 am service on December 13, 2015. Our St. Paul’s group now has 29 active members.

If you know of someone who is going through a difficult time and open to hearing about Stephen Ministry, please contact Elaine Oxenford, one of our Stephen Leaders, at 447-0786.

Prayer Requests for this devotion of caring will be added upon request and updated weekly. Communicate by use of the prayer request boxes, phone 363-2058, or e-mail: silg@stpaulsumc.org. Include a permission to share with others, or a request for confidentiality.

PrayerPrayer Devotions Then Mary said, ‘I am the Lord’s servant…’ ~ Luke 1:59

Hear our prayers for… • Peace and reconciliation in places of conflict throughout the world and for those serving through our military. • A revival movement of God’s people, through St. Paul’s and the world. • Joy of baptism of Margo Hudson Menzner, daughter of Jennifer & Jonathan Menzner • Joy of baptism and church membership of Gillian Murray, Tyanna Stephenson, and Art Dunkel, and new membership of Lu Wherry and Mike Morse. • New Stephen Ministers Kim Calef, Kevin Lodge and Bev Stolfus. • Those struggling with addictions. • For our Congregational Ministries and God’s continued blessings!

Continued healing & grace for... • Harry Young (Tom Young’s brother) • Kristin Simon • Willard Cheney (Helen) • Kyle Wilkinson • Judy Franta • Wayne Meier • Mary Brockmeyer (Lloyd) • Lori Anton (sister-in-law of Nancy and Brice Anton Jensen) • Esther Miceli • Dorothy Klinkhammer

• Jean Fitz (Max) • Wayne Dvorak • Nora Mae Vance (Al) • Chuck Marple • Ann Struthers (Mel) • Mina Arbore (John) • Scott (nephew of Barb Ross) • John McQuilkin (Jean Kwader’s father) • Dee Gray • Marcia Clemmens (Jerry) • Gloria Sears (Sally Ford’s friend) • Clarence and Janette Mowery • Jean Beers • Kathleen Baker • Marea Bowman (Dan & Sally McAleer’s niece) • Miriam Kiliper • Mike Myers (Suzanne) • Isaiah Hatfield (premature infant son of Anya and Elizabeth Hatfield, grandson of Amy and Scott Bruner) • Whit Bohning (Linda Hadley’s great grandson) • Virginia Walters • Edie Nekola • Alden Drinovsky (neighbor of the Jurkowskis) • Ryan Vick • A.J. Underwood • Pam Anslyn (friend of Angela Stookey) • Marilyn Everett (Tamara Young’s mother) • Jan Keene (Kevin) • Scott Spoerl (Barb Newhall’s grandson) • Devin Simon (Kristin Simon’s nephew) • Heidi DeJong (Chaun) • Angela Stookey • Kris Yahn (Steve) • Quinn Anton Jensen (Nancy and Brice Anton-Jensen’s son)

• Matthew Hudson (Fran Nathanson)

The Church of Jesus Christ, Springdale Church, and Pastor Kimberly Bowles.

Memorial prayers for the families and friends of... • Glenda Schloss • Gary Sharp (Pat) • Duane Anton • John Cuthbertson (Betty) • Irma Matchett (Jerry Matchett’s mother) • Miriam Campbell (Ron Campbell and Jean Campbell’s mother) • James Dean “We-jah-nah- pinga” Climer, Jr.(son of James Dean Climer)

Those under Hospice Care... • Corrine Smallridge (Vicki Comer’s mother)

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Be part of a movement of people who are sent by

God’s grace!

December 20Luke 1:39-45; Luke 1:47-55;

Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 10:5-10“Prepare. Advent+4”

December 24 - Christmas EveChristmas Eve Worship Services

4:30 pm (family service)8:30 pm (traditional)

10:30 pm (communion)December 27Luke 2:41-52

“First Sunday After Christmas”January 3 - Epiphany of the Lord

Matthew 2:1-12“When They Saw”

What’s Happening at St. Paul’s?Contact Holli Schneekloth our Director of Communication at hschneekloth@stpaulsumc.org to receive the Outlook newsletter by mail and Thursday e-blasts.

Etc.Fair Trade for Sale

Fair Trade for sale in time for Christmas on Sunday, December 20 from 8:30-11:00 am. Items for sale outside of the sanctuary in the hallway, will be jewelry, oven mitts, women’s T’s and scarves as well as elephant poop paper products and

much more. Please come look at our products.

Remember Fair Trade helps Prevent Human Trafficking and demands that workers get fair wages and safety recommendations are followed. Please help make a difference!!! Proceeds will go to St. Pauls’ emergency fund and to United Methodist Women’s Iowa missions – Riverside-Bidwell and Shesler Hall.

Showers of HopeThe “showers of hope” ministry was created to provide a way for the homeless in our community to experience God’s love through the use of our showers at St. Paul’s. This ministry

also opens up opportunities to share the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ in their lives. But, we have some needs. Hotel soaps and shampoos are a great blessings, low cost razors, shaving cream, deodorants, and feminine hygiene products are needed. Please join us in sharing the love of Jesus to those in our community who are without.

Charge Conference Rev. Kiboko, Conference Superintendent has authorized a CHARGE CONFERENCE (Church Council members & retired Pastors with membership at St. Paul’s) for Sunday, December 20, 10:15 am in Pastor Sherrie’s Office. The single purpose is to vote to request a pastor be appointed to St. Paul’s to serve African National’s, to be funded through grants from the Iowa Annual Conference. Rev. Sherrie Ilg will preside.

Sherrie Ilg, Lead Pastor Lloyd Brockmeyer, Minister of Congregational CareJonathan Heifner, Associate Pastor Keith Pitts, Director of Youth MinistriesAllison Warren, Minister of Discipleship Dr. Timothy Hein, Interim Director of Music Ministries for Children and Their Families Joel Foreman, Contemporary Worship Leader

Outlook Deadline: SECOND WEDNESDAY of the MONTH by NOONOutlook Editor: Holli Schneekloth, Director of Communications

hschneekloth@stpaulsumc.org | 319.363.2058 | Mailed: Third Wednesday

Hallway HospitalityWe have been blessed with surprisingly warm temperatures as of late, but as any good Iowan knows, things are about to change. For many, the changing weather means the end of outdoor jobs or warmth for the ones who sleep outside. St. Paul’s has been faithful as we have sought to care for our neighbors through our Hallway Hospitality, but the needs continue. As you make your way to the grocery store, please consider picking up a few packs of granola bars, snack crackers, almonds, cashews, snack size trail mix, raisins, fruit cups, pudding cups and applesauce and dropping them off in the church office as we continue to serve our neighbors

Help Refresh Worship BagsOur children are grateful each week for activities and toys in the worship bags in the sanctuary. Are you available once or twice a month to keep them looking tidy and fresh? Talk to Pastor Allison.

Panera Bread MinistryVolunteers are needed for the Panera Bread Ministry offered on Sunday and Thursday mornings at St. Paul’s UMC. Please contact Steve Menzner at 377-0437 for more details.

Help Refresh Our Worship Spaces! Help us welcome worshippers with grace and care. Would you like to offer your energy by walking through our Sanctuary once a month to straighten the pew racks? Please contact Pastor Sherrie at silg@stpaulsumc.org Thank you!

The Phase 1 building project is about to become reality for St. Paul’s—thanks to the generosity and strong faith of our congregation, along with the dedication and years of hard work by our Building Committee and Church Council.

At the December 7 Church Conference 137 of 143 congregation members in attendance voted Yes to the following recommendation: “Approve the Schematic Design of Phase 1 of the existing facilities and approve moving on to the final design of the existing facilities.”

Hallelujah for this historic event in the life of St. Paul’s!

Realizing the VisionAs District Superintendent Kiboko Kiboko expressed in leading the Conference, “We are standing on the shoulders of those before us who had a vision…We are building for the next generation.”

Now begins the work of realizing the vision. We are excited to watch the next steps unfold in the coming months on this approximate schedule: • Final design work and preparation of construction documents - beginning this month • New electrical service installation and relocation of power and communication lines – Spring 2016 • Submission of complete construction documents and financial plan to the District and Charge Conference for approval – May 2016 • Construction begins – Summer 2016

Building for the Future of St. Paul’sPledge PaymentsNow is the time to follow through on your pledge payment, according to the schedule and method of payment you designated on your pledge. On December 8, 2015 a letter with payment instructions was mailed to all who pledged. If you need additional information on your pledge and when or how to provide payment, please contact Kim Trevallion, Church Treasurer at 319-363-2058 or ktrevallion@stpaulsumc.org.

If you haven’t yet pledged or are new to St. Paul’s and would like to be a part of this historic project, please contact the church office for more information or to request a pledge card.

Rev. Kiboko, Conference Superintendent, sharing the vote totals at St. Paul’s UMC, December 7, 2015 Church Conference.

Forward in Faith, St. Paul’s Church Conference held on December 7, 2015.

Luke 2:16-20 CommentsfromGarr HintzChurch Business Administrator

Financial

Church ConferenceThe vote of the congregation on December 7 to move forward with the Master Plan makes much of what I would pass along to be rather melodramatic in scope. My thanks to the Building Committee for all the work they have done thus far and for all the work yet to be done as the decision doesn’t finish the process; it only takes the challenges to the next level. Forward in Faith!!!

2016 Insurance Coverage

I received quotes from three different insurance agents for Insurance Coverage for 2016 for St. Paul’s UMC. After thorough analysis and discussion at the Board of Trustees meeting, the decision is to retain coverage through TrueNorth, our current insurance provider.

Scheduling of Events and Use of RoomsAs a seven day a week church the facilities throughout the structure get used for a multitude of purposes and groups. We are moving forward with a plan to put signage outside of rooms so that we can denote when the room will be used and what group is going to use it. This helps our maintenance staff to be prepared for the needs of groups. We have had some situations where a room has been used when our schedule didn’t reflect that anyone would be in that room. This requires additional cleanup by the maintenance team and a resetting of the room for tables and chairs. That can be frustrating in the sense that a room might be all prepared for use on a given day with no other events scheduled between now and then but yet we find that there is trash in the waste baskets and tables and chairs have been relocated. This creates additional work for maintenance and staff. The intent is not to limit the

usage of church facilities but rather to have as good of an understanding as possible as to what rooms will be used, what cleanup or resetting is needed and also if this requires specific outside doors to be unlocked. If you anticipate using a room other than requested or have expanded needs for a meeting, please let Suzette (sgadegbeku@stpaulsumc.org) know as she tries to stay ahead of the game in meeting group’s needs and communicating those needs to staff. If there would be one thing I could encourage you on is simply that we ask people to leave a room in the same or better condition as what they find it. This has been a philosophy that I have tried to embrace in my own life and think it still applies today.

As 2015 draws to a close, may God bless you in your celebrations of the birth of the Christ child!

In His Service, Garr

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They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

$(400,000.00)

$(200,000.00)

$-

$200,000.00

$400,000.00

$600,000.00

$800,000.00

$1,000,000.00

$1,200,000.00

$1,400,000.00

Income Expenses Deficit

Chart Title

Actual Budgeted

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Financial

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From Our Treasurer Monthly Financial Update

Sending to ServeMissions and Ministry Special Offerings

Thank you for these recent Special Mission Offerings: • Linn County Food Bank - $1,168 plus several pounds of food for our local food bank’s resources. • SPRINT (St. Paul’s Reaching Out in Neighborhood Together) - $1,619 SPRINT is a summer ministry for children which began in 1995, designed to provide a positive, supervised environment through enrichment and educational activities. Children participate for FREE, helping families on tight budgets. Many of the children are also those who participate in our FOCUS Preschool Program.

Special Mission Offerings in the Near Future December 24 & 27: Christmas Mission Offerings Sending to Serve has designated the Christmas 2015 offering for conference apportionments; our first mission responsibility. Sending to Serve will also be offering undesignated St Paul’s UMC Foundation Funds up to $18,000 for the efforts of Global Ministries of the UMC and UMCOR’s efforts to provide aid to refugees throughout the world.

January 3: Helping Hands MinistryThis is our PRIMARY resource for helping people with rent and utilities assistance. They are actively assisting people of Linn County who have limited material resources with emergency financial support as well as supportive services and advocacy.

January 17: Human Relations DayThis Sunday before the observation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday supports Community Developers, United Methodist Voluntary Service and Youth Offender Rehabilitation programs. “The primary focus is to help kids see Jesus and to help them grow developmentally and spiritually,” says one of the community developers who directs one of these programs.

Thank You Thank you for your continued support of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, and to all who have returned their 2016 Estimate of Giving forms. This is very helpful in the budgeting process for the new year. The church is truly blessed by your generous giving. Please remember to clearly mark the designated purpose for each gift you make to St. Paul’s. Review your statement each month for accuracy. If you have any questions, or need a pledge form, please feel free to contact me at any time by phone or email, and I will be happy to assist you.

Kimberly Trevallion, Church Treasurerktrevallion@stpaulsumc.org or 319-363-2058 x208

Operating Budget Income & Expenses as of November 2015

Apportionments Through December 2015

1 2Paid to Date:$67,204.25

Remaining Apportionments:$161,146.75

Actual Budgeted