By Mattie Wesson

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First Christian Church, 100 Water Street, PO Box 367, Belton, TX 76513 http://fccbelton.org fccbeltoninfo@yahoo.com 254.939.3483

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Maybe you’ve heard someone say- or said it

yourself- something like, “It’s not

Christmas…until we decorate the tree” or “until

you write your letter to Santa” or “until we sing

carols around the fire” or “until we’ve watched It’s

A Wonderful Life.” The fact is, much of how we

do Christmas is cultural rather than religious. The

gospels say nothing about snow or sleigh bells or

tinsel or eggnog or Zuzu’s petals. And much of

our personal and family Christmas is traditional

rather than biblical- and unimportant- except that

those traditions create deep bonds of memory and

caring. (Do you open presents on Christmas Eve

or Christmas morning? Do you read aloud The

Night Before Christmas, every year?) And that is

mightily important.

The ways we celebrate Christmas are

merely different from the customs of other

societies, and there may be many things we can

learn from them. Advent is this current season of

preparing for the Lord’s coming, and maybe a re-

learning how he comes to each of us. This year,

perhaps, we can see and understand in a new light

the coming and presence of the Christ child in a

Charlie Brown, or a Simpsons, Christmas Special;

or by learning about Kwanzaa; or by expanding

our Bible reading beyond the passages about Magi

searching for a King in Matthew’s gospel or the

heavenly choir singing to the shepherds in Luke, and including as well, the sermons of hope from

Pastor’s

Corner Michael Dunson

the Old Testament prophets to a hurting and weary

people.

Enjoy the season, and try to perceive the

different manifestations of God’s presence among us.

Find your own new ways of expressing the peace of

Christ that is coming into the world. It is a story for

all of us, full of hope, and jollity. Ho! Ho! Ho!

And the Lord will become king over all

the earth. Zechariah 14:9

December 2012 1

DWM Meeting 6PM

Fellowship Luncheon

Christmas Cantata Christmas Party

Salad Kings

Newsletter Deadline Christmas Eve Service

December 3

December 9

December 9 December 14

December 17

December 21 December 24

Page 2

First Christian Church

What can I give… Adapted from writings of Amy Gopp, DOC Week of

Compassion

Womens’ Ministries By Charlene Tapman, President

Receipts: $5,337

Designated Offerings: 2,000

Expenditures: $-7,017

Difference: $ 320

As of October 30, 2012

The DWM Stew Luncheon and Bazaar was a great

success. Including the sales made on Saturday during

Belton Market Days, more than $2,000.00 is now available to fund ministries in our community. Max

Jordan cooked all of the delicious stew for the

luncheon. We thank him for working so long and hard

on this project. We appreciate both Max’s culinary skills and his patience when we clog the kitchen space.

THANK YOU MAX for all of your help.

Thank you also to Bob McGuyer for working as cashier

and greeter for the luncheon. We appreciate your help

very much.

The bazaar items were especially impressive this year.

There was a great variety of beautiful pieces reflecting

the diverse interests and skills of our members and their enormous personal investment of time and resources.

Thank you to each one who helped in any way. Your

work was AWESOME.

The DWM will host the church Christmas dinner on

December 9 following the Christmas Cantata. We will

follow our tradition of serving our favorite chicken dish and ham. Please plan to bring a dessert, a salad or

vegetable to complete this holiday meal. Please fill in

the sign-up sheet in the fellowship hall. We all look forward to sharing this special time of great food and

loving fellowship.

The next DWM meeting is Monday, December 3, at

6:00 PM in the fellowship Hall. Supper will be

provided and we will have the great joy of considering

how to use our funds to God’s purpose. Please prayerfully prepare to discuss these important

decisions.

We have just received the names of six CASA children

that we can adopt for the Christmas season. Please see

Mattie Wesson on Sunday for details.

Looking ahead, the tentative date for Chili Day is

February 1, if it doesn’t conflict with other community

activities. Blessings…Charlene

What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what can I give Him; give my heart. -“In the Bleak Midwinter,” Lyrics by Christina Rosetti After the barrage of Black Friday sales, the allure of

Cyber Monday emails, it’s easy to lose track of what

Christmas giving is all about. The extravagant love of a God whose love

awakens us from injustice. The innocence of that

love, incarnate in a child, born not in a hospital, but in a barn, surrounded by farm workers, travelers from

far away countries, and parents who would soon flee,

seeking refuge from a threat of violence to their child.

We give because there is something overwhelming about being a child of God, and knowing that each

face we pass belongs not to a stranger but to a brother

or sister. We give – not because we love, but because we are loved.

As Christmas approaches, those of us at Week of

Compassion are reminded that while our ministry

with you is at its heart one of generosity, the approaching season is one in which you may want to

give something special to those you care about.

Perhaps you want to honor those who reach out in Courageous Compassion with you. Perhaps you

want your holiday giving to be a way to live out your

commitment to justice and new life. Perhaps you want to give simply because you are

loved.

Page 3 First Christian Church

Helping Hands Ministry

Worship Team By Mylessa Wheeler

We are now entering into the Advent season

of the church. “Advent” simply means

coming, as in Christ is coming, and for us

now He has arrived. We have several

worship events to celebrate this glorious

season. We will be decorating the church on

Saturday, December 1, at 10:00 AM. We

welcome all who can come and help

decorate. Even though it sounds like work,

it is actually a lot of fun.

Then, on Sunday December 2, we

complete the decorating with the children

participating in the “Hanging of the Green.”

Also on December 2, the first of the Advent

Wreath candles will be lit.

On December 9, our choir will be

presenting our annual special Christmas

music. This year’s format will be a little

different, with a mixture of toe-tapping and

scripture reading bringing an exciting story

of Jesus’ birth to life in music. After the

music program, we will have our annual

Christmas luncheon.

We hope you can bring a friend and stay

and have lunch with us. We always have

great fellowship and food!

On December 24, we will have the

Christmas Eve service beginning at 6 PM. It

is always a beautiful service. After the

service, there will be a get-together in the

Fellowship Hall. It will be a great time for

fellowship.

Moderator’s Memo By Mattie Wesson

Before I forget, I want to remind the Elders

we will not meet in December due to all the

activities we will be having throughout the

month. We will resume our normal schedule in

January.

I can’t believe December has arrived

already. This year has gone so fast and I must

say that we and our church has been blessed in

so many ways in 2012.

Through the generosity of our congregation we

have been able to complete several outreach

projects successfully. We have helped

homeless families through Family Promise,

school children through project Apple Tree,

CASA children through Angel Tree, and most

recently, hungry people through Helping Hands

ministry.

We have received substantial contributions

via Memorials and Honoraria from members

and members’ families. These gifts have

helped greatly with financial need as we

continue in the Lord’s work. We will be

forever thankful to them for their generosity.

I also want to thank the congregation for all

that all of you do to help in so many ways. I

wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a Happy

New Year. Let us pray that 2013 will be

another successful year for us. I hope to see

you at all of our December activities.

“For today in the City of David there has been

born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord”

Luke 2:11 (NASB). Thanks Be to God!

Pastor Mike delivered our food donations

and monetary donations to Helping Hands

on Friday, November 16, their Annual

Food Drive day. He reported that after the

monetary donations were translated into

pounds of food, this church contributed

over 2,500 pounds of food for the drive.

We do amazing things together for our

community!

Page 4

First Christian Church

Lectionary Readings

DECEMBER 2012 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Sunday Schedule 9:30am Sunday School 10:15 Choir Warmup 10:30am Fellowship 11am Worship 12:15pm Choir

1 10 AM Decorating

Fun

2 Advent Begins

Hanging of the Green

3 DWM Meeting 6pm

4

5 6:30pm Bible Study

6

7

8

9 Choir

Cantata

Fellowship Meal

10

11 12 6:30pm Bible Study

13

14 Christmas Party Fellowship Hall

15

16 Christmas Special Offering

17 6pm Salad Kings

18 19 6:30 PM Bible Study

20 21 Newsletter Deadline

22

23

24 Christmas Eve

Service 6:00 PM

Fellowship Following

He Is Born!

26 6:30pm Bible Study

27 28 29

30 31 New Year’s Eve

3 Tom Tapman 19 Diane Pressley 4 Mike Pressley 28 Claire Mahan 14 Kathy Jordan 28 Doris Sanders 17 Fran McGuyer

18 Jo Ellen Strunk BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS!

December 2 December 9 December 16 December 23 December 30

Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21:25-36 Sermon Text:

Jeremiah 33:10-22

Malachi 3:1-4 Luke 1:68-79

Phillipians 1:3-11 Luke 3:1-6

Sermon Text: Malachi 3:1-12

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Isaiah 12:2-6

Phillipians 4:4-7 Luke 3:7-18

Sermon Text: Phillipians 4:1-20

Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:39-55

Psalm 80:1-7 Hebrews 10:5-10

Sermon Text: Hebrews 10:1-18

1 Samuel 2:18-20.26 Psalm 148

Collosians 3:12-17 Luke 2:41-52 Sermon Text:

Colossians 3:1-17

Page 5 First Christian Church

DECEMBER SERVICE CALENDAR

Prayer List Helping Hands Ministry

Those serving our country People in war-torn countries

Rita Bartlett Cindy Capps

Virginia Carden Casey Casilhas

Gladys Cockrum Janice Cockrum Karen and Larry

Eva Higgs

Bill Davis Thelma Grammond

Mary H Haley, Lexie, Emmie

Dayna/Jeremiah Ebling Richard Donahoo

Jabe Evans and Family Bill Ankenbauer Iona (Tot) Avant Richard Yoeman

Jan, friend of Hope Brown

Jessie John Lehrmann

Terri McCart Jane McDonald

Kelly Myers Ovella Phillips Doreen Leland Margarit Raby

Kenan McDonald Doris Sanders

Mike Seiler Kelli Shepperd Charline Spears

Floyd & Joyce Spindle Debbie & Norma Whitson

Don Van Schoelandt Bob and Joan Savage

Carl Koonst Brienna Zeiger

Elsie York

December 2 December 9 December 16 December 23 December 30

Communion Elder

Cindy Capps Amy Larson Cindy Capps Amy Larson Mattie Wesson

Offertory Elder Sharon Moore Kirk Wallace Kathy Jordan Kirk Wallace Kathy Jordan

Early Deacon Mattie Wesson Mattie Wesson Hope Brown Mattie Wesson Cindy Capps

Deacon 1 Mylessa Wheeler Cindy Capps Mylessa Wheeler Mylessa Wheeler Melissa Wheeler

Deacon 2 Terri Holwerda Judy Wallace Judy Wallace Terri Holwerda Judy Wallace

Deacon 3 Kirk Wallace Terri Holwerda Kirk Wallace Max Jordan Cindy Capps

Deacon 4 Hope Brown Dusty Smith Hope Brown Diane Pressley Hope Brown

Communion Preparation

Mattie Wesson Mattie Wesson Hope Brown Max Jordan Mattie Wesson

Greeter Judy Wallace Cindy Capps Tom Tapman Marilyn

Ankenbauer Max Jordan

Refreshments Mattie Wesson Christmas Luncheon

Hope and Blake Brown

Charlene Tapman Cindy Capps

Acolytes Dindy Brown Derek Smith Dindy Brown Derek Smith Dindy Brown

Children’s Moment

Jaime Wheeler Jaime Wheeler

Worship Leader Sharon Moore Charlene Tapman LaQuita Gruver Mattie Wesson Kirk Wallace

First Christian Church

100 Water Street, PO Box 367

Belton, TX 76513

Phone:

(254) 939-3483

E-Mail:

fccbelton100@sbcglobal.net

fccbeltoninfo@yahoo.com

We’re on the Web!

Visit us at:

fccbelton.org

Pastor…Reverend Michael Dunson Choir Director/Pianist…Marilyn VanSchoelandt

Song Leaders…Amy Larson Media Team…Dusty Smith, Carol Harrison, & Kathy Jordan

Nursery Attendant…Ana Hernandez Ministry Assistant…Sandra Robinson

First Christian Church

PO Box 367 Belton, TX 76513

Customer Name

Street Address

City, ST ZIP Code

You have succeeded in life when all

you really want is what you really

need.

-- Vernon Howard

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