bothell youth ministry news - Bothell United Methodist Church

The Witness
Volume 62, Issue 11
November 20, 2015
Bothell United Methodist Church
Worship Services at 8, 9 and 10:30 am every Sunday
November 29 – December 20
Advent Sermon Series, Are You There God?
Sunday, December 6
Cookie Walk bake sale between services
Sunday, December 13
Children and Youth Christmas Pageant, 4 pm
Friday, December 18
Bothell Movie Madness, 6 pm
Christmas craft, potluck dinner and the movie 101 Dalmatians
The Youth will be shown a special movie after dinner in the Youth Room
Sunday, December 20
Chancel Choir Christmas Concert, 2 pm
Come To The Manger
A concert of carols and sacred songs followed by a dessert reception
Donations at the door will benefit Bothell Community Kitchen
Tuesday, December 22
Longest Night Service, 7 pm
Reflective prayer and music for those living through dark times
Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve Worship Services
The Kingdom of God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: New Hope in the Midst of Empire
3 pm Wings worship features acoustic ensemble music
7 pm Roots candlelight worship features the Chancel Choir and Brass
11 pm River candlelight worship features the Chant Choir and communion
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At 3 and 7 pm, Children are invited
to a Birthday Party for Jesus
The Witness
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep
gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
– Fredrick Buechner
Friends of Bothell UMC,
We live in a world where discerning and responding to God’s calling is
relevant more than ever. This Winter season is an incredible time for each of us
to reflect upon the places where our deep gladness intersects with the word’s
incredible hunger. Will you join me in prayer for our communities and peoples in
this time? Starting in Advent we will begin a new sermon series.
Our sermon series is entitled, "Are you there God?” Advent is the liturgical
time of the season when the Church sits and anxiously awaits the birth of Jesus.
Over the next several weeks we will explore the themes of Waiting, Mystery,
Redemption and Incarnation as we study what might have happened that
sacred night in the manger. We will use Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “God is in the
Manger” devotional book as a foundation for our series.
I pray that this is a time you deepen your faith in Jesus.
In addition, I pray this is a time when you invite a friend, coworker, or neighbor to experience the movement of the Holy
Spirit in our Sunday morning services or for our many community
events.
May God bless you as we seek to encounter the living
and Holy One.
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The Witness
Christmas
Concert
Calling all Bakers!
We need your holiday cookie-baking
talents. Please consider baking and
donating cookies for the United
Methodist Women’s Cookie Walk. All
nut-free cookies will be gratefully
accepted on Saturday, December 5,
from 9 am - 3 pm at the church. The
Cookie Walk is Sunday, December 6,
between services. Funds raised from
the Cookie Walk go toward United
Methodist Women's mission work.
Questions, contact Ann Cargill at
425-485-3139.
Mark your
calendars – the
Chancel Choir,
Bell Choir and Chant Choir will
present a concert of Christmas music
on Sunday, December 20, at 2 pm.
The concert will benefit the Bothell
Community Kitchen and will be
followed by a dessert, hosted by
BCK. Suggested donations are: $8.00
for adults and $5.00 for children and
seniors, but all donations are gratefully accepted and will go to support
the important ministry provided by
the Bothell Community Kitchen.
Thank you from Bloodworks NW
The theme of this year’s concert is
“Come to the Manger”. Whether
you are new to Bothell UMC or are a
long time member, you are invited
to come and enjoy this wonderful
event. We have just started
rehearsing the music for this concert,
so if you would like to sing with the
Chancel Choir, there is still time. We
will rehearse concert music for the
first 45 minutes of Chancel Choir
rehearsal on Thursdays at 7:30 pm. If
you have any questions, call Sylvia
Cunningham at (425) 486-9809,
or email Jeremy Matheis at
jeremy@bothellumc.org.
Thank you so much for your ongoing
support! We had a great blood drive
yesterday (Oct. 26) at Bothell United
Methodist! We had 22 donors register
and the team was able to collect 18
units of useable products. Since each
donation goes toward 3 patients, up
to 54 patients in our local community
could benefit directly from the efforts
of those donors at Bothell United
Methodist!
Our final drive of the year is scheduled
for Monday, December 29, in the
Lounge.
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The Witness
Annual Charge Conference
Please Keep In Your Prayers …
The annual Charge Conference will be
held on Thursday, December 10, at
7:30 pm in the sanctuary. All are
welcome and invited to attend as we
reflect on what we’ve done in the past
year and take care of business matters
including voting on the 2016 budget.
All our home-bound friends
People living with chronic conditions
Linda Fatuma, Reagan Mutombo and
all the children at the Jamaa Letu
Orphanages
Kairos Prison Ministry
and Peace
Buy a Pie
Digging Deeper:
Adult Sunday Class
On Sunday, November 22, Warren
Brown will offer the opportunity of
donating a Thanksgiving pie to Hopelink at just $3.00/pie. You’ll find Warren
in the Narthex between services this
Sunday.
Digging Deeper, the
10:30 am Sunday
morning class,
welcomes adults and
interested youth.
Dr. Jeff Staley leads the class, "Finishing
up Romans," studying the last three
chapters of Romans (14-16). Among
other things, the class tackles the
Apostle Paul's thoughts about Christian
omnivores and Christian vegetarians
(Romans 14). Is food worth fighting
over? Should the church split over issues
of food?
How do we determine what is "essential"
in Christian faith? All are welcome to
come and join in the conversation! We
meet in the Lounge.
Next Witness Deadline
Monday, December 7
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The Witness
Breakfast with
the Bothell
United
Methodist Men
The Bothell United
Methodist Men
meet for breakfast at 8:30 am the third
Saturday of most months. Our next
scheduled meeting is November 21. All
are welcome to join us for fellowship,
breakfast, prayer, program and a short
business meeting. Contact Doug Will or
Jim Carley with any questions.
Susanna Wesley
The Susanna Wesley
Group will hold its
monthly meeting on
Thursday, December 10,
at 10 am in the church
lounge. Kendra Smith
will share comments and
reflections about her experience while
attending Mission U this past summer.
All women of the church are invited to
attend.
Help Us Grow
Electronic Giving is
a convenient,
consistent way to
help our church thrive and grow.
There will also be a collection of caps,
scarves and gloves for the Mitten Tree.
These items will be taken to Atlantic
Street Center. Following the meeting
will be a salad potluck luncheon.
Questions? Contact Carol Russell or
Fae McLean.
Consider scheduling a recurring
electronic contribution today. It’s easy!
You’ll no longer need to write out
checks and prepare envelopes every
week. Even when travel, illness or other
circumstances prevent you from
attending services, your electronic
contributions will continue to be received on an interrupted basis. Get
started today! Visit Bothell UMC’s
donation website at http://tinyurl.com/
BUMCgiving
Northstar
Will not meet in December. The next
meeting will be on January 27, 2016!
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The Witness
BUMC Children
UMW Girls:
Movie Madness
Faith, Hope, and Love in Action
101 Dalmatians
The UMW Girls will meet in the church
kitchen Thursday afternoon, December 3,
for the third annual Cookie Baking
Extravaganza! We’ll start at 4 pm, take
a break for dinner together, and plan to
finish by 7 pm. Girls are welcome to
arrive for any portion or stay all
evening… and please bring a friend. If
you are a girl who wants to find out how
much fun you can have supporting
UMW Missions (and maybe possibly eat
some cookies too)…you are invited!
What do you get when
you cross a bunch of
cute, spotted puppies
and a scary villain out to make an
inappropriate fur coat? You guessed
it…”101 Dalmatians!” Pack up your
family, wear your jammies, bring your
pillows and blankets, and join us in
the Fellowship Hall on Friday, December 18, at 6 pm. Please bring a potluck dish to share—the church is
providing the main course of Christmas ham! It is going to be a great
time of family, fun, food, and fellowship. Questions? Contact Sharon at
childrensministry@bothellumc.org.
Save the
Date!
Mark your
calendars for
the annual
Christmas Pageant that will take place
December 13, at 4 pm.
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The Witness
BOTHELL YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS
Wrapping Paper Fundraiser
Thankful for
We are hosting a wrapping paper fundraiser to support our Youth Fund. The
Youth Fund is an account used to support many things such as individual
scholarships for trips and events, mission
projects, and other needed items. Youth
are asked to help sell paper and work
the booth in the entryway. Buy from us
and support a good cause!
Opportunities!
The youth group
has had a great
fall. A group of us went to Ocean Park
Camp for Fall Retreat where we discussed leaving our past in the past and
living with God in the future. We are
completing our message series on
HABITS that make you spiritually strong.
This winter we will have a shopping
spree for Maltby Food Bank Christmas
presents, our own Christmas Party, our
Pageant, and more. Bring on Advent!
Movie Madness
Upcoming movies will
be part of the Star Wars
Trilogy. The events are
free, including food and
popcorn. Bring a friend!
Thanksgiving
at Youth Group
This Month’s Calendar
This Sunday, we will celebrate Thanksgiving together from 6-8 pm. Each
family is asked to offer a dish of 5
servings. Turkey and drinks are provided.
Join us for this fun evening.
Youth Sunday Class 9 & 10:30 am
Nov 20 BUMC Movie Night
6-9 pm
Nov 22 Youth Group T’giving 6-8 pm
Nov 29 No Youth Group-Holidays
Dec 6 Youth Group Xmas Party 6-8 pm
Dec 9 Shopping for Maltby Kids 6-9 pm
Dec 13 Christmas Pageant 4 pm
Dec 18 BUMC Movie Night 6-9 pm
Follow Us!
bothellumc.org “youth” tab
Facebook: Bothell UMC Youth
Instagram: bothellumcyouth
*All onsite Youth events are in the Youth
Room, in hallway right of the Sanctuary.
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The Witness
There are amazing people in our congregation who work
behind the scenes to keep the church building and its
contents running smoothly. One of these teams is called
the Pew Crew. Members of the Pew Crew come in
(usually once a month for about an hour) and make sure
the pews are cleaned and stocked for the following
Sunday. The church is grateful to Mary Morral, who for
years headed the Pew Crew and prepared the schedule
of organizers. Mary is ready to move on to another area.
If you are looking for a way to serve, please consider
joining and/or coordinating the Pew Crew. Call Celeste in the church office for
more details.
We now have large-print Bibles and magnifying glasses for those who have
difficulty reading from a pew Bible. Please ask your usher if you would like to use
either a LP Bible or a magnifying glass.
All are encouraged to bring their Bible to church and read along with the
scripture reader every Sunday. Make notes or note certain words or ideas that
you may want to remember. And on November 29, which is a fifth Sunday,
children are encouraged to bring their Deep Blue Bible and do the same thing.
If you want to learn about what the United Methodist Committee on Relief is
doing to aid in the refugee crisis in Europe, just Google UMCOR Refugees. The
story of the family living in a former bank converted to house families in Vienna
will break your heart and give you hope.
On Sunday, November 29, a special offering will be taken for United Methodist
Student Day. This offering provides loan and scholarship funds for United
Methodist college, university and graduate students.
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The Witness
Library News
Faith & Fiction
New to the library in November are
the following items:
Everyone is invited to join us for our
monthly book discussion. We meet at
the Greens' home, only a few short
blocks from the church, usually on the
third Wednesday of the month, at 7pm.
DVD - (Disney) Monsters
University
Zack, You're
Acting Zany Author Marty
Nystrom
(Elementary
School Teacher)
December 16, 6 pm — House Made
of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday
(Starting an hour earlier as it’s our
Christmas gathering, an appetizer
potluck!)
January 20, 7 pm — Claire of the Sea
Light, by Edwidge Danticat
Many poems have
valuable lessons woven
into their rhyme and humor. Jesus
was a storyteller and grabbed the
attention of his listeners, as does this
book.
Blind Descent - Author Brian
Dickinson - (Local Author True Story)
Blessings in Disguise Author Nancy Mehl
Brian's story is about his
climb to the top of Mount
Everest. Brian's faith led the
way to the top of the
mountain and led the way
down during his amazing
and treacherous blind
descent.
Book 1 of Sugarcreek
Amish Mysteries
(Guidepost Series)
Cheryl Cooper leaves
a job in Columbus,
Ohio, to run a gift shop
for her aunt. The gift shop is located
in an Amish community. Cheryl starts
getting threats, and she is trying to
find out who the culprit is. Why does
someone want her to leave?
May the season of Thanksgiving bless you
with quiet moments and simple joys.
Next Witness Deadline
Monday, December 7
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The Witness
Happy Birthday to BCK
Bothell Community Kitchen will celebrate their 6th
Anniversary on November 29. If you would like to
bake "birthday" cupcakes for dessert that evening,
please sign up in the Sunday bulletin, or email
Jeanne at lowman.family@frontier.com.
From Paul Jeffrey
Excerpts from a recent newsletter from our
Covenant Missionary, Paul Jeffrey. "In recent weeks I
made two trips to Europe in order to report from
Hungary, Serbia, Greece, Austria and Germany on
the massive number of refugees and migrants
moving toward northern Europe.
"The volunteer response was particularly important because more formal responses
from governments and non-governmental organizations, including churches, were
often too slow to take shape. In Greece, for example, where the government has
been overwhelmed by the numbers of refugees, it was volunteer lifeguards from
Spain who I photographed as they pulled drowning victims from the water. Across
the continent, it has been ordinary folks who have responded with genuine
hospitality, saving lives and making people feel loved."
For a short video Paul did with a United Methodist pastor in Germany who talks about
how people in his small village responded, click here: https://vimeo.com/145457947
For the complete article, and to subscribe to his newsletter, click here: http://
eepurl.com/bFOEOL
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The Witness
Atlantic Street Center
The third Wednesday of December is an exciting day for families in
South Seattle! It is the day of the Holiday Assistance Program at
Atlantic Street Center! Families with very limited resources, who are
served by Atlantic Street Center throughout the year, arrive Wednesday to choose
a Christmas present for each child in their family. The parents or guardians begin by
selecting a stocking for each child. Then, they are shown to age-appropriate toy
rooms to select one perfect gift and one stocking-stuffer for each of their children.
All these toys and stocking-stuffers have been donated by others. Volunteers then
carefully wrap each gift while the child's adult chooses just the right paper and signs
a gift tag. There is a lot of love in that room!
Bothell UMC continues to enjoy being a dedicated partner in the Holiday Assistance
Program. This year there are many ways Bothell UMC people are invited to participate.
Prayers—Please pray for Atlantic Street Center families and their children.
Presence—Volunteer in South Seattle during the Holiday Assistance Program on
Wednesday, December 16. You may offer to be a Check-in Host, Break Room
Monitor, Shopping Guide/Elf, Gift Wrapper, Toy Monitor, or Stock Room Float.
Gifts— Toys: Donate new, unwrapped toys and games for boys and girls--birth to
18 years old.
Stocking Stuffers: Gift cards and other small new gifts are needed--especially
for older children.
Mitten Tree Warmth: Donate store-bought or hand-made hats, mittens, and
scarves for ASC’s Holiday Assistance Program.
Doll Ministry: Dolls for ASC’s children have been dressed by families and
friends of Bothell UMC and will be blessed during Sunday morning worship
services on November 22.
Service—Set up for the Holiday Assistance Program in South Seattle on
December 15 or cleanup on December 17.
Witness—Be present. Listen. Share stories and a smile. Be a voice for hope.
The toy collection, mitten tree, and sign-up sheets will be available in the Narthex
on Sundays, November 29, December 6,11
and December 13. All are invited to
participate…an Advent experience is waiting.
The Witness
Advent - Waiting for Christ - Are You There God?
The United Methodist Church has a rich tradition of celebrating the many seasons
of the church year. Advent is the season of hoping, waiting, and preparing. As
prophets like Isaiah and Simeon did so long ago, we longingly await the Light of
the World to break our darkness! The season will be centerpiece in our worship
through the music we sing, the candles we light, and the words we ponder...are
you there God? In allowing ourselves a more complete experience during this
season of waiting, we will not decorate the church for Christmas right away;
rather, it will be done in two phases. We will first decorate for Advent, then decorations will be added in preparing for the final Sunday of Advent (December 20)
and Christmas.
During Advent we remember the children of Israel who awaited their Messiah
amidst war, darkness, and bondage. They longed for a day when they would
have release from their captives, and the hope of abundant life. As Bishop Grant
reminded us, Jesus comes to bring us life, and to bring it abundantly. Before Christ
arrives, we wait in Advent. It is in times of scarcity and simplicity that we allow ourselves to be open and have a new or different experience on our faith journey.
This year the church will be decorated less at the beginning of Advent, and transformed before Sunday, December 20. In this
way, we allow ourselves in worship to be truly
open to God's voice, free of distractions around
us as we prepare in hope.
Let us allow ourselves to use this time in preparing our hearts and minds for the coming Christ.
Are you there God? We are waiting, open, and
ready to receive the Prince of Peace, our
Wonderful Counselor.
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The Witness
Upcoming Sermons
Advent is a time of preparation that
believers use to deepen their faith as
they wrestle with the unexpected
miracle of the birth of Jesus. The Advent
sermon series – Are you there God? – is
part of this preparation. The themes of Waiting, Mystery, Redemption and
Incarnation are intended to help us all dive deep into scripture and open our
hearts to the prompting of God’s Spirit. On Christmas Eve we’ll begin a new
sermon series looking at the theology alluded to in the Star Wars saga.
November 29
Are You There God?: Waiting
December 6
Are You There God?: Mystery
December 13
Are You There God?: Redemption
December 20
Are You There God?: Incarnation
December 24
The Kingdom of God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A New Hope
in the Midst of Empire
December 27
The Kingdom of God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away:
Practical Advice in A New Empire
Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary
November 22 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132: 1-12;
Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37
November 29 Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
December 6 Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6
December 13 Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18
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The Witness
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
BOTHELL, WA
PERMIT NO. 29
18515~92nd Avenue NE
Bothell, WA 98011
Phone: 425.486.7132
Fax: 425.486.0303
www.bothellumc.org
TIME DATED MATERIAL
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
Mailing Label Here
Worship Services
8:00 a.m. (Communion Service)
9:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Sunday School
9:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
Childcare Available
9:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Services
Next Witness Deadline ~ December 7, 2015
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