FOR THE JOURNEY December, 2016 - Vol. 23, No.12

HOPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Robbservations: Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. - 1 Corinthians 13:11 At the end of this month I will complete an appointment of serving 8½ years as the pastor of Hope United Methodist Church. We’ve been through a lot together; sharing ups and downs, joys and concerns. We have worshipped, prayed, learned, laughed, cried, worked, played and transformed lives together. We’ve said ‘goodbye’ to some and welcomed in others. We’ve experienced baptisms, weddings, funerals, confirmations, Holy Communion, campfires, mission trips, vacation bible school, community block parties, feeding our neighbors, feeding each other, and bearing one another’s burdens. I even recall a bit of drumming in there as well. In short, we have been ‘Church.’ It’s been a truly amazing experience and I cherish every bit of it! Hope UMC was already a great faith community before I came and I know it will continue to be so after I am gone. Although we don’t know yet know the details of the next pastoral leadership for Hope what we do know is that the spirit of the Hope of Jesus Christ is alive and well and will continue to make a difference in the lives of so many through this community. Keep it up, my friends! I look forward to hearing all about the next chapter of the story of Hope. It saddens my heart to say it, but, ‘goodbye.’ Please forgive me for the wrongs I have done as I also forgive you. Join me in giving thanks to God for all that we have received and offered together. Let us encourage one another in all that God has in store for us in the days and years ahead, wherever God’s Spirit calls us. In the time we have left together, we are blessed to move through the remainder of Advent, the season of expected waiting, towards the celebration of Jesus’ birth and the new hope that God gives the world. I pray that you will come and be a part of it as much as you can. My appointment as your pastor has been an incredible experience and it has been a tremendous honor to serve you and among you. Thank you for all of it. My family and I wish to express our deep appreciation for all of your prayers and encouragement through this transition. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Follow Jesus! Rev. Robb McClintock

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MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS FOR DECEMBER December 4 December 11 December 18 December 25 Lay Readers

Anne Allen

Stacey Curtis

Joey Bohl

Children’s Moment

Robb McClintock

Cheryl Muller

Corey Fritz

Robb McClintock

Host Team 8:15

Chuck & Jan Lorentz

Cyndee Kaiser Shirl Gillette

Cyndee Kaiser Shirl Gillette

Lois Nelson Judy Ganong

Host Team 10:30

Jeff & Stacey Curtis

Gary & Becky Gochanour

Gary & Becky Gochanour

Carolyn Johnson

Coffee Fellowship

Nursery Volunteers

Anna Nyland Alberto Larabee

Cheryl Muller Ulla McClintock

No Nursery No Nursery

Greeters 10:30

Cyndee Kaiser Dennis & Dorothy Barry

Dan & Judy Shuck

Corey & Dee Ann Fritz

HOPE CHURCH STAFF Pastor..............................………….

Rev. Robb McClintock

SS & VBS Volunteer Coordinator… Office Manager……………………...

Renee Marino Betsy Larson

Pianist……………………………….. Choir Director ………………………

Andrea Blaeser Rebecca Wilkinson John Weiland

. . . FOR THE JOURNEY articles should be submitted to the church office by the 20th of each month. Contributions are welcome.

Connecting with Our Pastor Pastor Robb’s office hours are generally 11AM to 3PM, M, W, Th, depending upon other meetings and scheduled appointments. You can also reach him promptly by sending an email to (robb.k.mcclintock@gmail.com) which he frequently checks or by sending a text to 715-933-0383. When the situation is less urgent, messages can be left with the church office 715-835-5310. Due to HIPPA privacy laws, our ability to find out when persons are hospitalized is limited so please notify him whenever pastoral care is desired

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Preaching the Word Date Text Message

12/4/16 * Romans 15:4-13 “Be a Good Read”

12/11/16 James 5:7-10 “Wait for It…”

12/18/16 Matthew 1:18-25 10:30 a.m.

“The Power of a Name” Children’s Christmas Program

12/24/16 12/25/16

6:00 p.m. 9:30 a.m. One Service

Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service Christmas Day

* Communion Sunday

Beacon Volunteers Needed

We will be serving at Beacon House (Interfaith Hospitality Network) on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, December 14-16. We are in need of servers, food providers, evening hosts and overnight volunteers. If you are interested, please sign up on the clipboard, or contact Joey Bohl at 715-831-8410 or gibbonje@uwec.edu. Supper is served each night at 5:30 p.m., and servers are encouraged to eat with the guests. Evening hosts hang out with the guests from 7-8:30 p.m. - bring your family and games to spend time with families. Just sit and chat with people. We are also in need of overnight volunteers: volunteers sleep overnight from 8:30 p.m. - 7:30 a.m. If you would like to pair up with an experienced volunteer and join us in this fantastic opportunity, contact Joey.

Pianists We want to thank Rebecca Wilkinson for sharing her quality talent and knowledge with Hope since 2015 as well as her willingness to continue to serve until a suitable pianist was found. Thank you Rebecca we will miss you and also your sisters for providing excellent “Music Ministry” here at Hope and worshiping with us. We are pleased to announce the return of Karol Hommen as one of our pianists. Karol will begin her position on December 25th. Welcome home Karol.

. . . FOR THE JOURNEY Women of Hope

Meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m. Meet on December 17th at the Altoona Family Restaurant starting at 9:30. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Troyan at 715-878-9099

Women's Bible Study will be meeting the 4th Monday of each month. The next meeting is December 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We're starting a new series titled Prayer in January and will need to know how many study guides to order. Please sign clipboard if interested if you have any questions please call Cindy Hanson at 715-878-4941.

Hope Book Club the next meeting will be on Thursday January 12th and has selected The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff for our January meeting at 6:00 p.m. If you have any questions contact Nancy Troyan at 715-878-9099.

Senior Prime Time

Meets the third Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Hope UMC library followed by lunch at a local restaurant. There will be a winter break in November and December. Please contact Susie Erickson at 715-828-2592 if you have any questions.

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Join us on Sunday, December 18th at the 10:30 a.m. Worship Service

Followed by

December 18th Potluck Please join in as we celebrate Pastor Robb and his family with a gathering and potluck after the second service on December 18th. Our church family has been greatly enriched by their ministry, work, and life with us.

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SundaySchoolNewsforDecember

Renee Marino‐Hope UMC Sunday School 

December 18th – Christmas program… Join us during the 10:30 service for an “all church” program, led by Renee Marino and Annika McClintock.    

Help us fill the tree for those in need.  Join the Sunday School Youth by collecting new socks, mittens, gloves and hats  

for those staying at Sojourner and Beacon Houses. Please hang donations on the Christmas tree in the main entrance.

   Happy Birthday to…          Carson Schaffer……………………… December 15th            Malina McClintock.…………….…..December 20th                               Emery Peterson……………………...December 23rd                

Dates to remember:         December 18  Christmas Program December 25  No Sunday School / Christmas January 1  No Sunday School   January 8  Classes resume March 12  Daylight Savings begins    April 9  Palm Sunday April 16  Easter/ No Sunday School May 21  Last day of Sunday School 

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