CALENDAR

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 22
Christ the King Sunday
10     R.L. Pope Class by Richard Herman on Facebookand WGOS AM 1070
11     Live Worship In Person and Online on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
(Please read below about protocols and how to enter the building.)
4      Youth (In-Person)

MONDAY  NOVEMBER 23
10   10@10 Devotion on Facebook

TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 24
8      Men’s Prayer Meeting Online via Zoom (Contact Tim Lyons)
9-10   Christmas Craft – Angels 
10:30-12    Christmas Craft – Doily Wreath (Contact Katie Conant to register.)
12:30-1:30    Christmas Craft – Lunch Bag Wreath (Contact Katie Conant to register.)
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5:30  Yoga (Jarrett Hall)

WEDNESDAY  NOVEMBER 25
The Weekly Update on Facebook
10     10@10 Devotion on Facebook
6        Youth Small Groups Online (contact Rodney Denton)

THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 26
Thanksgiving
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook

FRIDAY  NOVEMBER 27
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 29
First Sunday of Advent
10   R.L. Pope Class Online: Stan Styers
11   Live Worship In-Person & Online
4     Youth (In-Person)
4:30-6  Fill the Van with Toys for CCM
Pre-Recorded 2020 Chrismon Service on Facebook

UPCOMING
DEC. 24  CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION
(See announcement below for information about reserving a time.)

PRAYER CONCERNS

If you or a loved one would like to be added to the prayer list, please contact Lorna McCullough at 336-259-5814. If you put a name on the list, please keep in touch to let us know how that person is doing, as names are removed after three weeks.

During the coming week, please pray for…
Jaime Worsham
Barbara Westmoreland
Roy Flanagan
Conlin O’Shea
Our country and healing for all
Jennifer Ruff
James Carmichael
Margie Collins
Carol Kaiser
Josef Walker
Dean Sharpe-Austin
Finley Price family
Andrea Cain and family
Robert Miller
Dave Ogren
Tim Priska
Chris Eddinger
Peace and justice in our nation, state, and city
Our first responders, medical community, and essential workers
All those affected by COVID-19
All military personnel
Our United Methodist missionaries
The United Methodist Church

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY

What to Expect at Indoor Worship

• Access to the Sanctuary is through the Randolph Street doors only.  The designated entrance for those needing the elevator will be the door under the walkway.
• You’ll be greeted upon entering the church and asked a few questions.
• Face masks will be required for everyone.
• Some pews will be blocked to maintain social distancing; an usher will help direct you.
• Out of respect for others, please refrain from shaking hands or hugging.
• Offering plates will be available at the entrance and exit of the sanctuary.
• When services end, attendees will be dismissed by section to avoid hallway congestion.
• No nursery staff will be present, but the nursery space will be available.
• Sunday school will not be offered at this time.

STEWARDSHIP MOMENT: ERIC KUPPEL

Please remember to return your financial pledge card for 2021. We hope to wrap up the campaign soon and finalize our plans for next year. You may drop your card in the offering plate, mail it to the church office, or bring it by the office. Please let Peggy May in the office know if you did not receive a pledge card or if you have any questions.

We invite you to read Eric Kuppel’s Stewardship Moment comments from October 18:

Good morning.  I have to begin with the reason I stand before you today. If you ever watched “Wild Kingdom” on a Sunday afternoon, you know the scene. The hapless herd of antelope, impala, or wildebeest wandering across the Serengeti Dessert, and—from out of nowhere—the lion strikes.

Brant Conner was that lion for me. I had just entered the grocery store. Concealed behind my mask, I felt as safe from identification as the random bovine in a herd. Then, I heard my name. And before you know it, Brant had his October 18th Stewardship Moment speaker.

We have had some wonderfully compelling and passionate speakers on the subject over the years. It’s a subject that is, frankly, a little awkward to speak about. And now you’re stuck with the slowest wildebeest in the herd!

What I would like to speak about today is the moment that was most inspirational to me as far as stewardship is concerned. It was several years ago at an Administrative Board meeting, when Tom Smith stood up to speak. He was probably on the Finance Committee, and you could sense the frustration in his voice as he spoke of some budget issues and the lack of pledges in the congregation. There were even people in that very meeting, Tom stated, who hadn’t made the pledge commitment. And I was one of those people. He spoke of the merits of a stable income stream for the church to function smoothly, and it made sense.

Now, I didn’t shun the plate or conveniently tie my shoe when it passed. I threw money in when it went by, if I had remembered to bring some. I just never gave it serious thought. But that day the light went on, and I made the commitment to pledge the minimum stable weekly amount. And so it was: $10. Now $10 wasn’t a lot, but I made sure it made its way to the plate every week.

Then the next Fall came, and the pledge was increased. I had started to budget for the church, but I also started budgeting at home, and the irony of that first pledge was… it took the first pledge to find the blessings that were already there. I just wasn’t being a good steward of what I had been given.

Proverbs 3:9 states:  “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce….” My monthly budget starts off with First Fruits. The first line item of the budget is the church.

In closing, I have to add that, since that first pledge, I have seen the other side of that silver plate. I’ve seen the committees that take care of it with the passion and reverence that come from the responsibilities of handling such a heavy burden.

I’ve seen the other side of the plate in the tearful joy that a bag of food has brought at CCM. Or on a volcanic mountainside in Guatemala, hanging out with James Carmichael and Kyles Wallace, building a church, and handing out school supplies to the eager village children. This is what your pledge does and will continue to do in his kingdom.

Ask the Lord that these words may touch someone today, as the words of Tom Smith had touched me.

Thank you.

CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION

DECEMBER 24
5 – 6 P.M.

Come and receive Holy Communion in the Chapel or Sanctuary from 5 to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Due to COVID 19, we are limiting each time slot to six (6) people per location. If you have a large family (over 6) sign up for back to back slots in the same location. Go online to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0545A8AF28A02-christmas to reserve for your time slot, or call the church office.

CCM DONATIONS NEEDED

Thank you for continuing to shop for Cooperative Community Ministry when you are getting your groceries.  Current needs are listed below.

FILL THE VAN FOR CCM – NOV. 29

CCM is collecting new toys for children ages 12 and under for their annual “Christmas Store.”  40 families in need (almost 100 children) have signed up to receive assistance.

Thank you for helping to give these children a special Christmas!

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CLASSES

Join Katie Conant for a fun Christmas craft class – or two, or three! Cost is $20 per session.

TO REGISTER OR ASK QUESTIONS call Katie Conant at 336-225-1947.

DATES, TIMES, & SUPPLIES…

Nov. 24, Dec. 1, or Dec. 8    10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.   
Christmas Doily Wreath Craft Class 
(Craft can be completed in one class.)
Needed supplies: 9′ spool of wired edged ribbon, scissors, glue gun, and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

Nov. 24, Dec. 1, or Dec. 8    12:30-1:30 p.m.   
Christmas Lunch Bag Wreath Craft Class 
(Craft can be completed in one class.)
Needed supplies: 9′ spool of wired edged ribbon, scissors, glue gun, and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

Dec. 1 AND 8    9-10 a.m.   
Christmas Angel Craft Class 
(This craft takes two classes to complete.)
Needed supplies: 1 yd. of 45″ width lace or lightweight fabric, Scissors, glue gun and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS:
All classes will meet in the Fellowship Hall.
Social distancing and face masks will be required.
Hand sanitizer and surface disinfectant will be in use.
There is a 10-person maximum, including instructor.

R.L. POPE CLASS ONLINE LESSONS

SUNDAYS AT 10:00 A.M. on FACEBOOK and WGOS

The R. L. Pope Class is excited to offer weekly online lessons. Tune in to Facebook Live or  WGOS on your radio or computer.

Teaching Schedule:
November 22 Richard Herman
November 29 Stan Styers
December 6 Jim McGhee
December 13 Allen Brown
December 20 Tracy Brinkley
December 27 Richard Herman

CLERGY AND STAFF ARE AVAILABLE

You may contact members of the staff directly or by calling the church office at 336-472-7718 and following the instructions on the recording. Here is a list of staff phone extensions and email addresses, for reference:

Danny Leonard, Senior Minister – Ext. 16; dleonard@mumctville.org
Rodney Denton, Minister of Youth and Young Adults – Ext. 18; rdenton@mumctville.org
Lynda Hepler, Minister of Children and Families – Ext. 11; lhepler@mumctville.org
Norris Norwood, Director of Music Ministries – Ext. 12; nnorwood@mumctville.org
Susan Frye, Secretary – Ext. 14; sfrye@mumctville.org
Peggy May, Financial Secretary/Treasurer – Ext. 13; pmay@mumctville.org
Jarry Oldaker, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds – Ext. 17; joldaker@mumctville.org

FEATURED DEVOTION

We close this week’s eNews with a 10@10 devotion shared by Rodney Denton on October 9, 2020.

There’s Got to Be a Pony in Here Somewhere

So, this morning I want to talk a little bit about a joke that I heard a few years back. I think it is pretty funny, but more than that, I think it makes an interesting observation about the different types of people in the world and the way our outlook affects the way we approach life. It goes sort of like this…

A few years ago there was a famous psychologist who had identical twin boys. As she watched her twins get older, she noticed that they could not have been any more opposite. Although they looked alike, that is where the similarities ended. If one complained about being too hot, the other was too cold. If one turned the volume of the TV up, the other thought it was too loud. If one twin wanted to go out to eat, the other wanted to stay home. One was an early bird; the other was a night owl. You get the picture. So, one year, for their birthday, the psychologist decided to see how their differences affected their quality of life, so she decided to run a test on them.

The morning of their birthday arrived, and she took the first of her twins to the back yard, where she had bought him a pony. She looked at her son and said, “Happy Birthday, son!” He had always wanted a pony and was so excited to see it and have one of his very own. He immediately ran over to the horse and started hugging it and petting it. Then, suddenly—just as quickly as it had arrived—the excitement in the boy’s eyes faded and was replaced with a look of disappointment. He looked at his mom and said, “This is great and all, but I don’t think I really want it.” The mom, sort of confused, asked why he didn’t like the pony. He looked at the pony and said, “Oh, I like it; I just realized that it’s going to leave poop everywhere, and it might get sick, and someday it will die. I just don’t want it.” And with that, he returned to the house.

Disappointed in her first son’s reaction, she went to the other twin in order to present him with his specially selected birthday gift. She led him to his room which she had filled with a huge pile of manure. She looked at him enthusiastically and said, “Happy Birthday, son!” She watched her son as he immediately dove in and started digging frantically into this huge pile of manure. He looked at his mom and said, “Thank you so much, this is the best birthday ever!” Confused because this was not the reaction that she had expected, the mom finally stopped him and asked, “What exactly are you doing?” As he stopped digging for a moment, he looked at her and said, “Well, with all this poop, there’s bound to be a pony in here somewhere!” (I’ll give you a second to stop laughing!)

I love this joke because, as with all jokes, there is just the right amount of wisdom in it to make a point about how strange and unique we humans really are. Some people stay positive and constantly seek the silver lining regardless of the situation they are in—as did the son digging through the pile of manure, looking for a pony. We call these people optimists. Alternately, there are those folks who constantly look at the world with a sense of dread, thinking only about the possible negative outcomes of any situation—as did the son who didn’t want the pony because it might make a mess that would need to be cleaned up later. We typically call these people pessimists.

Now, I believe that, to a certain degree, we are all sort of predisposed toward either optimism or pessimism. For example, I find myself constantly looking for the positive meaning behind any situation in life. I fully believe that there are valuable lessons to be learned from our mistakes and our negative experiences, and I fully expect things to work out for the good (although, this pandemic has sort of tainted the rose-colored glasses through which I tend to view the world). In my incessant need to see the bright side, however, I have found myself even trying to be optimistic about pessimists! You see, I feel like we need each other. Just as pessimists need optimists to help them see the positive side of a situation from time to time, we optimists need a little dose of reality at times from our pessimistic counterparts because some situations are just bad, and evil really does exist, and life is not always fair. These are things that we optimists could tend to gloss over. So, in other words, in my 10 @ 10 this morning, I am not trying to label optimists as right and pessimists as wrong; my main idea is that, regardless of how we view life, we need to remember that our outlook tends to be contagious! Throw a pessimist into a group of excited optimistic people and, hopefully, eventually, that pessimist will start feeling a little more positive. Likewise, an optimist, continually surrounded by hardened pessimists, may become sort of cynical and sarcastic. This brings me to my concern this morning.

I have recently been noticing a very real drain on my characteristically positive, “pie in the sky” outlook. I realize that we are living through some very extraordinary times lately, but I feel like the more we are exposed to negativity, the more we tend to see the world negatively. So, not only are we dealing with our own usual level of personal chaos (like illness, difficult relationships, work stress, and I’m sure you can fill in the blank with your own frustrations and issues), but lately we seem to be experiencing a lack of any control in the world all around us. We may be gripped by anxiety over COVID and all the issues surrounding that. Race relations maybe in the forefront of our minds. The media certainly do us no favors as we seem to be inundated with news that is not tremendously hope-filled. AND social media is perhaps the worst, filled with venom-filled, strongly felt opinions and questionable “facts.” Finally, since it is an election year, every political ad I see on the TV —from any party or candidate— (and these ads, by the way, seem to make up most of the ad-space lately) seems to be a mud-slinging, “look what’s wrong with my opponent,” negative ad. Then, if you already have some of those hardcore, pessimistic people in your life, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by negativity. It is so easy to lose a hopeful outlook when we seem to be surrounded by so much negativity. I hope that you are having an easier time of managing the world today than I am, but in case you are not, I want to share a verse from Scripture that tends to help restore my hope and ease my weariness through troubling times such as these. It comes from Isaiah, chapter 40, and it was written to the nation of Israel who just happened to be experiencing their own brand of community turmoil, not unlike what we find in our world today. Hear these words of encouragement and perspective from Isaiah 40: 28-31:

²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I needed to hear this today. In the midst of so much “manure” in life, sometimes it’s important to be reminded that God is still in control. Whether we are optimistic or pessimistic, there is a Creator who promises to comfort us and strengthen us and journey with us through this whole mess that we are living in right now. It would be so easy to just throw up our hands and become like some sort of passive buoy on the ocean, being swept back a forth with the waves of our emotions and pressure from other people as we live through these most tumultuous times. But that is not how God intends us to live. We are not called to be passive. God never intended us to be infected by a toxic culture of division, animosity, and hopelessness. God has called the community of faith to be a powerful source of hope such that, within all this mess, we are able to point people to something that is good and true and encouraging. Just as I said before, attitudes are contagious. Regardless of whether you see the glass as half empty or half full, you need to trust that God is the one who can fill up that glass and allow us to be the source of renewal for a parched world. In this way, the more love and compassion you pour out, the more God is able to pour back in. We can transform this world not through control, fear, and domination, but through the transforming power of hope that will get us through these difficult days. You have the ability to make a choice about how you face today. You make the choice about how you treat others. You make the choice about whether you will allow God to guide you or you will be guided by something, or someone, else. You have a choice about what sort of words and actions come out of your life! You have a choice. Use it wisely!

I want to leave you this morning with a great quote from pastor and author Chuck Swindoll. It is about how our attitudes often guide the quality of our lives:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church….a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

So, just remember this week, no matter where you find yourself, keep digging: “There’s got to be a pony in there somewhere!”

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, AMEN!

Join us this Sunday at 10 AM for Sunday School with the R.L. Pope Class. Then, at 11 AM, join us  for worship—online on WGOS 1070 AM and Facebook Live AND in person in the sanctuary. Bring a mask! The ushers will help you find a place to sit so that everyone socially distances according to family groups.

Have a great day, take care of one another, and stay healthy people!!!

YOU CAN WATCH AND READ ALL 10 @ 10 DEVOTIONS HERE.