cvillefirstumc@gmail.com
Midweek Update
November 20, 2024
Advent Calendar 2024

Sunday Dec. 1 - First Sunday of Advent 

Worship 10am

Online Advent Study – 6pm

 

Wednesday Dec. 4 -

Blue Christmas Worship in Chapel - 5:30pm

 

Saturday Dec. 7 -

SCUBA - Christmas VBS Celebration, 2pm - 4pm  

Registration Required. See below for link.

 

Sunday Dec. 8 - Second Sunday of Advent

Magnify Choral Worship - “Miracle in a Manger”

Youth and Children presenting “A Very Special Night”- 10am

Online Advent Study – 6pm

 

Saturday Dec. 14 -

Jingle Bell Hike – 5:30pm- Belvedere Neighborhood

Wear your bells and Christmas hats!

 

Sunday Dec. 15 - Third Sunday of Advent

Worship 10am

Christmas Carol Sing and Potluck Lunch following worship

Online Advent Study – 6pm

 

Sunday Dec. 22 - Fourth Sunday of Advent 

Worship 10am

Online Advent Study – 6pm

 

Tuesday Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve Services

5pm - Service for Children. Children’s program presented, nursery provided.

7pm/11pm - Candlelight Communion

Happening this Week

Bake Sale 

November 24th after 10am Worship

 

We need bakers and buyers! The sale will benefit Bread and Blessings. Sign up here.

 

For more info contact Cindy Remington at mspoots@gmail.com

Hanging of the Greens 

November 24th from 4-6pm

 

Let’s dress up our church for the Advent Season! Pizza dinner to follow!

 

"A Very Special Night" Children's & Youth Music Program

Sundays after Worship

 

Children and Youth are invited to join Kevin White and Lara Upton from 11:30am-11:45am on Sundays to practice 4 new songs that will be performed on Sunday, Dec 8th at 10 am and Tuesday, Dec 24th at 5 pm.

 

Contact Lara Upton at children@cvillefirstumc.org for more information.

November One Thing Ministry

 

The One Thing Ministry for the month of November will be to collect lots of socks for Cville SockLove and to start collecting Sudoku, Crossword, and Wordsearch Puzzle books for adults for the UVA Stocking Project.

 

Cville Sock Love is a philanthropy run by two of our young congregants. The greatest need is for warm, basic adult socks and socks for young children, especially infant through age 5. These socks will go to area shelters, soup kitchens, PACEM guests, individual families by request, and the Child Health Partnership, a nonprofit providing at-home support to area families facing challenges.

 

Questions? Contact Carolyn McGee carolynmcgee@cvillefirstumc.org

Coming Soon

Jingle Most of the Way - Free Concert

Sunday, December 1 from at 2pm

 

Join us for a free concert at CFUMC.

 

We hope to see you there! 

 

SCUBA Christmas

December 7 from 2-4pm

 

Save the Date! To reserve your spot and register your family for this free event click here.

 

We hope to see you there! 

 

Announcements
Creation Care
 

Caring for Creation means to focus on “enough” with holiday foods. Food waste that ends up in landfills becomes methane, which exacerbates climate change. Feast with gratitude and joy—and with the goal of little to no waste. Compost any scraps or leftovers as a gift to earth.

Events on Hold
 

Due to the busy-ness of this time of year Creative Worship, Dairy Market Dinners and Thursday Lunches will be put on hold until January.

Relief for Appalachia
 

Following the devastating after effects of Hurricane Helene, the United Methodist Church and the Appalachian Service Project (ASP) are responding with opportunities to help. The Virginia UM Conference has set up a landing space at vaumc.org/helene with connections for prayer, emergency response team training, and a link to donate to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Our partners in the Appalachian Service Project (ASP) are on the ground already in some of the most hard-hit areas and you can donate to that organization at https://asphome.org/give 

Congregation Connect
 

This ministry gives CFUMC a chance to reach out to congregants who may have mobility or immunity issues or may be living elsewhere or possibly traveling and not able to attend and faithfully worship with us on line.  CFUMC wants to connect and get to know on line worshipers just as we get to know our neighbor sitting next to us.

 

We envision offering a virtual Portico via zoom meetings during the Portico time 11:00-11:30am where remote worshipers log into a zoom meeting to get to know each other. However, this requires the online worshiper to send us their email, strictly for conveying the zoom link, unless they want other announcements as well.  Congregants can also click on the QR code at the beginning/end of our service to get the zoom link.

 

What is needed to help this ministry continue?  

 

A volunteer from our live congregation is needed to host the meeting each week. If you are interested, you will be trained (easy-peasy!) Ideally we need 4 to 5 volunteers to host, which would mean the volunteer would only have to man the computer once a month. (We have 3 volunteer hosts so far!)  There is no agenda, just a chance to make new friends!

Our Current Gallery Artists
 

Our new artist exhibition “Portraits of Morocco" is the photography work of our own Fred Schneider!  After traveling through Morocco several years ago he decided to bring home some of his images and stories and share them. Take a moment to take in these beautiful photographs and read the accompanying descriptions. Thank you Fred!

 

Having Trouble Logging Into Realm?
 

Are you getting ‘invalid credentials’ on your device when you try to login to Realm?

 

You can use this document to help troubleshoot the issue. There are directions for both Android and iOS/Apple.

 

Sorry for any inconveniences you may be experiencing. You can always use www.onrealm.org from your phone’s browser or a computer browser.  If you are having other access issues, please send an email to financialsect@cvillefirstumc.org.

At Home Communion
 

If you or someone you know can no longer attend services but would like to receive Communion in your home please contact Carolyn McGee at carolynmcgee@cvillefumc.org. or
DeAnn Posey at 757-208-6998 or dsposey2426@gmail.com

Love INC Cville
 

After rent and utilities, the most requested need is for furniture.  Love INC Cville is desperately looking for volunteers with vehicles to pick up and deliver furniture that has been donated to Love INC for distribution to our neighbors in need. Without the ability to deliver the furniture, large amounts end up in the dump instead of going to those who desperately need it.

 

To inquire about how to help, message Raymond Klein, Executive Director of Love INC at raymond@loveinccville.org .

PACEM 2025
 

CFUMC will be hosting our unhoused neighbors in partnership with PACEM February 8 - 21, 2025.  

 

Please mark your calendars and contact Jon Scheumann for more information please contact jonscheumann@gmail.com or 434-422-1749.

Just the Book You Were Looking For!
 
Looking for a new study for your small group? Visit our curriculum library, just to the left of the stage, at the back of the Fellowship Hall.
 
The room will be open every Sunday and during the week by appointment with carolynmcgee@cvillefirstumc.org If you are interested in starting a small group and need some assistance or ideas, see Carolyn!
AV Training
 
Would you like the opportunity to be trained on our AV (Audio Visual) equipment? We would love to have some new folks who might be interested to go through this training and then sign up as a substitute for worship and other events!
 
Contact Chase Carson at matt.chase.carson@gmail.com for more info.
Thank You For Your Continued Support to Loaves and Fishes
 

With your help, Loaves & Fishes is providing a week's worth of groceries (at least 100 lbs. per household), including milk, eggs, meat, and fresh fruits and vegetables for more than 10,000 people a month in 2024. That's an average of 690 people in 175 households each day, with 35% of our visitors coming for food two times each month. THANK YOU for helping us help so many!

 

There are a few new ways to support the pantry.

  • NEW LOAVES & FISHES MERCHANDISE makes it easy to show your support and meaningful and unique holiday gifts! Visit our new online store: https://cvillefoodpantry.myshopify.com/.
  • Loaves & Fishes will benefit from the Thanksgiving morning Charlottesville Turkey Trot 5k, Thursday, November 28th at 9:00 a.m. To learn more about the event and to register, visit the race website.  If you run the live event on Thanksgiving morning, join team “The Gobblers” to run (or walk!) alongside some L&F staff and fellow volunteers.
  • Loaves & Fishes also is a featured beneficiary of the Target Circle Community Giving program through the end of December. When you shop at Target using your Target Circle account, you earn “votes” that you can then cast for Loaves & Fishes!
Learning & Fellowship

Women at the Well

Thursdays at 9:30am

 

We are studying “Searching for Sunday” by Rachel Held Evans. This author describes faith as less of a club to belong to and more of a current to enter into. Her ideas are both comforting and slightly terrifying and really….isn’t that what faith really is?

 

Come join us, and fall in love with God all over again!

Monday Grad Chats

Mondays from 12-1pm

 

Are you looking for a space to connect with other graduate students who are a part of UVA's Progressive Christian Community?

 

Join us every Monday starting September 2nd from noon to 1pm for a free lunch at Wesley at UVA and a discussion on a topic of interest.

 

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Adult Fellowship Group

Sundays following Worship in Room 208

 

The Adult Fellowship Class has begun a new study of John Newel’s book, “Christ of the Celts”.

 

This study will explore some of the teachings of ancient Christianity.  Celtic Christianity, which is still practiced today, is more about love and forgiveness than about judgement and doctrine.

 

All are welcome!  Contact Pat Grahm at Annew41@outlook.com for more information.

Young Adults & Parenting Groups

 

 

The Young Adults & Parenting Groups are now merging together and is open to anyone who considers themselves a young adult, with or without children.

 

Join them throughout the Advent Season each Sunday at 11:30 in the youth room.

 

Contact: Patricia Hott, patriciahott12@gmail.com for more details

Men’s Bible Study
Tuesdays at 8:00 am
 
The Tuesday Morning Men’s Study will be studying the N.T. Wright thoughts on the book of Matthew.
 
His thoughtful insights will bring contemporary application of Scripture to life. All are invited.  
 
Contact Jim Berlin jimberlin79@gmail.com or Dave Wheatley wheat1506@gmail.com for more information.
 
Faith Seekers Class 
Sundays 8:45 am
 
New Study: The After Party Project Course
 
The purpose of this study is to reorient Christian thinking about politics in an effort to heal political divisions in the church and cultivate key Biblical virtues like humility, kindness, and hopefulness in Christian political engagement.The After Party equips viewers to reorient their hearts on the person of Jesus such that our status as beloved sons and daughters of Christ comes before any partisan identity. This study is by Curtis Chang, David French, and Russell Moore and will include videos and discussion each week.
 
All are welcome! info - kjberlin56@gmail.com

Faith Explorers

Sundays at 11:15 am in Room 308


Starting on October 20, Faith Explorers will begin a new study of John Newel’s book, “Christ of the Celts”. This study will explore some of the teachings of ancient Christianity, prior to the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman empire and subsequent doctrinal practices. Celtic Christianity, which is still practiced today, is more about love and forgiveness than about judgement and doctrine. All are welcome to join with us as we prepare to celebrate once again the coming of Christ.
 
Contact Bill Clarke at janebillclarke@earthlink.net for more information.
Interested in Reading?
 
Pastor Alex's book,  A Space for Peace in the Holy Land: Listening to Modern Israel and Palestine, can be purchased as an e-book on Amazon for $4.99. 
 
If you are not a Kindle reader, simply purchase the book as if you were (so that the publisher will be paid) and we will print a physical copy for you here in the church office.
 
Contact Carolyn McGee for more information. 
UVA Learning Programs
 
UVA's Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is offering a series of online learning programs on topics such as Microagression, Introduction to DEI, Introduction to Implicit Bias, Introduction to Difficult Dialogues, Introduction to Equity, and more!
 
These are great opportunities to engage with our community and educate ourselves on issues of inequality. Click here to learn more about their offerings and to register.
Continuing Opportunities
Caring Writers
 
The Caring Writers are a group who enjoy sending cards and letters to those who are homebound, feel isolated, or just need to know that someone cares. The commitment is to send a card or letter to two recipients per month. 
 
If you are interested in becoming a Caring Writer, please contact George Batten or Maurya Batten. You can also contact either of them if you know of someone who would enjoy being on the recipient list. 
Music Ministries
 
Our Music Ministry includes choirs, bands, instrumental ensembles, and soloists of both traditional and contemporary sounds. There is no shortage of ways to praise God through music, and everyone is invited to explore the gift of music, even if you are just singing along in the congregation! 
 
For more information, contact Kevin White or Carolyn McGee
Enjoying the food and fellowship at Portico Café after worship?
 
Thanks to those who recently gave monetary contributions for Portico Cafe - we have enough funds for coffee and creamer for the next couple of months, so you won't see the donation jar any time soon!
 
We will continue to host Portico Cafe outdoors as long as the temperature is above 50 degrees and not raining. Otherwise, it will be held in the Gathering Space. 
 
Email Lisa Hanrahan if you want to sign up to bring treats. A sign up sheet is also available by the coffee area. The success of Portico Café depends on the generosity of church members to help or contribute food!
Rainy Day Blues? 
 
“Love the City” umbrellas will be left at the Front and Welcome Center entrances for all to borrow and then return on rainy days!
 
If you would like to purchase an umbrella to support our Nurture Ministries and our CFUMC Vision of  “Love the City," they are $20. Put “umbrella” in the memo line of your check.
The Quiet Center
Sundays at 11:15 in the Chapel
 
The Quiet Center is an after-church gathering of, and for, anyone who wants to know more about grief’s journey. The sessions are “stand alone,” to join anytime and as often as you wish, to explore the many faces of grief and to share with each other our time, our experiences, our presence and our prayers.
 
If you have any questions, contact Rev. John at 703-887-7305 or at johnconway@vaumc.org.
Congregational Prayer Time
Now Tuesdays at 12:00 pm on Zoom
 
All are welcome to join the Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 882 7977 8844
Passcode: 968327
 
If you are interested in praying for our church and community, be in touch with Carolyn McGee for the link.
Assistance for Ukraine

UMCOR International Disaster Response and Recovery, Advance #982450, is collecting funds for humanitarian assistance.
 
You can donate directly online or designate "Ukraine relief" on your checks made out to CFUMC.

Prayer Quilt Ministry

 

Contact Teri Guertler if you need a prayer quilt for someone going through a difficult time, or if you would like to help in the creation of the prayer quilts. No experience necessary.

cvillefirstumc@gmail.com
cvillefirstumc@gmail.com
cvillefirstumc@gmail.com
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