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Woodridge United Methodist Church
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Join
us on Sunday for worship services
at 9:00 am & 10:30 am.
5th Sundays have just one service at 10:00 am.
Professional nursery care
available for the little ones.
All are Welcome!
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"What's
so Special about 'The Nutcracker'?"
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This Sunday, December
8th is the second Sunday of Advent. Advent, of course, is
the season of eating one piece of chocolate each day
until Christmas Eve.
Additionally, it
turns out, Advent is also that season in the church that
marks the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a time
to prepare and wait for the celebration of God’s
Incarnation in the baby Jesus.
This year at
Woodridge UMC, our Advent study and worship is guided by
a book by the Rev. Matt Rawle, The Gift of
the Nutcracker. Last week we considered
Clara, the protagonist of “The Nutcracker’ story, and how
she shows that Advent is a time of active waiting. Pastor
Danita implored us to use this season of active waiting
to both “breathe and push.”
This week, part two
of The
Gift of the Nutcracker asks us to consider
how the mysterious figure of Drosselmeir weaves in and
out of “The Nutcracker” story. Different versions of the
story depict Drosselmeir in different ways: Uncle or
Grandfather or Godfather. He can be creepy or scary or
kind.
Given the variety of
versions of his character, how are we to understand
Drosselmeir in this story?
How might Drosselmeir
help us better enter our Advent story?
What other
connections might we make between “The Nutcraker” and the
story of scripture as presented by Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke?
What is it about
these stories that entice us to read them and sing them
and act them and reimagine them again and again?
Pastor Dave will
wrestle with these questions and more this Sunday,
December 8th, in his sermon, “What’s so
Special about ‘The Nutcraker’?”
Worship services are
at 9:00am and 10:30am. All are welcome.
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Woodridge UMC is an open and loving United
Methodist community striving
to:
Welcoming to all;
Uniting
in service toward greater social justice for all;
Moving
forward with understanding and acceptance of all peoples;
Creating
disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world.
Our purpose is to offer a safe place and
community to all races, cultures, religions, genders, sexual
identities, ethnicities, age groups and other
beliefs.
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Sunday, December 8th
- Worship
Band Rehearsal at 8:00 am
- Worship Services at 9:00 & 10:30 am
- Choir
Rehearsal at 11:45 am
- Church
Luncheon at 11:45 am
- Rice
Visitation at 1:00 pm
- Rice
Funeral at 2:00 pm
- Filipino Baptist at 3:30 pm
- A.A. Meeting at 7:00 pm
Monday, December 9th
- Preschool
Santa Visit at 9:30 am
- Cub Scouts at 6:30 pm
Tuesday, December 10th
- Preschool
Santa Visit at 9:30 am & 12:30 pm
- Advent Bible Study at 10:30 am
- Cub
Scouts at 6:00 pm
Wednesday, December 11th
- Staff
Meeting at 10:30 am
- Advent Bible Study at 6:00 pm
Thursday, December 12th
- Yoga at 6:30 pm
- Boy Scouts at 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 14th
- Ad Council Meeting at 9:00 am
Sunday, December 15th
- Worship Services at 9:00 & 10:30 am
- Choir
Rehearsal at 11:45 am
- Filipino Baptist at 3:30 pm
- A.A. Meeting at 7:00 pm
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Christmas
Eve Worship Services will be at 5:00 pm and 11:00 pm on Tuesday,
December 24th.
ADVENT CHALLENGE
The Wednesday evening Bible
study class is inviting the congregation to spend this season of
Advent connecting with someone who meets any of the following
criteria: new/a stranger; a person you disagree with;
someone who challenges your thinking; someone who does not
believe; someone who may be grieving and/or
alone. Your point of connection can be a meal,
coffee/tea, conversation or written. The intent is to
share with them the light of Christ. This
Advent.....be the light for someone's darkness.
LIVE STREAMING
WORSHIP SERVICES
We are starting to test Live
Streaming the worship service on YouTube
If you
are not at church please try it out. Please DO NOT access the
Live Stream in
our building. It will consume our internet
bandwidth and impact external users. Bugs are still
being worked out and it may not be available every Sunday.
Where to
find the YouTube Live Stream
From the YouTube app or on the YouTube web page, search for:
Woodridge UMC
Also please consider subscribing to the YouTube page. You will
need to have a free google or YouTube account to subscribe
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Events
ADVENT
STUDY
Our Advent study
for this year will be THE
GIFT OF THE NUTCRACKER by Matt
Rawle. It includes a study for adults, youth and
children as well as the basis for our Sunday morning
worship. If you have not had a chance to watch the
NUTCRACKER
in recent years, please take time this season to do
so. Invite some friends and family
members. See it in a different venue than you
remember seeing it last. If you wish to organize
an outing that includes other church members, do so and send
the details to the office and we will include it in the
Sunday announcements. We will offer the study
on Wednesday
evenings (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and Tuesday mornings (10:30
a.m. to noon) The WEDNESDAY class
will begin on Wednesday, December 4th. The TUESDAY class
will begin on Tuesday, December 3rd. The
cost is $10.00
per person for the study guide. Let's exam the
connection of pop culture and our faith and have fun
in-between. Please plan to join us!!
THE BIBLE FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE WILL RETURN FOR
ADVENT
For Advent, the Bible for Curious People will
meet on Tuesdays, 10th, & 17th at 10:30am.Our book
is The Gift of the Nutcracker. Sign up sheet is in the
Narthex. The book is $10.
Reading
for Tuesday, December 10th:
rom The Gift of the Nutcracker read Chapter 2: Drosselmeir: A
Godfather’s Love and Chapter 3: The Mouse King: Changing
Perspective
All are
welcome. No prior bible reading or knowledge or expertise
needed. We will all learn as we go along exploring what the
text says, what it leaves unsaid, what history and tradition
tell us about the text, and how our own experience influences
our reading.
Join Us for Yoga Every Thursday at 6:30
pm
Yoga is one way to
create strength, balance, and flexibility in the body's also
a time to practice stillness and develop patience. Please
wear comfortable clothing that ensures privacy while allowing
mobility. Bring a mat or a large towel. Cost is $5 per
person. If you are attending for the first time, please
arrive a few minutes early to sign a health waiver and meet
the instructor. Any questions, please contact Carrie Santucci
at 630-532-7741 or funkylarry@yahoo.com.
AURORA DISTRICT WINTER LAY ACADEMY
The 2020 Winter
Lay Academy will be on January
4th & 11th from 8:03 am to 3:30 pm at
Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook. The
courses being offered are: The Sacraments, Conflict
Resolution & Certified Lay Servants Mentor Others.
Roadmap to General
Conference 2020
While General
Conference May 5-15, 2020 in Minneapolis may seem far down
the road, it will be here before we know it. Click here for a downloadable document with dates and
links for upcoming trainings and resources. Copies of
the DVD study "Faithful and Inclusive: The Bible,
Sexuality and The United Methodist Church" (resource
#106097) are now available to borrow from the United
Media Resource Center (UMRC). For updated GC2020 news and information,
visit www.umcnic.org/GC2020.
Donate
Support
WUMC Youth with gift card orders.
Orders are due
Sunday, December 15th and will be available
for pickup on
Sunday, December 22nd. A percentage of all
sales goes to Youth Ministries. Please remember to keep the
WUMC Family Crisis Fund in mind. Gift cards are
incredibly helpful for those in the community who need
financial assistance.
West
Suburban Community Pantry Donation Promotions
The West Suburban Community
Pantry offers food for the hungry and resources to empower
persons to improve their quality of life. Our vision is
a community without hunger. The Pantry operates year-round
with a goal that each eligible family in DuPage County as
well as Bolingbrook & Romeoville receive nutritionally
balanced food, including meats, dairy, and fresh produce
monthly. We are also registered as an emergency food pantry
for Illinois. With the help of volunteers and sponsors, our
vision is to eradicate hunger within the families and
individuals in the DuPage County area. We are dedicated to
providing food for the hungry, educating the donor community
about existing needs, and supporting advocacy efforts for the
hungry. We also work hard to encourage volunteerism and the
sharing of resources.
Christmas
Food boxes
Starting
on December 1st, sign-up in the Narthex to donate either food
boxes or hams for families at our sister church, Trinity
United Methodist, in Joliet. Your donation provides a
holiday meal for a family who would otherwise do without.
Pick up a list of suggested items to include in each food box
at the Outreach display in the Narthex. Hams and food
boxes are due in the church kitchen by 4:00 Friday, December 20th. (Please
be aware of church office hours when dropping off your
donation).
THE MITTEN
TREE IS CALLING FOR YOUR DONATIONS
The
mitten tree is available in the Narthex to accept your
donations of children’s mittens, gloves, warm hats and
scarves. The donations are going to Woodridge School District
68. They give them out to children who don’t have appropriate
gear for the winter weather. We’ll be harvesting the tree a
couple of times. Please donate as you can.
DECEMBER
TOY DRIVE
Whether
they’ve been naughty or nice, every child deserves a toy at
Christmas. You can help by donating a new toy, unwrapped, and
placing it in the box in the Narthex by Sunday, December 15th. They
will be distributed to our neighbors in need. Your donation
can make a world of difference this holiday season. The
Pantry has the most need of toys for boys and girls aged 2 to
12.
AMAZON
SMILE
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible
purchases to Woodridge United Methodist Church whenever you
shop on
AmazonSmile.
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same
prices, same service. Support WUMC by starting your
shopping here.
Volunteer
DUPAGE
PADS
A
big THANK YOU to everyone who helped support
our PADS efforts on October 15th and 16th. Because of your
continued support and generosity, WUMC provided a night of
shelter and a warm dinner and breakfast to 57
guests - 24 men, 21 women, and 12 children.
WE
NEED STILL NEED YOUR HELP! We will continue our mission
through Spring on the dates listed below. We need food
donations and volunteers to staff the PADS site for shifts
from 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays to 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday
morning.
If you have not signed up yet and would like to help, please
see the PADS display located in the Narthex on Sundays or
please use our new online link below. If you
cannot bring the food donations or fulfill your time
commitment you have signed up for, please
contact Larry
Cash at or 630-808-8713 so other
arrangements can be made. If you have any questions or are
interested in learning more about PADS, contact Larry.
Upcoming
dates to participate:
December
17-18, 2019 | February 18-19, 2020 |
April 21-22, 2020
Click Here to Sign-Up.
Looking
Ahead
December 24 - Christmas Eve Services at 5 & 11
pm
Connect
Learn ways you
can get involved at Woodridge UMC!
Sign up for our
newsletter and email notifications
Find out about upcoming events in the
Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church
Every Sunday is "Selfie Sunday" at
Woodridge UMC! Send your pictures of worship, fellowship, and
events to office@woodridgeumc.org. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
December 6th, 2019, Volume 10, Edition 49
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