Church Life Weekly Newsletter
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Mission statement: Grace United Methodist Church is a family of faith striving to share God’s love with all people.
December 16, 2024
WORDS FROM THE PASTOR
“Martha, Martha…you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed… Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:41-42
Jesus was arriving to her village so Martha had invited Him to her home. The scriptures say that she was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” (Lk 10:30) Mary, on the other hand, “sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he said” (Lk 10:39).
Martha’s intentions were good in inviting Jesus for a meal, but in the midst of all that needed to get done, she became worried about many things. Mary, on the other hand sat quietly at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he had to say. Jesus tells the sisters that “Mary has chosen what is better.”
I find this story to be an accurate depiction of what can happen in the days leading up to Christmas as we prepare for Christ’s arrival. The busyness of this season can ultimately “steal our joy” leaving us tired and easily agitated. Yet we are reminded that to truly prepare, we must make time to be with Jeus, before doing for Jesus.
How can we sit idly at the feet of Jesus when there are so many expectations and responsibilities that I need to attend to? I believe it depends on where we get our sense of worth. If our value comes from doing a good job in the home, at work, or even as a Christian, then the amount of good we need to do is never ending. We will inevitably grow tired and frustrated. However, if my value comes from clinging to Jesus’ love and sacrifice for me as evidenced on the cross, then there is nothing left to prove. Christ loves me so much that He died on that cross, not just to forgive my sin, but to prove my worth! When it comes to the goal of proving my goodness, “It is finished.”
During this season of preparation, may you rest of the feet of Jesus, as you hear His voice, telling you just how precious and valuable you are to Him!
Pastor Kim
Advent Candle Lighting. Thank you to Allison and Liam LaVoie for lighting the 1st Advent Candle. Thank you to Andrea, Earl and David Boyd for lighting the 2nd Advent Candle. Thank you to the Lopez Family for lighting the 3rd Advent candle. This Sunday, December 22, the Ukanwoke Family will light the 4th Advent Candle.
A great big THANK YOU to everyone who helped decorate our Church for the Christmas Season. It looks wonderful.
Thank you to our choir and all of our musicians and to our music director Drew Banzhoff and to all who came to the Christmas Concert on December 15. What a joyous occasion it was! Thank you to all who cooked or helped with the Soup and Sandwich afterward in the gym. Blessings abound!
Prayer List
♥†♦Family of Charles Zipperlen, ♥Yeari Kim, ♥Jasmin Whittaker, ♥All victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, ♥Edie Zipperlen, ♥Mary Flynn (mom) and Maureen Andersen (daughter), ♥Priscilla Caparelli (friend of Kim Neri), ♥Manny Kurz, ♥Cecil and Carol Walker (friends of Barbara Woodford), ♥Veronica Stone (friend of Margo Morrison), ♥Everon Palmer (son of Enid Simpson), ♥Carol Whyte, ♥Winston Scarlett (brother-in-law of Maudlyn Scarlett), ♥Jennifer LaRochelle (friend of Kim Neri), ♥David Biegler, ♥Michael Kurz, ♥Vin Dowling, ♥Juliana Bonds (sister of Eleanor Phillip), ♥Garvin Phillip (nephew of Eleanor Phillip), ♥Elaine Treske, ♥Marilyn Eller (sister of Elaine Treske), ♥Jim Poch, ♥All our Military men and women, ♥Barbara Siegl, ♥All UMW in Rehabilitation and Nursing Homes, ♥Castells Family (family of Elaine Treske, ♥Evelyn Neber (friend of Elaine Treske)), ♥ Missionaries.
Note: Prayer List names will continue to be listed for two weeks. After that period of time, the names will be removed unless you call us with current information. † – Death in family, ♦ – New entry
Sad news. Our long-time friend and member, Charles Zipperlen passed away on November 28th. A private service was held today (December 2) followed by burial at Pinelawn. A service at GUMC will be held at a future date.
Sunday School
CHURCH SCHOOL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 8TH. It’s never too late to join us. My name is Janet Stone and I am writing to invite your child to join us for Church School each Sunday. Church School is where students will learn about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and how to live a Christian life. We learn Bible stories and we learn how to use those stories to help us be better people. All rising PreK-8th Grade students are welcome. Children start out in Church at 10:00 with their families and are sent to Church School following the Children’s Sermon. Please note that on the first Sunday of the month, children are directed to the Education Building first and then return to the church building in order to be with their family for communion. I am looking forward to a wonderful Church School year! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns at mom2springers@gmail.com ~Janet Stone
December 15, 2024
In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah said that a ruler of Israel would be born in Bethlehem, and this king would bring peace and justice to the land (Micah 5:2). Hundreds of years later, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy. The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered that a census be taken. All were required to return to their ancestral homes to register and pay taxes. Since Joseph was from the ancestral line of David, he and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, the city of David. The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was difficult because the time for Mary’s baby to be born was very close. When they reached Bethlehem, a large number of people were already in the city to register and no room was available. Mary and Joseph were of the peasant class, so they didn’t have many choices for lodging. When an innkeeper offered his stable, Mary and Joseph accepted immediately because of their urgent need for a place for Mary to have her baby. How amazing that Jesus, God’s Son, would be born in the most humble and unlikely place—a stable with an animal’s feeding trough for his bed. Mary’s baby was Immanuel, the living presence of God with them (Isaiah 7:14). He was the fulfillment of the angel’s promise to Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26-28; Matthew 1:18-25), and they named him Jesus, God saving us, as the angel told them to do. The angel also said about Jesus, “He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom” (Luke 1:32-33). The Creator of the universe chose this humble birth for God’s Son to show God’s love for all people.
New Confirmation Class
Pastor Prumeh will be starting a new confirmation class in 2025 for youth. At the end of the class, there will be a special for the participants. If a child was baptized as an infant, they will “confirm” their faith during the service. If a child was not baptized, they will receive their baptism. Everyone becomes a full member of the congregation. Please email Pastor Prumeh at prumeh.lee@nyac-umc.com to let her know you are interested in registering. Include the child’s name, grade, and email address as well.
Looking for Volunteers for Youth Ministry
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in helping with youth ministry. We would love volunteers of all generations – seniors, adults, and young adults (Pastor Prumeh loves intergenerational ministry.) However, everyone will have a background check completed for the safety of our youth. Email Pastor Prumeh if you are interested, either as a volunteer or if you have youth in your family: prumeh.lee@nyac-umc.com
1) Hospitality
We are looking for volunteers to help cook on rotation (either an entree, salad or dessert) for our upcoming Youth Dinner Church that will start in January.
2) Chaperone
We also need chaperones willing to be a warm and welcome presence either at the Youth Dinner Church, other youth programs, or Confirmation.
3) Committed to a youth ministry team.
-Considering committing to be a part of the team to help plan, organize, and lead youth programs.
-If you are a youth, you may also consider becoming part of this leadership team! We need your voice!
We (Pastor Kim, Everett, Carol, and Eileen) were so very happy to see Richard (Dick) Tiedge and his daughter Jeanne. They stopped by on Wednesday for a visit. Dick looks great and Jeanne says his health is good. We were in the BKR and reminisced, told funny stories, heard stories of involvement in the war, and had a lot of laughs. Jeanne told us that her Dad was sweeping up leaves at his home in Malverne! Dick will be remaining at his home in Malverne and will be celebrating his 102nd Birthday – May 2025! What a Super Man!!
News of Friends and Members
George and Jeanne Simmons
All your friends at Grace Church wish you a
HAPPY 54th Anniversary!
News of Friends and Members. Had a great conversation with Barbara Howard. She wished everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and a Good Christmas.
A Sincere Welcome to our new Music Director, Drew Banzhoff. Feel free to say hello!!!
Chancel Choir rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 8:00pm in the church. All adults and teens who like to sing are welcome to join!!
We thank Kimberly Neri for leading the group while we searched for a new music director.
Christmas Card List. Our annual Christmas Card Sign-Up List began Sunday, December 1, and continues through and including Sunday, December 22, 2024. All money collected will go to the Grameth Fund, a discretionary fund for those in need. Single Name is $1; Family Name (The Smith Family) is $2; Family Listing (Bob, Mary, Susie and Jack Smith) is $4. In addition, any contributions will be merrily accepted!! Your participation in this annual event is greatly appreciated. Please see our volunteer(s) (in the Church Narthex and Coffee Hour) or call Eileen in the Church Office. You can also email your info to Eileen at GraceVSNY@aol.com and then send in your donation to the Church Office. Thank you in advance for your participation. (Elaine Treske and Lenore Kurz have volunteered to take your names!!)
Book of Remembrance/Music Ministry. A gift has been given in loving memory of Charles Zipperlen from Jeanne and George Simmons.
We also received a very generous gift for the Book of Remembrance in loving memory of Pastor Robert W. Howard from his wife Barbara and Family.
POINSETTIA. If you would like to place a beautiful Poinsettia in the Sanctuary for Christmas in honor of or in memory of a loved one, friend, soldier, etc., please fill out an order form which is located in the Narthex of the Church or call the Church Office. The deadline is Sunday, December 22, 2024. Poinsettias are $13 each. Please send your check (made out to GUMC) with the order form to the Church Office or place it in the Offering Plate (in a sealed envelope marked for the Church Office). Mark your check, “Poinsettia” and if appropriate, include your Envelope Number. Thank you.
The UWF this year adopted a family through the Mary Brennan INN Adopt-a Family program. We supported a family with five children. Each child was able to receive toys and clothing items that they desired. We are happy to report that the entire shopping list was taken care of and we were able to provide all the gifts that the family wanted as well as $300 in cash and a $50 gift card! We are very grateful that we are able to support a family in need, particularly at this time of the year. Thank you to all who have contributed. You have done much to bring the Christmas spirit to the lives of others! Janet Stone
LIW Youth Council Meeting. The Long Island West Youth Council Meeting will be January 4 from 4-6 pm via Zoom.
Career Day. UWF hosted Career Day on Saturday, Oct. 19 in the church gym. Andrea Owen-Boyd, who is our Social Justice Coordinator, spear-headed the event. We had 11 panelists and 15 career tables. Emily Jones from the national UWF led us in a responsive prayer for children and youth. We also enjoyed a wonderful homemade lunch. Fifty people attended the event. We thank you for the huge outpouring of support for Career Day. Enjoy the photos from Career Day below.
Please sign up for Coffee Hour, now known as FELLOWSHIP HOUR. There is a sign-up sheet in the Bert Keller Room. Please use the sign-up sheet in the BKR or call the Church Office.
Thank you to Pat McKnight and Kim Neri for hosting on November 24.
Thank you to Iris Molina for hosting December 1.
Thank you to Debbilee Thomsen for hosting December 8.
Thank you to the United Women in Faith for hosting on December 15.
We still need volunteers for December 22 and 29!
MISSIONS
Give to Hurricane Disaster Relief through United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). We encourage you to give to UMCOR for Disaster Relief following hurricanes Helene and Milton. The link to the UMCOR giving page for hurricane relief is https://advance.umcmission.org/p-620-umcor-us-disaster-response-and-recovery.aspx. That link takes you right to giving for Advance #901670. When you type in your information, you will be able to choose Grace Valley Stream as your local church.
Pray for missionaries during their birthday week. This week’s names are Alfiado Laita Saete Zunguza • Annette Winston • Beatrice Asyago • Bob Pezzolesi • Charles Barrow • Grace Miller • Guillermo Berman Ramirez • Joy Hayag • Kenya Roberts • Temba Nkomozepi
Meet missionaries on Zoom. The link to Register to meet missionaries on the Still In Mission monthly Zoom is https://umcmission.org/stillinmission/. The next episode is Thursday, January 9 at noon.
Giving. You can give to Missions any time. Just write Missions on the notation line on your check or Zelle, or write Missions on the outside of the envelope you drop in the plate. Your giving through Missions goes to Far Rockaway Mission, Anchor House, Methodist City Society, Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home, and El Porvenir (clean drinking water projects in Nicaragua). Thank you!
Far Rockaway Mission: On November 19 we delivered yams to Far Rockaway Mission for their Thanksgiving feast. In December we delivered gently used coats, jackets, hats, sweaters, and gloves.
Do you remember this day from 2017? We are assembling flood buckets for UMCOR again!
A big thank you to Lenore and Michael Kurz for donating 25 buckets and lids! Thank you to Kim Neri’s students for giving us a big start on the items needed to fill the buckets! Please look for the EMail from Eileen that lists the remaining items we need to fill the buckets or find the sheet of needed items in the narthex. After we collect the items, we will get together and assemble the buckets. Please join us in donating and assembling!
If you would like to make a cash or check donation, please put Flood Buckets in the memo line and we can purchase the items. If you have any questions, you may reach out to Bob DiSalvo, Prumeh Lee, Kim Neri, or Katherine Perkins.
Fall Food Drive- Thank You
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Fall Food Drive benefiting Long Island Cares, Valley Stream. We were able to deliver two carloads of food. It was most appreciated by those working at LI Cares. How nice to know that we have, in some small way, helped to make things a bit easier for our neighbors! Janet Stone
We gave another 59 pounds of food to LI Cares in December. Thank you!
Long Island Cares – This past spring, Long Island Cares opened the West Nassau Center for Food Assistance & Community Support at 241 Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream. We have reached out to them and they are available to support any church and community members who may be in need of help. They are also willing to receive donations from Grace Church so our Fall Food Drive collections will be going there. If you are in need of food, personal or household care items or even pet food items, please know that you are welcome there. Families can also be assessed for additional support beyond food including referrals for SNAP, WIC, health insurance, emergency housing, utility assistance (HEAP) and other related programs. Flyers, in both English and Spanish will be on the table in the narthex and emailed out to all church members. If you need more information about Long Island Cares in Valley Stream you can call 516-980-9100 or email www.licares.org. Help is available if you need it.
The Thrift Shop is using our new space, room 4, as our donation and storage center which will enable us to better manage donations and distribution of new items. We are hoping to have a strong fall season and exceed our revenue expectation. Our most pressing need remains finding volunteers. We pray for God’s guidance as we continue this ministry.
SPECIAL SUNDAY OFFERINGS – 2024
MISSIONS – January/April/July/October 2024
HUMAN RELATIONS DAY – January 14, 2024
UMCOR SUNDAY – March 10, 2024
EASTER – March 31, 2024
NATIVE AMERICAN MINISTRY – April 14, 2024
GOLDEN CROSS SUNDAY – May 5, 2024
PEACE WITH JUSTICE SUNDAY – May 26, 2024
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY – October 06, 2024
UNITED METHODIST STUDENT DAY – November 24, 2024
CHRISTMAS EVE – December 24, 2024 (Tuesday)
CHRISTMAS DAY – December 25, 2024
CALENDAR – If you have any dates that you would like to have on our calendar, please send them to me at GraceVSNY@aol.com. The meetings could be weekly, monthly or just a special meeting or event. Thank you.
COUNTING TEAM SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER 2024
December 01 – Nicosia
December 08 – Pershad Team 1
December 15 – Pershad
December 22 – Nicosia
December 29 – Fitch
Where You Can Volunteer
Liturgist or Reader – Contact Pat Eshun
Sunday School – Contact Janet Stone
Evangelism – Contact Andrea Owen-Boyd
Thrift Shop – Contact Andrea Owen-Boyd or Maudlyn Scarlett
Music – Leave a message for the Music Ministry Office (516/825-1940)
Missions – Contact Katherine Perkins
Worship – Contact Kim Neri or Carol Provenzano
Acolytes – Contact Tim Neri or or Mike Provenzano
Ushers – Contact Mike Provenzano or Carol Provenzano
Counting Team – Contact Marisa Pershad or Eileen Robertson
Hospitality – Contact Bob DiSalvo
Greeters – Contact Naomi Brown or Carol Provenzano
(Please call Eileen if you need contact information – 516/825-1182)
Weekly Meetings and Rehearsals
Please note whether meetings are in-person at the church or via Zoom. Thank you.
*Every Sunday – Church School 10AM/start in Church (except 1st Sunday of the month start 10AM/Education Building)
*Every Second Sunday of the month – Healing Prayer Service after Church/Chapel (Starting October 13, 2024)
*Fourth Sunday of every month – United Women in Faith (no UWF meeting in July and August)
*Every Wednesday – Bible Study 7:30PM-8:30PM/Zoom (Same Zoom Link every week)
*Every Thursday – Westminster Ringers 7PM
*Every Thursday – Chancel Choir 8PM/Church
*Every Saturday – Prayer Meeting 8AM/Zoom (Same Zoom Link every week)
*Every Saturday – Thrift Shop 10AM-2PM
Upcoming Events
*Saturday, January 25, 2025 – 10th Annual Evangelism Prayer Breakfast (TBD)
Upcoming Meetings
*Tuesday, January 14, 2025 – Board of Trustees 7:30PM/BKR (Teams Meeting Link is optional)
