Announcements 11/12/2023

Today’s altar flowers are given by Clewis Howe - Happy 13th Birthday William on November 7th and Happy Birthday Dave on November 2nd

Annual Church Conference, Wednesday, November 15 at 7pm

Our annual Church Conference will be in-person on Wednesday, November 15, at 7pm in the Sanctuary. Rev Jin-Yong Choi from the North Boston Korean UMC in Andover, MA will be leading us in holy conferencing in the Sanctuary at 7pm. If you are interested in attending remotely, please notify the church office or Peter Smyton by Monday Nov 13^th and a Zoom link will be sent to you.

A softcopy of our annual report will be sent via an all-church email. If you are attending the Church Conference, feel free to print it out and bring it with you to follow along. If you would like a printed copy please let Betsy know.

Join us for Pizza and Basketball Fun Today

All youth and adults who enjoy playing basketball are invited to join us on Sunday, November 12^th from noon – 1:30 p.m. We will gather for pizza, and then go outside to shoot some hoops. Please see Cheryl Ortolf if you have any questions.

Bring in items by November 12th

The church school will once again help our Outreach committee by supplying items needed for the Thanksgiving Baskets.

Please bring in the following items and place in the brown box located downstairs in the church school area:

PreK – 2^nd Grade Class – Cranberry Sauce or Canned Green Beans

3rd-5th Grade Class – Large Can of Fruit Cocktail

6th –7th Grade Class – Apple Juice (plastic container)

8^th – 12^th Grade Class – Regular Rice (no instant rice)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner

Aldersgate is once again providing Thanksgiving baskets for 50 families in the Chelmsford/Lowell area. If you would like to help support here are a few ways:

Sign up to bring a frozen turkey on Nov 19. Sign-ups are in the front entrance way.
Donate $ in the turkey box. Again in the front entrance.
Sunday school children can donate dry goods and canned goods.

Gobble, Gobble and Thank You!

Christmas Faire and Festival is December 1 and 2

Our annual Christmas Faire and Festival is on Dec 1, 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm and Dec 2, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. The Faire is an important fellowship and financial event, and we need everyone’s help to make it a success! Please share your plans for donations or volunteering to staff a table on the sign-up sheets in the Welcome Area. Contact Bonnie Marden at BonMarden@gmail.com or 978-846-1260 if you have questions.

Thank you for baking and making items for the Country Store, Crafts and Knitting Table, Silent Auction donations and jewelry! There are posters on the Welcome Desk. If you have somewhere you can post them, that would be great. Thank you!

Santa Fund

The Santa tree will be up on November 19^th and Presents need to be in by December 10^th. Thank you all for making Christmas special for all the kids.

Hats, Gloves, Mittens, Socks, and Toiletries for St. Paul’s

Outreach will be collecting items for St. Paul’s by the 17^th of December. Please bring in hats, gloves, mittens, socks, and mittens as well as toiletries. There is a box in the welcome area.

Pop-up Adult Bible Study

The Adult Pop-Up Study on MLK and the Bible will resume for one more session on Tuesday, November 14 when the music continues with the children. Everyone is welcome.

Children and Youth Supper & Singing Time

This music opportunity is for children and youth ages 4 years old – 12^th grade.

We will meet on the following dates this fall:

Tuesdays, November 14^th from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Mondays, December 11^th & 18^th from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

We will have supper from 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. and music singing time from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Prayer Wall in Fellowship Hall

The Church Council recently created a prayer wall on a rolling partition in the Fellowship Hall, asking you to post prayers of what our church will look like as a result of the on-going Inclusion discussions. The Council recently decided to expand the purpose of the wall and we invite you to post prayers on any topic that you wish to have other members of our church family pray about.

Fall Adult Study Opportunities

Today at 9:45 in the Concord Room, we conclude our study in the Gospel of Mark.

Thursday at 10:00 in the Concord Room, there will be a workshop on how to make your own set of prayer beads. See the Advocate for directions on what to bring with you or come and choose beads from the various items donated.

Advent is not far away! Get your copy of The Heart That Grew Three Sizes by Matt Rawle now and plan to join a class this December!

Sponsor a book for our College Students!

Adult Ed in partnership with Cheryl O. and Pastor Bob, would like to give a copy of Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman to our college students. The books are $20 and we would like to gift them over the Winter Break when they all gather together again. You can sponsor a book and create a link to the next generation! You can find a donation envelope by the literature rack in the lobby.

Early Bird Bible Application

Early Bird will not meet this week. It will reconvene on Tuesday 21 November.

Middlesex Community College Student Receives Aldersgate Scholarship

Last spring, the Mighty Men’s group of Aldersgate established a scholarship in the church’s name at Middlesex Community College (MCC). The funds had been raised via a series of golf tournaments several years ago and had grown through investments to $8000. The scholarship of $1000/year is to be given to a deserving BIPOC – black, indigenous, or person of color – student each fall until the funds expire. This fall, the MCC selection committee selected Ibrahim Konteh as the first recipient of the Aldersgate UMC Scholarship! Ibrahim is majoring in Information Technology – Cyber Security. He received his award certificate at a ceremony at MCC on October 24, with Pastor Bob and Peter Smyton in attendance to present Ibrahim with his award. Congrats Ibrahim! A special thanks to Dawn Jones who served as an evaluator of the applicants for MCC.

Lobby Window book display

The books in the lobby windows are available for you to borrow and return at your leisure. You will find books on prayer, books that discuss Christian LGBTQ+ folks and books on creating deeper community. We welcome you to spend some time this summer expanding your faith and understanding of God’s church.