Worship Announcements

• The Bethany Christmas Card Postal Service is now open in the fellowship hall. Skip the stamps and leave your cards for your Bethany family members and if you choose a small donation that will go to our next Friend of Barnabas Mission Team. This card exchange area will stay in place until Sunday, January 6th.
• Please plan to attend our Bethany Family Christmas program on December 14th during our regular service time. “Christmas Present” will include a shortened version of the Christmas Carol with ole’ Scrooge himself, as well as special music, the retelling of the Christmas story and more. Plan to arrive a few minutes early as our Praise and Worship band will perform some favorite Christmas tunes! Following the program, stay for a wonderful finger food brunch as we celebrate together. What a great opportunity to invite a friend or neighbor, share the joy of the season and allow them to experience the gift of Jesus’ love for them!

Dates to Know

• Pastor Blaine will be having Coffee Hours at Valley Pike Today, December 11th from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. So come and grab a cup of coffee, tea, or even some ice cream!
• Family Christmas Program, Sunday December 14th at 9:30 am – Sanctuary
• Advent Book Study, Monday, December 15th at 10:00 am and 6:30 pm – Sunday School Classroom
• SPPRC Meeting, Monday, December 15th at 5:45 pm – Sunday School Classroom
• Choir Practice, Wednesday, December 17th at 6:30 pm – Sanctuary
• Echo Articles Due, Wednesday, December 17th
• “Blue Christmas” Service, Sunday, December 21st at 6 pm – Weyers Cave United Methodist Church, see announcement below
• Advent Book Study, Monday, December 22nd at 10:00 am and 6:30 pm – Sunday School Classroom
• Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24th – “The Promise Revealed”
  4 pm – Our Family Christmas Eve Service will be a brief child-friendly service for the young and conclude with a glowstick lighting!
• 8 pm – Our Traditional Candlelight Service will feature carols and scripture readings of the season, special music, Holy Communion, and conclude with a candle lighting.

• “Blue Christmas Service” – Feeling loss and/or grief this season? Struggling to stay Merry and Joy-filled? Come and join us as we worship and reflect at Weyers Cave UMC on Sunday December 21st at 6pm! Come for care and comfort in this season of “big feelings.” Come for scripture, songs, prayer, and reflections from those who are with you: a Bethlehem citizen, taxed, financially fretting, an Innkeeper’s busy, booked, full life, Joseph bearing family burdens, Mary laboring in mental, physical, spiritual pain, Shepherds living, working in depression’s darkness, and a mother’s grief and a child’s cry. See poster on Fellowship Hall Door for more information.
• The “Pew-ew” challenge is a get to know your neighbors sitting on your pew at church. Get together with your pew partners and purchase a sleeve or box of diapers. Please put these on the table in the front hall. For every sleeve or box donated, a pew will get a bow. As of this Happenings, all pews have a bow! Thank you for all the donations that have come in! These diapers will be donated to our Food Pantry neighbors that need them. According to our diaper buying guru, Carrie Ashton, Walmart (Parent’s Choice diapers) has the best price for most diapers. Most used sizes are 5, 6, and 7. This diaper driver will continue through the month of December.
• “Happy Birthday, Jesus” project with the Gideons. In the front hall, there is a small Christmas tree on the table. If you are making a donation, please place the money in the box. Take a purple ornament and write your name on it and hang it on the tree. Every $5 donated buys 3 small testaments to be handed out by the Gideons. Please make your donations to help this worthwhile group today.
• Lend a hand, For several weeks we have been praying for Luther Law who tends to our cemeteries. Luther recently had a couple of strokes and is now back home. Some of his neighbors have fixed his trailer so he is safe and more comfortable. One of his neighbors has set up a fundraising site to accept donations to help with his financial situation. If you are led to help Luther go to https://giveahand.com/fundraiser/for-luther-with-love-helping-him-heal-at-home or scan the QR code at the Welcome Center to make a donation. If you would prefer to write a check out to BUMC or give cash, mark them for Luther Law and we will make sure it gets to the proper place.
• Reimbursements, If you have receipts and need to be reimbursed for purchases made in 2025 that provided items needed for our Ministry Programs please complete a Check Request form (located outside the church office door). These forms need to have the proper signatures and receipts attached. Return all forms to the office by December 15th.
• A holiday meal will be served to our Food Pantry neighbors on December 15th from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm. A sign-up sheet is in the Welcome Center for food donations and help. You are also invited to come join our neighbors for this meal.
  Financial Update

Prayer Requests:

Community Announcements:

• The Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir will present Starlight & Firelight on Saturday, December 13th at 7:00 pm and Sunday, December 14th at 4:00 pm. in EMU’s Lehman Auditorium. Enjoy the angelic voices of children and youth, ages 7–18, joined by 12 guest instrumentalists in a festive program of seasonal favorites presented within an historical and culturally-rich context. For details or tickets, visit svcc.org.
• “The Wonder of Christmas” concert performed by Chordially Yours of the Shenandoah Valley. Check the bulletin board outside the Sanctuary for more information.
• First Church and Nickels & Dimes invite you to attend “The Power of Prayer,” a Christmas play. This humorous and inspiring play, written and performed by local amateur talent, depicts the journey of five college basketball teammates as they navigate life’s challenges. We are also collecting a goodwill offering to support a local family this Christmas. Admission and parking are complimentary. Check the bulletin board outside the Sanctuary for more information.
• Camp Overlook – On December 20th Camp Overlook will be holding our Annual Walk to the Manger. The event is between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm and for all ages. If you are not familiar with this event, it is a walk-through living Nativity. The walk takes about 45 minutes to get through and does involve walking on some uneasy ground. See poster on Fellowship Hall Door for more information.
• Camp Overlook will be holding their Winter Camp on January 16 – 18 (Friday – Sunday of MLK weekend). Campers between the grades of 3rd – 12th can join them for this camp, which will be an abbreviated version of Summer Camp. It is a great way for someone to try out camp for 2 nights or to come back and enjoy some of their favorite activities. See poster on Fellowship Hall Door for more information.