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Following Christ Transforming Lives Christmas 2018 the Westlake UMC Newsletter A SEASON SET APART Seeing the Holy in all things this Christmas Often during the Christmas season the juxtaposition of the sacred and secular feel blatantly opposed or quite blurred The word sacred points to something dedicated as holy and set apart Whether it s setting apart sacred time to be spent in anticipation of the holy or opening our hearts to recognize all people as sacred creating holy space that holds people who grieve or inviting God s wisdom to guide us or a longing for the holy to be birthed into the reality of our lives This year we invite you to a spiritual journey of seeing all things pregnant with the possibility of the holy What could your Advent and Christmas season experience be like if you lived it looking through the kaleidoscope of the sacred Rev Tracey Beadle tbeadle westlake umc org Advent Worship Calendar December 2 Sacred Time December 9 Sacred People December 16 Sacred Joy Services of Lessons Carols December 20 Sacred Space An Evening Blue Christmas Service For those grieving a loss December 23 Sacred Knowing December 24 Sacred Being 4 00 5 30 7 30pm December 30 Sacred Doing Single Service at 10 00am
Sacred Season of Music Dr Diana Sanchez Bushong What makes music sacred Is it the place The language The style The tempo Music is sacred when it helps us connect to our God and to one another As humans we look to music to help us express something so deep and so mysterious that words alone cannot describe it We also look to music to unite many people into one voice So sacred music is connectional but it s also contextual You might enjoy a sacred moment listening to the Beatles singing at a nursing home just as much as experiencing music in church This Advent as we explore SACRED we will share in many opportunities to share the sacredness of music at WUMC Let s join our hearts and minds to our Creator and to one another as we prepare to welcome the holy child into our lives Dr Diana Sanchez Bushong dsanchez bushong westlake umc org Dr Gus Sterneman gsterneman westlake umc org Children s Choirs Christmas Concert December 2 4 00 PM in the Worship Center A reception immediately follows in Wyatt Hall Handbell Christmas Concert December 9 6 00 PM in the Worship Center Lessons and Carols Frank Webster jfrankweb gmail com December 16 9 00 AM 11 15 AM in the Worship Center The joy of the season will be celebrated in our annual Lessons and Carols service Bible readings are interspersed with congregational songs and anthems At the 11 15am service we will have a jazz ensemble and all of the carols will be in a jazz idiom Come join the sacred joy of this day Candlelight Christmas Eve Services at 4 00 5 30 7 30 4 00 5 30 pm Family Services with Nativity Pageant kids get to dress up 7 30 pm Traditional Candlelight Service
Sharing What s Sacred The church marketing and social media I have been working at the church for a couple of months now I have met so many wonderful people and have witnessed multiple forms of ministry through compassionate service charitable giving justice minded action and creative expressions of worship There are so many good things happening in and through the life of this church and we need to share that with others You re here at WUMC because your life has been impacted by God s love through the ministry of your church If you have been encouraged cared for or empowered to do meaningful ministry then you are perfectly suited to help spread the word about your church We can t keep this all to ourselves we need to share this with others This fall Pastor Tracey formed a Marketing Team and there are some sharp and passionate people in this group They are working to implement a strategy and campaign to communicate the heartbeat of WUMC and effectively spread the word about the church In our Marketing Team meetings we have been reminded of the most powerful form of marketing word of mouth communications Have you ever asked your friends or family members for recommendations about auto repair shops plumbers dental care or some other kind of service Sure we all have Have you ever asked on a social media platform like Facebook or Instagram I m guessing that many of you have Why do we do that We tend to trust those within our social circles more than anyone else We can utilize social media to communicate with our social circles via digital word of mouth which means we can use the most effective form of marketing with those who trust us This is a great opportunity If your church is meaningful to you you can share information about it easily with your circles on social media I want to invite you to do a couple of things if you aren t already doing them First like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram This way you ll see all of the different events and posts from your church Second share your church s social media posts so that your friends and followers on Facebook and Instagram will see that information about your church from a trusted source like you Feel free to like and comment on WUMC s posts too because that makes them more visible Marketing is really just about spreading the word Is your church meaningful to you Has your church impacted your life Do you know someone who would benefit from being involved in a community of faith like yours Will you help us spread the word about WUMC Let s share our church together Christmas Cards that Care Mary Lou Batlan mlbatlan gmail com Curt Davis Curt Davis cdavis westlake umc org Mary Lou Batlan During the Advent season we want to make extra connections to those who are Unwillingly Absent Watch in the narthex and at Coffee Time so you might send Christmas greetings through our Care Notes card ministry as a different group will be represented weekly in December for mailing to our church family We also share the beautiful poinsettia flowers from worship in December by home delivery after Christmas day You may volunteer to help our Flower Ministry team to be a part of this season s delivery to our home bound
A Season to Connect Diane Kofahl WUMC Youth has had a great Fall this year We worked on splitting our Sunday school programming which we call Sunday Connect because it is where we connect to God and each other Having separate classes for middle school and high school students meant more wonderful teachers heard their calling to lead students as well as better age specific curriculum Our Middle School students have been traveling through the bible with The Story curriculum Throughout the year they will have journeyed through the entire bible together and will better understand God s great story with God s creation The High School students have studied various different relevant topics including Science and Faith I Am Second Conversations and Galatians These studies all provide different topics and ways to look at faith in turn allowing for all different faith levels to go deeper through questions and discussion If you haven t tried it out recently come over to the youth room in building M and check out our Sunday Connect hour on Sunday mornings from 10 10 11 05am For parents among other classes offered there is a Parents of Tweens and Teens class upstairs in 407 Diane Kofahl youth westlake umc org As we close out the 2019 year we have many other opportunities for youth to come together Traveling Turkeys event iACT Service Advent workshop Caroling Bells Concerts and Youth Christmas Party We hope all find a place this season to connect with community here at WUMC Relationships are Key Our Youth Discernment Team started meeting in February and have been working hard since then to narrow our ideas down to three main needs issues that we want to help in our youth ministry In one of our latest meetings we discussed our strategies which are what we will be doing specifically to help the youth of our church One of our three main themes we have discussed that we have found to be a key is Relationships Part of this theme includes helping youth to recognize that they each have 5 adults around them that help the student NOTICE the everyday life of the student including gifts talents hard times etc NAME their gifts and needs to build them up as well as help in struggles NURTURE the students gifts and talents to be successful in their lives Emma Bressi As a team our hopes for the upcoming year of 2019 include trying to connect the whole of Westlake UMC with students in ways we haven t before that will help empower their lives Written by Emma Bressi Member of the Youth Discernment Team Youth Council Junior at Westlake High School
Cookies with Santa Saturday December 8 9 00 11 00am All Star Burger Westlake Davenport Village 3801 N Capital of Texas Hwy ste a 108 Austin TX 78746 We are a church that cares about having fun Kids and kids at heart love Cookies with Santa This special event will indulge your sweet tooth provide an opportunity for your kids to get their pictures with Santa by a professioanl without the lines and give your child an opportunity to write a personalized letter to Jolly ol Saint Nick We invite you to join the fun on Saturday December 8 from 9 00 11 00am Children s Ministry Megan Getman This year s Advent Workshop will be an intergenerational and interactive event of scripture conversation sharing and art response It s a terrific way to start the season off right by experiencing the wonder and anticipation of the season with people from all parts of our beautiful church community We ll gather in the gym on Sunday December 2nd during the Sunday School hour All are invited to participate and engage with each other We ll have our beloved Christmas Eve services on December 24th This year s nativity story will be told during the 4 00 PM and 5 30 PM worship services We are looking forward to experiencing this story with you through story scripture and song We even have a new stage set January s Children First worship will be on the 7th of January at 9 00 AM Creative plans are in the works to celebrate Epiphany that day I hope you will join us as we mark the wise ones visit to Jesus Mary and Joseph At the beginning of December registration opens for Wonderfully Made a new human development education curriculum for 5th and 6th graders This year s workshop will be run by JJ from Terrytown UMC It ll happen on the weekend of February 8th and 9th More dates and details will come soon so watch the bulletin and your email for registration links Megan Getman mgetman westlake umc org
At WUMC we begin to prepare for the miracle of Christmas in October First we consider families and individuals impacted by educational and medical challenges hunger poverty natural disasters loss and loneliness Then we open our hearts to gifts of engagement that we call Christmas In October It is an invitation to participate in the sharing of God s love for individuals and families near to us and around the world by finding the project s that resonate s with interests of your own family and friends Sign up online at westlake umc org CIO From top 1 Women s Story Book Project 2 It Starts With Soccer 3 Christmas Party for La Posada 4 Christmas Caroling 5 Coffee for the Troops 6 Hurricane Harvey Recovery 7 Warm Clothing for Mobile Loaves Fishes 8 Cards for Kairos Prison Ministry 9 Blue Santa 10 University High School Fall Fest Success Fall Festival 2018 was a smashing success There was food game prizes live music and of course the Westlake Fire Truck And the weather couldn t have been more perfect With Heather Attridge s inspiring leadership please thank her personally many of you stepped in with critical support including financial material goods and service related Countless people set up and cleaned up served food helped guests register for door prizes and purchase meal tickets and played music The youth did an incredible job leading the children in games painting faces and applying temporary tattoos The balloon art was a favorite I was slain more than once by a balloon sword Pastor Tracey And all of you did an amazing job of inviting your friends and neighbors by personal invitation and by leveraging your social media Special thanks to Jonathan for designing our postcard and Facebook invites As a result we doubled previous years attendance with more than 230 people It was hard to get a definite count Nobody would stand still long enough So thank you THANK YOU especially Heather and all of you who were so generous with your resources and worked so hard and cheerfully We got to meet many new people in the community and it was SO much fun I m already excited about Fall Fest 2019
Following Christ Transforming Lives Christmas 2018 the Westlake UMC Newsletter A SEASON SET APART Seeing the Holy in all things this Christmas Often during the Christmas season the juxtaposition of the sacred and secular feel blatantly opposed or quite blurred The word sacred points to something dedicated as holy and set apart Whether it s setting apart sacred time to be spent in anticipation of the holy or opening our hearts to recognize all people as sacred creating holy space that holds people who grieve or inviting God s wisdom to guide us or a longing for the holy to be birthed into the reality of our lives This year we invite you to a spiritual journey of seeing all things pregnant with the possibility of the holy What could your Advent and Christmas season experience be like if you lived it looking through the kaleidoscope of the sacred Rev Tracey Beadle tbeadle westlake umc org Advent Worship Calendar December 2 Sacred Time December 9 Sacred People December 16 Sacred Joy Services of Lessons Carols December 20 Sacred Space An Evening Blue Christmas Service For those grieving a loss December 23 Sacred Knowing December 24 Sacred Being 4 00 5 30 7 30pm December 30 Sacred Doing Single Service at 10 00am
Westlake United Methodist Church 1460 Redbud Trail Austin TX 78746 Electronic Opt In Save paper get this newsletter in your email in box Email Sally at sbrackett westlake umc org Welcome New WUMC Members August Members James Beadle Michaela Beadle Zaye Beadle James Joseph McDonnell IV Ashley Kay McDonnell August Baptisms Ryker Bear Roos James Joseph McDonnell V September Members Olivia Nix Maria Green Ryan Green September Baptisms Azalea Adele Garcia October Members Curt Davis Dawn Davis CHRISTMAS CALENDAR December 2 December 2 December 2 December 8 December 9 December 15 December 16 December 16 December 24 December 30 First Sunday of Advent Advent Workshop 10 10 11 05am Children s Choirs Christmas Concert 4pm Pictures with Santa Cookie Decorating 9 00 11 00am Handbell Christmas Concert 6pm Christmas Caroling Lessons and Carols Worship Services 9 11 15am Youth Christmas Party 3 30 5 30pm Christmas Eve Services at 4 5 30 7 30 pm 1 Morning Worship Service at 10 00 am 512 327 1335 www westlake umc org
