Woodridge United Methodist
Church
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Join
us on Sunday for worship services
at
10:00 am.
Instructions
can be found at the end below.
All are
Welcome!
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“New Kid on
the Block”
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We are at the
second part of our Advent journey and our theme this week
is PEACE. The 2nd candle on the Advent wreath
(known as the PEACE CANDLE) will be lit.
We are in the midst
of the 12 days of Christmas, awaiting the arrival of the
Wise Men into Bethlehem. It has been the Christian
tradition to observe their arrival on January 6th.
Their gifts, representative of their traditions were
shared and received as indicators of the life of Jesus
from birth to death. We will take a look at the NEW KID ON THE
BLOCK as we make these connections.
It is also the eve
of a brand new year. While it has not been the
custom of some to gather on New Year's Eve, it is
however, the custom of others. Beginning in
1755, John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) encouraged
gathering for worship on New Year’s Eve for a Covenant
Renewal Service. Central features of this service are
remembering the past year—something of a communal exam—as
well as recommitting to following Christ, often using the
Wesleyan Covenant Prayer.
All of this and
more combined in the spirit of our worship will occur on
Sunday, December 31st!! We will follow our tie of worship
with a time of fellowship. Bring your favorite
brunch item and your favorite board game. We will
toast in the new year together!! It is a time to
reconnect with other church friends in a safe
environment. Join us on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in
person. If you cannot join us in person, join us on
our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel.
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Saturday, December 16th
Sunday, December 31st
- 10:00 am Worship Service
- 11:00
am New Years Brunch
- 4:00
pm Filipino Baptist
Tuesday, January 2nd
Friday, January 5th
Saturday, January 6th
- 8:45
am Sorority
- 7:00
pm Square Dancing
Sunday, January 7th
- 10:00 am Worship Service
- 11:00
am Communion (in person)
- 4:00
pm Filipino Baptist
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Church Office Hours
The Church Office is CLOSED Monday, January 1st
& Tuesday, January 2nd.
Monday
& Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday
- Friday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
We ask that you call
before visiting.
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Ministry Opportunities
Interactive Christmas Bulletin Board
Our bulletin board is ready for Christmas. Come take a
star, write on it one of the reasons that you are blessed and
use a push pin to set it in the sky. It will be
awe-inspiring!
New
Years Eve Brunch
Join us for a potluck New Years Eve Brunch! On Sunday, December
31st at11:30 am you are invited to bring your
favorite brunch dish to share: breakfast casserole, pastries,
quiche, sliced fruit, skillets, etc. New Year's Eve
brunch will include board games!! People should bring
their favorite!
Upper
Rooms
Upper Rooms for January
- February are now available in the narthex
with a limited number in the mailbox.
Hat
and Mitten Tree
Our Hat and Mitten Tree
remains in the Narthex throughout the
Christmas season and all items collected will be given to
Woodridge schools to be distributed to children who are in
need. Thank you to those who have already donated - our
tree is looking festive!
Bible
Study
Bible Study is on break for until the new year. Classes are
open to anyone who wishes to participate.
Time
and format:
Tuesdays
(ZOOM only), 10:30 a.m. until noon begins January
9th.
Wednesdays
(ZOOM and
in-person), 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. begins January
10th.
If you are interested in participating, please contact the
church office, 630/968-6050 or office@woodridgeumc.org
or Pastor Danita (PastorDanita@woodridgeumc.org).
Please let us know if you are interested in attending.
60th
Anniversary Celebration
Did you know that our church is turning 60 years old?
What were you doing when you turned 60? If you haven't
made it there yet, what are your plans for 60? We have
started a year long celebration of 60 years of ministry here
at Woodridge UMC. If you have ideas of events you would
like to see happen this year, or simply want to "be in
the room where it happens", let us know. No idea
is too ______ anything!! Look forward to
celebrating our 60 years together.
WUMC
Music Ensembles 2023-2024
Our Music Ministry offers you three ways to get involved: the
Handbell Choir, the Worship Band, and the Adult Choir. This
could be the year you take that “leap of faith” and join a
group! All ensembles are LOW commitment. We ask that you
please attend the rehearsals leading up to the service date.
It is that simple! For a full schedule see the e-News or the
handout in the narthex.
In order to plan music, please RSVP to Carrie by the dates
listed. See the full
schedule here.
Worship Band (RSVP was due Dec. 17)
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Rehearsal- VOCALS ONLY
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Jan. 7
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8:30-9:30 AM
(Carrie has a 12 PM call time for a Hawks game)
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Music Room
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Rehearsal- ALL
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Jan. 14
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11:20 AM-12:30 PM
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Music Room
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Rehearsal- ALL
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Jan. 21
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11:20 AM-12:30 PM
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Music Room
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Service
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Jan. 28
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10 AM
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Rehearse in the sanctuary at 8:45 AM
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Youth
Ministry 2023-2024
Our last event for 2023 has concluded. Enjoy the holidays
with your families and come to 2024 with
ideas for the rest of the year!
Sunday School
There will not be Sunday School on New Years
Eve.
Activity Bags will be available in the Narthex. We use
inspiring stories, creative crafts, and fun games—all done
with guidance of loving, dedicated teachers—to engage our
students.
Here’s our process: Children begin the worship
service in the sanctuary with their family. Following the
“Praying” segment, the children will be invited up to the
chancel steps for conversation with the pastors. (We call
that time “Conversing with Children.”) Following that, the
Sunday School teacher will meet the children in the Narthex
(the big room outside the sanctuary) and walk them to their
classroom. They will be in either the Trinity Room in the
main hallway or the Blue Room in the Preschool wing.
Toastmasters
Would you like to speak with more confidence in any setting?
Toastmasters can help! The Woodridge Toastmasters club meets
on the 2nd
and 4th Thursday of the month at Woodridge United Methodist
Church. Come visit us and see for yourself!
For more information contact John.
Birthdays
4
Sue
Seago
6
Alexis Morman Peck
Julie Straub
8 Kayla
O’Leary
10
Julie Straub
12
Chris Manderfield
16
Barb Harris
Nancy
Valenta
18
Oma Selle
19
Jessica Shubert
21
Kyle O’Leary
22
Maddison Barba
Liz
Murphy
27
Savannah Wibiral
29
Christina Smurzynski
Northern Illinois Conference
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Dec. 13, 2023
Dear Servants in ministry,
Greetings in this holy time of anticipation and promise.
At this time of year, we celebrate the coming of a child.
Christmas, Epiphany, the boy Jesus in the temple—all center
on a child.
Indeed,
children should always be in our hearts and minds.
And now, people who were abused as children need our
Christian compassion and generosity.
Repair
the Harm to Children, the Northern Illinois Conference
campaign to address the needs of people who suffered abuse
in a Boy Scout troop as children, needs our support.
Many churches, including United Methodists, have chartered
Boy Scouts of America troops or packs over the years. As
part of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by these
survivors, the United Methodist Church has agreed to
contribute $30 million to a survivors’ fund over a
three-year period. Northern Illinois Conference’s share is
$754,348.
Your
church can be part of the healing for these survivors by
committing an amount equal to 1 percent of its budget to
this fund. This amount is payable over
three years. Your church will still have 99 percent for
local and church-wide ministries.
We don't invite people to pledge because they participated
in the harm. We invite you to give because you care about
the welfare of children and want to help those who were
hurt as children to experience healing.
The
Repair the Harm to Children campaign is not only about
financial compensation for the survivors.
We also commit to listening to survivors, if they request
it, with compassion. We will also redouble our efforts to
keep our churches safe for children and vulnerable adults.
Our conference has received, as of this date, donations and
pledges from 28 churches and several individuals. We have
received commitments for $136,770, 18 percent of our goal.
So far, pledging churches have contributed $54,036.69. We look ahead with
confidence that we Northern Illinois United Methodists will
achieve our goal.
Steps
Toward Participation
- Your church identifies the amount
of its pledge.
- Visit umcnic.org/RepairtheHarm
and complete the Pledge Form linked from that page.
- When your church is ready to
begin fulfilling its pledge, visit the Make a Payment
link on that page. Remember, your church can fulfill
its pledge over three years.
This site also contains many resources
to help interpret the importance of this commitment. People
in your church who have participated in Scouts as young
people or leaders and those who care deeply about
children’s wellbeing can serve as ambassadors for this
opportunity to help others.
Please
remember that Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other youth
organizations support children’s faith formation and are
worth hosting in our churches. The BSA
commits itself to strengthened protections for
participants. Adding your church’s vigilant observations of
Safe Sanctuaries practices, Scout troops and packs can be a
safe and enriching experience.
Knowing about NIC churches’ and individuals’ generosity, I
look forward to our receiving your pledges and gifts.
It is good to be in ministry with you.
Peace
Dan Schwerin, Bishop
Northern Illinois Conference
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If you would like more information, you can
visit the FAQ page here.
Prairie
Central Informal Gatherings with the District Superintendent
Informational
gatherings will be held on the second Thursday of the
month.
Zoom Links (The links will stay the same for all meetings,
though clergy links and lay links will be different)
Clergy Gathering 9:00 am link.
Lay Gathering 7:00 pm link.
Lay persons: This is NOT for Lay Leaders only. It
is intended for all lay persons who want to know more about
what is going on and be connected.
Northern
Illinois Conference
Find out
about upcoming events in the Northern Illinois
Conference of the United Methodist Church by clicking
this link
Outreach Opportunities
December Outreach Offering
Save Abandoned Babies Foundation
The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is a
not-for-profit volunteer group dedicated to saving babies
from being abandoned in dumpsters and other unsafe places.
Our grassroots effort began in March of 2000 when our
volunteers drafted a safe haven law and lobbied for its
passage. The resulting Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection
Act unanimously passed both the Illinois House and Senate and
was signed into Illinois law in August of 2001.
The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is now focused on
spreading awareness of the Safe Haven Law, allowing a parent
to safely relinquish their newborn to a person at a Police
Station (including campus police), Fire Station, Hospital or
Emergency Medical Facility with no questions asked.
Since the enactment of this law 157 newborns have been safely
relinquished.
Ways
to donate to the December Outreach Offering:
- Check or cash in an Outreach
Offering envelope placed in the offering plate in the
- Narthex (the room outside the
sanctuary) or in the gold-plated mail slot at the
church’s east door.
- Online via our website. Select
“Current Month Outreach” in the drop down menu.
- Text the amount you want to give to
630-449-7121 and select “Current Month Outreach” in the
drop down menu.
Ongoing
Opportunities
Suits for Success
Please be aware that after many years, Suits for Success has
closed its doors and is no longer accepting clothing
donations.
"Goin'
Green" Shoes & Clothes Recycling Box
Located in the northeast corner of our parking lot,
this receptacle is a convenient place to recycle any shoes
and your clothes that are at or near the end of their
usefulness.
Did you know discarded clothes account for more
total landfill space than any other waste item? The “Goin’
Green” Box helps us reduce our waste.
West Suburban
Food Pantry
We have a basket that we "inherited"
from the Faith, Lisle church that is waiting for
donations. It sits in the narthex, usually near the
sanctuary doors. They did not stop operating during the
pandemic and there is pending legislation in our state and
nation that might cut their corporate donations in large
amounts. Let's replenish our basket!!!
Used Eyeglasses
There is a
basket also in the narthex for collecting
used eyeglasses. Kendra Manderfield Moore makes
sure that they are recycled to the Lions Club and Gift
of Sight groups. (Prescription eyeglasses only).
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Wellness Guidelines
WUMC considers the good health and well-being of not
only our members, but also our community, an act of Christian
stewardship. We continue to seek to avoid harm and do good as we
attend to the practices that help us grow in the love of God. As
a result of guideline changes from the Illinois Department of
Public Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
we have updated our COVID Safety Guidelines:
- We recommend each group consult with each other
on how to do good and avoid harm as a group in consideration
of each other's needs and desires.
- We will continue to practice COVID-19 safety
best practices throughout our building including cleaning
protocols and air circulation.
If you are feeling sick, please stay home and join
us via livestream on YouTube. If community transmission spikes in
our area, we may return to mask requirements for all
activities. We follow the CDC guidelines.
Online Worship
Where to find the YouTube Live Stream
The worship service is live-streamed every Sunday at
10:00 a.m. on our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel. All available worship service recordings are on
our channel too.
Sacrament of Communion 1st Sundays
We will be celebrating the
Sacrament of Communion in person on the first Sunday of each
month immediately following the livestream of our worship
service. We will need a few moments to set up our ZOOM link for
those who are not able to be with us in person. Please
remain seated following the postlude on the Sundays that we are
serving communion. Please remember that communion is
available every Sunday via ZOOM. Please contact the church
office or Pastor Danita for the ZOOM link.
Worship Attendance
If you watch the online service, please email the
church office at office@woodridgeumc.org and let us know that you joined us for
worship, so that we might record your attendance.
Prayer Requests for Worship
Our joys and concerns are
announced during worship service and printed and placed on the
table in the narthex as you come into the sanctuary. We
will continue to do this going forward. Therefore, all joys
and concerns must be emailed to Pastor Danita (PastorDanita@woodridgeumc.org) no
later than 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. If joys
and concerns are received after that, they will be sent on Monday
to the Prayer Ministry Team. Thank you for your flexibility
as we make updates to our worship services.
(There have been
requests that we include full names and/or more detailed
information for people on our list of Joys & Concerns.
Please remember our services are broadcast on YouTube and are
available to anyone who has internet access. Details are shared
with our Prayer Ministry Team on Monday mornings. You are
invited to join them in prayer and share in this information by
contacting the church office).
Offering
Options
There are different options for getting your
offering to the church.
- Go to the website & click on the Giving
tab at the top of the page or go straight there with this link.
- Text 630.449.7121 with the amount
- Drop off in the gold mail slot next to the east
door of the church.
- Mail your offering to the church.
December 29th, 2023, Volume 13, Edition 52
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