Advent Brunch Sign Up Next Sunday

Next Sunday, November 29th, at 10:00 a.m. we will have our Advent
Brunch downstairs in the fellowship halls. If you can please sign up to
bring a dish to share and/or help with set up/clean up that would be
greatly appreciated. The sign up sheets are located in the Reed Room,
or you can sign up online at:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0548AAAD2EA2F94-advent

November 22, 2015

Please sign up only once on either the sign up sheets in the Reed Room
or online at SignUpGenius.com. The information will be combined to
help eliminate any duplication.

From the Pastor

Come help us celebrate the beginning of this joyous time of year!! If

you have any questions please call Robin Oliver at 434-978-3553 or email robinaoliver@comcast.net or Tina Shifflett at 434-978-1723 or email shiff82@earthlink.net.

Project Linus Make a Blanket Day

Saturday, December 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Reed Room
Everyone is invited to this great hands-on event where we make quilts
for children of various needs within our community. All materials and
instructions are provided. You do not need to know how to sew! You
are encouraged to bring a sewing machine if you have one. Lunch will
be provided by the UMW. Please try to let us know if you are coming so
we know how much food to prepare. Contact Lynn Bremer at 202-7868
or ltbn2books @comcast.net

Busy Hands Fellowship

This group meets once a week and gives crafters, hobbyists and artists
the opportunity to work on their individual projects while enjoying a
time of fellowship. Come join us in the Hospitality Room on Thursdays
from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Bring a handiwork project to work on,
finished pieces for show and tell, and a sack lunch to eat when we take
a break. Regulars, drop-ins and guests are always welcome. For more
information contact Kimberley Roll at 434-973-6382 or
rollwell3@gmail.com

What a joy it was to see all of our youth leading a very engaging and
meaningful worship service last Sunday! Thanks to Rachel Miller, Director of
Ministries with Young People, and Mike Colley, Youth Praise Band Director,
and all of the youth who provided leadership last Sunday. Were especially
grateful to Emily Dahnert who did a wonderful job preaching her very first
sermon! Emily also announced that she has been accepted into United
Methodist-related Randolph Macon College as she prepares to pursue a call
to ministry. Were very proud of all of our youth both for being the faithful
followers of Christ they are today and for the leaders they are becoming.

Today we complete our series, Three Simple Rules, with Stay in Love with
God. This third rule makes the first two rules (Do No Harm, and Do
Good) possible. How do we first begin to know and love God? How do we go
about being sure we stay in love with God once we know Gods unconditional
mercy and grace? Well be exploring an encounter between Jesus and Peter
not long after Jesus resurrection as he appears to the disciples while they
have gone back to fishing. The scripture is John 21:15-19.
Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, a four-week time of preparation
for Christmas. Well be celebrating our Advent Brunch at 10:00 a.m. so be
sure and bring something to eat as we gather as a church family.
I wish you every blessing this week as our nation gathers around the table for
Thanksgiving. May the joy and gratitude of knowing God fill our hearts and
minds on this special day.
Grace and peace,
Scott
Rev. Scott Davis, Pastor
scottdavis@cvaumc.org

Hanging of the Greens TODAY at 5pm

A Christian Refugee Experience

TODAY at 5pm, we will be readying the building for Christmas. After

we finish decorating, we will enjoy a potluck dinner together. To join in
the fun, just come at 5:00 with a dish to share.

On Sunday, December 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Aldersgate will

host a very special program organized by church member Fay Painter.
Fay has been serving as a missionary for about 2 years for a church of
African refugees and immigrants. She is inviting everyone from
Aldersgate to attend. The children will do a Christmas play, and the
Worship Team from Africa Lighthouse Baptist Temple will lead
Christmas hymns sung in Swahili. Following the pageant, you will hear
from Pastor Peter Chege, the stories of three refugees from the Congo,
and learn more about Fays new ministry, ARISE! Alliance for Refugee
and Immigrant Support and Education. Following the program, there
will be African food and fellowship. RSVP to faypainter8@gmail.com by
December 11.

Angel Tree
Make Christmas a memorable day for underprivileged children and
lonely senior citizens! There is an Angel Tree display in the Reed Room.
This year, we will have 40 youth angels as well as a number of seniors
who could use a little love and encouragement. You may pick up your
angel at any time, but please return all to AUMC no later than Sunday,
December 6. Gifts for the Salvation Army youths should be unwrapped,
and gifts for the seniors do need to be gift wrapped or gift bagged. If
you have any questions, please contact Ann Brown at 434.882.2533.
Thank you for your generosity to those less fortunate.

Bibles for Africa

"I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." With
these stirring words of hope, the prophet Isaiah looks forward to what
we know now as the season of Advent ... expecting the second coming
of our Lord. Would you be willing this Advent season to share such
Good News by providing one or more Bibles to the 2,000 people of
Liberdale United Methodist Church in Mozambique? Their Pastor,
Rev. Joao Sambo, and our Assistant Pastor for Congregational Care, Rev.
Don MacNicoll (friends since 2004), are working together to raise funds
for 400 Bibles in the local Xitswa dialect. The Bibles cost $13 each. If you
can help, write your check to AUMC and notate it "Bibles for Africa."

In Loving Memory
Norman Allen, former organist and music director at Aldersgate, died on
November 18, 2015. Norm enriched the music program here in many
ways, including beginning the first bell choir. His funeral will be at 2PM
on Tuesday, November 24th, at the Church of Our Savior on Rio Road.

Samaritan Fund
The Samaritan Fund offers local benevolence to Aldersgate and
community members. To donate, make your check payable to AUMC
with Samaritan Fund in the memo. Thank you for reaching out.

Donate Your Car to a Newly Arrived Refugee!

For refugees newly resettled to Charlottesville, a donated car can make
all the difference in their path towards self-sufficiency. ARISE!, a
program that Aldersgates Fay Painter is developing, is currently
accepting donated cars that are in good condition and have up-to-date
inspections. These cars are given to the refugee church (Africa
Lighthouse Baptist Church), and the church in turn then gives the cars
directly to refugee families to help them rebuild their lives in America.
Refugees who receive cars are licensed drivers who take full
responsibility for the cars maintenance, repairs, gas, insurance,
registration, and property tax. All car donations are fully tax-deductible.
We know of one refugee who needs a car right now. He was a
translator for the US military in Afghanistan, and his life was in danger
there as a result. He is here on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and has a
job offer in Crozet, but cannot get there without a car.
For more information on how to donate a car, please contact Fay
Painter at 434.962.6333 or email faypainter8@gmail.com.

Stewardship Committee Report 11/15/15

Food Bank Drive

This past week, we secured 8 new commitments for 2016 ... thank you! The
chart below summarizes our progress, and compared this years Building
Community campaigns to the commitments we received last year. The
average offering/tithe is $3,500, which represents a 7% increase over last
years average pledge. We are so grateful for your generosity.
About 1/3 of our congregations donors have made a pledge for 2016 thus far.
We ask all members to prayerfully consider making this commitment to our
church. We need to raise $730,000 next year through general and restricted
offerings. We hope to have 62% ($450,000) of this in commitment pledges.
We can achieve this goal with just 38 more commitments averaging $3,500.

Commitment cards are available in the Narthex. If you would like

information on gifts by will, bequest, or other planned giving vehicles,
contact Fay Painter at faypainter8@gmail.com.
Yours in Christ,
Stewardship Committee
Description

Offering/Tithe*
Capital Campaign

Total
Count
Commitments
2015

Total Commitments

Average

$279,980

80

$3,500

$480

$360

$360

$1,574

$525

$2,733

$1,367

$2,193

$1,097

$30,000

$15,000

$500

$15,000

$342,076

$316,840

Pledge Goal 2016

221

175

% of donors who
make a commitment

31%

33%

*Detail of Offering/Tithe

New Commitments

NOTE: Please check expiration dates and NO jumbo size containers

please. Food Collection Bins will be placed in the Welcome Center and
outside the Reed Room. Food will be collected through November 30.

Congratulations to Emily Dahnert and Ashley Oliver who will serve as

young adult representatives from the Charlottesville District to the
Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church when it
meets in June in Roanoke, Virginia. Congratulations also to Rebecca
Wagner, Deb Reynolds, and Rachel Miller who will serve as district
representatives as well.

Our Discipleship
Will you support the ministries of our congregation with your prayers,
presence, gifts, service, and witness?
11/15/15
Worship Attendance = 312

$450,000

# of donors
without commitments

Renewal Commitments

Food that is needed includes:

Breakfast Cereal: 16 - 18 oz. size
Beef Stew
Peanut Butter: 18 oz. MOST NEEDED
Ravioli
Canned Vegetables: 14 - 16 oz. size
Spaghetti: 20 - 24 oz
Canned chicken or tuna: 13 oz. MOST NEEDED
Canned Fruit: 16 oz
Canned Soups
Cans of 100% Juice
Rice: 1 lb. bag or box
Macaroni and Cheese boxed
Pasta & Pasta Sauce (NO glass jars)
Coffee/Tea/Jam/Jelly (NO glass jars)

2016 Virginia Annual Conference Representatives

100

Mortgage Retirement
Miscellaneous

Count

$326,096

Capital Fund Drive

Rainy Day Fund

Commitments
2016 to date

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this year with family and

friends, please remember those less fortunate than we are and
contribute food items to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

$266,260

64

$4,160

$50,580

18

$2,810

Deposit for November 15, 2015

Budget Offering
$6,790.00
Specials/Memorials
1,675.88 *
Capital Campaign
15.00
Total
$8,480.88

Come to Bethlehem Childrens Nativity Update

Advent is a time to slow down and pause, in the midst of often frantic
preparations for Christmas, to focus on the unfolding story of God
choosing to enter into the world as the vulnerable baby Jesus. How did
his birth affect those around him and what was their part in both
preparing for and responding to this outpouring of Gods grace in the
world? Well ponder this and other questions as we move through the
Advent season together, focusing each Sunday on one person in the
biblical narrative whose life was changed forever by encountering the
miracle we celebrate at Christmas.

Sunday, December 20 at 4pm

On Sunday, December 20, well have our annual Childrens Nativity. As
the children arrive, theyll be given a costume and a part. Children from
Aldersgate and the community will play the various parts. Adults from
our congregation will lead the children as will youth from the Higher
Voices Youth Praise Choir. Music will be provided by the Chancel Choir,
Joyful Noise Singers, Worship Band, Higher Voices, Youth Praise Band,
Aldersgate Ringers, and the Instrumental Ensemble.

College Student Care Packages

John the Baptist: The Justice-Seeking Life

Time has really been flying by and it's time to gather goodies for our
college student exam care packages! We'd like to have candy (bars or
hard candies), gum, granola bars, mints, crackers, pretzels, nuts,
pencils/pens, hot chocolate, popcorn, the ever popular chocolate, or
other small items that you feel a stressed out college student studying
for finals would enjoy. These packages let the kids know that they are
in the thoughts and prayers of Aldersgate members and let them know
that they are not forgotten. We need these items by November 23.
Leftover Halloween candy is welcome! If you'd like to contribute to the
mailing costs, you can leave money or checks in the office or in the
offering plate marked for postage for college care packages. Questions?
Call Susan Reed at 973-0766 or email reedr3va@netzero.com.

Sunday, December 20 The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Help Wanted

The Shepherds: The Spirit-Empowered Life

Aldersgate United Methodist Church, an intergenerational congregation

in Charlottesville, Virginia, is seeking a part-time Business Manager to
effectively manage the churchs finances. Such duties would include,
but not limited to, monitoring/oversight of A/R, A/P, general ledger, and
audit schedules and reports. Knowledge and well-proven skills in
accounting, financial management and audit procedures are essential.
The candidate must possess a bachelors degree in accounting and have
at least five years of work experience and/or a bachelors degree in a
related field and ten years of job experience in not-for-profit finance.
The Business Manager must know and follow United Methodist
procedures and Aldersgate Church policies and procedures. Resumes
and cover letters may be emailed to Rev. Scott Davis,
scottdavis@cvaumc.org.

Sunday, November 29 The First Sunday of Advent

Mary: The Prayer-Filled Life

Sunday, December 6 The Second Sunday of Advent

Joseph: The Virtuous Life

Sunday, December 13 The Third Sunday of Advent

Thursday, December 24 Christmas Eve

Jesus: the Incarnational Life

Sunday, December 27 The First Sunday After Christmas

The Wise Men: The Word-Centered Life