What is Happening This Week 11/25-11/29/20
 What is  Hope you are gathering safely this year. It is a strange Thanksgiving of just holding on. In a favorite little book of mine called, Children’s Letters to God, complied by Stuart Hample and Eric Marshall, there is a wonderful prayer that has become the motto of my days: Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Frank Friends, we are all doing the best we can. And as I greeted our neighbors driving through the driveway on Sunday, I know they, too, are doing the best they can. We are all struggling this year. However, I think it is important on this Thanksgiving Day in-between the football games, the Zoom visits with family, and the yummy food, we give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. Being grateful and living with gratitude is a powerful witness to finding the Shalom peace we each need in our lives. This is the quote I shared on Sunday. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie May you find peace and joy this Thanksgiving Day as you celebrate the gift of love and life! Shalom Blessings, Pastor Cheryl  We hope you are joining us for online worship on Facebook Live. We will be on Facebook again this Sunday at 10:30 am. If you have missed any of the services, or do not use Facebook, you may also find them on our website hcumc.org. Outside Worship – Suspended  OUTSIDE WORSHIP – Will be suspended until weather warms up. November 29, First Sunday of Advent Theme: WAIT for the Light Scripture: Luke 1:26-38 Prayers of the People  Please keep the following people in your prayers this week: Carlos Ponce who is undergoing radiation. Our friends at Atria Carrollton. Those who have lost employment. And continued prayers for the following: The Brooks-McCutchen family; the family of Terrence Nix; Mary Luce; Nikki Holmes; Max and Nicole Thomas; Paul Fincke; Charles Hinton; Janet Trumble; Barbara Wright; Aletha Craven; Mary Harrison; Florence Richter; Tyler Ackerman; Jojo Sain; and Mike Gilbert. Highlights Next Week  Advent Study 2020 Starts November 30 via Zoom Mondays at 6:30 pm Join us for an Advent Study, Mondays at 6:30 PM We will be basing it on the Adam Hamilton book Incarnational, Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas. You do not have to read the book to join us, it will just serve as a beginning point. November 30 – Presidents and Kings December 7 – The Savior & our need for saving December 14 – Emmanuel in the Midst of a Pandemic December 21 – The Light of the World January 4 – Epiphany – Falling on our knees This year may be a difficult one to find Christmas Joy. My prayerful hope is that we will discover it together. We will remind each other of wonder of the season. You are welcome for one or all of these sessions. I will look forward to “seeing” you on Monday! Pastor Cheryl is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: HCUMC Advent Study Time: Nov 30, 2020 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Every week on Mon, until Jan 4, 2021, 6 occurrence(s) Nov 30, 2020 06:30 PM Dec 7, 2020 06:30 PM Dec 14, 2020 06:30 PM Dec 21, 2020 06:30 PM Jan 4, 2021 06:30 PM Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system. Weekly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0lcO2qrT4uHtZ95mrs6y3IJSnbPYaRqwTA/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGhpjwuGNeQtB2FRpx5Go_CLOrztiVbgrdnxUroETMFe1DfHNFMMIJGEerB Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89874235442?pwd=WU1mbXRQTDQ2MDhjOFlETVBaMnVUQT09 Meeting ID: 898 7423 5442 Passcode: 941506 One tap mobile +13462487799,,89874235442#,,,,,,0#,,941506# US (Houston) +14086380968,,89874235442#,,,,,,0#,,941506# US (San Jose) Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) Meeting ID: 898 7423 5442 Passcode: 941506 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjx0xulY2  Advent Devotions Starting December 1 Beginning December 1, we will email an Advent devotional out every morning. There will be scripture, a brief reflection and a short prayer. We hope this might be a blessed way to begin each day as we seek light, as we journey to the manger.  Food Pantry Our next Food Distribution will be Sunday, December 6th from 1-3 pm. You may sign up on signupgenius.com or contact Lois Eaton at 214-862-8683 or [email protected]. We need: Pasta Sauce Instant Mashed Potatoes Soup Hot chocolate Mini marshmallows Dog and cat food Someone will be at the church on Saturday from 10:00 am-noon to accept your donations. Thank you for your continued support of the Food Pantry. Angel Tree  Time is running out! Holy Covenant and Connecting the Community plan to serve boys, girls and families in the Carrollton area this Christmas. Due to COVID, we are working with connectingthecommunity.org to offer a virtual Angel Tree. Instead of buying gifts, we invite you to instead purchase gift cards. Go to connectingthecommunity.org and choose Amazon or Walmart gift cards, or you can make a cash donation to the church which will be used to buy gift cards. You can have the gift cards emailed to the church, mailed, or you can drop them off at the church office. All gift cards need to be received at Holy Covenant by Sunday, December 6.  Big Thank You! To everyone who helped to create and deliver the Advent Bags! You were all wonderful to work with and a blessing to our congregation as they received a bit of Advent joy! I look forward to new and creative ways we can stay connected! Shalom Blessings, Pastor Cheryl Coming Soon  Blood Drive Sunday, December 13 8:30 am to Noon HCUMC parking lot COVID-19 Antibody Testing is available for all donors. Give blood and get Mavericks gear! Carter BloodCare observes social distancing guidelines. Finances  We are coming to the end of the year so it’s a good time to catch up on your pledge! If you typically write a check, please consider online giving or mail your check to: Holy Covenant UMC, 1901 E. Peters Colony Rd., Carrollton, TX 75007 November Regular Donations/Pledge Payments: Projected $34,365 Received $19,370 Remember, your pledge helps us plan our ministries for next year. If you have not yet sent your pledge or submitted it online, please turn in your 2021 pledge TODAY!  Online Giving Donate Here. You may even set up regular giving by choosing the Donation Frequency.  Volunteers Needed! Would you like to help with our online worship? We need volunteers for our worship streaming ministry. You will be asked to commit to 2 worship services per month to operate either a video switcher or a camera. Experience welcome–but not required! There will be training. If interested, please contact Tim Shepardson at [email protected]. |