Office Closed / 2 / 3
9:30a LET Bible Study
6:00p Bell Choir practice
7:00p Healing Service in
the Chapel
7:30p Sanctuary Choir
practice / 4
6-7:30pm Kidz Club / 5 / 6
7
8:15a Worship in the Chapel
10:30a Worship in the Sanctuary
11:30a Church Council meeting for new members / 8
7:00pm Trustees / 9
12:30p UMW meeting / 10
9:30a LET Bible Study
6:00p Bell Choir practice
7:30p Sanctuary Choir
practice / 11
9:00am Busy Bees / 12
7:00pm Adult Night Out / 13
14
8:15a Worship in the Chapel
10:30a Worship in the
Sanctuary
Installation of new church officers and recognition of those retiring
11:30 GEMS meeting
11:30 Sunday school teachers meeting / 15
6-8:00pm We Care
Shopping
GLEAM DEADLINE / 16 / 17
9:30a LET Bible Study
6:00p Bell Choir practice
7:30p Sanctuary Choir
practice / 18
6:00pm We Care Meeting / 19 / 20
4-6:00pm Roast Beef
Dinner
21
8:15a Worship in the Chapel
10:30a Worship in the Sanctuary / 22
Pastor Bailey to Mississippi through Jan 28. / 23 / 24
9:30a LET Bible Study
6:00p Bell Choir practice
7:30p Sanctuary Choir
Practice
GLEAM ASSEMBLY / 25
9:00am Busy Bees / 26
Life Line Screening
(call to sign up today) / 27
28
8:15a Worship in the Chapel
10:30a Worship in the Sanctuary / 29
7:00pm Finance meeting
7:30pm Church Council
meeting / 30 / 31 / Sunday Worship: 8:15am in Eaton Chapel
10:30am in the sanctuary / Sunday School: 9:00am Gathering
9:15am Opening
The Gleam January 2007
Baden United Methodist Church * 420 Dippold Avenue * Baden, Pennsylvania * (724) 869-2720
Dear Member and Friend of Baden UMC:
Each and every day, each and every New Year, we have a chance to start over, to move beyond our past mistakes and choose a better future for ourselves in Christ. If you are a golfer, you might want to think of life as a game of golf. When you hit a lousy shot, you replace it with a mulligan your chance to take the shot over again without penalty. Or, if you are a movie fan, you might want to think about the movie, City Slickers. Remember the story? Three middle-aged friends go off on a cattle drive seeking adventure but instead, find and renew themselves. Remember what Billy Crystal tells one of his despairing friends? “Life is a do over! Move past the past and start again.”
God gives us the same advice and the same opportunity. We can move past our pasts and start again with a clean slate and renewed hope for the future. God’s nature is not to count our mistakes in life, our missed strokes, or our wrong choices. Even the great leaders in the Bible such as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Peter, and Paul -- each made mistakes, wrong choices, but each was given a second chance. Just as God causes each day to begin with a new sunrise and each season to cycle from winter to spring, He gives us another chance to do life over. Look at this passage from Isaiah:
Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? (Is. 43:18-19)
With God, yesterday ended yesterday and God wants to bring us something new with every new day. God’s intentions and God’s nature are to bring something new into our lives. Yet so many of us are trapped in our yesteryears that we cannot see the newness God gives to us each day. It is like the Psalmist has said; I realized how bitter I had become. I was so foolish and ignorant I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You. Yet I still belong to You; You are holding my right hand. (Ps. 73:21-23 NLT)
Our past acts as a filter, distorting what is real
and what is now. Whatever we choose to layer
on this filter will determine how we act, how we
react, how we see others, and how others see
us. It can be our past with its bitterness and hurts,
or it can be the promises of God. The worst
that can happen is to allow ourselves to dwell in
the past for in doing so, we allow the enemy a
foothold in our present and into our future.
As you begin the New Year, give your past to God and receive God’s promises. Just as we can choose to give our past to God, we can choose to live by God’s promises. God’s promises are eternal and cannot be altered by mistakes that we have made. Jeremiah 29:11 is a wonderful passage of Scripture for the New Year. It talks about God’s plans are God is out to help us and not hurt us. So many people believe that their mistakes and sins alter God’s plans for us. It is not true. God has nothing but the best planned for us. This is God’s eternal promise and there is nothing we can do, mistakes we can make, or hurtful events in our lives that can turn us away from that plan.
God gives anyone who asks for grace, mercy, and forgiveness a second, a third, and a fourth chance. The enemy wants to play the videotape of our past time and time again to remind us of where we have been. The enemy knows that if he can get us to review that videotape again, it can cause us to fall short of the plans God has for us.
Give God your past and choose to live by God’s promises. For I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord, good plans and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.(Jer. 29:11) Let God’s promises be our guide through this New Year.
Happy New Year!
It’s Great To Be Your Pastor!
Ed Bailey, Pastor
Glenda Black; Christina Blinn; Debi Brocklebank; Katherine Collingwood; Deb Cravener; Ray S. Dzikowski; Maggie Gall; Dutch Hage; Clark Hall (friend of Donna Muders); Brent Harmon; Jason Hazelwood; Carl & Judy Jensen (friends of Nancy & Fred Dominick); Ken Jones; Betty Kolenda (Rose Ann Holcomb’s mother); Amber Mazur; Peg McFarland (Shirley Bruce’s sister); Cheri Palochak (friend of Marilyn Dobich); Phyllis Parkhurst; Helen Quinet; Homer Quinet; Charlotte Reese; Tony Short (son of Don & Kim Short); Joshua Shoup (cousin of Amanda & Ashley Hartge); Betty Smith; Leila Strobel; Cynthia Sullivan; Marge Tillery; Matthew Wadd; David Waxler.
Please note: unless the church office is otherwise notified, names will remain on the prayer list for three Sundays only. If you would like to add a name to the prayer list, please contact the church office
Volunteers in Mission
Once again, members from Baden UMC will be traveling to Mississippi to continue reconstruction from the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina. At press time the following folks are going during January 21-28 Bill Alberts, Ed Bailey, Sally Bramble, Donna Brynczak, Alan Freed, Alan Hazelwood, and Bud Meade. The following are going January 28-February 4 Bud Meade and John Parkhurst. Please keep these mission workers in you prayers.
1 Chelsea Sear
2 Ray Smith
Harry Decker
Rose Ann Holcomb
Kevin Fleming
Connor McCune
Gillian Mazur
3 Irene Chester
Bud Meade
Craig Glasser
Paige Miller
4 Nancy Dominick
5 Anthony Teny
Jacob Forrest
7 Kuniko Decker
Cody Dixon
9 Dan Gibson
Burke Sheets
10 Brenda Campana
Alex Vagias
11 Tom Patterson
Walt King
Marcie Holcomb
12 Anna Margaret
Decker
Erin Logan
Katie Gross
13 Barry Hahn
Gary McKee
Nicole DiCicco
Nicole Herrmann
14 Andy Dobich
16 Rick Hamilton
Karen Oliver
Carly Davison
17 Betty Szymoniak
18 Bob DiCicco
Marcia Hespenheide
Randy Tetrick, Jr.
19 Vance Tucker
Cindy Tetrick
20 Carolyn Butler
21 Diane Peoples
Carol Walker
23 Fred Dominick
Abby Meade-
Ashman
Jan Pasuit
Jill Sanders
24 Matthew VanDeCar
25 Dan Snyder
27 Wendi Strecker
28 Debbie Fleming
Kristyn Stowers
29 Debbie McKee
31 Darlene Jewett
Ellie Lambert
Megan Futato
Please help us keep our birthday list current. If you or someone you know has a January birthday and is not included on, or would like to be removed from our list, please contact the church office. Thank you.
Christine Smith 12/16
Betty Vagias 12/25
Liturgists
7.....…………………….Joanne McCartney
14....…………………….....….Linda Fleming
21………………...... …………Dick Johns
28……….…...... ………………..Janet Johns
Acolytes
7...... Nicholas Charlovich, Candle
...... Paige Miller, Bible
14...... Jacob Charlovich, Candle
...... Megan Ochs, Bible
21...... Brooke DiCicco, Candle
...... Jesse DiCicco, Bible
28...... Garrett Foley, Candle
...... Mason Foley, Bible
Nursery
7...... Michele Sheets & family
14...... Teresa Fausti
Amanda Hartge
21...... Lori Hartge
Ashley Hartge
28...... Tracy Charlovich
Randi Montagna
Jan 10 Robert & Donna Muders
Jan 12 Harry & Anna Margaret Decker
Jan 25 Jerry & Barbara Dunstan
Please help us keep our Anniversary list current. If you have a January anniversary that is not included on our list, or if you would like to be removed from our list, please contact the church office. Thank you.
Greeters
7...... David & Betsy Woodling
14...... Fran Zimmerman
21...... Tammy Jones & family
Linda Babich
28...... Teresa Fausti
Ushers
7 8:15...... Dave Woodling
10:30...... Bud Meade, Walt King
John Parkhurst, Bill Ickley
14 8:15...... Gerald Dunstan
10:30...... Bobby Charlovich, Alan Freed
Brandon Short, Bill VanDeCar
21 8:15...... Paula Hazelwood
10:30...... John & Tracy Krepps
Fred & Viki Zajac
28 8:15...... Dan Wilson
10:30...... Jen Zuratovic, Joyce Hudson
Teresa Fausti, Phyllis Parkhurst
Jan 7 11:30am Church Council
meeting for new
members
Jan 8 7:00pm Trustees meeting
Jan 9 12:30pm UMW meeting
Jan 14 11:30am GEMS meeting
Jan 14 11:30am Sunday School
Teachers meeting
Jan 18 6:00pm We Care meeting
Jan 29 7:00pm Finance Committee
meeting
Jan 29 7:30pm Church Council
meeting
I would like to thank the congregation for the cash Christmas gift. It was much appreciated.
~ Pastor Bailey
Roast Beef Dinner:
Mark your calendars! There will be a Roast Beef Dinner in the Fellowship Hall on January 20 at 4:00pm. Come have dinner with us and stay for the Contemporary Worship service at 6:30pm
Mark you calendars. If you are interested in spending 10 minutes that can save your life, Life Line Screening will be here at Baden UMC on January 26, 2007. For a fee, ultrasound vascular tests and osteoporosis screenings will be performed. Please check the Sunday bulletins for more information on this beneficial health service.
I would like to thank the congregation for all of their concern, calls and cards. I would also like to thank Pastor Bailey for his visits and for giving me communion. Please continue to pray for me in January and February, as I need to have more chemotherapy. Thanks to all.
~ Leila Strobel
The following is a note of thanks forwarded to the church office:
Please express my heartfelt thanks to all of your church family who purchased hoagies, pepperoni rolls and sticky bread or made cash donations towards our recent fundraiser.
Also, please express my thanks to your pastor and the committee who permitted you to conduct the fundraiser on my behalf.
I am truly blessed to have so many caring family and friends in my life. But, the outpouring of support and prayers by so many people who I do not even know has been very overwhelming.
My transplant went every well. We are praying that it was successful and I can return home and eventually back to some normalcy.
Thanks to all for the continued support, thoughts and prayers.
~ Debi Brocklebank
She is now home and on the road to recovery.
The installation of new church officers and recognition of those retiring will be held on January 14 during the 10:30am worship service.
Just a reminder: If you have not picked up your 2007 offering envelopes, please do so as soon as possible.
From Miss Linda
Sanctuary Choir:
As always, our choir did a fabulous performance of the Christmas Cantata “Sing and Shout for Joy” on Sunday, December 24 during the 10:30am worship service. I would personally like to thank all of our Sanctuary Choir members who gave of their time and talents to present this beautiful Christmas story to our congregation and friends. A special thank you to Donna Brynczak for being our narrator, Ray Smith our sound director, Matthew McClure for assisting Miss Linda at the piano, and to all of our friends and family members who came to hear all of us!
Choir rehearsals will resume on Wednesday, January 3 at 7:30pm in the choir room. If you would like to join the Sanctuary Choir, please contact Miss Linda or any member of our choir for further information. We would love to have you!
Praise Ringers:
The bells of Christmas definitely rang out in our Sanctuary on Christmas Eve as our “Praise Ringers” brought in Christmas Day with their wonderful music at the 10:30pm Christmas Eve service of Lessons & Carols. Many thanks to all of our bell ringers for their gift of “love” to the Christ child as they played beautifully throughout our worship service. We would also like to thank all of those who helped with the setup of the bells in the choir loft before the service. The Praise Ringers will resume their rehearsals on Wednesday January 3 in the parlor. Setup of the bells begins at 5:30pm. Our rehearsal begins promptly at 6:00pm.