Grand Valley United Methodist Church

December 2023 Newsletter

In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. Christmas Poinsettias
3. Longest Night Service
4. Christmas Eve Service
5. Children’s Recital
6. Birthdays
7. Calendar
8. Event Details
9. Church Reports
10. Just for Fun

From the Pastor….

Christmas Traditions Where Do They Come From?

Another Holiday season is upon us and you know what that means: break out the egg nog, light up the tree, put up the stockings, take out a second mortgage for the credit card bill and fire up The Carpenter’s Christmas album. Well with the holiday season here I thought that I would have some fun by sharing where certain traditions have come from, so here are some for your enjoyment.

First, many of our modern Christmas traditions began hundreds of years before Christ was born. Some of these traditions date back more than 4000 years. The addition of Christ to the celebration of the winter solstice did not occur until 300 years after Christ died. As late as 1800, some devout Christian sects, like the Puritans, forbade their members from celebrating Christmas because it was considered a pagan holiday.

The Christmas tree is derived from several solstice traditions. The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and placed candles in live trees to decorate for the celebration of Saturnalia. (Saturnalia is the feast with which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which was on December 17. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, to December 23.)

In Scandinavia, they hung apples from evergreen trees at the winter solstice to remind themselves that spring and summer will come again. The evergreen tree was the special plant of their sun god, Baldor.

The practice of exchanging gifts at a winter celebration is also pre-Christian and is from the Roman Saturnalia. They would exchange good-luck gifts called Stenae (lucky fruits). They also would have a big feast just like we do today.

Mistletoe is from an ancient Druid custom at the winter solstice. Mistletoe was considered a divine plant and it symbolized love and peace. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is Druid in origin.

The Scandinavian solstice traditions had a lot of influence on our celebration, besides the hanging of ornaments on evergreen trees. Their ancient festival was called Yuletide and celebrated the return of the sun. One of their traditions was the Yule log. The log was the center of the trunk of a tree that was drug to a large fireplace where it was supposed to burn for twelve days. From this comes the twelve days of Christmas.

Even the date of Christmas, December 25, was borrowed from another religion. At the time Christmas was created in AD 320, Mithraism was very popular. The early Christian church had gotten tired of their futile efforts to stop people celebrating the solstice and the birthday of Mithras, the Persian sun god. Mithras’ birthday was December 25. So the pope at the time decided to make Jesus’ official birthday coincide with Mithras’ birthday. No one knows what time of year Jesus was actually born but there is evidence to suggest that it was in midsummer.

Just one more, and this is my favorite. While not necessarily limited to the Christmas holiday, White Elephant Gift Exchanges are popular at this time of year for clubs, associations, small groups, churches and offices around the United States. It is often a more affordable (and, possibly, fun) alternative to buying presents for everyone in the group. But what is a White Elephant Gift Exchange?

The story – almost certainly apocryphal – goes like this: in pre-colonial India, the rajahs would give gifts to their vassals as tokens of their esteem. Chief among these was the elephant. The elephant was both vehicle and beast of burden, a creature you could both ride to war and use to haul large weights, take goods to market, perform demolition, and the like. Essentially, the elephant was an extremely valuable creature. However, a white elephant was considered sacred, and could not be put to work. So a rajah would be bestowing a great honor to a vassal by giving him a white elephant, while at the same time giving the vassal a rather huge burden. White elephants had to be kept, tended, groomed, fed, and exercised, all without getting the benefit of any work out of the creature.

Thus, a White Elephant Gift Exchange involves giving presents that a person would never want. Typically the presents do not present an economic burden to the recipients, however: instead, they tend to be tacky and/or tasteless, items that the recipient is honor-bound to display throughout the year, even though to do so mortifies him/her.

Thus, if you are celebrating any of the western traditions of Christmas this year, remember that you are actually enjoying the rituals and activities of several ancient religions and cultures whose traditions have been borrowed by the Christians over the years for the celebration of Christ’s birth and the Christmas season.

(All of this information came from articles on the Internet.)

Happy Holidays!
Michael

Christmas Poinsettias

Our annual tradition of having poinsettias for our Christmas Eve Service continues. If you would like to bring a poinsettia in honor of or in memory of someone, please fill out the form at the end of this newsletter and get it to the office no later than Wednesday, December 20th so the information can be put on the insert for that service. These forms will also be available in the bulletins for Sunday Worship starting on December 3rd. We ask that you bring your poinsettia to the church starting at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, December 21st. You can bring them on Friday, December 22nd between 9-noon, or bring them to the service on Sunday morning. This is always such a nice addition to the Sanctuary, and we hope that you will be a part.

For those experiencing loss or grief, the holidays can be an especially difficult time. The longer and longer nights can often add to a sense of sadness that make the joyful celebrations and holiday parties painful to endure.

For those longing for a touch of inner peace during the holiday season, a non-denominational service of prayer, lighting candles of remembrance and fellowship will be offered on Thursday, December 21st at 5:30pm.

This “Longest Night” service, named for the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, aims to offer support, hope, and a space for healing of the spirit for all those in attendance. Anyone experiencing loss or grief is encouraged to attend – and not just the loss of a loved one to death, but the loss of a home, the “loss” of a loved one to dementia or mental illness, homelessness or other difficult life circumstances – including seasonal affective disorder.

Inevitably, this time of year rolls around for some with less joy than with an all-too-familiar sense of sadness. The Longest Night is a gathering with others who are also experiencing the pain and emotional challenges of the season.

Although one’s circumstances may not be able to be changed, we can gather together to find hope and healing through the love and support of one another this holiday season. Join us as we light candles to remember the losses we have experienced.

Our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 24th. This is a very special, very beautiful service and we look forward to seeing you. There will also be a regular service that morning.

We will be hosting a children’s recital on Saturday, December 9th from 6:30-8:00 with a coffee immediately following. This is open to all, and we hope that you can join us to support these children in their musical endeavors.

The Trustees have had a lot of activity lately, with painting of the parsonage and rebuilding of the deck. See pictures below. We also have had to have furnace repaired in the church after a few cold days. There is a new blower motor in the future. A leak in the Servery ceiling is being caused by rusted pan under the swamp cooler. This will be attended to before Spring. So as you can see, their work is never done!

Before After

December birthdays:
5 – Randy Jorgenson
10 – Delcia Orona
17 – Deb Trujillo
18 – Carol Donaghue

Our Seekers Class(Adult Sunday School) meets every Sunday morning at 8:30. We invite all to attend.

Join us for Bible Study every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We hope you can join us.

Choir meets at 4:00 on Wednesday for rehearsals. Our bell choir meets sporadically for rehearsals. We are always looking for participants, so if you would like to join either of these wonderful musical groups, please contact the office at (970)285-9892 or by email: [email protected]

Prayer Partners meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 10:30. If you have anyone that you would like to add to the Prayer Partner list, please contact Bert Botkin at (970)216-8682.

Church Council Report

Due to the recent break in at the church, a special meeting of council was convened after service on October 29. Attending were Michelle Foster, Al Reuter, John Chapman, Bert Botkin, Laurel Koning and Fred Inman. Purpose was to approve the purchase of security cameras to provide security against more break ins. John has researched and found a system for less than $400. While below spending cap, we felt the council should be on board with the decision. It was moved and seconded that we make the purchase. All approved. Adjourned.

Council Musings

The Council passed a proposed budget. You will be seeing it soon.

The Church is going to sell off the Vanguard investments and reinvest in a 5.12% 6-month PC.

The furnace needs a new blower. It will cost us $1,245.

We are looking at a security system that will cover the four doors with a monitor in the office.

The deck at the parsonage is done by the time you read this.

Christmas dinner will be Christmas Eve after the Church service.

Come listen to the Bell Choir on December 17th and the Choir on December 10th and 24th.

The Hanging of the Greens is November 25th at 10 a.m. followed by lunch.

Advent begins December 3rd.

The Longest Night service is December 21st.

The Council will be looking at fabric swatches for the chairs as soon as they arrive.

Mission & Outreach

The Mission and Outreach Committee was very busy in November and will continue to be so in December. We are currently working on getting the toys and clothes for the 98 children that we have received names for. We are collecting funds for this effort right now. Please send your donation to the church with the memo line marked Grand Valley Givers. Our church will present these gifts to the Family Resource Center as they coordinate the distribution to the families in our area.

Thanksgiving – Dinner was held in our Fellowship Hall at 1:00 pm. The Committee provided the turkey and the mashed potatoes/gravy. We asked participants to, if it is possible, please bring a dish to share. We welcome everyone to this dinner!!!

December – the choir will be singing on December 10th and the 24th. The bells will be playing on December 17th. Join us for our celebration of this holiday season.

Christmas dinner this year will be after the church service on the 24th. Our Christmas Eve dinner will be celebrated in our Fellowship Hall with the Mission and Outreach Committee supplying the ham and the potatoes. Please bring a dish to share if you are able.

We hope that wherever you are, you are surrounded by the feeling of love and joy during this holiday season. Feel welcome to come and bring you neighbors to our services and dinners. God bless you all!!!

Treasurer
FINANCIAL FINDINGS

During October, the Church opened a 5% CD at Alpine Bank to diversify our investments and increase our investment revenues. The month was pretty ordinary as to income and as to expenses except for the parsonage. We paid to have some of the siding replaced and then the house repainted. We also paid for the supplies to have the deck rebuilt. That is coming along fine and the Church will be paying for the labor during November. A new tenant came in, so there were other minor repairs to be done, but they added up. All in all, we ended up paying out $6,600 for the parsonage during October that put the Church in the red for the month.

But not to worry, it is still in the positive through the ten months ended October 31st. There will be the other $2,000 to pay for the labor for the parsonage deck, but it is not anticipated that we will have any other large expense. Unless, of course the furnace goes out or something like that (LOL).

During October, we also sent $500 to the Mefors. We have collected some in November that will also be sent to them soon. These donations will be helping them put in the sidewalks that are so needed.

Until next month – remember, you may always ask me questions and if you want to see more, the complete financial statements are on the bulletin board.

10 Interesting Facts about Christmas

‘Jingle Bells’ was the first song played in space
On December 16, 1965, the song ‘Jingle Bells’ made history by becoming the first song to be played in space during NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight.

It was Princess Charlotte who popularized Christmas trees in England
Usually when we think about Christmas trees, we think about Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s consort) popularizing them in England, but the first known Christmas tree was set up at Queen’s Lodge Windsor in December 1800 by Princess Charlotte.

Coca-Cola is not actually responsible for how we perceive Santa Claus
The Coca-Cola company is often credited with creating the red coated modern image of Santa Claus we know and love today, but this isn’t true! Most of his modern image was put together by Thomas Nast in the 1870’s.

Legend has it, candy canes were created to make choirboys quiet
The legend tells that candy canes date back to 1670 when a choirmaster in Germany gave out sugar sticks to the choirboys to keep them quiet during services. The hook was meant to symbolize a shepherd’s crook for the Christmas occasion but other people think the hook exists so they can easily be hung from trees.

In Japan, a traditional Christmas dinner is to go to KFC
Christmas in Japan is a secular holiday with less than 1% of the Japanese population identifying as Christian. When KFC launched their “Kentucky for Christmas” marketing campaign in 1974, it was an instant hit and now KFC is a popular choice for Christmas dinners in Japan.

The song ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ was originally used as a threat
The song was often sung by crowds of lower-class servants as they demanded alcohol from their masters during the festive period. The lyric “we won’t go until we get some” was used to get their point across.

Children who write to Santa Claus in the U.S. have a good chance of getting a reply
In the United States, campaigns such as “Operation Santa” have been running for decades with hundreds of volunteers around the country having the responsibility of replying to letters from children that are addressed to Santa Claus. This allows children who write to Santa to get a response from old Saint Nicholas!

In Austria, instead of getting coal if you’ve been bad, you get Krampus
Krampus is a half man, half goat creature that punishes naughty children at Christmas time by chasing them around or even dragging them to hell and is the Austrian equivalent of getting coal in your stocking from Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Austria, adults will still dress up as Krampus every year and scare children into behaving. {I think I’ll take the coal!}

Celebrating Christmas used to be illegal for 260 years in the U.S.
You might be aware that Oliver Cromwell banned the Pagan holiday of Christmas for 12 years from 1647 in the UK, but did you know that the ban was only lifted in Oklahoma, USA in 1907? This means in some parts of the U.S. Christmas was banned for over 260 years!

Queen Victoria sent the first official Christmas card
Queen Victoria was the first official person to send a Christmas card, but the first commercial card came in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole produced 1000 and sold them for one shilling each. There are currently only 12 of these cards left in the world with one going up for auction a few of years ago for $32,000

Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
[email protected]
www.GrandValleyUMC.com

OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon

CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS
You are invited to help decorate our sanctuary for Christmas Eve with poinsettias. Please complete the following and place it in the collection plate. On Christmas Eve there will be a bulletin insert acknowledging all our Christmas poinsettias. You may designate your poinsettia(s) in memory of a departed loved one, or in honor of a loved one still living.

___________________________________ will provide poinsettias for Christmas Eve.
(Your name)

Please use one line for each poinsettia you intend to provide.
One plant may also be used for more than one person.

In memory / honor (circle one) of _________________________________

The last day for notifying the church of your Christmas poinsettias is Wednesday, December 20th

Please deliver your poinsettias to the church on Thursday, December 21st through Friday, December 22nd between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and noon, or bring them to Sunday Worship on the 24th. Also remember to put a small tag with your name on your poinsettia(s) so you may take them home after the Christmas Eve service.