The Grapevine

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA (707) 253-1411

www.napaumc.org November 1, 2014

The Giving Tree

We continue to thank the Napa Community

Seventh-day Adventist Church

at the Corner of Brown and G Streets

for inviting us to worship in their church

each Sunday. We are grateful!


Please Save the Dates

2014-2015 Calendar of Coming Events

Napa First United Methodist Church

November, 2014

1st All Saints Worship with Community Seventh-day Adventists at 11:15 am.

2nd Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 am.

Sacrament of Holy Communion at 9:30 am.

Fundraising Concert benefitting Napa First UMC at St. Helena UMC at 3 pm

4th Launch of Napa Circles Initiative at 5:30 pm.

9th Veterans Sunday (Michael Herzog preaches at Vallejo First UMC)

16th Michael Herzog preaches at Napa First UMC

26th Thanksgiving Eve Community Worship at 7:00 pm at St. Johns Catholic

27th Thanksgiving Day

29th City of Napa Holiday Parade

30th First Sunday in Advent

Vineyard Circuit Charge Conference & Potluck ,Vallejo First UMC 4 pm

December

7th Second Sunday in Advent

Discover Napa First UMC Membership Dinner at 5:00 pm.

14th Third Sunday in Advent

Children’s Christmas Pageant at 5:00 pm.

15th Sing Napa Valley’s Candy Carol Sing-a-long at 6:00 pm.

21st Fourth Sunday in Advent featuring Napa First & Adventist Christmas

Musical at 9:30 am

The Longest Night Service at Community Seventh-day Adventist

Church at 7:00 pm.

24th Candlelight Christmas Eve for Families with Children at 5:30 pm.

A Fusion Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship Experience at 7:00 pm.

Candlelight Christmas Eve Cantata with the Cathedral Choir at 11 pm

25th Christmas Day

28th Christmas Sunday

31st New Year’s Eve


Every Monday - Silent Meditation at 5:30 p.m.

We now meet in the FUMC Nursery

Every Friday at noon - Labyrinth Meditation Walk in the

Labyrinth Courtyard

Kindly note the time change!


Grapevine Schedule

Deadline November 6th—Mailing November 12th


Chix with Stix

Attention all knitters and stitchers! No more need to remember which Wednesday we meet ! The Chicks With Sticks have decided to meet EVERY Wednesday, 10:00-noon for November and December. Please join us with your project, be it sewing, crocheting, knitting, or what ever! We have opportunities to give warmth to the community with our work and we promise to keep you in stitches!


Circles Supper Project

As you’ve seen in an earlier article in this newsletter, the Napa Circles Initiative will begin its first 12 week Tuesday evening training session on November 4th. Each session will start at 5:30 pm with a light supper for the leaders, their families and their coalition members.

Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve the meal and to set up and clean up. Donations of food and funds to defray the cost of the food will also be much appreciated.

If you are interested in helping with this Circles Supper Project in any way, please contact Eva Joell at 252-0708. If you wish to donate money for the food, checks should be made out to First United Methodist Church and put “Circles Food” on the memo line. Your money will be used only for this project.


Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of harvest home …

Community Thanksgiving Service

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

7:00 p.m.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

981 Napa Street, Napa, CA

Message by Rabbi Lee Bycel

Following the service, there will be a time for

fellowship and pie in the Parish Hall.

(Bring your favorite Thanksgiving pie to share!)

Sponsored by Napa Downtown Churches:

First Presbyterian Church

Congregation Beth Shalom

First United Methodist Church

Napa Community Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Napa Valley Lutheran Church

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

For more information, please call (707) 224-8693


Welcome New Members

Jenny Latona

2580 Greenwood Court

casciajj@gmail.com

Jenny joined our church in August. She teaches a ¾ combination class at the Howell Mountain Elementary School in Angwin. She found our church through our website and was impressed by the friendly welcome she received when she came. Her husband, Dave, is a construction manager and they have a 10-month old daughter, Alexis. Jenny grew up in Sonoma and her family still lives there. In her spare time Jenny likes to swim, read and run. Before Alexis, Jenny used to participate in triathlons.

Jim and Rita Dunaway

467 Stonehouse Drive

piemanJMD@yahoo.com

Jim and Rita are Susan Dunaway Tsujihara’s parents and Jeremy’s grandparents. They are transferring to Napa FUMC from Fort Collins, CO. They came to Napa to be closer to Susan and their other daughter, Chris, who lives in Richmond. Jim has retired from a career in agri-business. Since coming here Jim has joined the Congregational Care

Committee and Rita has joined United Methodist Women. She has also started volunteering in the UMW thrift shop. They have become active in the newly formed community Newcomers Club. In his spare time Jim likes to play bridge and Rita is an avid reader. Their little dachshund, Heidi, accompanied them to their new home.

Gene & Barbara Zervas

3460 Villa Lane #317

zervasbarbara@gmail.com

The Zervas are transferring to our church from Tehachapi Valley. They moved to Napa to be closer to their son. Gene is a retired high school math teacher and Barbara retired from being a junior high school librarian. They have three children: a son who lives in Riverside , a daughter who lives in Salem, Oregon and a son who lives here. They also have five grandchildren. Barbara enjoys knitting and recently attended Chix with Stix. She also works in the library at the Springs. She and Gene both enjoy many of the activities at the Springs.

Mary Danielson

1800Atrium Parkway #105

Mary is Jean Hasser’s Mom. She and Jean found our church when they went “church shopping”. Mary says that she was impressed by the friendliness of everyone when they came. She moved to Napa from Oakland five years ago. She moved here to be closer to Jean. Mary had a career as a bedside nurse. In addition to Jean, she has two sons: Paul who lives in Modesto and Mark who lives in Texas. She has four granddaughters and two great grand children. The great grandchildren live in Napa and Mary says they are the joy of her life. In her spare time Mary participates in some of the programs at the Meadows and does cross-stitch and enjoys reading.


Builders

What a nice gathering for our October meeting but of course we miss the Builders that are busy building family relationships out of town and those with built in schedules that we support as important events in our lives. You are always welcome when the time is right and our Builders of relationships in faith and community holds a place for you.

Our November meeting will be November 8, 12-2, in the newly repainted Kagawa room! Ruth McIntire has agreed to facilitate the meeting in my absence. I know you will do what you do and she will wonder why more folks don’t do the easiest church job I’ve ever done! It will be a potluck or $5.00 as usual. Please remember your name tags or pay your quarter!

Christmas plans for our annual party are being made and this will be the meeting to hear the scoop. But save the date December 13 for an afternoon of gift exchange, party food, and a party house with a tree decorated by Gary Neal! That alone should bring a few lookie-loos out of hiding? You don’t have to be a regular attending Builder to enjoy our group party. Just invite yourself. Better yet, consider this our invitation to all you who are thinking you might want to attend. The party will be better because you are there! Space will be limited to the first 60 folks that pay our treasure Fran Kane $16.00 per person.

See you in church,

Kay Neal 707 224-8491 home

707 479-8576 mobile 


HELP NEEDED!

Leaders and helpers are needed for the 11:00 service for GRAPE Express. There are a few families attending the Fusion service and it would be such a blessing to be able to offer Children’s Worship (Sunday School) for the kids. If this is the place for you, please contact Vicki Poli for details. Thank you and God Bless.


Circles Matching Grant Announced

An anonymous donor has pledged $5,000 to match donations received before 12/15/14 to support our Napa Circles Initiative.

Napa Circles Initiative is a transformational approach that partners volunteers and community leaders together with families who are wanting to make the journey out of poverty. Circles USA has chapters operating in communities around the country. Each initiative consists of families working to get out of poverty, supported by several middle and upper income Allies who befriend them and lend support. The family is the Circle Leader, setting direction for activities. With the help and friendship of their Allies, each family sets and achieves goals unique to their own needs.

Rather than targeting a surface need of at-risk communities such as housing or food provision, Napa Circles Initiative seeks to expand social capital by fostering relationships across racial and economic lines. It engages the community as a whole and encourages growth from people of all financial classes. Circles is designed to assist families in creating their own personal paths out of poverty while at the same time expanding opportunities, connections and eliminating barriers in the community that make it difficult for families to thrive (see http://www.circlesusa.org/).

The Napa Circles Initiative will launch the first of on-going weekly Community Meetings on Tuesday, November 4th. This event is the focal point for Circle Leader and Ally training.

If you wish to help us claim the matching grant, please make your checks out to “FUMC”, with “Circles” on the note line.


United Methodist Women News

We had a lovely time at Sunday's UMW unit meeting.  We were invited to the UMW Thrift Shop where we were able to see the wonderful job that Martine and her helpers do. The shop is beautiful and full of many interesting items. Some of us took advantage and did some Christmas shopping .  Joan presented Aloha Vargas with the Special Mission Recognition Award for her 9 years of volunteering in the Thrift Shop.  We then adjourned to the Kagawa Room where lunch awaited us, provided by the Susanna Wesley Circle. Following lunch we had a short business meeting.  Joan and Barbara shared three awards that Napa UMW has received.  We received an award for the 2014 Campaign for Racial Justice, the Five Channels for Mission Giving and The Mission Giving Today Unit program.  We all should be proud of these accomplishments.  Mary Herzog introduced us to the 2014-2015 reading program.  Since we cannot use our library, she will bring 2 boxes of books to each of the Unit meetings and try to also have them present at as many of the Circle meetings as possible.  She had the new books with her and the 2015 brochures.  She will be our traveling "bookmobile" until we can again return to our library.  Thank you Mary! 
      The program for the day followed.  The topic was "Drawing Our Circle Wider".  Aletha started it with a Spiritual Growth moment.  She had us imagine being back in the time of Jesus. He widened the circles of acceptance with radical hospitality and welcome.  This sometimes meant going against the local authorities.  He invited all, accepted all and taught, prayed and modeled love for everyone.  Jan Geren led the rest of the program.  She posed several questions asking us to notice who are those in our church and community who are not engaged with our UMW unit.  She especially noted the clients of the thrift shop and also other women of the church.  We brainstormed ways in which we could involve them.  Some of the suggestions were:  sharing a meal, putting UMW fliers in each shopper's purchases, hanging a poster behind the check out desk showing some of our activities, re-hanging the maps that show the world-wide reach of our missions, and putting up some of the pictures from Response magazine.  We also talked about ways that they are wonderfully different than us.  We will work on extending radical hospitality in our own lives.
      We missed those of you who could not make it.  We hope you will put our next meeting on your calendar and make it a point to come.  It will be on Thursday, December 18th at 10 AM in the Kagawa Room.  More details will be coming soon. Sa
lly Hunter


Our Purpose Statement is to be outwardly focused to bring people into relationship with Jesus to display God’s Kingdom on earth through acts of love, peace and justice.


Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 am

Fusion Contemporary Worship Service: 11:00 am

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Corner of Brown and G Streets, Napa

Monday Silent Meditation Group—5:30 pm—Nursery

Friday Labyrinth Meditation Walk—Noon

Adult Bible Study Group—10:45 am—Young Adult Room, S-d A Church

GRAPE Express—3 years through 5th grade—9:30-S-d A Church

Visit us on Facebook—Napa First United Methodist Church

www.napaumc.org—707-253-1411—email—secretary@napaumc.org


Pastor: Rev. Lee Neish

Lay Leaders: Barbara Thompson & Mark Andersen

Lay Speaker: Michael Herzog

Office Manager: Dianne Mahler

Director of Music: Jan Lanterman

Organist: Harold Julander

Director of Cathedral Choir: Jan Lanterman

Director of Bonner Bells: Diane Levorsen


First United Methodist Church ~625 Randolph St.~ Napa 94559~ (707)253-1411

Since the earthquake we worship at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Brown and G Sts.

Please worship with us there each Sunday morning.

website: www.napaumc.org

You are welcome to visit us on Facebook: Napa First United Methodist Church