Many of you took the challenge last year to read the Bible in a year. It was a big challenge. This year we're encouraging you to read your Bible more. Below we'll describe a few different ways that you can do that.

**Check for an update part way through**
Our congregation has a tradition of collecting funds for a gift for the pastor and his or her family each Christmas.  Knowing this tradition, Pastor John has requested an alternative this Christmas if people wish to give.  He and Emily said the congregation has already done so much for them this year through gifts for them and the baby.  

With so many others in need this season they would prefer to see any gifts from the church members go to Marceline UMC to support the charities our congregation gives to annually.  The Serve team has not been able to do their usual fundraising activities and this donation would help honor our commitments to these entities.  

​If you wish to honor Pastor John and his family this Christmas, please bring your donations to the church.  Checks should be made payable to the church with the notation “Pastor Christmas” in the memo line.  

Any donations for Christmas gifts to Beth or Mary Beth may also be left at the church with notations on the memo line. You can also give online and chose from the options or just make a note of where you'd like those gifts to go.
**Update** ​Beth and Mary Beth have also asked that gifts to them would go to the Charities we normally support through the sharing table

We all know that the Christmas Season this year is going to be different than we expected. Our first desire is to try and make it as "normal" as possible, but normal is hard to define now. Instead, this is the year, when so many things can't happen, to find what is most important. Join us in taking the Christmas Pledge for a "New Year, New Traditions, and Renewed Faith"

Dear Church,
We are at another one of those crossroads moments where we need to make a decision about what we do for the next few weeks.  I know that many of you have been watching the Covid-19 case counts in Missouri and in Linn County go up, and many of you know a number of people that have been in quarantine, or tested positive.