The Toy Shoppe is Open:

The Toy Shoppe will be open this year during our monthly Table Ministry
food distribution and The Clothes Closet Ministry. We will open a
separate toy store for our neighbors to shop for their children’s Christmas
gifts. Please bring an UNWRAPPED gift under $20 to give a child a smile
this Christmas. We need toys for boys & girls, ages 0-teens. Gift cards for
$20 are accepted and will be used only for the teenage children.
Serve with us!
We need more help during Christmas for The Toy Shoppe! It is an amazing,
fun way to serve our community. Call Rachel at 965-2273 for information.
Tuesday, December 17
Truck Unloading—9:00 am
Toy Shoppe Set-Up—10:00 am
Bag Packing—12:00 pm
The Table Food Distribution
& The Clothes Closet Ministry
Wednesday, December 18
12:30 pm—5:00 pm
The Toy Shoppe
is Open:
Wednesday, December 18
from 12:30 pm—5:00 pm
Extra Benton UMC servants needed to
support this outreach.
Please call Rachel at 965-2273
to let us know when you can serve.
For more information please visit:
www.bentonumc.org
Journey to Bethlehem Preparations Begin!
Get Excited!!!
Serve - Enjoy Fellowship - Have Fun for a Common Cause
December 14—6:30 pm –9:00 pm
December 15— 6:30 pm– 8:00 pm
Journey to Bethlehem is Benton UMC’s gift to our community and beyond as we tell the story of Jesus’
birth through live postcard scenes. We usually have about 1000 cars drive through our parking lot to see
the Christmas story. Check your calendars! Which days can you serve? Plan TODAY to support your
church by serving.
Journey to Bethlehem-Behind the Scenes
Costumes: Organize, clean, repair, press, put away, dress actors
Scenes: Touch-up paint, set-up, decorate, tear down, provide hay, pick-up and return hay
Outside: Set up bags with sand and candles, light candles, locate animals (anybody have a camel?)
Food: Our volunteers get very hungry. We need lots of snack food and servers and clean-up crews
Journey to Bethlehem-In the Scenes
Stand in a scene for 30 minutes and then spend 30 minutes in Fellowship Hall eating and visiting!
There are 12 scenes with the same biblical characters in many of them. We need Angels, Roman
Soldiers, King Herod, Shepherds, Wise Men, Mary and Joseph, Inn Keeper. Although we try to be still
as possible, we want to encourage families with older children to be in the Shepherd and Angel choir scene.
Servants Needed for Journey to Bethlehem
On December 14 and 15 we will need over 100 servants each night. The scenes are from 6:30-9:00 pm
on December 14 and from 6:30-8:00 pm on December 15. If you choose to be an actor, you will be outside for three 30 minute periods. You can serve one or both nights. Let’s all commit to one or more aspect of the Journey. Keep in mind that 100s of people of all ages will come to experience the Christmas
story. That will be hundreds of opportunities for us to show the love of Christ to the community. The
drive through will draw the people to our church. We need to make them feel welcome and loved while
they are here. The impact is huge. We need everyone’s help to accomplish this. Can we count on you?
If you are interested in helping with Journey to Bethlehem, contact:
Carolyn Collins in the church office at 965-2273
Registration sign-up sheets will be in the Family Life Center on tables in the front.