Help Us Brighten Christmas for Local Families in Need
2025 Community Christmas Fund – Donation Deadline is Sunday, December 7
As the holiday season approaches, we continue our cherished tradition of supporting families in our community who are experiencing financial hardship. Help make their Christmas a little brighter by contributing to the 2025 Community Christmas Fund.
How to Contribute:
- Give online at castletonumc.org/give
- Select OTHER
- In the Note section, write Community Christmas Fund or CCF
- Give in-person
- Drop off a check at the church office with CCF in the memo line
We are not yet halfway to our goal of $10,000. Thank you for sharing the spirit of the season!
CUMNS Kids Scholastic Book Fair
Sunday, December 7 | 9:30 – 11:15 AM | Narthex
The Book Fair will be open on Sunday morning outside the Legacy Room. This is a wonderful way to support CUMNS Kids while finding some new children’s books or Christmas gifts.
You’re Invited: Big Family Dinner
Sunday, December 7 | 5:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
Our next Big Family Dinner is on Sunday, December 7, and we hope you’ll join us! These monthly gatherings have become a wonderful way for our church family to share a meal, connect with one another, and take part in meaningful conversations.
This month’s dinner will include space for continued conversation following the November 23 church-wide discussion about our finances. If you weren’t able to attend that meeting, this is a great opportunity to hear updates, ask questions, and share in our ongoing discernment together. If you did attend, we invite you back to help carry the conversation forward in a spirit of unity and hope.
This dinner will be a pitch-in meal, and we encourage everyone to bring something to share. To help balance the menu, please consider bringing a dish based on your last name:
- A–H: Main dishes
I–P: Side dishes or salads
Q–Z: Desserts
If cooking isn’t your thing, you are still warmly welcome—your presence is the most important part of the meal.
Family Ministry Christmas Party
Sunday December 14 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM | Fellowship Hall
Let’s join together on December 14 and celebrate the Christmas season and the relationships we’ve grown through the year. We’re looking forward to sharing a multi-generational meal, playing games together, and hearing announcements about 2026 Family Ministry programming.
Fried chicken and drinks will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share, and fill out the form below to let us know you plan to attend.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
Saturday, December 13 | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Kroger on 71st Street
CUMC continues its annual support for The Salvation Army by volunteering to ring bells at the kettle at the Kroger Store, East 71st St. and Binford Blvd. on Saturday, December 13. We will have nine 1-hour shifts starting at 10:00 AM, with the last one being from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. We encourage family groups to participate. To sign up for a shift, please email, call, or text Rush Yelverton: rsyelvertonsr@gmail.com, 317-366-9611. Please provide names of volunteers, email address, and phone number (cell number preferred). This is a great opportunity for “Being the salt and light in an easy and natural way.” our website at castletonumc.org/about/#board.
Soul School
2026 Session Beginning in January
Are you wanting more when it comes to your faith experience? More depth, more insight and understanding, more connection, more relevance to every aspect of life? Are you willing to invest time and effort in order to have such an experience?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, then Soul School might be right for you. Soul School is a 12-month experience of discipleship and spiritual formation, in community, that provides more intention and intensity to your faith journey. The discipleship/transformation process is inherently slow (lifelong, in fact), but there are things we can do to accelerate growth. Soul School is designed to be such an accelerant.
For more information, go to www.castletonumc.org/soul-school. To get a sense of what Soul School is like, be sure to watch the video on that page. (approximately 19 minutes of participant testimonies.) The 2026 session of Soul School begins in January. Enrollment closes at the end of the week.
Advent Candle Lighting
Beginning Sunday, November 30
If your family is interested in reading and lighting the Advent Candles during worship, please use the button below to choose a worship service.
Charge Conference Recap
On November 23, our congregation gathered for an important all-church meeting—one grounded in gratitude for the ministry we share and in hope for the future God is calling us toward. The purpose of the meeting was threefold: to receive an update on our finances and debt, to hold a Charge Conference vote to use a small endowment fund toward debt reduction, and to explore possibilities toward reducing or eliminating debt. Please use the button below to read the full recap of this important meeting.
Save the Date & Special Announcements
- Christmas Music Sunday | Sunday, December 7 | 9 & 11 AM
- Christmas Eve Worship | Wednesday, December 24
- Contemporary worship with a children’s message | 6 PM
- Traditional worship | 8 PM
- Both services will include Holy Communion and Candle Lighting
- One Worship Service | Sunday, December 28 | 10 AM
- Confirmation Classes Being | Sunday, January 25 | For more information contact Chris Croyts