December 2024

Mt. Pleasant Church 

13266 Taylorstown Road, Leesburg, VA 20176

Website: mtpleasant.online T: 540-822-5513

Email: mtpleasantI87@gmail.com

Come Worship with us:

Adult Sunday School – 9:30 a.m. Sermon: 10:30 a.m. Sunday Services are streamed: Youtube.com/@MountPleasantChurch

Trustees Corner

The trustees have agreed to turn the old white kitchen refrigerator into a food pantry. We’d like to invite the children to use their artistic talents to decorate the outer part with durable paints. A member of the trustees will connect with the children’s educational team to coordinate the details after the New Year. The Church directional road signs (minus the UMC designation) are currently going thru a redesign. There is an ongoing ‘to-do’ list posted on a bulletin board in the kitchen. If anyone has a suggestion for improvements or sees a need for a repair, please note on the sheet provided. The church computer has been repaired and operational. The 2025 Trustees will be registered with the Loudoun County Court system. The old warmer/steamer in the kitchen has been replaced by a large electric roaster that includes a sectional insert. The gripper pads have been installed on the Church pews. Joel Bretzin donated and installed new overhead lights in the church basement.

Thank you Joel! Current Trustees are: Billy & Shelly Coates, Terry Ridgeway, Mark & Bonnie Ridgeway, Kevin Barr, Kristie Sharp, Jim Van Wagoner, Steve Harris

Upcoming Events

December 24th – Christmas Eve Service 7:30 p.m. – Eli Lindsey December 31st - pot luck dinner & white elephant gift exchange 5:00 p.m., everyone brings a covered dish &/or dessert, after dinner we’ll set up for a White Elephant Gift Exchange. Please bring a wrapped new or slightly used present for a fun gift exchange.

Announcement - Your Mt. Pleasant Finance Committee has recently established PayPal and VENMO accounts as another method of giving to help our Church in its mission to spread the Good News of Christ and help others in this world. All offerings are always appreciated! Here‘s the link and QR Code to Mt. Pleasant’s Venmo profile.

Every 3rd Sunday •We have a fellowship luncheon after Church. Bring a dish to share•Food pantry hygiene donations•Special offering for Rise Against Hunger•Donations are being accepted for School supplies – Please Contact Debbie Ridgeway with any questions. In the Community Prayer around the flagpole at the Lovettsville squircle every Saturday Morning at 9 a.m. Tuesday Morning’s – Ladies Bible Study meeting at Jan Fearing’s at 10 a.m. till noon Tuesday Evenings – Choir Practice 6 p.m. – All are welcome. Give it a try: Exercise body & brain variety of music, make new friends, smile more: Free Line Dance Class – Luckett’s Community Center, Thursdays 1 – 2:30 for ages 18 & up, beginner to intermediate levels.  

Member Spotlight - Celebrating Elizabeth Cole Williams – Submitted by Shelly Coates

Our sister in Christ, Elizabeth Williams, has always treasured her family and friends at Mt Pleasant. She has enjoyed a lifetime of memories made within the walls of Mt Pleasant beginning when she met her husband, Selby, at the Mt. Olivet picnic woods. After a courtship they married in a small ceremony on August 6, 1949, in a church in Maryland with immediate family in attendance. She began attending Mt. Pleasant as a newlywed with her mother-in-law Mrs. Ollie Williams. She recalls her first visit was in the old church building formerly located in the center of Mt. Pleasant cemetery, south of the church’s current location. She recalls the building at that time was “basic,” with only wood heat and a small sanctuary. No inside plumbing existed, and members used homemade drapes to divide the space when needed for classrooms, meetings or special functions.Elizabeth remembers as she began attending church there was a division within the congregation. There were two groups: one in favor of building a new place of worship and the other group against. She was approached by representatives from each group trying to recruit her support. Both she and Selby both voted in favor of the new construction. Members doing so were also required to pledge a monthly financial sum (amount and duration unknown) which would be committed toward the building construction. During this time, and for many years following, the church was affiliated with the Hillsborough charge circuit, which at that time, consisted of as many as five churches and usually one pastor serving all. As her family grew, many Sundays Elizabeth and her two daughters, Peggy and Debbie, traveled to and from church without Selby. And there was good reason: spring & summer, in particular, the Taylorstown social life revolved around men’s baseball on Sunday afternoons. The field had to be ready by first pitch. In Elizabeth’s weekend life the Sunday schedule was church, baseball at Miss Anna Hendrick’s field and lunch adjacent in Mabel Baker’s yard. Families would attend the games every week which included self-made picnic meals to enjoy. Eventually Selby began attending church services every week. “He was usually dressed and ready to go before I was” Elizabeth recalls “but first he had to get the ball field ready before we would leave.” Selby made the commitment to attend church as a family but only if they all sat in the front. Elizabeth and Selby were fond of the children’s involvement during the service and they wanted to see and hear it all. Coincidentally, there is a stained glass window located at that same pew where the family sat each week. The window was donated by Elizabeth celebrating the Williams family legacy at Mt. Pleasant. It was important to her to pick out and put into place this dedication when the opportunity became available. And speaking of special memories made in connection with the Williams family name, both her daughters held their weddings at Mt Pleasant; all four of her grandchildren were christened within its walls and, too, the celebration of her beloved Selby’s life. Throughout the history of pastors at Mt. Pleasant, Reverend Tom Jennings was a source of strength for Elizabeth. He prayed with her when her mother, Marcia Knuckles, became ill. He was available on many occasions to take her to see her mother and eventually attended her funeral. There are other pastors whom she appreciated, but Tom Jennings support during that time of her life is a sentimental memory.Her prayer for Mt. Pleasant ‘is to always remain close, pull through tough times, remain a living body and grow in spirit. It’s evident it will happen because it is happening. Mt. Pleasant will always be my little church.’Her faith in God and her Lord and Savior is where she has always drawn strength and guidance from and also to support others in her family and church community. Elizabeth is the true example of a prayer warrior.

Brenda Collins shared this letter for the Congregants to enjoy!

From Debbie Macomber’s God Guest List

A woman arrived at the gates of heaven to be met by St. Peter.

“You may first want to join the other at the throne,” he said to her, “and then greet those you loved on earth. But when you are ready, I’ll take you on a tour of heaven.”When the time came for her tour, she could hardly take it all in. It reminded her a little of her earthly home, but she could see that earth had only been a pale shadow of what she was seeing now. They explored every nook and cranny of heaven – waterfalls, fields of flowers, exquisite buildings, and streets of gold.As the tour drew to an end, she noticed one massive door they had not yet explored. A gold padlock secured it. “What’s in that room?” she asked“You don’t want to see that room,” St. Peter said, steering her away from it. “It’s only a storeroom.” “But I do. May I see inside? I want to see every bit of heaven.”St. Peter didn’t answer. Instead he took a large key out of his pocket, put it in the lock and turned it. The tumblers clicked and the padlock opened. He took the lock off and opened the door. The woman had to blink several times to take it all in. Inside the cavernous room were stacks and stacks of gifts, wrapped in all the colors of the rainbow and tied with all the colors of heaven.She clapped her hands with delight. “Is this where you store presents for everyone in heaven?”“No. These gifts are not for heaven, they were meant for earth.”“What do you mean ‘were’?” She walked through the stacks and came to a pile marked with her name. “Look, these gifts are for me.” She fingered the paper and ribbons. “May I open them?”“No. You don’t need them now.” St. Peter put a hand on her shoulder guiding her to the door.“But if I don’t need the now, does that mean I needed them on earth?” She couldn’t take her eyes off the pile. To think she would never get those beautifully wrapped gifts.He nodded his head. “Yes, you needed them on earth.”She looked around the room, realizing that there must have been millions of gifts. Maybe more, since she couldn’t see an end to the room. “Why weren’t my gifts sent to me on earth?” As she looked closer, she could read names on all the gifts. “Not just my gifts; why haven’t any of these gifts been sent?”St. Peter sighed. “You don’t understand. Every one of them was sent.” Moving his arm in an arc that encompassed the whole room, he said, “All of these and more. These are the ones that were returned unopened.” He moved her toward the door. “Many people on earth don’t recognize God’s gifts and fail to open them.’

Mount Pleasant visits the Bible Museum in Washington, DC – November 16th

Mount Pleasant visits Sight and Sound in Lancaster PA to see “Daniel” Joined by Pastor King  

Just for Fun At our prayer meeting I asked my pastor to pray for my hearing. He placed his hands on my ears and prayed. Afterwards, he asked if my hearing was better. I said I wouldn’t know until Monday when I appear before the judge at the courthouse.

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A man was working outside and got bit by some ants. He screamed, “Ow! Why did God even create ants?!” His little boy was out in the yard with him too and said, “Dad, that’s a really mean thing to say. Of course God had to create ants!” When the dad asked why, the boy calmly replied, “Because without ants, the uncles would have no wives.”

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What did Adam say when he was asked his favorite holiday? "It's Christmas, Eve."

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What did Daniel tell his real estate agent? "I'd prefer a house with no den."