NEWS

 

NEW MEMBERS

Sunday, August 9th, we received 10 new members into our church fellowship.  If you are looking for a church in which you can say “That is MY church” through becoming a member, just let the church office know.  There will be another new member class and reception Sunday on October 25th.

 

UNITED METHODIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP

Our new UMYF program began on September 20th with 12 youth attending.  We are excited about our new youth group which is meeting every Sunday after the worship service at 11:30am.  If you have a member of your family in grades 6 through 12 plan to bring them to our youth program.  All youth in the community are welcome as they have some food, fun, fellowship and learn how to live Christian lives in a secular world.

 

S.A.T.C.H. (Supper At The Church) STARTING AGAIN

Our S.A.T.C.H. dinners started again on September 10th at 5:00pm.  The dinners are each Thursday evening and will $6.00.  It is a great meal at a great price with great fellowship!  Plan to come and meet and greet others from our church and our neighborhood.

 

NEW PASTOR’S STUDY ON THURSDAY EVENING

The Pastor has begun a new study called “Beginnings: An Introduction to Christian Faith” on Thursday evenings at 6:00pm following the S.A.T.C.H. dinners.  Whether you have been in church for many years or have never been inside a church, this study will help you understand basic Christianity and help you as you begin or continue your own Christian journey.  All adults are invited to this study.

 

NEW YOUTH PROGAM BEGINNING SOON!

Our United Methodist Youth Fellowship program will meet for the first time Sunday, September 20th, at 11:30am (right after our worship service).  We have great plans for our youth which include a weekly meeting with time for study, fun and food, and various activities throughout the year such as mission events, group activities and fund-raisers.  The group is open to youth in 6th through 12th grades and will meet in our Covert Hall. 

 

NEW PASTOR’S STUDY BEGINNING SOON

Pastor Howie is leading a study for adults on Sunday mornings at 11:30am which coincides with our youth program.  All adults are invited to come and be a part of this group.  We are using a small group topical study which will cover each topic for 8 to 13 weeks.  Our current topic is “Faith Under Fire” and follows the life of Peter. 

 

OCTOBER EVENTS

4th-31st – Pumpkin Patch

18th – 6:00pm Annual Charge Conference

23rd-25th – United Methodist Men Retreat, Leesburg, FL

24th – 10am-4pm Fall Festival

25th – 5-7pm Trunk ‘n Treat

 

CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP PLANNED

We are in the process of planning to begin a second worship service.  It will be a contemporary worship experience with a different style and feel than our current traditional worship service.  The new service is in the planning stages at this time and we will update the information as we get closer to beginning.  In the mean time, if you have any ideas or suggestions as to what might be included in this service or if you play an instrument and would be willing to be part of this new worship service please contact the pastor.

 

OPPORTUNITY FOR GIVING

As part of the planning for the new second service, we will need to make some upgrades to our sound system and add a projector system for audiovisual needs. The Trustees have already begun to entertain some bids for this project. We currently have $2,900 that have been given and designated specifically for this purpose. If you would like to make an additional gift to this project beyond your normal giving, we invite you to do so and mark your check “Sound and Video.” Thank you for helping us keep our worship “passionate”!

 

SALTY SERVICE

One of the five practices of the Methodist Way is Salty Service, which references Matthew 5:13 in which Jesus says his followers are called to be like salt and help flavor the earth. The Conference is asking for each congregation to begin to track the number of hours that its members are engaged in Salty Service within the community. This is not a measurement of how many hours you are volunteering at the church; it is a measure of how we are volunteering and working out in the community. For example, if you volunteered during the week at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen or helping read at the library, you could count those hours. The key is that the volunteer work cannot be done on our church property (ie, hours for helping with SATCH and the Thrift Shop won’t count towards this total).

 

There are little “Salty Service” tickets in every pew rack in the sanctuary. Every Sunday mornings pull a ticket from the pew for every hour you’ve spent in Salty Service that week and drop it in the offering plate. They are reusable, so please don’t write on them. We don’t need your names, just a tally of how many hours we’ve spent working out in our community.

 

EASY WAYS TO HELP THE CHURCH EARN EXTRA INCOME

  1. Donate Items to the Thrift Shop – Have stuff cluttering up your closets and garage? The shop takes in small appliances, kitchenware, knock-knacks, clothes and furniture. All the proceeds from the Thrift Shop go towards the mortgage payment.
  2. Eat Dinner at SATCH (Supper At The Church) – Most everyone eats out at least once a week. At SATCH for $6.00 a person you get a salad, an entrée, two dies, dessert and drink. And all the proceeds from SATCH go towards the mortgage payment.
  3. Buy Gift Cards for your family and friends – Our church participates in a gift card program that gives back a % of each purchase to the church. These make great holiday gifts, but can be used all year long as many grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and restaurants participate. Figure up what you would normally spend in a store and buy a gift card from the church for that amount. Then spend away, and the church gets back a portion of the proceeds for something you would have done anyway. Order forms are available in the narthex and the table outside the office.
  4. Recycle your ink cartridges and cell phones – We participate in a recycling program which pays us for turning in old ink cartridges and cell phones. Just drop by the church office.
  5. Use goodsearch.com as your Internet search engine – Go to http://www.goodsearch.com and sign up to make the church your beneficiary everytime you search the Internet.
  6. Save up your spare change! – Every 4th Sunday of the month is Coin Sunday. Bring in your spare change and drop into the urn in the narthex. We raised $286.69 in September with Coin Sunday!

 

PARTNERSHIP WITH MOON LAKE ELEMENTARY

Our church is partnering with Moon Lake Elementary School to help supply the teachers and students with needed items. There is a mission barrel in the Sanctuary narthex where we are collecting items for the school. This is an on-going mission project. Please consider the list of items below and consider donating some to the school.

GENERAL STUDENT SUPPLIES: pencils, hand held pencil sharpeners, rulers

ART SUPPLIES: regular markers, glue sticks, paper towels, large crayons (for kindergarten), Playdoh, plastic aprons for kids, colored pencils, white poster board, yarn, construction paper, children’s scissors, colored paper

HEALTH CLASS SUPPLIES: children’s toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, combs, brushes, deodorant

MISCELLANEOUS: baby wipes, Kleenex tissues, anti-bacterial gel, AA batteries, kitchen timers, liquid soap refills, individual headsets, goggles (science projects) , children’s books, healthy snacks

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPLIES: #10 white envelopes, sandwich size and gallon size Ziploc bags, plastic storage bins (any size), hanging files (legal or letter), manila file folders, index cards, white copy paper

TEACHER SUPPLIES: sharpie markers, dry erase markers, legal pads, ticky tac, stickers (for rewards), ink pens, post-it notes