Garfield’s Annual Sunday School Picnic

Our Annual Sunday School picnic is scheduled for August 2^nd from 11 to 4.  The musical entertainment will be provided by the gospel bluegrass group “Down Home Gospel Singers”.

However, the music is only a small part of the entertainment that goes on at the picnic.  This is a time to come and enjoy cool weather (it is always cool in the picnic woods at the corner of Garfield and Brandenburg Hollow Roads), fellowship with members of the church and community and witness to the community of what Garfield has to offer.

Feature items will be:

At the food stand our cooks will delight you with Country Ham Sandwiches, Steamers, homemade soups and much more.  Back by popular demand is sliced roast beef sandwiches and kettle fries.

At the ice cream stand you will not want to miss the ice cream which always has chocolate and vanilla but also orange pineapple (a crowd pleaser) in cone or on a plate.

The White Elephant stand always reflects what is one man’s throw away is another man’s take home.

The bake table will be a time to show the baking talents of the people of Garfield.  We have great bakers in our church for sure.

Oh the kids are not left out.  There will be games, games and some more games to keep the children occupied while you catch up with people you have haven’t seen for awhile.                                     Mark August 2^nd on the calendars now!  You don’t want to miss this picnic.

  

The Board of Trustees in an effort to show our witness to the children and families of the community has voted to build a playground behind the church. 

The playground will include monkey bars, a wavy slide, two swings, a glider, and a rock climbing wall.  It will be placed near the “storage” building where it is close enough to use, far enough from the road to keep our children safe and all the while keeping a guiding eye on our children.

The playground is to be installed in August by church members.  This is a large project and will take several hours of work by our members and friends.  If you can help with this project let one of the trustees and/or Pastor Katie know. 

We hope that it will be used on Sundays and throughout the week by congregants and community members alike. Our hope is for it to be put up before the Vacation Bible School Reunion on August 10^th. If it is, we will have a dedication of the playground right after worship.

If you would like to make a donation towards the purchase of the playground, mulch or sign, please earmark your check “Playground” or see Pastor Katie.

  

August 10^th will be a Vacation Bible School Reunion right after the church service.  All those who attended and participated in this year’s VBS are invited.

Everyone come and worship with us on August 10^th at the regular worship service.  Then enjoy a picnic lunch out doors before the games and now famous water slide.  Bring dry clothes to change into for the ride home.

We will review the fun times of Bible School and sing “Outrigger Island”, “I know my God is Real” and “Jesus Is”.  Do you remember the ABC’s or the Wiki Wiki song?

You don’t want to miss this.  Parents please bring our VBS kids to the reunion.

Part of the fun will be a Back To School Bingo.  We are asking for donations of school supplies for the winners of the games.  Please bring them to church by August 3^rd.

 

Our annual Tools For Schools school supply collection will be held the month of August with the last day to bring school supplies being August 24^th for delivery to the schools during the week of August 25^th.

We will again, this year support our local elementary schools, Wolfsville, Smithsburg, and Sabillasville and the Christian Academy in Blue Ridge Summit. 

With gas prices and grocery prices going higher and higher it is harder and harder for our local families to provide the much needed school supplies needed to attend school.  With our donations we help alleviate this burden and we get to remember our childhood days of getting new things for the first day of school.

Below is a list of items needed

COMPOSITION BOOKS (Black & Spiral)

CONSTRUCTION PAPER              PAPER

GLUE STICKS          RULERS

BLUNT END SCISSORS

TISSUES       PENCILS       CRAYONS FOLDERS         DISINFECTANT WIPES

GALLON SIZE ZIP LOCK BAGGIES

 

 

August 8^th and 9^th is our annual camp out at the Bears on Wolfsville Road.  The Bears have a beautiful in ground pool so you will want to bring your swim suit.  Bring a snack to share and other food will be provided.

We will gather at the home of the Bears at 6:00 on Friday night, August 8^th and plan to leave around 10:00 on Saturday, August 9^th.

13 Questions About God continues through August on the 1st and 3rd Sundays at 6:00 pm. Dinner is provided.

August 16th Garfield Church will be taking on a Habitat for Humanity project. The older Kings Kids will be participating but we invite the whole church. Plan to participate from 8-4 (or if that is not possible, 8-Noon). You must be 18 or older to help build and a release form must be filled out. Please see Pastor Katie for the form and to register.

August 17^th after worship we will be heading down to the new National's Ballpark to take in a game. We have 15 tickets, so please let Pastor Katie know if you are planning on attending. We will carpool from the church to the Shady Grove metro and then metro to the ballpark. Please bring some money for lunch.

 

Where there is no vision people perish.

Proverbs 29:18

Not to long ago, I found my self at a routine physical for my health insurance. I had been in a bind – I needed the physical by Friday, and today was Wednesday. Not a lot of time to mail in my results. Desperate for a doctor, I ended up going to an urgent care place in Frederick . My doctor, a quirky man, hardly looked at me before trying to pass me of as “A-Okay,” without even listening to my heart! But as he looked over the long list of requirements, he decided to pick and choose which tests to do. He made stand on one foot and then the other. (To this day, I am not sure why that mattered more than my heart.)

After this and that, he turned me towards the eye exam chart. “One more test, Mrs. Bishop, and then I will have you on your way,” the doctor ordered, so I did. After doing my best announcing A’s, E’s and O’s, the doctor sat me back down. “Well, Mrs. Bishop…” he began, “you need glasses.” Glasses! I did not even know that I was having difficulty seeing! But glasses!

So the next day, I headed off to the optometrist. Sitting in the chair with the large eye checker thingy in my face, the Optometrist kept flipping back and forth between magnifiers. “This one or this one?” He kept asking me, “This one or this one?” Which posed a difficult question because I had no idea which one was more clear.

As we continue to serve the Lord here at Garfield church, we are called to seek out God’s vision for our community of faith. Our vision is the guiding direction God has for our church, celebrating where we are now and where God is calling us to go. It is a statement of purpose that calls us into to action, serving the Lord. Honoring the past and turning our eyes to the future we will all take part in God’s purposes for our church. And our vision is lofty, full of big and hopeful dreams because we know that God has big and lofty plans for our congregation.

Our “Catch A New Vision” Day was the first step in helping us move forward as a single station church. It was a way of seeing whether it was “That one or that one,” just as I did at my Optometrist’s office. Throughout the rest of the summer and the beginning of the fall, I would love to be in conversation with you about your hopes and dreams for the future of our church. I would love to hear your big and lofty ideas for our congregation that can be made possible through the power of Jesus. Then we will begin to draft our vision statement for the congregation, making clear the path that God has for us and celebrating the faithfulness of the Lord.

As we seek to see clearly God’s vision and purpose for our church, I ask that you be in prayer for our church and future. Daily, ask God to lead us as we begin this new chapter of church history. And as we seek to see more clearly together, I know we will all be blessed by the Lord’s faithfulness.

May God bless you and your families!

 

--submitted by Pastor Katie

Our “Catch A New Vision” meeting was a huge success. Thank you to all who were able to come and share thoughts about where we are as a church now, where we are going, and how we can get there. We talked about our struggles and successes, dreamed big dreams for our future, and talked about practical ways we can serve the Lord in the coming months.

In the next few weeks, the whole congregation will be given the opportunity to share their thoughts and suggestions with Pastor Katie. In your worship bulletin, there will be a sheet of paper with some questions to consider. Please take the time to fill the form out and put it in the box in the entrance way. Comments can be anonymous. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts with Pastor Katie by contacting her at home (301-846-4098) or by email pastorkatiebishop@yahoo.com.

 

--Submitted by Pastor Katie

Over the past six months, our congregation has been working on a Safe Sanctuaries policy to help better protect the safety of our children and youth. This is a requirement of all United Methodist Churches, as decided at the 2004 General Conference. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has taken on an active role, holding churches and their pastors responsible for creating and implementing this policy. We have until July of 2009 to put all of the requirements into effect. The following policy was approved by the Church Council at the May meeting. Special thanks to Jeannette Kuhn, Kathy Riley, Linda Reeder and Larry Lovell for their help in preparing this policy. If you have any questions, please see Pastor Katie.

 

Safe Sanctuaries

Child Abuse Prevention Policy

Garfield United Methodist Church

 Introduction

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church , in April 1996, adopted a resolution aimed at reducing the risk of child sexual abuse in the church. In covenant with all United Methodist congregations, Garfield United Methodist Church adopts this policy for the prevention of child abuse in our church.

Purpose

Our congregation’s purpose for establishing this Child Abuse Prevention Policy and accompanying procedures is to demonstrate our absolute and unwavering commitment to the physical safety and spiritual growth of all our children and youth.

Statement and Covenant

Therefore, as a Christian community of faith and a United Methodist congregation, we pledge to conduct the ministry of the gospel in ways that assure the safety and spiritual growth of all of our children and youth as well as all of the workers with children and youth. We will follow reasonable safety measures in the selection and recruitment of workers; we will implement prudent operational procedures in all programs and events; we will educate all of our workers with children and youth regarding the use of all appropriate policies and methods at least every two years (including first aid and methods of discipline); we will follow the Two-Adult Rule, requiring at least two adults to be present during any activities with children and youth; we will provide advance notice to parents and guardians when leaving the church building and require permission slips from all participants; we will have a clearly defined procedure for reporting a suspected incident of abuse that conforms to the requirements of state law; and we will be prepared to respond to media inquires if an incident occurs. 

Conclusion

In all of our ministries with children and youth, this congregation is committed to demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ so that each child will be “surrounded by steadfast love,…established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in a way that leads to life eternal” (Baptismal Covenant).

Nominations Committee

The Nominations Committee will be meeting August 14^th at 7:00 pm. We will begin to look over open positions in church leadership and begin the prayerful process of electing new leaders. If you feel called to serve, please see Pastor Katie or our Lay Leader, Jeannette Kuhn.

 

Reeder’s Nursing Home Service

Please join us as we lead the Reeder’s Nursing Home Service on August 10^th at 4:00 pm. Plan to either meet at Reeder’s at 4:00 pm or in the Garfield parking lot at 3:15 pm.

 

Worship Committee

Our new worship committee is looking for a few willing volunteers to help us as we plan and evaluate worship for the fall. We will meet once a month. The meeting for August is scheduled for August 27^th at 7:00 pm. If you are interested in serving in this way, please see Pastor Katie.

 

Several years ago at a monthly board meeting it was asked if anyone had any red wagons.  Of course there were many questions as to why and how and what for, but from that request our “Red Wagon” Sunday food collections ministry was created.

The months that have 5 Sundays in them generate a special mission.  That mission is “Red Wagon” where we collect food and non-perishable items for local families and the community food banks.

August has five Sundays and we have put “side boards” on our red wagons and are ready for the generosity of our congregation.  Bring your non-perishable items, paper products and canned food to church on August 31^st.  The wagons will be waiting.

 

--Submitted by Pastor Katie

Beginning in July and continuing through August, I am going to leave the robe at home and I invite you to do the same! Come just as you are – ready for a family reunion, heading to a ball game, or perhaps just wanting to fish!

Worship will also feel a bit different this summer. Each week, we will start worship with a short hymn sing. You will be invited to pick two or three hymns that you love to sing to start worship. So be thinking about what you would like to sing this summer!  Peace, Pastor Katie

 

 

Income	2007	2008
Month	7549	10607
YTD	47525	53166
Expenses	2007	2008
Month	6939	18271
YTD	45779	65455
Sunday School/Missions	2007	2008
Sunday school	227	246
YTD	1065	1359
Missions	0	453
YTD	4797	3267
Attendance	2007	2008
Worship	383	590
YTD	2044	2535
Sunday School	99	139
YTD	463	651

 

We are looking for your birthday and Wedding Anniversary dates! We would love to have the birthdates and anniversaries of our members and friends in the newsletter so that Pastor Katie and other congregants can send birthday and anniversary cards to you on your special day.

A calendar will be posted in the back. Feel free to write your name on your birth date so we can celebrate with you