September
Worship Schedule
August 30th – 13th Sunday After Pentecost
Scripture Reader: Michelle Elmquist
Nursery: Betty
Koss
Special Music: Deb Hafler
CHURCH PICNIC
September 6th – 14th
Sunday After
Pentecost
Blessing of the Backpacks
Scripture Reader: Carol Verrone
Nursery: Betty
Koss
Special Music: Norm
Campbell
September 13th – 15th Sunday After
Pentecost
Regular
Hours Resume
Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 11:00 am
Coffee Hour/Brunch
Sr. High Youth Group Meeting
Scripture
Reader: Donna Mela
Nursery: Betty Koss
Special Music: Adult Choir
September 20th – 16th
Sunday After
Pentecost
Scripture
Reader: Pat Verrastro
Nursery: Betty Koss
Special Music: Adult Choir
September 27th – 5th
Sunday After
Pentecost
Scripture
Reader: Linda Verrastro
Nursery: Betty Koss
Special Music:
New Member Classes
Pastor
Jon will be holding new member classes beginning Sunday October 18th before
Sunday Worship, about 9:45 am. These classes
will run for 4 weeks with new members being received on Sunday November 8th. If you are interested in becoming a member
please contact Pastor Jon or the church office at 842-7251.
Office News
Our
regular office hours will resume on September 15th. These hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday 9:00 am- 12:00 pm.
October Newsletter – Thursday Sept 24th
Please keep in mind fall and
winter events should be mentioned in the October newsletter!! Fall Auction, Sunday school, youth group, annual conference,
stewardship and other committees.
Address Changes
Attention all church members and regular attendees. If your
address has changed, or if you seasonally go away and forward your mail please
let the church office know. Since newsletters
are sent “bulk mail” they will not forward them. They are returned to us and we are charged 50
cents per returned newsletter. If you go
away and want to continue receiving the newsletter we need the address and
dates you will be gone. If you want the
newsletter temporarily stopped while you are gone we can do that as well.
Another
option is to consider receiving the newsletter by email. This can be done on a temporary basis to see
if you like it.
COMMITTEES
Trustees
Next meeting will be held on
Wednesday,
September 2, 2009 at 7:00 PM. Please
note the date change for this month.
P/SPRC
Next meeting will be held on
Tuesday,
September
8, 2009 at 6:00 PM.
Ad
Council:
Next meeting will be held on
Tuesday,
September
8, 2009 at 7:00 PM.
Lay Leadership Meetings
Wednesday September 16th
Wednesday September 23rd
To be announced!!
Aluminum Collection:
The Wednesday morning work
crew collects aluminum to raise money for various areas of the church. Please support them by placing your aluminum
in the blue barrels located behind the church and in our parking lot.
Dates to Remember
August 30th –
Church Picnic
September
13th – Resume 11:00 am
worship Schedule
October 3rd & 4th –
Mystery Dinner Theatre
October 4th – Sky
November 7th – Fall
Auction
November 22nd – Church
Conference
Meeting
Treasurer’s Report
Linda Verrastro
·
For the month of
June we received $10,728 in the offering for the General Fund account, which
included pledge income of $8,815.
·
For the month of
July we received $8,118 in the offering for the General Fund account, which
included pledge income of $7,551.
·
Based on our
2009 budget, we need $13,688 per month to meet expenses.
·
As of July 31,
2009 we were behind in our pledge income by $17,524.
Our general operating bills
are current, but as of July 31st we had only paid $3,335 towards
Ministry Shares (27% of the $11,940 due for the first seven months of
2009). As fall begins, please help us
catch up by making sure your pledge is current or by making an extra donation
if you are able.
Wednesday Evening
Fellowship Meals
Our Wednesday Evening
Fellowship Meal will begin starting September 9 at 5:00 PM. Those that attended last year found it very enjoyable
and helped with Wednesday evening rush.
If you would like to share in a simple meal with others at the church,
please call the church office by Wednesday morning to place your order. There is a small fee per meal to cover the
cost.
Finance Information
Dear
Summer has come to an end and we now enter a new season.
Change always brings with it the opportunity for renewal. As the church
makes its’ way through September, the service resumes it’s normal time at 11am,
Sunday School begins again and church committees and groups hold their normal
meetings. The fall is also a great time for us to consider our financial
commitment to our Church and religion. Moscow UMC has served the
community for over 150 years and even with changing economic times we have
always met our financial commitments. Last year, it did not seem possible
that we would meet our 2008 budget, but we did. Generous giving in
November and December combined with a few special gifts allowed our Church
council to hold it’s head high by supporting all of our programs, building
maintenance, salaries and apportionments.
This year, once again, our
collection levels have been lower than our budget projections. If this
continues we are soon going to have trouble funding the programs and expenses
that make our Church thrive. In the summer, attendance drops and so does
the Sunday offerings. As we look forward to this new Church year, it is
vital to our Church finances that our members bring their pledges up to date.
Soon, members will be given the opportunity to use electronic automatic direct
deposit. I know that many will appreciate the convenience of this
option.
Making Pledges through Automatic Debit
Right now the the Administrative Council and Finance Committee are
working out the details so our members can make their pledges and
offerings through an automatic checking direct debit. We are considering giving
our members the opportunity to set up their checking account so that their
tithe is automatically credited to our Church account each month? A small
sampling of our members revealed that many are interested in the benefits of
reduced paperwork this would offer them. Note, this will be an option, it is
certainly not mandatory. This
should all be in place by the end of the summer. Let us know what you think.
Email any suggestions to Glenn Czulada, Finance
Committee, glenncz@gmail.com
Why
Direct Debit?
Direct Debit is Convenient
§
Direct debit
saves time because you don’t write a check. You only need to account for the
payment in your check register.
§
Direct debit is
less paperwork, for you and for us.
§
Direct debit
reflects a biblical principle. All drafts will happen the beginning of each
month because the Bible teaches us to give our tithes out of the “first
fruits.”
Direct debit doesn’t forget.
The Finance Office staff will ensure that your church receives your tithe each
month even when you are on vacation.
Greetings from the music staff
Our Church music program
will begin fall rehearsals starting September 9th. Once again all music
activities are planned for Wednesdays, in the hope that this single night of
music rehearsals will make family planning a little easier for
everyone. The music staff welcomes back our veteran ringers and singers,
but we want to extend a warm welcome to anyone desiring to add their talents in
musical praise to our Father above. Your participation will only add to
our Church's musical family. Scheduling will include:
Youth Choir
(5th – 8th )---------5:30-6:00-----room
102
Childrens
Choir (PreK to 4th)-6:00-6:30-----room 102
Interested
new bell ringers--6:00-6:30---music room
Festrival
Bell Ringers---------6:30-7:15---music room
Adult
Choir--------------------- 7:30-8:30---music room
For more information:
Debbie Hafler--Youth Choirs 842-9644
Michael Shoff--
Norman Campbell--Adult Choir/Director of
Music 785-3274
From the Director of
Dear Friends,
I
am writing to ask you to prayerfully consider ringing handbells
with us for the 2009-2010 music season. I have
selected music which, I pray, provides the most
challenging, yet rewarding, repertoire of any year since I began directing the
bell choirs here at
During the 2008-2009 music season, our bell choir program consisted of only one bell choir. The future of this program depends on the participation and encouragement of our youth. I ask for your prayers and support of this unique program, and would encourage any young person enrolled in the 3rd grade (and up) to consider trying handbells.
We have two rehearsal times set aside for our youngest ringers on Wednesday evenings. The Children’s Chime Choir (those in the 3rd through 5th grades) practices from 5:30-6:00, and our Junior Festival Ringers (those in 6th through 8th grade) practice from 6:00-6:30. There is no upper age limit; the young at heart are always welcome. If you have an interest in ringing, there is a place for you. Rehearsals begin Wednesday, September 9th, and we will have 3 weeks of rehearsal to prepare for the worship service on September 27th.
While
it helps if you already know how to read music, it is certainly not
mandatory. If you can count to 4 and know your right from your left, we
will help you with the rest. All that we ask is that you
attend rehearsals faithfully, do your best, and trust that God is well pleased
by our efforts.
In Christ,
Michael Shoff
Calling all young singers!!
Join us Wednesday evenings
as we rehearse for Sunday services.
No experience necessary
just a desire to sing!
Here
is the schedule:
Youth
Choir (5th –
8th Grade) - 5:30-6pm
Children’s
Choir (PreK to 4th Grade) - 6-6:30pm
Location Room 102 Lower level.
Mystery Dinner Theatre
Rehearsal
Monday August 24th 7:00
PM
Monday August 31st
7:00 PM
Monday September
14th 7:00 PM
Monday September
21st 7:00 PM
Thursday
September 24th 7:00 PM
Tuesday September
29th 7:00 PM
Dress Rehearsal???
Thursday October
1st 7:00 PM tentative
MYSTERY DINNER THEATRE
“Murder, Music and Mayhem”
Come join us for a night of mystery and fun!!
Performances will be Saturday October
3rd at 6:00 pm and Sunday October 4th
at 5:00 pm.
Reservations required.
The cost for this event will be of $15.00 for adults and
$6.00 for youth under 12.
Included will be a City Chicken dinner (Breaded
Pork on a skewer & baked) with dessert and a show.
Please contact the church office at 842-7251 for more
information and reservations.
Mondays
in
Monday night September 28 at
7:00, Mondays In Moscow presents The Harmonic Brass
from
Mondays in
Our Series of monthly
cultural events, has had a successful run since it’s
inception. However, for Mondays in
-
treasurer
-
publicity
-
reception coordinator
-
graphic arts (
to produce flyers)
-
flyer
distribution
-
create concert
programs
If interested, please
contact the church office.
Rev. Chuck Johns
Publishes an article each
month in the i-Voice (an electronic
newsletter of the Wyoming Conference). You can also access his articles on the
Wyoming Conference website at www.wyomingconference.org.
Church Picnic
Sunday
August 30th
Summer is a time when many people head
to family reunions to visit and re-connect with relatives they haven’t seen in
a while. We’re planning a church picnic
so we can meet and re-connect with our church family on Sunday, August 30th
at Moscow UMC.
The
day will begin with worship at 9:30.
Dress casually! Afterward we’ll
have time for coffee and lemonade to catch up with old friends and perhaps meet
some new ones. We’ll have games for
young and old as well as a time to share dreams about the new
year. And of course we’ll have
FOOD! The church will provide
hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks. We ask
that you bring a dish or dessert to pass.
Plan to join us on Sunday August 30th at the Church.
To help us plan you can call the church
office.
If anyone has a portable party tent
that they would be willing to loan for the picnic on August 30th
please contact the church office.
YOUTH GROUP
Senior High Youth
Group is Ready to Roll!!
Our first meeting is
scheduled for Sunday, Sept 13th after the Coffee Hour/Brunch until
2:30 pm
If you are in high school,
come join us as we begin to plan the new year of events and happenings. We need
you and your input to make this youth group what you want it to be.
We hope to have our schedule
of events planned out for the October Newsletter so make sure you bring your
ideas!!
We Need a
Leader/Co-leaders for our
Jr. High
Youth Group
Our Junior High Youth
group is in need of a leader or co-leader(s).
Consider donating your time, talents, love-of-life, fun, and wisdom to
the future leaders of our church. You
will be truly blessed!!
Senior High
Thanks You!!
Our mission trip this year
took us to
Blessings and Peace,
Debbie Hafler
Preschool Information
Mommy and Me class also
known as the Parent-Child Funtime Workshop of the
Moscow United Methodist Preschool still has a few openings left for 2 year olds
accompanied by their parent, grandparent or caretaker. Classes start
September 10th and run from 12:00-100. It's a fun one-hour
class which includes storytime, musictime,
craft time and more! If interested, contact Jeannie Garubba at 842-6767
or 842-6800 or jean.garubba@gmail.com.
Nursery
Note
Volunteers are needed to help Betty Koss in the
nursery during Sunday Worship. Under Safe
Sanctuary guidelines we need 2 adults present when supervising children or
youth. If you would like to help
volunteer please contact Janet Brown or the church office.
EQUAL EXCHANGE
JOIN THE CHALLENGE!!
UMCOR's 100 Ton Challenge works through our Equal Exchange
Coffee, Tea and chocolate that we sell in the foyer of our church.
By buying these products we
are helping small-scale farmers earn fair
prices for their crops and improve their lives.
So be in partnership and be a part of
helping farmers stay on their land, care for the environment and support their
families. Just try
the ALMONDS, COFFE OR TEA and of course, CHOCOLATE and you will feel
good about what you eat and drink!!
Watch for our SAMPLE SUNDAY! Coffee
samples will be served before and after church. Come and try....Come and BUY!!
Lay Speaking School
at
Lay
speaking school will be held here at Moscow UMC from 6:00 – 9:00 pm on the
following Tuesdays: September 22nd and 29th
October
6th, 13th, and 20th
For more
details see the Connections Newsletter enclosed.
Clean-up Efforts in
UMCOR is supporting
In addition
to a $10,000 emergency grant, UMCOR, in partnership with Mission Central in
central PA, is sent 1,800 cleaning buckets to help with the clean-up
efforts. They also sent 672 health kits
and 336 school kits.
You can support recovery in Western NY
and other flood -affected areas by making a contribution to US Domestic
Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670.
UMCOR and the West NY Conference has asked for Mission
Central to send much needed Cleaning (Flood) buckets to Gowanda and Silver
Creek, NY, to assist with flood clean-up efforts. Mission Central sent 1, 800 buckets last
week. They now need the supplies to make
more buckets - or your congregation can assemble and deliver completed buckets
to Mission Central. Here are the
contents of the Cleaning Bucket:
- 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
- Bleach
(two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do
not include bleach if you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal
Service, UPS or FedEx)
- 5 scouring pads
- 7 Sponges
- 1 scrub brush
- 18 cleaning towels
(reusable wipes)
- Liquid
laundry detergent (two
25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
- 1 household cleaner, 12-16
oz. bottle
- Disinfectant dish
soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
- 50 clothes pins
- Clothes line (two 50
ft. or one 100 ft.)
- 5 dust masks
- 2 pair latex gloves
- 1 pair work gloves
- 24-bag
roll of heavy duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
- 1
insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If
aerosol, cans must have protective caps.
- 1
Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can. (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps.)
Important information:
* All items included
must be NEW items.
* All emergency kits
are carefully planned to make
them usable in the greatest number of
situations. Since strict rules often
govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits
contain only the requested items - nothing more.
* Do
NOT include any personal notes, money or additional materials in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed
and will delay the shipment.
Diane Croom, Superintendent
Phone 842-8805
Dear Friend,
Welcome to the
As in past years all of our children and youth meet in the sanctuary at 9:30 am for a brief time to sing, share joys and concerns, pray and give an offering before moving into the grade-level classes. We are going to begin a preschool class for children from age three to kindergarten age. This class will be led by Sharon Kelly and Ruth Ann (Cis) Lyons. As in past years students from kindergarten through fifth grade will participate in a rotational program. The same Bible story or theme is presented for several weeks. Each week learners rotate through a different station of art (led by Melanie Yudt), cooking (led by Michelle Marsh and Michael Kuniegal), games (led by Susan McLain), science (led by Kim Gallela), story time (led by Gail Simpkins) and video (led by Lori Brink). The Junior High class (grades 6th-8th) is led by Nichole McIntosh. The Senior High class (grades 9th-12th) will be led by Pat Verrastro. The Jr. and Sr. high class do not rotate in their curriculum.
The Moscow UMC has adopted a Safe Sanctuary policy to help
keep all children and youth safe while participating in activities sponsored by
the church. As part of this program windows have been installed in all
classroom doors. We will have two teachers working together in each classroom
or a hall monitor to check on classrooms periodically. All paid staff and
volunteers have undergone a Child Abuse History Clearance and a Criminal Background
Check. In addition we will have a signed
registration form on every child/youth participating in Sunday School. The form is attached and if you have not previously
filled one please do so for each child and return them to me or Michelle
Elmquist, the church secretary, by September 13, 2009.
The dismissal strategy is the same as it has been in past
years. Junior and Senior High students will be dismissed on their own.
Preschool children will be dismissed from the preschool classroom. Students from kindergarten through fifth
grade will be dismissed from two specified areas. Those students leaving after
Sunday School at 10:30 will be dismissed from the rear
stairwell of the education building to parents in the lower parking lot.
Students staying for the worship service will be taken to the social hall in
the basement at 10:30 am and offered a snack. Parents are asked to be prompt
when picking up children in order to have time to take them to the restroom if
needed and get settled in for the worship service.
We are in the process of change so please be patient with us as we work through the first weeks. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions please contact me.
We are always in need of an extra pair of hands and would appreciate having you participate in the Moscow UMC Sunday School program.
Thank you for the opportunity to allow us to work with your
children as we together learn about God’s love in
Jesus Christ. Diane
Croom