Tower News First United Methodist Church, Bellefontaine November 2014 Pastor Ed-ification A Season of Prayer You are invited to unite together in a season of 40 days of prayer beginning Sunday, November 16, and continuing through Friday, December 26. This will encompass Thanksgiving / Advent/ Christmas, seasons of gratitude and expectation, and it will also be a season in which the Conference Cabinet will be making evaluations for the appointment of a new senior pastor. You are asked to read through the 40 short chapters of a book entitled Draw the Circle, by Mark Batterson, and to all pray together, wherever you are, at 4:11 pm each day for the present and future of this church, based upon Ephesians 4:11-13, and any other way the Holy Spirit leads (perhaps from that day’s devotion). May it come to be said of this congregation, as it was of the Jerusalem church in Acts 4:31 – “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” Outreach Ronald McDonald House Outreach Homeless Shelter Volunteers: Anyone interested in working with the local Homeless Shelter for a 10 day period once during the year, please contact Linda Knight at 935-3411. I would like to have 3 volunteers to help me with this. This involves signing new people into the shelter, checking the facility for cleanliness when someone leaves, and stopping by once or twice during your 10 days to check on the needs of the clients. This would begin in the 2015 calendar year. Angel Tree Children’s angels will be available for church members to pick up in the next few weeks. Be looking for those from the neighborhood outreach center. Our church is currently signed up to prepare and serve another meal at the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus this December. This is an outreach that we have been working on and this will be the third meal prepared and served by volunteers from our church. Up to this point, we have provided meals on three different Sunday evenings for 100-150 individuals who are currently staying in the Ronald McDonald House. We would like to this be a regular outreach and one that people can get involved in. If you have any interest in being a part of this outreach please contact: Katie Kuhn by email: kweininger@gmail.com or Phone: 419-9343447, with your name and phone number. We are currently establishing a database of individuals who are interested in serving so we can rotate through volunteers. We do not need a large number for each meal prepared and served but we would like anyone that wants to be involved to have that opportunity. Really excited to see what God has in store for this outreach and if you have any questions please ask! Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes need to be at the church by November 16. In its history, Operation Christmas Child has reached more than 100 million children in over 130 countries. Many of these children have never received any sort of personalized gift like this in their whole life. In spite of that, videos often show them sharing with one another! Besides the “Christmas package”, they will have opportunity to learn about the Christ of Christmas through your generosity. If you pay for shipping ($7) and print your labels online (www.samaritanspurse.org), your boxes will be tracked and reported as to where they arrive. Thank You Consecration Sunday Update I would like to thank Ryan Penny and all the others that volunteered to cover for me during my recovery from my foot injury. Thank you also to Pastor Ed for his visits and prayers. Thanks for all those who visited, called, sent cards and food. All the prayers and support was appreciated! Pledge cards for last year = 125 Pledge card for this year = 92 Amount pledged last year = $354,668 Amount pledged this year = $281,289 My thanks to all, Difference = $73,279 Sue Schrader 31 pledge cards not turned in to date If those 31 cards were turned in with the same pledge as last year, it would total $63,310. DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS We would still be short approximately $10,000 The Worship Committee invites “all hands on deck” to prepare the building for the upcoming Christmas season. On Sunday, November 23, at about noon, lunch will be offered in the fellowship hall, followed by the volunteers moving to various areas of the facility to decorate. A great time of fellowship is had by all! 26 cards increased their giving totaling $22,028 17 cards decreased their giving totaling $17,932 6 new pledges were made this year totaling $9,720 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:1 November 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 Share Faith pt. 3 Trustees 9 10 Share Faith pt. 4 SPPR 4 11 wedding 5 6 7 8 Youth Bells Choir Hospital Retirees Luncheon Men’s Retreat “I Still Do” Marriage Conference 12 Youth 13 14 15 Mosaic Bells Choir Red Cross Training 16 17 Country Gospel Concert 6 Red Cross 23 24 25 26 Decorate Church Martha Circle Deborah Youth Bells Choir 30 Rehearsal dinner 18 19 Youth Bells Choir Worship Priscilla Kitchen/f.h. reserved Mosaic 20 UMW Installation & Memorial Service 21 22 28 29 Mosaic 27 Thanksgiving Meal Kids ministry November 30 November 16 November 2 November 23 November 9 We are called to do the right thing! Sometimes doing the right thing isn't easy and sometimes it's hard to know what the right thing is. Thankfully, we have God's Word to show us the right path to take and we have great examples in the Bible of what doing the right thing looks like! This month we will be looking at some of those examples. Please continue to ask for your child's take home sheet each week - They will have activities and discussion points for your family. Remember - you are the primary teacher and disciple maker for your children. 1/168 at church can't begin to do what you can do at home. God designed you for this purpose - we are here to help! Nov 5 - Regular Schedule Nov 12 - Regular Schedule Nov. 19 - Regular Schedule Nov. 26 - Regular Schedule Nov. 27 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING! In November we will be taking a look at what the Bible has to say about sex. It's no shock that our culture is saturated in sexual images, ideas and misconceptions. What many people don't understand is that the Bible has a lot to say about sex as well. We are going to take a few weeks to explore God's design for males/females, the family and sexual relationships. We will talk very openly about sex at an appropriate level for the kids. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me 937-9350290- I would be happy to talk with you. -Michele The series will be 3-4 weeks in length starting November 5th. Don't miss this year's Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 14th during a combined service at 10am. A Luncheon will take place in the fellowship hall immediately following the pageant - we encourage you to come and enjoy the pageant and stay for lunch and fellowship afterward! This year's pageant is being written in house and will feature several familiar characters. Youth from toddlers to high school students will be participating. Our hope is that the pageant will fill your heart with the truth and love of Christ this Christmas season. You will hear some great music, laugh, participate and hopefully reconnect with the simple truths of Christmas. This is a great time to invite family and friends as the pageant will include a full presentation of the Gospel. Thanks to congregation and the "Angels" for donations and making the Ring-of-Lights outreach a success! Thanks to all who worked the Fall Fest Outreach, it was a huge success! Planning Ahead.... There is a great line-up for Winter Jam again this year! We would love to have as many folks from First Church go as possible! It's a great day of fun fellowship and great music! Save the date! JANUARY 17 10 Bands 10 Buck$ 12th Annual Thanksgiving Day Love Dinner Noon - 5:30 Please sign up at the back of the sanctuary for food donations and to volunteer Save the date….. Unity Service Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 14 10:00 a.m. Bob Newkirk Nov 1 Kay Lockwood Nov 2 Harold McGillivray Nov 4 David Christian Nov 6 Miriam Lescaleet Nov 7 Ann Jerviss Nov 8 Greg Knight Nov 8 Chet Kurtz Nov 8 Dick Kelley Nov 9 Christi Dodds Nov 10 Betty Sargeant Nov 10 Dara Wren Nov 12 Tim Smith Nov 13 Clayton Hursh Nov 13 Gloria Martin Nov 14 Pam Stevens Nov 14 Shirley Hartlieb Nov 14 Bev Goff Nov 17 Ashley Reser Nov 18 Kim Wall Nov 20 Karen Smith Nov 22 Rita Maier Nov 22 Jim Ball Nov 23 Bailey Penhorwood Nov 24 Bill Troth Nov 28 Doug Lamb Nov 29 Country Gospel Concert on Sunday November 16 at 6:00 p.m.- proceeds to raise funds for Warm Clothes for Kids
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