From: South Charleston United Methodist Church
P O Box G
South Charleston, Ohio 45368
TO:
APRIL 2017
“GROWING DISCIPLES TO SERVE CHRIST”
Corner of Church and Jamestown Streets
SCHEDULE
Sundays Worship: 9:30 AM
Children’s Sunday School following children’s message -Open for all Children
Youth & Adults Sunday School following fellowship time
CONTINUE TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER…..
Individual names omitted for privacy. Our Nation, and all our shut-ins. Also, remember those who are away serving our country.
Our list of Volunteers
acolytes
April 2 – Gracey Ferguson & Lydia Kaverman
april 9 – Layla & Kabria Roach
april 16 – Blayne Ferguson & Kelton Keehner
april 23 - Marc Wenner & Eli Goodbar
APRIL 30 - Adrienna & Helena Roach
Altar Flowers
April 2 – Anonymous
april 9 – Peters
april 16 – Enid Saunders
april 23 - UMW
APRIL 30 - Owens
COMMUNION STEWARD
APRIL – Nancy Peters
USHERS & GREETERS FOR MARCH
USHERS – Paul & Andrew Lyons
GREETERS – Linda Cheney & Jeri Severt
NURSERY WILL BE OPEN AND UNSUPERVISED
SAVE THE DATES
Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday – 8:30 AM Prayer Group
Every Tuesday - 9:30 AM Bible Study
Every Wednesday in April – 9:30 AM Sewing Group (except April 26th)
Every Wednesday - 5:30 PM Bell Choir
Every Wednesday - 6:00 PM Junior Choir
Every Wednesday - 6:30 PM Chancel Choir
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sun, April 2nd – Communion Sunday
Wed, April 5th – 7:30 PM Ad Council Meeting
Sunday, April 9th – Palm Sunday & Last day for Easter Treats for College Students
Wed, April 12th – by 10:00 AM Kairos Cookies
Thursday, April 13th – Maundy Thursday – Communion Elements Available from
3-6:00 PM
Friday, April 14th – 7:00 PM Good Friday Service
Sunday, April 16th – 6:30 AM Easter Sunrise Service at Presbyterian Church, Worship at 9:30 AM, Easter Egg Hunt for the children after worship
Monday, April 17th – Our Church Preparing Dinner for IHN
Saturday, April 22nd – 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Spring Cleaning Sale
Sunday, April 23rd – UMW Sunday
Wed, April 26th – 11:30 AM Gold Club at The Meadows
Thurs, April 27th – by 10:00 AM Kairos Cookies
Sunday, April 30th – Last Day for Treats for Southeastern Staff
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
Please welcome a son born to Leesa and Joe Keehner. Easten Michael was born March 14th weighing 9 lbs. and 22 ½ inches long. His paternal grandparents are Bob & Helena Keehner. Maternal grandparents are Debbie Alexander and the later Mike Alexander from Yellow Springs.
Dillon and Brittany Oney of Jamestown are the proud parents of Liam Isaiah Oney, born Thursday, March 2, 2017. He weighed in at 9 lb. 3 oz. Paternal grandparents are Mike and Teri Oney of Jeffersonville. Paternal great-grandparents are Robin and Doris Rea of South Charleston. Maternal grandparents are Brett and Tammy Kilner of Jamestown. Maternal great-grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Shaw of Waynesville.
We extend a warm welcome to our newest Church Members:
Lois Artis
Mike Ciriegio
Robert Webb
Teresa Webb
May God richly bless you as you service with us to make disciples for Jesus.
FROM THE PASTORS DESK
Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Luke 24:5-6
We Are Easter People! We celebrate this every Sunday. But what does it really mean? I believe that it means that we are a people who celebrate a Risen Savior, and in so doing are people of great hope and joy. And then I have to ask myself, “Am I an Easter person?” Does my faith reflect Christ’s risen spirit in me? How about it? Try to step outside yourself and ask the same question, “Are you an Easter person?”
As I am writing this, I am preparing a message for Sunday about a man who was blind from birth, and with one act of power and compassion received his sight from Jesus. Can you imagine the joy in this man’s being? Amazing……overwhelming; words seem inadequate to describe the joy he certainly experienced that day. I believe, even before the resurrection, he became an Easter person, for the chains were broken and he was set free and his joy could not be contained.
But then there were the Pharisees who saw the blind healed and instead of celebrating with him, turned their focus on Jesus. “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” They were so blinded by tradition and law, that they became blind to the miracle of God right before their eyes. They were the antithesis of Easter people. No joy, just judgment. Sad, sad people.
Kathy and I recently went to the movie theatre to see Beauty and the Beast. It was a story our daughter had grown up on, and we could sing along with many of the songs. We loved it! We loved the cinematography, the soaring music, the solid acting, and the timeless story. I read that there were some who boycotted the same film after seeing it, because one character was portrayed as being gay. A whole film, blown off because about two minutes of the film had a gay character. Wow! I’m glad I saw the joy, the love filled message of finding the beauty in everyone. In this case, I am so glad Jesus gave me Easter eyes.
As we celebrate Easter Sunday in a couple of weeks, I think it is a good time to ask ourselves, “Am I an Easter person or more of a Pharisee?” Do you stand in judgment and shake your head at everything that doesn’t fit your orthodoxy, your set of rules? Or is your joy….uncontainable? Do you see hope in the world and believe that Jesus still opens the eyes of the blind and sets people free?
Regardless whether you are an Easter person or not, I would invite you to come each Sunday (and especially Easter Sunday), to meet the greatest Easter person the world has ever known……come meet Jesus, the RISEN SAVIOR……..and have your heart set free.
Celebrating with you,
Pastor Jeff
2017 Holy Week Services
Sunday, April 9, 2017 9:30 am Palm Sunday
Thursday, April 13, 2017 3 to 6 pm Maundy Thursday
Communion elements will be available in the sanctuary.
Friday, April 14, 2017 7:00 pm Community Good Friday service at
the United Methodist Church.
Sunday, April 16, 2017 6:30 am Community Easter Sunrise service
at the Presbyterian Church.
9:30 am Easter worship service.
Easter Egg Hunt for the children after the Worship service.
EASTER EGG HUNT
There will be an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday following the church service for all children.
Donations of filled plastic eggs are being accepted. Please give eggs to Annie Toops, Jaime Keehner or Becky Boysel.
LENTON MISSION GIVING
The Administrative Council has designated the Lenten Coin Folder offering to go into the Apportionment Fund. Your donations to this offering are greatly appreciated.
EASTER OFFERING
The Administrative Council has designated the Easter offering will go to the Manna Food Pantry this year. An envelope is enclosed with this newsletter for your convenience. Your donations to this offering are greatly appreciated.
SPRING CLEANING SALE
A variety of items have been gathered throughout the church that are either not used or needed by the church. On Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12 noon, there will be a Spring Cleaning Sale.
A list of the items for sale and the prices for the items will be available on Sunday, April 2nd on the center table in the sanctuary. The sale is open to anyone in our congregation. This sale will be done on a first come, first serve basis and a lottery system will be done in the case of multiple people wanting a specific item.
The terms of this Spring Cleaning sale are the following:
· All items are “AS IS”.
· All sales are “FINAL”.
· All items sold are to be removed from the church at the time of the sale.
The proceeds from this sale will be given to the Trustee’s Checking account.
We hope that you will come and find some treasures that you will want to purchase to help us spring clean the church. We thank you in advance for your participation in this sale.
Administrative Council
RECOGNIZING GRADUATES
The Worship Committee wishes to acknowledge graduates from either high school, college or any advanced educational institution. If you have a family member or friend that will be graduating this year, please submit the following information:
1. The student’s name
2. Name of the school from which they are graduating
3. If graduating from high school, what are their future plans?
4. If graduating from college, what is their major?
5. Your name
6. Their relationship to you
We will acknowledge their accomplishments in the newsletter and in the bulletin in May. Please have this information to the church office by Friday, April 21, 2017. We appreciate your help with this recognition of these student’s accomplishments.
Worship Committee
MANNA FOOD PANTRY
The food item for April is Peanut Butter & Jelly. There is a box in the Narthex by the Missionary display that you can drop off your donations. Thank you!
UMW SUNDAY
April 23rdwill be the United Methodist Women’s Sunday.We have a special Sunday planned which will center around the gift of music in our church.We will be acknowledging people in our congregation who keep music alive.There will be a special piano and organ duet along with a sermon centered around hymns written by women of the church.We trust this will be a wonderful celebration of Music in the church.We invite everyone to come and enjoy this day of recognition of our music ministry.
“Grant that what we sing with our lips we believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we practice in our lives.”Excerpt from UMH #69
WOMEN AND CHILDREN LUNCHEON
We have a wonderful day planned for our annualCelebration of Women and Children Luncheon.It will be held on Sunday, May 7th@ 2:00p.m.We are inviting all women and children to attend.“Keep Me Spinning”is the title,with the pinwheel as our inspiration, and the theme revolving around allowing the breath of the Holy Spirit upon our lives.It will be a lite lunch and we will have food that the kids will enjoy.We have a word game and a craft for all the adults and kids to work on together.The Covenant Presbyterian Adult Bell Choir will entertain us and show the kids what type of bells they play, explaining the difference between their bells and our children’s bells.We are excited about this day and hope all of you mark it on your calendars to attend.We have tried to make this exciting for the kids, both male and female, to join us and have some fun.If you plan on attending, please say something to Jeri Severt, Teresa Webb, or Kathy Smalley as we are trying to get a count on the food that will be needed.See you on May 7th!!
UMW BAKE SALE
Calling all bakers and sweet makers!The United Methodist Women are asking for your help with their annual bake sale around Mother’s Day.It is scheduled for May 6that Shoemakers.It begins at 9:00 a.m. and stays open until everything is gone.We use this as a fund raiser to help mission projects.Your help is greatly needed and appreciated.Look in your recipes and find a scrumptious treat to make that will call people to our bake sale.You have always been faithful in the past, so mark your calendars for May 6thand whip up something delicious to sell.Thanks for your support!
COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
We’d like to send Easter Treats to our current college students. The names I have so far are Brandon and Cami McNeil, Matt and Mallory Toops, Thorne Stoops and Ethan Waymire. If you have a child in college, or know of one from our church, please let Linda Cheney (462-8541) know their name, address and which college they are attending. If you would like to donate treats or send cards, please have your donations to the church by April 9. The packages will be mailed on April 10
MISSION NEWS
BOX TOPS AND LABELS FOR EDUCATION
Thank you for faithfully bringing in box tops and labels for Education! Miami View benefits from the box tops and Wesley Education Center is supported with the labels. Please note: Campbell’s is phasing out the labels program. Only UPC’s identified as Labels for Education are now accepted.
READING PROGRAM
The United Methodist Women Reading Program encourages members to think critically about current issues through an annual selection of member-reviewed books. It offers an excellent opportunity to deepen your spirituality and to broaden your understanding of our mission work.
Member donated books and book lists are available in Enid’s classroom or on the UMW page at http://www.southcharlestonumc.org/united-methodist-women/ .
MISSION FAMILY
The latest newsletter from the Givens is posted on the narthex bulletin board. Prayer requests and praises are noted. In addition to prayers, your gifts to help with our church’s monthly financial commitment are appreciated.
Learn more by reading past newsletters in the notebook on the narthex mission shelf.
INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK
Your donations of hygiene supplies are very helpful for the clients at the family shelter. In addition, baby supplies and diapers are always needed. An easy way to support financially, is to collect quarters in pill bottles to support the maintenance of the family shelter and matching funds for grants. (note: This money does not go for prescriptions.)
Our church is preparing and serving dinner on Monday, April 17th. Experience the blessing of donating money, preparing food, and/or serving the dinner to those less fortunate. A sign up list will be on the sanctuary table.