Ottawa Kansas First United Methodist Church Newsletter Ottawa FUMC 203 E. 4th Ottawa, KS 66067 September/October, 2014 Phone: 785-242-1419 Web: ottawafumc.org Email: [email protected] Newsletter: Jane Morabito Dee Anne Harnden To sponsor this newsletter, which is an outreach ministry of FUMC, you may place your donation in the offering and designate “Newsletter”, or you can arrange sponsorship with the church office. The cost per mailing is $50 to $60 (extra for color print). We thank you in advance for your generosity. To receive a newsletter, call the office at 785-242-1419. If you have questions, corrections or additions, call Jane Morabito 785-242-1703/[email protected]. Information can also be left at the church office. Newsletters are sent Blood at Drive Sue Petersen bi-monthly months). Deadline the next newsletter is October 24, 2014. We had a(every very two successful blood drivefor December 5th. Community Blood Center obtained 32 units of blood, with a goal of 24 units 30% more than expected. Thank you, thank you to all who Sunday Morning Services: Adult Sunday School – 9:00 a.m. registered! Not only are we helping our local hospitals, we are also helping our troops, as Community Bl Traditional Service – 10:00 a.m. This newsletter is sponsored by the Oxford Service Forum Sunday School Class. We thank Children & Youth Sunday School – 10:30 a.m. st Fellowship in 1 Cup – 11:00 a.m. them so much for their generosity. Praise Service – 11:15 a.m. ood Center is involved in shipping blood over This newsletter is sponsored by the Ox Radio Broadcast: KOFO, 1220 on your AM radio dial. Pastor JC Kelley Mission: “To teach Christians how to live like Jesus in today’s world”. Prayer Chain Information If you need prayer or would like to have someone put on the prayer chain please contact: Cheryl Allen, 785-2429987, [email protected] or Judy Lanning, 785-242-7643, [email protected] JC Kelley ne of the most frequently asked questions, by most people, is “How do you like the weather?” If you’re talking to someone from another part of the country you’d say, “How’s the weather down in Texas?” Most of us gripe, whine and complain about the weather. It’s too hot or too cold and rarely just right. One lesson I have learned in life is no matter how much I may or may not like the current weather I can’t do ONE THING TO CHANGE IT! O The weather is like many things we face in life. We can’t change them. We get older. Can’t do anything to turn the clock back. Something bad happens in our life. We can’t do anything to turn the clock back. We really blow it by saying or doing something we shouldn’t have. We can’t do anything to put those words back into our mouth. This is the first part of the Serenity Prayer. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” The next sentence is, God grant me . . .”The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is where God comes in. God doesn’t promise us a rose garden. Nor does He promise that life will always be sunny. When life doesn’t happen the way we think it should God says, “Hey, JC. Do you want me to help you know where to go from here?” When Israel was forced to live in Babylon after their home had been destroyed and their temple burned they wanted to go home. They thought if they would just repent God would immediately intervene. This is Jeremiah’s message from God. + 4 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” 10 This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. When things can’t be changed you have to accept it and ask God to help you know what to do in the meantime. JC Chancel Choir Cathy Sutton Calling all music lovers! Chancel Choir will start rehearsals on September 4th!! 7:00 pm. in the Parlor. Roseberry House/FRETSA House Mabel Gilliland Foundation: All three of our scholarship recipients (Allison Howard, Stephanie Brands and Alyssa Sharp) have turned in class schedules so payment of the first semester has been sent to their chosen schools. When we receive their grades (recipients must maintain a 2.9 grade point average) and their second semester schedule, the second half will be sent. The committee was polled and unanimously voted to send $500 to Bethany Chapel Baptist Church for help in rebuilding. The money comes from unrestricted funds. Next meeting for the Foundation Committee is Sept. 24, 7 p.m. FRETSA: As usual, both FRETSA homes are occupied, and the waiting list continues to grow. Our budget has been stretched very thin with the summer heat, and we want to remind everyone that we will have another "FRETSA Mission Sunday" coming up September 14. There will be an offering envelope in the bulletin just like last time, and all donations will go toward utilities and ongoing needs of the two homes. While we appreciate all items which are donated and the volunteer help, there is a great need for just cold, hard cash in order to keep the program going as the Roseberrys wanted it to. Thanks go to so many for helping FRETSA with repairs and work around the two homes...Ken and Sue Peterson, Rick and Chris Johnson, have all worked as needed. Rick and Chris have joined the FRETSA Board of Directors, and we are hoping that more people will step up and join us in this effort. Another new FRETSA member is Pastor Craig Roberson, from First Christian Church. We welcome him aboard, and he will help Pastor David and Jake Howard with home visits and teaching budgeting to the residents, as well as providing pastoral care as needed. As always, if you have unwanted items, call me to see if there is a need at FRETSA. Sometimes extra things can be sent along with the outgoing family to help them get started in their new housing, so the need continues! Finance Jim Lancaster Where we stand: $154,060 $149,722 Income Expenses $4,338 Net Income We are sending $1,000 to Conference for Apportionments, leaving us still short $6,780 of our goal to date. UMW News Zondra Waymire Greeters for September: Friendship Circle Greeters for October: Dorcas-Outreach Circle Five Rivers District Fall Meeting, Iola Wesley UMC, Iola, KS, is scheduled for September 6. Registration deadline is August 29. The meeting time is 8:30 a.m. till noon. There is a $5.00 fee, which may be paid to Kay Wilburn. October 1: Registration deadline for Annual Celebration. Registration form can be found in the Signal. October 17 – 18: Great Plains Conference UMW Annual Meeting & Celebration, St. Paul UMC, Lincoln, Nebraska November 1: Registration deadline for Mini Mission U November 7 – 8: Mini Mission u at Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS Bishop Round-up Kits School Kit – Value $11.00  2 pair blunt scissors (rounded tip only – no plastic scissors, please)  3 pads of paper (spiral or top bound pads, 150 sheets or less of loose leaf can be substituted for 1 pad. Combinations of spiral, top bound, side bound or loose leaf are acceptable)  1 hand held pencil sharpener (must be at least one inch long, please remove from packaging  1 - 3 centimeter ruler (hard or flexible, cartoon characters are acceptable, no advertisements please)  6 unsharpened pencils (no advertisements, religious, patriotic, military or camouflage symbols please, cartoon characters are acceptable)  1 – 2 inch or larger size eraser (no advertisements, religious, patriotic, military or camouflage symbols please, cartoon characters are acceptable)  1 – 24 count box of crayons (only 24 count boxes, please) NOTE: Anyone interested in joining a circle!!! Please tell one of our greeters and we will help you find the one that suits your needs! Pilots Sunday School Class Ruth Chapman The Pilots Sunday School class will be studying “Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?” by Philip Yancey. The study will begin on September 7, in the Parlor at 9:00 a.m. All who are interested in this topic are invited. WANTED Someone to recruit driver(s) for our church members residing at Vintage Park. This person would recruit a different driver(s) for each Sunday of the month. If you can help, please contact Rhonda at the Church Office or Joyce Wasmund at Vintage Park. 1st Annual Fall Rummage Sale Frank Hamilton Kay Wilburn Ottawa FUMC will be holding its first Fall Rummage Sale on Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The United Methodist Women will be selling breads, muffins, coffee and juice during the morning hours and hot dogs and nachos during lunch. We would be glad to accept any used items that you no longer need or use as long as they are in good working condition as well as clean, usable clothing. Items accepted are: Furniture, dishes, kitchen appliances, tools, lawn care items, home decor, seasonal items, clothing, shoes, bicycles, toys, linens, etc. You may bring your items to the church large dining room and leave them either on the stage or put them in the large closet at the back of the hall. If you have anything you need help getting to the church, please call the church office at 242-1419 and we'll send help asap. We have several volunteers already but are in need of your help. Please sign up for a time to work on the signup sheet in 1st Cup. We need help with preparations and we also need help the days of the sale. The proceeds of the sale are earmarked for maintaining our church. Please donate your items and service to help make this a successful event. Any remaining items will be donated to Hope House, Roseberry House, or Goodwill. Interested in Becoming a Foster Parent? TIPS-MAPP Information Meeting Dawn Cubbison On Thursday, September 25th at 6 p.m.,TIPS-MAPP will answer questions and help ease concerns about requirements and expectations in becoming foster and/or adoptive parents. These classes are required by the state of Kansas. Classes will be held at the KVC Ottawa office, which is located at 416 S Main Suite 2 & 3. Please contact Dawn Cubbison at 785-242-8965 or [email protected] to register. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, but cannot make this date, please call to make alternate arrangements. KVC Kansas Foster Care 416 S Main, Suite 2 & 3 785-242-8965 [email protected] Price Chopper Cards Available We are now offering Price Chopper cards that earn the church 5%. See Marna Riddle or Ronda Stiefel if you would like to purchase one. Hands of Glory Update Carolyn Elder Our group has been busy lately and we have places on our schedule over the next few months. You can check us out at www.handsofglory.org to see pictures, our calendar and more. Most recently we went to Lyons UMC in Lyons, Kansas to lead worship at Pastor Brenda Davids’ ordination celebration and it was an awesome service followed by a wonderful potluck and fellowship time with their church family! On August 9 we presented a benefit concert for Hope House at the Ottawa Municipal Auditorium. There was a great crowd in attendance and everyone was very generous, donating 262 pounds of canned goods and a free will offering totaling $600.00, all given to Hope House to further their ministry to those in need in our community. On August 13 a few of our group traveled to the Alta Vista Simpson United Methodist Church in Alta Vista, Kansas to share a program at their Family Night event to honor local public school teachers and administrators. Our program was followed by an ice cream social – absolutely delicious! We are always blessed by the support of the church families of all of our group members (we have members that attend other churches). God continues to lead us out to share our ministry for Him. Note the Dates September 14 - Fretsa Sunday - This is a special offering over and above your general giving. September 21 – We will have a representative of Franklin County Big Brother Big Sister Program. They are introducing a faith based program now for kids to connect with a family to attend church with. There will be a table set up in First Cup for questions and answers on how to become a Big Brother or Big Sister with a child from Franklin County. This is a wonderful way to help with a much needed mission right here in our own backyard. Best Choice Labels Muriel Rayson Saving labels may not seem like a lot of work but it certainly can make a difference! FUMC has been collecting and sending labels to the McCurdy School in New Mexico and recently received a thank you note from McCurdy Ministries. It was reported in McCurdy Ministries Message that they have over 1,600,000 labels which will be used to order a new 2015 seven passenger van. McCurdy Ministries is a non-profit organization. The McCurdy School was started in 1912 with four students, at that time the only school of any kind in the Espanola Valley. The school originally worked with United Bretheren, then Evangelical United Bretheren and since 1968 the United Methodist Churches in northern New Mexico. For more information on eligible labels and box tops, see www.labelsforeducation.com and www.boxtops4education.com. Save the Date Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. Thursdays 5:30 p.m. Doughnuts & Devotions Body Gospel Exercise September 4 September 6 September 7 September 14 September 21 Chancel Choir rehearsals start Five Rivers District Fall Meeting Pilots Sunday School study starts Fretsa Sunday special offering Big Brothers Big Sisters representative October 3 & 4 October 17 & 18 Fall Rummage Sale Great Plains Conference UMW Annual Meeting First United Methodist Church 203 E. 4th Ottawa, KS 66067 Email: [email protected] RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Time Sensitive Material Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID OTTAWA, KS PERMIT NO 253