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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:
[email protected] 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