1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

Neal Avenue United Methodist Church
March 2015
MESSENGER
How is your Lenten Journey? Did you give something up? Maybe you decided to take up something new or different to change your habits. I pray that
your journey is going well as you grow deeper in relationship with God.
Change, any change, is never easy. You and I know that it oh so easy to revert back to what we are comfortable with. Have you been tempted?
We are very early into our Lenten journey this year so things may be going
well for you. If so I rejoice with you and if not I pray for you. Regardless of
where things are now know that the journey continues and temptations
will arise to get you off track. Jesus was tempted:
Mission Statement
L.O.V.E. G.O.D.
Lead Others to spiritual
Victory; to Encourage,
to Give of Ourselves
and Demonstrate
the love of Jesus
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and
forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are
the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures
say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded,
“The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a
very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,”
he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away, and angels
came and took care of Jesus.
Matthew 4:1-11
Temptation came to Jesus in his weakest moment of fasting. Look how Jesus responds. With each temptation
offered to him he responds with the Word of God. Even when scripture is used as a part of the temptation he
is able to respond with scripture. So when temptation comes your way during this season, and it will, look to
God's word to get you through. Spend time in the Word. Seek out the Word for your day and your situation.
Lord, as I read the Psalms
let me hear you singing
As I read your words,
let me hear you speaking.
As I reflect on each page,
let me see your image.
And as I seek to put your precepts into practice,
let my heart be filled with joy. AMEN Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554)
Blessings,
Shawn
Worship Schedule
March 1 ~ Second Sunday in Lent
Food Pantry/Missions Sunday
Liturgist: Jess Willard
Children’s Sermon: Randy Spiker
Anthem: “How Beautiful”
Scriptures: Psalm 22:23-31, Genesis 17:1-7,
Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38
Message: “What Are We Giving Up?”
Holy Communion at the rail
March 8 ~ Third Sunday in Lent
Daylight Savings Time Begins!
Liturgist: Tracey Wolfle
Prelude: “A s the Deer” handbells
Children’s Sermon: Doug Stout
Offertory: “How Great Thou A rt” handbells
Anthem: “I W ill Glory in the Cross”
Scriptures: Psalm 19, Exodus 20:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22
Message: “House or Market Place”
March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29
During the five (5) Sundays in
March your donations of groceries
and money will be collected in
support of OPERATION FEED.
Cash is always the priority item to support
Operation Feed. Checks should be made out to:
“Neal Avenue United Methodist Church” and in
the Memo Line specify, “Operation Feed”.
Please consider these items first when donating
this year: Canned Meats/Stews, Spaghetti Sauce,
Pancake mix & Syrup, Peanut Butter, Packs of
Diapers, Canned Fruit.
(please remember to check expiration dates!)
Thank you for your support of this ministry month
after month and year after year! God bless.
March 15 ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent
Liturgist: Don Urban
Children’s Sermon: Brenda Kreider
Anthem: “A Cross Medley”
Scriptures: Psalm 107:1-3 & 17-22, Numbers 21:4-9, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:14-21
Message: “Lifted Up”
March 22 ~ Fifth Sunday in Lent
Liturgist: Pat Paul
Children’s Sermon: Lea Ann Morris
Anthem: “Come to the Cross”
Scriptures: Psalm 51:1-12, Jeremiah 31:3134, Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33
Message: “The Hour Has Come”
March 29 ~ Palm Sunday
Liturgist: Randy Spiker
Children’s Sermon: Pastor Shawn
Anthem: “The Psalms” Greg Huffman, solo
Scriptures: (to be announced)
Message: (to be announced)
Remember...turn your
clocks ahead one hour
before bedtime on
Saturday, March 7!
Bible Studies
Women’s Study
“Esther” Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
Led by Lori Graham.
Lenten Study
Led by Rob Embrey on Mondays at 7 p.m.
through Lent. “Forgiveness-A Lenten Study”
by Marjorie J. Thompson.
Memorial Giving
With Gratitude
Thank you for supporting the Superbowl Sub sales. $270 was raised to
give to Missions. Also, a special
thank you to the Union Street Duchess
for the donation of the delish sub buns.
George Cook
A gift was made to the Elevator Fund
in loving memory of: Josephine Comisford
by Bill Comisford
A gift was made to the Memorial Fund
in loving memory of: Mary Jane Cornwell
by Chancel Choir
Dear Members of NAUMC,
Please accept this sincere thank you
for your generous support of the Food
Pantry Network. Your donation of
$1,172.91 is very much appreciated.
Charles S. Moore
Ex. Dir. LCFPN
Young At Heart
Meets at Noon on March 9
IHOP in Heath
New Address
Neal Avenue Christian Women
Jim & Jackie Gerber
294 Prado St.
Apalachicola, FL 32320
Reorganizational Meeting
Thursday, March 12 at 3 p.m.
Men’s Hot Air & Coffee Club
Saturday, March 14 at 8 am for breakfast!
ERT Training
Saturday, March 21
Neal Avenue Fellowship Hall
8 a.m.—4 p.m.
8
God saved you by his grace when you
believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it
is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a
reward for the good things we have done, so
none of us can boast about it.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Meetings:
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Trustees * Monday, Mar ch 2 at 7 p.m.
Witness/Outreach & Missions *
Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m.
Finance * Tuesday, Mar ch 10 at 6 p.m.
Ad Council * Tuesday, Mar ch 10 at 7 p.m.
SPRC * Monday, Mar ch 16 at 7 p.m.
Nurture * Tuesday, Mar ch 17 at 6 p.m.
Easter
Sunday, April 5
Ordering deadline is
Sunday, March 15
# _____ LILIES (6”)
$ 7.75 each
Total: $ _______
Annual Easter Egg Hunt
GIVEN BY:
_________________________________________
Saturday, April 4 at 11 a.m.
Levin Park
For kids ages
Phone number:
_______________________________________
We are taking donations of candy to
fill the eggs, please leave them in the
back of the sanctuary.
In memory of :
_______________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
In honor of :
________________________________________
________________________________________
Vacation
Bible
School
2015
________________________________________
Will you take your Lily? ______ YES _____ NO
Spring arrives
March 20!
June 14-18
Hometown Nazareth
We need gift card donations to build the
Market Place, Mary’s House and the main
sanctuary display. Please give gift cards to
Jennifer Howe, Sherrie Poling, drop them in
the offering plate or the library drop box
(remember to mark VBS on your gift).
Thank You.
If you would like to assist with this years
VBS please see Jennifer or Sherrie!
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2
3
4
5
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7
8
9
10
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12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Adam Sumner, Andrew Sumner
Michael Thompson
Church Leadership
Shantac Jones
Young At Heart
Isabela Ellis, Tobias Newell
Licking County Jail Ministry
Kristin Bush, Tammy Geer
Summer Bentley, Susie Bowen, Bill Yost
Sara Potenza
Dick Hayden, Griffin Jones, Joey Mahan,
Brendon Sessor
Staff Parish Relations Committee
John Goldsmith, Mary Kreager
Chancel Choir
Katlin Lynch, Jim Shriner, Tracey Wolfle
Sue Spiker
Gary Lawrence
Laura Atherton, Gavin Richards
Last Call Outreach Ministry
Mildred Evans
Craig Cairns, Marguerite Wells
AJ Kaplar, JR Wait
Karen Cairns, Evelyn Granger
Missions
Robert Howe
Hailey Davis
Kaitlyn Bush
Dayle Huffman, Serena Peck
Sara Schorger, Cynthia Yost
Sue Kreager, Jeff Offenbaker, Ethel Yost
Amanda Hodges
Numbers 3 & 4
Numbers 5 & 6
Numbers 7 & 8
Numbers 9 & 10
Numbers 11 & 12
Numbers 13 & 14
Numbers 15 & 16
Numbers 17 & 18
Numbers 19 & 20
Numbers 21 & 22
Numbers 23 & 24
Luke 16
Luke 17
Luke 18
Luke 19
Luke 20
Luke 21
Luke 22
Luke 23
Luke 24
John 1
John 2
Numbers 25 & 26
Numbers 27 & 28
Numbers 29 & 30
Numbers 31 & 32
Numbers 33 & 34
Numbers 35 & 36
Deuteronomy 1 & 2
Deuteronomy 3 & 4
Deuteronomy 5 & 6
Deuteronomy 7 & 8
Deuteronomy 9 & 10
Deuteronomy 11 & 12
Deuteronomy 13 & 14
Deuteronomy 15 & 16
Deuteronomy 17 & 18
Deuteronomy 19 & 20
Deuteronomy 21 & 22
Deuteronomy 23 & 24
Deuteronomy 25 & 26
Deuteronomy 27 & 28
John 3
John 4
John 5
John 6
John 7
John 8
John 9
John 10
John 11
John 12
John 13
John 14
John 15
John 16
John 17
John 18
John 19
John 20
John 21
Acts 1
Happy Anniversary
Chris & Diane Frye
March 4
Charles & Judi Hollar
March 17
David & Dixie Coventry
March 6
Eugene & Dorothy Layton
March 23
Harold & Shirley Goodin
March 13
Ernie & Ethel Yost
March 24
Tom & Nancy Gall
March 16
John & Trisha Largent
March 28
Attendance
Date
2/01
2/09
2/15
2/18
2/22
Date
2/01
2/09
2/15
2/22
Worship
71
144
64
40
92
SS
54
68
38
na
46
Offering
$ 3,292.66
7,092.96
5,896.18
3,487.86
Jr Church
5
10
0
na
6
Operating
YTD
$ 21,175.44
28,268.40
34,164.58
37,652.44
Elevator/Promissory Note
Date Income
2/01 $ 25.00
2/09
90.00
2/15
50.00
2/22
-0Promissory note balance as of 2/22: $ 52,008.49
Date
2/08
Church Improvements
Income
$102.05 (from Fellowship Luncheon)
Boiler Fund
We are taking gifts for the boiler fund as our boiler
is very old and not efficient. It will need replaced
and will take some time to save for this need.
Thank you for your consideration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Income ~
Human Relations Sunday(1/18): $ 45.00
Total Sub Sales: $ 270.00
February Fellowship Luncheon: $ 204.10
half to operating ($102.05 included in 2/08 offering amount)
and half to short term church improvement.
Special Offerings in March
All month ~ Lenten
15th ~ One Great Hour of Sharing
29th ~ Children’s UM 5 on the 5th
Office will be Closed
The office will be closed Good Friday, April 3 and
Friday, April 10 (in observance of “Easter Monday”).
Thank You.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
March
Sunday
Monday
1 2nd Sunday in Lent
Missions/Food
Pantry Sunday
Operation Feed
2
7 pm Trustees
8 3rd Sunday in Lent
Operation Feed
15 4th Sunday in Lent
Operation Feed
12 pm Goodin,
FH
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
3
4
5
6 pm Women’s
Bible Study
6
7
9
12 pm Young At
Heart, IHOP
6 pm Witness/
Outreach
&Missions Mtg.
7 pm Lenten
Bible Study
10
6 pm Finance
11
12
3 pm NACW
Mtg., Lounge
13
14
8 am Men’s Hot
Air & Coffee
Club, FH
16
7 pm SPRC
17
6 pm Nurture
Mtg.
18
19
6 pm Women’s
Bible Study
20
April Messenger
Deadline
21
8 am ERT
Training, FH
27
28
7 pm Lenten
Bible Study
7 pm Lenten
Bible Study
7 pm Ad Council
6 pm Women’s
Bible Study
10 am N/A St.
Patrick’s Day
Party, FH
22 5th Sunday in Lent
Operation Feed
23
7 pm Lenten
Bible Study
24
25
26
6 pm Women’s
Bible Study
29 Palm Sunday
Operation Feed
30
7 pm Lenten
Bible Study
31
5 pm FREE
Community Dinner/God’s Closet
April 1
April 2
April 3
7 pm Maundy
7 pm Good
Thursday Service Friday Service
Sundays
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
5:30 p.m.
John 14:6
Sunday School
Coffee Fellowship
Blood Pressure Checks
Worship Service
3 Nails Youth Ministry
Wednesdays
5:30 p.m. Girl Scouts, FH
6:00 p.m. Handbell Choir Practice
7:00 p.m. Chancel Choir Practice
Thursdays
6-7 p.m. Cub Scouts, FH/102
Office closed
April 4
11 am Easter
Egg Hunt, Levin
Park
Saturdays
7 p.m. N/A Meeting, FH
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Newark, OH 43055
Permit No. 88
Neal Avenue United Methodist Church
12 Neal Avenue
Newark, OH 43055
Return Service Requested
Pastor’s Office Hours: Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m.—Noon
Church Office Hours: Monday: 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Tuesday-Friday: 8:30-11:30 a.m. & 12:00-3:00 p.m.
** office closed Friday, April 3 & 10
(740) 344-3021 or (740) 344-3308
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.nealavenue.com
March 2015
The Neal Avenue Messenger is published once a
month (with the exception of July/August being
combined) for the enjoyment of friends and
members of Neal Avenue Church.
*April Messenger deadline is March 20
Please report any address changes to
the office immediately.
Staff:
Rev. Shawn Morris, Senior Pastor
Rev. John Harra, Pastor Emeritus
Randy Spiker, CLM
Doug Stout, Dir. Of Youth Ministries
Sue Spiker, Accompanist
Judy Schonauer, Choir Director
Mary Ellen Straham, Organist
Laura Atherton, Bell Choir Director
Elward Smith, Custodian
Kellie Cordle, Nursery Supervisor
Diane Frye, Secretary