April Mission Challenge

For the month of April, we will be collecting underwear for Harvest Home. All children and women sizes of NEW underwear are needed! Donations can be left in the bin outside of the main doors or at the table near the Welcome Center.

OPEN M

We will be packing lunches for OPEN M on Friday, April 24th beginning at 9:30 am. We pack 60 lunches each month. We would like to ask for volunteers to bake cookies for the lunches. We need 10 dozen cookies. If you'd like to contribute cookies or help pack lunches, please contact Debbie Breyley or 330-606-6840.

Spring Clean Up

We have a morning planned that will provide fellowship by working together and make our church beautiful at the same time! On Saturday, May 3rd starting at 9 am we will have a Spring Cleanup of our landscaping. All are welcome to come and there is a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Table. This year we will be concentrating on leaf clean-up, weeding, edging beds and shrub trimming. There will be some tools provided, but if you can bring your own tools like gloves, rakes, leaf blowers, etc, that is helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to see Jo Quandt. We'd love to see a great turn out for our Spring Cleanup!

Counters Needed

We are in need of volunteers to help count the Sunday giving after services. Please contact Beth Gerberich if you are interested and able to help!

Greeters



Anyone who would enjoy saying hello and helping direct visitors with basic questions about our church like, “Where are the restrooms?” and “Where is the sanctuary?” are welcome to sign up to greet at the side or main entrance doors. We ask greeters to be at church 15 minutes before the service starts and remain there 5 minutes after the service begins so all who are attending worship are welcomed. You can serve monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly and at your convenience! For those who are interested, sign up here. If you prefer to sign up with Katie, you can do so in the church office during the week!

District Newsletter: April 10, 2026 "Northern Waters News"

Weekly Groups:

Java & Jesus—Sundays at 11 am

Using the scriptures from Sunday's worship service, we dive deeper into them and discuss applications to our Christian lives. No preparation is needed. So come meet fellow parishioners and take part in the discussion. We meet in Room 8 in the basement at 11 am after worship.

Contact: Jo Quandt jmquandt@yahoo.com

Wired Word—Sundays at 11 am

The Wired Word discusses big questions and scripture loosely related to a current event each week while we enjoy a time of fellowship. No preparation needed and it is a new topic each week, so it's ok if you can't come every week. We meet downstairs in room 3/5/7 after the worship service.

Contact: Samantha Gunkelman samevin@yahoo.com

Pickleball Group—Tuesdays, 6:30-9 p.m. (Adults only)

Players of all levels are welcome. Consider joining this fun group. We have a weekly text to confirm players so please send your contact info to Beth or Marjorie.

Contact: Beth Gerberich bgerberich825@gmail.com or Marjorie Dye marjorietdye@gmail.com 

Tuesday Morning Bible Study—Tuesdays at 9:30 am

A little history, a little theology, a whole lot of life application! Every Tuesday morning except the last of each month.

Contact: Bill Liming bliming75@gmail.com 

Women’s Bible and Book Study—Wednesdays at 10 a.m.

A combination of book and Bible Study as guided by the participant’s interests. A time for prayer and fellowship, as well. 

Contact Marjorie Cossin marjorie.cossin@gmail.com 

Monthly Groups: 

Bible and Beer Men’s Fellowship—Last Monday of the month at 7 pm

We gather the last Monday night of each month beginning in September from 7-8:30 PM at a rotation of houses. We wrestle with issues of life and faith. Bring your favorite beverage. Snacks provided (usually pizza!).  

Contact: Bill Liming bliming75@gmail.com 

Eat, Pray, Play - Next meeting TBD

Families, couples, kids and kids are heart are invited to gather for times of fun together.

Contact: Jennifer Dyer mzumcstudent@gmail.com

Food Bank Service Team—Last Tuesday of the month at 9 am

"You found me hungry and you gave me something to eat..." Live out the words of our Savior and make a huge difference in the lives of countless people across the greater Akron area. 

Contact: Bill Liming bliming75@gmail.com 

Other Groups (meeting frequency varies):

Golf Club—Next meeting TBD

This will be a social golf group, providing an outlet to those interested no matter ability.

Contact: Lee Christman (leechristman1@gmail.com), Brad Beltz (bbeltz11@msn.com), and Mark Gerberich (mwgerberich@aol.com)

Children's Bulletins are available on the tables in the back of the sanctuary for kids ages 3+ and 7+.

Children’s Church

If you have a child who is at least 3 years old up through those who are in or have just completed 3rd grade, please feel free to have them join us during the worship service for Children’s Church.

Sunday School

Sunday School classes are available for all our school-aged children. These classes are offered at 11am after the worship service and are split into 3 different grade levels. See the breakdown below for more information.

Nursery Care: under age 3 - during Worship services in Nursery (Rm 103)

Children’s Church: ages 3 through 3rd Grade - during Worship in Rainbow Room (Rm 106)

Sunday School for Grades PreK-Kindergarten: 11am-noon in Harmony Harbor (Rm 104)

Sunday School for Grades 1st-3rd: 11am-noon in Rainbow Room A (Rm 106)

Sunday School for Grades 4th-5th: 11am-noon in Rainbow Room B (Rm 107)

Interested in volunteering for our Children’s Church or Sunday School programs? 

We would love to have you! Adult and Youth volunteers are crucial to our programs and we will assist you with anything you need to know prior to volunteering. Please reach out to Bethany to volunteer.

Confirmation

If your student is in Confirmation please check in with them to make sure they have contacted someone in leadership at the church to interview, they have their service projects completed and they are starting to think for their reflection. If you or they have any questions about any thing that needs completed please let me know. 

Important Confirmation dates:

• 4/26 and 5/3 - Stole making - they will be wearing these for Confirmation so please make sure they are in class these days. It is very difficult to make up the stole-making activities that we do. 
• 5/10 - Interview with Jen and Pastor Bob - This is where we go over all that they should have learned in confirmation this year. Since Pastor Bill will be on Sabbatical in the month of May, I have asked Bob Kuntz who is a retired UMC Elder and a member of our church to sit in on these interviews. 
• 5/17 - CONFIRMATION SUNDAY - This is when the students will be confirmed during our worship service. Confirmands need to plan on arriving by 9:30 am that day to go over the service. 

Senior Sunday

We will be celebrating our seniors on June 7th during our worship service. We will have them come forward during the service and be recognized. If you have a student who is graduating from high school, college, or a technical program, we want to recognize them. Please fill out the form found by clicking HERE (there is a place to submit a photo in the form).

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please reach out to Jen.

We will continue our learning in April with the very eXciting letter "X"! X-rays, xylophones, and "X" marks the spot treasure hunts will leave us eXhausted! X and O pretzels, X marks the spot muffins, and Chex Mix will be some of our yummy snacks this week. On Friday, we will celebrate Earth Day with some very special friends that the children invited. We will sing some songs, play Earth Day bingo, win prizes, eat snacks, and dance some silly dances together! What a blessing it is to have the children invite a family member to their preschool to experience the love they feel everyday!

Registration for the 2026-2027 school year has begun! Please help us advertise our preschool by taking a flyer to share with friends, family and neighbors, or you can follow us on Facebook to see what we are up to by giving us a "Like"!

April Snack & Activity Calendar (click here)

April Preschool Newsletter (click here)

Office Hours:

Monday - Friday

9 am - 2 pm

565 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road, Akron, OH 44333

(330)665-9817

www.mzumc.org