November 3, 2024 Newsletter/Bulletin

Our Vision: "To Humbly Serve God through Loving and Caring for Others"

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Sunday Worship

MZUMC YouTube Page

10:00 am

Psalm 146:1-10

Luke 10:25-37

Children's Bulletin Ages 3+

Children's Bulletin Ages 7+

Prayer Concerns

Dorris Benson

Brummett Family

Collins Family

Kaye Davis

Liming Family

Nancy Peltier

Wagner Family

*Please call the church with any prayer requests or pastoral care needs

Spending Time in Devotion

How do you deal with disappointment? Being Browns fans, you would think we would get used to it but real disappointments are truly hard to swallow. Try getting laid off from work two years before you have reached retirement eligibility. Rejection in relationships hurts in our teenage years. That rejection is not easier to take decades later. In one of my devotionals this week, it mentioned that perhaps our disappointments cause us to turn to God more. Getting everything I would ever want in life certainly would not be good for me. But what do we do with the days in which we have fallen on our knees in prayer, begging for God’s help only to receive silence? As the Bible tells us, unrelenting disappointment leaves us heartsick. Proverbs 13: 12.

I am not one who will ever claim to understand the mysteries of God. I do not. But of this I am certain. The world in which we live is both extraordinarily beautiful and yet also terribly imperfect. I give a prayer of thanks that this imperfect life is not everlasting. The disappointments we experience will not last forever. We live in a temporary imperfect but the God who loves is planning for a perfect forever. There is a future in Jesus Christ that is yet to be fully realized. It is in that mystery that we will find the answers we seek.

Bill

News and Opportunities to Serve

November Mission Challenge

For the month of November, we will be collecting boxes of cereal for OPEN M. We have a goal this year of 200 boxes! Donations can be dropped off at the table in the Gathering Area or in the bin outside the main doors.

Permanent Endowment

The Permanent Endowment Committee is now accepting applications from non-profit organizations. Applications are due into the church office by November 12th and can be found here.

Memorial Bricks

We will once again be placing an order for memorial bricks to be installed in our Memory Garden. Celebrate the life of a cherished loved one with these engraved bricks. The cost is $30 per brick. Please return the order form (printed copies available at the Welcome Center) as well as payment no later then November 12th. Contact Gary Pennington with any questions.

Greeters

We are looking for those who enjoy saying hello and helping direct visitors with basic questions about our church like, “Where are the restrooms?” and “Where is the sanctuary?”. We will need people at both the main door and the side entrance who are willing to be at church 15 minutes before the service starts and remain there 5 minutes after the service begins so all 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, our Office Administrator, you can do so in the church office during the week!

Acme Community CashBack

The Acme Community CashBack program has begun! Please save any receipts dated after August 1, 2024 and put them in the collection bin by the welcome center. Last year we earned $297.42 for the church!

District Newsletter: October 25 "Northern Waters News"

Adult Class Opportunities

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 330-714-6303

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, 7-9 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 11/17

Families, couples, kids, and kids at heart are invited to gather for fun and fellowship together. We will meet next on November 17th at noon in FFC and then December 15th at noon in FFC.

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):

Book Club—Monday, October 28th at 7 pm

Come together for fellowship and to discuss a good book. Our next book is "James" by Percival Everett. We will meet on Monday, October 28th at 7 pm at MZUMC.

Contact: Liana Lake leach.liana@gmail.com

Golf Club—Next meeting TBD

This will be a social golf group, providing an outlet to those interested no matter ability. We will meet the last Sunday of the month to learn and enjoy golf, and social time before or after events.

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

Children's Ministry

Contact: Cyndi Liming limingcmboa@icloud.com

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

Sunday School Classrooms:

Sunday school is starting back up September 10th at 11 am. We are excited to learn and grow in our faith.

Nursery (Rm 112): under age 3

Rainbow Room (Rm 106): Preschool & Kindergarten

Fishes & Loaves (Rm 131): Grades 1-3

Harmony Harbor (Rm 104): Grades 4-5

Check out the Children's Ministry Website for updates here

Student Ministry

Contact: Jennifer Dyer mzumcstudent@gmail.com

We are starting a new series that encourages students to explore the interesting tension between living a life of humility and confidence at the same time. Anchored in Jesus' understanding of humility, students will be challenged to occupy their God-given space in the world and learn how to constantly weigh the tendency for entitlement and arrogance against Jesus' call to be humble.

Please click on the following link to see a preview video of this upcoming series: https://www.mzumc.org/ministries/student-ministry/

Preschool

Contact: Sharon Paige paigesharon42@gmail.com

Monday the children will be introduced to the letter “G” through golf ball painting, grasshopper catching, gingerbread decorating and attempting to play some miniature golf in our classrooms! “FOUR”. Our Pre-K class will treat us to a reenactment of the story; Three Billy Goat Gruff which will include that tricky troll. Hopefully our story will take place on the fun bridge out on the playground! Susan Cooper Photography will be taking our Preschool pictures on Wednesday and has arranged quite a deal for our parents. Snacks will include gingerbread, grapes, ghost puffs, graham crackers and some guacamole and chips. We will start our Fruit of the Spirit lessons in Chapel with Pastor Bill: Goodness & Gentleness of course!

October Mission Update

43 blankets, towels and sheets were delivered to One of a Kind Pet Rescue. They were so grateful for the outpouring of love for the animals.

November Snack and Activity Calendar (click here)

November Preschool Newsletter (click here)

Music Ministry

Contact: Joe Leaman joeleaman@me.com

Check back for future rehearsal dates.

Anyone who is interested in providing Special Music during the special music time on Sunday mornings, please contact Music Director, Joe Leaman via email: joeleaman@me.com.

MZUMC Financial Update

September Balance Sheet (click here)

September Income and Expense Statement (click here)

Investing Ourselves in Christ 2024 Stewardship

I am concluding these stewardship series of letters with one of the elements of ministry that is foundational to my life and is one of our core values in our church. That is service. I recall a picture from my youth that is hazy. It is a picture of a solitary bag of groceries sitting in front of the garage door of my childhood home. I was sitting in the backseat of our family car as we pulled into the driveway. We didn’t have a garage door opener in those days, so my father had to get out of the car to open the garage door. Before he did, he picked up the bag of groceries and put it in the backseat beside me. We had no income. My father was in the middle of a trial.

I asked what the bag was. All I can recall was that either mom or dad said it was from our church. It wasn’t from our minister. His spiritual gifts weren’t in missions or interpersonal relationships. His focus was elsewhere and that is okay. It takes a wide variety of people to build God’s kingdom. That food that we lived on didn’t come from the government. Ronald Reagan was president at the time and beyond “Just Say No,” I do not remember much of what the government was about in those days. That food didn’t come from the school. My teacher Mrs. Minton was a saint and a literal neighbor. She lived five houses down from us. She was helping our family in other ways. No, that solitary bag of groceries illuminated by the car headlights was from the church, from a person like yourself. The food did not last long. But what has lasted for 38 years is the fact that we were remembered by some anonymous Christian who chose to give so that a struggling family was not alone in their struggle. That is amazing love. Looking back as I write this, I realize that may have been the first time God called me to come and serve. I was 10 years old.

We have been serving together here in Montrose now over 8 years. Throughout that period I have seen saints, like the anonymous person from my youth, in so many different ways here at this church. Friends, we give of ourselves, a part of our love, our resources, our life to make this world a more hopeful place in the name of Jesus Christ. It is an uphill battle and there is endless work to be done but God is on our side. I am so thankful that you take service seriously for your faith.

Let me just give you a quick picture of the lives this congregation has been a part of impacting over this last year through service. This past summer, Jennifer Dyer led a group of 25 youth and adults down to Shalom Farms in Virginia to help harvest literally tons of kale, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, garlic, and onions. Those vegetables were taken back into some of the poorest parts of Richmond so that people who could not afford the high prices of produce would have access to healthy food. Monthly, a group of us heads to the Food Bank. The result of that work was that 24,623 people were fed because of your efforts. Rick Boerkoel leads a group of us to help prepare and serve lunches with the Akron community partnering with our friends at OPENM as well as our church helping to fund the good work the people of OPENM are doing. Our youth group went last year and will be going again in a few weeks to a United Methodist sponsored event with Project Feed. It is an amazing sight to see hundreds of young Christians packaging meals for over 25,000 hungry people in under two hours. For some who will receive that food, it will be a difference between starvation and life. We collect clothes for women at a battered women’s shelter. Our monthly missions have fed, educated, aided, healed, “diapered” and clothed 19,557 people. And I cannot forget the college/ military care packages we send out to our young adults with a clear message- “You may be far away geographically but are forever in hearts and we are praying for our God to open doors of promise to your future.” This is just a fraction of the numerous ways we have reached out in the past year and made a difference in this community.

Friends these numbers are not just numbers. Noone is simply a number in the eyes of God. I was one of those “numbers” as a child to whom God chose to speak. That message started as a lone bag of groceries left by a garage door. But that message grew and became more clearly articulated as the years went by. That love, service and kindness from a church person made a lasting impact on my life and I am just one person. How many spiritual impacts has our Christian service produced in the last year with the tens of thousands of people we have touched? We will probably never know, but for the children who are touched by God because of it, they will never forget it. I am honored to serve beside you as your pastor and let’s make a commitment in the coming year to invest ourselves- our resources, intelligence, hearts and spirits- in Jesus Christ. Thank you.

“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” Mathew 25: 35

Bill Liming

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