October 20, 2024 Newsletter/Bulletin

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

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Sunday Worship

MZUMC YouTube Page

10:00 am

Psalm 104:1-9

Mark 10:35-45

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

Have you ever had to live with someone who is “truth challenged?” It is not a fun situation. My devotional reading this morning was all about the destructive nature of lying. The author quoted this tidbit of wisdom from Proverbs 10: 9, “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.” It is not like I have never lied before in my life. Frankly, I can’t imagine too many of us who have never played a little loose with the truth whether that be in the present day or back in our younger days. But lies are so destructive. They create an artificial/ false world that will fall apart. To keep the truth hidden, the liar has to put a whole lot of energy into that false world to keep it from falling down. But that world will come crumbling down because we do not have the energy or resources to live in multiple worlds, particularly not fake ones. God powers this life with God’s infinite resource. We are not infinite and the worlds we create shatter. The sad part is that it is not only the liar that gets hurt when those lies fall apart. The people closest to us, who love us the most, they fall down too for simply trying to live beside us.

Perhaps we lie because we think we can fix what we have broken with a lie, hide from getting in trouble, or otherwise escape accountability in some fashion. That is not good logic. It is trusting more in ourselves to create a fairy tale and convince others to believe it and less trust in God who is all that is left when our lies crumble. Life is so much easier living in the light of God’s truth, even when that truth is hard to accept. Of course, we will mess up from time to time. It is an unfortunate part of free will that we do not always choose the good. That being said, we always have the opportunity to choose the good, no matter how far into the lie we have gone. Start over. Let the lie crumble and choose God’s goodness. Ask for forgiveness from God for not trusting in him. Ask forgiveness of the people we have hurt. Give up on the false, because what is real in Jesus Christ is where real life begins and flourishes!

Bill

News and Opportunities to Serve

October Mission Challenge

This month, we will be focusing on College Care Packages. Check out the table to see what items are being collected. We will also be collecting money to help cover shipping costs for the packages.

Pastor Appreciation

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and we will be celebrating Pastor Bill and Jennifer on October 20th with cake after the service. The SPRC will have notecards available for you to fill out or we encourage you to bring a card or gift card letting them know how you much you appreciate all the big and small things they both do for us. Thanks for helping us show them how much we care!

Staff Parish Relations Committee

All Saints Day

On Sunday, November 3, we will celebrate All Saints Sunday. It is a time to remember and give thanks for our family who have passed away in this last year. We are asking that you share photographs so that we can use their pictures in our worship service as we call their name and ring a bell in their honor and memory. Please get your pictures in to Katie in our church office no later than Monday, October 28.

Children's Christmas Musical

For this year's musical, we have decided on "The Christmas County Spelling Bee" - it will be so much fun for our kids to perform! We will have an interest meeting on Sunday, Oct. 6 immediately following the Sunday School hour at noon. This should only take around 10 minutes. Our first listen-through/practice will be the following Sunday, October 13 from 11am-noon in the FFC/gym (or possibly in the Youth Room).

We are asking that all participants be in at least Kindergarten for this school year. If your child(ren) are interested in a speaking part and/or solo this year, we will have forms to fill out. We will do our best to accommodate all requests. Please let me know if you prefer a flash drive or a CD for your family to listen to and learn the songs. If you are planning to participate and CANNOT make it this Sunday, PLEASE let Bethany know of your interest so we can confirm numbers and start to assign parts.

College Care Packages

Calling all college students and parents of college students! We would love to show our college students that their church family is still here for them even if they are away at college or in the military. Young adulthood can often be a time of great change and transition and so it is important for those in that stage of life to know that their church family is supporting and uplifting them. If you have a student that is either in college or the military, please email the office or Jen with their name, mailing address, and a picture of them by October 20th.

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!

Book Club

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 for more information.

District Newsletter: October 11 "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

This week

This week we are concluding our series on identity and belonging. This week we are looking at the lie that we often tell ourselves that we are what others say about us. We will look at how what God thinks about us is the most important thing about us, and in Psalm 139 God says that we were wonderfully and marvelously made. Because we have a lot of youth that are involved in the Christmas play we will be combining the middle and high school groups and be meeting in the Blue Room (right next to the main youth room).

Project Feed

Once again we are going to participate in Project Feed. This is an event for youth around East Ohio to come together to pack meals for people with food insecurities. It will be on November 10th starting at 4pm. We will pack food from 4-6pm and then enjoy pizza together at 6pm. I need to register our group so I need to know if your student is coming by Oct 27th. Cost is covered by the conference unless you would like a t-shirt, which is $10. T-shirt orders are due by Oct 20th.

Preschool

Contact: Sharon Paige paigesharon42@gmail.com

All about Letter “E” is the focus for the children this week. “E”xtra special snacks will include Eggo’s, and of course Ms. Sharon’s famous “Green Eggs and Ham”. Ames will be sharing his birthday treat with us on Monday. Our centers will include counting elephants, matching colored eyes and listening to different sounds in my filled eggs. There will be no school on Friday, October 25th due to Revere In-Service Day.

Last week when the children learned all about dogs and dog safety, we had the opportunity to count our gently used beach towels and bath towels we have been collecting for our Local Pet Rescue: 12! There is a bin in the main hallway if you would like to add to our collection that will be delivered on Friday, November 1st.

Chapel

In Chapel this week, the children will participate in all the hands-on activities in Creation Station that centered around our Daniel and The Lion’s Den lessons before it stored away for another time!

October Snack and Activity Calendar (click here)

Preschool October 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

Dear MZUMC family,

Autumn is a great time of year to look back and reflect. I hope I have conveyed this to you over these past 8 years, but if not let me say it again, I am very proud to be serving beside you. Over the upcoming weeks I will be sharing with you some of these reflections. I thought about just writing one long letter. But one letter certainly would be very long and may be tiresome and tedious to read!

Over these eight years together, I have watched people within this congregation use the great gifts that God has given them to build up life together in Christ’s name. I would like to begin with the literal building up of this church. As any of us know, it is expensive to maintain a household. I have always been jealous of people with the skills to do their own plumbing or even change their own oil. I have tried to learn these skills with the help of patient teachers and even some Youtube advice, but I have never made it beyond a novice understanding! I can’t imagine where we would be if we did not use our gifts to manage both the repair and replacement of the physical parts of our church building. Our Trustees have truly led the way and recruited your help through the years in this aspect. Your hard work is so greatly appreciated.

Before I was a minister, I had no idea what it took to keep a church running. Now I know all too well!!! I believe that because it is Christ who has founded the Church, not even the gates of hell will be able to prevail against it. (Matthew 16: 18) That being said, we need the faithful response of Christian servants to say yes when Christ calls. You do this! Bear with me for a moment as I share a snippet of the work we took on together over this past year, sometimes getting our own hands dirty and others times wisely seeking professionals. Led by the trustees, we have addressed a failed sump pump in our elevator shaft, removed dead trees and shrubs (also with the great help of our local Boy Scout troop), transitioned from an outdated server system for file storage to a modernized digital storage, addressed roof leaks, battled wasp nests, repaired broken lights, replaced our leaking hot water tank, and explored problems with our recirculating system. We purchased and implemented our sanctuary assisted hearing devices to help to make our worship more accessible. We updated our AED system with both adult and youth paddles. Heaven forbid we ever have to use it to help resuscitate someone in cardiac distress, but we will be ready with the proper equipment. Our sprinkler system air compressor that maintains a proper air pressure went down this past year. That was repaired and replaced. Joe Leaman led us in the repair of our grand piano to keep it not just in working order but in a condition to glorify our savior through music and song. Internet access was expanded throughout our entire church, carpets were cleaned and light switches and faucets were replaced in our pre-school bathrooms. If we had to pay someone for all of this work, we would go under. But because of the hard work of this congregation, we continue to build together.

If any of you have ever served with me on the board of trustees, you may have figured out that my biggest concern is the practical and less the aesthetic. Take one look at my haircut and you may have already come to that conclusion. My reasoning is simple. It is hard to enjoy the beauty of a building if the roof is leaking on our heads and so I have always prioritized the most crucial of repairs to help us accomplish our work together. That being said, I am beyond thankful for those with the eyes for the aesthetic because it too is a way in which we express our gratitude and celebrate this life God has given us. And so I need to especially thank Jo Quandt and her faithful grounds crew that have taken on weeding, watering, replacing plants and shrubbery, and are overall keeping our church from looking like my office! You are welcome to take a gander at my office anytime to see what I mean!!! But seriously, our grounds crew has helped to make our property a place of beauty in this community. Please feel my heartfelt thanks for doing the work that I would often overlook!

It takes us all to make a church thrive. It can’t be just pastor driven or even staff driven. Churches thrive because they are disciple driven, powered and renewed by the Holy Spirit! That has been one of my greatest joys serving here. I have watched as people take the talents God has given them and rather than bury them away and hide them, you have invested them in Jesus Christ. Truly, thank you for it all!

Bill Liming

Church Calendar