The News of Zion
Love God
Love People
~Luke 10:27
November 24, 2020
Practice Giving Thanks. . .

Thanksgiving is here, yet for many of us, there’s a feeling of heaviness and loss. It feels as though many in our nation and around the world are in a state of grief. Many have lost loved ones, jobs, and homes. Others have lost their sense of normalcy. Uncertainty and anxiety hang in the air like dark clouds. How do we, as the people of God, give thanks with an authentic heart even when we’re grieving? Gratitude can be one of the most powerful grief healing tools we have. It may sound like an oxymoron: gratitude and grief are two words whose definitions are as far apart as you can get.
Yet, as we give thanks even in our times of grieving, we experience the presence and comfort of God. Grieving has an honored place in the life of the believer. Jesus Himself was a man of sorrow and was well-acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3).
While teaching on a grassy hillside, He taught, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
 
Give Thanks While Grieving
In this season of grief, give thanks. Finding little blessings in life to be thankful for will infuse hope, joy, and strengthened faith into your soul. How do we practice giving thanks even in seasons of great loss? Here are five gratitude hacks for grieving souls:
1. Keep a Blessing Journal: write down 3 blessings every day. No matter how great or small, the intentional practice of looking for blessings each and every day will keep your heart buoyant!
2. Take a Thankful Nature Walk: Our souls need beauty! It’s part of how God designed us. When you’re grieving, get outside and take a walk. Notice the beauty around you; the blue sky, the colorful leaves, or even the different shades of color in the rocks on the ground. Thank the Lord for each beautiful observation! 
3. Turn on Praise Music and Sing: Through the Psalms we discover that music is part of God’s plan for helping us emotionally.  When you’re grieving, it’s easy to feel lethargic and foggy. Next time you feel that way, try singing your thanksgiving. It doesn’t matter if you’re musically trained, God hears in perfect pitch!
4. Read a Psalm: The psalmists model for us, an authentic prayer and praise life. About 70 percent of the Psalms are laments, which shows us that the psalmist was grieving while writing.
5. Write a Thank You Note: During this season of COVID-19, rediscover the joy of writing encouraging hand-written notes to friends. What is remarkable is how writing the note has a boomerang effect, everyone is encouraged!!
 
Prayers and blessings on each one of you this Thanksgiving!!
 
 www.Crosswalk.com/special-coverage/coronavirus/giving. Thanks-in-seasons-of-loss.html
We will continue worship services socially distanced in the sanctuary at 11:00am. We will continue with the service in the same way we have been worshiping but we will be moving out of the Thompson Family Life Center. The children will begin having activities in the Life Center at the same time, also socially distanced. We will be using a format like Lancaster County Schools.
  • Children will be dropped off at the front door entrance of the Family Life Center to be assessed.
  • Children will have their temperature checked as they enter and any child with a temperature above 100.4 or with any cold or flu like symptoms will need to stay home
  • Children will be socially distanced during activities
  • Children will be required to wear a mask
  • Parents must wait until their children are cleared before the parents leave
Youth will also be meeting at the same time but in the fellowship hall.
  • Youth will wait outside the fellowship hall door until they can be assessed
  • Youth will have their temperature checked as they enter and any student with a temperature above 100.4 or with any cold or flu like symptoms will need to stay home
  • Youth will be socially distanced during activities
  • Youth will be required to wear a mask
We look forward to the opportunity to see everyone joining us for worship and activities on Sunday morning. We hope to have a great and safe time worshiping together.
With the recent bad weather and high winds, a lot of loose flowers from arrangements in the cemetery have been blown around the grounds. You may wish to make sure that your arrangement is in tact. Several flowers are against the brick walls in the cemetery.
Our Children’s and Youth groups continue to meet on Sundays at 11:00 am. We hope that your youth or children can come out and participate and this will allow parents the time to attend in-person worship. Our appreciation to our youth and children’s leaders for volunteering for this outreach!
Morning Walking Club: Our weekday morning walking group has resumed meeting in the life center Monday through
Friday at 8:00 AM. Church members are welcome to come out and enjoy getting in some exercise out of the elements and in a secure location!
Toys for Tots!! Faith Sunday School class will again be sponsoring the collection of toys for children this Christmas. Donations of toys need to be delivered to the church by Sunday, December 6. Please place your donations in the church vestibule. For toy suggestions, please contact Dianne Sweatt at 803-804-1602.
November is our month to
support HOPE in Lancaster with donations of food for those less fortunate. Particular needs in November are: green beans, peanut butter, canned beef stew, canned tuna, canned pasta, and dry pasta noodles. Please place your contributions in the collection box in the vestibule and they will be picked up and taken to HOPE weekly. Thank you for your continued support of this wonderful outreach for our community!!
Poinsettias will be placed in the sanctuary to the glory of God and in honor and in memory of loved ones on December 13 and 20. If you would like to place a poinsettia, please bring same and place in the church December 13. Please let the church office know how you would like these placed by leaving a message on the church answering machine, calling Missy at 803-804-2434 or emailing the information to zionumc@comporium.net.
Please remember the following with a card or call or over the holiday season:
 
· Ovedia Griffin, 1939 Zion Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Catherine Hammond, 369 Sunnybrook Ln, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Jewel McAteer, Somberby of Mt. Pleasant, 3100  Tradition Circle, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466
· Marie Moree, 1815 Whitaker Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Laura Plyler, 1713 Hillside Drive, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Kathleen Robinson, White Oak Manor Room 208B, 253 Craig Manor Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Frances Robinson, 1288 Potter Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Bonnie Sears, c/o Belinda S. Carter, 7560 Havenridge Ln., Kaufman, Texas 75142 *** please note address change***
· Eva Small, 1483 Old Pardue Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Evelyn Steele, 1814 Zion Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
· Myrtle Walker, 2018 Zion Road, Lancaster, SC 29720
Pastor Michael continues to offer morning prayer and Bible study. Join us each morning at 7:00 AM for Prayer and meditation. Join us, also on Thursdays at 12:00 Noon for Bible Study. Pastor Michael is hosting these from our Facebook page. If you are unable to log in LIVE, these offerings remain available for viewing after on our website and FB page.
Shoeboxes for Seniors
Lancaster County Council on Aging is sponsoring the collection of shoebox gifts for Lancaster county senior citizens. Deadline for the gifts is Sunday, November 29. These have to be delivered by Tuesday, December 1. Late donations will not be accepted as the gifts have to be “quarantined for two weeks” before they can be delivered to area senior citizens who’s health may be vulnerable. 
Suggested items for shoeboxes: sweater scarf, gloves, non slip socks, small blanket or throw, lotion, shampoo,
Vaseline, toothpaste, toothbrush, Efferdent/Fixodent,
chapstick, towel, washcloth, bath soap, dryer sheets, small bottle washing detergent, dishwashing detergent, Kleenex, paper towels, toilet paper, cookies, sugar-free candy, microwave popcorn, fruit cups or pudding, claw/reacher/grabber, 2021 calendar, crossword puzzle book, word search puzzle book, puzzles (100 piece or less), envelopes, ink pens/pencils, cards for seniors to send to other (Get Well, Sympathy, Birthday). Please place your contributions in the vestibule collection box. Thank you!!
While the church office remains closed, you are encouraged to reach out if you have a need or know of a need. You may call Pastor Michael at 1-859-475-8800, call the church office, 285-3864 and leave a message, call Missy at 804-2434 or email lmjarrell@umcsc.org or zionumc@comporium.net; these emails are being monitored daily. The answering machine will also be checked daily. During these times, we ask everyone to pray together for each other, our church family, our community, our country, and our world.
Please remember these in prayer:
Nancy Ackerman
Angela Bailey
Francis Bell
Phillip Bell
Sue Catoe
Carol Cauthen
Angie Dobson
John Elder
Myra Funderburk
Mike Gay
Catherine Hammond
JoAnn Hinson
Rick Joyner
Bill McCorkle
Kevin McCorkle
Marie Moree
Harris Plyler
Marcene Plyler
Ann Powers
Kathleen Robinson
John Rollins
Virginia Rollins
Bonnie Sears
Eva Small
Greg Smith
JoAnne Smith
Billy Sowell
Robbie Stepp
Matthew Sweatt
Pat Vick
Myrtle Walker
Donna Walters
Ellen Walters
Kim Yost
Our President and Troops
Those affected by the COVID virus

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We remain in prayer for all who have needs! We have went through the prayer list and updated this to reflect those that we know who are still in need of prayer.  If you have ones that you would like to have added back to the list, please contact Missy at 803-804-2434 or at zionumc@comporium.net  With no recent updates on some folks and not knowing how the requests had been placed, we felt that updating the list at this time was best. We welcome your prayer requests!
Even as we offer in-person worship, our services will still be made available online on our Facebook page. Log in to our Zion United Methodist Church Facebook page this Sunday for our service if you are unable to make it to church!! The service will also be available on our website at www.zionumc.com
Current Upper Room Daily Devotionals are available for pick up at the church! We will place some of these in the church vestibule on the table and some in the plastic communication box outside of the life center doors where the buses are for those who do not attend worship or have access to the church for you to pick up. There are large and regular print copies available.
November 24: Wendy VanDyke
November 27: Haley Broome
November 28: Mr. and Mrs. Brett Blackmon
November 29: Sheri Bradley, Raven Webster
December 2: B.J. Griffin, Amanda Johnson
Special Gifts to Zion Church
In Honor of:
Ellen, Donna, and Bryan Walters, Pat Threatt, Marion and Sonny Curtis, and Ronald Threatt by Dianne Martin

In Memory of:
Margaret, June, and Ronnie Threatt, Herb Martin, Clyde Walters, Sadie Rape, and Janie Sweatt by Dianne Martin

Special Gifts to the Building Fund
In Honor of:
Harris and Marcene Plyler by Carolyn Massey
The Record Speaks....
November 22, 2020

Present for Worship: 49
Needed each week for the General Fund $4,360
Received for General Fund $3699
Received for Building Fund $33.70
Received for Needy Fund $40
Received for HOPE $100

There are many options available to give to the continuing ministry and outreach of Zion UMC. You may drop your offering in the offering plate as you arrive or leave worship service on Sundays, give through the website www.zionumc.com through Paypal, text your giving to 803-525-1834 and follow the secure link, or if you are not comfortable attending worship at this time and do not wish to give online, you may drop your offering in the mail to Zion UMC at 1665 Zion Road, Lancaster, SC 29720 or drop off in the mail drop box that is located beside the double doors where the buses are. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Missy at 8003-804-2434 or leave a message at the church office, 285-3864 and your call will be returned. Thank you for your continued support of the Mission that is Zion!!

"...because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."
Deuteronomy 15:10,,
803-285-3864 - www.zionumc.com