Christmas Scarf Project a Great Success

Transcription

1 Christ United Methodist Church East Moline Campus: th Street Phone: East Moline, IL Fax: Silvis Campus: nd Avenue Phone: Silvis, IL Website: YouTube Search: thecumcqc Ministry Leadership Team Ministers of the Church Congregation Stephanie Rabe Parish Nurse Lindrew Johnson Music Ministry Karyn Robertson Children s Ministry Shaun Easton Youth and Worship Leader Carol Smith Financial Administration Jana Kindred Administrative Assistant-EM Mary Land Administrative Assistant-Silvis Rev. Joye Perry Associate Pastor Rev. Dr. Roger Perry Lead Pastor Rev. Dr. Joseph Gardiner Pastor Emeritus Many thanks to all for the prayers and cards for Ed and Sandie Cox who were both recently hospitalized. You are truly appreciated. Ed & Sandie Cox Christmas Scarf Project a Great Success This was the sixth year for the Christmas Scarf Project, and over 900 items were donated. That s a new record for donations! We received hats, scarves, socks, mittens, and gloves of all colors and sizes. The donations were distributed to children in CUMC s tutoring program, children participating in our Angel Tree project, clients of both CUMC food pantries, and women and children served through Winnie s Place. Thanks to everyone who helped with the Christmas Scarf Project. Because of your generosity, many people are having a warmer winter. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. ~ Matthew 25:40 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Sharing the love of Jesus Christ for the biblical purpose of making disciples for the transformation of the world. NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 93 East Moline, IL U.S. We would like to thank all the church members for the wonderful cards, flowers, and get well wishes during our surgeries. We also want to thank Pastor Joye & Steph Rabe for coming to the hospital and our home, your prayers really meant a lot to Pat and I. Thanks again, Larry & Pat O Brien To all Thank you, thank you for your affirmation vote regarding the future building at the East Moline campus. Much has been said about how this building will help our kids, youth and young people s ministry and I believe that this our future, our legacy to them. BUT, for the rest of our congregation, the possibilities are endless!! How many believe that they are at their best fitness level? We could offer balance, stretching, and walking classes and some cardio and maybe a form of Silver Sneakers. The fastest growing sport among our age group in America is Pickleball. We could set up as much as three courts in this building and the church could learn and participate in this fun activity. This activity would also draw in the surrounding community as it is very popular in the Quad Cities area. But in all I pray, Dear God, help us to do what you want us to do. THY WILL BE DONE. Amen and Amen Donna Hamrick CHRIST CHURCH EAST MOLINE CAMPUS SATURDAY WORSHIP 5:00pm Contemporary SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:00am Traditional 9:15am Traditional 10:35am Contemporary & Sunday School SILVIS CAMPUS SUNDAY WORSHIP 9:15am Contemporary 10:45am Traditional 10:45am Kid s Sunday School HERE S WHAT S COMING UP: January 16 Iron Men January 27 Bishop Beard visits Christ Church January 27 Prayer Workshop February 3 Blood Drive March 3rd Light Kid s Conference March 9, 10 SuperStart Seeking to Walk by the Spirit J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y Okay, so now that it is mid-january and we have gotten all the New Year s resolutions out of the way (by out of the way I mean fully accepted or fatefully rejected), it is time to look at what we really can accomplish this year. A good idea is to take time to review the year just finished. What did you accomplish? What were the high moments? What were the low moments? What goals were reached and which ones were not reached? Where should you have tried harder? Where should you have gone in a different direction? How did you do with your thoughts, words and actions through this past year? After reflecting on the past year, focus now on the year that has just started. Write down some goals that you will seek to accomplish during the year. This is not a New Year s resolution list. This is an opportunity to strengthen your walk as a disciple who is determined to live for Jesus Christ. As we begin this year, I am inviting you to join me as we look at the book of Galatians from the New Testament. Chapters five and six of Galatians speak of two possible directions that this year could take. One direction is to simply follow the desires of our flawed and sinful nature. The other would be to seek God s path by developing, what Galatians refers to as the fruit of the Spirit. It is important to understand that these two possible paths in life are constantly at war with each other. Each are fighting for attention, and our choices are never free from the conflict (Galatians 5:17). Following one path will bring about a harvest of immorality, impure thoughts, quarreling, out-bursts of anger, hatred, jealousy, division and more (Galatians 5:19-21). Galatians 5:21 states that, those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Obviously, this is not the way that Jesus would desire us to take and I can t imagine anyone seeing these things as a way to a happy, full and productive life. The other path is one that is seeking to walk by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit and how it can impact our lives. Our time can be spent filled with love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is a path in life that seeks to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Truthfully, the year we are now beginning will go in one of these two ways. Individually, we will allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our life, or we follow the path of our own sinful desires. Everyone will see it and know the direction chosen. It will be obvious to family and friends. The decision is ours to make. That path chosen will determine if we really have changed into a new creation in Christ. So take some time today and reflect on last year and on this year. Where have you been and where is God calling you to go? Write down goals and see if they are walking by the Holy Spirit. At work, school, home, church, or wherever you find yourself, seek to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit within you. Don t worry. You will not have to do it on your own. God, through the Holy Spirit, has your back and will actually empower you through the year ahead. Seeking to Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), Roger Perry East Moline From the pastor: Roger Perry Silvis

2 Making a Way in the Wilderness P A G E 2 Merry Sunshine News P A G E 1 1 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43: 19 It began as an idea stemming from a conversation with Bill Seiss and Pastor Roger that the Carbon Cliff UMC would be seriously considering closing it s doors after years of ministry in the Carbon Cliff Community. The stark reality that there would be no churches with a Carbon Cliff address offering a witness of God s love and presence to the Carbon Cliff community was unacceptable. Prayers and meetings began to take place. Meetings with the representatives from the Carbon Cliff Community were held to share the possibility of plans for future ministry with the community through new and different outreach goals. The members of the Carbon Cliff UMC listened and prayed about the possibility of giving over to Christ UMC, the building, it s furniture and contents, and the financial resources to help keep the building itself up and running for another year of ministry. Meetings were also held with representatives of both East Moline and Silvis Christ UMC members/ leadership discussing future possibilities in Carbon Cliff. Lots of prayers asking for wisdom and discernment were lifted up from many in both the Carbon Cliff and Christ UMC congregations. Charge Conferences were held in both churches and an overwhelming united majority of votes agreed that the ministry and outreach of our Lord Jesus Christ needed to continue in Carbon Cliff through the Holy Spirit s guidance of the people called United Methodist. We have much to praise the Lord about reflecting back over the past months of ministry at Carbon Cliff. We are extremely blessed to have the financial resources of the past Carbon Cliff UMC to help make ministry in 2018 possible. We are also blessed to have many in the church and outside of the church who have made efforts to help this ministry succeed. During August, the church building was used as a training center for the Quad City Emmaus Walk teams. Both the men s and women s teams held their meetings in the building. Each time that the meetings were held, cars were parked lining the streets adjacent to the church. Neighbors were noticing that something was happening at the church. One night during one of the meetings, a neighbor walked by and asked about the increased activity. When she heard the answer about new ministry possibilities, she told how she prayer walked her community, and she had often stopped and prayed for the church. Her witness was a testimony to our belief that God is on the move in Carbon Cliff! A member of the QC Emmaus men s team, while he was attending meetings in the building, felt called to offer his time and talents helping with some much needed carpentry work and electrical updates. Jerry and Judy Greer, with the help of volunteers, coordinated the painting of the fellowship hall, kitchen, and hallway. Jeff Wiedenmann, Roger and Linda Akers, Roger Land, Carrie Henderson, Dave Leemans, Tim Cumberworth, and MANY others have offered time, energy, and talents to the Carbon Cliff campus ministries and building renovation projects. God continues to make miracles happen! To make the sanctuary space more multi-purpose user friendly, it was deemed necessary to remove the pews and altar furniture in the sanctuary. God blessed us with the unique opportunity to share the worship furniture with the East Moline Correctional Center who was desiring to create a sanctuary for protestant worship in their facility. How did that happen??? Theresa Severtsgaard, a member of Christ UMC and an employee of the correctional center, attended one of the congregational meetings that was held in the parsonage this past fall. When she heard that the church wanted to gift the sanctuary furniture to another congregation, she began the necessary networking between church and prison to make the gift of furniture possible. Roger Land, Joyce Nevins, and Lurene McCoy are successfully offering a weekly coffee and breakfast fellowship time for senior citizens every Tuesday morning in the fellowship hall at Carbon Cliff. On Christmas Eve, Shaun Easton led worship with 41 present!! Thanks to those from the Christ Church campuses who went to support this worship outreach in Carbon Cliff. Thanks to Shaun s creativity, the Carbon Cliff Church had outside Christmas decorations this past Christmas for the first time in a long time! In November of 2017, the congregational development team voted to give CUMC a grant of $30,000 to do some much needed remodeling of bathrooms in Thanks to Jim Massa and Roger Land for seeking bids and working with individual contractors about the necessary building permits needed for the renovation to begin. Dennis Kindred, owner of Kenney s Pest Control, has graciously offered to provide services to the Carbon Cliff campus without charge. See, God is doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? He is making a way in the wilderness. Continue to pray that we would be found faithful disciples of Jesus Christ as we seek ways to make Him famous in the Quad Cities! We have been VERY busy at Merry Sunshine since the last Courier! The much loved tradition of going to the Festival of Trees continued and we attended on November 21 st. It was magical!! The trip put us in full Christmas spirit. Our room was transformed into a Christmas Wonderland, complete with a Santa s Workshop, Christmas Kitchen and our very own Christmas tree to decorate with lights and paper chains. Many stories, activities and crafts related to Jesus birth were included as well as some traditional seasonal tales. Pastor Joye visited and told us a story about a The Shepherd on the Search (like the Elf on the Shelf). We have been hiding the shepherd in our room and playing fun games with him. Thanks to Pastor Joye for sharing the story and to Karyn for gifting the preschool their own copy. Our Christmas Program was held on December 20 th in the Sanctuary. It included all 32 children and was attended by over a hundred parents, grandparents and friends! We had a great time dressing up in character, singing our songs and telling about the true meaning of Christmas. We took a break until January 3rd, and, upon return, we will experience the ever popular Pajama Day, hot cocoa, marshmallows and cool crafts! SILVIS CAMPUS FOOD PANTRY UPDATE This food pantry was officially opened on July 10, It serves clients in the Silvis, Hampton and Carbon Cliff communities and is open on Mondays and Tuesdays, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Since its inception, we've been able to serve 758 families. Now that number doesn't include the total number of individuals in each family. That total is 2,183! And a total of donated food items comes to almost 12,000 pounds!! Visitors that came during the month of December were surprised at the outpouring of love by the volunteers offering gifts for their children... stuffed animals, books, knitted scarves, hats, and gloves, handmade dolls and shoeboxes filled with lots of goodies. For many, these items were the only gifts their children would receive at Christmas. Many thanks to all who contributed these items. Besides all the gifts mentioned above, we are able to provide healthier and more donated foods. Recently, the Silvis HyVee grocery store started giving the food pantry perishable items (deli sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese, and many other items). We are definitely providing more food and healthier food items for the food insecure families in our community. The Lord is definitely blessing the Silvis Food Pantry! If you visit the Silvis HyVee grocery store, please take time to let them know you are from Christ Church and how much the food pantry appreciates their donations!

3 UMW East Moline Campus News and Updates Faith Hope Love in Action The end of the year was busy and now we look forward to With the UMW Assembly in May, the countdown begins. Our last Mission Box collection at our unit luncheon was for Youth Hope and we collected $ We also turned in gift cards of $75 each for Cunningham Home and Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood and gave $75 to Church World Service for a cleanup bucket UMW Officers Front row L to R: Margaret Baumann, Sue Nurse, Janet Lindstrom, Denise Brady (conducted installation service) Back Row: Juanita Sharp, Bobbi McCoy, Alice Haben, Pat Reuter, Jan McKay, Jan Hanson Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 25 th for an evening at Circa 21 to be entertained by the Church Basement Ladies. Cost per person is $47.75 with tax and gratuity included or if you have a Diners Book $59.38 for two with tax and gratuity included. For reservations, call Pat Reuter at by April 11, If you want to participate in the cookbook for this year, please have recipes in by February 20, This year, the cookbook is Barbeque & Picnic recipes. So ladies, dust off that summer cookbook and find your favorite Barbeque Recipes! Coming in February ~ Spiritual Growth Retreat February 23 & 24 in Chatham, IL. Reservations have to be in by January 19th. For those staying overnight, cost is $65.00 Please let Jan Lindstrom know if you are going. It will be a great weekend! P A G E Prepare food & set up for Morning Connection 17 Stonecroft Morning Connection 9:15am 19 Deadline to register for Spiritual Growth Retreat 23 Leadership meeting 10:00am 23 Unit Luncheon Noon Program The Sacred Space of Legacy/Inheritance 26 CWU Annual meeting 9:00am at Butterworth Installation of Officers for 2018 Work Team Jan Lindstrom, Zilpha Groom Narthex Table Glory Circle 3 District Team at Bushnell UMC 7 Circle Meeting 12 CWU Meeting at Butterworth 9:30am 13 Prepare food and Set up for Morning Connection 13 UMM Fellowship Hall 6:00pm 14 Ash Wednesday 14 Valentine s Day 14 Stonecroft Morning Connection 9:15am Spiritual Growth Retreat Chatham UMC 27 Leadership Meeting 10:00am 27 Unit Luncheon Noon Program Quiet Voice Work Team - TBA Narthex Table Patience Circle Doris Wasson Bishop Frank Beard Coming to Christ Church Saturday, January 27th, 9:30am East Moline Campus The IGRC Bishop Frank Beard will lead an informative session on the topic A Way Forward that will be a discussion about possible future directions of the global United Methodist Church. All Quad City United Methodist Churches/members are encouraged to attend. Prayer Workshop 2pm 4:30pm Bishop Beard has graciously accepted our invitation to lead a workshop focused on prayer. He will also be preaching at the 5:00 pm worship service. Tentative schedule: Morning session: 9:30am 12:30 pm Light Lunch served in Fellowship Hall 12:30pm Afternoon prayer workshop: 2pm 4:30pm Saturday evening worship: 5pm January/February Happenings Blood Drive New Bible Study for Young Moms and Mentors starts Thursday, January 11th at 9:30am at the East Moline Campus P A G E 3 We will be studying The Girl s Still Got It by Liz Curtis Higgs. Liz, and your guides, Karyn Robertson and Steph Rabe, will take us for a walk with Ruth as she travels from Moab to Bethlehem, certain of her calling, yet uncertain of her future. Hold Naomi's hand and watch love put the pieces of her broken life back together. Books are $5. Please call either church office to let us know if you will be participating. The class will run for eight Thursdays. Iron Men of Christ Church Potluck Meal Tuesday, January 16th ~ 6 pm Carbon Cliff Campus 106 2nd Street, Carbon Cliff All men of all ages are welcome. Please bring a dish to share. We will be discussing the importance of the Walk to Emmaus and we ll also be planning a WILD GAME DINNER! For more information, please contact Pastor Roger Perry at Christ Church will hold a blood drive at the East Moline Campus on Saturday, February 3rd from 8am to 11am in Fellowship Hall. This year we are hoping to partner with Ridgewood Elementary parents and invite them to donate along with Silvis and East Moline Christ Church Parishioners. Mississippi Valley Blood Center has a Life Savings School Grant Program, which will allow us as a church to do even more in our immediate community, besides donating blood. This program will donate $ to Ridgewood, if there are 20 donors. Simple, huh? Not only are we donating blood for our QC community, but we will also be supporting the school that allows us to share their kiddos for our tutoring program. A win-win game plan! Please register on line through the Mississippi Valley Blood Center website or call either church office to pick your time. If you are a regular blood donor, and scheduled to donate before February 3rd, please tell the blood center that you are donating for Christ United Methodist Church and we will be credited for this, even though it will not be on February 3rd. To those that have donated before, thank you. Please prayerfully consider donating on February 3rd. If you have never donated before, please prayerfully consider signing up for this opportunity. It will take about an hour of your time. If you would like to help that day with the flow of donors, donate cookies, or just be another person from Christ Church to welcome and help the Ridgewood parents that enter our doors, please let me know. Help us make this event great!

4 This and That P A G E 4 Here s What s Happening at Silvis P A G E 9 Adventures in Literacy Church Tutoring SILVIS CAMPUS MEN S BROTHERHOOD MEAL FEBRUARY 6th ~ 5:30 pm ND AVENUE, SILVIS We are in need of six or more new tutors for Tuesdays or Thursdays from 3:15 pm to 4:30 pm. We partner with Ridgewood Elementary School for 1st and 2nd graders and help them in reading and comprehension. Tutoring is held at the East Moline Campus and training is available. Please contact Karyn Robertson at if you are interested. How did the Silvis Brotherhood Meal begin??? Once upon a time.a long time ago the leaders of the Silvis Community would come together for a meal, and afterwards, they would travel on to the City Hall for their monthly meeting/business. Now, it s a meal for the guys.any man who would like to come and enjoy a delicious church cooked meal. They gather for the food, fun, and fellowship. (A few of the Silvis City Hall leaders still attend on a regular basis and they still head back to the city hall for their monthly meeting.) There is no business meeting or program planned. The meal begins at 5:30 pm. Come a little early if you d like and have a cup of coffee with the guys. Tickets are only $9 and can be purchased at the door. Please call Joyce Nevins ( ) to make a reservation or ask questions. The profits from the meal are dedicated to mission projects. All she had.. The Friday before Christmas, a family of five (a mom and four children) came to the Food Pantry. While they were there, one of our food pantry volunteers asked the children if they would like to choose a book to take home. As they were getting ready to leave, the oldest girl came over and reached in her purse and started putting pennies on the book table. The volunteer told her that the books were free but she kept putting pennies on the table. Her mother then came over and said the girl wanted to give her money to God. When she was done, the volunteer asked her it she could give her a hug and told her thank you. She also told her that she had made God very happy. After the family left, the pennies were counted and there were 206. Those pennies were given to the food pantry. 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything all she had to live on. Mark 12:41-44 In 1990, Souper Bowl of Caring began with a simple prayer from a single youth group: Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us to be mindful of those without even a bowl of soup to eat. Since then, ordinary young people around this great nation have generated an extraordinary $100 million for soup kitchens, food pantries, and other charities in communities such as ours. It has become a powerful movement that is transforming the time around Super Bowl weekend into the nation s largest celebration of giving and serving. In 2017, 6,538 groups raised $10,115,253 in cash and nonperishable food items (nationwide). On Sunday, February 4, 2018, more than 140 million Americans will tune in to watch the Super Bowl football game. There will be parties with abundant food, friendship and fellowship. At the same time, there will be people worrying about staying warm, finding shelter and a warm meal. Please join in by demonstrating God s love through the Souper Bowl of Caring. It s a simple, yet significant act of caring for others. This year s campaign started on Sunday, January 7, 2017 and continues until Sunday, February 4. During the campaign, please consider donating either cash or a nonperishable food item. Every dollar and item donated will be given to the Christ UMC food pantries located at both campuses. These are our 2018 Souper Bowl of Caring charity of choice. Every donation is VERY much appreciated. However, if you are donating items from your home, please be mindful of the expiration dates on the items. We cannot accept any items that are already expired or are nearing their expiration date. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!! The deadline for the next Courier publication is Thursday, February 15th. Please submit all articles for the March Courier (in Word format) by then. Send to office@christchurcheastmoline.org Thank you! February 9 ~ 12:30 pm The meal, catered by Mulkey s Restaurant, starts at 12:30 pm. Tickets for this event are $9.00 (payable at the door). Everyone is welcome to attend. Please call Jean or Norm Neely at (309) with any questions.

5 Parish Nurse News Upcoming Health Happenings for 2018! P A G E 8 February is Heart Month! There will be tons of information out there regarding your heart in February. Please take a moment to pick one thing that you can do to take care of your heart (both spiritually and physically) in If you have children attending Merry Sunshine or Sunday school they will be experiencing heart education. Hopefully, we will have a cow or pig heart to display that will allow some great hands-on (with gloves) time. The kids love this exhibit. Matter of Balance Class- Diana and I totally forgot to take a picture of our great participants from our last class. We had 14 beautiful, fun people, which included some of our Parishioners, and many from other churches. Those that were new to our building complimented on the friendliness of people as they walked through the doors each week. The group was inquisitive, encouraged others, and made our job as instructors easy! Thank you to all of you that participated! The next class will be scheduled early in the spring. Please consider attending. Thank you! Steph and Diana End of Life Decisions Your Way - Our pastors recently did a series on Heaven. Remember one of the questions they asked? What are you doing to be prepared? Each of us want to be spiritually ready, prepared to go to our heavenly home. However, what about our physical readiness? All of us want to leave our earthly home for heaven in our sleep, but that does not always happen. Our health can turn on a dime, and what if you cannot make your own decisions for your health care? Do you have someone chosen to make those health decisions for you if you cannot? Who knows this? Have you shared your wishes with your family? Do you want your organs or tissue donated to others? Do you have a will and an Advanced Directive for health care? Is it updated? There are many things to think about, no matter what our age. To be prepared, we each need to finalize these concerns, while each of us are able to determine what we want. Please mark your calendars and join me on April 15th at 2pm in Fellowship Hall. Our keynote speaker will be Lisa Dodson from Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network. She has a personal story to share on the importance of organ donation, as will a few others from our church family. Dean Sutton will speak on the importance of having your financial and medical decisions written out and how you can accomplish this without spending a lot of money. There will also be information and conversation on POLST (a document geared to your health care workers, stating your medical wishes if a medical crisis occurs), Advance Directives (legal form, sometimes called a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care), and how to start that conversation with friends, family and your doctors. Please mark your calendars now and start walking! Join us on Mondays in the Worship Center (East Moline Campus) at 9 am for Walk and Talk. The walkers walk at their own pace and its ok to sit and rest. Please consider joining us this winter as the snow flies, to walk with others, and be warm and safe. (Walk and Talk is cancelled if a holiday falls on a Monday, or if there is a funeral.) Questions, please talk with Steph! JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund) Walk to stop Type I diabetes-team Christ Church will walk again this year. Please join us. It is a fun walk at Blackhawk College. There are vendors, food and music, as well as just a fun walk to be with others and help a great cause. The event will take place on May 5th, Questions? Please talk with Steph or Erin Williams. Race for the Cure-Team Christ Church will also participate in this walk on June 9, It was so much fun last year supporting Diane Thompson! The more the merrier. More details to come. Blood pressures will be taken : January 21, February 4, and February 18. Lifetree Cafe Lifetree Café is a weekly, hour-long interactive experience that features real people s real stories on film, guided conversation, biblical insights, and time to build relationships. Lifetree s topics will not only make you think but they ll also inspire you. Please review the upcoming topics for one that you might find appealing. Maybe there s a topic that would interest a friend or neighbor. Please invite them to join you for an hour at this conversation café where everyone s thoughts are welcome! The location for Lifetree Café is the coffee shop in the front of the Moline Public Library, called the Java Lab Cafe. The address is st St, Moline. Lifetree Café is held on Monday evenings 6pm - 7pm. We are enjoying the new location. Because it is off-campus and in the community, we have the option to order food and drinks. We continue to have complimentary coffee. Please arrive early, if you d like to take advantage of the weekly special on food before the program. The topics for February were not available at Courier deadline. A schedule for February will be available in late January. Paper copies of the schedule will be available in the narthex at both campuses. You can also find details in the Sunday bulletins and midweek e-news. If you want to know more, please go to the website or like the Lifetree Cafe - East Moline, Illinois Facebook page for news and session topics. You can also contact Dean Sutton at dls61244@gmail.com or Deb Bomberry at deb712@gmail.com. January 21 January 28 iserve Computer Ministry Every Wednesday ~ 9:30am-11:00am East Moline Campus Room #5 The iserve Computer Ministry is here to help folks learn more about using computers. We help with navigating your computer, writing resumes, job searches, basic Word and Excel, and website searches, just to name a few of the areas. We have six laptop computers ready to be utilized by anyone in the church or the community, free of charge. We are located in the Gathering Room, #5, at the East Moline Campus, each Wednesday from 9:30am- 11:00am. For more information, please contact Karyn Robertson or the East Moline Campus office ( ) to reserve a computer. Christ Church Coffee House The stage is yours for the taking Saturday, February 3rd (and the 1st Saturday of each month) at CUMC's Open Mic Night! Come sing your favorite songs, tell your favorite jokes, read your favorite poem, or kick back and take it all in! The fun begins at 6:00pm at the East Moline Campus, Fellowship Hall and goes 'til 8pm. For more info, call or text Josie at (309) No karaoke please. P A G E 5

6 P A G E 6 P A G E 7 Sunday School: Children, please join us each Sunday for the Small Talk at the 10:35am service. Sunday School follows with group time in the Chapel and then downstairs into the Education Wing. Please follow Ms. Karyn and the teachers out of the Sanctuary. Parents, please sign your child s first and last name into the Registration books. Preschool Room #19 ~ Ms. Reine (ages 3 and up-must be potty trained) K-1 st Grade Room #16 ~ Ms. Jeanie, Connie, Dawn or Holly 2 nd -3 rd Grade Room #18 ~ Ms. Debbie, Mr. Ernie, Ms. Steph 4 th -5 th -6 th grade Room #20 ~ Ms. Karyn, Ms. Theresa Books Galore Books Galore is a book ministry being started to help spread literacy among children. Please help us out by donating gently used books for preschool through 6th grade. The books will be handed out to our Food Pantry guests for their children at Christmas. Spanish books accepted! We are especially low on board books for preschool through 2nd grades. Please leave your donations in the mailroom at the East Moline Campus with a note marked for book ministry. Did you know??? Nursery is available for babies through age five at all three services: 8am, 9:15am, & 10:35am. Each child must have a current registration form. Please sign your child in and out of the registration book outside the nursery door. The nursery is located in Room #9 on the main floor. All Wacky Wednesday activities resume January 10th! Come join us for a Kid s night of FUN!!! Preschool through 5 th grade meet in God s Playground from 6:00pm-7:30pm. We will have Bible instruction, games, crafts, and snacks!! Each 4 th Wednesday is Kids in Mission Night helping kids in the church and community. Did you know that the Sunday school offering which is collected each week supports a young lady named Meskerem in Ethiopia? Sponsored through Compassion International, we support her with educational materials, health screenings and education, and vocational training. She is in the 7 th grade now and we correspond with her regularly. Our next mailing will be for Valentine s Day in which the children will be making valentines to send to her and her family. Thank you to all the children who give generously from the heart in order for this little girl to go to school!! Light Kids Conference 2018, for 1st through 5th graders, will be held Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 in Washington, Illinois from 9am-2pm. Check it out at: Contact Karyn for more information. Church Tutoring Christmas Party With 21 children from Ridgewood Elementary in our Tutoring program, we had a great time celebrating Christmas. Santa arrived just in time and all wishes were heard!! Thank you to all who made scarves, mittens, and hats for the children along with the donation of many stuffed animals for each child to take home as a gift. Thank you to all the dedicated and passionate tutors!! Thank you to everyone who donated many items to fill our shoeboxes. The Sunday school children filled 125 boxes to bring many smiles to the local children of our community. Thank you Jean Anderson for your donation of adorable crochet dolls!! God Bless all of you for your generosity in helping all children with a shoebox gift for Christmas. SuperStart, the nation s biggest Christian preteen event, will be held Friday, March 9th and Saturday, March 10th. The theme is Power Up!! This event is for 4th through 6th graders and includes an overnight stay in Bloomington, Illinois. Check it out at Contact Karyn for more information. Forming Faithful Families Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 CEB Notice in the scripture how Moses tells parents to talk about the Word of God. It s not reserved to bedside prayers or after-dinner devotions. It is something that should be intentionally talked about throughout the day. What does this mean for parents? Be intentional about talking to your kids about the Bible, being thankful to God, and talk about answers to prayer. Let your children say grace at mealtime and family gatherings and give them the opportunity to share what is on their heart. Pray together!!!