April 2018 VISION STATEMENT MISSION STATEMENT. To make Disciples of Jesus Christ. To Live Our Faith To Share our Faith and To Serve

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1 Thompson UMC P.O. Box 29 Thompson, OH April 2018 Published monthly by: Thompson United Methodist Church Deadline for Articles: 23rd of the Month Thompson UMC P.O. Box Madison Road Thompson, OH Phone: Fax: Church Office Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Closed Fridays Pastor Jonathan Cooney Parsonage Phone: Cell Phone: We re on the Web! Visit us at: VISION STATEMENT To make Disciples of Jesus Christ MISSION STATEMENT To Live Our Faith To Share our Faith and To Serve

2 LAMPLIGHTER April Thompson United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 29, Thompson, OH Our Lenten season began on Valentine s Day this year. During our Ash Wednesday service that evening we talked about broken hearts and how the psalmist says, A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (51:17). In other words, God can do little or nothing with a heart so full of itself and stuffed with ego that it sees no need for God. Such a heart struggles to do everything on its own and travels blindly toward its own selfdestruction. But a broken heart (as tragic as that sounds) is a heart that is well aware of its own weakness and need. It has room for God because the self sees itself in proper perspective to the Sovereign Lord. And God can move in, can fill it up, and make it and mold it after his will. So during Lent we are called to humble ourselves and be reconciled with God. Our Lenten season ends and our Easter season begins on April Fool s Day. What a strange pair of bookends these two secular holidays make for such a holy season! And yet, if we can speak of broken hearts on Ash Wednesday, we can speak of being fools for Christ on Easter. The Apostle Paul does not hesitate to use the term for himself when he writes, We are fools for Christ (1 Corinthians 4:10). As he says at the beginning of 1 Corinthians, for the foolishness of God is stronger than man s strength (1:25). Sermon Schedule April 1 Easter Sunday The Clown of God April 8 John 20:19-31 The Fourth Wall 2018 April 15 Women s Sunday District Superintendent Rev. Sondra Snode will preach April 22 John 10:11-18 The Good Shepherd April 29 John 15:1-8 The Vine and The Branches We are reminded throughout this season that we are nothing without Christ and everything with him even if the world sees it differently. Salvation does not come through knowledge or power or action but through the simplest belief in the love of God in Jesus Christ. Your Servant for Christ s Sake, Jonathan Wednesdays at 7:00 PM Sunday Worship Service 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for all Ages 9:00 a.m. Kid Kare every Sunday Ages: Pre K 5th Grade following the Children s Message Nursery available for children up to 3 years old The Apostles Creed During the season of Lent we are reciting the Apostles Creed during our morning worship and an adult/youth class is studying the creed during the Sunday school hour. Although our hymnal includes several creeds and statements of faith, the Apostles Creed is the most commonly used in Protestant and Catholic churches. The main part of the creed appeared in Rome in the middle of the second century against certain heresies regarding the nature of Jesus and his relationship with the Father. Other parts were added over time. This creed gradually eclipsed the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) which was more comprehensive and doctrinal (it is also in our hymnal) but became a source of controversy between Western and Eastern churches. The word catholic in the Apostle s Creed means universal. I take it to mean that we believe we are in the historical and continuous tradition of the church and see a unity among all believers, whether it is manifest or not. Page 2

3 Page 3 April 2018 Holy Week Events here at Thompson United Methodist Holy Thursday March 29th Service 7:00 p.m. Good Friday, walk-through Journey to the Cross March 30th from 5:00pm until 8:00pm. April 1st 7:00 a.m. at Thompson Ledge Park Breakfast at Church after Service Easter Sunday April 1st Worship Service 10:00 a.m. Holy Week Labyrinth Chapel United Methodist Events In Madison Monday March 26th Saturday March 31st Walk the 22 foot labyrinth from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. & 5-7 p.m. Lenten Luncheon Park United Methodist Wednesday March 28th, noon Maundy Thursday Services Worship service at Trinity Lutheran at 7 p.m. Seder and Worship Service at Chapel UMC at 7p.m. Soup Dinner at Central Congregational Church at 6 p.m. Tenebrae Service at Central Congregational At 7:30 p.m. Good Friday Events Good Friday Breakfast at Chapel UMC at 9 a.m. Community Good Friday Service at Central Congregational Church at noon Tenebrae Service at Park UMC at 7 p.m. Tenebrae Service at Trinity Lutheran Church 7 p.m. Worship Service at Cornerstone Friends Church 7 p.m. Staff changes The church is pleased to announce two changes in our staff beginning immediately. Brittany Erin Toth is our new administrative assistant. She is following Sheryl Roessner who needs to devote more time to other projects. Brittany Erin s office hours will remain the same: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Ben Townsend is our new custodian. He will be working with the pastor and Mike Barton, the chair of our board of trustees, to see that our facilities are well maintained. Thank you, Brittany Erin and Ben, for stepping up to help us out!

4 Page 4 April 2018 April MISSIONS Welcome to Lake-Geauga Habitat for Humanity! Mission & Purpose Mission: To work in partnership with God and people in need of a foundation for a better future through affordable home ownership. We will be a resource for assisting and encouraging them as responsible citizens of the community. Lake-Geauga Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat International, but we do not receive financial support from our parent organization. As a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry, we are dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty one family at a time. We help build simple, decent homes for families in need right here in Lake & Geauga Counties. We are not a charity, but we are a charitable organization. In other words, a Habitat home is not free. Families we partner with must commit to sweat equity hours. They must also be able to pay a mortgage, utilities, taxes and any other expenses any homeowner has. Our building efforts are in Lake & Geauga County, Ohio. We typically build 3 to 4 homes per year for families in need. Nearly all labor is donated by volunteers and we also receive many in-kind donations of construction materials. Habitat offers a hand up not a hand out! History Geauga County Habitat for Humanity was first organized in 1987 as a special project to focus on the need for affordable housing in the Chagrin Falls Park area. In 1989, the local affiliate was formed to expand our service area to all of Geauga County. Since then, 88 homes have been built and 11 homes have been renovated for families throughout our service area. In August of 2014 we expanded our service reach to Lake County. We have a successful ReStore retail outlet in Newbury, Ohio. Our second ReStore location opened August 6, 2016 in Eastlake, Ohio. 100 Parker Court Suite 6 Chardon, OH (440) Please call our office for most up-to-date informa9on: Lake-Geauga Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat Interna9onal, a nonprofit ecumenical housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing from the world and to make decent shelter a ma?er of conscience and ac9on. Sunday school kids are promoting a little side fund raiser called Nickels for Nails to help raise funds for Lake- Geauga Habitat for Humanity s next housing project. So if you see a paint can sitting around, consider dropping in any loose change or an extra dollar or two. (donations will continue until the end of April) Center Stage Drama News Looking forward to this Summer we are trying to produce two amazing weekends of theater! First on July 20th and 21st we have tentatively announced the return of the hilarious comedy romance one act, The Ugly Duckling, performed with a short children's production beforehand. We end our summer with a swashbuckling classic, Treasure Island on August 17th and 18th. If you would like to be involved look for audition announcements for early in May! Hope to have you as a part of our productions!

5 Page 5 April 2018 Coming soon! 2018 ANNUAL AUCTION Saturday, May 5th at Thompson United Methodist Church Doors open at 5:30PM There will be tables of silent auction items. There will be a live auction starting at 6:00PM. The UMW will be selling food and beverages. This is a great family event. Its fun for everyone, with all kinds of treasures to discover at low, low prices and a few surprises! Don t forget to: Save the date, Saturday, May 5th Clean out your aacs, garages, basements, and closets of those no-longer-needed like new items Bring dona9ons to the church during open hours aber April 1 st Plan to bring the entire family Your purchase will support Children Ministries Please Note: TV s will not be accepted (Please keep in mind this is an auction and save the garage sale items to donate later for the July 4th Rummage Sale.)

6 Page 6 April 2018 The Chris9an Educa9on Commi?ee will be mee9ng Monday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m. All commi?ee members and all teachers are encouraged to a?end. Women s Sunday April 15th Special guest speaker District Superintendent Rev. Sandra Snode Social time snacks will be provided by the UMW and served in the Social Room April Schedule for TUMC Youth Group JR & SR High Tuesdays April 3rd & 17th 7:00 pm 8:30 pm LADIES You re invited to a FIESTA NIGHT OUT Tuesday, May 22nd, 6:00 PM Thompson United Methodist Church All are welcome! Come and join in this fun filled night, with a special guest speaker. There will be a taco salad bar, nachos, slushy drinks and MORE! Please bring your friends and your favorite dessert to share.

7 Page 57 January April Bethany Toth 4. Cora Sweet 5. Debbie Coffman 9. Shelva (Jane) Ba?les Jason Smith Dennis HerderB 11. Linda Herder 16. Michael Barton 17. Norm Starkey Megan MacCartney (2002) Sunday, April 1 Monday, April 2 Tuesday, April 3 Wednesday, April 4 Monday, April 9 Tuesday, April 10 Wednesday, April11 Sunday, April 15 Tuesday, April 17 Wednesday, April18 Thursday, April 24 Saturday, April 28 April Birthdays 18. Phil Shemkunas 22. David LaRue 23. Sandy Turner 24. Shirley Childress 26. Cody Dean 27. Tegan Coffman Barb MacCartney 28. Abby LaRue Jared Toth Upcoming Meengs & Events Easter Sunrise Service 7 a.m. Blossom Hill Service 2 p.m. Education Meeting 7 p.m. Youth Group 7 p.m. Pastor s Bible Study, 7 p.m. Trustees Meeting, 6:30 p.m. Council Meeting, 7:30 p.m. UMW, 6:30 p.m. Pastor s Bible Study, 7 p.m. Woman's Sunday Youth Group, 7 p.m. Pastor s Bible Study, 7 p.m. Faith Circle, 6:30 p.m. Outreach, 7 p.m. District Spring Conference In Mayfield 8:30 p.m. April Anniversaries April 30th Ivan & Jan Garrabrant If you know of addions, deleons, or correcons to the birthday or anniversary lists, please let the church office know. Thank you! Would you like us to pray for you? Start a Prayer Chain at Thompson United Methodist Church by calling: Pastor Jonathan Cooney: Jonathan s cell phone: Fay Van Gorder: Please call and remember to send cards and visit our friends! At HOME Shirley Childress Carl Doerr Lindy Hopkins Blossom Hill Eva Gibson Maplewood Lois Mascorella Cardinal Woods Sally Coe Winona Webber Precious Care Assisted Living Roy Burkholder Briar Hill Robert Rohrbaugh LampLighter Submissions Submission deadline is the 23rd of each month. Drop off your input at the church office, call or . Let the congregation know what your committee or church group is doing in support of our ministry and mission!

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