The Courier October 2007

Transcription

1 The Courier October 2007 Stroudsburg United Methodist Church 547 Main Street Stroudsburg, PA Sunday Worship at 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Ready to Go Fishing? Have you ever gone fishing? Do you still fish? What have you caught lately? Many of us learned how to bait a hook and how to cast. We learned what tackle we needed and how to use each specific piece of tackle. You might even have some precious memories of the person who initially taught you how to fish! Fishing season is always open in the church. Yes, we do fish in the church, too! Jesus called his first followers, who were fishermen, and invited them to fish for people. They were expert fishermen, but even experts have some low-catch days. One day the disciples were fishing and not having any luck at all. No matter where they cast their nets there were no fish to be found! Then Jesus came onto the scene and told them to throw their nets over on the other side of the boat. It didn t seem to matter that they just had tried that side before! When Jesus speaks you better listen! But knowing how to fish and actually getting out there and fishing are two totally separate things! So, go out and do some fishing! The Church is in the fishing business, too! For example, by knowing the process of fishing for bass, we can make some analogies for how we can fish for people and share the message of Christ with others. Knowing the proper tackle to use, how to use it, and knowing where and how to cast, are just two examples that can help us in our endeavors here in the church. Evangelism is sharing the story of Jesus with others. It s like that old saying You can give a person a fish, which can be eaten for one meal, or you can teach a person to fish, which can provide countless meals. When we share Jesus with others we teach them about a lifegiving well that will provide spiritual drink for eternity. This month we will be focusing on how to fish for people in the weekly sermons. We will have some fun talking about the basics of fishing for fish and how this can help us to fish for people in our area who are hungry for spiritual food. So, get ready, get out your fishing tackle, prepare to bait your hook and make a cast! It s time to go fishing! We are not so much concerned about bass, trout, or bluegills. But learning to catch these species of fish can help us to learn how to fish for people.

2 A sincere thank you to all the congregation of the Stroudsburg United Methodist Church for cards, food gifts, and the desk top computer! It will help to teach this old dog some new tricks as he celebrates his 80th birthday. I was truly surprised. - Pastor Tom *********************************** Don t forget to send a card to your church family this month. If you want to be included on our monthly birthday list, contact Lynn in the church office OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS 2 Floyd Williams 4 William Clark 4 Janet Marsh 6 Michael Fox 15 Alina Adams 19 Marylyn Block 20 Norman Hartley 23 Karen Steward 23 Matthew Transue 28 Jim Maroney 30 Lynda Williams 30 Ivan Moyer To all the members of the Senior Choir and UMW who helped in any way with the After- Service Fellowships on September 9th, whether you prepared and brought food, helped set up, served or helped clean up (or all of the above for some), we want to thank you for all you did to make Tom Anderman s 80th birthday party a success. The response when we asked for your help was wonderful. We had a great assortment of snacks, sandwiches and desserts and we believe everyone enjoyed all the selections on the buffet table. Thank you also to Lynn Pryor for getting the cakes and table decorations, to Theresa DeHaven for seeing that we had plenty of paper products and punch supplies and to Matt Transue for setting up the Fellowship Room for us. - Lynn Seip & Lois Shaffer

3 Our love and sympathy go out to the family and friends of: Clergy Appreciation Month is a special time that congregations set aside each year to honor their pastors and pastoral families for the hard work, sacrificial dedication and multiple blessings provided by these special people. We expect our Pastors to be perfect people, to always be available, to never be down and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward. Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or is not available the second we want him. What can you do? Here are some ways to help Pastor Bob and Pastor Tom and their families feel appreciated: A simple card telling them you appreciate them, a phone call, an invitation to lunch, a promise to pray for them or whatever else you can think of. Both of our pastors go above and beyond their duties, most of which the congregation never sees. So... Let s not forget our wonderful pastors this month and all they mean to us here at Stroudsburg UMC! Florence Clark who went home to be with the Lord on August 26, ************************************ Church Women United of Monroe County invites everyone to World Community Day It will be held on Friday, November 2, at 11:00 am here at Stroudsburg United Methodist. The theme is Embracing Justice Under God s Tent After service a light luncheon will be provided. ********************************** Pocono Lutheran Village is pleased to offer a limited time only special discount for our choice assisted living accommodations. This special offer is effective immediately and ends December 31, They are celebrating their 6th year of service to seniors and their families in Monroe County and beyond. Please visit our website at or contact them at

4 United Methodist Women OCTOBER NEWS Our October meeting will be held on the 23 rd, 7 pm. This evening s program is A Time of Sharing Your Favorite Items. Please bring and share with the group something that is near and dear to you. It is always interesting to learn something special about each of us that others may not know. We will also have Election of Officers at this meeting. Please mark your calendars for these October dates 10/8, 7 pm Little Quilts* (Downstairs dining room) 10/9, 10:30 am Mary Circle (Lounge) 10/9, 7 pm Budget Planning Meeting (Lounge) 10/16, 1:30 pm Lydia Circle (Downstairs dining room) 10/21 Welsh Cookie Tasting and Ordering after the 8:30 & 11 o clock church services 10/23, 7 pm General Meeting (Fellowship Room) 10/26, 9 am to (?) Make Welsh Cookies 10/27, 12 noon 3 pm Sell Welsh Cookies at the SUMC Halloween Open House 10/28, after the 8:30 & 11 o clock church services Deliver Welsh cookie orders, and sell any remaining cookies. *Because of many people away around this time, Little Quilts may be cancelled this month. If so, Eleanor Bentzoni will advise participants. CIRCLE NEWS When the Mary Circle meets on the 9 th, Joan Bennett will be the Response magazine chairperson, and Marylyn Block will offer Devotions. The Lydia Circle will be discussing The Woman with the Issue of Blood at their meeting on the 16 th. All women of the church are welcome to join in with any circle meeting! TOTES FOR THOSE IN NEED please consider donating deodorant, bar soap, and/or shampoo toward our project. We are still in considerable short supply of these items. As always, donations can be placed in the trunk in the Fellowship Room. Many thanks, in advance! WELSH COOKIES We ve been talking about them a bit, and we ll be making some for tasting (and taking orders for) on the 21 st, but for those of you who may not be familiar with Welsh cookies, they are a tea biscuit type of cookie. They are made into a dough from the usual baking items, flour, butter, eggs, etc. One unique component in the cookies is traditionally currants, which we will use in our cookies. They are also unique in that they are not baked, but once rolled out and cut into circles, cooked on a griddle! They re great alone, but are especially good with a good cup of coffee or tea as an afternoon snack! They also freeze well, so with the holidays approaching, you may want to consider buying some for the freezer! This should be a really fun event to make as a group together (the UMW and/or others who would like to participate) as well as hopefully be a good fundraiser for our unit. Depending on how many orders we have will determine how long we will be at the church making them on the 26 th. As a reminder, those with electric griddles are asked to bring them with them on the 26 th, and if you have an electric griddle, please let Joni Singer know ( ), so that we have an idea of how many will be coming. Within our church family orders can be placed anytime ahead or on the 21 st at the tastings. Please see any UMW member if you wish to place an order ahead of the 21 st. The cost is 50 cents/cookie or 6 cookies for $3.00. Orders will be accepted from outside the church family. However, these orders should be sent to the church accompanied by payment to arrive by October 19 th. The event is something new we are trying this year. We hope that everyone in the church will get behind the project with their support, and enjoy these luscious cookies as well! We are still playing catch up with some items needed for our totes. For the month of October,

5 A youth group for grades 7 thru 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. ~ 1 Peter 2:12 October 3 rd 5:00 7:00 pm. Wednesday Youth Group - Join us for pizza, discussions, games etc. every week. October 6 th Walk For Life with members of our youth group and church as we support our local Pregnancy Resource Center. October 7 th 5:00 p.m. The Connection A new worship experience here SUMC. Join us every Sunday before Youth Group to praise God! at October 7 th 7:00 p.m. A night at Mazezilla meet at the church and go to the corn maze in Saylorsburg. Friends welcome Cost: $9.00 extra drivers needed! Any volunteers? October 10 th 5:00 7:00 pm. Youth Group October 14 th 6:00 8:00 pm. Youth Group October 17 th 5:00 7:00 pm. Youth Group October 21 st 6 8 pm. Bring a roll of duct tape and your imagination as we begin to create our indoor maze for our church s Halloween Open House. We need to work on it all week check with Peggy for specific dates. October 24 th 5 7 pm. Continue working on the maze. Saturday, October 27 th 10 am 3 pm. Halloween Open House Distribute candy to Trick-or-Treaters and supervise the maze. October 28 th 6 8 pm. What goes up, must come down including the maze. October 31 st No Youth Group. Questions?? Call Peggy Stewart

6 TO SERVE YOU IN OCTOBER CONNECT - A NEW WORSHIP EXPERIENCE Are you ready to Connect? Sunday, October 7 th at 5 pm SUMC will begin a new Christ-centered, worship experience using multi-media, the Word, and most importantly our hearts passionate for God. The purpose is simple to Connect others to Christ. We are building the ministry team now. Anyone that is interested in being a part of the Connect Ministry Team (in any manner) please talk to Jeff Weber (jweber@ptd.net) or Pastor Bob Shank (bobshank@epix.net). Finally, we ask the entire church family to make Connect a part of your regular prayers. Pray that Connect will help people to develop a personal relationship with Christ. GREETERS 8:30 7 Sandra Secor 14 Ray & Alice Singer 21 Jack & Barbara Hineline 28 Bill & Marylyn Block 7 Vivian Cobbs 14 Betty Michelin 21 Marion Stewart 28 Joan & Byron Coke 11:00 USHERS 8:30 (All Month) Richard Haase, Bryan Hill, Jack Hineline Brad Hildabrant, Ralph Harrison USHERS 11:00 Betty Michelin, Joni & Glenn Singer, Kelly Edinger, Vivian Cobbs ALTAR GUILD Betty Schuler & Eleanor Bentzoni SOUP KITCHEN 7 Dawes Dunham, Coordinator Helprs: 1st Baptist E.S. Youth 14 Joan Newman, Coordinator Helpers: Zion Lutheran Brethren 21 Joan Fabian, Coordinator Helpers: ESU/UCM Students 28 Tom Odenwelder, Coordinator Helpers: Grace UMC Youth

7 Please join us for this month s Terrific Tuesday Dinner Tuesday, October 16 th 6:00 pm Turkey Mashed Potatoes with Gravy Fall Vegetable Tossed Salad Bar Rolls and Butter Rice Pudding $6.00 per person under 10 (chicken nuggets) ~ $2.00 If you plan on joining us for an evening of terrific food, fellowship, and fun... sign up at the rear of the sanctuary We always need assistance with set up (4 pm Tues.) and cleanup after the program.

8 First Friday Movie Night October 5 th ~ 7:00 pm Featuring... A Free Family Movie Come and enjoy the FREE movie projected on a large screen with FREE Popcorn, Snacks, Cold Drinks! This event is sponsored by the Membership and Evangelism Committee ******************************************************* Halloween Open House COOKIES NEEDED! The Membership & Evangelism Team will host an Open House on Saturday October 27 th during Stroudsburg s Halloween Parade and Downtown Trick-or-Treating. The church will be open for visitors and we will serve cookies and punch. The Youth Group will have a maze again this year for the children and will help with distributing candy. We need donations of cookies (homemade if possible) and bags of individually wrapped, store bought candy. Please leave them in the upstairs kitchen after church Sunday, October 21 st through Friday October 26 th. Thanks!

9 We thank the following people for their contributions to Florence Clark s Memorial Fund. James & Betty Heckman Barbara DeVivo Joseph Bender, Jr, and Sons Arthur Arnold II Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association - John Eirkson Snowdon Funeral Homes - Kevin Duffy Paul & Kim Frantz Jacqueline Thompson and Doris Rosemond Pocono Mountain Vacation Bureau Harding Funeral Home - David Harding Riley & Company, Inc. Terry & Suzanne McCool Gary Raish & Bob Riday The Staff at Smith-McCracken Funeral Home Doris Philips Newman, Williams, Mishkin, Corveleyn, Wolfe & Fareri Gale Butz Richard & Carole Philips Joseph & Dawn Maletz Gary & Karen Oney, Denise & family, Robyn & family David Ace Kathleen & Stewart Young Nancy Slutter & Hugh Altemose Allen & Kathryn Raish Eastern PA Funeral Directors Assoc. Elizabeth Harper Thanks to these wonderful memorial gifts, the Clark family decided to plant a dogwood tree in the back of the church in the corner of the parking lot. We will remember Florence through these special gifts. Thank you.

10 STROUDSBURG UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 547 MAIN STREET STROUDSBURG PA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED