OUR MISSION: Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World

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1 September 2016 COLUMBIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 510 Walnut Street Columbia, PA (717) Rev. Tom Grubbs, Pastor OUR MISSION: Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World = = = = = = = We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them. - William Arthur Ward There was a boy named Jimmy who was walking in the desert and he found a magic lantern on a huge pile of rocks. Jimmy thought to himself that if he rubbed the lantern that a genie would come out and grant him three wishes. Sure enough a genie appeared. Jimmy was excited and was ready for his first wish, when the genie replied to Jimmy that he does not give wishes but advice. So the genie told Jimmy to pick up as many rocks as he can and take them home with him and then the genie disappeared. Jimmy thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard and decided to only pick up one small rock and put it in his pocket. When he got home he took off his dirty clothes to be washed. His mom came through, got the laundry and went through all of Jimmy s pockets. After she examined it closely she asked Jimmy where he got the rock she found in his pocket. O some old stupid genie told me to pick up a bunch of them but I only picked up one. Jimmy s mother yelled at him and said this is not a rock it is a huge diamond, it is worth thousands of dollars. Jimmy went back looking for more rocks after this but he could never find the pile of rocks again. Following Christ is a lot like this story. When we serve Jesus, sometimes we feel we are wasting our time and effort because some days we don t see the fruit of our labor or understand why God wants us to do certain things. Sometimes in following Christ it means we will experience pain and suffering. But the Bible tells us that no matter what we are blessed by God. Not blessed in the future, but blessed today, tomorrow, and every day. When we keep our eyes on Jesus all the things we do that we think are not for God s kingdom become diamonds in our heavenly crown. The question is will we stick with

2 it or will we give up? Following Christ is not easy, but one day our service to God will translate into diamonds in a heavenly crown with the words said to us, Well done thy good and faithful servant. (Illustration of Jimmy and the Genie taken from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks) Consumed by the Call, Pastor Tom 1 Corinthians 9: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Are you new to CUMC? Maybe you have been attending for a while. I want to invite anyone who wishes to join CUMC or anyone who wants a refresher course in what it means to be a member of CUMC to join me on September 11 and 18. I will be offering a new members class at 10:05 a.m. in the prayer chapel. Come and learn what it means to be a part of the CUMC church family and how you can get plugged into things. Call the church office to sign up for the class. If you have any questions contact Pastor Tom. SEPTEMBER CUMC MEETING DATES Finance Team September 1:00 PM SERMON THEMES FOR SEPTEMBER September 4 Matthew 13:1-9, What type of soil are you? 11 Matthew 16:13-20 Who is in control? 18 Matthew 18:21-30 Forgiveness 25 Matthew 20:1-16 Getting what we don t deserve WAYS TO CONTACT PASTOR TOM If you need to contact Pastor Tom in case of an emergency after church office hours, please call his home phone number of or him at rev.tomgrubbs@yahoo.com Administrative Council/Teams September 12:15 PM (lunch provided) (Trustees, Worship, Outreach) Ad. Council 1:00 PM Program Staff Meeting with Pastor Tom Sept :15 PM (Youth Director, Worship Leader, Choir Director) The September meeting of the United Methodist Women will be a covered dish gettogether on September 20 at 5:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Ruth Ann Williams will lead devotions and Magda Miltenberger will speak on Prayer Shawls. All women are invited to attend.

3 Sunday School time 10:05 10:55 The Primary Department will be using David C. Cook, Bible-in-Life materials: Early Elementary (ages 4 grade 1) We Are Important to Jesus John (scripture used) We are important to Jesus because He loves us and will help when we ask in prayer. Elementary (grades 2 3) Escaping Egypt Exodus (scripture used) In Life, we only see the small picture while God sees the whole picture. Keep trusting in God. Upper Elementary (grades 4-6) Escaping Egypt Exodus (scripture used) God is in control and keeps His promises. He wants us to Walk His Walk and Talk His Talk. In honor of PASTOR TOM S ARRIVAL, the September 25 th Fellowship Breakfast will take place BETWEEN (10:00 AM) the first and second services. There will not be Sunday School that week, but there will be time to meet and greet Pastor Tom, his wife Bonnie and their three sons, Tyler, Cody and Dylan. Come with a smile, and warm greeting and ready for a great breakfast! CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENT POLICY If anyone wants to make an announcement regarding upcoming events that your ministry at CUMC is doing please contact the church office no later than Thursday at 12 noon of the week you would like to make the announcement. This will help Pastor Tom, the worship leader, and the liturgist for the services be better prepared each week in the planning of the worship services. If you have any questions contact Pastor Tom. Joyful Noise Offering: We will continue to collect loose change for the Joyful Noise offering each week. The money collected is used for various Outreach projects such as Day Camp, VBS, God s Chefs, Super Cupboard, Operation Christmas Child, Santa s Secret Shop, Thanksgiving Dinner, etc. Please continue to save your loose change! Operation Christmas Child collection: Throughout the year we will again collect various items for the Operation Christmas Child packing party (Nov. 6). Look for the collection container in the lobby. Following is a list of items that will be collected each month: September: scarves, knit hats, socks October: cash donations for shipping costs and additional items to pack Items not allowed: military toys, scissors, glass, soft candy, sharp items Packing party will be held on November 6 at noon.

4 Mission envelopes: Reminder; your offering in the blue Mission envelopes helps to fund Outreach projects. Thank you for your giving. Not Just a YARD SALE! Shop! Eat! Enjoy! Something for everyone! Saturday, September 10, :00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Yard sale vendors may rent space: 5 ft. x 8 ft. - $15 per space For registration or questions: Call or or see Kay Leader In addition there will be **Book Shoppe **Boutique Shoppe **Bake Shoppe **Craft Shoppe Music Art and Gift Gallery Café breakfast and lunch items Free children s activities (face painting, balloons, and games) Held inside off-street parking elevator! Widely advertised!! ** Donations of crafts, boutique items, books, and baked goods needed. To volunteer for sale day or to donate items, please complete the help and donations form that can be found in bulletins and on the credenza. Proceeds benefit various Outreach Ministries. Ocean Commotion, the 16 th Annual Columbia United Methodist Church Day Camp was held the week of August 1-5 and was a boatload of fun for all campers, Jr. Shepherds, and adult volunteers! 85 campers, from 1 st graders to 6 th graders met daily from 9 AM to 2 PM at Glatfelter s Park, with a Wednesday field trip to Lancaster County Central Park and Pool. The days were filled with singing, science experiments, crafts and games, and Bible stories focusing on the book of Genesis and the story of Noah and the great flood. Campers learned about obeying, trusting, and thanking God, as well as how to stand for God even if it means standing alone. Each day a nutritious morning snack and lunch was served. This fun week would not be possible without volunteer help and generous donations of money and other needed items. A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to ALL who helped in any way. 17 teenage Jr. Shepherds and 25 Adult Leaders helped daily to move campers from activity to activity, teach at each station, and serve snacks and lunches. All of these volunteers made a positive impact on young lives so that campers left camp knowing they can obey, trust, and stand up for God just as Noah did during the time of the great flood. Day Camp volunteers please note: There will be a Day Camp Review meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6 PM for anyone who helped with Ocean Commotion Day Camp. We will review Evaluation Forms and discuss successes and improvements needed for next year. If you did not complete an evaluation form, please see Nancy Berdiner to get one. Turn the evaluation in to the church office or to Nancy or Aileen. Your help at camp was greatly appreciated and your input is valued.

5 We need your help! CUMC is looking for volunteers in the following areas: 1. Sunday morning greeter before the 9 AM Praise service. 2. Guitarist and Bass Guitarist for the Praise band at 9 AM. 3. Individuals to read scripture at the 9 AM Praise service. 4. Individuals to run the sound board at 9 AM and 11 AM. 5. Individuals to run power point slides at 9 AM and 11 AM. 6. Individuals interested in teaching a Children s Sunday School class. 7. Individuals interested in helping in the Youth or Children s departments. 8. Individuals to be a part of a drama team. Please prayerfully consider these different areas to serve at CUMC. They don t require a huge time commitment, just individuals who are willing to serve. Please contact the church office or Pastor Tom to sign up to help with one of the areas listed above. Dear donors, My parents always taught me that sacrifice is good for the soul. Thank you for your sacrifice on behalf of The Columbia Food Bank. Every can of soup, box of cereal, or package of hot dogs could have gone on your shelf or in your refrigerator. Every dollar you donated could have stayed in your wallet. Instead, you generously decided to help feed the hungry. For your contribution and totally unselfish sacrifice this month, we are so very grateful. Sincerely, Danielle Peters, Director Columbia Food Bank Note: Letters of thanks from the Columbia Food Bank are posted on the bulletin board in the lobby when they are received. The July letter was shared here as a reminder that there is a food bank can in the lobby to accept your donations of nonperishable food. Donated items are delivered to the Columbia Food Bank each week. The food bank is currently in need of the following: boxed instant mashed potatoes, pasta and potato sides, pancake syrup. The Finance Team would like to thank everyone who is sponsoring the CUMC worship ad in the Columbia Merchandiser! Thank you for your generous giving so that CUMC can be listed in the House of Worship section in order to get the word out about CUMC! PRAY ALWAYS FOR GOD S PEOPLE As a part of our ongoing commitment to pray without ceasing we want to lift up to you for prayer these members of our church family who are residing in nursing homes: St. Anne s Home, 3952 Columbia Avenue, Columbia Jean Grider 211 Sara Anne Linkous Susquehanna Valley Nursing & Rehab 745 Old Chiques Hill Road, Columbia Juniper Village, 607 Hearthstone Lane, Mount Joy Clyde Tick Smith Minerva Brommer

6 1 Beverly Von Stetten 3 John Berdiner Jr. 5 Myrna Shearer Cecelia Schlossman Jami Lavery Rebecca Leader 6 Sandra Frantz Gary Rupp 7 Douglas Beard Justin Koehler 8 Patriciann Haldeman 10 Blake Helton 12 Tracy Sload-Waugh Geoffrey Arnold 13 Cleo Grove Emma Grove Harmony Zeamer 14 Chad Berdiner 15 Norman Meiskey III 16 Ruth Mahan Bennett Von Stetten 17 Pete Null Cindy Bankert Monica Sheirich 18 Sandra Leese 19 Adrienne Yohe 20 Rob Anderson Lindsay Ross 22 Lora Sload 23 Everett Wolf 24 Wendy Bertoli 25 Lauren Mogey 26 Sophia Lutz 27 Erin Moore Alixe Hemmerly 28 Jodi Leschke 29 Susan McAllister Kay Leader If you are having a birthday in September and are not listed here, that means we do not have a record of your birth date. Please call the church office with that information, and have a happy birthday! UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS Sept. 10 The youth will be helping with the church yard sale by having a face painting table for kids. This will be held from 8 AM to 1 PM at the church. Sept. 18 The youth group will be going to Gretna Glen, a camp and retreat center. Gretna Glen holds free youth nights the third Sunday of every month. It will be a fun evening of activities, faith building and snacks! We will meet at the church at 3:30 and should be back around 7:30. Oct. 2 Fall Fest will be held at the Ingoglia s house, there will be games and food plus a lesson on the masks we wear! It will be a night of fun and drawing closer to God. We will meet at the church at 3 and return around 5. Oct. 16. The youth group will be going to Gretna Glen, a camp and retreat center. Gretna Glen holds free youth nights the third Sunday of every month. It will be a fun evening of activities, faith building and snacks! We will meet at the church at 3:30 and should be back around 7:30. Youth Sunday School Topics We will get to dig into the words of Jesus himself, the red stuff. The lesson for Sunday school will take a look at five of Jesus parables, uncover what His message was, and see how it still applies to our lives today. September 11 The Bible September 18 Our Talents October 2 Pride October 16 Persistent prayer

7 August September 2016 October Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :05 AM Sunday School 5 Labor Day Office closed 6 7 6:30 PM YEP Moser home 8 1 PM Needles & Hooks AM 1 PM Not Just a Yard Sale 11 10:05 AM Sunday School 10:05 AM New member class 12:30 PM YEP meeting at CUMC PM Finance :05 AM Sunday School 10:05 AM New member class 12:15 PM Ad Council 3:30 PM Youth group :30 PM United Methodist Women covered dish 21 6 PM Day Camp Review meeting 22 1 PM Needles & Hooks :05 AM Fellowship Breakfastt 12:15 PM Program Staff meeting 26 6 PM PATH Notes: More Calendar: Oct, Nov, PDF Calendar Please note: We will not be having Sunday School on September 25 th. Instead, please join us for a special Fellowship Breakfast in honor of Pastor Tom, his wife Bonnie, and their sons, Tyler, Cody, and Dylan. This special breakfast will take place between the two services.