A Celebration of Ministry

A Celebration of Ministry Fall is synonymous with football and cooler weather, two things most of us like. In church, fall is synonymous with the annual stewardship campaign, one thing most of us don t like. It s time to preach about money and get pledges to the budget. Anxiety rises. It s like a root canal: it s needed, but we just want to get it over with. Many congregants lay low and show back up around Advent, when we get back to Jesus and Love and other non-threatening subjects. Over the past several years, we have made some intentional changes at NHUMC in regards to financial giving. The nomenclature has evolved from campaign to program to emphasis. It s not that we are attempting to soft-sell or avoid the subject altogether; it is rather that we are believing that as we are true to our mission to reach, teach, and love, God will provide, through willing disciples, the resources necessary to accomplish the mission. Simply put, we have learned that if we focus on the mission, money will follow. So when your pastors began the discussion of fall stewardship, we quickly concluded that this fall not be a solicitation of money but a celebration of ministry; a celebration of unity and community; a celebration of all that God is doing in our midst and why God is able to do it! Our ship is not sinking, our ship is sailing strong! Every month our Network witnesses to that fact. People experience it every time they set foot on this campus or go forth in Jesus name to serve others. God is supplying every need according to God s riches in Christ Jesus! Yes, in October we will mail out commitment cards and invite you to make or renew your commitment on Sunday, November 1. But no, you don t have to hide out during October while we talk about money. In October we will rejoice in our abundant life in Christ, the faith which allows God to bless and provide, the discipline which enables us to be generous, and the God who promises us a future with hope as we seek God with all our heart. October will be a month of proclaiming and hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. Let s enjoy fall! Grace and Peace, Milton Lewis Lupina Stewart Dan Harrington

( ) october 7 Cherub and Kings Kids Choirs Christmas Program rehearsals begin, 6:15 p.m. 11 NLDF and Adult Special Needs luncheon, noon, Worship Center 12 Network deadline UMW La Roca Circulo de Esperanza, 6:15 p.m., Children s 8 UMW Hope meeting, 6:30 p.m., Children s 10 UMM Meeting, 7 p.m., Acts Café/kitchen 13 UMW Circle of Love, noon, Acts 1 16 Senior High and families Youth Camping Trip 18 Mission at the Ministry Center (details to follow) 20 Network Folders, 9 a.m., Gathering Area UMW Faith Circle, 10 a.m., Acts 1 24 UMW Fun, Food, Follies, 2 p.m., Worship Center 25 UMM Spaghetti lunch to-go, all morning, parking lot 26 Emmaus Gathering, 6:30 p.m., Acts Café 28 All Church Dinner/40th anniversary Worship Event Wednesday Nights in Oct. 5:30 p.m.: Supper Lite 6:15 p.m.: Worship Sanctuary: Prayer, speaker, songs, Communion Worship Center: La Roca Children s Choir practice 6:30 p.m.: Middle School Youth Group High School Small Groups 7 p.m.: Bible Studies/classes for all ages Sanctuary Choir practice Oct. Supper lite menu October 7: Turkey and dressing October 14: Lasagna and salad October 21: Baked potato, chili, salad October 28: enchiladas, rice, beans August Attendance These figures include Wednesday worship and all Sunday morning worship services. 8/2: 817 8/9: 784 8/16: 810 8/23: 985 8/30: 934 18th at the Ministry Center On the 18th of each month we continue to be present at the Ministry Center to continue meeting those who live in and pass through the neighborhood. On Sunday, October 18th, we ll have a music concert in the evening. Watch your bulletin for more details. Hope to see you there! Moving On Group The Moving On group will be meeting at La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant on October 10 th at 11:00 a.m. The restaurant is located at 18747 Redland Road. The Moving On group is an affinity group for widows and widowers that meets on the third Saturday each month for great fellowship and good food. You are welcome to join us! Please call Maxine by noon on the 9 th to RSVP, 967-0294. Annual Fun, Food, Follies Saturday, October 24, 2 p.m. Join the UMW for another joyful afternoon of elegant ambiance, crazy characters, zany, side-splitting skits and a Silent Auction. Proceeds support women and children s ministries. Childcare is available with reservation. Tickets are $12 and go on sale October 4. Let the shenanigans begin! Fall Church Workday Mark your calendars Annual Fall Church Workday Saturday, November 7, 8 a.m. More information to follow

La Roca As Northern Hills UMC reaches 40 years of being a congregation, I celebrate many things with you: I celebrate that we are a cloud of witnesses of a God who comes to our lives, transforms us and empowers us to Teach, Reach and Love through the Love of Christ in this World. I celebrate those who planted the vision that has sustained this congregation for all this time. I celebrate so many things that we as a church have accomplished through God. For example: I celebrate that La Roca 1:11 service has been present for 2 years. I celebrate that we expanded our ESL ministries from 2 locations to 3: Northern Hills UMC, Steubing Ranch Elementary and Stahl Elementary. I celebrate that we will have a time of worship and praise on October 18 th at the Ministry Center. I celebrate that we are one of the few congregations able to send 2 teams to Guatemala in the same year to empower a mission where we learn and cooperate to be the Body of Christ. I celebrate that we will take a powerful offering on World Communion Sunday (October 4 th ) to support the United Methodist Church in Liberia. We will help a Methodist High School who needs around $6,000 to be able to purchase vital school needs to function plus 100 students scholarship to go to school - $200 a year per student. For more information to get involved in missions and outreach ministry, please e-mail us at ministerio@nhumc.org. Bendiciones de Dios, Pastor Lupina WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY October 4 The first Sunday in October is World Communion Sunday, which promotes Christian unity. We are hoping to continue our mission in Liberia through our relationship with United Methodist pastors James and Anna Labala. Last year, NHUMC collected $12,000 to send to aid in the Ebola breakout. This year, if we collect half that amount, we can help the William V.S. Tubman Gray UM School (where Anna is the Principal) cover their operating costs. This includes tuition for 100 students, textbooks, sewing machines and a new laboratory room. Thank you for prayerfully considering how you can contribute to this mission on World Communion Sunday.

Music Ministry What s new in Music? NHUMC Instrumental Ensemble! Per request, we ve started an instrumental ensemble at Northern Hills! Come join us Sunday afternoons 3:30-4:30 in the Sanctuary! We are looking for players of all types, woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings. All are welcome to play! We have a variety of ages and abilities, Youth through adult. Come learn from each other as we seek to serve the Lord! Youth Choir is back! Sundays 4:30-5:30 in the Sanctuary. Come Jump in. The choir will lead worship October 4 th, November. 15 th and December 6 th this fall. Christmas Eve Choir! It may seem early, but we are starting to recruit for Christmas Eve. Many faithful choir members visit family, so we need YOU to step up and help fill out the choir for Christmas Eve services in the Worship Center. You re guaranteed to have a seat! The music will be accessible, Hymns you already know and one anthem. We will make Part CDs as needed. 4:00, 6:00, 8:00 services. Please register online or contact Andrea Runnels. Adult Choir Openings! We have three worship services in the sanctuary that need more choir members. 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00. Traditional Worship is growing at NHUMC and as a result we re spreading out the choir pretty thin. Come help us fill up the loft in EVERY service (8:30 and 9:45 especially). We practice Wednesdays in the Sanctuary from 7:30-8:15. Hope to see you there! Join us Wednesday, October 28 for an all-church dinner and worship event as we celebrate 40 years of God s faithfulness to Northern Hills UMC! NHUMC 40th Anniversary Celebration

New Members Charles Aldrete Larry and Debbie Schramm Mary Lewis Ryan and Andrea Smith Jim and Linda Lawson o Sandi Martin Michael and Simona Cude New Staff Gary Frers We are excited to welcome two administrative assistants to our staff! Candy Mochmar is working in the main office and Susan Bartlett is working with worship and music. Both ladies have been members of NHUMC for several years and are a great asset to our team. The Vine Wellness Group: A Counseling Ministry Self Care to Help with Anxiety It s about that time of year again. Time to start thinking about all of the upcoming family gatherings, holiday travel plans, gifts to buy, parties to plan, food to prepare, and so on and so forth. The list goes on and on! Often times we experience anxiety during the holiday season because of an unspoken and unnecessary pressure to reach unrealistic expectations. These expectations can be anything from feeling the need to spend a certain amount on the holidays, getting along with frustrating family members, and this idea of having it all together at all times. The best thing you can do for yourself and those you love during this hectic time is take care of yourself. You ll never be able to take care of other people if you aren t taking care of yourself first. A few ways to take time for yourself include, taking the time to do things you enjoy, live within your means, and find someone to talk to when you are feeling overwhelmed. In addition to counseling services, The Vine Wellness Group is now offering yoga, meditation and relaxation classes weekly. This is a great way to give yourself just a small amount of time to focus on you and find a place to relax, too! Written by: Lauren Settle, MA, LPC-Intern. Supervised by Annie Viers, MA, LPC-S, LMFT-S. 14802 Jones Maltsberger Rd #101 * 78247* www.laurensettle.com

Children s Ministry Trunk Treat Sunday, October 25, 6-8 p.m. Church parking lot Trunk or Treat is a fun, safe alternative to trick-or-treating. You park your car, open your trunk and kids go from trunk to trunk to collect candy. You re welcome to decorate your car or trunk prizes are given for the best decorations! Join us for hotdogs, a cupcake walk, the trunk decoration contest and FUN! (No witches, ghosts or scary stuff please.) Times and rooms to be announced. Wednesday Night Children s Activities 6:15-6:45 p.m. Cherub Choir (4 years old kindergarten, room 14) 6:15-7 p.m. Kings Kids Choir (1st-5th grade, Children s Room 10) 7 p.m. Bible Activity Time (BAT), Bible lessons and fun (kinder-5th grade) 3rd Grade Bibles If you have a 3rd grader that has not received their Bible, please see Ms. Mindy or Ms. Wanda. Children s Christmas program Wednesday, December 9 6:15 p.m. in the Sanctuary If you would like your 4 year old through 5th grader to be a part of the program, please have them at practice on Wednesday nights beginning October 7th (see times above). We are happy to welcome Susannah Rabourn to our Children s Ministry Team. Susannah will be leading our Kings Kids Choir and will be working with Sudie Rogers, our Cherub Choir Director. Please introduce yourself to Susannah and give her a friendly Northern Hills welcome! Dress Rehearsal: Wednesday, December 2, 6:15 p.m.

Youth Ministry We had a great fall kick off! The Here Middle School youth group is now meeting on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m., and The Now High School youth group is meeting on Sundays from 6-7:30 p.m. Both meet in the Wesley Annex. Come by and check out how it has been transformed to be your youth room! As we move into Fall, we are focusing on getting back to our roots, reconnecting with Jesus and being reminded of the person of Christ. Small groups have started! If you are interested in joining a small group, please contact Carly or Nate and we can direct you where to go and when your group is meeting! o o Camping Trip for Senior High and families This month we are taking a camping trip to Kerrville State Park, October 16-18. This trip is open to senior high students and students who would like to camp with their families. If you would like to join us, please pick up and return a registration form (in the hall next to the acts 2 café). The cost is $25/person. Senior high students can come as individuals, other students must come with their family. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, October 4. Welcome Nate Finley to the Youth Ministry team! Nate is our assistant Youth Director and is excited to build connections with our students! He will also be a worship leader in the Worship Center. Trunk or Treat We will have two opportunities to help with Trunk or Treat: October 24 we will be volunteering at the YMCA to host a car and a game. If you are interested in helping out, talk to Carly. October 25 we will be helping with the Northern Hills Trunk or Treat. Come and be involved! Contact Carly: 503.867.0580 or carlyp@nhumc.org

Northern Hills United Methodist Church 3703 N Loop 1604 E San Antonio, TX 78247 Give thanks Giving back The NHUMC Food Pantry will be holding its annual Thanksgiving Give Thanks by Giving Back food drive. Grocery bags will be handed out after services on Sunday, October 18 and November 1 with a list of Thanksgiving dinner items to fill the bag. Watch the bulletin for further details. For more information, please call the church office at 210-654-0881.