Dear Friends, In less than two months, from Feb. 23 26, our United Methodist Church will be holding a special General Conference in St. Louis for the sole purpose of considering, and perhaps significantly changing, our denomination s stance on human sexuality. Currently, the United Methodist Church, in its official rule book, the Discipline, has a statement that The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. Along with that, the Discipline has a rule against same-sex weddings being performed in a United Methodist Church or by a United Methodist pastor, and a rule against the ordination or appointment of what the Discipline calls self-avowed practicing homosexuals. At the same time, there is a statement in the Discipline that We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God. We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons. For years, many United Methodists have been pushing for the church to change the Discipline to move the denomination toward a stance that is fully welcoming and affirming with respect to LGBTQ persons. Debates have raged at every General Conference, and the votes have been close, with the vote at every General Conference being tipped toward the conservative side by the international delegates. At the last General Conference, in 2016, with more debates and lots of petitions looming, the Conference resolved to take a new direction, to seek to find a way forward that would accommodate the divergent perspectives in the church, while being faithful to the call of Christ. A special commission was established to explore new approaches, which would be presented to a special General Conference, which is the one about to take place. Our Council of Bishops is bringing a recommendation to the General Conference that, if adopted, would make broad-reaching changes in the Discipline. With all this before us, I will be doing a sermon series, starting on Sunday, January 13, entitled, The Way Forward: What God Says to the Church on Human Sexuality. In the series, I will elaborate further on what is unfolding in the church; but most of all, the series will enable us to look at what the Bible actually says about same-sex relationships. We will find in the process that the relevant Bible passages have a lot to say to every one of us! The series will conclude on March 3, just past the end of the General Conference. Obviously, there is a lot of controversy in this realm; and some pastors are inclined to say nothing at all, since to say anything will surely make somebody mad! But I believe I owe it to this congregation to help us to clearly hear God s Word. There have been numerous misunderstandings and distortions of the Bible on the subject; but through the course of this series, I hope we can all get a picture of how God is leading us on the way forward in our discipleship as followers of Jesus Christ. The Methodist Mosaic Volume 61 Number 1 The United Methodist Church of Kent A Place to Grow January 2019 In His Service, Dr. David Palmer
The Methodist Mosaic JAN 6 JAN 13 January Acolyte Schedule Youth Ministry News January 2019 Beau Harper Tyler Morris Andy Curtin Beau Harper Happy New Year! And what an exciting year we have planned. We have completed our spring calendar and are very excited about our upcoming events. Here are a few of the highlights of what to expect this spring: The weekend of February 1 and 2 the youth will participate in World Vision s 30 hour famine. Once the details are finalized packets and important information will be distributed so see Rick and watch the mail if you need more information about this exciting weekend. JAN 20 JAN 27 Dylan Schmidt Jeremiah Lepp Jeremiah Lepp Ben Ina January 21 we will be planning an activity to celebrate Martin Luther King Day March 10 is Youth Sunday. The Time and Talent Auction is scheduled for Sunday, April 28 The last day to sign up to be a part of this year s Mountain TOP team is Sunday, January 6, however, the trip is already full! If you d still like to go but haven t signed up see Rick about getting placed on our waiting list ASAP. Over all I am very excited about our plans and hope that everyone will take advantage of one or more of these events. Additionally, don t forget youth group is every Sunday From 7-8:30 make sure you plan to come and bring a friend to any or all of these events. Shalom, Rick<>< Calling all actors: SUN 6 SUN 6 SAT 12 SUN 13 JANUARY YOUTH CALENDAR SUN 20 AM SUN 20 PM MON 21 Last day to join mission trip Resurrection, ZAMARingers, Youth Fellowship 9 12 Confirmation Resurrection, ZAMARingers, Youth Fellowship Resurrection perform Resurrection, ZAMARingers, Youth Fellowship MLK Activity TBA Youth Sunday is an annual day when the youth of our church lead our Sunday morning worship service. It is characterized by a focus on the music of our youth musical groups Resurrection and the ZAMARingers, liturgical dance, drama and teaching by a senior member of our youth group. On Tuesday, January 8 at 7:00 in the sanctuary there will be an informational meeting and open try outs for anyone interested in being a part of this year s Youth Sunday. At this meeting we will explain this year s theme, talk about ways to be involved and discuss rehearsal times. We need multiple actors, for this annual event. If you would like to be involved, please plan to attend this important meeting as part of the Youth Sunday preparation process. 2 FRI 25 SUN 27 AM SUN 27 PM Confirmation to temple ZAMARingers perform Resurrection, ZAMARingers, Youth Fellowship
EPIPHANY SUNDAY JANUARY 6 Epiphany January 6 is the day we remember the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. Our worship that Sunday will focus on the story of the wise men, and the sermon will be the conclusion of the sermon series entitled, The Kingdom Is at Hand. RAISE THE ROOF Our Raise the Roof capital campaign came to a successful conclusion at the end of 2018, with all debts paid. Thanks to all who supported that important project! ORGAN CAMPAIGN GOAL ACHIEVED Our Music for the Soul campaign to raise funds for the renovation of the sanctuary organ has been fully subscribed. As of Christmas week, we had pledges slightly more than the $460,000 goal. This was a wonderful Christmas present to our church! These pledges can be paid off over the three year span of 2019 2021. We have more than $215,000 of those pledges already paid, enabling us to move forward with the first phase of the project, which is the replacement of the organ console. The console is the part of the organ that is in most dire need of attention, as portions of the console have been failing, and such failures render sections of the organ unusable. Additional contributions and pledges to the Music for the Soul campaign can still be made. Any funds that are received beyond what we need for the current project will go into an organ maintenance fund, the interest from which will be used to maintain the organ for decades to come. The organ builder, Charles Kegg, has commenced the construction of a completely new console with modern electronics. Completion is expected in six months. We are hopeful that the existing console will keep functioning as much as possible for that span! A big thank you goes to David Dix, organ committee chairperson, and the entire organ committee that has been at work for months to study the organ s needs, design the renovation, hire a builder, and promote the campaign. 3 January 2019 Why Believe Book Published Place to Grow Press our church s publishing arm! has published Why Believe, a book by Dr. Palmer that addresses the skepticism and doubt of our age. The book contains the ideas presented in last summer s sermon series but also develops a number of the subject areas further. The book is available on Amazon in either Kindle form or in print and print copies will be available for sale in our church atrium. The price is $15 for a print copy or $9.99 for the Kindle version. All proceeds support the mission of our church. Media Volunteers Needed With a short bit of training, you can become one of our audio or video volunteers! We have excellent equipment, and are in need of a few additional volunteers for several of our teams. Generally you would be in a rotation such that you are on just once every six weeks. We need sound board volunteers and video camera volunteers for the 10:30 service, and we need video projection and video streaming volunteers at the 9:30 service. It s fun, easier than you might think, and a great way to serve the church! To volunteer, please contact Dr. Palmer. UNIVERSITY OF LIFE WINTER TERM, STARTS SUNDAY, JANUARY 6 A Way Forward for the United Methodist Church Beginning Sunday, January 6, the University of Life will be studying and discussing the United Methodist Church s effort to reach consensus on how to address its approach to homosexuality. It will be built around Dr. Palmer s sermon series that begins January 13. The first session (January 6) will deal with some of the specifics of the General Conference, February 23 26 in St Louis, which will be debating this topic. The following sessions (January 13 March 3) will be a study of the Scriptures from which Dr. Palmer preaches each Sunday. Rev. Denton will be leading these sessions, 9:30 AM 10:15 AM, in room 200, which is the first large classroom on the top floor of the Education wing. All adults are invited!
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Caring for Retirees: Not Just a Domestic Concern While some retired clergy in the United States may stretch their budgets to pay for vacations and entertainment, many retired clergy in the central conferences (conferences outside of the United States) often struggle to pay for their next meals. Historically, most5 of the central conferences provided little or no pension support for pastors or their families. However, the tides are turning. United Methodist clergy across the globe are now being served by pension programs. Program assistance and education through the Central Conference Pension program is helping these pension plans progress toward becoming self-sustaining. CCP was launched via a task force established by General Conference 2000 to initiate a pension support plan for the central conferences. At General Conference 2004, The Book of Discipline was amended to authorize an effort to raise funds. The entire UMC worked together to reach the funding goal. UMC of Kent contributed more than $10,000. Since then, the CCP initiative has grown to a fullfledged program that assists in the administration of retirement funds for clergy in 69 annual conferences. Retirement funds are now reaching nearly 3,000 pensioners amid some challenges that include serving those who can only be reached on foot by walking six or seven hours. There is a chart posted on the atrium bulletin board showing the extent of retirees. GLEANING TEAM Volunteers from our church gleaned approximately 5,000 pounds of sweet corn this past summer and took it to food pantries and hot meal programs around Portage County. During the year, Catholic Charities, Center of Hope, the Salvation Army, and Kent Social Services all received corn from our team. This was much appreciated! The team is led by Dave Vanderneut. The crops are gathered at Pochedly Farms in Mantua. Volunteers will be needed next summer. This is a great way to help the needy in a very hands-on fashion! 5 January 2019 January Meetings of Kent United Methodist Women (UMW) Circles The Miriam and Mary Reed Circles of Kent United Methodist Women will not meet in January. The Rebecca Circle meeting will be held at 7:30 PM on January 9 in Pierson. The program will be called Socially Responsible Sweatshop. Charlene Pees will hostess, assisted by co-hostesses Sue Abbott and Donna Stiller. Devotions will be led by Peg Arnold. Janus Circle will meet at 6:30 PM on Tuesday January 8 at the home of Hostess Laurel Stiller (1615 Kent St., Kent). Meghan Harper will lead devotions. Mavis Palmer will present a program on Traveling the Middle East. UMCOR/Sager Brown Mission Trip: Oct 27 Nov 1, 2019 Yep, we still have spots available for YOU (and your friends) if you are interested in planning a vacation/ mission trip opportunity for 2019. Now that we are only 1 year away from this opportunity (as opposed to 2 1/2 years from the time of booking), it is time for some of you to reconsider the opportunity to join us on a trip to Baldwin, LA the last week of October in 2019. During the week we inspect donated emergency kits such as flood buckets, hygiene or school kits which are given out to those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty due to natural or humanmade disasters. We can also choose to work in the sewing room and in the local community during the week. Along with relief efforts here in the United States, UMCOR serves 81 countries of the world. Each year, more than 3,000 volunteers come to the depot at Sager Brown to work in the depot and community surrounding Baldwin, LA. Cost of the week is $255.00 per person. This fee includes a $25.00 processing fee, $120.00 for lodging, and $110.00 for meals. Additional costs include hotel rooms for travelling to and from Louisiana. The work is light, the food is good and the time is well spent. Please consider joining us in mission next year. Questions? Contact Carol Pozuc. Phone: 330-571-5741 email: cpozuc@aol.com
January 2019 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 New Year s Day Office Closed 2 3 12 pm Lion s Lunch/PH 4 5 10 1 Haymaker s Farmers Market/Pierson 6 Regular Schedule Communion Sunday 7 7:30 pm Worship band Rehearsal/Gym 7 pm Disciple I/Rm 207 7 pm Disciple II/Rm 200 8 8:30 am Tuesday Morning Work Group 12 pm Rotary Lunch/PH 7 9 pm Basketball/Gym 9 7 pm Rebecca Circle/ Pierson 10 11 12l 10 1 Haymaker s Farmers Market/Pierson 6:00 New Member Orientation/Parlor 13 14 Regular Schedule 7:30 pm Worship band Rehearsal/Gym 7 pm Disciple I/Rm 207 7 pm Disciple II/Rm 200 15 8:30 am Tuesday Morning Work Group 12 pm Rotary Lunch/PH 7 9 pm Basketball/Gym 16 7 pm Education Committee/Library 17 12 pm Lion s Lunch/PH 18 19 10 1 Haymaker s Farmers Market/Pierson 20 21 Regular Schedule 7:30 pm Worship band Rehearsal/Gym 7 pm Disciple I/Rm 207 7 pm Disciple II/Rm 200 22 8:30 am Tuesday Morning Work Group 12 pm Rotary Lunch/PH 7 9 pm Basketball/Gym 23 7 pm Finance Committee/ Conference Room 24 5:30 pm Joanna Circle/ Room 208 25 26 10 1 Haymaker s Farmers Market/Pierson 27 28 Regular Schedule 6 pm Garden Club/Pierson 7:30 pm Worship band Rehearsal/Gym 7 pm Disciple I/Rm 207 7 pm Disciple II/Rm 200 29 8:30 am Tuesday Morning Work Group 12 pm Rotary Lunch/PH 7 9 pm Basketball/Gym 30 7 pm Gifts, Memorials, and Investments Comm/ Conference Room 31 Regular Sunday Schedule 8:30 Worship Service/Chapel 9:15 Children s Choir 4 years 6th grade 9:30 Contemporary Service/Gym 9:30 New Spirit/Sanctuary 9:30 Child Care/Nursery 9:30 Adult Bible Study 10:30 Worship Service/Sanctuary 10:40 Sunday School Preschool 6th Grade, Youth 11:30 Fellowship Time/Pierson 12:00 pm Chancel Ringers/(Adult Bells)Sanctuary 5:00 pm Resurrection (Youth Choir)/Choir Room 6:00 pm ZAMARingers (Youth Handbells)/Sanctuary 7:00 pm Youth Fellowship/Gym and Pit 6
January 2019 USHERS AND GREETERS Date 8:30/9:30/10:30 January 6 4 January 13 5 January 20 6 January 27 1 If you are unsure of what team you are on, please call the office at 330 673 5879 x10 or email Adam at adamalderson@kentmethodist.org. Jan 6-Sharon Coia Jan 13-Don Ashton Jan 20-Betty Sweet Jan 27-Janice Anderson JAN 6 VIDEOTAPING SCHEDULE JAN 6 JAN 13 JAN 20 JAN 27 Eric Wertz Cheryl Brode Gary Mote Eric Wertz JANUARY LAY READERS JAN 13 JAN 20 JAN 27 Jill Beer Michelle Ronowski Mavis Palmer Randy Smith Our sympathies to: Family and friends of Norbert Neissner Family and friends of Pearl Santich Family and friends of Barbara Meeker Ed Bose on the death of his father Debbie Eichler on the death of her mother Brenda Lewis on the death of her sister Recent Hospitalizations and Surgeries: Ray Beighley, Lois Enlow, Darlene Flynt, Davina Gosnell, Tom Pierson, Earl Somoskey, Becky Smith, Rick Stout THANK YOU I would like to thank the church for the lovely altar flowers that Gail Pytel from the Rebecca Circle delivered to my home. It really brightened my day. Patricia Stevens (Mother of Eric and Andrea Stevens) Please share my thanks and deep appreciation for all the prayers, and of course, the quilt. It is quite the blessing to have such a church family. I shared the prayers with Cindy as her burden has increased with my care; not to mention living with me for 38 years. As a result of the prayers I continue to do well and give thanks for each day. God is good! Dave Vaughan Hello Dr. Palmer, Greetings from LA! I hope everything is well with you. We have settled in to our new surroundings quite well, although (and I thought I would never say this) I miss Ohio so much. Finding a church where we could serve has been tougher than I thought it would be. We started doing the research before we left Ohio, and even emailed them... but attending service and trying to form a community was harder than I thought. We attended the Hillsong LA Church when we got here. For sure, I thought, that is where we would end up. I was wrong. I was a bit turned off at service. It was like a concert bright lights, loud noise, and smoke. We tried two other churches after that which I feel were both mega-churches... neither one was for me. There were Sundays when I would cry, not wanting to go to service and just missing my family at Kent UMC. The joy of going to service and being with church family was gone.... Then Mark found this little church in a not-so-desirable area. We ve been there quite a few times. The people are very welcoming, and I ve even made friends in the church. It s not a mega-church with a lot of money, or fancy things, but it feels like where God wants me to be right now. Our Bible study starts next month, and one of the people we will be studying is John Wesley, which I am excited about. I really miss the church community there. I miss having that support so close by. I can t even begin to tell you how much the people in that church have helped me grow as a Christian... all of them! From my Disciple classes, Sunday school kids and Women s Group, I m just blessed that I m still in touch with them even the kids! You have an amazing group of individuals at the church, and I am blessed to have been a part of it. Thank you! I don t know if God will want me at this church for awhile. But what I do know is the love and compassion I was shown at your church is the same love and compassion I must spread here in LA. Kent UMC will always have a piece of my heart. God Bless, Darah Rubio 7
Apply Postage Here The United Methodist Church of Kent PO Box 646 Kent, OH 44240 Church Office: 330-673-5879 Web Site: www.kentmethodist.org Dr. David Palmer, Senior Pastor Douglas Denton, Minister of Pastoral Care Rick Stout, Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministries Mailed December 28 Mailing Label Here And now, glorious and blessed God... You are mine and I am Yours. Covenant prayer Worship Calendar Date Sermon Scripture Preacher Special Event January 6 Why Do They Honor Him Mathew 2:1 12 Dr. David Palmer Chancel Ringers, Communion, January 13 January 20 Rightly Explaining the Word of Truth Sodom and Gomorrah Repeated Today (but not how people think) I Corinthians 6:9 10; I Timothy 1:8 11; Galatians 5:19 21; II Timothy 2:15 Dr. David Palmer Children s Choir Genesis 19:1 16 Dr. David Palmer Resurrection January 27 What the Bible Says Acts 10:9 16, 34 35; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13 Dr. David Palmer ZAMARingers; New Spirit prelude Connect with us at www.kentmethodist.org, facebook.com/umcofkent, or on Instagram/Twitter @kentmethodist