Contents Cross alk September 2018 Page One Note from Rev. Katie Celebrate Our 50th Anniversary Page Two A Way Forward General Conference Session Music Notes Page Three UMW Sibshop Not a Fan We Are Family Collage Page Four Birthdays & Anniversaries Church Directories are Here September Greeters Upholding the Church Church Financials Page Five Greensburg Children s Ministry Rally Day Parents Meeting Page Six Greensburg Youth Rally Day Youth Event It s Boy Scout Popcorn Time Page Seven Church Calendar Page Eight Greensburg UMC Mission Beloved in Christ This past month we have been wrestling with the understanding of neighboring. Who is my neighbor? When we neighbor, what are the results? Neighboring begins right where we are. You have been challenged to get to know your neighbors around you their names, their lives and I pray you have taken the chance to branch out. It can also begin with people in the congregation. Over the next month, I challenge you to get to know someone you have not yet met, or maybe you had exchanged names once or twice before and you have forgotten. That s okay. Part of neighboring helps us break down walls, even the walls of the unknown. It assists in helping us invite others to ministries within and outside of the church. It assists in praying for one another and how to pray for one another. Neighboring is holy conversation and part of God s ultimate will to bring everyone back together into one family with Christ as the head (even if we, like most families, all don t get along). We will be having many guests come in and out of our doors over the next month with Rally Day and a 50 th celebration coming. What a statement it would make if we made the effort to get to know everyone who came through our doors: those who we know, those who we are learning to know, and those who we are meeting (maybe again) for the first time. Friends we are FAMILY. Might we be courageous enough to get to know our brothers and sisters in and outside of the church, that we might embrace the fullness of Christ s kingdom here on earth. As Jesus said to the one inquiring, who is my neighbor, Go and do likewise (show mercy/loving kindness). Luke 10:37 Rev. Katie Osier Greensburg UMC Celebrates 50 Years on September 16, 2018! You are invited to celebrate 50 years in the building that is now Greensburg UMC. We will gather to celebrate our past, our present and the call to service in the city of Green for years to come. 9:00am Modern Worship Fellowship Hall Music: Dustin Oliver and our Praise Team 10:00am Breakfast Reception Gathering Area Sunday School Various Classrooms 11:00am Traditional Worship Sanctuary Music: Chancel Choir and Joyful Bells 12:00pm Sandwich Lunch Fellowship Hall
A Way Forward and Special Session of the General Conference On September 30, during the 10am hour, all persons are invited to come to the Fellowship Hall to hear the update as to where the UMC is with A Way Forward and the Special Session of General Conference in February. Prior to this date, information on the three proposals created by the commission of A Way Forward will be made available on the church website and in the church office for those who want to read them ahead of time. Rev. Katie will be sharing an overview of them and the next steps of the larger church. Please understand, this meeting is to inform the congregation as to the process and what is happening within the process. At this time, Greensburg UMC is not in a position to debate the LGBTQ issue or the future of its stance. Nothing has changed in the Book of Discipline at this point, therefore Greensburg UMC is still bound by what is stated currently in the 2016 Book of Discipline of the UMC. If you would like the exact wording in the UMC Book of Discipline or more information concerning A Way Forward and Special Session of the General Conference, please be encouraged to check out www.umc.org/topics/ general-conference-2019-special-session. Also, the delegation of our East Ohio Conference for this session are offering listening posts. These five posts allow the delegation to hear the thoughts and concerns of clergy and laity into the 2019 GC Special Session. At the sessions, there will be a devotion, a brief overview of the process, and a review of the legislation, however the main purpose of these listening posts is for the delegates to listen to the voices of the conference. These posts do require pre-registration (eocumc.com) and are as follows: Sat., Sept. 8 Sat., Sept. 29 Tues., Oct. 9 Sat., Oct. 20 Tues., Nov. 6 10:00am 12:30pm 10:00am 12:30pm 6:30pm 9:00pm 10:00am 12:30pm 6:30pm 9:00pm Wildare UMC Cambridge Christ UMC New Philadelphia First UMC Ashland First UMC Aldersgate UMC (North Coast) Please talk with Rev. Katie if you have any further questions and continue to hold the church in your prayers. Mu s i c Notes Choir Starts Wednesday, September 5! Choir practices begin Wednesday, September 5 at 7:30pm in the Sanctuary. We are still looking for more voices and are still desperately in need of guys in the Tenor and Bass sections. If you like to sing, come join us. It's only about 1 hour on Wednesday nights and of course Sunday mornings, but you're here Sunday anyway. See our Choir Director Brian Lawson with any questions. Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday! Come On, Ring Those Bells! Join The Chimers, our beginning handbell choir! Who? We need YOU! 3rd graders to adults When? Weekly starting Wednesday, September 13, 5:15pm-6:00pm You ll learn how to read music, rhythms, and how to ring handbells and choir chimes! Contact Handbell Director Betty Gross for more details 330.832.3151 2 betty.gross@hotmail.com Joyful Bells will begin rehearsing on Wednesday, September 5, from 6:15pm-7:30pm
Time to Get our UMW Groove on! Hoping summer has been filled with lots of fun and things that bring you joy. Enjoy every last moment and every warm day (we ve had a few!). But maybe you re about ready to get into a little of your school year routine. That brings with it our United Methodist Women s meetings, and they will start up again on Monday, September 17. They are always the 3rd Monday of each month, in the Church s Library from 7:00-8:30 pm. You don t have to join anything or carry a membership card. If you are a woman who loves the Lord, you are very welcome. On the 17th we ll be having election of officers for this year. So please give some thought to in what capacity God has gifted you to serve. If all would be willing to serve for a couple of years, no one would feel over-extended and we d get the jobs done to support the important work of missions we are all about. We ll also be talking about plans for this year, so please bring your ideas for interesting speakers, mission projects, and fund-raisers. Please come on the 17th. There s a place at the table waiting for you! GREEN SIBSHOP - Open Hearts, Open Conversation AND FUN! Having open conversations about the challenges of having a sibling with a disability is a gift that a lot of siblings are never given. The above was a response from a sibling of a child with special needs, in answer to the question: When you were younger, what did your parents, other family members, and service providers do to make you feel special and let you know they cared? In addition to the pure fun we love to share with our Sibshop kids, another important aspect of all of our monthly events is the opportunity to circle up and share about living life with a sibling with special needs. There is never an effort made to force any of our kids to share if they don t wish to, however, their feelings are important to us, and we would never want to cause them stress or feel pressured to talk when they don t wish to. There are joys and challenges to being in their shoes, and we try to give them a chance to think about both from time to time. These are great kids the Lord has brought to us, and we feel so blessed to have a chance to get to know them. If someone reading this is thinking about joining us, we would love to have you come and be a part of our team. The time commitment isn t very much, as our events are monthly. In addition to that, we have a meeting a week or so before to plan. Please prayerfully consider it. We have an event on September 8. There is definitely a place for you, and we know you d have FUN! What s a Happening With Not a Fan? Well, for one thing, we re about to begin our fifth year together as a Bible study group! Hard for us to believe, but pretty exciting too. Second, there is always room for more, and we d love to have you join us every 1st and 3rd Sunday (with a few adjustments due to holidays, etc.) in the Library from 6:00-8:00 pm. We ll kick off this fall with our first meeting on September 23. Please note this is a time change for us -- a little earlier start this time. We are not completely sure what our first study will be, but the one we re leaning towards promises to be a great one. In addition to learning and growing together in God s word through study, we share some great fellowship and fun. How about giving it a try? We Are Family Picture Collage! To help celebrate our 50th Anniversary and look to the future of ministries here at Greensburg UMC, we are using our theme this year, WE ARE FAMILY, to do a collage. Bring a copy of a picture (so that we can add it to the collage - it may need to be adjusted to fit) of your family interacting with one of our programs. Our goal is to have the collage start on the 50th Anniversary and continue to be filled throughout the year with new ministries to show us that every ministry at Greensburg UMC - whether it be Potlucks, Mountain T.O.P., Youth Ministry, Children's Ministry, VBS, Adult Sunday School, Camps, Good Neighbors - is one ministry, and together all of us as a church are one family. 3
September 2 September 6 September 7 September 9 September 13 September 14 David Hamrick David Witsaman Jeff Nibling Rev. Mitch Hennessey Paula Vinciguerra Diane Oplinger Monna Hartong Jack Fuerst Wyatt Sehm Chuck Cowgar, Jr. Michelle Snyder Tara Beamish Judy Hetzel Roy Witsaman Birthdays September 16 September 17 & Anniversaries! Anniversaries September 1 September 6 September 12 September 19 September 21 September 29 September 30 Denny & Pam Dieffenbaugher Chris & Becky Calaway Denny & Ann Hartong Brian & Amy Dvorak Charles & Eva Lane Gary & Barb McLaughlin Todd & Sue Wendling Roy & Lois Witsaman Mike & Cindi McWhorter Ken & Cara Smesko Brian & Suzi Lawson Roger & Judy Martin September 21 September 22 September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30 Donna Ayers Andy Babbo Gene Snyder Ann Miller Sally Corle Marlene Lehman Brenda Cook Debbie Lyle Suzi Lawson Jenna Karlovec Julia Nicol Danielle Lorenz Dan Terwilliger Eric Osier Lauren Rossiter If your birthday or anniversary is not listed and you would like it to be included in the newsletter, please put a note in the collection basket for Lynne in the office and it will be added. Upholding the Church by our Prayers, our Presence, our Gifts, our Service, and our Witness Those who have had their pictures taken or have submitted pictures for the directory can pick up their directories in the office or on Sundays. September Greeters 9:00am Judy Hetzel Thank you to those who have actively engaged with church life over the summer especially to the 50+ who were here for the Great Purge and Paint! With that momentum, and fall at our doorstep, I would like to encourage you to renew your vows in upholding the church, so at its best it can live out its commitment fully. There are new energies in family ministries with the hire of Alexander Miller as the Family Ministries Director, new potential for mission in and out of the campus of Greensburg, and a 50th celebration on our doorstep. Through the commitment of our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, Greensburg UMC is called to bring to life the kingdom of God now. Take time with your family to review and renew the commitment to our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness so in turn we live body of Christ together in the community of Green! 11:00am Pauline & Dale Bittner CHURCH FINANCIAL COMPARISON - AUGUST 2018 Giving General July 2018 $ 27,424.61 BUILDING NOTE 4 July 2018 Loan Giving $ 2,261.00 Actual Expenses Budgeted Expenses $ 23,785.90 $ 28,130.00 Monthly Payment Loan Balance $ 2,624.10 $172,166.01
Visit us! This Year's Theme: We are Family This year, Greensburg UMC Children s Ministry will be following an intentional neighboring mission called "We Are Family!" Now what does that mean? All year from grades preschool through 6th we will be focusing all aspects of our ministry toward discovering what it means to be in God's Family. That means all Sunday school, Family ministry activities, and Parent's Night Outs will be based on this theme. Welcome Back! We welcome back all of our church family to a new year of Christian Education! We have a few new changes around here that we think you will really love: If you haven t already, please come and meet our new Family Ministries Director, Pastor Alex Miller, who would love to give you a big hug! This year we will be having Car-Versations a small paper you can keep in your car with conversational questions of the weekly theme in order for parents to communicate with their students on the lessons taught that day. Please pick up your September Car-versations at the office. We will also have a weekly email sent out to all parents with a special children ministry website link attached to see more fun information. If you This Month In the Classroom UPCOMING EVENTS Rally Day Parents Meeting Sept. 9 God Made Us Good Sunday, September 9, 2018 10:30am Room 110B Genesis 1, 2. Rally Day Parents meeting will take place this year during the Sunday School hour in the Room 110B. Come learn about this year's theme WE ARE FAMILY. Sept. 16 - What does it mean to be a part of the family of God? This year's stories will focus on the role of families - siblings, parents, friends and what we can learn about God from these close relationships. Help us by coming to this important meeting to learn how we can work together to teach children about the faith by exploring how families work together, communicate, and worship God. Jesus Joins His Family Luke 2:1-7 Sept. 23 Jesus and his Parents Luke 2:39-52 Sept 30 God s Family Matt. 3:13-17 5
6 Boy Scout Popcorn Time Is Here! YUM-YUM!! Troop 335 and Pack 3335 will have popcorn available after each service on Sunday, September 23 and October 7. Pop the seeds yourself in a pan or microwave, or buy ready-to-eat popcorn! Can t decide on a flavor? Buy one of each! Regular, caramel, cheese, jalapeno, chocolate, butter, kettle corn and more!
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Greensburg United Methodist Church P.O. Box 155 Green, OH 44232 Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Green, OH 44232 Permit #1 Greensburg United Methodist Church Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Sunday Service Schedule 9:00am Modern Worship Service 10:00am Sunday School 11:00am Traditional Worship Service Phone: 330.896.1936 After hours: 330.595.9074 office@greensburgumc.net rev.katie.osier@gmail.com www.greensburgumc.net www.loving-hands.org PO Box 155 Green, OH 44232 2161 Greensburg Road N. Canton, OH 44720