Sunday Schedule: 8:45 AM Small Groups 9:30 AM Fellowship Time 10:00 AM Worship Feb 3: Communion Souper Bowl Sunday/Help Your Neighbor Feb 12: Church Council 7 PM Feb 14: Tidbits Feb 15: Ignite Winter Jam Feb 18: Women s Ministry 7:00 PM Feb 26: Food Delivery Please NOTE: The United Methodist Women will not meet during the month February due to the possibility of bad The Fellowship Time on Sunday mornings is a great time to gather with one another before worship. You can help by signing up to bring a breakfast treat. Whether purchased or homemade, just a little something to go with a cup of coffee, tea or juice. There is a calendar on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Café where you can sign up or you can talk to Charlene Borowiec. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 16-19 Have you ever approached the Christian life like a New Year s resolution? This year I will be a better Christian; I ll trust God more and be patient and generous. For those who have attempted this goal-oriented Christianity, how did it go? More than likely you eventually fell short of your goal. Why? Because the Christian life cannot be lived in our own strength. It s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live a life glorifying God. Too many people filling churches today are wrestling with this goaloriented, resolution-style Christianity. They believe in their minds what the Bible says about who Jesus is and what He did on the cross, but they ve never actually trusted Christ with their hearts. They have never chosen to follow Christ in their day to day lives. They confess faith without a surrender of their heart to fulfill God s will. This is the heart behind Paul s prayer to the Ephesian church that God would dwell not only in their minds, but in their hearts, and lives as well. That same prayer can be prayed for us today; that we would surrender our hearts, dreams, and priorities in life totally and completely to Christ. How do we trust God so completely? It starts by encountering the overwhelming power and magnitude of God s love His perfect, no strings attached love and accepting this love and grace in faith. The Christian life is not about will-power or goals. It s about surrendering OUR plans for His plans and asking the Holy Spirit to step in and lead the way. Not by my strength but His! Are you willing to trust Him? Blessings, Pastor Bob
Page 2 Mission and Outreach Opportunities Town Clock Church Times The first Sunday of each month is Help Your Neighbor Sunday and February 3 also doubles as our Souper Bowl Sunday. Please share what God lays on your hearts to help fill the shelves at the Good Samaritan Center so those in need can have a meal. Baskets will be in the back of the church for your donations. UMW News Never Spend 1 on Yourself: The idea of this ongoing ministry is for you to save your pennies (and other coins) to help support youth and children to go to Church Camp. There is a log cabin in the Narthex for your donations. Periodically throughout the year, the coins are gathered and deposited into the camp fund for those who would like to go to camp. Thank you for your faithful giving! Pastor s Discretionary Fund: Offerings can be given in the Sunday offering and marked for this fund. The money is used for members of our congregation who are in need. Help Your Neighbor Sunday is celebrated the first Sunday of each month. As you bring in nonperishable food items each month, many families are blessed at the Good Samaritan Center by your generosity. Purpose of the United Methodist Women: The organized unit of the United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose PUR- POSE is to know God and experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concrete concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.. The U.M.W. will meet March 5th at 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Café. It will be an orientation program of celebrating 150 years of women serving in missions. We will also review the areas of service our own group does. If you would like to hear about a service we do or share with others, we invite you to come and fellowship with us. Linda Morgan Five Basic Principles of Worship Submitted by Wanda Ohler Our Church Mission Statement is: The mission of the United Church of Mt. Pleasant is making and nurturing disciples of Jesus Christ. Our worship is central to the church as a whole and our congregation. In worship we are reminded that we are by Grace, God s children. And during our worship, God enables us to grow in the body of Christ. He gives to each of us the gifts needed to empower this church to witness to our community in sharing God s word, so others may know His Love, Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness. This is our part in making and nurturing disciples of Jesus Christ. Worship brings spiritual renewal to our congregation. So let us join together this Sunday, and every Sunday as the body of Christ as we give praise to our Heavenly Father! Matthew Chapter 18, Verse: 20, For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them. Five Basic Principles of Worship: 1. God s word is primary. Given to us from the Bible by Scriptures. 2. Active participation from the congregation-using our God given gifts in the worship service through prayer, praise, singing, worship, leadership. 3. Spontaneity and order are important in worship and includes both planning the service and being led by the Holy Spirit. 4. Worship should be relevant and inclusive relating to all life, all ages, men, women, children, race, class, and culture. 5. Worship is communion with God and our congregation, with one and another. One Christ One with each other And one in Ministry to all the world
40 Days of Prayer for General Conference 2019 Beginning January 15, 2019 -- 40 days before the special called session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, local church members throughout Western Pennsylvania are invited to join in praying a special prayer each day until the February 23-26 gathering in St. Louis. The following prayer was prepared by the Rev. Chris Kindle, WPAUMC Director of Discipleship, for use during the 40 Days of Prayer: Church members are also encouraged to pray for all of the delegates who are voting members of GC2019 and the elected clergy and laity who may serve as alternates. WPAUMC delegates, who were elected in June, 2015 to serve for four years beginning with the 2016 General Conference, are: Clergy -- Eric Park, Robert Zilhaver, Alyce Weaver Dunn, Amy Wagner, William B. Meekins, Jr., and John Seth; Laity -- Sharon Gregory, Nancy Denardo, Richard Hoffman, Paul Morelli, Diane Miller and Vicki Stahlman. Answers to Winnie-the-Pooh: Greeters: 3 Ron & Betty Reita 10 Cheryl Kubasky & Karen Hudec 17 Heath & Jennifer Wadsworth 24 Jane Lauffer & Carole Malone Ushers: *Bob Cunningham, Gary Evans, Jodi Evans, Bill LaMantia, Denise LaMantia 1. Eeyore 2. Shepard 3. WOL 4. True 5. True 6. Haycorns 7. Kanga and Roo 8. Worroworroworro 9. Piglet
Page 4 Town Clock Church Times Just for Kids and Big Kids Too February is Library Month. So here is a quiz on the classic Winnie the Pooh Stories: (Answers on page 3) 1. What is the name of Pooh s gloomy friend? 2. Who illustrated A.A. Milne s Winnie the Pooh stories? Shepard Milne Himself Christopher Robin 3. How does Owl spell his name? Owl Low Olw Wol 4. Milne wrote these stories for his son Christopher Robin. True False 5. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a real bear. True False 6. Piglets favorite food is Acorns Haycorns Honeycorns Berrycorns 7. Name the two kangaroos in the stories: and 8. Tigger made this sound when first arriving in the forest Borroborroborro Worroworroworro Horrohorrohorro Dorrodorrodorro 9. Other than Christopher Robin, who is the only other main character who wears clothes?
Page 5 Town Clock Church Times Look who s having a February birthday! 2/02 Sherry Eicher 2/07 Dorothy Kalp 2/10 Cheryl Wadsworth 2/11 Ron Hallam Barry Harvey 2/13 Donna Jackson Joe Siska, Jr. 2/14 Robert Malone Marshall Mulhorn 2/16 Molly Leonard 2/22 Lauren Eicher George Provlic 2/23 Barbara McMillen Chelsie Rimel 2/26 George Hockenberry Our Church Family Our deepest condolences are extended to Beth Shaw and other loved ones on the passing of her brother, Lance B. Horrell, on December 22, 2018. Please remember Beth and her family in your prayers. My dear Church Family: I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of you for the many kindnesses throughout the year. It means so much to me to be thought of in such special ways. And also thank you for the wonderful cantata and warm wishes while my family was there with me. It was a blessing to worship and be with all of you on such a special day. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Jo Armor My dear Church Family: Thank you so much for remembering at Christmas with a delightful bag of goodies, cards and treats. It is so nice to hear from all of you. Happy New Year. Dorothy Kalp Dear Church Family, Jill and I would like to express our deep gratitude and appreciation for the generous gift we received from you this Christmas. You are a blessing to us in so many ways. We thank God always for you and for His call to this wonderful congregation. It has been a great year! We look forward to all that God has in store for us in the coming year. Blessings to you for a joy-filled holiday weekend and a happy and prosperous New Year. Blessings, Pastor Bob and Jill "Thank you," Church Family, for the very generous Christmas gift and the beautiful bouquet. I am blessed each service to have the privilege of providing music for such a wonderful and appreciative congregation. On behalf of the choir, we thank you for the many encouraging words for our cantata presentation. We look forward to raising our voices in praise. Thank you, and God bless you all! Sue Ann I would like to thank you all for the wonderful Christmas gift. It is truly appreciated! May God bless you all and Happy New Year. Bruce Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all of you! It is such a blessing to be a part of and to serve such a kind and caring congregation. Thank you for your very generous Christmas gift. May God bless you in this New year. Diane Pastor Bob s home address is as follows if you would like to send him a greeting. He had surgery on Friday, January 11 and will be out of the office for a little while. Pastor Bob Ellson, 3685 Wiestertown Road, Export, PA 15632.
Women s Ministry Discipleship is progressive and is God s plan for every believer. We are to be moving toward Christ-likeness, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our Women s Ministry is a place where we can help and encourage one another in this growth. We have looked at studying Scripture and prayer over the last several months, as two primary ways that we grow in our faith and walk with Jesus. As we continue to grow in our faith walk, we will start to take a look at our unique giftings and abilities and help one another think about ways that we can use those things to make Jesus known to others; ways that we can be disciples and to make disciples of others. Women s Ministry meets the 3 rd Monday of each month from 7-8:30. Our next meeting is on February 18. Mark your calendars and plan to join us You will be glad you did! If you have questions or would like to come but would need childcare, please contact Jill (724.493.8189 jilli_109@hotmail.com )
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 Communion & Communion Help Your & Neighbor Souper Bowl Sunday 4 5 6 Bell Choir 6:00 PM Choir 7:15 PM 7 8 9 10 11 12 Church Council 7 PM 13 Bell Choir 6:00 PM Choir 7:15 PM 14 15 16 17 18 Women s Ministry 7 PM 19 20 Bell Choir 6:00 PM Choir 7:15 PM 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Bell Choir 6:00 PM 28 Choir 7:15 PM The United Methodist Church of Mt. Pleasant 645 West Main Street Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666 umcofmtpleasant@verizon.net www.umcmp.org Phone Numbers: Church Office: 724-547-2288 Pastor Bob Cell: 724-787-6234
Passed on by a Christian Friend Shared by Wanda Ohler You may not have noticed it, but you are closer to home than ever before. Each moment is a step taken. Each breath is a page turned. Each day is a mile marked, a mountain climbed. You are closer to home than you ve ever been. Before you know it, your appointed arrival time will come. You ll descend the ramp and enter the City. You ll see faces that are waiting for you. You ll hear your name spoken by those who love you. And, maybe, just maybe---in the back, behind the crowds The One who would rather die than live without you will remove His pierced hands from His Heavenly robe and applaud. A Sign of the Times They lie on the table, side by side The Holy Bible and the TV Guide. One is well worn, but cherished with pride (Not the Bible, but the TV Guide) One is used daily to help folks decide. (Not the Bible: it's the TV Guide.) As the pages are turned, what shall they see Oh, what does it matter?...turn on the TV. Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree on what they shall watch on the old TV. So they open the book in which they confide (No, not the Bible...it's the TV Guide.) The Word of God is seldom read. Maybe a verse e'er they fall into bed. Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be... not from reading the Bible-from watching TV. So then back to the table, side by side, lay the Holy Bible and the TV Guide. No time for prayer...no time for the Word. The plan of salvation is seldom heard. Acts 2:38 An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of religious service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, Stop Acts 2:38! (...turn from your sin...). The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, Why did you just stand there? All she did was yell a scripture to you. Scripture? replied the burglar, She said she had an AXE and two 38's!