T I F F I N F A I T H U M C - N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 I S S U E THE SPOTLIGHT L o v i n g G o d... R e a c h i n g a n d S e r v i n g O u r N e i g h b o r s i n C h r i s t OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY-FRIDAY 10AM-3PM PHONE: 419-447-6748 EMAIL: office@tiffinfaith.org Greetings Beloved, WEBSITE: WWW.TIFFINFAITH.ORG FACEBOOK: TIFFINFAITHUMC It s a beautiful day in the neighborhood These words from the theme song of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, a children s television program that aired from 1968 to 2001, are resonating with me as I think about living into our vision statement Loving God Reaching and Serving our Neighbors in Christ. I began to think about what defines a neighborhood. Is it geographics? Is it people within geographics? Is it something distinctive? Searching for a definition, naturally I consulted dictionaries of all sorts (both online and in my library) and I ve come up with a definition that speaks to me and I hope will speak to you. A neighborhood is the area surrounding a particular place that forms community. I often speak of our church as a community of faith. As we live into the vision that God has given us, what we are called to do is expand our community! As disciples of Jesus Christ, we want to extend God s love to those around us to our neighbors with the intent of being the hands and feet of Jesus. I pray you will join me in thanking the Lord for the opportunities He is giving us to be holy neighbors to those around us, to those among us, to those in the greater Tiffin area. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, may we remember all of our neighbors and seek, individually and as a congregation, to be a blessing to them. Praising God from Whom All Blessings Flow, Pastor Marilyn PS. We had a wonderful time with the children of our church and community this month! It was enjoyable to carve and decorate pumpkins; and the Trunk or Treat was even more fun for everyone involved! Members and friends all had a good time dressing themselves and their cars, and sharing treats. We were delighted to see the children all dressed in their costumes! We hope to see some of the children/families join us for Movie Night this month.
BIBLE STUDY Join us for the next Bible Study! Wednesday, November 2nd at 6:30pm. Join Pastor Marilyn for the book/dvd study of: Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God uncommon intimacy with Jesus by Francis Chan. an intimacy which can t help but change the world around MISSION TEAM The Mission Team will once again be asking for Christmas gifts for the residents at Flat Rock Home. As soon as we receive the list of items that have been asked for, we will hang them on the Christmas tree that will be in the Narthex. Take one or more of the tags with the suggested gifts written on them. When you bring the gifts to the church, tie or tape the tag to the gifts that you have purchased and then place them unwrapped by the tree or on the floor by the table. These gifts are always very much appreciated. Best-selling author and speaker, us! Joni Eareckson Tada, describes In his own words, Francis Chan this book as one in which Chan says This book was written for peels back what we think the those who want more of Jesus Christian life is, and guides us who desire for more God down the path toward an Books are $10. The Mission Team is also asking The United Methodist Women will for people to adopt a family from be asking for baby clothes, the Salvation Army. We usually diapers, blankets and baby toys ask them for four families to buy for the Heartbeat/Hope Clinic in for. We usually buy for three Tiffin. These items are placed in children in a family. They will "The Blessing Room" at the Clinic provide us with the kind of toys and they offer these baby items that they might want and the sizes that are needed by clients through of clothes for girls or boys. We will donations from the community. have the items requested for on Gently used or new items are tags on the tree. There will be one accepted and they are used to item on each tag and you can take help deepen a client s sense of one or more. accomplishment and worthiness when they have worked to earn credits to use in the Blessing Room. The U.M.W. will be meeting Saturday, November 10th at 10:00 a.m. in the children's Sunday School Room. We will have our Thank Offering ceremony after our business meeting. All women are invited to join us. We meet every other month on the 2nd Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
FROM OUR YOUTH LEADER A little cold weather and rain didn t keep the kids of the church from having fun during the month of October. We were able to gather a couple times this past month for fun and fellowship. The kids got in the Halloween and Fall spirit early on in the month as they had a great time carving pumpkins, playing pumpkin related games, and painting decorative rocks. The lesson they learned while carving pumpkins is a lesson we could all benefit from. They learned after carving into the pumpkins that there are lots of seeds and how each pumpkin could make lots more pumpkins by planting those seeds. Just like the single pumpkin they opened up, there is just one of us but if we open up to those we meet, and tell them about God then we can plant the seed of God in them and in turn help grow our church and in our faith. UPCOMING EVENTS November: Sunday Nov 11th: 2-4 pm Fall Games & Activities Saturday November 17th: 6 pm Movie Night I would also like to thank all those who participated and helped with the Trunk or Treat this year. We had such a huge turnout of kids show up that I believe we all ran out of candy a little after the first hour of being there. All who attended and participated seemed to have a great time. The decorations on each of the cars were great as well as the matching costumes for those who toughed out the cold weather to greet all those kids. Several parents commented as they went through at how wonderful it was to see us out there and hoped this is something we can do every year. I would love to see the parking lot fill up each year so everyone can see the joy on all the kids faces as they came through. As we move into November we have a couple events planned and encourage all the children to come and enjoy fellowship and fun with us. We also would like to remind everyone of the children s Sunday School every Sunday and how there are classes for all the kids of all ages. -Greg Harkins, Youth Leader December: December 16th: 6 pm Christmas Caroling (Congregation invited as well)
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Yes it s that time of year shopping and filling those beautiful red and green boxes that will be sent all over the world and USA. Some good things to send are: School supplies- chalkboards with chalk, pencils, scissors Toys- soccer ball with pump, dolls Make-your-own crafts- add your personal touch Non-liquid hygiene items- bar soap, toothbrush Clothing accessories- tops, shoes, socks, hair bows, gloves, scarves Non-chocolate candy- caramels, taffy, gummy bears A personal note from your family- if you include your name and address it s possible that the child could write you back! Things not permitted are: Used or damaged items War-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures Chocolate or food- due to customs regulations Out-of-date candy- make sure that the expiration date is at least 6 months after National Collection Week Liquids or lotions- these can spill and get all over the other items Medications or vitamins We have several items already purchased but we could use some additional items such as ivory soap, small flashlights, packs of batteries, combs, brushes, socks, and t-shirts (wash clothes before donating). There are several ways you can participate in this mission. 1. Pack a box with or without the $9 postage included in the box 2. Donate cash or check written to FUMC for any desired amount. 3. Donate individual items to be included in the boxes. There will be a box in the Narthex for this as well as labels and envelopes. We prefer that you use the boxes provided but sometimes you may need larger shoeboxes depending on the contents. If you need a larger shoe box let us know as we have a few. The last day to turn in your box is Sunday, November 11th.
EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY The word Eucharist comes from a Greek word that means to give thanks. Eucharist is another term for Holy Communion or The Lord s Supper, the sharing in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Doing so, we remember the thanksgiving Jesus offered to God as he gathered his disciples for a meal. In Eucharist, we continue to offer our praise and thanksgiving to God. We thank God not only for the bread and cup (symbols of Christ s life, death, and resurrection) but also for all that God has done and continues to do to save the world. Receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion remains one of the most important worship events in the life of our homebound, and we want to make it more available to them. United Methodist church law makes provision for lay members to share the body and blood of Jesus Christ with those in our faith community who are physically unable to be with us on Communion Sundays (homebound, hospitalized, etc) Training lay members to serve the communion elements after they have been consecrated during worship makes this possible. This ministry provides another means of including these members in the worship life of our church, letting them know that they are important to God and to us. The following people were trained on October 24, 2018: Sally Cook, Jeannine Curns, Judy Munn, and Beth Weber. May the blessings of the Lord and this faith community go with them! WORSHIP COMMITTEE Worship committee met October 11th, 2018. Here are some dates for your calendar! November 4th-All Saints Day. We will light candles in memory of those members that passed in the last year. November 18th- Our annual Thanksgiving dinner. Watch for details. November 25th- We will be decorating the church after the 10:15 service for advent. Note the Christmas Eve time change. We will have carols and harp music at 6pm and service starting at 6:30pm. We will also have an 11pm service of candlelight and communion. NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1-Terri Everhart 4- Brian Briggs, Bonnie Covert, 6- Barb Eborg, 8-Jack Schalk, 9-Allen Fuller, 11-Alexander Albert, 12-Robert Traunero, 16- Peg Spitler, 20-Janelle Albert, Nancy Ferguson, Maris Kiser, 21-Carole LeBlanc, Iris Roy, 22-Chuck G. Dundore, 23- Nathan Grover, 24- Jacke Renninger, 25- Lindsay Tusing, 27-Jane Houdeshell, Mike Lemons, 29- Pat Schreiner, Kyle Starkey, 30-Jake Everhart NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 7-Ray & Sandy Nutter, 9- Larry & Rachel Rentz, 15- James & Barbara Trapp, 16-Jim & Lois Berger, Mark & Sandy Mesnard, Paul & Kendullin Fortney, 27-Mark & Micki Tusing, 28-Donald & Dianne Feasel, Glenn & Betty Quickle, 29-Jason & Rebel Marsh