January 2018 Monthly Newsletter of Palm Harbor United Methodist Church All Ages! All in! Loving God! Loving All! the church Messenger Welcome to 2018!!!!! I am excited about what the New Year has to bring. I look forward to how God is going to reveal Himself. We begin the first month of the year with two very important sermon series. First we will have a sermon series on Can t Miss a Sunday. Now you may be asking, Why can t I miss a Sunday. Well, that is what the sermon series the first three weeks of January is about. Now I must admit I get pumped and excited about Sundays---that may be an occupational hazard for me. I look forward to seeing the people, I look forward to meeting new people and I certainly look forward to connecting with God. Churches of all denominations are showing decline in attendance. I would like to share in this sermon series why you just can t miss a Sunday. What happens on a given Sunday is a once in a lifetime experience. Never again will you have the same people, sitting in the same place, wearing the same clothes, singing the same songs hearing the same things at the same time. It is a unique experience---never to be repeated. The next Sunday different things will happen. Oh you Can t Miss a Sunday sermon series will explore the importance of what gathering for worship is all about. Invite someone. Tell them they Can t Miss a Sunday! At the end of the month we will begin a sermon series called Say Yes! This will be more than a sermon series. This will be where we lift up the blessings it is to say yes and volunteer and be in ministry in the church. We will explore how we can be blessed by being a blessing. We will make commitments to serve and say yes so the kingdom of God can grow. We will discover places within our church ministry where we can say yes. I m ready to get 2018 started with the enthusiasm of finding out and discovering and rediscovering that God is at work right here at PHUMC! 2018---here we come!!! Pastor Dave t Palm Harbor United Me hodist Church 1551 Belcher Road (727) 785-7487 Palm Harbor, FL 34683 www.phumc.net Rev. Dave Baldridge, Senior Pastor Rev. Cathy Hart, Executive Minister
Prayer Chain To place a prayer request, please call one of the following: Grace Williamson at 784-2761; Gloria Brown at 784-2590; or the church office at 785-7487. Prayer Shawl All levels of quilters and knitters are welcome to join us the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month (Jan. 14 and 28) in the lobby at 1 p.m. for our next meetings. We have a lot of yarn and crochet hooks on hand. Bring knitting needles (size 9 and up). Call Martha Stolz, 727-793- 4606, with any questions. Faith Community Nurses Blood pressure screening will be conducted in the multi-purpose room on Sunday, Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Courageous Sisters A women s support group for cancer meets monthly in the chapel. The next meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. Contact Yvonne White at 727-798-7854 for more information. Care Team PHUMC has a team of caring volunteers who are willing to help with rides, meals and misc. small jobs. If you are in need of assistance, please contact Marilyn King at 727-785-7487 or visit her in the church office. If you would like to be part of the congregational care team, please let Marilyn know, and she will add you to her Team - email her at mking@phumc.net. Contact Information Change Please let the PHUMC office know if you have a change in contact information by calling the office at 727-785-7487. Thank you. Going into the hospital? If you are going into the hospital or you know of someone who is going in or is currently in an extended stay, please let Marilyn King know. Marilyn can be reached at 727-785-7487 or mking@phumc.net. Join us as we begin the class that will change your life for the better, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. For general information, please contact Kim Briggs at kimberlyabriggs@yahoo.com. A BIG THANK YOU Due to the generosity of PHUMC, we were able to provide boxes of food/ toiletries/toys/turkey or ham to over 225 FEAST families for Christmas! Your outpouring of toys allowed us to donate to Metropolitan Ministries of Pasco too! In addition, angels in our congregation sponsored over 30 families in need. THANK YOU! Also a big thank you to the all of those who took time out of their holiday schedules to assist at Metropolitan Ministries in Pasco for their Christmas food distribution. We had all ages participating...7 years old and up. Thank you! Missions of the Month: PHUMC Missions Missions encompasses many different areas that affect our church and our community. We use these funds to: -Feed families in need twice a month at Metropolitan Ministries of Pasco -Provide meals & materials to the Florida Children s Home -Provide financial funding for all church supported missions/ministries that are not a Mission of the Month during the year (i.e. feeding the homeless, the Cold Night Shelter, Pinellas County Pregnancy Center, Pack-a-Sack, etc) As our Mission emphasis continues to grow, we will need funds to help new mission projects get started such as starting a program to help individuals get their GED degree at Metropolitan Ministries. If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make your checks payable to PHUMC. Mark you envelope Mission of the Month Missions. If you use a pew envelope, please put your envelope number on it. Save your Christmas Cards Please save your Christmas Cards this year and turn them into the front office. Mary K Evers cuts off the front picture and uses that as a beautiful inside decoration for Shoe Boxes. Whether newly widowed or alone for longer, you are invited to join us for lunch at Tiffany's (on 19 between Alderman and Nebraska) on Saturday, January 6, at 1 p.m. in their back room. We gather for fun and fellowship as we navigate our "new normal". Our regular monthly planning meeting is at PHUMC on January 18 at 7 p.m. in room A210. For further information or to share suggestions for this newly-formed small group, contact Diane Cary at 727-210-7236 or diane@jcary.com. January 11 th 6:30 8 p.m. in A202-203 Childcare Available (Please RSVP) With the New Year, we are making changes to the way we equip and train the volunteers of our serving ministries at PHUMC. If you are current team leader over a serving ministry, we invite you to join us Thursday, January 11 th at 6:30 p.m. in A202-203. Also, if you are interested in being part of this new process contact Rev. Cathy or Jeremy for more information.
Network 45 All 4th and 5th Graders Invited! January 19 7 9 p.m. MISSION NIGHT! Join us for hot chocolate, cookies and a special winter service project. January 26. Celebration Station! Meet at PHUMC at 6 p.m. Cost $10 We will have a short devotional and then we ll HEAD ON OUT! Bring a friend! We also need parent chaperones to help us out! YOU MUST: -wear your Network 45 T-shirt -sign up by January 25 on the Children s Ministries Bulletin board located across from the multi purpose room on the first floor, Building A AND -have a COMPLETED 2017-18 Medical Consent Form (signed by your parent/guardian) on file with Children s Ministries in order to participate. S.T.A.G.E.S. Spiritual Transformation And Growing Everlasting Seeds A class for registered 4th and 5th graders 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings Designed to help 4th and 5th graders discover their faith more in depth Classes are in 3 independent sessions and run 6 weeks The next session begins Feb. 4 Attendance is essential you must attend 5 of the 6 classes to complete each session Topics include Communion and Baptism Registration begins 2 weeks prior to class start For more info, contact Robin McFerren in the Children s Ministries at 727-785-7487 Mark your calendars: HISKidz Children s Choir will be singing Sunday, Jan. 28 during the 9:30 a.m. and 11:05 a.m. services. Kelly Groves, Children s Choir Director, will be sending out more information to the parents soon. Saturday -January 13th Amalie Arena $15 donation at the door! Doors open 5 p.m. Show Starts 6 p.m. Meet at church 10:30 a.m. Bring money for food or pack a lunch! The expectation for this group is to travel, wait in line, enter the arena at the same time and sit together! We will return to church by 11:00 p.m. See acts like: Skillet, Kari Jobe, Building 429, John Crist-comedian, KB, New Song, Jordan Feliz, Dan Bremnes, Mallary Hope, Westover and Speaker Nick Hall. Last call for anyone wanting to join the 2018 confirmation class. This class is open to all 8 th grade students and above who have not yet been confirmed. Confirmation is a specialized class that will be held once a week on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in room A208. Our first class is January 14th with a meet and greet for prayer partners on January 7th. This is a 13 week class with graduation to be held on April 29, 2018. This class will close after January 14th. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Lynn Stevens at lstevens@phumc.net Believe Middle School Conference is coming! Feb 23-24 Kissimmee This high energy weekend event is something you will not experience anywhere else. Students worship alongside other students their age in a huge auditorium. $100 includes conference, lodging, transportation and some food. Early bird registration ends Jan 24 so a $50 deposit is due to Soldiers for Christ by Jan. 21. Contact Lstevens@phumc.net to register. For more information on the conference check out: www.ciy.com/believe
PHUMC is excited to announce the Tampa Bay Heralds of Harmony will be coming to PHUMC Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 at 3 p.m. The Heralds of Harmony is a Tampa, Florida-based men s a cappella chorus that has been entertaining Florida audiences in the barbershop style continuously since 1945, and is currently ranked among the nation's best male vocal ensembles. Tickets are available now by following the link on the PHUMC website to itickets.com and are available at the church office/ multi-purpose room on Sundays. Tickets are $20. Our very own Harbortones will be opening the concert! Here are just a couple pictures from the Harbor Angels December luncheon,. To see more pictures, go to the photo gallery at www.phumc.net Christmas luncheon and to the Daisy Scouts( with their leaders and moms) whose singing led by Kelly Groves was the highlight of the event. Our 66 attendees ranged in age from 16 mos. to 88 Harbor Angels will not meet in January. Our next event is years old- we all loved all ages, all in! We are also very grateful Saturday, February 3 at 10 a.m. with a traditional Lenten to the Men s Group who prepared,served and cleared our food pancake breakfast catered by Chef Susan, where we will with Chef Vance. To view pictures go to www.phumc.net/ celebrate Mardi Gras with a program highlighting the history and basis of many Lenten traditions. Registration and payment photogallery of the breakfast fee will be available in the multi-purpose room Please watch for details on our possible group attendance to the on all preceding Sundays in January and online at the church Priscilla Shirer live simulcast from Tampa on April 28, 2018. web site. Our Spring Tea will be held, Saturday. May 12. Time TBA- A Many thanks to those ladies who decorated tables for the Garden Party. Thank you to all who participated in Wreaths Across America at Bay Pines National Cemetery. After a delicious breakfast at Doe Doe s Restaurant, we were excited to see the Patriot Riders escorting a Hanover Grocery Truck direct from Maine with our fresh wreaths! We stood on the side of the road and cheered them on as they passed. Upon arriving at the cemetery the 18 wheeler was just opening the back door and needed help unloading. We didn t think twice and jumped into line to assist in unloading the wreaths. More than 5,700 wreaths were able to be laid at the graves of our veterans. It was a gorgeous day, and we were so blessed to be able to share it will so many generations. PECANS: The Men s Ministry pecans are going fast! Stop by the multi-purpose room to pick up your delicious pecans!! Men s Monthly Breakfast: Men of all ages are invited to join us for our monthly breakfast meetings. Their next meeting will be Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 a.m. at the IHOP Restaurant located at the corner of US 19 and Curlew. is an organization focused on helping members live a healthy life. Join us each Monday at 9 a.m. to encourage each other toward a healthy lifestyle. In I Corinthians 6:19-20, we are told that our bodies are "temples of the Holy Spirit." I don t know about you, but my temple needs some work! For more information, please contact Sally Halek 727-642-3009 or Sallynflorida@gmail.com.
Westlake s Special Open House for Robin s Nest and Church Families On January 11 th at 9:15 a.m., Westlake will hold a special open house for the Robin s Nest and church families. We will meet in the Cafeteria and progress to the classrooms and other areas of the school for a tour. Westlake 6 th Grade Students Visit Kennedy Space Center This month, our sixth grade students will go over to the Kennedy Space Center for a wonderful time of learning. The students (and parents!) look forward to this fun field trip! We value our volunteers! They bring an added blessing in support of the church staff and the many ministries at PHUMC. Beginning in January 2018, we will be scheduling office volunteers in 3 shifts per day, Monday thru Friday: 8 11 a.m.; 11 a.m. 2 p.m.; and 2 5 p.m. The main volunteer duties will be answering the phones and helping with small projects to support the ministries at PHUMC. If you are interested in being an Angel of the Day, please contact Mary Vaughn at mvaughn@phumc.net or 785-7487. Daisy Girl Scout Troop 820 is in full Cookie pre-sales mode. Right now you can pre-order your favorite cookie flavors and pay for them when they arrive in February. If you d like to order cookies call Rory McLeod, Troop Leader, at 727-967-4252. This year we will be offering the opportunity to purchase a box of cookies for our Pack-a- Sack ministry for $4. These cookies will be packed in addition to the food that gets sent home normally. Once the cookies have arrived in February, our Daisy Troop will hold a packing party as a service project. If you would like to sponsor a box of cookies for a Packa-Sack child please complete the form below, attach a check for the desired amount of cookie boxes ($4 / box), and drop your check off at the PHUMC church office for TROOP 820. Checks should be made payable to GSWCF (Girl Scouts of West Central Florida) and include your correct contact information and a phone number where we can reach you if needed. Won t you help us reach our goal of donating 140 boxes of cookies to Pack-a- Sack? There are a couple of exciting upcoming projects that I need the talents of a graphic artist. If you are interested in donating your talents, please contact Jessica Petot, Public Relations Coordinator, at jpetot@phumc.net for more information. Thank you! Girl Scouts Cookies for Pack-a-Sack Sponsorship Form Name: Address: Phone #: Email Address: Number of Boxes Sponsoring: Thank you for supporting these girls and Pack-a-Sack! Did you know the church a an aluminum can recycling program? That is right! You can drop off all of your aluminum cans in the aluminum drop off bin next to the dumpster.
District Training...Attention Church Leaders Church Members. Join us for a Next Level Discipleship Training Sunday, January 21, 2018 3-6 p.m. Palm Harbor United Methodist Church 1551 Belcher Road, Palm Harbor 34683 Registration will be available at www.flumc.org The district is excited to present Keynote Speaker Rev. Junius B. Dotson General Secretary of Discipleship Ministries Learning Sessions Include: Intentional Discipleship. A two-part session focuses on creating an intentional discipleship system (or pathway) - unique to your church s context - with solutions & strategies to meet the challenges of making disciples in the 21st century. Communicating across Our glimpse of heaven is beautifully diverse. Join the conversation on how to reach across generations, cultures, race and economics to build relationships and invite new friends into a relationship with Christ. Fresh Expression with a Slant. Yes, we are bought into the Fresh Expression movement. BUT how do they become selfsustainable? is it church? how does it support my church? Explore the next level of questions in creating a Fresh Expression. Welcoming the New. A real story of revitalization: Established church revitalizes itself through reaching out in new and relevant ways to its community. Servant Hearts on the Move. Learn proven approaches to identify and engage your church s servant hearts into service for Christ. Leading through Change. How many times does the church start a visioning process and nothing changes. Hear how one church is building a new vision, bringing their congregation into the conversation and making it happen. Low Risk Start to Ministry. We see the needs of our community. How do we build relationships to meet those needs AND share Christ s story? This session focuses on how to get started in Social Justice and Mercy ministry with low risk while sharing the Good News with those working with us.and those we are reaching out to. Mark your calendars with these important dates... Jan. 13 Soldiers for Christ: Winter Jam Men s Breakfast Jan. 20 My Life & Wishes Feb. 3 Harbor Angels Mardi Gras Breakfast Feb. 7 Financial Peace University begins Feb. 9 & 10 XO Marriage Conference Feb. 17 Suncoast Symphony Feb. 18 Shining Lights Country Dance New Member Orientation Feb. 25 Herolds of Harmony Feb. 26-Mar. 2 Robin s Nest Book Fair Mar. 10 PHUMC Olympics Mar. 25 Palm Sunday