Rittman United Methodist Church Points to Ponder Volume 40 - Issue No. 12 Chuck Kaliszewski, Pastor Whose Birthday Is It? Linda and I attended a workshop where the speaker reminded us that Christmas was Jesus birthday and not our own. This gave us a lot to think about. It is easy to quote the old saying that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. But it is another to adjust our priorities so as live in accordance to it. It is too easy to get caught up in the activity which drives our economy shopping. We are told by a steady stream of commercials that the holiday spirit means we have to buy our loved ones all of our loved ones a tree-full of gifts. Love is defined by the size and expense of what is given, not the thought behind the gifts. This message has not changed during these tough economic times. The major problem with this thinking is that we often spend more than we have, and then get caught up in spending our future to pay for our past. This limits our ability to respond to God s call as we focus all year on paying off things that in some cases are long gone. We become slaves to debt, which is not very biblical, nor what Jesus has in mind for us as we celebrate his birthday. So what can we do differently? We can limit our holiday spending and keep within our budget, and we can focus on the real reason for the season. Remember, it is Jesus birthday not our own, and we need to find a way to celebrate Christmas that honors our Lord. Christmas is a time of joy and family, but it also can be a time of loneliness for those who find themselves spending the holidays alone, especially when it is their first Christmas without a loved one. As a gift to our Lord, why not send a card or make a call to that person who needs a reason to smile this holiday season. A plate of cookies can be a more welcome gift than anything that the radio or television tells you is a must buy. May your Christmas be merry and bright. And may God continue to bless you abundantly. Merry Christmas, Pastor Chuck December Birthdays 4th 7th 9th 12th 14th 15th 16th 18th 23rd 24th 27th 31st Scott Brickey Joe Emerson Sue Baker Debbie Knapic Duane Ryland Pam Chipps Matt McClain Peggy Copley Zachary Baillis Ryan Beckett Edith McKenzie Rita Blough Melanie Schumacher 10th Homer & Susan Feikert 19th Bob & Kim Rastorfer 21st Chris & Vicki Hartlaub 22nd Dave & Kathy Berg 24th Bob & Anita Frase Welcome To Our Church Family Dawn Hennie transferred her membership form Berea United Methodist Church to Rittman UMC. Dawn works at Southwest General Hospital. She sings in our church choir and is a member of the Women s Connexions Bible Study on Thursdays. Dawn s daughter, Melissa Hennie, is a member of the church. THE RITTMAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY KNUPP CHURCH CHRISTMAS The Rittman Historical Society invites you to our annual Christmas Caroling at Knupp Church on December 6th at 3pm. Pastor Chuck will be bringing the Christmas message and The Copenhavers and the Moine Sisters will be singing. Come and bring a friend!
BELL RINGERS Our local Salvation Army needs bell ringers this December. Since the Salvation Army is local, the money stays here in town. The times are starting at 8am and end at 9pm - lots of different shifts - you can serve at your convenience. The days are December 14-17 at the IGA Grocery Store. This is a sign up sheet on the church office window. HANGING OF THE GREENS Thanks to the Education Committee for a great fun/work afternoon. Lots of hands made quick work of decorating the church for the Christmas season. Brenda Cook and her crew served a delicious supper of chili, baked potatoes and all the great toppings and desserts. The event ended with hanging ornaments on the social hall tree and singing Christmas Carols. CHRISTMAS IS COMING Here are some names and addresses of our church family who would love to hear from you this Christmas season. Autumnwood Care Center - Virginia Bigler 275 E. Sunset Dr. Charles Massie Rittman, OH 44270 Marcy Taylor Apostolic Christian Home - Wanda Fawcett 10680 Steiner Rd. Rittman, OH 44270 Canton Christian Home - Dorothy DeMass 2550 Cleveland Ave. NW Canton, OH 44709 Amherst Care Center - Joy Lutz 175 N. Lake Amherst, OH 44001 CHRISTMAS BASKETS The date for the Christmas Basket delivery for this year will be December 19th beginning at 8am. Wrapping the presents will be at the Presbyterian Church on Tuesday the 15th and making boxes and sorting canned goods will be here at RUMC on Wednesday the 16th. You may submit names of Rittman residents to receive baskets by calling 330-925-4025 from Monday, November 30th through Friday, December 4th and December 7th through December 11th between the hours of 9:00am and 1:00pm.. If you would like to volunteer and would like more information, see Betty Winchell.
-UMW DATES- December 7 Hannah Circle Christmas Luncheon December 14 Dorcas Circle Christmas Luncheon Dorcas Circle We met at 1pm for our meeting in the Fellowship Room. Ruth Schumacher led us in the Apostle s Creed and in the United Methodist Women s Purpose. Secretary s report was read and Karen Copenhaver gave the treasurer s report. We agreed to give a donation from our kitty to the Trustees for the rainspout/soffet project. Ruth gave Thanks for Everything by Norman Vincent Peale as devotions. Her program was World Thank Offering from the Mission Program book. Ruth asked us to tell what we were thankful for. We each said the program verses in unison and we each read scripture. Our next meeting will be our Christmas outing. Jennie Cain Secretary Hannah Circle Hannah Circle met at the church on Monday, November 9th with seven members present. Ruth gave our devotions by reading Giving Others a Push - Acts 11:23 and I Don t Feel Like It - Matthew 21:28-32 followed by prayer. Minutes were read and approved. Pauline gave the treasurer s report. Pat read Matthew 25:21 followed by reading Notice the People in Your Past. We all read Purpose of United Methodist Women. Eight members attended the September 22nd program at the Burbank church, and eight members attended the September 26th fall meeting in Wooster. December 5th is our annual Cookie Walk. We will need workers to set up the tables on December 4th at 10am. December 7th is our annual Christmas luncheon at the Galaxy Restaurant. Next year s program schedule was passed out and we filled in our hostesses and program leaders for the coming year. Anne had our cultural moment by reading One Soldier s Trust in God. Elaine had our program, Women of the Manger (a Christmas program). Everyone had a part to read. Pauline served delicious refreshments. Elaine Fetter Secretary Growing Friendships Ever wonder how you could meet and develop more friends? This book gives you the how to version. It just adds to your natural abilities and ideas. It also gives you Scripture to help along the way. It has good first person stories and suggestions. It helps you out of your own comfort zone and goes along with the concept that is being tried in our churches with the thought processes and gatherings. I believe you ll like it - I did. Jennie Cain Book Reviewer
LOCAL ACTIVITIES GROUP Each month one of the members will be sharing a recipe. This one is from Wilma Baker: STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD 2 cups crushed pretzels 3/4 cup melted butter 3 tablespoons sugar 8 oz. cream cheese 1 cup sugar 2 cups Cool Whip 6 oz. strawberry jello, mixed with 2 cups boiling water 20 oz. frozen strawberries, juice and all! Mix pretzels, butter and sugar in 9x13 pan. Bake at 400 for 8 minutes - cool. Mix cream cheese, sugar and Cool Whip and spread over pretzels. Mix strawberry jello and frozen strawberries. Chill until cool, then pour over cream cheese mixture and let set in refrigerator. Spread some Cool Whip over strawberry jello mixture after it is firm. GOD S FAITHFUL - Wanda Fawcett Wanda Fawcett will celebrate her 100th birthday on May 10, 2010. Wanda was married to Lester Sr. and had 6 living children. Wanda and Lester had 2 stillborn children, 2 babies that lived one hour, and 1 baby that lived 6 months. During the birth of one of these children, Wanda died. She says she was in this tunnel going to a light. God spoke to her and told her to go back and take care of her family. When Lester and Wanda were young parents, they took in a new baby who the doctor said was deformed and would not live very long. The baby s mother did not want to raise the little boy, and the father was away in the war. The Fawcetts were the 6th family to care for him. Wanda says she rubbed his head, arms, legs and face with olive oil. The doctor stopped at the house. He really thought the baby would be dead by now, and was surprised to see the baby and how well he was and cured of his deformities. The parents heard how well he was and came and took him back. The baby was 6 months old then. Wanda saw him only once after that when he was nine years old. Wanda taught Sunday School until she was 80 years old. She quit to have open heart surgery. Wanda taught 2 year olds thru grade school. Wanda enjoyed creating ceramics and continues being an artist. Until October 30, 2009 she enjoyed gardening at the nursing home. She was cleaning up the flowers for the winter when she fell, hurting her leg and breaking her pelvic bone. Wanda has 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren. NEW BABY? In the future, please contact Audrey Winchell personally to let her know when there is a new baby in the church family so she can put a rose on the altar in celebration. Contact the church office with the baby s name and stats so they can be put in the bulletin.
What Are You Thankful For? I am thankful for the ladies who have cooked for the Rotary Club all these years. My mother was one of those ladies for about 55 years. I loved it because I ate my lunch once a month in the church kitchen on her Rotary Club day. Rittman Schools had 1hr. and 15min. off for lunch. Present time: I am thankful for Rita & Niles Blough who work with the Food Pantry. They buy the food, stock the shelves and organize the Food Pantry Day. I am thankful for Beth Steiner who trimmed bushes and trees this week and hauled everything away. I am blessed by Linda Kaliszewski and all her dedication to our church. She is a blessed addition to our church family. Please Points readers - send in some more thanks. SAMARITAN S PURSE Thanks to all who took time to put a smile on a child s face. Thanks to Sandy Gasser and her family - Chad, Deb Adkins and Roger Williams. Here is Sandy s report: This year, our church family dedicated 49 filled shoeboxes for the Samaritan s Purse Operation Christmas Child Project. Please continue to pray for the safe delivery of those boxes to so many impoverished places in our world. Pray that each child will not only be delighted with the items in the box, but that they would realize that someone, somewhere, filled that box with something that they cannot see, yet can overwhelmingly feel - God s love. Sometimes these people ask why someone who doesn t know them would be so kind. This is the perfect opportunity for the staff to tell them about God and the gift that he gives to all of us if we are willing to believe and receive. This Christmas season, remember to add God s love to each and every package that you are giving. In fact, add God s love to each thing you are doing! How nice it is to hold a door open for someone, but when they look at you, make sure that there s a smile to go with it. When you deliver Christmas baskets to needy families, not only offer them food and gifts, but sincerely tell them Merry Christmas and if you are so moved, give them a warm hug. Ask God for the strength, the patience and courage to do His will, live obediently and to be ever so pleasing in his sight. The more we practice God s love through generosity with our time, money, and talent, it becomes a way of life. It actually has a cyclic effect-leaving us, bouncing off of others and filling us back up so we can continue to give and give and give Take time to reread 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and keep sowing! FELLOWSHIP CLASS - Members Favorite Hymns: Harold Salyer - Amazing Grace Anne Salyer - How Great Thou Art Ed Seiler - Something About That Name Pat Seiler - Take My Hand, Precious Lord Reah Lunter - Great Is Thy Faithfulness & Under His Wings John Lunter - Onward Christian Soldiers Sherri Lance - Rock Of Ages Sandy Batson - Be Thou My Vision Shirley Youmans - Amazing Grace Marilyn Hofacre - Because He Lives Dorothy Gillman - Christ Alone Dick Gillman - Amazing Grace Dave Berg - O Come All Ye Faithful
FOOD PANTRY By the grace of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are working together to know, love, serve and share Christ with our community and the world. Food Pantry Day (Nov. 18th) went something like this: Bags full of food for our clients lined up on tables from the night before when volunteers packed during organized chaos. The kitchen is full of yummy smells from Linda the cook, Dorothy the baker, and Mary Lou the helper all preparing food. People are coming for food - Dick signs them in later to be assisted by Eleanor. Ed is carrying out bags to cars (keep your hat on, Ed or you will melt in the rain). Niles is also carrying bags when he is not re-stocking pantry shelves and recycling used boxes. Pat, Reah, Rita, Mary, Sharon, Sheila, Kathy, Betty, Lisa, Heather, and Larissa are busy filling orders and filling new grocery bags. Our clients are all very thankful. One family came for bags and ate the meal. Grandma was in a wheelchair. Her 5 yr. old grandson handed out paper animals that grandma had cut out with her tiny scissors. Many ate and enjoyed the fellowship. Please join the pantry gang to help - the blessing is worth your time. We served 130 people, 52 families and 15 first time families. PRESCHOOL The Annual Children s Singing Program was Sunday, November 15th. The children sang many songs for their parents, grandparents, and our church family. The students celebrated Thanksgiving as Indians this year - feathers everywhere! Of course they sang their favorite song, I m An Indian, Brown & Strong. They put feathers on a turkey that said what they are thankful for. Lots of interesting things. Thanks to Sandy Batson for piano accompaniment WHAT DO I BELIEVE? by Stanley Moran Two weeks ago in my devotions I came across Galatians 3:22 - But the scripture hath concluded - all are under sin, that we by the promise of faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. The thought came to me, believe what? As I come in my car to church I believe it ll get me there and back. As I eat food I believe it ll give me strength for the day. When I look at the trees and flowers it helps me to believe in God. The Bible tells us in James 2:17 even the devil believes in God. My folks didn t go to church, so I didn t know what believing in God was all about. I attended a revival meeting and the Lord knocked on my heart s door and He forgave me of my sins, and I know to this day that my sins are forgiven and I believe in Jesus as my Savior and Redeemer. Though I am up in years, I am still learning and growing in Christ, and I don t know how people can grow in Christ if they don t attend Sunday School or Bible Study and participate in worship. I firmly believe a lot in the power of prayer, and over the years I ve seen God answer prayer in many ways. I not only believe in prayer, but I know He does answer. I spend 45 minutes or more in prayer every night on my knees. I have a special list of people I pray for. In Revelations 3:14-22 here are some thoughts - Jesus said in verse 16 because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold I will spew thee out of my mouth. In verse 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hear my voice and opens then I will come in and sup with him and he with me. In verse 22 he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. These scriptures not only apply in that time, but applies to us today. I ve met a lot of good people here on earth, but we are only here so long - but then we go from here to Heaven or Hell. Just being a good person won t get us into Heaven. By trusting in Jesus Christ is the only way we are going to get to Heaven and by doing His will daily.
CHURCH HISTORY In 1926 the church was improved and redecorated. The parsonage was repaired. The men sat on one side of the church always, and the women sat on the other side. The boys sat in the front pews with the men and the girls on the women s side in the front. It was that way until 1944 when newly married couples decided they wanted to sit together. They sat in the last two pews on the men s side. In 1946 it became known as Otterbein Class. It wasn t until we moved to this building in 1963 that men and women classes were combined and became the Loyalty Class. They met in the Chapel while Otterbein met in the room they still occupy. Sometimes we wonder, What did I do to deserve this? or Why did God have to do this to me? Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her mother how everything is going wrong: she s failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, Absolutely, Mom, I love your cake. Here, have some cooking oil, her Mother offers. Yuck, says her daughter. How about a couple of raw eggs? Gross, Mom! Would you like some flour then? Or maybe some baking soda? Mom, those are all yucky! To which the mother replies, Yes, all those things seem bad by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him, and eventually they will all make something wonderful! from Joan Gillman Gates JOKE CORNER A blonde went into the library and said to the librarian, I would like a cheeseburger. The librarian said, This is a library. The blonde whispered, Sorry, I would like a cheeseburger. by Emily Adkins What can you get out of one dollar that you can t get out of the Cleveland Browns? Answer: Four quarters! Think about it - strawberries are the only fruit whose seeds grow on the outside! 1.) Who has the Ohio State record for most passes thrown in a game? 2.) Who has the Ohio State record for most passes thrown in a season? Answers somewhere in P2P! Did you know that the original recipe for chocolate contained chili powder instead of sugar.
POINTS to PONDER Rittman United Methodist Church 211 North Metzger Avenue Rittman, OH 44270 Vol 40 No. 12 Chuck Kaliszewski, Pastor pastor@rittmanumc.org www.rittmanumc.org info@rittmanumc.org Prayer Connexions @ 8:00am Sunday School @ 9:15am Morning Worship @ 10:30am 2009 Celtic Prayer Deep peace of the running waves to you, of the flowing air, the smiling stars. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, of the watching shepherds. Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you. Amen. 2.) Joe Germaine - 384 1.) Art Schlichter - 42 ANSWERS: