The Bell Ringer of the United Methodist Church of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-9540 NOVEMBER 2014 Email: ctownumc@gmail.com Editor: Brenda Alton stdx06@gmail.com HARVEST DINNER Turkey, all the trimmings, and homemade pie will be served at the annual Harvest Dinner on Saturday, November 15 th from 4:30-7 PM. Come and enjoy a bountiful meal and good fellowship with the church family and friends in the community. Or consider purchasing a ticket if you are unable to join us it will help support our fundraising for Ministry Shares. As always, your help is needed distributing posters, adopt a turkey, prepare food, donate ingredients, serve and clean up. Sign-up sheets are in the Fellowship Room or call Linda Smirk,chair, 547-2532. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Shoeboxes filled with gifts are a project of Samaritan s Purse. Each year CUMC participates in this ministry, coordinated by Mary Beekman. Pre-decorated shoeboxes and brochures may be picked up in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Room. Please bring your filled shoeboxes to church by Sunday, November 9 th. A dedication service will be held on Nov. 16 th, when the children will be asked to carry the boxes to the Altar. The shoeboxes are taken to the area collection center at Main Street Baptist Church, Oneonta. FRIDAY FREE LUNCH A free hot lunch of soup, bread and cookies will be served on Friday, November 7 th from 11:30 1 p.m. in the Fellowship Room. Bring friends or meet new ones! A sign-up sheet will be in the Fellowship Room for bread and cookies. Soup has already been donated. Volunteers are needed to set up, serve and clean up. Please help distribute posters fill in the check list so efforts are not duplicated. Questions call Jane Hanson (315) 858-3731. CHRISTMAS TEA & BAZAAR to be held on Saturday, December 7 th, 1-4 PM
Stewardship Report 2013 General Fund Budget $136,500 Budget through August $ 102,375 Offerings through August $ 86,699 Below Budget ($ 15,676) The end of the pledge year is drawing near. The last Sunday to give that will be credited to 2014, will be January 4, 2015. Please be sure that your check or envelope is clearly marked 2014 or it will be credited to 2015. Thank you. The special envelopes for Advent and Christmas that you receive inside your copy of The Bell Ringer do not have numbers on them. If you wish for your donation to be credited to you, for tax purposes, do not remain ANONYMOUS. Please be sure to put your name on the envelope before slipping it into the collection plate. HANGING OF THE GREENS Come and decorate the church for Advent on Sunday, November 30 th after worship. Soup and bread will be served in the Fellowship Room. The tree will be set up on Friday and ready for all our special ornaments. Also tables will need to be set up in the Chapel so that the UMW can prepare for the Christmas Tea & Bazaar on Saturday, December 6 th. DEVOTIONAL READING "Upper Room" (also large print copies), "Alive Now," "devozine" (for teens by teens) for November-December, and "Our Daily Bread", are in the literature racks in the church entrance. Please help yourself to this devotional reading -- take a copy to a homebound church member. About Our Church Family Happy Birthday Kathryn Mollach Lona Smith Lucile Gilchrist Zaidee Powers Carl Banner Colin Bliss Randy Gelatt Mary Beekman Helen Smith Kate Casler Willis Monie, Sr. Virginia Sherwood Sarah Key Jeanine Harter Christine Becker Rena Lull, Jr. Happy Anniversary Willis & Dina Monie 01 st 03 rd 09 th 10 th 10 th 12 th 14 th 14 th 15 th 18 th 21 st 24 th 25 th 27 th 27 th 30 th 26 th Thanksgiving Offering envelopes are in this newsletter. The Thanksgiving offering will go toward mission work this year. Remember to take a moment on Thanksgiving to thank God for all that you have received. Have a blessed holiday! Special Giving Envelopes During the year special giving envelopes are sent to members and friends of the congregation for Lent, Easter, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas. Unless designated otherwise, the money from these envelopes goes into the general fund of the church to be used for the operation of the church.
FOOD PANTRY The Food Pantry continues its appeal for non-perishable food to keep the shelves stocked and meet a growing need for food. Cash donations are also appreciated. Checks may be made payable to Cooperstown Food Pantry and mailed to 25 Church Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326. There is always a collection box in the back of the UMCC sanctuary -- please double bag. To volunteer, call Ellen St. John at 547-9653. UMW News FALL RUMMAGE SALE We thank everyone for a successful rummage sale. The final total is $1627. In addition to the mission work that this helps to support, donations were also made to Angel Network in clothing for My Neighbor's Closet, Baptist Church Drop Box, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and Friends of the Library Book Sale. Many hours go into the organization for this event as we empty bags and boxes and place the items in the right places. While this sounds tedious, it becomes an opportunity for fellowship and fun. Dangerous as it is to single anyone out - we thank Dan for having the racks set up when we started; Merrilyn for all the publicity; Rena for the many trips to the landfill; Deb Ackerman for work above and beyond as we cleaned it up on Saturday. Success would have been impossible without all of the items donated and by all of the hours given by the wonderful women in this church. We thank one and all and look forward to seeing you as we do it again in June. Dawne and Jan THANK YOU to Jay Moore for the beautiful presentation of the power point photos of people around the world shown at the October 13 th UMW meeting. THANKSGIVING BASKET donations may be placed in the box in the back of the sanctuary, Nov. 2, Nov. 9, Nov. 16, and the last day Nov. 23 rd. Any money donations should be clearly marked THANKSGIVING BASKETS and given to Nancy Davis 547-6137, or Linda Smirk 547-2532. If you would like to suggest a recipient of a basket, please contact Nancy, Linda, or Pastor Bill. UMW REGULAR MEETING will be held, Monday, November 10 th at noon at Jackie s Restaurant. The World Thank Offering Service will be offered. CHRISTMAS TEA AND BAZAAR: It s time to think about the Christmas Tea and Bazaar, a major fund raiser to be held on Saturday afternoon, December 6 th from 1-4 PM. Invite your friends, family, children, grandchildren to have a cup of tea and cookies with you and then go upstairs to do a little Christmas shopping. We will meet December 01 st -05 th to set up for the tea and bazaar. A sign up sheet will be in the Fellowship Room as we will need lots of help setting up. We would like to have as many as possible of your bazaar items here at the church ASAP, so we can get a head start on pricing. Anyone wishing to help Sandy decorate down-stairs may contact her at 547-6242. HATS AND MITTENS PROJECT: Hat and mitten sets in sizes to fit infants through teenagers are being collected again this year. PLEASE DO NOT BOX OR WRAP THE SETS; mark the size, and hand to a UMW member by DECEMBER 10 th.
CHILDREN S SABBATH Our worship on Sunday, November 16 will be a Children s Sabbath a service of celebration and concern for the children of the world. Our Sunday School children will help lead us in worship, we will dedicate our shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child, and we will consider Jesus teaching about the special place children occupy in the kingdom of heaven. Mark your calendars and plan to be part of this special service. 2014/2015 FUNDRAISING CALENDAR The schedule includes Chairperson(s) and their contact information, and where help is needed. Some event details are not complete yet. NOVEMBER 15, 2014 HARVEST DINNER, (CHAIRPERSON: LINDA SMIRK) DECEMBER 6, 2014 CHRISTMAS TEA (UMW) APRIL 17, 2015 PORK DINNER (CHAIRPERSON: ELLEN KUCH) SATURDAY S BREAD Rena wants to thank the following church volunteers who worked on Saturday s Bread on October 25, 2014: Jan Kerr, Aida Brockway, Dawne Dietz, Nancy Davis, and Sue Otis. The next Saturday s Bread will be January 17, 2015. MAY 23, 2015 CHURCH PARKING (RENA LULL) JULY 25, 2015 HOF CHURCH BBQ (NEED CO-CHAIRS FOR THE EVENT) JULY 26, 2015 HOF INDUCTION CHURCH PARKING (RENA LULL) NOVEMBER 14, 2015 HARVEST DINNER (LINDA SMIRK) DECEMBER 5, 2015 CHURCH CHRISTMAS TEA (UMW) IN GOOD COMPANY The fellowship of Coffee Hour after the worship service continues. Iced tea, coffee or juice and a light snack are enjoyed. A sign-up sheet is in the Fellowship Room. SATURDAY S BREAD SCHEDULE 2014/2015 OCTOBER 25, 2014 JANUARY 17, 2015 MARCH 14, 2015 JUNE 20, 2015 OCTOBER 31, 2015 The women s Coffee and Chit Chat Club meets at 10 AM on Wednesdays at Cooperstown Diner. The Men s Breakfast Fellowship meets Fridays at 7:30 a.m. at Doubleday Café on Main Street.
12 CHURCHES JOIN FOR CHARGE CONFERENCE HERE The Cooperstown Regional Church Conference on Sunday, November 16 will include: Cooperstown, East Worcester, Fly Creek/Schuyler Lake, Hartwick/Mt. Vision, Middlefield/Roseboom, Westville, Worcester/Westford, Schenevus Again this year, Cooperstown UMC will host a regional charge conference for 12 churches on November 16. The gathering will begin with lunch at 1:00pm, including tasty soups, breads, snacks, and luscious desserts from the great cooks of our cluster churches. The work of our charge conferences will be done within the context of worship led by our District Superintendent, Rev. Jan Rowell. We will share in food, conversation, music, work and worship together. As host church, we need volunteers to help make people welcome and to provide the beverages for the day. Please plan to take part in this important gathering and if you can volunteer to help that day, please contact Pastor Bill. Commitment Sunday Freely you have received; freely give. - Gospel of Matthew 10:8b Our celebration of Commitment Sunday, October 26 th, reminded us once again, of how truly blessed we are as a community of faith - blessed by God s faithful presence and generosity, blessed by the life that we live together as God s people and blessed by the possibilities and promises of the days to come. We placed our commitment cards on the altar with our hopes and promises to fund local ministries in 2015. What a wonderful expression of what it means to be this Cooperstown community of faith! The financial commitments made on Consecration Sunday witness to our blessings and help us to plan ministries for the coming year. If you were not able to add your pledge on Consecration Sunday, please use the form below to make your commitment. Every gift makes a difference. You may complete this form and mail it to the church office or place it in the Sunday offering plate. United Methodist Church of Cooperstown CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP GENERAL FUND COMMITMENT CARD Giving Year: January 1, 2015 December 31, 2015 MY/OUR COMMITMENT IS Freely you have received; freely give. - Gospel of Matthew 10:8b $ per week times 52 weeks equals $ $ per month times 12 months equals $ A single sum of $ Other (Such as shares of stock) Envelopes: I/We will use ones we have. Provide me/us with new ones. I/We do not use them. Name(s) Address Date Phone ( ) City State Zip Email If you need to change your commitment, at any time, simply inform the Financial Secretary, Laurie Glockler,
EASTERN STANDARD TIME BEGINS ON NOVEMBER 2 nd
Pastor s Page Rev. William Bill H. Delia Pastor, United Methodist Church of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326 Telephone (607) 547-9540 Cell Phone (607) 437-7466 Email pastorbilldelia@gmail.com O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; for God s steadfast love endures forever Psalm 106:1 This autumn season has been truly spectacular! Warm sunny days, amazing fall colors, pumpkins, apples, and the bounty of the harvest have revealed God s creation in a final burst of life and wonder before the onset of winter. This marvelous display reminds us how truly blessed we are God is so good to us. Someone once said that July 4 th is our Independence Day but Thanksgiving is our dependence day. Thanksgiving is that one day each year when we openly acknowledge how much we depend on God for our physical survival, for our spiritual lives, for all that is good and true and right in this world. When you gather together with the special people in your life this year, what will be at the top of your thanks for giving list? I encourage you to take some time over these next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to answer that question, maybe even to write down your own list of things to give thanks for on Thanksgiving Day. Better yet, Psalm 106 would tell us don t wait! Don t wait for Thanksgiving but give God your thanks every day! For even if we gave thanks to God with every breath we take, we still would not have time to list all of our blessings! Happy Thanksgiving to you all! May God continue to bless you in the days to come and may this truly be a season of thanksgiving for all of God s people. Bill Pastor Bill Delia