The Window The Ontario United Methodist Church We Care as Christ Cares JUNE 2014 From Pastor Peg... Dear Friends, Where has the time gone? Soon we ll be off to annual conference. It s very difficult to believe I ve been with you a year! It has been an eventful year and we ve been blessed by God in many ways. We continue to provide outreach events to draw in children and their parents. We re offering new activities for youth and are focusing on reaching people who have no church home. Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and we re working at following that Great Commission. None of us can do it all and none of us can do it alone, but together we can do wonderful things for the Lord. For example, together, our contributions filled 14 flood buckets. Fourteen families will have a new start on life after flooding thanks to those contributions. Our first collection for UMCOR in many years raised almost $1,200. Many people facing disaster will be aided by that money. PB & J collections are going well, our public vigil at the tomb was well received by the community, our Easter Extravaganza was well attended, and we have the time, talent and resources to engage in many forms of mission and ministry. I m excited to be part of OUMC and want to tell the world about the incredible power of God to change the world one life at a time through the work of this church. We have built a great deal of momentum with the events of Lent and Easter and we aren t done yet. Many of you were recipients of Drive by prayers. Youth are now participating in events once each month and have some exciting plans for summer. We have entered a float in the Ontario Fourth of July parade and will be sharing the story of the woman at the well. VBS preparations are underway and God is doing mighty things through our Kingdom Kids Sunday school program. God s mercy is unending and so are the ways in which he is using this church to spread the Gospel. Thanks be to God! Water Needed We re making an appearance in the Ontario Fourth of July parade this year. We ll have a float, and we re planning to hand out water bottles to thirsty people. We need your help. Please bring small water bottles to share with our community and spread the knowledge of Jesus the water of life. The deadline is June 20 so we can add labels to the bottles with information about our church. If you have a cooler you are willing to loan the church, please leave a message for Pastor Peg. Clothes for Haiti Project Have you noticed the colorful dresses adorning the clothesline in Giffin Hall? Check out the items on the table. You will find several pairs of shorts with T-shirts for little boys as well as some beautiful sweaters. A group of women have been meeting on the first Thursday of each month in the Community Room from 9:00 am till noon to either sew or knit. Come join them if you can. You can take part in various tasks. Jean Wagenman brings her serger and is happy to serge seams and hems to make assembling garments go quicker, you can sew on buttons, press fabric, cut out patterns, or just come for the fellowship. Sewing for the clothes for Haiti project for this year will wrap up the end of June.
The Window, Page 2 Our OUMC Family Sympathy to~~~ Mike Fulmer, Beth and Brian Waterhouse, Scott and Trish, Mark and Amanda Fulmer, Dorothy Rader, Pam and Ron, Matt and Kathy, Todd and Brianne Dille, Bob and Linda Eyerly and family in the death of their wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and niece, Linda Fulmer. Ruth Ann Staats and Erma Oswalt and family in the death of their husband and brother-in-law, Richard Staats. Mildred Blaney and Tom and Dot Blaney and family in the death of their sister-in-law and aunt, Ruth Schmunk. Baptisms~~~ We celebrate with the families of these children who were baptized in the faith recently at OUMC: Wyatt David Ralph, Sawyer Jack Ralph and Carter Jesse Ralph, sons of Jessica and David Ralph, grandchildren of Connie Smith and Wilma Palmer, who were baptized on May 11. Theodore Benjamin Pesce Santmyer, son of Jaimie Santmyer and Ricardo Pesce, grandson of Bob and Karen Santmyer, and Kathleen and Leroy Santmyer, who was baptized May 25. Congratulations to~~~ Ontario High School graduates Kyler Dille, Kyle Renner and Colton Sprague. Dulcey Wagner, who graduated from North Central State College as a Registered Nurse. Steve Toth, who received a Bachelor of Science degree in Middle Childhood Education from The Ohio State University. Logan Henke, who received a Bachelors degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from Miami University of Ohio and celebrated his 21st birthday. Thank you~~~ Thank you for all the cards and prayers due to my recent fall. My arm, and all the rest of my body is healing fine. Louise Stoffer Thank you for the get well card and the prayer that Pastor Peg shared with me. That was a very special one!!! Thank you to each one of you. God bless you. I know I am in Good Hands with your prayers. Jesus loves you and so do we! Bill and Peggy Loughman Thank you to the over 30 persons who volunteered to help feed and house the University of Charleston, WV choir students on May 5. Your graciousness, hospitality and generosity helped to make their experience one they will not forget. The choir gave a wonderful concert to 85 in attendance. The quality of their performance and their youthful enthusiasm made for a memorable evening. Again, thank you very much! Celebration Days~~~ Blessings on your special day! Birthdays: 2 Jeff Mueck 15 Don Yeager 3 Val Toth 15 Ron Seifley 6 Rachel Miller 16 Ron Dowman 7 Linda Eyerly 17 Gabrielle Woodard 8 Beth Strohminger 23 Alice Seifley 8 Larry Riley 23 Al Mosher 10 Rob Chilcote 24 Buzz Rupe 11 Katherine Beech 25 Rob Roth 15 Georgie Kaber 29 Jeromy Bolen 15 Lyn Fisher 29 Kyler Dille Anniversaries: 1 Jenny and Wayne Motley 2 Norma and Dale Perry 7 Linda and Bob Eyerly 7 Kathy and Tim Strunk 16 Sue and Keith Kisling 19 Kristy and Ron Dowman 24 Ruth and Dennis Atkeson 26 Esther and Dave Case 30 Bonnie and Dave Fisher Leave your birthday and anniversary dates at the Welcome Center to be included in the Celebration Days.
The Window, Page 3 Grace and Eggs Dennis Strohminger has developed a three-year transition plan which will allow him to be less involved in this ministry following its ten year anniversary. He would like to see the positive impact of Grace and Eggs continue under new leadership, and is asking for folks to pray about involvement. The detailed transition plan he has proposed has several steps: > Several groups or committees could share the operations of the breakfast. Proceeds would go to the projects of that group or groups. > A schedule would be compiled at least six months in advance. > Dennis would assist groups with purchasing and planning until they re comfortable with those tasks. > Dennis will assist with the cooking schedule in the beginning. Dennis asks this question: Where can you fit in? Please prayerfully consider where you can assist in keeping this vital ministry going. Buckets and Kits Help People in Need Thanks to everyone s help, we were able to fill 14 flood buckets for the collection at annual conference this year. What a blessing! We will be collecting items for School Kits and Health Kits through June 1. Pick up a slip from the display that shows the items that are needed. You can bring some of those items or fill an entire kit. Blankets for Dad On June 1 you will have the opportunity to honor or remember your dad, or another special man in your life, with the purchase of a blanket for $5.00. The names of those being honored will appear in the bulletin on Father s Day. Church World Service provides blankets around the world to be used as shelters, backpacks and bedding and for warmth during natural disasters or human conflict. Road Clean-up A very small but faithful group of volunteers works together several Saturday mornings from early summer into the fall to keep our assigned section of State Route 314 cleared of trash and litter. This project was taken on many years ago by our Church & Society Committee, and is part of Ohio s effort to keep our state clean and safe. The next scheduled road clean-up date will be Saturday, June 7. You can support this ministry by joining this dedicated group at 8:00 am that morning in the Roadhouse parking lot. Bring a pair of gloves and wear sturdy shoes. Ohio guidelines for the Adopt-a-Highway program dictates that all workers are 18 years of ago or older. It is not enough to be busy...the question is: What are we busy about? -Henry David Thoreau Youth News In April, ten youth attended a Movie Night at the church and hid 1,000 Easter eggs for the children to find at our Eggstravaganza. In May, youth met for a fun night of supper, drive-by prayers, flashlight tag and candlelight communion. More fun is planned for later this month. Finance News In May, the church received a bequest from the estate of Earl and Harriett Albin. Invested in a Charitable Remainder Trust, it came to us after the passing of their son, Chuck. The gift of $100,000 is as generous as it is unexpected. Because there were no strings to the gift, the Finance Committee formed an Ad Hoc Committee to choose how to best utilize the gift, considering both potential investments and potential uses for the money. If you have suggestions, please submit them in writing to Mick Motley, who will convene the committee composed of Finance members, church leaders and the pastor. Please keep the widow of Chuck Albin, Barbara and her family, in prayer. ONTARIO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 419-529-4345 ontarioumc@neo.rr.com ontarioumc.org
The Window, Page 4 Community Garden If you are interested in helping with the OUMC community garden (i.e., weeding, watering, etc.), please contact Janet Bixler or Mary Ann Stotts. This year we re offering mini classes and/or make-it, take-it workshops every Friday morning from 10:00 to noon at the garden s new picnic table, weather permitting. If you are interested, or just want to ask gardening questions, this would be a great opportunity to learn more. Check out the garden when you come to the church. Info sheets are available that may give you ideas for your own garden, and the picnic table is a great place to sit and enjoy a few minutes in the peaceful setting. Peanut Butter & Jelly Ministry Distributing food to the children in our community will begin soon. Check out the sign-up sheets in the centrum to see what you can do to help. We have some funds available for this ministry, but with the costs of milk going up, we are going to need extra money for the weekly purchases of milk and bread, and food donation needs will continue through the summer. Please consider this opportunity. Sound Booth Techs Needed If you are interested in sound booth duty, contact Eric Grove at church or at egrove004@hotmail.com. Training is available, and all adults and high school teens are invited to help with this ministry. JUNE 2014 Don t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. -Robert Louis Stevenson Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2:00pm Private event, Giffin Hall 2 9:00am Quilters 7:00pm Staff Parish Relations Comm 3 11:00am Staff Mtg 4 12:00pm Last Silvers Meal until September 5 VBS decorating 6 6:00pm Rehearsal 7 8:00am Road Clean-up 11:00am Prvt Evt 4:30pm Wedding 8 Pentecost wear red to church! New Members received 15 Newsletter deadline 9 10 12:00pm Ret Clrgy 16 17 No Bible Study 11 6:30pm Boy Scout Graduation 12 18 19 East Ohio Annual Conference @ Lakeside, OH June 16-19 13 Giffin Hall Floor Cleaning 20 14 21 Carpet cleaning 22 23 24 25 26 7:00pm OUMC Book Club 27 28 Recycling Trailer here thru Sunday Weird Animals Vacation Bible School, Sunday thru Thursday, June 22-26 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. 29 30 June Book Club selection: Mrs. Lincoln s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini Blood Drive at OUMC Ontario UMC will sponsor a Red Cross Blood Drive July 17. If you give blood regularly, please consider supporting the church s drive in July. EVERY SUNDAY ~~ Grace & Eggs @ 8:30 Kingdom Kids @ 9:00 Adult Sunday School @ 9:15 Worship @ 10:15, followed by Fellowship Time