Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. Please remember to “Spring Ahead” one hour on all of your clocks before you go to bed on Saturday night. This is also a great time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.
Our mission emphasis for the month of March will be a continuation of our Theatre-for-the-World projects. We will be collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items for the three local food banks in our area. Items especially appreciated are canned fruits, peanut butter and cereals. Monetary donations are also welcome.
Worship Service for Sunday, March 13:
Hymns - The Wonderful Cross and Take My Life, and Let It Be
Children’s Moment -
Olga’s selections
Prelude: O How I Love Jesus
Offertory: There Is a Fountain
Postlude: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Anthem - Take and Eat
Scripture- Matthew 7:1-5, 12
Pastor Mike’s sermon - One to Another
Celebration of Holy Communion - served by intinction by members of the Confirmation Class.
Liturgist - Dave Landis
Please join us for light refreshments following Sunday’s worship service in our Fellowship Hall. Jenny Kahl and Julie Croy will be your hosts for the month of March. Thank you!
Effective January 13, the Wednesday church office hours will be from 8:00 am until 10:30am. Beginning on April 6, we will return to the normal hours of 8:00 am until noon on Wednesday.
We are still taking orders for Easter lilies. You will find the order form on an envelope in the pew racks in the sanctuary. Please complete the information on the envelope, place your check or money inside, seal it and place it in the offering plate. The cost is $8.00 per plant. You may also order them through the March issue of The Ambassador. We have ordered 25 flowers this year. As of Friday afternoon, we still have 7 flowers left to sell. This Sunday will be the final day to order your flowers.
The Lenten Study……Loving Generously is continuing until March 17. Loving Generously focuses upon loving God and one another. Personal and congregational vitality grows as we grow to know, love and serve the least and the lost. Small group sessions will take place on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. and Thursday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. If you can’t make the session that you signed up for, please feel free to attend any of the other classes. We are asking, that if you are able, for a donation of $10 to cover the cost of the book that accompanies the lessons. If you have missed one of the sermons and the video that goes along with the sermon, you may watch/listen to both on the church website under “Recent Sermons.”
A new ministry open to everyone is forming in our church! We are starting a Prayer Time on Sunday mornings from 9-10:00, just before the Worship Service, and would like to invite everyone who is interested, no matter your age, to join us. We are going to gather in the Sanctuary and, making use of a Prayer Kit compiled by Alaire Rothhaas plus some other resources, pray scripture as a group for that hour. There will be many things to pray for: the Worship Service and all its participants; WUMC and all its various components; our community and all its divisions; the AW School community, students, teachers, etc.; our county, state, and country and the multitude of issues facing us in this regard. Besides, whatever other things God places on your heart that morning, whether they be personal and private or larger and general. Though we are together as a group, we will each be praying individually however God leads. This is a new adventure for us and we are following the instruction from Luke in Acts 4:24 – “Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer.” We profess ourselves to be a praying church, so this is just another element to increase that commitment to touch others, reach across barriers, and seek God’s mission for this congregation. If you have any questions, please call Karen Wiggins (419-350-1211). Or perhaps you would simply like to come and observe the group for a time or two. Remember, this is new to all of us, but we are aiming for it to be a blessing and the start of a renewal both within and without the walls of WUMC.
EGG-CITING NEWS - Join us for an Easter egg hunt on March 20th (Palm Sunday) following church. Children up to 6th grade are welcome to participate in this egg-citing event and adults are encouraged to "egg" them on. All egg hunters will be awarded a sackful of goodies. Please bring your own baskets. If you have questions, want to donate candy or goodies for the sacks, or would like to help hide eggs on the day of the event, please contact Cara McMillan at 419-344-2171. There is a basket on the shelf outside the church office where you may place your candy or goodies for the sacks this Sunday.
Our Packing Party for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes was such a success last year that we would like to continue it this year. So, for the month of March, we are asking you to purchase quality craft kits and toys. Anne Stevens will be placing a box by the main entrance for your donations.
Ted Myers did an audio recording of Rev. Jim Stewart’s portion of Fritzie Schifferly’s funeral service. This may be heard by going to the church’s website, www.watervilleumc.org, and selecting “Recent Services.” You will also find a link there to connect you with the entire service.
We are pleased to announce that Arthur Meade has been hired as the new custodian for Waterville United Methodist Church. Welcome to the church staff!!!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY with “Food for Thought” - Food for Thought is an organization in Toledo that provides volunteer opportunities to serve at a mobile food pantry, warehouse stocking, and also packing lunches on Friday evenings and delivering the lunches on the streets of Toledo on Saturday mornings. You can find out more about the organization at www.feedtoledo.org. The WUMC Youth Group has set two dates for this spring to volunteer with this organization. On April 22 from 5:30-7:30, we will be making sandwiches and packing lunches that will be delivered in Toledo on Saturday morning. Then, on May 14 from 9:15-12:15, we will be delivering lunches in Toledo. The WUMC Youth would like to invite anyone who is interested in volunteering to join us! There is a signup sheet on the bulletin board in the main hallway. Please contact Adam or Stephanie Shelton if you have any questions.
Be a Blessing,
Church Cathy