Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
The Browning Masonic Community is having their annual Huge Inside Sale on Saturday, July 30 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 8883 Browning Drive in Waterville. They will be offering used furniture, household items, lots of one-of-a-kind treasures and much more for sale.
Also on Saturday, the second annual Blues, Brews & Brats event will be held from 6:00 p.m. to midnight on South Third Street in Waterville. Proceeds benefit the Waterville Rotary Foundation, which provides scholarships for students and funding for Rotary programs. Tickets to the event are $10.00. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs to enjoy the three great Blues bands. The event chairman is our own Paul Croy.
Our mission emphasis for the month of July will be School Kits. For several years, WUMC has gathered items for school kits that give children in impoverished communities and refugee camps some of the basic tools for learning. Thanks to a family in this congregation, we already have over 100 cloth bags that will be used to hold these school items. Let’s see if we can collect enough items to fill all the available bags! Your support makes a tremendous difference in the lives of so many people both here at home and around the world. Each kit represents a person whose life will be changed because of the simple items contained within. A listing of the contents of each bag can be found in your July issue of The Ambassador and on the back of the worship bulletin each Sunday this month. To date, 54 completed school kits that have been returned to the table in the Community Room.
The Prayer Time in the sanctuary will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. You will find the Prayer Kit, compiled by Alaire Rothhaas, on the Prayer Table in the sanctuary. 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.
Pastor Mike and Pam continue their vacation this weekend as they are attending the wedding of Pam’s niece, Suzanne. You will remember that we had been praying for Suzanne earlier this year as she dealt with a growth in her abdomen and subsequent surgery. Please be lifting up the bride and groom as they tie the knot on Saturday.
Rev. Joel will be stepping into the pulpit for Pastor Mike this Sunday and will be providing the Special Music during our worship.
Worship Service for Sunday, July 31:
Song of Worship - In Christ Alone
Children’s Moment - Mission Jar
Olga’s selections:
Prelude: Shine, Jesus Shine
Offertory: Day by Day
Postlude: Holy, Holy, Holy
Special Music - You Lift Me Up sung by Rev. Joel
Scripture- Colossians 3:1-11
Pastor Joel’s message - You Lift Me Up (He has also prepared an outline of the scripture/sermon and places for you to take notes that will be included in the bulletin this week.)
Closing Hymn - Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Liturgist - Dave Landis
Chris May has requested a Prayer Quilt for Sherman Bradshaw of Austin, TX this Sunday. Sherman is a 20 year heart transplant recipient who is waiting for another heart. Please take a few minutes, either before or after worship, to stop at the quilt, say a prayer and tie a knot.
Following worship, please join us for a time of light refreshments in Fellowship Hall. During the month of July, Bobbie Westfall and Ann Nightingale have been your hosts.
Your 2nd Quarter Giving Statements were emailed on Wednesday July 6. For those who receive hardcopies, they are available for your pick-up on the shelf outside the Church Office. Please help us save on postage by picking up your statement.
One of our ministries is the transporting of Browning Masonic residents to our Sunday morning worship services. We need three additional drivers to fill out the driving rotation and to provide substitutes when needed. Prayerfully consider if God is calling you for this ministry. Contact Pastor Mike if you have any questions.
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 July, we are asking you to donate clothing items, socks, underwear, flip flops, summer clothing that is on sale and shoes. Anne Stevens has placed a box by the main entrance for your donations.
Are you missing some of your favorite dishes? Can’t find them anywhere? Have you checked the counter by the dishwasher in the church’s kitchen? We have a small community of dishes that were left over from funeral dinners, the Waterville Teacher’s Luncheon and Vacation Bible School that are waiting to get back to their owners.
Mark your calendars! We are taking our worship service “on the road” on Sunday, August 7. We will be traveling to Harmony Hall at the Browning Masonic Community in Waterville to join with the residents in worship and praise to God. The service will begin at 10:25 a.m. and we will celebrate Holy Communion with them. Your Celebration Team has been hopeful to have this off-site worship with the members of the Browning Masonic Community in order that we, as a congregation, can reach out to these folks that have not had the opportunity to come and worship with us on a Sunday morning. We want all of our congregation, including our kids, to go to them. (There will not be any children’s Sunday School or Nursery at Browning, but the service will be kid friendly.)
Be a Blessing,
Church Cathy