Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
Please remember in your prayers, our former Pastor, Dave Hogg who had eye surgery this morning. Cards may be sent to him at 6202 Willowcrest Dr., Columbus, OH 43229
There are seven Welcome a Neighbor Bags that were not delivered following our worship service this past Sunday. Would you please take a moment this Sunday to see if any of these new residents live near you and then deliver a bag on your way home?
Our January Mission Focus is The Pregnancy Center of Greater Toledo. Their goal is to lovingly share the truth about life, relationships and faith. They help men and women make life-saving, life-changing decisions by sharing information about options, consequences and available services. With the exception of a small amount of grant funding for abstinence education, all funds come from donations. Over 32,000 women have already received help. The Pregnancy Center continues to be a community outreach committed to expressing the compassion of Christ through support and education in pregnancy related issues. We can help keep the doors open! Mission envelopes are available in the pew racks.
And speaking of Mission projects….Operation Christmas Child announced yesterday that 11,485, 662 shoeboxes were packed in 2016. Since the project began, over 146 million shoebox gifts have been collected and delivered to children in more than 150 countries around the world. Shoebox gifts collected in 2016 by country: United States – 9,121,799; United Kingdom – 872,104; Canada – 664,525; Germany – 388,673; Australia & New Zealand – 346,592; Spain – 41,107; Finland – 37,144 and Japan – 13,718.
Let's start 2017 getting "Unstuck: Moving From the Mundane to the Meaningful" on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. and Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. We will watch the short film clips from "Journey to Jamaa" which uncovers the four themes we will be discussing: Unimaginable, Unsafe, Unwanted and Unstuck. Consider: How can the unimaginable keep us stuck? How can temptation be unsafe where we remain stuck? When we feel unwanted, how does that keep us stuck? Where is Jesus in all of these situations? After seeing the film, what can you being to do to become "unstuck"? Everyone wants to make a difference in someone's lives. We've talked about living and loving generously. Now it's time to get Unstuck and Move from Mundane to Meaningful.
See you on Sunday mornings or Tuesday evenings!
Char and Pastor Mike
The Prayer Group will resume meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary this Sunday.
Worship Service for Sunday, January 29:
Call to Worship
Songs of Worship - Amazing Grace / My Chains are Gone
Kinder Choir - Faith, Sing a Song of Praise and D-I-S-C-I-P-L-E-S
Children’s Moment - Mission Jar collection for the Pregnancy Center of Greater Toledo
Sanctuary Choir Anthem - Thou Art Worthy
Olga’s selections:
Prelude: Praise Him! Praise Him! Medley
Offertory: He Keeps Me Singing
Postlude: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Scripture - Matthew 5:1-12
Sermon - Finding True Happiness
Hymn - Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Choral Benediction - Our New Year’s Prayer for You
Liturgist: Dave Landis
Prayer Partners for Pastor Mike this week: Melva and Jerry Robinson
No one has signed up to be Fellowship Hosts for the month of January. Thank you to Melva and Jerry Robinson who have stepped up and have been your hosts this month. All of the months are still available except for May.
Just a reminder to please pick up your 2017 offering envelopes when you are at church this Sunday. Please pick your set of offering envelopes up to help us save on postage…they will cost close to $5.00 each to mail.
If you receive your statement of giving at the end of the year by email, they were sent out on Saturday, January 7. If you receive a hard copy, they are available for you to pick up on the shelf outside the church office.
For the past few years, the M&M Bible Study has been volunteering at the SeaGate Food Bank the first Wednesday of the month packing food boxes for senior citizens. They start at 10:00 a.m. and work until 11:30/Noon. They would like to open this mission project up to the entire congregation, women, men and children. Lunch afterwards at a local restaurant is included but is optional. The work is not hard and they all have a good time, lots of laughter and fellowship. Throughout the year there are other short projects they help with also. You can carpool from the church or meet them there. If you would like to join them, please contact Penny Greenlese at pgreenlese@yahoo.com or 419-206-1602. They would love to have your help and you will be rewarded with a feeling of helping those less fortunate. The next visit to the Foodbank will be on Wednesday, February 1. This is the month that they are collecting pajamas, stuffed animals, children’s books and blankets for those who need them.
Bill Plassmann has placed DVD copies of the Children’s Christmas Program on the shelf outside the church office. He asks that those taking a DVD make a donation to the Youth Group Mission Trip fund.
Be a Blessing,
Church Cathy