Dear Members and Friends of Waterville United Methodist Church,
Please continue to pray for the following folks:
Jim Simpson in the hospital at UTMC
Lowell Crabtree, father of Pam Denman, recovering from infection following heart surgery and has returned to his home
Sally Waggoner - suffered a stroke earlier this week and is in St. Luke’s hospital
Our April Mission Focusis The Daughter Project. A faith-based organization, they provide holistic healing services in an extremely safe, home-like environment to girls/women who have been freed from sex traffickers at no cost to them or their families. The services include abuse & addiction counseling, family/friend restoration, health & nutrition education, medical/dental/vision care, legal counsel and spiritual mentorship. Caring & competent professionals and volunteers provide this help. They have recruited doctors, counselors and other professionals to provide medical services to the girls. In addition to medical services, they collaborate with various local community organizations to provide healthy, educational and recreational opportunities for the girls. Mission envelopes are available in the pew racks.
The Church of St. Andrew United Methodist Men’s Group is partnering with The Daughter Project to present a delicious breakfast buffet on Saturday, April 8. The buffet will include: vegetarian and low-carb selections, chilled fruit bowl, old fashioned pancakes, blueberry pancakes, Chef Paul’s soon-to-be- World Famous potato pancakes, French toast with warm fruit and whipped toppings, patty or link whole hog sausage, scrambled eggs, homemade sausage gravy and biscuits, genuine southern grits, creamed chipped beef over toast, plus everyone’s favorite - the original SPAM!!! Beverages of many kinds will also be available. Plan to join them for fun, fellowship and fantastic food. They will be serving from 8:00 -10:30 a.m. Your cost?? A free will donation. Carry-out containers will be available. Come and meet Jeff Wilbarger, director of The Daughter Project, and winner of the 2016 Toledo Jefferson Award, as well as the national Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis award for exemplary community service. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will go to The Daughter Project. The church is located at 3620 Heatherdowns Blvd. – located between Heatherdowns Country Club and Byrne Road.
In addition to our financial gifts to The Daughter Project, with month we would also like to collect the following items for The Daughter Project: toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, disposable scrubber sponges, liquid hand soap, light bulbs, Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies, bleach, Lysol sprays and wipes, air freshener cans, journals (plain without words or quotes), planners, without the year and gift cards for stores to purchase clothes and household items as needed. A basket will be available for your items on the table in the Fireside Room.
Mr. Wilbarger, the founder of The Daughter Project, also wanted us all to be aware that the greatest need at this time is for mature, Godly women to apply to be House Moms, either full or part time. Being a House Mom is a paid position with training and is very challenging work, but supremely satisfying.
The Prayer Group will meet at 9:00 a.m. this Sunday.
The Max Lucado Lenten small group study, He Chose the Nails, will meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Fireside Room this Sunday morning and at6:30 p.m. Sunday evening at the home of Tom and Karen Wiggins. There is also a group that meets on Tuesday evenings at the church in the Fireside Room at 7:00 p.m.
Worship Service for Sunday, April 9: Palm Sunday
Prelude - The Handbell Choir will be playing Because He Lives
Welcome -
Call to Worship -
Processional Hymn - Hosanna, Loud Hosanna
Opening Prayer -
Songs of Worship - Majesty
Kinder Choir - The Someone Song with Handbells and The Little Grey Donkey with Jan Sheridan playing flute
Children’s Moment-
Hymn - All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Sanctuary Choir Anthem - On the Road to Jerusalem
Scripture- Matthew 26:31-39
Sermon - Denial or Faithfulness?
Sharing God’s Tithes and Offerings
Offertory - Hosanna!
Doxology -
Offertory and Dedication Prayer -
Prayers of God’s People -
The Lord’s Prayer -
Closing Hymn - Breathe on Me, Breath of God
Choral Benediction - Spirit Song
Postlude - All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Liturgist - Dave Landis
Your Fellowship Hosts for April are Barb & Steve Crandall and Char Pritchett. There will not be any fellowship time on Easter Sunday.
Fellowship hosts are still needed. All of the months are still available except for May and July.
Palm Sunday was to bea Welcome a Neighbor Sunday. The Church Mouse would like to thank Bobbie Westfall for delivering all 10 of the gift bags to new residents in the area tomorrow. Included in the bags this month is an invitation to attend Holy Week activities at our church and she wanted to be sure that those invitations would get to the new neighbors before Palm Sunday.
Easter is only a week away. In the pew racks this Sunday, you will find an Easter Lily order form on a white envelope. The cost will remain $8.00 this year. All orders need to be turned in by Palm Sunday - April 9th. Twenty-two of the plants have been spoken for – we have 3 Easter lilies remaining. You may have noticed in April’s Ambassador that the “Click to place your lily order” link did not work. I apologize for this inconvenience. The vendor no longer supports this option for non-paying subscribers. The option is geared for businesses and is too costly. Therefore, we will not be able to offer this method of ordering lilies or poinsettias in the future.
There will be Holy Week invitations in your bulletins this Sunday for you to share with your neighbors, friends and family. Highlights include our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae worship service with Holy Communion at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary, the Good Friday Cross Walk that will start at Noon at our church and proceed through our community following the14 Stations of the Cross, the Community Sunrise Easter Service at 6:45 a.m. down by the river with breakfast following the service at Zion Lutheran Church and finally, our Easter Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. There will not be any Sunday School that morning.
There is a two-sided insert in your bulletin this Sunday. One side is about the Project With a Purpose that our Sunday School children are involved with right now. The other side of the insert gives you information about the upcoming Freedom School to be held at the Monroe Street United Methodist Church this summer. The church will be holding an Open House and Freedom School Orientation on Sunday, April 23 from 3-5 pm to give you a taste of Harambe, the singing and dancing experience that warms the kids up for learning every day, and an opportunity to explore service opportunities through which you may become involved in the Freedom School this year.
Your first quarter Giving Statements will be emailed on Saturday, April 8. For those who receive hardcopies, they will be available for your pick up on Sunday, April 9 on the shelf outside the Church Office. Please contact Tom Wiggins, financialsec@watervillumc.org if you have any questions about anything related to finance, stewardship or the Capital Campaign.
Egg-citing News - Join us for an Easter Egg Hunt on April 9th (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 (we will have some bags on hand too). 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.
Deep within you lies the same faith and longing that sent Peter walking across the wind-swept Sea of Galilee toward Jesus. In what ways is the Lord telling you, as he did Peter, “Come”? Author John Ortberg invites you to consider the incredible potential that awaits you outside your comfort zone. Out on the risky waters of faith, Jesus is waiting to meet you in ways that will change you forever, deepening your character and your trust in God. The experience is terrifying. It is thrilling beyond belief. It is everything you’d expect of someone worthy to be called Lord. The choice is yours to know him as only a water-walker can, aligning yourself with God’s purpose for your life in the process. There’s just one requirement: If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. This Bible Study will be meeting on Sunday mornings at 9:00, April 23 – June 25 and Tuesday evenings at 7:00, April 25 – June 27 in the Fireside Room. Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board in the hallway.
Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes - Our collection items for the month of April will be hygiene items such as toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, washcloths, lip balm, Band-Aids, fingernail care items and brushes/combs. Let’s always remember that the most needed boxes are those for age 10-14 boys – please keep that in mind as you shop. Each month: Pray for shopping wisdom as you purchase these monthly items and the items for your own boxes for the collection in November. The Lord knows the children who will receive your gifts and He can guide your shopping adventures to exactly what will meet needs and give joy.
Project With a Purpose - During March through May 2017, the children in our Sunday School will be collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of NW Ohio. Beginning Sunday, March 19, you will have the opportunity to pull the tabs off aluminum cans, and save them in a provided Ronald McDonald cardboard house. Return your houses to Waterville UMC by no later than Sunday, May 28. Our Sunday School kids will drop off the pull-tabs to our Waterville McDonald’s on Sunday, June 4. The tabs will be sold to a recycling station for the market price of recycled aluminum. They send a check to the Ronald McDonald House, and the funds are used for the guest food budget. Thank you for starting to collect the tabs today!
Volunteers Needed for a VBS Project - Stephanie Shelton is looking for volunteers to wrap mini candy bars that will be attached to VBS Invites for the kids in the community. Materials needed will be provided. The project needs to be completed by April 26. Please contact Stephanie at 567-202-5035 or sshelton171@gmail.com if you are interested in helping.
Dave and Paulette Hogg, a former pastor and his wife at Waterville United Methodist Church, will be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary with a Renewal of their Vows on Saturday, June 10, 2017 from 1-4 p.m. The renewal of vows will take place at 1:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Church of the Master United Methodist Church in Westerville, Ohio which is located at 24 N. Grove Street (Corner of Grove and Main Streets.) Dr. Carl L. Wiley officiated at their wedding 50 years ago and will be doing the renewal ceremony. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of gifts, please bring a canned food item to be divided between the two local food pantries. If you plan to attend, please R.S.V. P. by June 1 to Dave’s cell phone: 614-208-4105. Their actual 50th Wedding Anniversary is April 29. Cards may be sent to them at the following address: Dave and Paulette Hogg, 6202 Willowcrest Dr., Columbus, OH 43229. We have placed a signup sheet on our bulletin board in the main hallway for those who plan on attending this event. This will help them know how much food is needed.
The Lucas County Humane Society wants empty peanut butter jars with some peanut butter residue remaining for their dogs. If people could bring in the jars, Karen Longnecker will be glad to drop them off. She knows we have some animal lovers who might want to help out the pooches. (And remember, she is a cat person, but Hobo gave his approval for her to do this.)