Quick comment before we get into the rest of the mail. Just in case its raining tomorrow (Tuesday) during Ark Storytime, we’ll be inside but still telling stories.
What better thing is there to think of when it is so hot out than how cool it is going to be in just a couple of months. I know there are also some things that will come with that like school starting back up, and there are a few folks that may not be as excited for that. But a new season is coming.
As we start to look to the fall, we’ve got big things coming. The first one to come up is on Aug 4th when we’re hosting a Conference event for pastors and lay people to come together and learn from each other. You can find the sign-up for that farther down in the email. The second thing is that Aug 21st is Back to School Sunday! The plans are still coming together for it, but you’ll want to add it to your calendar to make sure you’re here.
Finally, we don’t have an official start date yet, but this fall we are starting our Capital Campaign. With this campaign we will be raising funds to give the Sanctuary a facelift, finish up the backyard and update our HVAC, and work on resetting other spaces around the church so that we are preparing for the future. Please begin thinking about what you can do as a part of this campaign. And, watch for more information to come out.
One other thing that I want to make a note of is that Giving Statements for the first half of the year came out this last week. Please make sure that everything looks good on them. There were a couple of questions about identified giving vs general offering. This only applies if you gave online. Identified giving is a sub category of the general offering, so everything is going to the right place. As I’ve been updating our website, I checked a box that records things a little differently and will be working on fixing that in the future.
Important Announcements
I’ve had it farther down in the email for several weeks, but if you can attend on Aug. 4th, we’re hosting a Rural Collab day. This is sponsored by the Conference and will be a chance to learn with, and get to know other churches from around the conference. You can sign up at, Rural Collab, or let me know and I can sign you up.
Sign-Ups
There are sign-up sheets in the back for Celebrate Recovery. This includes volunteer leaders for meals for the next six months. There is also a jar for monetary donations.
We also have a sign up for the Sharing Table for this Summer.
You can sign up to help water the garden this Summer in the back of the sanctuary, or go to Garden Watering. When you do that, check the box for the week(s) that you’ll water, then click submit and sign-up at the bottom of your screen. You don’t need an account to sign-up (but you can create one if you want).
Finally, we’re looking for folks that would like to serve communion and anyone who would like to help get the bread and the juice ready for communion Sundays. You can sign-up in the back of the Sanctuary, or by clicking here.
Parting Shot
Take a look at the end of the email for a great picture of the Sharing Table from Sunday! We had a lot of stuff on it, and not all of it was produce. Come ready throughout the rest of the Summer for more great things on the Sharing Table.
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Have a great week!
Peace,
Pastor John
Don’t forget, if its raining we’ll be inside, but still have Storytime.
Community Calendars
Marceline School Calendar
My Country 99.1 Community Calendar
Worship Links
Youtube Services, Messages
Worship Music Lists: YouTube, Spotifiy
You don’t have to go far for this one! We’ll be here at our own church on Aug. 4th. Sign-up to come and spend the day learning and talking with other folks from other churches like ours.
Send a note or a message to these folks!
Get caught up!
You can always get caught up on sermons if you’re behind. Each Sunday’s message is posted by Friday of the next week (most of the time much sooner than that).
And here is the Cocomelon song that I talked about during the last message
Prayer & Devotions
The Hours
Prayer Guide - PDF (book format), Online Format
Morning | Evening | Night Prayers
Daily Devotions
Seedbed Devotions
YMI
The Upper Room
GPS Guide from Church of the Resurrection
Our Daily Bread
Daily Meditations from the Center for Action & Contemplation
Other Resources
Bible Project: Videos that explain books of the Bible
Five Day Bible Reading - Read through the Bible in a year
YouVersion - Online Bible
Prayer List
Goals: Grow in faith, Understand our role in the community, Listening for God's voice daily
Groups: Church: Denomination, Conference, Area UMC's, Area Churches
Schools: Students, Teachers, Administrators, Employees
Young Adults, Newcomers, Unchurched
Government: Leaders, Local, County, State, National
Situations: Covid-19 Pandemic, Racism, Economic Disparity, Mental Health,
Individuals: Harold & Carol Logue’s Niece, Jeff Linebaugh, Sherry Deal (Donna’s sister), Dorothy Downing, John Smith, Brenda Lain, Bill Stanley, Chris McGlothlin, Jake Jacobs, Vicki Gregg, Ron Klingsmith, Wayne Sisson, Mark Ewigman, David Munson, Goldie Cupp, Tony Tucker, Bill Westfall, Kyle Lake, Linda Ewigman, Angie Builder, Bob & Pat Magee, Zoe Tolliver, Dan Brooks, Ruth Farris, Lynn Fellmann
Pioneer: Mabel Worley, Marylin Mears
Military Service: Patric Munson, Nick Cain, LTC John Casey Welch, Tyler Nanneman, Jeffrey Tucker, Kelly Tucker, Brandon Wellman, Heath Floray, Steve Graves, Michael Pyrtle, William Leukenotte, Kerry Lowrey
Parting Shot
This is the first church that I’ve pastored where there has been a table like this. It is always fun to see what comes out on the table. I’ve also been enjoying what has been coming up in the garden. Over the next week we should see a lot of fresh produce coming out of our garden, so stop by, pick some stuff, and watch for what comes out on the Sharing Table!