Grace United Methodist Church

March 2020 Newsletter

Currently Serving you at Grace UMC

Alan Atchison, Pastor Jane M Hubler, Secretary

James Carvell, Building Maintenance Pat Guarneri, Custodian

Diana Paul, Choir Director Charlotte Gingrich, Organist Alicia Spicher, Youth Leader

Grace UMC Services

Sunday Morning Worship 8:30 am & 10:30 am Sunday School 9:15 am Wednesday Evening Study 6:00-7:00 pm

For more information contact the church office at 717-692-2838

If you want to really grow this year in your knowledge of the Bible, consider joining one of our Sunday School Classes or Small Group Studies.

There is something for everyone of all ages and you are always welcomed here. Contact Jane in the church office [ 717-692-2838 ] for details.

You might know that the season of Lent is the 40-day period before Easter (not including Sundays) when Christians prepare to witness, celebrate, and participate in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the early church, this period was devoted to the study of the essential elements of Christian teaching, so that new converts could make informed and faithful confessions of faith on the day of their baptism - traditionally Easter Sunday.

Later, Lent became a time of reflecting on the impact of our Christian faith on daily life. Traditionally, it is marked with prayer, study, and fasting (or, more recently, “ the giving-up of something for Lent”) as a way to both identify with Jesus, who fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, and to focus on the importance of our faith. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates with the celebration of the Passover on Maundy Thursday.

The practice of daily devotions comes from the emphasis of deepening one’s faith through study and prayer. Lent offers the opportunity to take up a “discipline” or “spiritual practice” for 40 days - not as a way of meriting God’s favor, but because disciplined practice increases our appreciation and understanding of the faith. Parents have often chosen to read devotions at suppertime as a way of passing on their faith to their children, and individuals would read personal devotions to grow and deepen their faith.

My hope is that you will commit to spend time this season exploring the passages of Scripture that record for us the accounts of Jesus’ final days, his cross, and his crucifixion - so that we might be ready to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Blessings on your Lenten Journey,

Pastor Alan

Thank You for all of your cards, gifts, and encouraging support throughout these last few months. But most of all - THANK YOU for your prayers! We are truly blessed to be serving here in Millersburg alongside you all.

Pastor Alan & Cathy Atchison

Fellowship Time ~ We continue to welcome your do-nations of homemade goodies and baked goods for fellowship time. Please consider signing up for a Sunday during Lent. There is a sheet in the kitchen.

with Pastor Alan

Your Bible, A Pen, A Notebook, and a Willing Spirit

Would you consider sponsoring bulletins, flowers, or the newsletter in memory or in honor of loved ones, friends, family, anniversaries, or birthdays ? Please call Jane Hubler in the church office (692-2838) for costs and available dates, or see the sign-up sheets on the wall at our Main Entrance.

Grace UMC Annual Easter Egg Hunt

March 28th at 9:00am For ages 1-10 years old

Hunts will begin at 9:00am for the 1-2 years olds, and each group will follow after the previous one is done.

Groups will be as follows: 9:00am 1-2 year olds

3-4 year olds 5-7 year olds 8-10 year olds

**Special prize eggs included in each age group**.

**Donation boxes are located in the overflow area for your donations. We need lots of candy!

Sunday,

March 1st

12 Noon

Jr. & Sr. High Youth

March 1, 2020 - Youth Group 6-8pm - normal youth night March 8, 2020 - Escape Room 1-4pm March 15, 2020 - Youth Group 6-8pm - normal youth night March 22, 2020 -Youth Group 6-8pm - normal youth night March 29, 2020 - Youth Group 6-8pm - Normal Youth Night

ALSO in march:

Winter Dodgeball is BACK !!!!

Friday nights in March

6-8pm in the Family Life Center

For All Youth, ages 11-18

Spread the Word! We’re working on reaching our community for Jesus.

A donation of $2.00 per person each night.

Proceeds benefit youth mission trips and service projects.

Contact Alicia Spicher for more information

Nursery Helpers / Children’s Sunday School

We are continually in need of helpers in the nursery / preschool room during worship times. Please call the church office at 717-692-2838 to sign-up to volunteer an hour once every month. We are also looking for folks to help with children’s Sunday School and Children’s Church. Please speak to Lisa Van Olden (717) 649-8931 if you can help in any way.

March Nursery Schedule 8:30 AM 10:30 AM

March 1 Jayne Harman Kelsey Dewees

Sarah McAlanis Mary Buffington

March 08 Jayne Harman Help Needed

Sarah McAlanis Nicole Hooper

March 15 Janet Eiswerth Jayne Harman

Sarah McAlanis Shannon Vallier

March 22 Jayne Harman Hannah Hubler

Tracy Wertz Kelsey DeWees

March 29 Jayne Harman Janet Eiswerth

Sarah McAlanis Nicole Hooper

Holy Communion During Lent HOLY COMMUNION

during Lent

Sunday, Mar. 15th and Thursday, Apr. 9th

Mar. 1 Todd Peifer Carl Eiswerth Mar. 2 Aiden Harman Mar. 3 Erik Bolig Hunter Green Lucas Dewees Clair Fulkrod Mar. 4 Ashley Lubold Carol Uhler Mar. 5 Sawyer Kauffman Kim Sitlinger Mar. 6 Jordan Hubler Emma Reed Laine Goodling Mar. 7 Nichole Underkoffler Mar. 8 Karen Lentz David Martin Mar. 9 Emily Myers Mar. 10 Sawyer Snyder Adrian Fulkroad Mar. 12 Peyton Goodling Mar. 13 Tracy Wertz Mar. 14 Becky Witmer Mar. 15 Rowan Tobias Mar. 16 Liam Hoffman Mar. 17 Jacob Haddock Judy Stoneroad Mar. 18 Ben Rothermel Mar. 19 Brenna Bordner Jerry Marks Mar. 20 Abigail Vallier John Mantzouranis Bailey Leshko Mar. 21 Ron Barcavage Mar. 22 Karleen Bell

Mar. 22 Tad Troutman Sebastian Snyder Mar. 23 Amber Brosius Mar. 24 Brenda Kessler Christine Shiffer Thomas White Mar. 25 Rachel Feidt Hannah Hill Francis Reinoehl Mar. 26 Sarah Danner William Lentz Megan Okafor Mar. 27 Kirby Brosius Joshua Feidt Janine Boyer Mar. 28 Brenda Fultz Olivia Garay 80+ Members Nancy Snyder 3/2 Norm Messersmith 3/10 Sarah Novinger 3/30 Bob Snyder 3/24

Matt & Marcie Bellis - 3/06

Tim & Kelly Scheib - 3/16

Francis Reinoehl

3/06

3/16

Easter Giving We would like to extend an invita-tion to you, for you to designate a gift to missions in lieu of flowers this year. We have several church members who have allergies to the smell of flowers. We are asking this year if you would take the

money that you would have put towards flowers and put it toward missions. Please call Jane in the church office for more information, or grab a sheet on the Welcome Table in the church entryway. The dead-line to give to Missions is Sunday, April 5th.

VBS Is Coming Fast

Do you Love working with children? We are in need of volunteers to make this years VBS a success.

Anyone interested please contact Tracy Wertz at 717-508-6575 or Becky Witmer at 717-649-0402

VBS 2020 will be June 22-25th.

WOF Chocolate-Covered

Pretzels and Peanut Butter Filled

Crackers You can place your order by calling the office at 717-692-2838, or sign the order form by the front entrance. 6.00/bag for pretzels and 1.25/pack for crackers. Deadline to order is March 20th.

Orders will be ready for pick up March 29th

Help is needed to bag our goodies!! We will be making them on March 26 & 27th starting at 8am. Anyone is

welcome to come to the church to help. Questions??? please call Tina Fetter at 717-395-0498

MISSIONS NEWS *******************************

Shut– In Visitation Schedule ~ A listing of our Senior Members and Friends at the Manor, the Polk, or shut-in at home can be obtained through the church office. Please call Jane at 717 692-2838 to get a list. Upcoming trips to Mission Central in 2020 ~

March 21; May 30; August 15; October 2; December 19

We will leave the church at 8:00 am. Please consider joining us for a fun-filled day of volunteering and helping others. Questions??? Please see John Ramberger.

Blanket Sunday update

The Missions committee would like to thank everyone who contributed towards the Church World Service Blankets Fundraiser that was held Sunday, Jan. 19th. To date, $1,006.00 has been donated - enough to purchase 100 blankets !!!

The next Missions Committee meeting will be held:

Thursday, May 14th @ 6:30 pm.

All are welcome to attend!

The Red Bird Mission,

is our March

Mission Project.

They will receive

a gift of $350.00.

Red Bird Mission, founded on and guided by

Christian beliefs and principles, empowers individuals

and advocates for justice through spiritual,

educational, health and community outreach

ministries. Red Bird’s goal is to see that each person

fulfills their God-given abilities for the good of their

family and the community where they live.

Red Bird Mission is located in southeastern

Kentucky, in some of the poorest counties in the

United States. The economy in this beautiful area

of Appalachia has never been robust, and in recent

years has suffered from layoffs and plant closures

in its dominant industry: coal mining.

As a mission of the United Methodist Church,

Red Bird has served the area since 1921, providing

a K-12 school, a medical clinic, agricultural

programs, local housing improvements, a

community thrift store, a retail outlet for local crafts,

and much more.

Each year, teams of United Methodists come

from around the USA to volunteer their time at the

mission site, working on site projects, and out in

the community.

MORE MISSIONS NEWS

Jan - Dec 2019 + or (-) vs. 2018

INCOME

Tithes and Offerings 329,422 - 5,694 (1.70%)

Missions/Faith Promise 26,888 - 4,887 (15.4%)

Misc. Income/Donations 62,556 20,665 (49.3%)

Other Income 35,899 20,141 (228%)

TOTAL INCOME 453,765 30,225 (28.4 %)

Jan - Dec 2019 + or (-) vs. 2018

EXPENSES

Budgeted Expenses 337,115 - 15,358 (4.36%)

Missions/Designated Funds 55,661 - 4,777 (7.9%)

Major Bld/Capital Expense 127,315 49,059 (62.7%)

TOTAL EXPENSES 520,091 28,994 (5.89%)

Shortfall / Excess - 66,326

Notes: YTD income includes $ 30,000.00 from the Wilt Estate,

and proceeds of approx. $40,000.00 from the Easter Egg Project Sales.

Church Finance

NOTES: As you can see, we tackled some significant major build-ing expenses in 2019: Renovations to the main church bathrooms, a new church van, replacement of the Family Life Center roof, as well as 2 new HVAC units for the Sanctuary. The shortfall in giving was covered by using funds from the church’s building reserve ac-count, as well as the extra income noted above. Let’s work hard to replenish our funds!