Volume 8 Issue 1

February 2016

WORSHIP

SUNDAY

10:30 am English Service

in the sanctuary

2:00 pm Iglesia en Español

in the Fellowship Hall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SATURDAY

7:00 pm Praise Service

in the Fellowship Hall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Staff

SENIOR PASTOR

Reverend Lia I Willetts

ADMINISTRATOR Charlene Golden

FINANCIAL SECRETARY Keith Hepler

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC Mary Porter

WORSHIP LEADER

Gabriel Cintron

NURSERY ATTENDANT Terry Panega

MAINTENANCE

Mel Sanborn

JANITOR

Hugo Quintana

Ash Wednesday - February 10 6:30p.m. Service of Ashes in the Sanctuary

Easter Cantata – March 6

3:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Palm Weekend

Sat., March 19, Praise Service at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Sunday, March 20, Traditional Service at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary

Sunday, March 20, Spanish Service at 2:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday – March 24

7:00 p.m. Communion Service in the Sanctuary

Good Friday – March 25

PRAYER Service at 1:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Sanctuary will be open for quiet reflection and prayer from 12 to 3 p.m.

Holy Saturday – March 26

PRAISE service at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Easter – Sunday, March 27

7:00 a.m. SUNRISE Service in front of the Sanctuary

7:30 to 10:00 a.m. BREAKFAST in the Fellowship Hall

10:30 a.m. EASTER Service in the Sanctuary

2:00 p.m. SPANISH Service in the Fellowship Hall

1430 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936 (239) 369-1433

www.christumclehigh.org admin@christumclehigh.org www.facebook.com/christumclehigh

INVITE SOMEONE TO CHURCH!

Read Acts 2:42-47

Research shows that only 2% of church- goers invite an unchurched person to church, but

that 82% of the unchurched are likely to attend if invited!

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus told his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This starts with a

simple question: “Would you like to go to church with me?” Ask yourself, who do I know – Friend,

Relative, Acquaintance and Neighbor, that God is putting on my heart to invite to church? Then GO

do it!

Some people need to warm up to the idea and need to get an invitation more than once. Do not give up!

Try inviting to a Fellowship lunch, Wonderful Wednesday Classes, Small Group, and Worship Services at

Christ UMC. Friends, the best way for our church to grow is for all members of the congregation to

invite others to be part of our loving church.

Blessings, Pastor Lia

February Anniversaries

Ann and Charles Hughes 2/13/1999 Vera and William Rolling 2/14/1953 Ellen and Randy Collins 2/19/1994

February Birthdays

5 Mary Kindred 5 Anita Maloy 8 Billie Rhys 8 Jennifer Vidal 8 Jeanette Vidal 11 Hester Jones 13 Kalup Gallegos 15 Jesus Castaneda 15 Edwin Martin 18 Ben Curll 19 Libby Jones 21 Ray Jerome 22 RJ Jutgren 24 Roger Dixon 24 Betty Hedrick 24 Jackie Quintana 27 Cathy Lynn Calef 27 Ray Zitko 28 Nathan Stumpf 28 Morgan Stumpf 29 Bill Martin

Please inform the church office of any corrections. If your name is missing, then we don’t have your information on file.

Van Schedule Sunday Fellowship Time Flower Ministry 2/7/16 Wednesday Small Group Daphne Forrester and Sylvia Tross

2/14/16 Foryts Jorja McConahay and Jan Oyer

2/21/16 Percifield, Fawcett, Chester Carol and Dan Larimer

2/28/16 Marsh Small Group Marilyn Farag

Jorja McConahay is the coordinator. Contact her at 239-303-0098 or jmcconahay@aol.com if you would like to join this ministry.

The Good News is published monthly by Christ United Methodist Church, Lehigh Acres, Florida

It is emailed to those who have provided an email address and it is available on the church’s website.

Printed copies are available at each church service and in the church office.

Deadline for articles or ad submission is the 15th of the month for the next month’s newsletter.

All articles are subject to editing.

Send your information to admin@christumclehigh.org or drop it off at the church office.

Our Vision is to invite all people to follow Jesus Christ, build them up into his body and image, and send

them out to serve.

Detailed information on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s

Conference is available in the church office, sanctuary

lobby bulletin board and Fellowship hallway bulletin

board.

Literacy Buddies

Your next book and letter are due

February 15. Books can be

dropped off at one of the church

services or at the church office by

Sunday, February 14.

We received a letter dated

December 18 from FLUMCH

thanking us for the gift cards we

sent. We sent a total of $1,655 in

gift cards.

The letter is on the bulletin board

in the hallway by Fellowship Hall.

Imagine No Malaria Campaign As the global Imagine No Malaria campaign of The United Methodist Church celebrates reaching 90 percent of its $75 million goal, Florida Conference churches can take part in the celebration by knowing they have been a big part of the success. Visit www.flumc.org to read about how churches big and small raised $1.2 million to help wipe out malaria deaths.

DIRECTORY UPDATE

Cathy Lynn and William Calef

10760 Palazzo Way #202

Fort Myers, FL 33931

2016 CUMC Budget

After receiving budget requests from all of the committees, church office and trustees, the Finance

Committee came up with a budget for 2016 that is $843.76 in the black. Most years the budget

had a deficit that they hoped would be made up in increased income or decreased spending. That

did not happen last year so they were very frugal when developing the 2016 budget. To have a

budget in the black, Finance covered the necessities, agreed to pay our apportionments 100%

again (we ask you to tithe and this is how the church tithes), and apportioned less funds to

programs. Here is the general breakdown of the 2016 budget:

Income Expenses

Tithes $209,444 Staff $175,793.13

Other Church Offerings $ 56,845 Apportionments 30,871.00

Other income $ 9,285 Program Ministries 900.00

TOTAL INCOME $275,574 Trustees 64,400.00

Administration & Office 2,766.11

TOTAL EXPENSES $274,730.24

The full budget is available in the church office. We will need an income of $5,299.50 each week just to meet budget.

Program committees will now have to discuss at their meetings any expenditures, make sure the vote on it is noted in

their minutes and bring their request to the Finance Committee prior to making the purchase. If we are in the black

that month, then they may get their request.

The Sunday bulletin and the newsletter will keep you informed on income and state of the budget each month.

Reminder to those who tithe by the month, don’t forget one extra month’s payment to cover the 5th Sundays (you will

notice this on your giving statements).

Stewardship

Hello, I am Paul Billiard and I am your new chairperson for the Stewardship committee. After being asked to chair

this committee I started to think about what does Stewardship really mean within a Methodist congregation. Just about

everybody thinks of tithing when they hear the word Stewardship. At least that was the first thought that went through

my mind.

After some investigation I found that Stewardship encompasses a whole lot more than tithing and is to be practiced all

year round. The Bible tells us to be good stewards of the talents and gifts that God has given to us AND we are to use

these talents and gifts to glorify God.

In simple terms, Stewardship is using one of our gifts, our talents, and/or our time for the glory of God to help

someone or to spread the word of God. You can say that anytime we do or say anything to help spread the word of

God we are practicing good Stewardship. Look at all the volunteers we have for the various mission and outreach

programs along with those who serve on the many boards and groups within this congregation. I wish I had room to

name all the areas. I ask that over the next month just take a little extra time to look around you and notice all the

individuals that are sharing their time, their talent, and their gifts. See how many different areas you can find. Might

not be a bad idea to say Thank You to those individuals when you spot them.

Over this next month you might notice that the only true way to be good stewards is to ACT. Maybe you will find an

area which you might be able to help out, if so, please contact the church office to get the contact for that area.

Serving in the Name of the Lord,

Paul Billiard

In the hospital: Mary Kindred In rehabilitation:

In hospice: Norma Viera

In nursing homes or homebound: Betty Armstrong, Mary Armstrong, Drema Brooks, Evelyn Canning, Jeanne Cantrell, Frank Guntly, Libby Jones, Vena Jones, Peggy Spaulding Christian Sympathy to:

Please notify the church office when you are

hospitalized, moved to another facility or go home

so that we may visit and pray with you at the correct

location.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY NIGHTS We have a time of praise from 6:30 to 7 pm in the Fellowship

Hall and then go to our classes from 7 to 8 pm.

Don’t forget to bring your BIBLE.

Classes and Location: Instructor/Facilitator

Nursery (3 years old and younger) Terry Panega

Classrooms 1 & 6

Pre-K and Elementary Theresa Darpino

Classrooms 2 & 5 Charlene Golden

Middle School Youth Group Don MacKenzie

Classrooms 3 & 4 Adult Helper

High School Youth Group Liz Easton

Youth Room Gabe Cintron

Adult Classes:

Fellowship Hall Dianna Carpenter

Library Charlie Jones

Chapel Bob Williams

Class in Spanish Doris Rodriguez

Luz Ibanez

We begin a new year and have many new choir members that

we know you will love in the coming months.

I realize that just six weeks ago we presented our Christmas

Cantata, but this month we will begin to practice for the Easter

Cantata, “I Know My Redeemer Lives”. We will present this

Cantata Sunday, March 6 at 3:oo p.m. in the Sanctuary.

Bell choir has begun again after a few years absence. With

weekly choir rehearsals and now cantata practices, we are

singing, playing and praising God in many ways.

Choir practice is at 6:00 p.m. Thursdays in the choir room.

Cantata practice is at 6:45 p.m. Thursdays also in the choir

room. Bell practice is moved to 7:30 p.m. in the bell room

which is just down the hallway from the choir room.

God Bless All,

Mary Porter

I am a new teacher this year at a school

that has a high number of children that

meet the poverty level. I am seeking

funding to get 3 laptops and 5 head-phones

in my classroom (I currently have 2

laptops). These children are reaching their

goals when they use reading and math

programs that are available for our

computers. I am not asking for new

laptops. I can purchase refurbished laptops

with a one year warranty for $150.00. I

also need headphones. I have set up a

GoFundMe account to raise the money to

purchase these items –

Gofundme.com/76bfzbz5

I work at a charter school and we don't

get the same funding as the district

schools. Over half of the kids that I teach

don't even have access to technology at

home. I would love to be able to let them

use technology more often in my class.

If you can find it in your budget to

help I would appreciate it. Even small

amounts will add up. If you can’t help,

please pray that God will provide these

needs. Thank you.

Sonya Mikolajski

Gofundme.com/76bfzbz5

Monetary donations to help Sonya and her

class cannot go through the church’s

accounting system. DO NOT make checks out

to the church on her behalf. Your monetary

donations need to go through her GoFundMe

account. If you have any questions, call the

church office.

UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

You see the list of committee meetings on the church calendar. Have you wondered what each of those committees do and what is their responsibility? It is important to know the role each of these committees play in the life of our church.

CHURCH COUNCIL

The Church Council is the main governing body of the congregation. The council's main responsibilities include setting policies, approving the budget, overseeing the ministries, and setting the direction for our ministry together. All administrative and program committees report to the council. Its members are made up by the committee chairpersons and members-at-large.

TRUSTEES The Trustees are charged with the responsibility of overseeing, maintaining, and supervising all the property of the church. They also administer and receive gifts made to the congregation. Anything that a program or ministry wants to do which will affect the buildings in some way needs to go to the Trustees for approval first.

FINANCE

The Finance committee sets the budget, changes the budget, and oversees the management of church funds. Any group planning a fundraiser must go to the Finance committee first for approval. Any group needing additional funds for a project or ministry must go to Finance before spending money outside of what has been budgeted.

STAFF PASTOR PARISH RELATIONS COMMITTEE

The SPPRC serves as a liaison between the congregation and the staff and the pastor. They carry the responsibility of hiring and firing staff persons. They make recommendations to the Finance Committee regarding salaries and compensation. They support the staff, but also evaluate the staff and communicate the needs of the congregation. If any group begins the development of a ministry that would involve the addition of a staff person or a change in job description for an existing staff person, they would need to make that recommendation to SPPRC. If any group has issues, concerns, or praises regarding a staff person they should take those to SPPRC.

MISSIONS/OUTREACH

This committee raises funds and distributes them to various mission projects locally, domestically, and internationally. They are also responsible for the development of programs and ministries that reach out to the community to share the gospel.

EDUCATION

Education oversees the Christian education ministries of the church which include Sunday School, small groups, children's ministries, youth ministries, family ministries and other learning opportunities.

EVANGELISM and NURTURE CARE TEAM Evangelism meets guests and follows up with them. Guests that continue to attend our invited to attend a membership class and/or attend Bible study classes. They work with current members to bring in new members and make guests feel welcome.

Nurture Care Team provides assistance to current members in need. They visit shut-ins, those in the hospital or recently discharged to another facility or home. They check on members who have not attended for awhile. These two teams work on bringing people in the front door and trying to prevent them from slipping out the back door unnoticed.

WORSHIP

The Worship team plans and implements worship experiences for the congregation. This ministry includes the greeters, the ushers, the flower delivery, communion preparations, changing the paraments and banners, and hospitality (refreshments). They plan for the purchase of Easter lilies and Christmas poinsettias.

Thank You For Sharing

Bess Ellen Fawcett shared bulletins from Miami Valley Church and Geneva United Methodist Church. From the family of Norma Viera, “Thank you and your group for the flowers and visits to her at the nursing home.”

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Missional Vital Signs From time to time those words appear in the bulletin and this newsletter, and are said from the pulpit. So what are the Missional Vital Signs. These are measurements that all United Methodist Churches need to report to their local conferences. Then the figures are compiled with all UM Churches to give us a picture of how we are doing as a denomination. This information is collected each week and reported monthly to the Florida Conference.

PASSIONATE WORSHIP

This number includes any service held weekly as a primary opportunity for worship, including alternative

worship services in addition to regular Sunday morning services. We take attendance at the traditional

service, contemporary service and the Wednesday night service. The Spanish Service attendance at this time

is considered as a small group and not a worship service.

RADICAL HOSPITALITY

The total number of persons received into membership measured by “profession of faith” and “reaffirmation

of faith”. We keep a separate count of those who join by transferring their membership from another church

or becoming an associate member where they maintain membership in their home church up north. Radical

Hospitality is the outcome of faith sharing.

INTENTIONAL DISCIPLING

This measure is the number of persons involved in intentional discipling small groups. It is defined as any

group with two or more individuals who meet at least monthly (to be counted the week of meeting), share a

commitment to become more like Jesus, read and reflect on scripture, explore what it means to apply God’s

word to their lives, share honest feedback, and pray for one another.

Reminder to Small Groups to appoint someone in your group to call in your attendance each week. Wednesday Night

Classes be sure to pick up your attendance book from the hallway bookshelf and return it after your class so your numbers

can be included.

The definition for SALTY SERVICE changed effective January 2016. For the purpose of evaluating the

health of the church, the focus is on the outreach ministries the church initiates to do in the community. You

need to be representing the church when volunteering in the community. Examples are those who go to the

Immokalee Soup Kitchen each month, tutoring students through the STP program, One Starry Night, Make

A Difference Day, or manning a Salvation Army kettle.

The person is counted, not the number of hours people are serving. Example: If a person is serving in a soup kitchen

for at least an hour, he or she is counted as one person who has served. The person is counted the week they actually

served.

EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY

This number is the total amount given to God’s church for budgeted operating, capital expenses and

missional purposes in addition to or part of the budget. This includes all contributions received by pledged

and unpledged giving, loose plate offerings, and funds given for special offerings to ministries beyond the

church.

Excluded are interest income, memorial bequeaths, facility use fees, and fundraisers, as these do not reflect the

financial generosity of the congregation.

ONE STARRY NIGHT

Review Meeting

Saturday, February 13 at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall

We will talk about what went well, what needs to be changed and plans for this year.

Everyone is welcome to come and give their ideas. We will discuss what we can start working on right away

and a timeline for activities so that we are ready by December.

This year, One Starry Night will be Friday, December 9th

and Saturday, December 10th

from 5 to 8 p.m.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ALTAR FLOWERS

The altar flower calendar has been posted by the name tag board in the sanctuary lobby. Celebrate a special

occasion or person in your life by sponsoring the altar flowers. Each vase is $17.50 payable in advance. You

may keep the flowers after the service or donate them to the Flower Ministry who take bouquets to our shut-ins.

In February, there are openings on February 7, 14, 21. There are many openings the rest of the year. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FELLOWSHIP TIME

Each of our services have a time of fellowship

with refreshments.

The Hospitality Committee oversees the Sunday

morning fellowship. They need sponsors March

20th

through December. A group, a family, a

committee or friends can work together to provide

the food for one or more Sundays. The Hospitality

Committee will show you how to make coffee and

where the drinks are stored. Please keep the food

simple as this is a time to get to know new people

and catch up with old friends. It is not lunch. You

also clean up, return items to the church kitchen

and take the garbage out at the end.

Parents, make sure to pick up your children from

the nursery and children’s church so the teachers

can also enjoy fellowship time.

We also need help Wednesday night and Saturday

night in the Fellowship Hall making the coffee,

setting out drinks and snacks. Afterwards, the

refreshment area needs to be cleaned up and items

put away. Come 30 minutes early to help.

Cub Scout Pack 11

Tiger Cub Den News

The Tigers have been working hard towards their requirements with their new den leader. They joined in our

Christmas gift exchange, hiking and have started to grow strawberries for certain requirements.

Wolf Den News

They sent Christmas cards to the Troops and thank you letters and pictures in Christmas cards to the Lee

County Sheriff's Officers that gave the pack a tour of the operations center. They joined the Pack in toy

donations to the sick children at Health Park. We had a nice Pack Christmas party. Before the year was up we

had a family fun night at the bowling alley. The boys have also worked towards their Duty to God

Requirements with their parents.

Bear Den News

The Bear Den invited all scouts to join them while taking in the recycling items collected and touring Garden

Street Recycling Center. The Scouts went down to Bass Pro Shops to visit Santa and enjoy Christmas town.

The Bear den learned about our American Flag and displayed a flag in their own home for at least 30 days.

They also learned about the energy that is used in their homes and how to decrease the use of energy. Bear

Scouts earned their Paws For Action belt loop. Larry Smith, Bear Den Leader, completed 2 Wood Badge

tickets by getting the flag pole donated by ACE hardware and installed by Larry Smith and backyard outdoor

lights donated and installed by Home Depot and electrician, Dave Palmer.

Future pack activities and events

For the month of January, we have the Rain Gutter Regatta to look forward to where the boys will get a chance

to race their sail boats and have a chance to win a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the race.

Contact the church office about

placing an ad in this newsletter.

Business card size ads are $2.00 a

month.