Newsletter dated September 1, 2015

September 2015
Christ Church United Methodist
700 S. Marshall Road, Middletown OH 45044
513-422-7364 (telephone) • 513-422-2161 (fax) • www.christum.com
History of Our Stained Glass Windows
Staff
Norman H. Coleman III, Senior Pastor
Jen Grams, Director of Children’s Ministry/
Interim Director of Youth Ministry
Adam Steele, Youth Intern
Debbie Alexander, Director of Music Worship
Betsy Balger, Accompanist
Julie Coleman, Office Manager
Sunday Worship Services
8:30 am - Tr aditional Wor ship
11:00 am - Contempor ar y Wor ship
Group Study
Sunday Adult Classes
Room 113: Calvary Class
Room 115: Sojourners Class
Room 118: Searchers Class
Library:
ReachOut
Nursery Care
8:30 am - noon, Ages 0-Pre-K, Rm. 27 & 29
Sunday Children’s Classes
8:30 am - All Ages, Rm 26
11:00 am - Kids4Christ, Rm. 24
Fourth-Sixth Grades, Rm. 23
Did you know the lovely stained glass windows you see in our church
building have a long history?
It was in 1922 as the second church building (known as Calvary
Methodist) was being built that the board met to discuss the windows
for the sanctuary of the new church. A decision was made to purchase art glass for the church and Sunday school area from Von
Gerichten Company of Columbus, Ohio, for $3,500. Individuals and
groups within the church then purchased the windows from the old
building and donated the windows so they could be integrated into
the new church building.
Each of these large windows consisted of three panels. The front
window was of the tomb with the stone rolled away and was purchased in memory of Jonathan and Nancy Leight, Sarah Davis
Robison, Clara Dell Conklin and Williard and Mahala Bennett.
The south window which was behind the choir was of the sower and
donated by the Otterbein and Guiding Star Sunday school classes
and Rev. Falkenstine and his family. The north window along the
alley was of Christ in the garden and was donated by Pearl Smith
Maier, Roy Brooks, Chester Arthur, Ora Vice, and Clayton Geran;
the Junior, Intermediate and Senior C.E. Societies, and the Men’s
Community Bible Class.
There were also four small windows purchased in memory of
Elizabeth Thompson, Charlotte Clafton, Chalmers Brewer and Ann
Radabaugh. These windows, however, were not able to be used in
the new church building and were either sold or given to the families
that donated them.
In 1961 when the old building was sold, the windows were removed,
carefully packed and placed in storage in the old Strand (later Studio)
theater building. They remained there for two years until Mr.
Finkleman needed the space. The windows were then moved to
the garage of Wynn Alexander where they remained for the next
20 years until the new sanctuary was built.
The windows of the tomb and of Christ in the garden were installed in
the back of the sanctuary. The third set of windows were stored in
the boiler room of the church until 1989 when the New Life Center
was built and the narthex/lobby was remodeled.
Cornerstone
Dear Church Family and Friends,
There is something about music
and especially songs filled with
meaningful lyrics that capture the
heart and soul of a person. This is
especially true when a new song
comes along that fits the
circumstances you find yourself
going through and to which you can personally, and
perhaps intimately, relate. Such songs can serve to lift
a heavy heart and bring hope back into a life that has
lost its vitality; or perhaps bring joyful memories of
times past and present; or even encourage and
motivate someone to the next level in their journey
of life.
In the Psalms, a book of spiritual songs and poems,
and specifically Psalm 96, 98 and 149, we are
instructed to “Sing unto the Lord a new song . . .”
These particular passages go on to express why we
are to do so and include proclaiming the news of His
salvation, as a way of giving thanks, for God’s
greatness, and for the marvelous things He has done.
What song are you singing? And to whom are you
singing? The song you are singing can say a lot about
who and where you are in life. Unfortunately, many
people today are singing songs of sadness,
discontentment, loneliness, anger and longing for a
world that neither cares nor offers loving solutions.
Some are singing songs of self-admiration, promotion
and achievement to the exclusion of a hurting world
around them. Still others are singing songs of
criticism, judgment and gossip which almost always
comes from a position of self-righteousness to the
ruin of the hearers.
Then there are those who have discovered the true
secret of life that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
These are the people whose repertoire has been
widened and no longer need to sing the old songs
2
of life that are full of despair and sorrow. In fact, by
the grace and power of God, they can accept and
receive the deletion of such songs from their life’s
personal library. They are now singing a new song,
walking with a spring in their step and obvious joy on
their face. They are living a life that is confusing to
those around them.
I would encourage those who sing a new song to the
Lord, with that unspeakable joy, to keep it up! To
those who have yet to sing a new song, and I say this
with much love, the source of “a new song” is found in
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I ask,
entreat, and encourage you to receive God’s love gift
of Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life today. It is
simple . . . “If you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans
10:9-10) Be assured that God our Father will put that
new song in your heart . . . A song that you will want
to sing over and over. May God richly bless all who
call upon His name in sincerity and in truth.
With much love in Christ,
Pastor Norm
Christ Church Celebrates
160 Years of Ministry
Come celebrate with us on Sunday, September 20,
at 10:00 am as we gather together as one for breakfast, worship, fellowship, to share stories and praise
God for 160 years of ministry in Middletown. The
Chancel Choir, the Men’s Choir and the Praise
Team will lead us in worship. We will hear a
message of inspiration, share in the sacrament of
Holy Communion, and celebrate the birthdays of
those among us who have been blessed to reach
their 90’s this year. Please come and join in the
celebration!
Cornerstone
Pastor’s Bible Study
Wednesday Mornings
Beginning September 23
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Room 113
Study: Book of Revelation
3
Wednesday Evening
Bible Study
Begins September 23
6:30 pm
Church Library
Study: God Is Closer Than You
Think (by John Ortberg)
For more information,
please contact:
Beth Radabaugh at
(513) 423-5930
Cornerstone
4
What Can You Do Without
Opening Your Wallet?
Love Packages celebrated its 40th anniversary
in August. In their first year they shipped 660
pounds of literature around the world. In 2014,
a total of 1,362 tons of literature was shipped. In
2015 they have shipped 643 tons thus far. If you
would like to donate Christian literature to this
great cause, please leave your materials in the
library and mark them “Love Packages”. Bibles,
religious books and magazines, Sunday School
materials, etc., both new and used, would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Help Needed
There are more than 70 shrubs/bushes located
on our church property, and all but 23 of them
need to be trimmed. Needing immediate
attention are the shrubs in the tiered garden
directly in front of the main entrance on Marshall
Road which were last trimmed in 2013. We are
asking for help with this trimming project which
can be done on your own time schedule. A
volunteer has stepped forward to trim the shrubs
directly in front of the church building, but other
volunteers are needed. If you can help, please
contact George and Linda Knapp at 423-2861.
Thank you.
Below are some easy ways you can be a good
steward of God’s creation, help others, and keep
costs down for the church.
(1) Collect aluminum (pop) cans and place on the
skid located next to the dumpster.
(2) Collect newspapers and put them in the
container in the back parking lot.
(3) Collect Labels for Education for Red Bird
Mission and put them in the 5 x 7 envelopes on
the Missions bulletin board located across from
the church office.
(4) Collect empty pill bottles, both prescription
and drug store medicine bottles, to support
Matthew 25 Ministries headquartered in
Cincinnati. Pill bottles can be left in the marked
box in the library.
(5) Collect new and used Christian materials for
delivery to foreign countries by the Love
Packages organization. These materials can
be left in the church library for pick-up.
The aluminum pop cans and newspapers actually
result in additional funds for the church which are
used for several church projects during the year.
And the education labels which benefit Red Bird
Mission is one of Christ Church’s national mission
projects.
October’s Loose Change Offering to Benefit Bittersweet Ministries New
Community Center . . . Most of you are familiar with the work of Bittersweet Ministries in Tijuana,
Mexico through our former youth director, Brian Shumard. Some of you have even been blessed to have
ministered in Tijuana alongside Brian. Bittersweet Ministries is planning to rebuild their community center
this year to raise the grade of the building above flood level and to enlarge the kitchen and dining hall.
During the rainy season, the center floods and the resulting mold is causing the walls to deteriorate. And
there is no end in sight in the war with rats since the community center is located next door to a landfill.
The tiny kitchen is used by local women to prepare meals for co-op families and for anyone who simply
needs a meal. Currently, the center is feeding 70-80 people daily; and Yolanda, the woman who oversees
the meal program, and the women who work with her to prepare the meals greatly desire to continue to
feed the hungry. The current kitchen also has no running water and so dishes are washed outside.
The need is great, and knowing our desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of this
community, Brian has reached out to us asking for our help. And so our Loose Change Offering for
October will be given to Bittersweet Ministries to assist them in building a clean, safe place in which to
prepare and serve meals to those in need.
Cornerstone
5
NEW TWEENS MINISTRY
The Closet of Love
Inviting all Tweens! Our NEW Tweens
Ministry CTM for those in 4th through 6th
grades is up and running! There is now a
Sunday morning class at 11:00 am for
Tweens as well as a Wednesday evening
group that meets from 5:00 - 6:00 pm. For
more information about CTM, please contact:
Girls from Girl Scout Troop 40278, which meets
at Christ Church, are working on a special service
project to earn their Bronze Award. They will be
hosting a free store called “The Closet of Love”
at the church on Saturday, September 19, and are
now seeking donations of clothing, shoes, coats
and Halloween costumes which will be given to
families in need. Your clothing donations can be
brought to the church Monday through Thursday
from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. Donations of toys,
books and household items are also being
accepted. For more information or to arrange
a special time for dropping off your donations,
please contact Jen Grams. Arrangements can
also be made with Jen to pick-up your donations
if necessary. Thank you.
Jen Grams at
[email protected]
or
Adam Steele at [email protected]
MOVIE NIGHTS ARE BACK!
Our first Family Movie Night will be on Friday,
September 4, at 7:00 pm in Christ Cinema. The
featured movie will be Home, the story of Oh
who is a loveable misfit from another planet that
lands on Earth and
finds himself on the run
from his own people.
Oh forms an unlikely
friendship with an adventurous girl named
Tip who is on a quest
of her own. Through a series of comic
adventures with Tip, Oh comes to understand
that being different and making mistakes is all
part of being human. And while Oh changes
Tip’s planet and she changes Oh’s world, they
discover the true meaning of the word HOME.
Youth movie nights will
resume on Friday,
September 18, with
the movie Divergent.
Believe it or not, our Trunk or Treat outreach is quickly approaching. As usual, we
generally hold this event the same time as
Middletown’s Beggars Night. As of now,
Beggars Night appears to be scheduled
for Saturday, October 31. As we get
closer to that date, we will be able to
share a more definitive time frame for
our event that evening. However, we
would like to begin collecting candy
donations which you can bring to the
church and place in the ReachOut bins in
the lobby. Monetary donations will also
be accepted to help with the purchase of
hotdogs, buns and drinks for the evening.
Watch for sign-up sheets if you will be
one of our “trunks” passing out candy.
Cornerstone
THANK YOU Christ Church family for your
incredible support with the Freedom Court
backpack and cookout project held in
August. All totaled, we had 93 backpacks
filled with school supplies of which 73 were
distributed at Freedom Court and the rest
were taken to Creekview Elementary for the
staff to distribute to students in need. We
are so grateful for your continued support in this annual mission. Thank you also to those who helped
serve lunch at the cookout. We had great food, fun and fellowship!
ReachOut
Thank you to those who helped with the Salvation Army “Meet Up & Eat Up” lunch program this
summer. Every Monday through Friday throughout the summer, volunteers from Christ Church
helped serve lunches provided by the Salvation Army to children in the Lefferson Park area.
Approximately 30-50 lunches were served daily at the Lefferson site alone. This site was one of
eight locations in Middletown. Thank you to those volunteering your time to this important city-wide
mission!
ReachOut
On Tuesday, August 4, Christ Church was blessed to be part of the National Night Out, a community
event sponsored by the Middletown Police Department. Over 3,000 people attended the event and
witnessed police, fire and military demonstrations, enjoyed free food and had the opportunity to visit
many booths from over 50 organizations. Christ Church was well represented and passed out homemade cookies and information about the church. Pastor Norm, with the assistance of Jane Tipton,
provided some great entertainment for children of all ages with their balloon sculpting! Many, many
thanks to those who baked dozens and dozens of cookies, to those who came and worked the booth,
and to Pastor Norm for the endless balloon creations enjoyed by everyone!
ReachOut
I want to extend my most sincere thanks to everyone who sent cards and notes and offered prayers
on my behalf following my accident. Even though the recovery and rehabilitation still has a long way
to go, your thoughtfulness has been one of the brighter spots in this entire process.
David Beck
Words cannot begin to express my heartfelt gratitude for your thoughts and prayers, your words of
comfort, and your expressions of love following the death of my mother. To those who traveled to
Coshocton for the visitation and funeral service, I thank you. For the many cards I received with your
expressions of sympathy, I thank you. For the beautiful flower arrangement sent to the funeral home
from my Christ Church family, I thank you. To those who gave of their time to make sure the office
was covered and the Sunday bulletins were done, I thank you. Your outpouring of love has been
overwhelming and extremely comforting. Thank you for sharing your love of Christ with not only me
but also with my family.
Julie Coleman
6
Cornerstone
7
Fall Festival
Your Invited . . .
The United Methodist Women
will meet
Saturday, November 14
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
New Life Center
Thursday, September 17
Come and shop our local vendor booths
10:00 am, Room 113
 Homemade Baked Goods & Candy
 Fall and Christmas Gift Baskets
 Christmas Items
 Jewelry
 Candles & Soaps
 Handcrafted Items
Enjoy a delicious HOT lunch
and after shopping, relax with a
soothing chair massage
Our Bishop Gregory Palmer has asked our Conference
to commit to creating Circles of Grace for transformative dialogue. In essence, the Bishop is calling upon
us to make room at the table to discuss all perceptions
on race, human relations and power.
Christ Church will be hosting a Circles of Grace
dialogue on Tuesday, September 29, from 7:00 pm
to 9:00 pm in the NLC. This round table discussion,
open to both clergy and laity, will focus on human
sexuality and the United Methodist Church. Our
Conference, as you may know, is not of one mind
with regard to issues of ordination and homosexuality.
We invite you to prayerfully consider participating
in this round table discussion. That which is learned
from the Circles of Grace process will serve as a
resource to the Annual Conference, the 2016 General
and Jurisdictional Conference Delegates as well as the
Extended Cabinet and the Board of Ordained Ministry.
If you will be donating baked goods, homemade candy, or desserts for the lunch, you will
be able to leave these items in the library the
week of the festival, and are being asked to
please not price the items. If you would like to
volunteer to help the day of the festival, donate
a baked good, or if you or someone you know
is interested in renting booth space, please
contact Pam Cole at (513) 422-2989.
Thanking you in advance for volunteering and
supporting the Fall Festival with your time and
your talents.
There will be a display of gift baskets in the lobby for
early purchasing prior to the festival.
Cornerstone
8
With Our Sympathy
1
3
4
7
10
12
13
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
24
26
28
29
Rick Heismann
Sue Myers
Greg Siewny
Julie Coleman
Kevin Johnson
Lynda Banks
Ted McMonigle
Irene Molnar
Dinah Stork
Marlena Blunt
Janet Matusak
Dorothy Back
Scott Davis
Les Greider
Wendy Kissel
Brenda Mann
Robert Baber
Bill Prater
Elizabeth Strait
Ron Cox
Linda Frechette
Caroline Strait
Wendy Minor
Kelly Spurlock
Greg Gibson
Mary Jane Hummel
Bobby McDonough
Scott Leonard
Norman, Julie and Jonathan Coleman and
Family upon the death of Julie’s mother,
Anita Jones, on August 13
Greg and Jeanne Siewny and Family upon
the death of Greg’s father, Walter Siewny,
on August 25
15
16
17
21
“In Heaven, it is always
Autumn.”
John Donne
English Poet & Preacher
23
26
30
Jim and Helen Murry
Les and Vicki Greider
Tom and Sherri Robertson
Marty and Kim Flesher
Steve and Pam Johnson
Denny and Beth Greider
Kevin and Barbara Strait
Gregg and Michelle McDonough
Cornerstone
9
September
9/1
7:00 pm Al-Anon, 117
9/2
5:00 pm
5:00 pm
5:30 pm
6:00 pm
7:30 pm
Tweens Ministry
Men’s Choir, Sanctuary
Yoga, 23
Chancel Choir, Sanctuary
Praise Team, Sanctuary
9/18
7:00 pm Youth Movie Night,
Christ Cinema
9/19
11:00 am Myers Baby Shower, NLC
The Closet of Love
9/20
10:00 am 160 Year Celebration, NLC
5:30 pm 180 Student Ministries, 14
8:00 pm Yoga, NLC
9/21
12:00 pm Yoga, 23
6:00 pm Congregation Care, Library
6:00 pm Missions, 113
9/3
7:15 am Emmaus Share Group,
Library
9/4
7:00 pm Family Movie Night,
Christ Cinema
9/6
5:30 pm 180 Student Ministries, 14
8:00 pm Yoga, NLC
9/22
7:00 pm Bible Study, 118
7:00 pm Al-Anon, 117
9/7
OFFICE CLOSED
12:00 pm Yoga, 23
9/23
9/8
7:00 pm Al-Anon, 117
9/9
10:30 am Butler County Liberty
Center, NLC
5:00 pm Tweens Ministry
5:00 pm Women’s Choir, Sanctuary
5:30 pm Yoga, 23
6:00 pm Chancel Choir, Sanctuary
7:30 pm Praise Team, Sanctuary
10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study, 113
5:00 pm Tweens Ministry
5:00 pm Women’s Choir, Sanctuary
5:30 pm Yoga, 23
6:00 pm Chancel Choir, Sanctuary
6:30 pm Bible Study, Library
7:30 pm Praise Team, Sanctuary
9/24
7:15 am Emmaus Share Group,
Library
6:00 pm Admin Team/Program
Ministry, 113
9/26
4:00 pm Girl Scouts
9/27
5:30 pm 180 Student Ministries, 14
8:00 pm Yoga, NLC
9/28
12:00 pm Yoga, 23
9/29
4:00 pm Whiz Kids Training, 117
6:00 pm Circles of Grace Leader
Orientation, Sanctuary
7:00 pm Bible Study, 118
7:00 pm Circles of Grace, NLC
7:00 pm Al-Anon, 117
9/30
10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study, 113
5:00 pm Tweens Ministry
5:30 pm Yoga, 23
6:00 pm Chancel Choir, Sanctuary
6:30 pm Bible Study, Library
7:30 pm Praise Team, Sanctuary
9/10
7:15 am Emmaus Share Group,
Library
9/12
4:00 pm Girl Scouts
9/13
5:30 pm 180 Student Ministries, 14
8:00 pm Yoga, NLC
9/14
12:00 pm Yoga, 23
9/15
4:00 pm Whiz Kids Site Leader
Meeting, 117
7:00 pm Bible Study, 118
7:00 pm Al-Anon, 117
9/16
5:00 pm
5:00 pm
5:30 pm
6:00 pm
7:30 pm
9/17
7:15 am Emmaus Share Group,
Library
10:00 am UMW, 113
Tweens Ministry
Men’s Choir, Sanctuary
Yoga, 23
Chancel Choir, Sanctuary
Praise Team, Sanctuary
Cornerstone
10
Christ Church United Methodist
700 S. Marshall Road
Middletown OH 45044
CAREGIVER CONFERENCE
Wednesday, September 23
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Central Connections (Formerly
Middletown Senior Center)
3907 Central Avenue, Middletown
This conference is free of charge and
open to all caregivers and professionals
in the caregiving field. Lunch will be provided.
“Healing a Heart” Fall Grief
Support Groups
Thursday evenings from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
September 24 through October 29
Friday afternoons from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
September 25 through October 30
Hospice Care of Middletown
3900 Central Avenue, Middletown
Pre-Registration is required.
To register call (513) 424-2273.
Please RSVP by September 16 to:
Cassidy Lekan at [email protected]
or by calling (513) 672-3717
Hospice Care of Middletown understands the price
of love is the pain of grief. Healing comes through
sharing your grief journey with others.
September 1, 2015
Kids 4 Christ
Christ Tweens Ministry
180 Student Ministry
New Combined Format
Starting this month, you will see changes coming to this newsletter. The first change
is this will now cover three ministries of our congregation: Kids, Tweens, & Youth. In
previous issues, we have only covered the children’s ministry. Be on the look out for
more format changes in upcoming issues!
NEW TWEENS MINISTRY!
We are very pleased and excited to announce we have officially launched our new
Tweens ministry! The Tweens ministry (CTM) includes students in grades 4 through
6. They meet on Sunday morning for a traditional Sunday School class and on
Wednesday evenings for Bible Study and fellowship. This helps ease the transition
from children’s ministry to youth group. If you know of any fourth through sixth grade
students who would like to join us, please contact Jen Grams or Adam Steele for more
information!
MOVIE NIGHTS ARE BACK!
We are back from our summer break and ready to start up our FREE movie nights
again! We will have Family Movie Nights (all ages welcome) on the first Friday of
each month and Youth Movie Night (grades 7—12) on
the third Friday of each month. All movie nights will
start at 7 pm. Please come out and join us! Movies for
September are listed below:
Family Movie Night—Sept. 4—Home
Youth Movie Night—Sept 18—Divergent
Student Ministries of Christ Church
700 S. Marshall Rd.
Middletown, OH 45044
Phone: 513-422-7364
E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Stay Informed! Sign up for text alerts!
Use the easy to follow text instructions below to sign
up for our Remind accounts for youth and children
ministries. Use the K4C account for Tweens.
Impacting the community for
Christ
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Kids 4 Christ
Or
180 Student Ministries
Here are some pictures of our first Tweens class as well
as the Tweens and Youth pool parties and the annual
back to school youth water balloon fight!