Church Messenger September 2015

A Moment with Mike

September 2015

What do you think is man’s greatest need? We have been talking about Salvation and Grace in our time together on

Sunday; and there is no doubt that we “need” to be saved and Grace is the “required” conduit of that salvation in our

lives. But today I am talking about our greatest “perceived” need. While there are many answers to that question; I

would share this one with you today. We have a “need” to be significant. Someone once said that they would like their

tombstone to read, “He made a difference.” It doesn’t matter if we are speaking of achieving our full potential, or only

of surviving to the next paycheck, people often talk about their need to be significant. We all want to have purpose; we

want our lives to have meaning. The desire for significance can take us in one of two directions:

We can seek significance in appropriate ways or we can seek it in inappropriate ways. What sets us as Christians apart

is how we go about satisfying our need to be significant. Some folk seek it in the spoils of this life by pursuing riches,

power, toys etc. They seek to find significance in what they can do. Others who seek to live according to the tenants of

the Scriptures, find their significance or meaning in living out the dictates of God’s Holy Word. In John 15:5 we read

Jesus saying: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit…” We

find true significance as we submerge our lives in Christ. The more we utilize the “means of Grace” the stronger grace’s

influence becomes in our lives and we are able to “accomplish all things through Christ who is in us” (my paraphrase)

When we have opened our hearts to Jesus and submitted our will to God’s will, plan, and purpose, we can satisfy our

greatest need, to be significant, in a way that endures.

Blessings

Mike

September Sermons

September 6th

Message: Catalyst for Change!!

Scripture: Romans 12:9-17, Ephesians 2:8-9, James 2:17

Focus: Grace is a transforming agent: it transforms hearts, lives and thoughts; affects judgements and

understanding.

September 13th

Message: A Great Ride…Invite the World along!!!

Scripture: Mark 8:32-38

Focus: The Salvation Journey is not a solo trip…We are called to invite the world along.

September 20th

Message: In ALL things – Christ!!

Scripture: John 9:3-5, Psalm 23

Focus: Following Christ is for All facets of our lives – good and not so good.

September 27th

Message: Let’s transform the Body!!

Scripture: Mark 9:38-41

Focus: Let’s work to put aside those things that separate us and work together. We are all headed for the same

place…just traveling different roads.

Activities/Upcoming Events:

Men’s breakfast for the month of September will be held on Saturday the 12th at 8:00 am.

2015 LAUMC UMM Fishing Club Schedule:

o October 3rd Green Lake

Sunday September 20th 11:30 am Chicken BBQ Potluck in Fellowship Hall. Men will provide the meat, please bring a dish to pass.

Saturday October 3rd 5:00 – 8:00 pm Chicken BBQ in Burnett Park across the street from the church.

If you are interested in participating or have any questions please contact Michael Carr at 231-463-6502 or through email: mtownsendcarr@charter.net

Save the Dates!!

September 23rd, the ladies will be working on Bazaar Projects in the Fellowship Hall. We are in need of the following for our projects: pint & half-pint jars for our apple butter, nearly new items & craft items. If you can help out with these items please contact Julia Deemer at 275-7954 or Deb Schermerhorn at 409-0749.

This year’s Craft Show/Bazaar will be held on October 24th

November 18th: We will meet for lunch and a World Thank Offering.

Christmas luncheon is scheduled for December 16th.

M&M Quilting Group

M& M quilters of Lake Ann United Methodist church started in July 2012 with a few folks from our church, making

prayer quilts for our parishioners to provide comfort during the healing from an illness or injury.

We added "prayer critters" to give to the family members during healing process. The card attached to the bear talks

about how you can give God the broken little pieces of your life, and He will make a beautiful creation, similar to how

the little scraps of material in the bear quilt make something quite pretty.

As more people joined, we needed a name for our group, and we were drawn to the story from Luke, about Jesus' visit

to Martha and Mary's home. Martha was trying to get all the preparations done, and was angry with Mary that she

wasn't helping. Instead, Mary chose to sit and listen to Jesus. We all have a little bit of Martha and a little bit of Mary in

us, both working hard, and enjoying the fellowship and community of others. So, the M&M group was born! Plus, we

always have chocolate here....

We moved to the basement of the church two years ago, and that central location brought more people to our group.

During the summer months, we have between 15 and 20 people every Wednesday, from 9 am to 4 pm. About half of

our quilters do not attend church here, but all have a gracious heart to provide comfort to those in need.

God has blessed this ministry in both talent and materials. Some people having been quilting for years, others have

never quilted. We have some folks who said that they don't make very nice quilts, and they have produced such

beautiful work. Others don't sew on a machine, but spend 6 hours hand stitching the bindings on the quilts, or drawing

our quilt labels for each quilt. Every time we have had a need for talent, God provides it. Our quilting community

provides such a welcome home for us - we call it our mid-week therapy session.

Our material is donated by many sources, but the vast majority is from a company in Columbus, Ohio, who gives us all

the fabric remnants and outdated collections from their mail order warehouse. Once again, every time we have needed

a specific material, it "coincidentally" shows up when we are there for a pickup. Our first few trips produced a lot of

different colors of smaller strips of fabric. Then, as people joined our group and said that they have difficulty putting

colors together, the next trip to Columbus gifted us with fabric already rolled into collections that were color

coordinated. Our biggest need for fabric is backing fabric, because we try to have that all one color. When we went

down last year, there were rolls and rolls and rolls of material that they had just discontinued that morning. I nearly

cried, as I was loading our truck with it. God truly provides!

Even with all the donations of fabric, we still have need for thread, batting, and fiberfill to make our quilts and pillows, as

well as small stuffed animals (beanie babies are perfect size) to make prayer critters. Monetary donations are always

welcome; as we have local businesses who will sell us those items are their cost.

To give an idea of the scope of products produced, we have the following:

About 150 prayer quilts, given to church members and others.

Hundreds of prayer critters, wrapped in tiny quilts, sent around the country

Over a dozen full size mission quilts, given out by our mission team on location

Over 40 baby quilts, along with bibs, hats and booties given to Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center in

Manistee.

15 twin size quilts given to Patriot Place, a shelter for veterans in Gaylord.

20 twin size quilts given to the Women's Resource Center shelter in Traverse City

12 Quilts of Valor, sent to Germany's Landstuhl AFB for wounded soldiers

6 quilts given to Almira Township Fire Department, to comfort those dealing with unexpected disasters.

75 placemats for the Grand Traverse and Benzie County Meals on Wheels program

15 walker bags for the residents at the Maples Nursing Home in Benzie County

Over 50 doll quilts for the Toys for Tots campaign, to be given with every new doll.

Abdominal pillows, given monthly to Munson hospital, for surgical patients. 24 a month, currently at 336 total...

Ten child size quilts, with teddy bears enclosed, to Benzie County DHS, to be given to children taken from

abusive homes.

Quilters meet every Wednesday from 9am-4pm…come and join the ladies for a day of fellowship and quilting.

All skill levels welcome!

Missions outreach - Lane 5 for the months of September & October will be Native/Ethnic Churches:

Greensky Hill/Northport Indian Mission . Please denote giving envelopes “Lane 5” along with donation amount.

Mission Lane of Giving for 2015:

• June, Lane 3: International, Hearth to Hearth Ministries

• July and August, Lane 4: UMCOR/Hunger, CROP Walk and One Great Hour of Sharing

• September and October, Lane 5: Native/Ethnic Churches, Greensky Hill/Northport Indian Mission

• November and December, Lane 6: Local, Summer Games/Wesley

Backpack Mission

Due to your generosity we were able to donate 27 backpacks with supplies to the Lake Ann Elementary

School, that’s 2 more than last year!! Principal Deb Norman thanks you from the bottom of her heart!

Adult Mission Trip September 2015

“Blessed To Be a Blessing”

This year our group will be going to Lake Michigan Camp in Pentwater. We will be there the week of

September 27th. Lake Michigan Camp is a Methodist camp in need of some repairs. Below is a list of projects:

1- Walls up in northern pavilion which will include framing.

2- Upgrade five exhaust fans in south bath house

3- Organize and clean around tool shed

4- Significant repairs in middle bath house which includes reconfigure entrance and replace sill

plate and supports

5- Replace Health Officer roof

6- Cut dead trees and split wood (we have a nice splitter)

7- Build Dean's storage area

8- Small engine, golf carts

9- There are cleaning projects and other jobs available.

As you can see, there is a job for every skill level. Please consider joining us. We will be staying at

the camp so the only cost will be for food which I’m guessing to be around $50.00 per person. Any

questions please contact Dave Renfer at 231 409-1589.

Wesley House – 2nd Annual Golf With a Mission

Saturday, September 19th

11:30 am Registration

5:30 pm Dinner & Prizes

$75.00 per golfer

Event proceeds support the mission and ministry of the Wesley House, a United Methodist

Campus Ministry located at Ferris State. Our mission at the Wesley House is to provide safe

space for students to encounter the love of Christ through worship, fellowship, service and fun.

It is our goal to be an open and welcoming place for all students, faculty and community

members. You may register online at www.fsuwesley.org or call Pastor Devon at 231 649-2302.

35th Annual Traverse City Area Crop Walk: www.crophungerwalk.org/traversecitymi<http://crophungerwalk.org/traversecitymi>

Check it out. Any questions call Shelly VanderMeulen at 231 640-0911.

CHILDREN’S EDUCATION PROGRAM EXPANDS!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13: As we all move to the village church, we are delighted that because of our

steady rise in enrollment, our 22 children will be divided into two groups, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. We

are pleased to announce that Sue Agge will continue to lead our K-2 children in the same room downstairs

as well as coordinate the children’s curriculum, and, that Kris Gray and Jennifer Thomet stepped

forward to share the leadership of our older group. Kris and Jennifer will meet with children grades 3-5

in the downstairs room next to the church office. All of the elementary age children will leave the

worship service each week after the Children’s Sermon for their weekly Sunday School lesson.

WE NEED YOU

Parents of K-5 children are being asked to volunteer as Sunday School helpers two or three times during

the school year. We are required to have two people in each room at all times. Every family will receive a

letter with a tear-off form to sign up for particular week(s). Forms may be placed in the offering plate.

Other members of the congregation will be given an opportunity to volunteer as well on a bulletin insert

later this month.

DEDICATION SUNDAY (September 13) All nursery, Sunday School and youth volunteers, please plan

to participate in Pastor Mike’s prayerful dedication of your work in the coming year.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 ‘SAFE SANCTUARIES’ TRAINING

Pastor Mike will conduct a child sexual abuse prevention training at 6:30 pm after our Wednesday night

supper. This training is required by our church’s Child Protection Policy for all people working with

children or youth in any of our church related programs. Plan to come for an hour to learn about this

important subject. Its aim is to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in the church.

SEPTEMBER 27: THE BLESSING OF ALL OF OUR CHILDREN & YOUTH

Parents will receive a Bless Our Children card for each child during the week of September 14th. The

card asks parents to write a personal prayer request for each child for the coming year. Then, during

the worship service, parents will bring their child(ren) to the altar with their prayer cards. There will

be people to individually and quietly pray your prayer for your child(ren).

THERE WILL BE SPECIAL REFRESHMENTS IN THE FELLOWSHIP HALL FOLLOWING THE

WORKSHIP SERVICE.

5 TO ONE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER NEWS

The BACK TO SCHOOL SATURDAY event was held at our Community Center, August 29th. Next month

we will share photos and a story.

SEPT. PLAYDATES FOR ALL LAKE ANN AREA PRESCHOOLERS & PARENTS ARE:

Friday, September 11th 10-11:30am at Community Center

Friday, September 25th 10-11:30am at Community Center

PLAY EQUIPMENT AT COMMUNITY CENTER

Our play equipment at the Community Center has been taken down because it was unsafe for children.

We are hoping to replace it. We are open to suggestions! Donations are accepted.

Talk to Pastor Mike or Barb Keelan.

Summer Games, biking, playing on the beach, Michigan Adventure, the Unity Christian Music Festival,

studying God’s Word and sharing His Love. What a great summer! If you’d like to join us we meet on most

Sunday’s at 4:00 pm.

Unity Christian Music Festival

Nursery and Sunday School Schedule for September:

Sept. 13th: Mae C. & Gina S. (Nursery) Sue A. & Millie B. (K-2nd) Kris G. & Jennifer T. (3rd – 5th)

Sept. 20th: Jeannie S. & Amanda N. (Nursery) Sue A. & Pauline R. (K-2nd) Kris G. & Jennifer T. (3rd – 5th)

Sept. 27th: Marla P. & Jeff or Shelly S. (Nursery) Sue A. & Barb K. (K-2nd) Kris G. & Jennifer T. (3rd – 5th)

Happy Birthday

(3rd) Karen Gluck; (9th) Nathan Buchanan, Molly Anderson-Clark; (11th) Amber McGee, Karen Rushlau;

(14th) Tyler Clark Sr.; (16th) Jan Herringa; (19th) Barb Cape; (23rd) Levi Wetmore, Emma VanderMeulen;

(28th) Phena Squires

Happy Anniversary

(1st) Ryan & Amy Grant, Jim & Vonnie Schwind; (6th) Mark Perry & Ann Beaujean;

(16th) Mike & Jeanne Skarupinski; (26th) Chris & Kathy Lawrence

Church Office Hours:

Monday through Thursday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

Food Pantry Hours:

Monday through Thursday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Your generous support is always greatly appreciated!!

Wednesday Night Dinners: Fellowship Hall - Beginning Sept 16th 5:30 – 6 pm

Suggested donation: $3.00 per person $10.00 per family of four or more.

Sept. 16th: Chicken

Sept. 23rd: BBQ Pork

Sept. 30th: Mac & Cheese

~ September 2015 ~ October ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 5:30-6:30pm Girl Scouts – Fellowship Hall 6:30pm SPRC – Empire UMC 7-9pm Cub Scouts @CC

11 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park 10-11:30 am CC Comm. Play Group

12 8am Men’s Bkfst – Fellowship Hall

13 * Village Church* 10:20 Music 10:30 Worship (Teacher/Leader Dedication) 11:30 Baptismal Ser. 2pm Youth @ Park

14 10am Bible Study @ Parsonage 5pm Al Anon @ CC 7-9pm Boy Scouts

15 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park 7pm Adm. Co.

16

9am – 4pm Quilting

9:30 Worship Design 5:30-6pm Chicken Dinner 6:30-7:30 Safe Sanctuaries

17 7-9pm Cub Scouts @CC

18 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park

19 9am-4pm Lay Servant Training

20 10:20 Music 10:30 Worship 11:30 UMM – BBQ Chicken Potluck 4pm Youth

21 10am Bible Study @ Parsonage 5pm Al Anon @ CC 7-9pm Boy Scouts

22 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park

23 9am – 4pm Quilting 10am-12pm UMW - Fellowship Hall

5:30-6pm BBQ Pork 6:30 Covenant

24 7-9pm Cub Scouts @CC

25 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park 10-11:30 am CC Comm. Play Group

26 11 am Annual Church Conference – Church in the Village

27 10:20 Music 10:30 Worship (Blessing of the Children) 11:30 Breakfast by Julia for Missions 4pm Youth

28 10am Bible Study @ Parsonage 5pm Al Anon @ CC 7-9pm Boy Scouts

29 8:45 Walkers @ Almira Twp. Park

30 9am – 4pm Quilting

5:30-6pm Mac/Chez 6:30 Covenant

Notes: Sat., Sept. 12th 12 – 4 pm Community Pig Roast & Music Fest at Grant UMC. Sun., Sept. 27th 1-4 pm Almira Historical Society FREE “Family Fun and Music” at the Museum

Please note: Beginning Sunday the 13th we will gather for worship at the Church in the Village (same time).