June 17, 2020 Volume 29, No. 24

200 East Marion Street, Shelby, NC 28150-4610 Phone: (704) 487-6336; Fax: (704) 487-4351 Kid’s Place Preschool: (704) 487-6357 Counseling Services: (704) 375-5354, ext. 409 Email: central@cumcshelby.org; Website: www.cumcshelby.org

CENTRAL UMC SHELBY IS A SAFE SANCTUARIES

Our MISSION: To make disciples of Christ who WORSHIP God, GROW in their faith, and SERVE in the church and world.

Mark L. Barden, Senior Pastor Fawn Mikel, Director of Discipleship &

Outreach Danny Buckner, Director of Music Ministries

Savanna Craig, Director of Youth and Children’s Discipleship

Libby Alexander, Organist Gina Blanton, Director of Communications

Dianne Whisnant, Financial Secretary Ed Winder, Facility Manager

Shelley Rempson, Kid’s Place Preschool Director Stacey Watkins Griffith, Pastoral Counselor

Dear Church Family, All of us are anxiously awaiting the time when we can be reunited in our beautiful sanctuary. At this writing, we are hopeful it will occur in August. To that end, a Reopening Task Force consisting of the church staff and representatives from various committees has been formed. Our job is to monitor the current pandemic and to study the recommendations which have been set forth from the Western North Carolina Conference. From our initial meetings we have begun to formulate a plan to reopen the sanctuary for Sunday worship services. This plan will follow best practices from the CDC as well as suggested Conference guidelines. Our goal is to offer the best possible worship opportunity in a safe environment. Physical distancing, specific seating areas, hand sanitizing, masks, and controlled entrancing and exiting will be our new normal. Please continue to monitor the newsletter for updates, instructions and opportunities to be a part of this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to a staff member or to me at bevputnam@yahoo.com. Things may look different but it will still be our house of worship. We will once again be present with old friends and rejoice in the knowledge that God is with as a church body AND as individuals who eagerly await our reopening. Sincerely, Beverly Putnam Worship Committee Chair

Virtual VBS July 13-17 Because Central is unable to be open until the first week of August, we will be doing VBS in a new way! Get ready for COMPASSION CAMP! We will provide you and your family with everything you need for a simple, successful, and meaningful VBS week. We will provide you with supplies, ideas, and stories in a user friendly format to engage in Vacation Bible School virtually alongside myself and a few other leaders. This will be appropriate for preschool age through rising 6th graders. Because we are making kits for everyone. It is important that we have an accurate number of participants. So, just like regular VBS, register at this link by June 30. If July 13-17 doesn't work for your family, our curriculum can be done at any time, so please consider signing up for a kit anyway! If you know of a family that would want to participate, please share the registration link with them! https://forms.gle/oPv4hpbathr9SwF69

Central UMC worshippers are in for a real treat this summer as the Central Summer Stock Players help share the scriptures for worship. Partnering with the children’s message volunteers and the clergy, a Bible story from the Old Testament will be presented each week as the Proclamation portion of the worship service. It is different and hopefully will be a meaningful experience especially for our children and young at heart. These are the stories for the 2020 Summer Season: June 28 – Adam and Eve - “Eve: The Fall Gal” July 5 – Joshua – “And the Walls Came a Tumblin’ Down” July 12 – Samson & Delilah – “There’s A New Barber in Town” July 19 – Daniel & the Lion’s Den – “Lions and Tigers and Bears? Oh My!” July 26 – Jonah – “One Whale of a Tale”

PRESCRIPTION/OVER-THE-COUNTER BOTTLES Thanks to all for bringing in your prescription bottles! You have been awesome! So keep up the great work and continue bring in your empty prescription, vitamin, over-the-counter medicine bottles to the church office during office hours for use in 3rd world countries. (Please remove any labels with your name.)

Birthdays

June 21 Tyler Triplett June 23 Mitchell Maxwell June 23 Bill Marsh June 23 Ellen Benfield June 23 Laura Miller June 23 James Mabry June 24 Becky Smith June 24 Jack Williams

June 24 Brian Benfield June 25 Linda Bridges June 25 Laura Smith June 25 Erica Dority June 26 Manning Burton June 27 Charles Wray June 27 Cindy Cox

It has been a privilege these past few weeks to participate, watch and listen to the peaceful protests in our sweet city of Shelby. Blacks, whites, browns, young, old, men and women, Republicans and Democrats, lifetime residents, and new community members have united in the center of uptown many times to support our black community and stand for justice for the mistreatment of all who suffer from years of racism. We confess we are privileged white adults. We have never been told to sit somewhere else or use a different door. We have never had anyone be afraid of us because of our skin color. We have never been denied a job, or housing, or credit due to our race. We are listening and understanding, possibly for the first time, how we have lived lives of privilege simply because we were born with light colored, “white” skin. And we have discovered that we have much to learn… Recently, we have been listening more than ever before. We want to hear the black community – their joys, their sorrows, their fears, the racism they have faced day in and day out. We cannot “fix” the system, because we do not have the answers. Our African-American, black brothers and sisters are the only ones that can express the mistreatment and injustices they have experienced for generations… and they can guide us on the path to equality and real community. We recently asked one of the organizers what we could do. We have been looking for something concrete that would make a difference and enable the black community to know WE HEAR YOU! Passing out cold water to those marching has seemed so simple and ineffective for real change. And we were given a simple task – a beginning – to sign a petition renaming Dixon Blvd. What’s the big deal about the name of a street? Being fairly new in the community we needed to listen. This is what we discovered in just the 1st paragraph of research found via Wikipedia.com: “ Thomas Frederick Dixon Jr. (January 11, 1864 – April 3, 1946) was an American white supremacist, successively a politician, lawyer, Baptist minister, lecturer, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Referred to as a "professional rac-ist", Dixon wrote two best-selling novels, The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden – 1865–1900 (1902) and The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan (1905), that romanticized Southern white supremacy, endorsed the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, opposed equal rights for blacks, and glorified the Ku Klux Klan as heroic vigilantes. Film director D. W. Griffith adapted The Clansman for the screen in The Birth of a Nation (1915), which inspired the creators of the 20th-century rebirth of the Klan.” We can only imagine the pain our black community feels in the glorification of Dixon by naming the most major thoroughfare in Shelby after this white supremacist. Upon reading the biography we realized that we CAN make a difference, one small step at a time, as we listen to the injustices suffered simply because of the color of skin and react by making changes. We invite you to listen as well. Listen to the stories of dark-skinned men and women with an open heart and mind. Don’t speak, don’t justify, just listen. And if you feel moved, we invite you to join us in signing the petition to rename Dixon Blvd. You may do so at https://www.change.org/RenameDixon Rather than renaming it after a person, perhaps it can reflect our desire for the future, possibly including values such as peace, unity or justice. Together, we are a diverse community and family. Our hope and prayer is that we may discover the beauty of our differences so that together me may truly be the Kingdom of God on earth. Mark & Fawn

Bible Studies The church building may be closed as we practice social distancing BUT that doesn’t mean we need to

separate ourselves from Bible Study. We are offering on-line, interactive Bible study. Connect through the given links below and together we will continue to grow as a follower of Christ by studying the Scriptures! And don’t hesitate to invite a friend! (should you have any trouble connecting, please call or text Pastor Fawn at 954-547-2593)

Word and Wine – Mondays, 6:30 pm https://us04web.zoom.us/j/965512888 An in-depth study of the Gospel of Mark. June 22nd: Mark 15:42-16:19. EXODUS – Tuesdays, 10 am Join us for an in-depth study of the book of Exodus. June 23rd: Exodus, Chap-ters 20:22-23:19 https://us04web.zoom.us/j/268403044?pwd=NUMvaXFtRFpsWGRqQ24rMnpSVHZ4UT09 NEW!!!!! CULTURE IN CONFLICT – Wednesdays, 7-8:30 pm, beginning July 1st Our world is struggling more than many of us have ever experienced – racism, pandemic, division, uncertainty has become the new normal. Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon. Join us for 5 weeks as we consider how to live in a culture where the worldview often conflicts with Christianity. Ray Vander Laan will lead us via a video series through Israel, Greece and Corinth, helping us to discover how we may live in our own conflicting world in a way that glorifies God.

2020 Stewardship 2020 Monthly Budget Needs......................$63,576.49 Total Receipts in May..............................$50,644.36* May Expenses..........................................$44,380.34 Over/—Under Budget for the month............$6,264.02 Over/—Under Budget for the year............-$22,924.15

*10,000.00 was from the Small Business

Administration Loan Program

OPEN TABLE NEWS! OPEN TABLE provides a hot meal every Saturday. We continue to share food donations, produce and meals in a “drive-thru” fashion outside. And we need your HELP! We are

discovering that canned vegetables can be difficult to find at the Food Bank and it takes approximately 4 gallons of veggies to feed 150 meals each week. Please donate as you are able! And… Extra muscles, hands and hearts are always needed. Please arrive to help by 10 am.

Memorials and Honorariums Operating: In Memory of Ruth Wilson by Bubba & Brownie Plaster Open Table: In Memory of Charlie Fowler by Sarah Beam In Memory of Ruth Wilson by Sarah Beam In Memory of Phylis Baxter by Sarah Beam

Let's Go College Dorm Shopping! Thanks to the generosity of our Legacy Grant our Outreach Team will continue to let the legacy of our members live on as we take college bound high school graduates shopping for dorm supplies. These students primarily are first-generation college students from Shelby High School, who have applied for this gift. If you would like to take a student shopping, we will pair you up with one, with funds and instructions for shopping with these students. We also ask that you commit to communicating with the student throughout their first year of college, offering words, cards, etc of encouragement for them. If you would like to participate, please contact Lori Wilson (lorileewilson1@gmail.com or 704.472.1086). We welcome everyone to join us in this gift of grace and love to these families.

TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER We are so missing each other! Join a little 3-D interaction as we deliver meals to our community and church family, friends and neighbors. This week’s menu features Terry’s famous baked chicken, corn, green beans, of course, dessert. If you would like a meal, know someone who would like a meal or would be interested in delivering meals between 11am and 12 noon, please contact Pastor Fawn via email [ fawn@cumcshelby.org ] or cell phone [954-547-2593].

Virtual Stations of the Cross Monday, June 29th, 6:30 pm

Word and Wine is concluding the study of the Gospel of Mark with a virtual tour and study of the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Plan to join millions of pilgrims who have experienced this historical and moving remembrance of Christ’s trial and death over centuries… and its calling for us today to pick up our own cross and follow Him. To participate, join the Zoom meeting through the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/965512888

COMPASSION LEADS TO ACTION Sermon on June 14, 2020

When Jesus began his ministry, he quickly found out that there was no way he could do his job by himself. As he discovered the tremendous needs of the people in all the areas he visited, Jesus knew he needed help. So, he chose 12 men who became his disciples.This is Matthew’s account of how it happened found in chapter 9:35 through chapter 10:8.

Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announc-ing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness. Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter; and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee; and John his brother; Philip; and Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddae-us; Simon the Cananaean; and Judas, who betrayed Jesus.Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. There-fore, give without demanding payment.

Though Jesus was preaching, teaching and healing, he saw that there were great needs among the

people. Matthew described them as troubled and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. I’ve learned without a shepherd, sheep wander aimlessly, getting lost, while not paying attention to the dangers all around them. Sheep have a strong flocking instinct. The become frightened when separated from the herd and end up running. However, sheep easily follow the leader. If a shepherd can get one or two sheep moving in the right direction, the rest will follow.

When Jesus observed the people to whom he was ministering, they reminded him of lost sheep. They were living aimlessly without the benefit of a good leader. As Matthew described them: they were troubled and helpless. And he had compassion on them. Now, this compassion was not simply sentimental caring. It was a caring that gnawed at Jesus inner being so much so that it was bothersome and knew he needed to do something about it.

The literal translation of the Greek word for compassion is quite vivid. It literally means the stirring of one's bowels. That doesn’t sound very pleasant… sounds more like a bad case of… well, let’s just say a bothersome intestinal disturbance. To understand this word, Greek scholars tell us that the bowels were considered the source of emotions. Thus, Jesus’ emotions, his inner being, was stirred to the point that it really bothered him so much that he had to find a way to care for them.

It is at this point that Jesus chose the 12 faithful men that would become his disciples. He told his chosen ones that the work was so daunting, it was like a tremendously large field ready to harvest, but there were few workers to get the job done. So, he chose them to go out into the field, into the Hebrew world as his helpers to do the harvesting. Jesus equipped them with the tools they needed. He gave them the power to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons.”

I find it interesting that Jesus sent them to a specific group of people… the people of Israel… the Hebrew people. He told them not to go to the Samaritans or the Gentiles. That seems odd for the Son of God who was sent into the world to redeem all people. But Matthew… like Paul after him… saw the work in two stages – reaching out to the Jews first then to the Gentiles after the Good News was rejected by the Jews.

Now, it begins to make sense. Start in the middle and move outward. They proclaimed the Good News that the kingdom of God is near… a message of expectation and hope.

As we study the ministry of Jesus it is evident that vast numbers of God’s chosen people, especially those established in the hierarchy of their religion, rejected the message taught. So, it was a natural to move beyond them to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people.

(continued on page 5)

But the central message for me in this passage is that Jesus’ compassion led to action. Real compassion… bowel stirring compassion… leads to action. Anything less is a powerless emotion.

PICTURE THIS… the rain began to fall as the delegates of United Methodist General Conference began to flow out of the convention center after a long grueling day of debates, passionate speeches and voting. As the delegates spill out of the exits an African American woman in torn and tattered clothing with an old hat to shield her from the rain sits silently at the base of a light pole with her head bowed. In her hands is a cardboard sign that has scrawled upon it these words: Pray for me. Literally thousands of people passed by her and not one person stopped to pray with her or see if there was any way they could help her.

That woman was Dawn Hand who at that time was director of communications for the Western NC Conference. She did that as a test to see if United Methodists were serious about putting action into the words of compassion they were incorporating into legislation at the conference. Not one person… not even her own bishop… who passed by and did not acknowledge her presence. Part of her job was to assist the staff of the United Methodist News Service. And the next day not only a picture of her as she sat in the rain with the sign, but a full story of her experience was published.

Compassion without action is useless. Thousands of people and not one person acted. What a sober wake-up call for our United Methodist leadership. What a wake-up call for us as well.

God creates within us a compassion for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized. And yes… we act on it as faithful disciples. But how many times do we fail to act.

Yesterday, as some of our members were handing out cold water to the marchers on the courthouse square, we spoke to a variety of people. One thing, we wondered was… is anything going to come of this? Or is it just another movement that will soon die out?

We say we have compassion for victims of racism… and all the other -isms that devalue humanity. But how often does that compassion propel us into action… to change… to transform? How faithful are we in going out beyond our own circle to listen, to dialogue and to join in solidarity for a better world that truly reflects the kingdom of God?

These things are weighing on my mind. I don’t have all the answers. But I’m listening… listening to the cries of the oppressed. Listening to the voice of God. And I pray you do the same.

I don’t know where it will lead us, but if we are faithful and use our compassion as a catalyst for action… our world can be transformed. May it be so in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Opportunities For You To Participate In CUMC Worship From Your Home We invite you to join us for worship on our

Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/cumcshelby. You do not have to have a FB account to access the video. On Mondays the service will be posted on our

website at http://cumcshelby.org/latest-sermons/ Below are a couple of projects we are working on for worship with which you can help us: Continuing: God Moments Thanks to those who have shared “God Moments.” We would like to continue highlighting these in Sunday worship. If you have seen God at work during these difficult weeks, make a video telling us about it or write it down and send a picture to Pastor Mark at marklbarden@gmail.com at any time. Continuing: Families Watching Worship Live Thanks to those who have sent in pictures of your families watching Sunday Live Worship. Please continue to send these in. We want to be able to share them as the announcement slides are presented at the beginning of our worship broadcast. This gives us an opportunity to see our worshipping community! Please send your pictures to Pastor Mark at marklbarden@gmail.com.

June 17th: Welcome back, friends, to our Wednesday June 17th edition of “Take a Breather”.

I’m Danny Buckner and it’s my privilege to serve as music director for Central Methodist church in Shelby, NC.

I’d like to begin with some scripture from the 7th chapter of Matthew over in the new testament of the bible, verses 13 and 14…

[ The Narrow and Wide Gates ] “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I gotta be honest, when all this Covid-19 business started I figured we were in for a few weeks and then it’d be back to “normal”. As we all know, we’ve been in this a lot longer than that…time enough to have come up with a “new normal”.

At first, I struggled against and fought with this new normal and then finally made my peace with it. It’s that moment of acceptance when I’m able to see things that perhaps I’ve missed before or see things more clearly or see things all-together differently. And, perhaps, that’s a good thing for, often, it’s only when we’re forced out of the little boxes and constructs into which pour our little lives do we discover that the world is a much larger space.

We’ve had to reframe how we’re doing ministry here at Central Methodist and we’re asking questions like… “How can we do this differently?” “Is this really as important as we once thought it was?” “If not, are we bold enough and wise enough to change it?”

At this point, I don’t have complete answers to all those questions, but the quest continues to be an interesting journey!

One of the things I’ve picked up along the way is a book titled, Tattoos on the Heart—The Power of Boundless Compassion. It’s written by a Jesuit priest named Gregory Boyle. Mr. Boyle is the founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, which is a gang intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The book is a collec-tion of essays offering us a glimpse at how full our lives could be if we could find joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. Homeboy Industries is an amazing organization and I encourage you to check them out… https://homeboyindustries.org

I’d like to share a few words from one of Mr. Boyle’s essays titled, God, I Guess. In the essay, he references the verses from Matthew I mentioned earlier regarding the wide and narrow gates.

Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, says, “How narrow is the gate that leads to life.” Mistakenly, I think, we’ve come to believe that this is about restriction. The way is narrow. But it really wants us to see that narrowness is the way.

St. Hedwig writes. “All is narrow for me, I feel so vast.” It’s about funneling ourselves into a central place. Our choice is not to focus on the narrow, but to narrow our focus. The gate that leads to life is not about restriction at all. It is about an entry into the expansive. There is a vastness in knowing you’re a son/daughter worth having. We see our plentitude in God’s own expansive view of us, and we marinate in this. (pp.31-32)

To be honest…I’m still marinating in that one…the idea that the gate that leads to life isn’t about restriction, it’s about an entry into the expansiveness of God. I am a son worth having. You are a son or daughter worth having. We all belong in universal kinship and redemption through Jesus Christ!

What would my life look like if I chose to live that way every day? What would your life look like? What would our churches look like? How would it change our world?

Would you join me in prayer? Today, I’ll offer the Prayer of St. Francis…

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred, let me sow love Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith

(continued on page 7)

Take a Breathers from Monday, June 17th As we are being bombarded with news and anxiety may be building, Central UMC invites you to Take a Breather with us Monday-Saturday at noon on Facebook Live. One of our ministry staff will lead us in a short devotional and prayer, uniting us as we keep our eyes and hearts on God’s promises. You do not have to have a FB account to see the videos. You will

also find a week’s worth of videos on our website at http://cumcshelby.org/grow/ . Below you will find the transcripts for the previous weeks’ videos. We hope you join us as we remember: Together, we ARE the Body of Christ!

(continued from page 6)

Where there is despair, hope Where there is darkness, light And where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant that I may Not so much seek to be consoled as to console To be understood, as to understand To be loved, as to love For it is in giving that we receive And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned And it’s in dying that we are born to Eternal Life Amen Danny Buckner June 18th:

Hi. I’m Mark Barden, pastor of Central UMC in Shelby, NC and this is Take a Breather… a time to take a few moments out of your busy day for a devotional time together. Today, I’m going to focus the meditation on something related to our title, Take a Breather. And that is “breath.” Each and every breath is a vital component of life itself. We have witnessed in news reports and other media that COVID-19 impairs breathing to the point of death.

Some of you may have asthma, COPD or some other condition that impairs your breathing. I even have a condition that keeps the left side of my diaphragm from functioning which leave me with only one effective lung. All my life, I get out-of-breath before one normally would. When singing, I can’t hold the note as long as an average person can. And in other normal functions of life, I find I have to breathe a little faster to have enough oxygen. Sometimes, when I am hiking and everyone else can keep going, I have to stop and catch my breath due to my condition. It always makes me aware of the importance of the breath and how precious each one is.

Breath is a word that is used meaningfully in the Bible to describe the God’s essence that give us life. At the beginning of the Bible, we learn that it was God’s breath blown into the nostrils of Adam that gave him life. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is described as wind or a mighty breath giving new life to all who received it.

Just as important as breathing is for us physically… so is the spiritual concept of breathing in the breath of God. Many times during the prayer exercises we experience on Sunday evening, the encounter with God begins with a centering process that focuses on breathing. By breathing slowly and deeply, we are able to embrace a calmness that helps us to connect with our own being and a sense of the divine. With every breath in, we breathe in the goodness and presence of God. With every breath out, we let go of the cares of this world. By concentrating on breathing for a minute or two we prepare ourselves for one of several meditative practices that reveals God to us in powerful ways.

I’ve found that even in the busyness of the day… when things get chaotic… out of control… almost unbearable to the point I want to scream… I find if I take a few moments and center myself by concentrating on my breathing, I can once again connect with God on a deeper level giving me a presence that can get me through the crisis.

I invite you to experiment with concentrating on your breathing and experience the presence of God in a unique way. And if you want to know more about various approaches to prayer, I invite you to join me on Sunday evenings at 7 for A Time of Praying Together. It is a Zoom gathering. You can find the link on our website or in our newsletter. After this Take a Breather, I’ll also post it on this Facebook page.

Now let’s prepare for prayer. I invite you to close your eyes… and take a deep breath in… hold it to the count of 5 visualizing taking in the golden light of God. Now slowly exhale visualizing letting go of the busy things of life. Let’s do this a couple of times.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace; Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, the truth; Where there is doubt, the faith; Where there is despair, hope; (continued on page 8)

200 East Marion St Shelby, NC 28150

(continued from page 7)

Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that we may not so much seek To be consoled, as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be

thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen.

SUMMER BACKPACK MINISTRY As school ends, financial stress is added to families to provide more food for their children. Feeding Kids Cleveland County provides boxes of shelf food to families 3 times during the summer. Delivery dates are this Saturday, June 6th, as well as July 28th. CUMC partners with Feeding Kids to provide perishable food the remaining weeks beginning Saturday, June 13th to students and their families. With the limitations of some foods during the pandemic it will be difficult to obtain some items such as meat. YOUR HELP IS NEED-ED! For the next few weeks we will be collecting meat – bacon, pan sausage, hamburger meat, chicken, and hot dogs to give to our families. Please bring your donations to the church office or contact Pastor Fawn to have your donations picked up. DELIVERY TEAMS are also needed. This year deliveries will be made on Saturdays so that a hot lunch may be included. What a great opportunity we have to BE the church in our community!

Backpack Food Drive For the next 3 months we will be collecting Ready to Eat Meals—Pop top Mac-n-cheese, Soup, or Pastas .

You may drop them off at the office M-Th 9-4 and Fri 9-1. These will be added to weekly bags of food sent home from school with food insecure students for weekend meals. Thank you so much for all of your donations this year, you have provided a variety for the kids and helped our budget!