Friday Fives

1. Sermon Series - We are in the midst of our preaching series entitled, Jargon Unchained. If you have spent any time in a church, specifically a United Methodist Church you know we have jargon. We have those words that mean a great deal to us, its members, but to visitors and people new to the faith these words may not hold much meaning. So over the next several weeks we are going to take some of our more important pieces of jargon and we are going to explore them and unpack them, as we seek to better understand what they can mean in our lives. If you would like to peak ahead, you can click here for the sermon schedule. Invite a friend and I hope to see you all there!






2. Homeless Children Collection Drive - Our S.O.S. group is spearheading a collection drive to help meet the needs of the over 2,700 homeless children in Marion County. Our bulletin this week has an insert with a great press release detailing more information about this program as well as a listing of the items that are being requested. Please prayerfully consider what you might be able to give and be generous in sharing this information with as many people as you can. Together we can make a difference for the children of Marion County.

If you wish to drop off an item you can bring it to the office, Monday  through Friday from 9 A.M. - Noon or you can come and bring it on the drop off day: Sunday, July 20th from 12 P.M. - 2 P.M.






3. Quarter Buckets - We have been very successful over the years in meeting our pledge for the United Methodist Children's Home thanks to the generosity of our Quarter Buckets. Consistently we have exceeded the goal set out for us. However, we are beginning to see a challenge in meeting our goal to provide scholarships for our young people to go to summer camp in Leesburg. While we have met the obligation for those that have already expressed interest this year, as of now we do not have enough funds for next year. Therefore, the leadership has moved that we use part of the money raised in our quarter buckets to go to our camp fund. Beginning this month, the monies raised in the buckets on the first, third, and fifth Sundays will go to the Children's Home and the monies raised on the second and fourth Sundays will go to the camp fund. Also, as it has always been, the money collected during the fellowship lunch each week will continue to be used in the camp fund. Thank you in advance for your continued support of our children's ministry programs.







4. Office Closed - Just a friendly reminder that the office will be closed, Friday, July 4th in observance of our Independence Day. I hope you all have a wonderful, celebratory, and safe holiday!






5. Advent Challenge - This June I issued another Advent Challenge for 2014. Last year's was so incredibly successful and so many lives were touched by this act of generosity, the leadership of the church wanted to do it again this year. Once again our goal between now and Christmas Eve is to raise $5,000 to be split between a local and global charity. Of our goal, $2,900 will go to our global charity, Stop Hunger Now, as we strive to host another meal packaging event to help those children around the world that are suffering from malnourishment. The other $2,100 will go to our local mission, a Church Has Left the Building event, scheduled for early 2015. Please prayerfully consider how you might give, above and beyond your normal giving, to support this challenge so we may reach out and share the love of Christ with other people. If you want more information about this challenge, including updates for how much you have raised, please click here.

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Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!