 |
Growing Deep Roots to Share God's Love
|
|
In this edition, you won't want to miss these stories:
|
|
What do you do when you're between a rock and a hard place? Every day, each of us is challenged with ethical dilemmas without 100% clear answers. In our scripture this week, Jesus finds himself in yet another situation where he has to pause and soak the moment in before choosing which course furthers His mission. We'll explore this Sunday how to step into Jesus' mind in times of turmoil so that we might do our best to choose right. Consider reviewing the following scripture ahead of our sermon:
Luke 18:35-43.
|
Feedback on the sermon series? What new information have you learned? We'd love to hear from you.
|
|
September 4
Chapter 34: "A Kingdom in the Middle"
September 11
Chapter 35: "The Greatest Commandment/Good Samaritan"
September 18
Chapter 36: "The Cost of Discipleship"
September 25
Chapter 37: "What to Watch For"
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 28 - September 4
Family Promise Hosting at Worship Center
September 5
Labor Day, Church Office Closed
September 11
Harper's Helpers Training for First Time Volunteers, 11:30 a.m.
,
Worship Center
Mission Possible Kids, 11:30 a.m., Children's Center
Grand Re-Opening of Student Center, 5-7 p.m., Creekwood Student Center, Everyone invited.
September 18
Harper's Helpers Training for First Time Volunteers, 11:30 a.m., Worship Center
Children's Choir Resumes, 11:30 a.m., Children's Center
September 17
Creekwood Habitat for Humanity Build
September 20
Creekwood MOMtourage Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Worship Center
September 21
Creekwood Church Council, 6:30 p.m., Worship Center, Open to Everyone
September 30
First Ever Creekwood Family Camp Out, Creekwood property, Watch For More Details to Come
October 1
Deadline to Commit to the 2017 Zoe India Mission Trip
October 11
Last Day to Register to Vote in the General Election
October 15
Creekwood Habitat for Humanity Build
Creekwood Fall Festival, 3-6 p.m.
|
 Volunteer Highlight
There are many, many volunteers working behind the scenes at Creekwood, and we love to share stories of how people are giving so
graciously of their time and talent. Over the summer as you see our volunteers in action, please share what you're seeing and who you think needs to be our next highlight. Click here to share. We'll return with our highlights in late September.
|
Louisiana Flood Relief
Many have asked how they can help with the flooding crisis in south Louisiana. One recommend way to help is to support the efforts of UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. To learn more about UMCOR
click here
. You may make donations to UMCOR through Creekwood by noting your designation. Our communion offering this Sunday will be for this cause as well.
Another organization we suggest is the Trusted World Organization. They were
in Baton Rouge over the past weekend providing greatly needed items and assisting  where possible, providing over 20,000 meals, 2,500 servings of Similac and many first aid supplies. This, however, has
only scratched the surface. The need is great. Trusted World plans to return soon with another 40,000+ meals and thousands of more servings of Similac.
The current needs are:
New underwear for men, women, girls and boys
Deodorant
Diapers
Socks for men, women, girls and boys
Items can be dropped off at any of these locations or bring them to the Gathering Area September 11 and 18, when we will be collecting the items for delivery.
|
 Kids on a Mission
If you missed service last Sunday, you missed an incredible announcement and celebration. You may have heard, a bunch of local children joined some of our CUMC children on a mission for Zoe Ministry. They had the goal of raising enough funds to support one orphan/endangered child working group through the Zoe three-year empowerment program. Well, guess what? With the help of matching funds, these kiddos raised enough money to fund FIVE orphan/endangered child working groups. Talk about growing some deep roots. Talk about sharing God's love. Talk about some reach--that would be around the globe! We send our congratulations and heartfelt thanks to our heart-driven children who participated in the program, and to our tirelessly committed adult leaders, Kristi Wilbur and Lyndsey Lessner. If you weren't with us last Sunday, check out a cute video recap of the program here.
|
 Special Needs Ministry Buddies Needed
As you know, we officially launched our new Special Needs program last Sunday. We are so blessed to have this program in place, a program so many of you prayed for, a program so many of you have worked tirelessly on.
Now, we need a full cadre of buddies to enable rotation and growth within the program.
Click here to learn about the buddy program, including how it is organized to enable volunteers to stay active in their small groups and to keep their normal worship schedules. Don't forget that we welcome and encourage youth volunteers in this program as well.
|
 |
|
|
2015-2016 Confirmation Class
|
Confirmation
SALT (Student Adult Leadership Team) and Creekwood leadership made the decision to transition to a two-year Confirmation program for 6th and 7th graders beginning in the fall of 2017. The transition to a two-year program enables our young people additional time to study, fellowship and grow before taking this important step in their faith journey. In the meantime, if you have, or know of someone who has, a child in 7th grade or above who is seeking to be confirmed, please
contact us.
|
|
|
Creekwood Choir to Tour London, England
May 22-30, 2017
Deadline to register extended to September 15
The Creekwood Choir at Creekwood UMC is planning a tour of London, England in May 2017, and you are invited to join us! The ensemble will fly non-stop from DFW to London Heathrow then tour Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Coventry, Bath and Warwick. The choir will perform at the Wesley Chapel, the site of Wesley House. You do not need to be a singing member of the choir to participate in this trip. All arrangements for the trip such as airline, ground transportation, hotels and performances are being handled by US Integrity Touring Co.
|
Our Families
As we finalize plans for the upcoming Habitat build season, with our build dates of September 17, October 15 and November 12, we want to share a little about the two families we're supporting. We invite you to join us in prayer for these families as they prepare for this exciting new stage in their lives. There is still time to get involved in our builds. Contact
Lyndsey Lessner for more information.
Click on the links below for biographies of the families.
|
Zoe Helps Ministry India Trip 2017
We are planning a trip to visit our working groups in India! There are two options for dates: January 11-19 and February 15-23. The total cost of the trip is approximately $3,000 and the deadline for committing is October 1st. For more information, visit:
http://www.zoehelps-trips-of-hope/ or contact Leah Edwards at
leahedwards721@gmail.com.
Click here to read about our 2016 mission trip.
|
Harper's Helpers
There is still time to sign up to support Creekwood's partnership with Princeton ISD's Harper Elementary.
Needed are mentors, tutors and general volunteers for grades pre-K through 5th grade for the 2016/17 school year. We'll again have the breakfast mentorship window during the 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. time frame for those who may work during the school day. We're also keeping the library helper role and the ever-
|
|
|
|
Some Harper's Helpers at the recent teacher gift delivery.
|
|
important readers for pre-K. New this year, we're adding lunchroom helpers to our program. Volunteers will be able to pick their day, shifts will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Click here for a full list of opportunities and to sign up. When you sign up, you will
be asked to make note of a teacher or student request. If you do not have one, just fill in "NA." Also, close to the "Submit" button is a small question that asks you "weekly or twice monthly?" Please check the one that applies to you before submitting. If you have any difficulty please contact Kelley Oleson. Don't let the sign up process steer you away from participating.
If you missed it in previous newsletters, you can read some special testimony from returning Harper's Helpers Frankie and Joe Jewett here .
New this year, only the new volunteers will be required to attend a start-of-year training session. We'll have two options: September 11 and September 18, both at 11:30 a.m. Veteran
volunteers wanting to participate again will just need to pick up their new shirt on the 11th or 18th.
If you have any questions, please email Kelly Oleson.
Join us in making a difference in the lives of the young children of Princeton.
|
|
Photo Release Form
The time has come to renew and/or get a NEW photo release form on file with Creekwood. As you know, we love to share pictures of our children around Creekwood in our newsletters. Additionally, we're close to launching a brand new website (yay!!) and our plan is to use a lot of real photos to highlight the personality of our church. We also occasionally use pictures of children and youth on social media as well.
Please take the time to fill out the
form here and return it
via email, or drop it off at the welcome desk this Sunday. Additional forms are available for pick-up in the Children's Center for your convenience at drop off or pick up.
If you do not wish to have your children's/your picture used, let us know.
All forms should be returned as soon as possible.
|
Have an infant through 4th grader and not currently receiving our weekly Children's Ministries' newsletter, Explorers' Times? Please
email us to be added to our distribution list.
|
If your youth isn't already plugged into a weekly small group (7th - 10th graders) or life group (11th/12th graders), please contact Donna Bartholomew to learn more about these life-changing groups.
LiGht (Living in God's House Together) Meeting Location Changes
Sunday school is held each Sunday from 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. 5th - 6th graders will meet in the tile room of the Children's Center. 7th - 12th graders will stay in the Lovejoy gym this week.
No Rise this Sunday. Plan to join us NEXT Sunday when we'll be celebrating the grand re-opening of the Student Center as part of The Rise, which is held Sunday evenings from 5
- 7 p.m. We have dinner ($5), worship, hear inspirational messages and have small group breakouts.
Let's stay in touch.
Students wanting to stay up to date with current activities, events and services, please text @elevatecu to 81010. Parents wanting to have more up to date information with deadlines, events and services, please txt @e88k7 to 81010.
|
Have a 7th - 12th grader and not currently receiving our weekly Youth Ministries' newsletter? Please
email us to be added to our distribution list.
|
|
See what is happening on our Creekwood social sites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
