From Pastor Charles
Charles Robinson Pic
If it's October then it must be time to talk about Stewardship. Truth be told any time is a good time to talk about (and pray about, and think about, and practice) Stewardship. But traditionally at Mountain Park UMC our annual "Stewardship Campaign" begins in October, which happens to be my favorite month of the year. This year we will be referring to our Campaign as a "Gratitude Campaign," and our primary resource -other than the Bible - is a book titled The Gratitude Path by Kent Millard. Following is an outline of how we plan to proceed...

* Sunday, October 16    Say "Thank You!"   Luke 17:11-19
* Sunday, October 23    Always Give Thanks   I Thessalonians 5:16 -18
* Sunday, October 30    Give...and Given   Luke 6:38 and II Corinthians 9:1-6
* Sunday, November 6    Cheerful Giving   II Corinthians 9:7-15
* Sunday, November 13    Expect a Miracle   Matthew 13:54-58

I would like to invite all of you to walk this Gratitude Path with me as we journey through these next two months. And that might not be as simple and easy as it first appears. It's not that the Gratitude Path is particularly difficult to follow. There are no steep hills to climb or steep drop-offs to avoid. It's not that the Gratitude Path is particularly dangerous to traverse, unlike the treacherous road from Jerusalem down to Jericho as featured in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The issue is that there are so many paths from which to choose. So what might some of these choices be?

One choice that never goes away is the path of g.c.w. (Griping, Complaining, and Whining). And once we start down this path it becomes incredibly hard to make a 
u-turn. This past May, Mickey and I visited the Grand Canyon, a first for both of us. One morning while we were there we decided to walk for a ways down the Bright Angel trail. It was almost effortless. Coming back up the trail was a "mule of another color" As for this path of g.c.w., so much of what we complain about falls neatly into the category of First World Problems.

Another ever present choice is the path of fear. In regards to our Grand Canyon trip several folks asked if we rode the mules down into the depths of the Canyon. Not intending to cast dispersion on any of God's creatures but the trail was narrow and I am a certified, card carrying, coward. More than any other factor fear kept me off of a mule's back. The longer we travel on the path of fear the more power fear claims over us.

One other path is apathy. And this is not a terrible choice if we don't know where we are going because any path will take us there. 

My hope and prayer is that as we move through these days together we will keep our feet on the Gratitude Path. Gratitude has the power to overcome g.c.w. and fear and apathy. Gratitude will lead us to places of generosity and joy and hope. The Gratitude Path will lead us to places of Service and Ministry. And it will lead us home, to the God who loves us. May it never be "the path less traveled" for all of us at Mountain Park UMC.

With Gratitude,

Charles
From Pastor Tyler

We've had an incredible start back to the school year with many church programs resuming, discipleship and bible study classes filling up, and continued mission opportunities to serve those inside and outside our church community. And as I pause to observe and reflect, I'm extremely grateful for the ways that God is moving throughout our church.

I'm always in awe of what God can accomplish when we all collectively respond to the will of God. It's both fitting and Spirit-led that we'll be emphasizing a culture of gratitude this year during our upcoming Stewardship Campaign in the month of October.

Not only do we learn more about what it means and looks like to be good stewards of what God has given each of us, but it's equally important to emphasize the attitude in which we respond to God moving in our lives. Some paths take us further from God - fear and bitterness; others keep us stationary - complacency, apathy, exhaustion; and yet others invite us to take those steps closer to God and to step out in faith to trust God in new ways.

We first build that trust with God when we recognize the ways God is already moving in our lives and we can articulate, show, and respond to God with Gratitude.

I not only invite you to begin this reflection process but begin sharing it with others. Begin conversations of gratitude: share your testimonies - large and small - of how God is moving, working, transforming your life and the lives of those around you. My particular hope is that when we begin this path of Gratitude - of trusting God - it will lead our entire church further on the faithful path of where God is calling us: to love God, to love neighbor by Gathering for worship, Growing in community and discipleship, and going out to the world to serve. All of this for the sake of creating disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

I'm grateful to each and every one of you. I'm grateful for who God will bring to us. I'm grateful for who God will bring us to.

Grace and Peace,

Tyler
Fall Festival 
Saturday, October 1
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Plan to come to the Fall Festival rain or shine!

Baked goods may be donated after 3:00 p.m. on Friday or early in the morning on Saturday. Do not cut or package your baked goods. Bring your cakes, pies, and brownies, whole to the FLC. A whole batch of cookies may be in one container. The bake shop volunteers will cut, divide, and package each item.

Before Saturday you may leave yard sale items in the Family Life Center.

There will be barbecue ($7 for adults $4 for kids) for lunch or dinner (11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.), a sweet shop, crafters, yard sale, kids games, inflatables, hot dog booth, and a car show.
Gratitude Gathering
Sunday, October 2
3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. 
in the Park

This year's Stewardship Campaign will be based on the book The Gratitude Path by Kent Millard.  We seek to refer to this year's emphasis as a Gratitude Campaign.  The Campaign will run from  Sunday October 16 through Sunday November 13 (Pig Roast Sunday).  We believe that Gratitude would play a major role in the mechanics of the Campaign itself, a practical way to demonstrate Gratitude even as we talk about it.  The next part is what excites us the most.

We wanted to start these Gratitude conversations with a smaller group of individuals and have decided to openly invite you to share your Gratitude and Giving Journeys...thus far.  

The goals of the Gathering are three-fold:
  1. To hear one another's Gratitude stories; how have our lives been impacted by receiving and giving and giving thanks?
  2. To become a PRAYER FORCE for Mountain Park UMC throughout the days of this Gratitude Campaign. 
  3. To offer each of us an opportunity (strictly voluntary) to share portions of our stories, via video, with our congregations  as we worship on the Sundays during the Campaign. 
Will you prayerfully consider becoming a part of this Gratitude Gathering as we prepare for the upcoming campaign?  We believe Gratitude is contagious and this will be a great way to spread a GOOD virus throughout the Body of Christ at MPUMC.

Please reach out to Pastor Charles or  Pastor Tyler  to let them know that you are interested in attending. All are welcome to come to share or just to listen. But we come to celebrate what God has done for us and for others through Mountain Park.
Flu Shots Next Week!

This Wednesday, October 5, starting at 5:00 p.m. we will have a Flu Shot Clinic in the Community Room. Walgreens is administering shots and will donate a vaccine for a person in need for every shot we purchase. Walgreens will file your insurance and/or medicare.

You can sign up this Sunday, October 2, before and after worship and Sunday school in the Gathering Room and in the FLC. 

If you have not made a reservation you can still come and get a shot!  

See you there!
Scarecrows In The Garden

Make a scarecrow and place it in the garden to help make our garden even more beautiful!

Submit your scarecrow today!

There is a 4' height limit (wooden poles). We have space for 16 total scarecrows (2 for each row). 

Contact Dorothy Kopp at dorothykopp2@yahoo.com
to reserve your spot in the garden. 
Trinity Soup Kitchen

Volunteers from Mountain Park will be going to the  Trinity Soup Kitchen on  Sunday, October 9.  We will be supplying chili and sandwiches and serving approximately 250 hungry and/or homeless guests that day.
 
People can participate by:

1.       Making a dozen peanut butter & jelly and/or ham sandwiches (each in a plastic bag)
2.       Making a gallon of their best homemade chili (or getting a gallon can from Sam's Club)
3.       Going to  Trinity to serve our guests - We need about 25-30 volunteers.  We will gather in front of the Youth Room and leave around 10 and return around  3-3:30.
Mobilized for Ministry

Saturday, October 15 
9 a.m.-1 p.m.
(Light breakfast provided 8-9 a.m. in Family Life Center)

Join us in showing God's love in our community by signing up to volunteer for one of the following:
  • Lilburn Co-Op- Help sort and stock the shelves at the Lilburn Co-Op.
  • Heaven's Helpers- Volunteer at local residences of shut-ins and elderly to help with home repairs or light construction work.
  • Kenya Project*- Write letters for the children who attend Mountain Park Academy in Kenya.
  • Baked Goods*- Donate and/or deliver homemade cookies & baked goods to show appreciation of our local firemen, policemen, and businesses.
  • Auto Inspections- Help provide free automobile inspections for people in our community who may need an extra hand.
  • Water Brigade*- Be part of a team who hands out free water bottles and helps pick up trash at Mountain Park Park and Lilburn City Park.
  • Crafts*- Make arts and crafts that will be delivered to nursing homes to brighten someone's day.
  • Community Garden- Work in the church's community garden. Crops are donated to the Lilburn Co-op.
  • Bookbags- Help sew bookbags to be donated to UMCOR.
Kid Friendly*

You can sign up at the Welcome Center this Sunday! Email Jim Mann, for more details.


Guest Composer Joseph Martin will lead us in a Community of Faith Music Festival October 23, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. Presented by Mountain Park Choir and Friends, Eastminster Presbyterian, Bethel UMC, Tucker UMC, Berkmar UMC and more! 
Ten for Ten

It's not too late to participate! For this campaign, we've asked each family at Mountain Park to give $10 a week for 10 weeks to help send our children and youth to Camp Glisson this summer (one time payments are also acceptable). When you participate, please clearly mark your donation with "10 for 10", so we know exactly where to designate it. The week-long camping program Glisson offers to children and youth during the summer is a wonderful supplement to the church's mission to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." Please prayerfully consider contributing to this worthy cause!
Trunk or Treat
October 30 
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Join us for fun, fellowship, and candy! Costumes welcomed!

Sign up in the Gathering Room or Family Life Center if you'd like to participate by decorating your car trunk and passing out candy to the children. We also need candy donations--bins are located around the church!

We will once again have a Pumpkin Carving Contest during Trunk or Treat! Please bring your already carved pumpkin to the Family Life Center between 3:00-4:45 pm on Sunday, October 30. Everyone who attends Trunk or Treat will have a chance to vote for their favorite and a prize will be awarded to our winner at the end of the evening.

Children's Ministry News

No Worship in the Park on October 2:
We encourage families to attend worship together on Sunday, October 2, as we celebrate World Communion Sunday. We hope you'll join us for this special Sunday.

3rd Grade Bibles:
Congratulations to our 3rd Graders (and older)
who received Bibles last month:
Raegann Arledge
Zavaan Castillo-Muschett
Zinnad Castillo-Muschett
Mitchell Davis
Keith Eplett
Donovan Hillesheim
Nathan Hollis
Samantha Kennedy
Evelyn Morgan
Sarah Oleksinski
Chioma Onwuka
Jacob Presnell
Carly Rutherford
Caleb Sutton
McKinley Young

Our "Learning to Use Your Bible" class runs from October 2-November 20. We meet during the Sunday School hour (drop off in the Park, pick up in E115).

Recap of Kids Retreat:
On September 16-18 we took a group of 8 of our 3rd-5th graders to Carolina Point, a Young Life Camp in Brevard, NC for our second SCREAM Retreat! We had an awesome time bonding through shared meals, cabin time, and fun activities like zip-lining, swimming, go-kart racing, a giant water slide, paddle boards, a giant water balloon fight, treasure hunts, and more! We experienced God through unique worship experiences, inspirational talks from Johnny Crist (Mayor of Lilburn), and small group devotion times. Click here to visit our Facebook page to see pictures of the retreat:

Save the date for Pancakes with Santa!
Saturday, December 10 at 8:30 a.m.
Youth News

Fall Retreat 2016
October 8-10

We are getting pumped up about our Fall Retreat! It is only days away!

Come check in and load your luggage in the parking lot by the Youth Room at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 8 (eat lunch before you come). Pick up will be in the same spot on Monday, October 10 around 2:00 pm.

Boo! October 30 is a big night!
Make plans to dress up in your Halloween Costume and come to the lower parking lot from 5-7 p.m. to have a good time handing out candy during Trunk or Treat! Crossroad's Youth Halloween Party: 7-8:30 pm (right after Trunk or Treat) in the Youth Room.

Reminders:
Every Wednesday that we have Wednesday Night Dinner (unless otherwise noted), Middle School Bible Study (in the back Youth Room) and High School Choir (Choir Room) meet from 6:15-7:15 pm.

High School Bible Study meets on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 pm in people's homes. For more information, contact Rachel or Josh. 

Sunday nights begin with Middle School Choir from 4-5 pm in the Choir Room, and Sunday Night Youth from 5-7pm in the Youth Room (for 6th-12th grades). 

There will be no Sunday Night Youth on October 9 because we will be at Fall Retreat.
Blood Drive November 2

Later in October, after the Flu Shot Clinic, you can sign up to give blood on November 2 from 
2 p.m. - 7 p.m. The Red Cross will be holding a drive here at Mountain Park in the Community Room. 

You may click here to visit 
The Red Cross website and use the code "MPMC" or 
you may call the church 770-921-8512 to register.
Christmas Coffee

Save the date for Christmas Coffee on December 3. The theme for this year will be "What child is this?" The program will be presented by  storyteller Martha Tate and our own Susan Farris. The Women of Faith UMW Circle invites you for a  morning of Christian fellowship and Christmas love. This  event is open to all of the women of Mountain Park.  
Mountain Park United Methodist Church | 770-921-8512 | Email | mountainparkumc.org