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Upcoming
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Family Fun Night every Sunday!
November 12th -
Golf Tournament
November 27th -
Advent Wreath Workshop
Coming in December:
December 11th
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Christmas Concert
December 17th & 18th
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Living Nativity
Blue Christmas
December 24th
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Christmas Eve Services
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Ministry Links
to Website
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Birthdays
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Spencer Tripp
November 1
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Jamielee Flores
November 1
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Allen Dooley
November 1
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Hudson Kelber
November 1
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Garth Phillipsen
November 3
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Sarah Paterson
November 5
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Elise Hardbarger
November 5
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Belinda Crawford
November 6
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Tom Moioffer
November 7
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Ken Spencer
November 7
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Abigail Hubbard
November 11
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Bridgette Crowell
November 14
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Courtney Aponik
November 15
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Shirley Allsman
November 18
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Patty Conwell
November 19
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Joseph Taylor
November 23
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Shiloh Liedtke
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Louise Willard
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Iris Fulgencio
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Noah Hubbard
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Josh Bennett
November 27
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Betty Peck
November 28
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Ashlee Flores
November 29
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Letter From the Pastor
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Don't miss out on Family Fun Night! More...
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Thanksgiving Should Never End - A Devotion
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So you want your church to accomplish its mission and reach people....
More...
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Golf Tournament, Advent Wreath
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Small World Preschool Update
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 Find out what's happening in
Maturing Ministries,
COSROW, and
Hospitality Committee.
More...
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Letter from Pastor Melissa
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The New Creation
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." Genesis 1:1-5. In this month of November where we give thanks for the harvest of our lives, we also remember that God's creative power moved into the emptiness and darkness and brought forth a creation of beauty. Many debate exactly how the earth and all that is in it was created. Yet, we tend to agree God through his creative energy brought our beautiful universe to flower.
Yet, God did not stop creating. Creation, us included, has a way of dissolving into darkness, emptiness or chaos. God continues to create and recreate everyday. In Deuteronomy 30:3-13 we read, "God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he'll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered." Or 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." We are all being created and recreated when we allow God to move us into the place of being molded into this new creation. Even our Church is being molded and shaped into a new creation. We are starting to see signs of this budding as we witnessed so many of the ministries that are being done by our groups. We have done at least a baptism a month and started new ministries like Family Fun Night (FFN) and Parents of Little Ones because we wanted to respond to the needs of families (One of the reasons POLO was developed was because there is no group in existence for parents. There is Mommy and Me, but that excludes fathers who are co-parenting. So we created a ministry for that need thanks to our families with small children!). We see signs on our campus transformed and made new like our Prayer Garden off of Founders Hall. Or the newness coming out of our participating in Readiness 360, where a team is working through the results of the survey. Look for the dates of when the team will share the results and what they are doing with those results.
As we enter into this month of giving thanks for the harvest of our lives please give thanks for your church and for the way the church has been in ministry to you and the world. I encourage you to stop by our Prayer Garden to spend sometime giving thanks to God for the abundance God has poured out into your life as well as for our Church and our ministries. I also encourage you to participate in our Thanksgiving Challenge of posting something everyday with the hashtag #scumthanks
Be Blessed,
Pastor Melissa
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Family Fun Night!
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Don't miss out on the next Family Fun Night! A night where we come together as families for a meal and for growing in our faith. Each Sunday night we will gather for a meal then after dinner we will break up into groups for study. There will be a men's group, a women's group, a youth group and a children's group. This will give us all time to be together for a meal and to then be in a study specific to each interest and need. We are all busy and don't need another night out, but this way we have one night out to grow in God's grace and to grow as a family.
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Thanksgiving Should Never End -
A Devotion
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This year, not all of my family could be together on Thanksgiving Day, so we plan to have a Thanksgiving gathering on a day in early December. Regardless of the specific date on which we celebrate, it will still be a special occasion. Besides, giving thanks is something that should occur every day of the year, not just on the official holiday. Throughout the Scriptures, we are reminded to give thanks to the Lord:
- "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." (Psalm 118:1 NIV)
- "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done." (1 Chronicles 16:8 NIV)
- "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Chronicles 16:8 NIV)
- "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."(Colossians 3:17 NIV)
God is so good, and His people truly should have a thankful heart, praising Him for who He is and what He has done. Unfortunately, His people haven't always had that thankful heart. In the book of Numbers, we read about the Israelites' experience in the wilderness. The people were constantly grumbling against God instead of trusting Him. They had seen His awesome wonders and grace. He sent manna from heaven and provided water from a rock. God had miraculously delivered them from slavery in Egypt, but their hearts were turning back. Here they were experiencing God's miraculous provision, but they seem to have taken it for granted. As soon as God had done one thing for them, they were wanting something else and finding another reason to grumble. Their faith and focus were not where they should have been. It's easy to judge the Israelites as unthankful complainers, but I realize that I probably am not much different. How many times do I experience God's great blessings in my life, but then look at another situation and start complaining about that instead of praising and thanking God for His goodness? How many times do I focus my attention on my problems and needs instead of on Jesus and His love? In the United States, we set aside one day each year in November as a day to give thanks. We often gather with loved ones and enjoy a large feast. We list all our blessings for which we are thankful. But for too many of us, it ends there. We get up from that table and go back to our normal routine. Instead of remaining in that attitude of thankfulness, we start grumbling about football game scores, dirty dishes, or long lines at the store. I pray that our hearts will remain in an attitude of thanksgiving all year round. God is good every day, not just on the fourth Thursday in November. Let's thank Him each day.
By Vanessa Small
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Upcoming Events
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Small World Preschool Update
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October was full of Fall fun at Small World Preschool! This month we welcomed 4 new children to our school! . While the local schools were out for Fall break during the first week of October, Small World Preschool was open for our students to get some early Halloween activities ready. There was some necklace beading, Jack-o-lantern coloring, pumpkin pudding snacks and yummy popcorn to eat. Later in the month we hosted a booth at the Kid's Expo here in Santa Clarita. Many families stopped by to learn more about our program and to do a creative craft. Some graduates visited the booth and shared their fond memories. Also this month, Pastor Melissa joined us to sing and share the love of God as we began our Chapel time together for the school year. We plan on having chapel every month for each age group. Small World Sunday was the following week, students and teachers alike enjoyed singing and smiling for the congregation. Lastly was the anticipation of Halloween! The children took a mini trick or treat walk on campus to collect prizes as they donned their crazy hair! See you at Trunk or Treat!
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What's Happening
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Maturing Ministries
will be celebrating a lot of birthdays in November and HONOR our veterans on Friday, November 11th. On November 25, we will be full of thanks and food and will share our Thanksgiving favorite stories. We start at 10 am and have lunch around 11:30. All seniors welcome!
On Tuesday morning, our Joyful Bible Study will be starting a new book in a few weeks. It is "Before Amen" by Max Lucado. This is to help all of us with prayer. It will be a fun read with much to learn about praying.
The Hospitality Committee will be meeting on November 9th at 7 pm. If you would love to serve on a committee, please feel free to join us. Please, all you wonderful people, we need smiley greeters on Sunday mornings. There is a sign up sheet on a clip board in the Narthex of the church. Just ask Betty!!!
The Women's Out to Lunch Bunch meets at a different restaurant in Santa Clarita once a month for fellowship and per Methodist tradition, great food. All women of the church are invited to attend. We meet the 1st Friday of every month at 12:30 p.m. This month's restaurant is Casa
Vieja on Soledad in Canyon Country on November 4. Please contact Jane Wood at 661-673-5154 so she can make a reservation.
Mark your Calendars! Sunday November 13th is
COSROW's
BOUTIQUE, BAKE, & BOOK SALE!
10 AM - 2 PM
There will be over 100 Angels, over 100 Ornaments, Lots of Cards & Tags, hand knit items, quilted items, needlepoint samples, wreaths, plants and more!
Take home some tasty baked goods or homemade jam, or get a jar meal.
Pick up a book or puzzle for the coming fall/winter evenings.
There will also be a Soup & Salad luncheon too!
So bring that check book! And enjoy.
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J.A.M. Club
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We are very excited to welcome our NEW
Director of Family Ministries, Kristi Smith
. Kristi will be joining the staff
on Nov. 2.
Here is a note from our new staff member:
Hi. My name is Kristiane Smith, but I go by Kristi. I am very excited to be joining the Santa Clarita staff as the new Director of Family ministries. I look forward to meeting each of you and hearing your stories. Every relationship starts with an introduction, so I guess I will go first.
I have been married to Jeff for 23 years. Jeff and I have four children that you may see running around. Kallie - 12, Aurora -9, Ty - 8, and Leontone - 6. My mother, Beverly, also lives in our very active household.
My family and I just returned home to California. I was born in Long Beach a long, long time ago. Not long after I married my husband Jeff we relocated to McKinney, TX for a job. After 15 years in the North Texas area my family moved to Oklahoma where I served as a Pastor for 5 years. Jeff started working for the Department of Navy this summer as an engineer, moving the family to Oxnard.
I have been blessed with many jobs allowing me to work with children. Some of the most notable have been as a preschool music teacher and with lost children at Disneyland. I love watching a child's eyes light up as they realize how much Jesus loves them.
I received my Masters in Divinity from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. My Bachelors is in Liberal Studies from Chapman University in Orange.
Quick facts: I love Disney, Harry Potter, playing games, the Beach, Reading and writing, and hanging out with my family. I am a huge California Angels fan; it was my dad's team and is special to me. My favorite scripture is Micah 6:8.
Looking forward to meeting you all!
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Youth Ministries
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It's #SCUMTHANKS
Month! Let us know what you are thankful for this month on Facebook and Instagram!
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THANK YOU to all the youth, parents, counselors, and church members that came out and helped us for Trunk or Treat!
To everyone that donated boxes, food, time, and energy to help make our box maze a success, you all are the reason why an event like this could be pulled off!
This year, our maze was bigger and better than ever, with TWO separate mazes (one devoted to younger kids and one for all ages) and THREE themed areas (space, swamp, and circus), this box maze was better than ever before, and it was because of YOUR help! I heard so many good reviews and positive feedback of the work that our youth did, you all should be extremely
proud of them!
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