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Growing Deep Roots to Share God's Love
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News and Notes
June 29, 2017
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Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That last one....happiness. Elusive? We argue not. Let's discuss Sunday.
P.S. If you haven't yet seen Disney's Moana, why not watch it before Sunday, July 9, when we launch our Popcorn Theology sermon series? We hear you can find it on Netflix, among other places. In fact, take a peek at the next four weeks of sermons below. Good excuse to watch a few great movies ahead of each Sunday.
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July 2
Independence Day Focus
"If Only...I Could Be Happy"
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July 9
Popcorn Theology: Good Movies with Great Messages
"Moana"
July 16
Popcorn Theology: Good Movies with Great Messages
Star Wars: Rogue One
July 23
Popcorn Theology: Good Movies with Great Messages
“Hidden Figures”
July 30
Popcorn Theology: Good Movies with Great Messages
“Beauty and The Beast”
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In this Edition, You Won't Want to Miss These Stories!
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More On Summer Serving!
PS: Samaritan Inn Food Items Can Be Brought to the Worship Center This Sunday.
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Celebrate Faith, Family and Freedom
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July 4
Independence Day, Church Office Closed
July 6
July 9
July 10-14
July 11
July 16
July 17-21
July 20
July 24-28
July 24
July 25
July 26-30
August 2
July 31 - August 4
Creekwood Youth Week
August 5
Note
: Church office will be closed on Fridays during summer months through July 28.
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Possibly Some Inspiration...
Thanks to Haley Romero for her research and the information she ran in the Harper ISD newsletter that served as the basis for the the part of the article regarding Griffin Hunt and the Lending Library..
Creekwood member Griffin Hunt has been busy. Busy giving back. Busy empowering young people through reading and knowledge. Busy making a difference. This Eagle Scout, the son of Creekwood members Devon and Dennis Hunt, grandson of members Kathryn and John Thornton, recently constructed a lending library for one of our community partners, Harper Elementary.
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Y
ou might have seen a few in the community. Lending libraries are designed to provide books for people to use, on the honor system. See a book? Borrow it. Read it. Bring it back. Repeat.
Giffin knew that not all children in our community have ready-access to books, something so many of us take for granted. This was the inspiration for his project. Not only did he do all the construction and installation, Griffin also conducted a book drive to get the books for his new library. Working with his mom, Devon, for the actual painting, Griffin even added inspirational Dr. Suess quotes to the exterior of the library.
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Feeling inspired by Griffin? We are! And, in fact, Creekwood has lined up a number of ways to serve the community this summer. You can find a full description of all opportunities here, and in the article below in the Missions section, but to summarize, we've got lunches at McKinney's Samaritan Inn, reading and fellowship opportunities with under-served children through Project Transformation, and food sorting and distribution in
conjunction with our partner ACO (Allen Community Outreach). Most all of these opportunities are family-friendly so people of all ages are welcome to join in. Make it a family affair!
Director of Children's Ministry, Wendy McConney, recently shared information on other ways parents can get their children involved in serving this summer as well. She shared:
- Get out that lemonade stand and raise money for Creekwood's Zoe Helps mission.
- Make your pledge to get your ten. Pick up 10 pieces of trash every Tuesday. Go to a park or just in your neighborhood.
- Family Promise: contact them to volunteer. There are some things that can be done with children, like hosting a birthday party or doing yard work.
- Austin Street shelter lets families serve meals. Our own Stephanie Merrifield can give you lots of information about families volunteering there.
- Interfaithdallas.org Their children came to our VBS. Interfaith is much like Family Promise, assisting families who have become homeless. You can host a birthday party, help clean on their 2nd Saturday work day, collect school supplies, or host a summer fun afternoon with games for the children at Interfaith.
- www.weevolunteer.org is an organization that does service projects mainly in the Dallas area. Children are allowed to participate with an adult. They have a really fun project called "Meals on Big Wheels" where children deliver meals to shut-ins and they call go together on this big decorated bus.
- The Birthday Party Project With the help of our birthday enthusiasts, they host monthly birthday parties at homeless and transitional living facilities in the Dallas area.
- Children's Advocacy Center in Plano Host a sleep-over and ask the children to bring a new toy, or one they no longer play with, for the Rainbow Room at the Children's Advocacy Center or for their main center. Then, in the morning, drop them off at the Children's Advocacy Center in Plano.
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Are you wanting to get involved with our Harper's Helpers this year? We have a number of ways for you to help. First, beginning Sunday, July 16, you can pick an "apple" off our apple tree! Each "apple" is a school/classroom supply item that will enable the Harper Elementary teachers to properly stock and present their classroom. As you may know, many teachers must fund much of their classroom supply and presentation out of their own pocket. Our Apple Tree is designed to take some of this load off the teacher.
In August, we'll have sign-ups for Harper's Helpers--Creekwood members who serve as weekly mentors to the children of Harper Elementary. In September we'll hold training for all new helpers. Interested and want to learn more? Contact Creekwood member Jen Still at
stilljen@att.net
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Communion Offering
This week's communion offering will benefit Brother's Keeper, a fund designated to assist those in our congregation with extraordinary financial needs and to offer emergency support. While Creekwood members are generous when giving to outreach and missions around the world, the Brother’s Keeper Fund is an opportunity for us to support those in our church family.
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Mission Ministry Statement
Creekwood UMC is passionate about building the Kingdom of God by serving families and children in need. We strive to develop long-term relationships with the people and organizations we partner with, both locally and globally. Our goal is to make a high-impact, positive experience within the area and through the lives of all involved.
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Join Us In Making A Difference
The Creekwood Missions team invites you to join us in making a difference. Take a look at the summer volunteer opportunities available.
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Next Thursday, July 6, we'll be in McKinney at the Samaritan Inn assembling lunches for their Summer Lunch Program. We are seeking volunteers to bring lunch items up to Creekwood, and 5-6 volunteers to assemble the lunches the Samaritan Inn will distribute.
So, even if you can't make it up there to assemble lunches at 1 p.m. on the 6th, you can sign up to bring a needed food item to the church by 11 a.m. We've got 60+ lunches to make, so we have a lot of food needs!
Click here
to pick what you'd like to donate and/or sign up to join us at the lunch assembly. Feel free to bring your food donations to church this Sunday. We can hold the items for Thursday; perishable items may be stored in the Worship Center refrigerator.
We'll be back at the Samaritan Inn on Thursday, August 3, to again support the lunch program, but this serving event is specifically designed for our youth and will be a part of our annual Youth Week. Got an interested youth? Are you an interested youth? Click here to sign up.
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The mission of Project Transformation is to engage young adults in purposeful leadership and ministry, to support under-served children in holistic development, and connect churches with communities.
On Thursday, July 20, we'll be at a Family Fun Night at Waples UMC in Denison, TX and we hope you'll join us! Denison is about an hour's drive from Creekwood--just enough time for a short summer playlist and friend catching up.
We'll serve dinner, play games and enjoy fellowship with Project Transformation kids and their families. We will meet at Waples UMC at 6:00 p.m. to kick off the night. This is a GREAT opportunity for families with children to serve. Click here to sign up to join us for a night of fun.
We'll also be at Waples UMC on Monday and Tuesday, July 24 and 25, to support Project Transformation's summer reading program. Join us from 9:00 to noon to read one-on-one with a student in the program. This opportunity is for participants 13 years of age and older. Click here to learn more and to sign up.
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On Tuesday, July 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., we'll be at the ACO warehouse, 2 Butler Circle, Allen, sorting food. We need a total of five volunteers. This is another GREAT family-serving opportunity. People of all ages are welcome. Click here to sign up.
On Wednesday, July 19, and Wednesday August 2, we'll be distributing food bags for the Branch, TX (other side of Lake Lavon) ACO location. Distribution will take place from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. each day, and we need 4 volunteers per day. Click here to learn more and to sign up. For more information contact Michael Ruch at michaelaruch@verizon.net.
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Creekwood Community Helpers
Do you have a home maintenance need? Or, know a neighbor who does? The
Creekwood Community Helpers
was formed to help the Creekwood UMC family and community with minor home maintenance and repairs. All services are free, and examples include:
- Installation of exterior handrails & grab bars
- Minor plumbing
- Minor general repair
- A/C and/or heater filter replacement
- Smoke alarm or CO2 battery replacement
- Caulking, repair of door locks and light bulb replacement
The concept is similar to the "Seniors Helping Seniors" program, but our intent is to assist those of any age unable to complete a necessary repair or conduct needed maintenance.
Learn more and request your needed assistance
here
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Celebrate Faith, Family & Freedom - THIS FRIDAY
FUMC Richardson is hosting an evening of patriotic celebration and sacred worship featuring Sandi Patty on Friday, June 30, and you're invited. Enjoy patriotic anthems, songs from the great American songbook and a collection of Sandi's most requested sacred classics. Sandi will be accompanied by a full orchestra.
When: Friday, June 30, 7:00 p.m.
General Admission: $15 each before 6/25, $25 after
Early Entry General Admission: $25 each before 6/25, $35 after
Order Tickets: (844) 447-7664
Additional discounts are available for groups of eight people or more. Contact John Thornton if you have a group seeking to attend. Learn more here.
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Find Local Grief Support Events Here
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Feeling Science-y?
Our Explorers' summer Sunday school programming includes six weeks of "Experiments in Faith." The Bible is full of stories of people who have shown incredible faith in God. Each Sunday, the kids will learn about these examples of faith as well as learn some cool science experiments to help them remember each story.
Sound like fun? It is! We know because we've done it! We look to volunteers to serve as our Sunday school teachers during the summer months; we give our school-year teachers a night off. Consider signing up to teach one Sunday at either the 10:15 or the 11:30 worship hour. Do it with your spouse! Do it with your teen! We guarantee lots of laughs and love. And, we need you this Sunday, and beyond. Contact us with any questions.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR A SUNDAY TO BE LEAD TEACHER
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Spaces Still Available
There is still one more Cross Cheer camp at Creekwood: July 17-21. Designed for those 4 - 10 years of age, the Cross Cheer camps teach young girls the fundamentals of cheerleading in a Christ-centered atmosphere. Learn more and register
here
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Join Our Children's eNewsletter Distribution List
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.
Student Ministries
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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 - 8th graders meet in the garage of the Student Center and 9th -12th graders meet in the Student Center.
The Rise
is held in the Student Center on Sundays, from 5 - 7 p.m. All 7th through 12th graders (and beyond) are welcome to these evenings of worship, fellowship and fun. Meals are provided; a $5 donation is encouraged.
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If you are looking to help our awesome Student Ministry by providing a meal, or part of a meal, for The Rise, click here to pick a date and sign up. We promise you'll have fun feeding and visiting with our students.
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Summer Fun With CSM
We still have space available on some of our summer youth trips. Join us as we serve, fellowship and grow in our faith.
Middle School Mission Trip
Students finishing 6th-8th grades are invited to join us in Fort Worth July 26-30 for a fabulous weekend of service and fun. Click here to sign up.
CIY Move
High school students, it’s time to Move! Experience intense, interactive worship, dynamic preaching, small group study and community building. At Move we will not only learn and worship together – we’ll spend focused time discovering ways that God will use Creekwood youth to impact the world. This is a 5 day camp held at LeTourneau University in Longview. The cost is $395 per person with a discounted rate for adult participants. We will find a way to pay for anyone who wants to go! Click here to sign up. Contact Jared with questions.
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Confirmation 2017-18
Registration for the 2017-18 school year will open April 18. Confirmation is available to students in grades 7th and above. Classes will be held in the Student Center at 10:15 a.m. August 20-May 20. Retreats, missions, social activities, and faith visits are also an integral part of the course. Click here to sign up.
Junior High Small Group meets on Wednesdays, 7 - 8:00 p.m. Contact Donna Bartholomew for more information.
Sr. High Small Group meets at the Edwards house on Wednesday nights from 7 - 8:30. Contact Jared Phares for more information.
Let's stay in touch.
Students and parents
wanting to stay up to date with current activities, events and services, please text @elevatecu to 81010.
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