All Veterans are invited to Paradise Donuts (1620 SW 6th Ave. across from Stormont-Vail) on  Thursday, November 9th, 9-10 a.m. to enjoy a cup of coffee and a donut as a Thank You for your service to our country. Due to Baker's Dozen closing on 21st Street, this event has been moved to Paradise Donuts.

Feel free to bring photos of your time in the Service to share.

The Topeka First UMC Men's Group will not meet on November 11th since it is Veteran's Day, and also because of our commitment to help with the "Cocoa, Cookies and Carols" event on November 25th.

 

Are you driven to help those in crisis? Are you able to work as a team and inspire volunteers? Are you able to cast a vision, then plan tangible steps to reach it? Then you could be our new Director of Congregational Care.

The Director of Congregational Care works half-time to help fulfill the purpose of Topeka First UMC. This person is responsible for the implementation and oversight of systems that allow the laity to provide care for members and friends in times of need. This person will work alongside the Lead Pastor and the directors of various age level ministries to ensure that people at all stages of life receive the care of Christ's love through connection with the church. In performing all duties, this position should be mindful of our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

 

If you would like to join us for dinner on a Wednesday night please make a reservation on our Church Connection Portal, by checking the box in your bulletin, or by calling the church at 785-233-8100. Please contact Allison Brewer if you are able to help with cooking, serving, or clean up on Wednesday evenings.  Click the links below to R.S.V.P. for each week's dinner Online:

Visit our website to learn how you can help with our Wednesday Night Dinners.

Long Term Care Insurance Presentation Sponsored by Phase 2
There are many questions surrounding Long Term Care Insurance. What policy is the best for the cost? At what age should a person take out a policy? What retirement communities accept this type of insurance? These and other questions will be answered by Susan Harris, Director of Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging, at this informational gathering on  November 9th, 5:30-7 p.m. There will also be resources to take home. A baked potato bar will be offered at 5:30 for $5. Come to enjoy fellowship over dinner and then stay for the presentation. Please sign up on our Church Connection Portal.

Scripture:

Message:

Living Like Jesus: Being Part of the Body

Rev. Jeff Clinger, Lead Pastor

On All Saints Day, we remember the saints who have gone before us. We recognize Paul and the disciples of Jesus as the first saints, but we also remember family, friends, and church members who have gone to be with our Heavenly Father. There will be white roses on the altar this Sunday to represent members of the Topeka First UMC family who have passed since the last All Saints Day. We will take a moment in each service to named to give thanks for those saints.

Rev. Phil Maynard, a director of excellence in ministry coaching, will lead a workshop to help churches think through and design a discipleship system. The event will be livestreamed here at Topeka First UMC from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. November 3 and from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. November 4. You are invited to join Pastor Jeff and leaders from our congregation in this conversation about how we intentionally help people grow in their relationship with God. Participants are asked to register through the Great Plains Conference website. If you're planning to participate, please also email Beth Evans so Pastor Jeff knows how many from our church to expect.

 

This support study will meet from 6-7:30 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: November 8, 15, 29 and December 6 in Room 101. (We will skip Thanksgiving Week.) A light meal will be served at 5:15 in Fellowship Hall. It will be taught by your Stephen Ministry Leaders--Sandy Vogel, Beth Evans, Mary Lou Auer and Marge Whelpley. To register, please click on the Church Connection Portal.

Sunday, November 26th is the beginning of the Advent season. It is also the deadline for those writing meditations for the 2018 Lenten Meditation booklet need to submit their contributions. If you accepted the invitation to write a meditation and haven't submitted it yet please submit it to Ross Miller. The sooner, the better! You may email it to Ross Miller, mail it to him (6234 SW 41st St, Topeka, KS 66610), or leave it at the church office. Ash Wednesday is on Valentine's Day--a month earlier in 2018 than it was this year. In order to make the booklets ready for distribution in time, Ross needs to begin work immediately. 

 

 

Since their formation early last year, the Downtown Engagement Team has set and worked diligently on three main goals for increasing Topeka First UMC's connection with the downtown community. The first was to establish a signature event to draw the community into our church each year and give them a meaningful start to the Christmas season--Cocoa, Cookies, and Carols, which you can read about in the article under the "Serve" section of this newsletter. The second was to establish quarterly Downtown Connection Weeks, during which our church members make a concentrated effort to show our support of the downtown businesses. (Watch for details--the next one begins November 25th.) The feedback received from downtown business owners and community members about these efforts has been heartening, and we look forward to building on these outreaches over the next months and years.

The third goal was to establish a downtown "welcome wagon." By working with Downtown Topeka, Inc. and partnering with local businesses, the team was able to make "welcome bags" for residents of the downtown community. T he team acquired coupons and promotional items (like pens, chip clips, and magazines) to stuff in durable, reusable grocery bags featuring our church logo. They were touched by the generosity of the donating businesses!

The bags were also stuffed with a friendly note from Pastor Jeff, invitations to our monthly Community Lunches and Cocoa, Cookies, and Carols, Cashmere popcorn bearing our church logo on the package, and folders of information to tell them about all the wonderful ways they can connect with our church.

Since hundreds of people already live in the downtown area (as defined by the new Downtown Improvement Association), the Downtown Engagement Team delivered the first round of bags to current residents. They reached out to the managers of several apartment buildings and gained permission to distribute the bags in their buildings. So far, 162 bags have been delivered! Moving forward, they will deliver the bags to new downtown residents.

The apartment managers have already expressed excitement over the welcome bags, saying the residents are grateful to be included in the outreach and to receive the gifts. The bags themselves will see a lot of use, which means our logo will be seen all over town! 

If you'd like to be a part of the Downtown Engagement Team, they would love to have you! Contact Marsha Oliver or Nancy Lewis to learn more.

Pictured: Nancy Lewis, Doris Wills, Justin McFarland, and Dave Frederick assembling welcome bags. Annie and Dennis Tietze, Laura Lutz, Marsha Oliver, and Jayna McFarland also helped with stuffing, delivering, providing materials, and/or reaching out to businesses and apartment managers to complete the project.

In November, join the Missions team in collecting women's clothing (sweat shirts, underwear, socks, sneakers) to support the Topeka Shawnee County Human Trafficking Coalition. Please bring your donations to the Celebration Room.

State Street Elementary is in need of volunteers that would be willing to work one-on-one with students to improve reading skills. As a part of their school improvement plan, State Street has set a goal to increase the percentage of students reading at a "proficient" level. One of their strategies to address this goal is to increase the amount of one-on-one practice for students. This requires a significant increase in the number of volunteers working with students.

The staff will have materials and plans ready for each volunteer. Individual schedules will be considered, trying to find the day and time that works best for you. They are hoping to have volunteers in place beginning in November.

If interested in learning more, please contact Jaena Greenwood at 785-220-8796. She will pass your information on to the State Street staff and the staff will then contact you to get things started.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration, and your commitment to support the students and staff at State Street Elementary.

Mitchell and Sharon Fick

 

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from the caring relationship offered by a Stephen Minister, please contact one of the Stephen Leaders above.

 

During the Advent season we prepare for the One who has come, whom we expect to come, and who will come again. In the hanging of the greens we share with Christians throughout the ages the memory and anticipation of Christ's coming. We decorate our church with the symbols of love, joy, hope, and peace. Why do we do this? To tell the story again and then proclaim: Jesus is born. God is with us!

On November 19th, we will meet together to prepare our space for the season of Advent. If you would like to help with this event, we would be excited to have you join us. There are two sessions for putting up the decorations in our church. The first session will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. During the first shift, we'll decorate the Chapel, Fellowship Hall, and Hearth Room, and string popcorn for trees. During the second shift, we'll work on the Sanctuary, Celebration Room, and any areas not yet completed.

The youth will have a chili/mac 'n' cheese fundraiser that day for $5, so you can grab some lunch and then help prepare our space for the Advent season.

Please check off the box on your bulletin insert as to which session you would like to join, or visit our Church Connection Portal to sign up for the time that works best for you.

Please sign-up by clicking this link to our Church Connection Portal. Questions: Email Nancy Lewis

Thanks to our members who signed up for Dillons Community Rewards through their Dillons Plus Shopper's Card, Topeka First UMC earned $294.90 last quarter for our Urban Ministry Fund. Enrolling in Community Rewards costs you nothing, but allows Dillons to give a percentage of your grocery bill to our church. To sign up, simply visit their website and enter our NPO #86251.

 

Ever wanted to know more about Children's Discipleship at Topeka First United Methodist? Want to be an integral part of planning and implementing Children's Discipleship opportunities? Please contact Allison Brewer about joining this important team. We hope to have a 12-15 person team in order to share the fun and important tasks this group takes on.