Sunday morning revitalization
Stewardship
Box Tops
Thank You
Hold Me Tight Seminar
Keeping Up With Jordan and Mike
Volunteer & Community Opportunities
Calendar
Joys and Concerns
Praying Together This Week
Statistics
People News
Cartoon
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Sunday Morning Revitalization
Our
congregation is in a process this month of having conversations about revitalizing our Sunday morning experience (worship, Sunday School, and hospitality.) Everyone in the congregation has three ways to be involved in the conversation: fill out a survey, attend a meeting, and write and submit ideas.
Surveys will be handed out this coming Sunday morning to everyone in attendance (and mailed to all our active participants who will be absent this Sunday.) If you do not receive a survey, please contact the church office. Surveys need to be completed by the end of the month and turned in so that we can process them.
Meetings will be held in the youth fellowship hall downstairs so we can listen to different ideas and feelings. Everyone is invited to attend one or more. They will be held at the following times:
Monday, April 16 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 22, at 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, May 1, 11 a.m.
Revitalization talks will cover such things as starting times of worship services, ways to revitalize our Sunday School, and ways to expand our hospitality and fellowship on Sundays. People are also welcome to make suggestions about changes that would make our worship services more meaningful. People who attend the late worship will also have a chance to express opinions about whether to relocate the service in the hall where it was held in January.
Those who cannot attend any of the meetings are welcome to write their ideas and submit them to the church office, to be shared with one of the gatherings.
After the congregation has had a chance to express feelings and ideas, the church council (at its May meeting) will make a decision about whether or not to embark on a trial experimentation during the summer months (June, July, August.) During the second half of August, the experiment will be evaluated by both the congregation (in a survey) and the council and a decision will be made then whether to keep some of the trial changes...or return to the way we currently do things...or try something else.
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Stewardship Report
The stewardship committee report at the end of the first quarter is happily presented with this green background.
In last December's Consecration Sunday campaign, 77 families (or individuals) made pledges totally $306,472. Our budget for 2018 is $408,000 (leaving a little less than $102,000 to be covered by non-pledging families and other sources.
Those who pledged contributed $72,986 during the first quarter of the year, indicating that more than 95% of expected pledges have been paid. Other sources of income for the general fund (mostly from people who give regularly but do not pledge) totals $30,689 for the first quarter.
We thank EVERYONE who is making our church strong through financial giving.
The stewardship committee will be focusing its attention the first part of this year to helping committees and teams in the church secure volunteers for their programs and activities. This project will culminate in a "fair" at the start of the school year, with each program and committee in the church invited to have a booth in the fellowship hall, and the entire congregation invited to see what things are going on and given a chance to sign up.
In the fall, the stewardship committee will again be planning a financial campaign centered around the "Consecration Sunday" program.
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Box Tops! Box Tops!
Please remember to bring in your Box Tops! The UMW will be turning them in at the district meeting in Neoga on April 18 (although we take them all year). Place them in the box at the Welcome Desk or the container next to the UMW bulletin board near Fellowship Hall.
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United Methodist Women say Thank You!
We would like to thank Joyce Lefever for sharing her sewing talents. She has created a beautiful quilt which has been donated to the Cunningham Quilt Auction. Fifteen bags that will hold school supplies and be sent to the Mid-West Distribution Center have also been completed by Joyce. We are so appreciative.-UMW
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Hold Me Tight Seminar 
The Hold Me Tight Workshop
®
was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson and is designed around seven conversations based on the Hold Me Tight
®
book, all of which have been shown to be essential to successful relations. You will learn how to understand and improve your relationship, affirm strengths in your relationship, address negative interaction patterns, understand more clearly each other's emotions, recognize underlying reasons for your conflicts, learn how to repair and forgive, enhance your emotional and physical closeness, improve your communication, and be more accessible, responsive and emotionally engaged with each other.
This event will be held here at the church on April 27th from 5-8 p.m. A meal and daycare services will be provided. Couples are encouraged to attend together.
The seminar will be conducted by Counseling Intern Alicia Cook.
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Keeping up with Mike and Jordan 
Jordan went back to stay with his parents a couple days at the end of the week after getting sick from the mold in his basement (caused by last week's flooding.) His furnace was replaced on Monday of this week. The mold was treated yesterday. Before leaving he spent time working on the church library, the youth mission trips, and a new design for his Sunday evening youth programs starting the end of April.
Among other things this week, Mike led worship and communion at Brookstone South (a monthly event our church sponsors there,) led the weekly pastor's Bible study (Tuesday mornings,) and met with a number of church officers and committees.
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Volunteer & Community Opportunities 
In the Community:
Pray for, volunteer your time or donate to the United Way.
Click here
for more information.
In the Church:
~Children's programs
~Youth Group
~Backpack program
~Mattoon Area PADS; a group from our church serves dinner the 4th Friday
every month; cook at 6:00 p.m., serve at 7:00 p.m., see Susie Beaumont for more information
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Special Events
Youth Council Luncheon for 5th graders, April 15, 12 noon
Worship Revitalization Meeting, Monday, April 16, 7 p.m.
Worship Revitalization Meeting, Sunday, April 22, 5 p.m.
The "Hold Me Tight" Workshop, Friday, April 27, 5 p.m.
Worship Revitalization Meeting, Saturday, April 28, 10 a.m.
Hospitality Sunday Brunch, Sunday, April 29, 9:30 a.m.
Worship Revitalization Meeting, Tuesday, May 1, 11 a.m
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Next Meeting Dates
Admin Council, Monday, May 7, 7:00 p.m.
Children's Council, Wednesday, April 18, 7:00 p.m.
Communications Task Force, Tuesday, June 5, 6:00 p.m.
Education, Thursday, April 26, 7:00 p.m.
Endowment
, Thursday, April 19, 4:00 p.m.
Finance, Wednesday, April 18, 6:00 p.m.
Hospitality
, Thursday, May 3, 6:00 p.m.
Missions, Thursday, April 26, 4:30 p.m.
Pastor Parish Relations
, Thursday, May 3, 6:00 p.m.
Stewardship, Thursday, June 7, 6:00 p.m.
Trustees, Monday, April 23
, 6:00 p.m.
UMW Executive Board, Tuesday, May 1, 1:30 p.m.
Worship, Thursday May 17, 7:00 p.m.
Youth Committee, Sunday, April 22, 12 Noon
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Regular Events
Sundays
Traditional Worship
8:15 a.m.
Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
Contemporary worship 10:45 a.m.
Middle School Youth 5:00-7:00 p.m.
*
Sr. High Youth 6:00-8:00 p.m.*
*(beginning April 22,
Middle & Sr High will combine for the summer
and meet at Jordan's from 6-8 p.m.)
Mondays
Mary Circle, second Mondays, 1:30 p.m.
Mary Mini Circle, fourth Monday of the month, 2:00 p.m.
Rebecca Circle, second Mondays, 7:00 p.m.
Tuesdays
Pastor's Bible Study 10:00 a.m.
UMW Executive Board 1:30 p.m., first Tuesday of the month
Women's Bible Study of Romans 6:00 p.m.
Wednesdays
Cross Training Prayer 6:30 a.m. at the Dickinson's
Downtown Kids 5:30-7:00 p.m., every Wednesday night from Sept-Apr
Chancel Choir 5:45 p.m., from Sept-May
Thursdays
Women's Bible Study, 6:3
0 a.m.
at Pagliacci's- studying "When Christians Get It Wrong"
Contemporary Worship Practice 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays
Men's Breakfast, second Saturday of the month,
Denny's, 7:00 a.m.
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-12 Noon; 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Click Here for our online calendar, covering all church events.
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Joys and Concerns
(including Sunday's blue cards
-Baby Amelia is home!
-Conversations/surveys this month
-Summer break is almost here
-Tax season is almost over!
-Kaylee Beals, National Honor Society, new job at SBLHC
Concerns
-Cheri Pierce, physical
-Prayers for Church Council and staff for conversations about Worship Revitalization
-Tammy Scott, physical
-Nancy's friend who miscarried
-Deanne Corrie's father, physical
-Family of Gemma Alverson
-Roger's aunt Pauline who broke hip, had surgery and is recovering
-Susan's daughter Rosanne, physical
-Prayers for Fran Whitley
-Bob Montgomery's cousin Lawance who was in an accident
-Prayers for a family member in another state, struggles and needs a good job
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Praying Together This Week 
People in our church family:
Joanne Downs
Gene & Linda Eagleson
Derik, Michelle and David Eaton
Elizabeth, Destinee and Wyatt Edwards
Joanne Elliott
Stewardship Committee
World Council of Churches Prayer Calendar:
Pray this week for the people of Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
Click here for information about the WCC prayer calendar.
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Statistics
Sunday Worship attendance: April 8
Traditional Service: 75
Contemporary Service: 73
Finance Report:
General Fund: $ 7,998 received this week
(our general fund budget is $408,000 for the year)
Renovation Fund:
Cost of project: $434,766
Still Needed: $135,821
The fund received
$360 last week.
In addition to the money received for the funds listed above, contributions were made last week to the following causes:
Backpack: $50
Community Food Center: $20
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People News 
Birthdays from
4/13-4/19
4/18 Steve Ferguson
4/18 William Thurn
4/19 Brian Isaacs
In Nursing Homes and Assisted Living:
Brookstone North:
Norma Edwards
Brookstone South:
Dorothy Shepard
Virginia Beasley
Mary Sheppard
Mattoon Healthcare:
Dorothy Gullion
John Zachow
Kathy Young
Oddfellow Rebekah:
Fran Whitley
Doris Grass
Betty Eisner
Douglas Rehabilitation:
Pauline Andrews
Joan Beals
Mason Point:
Ruby and Gerald Lowry
Titus Manor-Sullivan
Marilyn Doty
Copper Creek
Betty Hoots
Carroll Livesay
Maxine Chapin
Lowell Davis
Ed Behm
Palm Terrace
Ione Hill
Logan Street Apts.
Butch Ratts
Attending College:
Zach Armstrong
Austin Sherman
Carley Leitch
Riley Leitch
Andie Antonik
Luke Collings
Luke Young
Kaylee Beals
Derek Pierce
Abbie Sherman
Sophie Collings
Morgan Hampton
DeVante White
Kelly Pierce
Angelica Beltran |
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Please let us know if we have missed anyone!!
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Dear (Contact First Name),
