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Click on the links below to go directly to that section of the newsletter.
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JOIN US FOR
Worship Services:
8:00 and 10:30 a.m.
Traditional
9:15 a.m.
Praise and Worship
THIS SUNDAY
October 13, 2019
Please welcome our District Superintendent, Rev. Tracy Bass as he joins us for worship. Rev. Bass will be preaching at all three services.
John
215-357-6998
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Friday
9:00 AM -2:00 PM
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NURSERY
Available at both
9:15 and 10:30.
We welcome all children birth through 4 years old. The nursery is equipped with a calling system and will alert you in worship if your child needs you.
For more information about our Children or Youth Ministries, please contact Director,
David Bigam, dbigam@gmail.com
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THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR
Sunday, October 13
9:00am
Adult Sunday School
10:30am
Children & Youth Sunday School
4:00pm
Blessing of the Animals
Monday, October 14
6:45pm
Celebration Ringers
Wednesday, October 16
7:00pm
How Happiness Happens - Study
Thursday, October 17
7:30pm
Adult Choir & Ring of Faith at Twining Village
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|  PRAYER LIST Please click to view
All "Ongoing Prayer Concerns"
will be listed for
2 weeks.
Please submit a new prayer request card if you desire to renew the listing for 2 additional weeks.
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If your contact information changes:
address, phone, email, etc.
please notify the church office at
215-357-6998 or stjumc@aol.com.
You may also indicate any changes on the
sign-in sheet during worship and we'll be sure to update your information in our files.
Thank you!
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MOBILE GIVING
- Just go to our website stjohnsivyland.com
- Click on the donate now button and register.
Once you've registered, you can either make donations by debit or credit.
OR try
TEXT GIVING
All you have to do is text the amount you wish to give to 877-960-2396.
You will immediately receive a one-time registration link, then just follow the prompts to complete your donation!
It's quick and secure.
The same vendor that handles electronic giving for us, Vanco Services, has state of the art encryption, so you can rest easy that your transaction is 100% safe and confidential.
If you have any questions about mobile or text giving,
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(Click for more information)
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DAILY DEVOTIONALS
Looking for a little inspiration during the week?
Try an online devotional.
(has many devotionals to choose from)
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The Grace Cafe is open Sunday mornings for fellowship
and refreshments.
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Order forms available in the Grace Café.
An order will be placed in late September..
Thank you for supporting the Village of El Naranjito in the Dominican Republic and
"Fighting for What's Right One Cup at a Time."
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New members of the ministry group are always welcome; lessons and guidance can be provided for beginners and those with rusty skills.
The group
meets mon
thly on the second Tuesday to knit or crochet together and to pray over the completed items. For more information, contact Carol Rice at 215-357-1203.
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RONALD McDONALD HOUSE TABS COLLECTION
Naomi Circle is collecting tabs from beverage cans for Ronald McDonald House. You will find a container under the sign hanging on the UMW bulletin board. Please place them in a plastic bag and put it in the container. This is an ongoing collection, so keep bringing them in as you collect them. Thank you.
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DONATIONS NEEDED
Donations of non-perishable food for the Eastwick Food Pantry are needed now and throughout the year. Please place contributions in the shopping carts located in the narthex and fellowship hall lobby.
Volunteers are also needed to deliver food and clothing to the Eastwick Food Bank.
if you are available to help.
Thank you for your support.
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click to view the thank you letter
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Red Bird Trailers are Open!
9 AM - 5 PM Daily
Donations of clothing and household furnishings are accepted See the trailers located in the back of the
St. John's parking lot.
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The Red Bird Trailers can always use bags of clothing. We use the bags to cushion the furniture as the furniture is packed from floor to ceiling in the trailer. 
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UPCOMING MISSION PROJECTS
- Habitat for Humanity - working on construction/finishing of four homes in the Morrisville Area - this fall
- Compassion Sunday - October 27
- One Great Day of Service - Spring 2020
You are invited to join us as we work to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need.
Questions? Contact Pastor Ruth
215-357-6998, ext. 306
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Our next FAMILY PROMISE hosting is November 10-17,
sign up here
Family Promise of Lower Bucks invites you to get involved "Tuck One In" with Family Promise. With your help, Family Promise changes the lives of homeless families, one-by-one-by-one. During October, we look to raise awareness of the need in our community and funds to support our programs. For more info, please call 215-943-0402 or email
info@fplb.org.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
OCT 16 - Boscov's "Friends Helping Friends" event. Purchase a $5 pass from FPLB and shop all day with a 25% discount. Passes are available by contacting Maryanne Cahill at 267-968-3057, or by email to
chcknlgz2@gmail.com.
OCT 25 - Family Promise National Giving Day. Across the country Family Promise affiliates will host educational and fundraising events.
Also, get acquainted with the "other half" of the program by visiting the FPLB Day Center at our Open House from 6:30 to 8:00pm, 1700 Woodbourne Road, Levittown, PA 19057
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UMC LINKS
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Occasionally, a local funeral home asks me to officiate at a brief funeral service and, depending on my schedule, I'll often do so as a community outreach. This week, I'm officiating at a funeral service for a 95-year-old - she is someone who has been ill and wheelchair-bound for over 30 years and has subsequently lost any connection to her church family. I feel privileged to pray God's blessing on her final journey home.
As many of you know, I lost both of my own parents in the last couple of years - both of them were 90 years of age and I give thanks to God for being blessed with them for so long.
It's incredibly hard for any of us to get a grip on how quickly time passes, isn't it? I remember my mom always saying, "I don't know how I got to be this old - one day I just woke up and I was 90!" We go through life one day at a time and then suddenly we realize how many months or years has passed and it seems unfathomable! There's a Facebook page called "Totally Sixties" that I'm a member of, and every day someone asks if anyone "remembers" a certain thing from the '60's. Today, someone asked, "Remember when you used to put a coin on top of your record arm to stop the needle from jumping?" My gosh, I haven't thought about having done that in a million years. Somebody else wrote, "Do you remember how we used to call multiplication 'times tables'"? Yikes - yes I do.
I took a Nursing Assistant course at a local hospital the summer I finished the ninth grade. After graduation from the course, we were actually assigned to help out with patient care on weekends and during the summer. I'm sure that would be a no-no today! It was the late 1960's and I remember being absolutely stunned by the birthdates on some of the patient's charts - it was beyond my comprehension that some of them had been born in the 1800's.
The other thing that always stuns me is the fact that God's sense of timing is not our sense of timing. To God, I imagine that a thousand years can pass in the blink of an eye.
It's hard to wrap our human minds around certain things. And one of them is the passage of time. God's perspective is so much bigger and wider than ours. God can see the whole picture, we can only see a miniscule slice of the picture. So it's a good thing that God is in control and we are not. Sometimes, I suppose, it helps to just sit back and ponder that truth.
Pastor Janice
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This Sunday, October 13th
4:00 PM
St. John's Fellowship Hall
Everyone is invited to attend with their animals (properly restrained, of course) as we give thanks for all God's creation, and celebrate His gift of creatures, great and small.
Each animal will receive a personal blessing, a gift, a treat and a free picture of this special event.
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St. John's Kids News
All children and youth please go directly to classrooms for Sunday School. 10:30 Service Only.
Pre-K-2nd Grade - Room B
Grades 3, 4 and 5 - Room A
Grades 6 thru 12 - Youth Room
Leaders and Co-Leaders are always needed for our classrooms as well as Nursery. If you feel called to help in these areas, please let me know! Clearances are required! Please contact me anytime and we can talk. Thank you for your consideration...David Bigam
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Sign ups for this year's Christmas Pageant
is coming soon!!
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Fellowship and fun for youth grades 6 thru 12.
Looking for something meaningful to do on
Wednesday nights?
YOUTH GROUP HAS BEGUN!
That's right, it's now on Wednesdays!!!
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Join us for light snacks, a devo and fun.
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MORRISVILLE FOOD BANK MONDAY
Monday, October 14th
Please contact David Bigam.
Do Not Miss This Opportunity!
Come and experience great Fellowship
on the 2nd Monday of every month!
Morrisville is open to EVERYONE interested in going to help make 220 grocery bags full of food.
Families are always welcome!
Following this event we always head to Chick-fil-a for Milkshakes!!!!
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Sunday, October 20
Cost is $25.00 for all 4 attractions. You will need to bring a non-perishable to receive that price.
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CONFIRMATION 2019-20
Confirmation classes begin Friday, October 18 with a Retreat.
6 PM thru Saturday 2 PM
Parents' meeting will be held following the 10:30 service this Sunday, October 13.
Please look for a sign up in the Narthex.
And as always
Bring a Friend and Bring a Can!
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Have you HELPED anyone today?
Have you SAID SOMETHING NICE to anyone today?
David Bigam, Director of Children and Youth Ministries
dbigam@gmail.com
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St. John's Youth Annual Wreath Sale
Appalachia Service Project
Christmas is fast approaching!
Why not start your Christmas shopping now.
All proceeds support our Mission Trip in Appalachia.
Orders will be taken through the end of October.
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Come Sing and Ring with Us!
VOCAL & HANDBELL CHOIRS for ALL
St. John's Vocal Choirs provide opportunities for EVERYONE to be involved in music. From young children through adults, we have a place for you in our music program. Beginning musicians and experienced singers are welcome in our Vocal Choirs.
Joyful Voices: URGENT HELP NEEDED!
Children are urgently needed to join our Joyful Voices Choir!! At the present time, we only have seven children participating in the choir. Any children grades K-4 are eligible to participate. Rehearsals are on Sunday morning, following the 10:30 Worship Service. Please, PLEASE consider having your child participate in the Joyful Voices choir.
Youth Choir: Sunday October 20
Rehearsal on October 20 will be CHANGED to 4:30-5:30. This change was requested by Mr. Bigam so that the Youth Group could attend the "Haunted Hayride".
This is only a one time change. Thanks for your commitment and flexibility.
For more information on our Vocal and Handbell Choirs, please contact:
Roy Nelson, Director
215-962-8928
roynel@aol.com
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 BOOK CLUB
Tuesday, November 5
10:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Church Parlor
Everyone is welcome.
Leaders: Barbara Schneider and Carol Campbell
The story is set in the 1950s and revolves around a young woman named Kya Clark, who is from extremely rural North Carolina. Known by others as the Marsh Girl, she lives alone in nature but the draw of other people, and specifically love, brings her into contact with the greater world. This novel has a mystery at its core, but it can be read on a variety of levels. There is great nature writing; there is coming of age; and there is literature. Crawdads is a story lovingly told, one that takes its time in developing its characters and setting, and in developing the story.
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Adult Ministries Notes
I know Halloween has not yet arrived, much less Thanksgiving, so why am I bugging you to sign up for Advent studies in October? It is because of the way the church calendar and our yearly calendar happen to clash a bit this year as it does every few years.
I know you don't want to attend a study on Thanksgiving Eve or Christmas Eve. So the study, Not a Silent Night, which is a 5-week study, will begin early and remain on Mondays. The other study, Down to Earth, which is a 4-week study, is being moved from Wednesday to Tuesday.
The Gospel of Matthew study on Wednesday will continue through till spring this year. They meet in the Grace Café and would welcome new participants who want to dive into this gospel.
Likewise Adult Sunday School will continue to meet on Sunday AM at 9 in the parlor.
As in the fall, I'm asking you to put your check in a white envelope with your name on the outside and your check on the inside and place it sealed in my mailbox next to the office by the dates listed with each study.
If you should need partial or full scholarship assistance to pay for the books, please call me: 267-614-3603.
Your request will remain confidential.
Come grow your faith right here at St. John's!
Pastor Sue Czarnecki
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Not a Silent Night
Begins on Monday, November 11
at 6:45 PM
Facilitators:
Carol Campbell & Barbara Schneider
Spend some time with Mary during this Advent season. In
Not a Silent Night, Adam Hamilton looks at Jesus' life through the eyes of his mother. Imagine what Bethlehem must have looked like from Mary's point of view. Focus your own gaze on the Savior she knew as her beautiful child! Beginning with the crucifixion and resurrection, then backtracking through Jesus' life and ministry, Hamilton paints a fresh and moving portrait of the Messiah's life in this 5-week Advent study.
Sign up at the table in the narthex. Books are $8.00. Place check in envelope and leave in Pastor Sue's mailbox next to office by November 3.
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Down to Earth
November 26 to December 17
10 AM and 7 PM
Facilitators:
Pastor Janice and Pastor Sue
More than 2,000 years ago a baby was born in a backwater village of the Roman Empire - and the world was changed forever! In this 4-week Advent video study, Mike Slaughter explores the extraordinary story of how the Son of God chose to become a lowly human. We are challenged us to respond during Advent with down-to-earth love, humility, and obedience.
Sign up at the table in the narthex. Books are $7.50. Place check in envelope and leave in Pastor Sue's mailbox next to office by November 10.
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UNITED METHODIST MEN'S BREAKFAST
Saturday, October 19th
8 AM - Fellowship Hall
All Men Welcome!
Sign up on the sheets in the Narthex
or email Ed Campbell, edcampbell6@aol.com
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UNITED METHODIST WOMEN'S ELECTION DAY BAKE SALE
Election Day is Tuesday,
November 5th.
We will be seated in Fellowship Hall during voting hours selling baked goods. Please help out by volunteering to bake a few goodies or man the table for one 2 hour shift.
There will be a sign up sheet on the UMW bulletin board.
As always, we appreciate the great support provided to us by our generous congregation.
Thank you.
Any questions, please contact Kathy Keppol at 215-357-7404 or speak with any UMW Officer.
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GriefShare 13 week Sessions
Mondays from 6:30-8:30
2019-2020 GriefShare Schedule:
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September 9-December 2, 2019: 13 Week Session
- Saturday, November 23, 10 a.m. until noon in the Library - Surviving the Holidays seminar
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January 6-April 6, 2020 (no class Presidents' Day): 13 Week Session
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May 1-August 3, 2020 (no class Memorial Day): 13 Week Session
There is a $15 fee for materials. For further information, contact Ruth Portzline or Chaplain Erin Maurer or go to
griefshare.org.
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If you or someone you know has experienced separation or divorce, either recently or a long time ago, we want to invite them to this support group.
Sundays, from 6pm to 7:30pm
in the Church Library
A complete schedule by topic, more details, and sign-ups are at:
Fall Session: Sept. 15 to Dec. 15, 2019
Spring Session: Jan 26 to May 3, 2020
- Each rotation lasts 13 weeks but you can join or miss anytime and make up sessions during the next rotation if desired.
- There is a one-time $35 registration fee but scholarships are available. Payment is done in class, please sign up online so we can communicate with you. (Checks payable to: St. John's UMC)
- No Childcare offered.
- No Class on Holiday Weekends (see schedule online).
- Our facilitators, Sarah Floyd and Donna Hartfeil can be contacted at:
Located at:
St. John's United Methodist Church
820 Almshouse Road
Ivyland, PA 18974
We now meet in the church library classroom which is the first room on the left when you enter from the main parking lot which is on the left side of the church. Knock on the double doors on the side of the church. There are a few stairs up. If you cannot do stairs the leader will greet you and bring you to the handicap entrance.
Contact Information
Sarah Floyd or Donna Hartfeil
Facilitators of Divorce Care Program
215-357-6998
DivorceCareIvylandPA@gmail.com
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Don't forget that the devotions for our Advent Devotional are due this Sunday, October 13.
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Time to dust off your Christmas spirit!
St. John's Christmas gift to our community!
December 15, 2019 5 PM - 8 PM
"Drive-thru Living Nativity"
Last year over 100 members of St. John's family were involved in this wonderful event. We were all blessed to be able to give our gift of
The Drive-thru Living Nativity
to our community.
Over 200 cars drove through to experience the Christmas story - complete with live animals.
We are already working on this year's event.
So, mark your calendar!!!
Sign-ups will be available soon!
If you missed this outreach opportunity
last year, please consider participating this year.
We guarantee that you will be blessed!
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HUNTERDON HILLS PLAYHOUSE TRIP!
Tuesday, December 17th 
- Bus leaves St. John's at 9:30 AM
- Matinee production of
Our 2019 Holiday Musical, a musical with songs, comedy sketches, dance numbers, and orchestra
- $95 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, full course meal, dessert buffet, tax & gratuity.)
- Sign-up sheet in the Narthex, or contact Lara Bolte (610-945-5750 or larabolte@gmail.com).
- Sign up by 12/10. Payment due ASAP. Make checks out to St. John's and write "Hunterdon" in the memo line.
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TWINING VILLAGE MEMORY CAFE
Third Tuesdays
10 AM - Noon
Re-opening October 15
Free to everyone
If you have a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related illness, we invite you to join us at the Twining Village Memory Cafe.
Our Memory Cafe is a monthly get-together of people with memory loss and their friends and family members in a supportive, non-judgemental, compassionate and engaging environment.
The cafe provides a place of warmth and friendship to socialize in a relaxed and less stressful atmosphere. Our goal is simply to bring together people in similar situations to brain health as diet and exercise. The bonds forged in memory cafes often are long-lasting, offering an additional resource for partipants.
Our program is not a support, respite or educational group and does require caregivers to be present. Its range of benefits includes positive change from your daily routine.
In fact, the Twining Village Memory Cafe is a brief time to leave worries at home and simply enjoy yourself. Activities include refreshments, crafts, games, sing-alongs, trivia programs and much more!
For more information, contact the Rev. Erin Maurer, Twining Village chaplain or Beverly Gowton, director of community life,
at (215) 396-7150.
Twining Village - A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
280 Middle Holland Road, Holland, PA 18966
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