Monthly News from Washington Park United Methodist Church
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“We have a lot to learn.” This is the refrain that plays on repeat in my head every day. While I’m considering how to keep a toddler busy while stuck indoors during a snow day and failing to keep her entertained, “I have a lot to learn about her.” While I watch our youth prepare lunches for our homeless neighbors and find joy and laughter in the work, “we have a lot to learn from them.” While I watch the news panic about escalating and multiplying conflicts, “we all have so much to learn.”
Our faith in a God we can barely begin to fathom sings this reality to us every single day: we have a lot to learn.
This month, in honor of Black History month, Rev. Sandi and I will be sharing the stories of we can learn from. Join us for each Sunday in February to hear the stories of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Charlotte E. Ray, Mamie Phipps Clark, and Nichelle Nichols. Each woman represents barriers broken and the promise of a new future for all people to be held as worthy and valuable. Each woman has a lesson for us to learn and a prophetic message for us to hear.
I pray that you join us in discovering the lessons these women have for us.
Blessings,
Rev. Jamielee
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Sunday services can be viewed live at 9:30am on Facebook AND YouTube, or afterwards with the links found on the website and weekly emails.
February 6th
Prophets of Our Past: Persevering Love
Hosea 11: 7-9
February 13th
Prophets of Our Past: God’s Care for All People
Jonah 3:10
February 20th
Prophets of Our Past: Restoration
Michah 6: 8
February 27th
Prophets of Our Past: Encouragement
Haggai 2: 7-9
A Note from Your Pastor about Worship:
With the rising COVID cases over the last week or so, I've had several of you ask if we'll be moving back to virtual only worship. At this point, we will continue to offer our worship streaming as well as have in-person worship. Because many people are choosing our online format, we feel confident that we are able to offer plenty of room for social distancing in-person. Masks, of course, are required for all participants over 2 years old.
We know that during this time, you will make the best decision for you and your family in terms of worship attendance. Despite our distance, we need each other. Please reach out if there is anything that you need, a prayer you want lifted up, or just the connection of the community we call church.
Rev. Sandi
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A Year in Review: 2021
Another year of fighting through COVID-19 has not only made our congregation and staff more resilient, but also better prepared to address the volatility thrown our way. Although we had some starts and stops with in-person worship, our staff has done an excellent job building out the on-line platform which has enable us to stay engaged with our WPUMC community and focused on delivering on our mission.
Subject to final closeout of our books, it appears that WPUMC’s Total Income for 2021 will be around $1.45 million of which the preschool operation contributed around 63%, or $915,000, with the balance coming from pledged income and rental income. Our rental income exceeded our budgeted projections by 2x as we put a renewed focus of improving rental income which was negatively impacted in 2020 due to COVID-19. Pledges are anticipated to be on par with the 2021 budget – members did an excellent job following through with your commitments! We can’t thank you enough for digging deep, especially in these challenging times, and delivering. Expenses will be roughly equivalent with 2020 numbers which was driven by a conscious effort to reduce costs given the uncertainty around the virus. On a combined basis, WPUMC was able to generate a profit of $284,000, of which $207,000 was secured through the PPP funding for the church and preschool. However, we did have a significant one-time expense in 2021 of over $100,000 with the relocation of our HVAC system.
2022 is setting up to be another year of uncertainty for the church, yet I’m confident our congregation will rise up and address any issues head on given our response in 2021. We can feel good about our congregation’s commitment to the church by the outcome of our annual pledge drive this fall. Additionally, our staff and One Board are better equipped to manage through the starts and stops of inhouse worship and preschool learning. These learnings were invaluable and will only serve to strengthen our WPUMC community. Together, we can get through this and there is no other community I would rather navigate these unchartered waters with than WPUMC. My heart is full of gratitude because I’ve seen the true colors of our congregation. God Bless and here’s to 2022!
Best Regards
Mark Warren
Finance Chairman
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UMC Disaster Response Team Fire Buckets:
The United Methodist Church of Johnstown became an UMCOR Hub recently. Our new designation is the United Methodist Church Disaster Response Team. The DRT will have the same feel as UMCOR in terms of mission and strategy and it is our sincere hope that we can continue to work together with you to provide a positive impact in the wake of disaster. We will be working in coordination with the Mountain Sky District as the Western Jurisdiction Disaster Response Coordinators. The current need is building Fire Kits to be distributed to those individuals impacted by wildland or house fires. Due to the number of items needed for each kit/bucket, the preferred method of donating is monetary, as we can then purchase in bulk, bringing the cost of each kit to $90.00. You can make cash/check donations to UMC Johnstown with (Fire Kits in the memo line for checks) or through online giving. Give online by visiting www.johnstown.church/give and use the drop-down box to select the Disaster fund. For groups that want to build multiple kits, follow this Amazon link for the list of items: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1T94ANE11WMWF?ref_=wl_fv_le
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Preschool Auction April 9th: DONATIONS NEEDED!
WPUMC Preschool is holding the FINAL Fundraiser to raise funds for our Playground Renovation. This year, our Spring 2022 Fundraiser will be held at Four Mile Historic Park on Saturday, April 9th, and the planning is well underway, but we still really need YOUR help! We can't raise the funds needed without the involvement of our parents and families and I think we can all agree that the new Playground is well worth our efforts!
Below is a link to the online Sign Up which will allow volunteers to sign up for various Sub-Committees that we have created. Please use the link to access the Sign Up and if the spots are filled, you can email Erin Peart directly ([email protected]) as we could likely still use your help! Also, if anyone has IT expertise, we would love some assistance with the Marketing and Website Sub-Committee in particular.
Lastly, if you're looking to donate or know someone else who is, but you don't want to join the Donations Sub-Committee, please let me know as any donations are happily accepted! :)
Thanks in advance for your participation! We're excited to have an actual event this year that we know will be a ton of fun!
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New Trustee Committee Members
In January, we said goodbye to our former Trustee Committee consisting of Jimmy Smrz, Nancy Leonard, and Tim Glennie. Thank you for your countless hours of work over the previous years. We welcome our new OneBoard members on the Trustee Committee, Carol Nelson, John Drum, and Graham Daugherty.
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Vacation Bible School 2022
Adventure Island!
We are excited to announce our dates and theme for VBS this summer. Registration will open Monday, April 4th. The form can be found on our church website and will be in the weekly emails from our church. The website is washparkumc.org. VBS will be held the week of August 1-5, 9:00-11:30 A.M. On Friday, August 5th, we will host an end of the week celebration and we will end at 12:00 PM. This is for children 3 years old and potty trained through completion of 6th grade. I would like to encourage our church to invite attendees and volunteers alike and make this a community event. Our theme is pretty awesome! Who doesn’t love a colorful puffin, Beacon, as our tour guide for a week?! Please consider how you can participate this summer and be a guide for children as they learn to grow in His word.
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This month in Youth Group we’ll be talking about how we love our neighbor. Join us on February 27th from 4-7 pm to make a meal for our homeless neighbors, have dinner together and learn about how mercy and justice have formed our faith and our traditions. It looks like our game of the day will be One Night Ultimate Werewolf, but if you’re interested in trying something new, be sure to check out our January 13th email and vote on our game options! If you’d like more information or would like to get involved, please email Rev. Jamielee at [email protected].
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There are lots of ways that you can offer your gifts in service to our congregation – looking for a way to be more involved at WPUMC? Here are a few opportunities:
*Ushering – online or in-person! We schedule individuals for a specific Sunday a month for their ushering “shift”. Online ushering doesn’t require you to be in the building, but to engage with online worship participants. In-person ushering requires your presence, and includes greeting people and helping with offering and communion. Email Rev. Sandi at [email protected].
*Making Meals! Do you love to cook or offer people food? We coordinate meals for families with new babies, people who have health concerns, and other times when a meal seems to offer a tangible sign of love to our church family. To help out, email Rev. Sandi at [email protected].
*Sunday Morning Liturgist! If you’d like to help offer a greeting to our worship participants, lead the call to worship and read the scripture, email Rev. Sandi at [email protected].
There are lots of other ways to volunteer at WPUMC – if there is something specific you’d like to share, or if you are interested in a certain area of leadership, please contact Rev. Sandi at [email protected].
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February 03 Stephanie Gerard
February 04 Dick Evans
February 06 Tina Heinert
February 15 Andrew Salis
February 18 Maggie Eronimous
February 19 Colton Nance
February 20 MaryKay Casey
February 21 Destiny Nelson
February 25 Braden Smith
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Altar Flowers 2022
If you’d like to sponsor Sunday morning altar flowers in honor of an occasion or in memory of someone, please sign up for a date below. The arrangements cost $45 ($35 for seniors) and you can take them home or give them away after service. We just ask that you return the vases to the Tea Kitchen so that we can reuse them. Make checks out to WPUMC and put altar flowers in the memo line or pay via Venmo @Michelle-Hoskins-17.
Please enter the occasion or person to be honored in the My Comment field after you click Sign Up.
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