|
United Methodist Church 501 Hampton Lane (Beltway Exit 27B & Dulaney Valley Road) email: towsonumc@towsonumc.org Towson, Maryland 21286 410-823-6511 Elevator is available to access all 3 floors! .
|
                
|
BRING IT TO CHURCH! We now have 2 brightly colored bins in the parking lot ready to accept your paper recycling 24/7. This is a fundraiser for the general budget of the church — we receive cash from Abitibi Paper Retriever for every ton of paper collected.
Here is what they will take: NEWSPAPERS SHOPPING CATALOGS MAIL MAGAZINES OFFICE & SCHOOL PAPERS ENVELOPES PHONE BOOKS FAX & COPY PAPER COLORED PAPER SHREDDED PAPER MUST BE CONTAINED IN PLASTIC BAGS
Here is what they WILL NOT take: PLASTIC GLASS METALS TRASH CARDBOARD Note again: NO Cardboard
— EDUCATION — MIDWEEK ADVENT STUDY Expecting the Unexpected by Blair Gilmer Meeks A midweek Advent study will be led by Rev. Bill Raker. This study will begin on Tuesday, November 25 and then will meet on Wednesdays during Advent, December 3, 10, and 17. Study will begin at 10:30 a.m. in rooms 214–216. An optional lunch will follow the study in rooms 214–216. Reservations are required only for lunch. “Reconnect with the Christmas story, the arrival of Christ’s message of hope and healing for this world. Expecting the Unexpected is a spiritual feast for mind and imagination. Christmas is just the beginning.” Registration forms for lunch are in the main church lobby or outside room 319. Cost of the study book is $11 and may be purchased from Rev. Raker or in the Education Office (room 319). Checks should be made out to Towson United Methodist Church.
WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY Want to further explore what the scripture lessons from our Sunday morning services have to say? That and other Biblical wisdom are pursued by the Wednesday Morning Bible Study each week meeting in rooms 214-216. These classes, taught by Rev. Bill Raker, meet weekly in that location from 10:30 - 11:30 AM. You are welcome to come. Bring your Bible and your questions and your interest and join us. If you have any inquiries, you may call Bill Raker at 410-665-7052.
DiscoverING the Ultimate Gift Women’s Retreat 2009 February 20 – 22, 2009 Greenwood Hills Bible Conference Center Registration forms are available for this year’s retreat on the Lobby Information table or in the Information Racks outside of Room 319. A Registration form will also be in the November High Spire and on the church website www.towsonumc.org.
— MISSION & OUTREACH —
Mission / Communion OFFERING UMCOR— Be There. Be Hope. (United Methodist Committee on Relief) UMCOR's mission is to alleviate human suffering—whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster—with open minds and hearts to all people. UMCOR is the not-for-profit global humanitarian aid organization of The United Methodist Church. UMCOR is working in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the United States. UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters that are interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community's ability to recover on its own. Funding Promise-100% Efficient Every dollar you give to UMCOR goes to the program you designate. UMCOR is 100% efficient. The One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering allows us to make—and to keep—this promise. OGHS funds the cost of doing business for UMCOR. They do not receive apportionment funds or any other world service funds. http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Ready for some early Christmas shopping?? Yes, it’s that time of year already! The Mission Work Area will be collecting for Operation Christmas Child on November 9, 16, and 23. Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love. This program of Samaritan’s Purse provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands-on mission project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus Christ.
Last year, Operation Christmas Child
distributed over 7.6 million shoe boxes in 100 countries around the world. Your
gifts open doors to introduce children to God’s greatest gift of all—Jesus
Christ—through Gospel booklets written in their own language and follow-up
children’s Bible study programs. Gift ideas include small toys, school
supplies, and hygiene items. The boxes should be standard size and may be
wrapped or decorated if you like. Please wrap the lid separately and place a
rubber band around each box. Place boxes in the Narthex. “The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice” (Psalm 97: 1, NIV).
RELIGIOUS CARVINGS FROM THE HOLY LAND — Sunday, November 16 November 16, we will be hosting a display of handmade olive wood religious articles from Bethlehem/The Holy Land available for purchase. These carvings include Nativity sets, crosses, Christmas ornaments, candle holders, angels, and many other items that could make nice gifts. The carvings are handmade by Christian families in Bethlehem who rely on them for their daily bread. For more than seven years those Christians have been enduring many hardships as tourism in Bethlehem has plummeted and access to other sources of income has been sharply restricted due to the volatile war situation in the country. Many Christians left their country. The Christian population of the Holy Land went down from 30% in the last century to 1.8% today. Please help support our Christian brothers and sisters in the town where Christ was born by purchasing their carvings. George Ghanem, an indigenous Christian from Bethlehem, will be with us presenting these carvings. It is never too late to help. All proceeds go to support Christian families from Bethlehem. www.holylandcsc.com.
JACKETS (hats & gloves, too) It’s that time of year, again. Children will be needing jackets for the cold weather. Your unwanted, gently used jacket will be given to the students, grades 1–8, at Margaret Brent Elementary-Middle School, located in Baltimore City around the corner from Lovely Lane UMC. Make sure it is clean. If it needs minor repairs, please pin a note to the jacket and we will take care of the sewing. Bring your jacket to the Sharing Bins in the main lobby of our church.
COULD YOU GO TO THE MARKET FOR OUR EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY? We could use food for the folks to whom we deliver food as well as those who come the last Thursday of the month to our Emergency Food Pantry — right here at Towson UMC in the main lobby. After you purchase any of the following items, please bring them to the Sharing Shelf in the main lobby our church, and place in one of the rubbermaid containers marked “Food Pantry.” THANK YOU for your blessing on this mission to the families in our community. Canned Pineapple Canned Peas Canned Spaghetti Sauce Cereal Powdered Milk Baked Beans Canned Chili w/Beans Canned Beef Stew Chunky Chicken or Beef Soup
TWO NEEDS FROM OUR EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY (1) The Emergency Food Pantry is in need of help to deliver 3-4 bags of food, provided by the EFP, to one household per month, in our local area. This will be your household to care for and to develop a relationship within the coming months. Remember, everything we have is given to us by our Father and we are asked to share our abundance with the many others who are in need. Please call Val Wehrle at 410-628-1985 or e-mail vmwehrle@yahoo.com. (2) Do you have access to a heavy duty truck or van? The US Government supplies our Emergency Food Pantry with surplus food about 4 times a year. Our portion of the food is picked up from a tractor trailer that is stationed at a church off Liberty Road in Randallstown. The pick-up time is always a Thursday morning at 11:00 sharp. We receive up to 80 commercial cases (2 pallets) of food each time. We need someone who can answer yes to this question and bring the food back to the church, unload, and stack outside Fellowship Hall. We have a hand truck here at church. (From there, our Boy Scout Troop 102 moves the food to our stocking area behind the stage.) Terry Bond has been our volunteer up ‘til now and we greatly appreciate his help. However, his schedule is no longer flexible, therefore, we need a new volunteer. If you fit the bill, PLEASE call Dwight Kines at 410-828-0792 or Cathy Rosellini at 410-823-3689. THANK YOU! (By the way, Rent-A-Wreck is available, if you want to help but don’t have the truck. This is a cross-gender request!)
“ATTIC BOOKS” SUPPORT CANCER RESEARCH St. John’s UMC in Lutherville is co-hosting this unique fundraiser to benefit Cancer Research and Aid to Families of Children with Cancer. They have book collectors who, with their special expertise, will sell many of your books on special venues. And, there will be a major book fair in January. Dig out your boxes of old books in your attic, basement, and garage and help wipe out cancer in your lifetime. Volunteers are needed to sort and pick-up. For more details and/or to schedule a book pick-up, call Ruth at 443-559-5736 or contact the St. John’s UMC office at 410-825-3969.
CLOTHING DROP-OFF FOR HOMESTEAD UM CHURCH Please place all clothing (and accessories) in the two large plastic containers, which are located at the end of the main parking lot, next to the fence of the Child Development Center play area. If you can, drop off between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, please do not make any bags or boxes too heavy. Your donated clothes and accessories are taken to the Homestead United Methodist Church for distribution to the less fortunate people in the Waverly area of Baltimore City. Thank you for your participation in this worthwhile cause. —–Jenna Lee Burkart
Look for HOLIDAY GIFT WRAP for sale in Fellowship Hall Sundays in November between worship services. Sales benefit Camp Hope.
- WORSHIP & PRAYER -
UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONALS The November/December Upper Room devotionals are available near the display in the mail lobby near the front doors. The suggested donation is $1.00. If you are unable to come to church to pick one up, call the church office and we will gladly send one to you. 410-823-6511
TUMC IS MORE HIGH-TECH THAN YOU THOUGHT! Did you know that if you miss a Sunday, that you can buy an audio tape, CD, or DVD of the service? For a mere $2.00, you can sit in front of your TV at home and watch the service, listen to the sermon, sing the hymns, and pray as if you were here with the rest of the congregation. After purchasing an audio tape or CD, you can listen to the service while you’re driving to work or on vacation. Contact Bud Burkart at 410-665-2303 and make arrangements to pick up or have Bud get it to you.
YOUR DONATIONS TO THE CHURCH All donations, including communion offerings, fruit offerings, and other special offerings to the Church, require your name, address, and offering envelope number in order to document your charitable giving. Such donations will be reflected on quarterly giving statements. We believe these quarterly statements satisfy the requirement of the tax authorities that the recipient provide a receipt for all donations. If you are currently assigned an envelope number, all identifiable donations will be reflected on your quarterly statement. If your donation is unidentifiable or you do not have an envelope number, your donation will not appear on a quarterly statement. Anyone wishing to receive a quarterly statement must have an envelope number; please contact the Business Office if you do not have one. Blank offering envelopes are available in the pews if needed; please include your name, address, and envelope number if you wish to receive credit on your contribution statement. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Finance Committee or the Business Office, 410-823-3693.
- FELLOWSHIP & SERVICE -
TUMC Women's Book Club All women are invited to join us. No pressure. Just borrow or purchase the assigned book, read it, come to the discussion, listen, discuss, laugh, and have fun with fellow readers! No registration or obligation. Discussions are the LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH from 4:00 - 5:30 PM in the church parlor. For additional info: contact Susan Gralley, (email) kt2s@comcast.net or (phone) 410-527-1867. November 30: Good Harbor, by Anita Diamant For the entire 2008-09 program year's list of reading, click Women.
TWO BUS TRIPS TO BENEFIT THE WESLEY BENEVOLENT CARE FUND Saturday, November 22, 2008 $70.00 A Wesley favorite -- Allenbury's annual Christmas Show and wonderful buffet, with a stop at Brown's Market on the way home! We will leave Towson UMC at 9:30 AM and return at 5:30 PM. Contact Pat Nardone at 410-823-5377 for reservations by Monday, October 13. December 8-10, 2008 $355.00 Join us for "Christmas at the Ocean," which includes the Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City, a tour of Assateague Island and Berlin, a Christmas show at the O.C. Jamboree, the Christmas lights display at Sandy Point, and much more! We will be staying at the Grand Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland. For further information and reservations, contact Alice Snyder at 410-825-3641.
HELP US TO SHINE BRIGHTLY Our 50th Anniversary year has been full of excitement. We have had many special activities, all held in our newly renovated building. Restoring our facility and making it ready for the next fifty years cost $3.2 million. We are within $400,000 of completely paying for all of the upgrades and improvements. Let’s complete the task in our anniversary year so we can begin the next fifty years debt free! If everyone will help, this is very possible. Recently, you received a new pledge card and envelope. Please prayerfully consider a gift to Shining Brightly. This is the legacy we are leaving the next two generations. Be part of it. What a gift for those to come.
ALUMINUM SODA CAN TABS The youth are collecting soda can flip tabs. The tabs will be traded in for money, which will be donated to the Shining Brightly Capital Campaign. Please bring you collected tabs to church and drop them in the container in the church office next to the Associate Pastor's door. Get your friends, neighbors, office, school, family to join you. Help the youth help the capital campaign!
|
INSTEAD OF PUTTING YOUR
RECYCLABLE PAPER AT THE END OF YOUR DRIVEWAY ...