orange city united methodist church newsletter - winter ... 2016 go tell.pdf · and our tithe of...
TRANSCRIPT
Finances 2
Generosity 3
Special Projects 4
Maintenance 5
Annual Financial Report 6
Thank You Volunteers 8
New Beginnings 9
Worship 10
Ministry Spotlight 11
Go, Tell.
Orange City Uni ted Methodist Church Newsletter - Winter 2016
Just as Mary was instructed to “Go, Tell” when the tomb was empty, we can go
and tell others about Jesus in the way that we Reach, Serve, and Love like Christ.
We Are Serious About Prayer
The prayer team meets on Wednesday evenings at 6 pm upstairs in the Edu-
cation Building for Sweet Hour of Prayer. We pray over a list of concerns
that are brought to our attention by several means: people fill out prayer
request cards during worship services, at Mail Call Ministry, at the 3rd Sat-
urday Community Connection, or in the church office. Often concerns come
to us through email or word of mouth.
We give thanks to God for answered
prayer, for joys, and we lift concerns
to Him for His help and discernment.
Nothing is too big or too small for our
Father. We pray expectantly and
specifically. We would love to have
more from our church family join us
in this important ministry. Won’t
you come and feel the presence of the
Holy Spirit?
Prayer Blanket Ministry
We had a good stewardship program that concluded on November 8, 2015. Based on the Estimates of Giving we
received, it appears that we have grown spiritually in 2015 and we are confidently looking forward to a great new
year of continued growth. Thank you for your response. Let us continue to grow spiritually and to reflect that
growth in our stewardship of our time, talents, and financial resources.
If you recall, the message was that we give to the work of Christ out of spiritual development, and that we grow
spiritually, this giving of ourselves and our resources increases. Well, the number of Estimates that we received
increased over 2015, and the average per-Estimate amount also increased. Further, the number of Estimate cards
received without an estimate amount continued to decrease this year. With these Estimates, the Church Council
approved a Spend Plan (budget) that continues some vital support for Martha’s Cupboard and 3rd Saturday Com-
munity Connection ($100/month, each). This will help provide a more stable base for these key ministries. The
Spend Plan is a 2.5% increase over 2015, and is just slightly over $300,000.
2016 Stewardship Results
When we meet on Wednesday evenings for Sweet
Hour of Prayer this also gives us the opportunity
to make prayer blankets. We gather together in
prayer for a specific person in need or a celebra-
tion, we pray as we tie knots around these soft
and comforting blankets. You may join this group
that meets once a month, or as needed.
PAGE 2 GO, TELL.
Financial Report Has 3 Parts
The 2015 Financial Stewardship
report on pages 6 & 7 has three
parts.
1. The Operating Funds - This
group of funds is used to manage
the money associated with the
basic operations of the church
facility and our basic local ministries. This is the
portion for which we establish an annual spend plan
(budget).
2. Designated and Restricted Funds – This group
of funds is used to keep track of money designated for
specific purposes outside of the ministries included in
the Operating Funds.
3. Endowment Funds – This group is used to man-
age bequest money in accordance with the terms of
the gift or in terms of the plan established for the gift
by the Charge Conference. The Permanent Endow-
ment Fund Committee is responsible for management
of these funds.
Operating Funds Support All
Our General Fund can be considered what we
spend on ourselves to provide the infrastructure that
enables our other ministries. Our spend plan
(budget) for 2016 is approximately $25,000 per
month. There are four basic parts of this work.
The Personnel program provides the stable exper-
tise for supporting our congregation as they do minis-
try and grow in discipleship: Pastor and Administra-
tive Assistant (full time); Children and Youth Direc-
tor, Choir Director, Worship Leader, Accompanist,
Nursery workers, Treasurer, and Maintenance Per-
son (part-time).
The Property program provides operation and
maintenance of the physical plant that supports all
we do locally, including ministries in which we do not
actively participate (or do not provide program mate-
rials support, such as Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Nar-
cotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Food
Anonymous, WAVA Hall seniors groups, Council on
Aging.
Program materials are provided through our gen-
eral giving to support our in-house ministries with
special materials and services. Vacation Bible School
materials are one specific example.
And then there is the Administrative Program,
which provides general support to all of our in-house
programs with things such as postage, copies, and
office supplies.
We have a residual mortgage balance ($145, 993)
on 12/31/2014) from construction of the Education
Building. We receive some designated money for the
mortgage; the balance to cover the monthly payments
comes from the General Fund.
The Benevolence Fund re-
ceives designated contributions
and our tithe of the undesignated
contributions to the General Fund.
Our connectional giving
(Apportionments) is paid out of
this account.
The Operating Funds group also
includes funds for managing securities given to the
church and for managing parsonage expenses that we
share with the Children’s Home.
OCUMC Tithes
Your church is a tithing church. Ten percent of all
money not designated for specific ministries is trans-
ferred to the Benevolence Fund and used to pay our
apportionments and support other causes that may be
approved by the Church Council to be included in the
Spend Plan.
We Are The Church
Ministry happens when one person helps another
person. We are each ministers. Without people there
is no ministry. The group of us here in Orange City
are known as Orange City United Methodist Church,
a part of the Church (all followers of Christ). Our fa-
cilities are tools for doing ministry and for training
people to do ministry and for growth in faith. Our
Operating Funds provide for the operation and
maintenance of our facility, for nurturing the spiritu-
al growth of our people, and to help satisfy their spir-
itual needs as a basis for doing ministry in the name
of Christ.
Our ministry to others, as we attempt to Reach,
Serve, and Love like Christ, happens as individuals
with the appropriate gifts are called to specific acts of
service and others are called to support them with
their time, talents, and money. The Designated and
Restricted funds specifically identify many of these
ministries and the amount of financial support given
them largely through “second mile” giving. As noted
elsewhere, Pastor Drew, acting for us, ministers to
the needy through the generous contributions to the
Pastor’s Discretionary Fund.
Endowment Fund Management
The Permanent Endowment Fund Committee is a
ministry that we don’t hear a lot about. It works in
conjunction with the Finance Committee and Trus-
tees to provide management of the money contributed
to the church from trusts, bequests and legacies.
Each has specific instructions on how the funds are to
be used. The primary activity in 2015 was attempt-
ing to find candidates for scholarships.. The commit-
tee also manages the funds set up for the perpetual
care of the Susan Foxworth Davis Memorial Garden
PAGE 3
for cremated remains located on our campus. Expens-
es for maintenance of the garden have been minimal in
2015. There were no new interments in 2015.
The Scholarship Committee operates within the
Endowment Committee, and is responsible for promot-
ing, and advertising the available scholarships,
receiving and evaluating scholarship applications and
recommending to the full Committee the award of
scholarships. We manage two scholarship funds in
accord with the provisions of the bequests. A generous
bequest by Frank Logan provides the funding for a
scholarship for support of Christian vocation education
in memory of his wife Vera Cornell Logan. We had no
applicants this year, and no scholarships were award-
ed.
This year we approached the Methodist churches in
our area to see if they had any candidates that we
could partner with them. None did, so we will be going
back to the colleges and university for candidates. We
really offer an outstanding scholarship to the candi-
dates selected by the schools. All of the recipients in
the past at Candler School of Theology have studied to
become pastors. This year we will be offering $4,000
per year for 3 years for a total of $12,000. We have
enough funds to do this for 8 years without touching
the core value of $140,000. We are exploring the possi-
bility of participating in some way with a District-level
scholarship program.
The Mary Henri Peterson Music Scholarship also is
available for music lessons, but the funding for this is
much more limited. Two scholarships in the amount of
$250 each were awarded in 2015. These scholarships
are helping our youth perfect their musical skills. We
encourage everyone to remember OCUMC and its min-
istries in your will or estate planning. If you are con-
sidering a bequest to the church with special conditions
for use, please speak with the Committee to be sure the
conditions are consistent with our vision to Reach,
Serve, and Love like Christ and the laws under which
we must operate.
Pollock Bequest Support Continues
A portion of the money bequeathed to the church by
John Pollock was used in 2015 for ministry initiative
support and for property major maintenance.
In accordance with the plan established by the
Church Council, this money continued to underwrite
an emphasis on Children & Youth Ministry and Wor-
ship & Music ministries. The Youth and Children por-
tion paid part of the salary of our Director of Children
and Youth Ministries. The Property portion had no
significant expenses in 2015. Part of the benevolence
allocation was used to complete pay-out of our Appor-
tionments for 2015. The balance of the Music minis-
tries portion was used for salary support for the Choir
Director. The Pollock support to the Music ministries
initiative is now complete, and the program now re-
ceives all financial support from the Operating fund
and the Stetson Singers Fund.
Fundraiser Events
We had one fundraiser event in 2015 – sponsored by
the HOPE ministry group. The event grossed $10,009
and netted $8,307 to help fight human trafficking.
This is part of our efforts to Reach, Serve, and Love
like Christ.
Pastor Discretionary Fund Support
Contributions to the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund
are used primarily to help people in need of short-
term assistance of one sort or another. This is an un-
planned fund that operates outside the main church
accounting system and provides a level of privacy for
those being helped. This is one of the “second mile”
causes that we have an opportunity to support. This
checking account is managed by the Administrative
Assistant for the Pastor and conforms to a set of crite-
ria established for the fund. For 2015:
Initial Balance: 2,861
Receipts: 6,324
Expenses: 6,843
Ending Balance 2,642
Generosity Through OCUMC
In addition to the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund, a
number of other causes outside of our main account-
ing system are supported by our people. The money
designated for these causes is neither income nor
expense to OCUMC; it is pass-through directly to the
designated cause. For 2015, these causes were:
SW Volusia Habitat for Humanity 100
UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) 630
FL UM Children’s Home 1199
Native American Awareness Sunday 20
Human Relations Day 2
UM Student Day 50
PAGE 4 GO, TELL.
The Special Projects Are:
In the main financial report there is a line “Special Ministry Projects” among the Designated and Restricted Funds
– so what are they?
Basically, these are ministries that do not require a lot of money for their operation, but there is a need to have an
accounting of what funds they do have.
Name 1/1/15 Receipts Disburse Transfer 12/31/15
Manna Ministry 323 650 0 0 973
Prayer Blanket Ministry 638 1780 445 0 1973
Garden Ministry 205 0 0 0 205
Nursery Toys 152 0 0 0 152
Library Materials 25 0 0 0 25
School Support 108 90 175 0 22
Pet Pantry 73 0 0 -73 0
Short-term Projects 0 0 0 0 0
Playground 20 0 0 0 20
TOTALS 1544 2520 619 -73 3372
Council on Aging
Our facilities serve as a neighborhood respite care
site for the Council on Aging of Volusia County. This
program provides a place where caregivers can leave
their loved ones for a few hours while they do other
things - or just relax. Additionally, we occasionally
host seniors groups from the WAVA Hall Senior Cen-
ter (Orange City). This affiliation with the Council on
Aging has been going on for a number of years.
Scouting is a ministry
The United Methodist Church actively supports
“youth-serving/scouting ministries” in their many
forms through specific call-out in our Book of Disci-
pline. This usually is accomplished in the local
church chartering or sponsoring specific groups, such
as Boy Scouts (including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and
Venturing); Girl Scouts (Daisies, Brownies, Juniors,
Cadets, Seniors, Ambassadors), Campfire Girls, and
others.
Although we do not currently have any
of our congregation called to actually
lead one of these groups, we are blessed
to be able to provide a meeting place Cub
Scout Pack 420 (which is chartered to
us), two Girl Scout troops, and a Sea
Scout ship. This is another way in which
we help provide a nurturing environ-
ment for the young people of our area,
12-Step Recovery Programs
We feel called by God to share our facilities with
groups that help persons with various addictions to
manage their addictions. None of our members actu-
ally provide leadership for these groups, but we ena-
ble others who have this calling to do ministry.
Currently, we provide support to 7 different groups.
There are 2 groups of Food Addicts Anonymous, one
more advanced than the other. There is 1 Alcoholics
Anonymous group, there are 3 Narcotics Anonymous
groups, and there is a group for support of families of
narcotics addicts.
Through these groups we help provide hope for
those who may need it. It is one way we become
Christ to people in today’s world.
In Partnership with Habitat for Humanity
“Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where
everyone has a decent place to live. Our mission is to
put God’s love into action by bringing people together
to build homes, communities and hope.”
We partner with Southwest Volusia HFH
by providing office space on the upper
floor of the Education Building. In addi-
tion, several members of our congrega-
tion are actively involved with SWHFH,
both administratively and in construc-
tion.
Our Ministries
The Financial Report and the related discussion pretty well summarizes the ministries in which we have direct
participation or financially support. Through maintenance of our facilities, we enable the ministry of others.
PAGE 5
Facility Operation and Maintenance Ministry
A facility the size of ours requires a lot of effort to
keep it in proper condition, whether it’s being used or
not. Just think of what it takes to keep your house
going, then multiply it by about 20. We have a small
army of people who have answered a call to help make
it happen. Some things, by law, we must hire done.
Many other things we can do ourselves. Accomplishing
these tasks provides critical support to all of our other
ministries. Some of the things that come to mind
include:
Lawn and landscape maintenance
Lawn sprinkler maintenance
Office receptionists
Kitchen/food service management
Restroom cleaning
Painting
Carpet vacuuming
Carpet cleaning
Painting (inside and outside)
Floor cleaning
Floor refinishing
Window cleaning
Pressure washing
Computer system administration
Database management
Library management
Audio/Visual systems management
Financial systems support
Annual financial audits
Elected officers
Committee members
Some of these tasks are done by specific individuals
on a log-term basis, some are done by specific groups,
and some are done by individuals on a short-term/
rotating basis. We are blessed to have people with
appropriate gifts, talents, and time who are willing to
answer the call to service. If you are called to serve in
this way, then please contact the church office.
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-1:30 pm
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 386 / 775-3068
Multiple Opportunities Your giving is an act of worship and makes possible
the ministry of changing lives, transforming commu-
nities and renewing the ministries of the church. In
addition to offering given through the offering plate,
there are four other ways to give:
Online
We offer two services to give online through credit
or debit cards or bank account information. You can
give through Vanco or PayPal via the “Giving”
option on our web site (www.ocumc.org).
Giving through Vanco permits giving to any
specific, recognized ministry of the church:
Giving through PayPal permits contributing to
the General Fund.
Electronic Funds Transfer
EFT allows consistent amounts to regularly be
drawn directly from your banking account. To get
started, you can fill out the EFT form available in
the Sanctuary or download it. You also can set it up
yourself and manage it directly through the VANCO
option on our web site mentioned above. For addi-
tional information please contact the church office.
On-Line Bill Pay
Most banks have on-line bill-pay services where you
can set up and manage one-time or recurring pay-
ments to businesses and individuals. This feature
can be used to make contributions to your church.
Mail in your non-cash offering to the church office:
Orange City United Methodist Church
396 E University Ave
Orange City, FL 32763
Transfer
PAGE 8 GO, TELL.
involved in maintaining the cleanliness
of the Fellowship Hall, Education Build-
ing, Nursery and the Youth Building are
as follows:
Fletcher Gilmore
Barbara Graham
Linda Hull
the Youth Group
The Grounds Maintenance group con-
sists of Bob Goens, Brian Woods, David
Leonard, David Jones. These men have been very
dedicated in keeping the campus lawn and shrubbery
in magnificent condition and beautiful looking. The
lawn is manicured; the hedges are well shaped and
trimmed; the leaves and acorns are removed from the
parking area; broken tree limbs are removed from the
lawn and other trash is picked-up and removed from
the grounds.
Chet Pierce is our volunteer custodian building
painter. Chet along with David Leonard, Bob Goens,
Brian Woods and Bill Koos spent many hours spruc-
ing up the painting on and in our buildings.
Janet Kipp has devoted many hours already and is
continuing to remove the weeds from the children’s
playground and working to keep them from coming
back.
It is amazing how these volunteer custodians fit
into the operation and management of Orange City
United Methodist Church. Our church family is very
thankful for the good work that is being performed
each day of the week. Many of the custodians have
volunteered many hours and some many years doing
work as God’s servants.
If anyone has been inspired to lend a hand in this
area and want to share some of God’s work here at
our church, call the church office and leave a message
for the chair of the Trustees. (386) 775-3068
Orange City UMC is really blessed
following the words of Judges 5:2 by a
number of our church members volun-
teering as custodians. These custodians
perform many jobs in our church plant
and save several hundred dollars per
month in our church budget. Who are
these Volunteer Custodians and what do
they do?
Firstly, our church is very grateful to
have Greg and Alice Darnell who
volunteer their service performing more tasks than
we could probably count. Do we actually realize and
know what all they do? It is amazing how many
areas this dynamic duo cover. Listed below are just
some of the areas:
major project researcher / designer
video, lighting and technology vendor consultation
computers and electronic machine maintenance
Financial Secretary (weekly counting of contribu-
tions and more)
past Pew Monitor
past Finance Committee Chair
Board of Trustees consultant
power tools repair
sprinkler irrigation system maintenance
church lawn fertilizer and weed removal
Sunday School teacher
Brown Bag Bible study leader
memorial garden landscape maintenance
leaky roof repair
Fellowship Hall tile floor cleaner/waxer
cleaning supply ordering and distributing
parking lot light maintenance
electrical timers for building lights maintenance
Bonnie Reddy, a member of the Board of Trustees is
the leader in charge of seeing that volunteer custodi-
ans are in place for cleaning restrooms in Fellowship
Hall and the Youth Building, running sweepers on
carpets and cleaning the Nursery. Individuals
We Appreciate Our Volunteer Custodians
That the leaders led in Israel, that the people volunteered, bless the Lord! -Judges 5:2
PAGE 9
Annual Egg Hunt Plan to fellowship with the church family on Easter
Sunday at 10 am. We will have refreshments, fun,
and fellowship while the children are hunting for
eggs. All those who have an expertise in hiding eggs
are invited to help. Meet in the Narthex immediately
following the 9 am worship service and pick up a bag
of candy filled eggs to hide for the children. The chil-
dren will gather in the Sanctuary for a short story
and then they will be released for the HUNT! We
have some new things planned this year for everyone!
You won’t want to miss out on the chocolate...or the
fellowship and fun!
CSM Sunday & Wednesday CSM stands for Connect Student Ministry that in-
volves 6th—12th grade students. On Wednesdays
they have an hour and a half of fellowship, games,
food, and fun that is mixed in with some Bible study.
Come at 6:00 pm and stay until 7:30 pm! Bring a
friend!
On Sundays at 10 am we dive a little deeper into
God’s word and have an interactive hour with Bible
study. If you are being called to intergenerational
service with the youth then please contact Stephanie
Parks. There are many opportunities to serve in this
ministry from refreshments to chaperones.
Children’s Sunday School Introducing children to the Bible and sharing God’s
love with them is what Sunday School is all about! All
children that attend Elementary school are invited to
gather on the front row in the Sanctuary immediately
following the 9 am worship service. Your parents will
need to sign you in on the clipboard. Then it is off to
Sunday School with games, crafts, stories, and never-
ending surprises...after all, it is Children’s ministry!
Parents are asked to sign their child out when they
pick them up at 11 am. For more information contact
the Children & Youth Director, Stephanie Parks.
What does it mean to create change with
your everyday choices? Something as simple
as the coffee you drink can make a powerful
difference. FAIR TRADE = a trade in which fair prices are paid
to producers in developing countries.
With Fair Trade you have the power to change the
world every day. With one simple choice you can get
farmers a better deal. Fair Trade is not a charity or
handout; it is simply a process of giving a fair ex-
change for a product. Many farmers in developing
countries are not paid fairly for their crops, etc. By
purchasing fairly traded products you are helping the
small farmers earn a fair wage.
We are committed to do our part in
helping the small farmers in developing
countries. Beginning this month we will
only be using Fair Trade coffee through a
United Methodist Committee On Relief
(UMCOR) supported group called Equal
Exchange. Can I get an Amen?!
PAGE 10 GO, TELL.
11 am Traditional Worship 9 am Contemporary Worship
Our worship team that leads the music in the 9 am
service is an awesome group of committed servants.
They spend at least an hour on Wednesday and an
extra hour on Sundays preparing each week, (not to
mention time at home listening and practicing).
Please take some time to say thanks!
Are there certain songs we do that you want to hear
more or less of? Let us know! The name of each song
should be on the last slide. We choose songs to con-
nect us to God, lift Him up, and enhance the service
in a way that brings our hearts together around an
idea. Hopefully the songs each week challenge you to
consider the message in deeper ways and think about
how you will respond to the challenge.
We are always in need of singers and musicians!
We know it takes a while to get up the courage to ask,
but we make sure that you are comfortable and pre-
pared and begin participating at whatever level of
commitment you want. We definitely are looking for
a bassist! (Did you know bass is the easiest instru-
ment to start playing???) Also, are there any guys
that like to sing? God may be calling you to serve in
worship or He may not, but remember: He has a role
waiting to be filled by you.
Have you ever had a thankless job that was only
noticed when you messed up? Unfortunately, that’s
life for a lot of technical/audio people. We musicians
get to do well (and mess up) in front of everyone.
OCUMC is incredibly kind and forgiving when we
mess up. And then of course if we do an especially
good job, there is always an encouraging word. Sadly,
tech team people can go years without being thanked
once! While it is a great way to serve, it is a stressful
gig! Please, find one or all of our tech people and say
thanks!
We also need help to fill out our tech team. You
don’t need any experience with sound or technology,
but you must possess a willingness to learn. We will
help you try it out for a while and see if you like serv-
ing in this way. Drew is a great soundboard teacher!
Perhaps you want to try it out for a month or two, or
even sign up to help every other week? Everything
helps. Running the computer for worship can be as
simple as hitting the space bar OR as complex as
helping put together the presentation software.
Running the sound can be as simple as pushing the
right buttons at the right time OR as complex as ad-
justing the equalizer and effects to enhance the
band’s sound. Come and give it a try!
Nick Melton
Worship Leader
I will sing of your love and justice;
to you Lord, I will sing praise.
-Psalm 101:1
Many years ago, OCUMC began a program whereby
young, talented students who were pursuing a degree
in music, and who could benefit from some extra cash
to help support their academic pursuits, would in
exchange share their musical gifts with our congrega-
tion. Stetson Singers' participation in weekly
rehearsals and services serves a number of purposes.
Our choir benefits by hearing strong voices that lead
with the right notes. Stetson Singers are always hap-
py to sing a solo, they enrich the tone of our choir, and
we are able to sing more challenging anthems that
might otherwise be out of our reach.
As this program developed, it became much more.
We formed relationships with these students...we love
them (and they love us). They benefit from having
"family" close by to pray for them, sometimes feed
them, and to laugh and smile with them. We have
helped to shape lives of young people who are now
opera singers, Broadway performers, church music
directors and organists, teachers, children's ministry
directors, even preachers.
Due to dwindling funds, Stetson Singers is in jeop-
ardy of ending at the end of this school year. I'm
asking you today to consider what music in worship
means to you and your family, the role the choir and
their leadership play in your ability to fellowship with
God through worship, and whether you'd be willing to
partner with the choir to continue the ministry of
Stetson Singers by donating to this account.
When I hear back from these students, and I often
do, the gratitude they feel for Orange City United
Methodist Church and the way that God used us to
help them find their path is overwhelming. In a few
years- we will start hearing back from Ashley and
Haywood about the amazing ways God is using their
gifts, I can only imagine! This is a ministry that we
can continue for many years to come; Stetson's School
of Music and its pool of outstanding talent will always
be right next door, but in order to continue we need
your help. Thank you in advance for your support!
Tammy Miller
Choir Director
3rd Saturday Community Connection
The cross represents the church.
The house represents the community.
The arrow (the connecting point) is
pointed upwards to God.
We are moving upwards toward God as
we are connecting the community
and the church.
PAGE 11
Do you want to connect
with God everyday? Jump in and begin our daily Bible reading plan
that is printed on the back of each week’s ‘Weekly
Bulletin’ that we receive each Sunday. These can also
be found on the church website under the ‘What’s
Going On’ tab.
This plan follows a method of reading the Bible
called SOAPY. The SOAPY method will help you to
hear God speaking into your life in your daily devo-
tional time. It is recommended that you keep a
SOAPY journal where you can write down and reflect
upon the insights you discover each day.
Jump in today!
Church Website www.ocumc.org
Test out the church website. Click on the
website links and look at all the pages. Let
us know what you think. Your opinion is
wanted. Email the church office with your
comments. We want a welcoming and user
friendly website to Reach, Serve, and Love
like Christ.
Mail Call Ministry As we approach our 5th year serving on MCM, I have
reflected over these past years on how much we have
grown, but particularly during 2015. Growth comes in
many forms. We now have about 18 loyal volunteers
who come almost every Thursday. “Thank you Lord!”
Through the donations of mostly anonymous donors,
we have had the means to purchase food for Thursday
meals, provide the contents of a brown bag lunch “to
go” and to supply our guests with many personal neces-
sities. “Thank you Lord!”
There were times that we didn’t think we would see
an increase in our guest list. Little did we know that
the numbers of those we served each Thursday in 2015
would increase by more than 400 from the prior year.
We served 1,394 guests in 2015. “Thank you Lord!”
Last year was truly a testament of faith and trust.
Giving God the glory for all aspects of this ministry has
brought us to the place of deep gratitude for God’s pro-
vision for Mail Call Ministry. “Thank you Lord!”
Our greatest concern for our homeless friends contin-
ues to be, of course, for shelter first, but also for the
many other issues they deal with on a regular basis.
We pray that doors will be opened for this population
with a facility that will not only provide a roof over
their head, but will assist
those with mental health
and addiction issues,
those in dire need of med-
ical care and those seek-
ing employment to name
a few.
Won’t you please join us
in prayer that our county
will come together and do
what is right and just?
Thank you,
Pat Parker Schwartz
Mail Call Ministry
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Mid-FL, FL
Permit No. 63008 396 E University Ave Orange City, FL 32763
(386) 775-3068 www.ocumc.org
Upcoming Dates to Save
Feb 10 Ash Wednesday Worship at 7 pm
Feb 13 UMW Valentine Tea
Feb 16 Leadership Council Meeting
Feb 20 3rd Saturday Community Connection
Mar 13 Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 am
Mar 15 Leadership Council Meeting
Mar 19 3rd Saturday Community Connection
Mar 25 Good Friday Worship at 7 pm
Mar 27 Easter Sunday & Annual Egg Hunt
May 7 UMW Rummage Sale
for more info visit church website: ocumc.org
Philippians 3:14 (The Message)
...I’ve got my eye on the goal,
where God is beckoning us
onward—to Jesus.
I’m off and running,
and I’m not turning back.