September 2019

The

September 1st Labor Day Weekend

9:00 am Fellowship Breakfast

10:00 am ONE Service in Morris Hall

Breaking mold from our normal Labor Day Weekend traditions, this year Garber will host a fellowship

breakfast at 9:00 am followed by our joint service of celebration and communion at 10:00 am. We will be

wrapping up our sermon series on Ecclesiastes on this Sunday in a relaxed and casual service. Please join us if

you are in town as we wrap up the Summer and look forward to the Fall!

September 8th Garber 2019-20 Kick-off Sunday!

We are excited to begin our new Sunday School year on Sunday, September 8 for all ages! Kids will be promoted

to their new classes and many of our adult classes will be starting new studies. As always, every class is open

to new members and visitors! This is a great time to explore getting involved in a Sunday School class study!

Prior to the beginning of classes, we will have a “Donut Wall” in the Atrium from 9:00 am to 9:40 am during

the adult coffee fellowship time. Come and pick a donut from the wall and also partake in some special coffee

offerings. Weather permitting, we will have a few tables outside for overflow. Don’t be late! Adult classes

will be beginning as soon as the Donut Wall closes!

Also on September 8th we will begin a new sermon series revolving around the 23rd Psalm, AND we have an

exciting announcement to be made in each worship service! Don’t miss all this excitement and fun with your

Garber Family — mark your calendars now and we will see you then!

September 2019

Faith In Action Vision Clinic:

Saturday, September 21st

8am-5pm

Join your Garber family in supporting the 7th free vision clinic with your time, talents, gifts, and especially

LOVE for your community. Volunteer sign ups will be September 8th (in the courtyard and atrium) and

September 9th (at the volunteer meeting). We need ALL HANDS ON DECK!!! Garber will

serve 300 patients that day, and we need help on every level: food/drink donations, set up/

take down, checking in patients, escorting patients, arts and crafts for the children, and

many more areas. Stephen Ministers and health care practitioners are needed as well. Pray

about your area of service, then look for our tables on September 8th. All volunteers should

plan to attend the meeting on Monday, September 9th at 7:00pm in Room 123 of the

Ministry Center.

Not sure where to serve? Questions? Please contact Cathy Doty: cdoty181@gmail.com or

252.514.5089.

Kingswood Notes. . .

On Monday, September 9 twenty shiny faces will board the Garber vans at Bangert Elementary School at 3:00 and come to Garber for their first day of the Kingswood After School Program for the 2019-2020 school year. For some, it will be their first time.

For some, they will be returning for the second, third, or fourth year. But for all, they will be met with volunteers to love them, help them with their homework, and who will share the love of Christ with them! They will also be met each day with a healthy snack, a safe and inviting place to play, Bible Stories to learn the Old Testament stories and the stories of Jesus, and vans to provide transportation to their homes when Kingswood is over for the day. We look forward to many fun and meaningful days in the children’s hall at Garber this year!

Thank you, Garber Church for your love and care for the Kingswood Bunch! So thankful for a church that loves on the little ones in the community!

Ruth Powers

Kingswood Director

3rd Grade Bible Sunday All 3rd graders should have received a letter in the mail this week requesting their

presence at their Bible presentation on Sunday, September 15. You may receive your

Bible at any service. If you did not get a letter, or to RSVP, please contact the church

office at 637-4022.

September 2019

Sunday Morning Children’s Church

Children’s Church is offered during the school year for children 3 years old through 2nd grade and provides age

appropriate activities during the 11:00 a.m. Sunday services.

During Children’s Church, kids experience an extension of worship with Bible stories, dvds, prayer, and play time to keep

them engaged and focused on God and His love for them!

Children’s Church is run by parent and church volunteers. Please contact Laura Wilkins to help with this wonderful program so we can

continue to offer it for our kids each Sunday!

All children can be picked up in the “Big Room” of the Children’s Hall

following the worship services.

Look What’s Happening!!!

What a great year it is going to be in Children’s Ministry! We hope you will join us for the many activities we have planned!

WEDNESDAY RECHARGE!

Join us Wednesday nights for a midweek Recharge! As we gather each week, we will explore God's word, helping kids learn to

follow Jesus and gain a better understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Recharge! is our mid-week ministry for children 3 years old through 5th grade.

(Children participating must have turned 3 by August 31st, 2018.)

Recharge! consists of designated sessions throughout the school year with each session meeting on Wednesday nights from 5-7 p.m.

Our mid-week ministry is a combination of Bible time, dinner, and music worship. For our Recharge! program, we use both the Whirl and Frolic curriculums from Sparkhouse to engage children in meaningful Bible time.

Registration forms for Recharge! can be found on our website, www.connect2garber.com.

Recharge!

Kids Music and Bells Wednesdays from 4:15-5:00

Join for a fun and educational

ensemble for children 3rd - 5th grade!

The kids will be singing, playing bells, learn-ing music fundamentals, and (most im-

portantly!) learning what it means to use our gifts for the Lord.

Rehearsals start Sept. 11th in the choir room (Sanctuary side).

Contact Amanda Kennedy (akennedy@garberumc.com) for questions

and more details!

Join us this Fall in the Nursery!!! We are excited to begin our new Toddlers &Twos curriculum, “Play-n-Worship,”

starting September 8th! Our toddlers and twos will sing, play, color, hear stories, and more all with a biblical message they’ll grasp!

Through Play-n-Worship they will build a foundation for life—a life of loving Jesus!

September 2019

September 2019

Join us Sunday September 22nd

from 6-8pm in Morris Hall for a time of extended worship and prayer, as we seek awakening in this region and revival in Jesus’ Church. The local BURN team (which includes Matt and Mary Hannah Johnson) have been traveling and engaging in times of worship and intercession in various congregations across the area, preparing hearts for an event called Awaken the Dawn (ATD) Tent America, in which cities across America will be participating for 50 hours of worship/prayer/outreach October 17-19

th, including here in Eastern

NC. Come join us as we seek intimacy with the Lord and pray for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit here at Garber, in New Bern, and throughout this region

Matthew’s Minute

If you are newer to Garber and/or have been worshipping with us as a guest during the summer months,

our Connect Team would like to invite you to our next Connection Coffee on Sunday, September 29 at

9:30am in Room 123. Our Connection Coffee is a great first step to make connections with our staff

and pastors and learn more about the ministries and mission of Garber.

Our next ACCESS membership class begins Sunday, October 6 at 9:30am on the third floor of the Ministry Center.

We will meet October 6, 13, 20, and 27.

For more information or to sign up for either of these events, please call the church office at 637-4022 and speak

with Pastor Matthew or Beth Hicks.

Psalm 23:1, In Hebrew, Four words, infinite significance.

In English, nine words translate four, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) The significant meaning remains.

These words open an incredible poem in which God is the shepherd, and we are the sheep. God is the guide; we are the led. God is the host; we are the guests. Being led and being cared for by the Shepherd, Guide, and Host, the future is full of promise and hope, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” (Psalm 23:6)

With this wonderful language, we enter the fall anticipating our 60 anniversary as the Garber United Methodist Church. Faithfully for 60 years, God has shepherded, God has guided, and God has welcomed us. Rightly do we take opportunity to give praise, glory, and honor to God.

Our theme this Fall is graphically presented as the word, “LED.” The central “E” towers as a lighthouse shining brightly to give guidance to all who will see its light. (We are Light Emitting Disciples.) Underneath is a disciple carrying a cross. The reminder of Luke 9:23 hovers under the “D.” You remember that it says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

If we follow, we are then LED. The graphic then captures meaning with a motto, “following Jesus ● shining brighter.”

We have been led, we are being led, we shall be led into the future of promise and hope. By God’s leading, Garber Church began to worship in 1959. By God’s leading, light has shown: Garber Church started a preschool ministry. By God’s leading, light has shown: Garber Church offered Kingswood. By God’s leading, light has shown: Garber Church joined other churches in the founding and developing of Religious Community Service, Merci Clinic, and Backpack Blessings. By God’s leading, light has shown: Garber Church has gone to Haiti, to Russia, and to Africa. This is a wonderful legacy entrusted to our care.

By God’s leading, we seek to continue to shine as we minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ and offer the love of God and God’s people well into the future until Christ, the Good Shepherd, shall come again in glory. We intend to build a legacy of faith, hope, and love in which to leave to the trust of those who follow us.

This fall, we will take time to consider what it means to be LED by the ONE SHEPHERD of our souls. We will read Psalm 23 together. We will read the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10. We will celebrate all the ways God has led us, and we will look forward in order to leave a legacy of faith in our time as others have done for us these 60 years.

Praise and honor be to God.

September 2019

Stitches of Love

Many hands and many hearts have a part in moving forward the Stitches of Love mission to spread love and hope to women and children in crisis and need. We strive to enrich our activities and to expand our participation and mission outreach.

In 2018, we made and donated 1,369 gifts to Coastal Women’s Shelter, Promise Place, EPIC, Kinsgwood, NOAH, Garber Senior shut-ins, OCC “shoeboxes”, JT Barber School, Garber hurricane relief, and with our mission teams to Haiti, Africa, and Russia. Our gifts include pillowcases, small quilts, stuffed baby dolls, fish, stars, mini-pillows, and tote bags. Each gift includes a card with a message of God’s love and hope to the recipient.

Also in 2018, we created and gave 1,623 cards with gifts and greeting cards to Garber seniors and local nursing home seniors. Our goal is to make each gift and card bright and beautiful to shine God’s love and hope to those in crisis and need.

Can you cut, press, fold, pin, stuff, sort, glue, sew straight seams, chat, smile, fellowship and/or pray? Many skills are needed! We meet on the second Friday of Sept. Oct. Nov. and Dec. in 2019 and Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. and May of 2020 in Room 223 of the Ministry Center from 9am to 12 noon. Join us as we create and spread God’s LOVE beginning on Sept. 13

For more information contact Nancy Adkins (637-3695) or Ruth Tucker (288-5962).

“Our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done.” Teresa of Avila

YEA! It’s Coming Soon!

What: UMW pecan sale

When: Sept. 29 - Oct. 13

Where: Sunday school classes, atrium and courtyard (order sheets

in all three places)

Why: Profit goes to local missions

*extra large halves, medium pieces, chocolate covered pecans and caramel clusters.

Questions?? Call Carole Stokes 288-6747 or 571-2328

United Methodist Women: Starting a New Year

The three UMW circles are “gearing up” for a new year in September and would like to invite all ladies who are not members to attend one, or all three, September meetings. This would give you an opportunity to learn more about the UMW, its goals, and to see which group might better fit your needs.

Meeting times are as follows:

Fellowship Circle:

Gail Gardner, leader, 638-2345 Meets first Tuesday of the month; 6:00pm - 7:30pm in Room 307 (library) of the Ministry Center.

Harrison Circle:

Anne Little, leader 638-6906 Meets third Thursday of the month; 1:00pm - 2:30pm in Room 223 of the Ministry Center.

Joy Circle:

Pam Collier, leader 876-6445 Meets the third Monday of each month; 1:30pm - 3:00pm in room 123 of the Ministry Center.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact one of the leaders. Hope to see you in September!

September 2019

MOSAIC NEWS

Summer is almost gone and many of our friends have been traveling, but that didn’t keep approximately 50 senior adults from coming out to CAROLINA GRILL on August 13 for a wonderful lunch, fellowship, and a presentation on the “VIAL of LIFE”. What a glorious time! Seniors have no problem talking and eating good food! Thanks to Karen Gower for helping to coordinate this event and to Andy Gower for driving the bus. If you were not there, but would like the information on the “VIAL of LIFE”, please contact Sue Webb, Garber Senior Ministries Coordinator.

September is upon us and school will have started when you get this newsletter. Already, seniors have been busy helping with Backpack Blessings, volunteering at JT Barber, packing Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes and so much more. If you are looking for a small group to join, call the church office or Sue Webb. Garber has so many opportunities in which to get involved and build relationships.

Our next BIG MOSAIC event is a FAMILY FUN MISSION NIGHT to be held in the Ministry Center and Morris Hall in mid-September. YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS IT!

Please mark your calendars and come join us for a night of good food, fun, and service to our Lord.

Elementary age children are invited to join us in a variety of fun mission projects, food, and games.

Older adults and youth may also participate through music or helping with project work stations.

A nursery will be provided for children under 3 years of age.

Friday, September 13 MORRIS HALL, GUMC

5:00 - 7:30 pm

Projects for Garber shut-ins, RCS, homeless shelter, and Reviving Lives Ministry

Bring one can of food for RCS to get in to this event RSVP by Friday, September 6

Contact Sue Webb by calling the church office, 637-4022 or email to swebb@garberumc.com

GriefShare is a special weekly

seminar and support group

designed to help you rebuild

your life. We know it hurts,

and we want to help

Christy DelMastro

252-626-4909

schmoozerc@suddenlink.net

Begins September 4th

10am – 12pm

Personal Reflection From Russian Team Member - Mary Bennett Doty

There are so many moments in each trip to Russia that draw me back. The more they grow in number, the harder it becomes to express their true meaning to others who have not already been in my shoes.

When I was thirteen, a boy named Vanya stole my heart. Since then, every year has brought more affirmation that what Garber is doing genuinely matters to these kids and their communities. That is why I cannot wait to go back - and bring new eyes and hearts there with me.

Whether it is through the nuns in the monasteries - eager and smiling as they show us their ageless treasures, or Mother Mary asking to be tutored in English so she can grow her relationship with Garber even more, the affirmation is there. Garber Church is supposed to be in Russia.

When the older boys are pulling the younger, more emotional ones off of us as we say, “See you soon," the affirmation is there. What the oldest know from years of experience and the young will come to learn is that we mean what we say, Garber will be back.

When boys who have graduated the orphanage, like Vanya and Artem, hear we are back in Russia, they make an effort to see us. Vanya brings old photos from 2013 of us together, and Artem expresses that while we are there, he doesn’t have to be alone.

On the last days with the new disciplers, they are surprised by their own tears in hugging us goodbye. They begin to understand how we all feel, and why former disciplers continue making the effort to see us each and every year, no matter their new commuting costs or family dynamics.

Garber is my family and has been since I was born and baptized. This Garber mission team and the Russian people are the other half of my heart. I urge more of Garber to reach past their comfort zones and allow Russia to capture your hearts like it has captured mine and others’ here.

September 2019

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Garber United Methodist Church 4201 Country Club Rd New Bern, NC 28562 Phone: 252-637-4022

Fax: 252-637-7853

www.connect2garber.com

Small group studies beginning! 4 week study: September 11, 18, 25, October 2

Joining a small group is a great way to connect on a deeper level for study and fellowship in the comfort of a host home. Small groups are held on Wednesday evenings concurrently with our Kids in Christ and Student Ministries programs;

nursery is also provided at the church for infants/toddlers for parents participating in a small group; these parents will be connected in a small group located near the church

for convenience of dropping off and picking up in a timely manner. Look for registration forms in the church bulletins on

September 1 and 8, or online at connect2garber.com (online forms must be printed off/scanned back to coleman.m.m56@gmail.com or

dropped by the church office). If you have any questions or would like to host a small group at your home,

contact Mary Coleman at 637-4022.

Mark Your Calendars for these Important Dates Sunday, October 27: Anniversary Celebration Cookout at Camp Don Lee

Sunday, November 3: ONE Service 60th Anniversary Worship

More details coming soon!