Christ United Methodist Church

Christ United Methodist Sunday School
 

A church only grows when it has an active Child and Youth Sunday School Department.  Each Sunday, teachers are at each grade level to help your children learn more about Jesus and the scriptures.  We have a dedicated staff of caring people. 

Fall Sunday School classes are from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with extended child care available until 11:45 a.m.  Children in grades K-5 attend the first part of the 10:45 A.M. Worship Service, then leave after Children’s Time to attend Children’s Choir rehearsals each Sunday, beginning September 20th.

CHILDREN’S SABBATH

Sunday, October 11, 2009, 10:45 A.M. is the Annual National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths ® Celebration at Christ United Methodist Church.  Commit to help children throughout the year, through prayers, raising awareness, compassionate service, and justice-seeking advocacy.

Pray for children in need, especially children in poverty, lacking health care, and trapped in the pipeline to prison.  Pray for the strength, courage, persistence, and wisdom to do all you can do to help children and work for justice.  Pray for hope, faith, and love.

Find out as much as you can about the problems facing children and families in our nation, especially poverty, lack of health coverage, and the pipeline to prison crisis.  Visit www.childrensdefense.org for information, downloadable sources, and links to other organizations working on behalf of children and families.  Ask around and find out what organizations are working in your community and what kind of help they need.

OCTOBER 2009

“Lord, teach us to pray.” The Disciples who had spent a few years with Jesus eventually asked the question. Jesus, of course, gave them the model prayer that we all know as “The Lord’s Prayer”. For those of us who still have difficulties from time to time getting our words and thoughts together, there is a another well known model built in the acronym ACTS. We begin the prayer by adoring God and fully acknowledging Him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We then confess our sins and ask for forgiveness which He is so gracious to give to us. Thanksgiving comes next as we acknowledge that God supplies our every need and, finally, supplication is asking God for what we want and need.

            Another acronym for building a prayer model is BLESS. The B is for the body as we pray for health, for healing and for the meeting of our daily bread and our physical needs. As we pray for God’s help in our daily work, in school and the tasks we do everyday, we recall the L for our labors. E reminds of us of emotional needs as we pray for comfort, reassurance, hope, joy and peace for ourselves and others. As we consider social needs, we see the first S which reminds us of the need to pray for healthy relationships with family, friends and other acquaintances. The final S is for spiritual needs as we pray for continually deepening relationship with God.

            The next time we think about the Book of Acts, we may also remember the acronym ACTS as a model for prayer. And, the next time we hear someone say, “God bless you (which is a prayer in and of itself), we just might recall the BLESS model for our prayer lives. Prayer is indeed a privilege we can all enjoy.

                        Dr. J.

I have just completed a statistical report
for the Studio Go Vacation Bible School.  I was pleasantly
surprised not because of the numbers but because I actually had fun. The Studio Go theme song is still ringing in my head and every now and again I flashback to the game show host, Wade Winalot (really Pastor Hoyt Wilhelm from Union Avenue, with his Studio Go tie. I can still ‘see’ Coach Armstrong and his ‘muscles’ bulging (that would be our own Chris Martin). The oh-so-brilliant Professor Wordsmart was totally too smart for her own good (portrayed by Heather Brubaker, Christian Ed Director at Trinity Episcopal Church).

            Statistics are necessary and can be good for evaluation and for planning for future events but the spirit of cooperation and the engagement of our children in real service were much more  meaningful to me. The service projects included the making of decorated pillow cases to be donated to the Domestic Violence Center to help those in delicate, transitional situations. Letters were written and mailed to our Police and Fire Departments to thank them for serving us. Our shut-in members will receive bags of snack mix prepared by our VBS kids who also walked in the neighborhood around the Church for a trash pick-up.

            Thank you, God, for enabling us, thank you Holy Spirit for guiding us, thank you, Jesus, for being a role model for us.  Thanks to all who contributed in any way and thanks to Union Avenue UMC and Trinity Episcopal Church for being so pleasant to work with.

                   Peace,   Dr. J.