COMMUNITY CHURCH
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
An Ecumenical and Inclusive Fellowship of the United Methodist Church
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Community ConnexionCOMMUNITY CONNEXION
A PUBLICATION OF THE
COMMUNITY CHURCH AT OCEAN PINES
We are an intentionally diverse, ecumenical and inclusive fellowship of the United Methodist Church, striving to grow as a caring family united by the transforming love of Jesus Christ, and reaching out in ministry to the needs of people and creation in our community, nation, and world.
11227 Racetrack Road, Berlin, MD 21811
Facebook www.facebook.com/ccaop Twitter www.twitter.com/ccaop
Little Lambs Learning Center 410-641-5434
FEBRUARY, 2012
IMPORTANT FEBRUARY DATES
FEBRUARY 14 – VALENTINE’S DAY
This then is what I command you: love one another. John 15:17
FEBRUARY 16-23 – SENIOR COMPUTER CLASS – 1:30 PM
Classes will be conducted in the Community/Choir Room in the Family Life Center. Register with the church office 410-641-5433.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2012 – 1-3 PM
Bishop Johnson will host a workshop at CCOP on the United Methodist Bishops’ “Call to Action”
outlining steps that local churches are being asked to take in terms of setting goals and moving forward in ministry. This is open to everyone.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 – CONFIRMATION MEETING
Informative meeting on Sunday, February, 19th at 11:45 after the 10:30 service in the Hospitality Room near the sanctuary.
FEBRUARY 21 - SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SUPPER
On Tuesday, February 21st the youth will serve a pancake supper in the Family Life Center from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The menu will be pancakes, sausage, applesauce, and beverage. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children 4-12; children 3 and under are free.
FEBRUARY 22 - ASH WEDNESDAY SUPPER AND SERVICE
Ash Wednesday will be observed at Community Church with a light meal of soup and fellowship at 6:00 PM in the Family Life Center, followed by a Service of Ashes at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. The soup supper is provided by the church with no cost to those attending. You are invited to join us as we begin the 40 days of Lent.
Volunteers will be needed for set-up, cooking, and serving. Please watch for a sign-up sheet in the narthex.
AARP TAX PREPARATION
During the month of February through April 15 trained representatives from AARP will be utilizing rooms at CCOP to complete tax forms at no charge. Watch for details in the Sunday bulletin.
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR BILL
BUILDING BLOCK: “23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
MULLING IT OVER
February 22, 2012 is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the season of the Christian Year known as Lent. Lent is the 40 day period, not counting Sundays, leading up to Easter. The number 40 is a significant biblical number reminding us of the 40 days of rain in the days of Noah, and the number of days Christ was tempted in the wilderness after his baptism. It is known as a penitential season, meaning it is a time of reflection, introspection, and sorry for sins. Lent is often observed by fasting. Fasting is giving up something that is regularly enjoyed such as giving up a meal a day (check with your doctor first if you have health and dietary issues), or not watching TV or giving up something. In this fasting, the time spent in the activity is now spent in prayer, meditation and study of scripture. It is trusting God to meet your need.
On Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, Christians often attend a worship service in which ashes are placed in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. This is a reminder of the suffering of Christ for our sins, and is a public witness to our sorrow for sins as well as our gratitude for his willingness to die for us. Throughout Lent worship, teaching and preaching center on the last days of Christ’s life leading up to his crucifixion and death.
On the surface, Lent may be perceived as a downer. It isn’t. We acknowledge our sin and Christ’s sacrifice for us, but we also look forward to Easter and the resurrection. This hope is the basis for forgiveness, new life, and eternal life with God.
Take advantage of this time to seriously reflect on your life and relationship with God. Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.
Blessings
Bill
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE – FEBRUARY 22
6:00 PM – Soup and Fellowship Dinner
7:00 PM – Service of Ashes in the Sanctuary
STEWARDSHIP UPDATE
As of the end of January, there were still 66 pledge envelope boxes yet unclaimed. We have contacted all of the members either by e-mail or US mail to please pick them up in the narthex. If that fails, the Stewardship Committee will call them personally and for those who still do not respond, we will bulk mail the envelopes to their homes.
Patrick Renaud
Stewardship Chairperson
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AS GREETERS
We would like to add greeters to the 10:30 service at the side door. To do this we need additional volunteers. This is an important service to the church as it immediately invites a friendly reception for those attending. If you are interested call the church office (410-641-5433).
Budd Heim
CHILDREN & YOUTH MINISTRIES
LIVE BIG - Sunday Mornings during 9:15 and 10:30 Services
Help your kids experience their faith in a BIG WAY! January 29 we will make cards for our veterans residing in the hospital.
CONFIRMATION – (Grades 7+) Learn about the church and your faith as you grow closer to our Lord. Informative meeting on Sunday, February, 19th at 11:45 after the 10:30 service in the Hospitality Room near the sanctuary. We will begin on February 23rd, Ash Wednesday, and our classes will be on Sundays from 4:00 -5:30 PM. Please register at the office or with Liza!
PIONEER CLUB – (Grades K-5) We resumed on January 18th from 6 to 7:30 PM. This is a motivational skill and award program with a Bible foundation. Registration required at the church office.
CHI RHO Youth - (Grades 6-12) Sunday Nights from 6:00-8:00 PM
For the latest updates pick up a youth schedule at the office or church narthex!
YOUTH RALLY– Thanks to all our chaperones for a fantastic weekend! We were truly blessed by our speaker Reggie Dabbs. Come hear about our weekend Sunday, January 22 during services.
APPALACHIA SERVICE PROJECT - We are in need of a few good men with handyman skills to lead our youth! If you have experience with tools and work well with teens, please call me ASAP. Without solid leadership, we will have to cancel our trip!
Watch for announcements in the church bulletin! Children’s Bells -Melissa Powers
Practice 1st Sundays, Performance 2nd Sundays
Children’s Choir - Atlea/Donna Compher
Children’s Dance - Cheryl Kirk
CHURCH LIBRARY WILL BE HAVING ITS SECOND OPEN HOUSE
ON FEBRUARY 12, 2012
Our first Open House had a good showing and people seemed to enjoy taking out books. Please come again between all three services to see what our library has for you. We have some wonderful books for every member of the family.
Your Librarians, Shirley Bradley and Sue Coleburn
LIFE AFTER LOSS
The Life after Loss group will meet on Tuesday, February 14th and Tuesday, February 28th. The meetings are from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM at the church. If you've experienced any type of loss, we invite you to attend. Please know that we are here for you.
Molly LeFaive
LITTLE LAMBS LEARNING CENTER
We are happy to report that Little Lambs Learning Center is actively pursuing Accreditation from the MD State Department of Education. This process will help us to ensure that we are continuing to offer the high quality of care and education of all children in our care. This process takes about a year to complete and we are almost halfway through. We are excited to gain this recognition from the state and hope to continue to align our curriculum with the public school system requirements for early childhood education.
We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in all of our classrooms with a card exchange. We also have Candygrams available for sale in the office. All proceeds to benefit Relay for Life. Pick some up for your co-workers or children...details available in the office.
Do you cook? Bake? Speak a foreign language? Collect something?? Would you like to share your special talent or items with our kids?? If so, please contact Jocelyn in the Little Lambs office
(410-641-5434). We are always looking for ways to enrich our learning environments with guests and visitors.
Jocelyn Snelsire, Director
2011 EMERGENCY OUTREACH
Emergency Outreach is a program to assist families with immediate needs for rent, electric, medical, water, transportation, and heat, etc.
We are normally the last resort before eviction or utilities being turned off. Our goal is to help the needy, not the greedy. After a thorough investigation, support is given without regard to race, religion, national origin, etc. Referrals come from Family Connection, Health Department, Social Services, Worcester Gold, other churches, and walk-ins.
The funds to support this program come from the hard work of the many volunteers in Shepherd’s Nook.
2011 thru December Experience
Total Families 164 $18,082.24 100%
Electric 70 $7,292.42 40%
Rent 39 $4,345.20 24%
Heat 30 $3,590.93 20%
Water 10 $889.10 5%
Transportation 8 $1,226.10 7%
Medical 7 $738.49 4%
We have added another mission, in cooperation with a minister in Ocean City, to help the homeless in Ocean City. Our request for blankets, shoes, coats, etc. produced three car loads already. Everyone has been very generous, and I thank you. I’m sure the items were greatly appreciated, with the weather turning so cold.
Mary Yenney, Coordinator
GOD’S KITCHEN
Community Church participates in an outreach ministry at Grace United Methodist Church in Salisbury, providing a hot noontime meal on a specified Saturday. It is a wonderful time of fellowship and provides a hot meal to those in need. Our next scheduled date is Saturday, March 31st. Mark your calendar and plan to join us to help cook, set tables, and meet and minister to those from the Salisbury community who attend. All are welcome!
Jim and Joan Kinhart
SHEPHERD’S NOOK The Shepherd’s Nook is always in need of volunteers. We are open from 9:00 AM till 1:00 PM on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you are interested, please contact one of our Leadership Team by stopping by the Nook. Johanna Hurd, BJ Hupman, Phyliss Brill, Judy Stinebiser, Karen Smith SARAH’S PANTRY It was a very busy holiday season in Sarah’s Pantry. No sooner were the Thanksgiving boxes out the door than it was time to assemble the Christmas boxes – for 46 families comprised of 147 persons. All of these families were grateful to receive the bountiful food that you provided.
Mountaire Farms recently doubled its monthly donation of chicken pieces. This means that we can give our clients healthy protein. In addition, over the holidays they made a one-time donation of 15 cases of canned foods. This was above and beyond all hopes and expectations.
During calendar year 2011, we served (including Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes) a total of 594 families (1,625 persons). This is a significant increase over 2010.
It is heartwarming to know that this generous congregation and community continue to meet the needs of the community. There continues to be a stream of clients seeking food who do not have a formal referral from another church or social services agency. Be assured that we give them emergency food and necessary information to access services so that they can get the needed referral.
The Pantry team is pleased to serve these persons-in-need on your and God’s behalf. Please keep the Pantry and our clients in your thoughts and prayers.
Nancy Pearce and Charlene Mertz
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN
On January 17th, 2012, at the U.M.W. meeting our guest speaker was Dr. Christopher Kim, hospitalist at AGH. Dr. Kim spoke on MRSA. His presentation was practical, factual and enjoyable. The doctor told us that the emergency room was not the place to go if MRSA was suspected but to our family doctor. He also advocated hand washing as one way to prevent the disease. Dr. Kim spoke in such a way that the average person could understand his subject. We are grateful for his informative presentation.
Under old business, we are looking for people to serve on a committee for the tea part of the annual Fashion Show. Dr. Ethel Hines has volunteered to coordinate the fashion show. Please prayerfully consider serving on this committee as it is one of our biggest fund raisers.
Candlelight Circle will now meet in the hospitality room on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM.
We look forward to having you join us at any of our meetings. All meetings will be announced in the church bulletin.
Jane Bishop, UMW President
CEMETERY AND COLUMBARIUM
2011 ANNUAL REPORT
Six cemetery lots were sold in 2011. There are a total of 636 cemetery lots of which 265 have been sold. Cemetery lots are available for $750 to $4500, depending on the size of the lot.
Eight niches were sold in the columbarium in 2011. There are a total of 176 niches of which 116 have been sold. The price of a niche is $1500, and includes two brass urns and a nameplate.
The Gardens of the Pines Cemetery and Columbarium are open to people of all religious faiths, races, and nationalities.
Interested people should contact Tom Yenney or Doug Slingerland through the church office
(410-641-5434).
Tom Yenney
SMALL MIRACLE FOUNDATION
Once again the Community Church and its congregation proved vital in the success of the Small Miracle Foundation. Without their financial support and continued volunteer hours the Small Miracle Foundation would not have been able to accomplish its mission of helping Worcester County families in need. In 2011, our volunteers worked on 26 different projects, compiling over 1,000 hours in community service while spending almost $9,000.00 for materials with each dollar and hour spent going towards providing a safe and warm home. Some of 2011 highlights included six handicapped ramps, 12 window replacements, 1 complete kitchen reconstruction, 1 extensive bathroom repair, several water damaged homes and 1 water pump while also working on several gutters, downspouts and steps just to mention a few.
The Small Miracle Foundation incurred additional expenses during 2011 of approximately $1,600 for our 2011-2012 General Liability Insurance and miscellaneous supplies.
In 2011, the Small Miracle Foundation received over $5,000.00 in donations from community organizations and individuals. In addition to these donations the Small Miracle Foundation received $3,000 as a result of being the beneficiary of the January, 2011 mission collection at CCOP. In April 2011, we were awarded a $3,000 Community Needs Grant from the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.
The Small Miracle Foundation will be holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, February 15th, at 7:00 PM in the Hospitality Room at the Community Church at Ocean Pines. If you are looking for a way to become involved in helping those in need in Worcester County, please come to our annual meeting and find out what we are all about.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or making a donation, or know someone who needs our help, please contact the Small Miracle Foundation through the church office
(410-641-5433).
Alice Kalinowski
STAFF PARISH RELATIONS COMMITTEE
The committee met on January 17 and worked on the following agenda items:
1. Personnel Handbook
2. Job descriptions
3. Assigning liaison from SPRC to staff
4. SPRC- training of major committees
There was also a discussion of long range staffing needs such as a Part Time Pastor for pastoral care/visitation and an Office Manager.
Marlene Ott, Chairman
FROM THE EDITORS:
You are receiving the monthly newsletter from Community Church at Ocean Pines because you are a member of the church or have been associated with the church in some way, i.e. as a visitor, by participation in activities or missions, or have expressed an interest in our ministries. The ‘Community Connexion’ is sent via e-mail to those who are registered on our e-mail list and by bulk mail with the Postal Service for those who have not registered an e-mail address with us. If you would like to make any change in the way you receive your copy of the newsletter, please notify the church office (410-641-5433).
If there are areas of interest to you that are not being included in the newsletter, please make the editors aware of this. We want to keep you informed and we want the newsletter to be interesting!
Louise & Phil Lassiter (Call the church office 410-641-5433)
PRIME TIMERS
Couples married 50 years or more to the same spouse are invited to join us at our monthly dinners. In January we met at the Holiday Inn in Ocean City with Pastor Bill and Jackie as our special guests. Information on the February dinner will be announced in the Sunday bulletin.
Dick and Dot Hunkele
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Even though our Stewardship Campaign fell short of its goals last year, the good news is that we have had many new requests for both pledge cards and pledge envelopes which will help bring our level of pledging up from its low point. Stay tuned to the Community Connexion in February when we hope to have a clearer picture for you.
Pat Renaud, Chairperson
MUSIC MINISTRY
More singers are needed for the Chancel Choir. Our winter/spring season will begin in January. Anyone is welcome to join. Just come to a practice any Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Our first practice for the new year will be Thursday, January 5th.
The Jubilate Ringers are having a great time. Come join us at 6:00 on Thursdays starting on January 5th. We can always use more ringers. No need to read music! Kristie Marton, Music Committee
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