Opportunities for
Ministry and Service
Monday, September 20th
Bible Study @ the Parsonage—7:00 PM (Matthew 27)
Tuesday, September 21st
Bible Study @ Audrey Smith’s —10:00 AM (Matthew
28)
Finance Committee @ Antioch—7:00 PM
UMW—8:00 PM
Wednesday, September 22nd
Prayer Meeting @ Williams—5:45 PM
Choir @ Williams—6:30 PM
Finance Committee @ Williams—7:00 PM
Sunday, September 26th
Lay Leadership @ Williams—9:00 AM
Our
Labor of Love!
Special
thanks to everyone who has been working with the Growth Team over the last
few months. Through prayer, conversation
and studying scripture, we have determined that the labor of love God has
called us to is: to welcome people into a
congregation and community pursuing relevant faith.
The Growth Team
and Administrative Board have decided on some great next steps for us. Here’s how we will be welcoming:
-Capital Improvements: With the aid
of a generous donation, we will be pursuing two projects in our church
building. First, we will be rewiring the sanctuary lights so that we can install brighter bulbs to better
illuminate the sanctuary. Second, we
are forming a committee to decide how best to make our church accessible to individuals in wheelchairs without compromising the historical beauty of the
building. If you are interested in
helping make this a reality, talk with Pastor Andrew.
-Community Events: We have also
committed to welcoming the community into our church through quarterly
events, such as musical presentations.
We have established a team to plan, promote and lead these events,
and if you are interested in being a part of this group, please contact
Pastor Andrew.
-Greeters: In order to be
more welcoming to everyone who joins us on Sunday morning, the Growth Team
determined that having greeters at the door each Sunday would be a good
step. If you are interested in
serving as a greeter once a month, please talk with Pastor Andrew.
-Church Cook-Out: Finally, we
are planning to be more welcoming as a church family. Our first step will
be a cook-out after worship on October 3rd.
We hope that you will plan to come and bring a side dish and a
friend!
The second part
of our labor of love is a commitment to pursuing relevant faith. Relevant Faith
is faith that matters in life. In
order to be relevant, we have found some great ways to reach out to those
around us and grow within our own community.
-Food Bank and Emergency Aid:
We have committed to partner with Kenbridge United Methodist Church
and Lunenburg County Ministries to help the recently established Kenbridge
UMC food bank reach more people.
Each month, we will be collecting non-perishable food items to
contribute to the food bank. This month, our collection will be next Sunday, September
26th. All non-perishables are helpful, but the food bank especially
needs dried milk, cereal, canned fruit and juice. We have also
committed to budget $150 in next year’s budget to help Lunenburg County
Ministries with emergency needs that go beyond their established limits.
-Ministry in Mongolia: The Growth Team and Administrative Board have decided
to partner with Charis Storms and the work that she is doing in Mongolia
through committing $50/month towards her ministry as well as sending
regular packages with items both for Charis and her ministry. We are collecting cards and small items
for our first package today! If you
have something that you want to include but do not have it with you, talk
with Joy Daigle Book.
-Children’s Ministry: We have made a commitment to expand our children’s
ministry to include either a weekly children’s Sunday School or a weekly
optional Children’s Church (where children would be invited after the
children’s sharing to participate in a worship time geared to help them
learn about God and worship). In the
coming weeks, we will be talking with the parents in the Antioch community
about how we can best work to develop relevant faith in their children’s
lives.
If you have any
questions, concerns, or ideas about our labor of love, please talk with
Pastor Andrew. These are exciting
times at Antioch! We hope that the
entire congregation will join in our
labor of love through your prayers and participation. May God be glorified in our church!
