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September 2016 volume 19 • number 8

A publication of Christ United Methodist Church of Fort Collins

Our yearly Church Conference is scheduled for Sunday October 16, 2016 after worship. We will conduct the typical business of the church such as receiving reports concerning membership, recommendation of the 2017 church budget and affirming our leadership for the coming year. An item which we will also be voting on is a Capital Campaign for building repairs and opening our preschool. The Preschool Advisory Team and the Capital Campaign Steering Com-mittee have been busy estimating costs and assessing financial support for the repairs and preschool. In order for everyone to be informed about the vote on the Capital Campaign, sev-eral meetings have been scheduled:

Sunday September 11th

after the All Church Patriot’s Day Potluck in Fellowship Hall

Thursday September 15th

at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Wednesday September 28th

at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Please plan to attend one of these meetings to learn about our plans for the future.

The Preschool Advisory Team is co-chaired by Gary and Kathy Turner with members Carolyn Peterson, Fiona Alder, Debbie Eiten, Vicky Hays, Jim Nuttall and Rev. Nancy. The Capital Campaign Steering Com-mittee is co-chaired by Wayne and Dorothy Bondurant with members Steve Merriam, Gary and Kathy Turner, and Rev. Nancy.

A reminder to all chairpersons of committees, boards and work areas: your word processed report is due to Debbie Eiten (info@cumc-fc.org) on September 26, 2016. If you need help word processing your report, please contact Debbie well before the due date.

Our church conference is more than a yearly business meeting. We have an opportunity to celebrate the past year and plan for our future ministry and mission.

Grace & Peace, Rev. Nancy

Mondays, 6:30 a.m. God’s Plan for Women to Walk in Power and Purpose - - Jesus DID break some rules to set women free!! We welcome any and all to meet with us for prayer and study of Scripture. Join us at 6:30 on Monday mornings in room 105, the church library.

2nd

& 4th

Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Please consider joining us twice a month for Bible Study in room 104 beginning September 13.

Seekers Bible Study Seekers group meets every Tuesday morning, 9:30 to about 10:45 at the church. There are light refreshments followed by the study. We welcome new members. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Dorothy Bondurant.

Thank you to all who have re-sponded to the following request for drivers. At this time, we have enough scheduled. Roger & Mary Ann are so very grateful for all of you and the love and support you have shown them. The link below is included if you need to re-schedule or trade with someone,

Volunteer Drivers Needed: Roger Corliss is looking for help with transportation to the PVH Oncol-ogy Radiation department for the next 6 weeks. The appointments should take less than 30 minutes. A SignUpGenius e-mail invite was sent in late August. If you no longer have that email, click on the link below to view the appoint-ment schedule and to sign-up. If you have questions, contact Na-thalee Novy.

Steve and Carol Strong and Don and Millie Raymond would like to thank all the members who generously gave of their time to make Faith Family Hospitality another successful week. You all have made the coordinator's job so easy. Thanks!

Dear Community Partner, Al-bertsons Community Partners program came to an end 12/31/15 and to thank you for your support, we are sending you an additional

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Bible Studies

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together, and we serve others locally and globally in mission projects.

Explorers’ Circle meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in members’ homes or the church. On September 6, Cindy Starck is the hostess. Contact her or Barbara Bur-ford, chairman, to learn more about Explorers’ Circle.

Friendship Circle meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in members’ homes or the church. On September 1, Linda Wenzel will host the group. Contact her or the chair-man, Chris Coats, to learn more about Friendship Circle.

Outreach Circle meets the first Tues-day of the month at 1 p.m. in mem-bers’ homes and at the church. Con-tact Virginia Sandborn & Gen Maul to learn more about Outreach Circle. They will be meeting Sept. 6 at noon (note time change) with a potluck at the church.

Seekers Group is a Bible study group that meets every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., usually at the church. Contact Dorothy Bondurant to learn about the current Bible study.

The UMW Prayer Chain in coordi-nated by Leona Brubacher, Helen Corl and Sharon Mann. If you’d like to be part of the Prayer Chain, contact Sharon Mann.

The Quilt Group meets the first and third Mondays at 1:00 p.m. in the Quilt Room (room 018 downstairs at CUMC). They make lap quilts to do-nate to Project Linus, FFH, and church members during their hospital stay. They also work on other projects and have a blast doing so. If you’re interested in checking out the Quilt Group, just show up, or contact Re-gina Roberts.

Join us!! You’ll be glad you did.

UMW District Annual Meeting

On September 17, the Peaks & Plains District of UMW will hold their annual meeting at First United Methodist

volume 19 • number 8

Church Women’s Communiqué

UMW Programs

Since its founding more than 140 years ago, the work of each part of the United Methodist Women organization is focused on the mission set for us by Jesus Christ, as expressed through the UMW PURPOSE and lived out through our vision.

We follow in the tradition of women like Ruth, who not only spoke words of love to her mother-in-law, Naomi, but acted on them. Ruth was a foreigner who did not know the God her mother-in-law worshiped. However, by staying with Naomi and following God’s ways, Ruth provided comfort and hope for a new future.

The story of Ruth is the story of faith, hope and love in action - - a hallmark of United Methodist Women members. United Methodist Women is organized so that each member may live out her calling and faith story for God’s mis-sion. God calls everyday people like us to step out in faith to minister to people in need of God’s hope and love in their lives, to walk with them and to be formed ourselves. It could be a mother-in-law, a neighbor or a refugee halfway around the world.

The programs of United Methodist Women are there to help accomplish mission and ministry in your personal life, church, community and the world. (The above taken from the UMW Handbook)

Join the UMW of Christ United Meth-

odist Church as we learn, fellowship,

and serve together. For more informa-

tion about opportunities, contact Lau-

rel Kubin or Kendra Coleman.

UMW Circles Resume Meetings

Christ United Methodist Church has five UMW groups that meet monthly, September through May. Some of the groups (Circles, Quilting and Bible Study groups) also meet occasionally through the summer for fun and to stay connected.

All women, of all ages, are welcome to be part of these groups. We have fun, we support each other, we learn

payment of $108.98. Once again, we would like to thank you for your support with the Community Partners Program.

Thank you for partnering with the United Methodist Commit-tee on Relief (UMCOR). Through your gifts, you are helping to pro-vide humanitarian relief when war, conflict, or natural disaster disrupt life to such an extent that communities are unable to re-cover on their own. 100% of your contribution will go to supporting UMCOR’s response to disaster in United States. This gift brings hope to those who need it most. Roland Fernandes and Emily Miller, General Board of Global Ministries.

Your support for the Food Bank for Larimer County changed someone's life today! We wish to thank you for this generous gift of $50 which will have a tremendous impact on the more than 36,000 members of our community who rely on our services. Your contin-ued support is vital to realizing our vision of a hunger-free Larimer County. You make our work possible. Thank you. Sin-cerely, Amy Pezzani Executive Director, Food Bank for Larimer County.

The Wed. Morning Book Club welcomes you to join us the sec-ond Wednesday of each month for a discussion of our current book. The books are furnished by the Library system--no need to purchase a book. We start at 10 a.m. and finish at 11 a.m. We are currently reading the last novel by Kent Haruf entitled Our Souls at Night. See Millie Oliver if you need a copy of the book.

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Wednesday AM Book Club

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volume 19 • number 8

The Congregational Care Team could use some additional mem-bers and invites you to join us. It is a very rewarding experience!

The goal of the Congregational Care Team (CCT) is to reach out to those in our community of faith who have special needs and to help make our church a friendly, nurturing faith community.

When the Care Team is made aware of someone who needs a little extra encouragement, they do their best to be there with cards, phone calls and visits. During the past two months CCT members sent 31 cards, made 1 phone call and 5 visits.

CCT meets on the second Tues-day of each month at 11 a.m. to update, review and to assure that the known needs of those in our community of faith are being met.

For more information, please call Linda Glover.

Sunday Bulletin - If you have information you would like on the announcement page or for a bul-letin insert you must request it by Noon TUESDAY of the week you want it included.

October Vision Deadline- Mon-day, September 19, 9 a.m. Please submit articles written and ready for proofing.

CUMC Contact Information:

Address:

301 East Drake Road

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Phone: 970-226-2341

Fax: 970-207-4030

E-mail: info@cumc-fc.org

Website: www.cumc-fc.org

Check us out on Facebook!

Congregational Care Team

Office Notes

fun fundraiser is open to everyone. Watch for all the details and advanced registration form in next month’s newsletter and bulletins.

Want to help us prepare for this fun

activity? Here’s what you can do –

Donate your “Bling” (we are col-lecting gently used jewelry, purses, scarves and accessories for the Silent Auction). There will be a collection box in the Narthex for your donations or you can contact Kendra Coleman at 970/215-8036.

Donate food/snacks and/or offer to help. There will be a sign-up sheet/poster in the Narthex. Check it out and see where you might be able to help.

Register Early. This will really help us plan how many tables and how much food is needed. Registra-tion forms will be available in the Nar-thex, before and after church ser-vices, in upcoming publications, etc. Look for them and ...

Plan on joining us for this “FUN” FUNdraiser for local missions. You and your friends don’t want to miss it. Ask any of the people who attended last year how much FUN they had.

Attention UMW Library Users!

Please look around your house for a stray book! A number of our Reading Program books seem to be missing from the UMW Library, with no sign-out card in the box.

When borrowing a book, please be careful to sign the card which is inside the book cover, and place it in the box provided. As a courtesy, please keep the book only 2 - 4 weeks, then re-place the card in the book cover and return it to the correct category in the library by matching the colored dot.

If we are careful in following this pro-cedure, everyone can have a chance to enjoy these wonderful books.

Thanks very much!

Val Cornetet, UMW Program Resources

Church in Fort Collins. This will be a joint meeting with the Wyoming North-east Colorado District. A reorganiza-tion of the UMW districts is occurring at the same time the United Methodist Church is experiencing some reor-ganization of conferences.

Pastor Cynthia Paquette of First UMC will facilitate a session on “Growing in Blessedness: Creating Community.” This will be a great opportunity to get to know some of the members from Wyoming who will now be in the Peaks and Plains District.

During the annual meeting, the dis-trict’s new officers will be installed, a budget approved, and a memorial service honoring deceased United Methodist members will be held.

Day Apart Was Special

Our own Pastor Nancy was the facili-tator of the UMW Day Apart on July 30 at the Lafayette Church. She led the group in activities and reflections on Growing in Blessedness - - Grow-ing in Mercy. For part of the session, she had the participants involved in Lectio Divino, writing a Call to Wor-ship and Prayers. Many of these were really powerful as participants shared what they wrote.

In the afternoon, Pastor Nancy shared photos and stories from the 2015 Medical Mission to Cambodia. This example of growing in mercy touched the hearts of the participants so greatly that they spontaneously took up a collection to be used toward the 2017 Mission trip to Cambodia, with $700 being contributed. The Holy Spirit could easily be felt by all who enjoyed this special day.

Let the Good Times Roll AGAIN!

That’s right. So many of you enjoyed the BUNKO AND BLING last year that we are doing it again. Mark your calendar for the morning of October 29, 2016 here at the church. And don’t forget to invite your friends, relatives and neighbors because this

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Just a Thought

volume 19 • number 7

Finance Committee

THE MAYONNAISE JAR...AND COFFEE By Laura Bankston

When things in your life seem almost too much to han-dle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the coffee...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, word-lessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The stu-dents responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal." Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

July, 2016 was a good month with respect to church giving as members contributed a total of $28,342, an amount that exceeded our expenses for the month ($25,923) by an impressive $2,419.

However, this good news must be tempered by the fact that earlier in the year we had a number of expenses related to maintenance, replacement of equipment and other issues. Because of these necessary expenditures we had to spend slightly more ($193,589 or 47.1% of our 2016 budget) than we received in offerings during the first seven months of this year ($186,528 or 44.1% of our 2016 budget).

We also have fallen slightly behind in our tithe plus pay-ments to the Rocky Mountain Conference of our church, having paid $19,108 out of the $25,279 requested to date for 2016.

Despite these issues, it should be noted that all bills have been paid and we have no outstanding debts. It is our hope that expenses will drop somewhat in the last half of the year, allowing us to once again see our giving totals more closely match, or perhaps even exceed, our required spending. We also hope our congregation will continue its generous contributions to the operating fund which in addition to paying for routine expenses and maintenance, also supports the many worthwhile ser-vice, education and mission activities of our church.

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September 2016 • volume 19 • number 8

Christ United Methodist Church 301 E. Drake Road Ft. Collins, CO 80525 Return Service Requested

Sept 11 Patriot Day Church Potluck

Following worship on September 11, we will en-joy our annual all-church lunch. This year it will be potluck since it’s been quite a while since we’ve all gotten to taste each other’s cooking. Does that mean you have to COOK? Absolutely not! If cooking’s not your forte, deli or grocery store items are just fine.

Let’s honor our country, our veterans, our religious freedoms, our congregation, and God at this annual event. We will be recognizing at the potluck our members and visitors who are veterans - all who have served in the military.

If you’d like to help with planning the decorations or program, please contact Laurel Kubin

The Friendship Circle Group would like to welcome women

in the church to join them in their monthly group meeting. Friendship Circle meets the first Thursday of each month. It is a evening of shar-ing and fellowship, with a tasty treat at the end! We've had the sum-mer off, but, put it on your calendar to join us for our fall kickoff meet-ing scheduled for September 1st at 7pm. This meeting will be held at the home of Linda Wenzel. If anyone would like to carpool, please let Laurel Kubin know. We hope to see you join our great group!

Fall Kick-Off

Join us September 11 Patriot Day Church Potluck

Do you shop on-line? Check out the new and improved UMCmarket pro-gram that provides you with great shopping deals and discounts, and contributes a percentage of each pur-chase to our ministry - at no cost to you. Go to umcmarket.org to learn more and join for free.

https://umcmarket.org/dn-umc/

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