Thursday, March 31, 2011

Pulpit Exchange

Beginning this month our pastor, Laurel Scott, will participate in a Pulpit Exchange (once a month) within the local United Methodist church cluster.

On Sunday, April 10, we welcome Rev. Linda Peabody from Bolton UMC to join us for the 10:30 service as Pastor Laurel preaches at Bolton UMC.
Along with North UMC, the cluster includes:

South UMC (Manchester), Rockville UMC, Bolton UMC,
Crystal Lake Community UMC (Ellington), Wesley (East Hartford),
New Covenant (East Hartford), Vernon UMC

This is a great opportunity to bear witness to the message through various preachers who will bring their individual interpretations of the Word.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

March Sermons


Sermons from the month of March are now online for your listening pleasure.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Support Japan 100 percent

One hundred percent of donations to this advance will help the people of Japan recover from this still unfolding disaster. Your generosity will support the rebuilding of communities, and may address the reconstruction of homes and places of worship, among other needs.

If you would like to donate to the emergency in Japan, you can go to gbgm-umc.org,
click on “advance” and enter #3021317
.

By Mail: Make your check payable to NUMC. Write the name of the ministry (Japan Emergency) and The Advance code number (3021317) on the check.

Send your check to: North United Methodist Church, 300 Parker St., Manchester, CT 06042

OR place your check in the collection plate at Sunday service.

By Phone: Credit card gifts can be accepted by phone. The number is: (888) 252-6174

Please keep the people of Japan in your prayers, particularly as they wait out efforts to control the risk from the damaged nuclear reactors.

More detailed leaflets are available in the Memorial Room at Church.

April Tidings

Check out the April edition of Tidings, our monthly newsletter. There is a lot going on that you will surely want to be a part of.

Ministry Minute

Starting March 27 in each service there will be a Ministry Minute in which Lay Ministers will describe current activity in their area of service:
  • April 3 — Mission Outreach
  • April 10 — Trustees
  • April 17 — Sunday Bible Study
This past Sunday we heard from Anita as she enthusiastically shared the exciting work going on with Fund Raising.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Interdenominational Community Service for Japan

Sunday, March 27 at 2 pm North United Methodist Church will host an interdenominational service in support of Japan. The whole community is welcome as this a truly global tragedy affecting us all.

LENTEN HEALING SERVICE this Sunday

LENTEN HEALING SERVICE with District Superintendent,
Rev. Heidi Chamberland and the District Healing Team
Sunday, March 27, 4 pm at South UMC

Thursday, March 10, 2011

One Service at 10:30 am Sunday, March 13

Daylight Savings Time - Spring Forward
Set Clocks ahead 1 hour
Saturday night - March 12

Sunday, March 13 - One Service at 10:30 am
Congregational Meeting directly following the service.
Please plan to stay and share your views.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Ash Wednesday Service at 7 pm

This Wednesday there will be an Ash Wednesday service at North United Methodist Church at 7 pm.

Chancel choir will meet half an hour later than usual at 7:30 pm for rehearsal.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Food Drive for MACC

Can we collect 100 bags of groceries for MACC between now and April 10th ?

The Outreach/Mission Committee believes we can! Starting this past Sunday, we will be placing the donated bags of groceries on the altar and then storing them until the BIG DAY on Sunday April 10th .
We especially need: meat soups, beef stew, canned meat, pasta sauce, cereal, corn, peas, tomatoes, baked beans, bak-ing mixes and coffee, diapers sizes 4 & 5, corned beef hash, chili with beans, canned white potatoes, juice, rice/pasta mixes, jelly, mixed vegetables, spinach, clam chowder, peanut butter, canned pasta (ravioli, spaghetti & meatballs, etc.), condiments, tuna, dry boxed pota-toes, dry red kidney beans, mayonnaise, gelatin/pudding mixes, ramen noodles, sugar, green beans, beets, beans (black, white, pinto, etc.), chicken soup, yams, snacks, hot chocolate, pasta, carrots.
Everyone is invited to join the committee on Sunday afternoon, April 10th to deliver the bags to the MACC Food Pantry. We will then sort the food, check the expiration dates, and stock the pantry shelves. Jacki Campion, Director of Volunteer Services, will be on hand to explain a little about how the pantry works. Several people have expressed an interest in seeing where their donated food goes and how the food pantry operates. This is also a wonderful opportunity to involve the children in giving to those in need.

We expect this will run from about 1:30 to 2:30 or 3:00. We hope you will be inspired during this Lenten season to think of your neighbors who may be struggling during the economic downturn. James 2:8 reminds us: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”.

More information will be forthcoming as to times and logistics.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

North Stars Singing this Sunday

Hear the children of North United Methodist Church sing "Sing When the Spirit Says Sing" at the 10:30 service this Sunday.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Local Music this Sunday at 6pm

Come see one of NUMC's own, Caleb Cadman play with One Achord at a benefit concert at Ellington Wesleyan Church (Rt.140, 276 Crystal Lake Rd) Ellington CT at 6pm Sunday. Read more at the Facebook entry for this event.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

What’s all the “murmur” about?

This February we are taking the “pulse” of our music ministry.
Do we have a healthy “rhythm” or do we need “resuscitation”?
Are we keeping “pace” with your musical needs?
Help us “monitor” our program by leaving suggestions in the box found in the new narthex.
Also, “no pressure” . . .
But if you like music, why not consider becoming a choir member?
You can’t “beat” it!
- Chris Collins

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Good Clean Fun

This Saturday is the first of a series of Good Clean Fun gatherings for children and youth ages 8 to 15. GCF evenings are open to the children and youth of North Church and their friends.

Cost is a mere $10 per child and will include adult supervision of the following: Games, Activities, DJ music and Refreshments.

Call your friends and come join an outrageously fun night!

Saturday, February 12 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Questions? Want to Volunteer to help or chaperone?
Call Anita at 860-712-9991

PRAYING THE PSALMS

During the next nine weeks, up to Palm Sunday, we will engage in a sermon series focusing on the Psalms. The Psalms come to us from our Judeo-Christian roots. Psalms were the hymn book of ancient Israel, were used during worship in the early church and continue to be used today throughout both the Jewish and Christian world.

As I opened the bible recently to look for a psalm to find words to fit my situation (sometimes I prefer to use other people’s words. They seem so appropriate!) I was struck by how many psalms were psalms of lament – grief over the situation in which the person praying finds herself, a complaint to God, a petition to God and thanksgiving that God is faithful to attend to the particular situation. There are other psalms as well -- Psalms of praise, psalms of thanksgiving, royal psalms, wisdom/torah psalms, entrance (to the temple) liturgies, prophetic exhortation, psalms of confidence and trust.

Scholars believe that many of the individual psalms of lament were prayers from individuals in distress who went to the temple to pray for God’s help. Sometimes the prayer is for relief from evil – sickness, war or conflict, and sometimes the prayers are admissions of the praying person’s own guilt, but always the psalms acknowledge our fundamental dependence on God for life and the future. The righteous are those who understand this and try to live it.
We will be following the psalm of the day in the lectionary calendar, begin-ning with Psalm 119 – the longest psalm in the bible – 176 verses, although we will only be reading the first eight verses in worship, UMH # 840. The fact of the matter is that this psalm is repetitive, but we find the essence of the teaching in the first eight verses – those who follow God’s law are blessed, or happy. So I have titled the first sermon HAPPY PEOPLE. I follow this theme throughout the series with a description of the kind of people the psalm focuses on, so for example one sermon will be titled Righteous People, another Humble People. The neat thing about following the lectionary is that themes run through all of the readings for the day, and so I am able to include references from the other readings, to tie the message all together neatly.

I hope you will find the series useful in enriching your personal prayer life and for your own personal spiritual growth. (Shalom. Shalvah) Peace, Safety and security to you, which are the results of praying the psalms.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

One Service Tomorrow

A late reminder that there is one service tomorrow at 10:30 followed by a potluck lunch, sure to be delicious.

Tidings and Sermons

A new Tidings monthly newsletter and recent Sermons are up on the NUMC Website.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

United Methodist Federal Credit Union Announces Scholarships

The Reverend Frank Witman - United Methodist Federal Credit Union Scholarship Fund. The scholarship program is open to students attending or planning to attend a college or university, community college, campus ministry or a technical college or trade school. Four $500 scholarships will be awarded.

Deadline is February 15, 2011.

Click Here for additional details and an application.