Weekly Messages from Pastor Steve can be found here:
Drive-In Worship: This Sunday - June 28 - we are offering drive-in worship. You are asked to enter the parking lot at the Maxwell Road entrance, where you will be directed by our masked parking lot ushers to a parking space. Please remain in your vehicle throughout the service in order to maintain physical distancing. At the end of worship you will be directed as to how to depart. You will be able to listen to the service by tuning the radio in your vehicle to 91.5 FM. This service will include Communion, however, you must bring your own elements (grape juice and bread). Pastor Steve will lead us through a liturgy, and you will then be invited to partake of the elements you have with you. Bulletins will not be distributed, however you will find one to print at home or read on your electronic device here: http://www.numc.net/print-at-home-bulletin.html
The service will still be live-streamed on Facebook and uploaded to YouTube.
Congratulations to our 2020 High School Graduates! You can learn more about what they've done and where they're going here: http://www.numc.net/2020-graduates.html
New Lay Servant Course: We are excited to offer a new lay servant course focused on empowering local congregation to grow in understanding and service to students in your local contexts! This course is open to both clergy and laity, taught by Rev. Colleen Hallagan Preuninger, Associate Minister for Memorial Church and Director of Student Engagement, Office for Religious Life, Stanford University.
Dates: 7/5, 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2
Time: 3:00-5:00 pm EDT
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free!
Materials Needed: Campus Ministry: Empowering Congregations to Support Students at Colleges and Universities by Colleen Hallagan Preuninger
The purpose of this 10 hour course is to help church leaders guide their congregations in a process of discernment and planning to better support college students. This course will help participants do the following:
- Think theologically about their congregation’s motivations and goals for creating a student ministry.
- Orient themselves within the current landscape of higher education in the United States and locate their congregation within the particularity of their own institutional landscape.
- Understand the importance of setting congregational goals and expectations that prioritize student needs and voices.
- Identify the areas of ministry potential that already exist within their congregation and imagine new ways God may be calling them to use these gifts to serve students
- Create a plan to facilitate continued discernment and student ministry building in their congregation.
Rev. Colleen Hallagan Preuninger e-mail: colleenpreuninger@gmail.com cell: 315-527-7383
Racism Study Group: Everyone is welcome to join us in learning more about racism and how we can work to eliminate it from our world as we engage in a three session study published by "The Thoughtful Christian" on Thursday evenings at 7 pm on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87894774484.
The handouts for each session are available on our anti-racism resource page: http://www.numc.net/anti-racism-resources.html
Reopening Updates: The Reopening Taskforce continues to meet and refine plans for reopening to in-person sanctuary worship, church meetings, and outside groups. We expect to be open to church meetings beginning next week. Specific requirements and guidelines will be provided. All meetings must be scheduled through the church office so that we can limit the number of people in the building and properly sanitize rooms between meetings. Masks will be required, and groups sizes limited. Group leaders and committee chairs will also be asked to keep lists of attendees in case contact tracing is required.
Upper Room Daily Devotionals are available at https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals. If you know of someone who doesn't have internet access and would like a booklet please contact the church office and we will make arrangements to get one to them. There is also an app available for both Upper Room and Alive Now, so you can get them right on your phone or tablet.
Are you or is someone you know in need of financial assistance? The church has received gifts from individual's stimulus checks to use the funds to help those who may be in financial need during this difficult time. If you know of someone who may be struggling to feed their family, pay utilities, or otherwise meet basic expenses, please contact Pastor Steve. If you are interested in adding to this fund please send your gift to the church, attention: Kathy Franklin. All donations and distributions will remain fully anonymous.
Food assistance is available through food pantries throughout the Capital Region. If you or someone you know is in need of food, you can locate a food pantry serving your community here: https://www.thefoodpantries.org/find-help-here.html
The NUMC Little Food Pantry is available 24 hour per day/7 days per week for anyone in need of emergency food or personal care items. If you would like to donate simply leave your items in the food pantry cabinet, located in the rear parking lot.
Financial offerings can be mailed to the office, either in your regular offering envelopes or marked "Attn: Kathy Franklin" to P.O. Box 7, Newtonville, NY 12128. The GivePlus app is another option that can be downloaded to either iPhone or Android. Simply search by zip code 12128. For electronic giving on a regular basis, please contact the church office and we will put Kathy in touch with you to set that up through Vanco. We sincerely appreciate your continued financial support.
We thank you for your prayers, your patience, and your support through this challenging time.
