GloryWay Trio
In Concert here
Saturday, December 17th, 6 pm
A Love offering will be taken
Please join us Sunday'S at 10:45 am
to partake in our worship Service!
we will be celebrating lent from November 27 - december 18
pastor donna will be present a sermon series titled:
Who is Jesus?
Please come worship with it and prepare your hearts
in the weeks leading up to Christmas!
letter from Pastor Donna Mills
November 22, 2022
I can’t believe that in less than a week I leave for my trip to the Holy Land. To say that I am excites is an understatement, I am going to go see the place where Jesus was born and walk in some of the places where he walked! It is almost overwhelming to even think about, but it is certainly a dream come true.
One of the ways I have been preparing for this trip is to look at pictures of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and other places we will be visiting. When we read the stories of Jesus in the gospels, especially the story of his birth, I picture what the places would look like – but I never see them as modern cities. I never even realized this until I saw a picture a few months ago of Bethlehem all decked out in Christmas lights in the streets and on their modern buildings. Why would I have thought that Bethlehem was the same city it was two thousand years ago? Because I only ever think of it in relation to the birth story of our Lord and Savior.
We have all experienced this to some degree. Haven’t we all run into a friend we haven’t seen for years and find ourselves shocked that their little baby is now grown and has a family of their own? The passage of time seems to shock us, doesn’t it? I have often said that our days are long, but our years are short. We count the days until the next big event – Christmas, birthdays, vacations, etc., and those days feel like they drag by in our eager anticipation. Then, suddenly, the big day arrives and before we know it, it is gone, almost like it happened in a dream.
Maybe that is why we tend to extend the Christmas season – because the anticipation of the celebration makes the celebration all the sweeter. We know that Christmas day will come and go and we will be left wondering if it was even real. I know the same is true for my trip to Israel – I have been counting the days until we leave, anticipating the adventure, excited to go, but I know that from those ten days will pass way too quickly.
As we enter this season of Advent, we are facing the same dilemma. We are in a state of waiting, a time of anticipation for the One who came and is coming again. We can’t count the days until his next arrival because we do not know the date or the time, but we are counting the days since he was last here, and it feels like Jesus should be due back any minute. In fact, he is – Jesus could come at any time. So, I must ask – what are we doing to get ready for him?
We prepare for Christmas by decorating, shopping, cooking, making plans to be with our families; we prepare for vacations by making reservations, travel arrangements, and packing our suitcase. What is it we do to prepare for the return of Jesus?
Jesus told his disciples, in Matthew 24, “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” We must be always ready for Jesus’ imminent return. The best preparations include prayer, reading and studying scripture, coming to church, giving to those less fortunate from our abundance, and sharing the Good News with others. We can do this! We can be prepared, even though the days may seem long, because we know that the years are flying by, and Jesus is due again at any minute. Happy Advent and God Bless you all!
Pastor Donna
I can’t believe that in less than a week I leave for my trip to the Holy Land. To say that I am excites is an understatement, I am going to go see the place where Jesus was born and walk in some of the places where he walked! It is almost overwhelming to even think about, but it is certainly a dream come true.
One of the ways I have been preparing for this trip is to look at pictures of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and other places we will be visiting. When we read the stories of Jesus in the gospels, especially the story of his birth, I picture what the places would look like – but I never see them as modern cities. I never even realized this until I saw a picture a few months ago of Bethlehem all decked out in Christmas lights in the streets and on their modern buildings. Why would I have thought that Bethlehem was the same city it was two thousand years ago? Because I only ever think of it in relation to the birth story of our Lord and Savior.
We have all experienced this to some degree. Haven’t we all run into a friend we haven’t seen for years and find ourselves shocked that their little baby is now grown and has a family of their own? The passage of time seems to shock us, doesn’t it? I have often said that our days are long, but our years are short. We count the days until the next big event – Christmas, birthdays, vacations, etc., and those days feel like they drag by in our eager anticipation. Then, suddenly, the big day arrives and before we know it, it is gone, almost like it happened in a dream.
Maybe that is why we tend to extend the Christmas season – because the anticipation of the celebration makes the celebration all the sweeter. We know that Christmas day will come and go and we will be left wondering if it was even real. I know the same is true for my trip to Israel – I have been counting the days until we leave, anticipating the adventure, excited to go, but I know that from those ten days will pass way too quickly.
As we enter this season of Advent, we are facing the same dilemma. We are in a state of waiting, a time of anticipation for the One who came and is coming again. We can’t count the days until his next arrival because we do not know the date or the time, but we are counting the days since he was last here, and it feels like Jesus should be due back any minute. In fact, he is – Jesus could come at any time. So, I must ask – what are we doing to get ready for him?
We prepare for Christmas by decorating, shopping, cooking, making plans to be with our families; we prepare for vacations by making reservations, travel arrangements, and packing our suitcase. What is it we do to prepare for the return of Jesus?
Jesus told his disciples, in Matthew 24, “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” We must be always ready for Jesus’ imminent return. The best preparations include prayer, reading and studying scripture, coming to church, giving to those less fortunate from our abundance, and sharing the Good News with others. We can do this! We can be prepared, even though the days may seem long, because we know that the years are flying by, and Jesus is due again at any minute. Happy Advent and God Bless you all!
Pastor Donna
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Morning education classes
Classes for Pre K- Adults of all ages are meeting from, 9:30 am to 10:30 am.
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Young ones (Birth - Pre-K) - the nursery
*Pre-K - 1st Grade - downstairs with Ms Connie *2nd - 5th Grade - downstairs with Ms Roberta 6th - 8th Grade - choir room with Ms Pat |
9th - 12th Grade - downstairs with Mr Chris
Young Adult/College & Career - in the library Russ Bowman's Class for adults - at Dunkin' Donuts Alpha and Omega for adults -in the Fellowship Hall |
Watch previous week's messAGES FROM pASTOR dONNA (AND OTHERS) ON OUR worship services PAGE OR ON OUR fACEBOOK PAGE (@ROOTSTOWNUNITEDMETHODISTCHURCH)
For more news, updates and info, check out our News page!
Habitat of portage county Apostles Build
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Apostles Build Story: The project that was started in July 2019 has been completed! The Hummel-Tucker family were presented with their home on April 25th at 2 pm! Blessings to the family as they begin to move in and get comfortable! Thank you to all who helped, prayed for, donated to this project!
United Methodist Church Updates:
Below is a link to information about the proposed split in the United Methodist Church which will be acted on in September 2024. We will not know how this effects our church until after General Conference. Use this link to stay informed on the proposal and process. United Methodist Church announces plan to split over same-sex marriage
You can also visit www.eocumc.com for our East Ohio Conference to learn more.
You can also visit www.eocumc.com for our East Ohio Conference to learn more.
