eASTER sERVICES
pLEASE JOIN US FOR ANY OR ALL OF THEM! aLL ARE WELCOME!
mAUNDY tHURSDAY sERVICE, aPRIL 6TH, 7 PM
gOOD fRIDAY sERVICE, aPRIL 7TH, 7 PM
eASTER sUNRISE sERVICE, aPRIL 9TH, 7:30 AM
WITH bREAKFAST FOLLOWING AT 8 AM
sUNDAY sCHOOL, aPRIL 9TH AT 9:30 AM
eASTER sUNDAY wORSHIP sERVICE, aPRIL 9TH AT 10:45 AM
spring rummage sale/bake sale/candy sale
Friday, April 7 th and Saturday, April 8 th
wE WILL BE HAVING A LADIES SPRING BANQUET
oN SUNDAY, MAY 21ST. ALL LADIES ARE INVITED!
KIDS ADVENTURE WEEK WILL BE FROM JUNE 12TH - 16TH
PASTORS LETTER
March 1, 2023
Ever have “one of those days”? That is my day today. I thought I was on top of things. I left the house this morning with plenty of time to make a couple of stops before being to the church by 10 am, I had everything I needed all packed and ready to go, and off I went. But then I got to my first stop and realized I didn’t have my phone. I knew right where it was – on the nightstand where I laid it when I made my bed this morning. Ugh!
I’ll be honest, I considered leaving it there, but then I started thinking, what if someone needed me? What if the car repair shop was done with my car? What if, what if, what if? We face a lot of “what ifs” each day, often without even realizing it. When we leave the house and the sky looks cloudy, we grab an umbrella – we don’t stop to think about “if it rains.” When our gas gauge shows low, we stop at the gas station – we don’t stop to ask, “what if we run out?’ We go though each day taking the necessary precautions and protections against our “what ifs” as a matter of habit, or routine.
Do we do the same thing with how we live as a Christian? If we oversleep and are running late – do we skip the morning’s devotion time with God or the special cup of coffee we like to stop and get? When we have had a long, hard day, do we skip our quiet time in prayer or watching one more episode of our favorite show? We don’t ask, “what if we don’t do our devotions,” we don’t ask “what if we don’t pray,” but we should.
Now, I’m not saying missing one day of prayer or scripture reading will be devastating, but what I am cautioning us against is falling into a routine that finds us skipping here and there, then more often than not, then forgetting them all together. So, now is the time to ask the “what ifs.” What if I don’t spend time with God through prayer and Bible reading? Then I would lose my connection to the One whom I need more than I need anything or anyone in the world.
God is my source of strength when I am weak, he is my comfort when I am tired and distraught, he is my counselor when I have decisions to make, he is my all-in-all. How can I even think I can go a day without him? What if I skipped God? I would be lost and wandering on my own. Even today, when I had to backtrack and go all the way back home to get my phone, I carried with me the peace that God had placed on my heart when I had spent time reading my Bible plans before I left the house. In times past, that would have caused me to think negatively about the rest of my day. I would have used my forgetfulness as a sign that I wasn’t going to have a good day, and I would have failed to see any good that came my way. Today, I saw it as a simple inconvenience, not the ruin of a beautiful day that God had gifted to me.
Psalm 16 is titled, “Song of Trust and Security in God,” and verse 11 tells us, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." What if we kept that word from God in our heart – wouldn’t that make every day a better day, no matter what it brings? Even if we forget something at home and have to go back and get it, which makes us run late? Happy March, Happy Spring! God Bless.
Pastor Donna
March 1, 2023
Ever have “one of those days”? That is my day today. I thought I was on top of things. I left the house this morning with plenty of time to make a couple of stops before being to the church by 10 am, I had everything I needed all packed and ready to go, and off I went. But then I got to my first stop and realized I didn’t have my phone. I knew right where it was – on the nightstand where I laid it when I made my bed this morning. Ugh!
I’ll be honest, I considered leaving it there, but then I started thinking, what if someone needed me? What if the car repair shop was done with my car? What if, what if, what if? We face a lot of “what ifs” each day, often without even realizing it. When we leave the house and the sky looks cloudy, we grab an umbrella – we don’t stop to think about “if it rains.” When our gas gauge shows low, we stop at the gas station – we don’t stop to ask, “what if we run out?’ We go though each day taking the necessary precautions and protections against our “what ifs” as a matter of habit, or routine.
Do we do the same thing with how we live as a Christian? If we oversleep and are running late – do we skip the morning’s devotion time with God or the special cup of coffee we like to stop and get? When we have had a long, hard day, do we skip our quiet time in prayer or watching one more episode of our favorite show? We don’t ask, “what if we don’t do our devotions,” we don’t ask “what if we don’t pray,” but we should.
Now, I’m not saying missing one day of prayer or scripture reading will be devastating, but what I am cautioning us against is falling into a routine that finds us skipping here and there, then more often than not, then forgetting them all together. So, now is the time to ask the “what ifs.” What if I don’t spend time with God through prayer and Bible reading? Then I would lose my connection to the One whom I need more than I need anything or anyone in the world.
God is my source of strength when I am weak, he is my comfort when I am tired and distraught, he is my counselor when I have decisions to make, he is my all-in-all. How can I even think I can go a day without him? What if I skipped God? I would be lost and wandering on my own. Even today, when I had to backtrack and go all the way back home to get my phone, I carried with me the peace that God had placed on my heart when I had spent time reading my Bible plans before I left the house. In times past, that would have caused me to think negatively about the rest of my day. I would have used my forgetfulness as a sign that I wasn’t going to have a good day, and I would have failed to see any good that came my way. Today, I saw it as a simple inconvenience, not the ruin of a beautiful day that God had gifted to me.
Psalm 16 is titled, “Song of Trust and Security in God,” and verse 11 tells us, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." What if we kept that word from God in our heart – wouldn’t that make every day a better day, no matter what it brings? Even if we forget something at home and have to go back and get it, which makes us run late? Happy March, Happy Spring! God Bless.
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.
