Posts by admin (Page 12)

Gobble & Squash children's ministry faith finders fundraiser outreach mission

Gobble & Squash!

Children’s Ministry Outreach Fundraiser We have enough yards to Gobble & Squash at this point, but you can still donate! Signups are full to have a friend’s lawn “Gobbled & Squashed,” but you can still help the children in our Faith Finders group (grades 3-6) raise funds to support The Church for All People’s Children’s Christmas Free Store. Make Your Contribution Here Give online using the link below: use the Operating Fund line and put “Gobble & Squash” in the…
Fall encouragement tea warm sweater

Letting Go

October 12, 2022A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I’ve always been fond of the season of fall. The cooler, crisp temperatures. The changing colors of the leaves. The start of my Fantasy Football League (and all the delightful trash talking that comes with it). The pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. (Whoever brought the pumpkin spice donuts to church last week… you are very appreciated!) And all the amazing Halloween decorations, costumes, and fabulous candy. (It’s not too late to join us…
sunset aging letter of encouragement

Growing Older & Loving Every Minute of It

October 5, 2022A Note from Marilyn Hoeflinger Dear Friends, In November I will celebrate 70 years on this earth. I’m not sure what 70 feels like, honestly. In my mind I am 20, wait, 35, no, most likely 42. I’m not sure why I settle on that number, but when I think of what I want to do and how to do it, it is the body I had when I was 42. When I could sit crisscross applesauce in…
first step encouragement

Beginner’s Mind

September 28, 2022A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, When it rolled around two weeks ago, I didn’t expect this birthday to be as hard as it was. I’m halfway through my 40s… halfway to 90. It wasn’t so much that I was feeling old… (After all, 45 is the new 35 or something?) Instead, I was pondering the reality that there’s a good chance I’ve already lived more than half of my life. In one of my favorite Richard…
Trunk or Treat Halloween candy

It felt safe, it felt like family, it felt like love…

September 21, 2022A Note from Lindsay Robinson Dear Friends, What do you want to be for Halloween? This is a question that I don’t think I’ve ever had to actually ask my own children. Other kids? Absolutely. My children, on the other hand, have been telling me what they wanted their costumes to be since before last Christmas. Sometimes the costume requests are simple and thankfully easy to accomplish. Others leave me trying to figure out if it’s even possible…

Worship Returns to Warehouse 839

Friday, September 16, 2022 Dearest Friends, This week, we will hold our first Sunday worship service in the Warehouse 839 space since March 2020. We’ll gather at 5pm this Sunday, September 18. As we prepare for this time together, I’m noticing how many feelings are arising for me.   I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m hopeful. I’m also a bit sad. What we had in Warehouse 839 before it was cut short was something special. There is a part of me that is still grieving the…
flood buckets UMCOR cleaning kits outreach

Help Fill Flood Buckets

In response to the massive flooding that our neighbors in Kentucky, West Virginia, and other states have been experiencing, we are in the process of assembling flood buckets in partnership with UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Click or tap the blue button below for the list – the items needed are very specific.   Please do not feel as if you need to purchase every item on the list. Whatever you bring will be put to good use. Note:…
squirrels throwing acorns ongoing small group letter encouragement

Squirrels Throwing Acorns

September 14, 2022A Note from Beth Palmer Dear Friends, I have a deep need to be seen for who I am and to belong. We all do. We want to know that we matter to others, and that we can show up as we really are and be accepted and embraced as our authentic, messy selves. I have always felt lucky that I get those needs met through my college and seminary friends, my volunteering friends and church friends, and…
Faith Finders children weekday kids

Seeds of Faith

September 7, 2022A Note from Nikki Buskirk Dear Friends, By now many of you know that I have this dream of being a homesteader, of having acres upon acres of land where I can grow things. Even though that’s a distant dream of mine, I do have a substantial garden plot in my backyard where Tyler, the boys, and I grow food every year, which we harvest and then process to be used until the next growing season. This year…
music make me an instrument LOE chancel choir Jody Hepp

“Make me an instrument…”

August 31, 2022A Note from Jody Hepp Dear Friends, When do you feel closest to God? For some people it’s in nature. For some people it’s in quiet meditation. I’m sure it is no surprise that I feel closest to God through music.  “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17) I once heard a devotion on this verse…
farm market

Watch the Ripples

August 25, 2022A Note from Amanda Nofzinger Dear Friends, The Dalai Lama once said, “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” This quote has really resonated with me as I have been reflecting on my three years as the manager of the Hilliard Farm Market. I would never have guessed just how many “ripples” there would be. These are just a few of the ripples that…
lakeside institute youth camp

Where Y’At?!

August 17, 2022A Note from April Andrick Dear Friends, Where Y’At?!?!?! I am finally starting to feel fully rested from our week of camp at Lakeside Institute a couple of weeks ago. I do not know the last time anyone else slept in a non-air-conditioned space, on a metal bunk bed with the thinnest mattress ever produced in the history of mattresses, in a large open bunkroom with 50+ of your closest friends and people you have never met before,…