October 2021 e-Newsletter

The Moscow United Methodist Church 126 Church Street Phone: (570)842-9372 Moscow, PA 18444 Email: [email protected] Website: www.moscowumc.com October 2021 e-Newsletter Table of Contents: Pastor Letter (2) Trunk or Treat (5) Election Day Soup Sale (5) Fall Auction (6) Stewardship Campaign 2022 (7) Learning Tree Preschool (8) Sunday School/Adult Sunday School (9) Trustees (10) Joash Chest Sunday (10) Christian Connections (13) Church Conference(13) Finance(14) Donation Station (15) Prayer Network (16) New Directory (16) Social Media (17) 1

Pastor’s Letter And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17b-19 (Ephesians 3:14-21) Here we are already in the month of October, the heart of the Autumn season. A month to take in all the beauty and goodness this season has to offer from God with all our senses – from the sights of vibrant landscapes and colorful fruits abounding, to the sounds of reaping the harvest, the crackling of Fall campfires, and crunching leaves, to the feel of crisp, cool mornings and evenings, to the scents of pumpkin spice and everything naturally nice to inhale, pleasant pleasures to warm the soul, to the various delicious and delightful tastes of bounty provided pleasure for the tasting. It is the month we celebrated our unity as Christians at God’s Table on World Communion Sunday and soon we will rejoice in the humble honor of being the priesthood of believers, all persons called into ministry, on Laity Sunday. Of course, the little ones look forward every year to the dressing up and receiving of goodies on the secular holiday of Halloween. There are many activities to attend, in the church and the area, during this transformative month. I hope you are able to get out and about to enjoy as many as possible (ever keeping safety as a priority)! 2

I was blessed to travel to Carlisle recently to attend the Susquehanna Conference Ordination worship service. What an amazing UMC to visit. The service was filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence, the joy of reaching a new calling, and moving music in melody and lyrics. Both of our Bishops presided over the service, with inspiring motivation for the ordinands and all those present and beyond. The service is available to watch on the conference website, I encourage you to make the time to watch it. The message given by Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi was riveting! It was focused for the ordinands. She invited us to listen in and if something stuck, we could take it home with us, and if not shake the dust from our feet and move on. All of it stuck. It was real and righteous! She preached on the power of love, centering on accepting it, but even more respecting the power of love. The world needs to respect the power of love (the Bible instructs us that God is love) for it conquers all the “stuff” of this world we may face, and the power of love is constantly at work through us whether we realize it or not. That is why each of us, as God’s representatives, must learn to respect the power of love. We are the breathing power of love that is responsible to bring Christ’s merciful grace into view, so the negativity and divisive forces we encounter and hear of daily, will believe in the Church united to bring the kingdom change that is needed to reveal the hope and peace that the power of love represents to realistic revelation. I think we should ask ourselves at the end of every day – what did I actively do today to respect the power of love? If we can intentionally make this part of our routine, the world would visibly 3

progress into the Kingdom of God we are purposefully building on earth. None of this is easy or else it would have already been achieved. And, even though, scripture reminds us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, we are always works in progress for God isn’t finished with us yet. As we grow and are strengthened in the Spirit, oh what a wonderful world we shall experience more and more. So, in all we communicate through word and deed, giving and serving, praying and trusting, may we accept and respect the power of love, be ever thankful, and know that we are truly loved despite ourselves (on some days). God loves us more than words can express, in turn, we are commanded to love one another in all our diversity, united in the sacrifice and resurrection promise that overcomes all the small and large issues that arise. Remember that on trying days and praise the Lord for it all days. We are each and all together victorious in all the seasons of our living. Nothing will change that. Have faith and believe! But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… 1 Peter 3:15 4

TRUNK OR TREAT Our Second Annual Trunk or Treat event will be held in the lower parking lot this Sunday, October 24th 1-4. So far, the weather looks like it will be a little chilly, but no rain, so everyone pray for a nice day and a big turnout! We have room for a few more trunks if anyone else is interested. During the event we will also be collecting items for the North Pocono Food Pantry and Dry Goods Pantry, you can check the Donation Station for a list of items they are collecting in preparation for the quickly approaching holiday season. ELECTION DAY HOMEMADE SOUP SALE Tuesday, November 2nd, we will be having a soup sale. There will be a drive through in the lower parking lot, or you can pick up in the social hall from 9am-close (or we run out of soup). There will be 4 options to choose from:Chicken Noodle, Vegetable Beef, Cheddar Broccoli, or Chili. Soup will be sold by the quart, Chili will be $10/quart, all others will be $9/quart. Come out and buy some soup to support this fundraiser to help with the General Fund. 5

THE FALL AUCTION We are so excited for the return of our Annual Fall Auction! The auction will take place on November 20th, the doors will open at 5:30, the auction will begin at 6:30. If anyone has any items they would like to donate, you can leave them in the church office or contact Paulette Fotta. We are also in need of some volunteers, while we are very blessed to have a wonderful crew working very hard, we encourage others to join in our efforts to make this a successful fundraiser for our General Fund. We will be posting an item of the week on our Social Media pages so keep an eye out for that, and don’t forget to share it so your friends can see what we will be auctioning! Here is a little sneak peak of some of our items, make sure to check the website to see more pictures as we get closer the event! 6

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN FOR 2022 Beginning November 1st, we will look forward to financial planning for 2022. The Stewardship Program is entitled “Grow as Stewards Through Faith, Love, and Hope” based on 1Thessalonians 1:3 – We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a three week program with follow up involvement through the year of stewardship to which church members make their pledges for. It is a very well rounded program that comes with great opportunities for deeper engagement while discerning what each person or family will pledge. Along with weekly worship themes leading us through the stewardship process, there is a weekly Bible study which will be on Monday evenings at 6:00 in the sanctuary. Everyone is highly encouraged to attend the in person Bible study to be actively connected in conversation regarding biblical stewardship in general, focusing on stewardship for our particular setting and the importance of remaining faithfully steadfast in following through to giving in accordance with the pledge made. The weekly stewardship topics for study are: Faith Produces Works, Love Prompts Actions, Hope Goes the Distance. There is also a Devotional Booklet that is available to guide persons through the days of our Stewardship Campaign. The devotions start on November 1st, so there will be copies of the booklet for pick up on October 31st. If anyone would like a booklet that will not be in worship, please let us know and we will 7

make arrangements to get the booklet to you. Commitment Sunday is November 21st when pledge cards will be collected and blessed on God’s altar. I pray that each of you will be in worship (in person or on line) and in Bible study as we focus on the theme “Grow as Stewards through Faith, Love and Hope!” PRESCHOOL Our Preschool is off to a great start. Smiling faces and happy kids! September was packed full of learning and making new friends. The students worked hard on our classroom routine, safety guidelines, letters Aa and Bb and enjoyed making crafts. The highlight of our month was starting our Scholastic lessons using the smartboard. We love dancing and singing. We are closing our month by celebrating Johnny Appleseed day and learning all about apples! October has been full of fun fall activities which will conclude on October 28th and 29th with our Halloween parades. Our kids are very excited to show off their costumes to all their friends! Hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo we are excited to start our owl of the week! 8

SUNDAY SCHOOL/ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday School continues to meet in person each week from 9am to 9:45am. Our students meet in the Sanctuary for a small opening lesson as well as a song, then follow their teachers to their assigned classrooms for the rest of the class. Some highlights so far have been cooking with Miss Susan (a student favorite!) and a fun Skittles Science lesson with Mr. Mark (and a few leftover to eat of course). Our Preschool class has had a blast making fun crafts and learning about how to be a good disciple. We are planning a small celebration on Halloween for our students. We are so happy to be back in person with our students for some more hands on learning. Adult Sunday School continues to meet at 9am temporarily in Pastor Lori’s office while our wonderful Fall Auction crew works diligently to prepare for this upcoming event. 9

TRUSTEES The trustees are responsible for the upkeep of the church and the parsonage and the surrounding property. The education building is now 30 years old and looking at the big picture, we will soon need a new roof. Additionally, we will need to address the issue of paving the entire back parking lot. For the present, here are some highlights of work being done: The trees next to the parsonage garage were removed, and a new set of garage doors will be installed before winter. The sidewalk to the rear door of the parsonage is being addressed and that will be a spring project. At the church, the front steps and the railing supports will be repaired. Some smaller repairs were done within the church from water damage during the recent storms. If you see something that needs attention, please inform one of the trustees. We can all help in the upkeep our church buildings and grounds. JOASH CHEST SUNDAY October 31, 2021 As God’s people, The Church of Jesus Christ, we are and have been throughout our history, called to be obedient in giving of tithes and offerings in response to the endless provisions the Lord 10

freely gives to us. We are blessed to have abundant contentment beyond our necessities for living. When persons make the commitment to become members of the UMC they make vows before the altar, including to faithfully participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness. When these vows are made in the presence of God by new members, the congregation also vows to uphold one another to obediently maintaining all the vows made to keep The Church prepared for daily operations, making certain The Church is always ready to be in ministry and mission and to be present in caring for the spiritual nurture of all members. Since March of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic came upon us, the world has changed in many ways, yet our God is steadfast with us. For many churches, including ours, with church facilities being closed and precautions set in place to reopen safely and persons who are vulnerable and not yet able to return to worship in the sanctuaries, the consistency of making full participation in church a priority has not returned to completeness. The giving of “our vowed gifts” has decreased more as time goes on and society moves on without church participation coming back to scheduled practice. Once one misses worship and church activities, it can be difficult to get back into spiritual routines, but it is paramount to do so. We are ever grateful for the offerings that have been maintained. For those who may have fallen out of having church as a main concern, we pray, that ALL members and friends of the Moscow UMC family of faith, return to where you belong and are truly missed in every manner. Your church family 11

yearns for you to be present again to share in the trying and triumphant times with the Spirit of Christ bonding us as One. Churches are facing financial difficulties. We are no exception (as the financial report below shows). In an effort to make up for what is currently over an $18,000.00 shortfall, we are digging deep into our biblical roots to the Old Testament account of King Joash placing a chest outside the Temple to collect funds to uphold the Temple that was in need. In our present context of needing funds for the Church’s General Fund, everyone who is able is asked to take part in making a special donation on October 31st by putting their contributions in our “Joash Chest”. We will ask an extra blessing from God on all donations given and with confidence in faith be assured that our provisions put together will bring our financial concerns to a healthier level with the ability to sustain our requirements for operations and sharing Jesus’ redeeming love through the rest of 2021. If you are unable to be present for this special service but would still like to donate, please mail your donation to the office and label the check “Joash Chest Donation” 12

CHRISTIAN CONNECTIONS Christian Connections Virtual Bible Study continues to meet on Tuesday evenings, 6:15-7:30. It is a great opportunity to share topical discussions of faith straight from the guidebook for our living. There is a wonderful core group of Christian Connections participants and anyone is able to join anytime for bonding, faith building relations that develop a closer awareness of Christ with us. Upcoming dates: October 26th, November 2nd, November 9th, November 16th. CHURCH CONFERENCE Our Annual Church Conference is scheduled for Saturday, November 13th at 2:30. The conference will be in person and led by our District Superintendent Reverend Judy Walker. We are busy preparing the forms and information that will go in the MUMC Church Conference packet. All items of business and leadership for 2022 is included in the packet that will be voted on by the members in attendance. This year a special section is devoted to looking over the demographics of the area where the church facilities are located. This will help as we look forth to visioning and help lead us to where God needs us to plan ministry and mission for 2022. 13

FINANCE General Fund Month of September: Income - $5,445.00 / Expenses – $7,838.00 (-$2,393.00) General Fund Year-to-Date: Income- $77,801.94 / Expenses- $87,173.41 (-9,371.47) Ministry Shares Paid Year-to-date: 4 - $1,552.00 per month (-$9,312.00) ***REMINDER: This Sunday, October 24th after worship there will be a congregational finance meeting to discuss financial details regarding the General Fund deficit before Joash Chest Sunday.*** 14

DONATION STATION We are finishing up our October Donation Station benefitting the North Pocono Food Pantry and Dry Goods Pantry in order to help them prepare for the upcoming holiday season. The items they have requested are: Canned yams, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, chicken or turkey broth, and instant potatoes. For November we will be supporting a mission for our Sunday School create Blessing Bags for the homeless. The goal is to make at least one bag for each student to hand out this coming winter, and if we get enough supplies hopefully members of our congregation will participate in the distribution of these bags. We understand it is easy (especially for children) to get caught up in creating their own Christmas Wishlist, while this is a fun part of the holiday season, we would like everyone to remember there are people who have little to nothing and need our help. In our Blessing Bags we would like to include the following items: Socks, Gloves, Toothpaste, Toothbrush, Lip Balm, Band Aids, Hand Warmers, Snacks (such as protein bars and applesauce pouches), and travel packs of wet wipes. We will be assembling these bags in early December, along with a hand written note from the child assembling the packages, so the children will be prepared to hand them out throughout the winter. We would like to thank everyone for their incredible thoughtfulness with their donations. We know it is not always easy, especially in these times, to be able to make donations, but we are very grateful to be part of such a giving community. 15

PRAYER NETWORK Our Power of Prayer Network has been very busy sending out prayer requests lately. Cis Lyon has done a wonderful job of organizing this prayer chain and getting the information to each person. If you have any additional prayer requests, please contact Cis, Pastor Lori, or Jennie. NEW DIRECTORY We have been working diligently on updating our Membership Directory. This list will be out as soon as possible. Please check your emails and voicemails to help us verify contact information. If you do not receive an email or a phone call by October 31st, but would like to add yourself or verify your existing information, please email [email protected] or leave a message on the office phone at (570)842-7251. Thank you all for your patience and cooperation during this process. 16

SOCIAL MEDIA The mission of our church is to spread the message and love of God to as many people as we can. One of the ways we are able to achieve this mission is through the power of social media. We continue to be active on both Facebook and Instagram, posting weekly uplifting prayers, passages, etc, as well as information on our upcoming events. We encourage all of you to not only follow our social media pages, but share the information as much as possible, as well as inviting and encouraging your friends to like and follow our pages. We have found that just a few shares will exponentially increase our page views by hundreds. Now imagine if each of you shared just one post per week and encouraged your friends to like and share our posts, the reach we would be able to achieve would be incredible. Plus, following our pages and liking our posts will allow you to see our posts more frequently so you can stay up to date on all our events. You can also check our website as we try to keep that as up to date with information as possible, and there are links to our social media pages on our website. Moscow United Methodist Church Moscow UMC 17