We welcome you to our worship service on Sunday, September 25, 2022. The order of worship is available here.
EMMANUEL’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
*IMPORTANT REMINDER regarding church trash and recycling bins behind the church: Please be reminded that the recycling AND trash bins located behind the church are for church use only! The church office and ministries of the church generally fill the recycling bins each week, and the trash bins need to be available for church use. Church volunteers should not have to haul off church trash and recycling because our bins are full with trash and recycling from individuals. If you have questions about this please contact Mike Mozingo, Board of Trustees Chair. Your cooperation is most appreciated.
*Today we welcome Ronald White from The Gideons International as our guest speaker. A love offering will be collected during the service to support the ministry of the Gideons.
*September is National Hunger Action Month: Extra Hunger Action calendars and SoSA coin boxes are available at the Sanctuary entrances. We will collect the following food items needed for Amherst Cares through Sunday, Oct. 2: Pop top cans of Chef Boyardee-like products such as spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, beef and macaroni; individual packs of chicken or beef Ramen-type noodles; boxes of individual packs of peanut butter or cheese crackers; boxes of individual packs of instant oatmeal; boxes of pop tarts; boxes of individual Nutri-grain-type, cereal, or granola bars; boxes of small individual bags of pretzels; small cans of beans and franks; small jars of creamy peanut butter; cans of chicken noodle or tomato soup; 100% juice Capri Suns or juice boxes; boxes of mac and cheese; cans of Vienna sausages; small bottles of Gatorade- type drinks; small cans of tuna. You may place your donations in the Narthex tub or downstairs in the Amherst Cares room. To learn more about volunteering with Amherst Cares, please contact Beth Gamble by email at amherstcares315@gmail.com or bethgamble3girls@gmail.com or by phone at 946-7657. Please let Beth know you would like to help before coming. Usual packing times are Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the church Social Hall.
*Society of St. Andrew Gleaning Opportunities: Gleaning events throughout Virginia have been added to SoSA’s fall schedule. There is an urgent need for volunteers to help harvest produce. The opportunities closest to us are as follows: Bedford County orchardist, Danny Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Apple Orchard has donated all of the beautiful apples to the Society of St. Andrew to be distributed to those in need. Dates for gleanings in Bedford County are as follows: October 1, October 8, and October 15, with more shifts to be added. All times for the dates listed above are from 9 am to 12 pm. Winter Squash is now ready to be harvested in Riner, VA (just south of Blacksburg off of Rt. 81). If anyone is interested in getting a gleaning group together from our church to participate on one or more of these days, please contact Pastor Nancy. You must sign up on the SoSA website before volunteering. For more information and additional opportunities, visit endhunger.org/Virginia/ or Volunteer with SoSA. You may also call or email SoSA at 1-800-333-4597 or volunteer@endhunger.org.
*Relay for Life Baked Potato/Salad Bar: Our Relay for Life Team will sponsor a baked potato/salad bar fundraising luncheon TODAY immediately after worship in the social hall. Luncheon includes baked potato with toppings, salad, and homemade dessert. Suggested donation: $7.
*“Secret Disciple”: Those that signed up to “play” will receive a name. Each Sunday in October, participants will bring a small gift for the name you chose and place it in a bin in the back of the church. Gift examples: cards, candy, pens, etc., just a small token to tell them you are thinking about them. IMPORTANT: Do not reveal your name as the gift-giver, but be sure to place the name of the recipient on your gift. On the last Sunday in October, names will be revealed! If you have any questions, please ask Jeanie Combs, Vitality Team.
*Bible Studies, Sunday School and Prayer Groups to Resume: It is time to relaunch our small group ministry! Current opportunities being considered are: Weekly Adult Sunday School at 9:15 a.m.; Weekly Wednesday Bible Study and/or Prayer Group (time TBD depending on interest); 2nd Tuesday Women’s Bible Study Group (once a month). Please take time to complete the back of your blue “Connect with Us” form TODAY, to indicate your interest in these spiritual growth opportunities.
*Nursery Volunteers: It is a joy once again to reopen our church nursery during worship, and to welcome back Skylar Ondrick as our nursery worker. In keeping with our church’s Safe Sanctuaries policies, we currently need ONE VOLUNTEER per Sunday to assist the paid nursery staff with Nursery Care during worship. There is a pink sign-up sheet at the back of the Sanctuary. Please be present no later than 10:10 a.m. If you find that you are not able to keep your commitment after signing up for a Sunday, please call someone else on the list to switch with you or find another volunteer to take your place. If on any given Sunday, no other children are present in the nursery except Skylar’s, the volunteer is not needed. Thanks for your help.
Words of Thanks
* Dear Church Family, Thank you for the food you collected and the financial donations you so generously gave to Amherst Cares. As we begin our thirteenth year of this mission to serve the identified food insecure students in Amherst County Public Schools, your support has been constant. You continue to amaze us with your generosity of time, talents, and resources. Even though there has been a significant increase in the number of students identified by the schools, a significant increase in the costs of the food provided to the students, and a significant increase in the challenge to obtain the food because of supply issues, we remain true to our mission statement, “we feed so that our students may succeed”. With your continued assistance and with God’s guidance, we will strive to do the best we can. We remember John Wesley’s famous quote, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. Please know how much we appreciate the Emmanuel United Methodist Church Family. Sincerely, Beth Gamble
