Minute by Minute...

Board of Trustees          09-17-09

~~Preliminary planning was started for caring for the sidewalks and parking lot for the upcoming winter.
~~Some minor maintenance painting needs to be done on shed door, fellowship hall doors, and the compressor.
~~Dave’s Glass is preparing to caulk around the stain glass window in back. (We are told by our roofers this was the reason for the water problems after storms from the east.) Expected to cost $1200. Should be done by the end of September.
~~The steeple roof was finally examined from a lift. The inside of the steeple is like a square kiddie pool. Water was about two to 3 inches deep. The rubber sealer was loosening and allowing water to seep down the walls. Bob Bliss was given permission to build a small cottage type roof. It will be trimmed to match the church. It will be installed in one piece using a lift. The roof will be rubber. Cost is $3650 complete.
~~Our vinyl mop boards are needing attention. It seems the glue just doesn’t hold very long. Will start replacing them with wood in the future.
~~Trustees discussed the old, push lawnmower. Decided it wasn’t worth fixing. Will look for a good used weed eater to replace it.
~~Will start looking into prices to replace burned out bulbs around the church.
~~The November meeting will be moved to Tuesday because of Bazaar setup on that Thursday.

Worship                                  
Good people live right, and God blesses the children who follow their example.
                                                                                                                 Proverbs 20:7

Worship Team                       09-22-09

Reviewed events:
~~worship at Rotary Park went well.
~~worship at the Village Park went well. Need to be better organized and have things planned. Not many stayed for the picnic.
~~praise time has been discontinued. To be a real praise time/contemporary worship there needs to be a dedicated team who meets regularly for practice. Also needs drums and other band instruments to make it work. Looked at the pew edition of The Faith We Sing. Pondered what people might be expecting when they think praise time/songs.
~~summer music doesn’t happen unless someone calls and asks people to do it. Need to have someone in charge.
~~discussed items at the visitor’s table. Sample desk and pocket calendars have been put out and have been quickly taken. Need something of interest. Decided to order pens.
~~The Calvarymen Quartet comes every year but the attendance is sparse. They normally charge $750. Rev. Paul will call to talk to them about alternative pricing.
Discussed:
~~Thanksgiving Service will be Sunday, November 22 at First Presbyterian with Fraser and St. Pancratius.
~~It was mentioned that Tom Thumb Singers have been holding rehearsals here on Monday nights.
~~We are waiting to see if the Lions’ Club will have poinsettias again. Will have red and white as the choice of colors. Many people want red. Alternative: will place a regular order from Special Scents if Lions choose not to have their fund raiser.
~~Concern was expressed at the low attendance at Sunday School. This is a Program Team item.
~~Left unanswered: How do we get new people and how do we keep the ones already here?

Pastor                  

What is the United Methodist Stance on Health Care?

       Occasionally people will ask me what our denomination’s stance is on health care, especially health care for those who do not have health insurance. The following are statements taken from the 2008 Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church – Resolution 3201. Please note that it the pastors’ duty to teach congregations the stance of The United Methodist Church, per ¶340.2 of The Discipline of the UMC.                – PGD

Theological and Historical Statement
        From our earliest days United Methodists have believed that providing health care to others is an important duty of Christians. John Wesley found ways to offer medical services at no cost to the poor in London. The first Methodist Social Creed (adopted in 1908) urged working conditions to safeguard the health of workers and community.
The provision of health care for all without regard to status or ability to pay is portrayed in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:24-35) as the duty of every neighbor and thus of every person. In a conversation that began with the question of how one might obtain eternal life, Jesus asserted that one must love God and one’s neighbor. In response to the next question as to who one’s neighbor is, Jesus portrayed a Samaritan, an outsider, who coming upon a wounded traveler, provided him with health care. Jesus portrayed the duty to provide health care as (1) one that is owed regardless of the merit or ethnicity of the person in need; (2) one that is owed to the limit of one’s economic capacity – the Samaritan told the innkeeper, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend”, and (3) a duty that one neglects at the peril of one’s eternal life. In a democracy, our duty to our neighbor merges with the duties that the Hebrew scriptures assign to government: the prophet Ezekiel denounced the leaders of ancient Israel whose failure of responsible government included failure to provide health care: “you have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezekiel 34:4, NRSV). The United Methodist Church therefore affirms in our Social Principles (¶ 162V) health care as a basic human right and affirms the duty of government to assure health care for all.
        In the United States today, however, fulfillment of this duty is thwarted by simultaneous crises of access, quality, and cost. The result of these crises is injustice to the most vulnerable, increased risk to health care consumers, and waste of scarce public and private resources.

Access Barriers Are an Injustice to the Most Vulnerable
        In today’s United States, health care access is disproportionately afforded to the affluent, the employees of government and large corporations, the very poor, and many receiving adequate pensions plus Medicare. Forty-seven million Americans are uninsured, largely the self-employed, recently unemployed, middle income, and working poor. Lack of health care access affects minorities disparately, and the results of the devastating expense of a long-term or terminal illness, inadequate care in general, and the extraordinary cost of insurance all contribute to keeping many minorities in the poverty cycle, dependent on welfare and other forms of assistance, and imprisoned in struggling and dangerous communities. Disparities in access lead to disparities in treatment. The poor, the aging, women, children, people with disabilities, and persons of color are most at risk. The infant mortality rate in the United States is the worst among the “developed” countries. African-American women die from cervical cancer at three times the rate of Caucasian women. African-Americans have a significantly lower life span than Caucasians and Hispanics have the least access to the health care system of any group. Native Americans, besides suffering greatly from alcoholism, have a substantially higher diabetes and tuberculosis rate than average US rates. Recent immigrants who experience health problems find the health care system poorly equipped to meet their needs. We believe it is unconscionable and abhorrent that any human being should ever be denied access to adequate health care due to economic, racial, or class barriers.
          Such barriers, however, are endemic to our current system of employer-sponsored health coverage. This system is eroding, covering a smaller percentage of Americans each year, and rendering American employers less competitive in a world market. When a covered employee has a health crisis affecting his or her ability to work, a whole family’s coverage is jeopardized. Other difficulties with private insurance are that in a health care crisis, even those with insurance may have expenses that exceed the lifetime maximum under their policy. In some cases, the insurance policy may be cancelled just when it is needed most. Businesses are overwhelmed with the cost of health insurance. Persons with chronic diseases face special challenges of inadequate resources both in availability of health-care professionals and economic support. United Methodist Conferences increasingly find health care costs consuming dollars intended for ministry.
         Forcing Americans to rely on a safety-net program like Medicaid is unjust because if a health catastrophe should strike, those who have no coverage must deplete all assets in order to qualify for Medicaid, including selling of a home or surrendering a lifetime of savings. Even if this family is not among those who must declare bankruptcy in order to survive, these circumstances contribute to poverty, constant worry, and despair among many. While Medicaid provides some care to the poor, it does not encourage primary nor comprehensive care and disqualifies applicants with borderline incomes. Persons with episodic incomes are denied Medicaid during the period they have incomes, and therefore also receive episodic care. In addition, Medicaid systems remain under constant attack as one of the first places to cut the federal and state budgets, belying the claims of many civil leaders that health care is their priority.

Quality Issues Put All Patients At Risk
        In the United States, the provision of health care has been transformed from a ministry to a commodity measured in patient encounters, tests performed, medications dispensed, and beds filled. In the process, quality of care suffers as the primary concern is often cost, not care. The physician-patient relationship is thereby compromised. Insurance companies in their efforts to reduce costs seek to control physicians’ practice of medicine, thereby interfering with the physician-patient relationship. As a result, medical decisions are often made with primary consideration for the costs to the corporation, not for the optimum health of the patient. In the current climate physicians who prescribe treatments or tests not preapproved by the insurance corporation face severe financial penalties or other disincentives to optimum patient care. Physician time is consumed with excessive paperwork, malpractice suits, and inadequate government programs.3
       The American claim-based system produces enormous administrative burdens as well as denial of needed care. When claims are not denied by policy, they are often denied by the sheer burden of bureaucracy that must be overcome to obtain approvals. It has been estimated that today’s physician spends about one-third of his or her time satisfying these insurance company regulations and seeking approvals for treatment, time the physician could be spending with patients. Competition for premium dollars and concern for high profits have taken priority over necessary care at actual cost. It is evident that private insurance companies are prone to deny claims while continuing to receive premiums, favoring higher profit over the “health and wholeness” of the weakened, the worried, and the sick. These same companies want to limit a patient’s right to sue in civil court when the company breaches its own contract to provide benefits, regardless of the suffering or death a benefit denial may cause. In these types of cases a benefit denial is tantamount to medical malpractice.
         Care Management has often been taken over by funding agencies rather than physicians. Managed care companies, HMOs, PPOs, and the like, interfere with the physician’s ability to develop comprehensive treatment plans for his or her patients. They require that a decision be made by the corporation about treatment cost and efficacy. Medical decisions are in effect made by persons much less qualified than the patient’s physician or the specialist a physician may recommend. In fact, persons with little or no medical training often make those decisions. Many insurance companies hire nurses to review the physicians’ diagnoses and treatment plans. While it is unusual for nurses to oversee doctors, it is also evident that these nurses have had no contact with the patient under review.
         Hospitals are required to provide uncompensated care. As a result, patients who are unable to pay for small primary care bills are able to incur large hospital bills when their untreated illness has become life-threatening. It has been estimated that the cost of uncompensated care included in each individual policy is $341, and in each family policy is $942.4 Hospitals can no longer stay financially sound under existing policies.
Hospital staffing, due to cost concerns, imposes burdens on patient care that compromises quality, issues reflected in unhappy staff and increased numbers of union complaints and strikes in recent years. Error rates due to overwork and other factors are a crisis; the Institute of Medicine estimates that 100,000 persons die in American hospitals each year as a result of medical errors.

Spiraling Costs Waste Scarce Resources
       Per capita health care costs in the United States are more than twice the median level for the 30 industrialized nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have estimated that by 2010, health care expenditures in the United States will reach $2.6 trillion.
While some of the escalating costs of health care can be attributed to advances in technology and the aging of the population, a very significant part is due to the nature of America’s health insurance market, in which:
• Today’s physician spends one third or more of his or her time satisfying insurance requirements and seeking approvals for service.
• Multiple insurance companies, programs, coverage, claims processes, ceate confusion, duplication, and unnecessary administrative costs. It has been estimated that the cost of administration of Medicare is 4 percent to 5 percent of its budget, while the typical private company’s budget for administration and profit is about 25 percent. Health care provision is managed by a massive bureaucratic complex: more than fifty state and state-level Medicaid systems, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Railroad Employees insurance program, Indian Health Service, federal and state employee systems, health care for retired military personnel, Medicare and countless programs of the various private insurance companies: HMOs, PPOs, Medicare Supplemental Plans, etc. These entities rarely communicate in similar terms: neither to patients, to physicians, or to hospitals, thereby complicating efforts of providers and patients to properly file and receive payments on legitimate claims.
• Premium increases are driven by requirements to show a profit rather than rises in actual costs of treatment. High premiums to support the high profit margins of private health insurance companies force people to choose between health insurance and sustenance, housing, or other needs of a family, making even basic health insurance too expansive for an average individual or family. High co-payments and uncovered costs lead to significant impoverishment.
• Costs are shifted to the consumer through increasing deductibles and co-payments for care.
• Ever smaller insurance pools are promoted, with increasing portions of risk borne by the patient. The culmination of this trend is promotion of personal policies, with high deductibles and extraordinarily high premiums of thousands of dollars per month, that an average family, much less the working poor, simply cannot afford.
• Annual or lifetime limits are often imposed on policies, whether individual, group, or institutional, as a means of limiting the risk of private insurance companies. These harsh policies simply pass the risk back to individuals at the very time they can least cope with it, leaving the lingering worry that with a catastrophic illness or injury such limits may be reached, abruptly stopping all insurance benefits and leaving the policy beneficiary completely uninsured.
• More than half of all personal bankruptcies are now the result of illness. Even individuals with ostensibly good insurance, let alone those who are uninsured, find themselves in situations where they must sell and/or spend all assets, including homes, financial holdings, lifetime savings accounts, etc., in order to qualify for Medicaid and restore any medical coverage at all.
          Increased costs of health care inevitably impact state and federal resources available for Medicaid, often leading to reduction in the number of providers willing to participate, and ultimately to decreased access to health care for the poor and the physically or mentally challenged.
         More and more Annual Conferences and even congregations are feeling the burden of providing health care to their clergy and their lay staff. Small churches, even multiple point parishes, have difficulty paying for increasing health premiums for clergy. Funds going to this purpose are in effect diverted from other important ministries.

The Vision of Health Care for All
        The United Methodist Church is committed to health care for all in the United States and therefore advocates for a comprehensive health care delivery system that includes access for all, quality care, and effective management of costs.
1. Access for All. In a just society, all people are entitled to basic maintenance and health-care services. We reject as contrary to our understanding of the gospel, the notion of differing standards of health care for various segments of the population. The American Health Care system must serve and be sensitive to the diversity of all people in the United States and its territories. Regional planning processes should coordinate the services rendered by all health-care institutions, including those funded by governments, to create a more effective system of health services in every area. Priorities should be established for the provision of health services, such as preventive care, mental-health services, home care, and health education. Corrective measures should be taken where there is maldistribution or unavailability of hospital beds, intermediate care and nursing home care, home-delivered care, neighborhood health centers, community mental-health centers, and emergency care networks.
2. Quality Care. Health care should be comprehensive, including preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services. The American health care system should provide comprehensive and portable benefits to everyone; including preventive services, health promotion, primary and acute care, mental-health care, and extended care. It should promote effective and safe innovation and research for women and men in medical techniques, the delivery of health services, and health practices. It should assess the health impacts of environmental and occupational safety, environmental pollution, sanitation, physical fitness, and standard-of-living issues such as housing and nutrition. Professional health-care personnel should be recruited and appropriately educated to meet the health-care needs of all persons. Especially urgent is the need for physicians trained in geriatric medicine. Special priorities should be established to secure among the professional group at least proportional representation of women and minorities who are now seriously under-represented. We encourage development of community support systems that permit alternatives to institutional care for such groups as the aging, the terminally ill and mentally ill, and other persons with special needs. We encourage medical education for laypersons that will enable them to effectively evaluate medical care they need and are receiving. Religious and other appropriate forms of counseling should be available to all patients and families when they are called upon to make difficult medical choices, so that responsible decisions, within the context of the Christian faith, may be made concerning organ transplants, use of extreme measures to prolong life, abortion, sterilization, genetic counseling, institutionalization, and death with dignity. We support the medical community in its effort to uphold ethical standards and to promote quality assurance.
3. Effective Administration of Care and Management and Financing of Costs. The American health care system must incorporate an equitable and efficient financing system drawn from the broadest possible resource base. It must reduce the current rapid cost inflation through cost-containment measures. It must provide services based on equity, efficiency, and quality, with payments to providers that are equitable, cost-efficient, and easy to administer and understand. The system must be sensitive to the needs of persons working in the various components of the health care system and gives special attention to providing not only for affirmative action in the recruitment, training, and employment of workers, but also for just compensation for all workers at all levels and for retraining and placement of those displaced by changes in the health care system.

Advocacy Steps
       Globally, the church has a continuing duty to provide, in many parts of the world, the ministry of health care that government is unable to provide. In the United States, however, government has the capability to provide health care for all; doing so will extend health care to many who presently have no access, and doing so without the wastefulness of the current system will represent far better stewardship of resources than at present. The United Methodist Church supports a three-tiered approach to health care advocacy:
1. Single Payer. We call for swift passage of legislation which will entitle all persons within the borders of the United States to the provision of health care services, the cost of such services to be equally shared by American taxpayers, and the government to distribute the funds to providers in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. This concept, known as “single-payer,” would extend health care to all persons in the United States. Choice of private doctor and other health care providers would be maintained. Public funds would make payment, and these funds would be generated by individual premiums and payroll tax. Studies have shown that this method can be achieved with no increase over what is already being spent on health care from all sources. It therefore not only accomplishes the objective, but it best exercises our stewardship of public resources.6
2. Incremental Steps toward Single Payer. We recognize that much of the cost savings of “single payer” flow from the virtually total elimination of the health insurance industry. We cannot wait to overcome the current barriers to a single payer plan, and therefore support all initiatives that move segments of our population closer to a single payer system. Particular incremental steps that we support include the State Child Health Improvement Program (SCHIP), which should be extended to achieve health care for all children. We do not support legislation that requires individuals to choose to purchase health insurance from multiple insurance companies, because such bills radically waste resources through duplication of service, burdensome administration, marketing costs, and profits. They inherently promote “adverse selection” in which the sickest people sign up for the plans with the best benefits. Such plans drive up the costs, while healthy young workers sign up for plans with the poorest benefits, therefore removing them from the risk pool.
3. Recognizing that the nation is deeply divided nationally on the philosophical bases for addressing America’s health care delivery problems, we support state-level initiatives in which individual states, at their own initiative become laboratories for trying out varying approaches to providing health care for all. We support in particular efforts at the federal level to support state-based efforts through necessary waivers of federal regulations.
        Bringing America’s health care crisis under control will call upon the efforts of every sector of society and demand both personal and social responsibility. We therefore call upon all United Methodist persons and entities to do their part:
• Individuals. We call upon United Methodist individuals and families to pursue a healthy lifestyle, preventing many health problems before they start and strengthening physical capacity to combat problems which do arise.
• Health Care Institutions. We call upon United Methodist affiliated health care institutions to adopt, reaffirm, and strengthen policies supporting care delivery that is Christ-like, compassionate, and wholistic rather than fee-driven and compartmentalized. We call upon such institutions as a requirement of their affiliation, to develop United Methodist standards of care that distinguish them from profit-driven, secular institutions.
• Seminaries. We call upon United Methodist seminaries to develop curricula linking sound biblical theology with clergy self-care and advocacy for universal health care.
• General Agencies. We call upon all agencies, commissions, and annual conferences of The United Methodist Church in the United States to adopt principles and support policies that are consistent with this resolution.
        We charge the General Board of Church and Society with primary responsibility for advocating health care for all in the United States Congress and for communicating this policy to United Methodists in the USA.

ADOPTED 2008
resolution #108, 2004 book of resolutions
resolution #95, 2000 book of resolutions
See Social Principles, ¶ 162V.

Group Highlights   

Men
United Methodist Men’s Breakfast

Calling all Men!! A hearty breakfast will be served on Sunday, October 11 at 8:00am in the kitchen. Rev. Paul is doing the cooking. If you would like to help, talk to him. Otherwise he’ll expect to see you there!!
Dorcas

Dorcas
Statistics for September:
      Menu: Roast Pork Dinner
      Total Meals Served: 190
      (Guests: 109; Take-outs: 55; Workers: 26)
      Deposit: $1,330.10

October 14 Dinner: TURKEY with all the trimmings! This is a very big day and lots of extra pies and helpers are needed. Mornings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are busy. Come whenever your schedule allows. Please call or email Connie (congil@avci.net) to let her know how many pies you will be bringing. This takes a big strain off preparations. About 60 pies are needed.
     Workers are needed dinner day as many hungry folks wait to be served. Volunteers make this project successful. 
Women                      

United Methodist Women

       The October meeting of the UMW will be a noon luncheon on Monday, October 5. Group 3, co-hostesses Sherryl Seeley and Jane Mitchell, will prepare and serve the meal.
      The program was not available at the time of this printing.
      The November meeting project will be filling Goodie Boxes. Be watching for sales on favorite items like: Ramen Noodle soups, individual packets of cocoa, hot cider and breakfast drink mixes, pudding and fruit cups, breakfast bars, toaster pastries, microwave popcorn, candy and gum. Whatever your favorite snack is, it would work for the Goodie Box! Travel sizes of Tylenol, band-Aids, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorants, baby wipes, hand sanitizers and soaps are other ideas. We have about 20 students and servicemen. Please see that the office has the latest addresses for correct delivery.
Bazaar                   

14th Annual Bazaar and Lunch

         The countdown has begun! Time is quickly approaching the Saturday, November 7 Bazaar!
       The cooler month of October will give you plenty of time to start your baking for the sweet breads, COOKIES (for the Cookie Walk), and some candies you can store in the freezer for a couple of weeks. You could also have time to even get a small craft or sewing project done!
       ****** One of the most difficult tasks is to put prices on other’s donations. Please bring your items priced. After all, you are the only one to know what costs have gone into the items.****
         Calls may be going out soon about items to be donated for the lunch, but be planning to pretty much donate what you did last year. This will be a big help as Bea Baker has been ill and away from a phone! But hopefully she will be up in time to call reminders around.
        The Straw Draw was very popular last year. New to hardly-ever-used items for men, women, teens and children are needed here. PLEASE get your items in to Michelle Erla by the end of October. There is much work to get done for this after the items are in. You may put your items in the big brown box in the north closet - mark them “Straw Draw”!
         It’s looking like we might be very low on fresh baked bread this year! That will be a disappointment to many. If you bake bread - consider baking a couple extra loaves for the Bazaar!!
         Attic Treasures is another very popular table at the Bazaar! If you have antiques or very good used items to donate, please contact Char Fahrner.
        Start telling your family and friends – make plans for them to join you for lunch is just over 30 days from now!! It will be a great time.
SOUP

                     

       Want a quick, hot meal just before the Cass City Red Hawks take on their old rivals, the Caro Tigers, at the best home game of the year?
       We have a deal for you! A variety of hot soups served in a delicious bread bowl and lots of yummy desserts to keep your energy up for the exciting game. Why not invite your friends to join you here first!
       Watch for clipboards for signing up to donate ingredients and think about your favorite dessert to contribute!!

Example is not the main thing in influencing other. It is the only thing!
                                                                                                                Albert Schweitzer
KIDZ

      Calling all Kidz - Kindergarten through 4th grade!!

      Moms and Dads – how would you like an early Sunday afternoon all to yourselves? Mark Sunday, October 18th on your calendar and make plans! The kidz will have lunch at church following worship! Then, Lori Inbody has activities planned to keep them busy until 3:00pm!!
     You don’t want your kidz to miss this great opportunity!!
stats                         

                 this  DS                                        

This and That

District Superintendent’s Installation

      EVERYONE in the Port Huron District is invited to be present as we celebrate the
appointment of our new District Superintendent, Rev. Joanne Bartelt. This
event takes place on Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 3:00 PM at the Marlette First UMC.
It is requested that one person from each church bring a small cup of water from
their local community to put together into a community bowl for the service.
      Bishop Jonathan Keaton will officiate at this very special service where Rev. Bartelt
will be installed as the new Port Huron District Superintendent and we will celebrate
communion together.
       If you have never seen an installation service, you should take advantage of this
opportunity. It really is an interesting and moving service. The message will be
brought by Rev. Bartelt as she begins her time as District Superintendent of the Port
Huron District.
On Line               
District Newsletter On-Line

     If you would like to read the Port Huron District Newsletter, please copy and paste this address in your browser. http://www.gbgm-umc.org/port-huron/newsletter.html.
Volunteer            

Volunteer Opportunities - North Dakota

      Are you interested in getting a taste of the great open spaces and western hospitality of North Dakota this year? They would love to put you to work while you stay with them. Volunteers are needed! They have started the rebuild process in Jamestown and surrounding area (flooding), some in Dickinson (tornado) and need folks to put in miles and miles of fencing (flooding) from the south central to southwestern part of the state. Besides the fencing, rebuild projects include installing sheet rock and mudding, electrical, some plumbing, step repair - i.e., general carpentry. If you can help, please contact Joan Buchhop, Volunteer Hotline, at 1-800-366-9841 or LDRvolunteer@lssnd.org.

Volunteer Opportunities - Iowa  

       The Flood Recovery Office of the Iowa Conference has served thousands of volunteers and assisted many homeowners this summer. As the leaves start to fall prematurely, volunteers are still needed. Day teams, Weekend teams, Week-long teams, and long term volunteers are needed NOW.
       Cedar Rapids has many volunteers September 13 to October 11. However, we need more volunteers before and after. Cedar Rapids needs several teams in November and December.
       Mount Union needs volunteers - day and week long would be appreciated.
Independence needs two weeks of skilled volunteers.
Oakville needs many, many volunteer teams both day and week long.
       The Iowa Conference Flood Recovery Office will be happy to register your team and coordinate your service. For more information, please visit http://www.fumcmarion.org/Flood/index.html  or call 319-558-6327.
Harvest                   

       Turkey, dressing and gravy, mashed potatoes and beverages will be provided. Please bring your own table service and one of the following: a vegetable dish or salad or dessert!!
      Cathy Czekai has volunteered to oversee this project. If you have a turkey to donate or if you’d like to help, please contact her at 872-2679 or call the church office.
Fun Days

Fall Fun Days

      Starting October 2, you are invited to 3351 N. Van Dyke Rd (1/4 mile south of Deckerville Rd.) to enjoy fall. They are open every Friday and Saturday 10 am to 6pm and Sunday 1:00-5:00pm.
      Visit the Pumpkin Patch - giants to the tiniest pumpkins - get lost in the corn maze, pet and feed goats and rabbits, wagon rides, Boo train and more for $6.00 a person.
            For more information call 872-4791.
Revive                       

Revive Cass City

       Their community Clothes and Housewares Shoppe at 6172 Main Street will be open during October at the following times:
                                            Tuesdays: 3:00-7:00pm
                                            Fridays: 9:00am - 1:00pm
                                           1st & 3rd Saturdays (10/3 & 10/17)

      The Food Pantry will be open on the third Saturday, October 17 from 10 - 11am.
The Tuscola County Human Services Expo at the Colwood United Brethern Church will feature the Community Mobile Food Pantry on Tuesday, October 13 starting at 11am. Bring your own boxes.
       If you want more information about Revive, call (989)551-7803 or visit their website at www.revicecc.org.
Communion            

World Communion Sunday

     World Communion Sunday is a time to be in communion with Christians all over the world and to enable us to "press on toward the goal" of serving God in life-changing ministries.
     When churches take the offering for this special Sunday, the proceeds provide ethnic scholarships for international and United States racial and ethnic minority graduate students and scholarships for racial and ethnic minority persons seeking second careers in church-related vocations.
     Fifty per cent of the special offering goes to the World Communion Scholarship Program of the General Board of Global Ministries. These scholarships enable persons from churches in nations other than the United States and from ethnic and racial minorities in the United States to prepare for leadership in mission in church and society.
       From Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East, as well as from racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, Crusade scholars are committed to the life and mission of the Church, as well as to its ministry to society and the world. Since the inception of the program in 1944, the Crusade Scholarship Program has funded nearly 4,000 students.
     You will find an offering envelope in your bulletin on October 4.
Heritage                   

Heritage UMC invites you!

       Their Corn Maze will be open Saturdays, October 3 and 10 from 4-9pm and October 17 from 2-9pm. $3.00 admission with children under 5 being free. Bring your flashlight between 7 - 9pm! Their food special is Hot Dog, Chips, Drink and a cookie for $3.00.

20th Annual Craft and Quilt Show

       Heritage UMC’s Annual Craft and Quilt Show will be held on Saturday, October 17th from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Homemade lunch available. There is also the Corn Maze and get your Flu vaccination, too!
The Church is located 1 mile East of Snover. If you have questions, contact 810-672-9101.
1st Pres                   

First Presbyterian Church invites you!

      Cass City’s First Presbyterian Church invites you to the Rummage and Bake Sale on Thursday, October 1 from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
      Their Rummage Sale will continue on Friday from 9:00 to 4:00pm with everything being ½ off on Friday!!
                                  

Grace in Giving

                            If I see the gift as mine alone to give,
                            I might give hesitantly,
                            even grudgingly, considering my options,
                            then giving from a sense of ought.
                            If I see the gift as God’s
                            who allows me to use it for a time,
                           then the gift can flow more freely,
                           as I join with others
                           to be a channel
                           for God’s love and mercy.
                                                                                               Roberta Porter in Alive Now,
                                                                                                                                    Newsletter Newsletter 10-‘02
Pledge                                

                                                       


        It has been a busy summer for most of us. Even though we are away from CCUMC, the expenses still go on and need to be paid. If you have forgotten about the need here at church, your catching up will be greatly appreciated. You may drop your offering in the plate any Sunday or mail it to P. O. Box 125, Cass City!
Hills & Dales          

Jewelry Sale

       The Hills and Dales Hospital Auxiliary is holding its annual Jewelry Sale in the West Wing Hallway on Friday, October 2 from 7:00am to 3:00pm. It is one day only!! Everything is $6.00 except for show specials.
       There will be great gift ideas for men, women, teens and children like rings, watches, bracelets, scarves, ties, sunglasses, belts, earrings, cuff links, purses, wallets, totes, reading glasses, pendants, chains, seasonal accessories, gadgets, gifts and much more!
                             
      Persons who follow Christ can live freely, responsibly and expectantly because all time is in God’s hands. He wills nothing of enduring harm or injury for any in his family.
                                                                                                                  Wallace E. Fisher

It is an anomaly of modern life that many find giving to be a burden. Such persons have omitted a preliminary giving. If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.                                                                                      John S. Bonnell
                                                                                                                                   Newsletter, Newsletter 10-‘02 Canton, Oh.

Financial report         

                                                            2009 Budget       August.         Jan-Aug

Caring and Sharing

Deaths...

      Our Sympathy to Barb and Mick Kirn, Meredith and Whitney, their family, friends, students and staff at Cass City Schools upon the sudden death of Barb’s 1st cousin’s son, Cory Sanders, at the high school.

      Our Condolences to J.E. Smith, his family and friends on the passing of his son, Robert, on September 18.

In Your Prayers... Rev. Paul and Rev. Linda (Rev. Linda had rotor cuff surgery - will be at the Caretell Inn for several weeks for rehab.); Jay Wisenbach, Dale Buehrly, Carol Schaufele; Donna Auten; Elaine Proctor; Dorothy Knight; Denise Jones (Leukemia); Maurice Joos; Mary Hutchinson; Bea Baker; Rev. Bob & Charlene Garrett; Marilyn Morgan; Barney & Ruth Hoffman; Laura Bryant; Lucille Copeland; Dale & Mary Damm; Esther Guinther; Maxine Profit;
Tendercare, 4782 Hospital Dr., C.C.: Florence Eimers, Don Buehrly; Thelma Graham;
Northwood Meadows, 6086 Beechwood, C.C.: John Marshall, Fritz Pomeroy, Marv Hobart, Tom Proctor.
Kings’ Daughters, 2410 Rodd St., Midland, MI 48640: Dorothea Quick;
Tuscola Medical Care Facility, 1285 Cleaver Rd., Caro 48723: Ruth Freeman; Carolyn Chapman; Clara Seeley (672-0609)
TimberLine Lodge, 3771 Colwood, Caro: Betty Scofield.
Caretell Inn, 6700 Westside Saginaw Rd., Bay City, MI 48706: Elizabeth Stine (Rm 607), Rev. Linda Donelson
Service People: Matt Inbody (Afghanistan); Mike Furness. (GA); Marc Inbody (SC); Josh Sherman (CA), Kendra Parsons (TX); Matt Essenmacher; Tim Karr (WA); Steve McCormick, Greg Klais, (Iraq); Pvt. Barry Pilarski (S. Carolina) and their units.

 
                                                                                

Newsletter: Linda Derfiny (proofreading); Janis Seeley, Judy Profit, Bobby Sue Steely, Libby Venema.
Our Lawn Mowing Team: Gary Jones, Steve Fobear, Ron Kittle, Mick Kirn, Ted Furness and Larry Wheeler.
Sealing Garden Walk: Dr. Paul and Suzanne Chappel
Our Cleaning Team!! Thank you so much for your dedication to keeping our building presentable. Special thanks to Char Fahrner keeping on top of all the special needs.

From the Mail Box:
From Revive C.C. Ministries: United Methodist Women, Thank you for your donation to Revive Ministries. It is greatly appreciated and will help us meet the needs of those in our community. Once again we would like to thank you for your support.
From Stuart and Joan Merchant: We’re still enjoying your floral gift and the card is right beside our 60th picture, as is the 50th and 35th in our wedding anniversary album. This is getting to be a habit. Goin’ for 5 more? 10? Who knows. Thank you so much!
                             

                                                        worship

Worship Ministry

Greeters