THE CLARION 2018 CLARE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Know God Grow in Faith and Share Godrsquos Love

CLARE UMC STAFF AND SCHEDULE

Pastor Pastor John G Kasper pastorjohnclareumcorg

Office Manager Judy M Bailey jbaileyclareumcorg

Youth Director Rachel MacGregor rdpotter89gmailcom

Organist(815) LuAnne Humphrey Pianist Abigail Mullis

Pianist Deniza Derdovski Choir Director amp Childrens Choir

Director Tracy Lubs Clare UMC Child Care Center Director Melonie Kingsbury

mkingsburyclareumcorg Day Care Center phone

989-386-4815 Church Office Hours

Church Office phone 386-2591 930-noon amp 1-400 pm

Monday ndash Friday Worship Services 815 amp 1100 Impact Zone(Sunday School)

915 AM Adult Sunday School 930 AM

Sept ndash May MISS A MESSAGE Want to ldquohearrdquo it again Would like to share it with a friend Manuscripts of Sunday messages are now available on our website wwwclareumcorg Messages will be posted by Wednesday following the Sunday it was given and will be available 4 months following

YOU ARE INVITED TO

A BABY SHOWER

For Rachel amp Dylan

MacGregor

February 3 2018 in the

Fellowship Hall

11 am - 230 pm

All Ladies of the church

are invited

RSVP to Deb Kasper

They are registered at

Amazon amp Target

They are having a boy

and his name is Wyatt

The theme will be ldquoWyatt

MacGregorrsquos Farmrdquo

Our colors will be Blue amp

TanBrown amp Green

Anyone wishing to help

with the shower

contact Debbi Kasper

at 386-7683

A New Yearrsquos Resolution As we approach the new year we often make plans for what wersquod like to accomplish in the new

year What a better time to resolve to commit to the Clare

United Methodist Church as the place you will serve God in and

through January 14 2018

Pastor John will begin a 7 week study called

ldquoExplore Clare UMCrdquo which gives an overview of what makes Clare UMC unique what it

means to be United Methodist and what it means to become a

member of Clare UMC We will meet between worship

services during the Sunday School hour either in the Trinity

Cafeacute coffee lounge or in the front of the sanctuaryworship space

Resolve now to ldquoExplore Clare UMCrdquo

Tables for Sale Thank You UMW The United Methodist Women gave a generous donation to our Trustees enabling them to jump start the replacement of the older heavy tables in the Fellowship Hall with new lighter tables The tables that are being replaced are available for just $10 If you would like one or more of those tables please make arrangements with the office

UMW SUNDAY JANUARY 28TH

Our United Methodist Women have invited a special guest speaker Mr Todd Butler Todd Butler and his wife Janice based on the scripture John 834 have made the choice to teach and reach others on the topic of Human Trafficking how Gods word connects spiritual slavery and physical slavery As a District we were blessed to hear his message and information regarding this topic how it touches us both near and far but more specifically with efforts and awareness of what we can do to protect our children here at home Jesus replied ldquoVery truly I tell you everyone who sins is a slave to sin John 834 NIV

There will be a love offering taken to support the 2 programs supported by Todd and Janice Sak Saum and Joy International as they will not accept payment for sharing this message God has placed in their hearts There also may be an opportunity before and after the services to purchase items made by those rescued BEAST FEAST JAN 20 AT 6 PM

CONTACT SCOTT VANHOOSE

IF YOU ARE ABLE TO HELP NO UNITED METHODIST

WOMEN IN JANUARY

God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ ndash which is to fulfill his own good plan

And this is the plan At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ ndash

everything in heaven and on earth Ephesians 19-10

New Living Translation

Each year I am to send a Year-End Report to the District Office Itrsquos kind of a State of the Church address So what I

send to them I also want to share with you

Wow What a full and amazing year 2017 was more and more we are understanding and living into our mission to

Know God Grow in Faith Share Godrsquos Love and in such a way that our vision We Are Jesus Centered Bringing

Love Hope and Encouragement to the People of Our Community and Beyond will be evermore the goal toward

which we focus

Having stepped into the Vital Church Initiative (VCI) last year our eight member originating team concluded phase

one and with the approval of the Administrative Team is now helping the church step into phase two by gathering

much data about the church and demographic information about our community prepared for the consultation team

while striving to keep the congregation up to date While doing this much needed and highly involved task they have

chosen not to wait for the consultation process and counsel but has begun putting learnings into effect and challenge

the congregation to live into its mission and vision

New ministries are being considered and developed so that we can reach our community with love hope and

encouragement How we engage visitors and guests in both Sunday worship services as well as other church activities

is constantly being evaluated and altered so that our guests feel welcomed and at home with us Ministries already in

place are being evaluated for vitality and adjusted as needed to provide greater impact

The ldquoLast Saturday Soup and Sandwichrdquo ministry begun in 2016 to provide an opportunity to help stretch the grocery

budget andor provide a place to meet and fellowship with folks continues to grow It is meeting the sought for

expectations

Farwell UMC joined us for Family Camp in June Family Camp moved from Albright to Living Waters While

change can be difficult Living Waters has proven to be an excellent move Many experienced the love of God in new

and fresh ways and we attracted several new to the camp Conversations have already begun with the Gathering in

Harrison so that Family Camp can be an even larger influence of Godrsquos love and grace

The Community Thanksgiving dinner served around 205 people in house and sent out nearly 75 more meals to those

who could not get out or to families needing an extra meal at home It also gave us opportunity to share about

Saturday Soup Our Beast Feast in January also served a big crowd Both these dinners are free and provide a way for

us to share about other ministries during the year

The Youth group joined the Heartland District Youth on a local mission trip to Harrison MI to assist our mission

church The Gathering in its summer outreach As our wonderful youth leader and her husband will be welcoming a

baby into their home the youth are thinking how they might do a missions trip in 2018

Several small groups meet regularly Impact Zone (Sunday school) is a concern however The adult and youth classes

are fairly well established Our children are impacted for Jesus and they are learning how to impact others for Jesus

Buthellip grades preK to 5th grade are currently being taught by one person who has had difficulty even getting a second

adult in the room to meet Safe Sanctuary requirements This should not and cannot be We must develop a passion for

our children if we will truly live into our vision

The UMW ministers in many ways not the least of which is the funeral luncheon ministry that blesses many families

in both the faith community and the extended community

We are host to several community groups Clare UMC is charter sponsor and host to both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts

The local Girls Scout leaders meet in our facility for planning We now host two AA meetings per week We also host

Aerobics and Yoga

This minute list represents the ways the church is living into its mission (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)

PASTORrsquoS PAGE CONTINUEDhelliphellip

Over the course of 2018 six persons were taken into membership of the church by profession of faith five by transfer

and one by restoration We have several persons regularly attending and becoming active who have indicated either

transferring their memberships or taking membership classes after the first of the year We continue to welcome

visitors and guests several of whom have become consistent attenders Our average worship attendance has increased

over 5

As pastor I seek to augment my leadership and teaching in various means District and conference offerings for

continuing education included teachings on preaching leadership development hospitality and welcoming I

continue my connection with the ldquo180 Turnaroundrdquo conference and follow up I will participate in the upcoming

Clergy Retreat focusing on Retreating Personal Care and Sabbath to be held at CranHill Camp In addition I have

done extensive reading in areas of Soul Care Discipleship Outreach and Leadership

This year I was blessed to take 2 weeks of unused vacation from 2016 and two weeks of 2017 vacation to create a

renewal vacation It was most refreshing even though interrupted with family obligations

Irsquom excited to see what God will have in store for us in the coming year as we receive prescriptions from the VCI

consultation team in late February as well as the new things we will experience as Michigan United Methodists

continue to transition to a single conference I will seek to discern and step into whatever God may have for us as a

congregation and for me personally

With you on the Journey Pastor John

Starting Over

With the ringing in of the New Year we seem to give ourselves permission to start over With the Wall

around Jerusalem completed it was not time to start over as a nation How Nehemiah and Ezra led Israel in its

starting over process can teach us how to start out the new year and the next phase of living into Godrsquos dream

for us as we seek to live into our mission and vision of making disciples of Jesus

Starting Over

December 31 New Yearrsquos Eve ldquoBack to Basicsrdquo ndash Nehemiah 773c-812

January 7 Epiphany Sunday with Communion ldquoLetrsquos Be Honestrdquo ndash Nehemiah 91-3 (past with God) 32-37

January 14 ldquoI Pledge Allegiancerdquo ndash Nehemiah 1028-39

January 21 ldquoDedicated to Godrdquo ndash Nehemiah 1227-43

January 28 UMW Sunday

February 4 Communion Sunday ldquoWhy Has the Temple Been Forsakenrdquo ndash Nehemiah 131-14

February 11 Transfiguration Sunday ldquoHow Then Shall We Liverdquo ndash Nehemiah 1315-31

Vital Church Initiative Update

Itrsquos almost done Just a few more details left to put in the drop box and our VCI team will have the information gathering

phase complete This information will help our consultation team get to know us

In February the 23rd

-25th the consultation team will meet with Pastor John leadership teams group and individuals

More information about that weekend will be available soon

Please continue to pray for our church and for the VCI team as it does its work so that we might be ever more vital tools

for the Kingdom of God

If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact any VCI member The team consists of Pastor John Kathy

Warner Kindra Norlander Janice Buckley Scott Lubs Larry Wyman Sr Ellen Fuller David Gloss and Rose Musser

Thank You

What a wonderful church you are There were so many expressions of love hope and encouragement given to our

community this Christmas Season in so many ways I am certain God has smiled and proudly says ldquoKeep up the good

workrdquo What new ways can we share the Good News of Jesus and his love in 2018 Pastor John

We Are So Blessed

Thank you so much for your many expressions of love and Christmas given to us They have truly warmed our hearts and

will continue to bless our lives May the One whose birth we celebrated always be Immanuel God with you in the

coming year as you Know God Grow in Faith and Share Godrsquos Love so that everyone in our community will know that

God is with them too

Pastor John Debbi amp family

SUPER SUNDAY COMING IN JANUARY Heartland and Grand Traverse Districts invite you to a FREE

Super Sunday Training Event This event strategically scheduled between Playoffs and the Super Bowl is specifically designed to help equip your churchrsquos current and future leaders for service in and through the body of Christ What super gifts has God given YOU to use in service for Him Breakouts include SPRC and Conflict Resolution Trustees Nominations Finances and Stewardship Church Outreach Spiritual Disciplines and Faith Formation Administrative Council and Governance Chairs and Faith Food and Hospitality (see back of this sheet for catagories) When January 28 2018 230-500 pm Where Reed City UMC 503 S Chestnut St Reed City MI 49677 Register at eventsmichiganumcorgeventsuper-sunday-2018

1 Kleinhardt Kim 28 Chilson Ashlyn Kleinhardt Tom Beatty Tom Norlander Kayla Pitchford Sandra 5 Mater Anna Yats Amanda 8 Franklin Marsha 30 Bryans Louis 9 Bentley Savannah Dickey Don 10 Seibt Josh 31 Miller Caley Thayer Sue 11 Kingsbury Melonie 12 Sibilsky Gerry Lane Marjorie 13 Krell Erin Teall Don 14 Everts Barb LeBoeuf Joyce 16 David Brian Hicks Janet Wyman Sr Larry 17 Bongard Troy Phillips Wilma Koch Kelly 18 Bryans Rita Schunk Mike 20 Benic Alaine Taylor Anthony 21 Ward Kim 24 Seibt Bailey 25 Lubs Kylie 26 McNerneyConnie 27 Wagoner Jan

Dear Clare UMC Church family I want to thank you all so much for the Kind words thoughts cards and prayers During the loss of my mom It was very much appreciated God Bless you Merri Ann Baker-Radcliffe

Dear United Methodist Church Thank you so much to all for the prayers and the cards We love you all God Bless Barb Everts and Ed Newman

A gift in memory of Norris Hicks has been given by Janet Hicks and her family to the Endowment Fund

Dear Church family What a blessing you have all been to us during this horrible nightmare wersquove been going through thank you so much for all the cards prayers and gifts They have been all so helpful and inspiring I am overwhelmed by the love you have all shown us Jay is coming a long quite well considering all he has been through He has high hopes to be coming to his own home in the next couple of weeks We would sure appreciate all the prayers that you can pray for him and myself We love you all so much Thank you Thank you Thank you With Love Judy Bailey and Jay Williams

Thank you

AVTECH TEAM CONT

Human Relations Day is January 14th

our day to support those living in the margins of society All monies collected during the special Human Relations Day offering will be funneled to our United Methodist Community

Development Program (57) the United Methodist Voluntary Services Program (33) and the Youth Offender Rehabilitation

Program (10) Our offering makes a real difference It makes a real difference to people like Robin After spending three years

in jail for drug trafficking she had a distorted image of God Could he even love her after everything she had done

You know He did love her mdash and He showed up for her in a big way through the work of Exodus House Exodus House provides

transitional housing to formerly incarcerated individuals with alcohol and drug addictions and with it a new picture of the love

of Christ Today Robin is addiction free and helps other women find recovery Today she shows the powerful and

transformative love of Christ to everyone to whom she ministers She does this through her work with Exodus House This

ministry is just one of the many we support and empower when we give on Human Relations Day Our support on Human Relations

Day encourages ordinary people to change the world Isnrsquot that exciting

I hope you and your congregation will be joining us on this Special Sunday

CHILD CARE CENTER DONATIONS ldquoMOTHER HUBBARDrsquoS CUPBOARDrdquo

IN JANUARY WE WILL BE COLLECTING

FACIAL TISSUES KLEENEX SEVENTH GEN PUFFS ETC

OUR EXTRA MILE GIVING FOR JANUARY WILL BE FOR

THE PASTORrsquoS DISCRETIONARY FUND

We want to Express our Sympathy tohellip The family of Merle Phillips Merle has been a long time member of our church family and was always willing to go the extra mile to fix anything that needed fixed he even hauled the grill to Witbeckrsquos when we had our camp fundraisers He was a very dear sweet and precious man of God and he will be deeply missed by our church family Thank you Dear Church family You are the greatest Your love and support means the world to me Thanks too for the beautiful plant It was great having lots of hugs and a beautiful service and wonderfully lovingly prepared food Love Wilma Shurlow- Phillips

What a special time of the year We all have so much to be thankful for starting with the birth of Jesus Christ A long time ago in a little town called Bethlehem life as we know it changed forever to those who chose to believe in the saving knowledge of Godrsquos only son Jesus Wersquore deeply thankful for your faithful partnership with the New Life Center You are such an important part in the ministry outreaches in Zambia When we look back through this year we see that once again God has continued to pour out His blessings in a very real way We deeply rejoice that many have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have been set free from lifersquos stronghold of sin We trust you have been able to follow us through our ldquoNLC updaterdquo from 2017 We are truly amazed As you know wersquore still in the US visiting with many of our supporting churches There is no possible way to show our appreciation for the wonderful way we have been received We can only pray that God will richly bless each one for their kindness and hospitality It truly has been a joy to share about our ministries To date wersquove been to Michigan Minnsota Illinois Indiana and Alabama We will be in Florida for January and February We then head back to Zambia in March just in time for the Holy Spirit Encounter in April Please continue to lift us up in prayer 2018 for us personally will be a big change as we expand the ministries in Zambia by breaking ground for the new New Life Center in Livingstone This is such an important need for the young growing United Methodist Zambian Conference We truly need your prayers and support as we once again follow Godrsquos lead

We thank you for all your love and partnership We wish you a very Blessed Christmas and Godrsquos very best this coming New Year Faithfully Delbert amp Sandy Groves

Merle Phillips has been remembered with a memorial gift to the Child Care Center New Building by the following Sandra Campbell Rev Greg amp Sue Wolfe Sharon Carrier Ellen amp Greg Fuller Judy amp Dexter Hubel Sue Neff Roy amp Lucy Monzo Joyce Schellhas Jan Wagoner Sue Moeller Gayla amp Del Wiley Doc amp MaryAnn Shurlow The Stephenson Family Jim Irwin Mike amp Jennifer Viers Maya amp Jessica Ed amp Mary Pappas Tom amp Carol Beatty John amp Jane Seibt Gerald amp Maureen Taylor Thomas Garver Bob amp Barb Seiter Steve amp Melonie Kingsbury Mark and Stacey Haring Keith amp Terri Beatty Floyd amp Rhonda Graham Barb House SuAnn Sager Gail Neff Pete amp Kindra Norlander Ruth Martin Benchley Brothers Mike amp Rhonda Goin Jo Raymond Tom amp Marsha Franklin Pat amp Dale Detman Mike amp Deb Swartz and Sandy Wood To the Endowment Fund Velma Cross To the Food Truck Dr Dave amp Colleen Bremer

Bob amp Jackie Ackerman have been remembered with a memorial gift to the Mission 4947 Youth Given by Dexter amp Judy Hubel Nellie Stinson has been remembered with a memorial gift Sandra Campbell

NEWS FROM THE CHILD CARE CENTER AND PRESCHOOL Obtaining my masterrsquos degree in early childhood education this past week gives me an opportunity to write about the high quality caliber of teachers we have working with me because I am not the only one who has an education in child development or childhood education I call each person who works with me ldquoteacherrdquo because of their education and experience in working with children Every person who works at our Center and Preschool has some sort of education in child development or childhood education They have education in the development of children from birth to third grade We all have to continue our education yearly to stay current in research of child development Once the children become 3 years old they are automatically enrolled in our preschool program It is a Monday through Friday all day year round program Our preschool teacher has a bachelorrsquos degree in early childhood education from Central Michigan University and her name is Kathy Dempsey She has over 20 years of experience as a preschool teacher She had worked at the First United Methodist Churchrsquos Preschool in Mount Pleasant as the Director and the Preschool teacher for many years before she came to us She is fantastic with the children and we are very proud to have her with us for the past 11-12 years Having a new facility will be wonderful because we will be able to take even more preschool children who can benefit from her talent We offer childcare of children who are younger than the age of 3 years old but it is more of a child development program in that we work with each child in aiding their development We monitor their development using an assessment program the Teaching Strategies GOLD It helps each teacher know if a child is on target in their development or if we should do further testing for delays Our childcare (development) teachers all have education in child development with the overwhelming majority currently attending Mid Michigan Community College with intention of continuing their education beyond an associatersquos degree Each person who works at our Center and Preschool has been chosen for their education experience and the heart to work with the children that come to us In our new facility we will have lead teachers in each classroom that will have the education and experience to ensure the quality that we provide in each classroom No wonder we obtained a four star rating from the Great Start to Quality rating system Our teachers are highly trained and compassionate that demonstrated their expertise to the Assessment Specialists that came and assessed our Center and Preschool We are excited about enlarging what we currently offer in our new facility

Elaine Greenrsquos address at her son Timrsquos house

119 Old Course Rd Newport Beach CA 92660

Co Tim Green (949)759-9088

Thank you Thanks so much for your prayers cards amp phone calls during my long illness and recovery It means so much to Bob amp Me Carolyn Musser