The Messenger November 2017

HOPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Sunday 8:30am - Plover, 202 Smith Street

9:00am - Sunday School - Pocahontas

10:00am - Pocahontas, 306 2nd Avenue NW

3:45pm - Plover - Wednesday School - 202 Smith Street

Pastor Kris Frank Cell: 712-577-2630 email: kristine.frank@iaumc.net

Church Office Mon.-Fri. Hours: 9:00-3:30pm

email: hopeumc@evertek.net Ph. 712-335-3663 Fax: 712-335-3406

Keep in touch with Hope UMC: hopeumcia.org

Hope UMC—Pocahontas, Havelock & Plover

NEW WORSHIP SITE: PLOVER

8:30 a.m. - Nov. & Dec. Plover Peace Circle

Lunch & Bake sale

Sat., Nov. 4, 2017

10a.m. - 1p.m.

Hope United

Methodist Church

Plover Center

*Bake Sale - Early Birds

pie & coffee $3

*Several kinds of nuts

*Lunch: Adults $7

Children to age 12 - $3

pulled pork or hot turkey

sandwiches, salad, pie, coffee

SOUP & PIE SUPPER

Wed., Nov. 1, 2017

4:30-7:00pm

Hope United

Methodist Church

Pocahontas Center

$7-adult

$4-children 5 to 10

4 & under-free

From the library…

We’ve all heard of, maybe even read one of the “Chicken

Soup” books. Each of these selections contain about 100

inspirational, heartwarming short stories. Easy to pick up

and read one or two stories even if you only have a few

minutes!

Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul

Chicken Soup for the Father’s Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Treasury

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Empty Nesters

A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul

Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul

These books will be displayed in the “Book Nook” located in the Fellowship during the

month of November. And YES!! You can check them out during that time! Simply sign your

name on the book card from the inside cover of the book, then place the card in the pocket

on the “Book Nook” display.

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The $7,000 goal for the purchase of a Safe-T Home has been reached!

Thank you to everyone for your generosity!

UMW news

Bible Verse: Hebrews 12:14

"Make every effort to live in peace

with all mankind and to be holy;

without holiness no one will see God."

Circles collect World Thank Offering.

Charity Circle Meeting--Nov. 2; 9:00 a.m. Family Table

Truth Circle Meeting--Nov. 2; 7:00 p.m. Donna Hudson's

Peace Circle Meeting--Nov. 8 at Plover

November 4 is the Plover Bazaar and nut sales. Plan to attend and enjoy the lunch and pur-

chase those wonderful nuts!

November 6: District Spiritual Growth Study at Washta. See the UMW bulletin board for de-

tails. This is also the Thanksgiving Ingathering Day at Cherokee.

November 15 at 1:30 the Executive Committee will meet to work on the 2018 booklet.

Looking ahead to December.

Dec. 6 at 6:00 p.m. Christmas Vespers. Committee 1 Truth

Circle will make the cookie plates.

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors and be thankful for the blessings of church and family.

5th Quarter Event

Following the football game on Friday, October 20th, we had 19 kids attend our 5th Quar-

ter Event, a collaboration

between Hope Youth Group and the Prairie Faith Partners Youth Group. We played games,

ate lots of great snacks, and just enjoyed an evening of fun. We plan to host another event or

two during the upcoming basketball season, so be looking for announcements in the fu-

ture! Also, THANK YOU to anyone who provided snacks or pop!!!

Food + Teenagers = Successful Gatherings

Youth Group

We will have Youth Group as usual on Wed., November

8th. There will be NO YOUTH GROUP on Wednesday,

November 22nd due to Thanksgiving Break.

Advent Bible study in Plover meeting Friday mornings:

Faithful, Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph by Adam Hamilton.

Contact Candace

Sunday School/Wednesday School Christmas Mission Project:

During the month of November, the Sunday School/ Wednesday School kids

will be passing around those “Jingle Cans” again! Loose change ( paper bills

work too! ) will be collected, and in December sent to UMCOR to aid in hurri-

cane relief. We want to teach our kids that we can be “helping hands” and

share the love of Jesus with our neighbors in other parts of our country! So please start

gathering up those coins, and help those cans jingle, jingle, jingle!!! Our name is HOPE....

let’s share some!!!

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Lectionary Scriptures

Nov 5 Joshua 3:7-17, Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, Matthew 23:1-12

Nov 12 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, Psalm 78:1-7, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13

Nov 19 Judges 4:1-7, Psalm 123, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-40

Nov 26 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Psalm 100, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46 Dec 3 Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37

Carolyn & Adrian Hanson 11/3

Kevin & Megan Hauswirth 11/12

Rob & Heidi Freeburg 11/16

Walt & Mary Phillips 11/17

Ray & Ernella Van Horn 11/19

Bernard & Jerri Arnold 11/27

Bethany Brown 11/3

Krystal Davidson 11/3

Abigail Leu 11/4

Clara Barnhardt 11/5

Randy Barnhardt 11/7

Bryan Rahn 11/7

Kristen Davis 11/8

Nicole Arnold 11/10

Breyanne Minkler 11/11

Wayne Hulsebus 11/11

Jean Peterson 11/13

Allan Minkler 11/14

Donna Hudson 11/15

McKenna Trimble 11/18

Darlene Poss 11/19

Melissa Rahn 11/20

Monica Plantz 11/21

Caralynn Kerns 11/22

Carolyn Wheatley 11/23

Lars Hulsebus 11/24

Josee Slama 11/24

Carlee Leeper 11/26

Judy Timan 11/28

Donate to

United Methodist Committee on Relief

(UMCOR)

The 2017 hurricane season was devastating… in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and

the U.S. Virgin Islands. And on the other extreme, the devastating wildfires

in northern California left many dead and thousands of homes destroyed.

For all affected, the recovery will take years.

By mid-October, UMCOR had received $15 million from donors in response to U.S. disasters.

The directors of the UMC Board of Global Ministries and UMCOR approved $7 million in

grants for hurricane and other disaster-relief work. The UMC is committed to disaster relief

and 100% of all donations go directly to relief efforts.

To donate, make checks payable to Hope UMC and put Disaster Relief or Hurricanes or

UMCOR in the memo line.

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THANKSGIVING ingathering

The 38th Annual Thanksgiving Ingathering will be held on

Saturday, November 4, at the Western Iowa Convention

Center, Cherokee. The program begins at 10:00 a.m.

The kits have been packed and are ready for delivery to Cherokee. Your generosity is over-

whelming! Thank you to all who helped sew the bags for the school kits – I think there were

at least 8 sewers.

There are 90 school kits, 43 health kits and 12 sweaters ready to go. Thank you, thank you,

thank you!! Next month will be a report on the blankets.

WORSHIP ASSISTANTS †

Nov 5 Carol Hallman Liturgist

Nov 5 Walt & Mary Phillips Fellowship

Nov 5 Bill & Monica Plantz Fellowship

Nov 5 Russ & Julie Waterman Comm. Stwd's

Nov 12 Donnie McLain Liturgist

Nov 12 Tim & Elaine Cook Fellowship

Nov 12 Bob & Joan Reinhart Fellowship

Nov 19 Mary Phillips Liturgist

Nov 19 Mary Turner, Mary Ford Fellowship

Nov 19 Jerry Severson Fellowship

Nov 26 Ann Harrison Liturgist

Nov 26 Carol McCurdy Fellowship

Nov 26 Keith & Kathy Johnson Fellowship

Nov Acolytes - Chase Cook, Caden Freeburg

Nov Ushers - Jack Gould, Rob Freeburg, Don Schendel, Jeff Shearer

Nov Greeters -

north door: Bill & Monica Plantz

south door: Chris & Pam Radig

east door: Judy Pursley

west door: Bev Hopkins

DATE

POCAHONTAS

HAVELOCK/PLOVER

TOTAL

Oct 1 76 26 102

Oct 8 73 21 94

Oct 15 65 24 89

Oct 22 70 25 95

Worship Attendance at Hope UMC

FREE SATURDAY SUPPER

Saturday ~ Nov 25th

Serving from

5 - 6:30 p.m.

At HOPE UMC,

Pocahontas Center

There will be many opportunities to help prepare,

serve and clean-up.

Watch for the clipboard in worship

Or call 712-335-3663

UDMO Food Pantry Sunday

November 12, 2017

Advent Small Group Study

Hope UMC is again offering an Advent study for those who want to join in the study.

Following are the details:

Title: Because of Bethlehem, Love is Born, Hope is Here by Max Lucado

When: 4 week study, possibly starting the last week in November

Cost: Books are approximately $11.00 each

About the study: A remarkable gift can arrive in an unremarkable package. One

did in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. No one expected God to come the

way he did. Yet the way he came was every bit as important as the coming itself.

The manger is the message. In this four-session video Bible study, Max Lucado ex-

plores how the One who made everything chose to make himself nothing for us.

He experienced hunger and thirst. He went through the stages of human develop-

ment. He was taught to walk, stand, and wash his face. He was completely and

genuinely human. Because of Bethlehem, we no longer have marks on our rec-

ord . . . just grace. We have the promise that God is always near us, always for us,

always within us—and that we have a friend and Savior in heaven. Long after the

guests have left, the carolers have gone home, and the lights have come down,

these promises endure.

SIGN UP: if you want to lead or

just participate in this study, please

fill out a slip on Sunday morning

OR call the church office.

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP:

Sunday, November 12th so books

will arrive in time for the study to

begin!

How can we go wrong with a study whose ending tag

is “Hope is Here?”

Leadership Team Meeting

October 12, 2017, 7:00 p.m.

Friendship Room

Pocahontas Center

Attendance: Pastor Kris, Allan Frevert, Carol McCurdy, Carol Hallman, Donnie McLain, Linda

Ferguson, Joan Reinhart, Moira Hopkins, Dixie Gottsch and Judy Timan.

Donnie called the meeting to order. Pastor Kris read from 1 Thessalonians 5 and opened the

meeting with prayer.

The September minutes were corrected to read “5 out of every 6 people wanted the Leader-

ship Team to proceed "with the blend” and “SPRC met with DS Tom Carver”. Allan moved to

accept the minutes as amended. Dixie seconded the motion. Ayes all.

Allan gave the financial report. The September opening balance was $6,861.18. September

offerings were $16,535.14 and disbursements were $10,630.79. The bank balance at the end

of September was $12,767.94. The finance committee will pay the general church and confer-

ence ministries apportionments for May and June. Pastor Kris’s compensation is $500 per

week. Allan moved to accept the financial report. Joan seconded the motion. Ayes all.

The Soup and Pie supper is Wednesday, November 1. Ticket prices will remain the same. Ta-

bles will be set up after worship Oct 29th.

Pastors Report: Charge Conference is Sunday, October 22, 2 pm, at the Pocahontas Center.

The finance committee requests that all committees submit budget requests by October 15th

so the 2018 budget can be prepared.

Pastor Kris, in preparation for charge conference, asked what did we do to accomplish the

goals set for 2017. Many positive examples were discussed but there were also areas of

missed opportunities. 2018 goals were set stressing moving forward with optimism.

Pastor Kris recommended one or two portable mics to use during the sharing of joys and con-

cerns. Carol M will let the chr. of the trustees know.

Ministry Team Reports

SPRC – Linda reported that the committee will meet October 16.

Missions – Dixie reported. 21 community members (plus 3 take-outs) attended the Septem-ber Saturday Night Supper. 35 meals total were served. 20 participated in the UDMO Hunger Walk. $1,467 was raised and sent to UDMO. October is Blanket Month. A special offering will be taken the last Sunday in October for the Military Bible Sticks.

Outreach & Member Care – no report

Education – Moira reported. The committee met this week. They recommend continuing the Advent and Lenten studies. The Advent study will need to start in November. The first 5th Quarter event for 6th - 8th graders was very successful. The next one is October 20th. The chil-dren’s Christmas mission project will be for hurricane relief. The children’s Christmas program at Plover and Pocahontas is December 10th.

Nominations – Donnie reported that the ministry teams for 2018 are nearing completion. People have been very receptive to accepting positions.

Trustees – Carol M. reported that Brad has secured Matt Wood for snow removal at the church.

Worship – Carol H. reported. A meeting will be scheduled in early November.

UMW – Joan reported. Today was the quarterly executive meeting. The changes that took place in 2017 were evaluated and there were some modifications for 2018. The UMW will be assuming the nut sales with help from the Plover ladies.

Carol H. reported on work with the Secretary of State to draw up Articles of Incorporation for a new entity for Hope United Methodist Church of Pocahontas, Iowa. These articles follow the statutes of Iowa and the United Methodist Book of Discipline. Allan moved to move ahead with plans to finalize the work started 22 years ago. Carol McCurdy seconded the mo-tion. Ayes all. Carol will get another legal opinion and the opinion of District Superintendent, Tom Carver.

Current Year’s (2017) Goals

1. Shift from Fellowship to Hospitality: because our life in the church is not just about us.

2. Shift from Worship as an Event to Worship as a Lifestyle: participating in God-centered worship with others helps us to continue worshiping as a lifestyle.

3. Shift from Membership to Discipleship: membership says it’s about me. Discipleship says it’s about God & others.

4. Shift from Serve US to Service: we need to take the next step from Missional Gestures to Ministries of Engagement. Change a Child’s Story will help us start to do this.

5. Shift from Survival Mentality to Generosity: we are called to be generous people because God is a generous God.

What are you learning as you are living out these goals?

1. Food Pantry, Saturday Suppers, Fifth Quarter, and Free Furniture are signs of outward fo-cus. Fellowship and hospitality need to be defined in a measureable way.

2. We have Advent and Lent studies, but need to add more. This also seems vague to us now.

3. It’s a work in progress. We had a unified service this summer but missed opportunities to include those from outside of Pocahontas Center in leadership of services and fellowship.

4. We did well with buying a Safety Home for Haiti, Change a Child’s Story, and delivering meals. We are still working on strengthening Saturday Suppers.

5. We are survivors but really have not begun to thrive yet. We haven’t yet changed our mindset. We are generous in many ways but could do better in our financial stewardship.

Discerning God’s Preferred Future

Based on your current reality, what is God asking of your congregation at this time?

It has been a tough year. We need to own our goals and not let them just be words on paper. We also need to celebrate, both in worship and through our media, our accomplishments.

What are your goals for next year to help you accomplish what God is asking of you?

1. We need to generate positive conversation about our church in our communities. Let’s host outstanding events (Soup & Pie, Christmas, Easter, Fifth Quarter, …) that the commu-nity will want to talk about rather than our survival mentality.

2. We need to build community within Hope Church so that we may build up the community outside of Hope Church. We need to intermix the members of the various centers and re-ally get to know each other. Ask each other for help or contributions. Participate in all our events. Practice welcoming each other so that we may welcome others into the life of Hope Church.

3. Finish the Blend conversations by incorporating as Hope United Methodist Church with the State of Iowa and writing our covenant. Letting this process drag out for decades has drug down our church. Let’s finish it and move forward as a hope filled church.

The next meeting will be November 9.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Timan

Leadership Team Secretary pro tem

Encourage One Another

As we continue our time of transition, please stop and take a moment to remember a

time that you were feeling down, frustrated, or just totally alone. Not a great feeling,

right? We’ve all been there at one time or another.

Now, stop and think about a time when someone unexpectedly called to say hi, or

stopped you uptown to chat and see how you were doing, or simply invited you out for

coffee…which was just the pick-me-up you needed. What a wonderful feeling, right?

Well, we need to be doing the same thing for our church family, as well as, those we

know in our community. One way you can do that is to use the encouragement cards

in our registration pads. Grab a notecard and envelope, and jot a quick note to some-

one God has laid on your heart. You can even drop it in the offering plate if you have

it addressed!

Also, if you haven’t seen someone in awhile, you could also give them a quick call

and let them know they are missed, and ask if there is anything you can pray for with

them. Bottom line, simply let them know that you care, and that they are missed. Af-

ter all, isn’t that what Jesus expects? Matthew 25:40 states, “...Truly I tell you, whatev-

er you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Let’s step out of our comfort zone and follow Christ’s example and show our family

how very important they really are to us!