Messiah Messenger February 2020 Volume 24, Issue 3

NOTES FROM THE PASTOR

I do want to be alarmist, but I do want to be realistic and take a few moments to share some ideas regarding the current corona virus outbreak. Every year the flu virus makes an appearance in our communities, and some years, like this year, seem especially anxious about a virus with a new virus becoming a buzz word.

First - Pay attention to Center for Disease Control (CDC) and local recommendations, as well as your personal doctor. You can find the CDC at www.cdc.gov. There is a novel link for the corona virus at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

As you have probably already heard, good hygiene is critical – every-one should be washing hands and using good (60% or greater alcohol) hand sanitizer, and if you are feeling ill, do not be around other people as much as possible. It has been and continues to be my practice that if I am not feeling 100%, I do not visit as I do not want to give what I might have or receive something if my immune system is weakened.

As people of faith, I think we need to be intentional in our prayer re-garding this current situation. Pray for our local, national, and international neighbors. Pray for those infected, pray for caregivers, pray for the scientific and medical communities as they seek to address the situation and pray for our leaders as they respond to the virus.

During worship, it is okay to be cautious. During our greeting, if you don’t want to shake hands or hug, that is okay. Be creative, maybe a fist bump or elbow touch will suffice. We will be diligent in monitoring the local situa-tion and if necessary we might make modifications to communion; i.e., by avoiding intinction and using individual communion cups or not distributing juice during communion.

If local health authorities advise cancellation of events, we will follow their lead regarding worship or other church related events.

I would also ask you to be diligent in looking in on the vulnerable, especially your neighbors and members of the congregation who live alone. Consider a regular phone call or making sure that if you see mail or newspa-pers not collected to check on them.

Finally, should a worst case scenario develop and communities be ad-vised to self-quarantine, it is imperative that you have adequate food for at least a two week period so consider purchasing a couple of extra cans of soup or jars or peanut butter each time you go to the grocery store. Also make sure you have adequate pet food. You should also ask you pharmacy about any medications you take and if you can fill a prescription before you run out.

I know this is not what you wanted to read, but felt it necessary to share.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Bob

Harper Howell Abigail Lathrop

Nathan Burroughs Pat Wright

Helen McGrath Bob Robinson

Jackson Lathrop Danny Reitz

Terry Lumber Deb Graham

Ross Lathrop Gage Waltner

Sadie Grace Harrison

(2 lb) Bags of rice 3- Vienna Sausages (4.5 oz cans)

(16 oz) Box of saltine crack-ers

Applesauce (24 oz jar)

Spaghetti Pasta (2 lb box) Chunk chicken (12.5 oz)

2-Spaghetti sauce (24 oz can or plastic jar)

Peanut Butter (18 oz plastic jar)

Green beans (4 small or 2 large) Cans

We are collecting food items to fill shopping bags which are given out to the families who come to the church seeking food gift cards. This food will be given out in lieu of cards during those times the stock of gift cards is depleted. Below is a list of food to bring:

Children’s Ministry Meeting

On Saturday, March 7, Pastor Bob would like to hold a meeting

with all families of the congregation who have young children.

The purpose of the meeting will be to explore possible ways

Messiah UMC may be in ministry to the children and their

families. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m and consist of a

dinner of pizza followed by a time of discussion and sharing.

Invitations will be forthcoming and childcare will be provided.

Please mark your calendar.

Acolytes

3/1 Ellie Howell

3/8 Remington Burroughs

3/15 Rile’e Schaefer

3/22

3/29

Children’s Activities (9:50-10:50)

3/1 Phyllis Lewter

3/8 Annette Kellum

3/15 Katlyn Gates

3/22 Ed West

3/29 Nikki Keegan

Children’s K-2 / 3rd – 5th Teacher (s)

3/1 Phyllis Abeshaheen & Susan Stout

3/8 Kerri Cartwright & Steve Centric

3/15 Jan Lawrence & Mary Ann McDermott

3/22 Nan Tarbell & Beverly Parrish

3/29 Edee Norris & Krista Centric

Counters

3/1 Susan Stout &Phyllis Abeshaheen

3/8 David Abeshaheen & David Lawrence

3/15 Mark Guzzo & Terry Lumber

3/22 Bill Lewter & Danny Reitz

3/29 Donna Kumjian & Pat Wright

Communion Servers

3/1 Judy Ferguson & Terry Lumber

3/8 Helen & Glenn McGrath

3/15 Donna Kumjian & Phyllis Lewter

3/22 Rew Family

3/29 Phyllis & David Abeshaheen

Greeters

3/1 Cory Powers

3/8 Edee Norris

3/15 Howell Family

3/22 Tracie Chesworth

3/29 Donna Kumjian

Scripture Readers

3/1 Lindsay Brioche

3/8 Tom Rew

3/15 Les Matthews

3/22 Terry Lumber

3/29 Beth Reitz

Serving March Children’s Church Lessons for March 2020

March’s B.I.G. Idea: We believe that Jesus’ life and death made it possible for us to know God’s great love. March’s Bible Verse: For God so Loved the World that he gave his only Son. John 3:16 March’s B.I.G. Theme A Love to Remember March 1 Lesson 1: “Mary of Bethany Anoints Jesus” Children will hear the biblical story of how Mary honored Jesus with a gift of oil. Activities: Bible story, p.20, “Mary Anoints Jesus” P.21, “Dig into the Story” (older students), Color “thou Shalt Love…” (younger students) I CAN LOVE AND HONOR JESUS, p. 23 Look up Bible Verse, John 3:16, in student bibles. Do signing worksheet together Closing worship prayer March 8 Lesson 2: “The Last Supper” Children will hear the story of the Last Supper and remember Jesus and his great Love for them. Activities: Memory Game Bible Verse, John 3:16 Bible Story, p.32, “The Last Night” Color picture of the Last Supper, p.35 Practice signs for Bible Verse, p.173 Closing worship rayer March 15 Lesson 3: “Peter’s Denial” Children will connect with the biblical story of how Peter denied knowing Jesus. Activities: “I Made a Mistake”, p.57 Bible story, p.56, Before the rooster Crows March 22 Lesson 4: “Palm Sunday/Holy Week” Children will connect with the biblical story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Activities: Holy Week Map Bible Story, p.68 Cut out Cross Honor Holy Week, p.59 Review Bible Verse Puzzle Closing Worship March 29 Lesson 4:“Resurrection” Children will hear the biblical story of the resurrection. Activities: Butterfly Magnets Bible Story, “The First day of the Week” “What Happened Next” Light Switch Plate Closing Worship

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

We are starting a new book "Cast of

Characters" by Max Lucado. We meet

on the first and third Tuesdays at 10

am at the Panera Bread in the Great

Bridge Shopping Center.

Our schedule for December is as

follows:

Tuesday, March 3 -

Chapter 1 - "Joseph - Joseph's Prayer"

Chapter 2 - "Matthew - Friend of Flops"

Tuesday, March 17 -

Chapter 3 - "Woman Who Washed Jesus' Feet - The 7:47 Principal"

Chapter 4 - "Melhibosheth - The Privilege of Paupers"

We meet at 10 am at the Great

Bridge Shopping Center Panera

Bread.

Barbeque Dinner - Saturday, March 14 - 5-7 pm

The UMW are hosting a barbeque dinner fundraiser. Eat in or carry out. See a member of the UMW to purchase your tickets. Deadline for getting tickets is March 8.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

Palm Sunday Luncheon - April 5 following the worship service

The UMW will be providing chicken and desserts. Please bring a side dish to share. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt for the children after the luncheon.

Residential homeowners looking to make their home more energy efficient in prepa-ration for winter and beyond can benefit from the launch of Dominion Energy Virgin-ia’s new Home Energy Assessment (HEA) Program.

The HEA Program was designed with three simple steps to make it easy to partici-pate:

You can schedule an assessment at a time that is convenient for you with the contractor. Visit DominionEnergy.com/HomeEnergy to find a list of participating contractors.

The contractor conducts a 30 to 60-minute walk-through of the home and in-

stalls simple measures, while identifying other energy-saving opportunities

The contractor works with you to submit the rebate application for work com-

Thanks to the UMW for hosting coffee and donuts for the preschool families!

Special thank you to all who made the Valentine Dinner a success!

Thanks to all who supported the UMM pancake dinner!

Thanks to all who made soup for the Ash Wednesday dinner!

Special thanks to everyone who donated diapers for the Hampton Roads Diaper Drive!

Thanks to all who have been working on getting our church signs installed!

Energy Bars Gum

Granola Bars Candy

Trail Mix Tuna Fish

Summer Sausage Snack Packs w/ Peanut Butter or Nutella

Beef Jerky Slim Jims

Snack Foods Hot Sauce

Our Lenten Bible study is titled “Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name” by Max Lucado. In this study, author Max Lucado explores the life and character of Jesus. The God of the universe knows your name. He has walked your streets. Jesus. Perhaps you've heard about him, studied him, or prayed to him. But do you know him? This is the question Max poses to the reader.

We will meet on Monday evenings beginning March 2, and each Monday until April 6 (3/2, 397, 3/16, 3/23, 3/31 and 4/4). We will begin at 7:00 and end no later than 8:30.

A sign-up sheet is on the table in the Narthex and please sign up by Sunday, February 22, in order to allow enough time for materials to be ordered. Looking forward to sharing time with you this fall.

Preschool Coffee & Crafts

The UMW is hosting coffee and donuts for the preschool families dropping off their children on the first Monday of each month. Join us on Monday, March 2 at 9 am.

Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at

2:00 a.m. Please be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour

before going to bed, Saturday, March 7, 2020. It would be a

shame for you to get ready for church and be one hour late.

Thank you, to everyone who

donated diapers this past month.

We collected a total of 4,509

diapers for The Greater Hampton

Roads Diaper Bank!

UMCOR RESPONDING TO MISSISSIPPI FLOODS

Flood waters in Mississippi have risen to levels that surpass records set in

1902 and 1880.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Saturday,

February 22 in response to the disaster and in anticipation of further rainfall.

Flooding in Jackson, Mississippi has led to evacuations in the city and sur-

rounding areas.

UMCOR-trained Emergency Response Teams are active throughout the

state, maintaining contact with conference and disaster leadership. They are

supporting the current response and recovery efforts and are ready to sup-

port additionally as events develop.

Please give now and pray!

You are there when you give to help a neighbor.

Please make a gift online to UMCOR U.S. Disaster Response, today.

Our preschoolers have been busy exploring their world on

weekly STEM days. Magnet play this week is helping

them develop their fine motor skills, teach problem solving

and making predictions, and increase their critical thinking

skills. Our four year old classes will continue their STEM

exploration by visiting the Children’s Museum this month.

March

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1. 2.

9 am - Coffee & Do-

nuts for Preschool

Families

7 pm - Lenten Bible

Study

3.

9 am - Bible Study

4.

Praise Team-6:30

Choir-7:00

5.

9:15 am - Preschool

Bible Study

6. 7.

Pizza Dinner 6p.m.

8.

9:45 Sunday School

10:00 Youth

11:00 Worship

9.

7 pm - Lenten Bible

Study

10.

7 pm - Council Meet-

ing

11.

Praise Team-6:30

Choir-7:00

12.

9:15 am - Preschool

Bible Study

13. 14.

BBQ dinner

15.

9:45 Sunday School

10:00 Youth

11:00 Worship

16.

7 pm - Lenten Bible

Study

17.

9 am - Bible Study

18.

Praise Team-6:30

Choir-7:00

19.

9:15 am - Preschool

Bible Study

20.

21.

22.

9:45 Sunday School

10:00 Youth

11:00 Worship

23.

7 pm - Lenten Bible

Study

24.

25.

Praise Team-6:30

Choir-7:00

26.

9:15 am - Preschool

Bible Study

6:30 pm - MDO

27. 28.

29.

9:45 Sunday School

10:00 Youth

11:00 Worship

30.

7 pm - Lenten Bible

Study

31.