October 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

6:15pm Confirmation

7:30pm Youth Group

7:30pm Trustees

3 4 5

6:00pm Worship

6

10:30am Worship

6:00pm Church Conference @

Kearney Faith UMC

7:00pm Youth & Women’s Bible Study

@ parsonage

7

9am-4pm WIC

8 9

9:00am Sew ‘N Sews

7:00pm Choir

7:30pm Youth Group

10

7:00pm Bible

101

11 12

6:00pm Worship

13

10:30am Worship

2:00pm Survivor’s

Group

7:00pm Youth & Women’s Bible Study

@ parsonage

14 15 16

9:30am UMW

6:15pm Confirmation

7:00pm SPPRC

7:30pm Youth Group

8:00pm Ad Council

17 18 19

6:00pm Worship

6:45pm Potluck

Dinner

20

10:30am Worship

5:00pm Parsonage Blessing & Open

House

7:00pm Youth & Women’s Bible Study

@ parsonage

21

NEWSLETTER

DEADLINE

22 23

9:00am Sew ‘N Sews

6:15pm Confirmation

7:30pm Youth Group

24

7:00pm Bible

101

25 26

9am-1pm Sew ‘N

Sews Fall Bazaar

6:00pm Worship

27

10:30am Worship

7:00pm Youth & Women’s Bible Study

@ parsonage

28 29 30

6:15pm Confirmation

7:30pm Youth Group

31

DATE USHERS SCRIPTURE

READER CHILDREN'S TIME AUDIO COUNTER

6-Oct

Ward & Christyne Eckloff

Christyne Eckloff Pastor Mike Holcomb Pastor Mike

Dan & Jodi Sell

13-Oct

Barb Boelter Marlene Kriha Kay Reed Christensen Gina Christensen

Bobbie Cline

Kay Reed

Marlene Kriha

20-Oct

Ward & Christyne Eckloff

Jodi Sell Janee Montgomery Kucera Jodi Sell

Dan & Jodi Sell

27-Oct

Barb Boelter Kay Reed Kathy Pierce Kegley Kathy Pierce

Bobbie Cline

Kay Reed

Marlene Kriha

02– Jason Tracy 13– Treyvon Davis 23– Jim Myrick

03– Zachery Peters 14– Bill Manfull 24– Vernon Piehl

06– Lee Power 14– Wendy Evans 24– Jeri McKeon

06– Faith Tracy 14– Trinity Carr 25– Deborah VanMatre

06– Mitchell Sell 16– Karen Fox 25– Taylor Godberson

07– Susan Webster 16– Lynn Ferguson 25– Morgan Wadkins-Meyer

08– Kim Hodge 19– Susan Bailey 27– Richard Leisinger

08– Portia Kollars 19– Kingston Vasquez 29– Valera Heydenberk

11– Titus Tracy 21– Kinley Kern 29– Samantha Montgomery

12– Makenzie Krajewski 22– Abby Christensen 30– Tristan Kollars

Food ministry offerings can expand with help I like food. I probably like food more than I should. I always joke

Methodists don’t do anything without food. But feeding the hungry has

been a critical part of our Christian identity for centuries. Early

theologian John Chrysodom said “feeding the hungry is greater work

than raising the dead” Pope Francis said, “You pray for the hungry.

Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”

Faith United has done some incredible work in food ministry. As a

church, it’s important to celebrate what we’ve done, but also consider what might be next for us in this

area. Here’s some quick details on food ministries we’re currently doing, or have been dreaming about.

Food Pantry – We’ve served over 300 families, redistributing over 40,000 pounds of food since we

opened. While we’re open for clients Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30-8, there’s seldom a day

someone isn’t at the pantry. Stocking, ordering, tracking statistics, cleaning, and even repackaging food

all takes volunteers.

It’s all incredible, but I’ve felt God nudging my heart recently. Has our efficiency compromised

people’s dignity? As proud mid-westerners, it’s hard to ask for help. I’ve wondered if more people could

use help, but won’t “stand in line.” We can’t open up for each client, but could appointments for that

occasional need happen? How it all would work is unclear right now, but it’s possible if we have help.

School lunch programs – The Gibbon school system has 53% of their students on free and

reduced lunches. It’s incredible our administrators have made sure to cover these students so well. But

we can make their efforts even better. Again this year we’ll collect a special offering to pay down

overdue lunch accounts. But we’ve also been in conversation with the school to see if there are students

opting not to eat because their families can’t afford it. We’re left to wonder if there are more families that

haven’t signed up for reduced lunches. Many families don’t know that being on this program not only

helps offset that food cost, but may qualify students for financial assistance toward college they would

not otherwise have available. How can we help more people take advantage of what’s already there?

Bus Kids – This incredible ministry was started by Brandon Jacques and expanded by Linda Keiper

and the Hospitality team. Some kids shared this was their only meal for the evening, which led to the

snack becoming a meal. It was a beautiful, meaningful ministry. But without enough help to sustain such

a large program, it ended. People have asked if it would restart again with the simpler snack setup.

While we know that’s less than the full meal some would benefit from, doing this smaller snack is far

better than doing nothing. But it’s only a possibility with volunteers willing to plan, shop, and serve.

Backpack program – Thousands of churches help run a weekend backpack program through local

schools. Kids can eat breakfast and lunch at school on weekdays, but for some it’s a long weekend.

We’ve heard some kids don’t eat at school because they know their siblings at home aren’t eating.

Volunteers could fill backpacks during the week to go home with kids on Fridays, and those kids who

bring their backpacks on Monday or Tuesday can have them refilled for the next weekend. This program

would fit under our food pantry, meaning we could buy in bulk from the Food Bank for some items. This

is again, a great possibility, if we have volunteers interested in making it work.

Cooking classes – Sometimes the biggest barrier to families eating healthy meals at home is not

knowing how to prepare these foods. And in many families older children or youth are cooking for the

family while parents work. We take for granted that everyone knows how to cook. But could a

community cooking class create lasting change? How could we promote or plan such a program? It’s

just an idea now, but it could provide a meaningful impact if people catch onto the vision.

What we’re doing as a church is wonderful. But what we could do, is even more amazing.

Ad Council meetings open to anyone Committee meetings get a bad rap. In the busyness of life, it often feels like meetings are just

one more task to complete. But these are also great opportunities to celebrate and dream for the

future. Faith United’s Administrative Council meetings are almost always on the 3rd

Wednesday of

each month at 8pm. These meetings are open for anyone to attend. There are specific leaders in

the church who can “vote” during these meetings, but everyone is welcome to attend and

participate in the discussion. Our church is constantly changing, and the best changes happen

when we work together! Join us and be part of shaping how our church changes lives today,

tomorrow, and into the future!

Church Conference Oct. 6 Connectional, and congregation led. That’s part of what

makes United Methodism so unique. On Sunday, October

6th at 6pm all members of Faith United are invited to join

other area churches in our Network for our annual church

meeting. This year we will again be meeting at Kearney

Faith UMC down on Central Avenue. At this meeting, we

will finalize our budget, 2020 leadership, and discuss our

vision for the future. It’s also an incredible opportunity to

interact with other churches. While our church has some

incredible ministry, we can grow by learning and sharing with others. And, by working together, we

have the chance to push for social change not just in our own community, but the area. How we do

ministry, how we change the world is not a decision for just the pastor or a few leaders to make.

We are the church together!

Pastoral office hours, vacation on books Pastor Mike’s office hours have resumed with a

slightly different schedule. As a parent (and foster

parent) there are sometimes exceptions, but the goal is

to have somewhat consistent office hours for people to

drop in. This fall, the pastoral office hours will be

Monday 9-noon, Tuesday 9-noon, Wednesday 8:30-11

and by appointment. Thankfully, with the pastor now

living in town, scheduling a time to meet should be

easier! Whenever possible we will list changes to these

hours in the weekly bulletin.

Pastor Mike is also trying to be more intentional about taking time off for self-care and the

“ministry” of being a husband and father. With that in mind, he has already scheduled a vacation

from October 7th through the 15

th. There will, of course, be no office hours during that time.

Thankfully we have an incredible church including an Administrative Assistant and Lay Ministers to

serve you during this time. Contact the church office or a Lay Minister if needs arise. In the event of

a major pastoral need, Pastor Carla Gunn from Shelton will be available as well.

Crazy church event back to “pack the house” It’s back again, and just

as crazy as before. You may

be wondering what does 226

people, a youth ministry

meal, and a balloon in the

fan have to do with one

another? The answer – well

nothing really, but our

beloved Brandon Jacques

can make it work! We’ll tie

them all together for

Standing Room Only on

Sunday November 11.

Youth Leader Brandon

Jacques came up with this

event after daydreaming

about what it would take to fill every seat in the sanctuary. Our best estimate is 225 people. So, at

226, worship would actually be at standing room only!

There will also be a meal following worship that morning. More details will be coming soon. Last

year Brandon’s idea drew a crowd of 175 after the promise to shave off his beard if we beat the

attendance goal. Now he’s scared no one wanted to see that, so instead the “prize” is getting the

silly balloon out of the ceiling fan in the sanctuary!

OK, maybe there’s a bigger prize than the balloon. And our goal is about more than an

attendance record. It’s about impacting lives. “If this lights a spark, or reconnects even one person,

then it’s all worth it,” Brandon said. We have an incredible church, and we want to share that joy

with everyone we can. Mark your calendars now and plan to be a part of all the fun at Faith

United’s Standing Room Only on November 11th!

Next potluck features meatballs, tailgate food The Huskers may not have a football game on

October 19th, but our Saturday potluck will feature

everyone’s favorite tailgate food. Join us for a

wonderful time of fellowship and sharing at the

Saturday Night Potluck. Everyone is welcome even if

you don’t usually attend Saturday night worship.

This month, meatballs, some different tailgate

goodies, drinks, and table service will be provided.

We encourage everyone to bring a tail-gate themed

side dish or dessert to share. You can join us for

worship at 6pm or just come for the meal at

approximately 6:45pm. It’s a great opportunity to

connect with one another in a smaller setting.

Fall Bazaar Oct. 26th

funds amazing ministry Fresh rolls, homemade pies, assorted baked goods, crafts, gift baskets

and more will be available during the Sew ‘N Sews fall bazaar. This year’s

event has been moved up to Saturday October 26th from 9am -1pm. Join us

to shop for some wonderful goodies and holiday gifts. The proceeds from this

event will go to support various mission projects and programs including

helping the group continue making and shipping prayer quilts and blankets to

those in our community and around the country.

In the last year the Sew ‘N Sews have contributed to the Parsonage project,

supported the Food Pantry, and provided money for the Gibbon Public School’s

discretionary fund and FBLA, just to name a few. Not to mention the incredible

number of quilts they have provided over the years. These ladies do amazing

work for our church and community. Let’s come support them as they support

others! Stop by and help this group to help others!

Sew ’N Sews still making and selling pies

The ladies have been busy continuing to make a variety of

pies this fall. Some varieties are already sold out for the year and

others, such as pumpkin and Pecan, are just around the corner.

But as much as we enjoy satisfying our sweet tooth with these

pies, it is just as sweet to know how the proceeds from these

pies touch lives. So far this year the ladies have given to the

school’s discretionary fund, helped give scholarships for kids to

attend summer camp, and helped make the youth mission trip a

reality, just to name a few. Buy a pie and help support these types of ministries in our church and

community. This year the varieties available will include: Apple, Cherry, Blueberry, Peach,

Rhubarb, Pumpkin and Pecan. Contact Bobbie Cline, Nancy Kollars or one of the other Sew ‘N

Sews ladies to get your order in.

Baked goods, crafts, baskets sought for bazaar The Sew ’N Sews are seeking donations for their fall bazaar. A variety

of baked goods such as breads, cookies, candies, muffins, cupcakes,

etc. are great ways to help. People are also encouraged to donate

homemade goods such as jams, jellies, and salsa which are always

great sellers. The group would also love to have any craft gift items

people may want to donate. People love to shop for these unique

creations! The group is also asking for people to take and fill a basket for

sale as well. Each fall the group challenges members to take a basket, fill it with themed items and

donate the finished basket back for sale at the fall bazaar. Baskets will be set out the beginning of

October and need to be returned by or before October 20th. The group will wrap them in plastic and

a bow. Thanks for considering how you can help!

Exchange Bank makes huge impact for pantry A HUGE thank you to the Gibbon Exchange

bank, their awesome employees and all those

who donated to their food drive last week. The

bank collected 1,200 pounds of food for the

Gibbon Free Pantry, and also won the

competition between all Exchange Banks. That

means these awesome efforts also earned an

incredible financial donation of $2,500 for the

local pantry as well. That can buy an estimated

10,000 pounds of food from the Food Bank! What

an incredible community we live in!

New “Meals with the Minister” program begins Sharing a meal together is one of the most incredible ways to create

relationships. Although Pastor Mike has been part of the church for years,

being a communing pastor has made it a challenge to interact outside of

“church” events. We’re hoping to change that.

This fall Pastor Mike and his family are starting a new program to host

meals at their home. It’s open to anyone in the church who would like to

come share a meal. Our hope is each evening of the program, there will be

4-6 adults and their kids who sign up to come have a meal and fellowship at

the parsonage from 6-8pm. Families can just sign up themselves, or even

better, pick another family you’d like to have join in the evening.

A signup sheet of available dates will be in the Fellowship Hall soon. Tentative dates for the rest

of the year are: Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Nov. 7, Nov. 21, Dec. 5, Dec. 12. If you have questions about the

program, please don’t hesitate to contact Pastor Mike anytime! We look forward to dining with

YOU!

Blessing of the parsonage service set for Oct. 20 The parsonage process has been such an incredible, and sometimes exhausting project for our

church. But what an incredible accomplishment! We know there were prayers going up for all those

involved in the process of building the home, but now that it’s complete,

we want to invite our whole church family to come be part of a

consecration or blessing service for the new parsonage. While a

service like this often happens before people move in, our timeline was

crunched this year. But we didn’t want to miss the chance for the

service, and thought it would also be another opportunity for people to

tour the home.

Join us on Sunday, October 20th at 5pm for a brief prayer service

and open house for anyone in the community. Come celebrate what

God has done through us and pray for the decades of ministry that can

be accomplished because of our work and investment.

Mark calendar for Free Pantry event surrounding Give

Where You Live The Gibbon Free Pantry will be part of the Give Where

You Live campaign for 2019 on December 5th. This

one-day community-wide fundraiser offers a chance for

different organizations and non-profits to showcase their

programs and secure online donations.

But the program, organized by the Kearney Area

Community Foundation, has become even bigger. In addition to the gifts from individuals, every

online gift qualifies our organization for a variety of

additional gifts such as matching donations,

random “golden ticket” winners and special “power

hour” winners every hour of the day. So every gift

also gives the Free Pantry a shot at additional

funding too! You can find out more details about

these additional ways to win from the Give Where

You Live website.

Last year we had some amazing support from the Give Where You Live campaign. We had 23

people make for a total of $1,440 given that day. We also won a $100 prize from the Kearney

Community Foundation for our Open House event. Our goal in 2019 is to top $1,750, enough to

buy 7,000 pounds of food from the Heartland Food Bank.

More details will be coming soon, but this year we will have another open house including

lunch. We’d love to have many people tour our facility. Since we opened our doors in January of

2018, more than 300 different families have used the service, and we have handed out an

estimated 40,000 pounds of food. Help support this incredible ministry through this unique

fundraising opportunity!

Fall Coat Drive underway again this year Faith United’s fall Coat Drive has begun. Each fall

our church family purchases new coats for children in

need. Tags are available by contacting Betty Jacques

(293-0114) for a coat size if you would like to

purchase a winter coat for the Head Start kids/

families. You can also donate funds and she will do

the shopping. Just put COAT DRIVE in the memo of

your check made out to the church.

Hats, gloves and scarves are also needed if you

would prefer to buy these items. All coats and other items must be returned by noon on Sunday

October 13th.

If you have gently used coats you’d like to donate, these can be used at the pantry and can be

dropped off under the food table in the Fellowship Hall.

People like you make all the difference. Thank

you so much. Thank you for the flood assistance

check. It will help with bills.

Thanks Again,

Marlyn McIntosh

Thank you so much for helping us with our flood

repairs. Your thoughtfulness has allowed us to

move forward without having to worry about

going into debt to fix our home, and we greatly

appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this

time.

Sincerely,

Gilles & Brooke Terzi

Thank you so much for the money that you gave

us for our flood recovery. We deeply appreciate

it. This has been a very hard time but you have

helped to make things better.

Sincerely,

Glenn & Nancy Kollars

My family and I deeply appreciate the help that

your church members provided in helping to

clean out my basement. It has helped to know

that you have been praying for my family during

this stressful time.

In Christ’s Love,

Faith Senff & Matisen

********************************************************

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my

heart for the beautiful lap quilt. It gives me great

comfort during this very stressful time in my life. I

will be using it daily and I appreciate all the

prayers that will be covering me.

Paula Conrad

Dale wants to thank you for the prayer quilt. He

covered up with it when he slept last night. Thank

you so much for thinking of him.

God Bless to all of you

Dale & Shirley Skow

What a generous gift from all of you who had a

part in making the lovely quilt you made for me to

enjoy while I battle my cancer surgeries. Your

prayers are helping me get through this and so is

my faith. Thank you so much.

Love and God’s Blessings

Marilyn Smyth

********************************************************

Volunteers

Needed!! It’s amazing how

cookies and a cup of coffee

can make connecting easier.

At Faith United we want

everyone who worships with us to feel welcome

and our snack time is one of the ways to do that.

We are working to fill our calendar with more

people who would help prepare and serve the

snack. Go together with another family or two

and sign up. Even helping just once a year

makes a difference. The signup sheet is in the

kitchen or call the church office.

Have you told someone today how special they are??

Faith United still helping flood victims Two devastating floods have made this year a

challenge for so many in our area. But it also provides

an opportunity for the church to push itself beyond our

comfort zone and “Put our Faith In Action” as our

mission statement says. Numerous people from this

congregation spent countless hours filling sandbags,

pumping out basements, and cleaning up after these storms. And there is still rebuilding to be

done.

Financially: Our church family had nearly $6,000 given through the church to help flood victims.

With these gifts we were not only able to help those from our church who were impacted, but

others in the community. Our Finance committee chose to write checks directly to 35 families who

sustained the most damage. The checks were not

huge, but a way to help. Some families chose not to

take those checks so that others who “needed it more”

could be helped with more. Now our focus shifts to

how we can help people with the reconstruction

process.

Serving: We are helping take requests from

families that would like assistance replacing insulation,

drywall, doors, trim, etc. in their homes. Our hope is

that with volunteers both from within our church family and the larger connectional church, we can

help families save money as they rebuild. If you would be interested in helping in this way, please

contact Pastor Mike. How much we can do will depend on how much help we have lined up. We

are all busy, but together we can accomplish so much more!

Survey important step in church growth How do we best track and serve nearly 400 people related to the ministries of our church? It’s

a challenge Faith United is trying to tackle. And a church-wide survey is the next step in helping us

continue to be healthy.

While our weekly worship attendance averages about 80 each

weekend, nearly 140 different people worship with us each

month. Add in those who may attend a bible study, youth group,

or other program as well, and our church serves an estimated

175 different people each month. But with nearly 400 associated

with the church (members, regular attenders, and kids not yet on

the “roles”) we want to discover how to better serve more people.

A quick 4 minute survey has been created to help us know our church family better. A paper

copy of the survey is in this month’s newsletter. The paper copy will also be inserted in the bulletin

for a couple weeks. The paper copies can be filled out and returned to the church office or put in

the offering plate during worship. We’ve also created an online survey sent out by email last week,

or a survey people can access from our Facebook page. Whatever way you decide to fill it out, we

encourage EVERYONE to take a few minutes to help us in this way. Answering these few simple

questions could make an incredible difference. Thanks in advance for helping us grow!