Church of the cross Issue 245

December 2017

Special Dates in December:

• Communion Sunday, Dec. 3 • Christmas Caroling, Dec.

10 • Route 456, Dec. 10@12:30 • 55 & Over @ Black Pearl

(4630 Heatherdowns) Dec. 20

• Christmas Musical, Dec. 17 • REFIT, Tuesdays(6:30) &

Saturdays (9:00) • Pantry Days, Dec.12 & 26

THE CROSS FIRE

“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World”

ON THE INSIDE 2 Pastor’s page 3 Advent activities 3 Christmas Caroling 4. Discipleship News 4 Crossover Youth 5 CrossKidz 6 Praises 6 Lead Team Notes 7 Finance, 7 Congregational Notes

Page 2 Issue 245

A N O T E F R O M T H E P A S T O R K E I T H

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In Ministry with you… Keith Luke, Lead Pastor keith@cotcumc.com Lisa Gleason, Administrative Assistant office@cotcumc.com Chuck Albright, Visitation Pastor chuckalbright@ymail.com Kristin Miklovic, Director of Children’s Discipleship kristinm@cotcumc.com Barb Maniak, Creative & Technical Coordinator bamaniak@cotcumc.com Lisa Wagoner, Connections Coordinator lisaw@cotcumc.com Debbie Corpe Director of Adult Discipleship corson.dj@gmail.com Scott Zaborowski Director of Student Ministries (Interim) scottz@cotcumc.com Rich Dubler Traditional/Blended Worship Director office@cotcumc.com Donna Myers, Keyboard Musician office@cotcumc.com Andrew Brammer Contemporary Worship Leader office@cotcumc.com Aaron Keaster Bell Choir Director office@cotcumc.com Joanne Born & Tita Wood Custodians

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That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethle-hem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.’”

Luke 2:8-12 New Living Translation

On that first Christmas night, as an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds to bring their message of great joy, the arrival of the expected Messiah. With the angel’s appear-ance, there was a high radiance of God that encapsulated the whole space. Like a great light that was shining in the darkness in such a way that that the shepherds we terrified until they heard the message of good news. On that night, the pitch darkness outside the small village of Bethlehem was pushed back by the light of the arrival of the Savior, Christ the Lord. However, it wasn’t just the darkness in that one place and one moment in the world. In the arrival of Jesus Christ into the world, a light shined into the darkness of the whole world throughout history. A light that through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection brings eternal hope, perfects love, overwhelms with joy and brings a deep and abiding peace. It is my prayer that in this Advent Season and Christmas that you might experience the light of Christ’s arrival bringing hope, love, joy, and peace into your life, your family and our church. I would also invite you to share the good news of Jesus’ light in your life and how you have been transformed by Christ with others in your life who do not know and have yet to experience the light of Christ in their lives. This is the perfect time of year to share your story and invite people to come to church with you. People are looking for hope, love, joy, and peace that they can only receive through Christ. Also, at this time of year people are always a bit more open to experiencing such opportunities. I hope that you have blessed Advent Season and Christmas celebration. Merry Christmas! Pastor Keith

Christmas Baskets for Pantry Clients—Donations Needed We will be assembling Christmas meal baskets for our pantry clients. Donations of non-perishable foods, canned vegetables, potatoes, rolls, or cash donations to purchase hams and turkeys are needed! Please bring your donations to church by Sunday, December 17. Thank you for blessing our pantry clients this Christmas season.

The Cross f i re Page 3

A D V E N T A C T I V I T I E S

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famcarwilcrabe JulSunday, December 3

First Sunday in Advent ; Communion Sunday Sunday, December 10 2nd Sunday in Advent Christmas Caroling led by the Youth 6:30 p.m. Caroling, Hot cocoa, crafts & cookies Sunday, December 17 Third Sunday in Advent Multi-Generational Christmas Musical 9:30 & 11:11 Worship Services … A Light Before Christmas by Connie Miller Pease produced by Special Arrangement by Christian Publishers Christmas Musical

Joe Born 12/1

Angie LaGreca 12/8

Larry Moore 12/9

Joanne Born 12/13

Kay Peterson 12/13

Ella Zaborowski 12/15

Ethel Wronkowicz 12/16

Marley Darrow 12/21

Paul Forquer 12/21

Richard Corron 12/27

Fred Schaefer 12/29

Don White 12/30

Zachariah Rietzke 12/31

Christmas Card Exchange Again this year we will offer a Christmas Card exchange. There is a box in the gathering area by the outer office for you to deposit your cards. Please don’t forget to put the First and Last Names on the envelope. The office volunteers will do the sorting. The cards will be available for pick up from Sunday, December 3 through Sunday, January 3. (This is a way to save money on mailing cards to all of your church friends.)

Christmas Caroling, December 10 The youth are hosting a church wide Caroling event on December 10th from 6-8:00 p.m. Meet in the gathering area! Everybody is welcome to come! We encourage you to dress the part…Reindeer head bands, Santa hats and ugly sweaters. We will be caroling around the church neighborhood from 6-7pm. We will return to the gathering area for cookies and hot cocoa. The youth will have 5 craft stations for people to enjoy and get

creative. Come make tags for your gifts, snowman craft and more. Please contact Julie Zaborowski if you have a craft you want to share and do during the caroling event. Donations of cookies needed for this event!

Advent Devotional Booklets are now available at the Adult Ministry Corner. Pick one up today!

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C R O S S O V E R Y O U T H

Creation Meeting:

No Creation meeting on December 25!! Join us Monday evening January 22 at 7 PM for Elephants in the Room! with Dr. Mark Harwood. Steve McConaughy

Coming in January!! New Study at 11:00 a.m.: The Life of Abraham. This 6-week study will be the first in a series of studies from LifeWay on the books of the Bible. Please join us as we go deeper in to God’s Work.

Crossover Youth December Schedule December 3 Regular youth group meeting

10 All Church Caroling, crafts, Hot Cocoa and cookies

17 Youth Christmas Party

24 Christmas Eve Service

31 Happy New Year! No Youth Group

Have you suffered a loss? A loved one, relationship, home, job …. Jennie Sparks would like to offer a small group on grief and loss in her home beginning after the first of the year. Come and find encouragement and hope as you share your loss with others. If you are interested please contact Debbie Corpe at corson.dj@gmail.com or the church office at 419-382-6722.

Sunday School- meets every Sunday 9:30-10:30am in the Zone. December 10th Youth led Christmas Caroling and crafts. Church wide caroling for the entire family led by the youth. After Christmas caroling through the neighborhood. we will come back for hot cocoa, cookies and crafts. Please bring in an unwrapped gift to be donated to toys for tots! Please contact Julie Zab-orowski for cookie donations. December 17- youth Christmas party in the Zone. Ugly sweater and cupcake war contest with prizes! Bring in a $5 white elephant gift. Party from 6-8pm Summer mission trip, Save the Date! June 15-22 Lincoln County, WV. We will be serving with Youth Works in Lincoln County. The trip will include white water rafting and horse-back riding. Please send in a $50 down payment by Dec 15th to hold your spot. At this time there are only 8 slots available.

D I S C I P L E S H I P N E W S

The Cross f i re Page 6

G O D ’ S A N W S E R S T O O U R P R A Y E R S

James 5:16 “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” RSV

Praises for God’s protection of daughter and husband’s home from horrible fires throughout their state.

Praises to God for birth of a healthy first grandson

Praises for sister’s improved health issues after some hospitalization.

Praises for safe 8 hour travel to a family wedding.

Praise God for the celebration of husband’s 88th birthday!

Praise neighbor is back to work after loss in this life.

Praise and thanksgiving for COTC members and friends who have worked in my home and yard.

Praises for grandson’s decision to pray after expressing previously he did not need God.

Members are praising God for recent fun and safety during vacation.

Praises to God for blessings, helping and encouragement for granddaughters.

Member and husband have accepted an offer on the selling of their home.

PTL for rich heritage we have at COTC which includes giving over $1,000,000 to missions near and far over the last almost 40 years.

Praise God for the 10,000 firefighters who helped in extinguishing recent California fires.

Praise that the last foot wound on husband’s foot has totally healed! The above praises/answers were taken from requests at the altar, from emails or Sunday connect cards.

Lead Team Notes - October 2017 The meeting was opened with a devotion from Mark 4:35-41, Christ in the Storm, and prayer from Pastor Keith. There was a discussion again about our Sunday morning schedule and how it reflects our mission statement: To Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. In addition the subordinate goals of enhancing our adult discipleship program, developing a greater sense of community within our congregation, and making efficient use of our resources for excellence in worship were discussed. A motion was passed unanimously to authorize a task force consisting of Pastor Keith, three members of Lead Team, members of staff at Pastor’s discretion, and members of the congregation at Pastor’s discretion. The task force will study and make recommendations for the improvement of Sunday morning worship and the continuing education experience, to be presented at the January 2018 Lead Team meeting.

Staff Parish Relations Committee made a motion, which was passed unanimously, that Pastor Keith’s Salary, ARP, Housing Allowance, and Housing Exclusion remain the same for 2018 as it was in 2017. Finance reported that we are watching actual income to expenses closely in order to be able to present a realistic and balanced budget at the November Lead Team meeting. Trustees reported that they will be meeting with the JDR engineering firm to discuss initial steps to proceed with the second part of the Sanctuary Upgrade Plan. Final payment was made to COTC from the insurance company for the previously done bathroom repairs. The electric sign cable was replaced and the sign is fixed. A report was given about the electrical supply to the garage and greenhouse. Pastor Keith reported on the upcoming Church Conference in November, Senior Pastor goals for 2018, the upcoming Triad of outreach

L E A D T E A M N O T E S — K E E P I N G Y O U U P D A T E D

events starting with the Harvest Festival November 12th, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas worship schedules. He also reported on the effectiveness of the Monthly Ministry report filled out by each staff member. There was additional general discussion about scheduling a Narcan training for staff and ushers, the Prayer walk guide provided by Pastor Keith, and the recent Wesleyan Covenant Association conference at COTC. Pastor Keith ended the meeting with prayer.

55 & Over Luncheon

The 55 & Over Luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, December 20 at 11:30 a.m. at Black Pearl , 4630 Heatherdowns) Sign up at the Adult Ministry Corner.

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F I N A N C E S A T A G L A N C E O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 & Y E A R T O D A T E

C O N G R E G A T I O N A L N O T E S

Issue 245

Crossfire Deadline

The deadline for the January edition of the Crossfire is December 15. Please submit articles via email at office@cotcumc.com or drop them off at the church office. Thank you for meeting this deadline.

Consider Online Giving Life is busy! And that means you may not be at church every Sunday. We hope you won’t forget Church of the Cross even if you are not here every Sunday.

Online giving is a great way to continue your financial support of the mission and ministry programs at COTC, even though you may not be able to be here every week for worship.

To donate electronically using your debit or credit card or checking account transfer, please visit our website at www.cotcumc.com and click on the link that says “give.”

Sunday, December 31

Worship Schedule: Worship at 8, 9:30

& 11:11 a.m.

Happy New Year!

Attention Shoebox Packers for Operation

Christmas Child:

Many thanks to all those who participated in the filling of 170 boxes! We have exceeded our goal thanks to many people who took part in this worthwhile children's ministry. A big thank you to Janice Huber for her outreach at Wildwood

Academy that helped us reach our goal collecting 54 boxes! The blessings for 170 children along with them learning how very much Jesus loves them are beyond measure. Thank you so much, Odella Leow and Judy Strole

For questions about your contributions please contact the Financial Secretary, Dick Coulter at rcoulter@cotcumc.com

Faith Promise 2018 Update

Thank you COTC for your response to God’s call with Faith Promise Giving. The total amount Promised for 2018 is $45,700! That is a 38% increase over 2017! God is so amazing and can do infinitely more than we ask or imagine! We are looking forward with great expectation to see how God will move in and through the fulfillment of providing what He has Promised!

Phone: 555-555-5555 Fax: 555-555-5555 Email: someone@example.com

Church of the Cross

We’re on the Web: Www.cotcumc.com

Church of the Cross, UM

1750 East gate Rd.

Toledo, OH 43614

Address Service Requested Prepared Especially For:

Sunday Worship 8:00 AM The Chapel

9:30 AM The Gathering 11:11 AM 11:11@the Cross

Community Food Pantry

Every 2nd & 4th Tuesday 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Community Meal - 4th Tuesday

Prayer Line Number#

419.382.6722 M-TH 8:30am-4:30pm

Editor: Lisa Gleason

Deadline for copy: 15th of each month.

1750 East gate Rd. Toledo, OH 43614

Church of the cross

Phone: 419-382-6722 Fax: 419-382-8712

Email: office@cotcumc.com

We’re on the Web! www.cotcumc.com