Hello Church!

Two months in the books already.Where has the time gone? Ashley, Wesley(our kitten), and I are adjusting very wellto this beautiful community and are ex-cited for the Fall!

This summer we walked from Genesisthrough Revelation and I hope that wewere all able to take something new fromthe stories that were shared. As wewalked through the weeks it seemed tobring us to the same place each time...COMMUNITY. We are so blessed to bewhere we are, and God is truly doing re-markable things in these communities.The mission of the United MethodistChurch is to make disciples for the trans-formation of the world and if we believein that and adopt that as our mission wewill change lives in this area. But it doesn’tstop there! The gospel travels like a rippleon a lake and with each rescued heart theripple expands further and further. With

the power of the Holy Spirit we will reachthis community in ways they have neverseen before.

With each school year comes busierschedules and hopefully you were able tofind relaxation in the summer. As ourschedules speed up it becomes easy to getlost in the madness, but its in these mo-ments we can look to Jesus. Rememberthat Jesus lived a rather hectic life as well.But we see time and time again where hewithdrew to be with God, and never al-lowed the pressures of the world dictatethe pace at which He ministered. Hemodeled this “pace of grace” coined inAlan Falding’s book An Unhurried Life.

So take time to step back this monthif things are starting to speed up, and al-low God to steer the ship for a while.

Peace be with you.

Pastor Brandon Dunham

UMC MessengerG R O T O N / C O N D ES E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8

(Left Photo) Clayton RossMorehouse was born Au-gust 21st at 7 lbs 10 oz and19.75 inches long to Justin& Amanda. Joining sistersKaelee and Jaeden.

(Right Photo) BaptismBlessings to Ava & ZoeyStrom baptized on August5th. Parents are Nick &Jenna Strom.

Photo Right: Congratulations to Caro-line Graf & Matt C Richards, Sissetonon the birth of their son, Xavier, bornon August 22nd.

Photo Below: Vic John Fliehs, son ofAdrienne and Tigh, was baptized Satur-day, August 25 with family and friendspresent at the Groton UMC

Congratulations!P A G E 2

U M C M E S S E N G E R

CHURCH

INFORMATION

Pastor Brandon DunhamOffice Phone

605-397-8270Cell Phone

Pastor Emailpastorbrandon@nvc.net

Secretary Emailgrotonumc@nvc.net

websitegrotonumc.org

906 N 1st StGroton, SD 57445

Thank Youfor the frontentrancesidewalk in memory of JerryRix and in honor of the RixFamily

In a day when the fruits of creation are often exploited and so much chaos pervades the world inwhich we live, it is imperative for us to take a moment to pause and breathe in the same Ruach(Spirit of God) that was at work in the beginning of creation. God is still at work! Join us thismonth as we look at creation and the imagery it paints for us.

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 3

September Sermon Series

others, failure, financial insecurity, loneli-ness, insignificance, and aging.”

I am very excited to begin thisbook September 1st and I hope you joinme!

With a new venture as I find myself in, Ifind it acceptable to be seeking courage andhope. Adam Hamilton is a very successfulauthor as well as Senior Pastor of the UnitedMethodist Church of the Resurrection inLeawood Kansas. “Hamilton shows us how tountangle the knots we feel about disappointing

What is the Pastor Reading?

Tuesday 10 AM BibleStudy will start a new Study onSeptember 25th. We will be study-ing “Pray LikeJesus, Rediscov-ering the Lord’sPrayer” by DonUnderwood.

Men need encouragement, Godly wisdom and hope today more thanever. While the world tends to tell men to hide their emotions and acttough, God's Word is filled with men who passionately and whole-heartedly sought God with their heart, mind and soul! God has a specialcalling for men to be strong, courageous leaders, and His Scripture canprovide the inspiration you need to make daily steps towards your calling.

If you are interested in participating in a Men’s Study, talk to PastorBrandon and we will begin the first week of October. Dates and times ne-gotiable.

Men’s Bible Study

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 4

UMW Dakotas ConferenceAnnual Celebration and Meeting will beheld October 12-13 at the LegacyUMC in Bismark ND. Motel arrange-ments have been made. Please let Glo-ria Pharis know if you would like toattend

Groton UMW MeetingSeptember 20th

at 1:30 pm - Thursday

Program Chris Nyberg

Hostesses JoAnn Kruegerand Caralee Heitmann

Nominations Committee Meets toPrepare Slate of Officers

Continue Planning Date Book 2019 Bring World Thank Offering Boxes in

October

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 5

Every child deserves to have books and this month wewill be raising money for Groton Elementary to tryand achieve just that from September 9th - 23rd. Ourgoal is to put a book in each child’s hand on October1st we hope that you prayerfully consider helping us inthis mission. We will have a display in the back of thesanctuary for donations with a “Noisy Offering” onthe 23rd. If you have any questions contact PastorBrandon at the church!

September Fundraiser

Thank you so much to all of the volunteers whohelped make our Kid's Community Science Daysuccessful. An event like this takes a lot of volun-teers, and you are truly appreciated! Those as-sisting at Science experiment tables were DianneMorehouse, Lorrie Mitchell, Carna Atherton,Hattie Weismantel, Heather Nelson, Julie More-house, Lindsey Tietz, Jan Hoffman, KayLynn andEmily Overacker, Emma Schinkel, Karsyn Jangula,and Ashlyn Sperry. Jolene Townsend and JeanneWanous were in charge of the registration table.Pastor Brandon assisted us and was our photogra-pher. We are also thankful to those who donatedin any way. It was amazing how everyone camethrough on short notice to help us provide a funeducational morning for sixty two children fromour community. A BIG thank you to ValerieBaker for going above and beyond to help me setup the Science Day. She was also in charge of agroup of Science experiments the day of theevent. We are truly blessed to have you as part ofour church family. I appreciate it VERY much!

Thanks again! Kim Weber

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 6

Groton Science Day

Sep 19 Diann MorehouseJace Hofer

Sep 20 Marjory TownsendSep 22 Madison McNickleSep 23 Carolyn SnyderSep 24 Jesse Overacker

Turner WebbSep 25 Sabrina Padfield

Joey PadfieldSep 26 Alan Strom

Alejandra Heitmann

CondeSep 7 Richard WorlieSep 8 Eva LyrenSep 13 Shane BrucknerSep 29 Bud & Julie Bruckner

GrotonSep 2 Kylie HawkinsSep 6 Justin Olson

Perryn DobbinsLaurie & AM Mitchell

Sep 7 Alana WolkenSep 8 Laurel & Monte McNickleSep 9 Clint & Audrey JacobsonSep 10 Bryce HansonSep 11 Audrey JacobsonSep 12 Cliff Pray

Ryder DalySep 13 Richard Krueger

Karsten HinmanSep 14 Rick & Sarah HoferSep 15 Karen Rose

Mason MadsenSep 16 Camille SippelSep 17 Jackson Strom

Kyler Ell

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 7

Our Church Celebrations Conde MISSION

STATEMENT

“The Conde United

Methodist Church is

seeking to satisfy the

spiritual and physical

needs of all.”

Groton UMC Mission

Enriching Spiritual

LivesthroughCHRIST

through Christmas. The Fall Dinner was sched-uled for Nov. 4th.

The council is looking for a temporary replace-ment for the position of Financial Secretary cur-rently held by Myndi Kampa.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm.

Following the meeting the group toured theparsonage with Brandon. The front door has adistinct odor. It was decided by the Ad. Councilmembers present that a new door was needed.AM Mitchell and Brandon will look for a new one.

Chairman, Brad Morehouse, called the meet-ing to order at 7:00 pm. The following 7 peoplewere in attendance: Brad & Diann Morehouse,Richard Krueger, Anita Lowary, AM & LaurieMitchell, and Pastor Brandon. Pastor Brandonopened the meeting with a prayer.

The council will send thank you cards to KimWeber & Valerie Baker for the work they putinto the Children’s Science Fair as well as to AllenWalter for the work he did on the storage shed.

Richard Krueger & Anita Lowary will becomeco-signers on the conference Credit Union ac-count.

The total cost of replacing the front entrancesidewalk was $4,525.52. The bill will be paid withmemorial funds from Jerry Rix and Jerry’s family.

Pastor Brandon discussed the calendar

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 P A G E 8

Groton Ad Council - July

October ResponsibilitiesCheck Kitchen Supplies for the monthCheck & Clean Oven and Fridge as necessaryCoffee Hour workers (make coffee, providecookies, launder towels, and remove trash)2 Ushers for each SundayStraighten the Sanctuary PewsChange the banners as needed as per sched-ule in the back of committee bookMaintain the Altar Flower ArrangementsPotluck 2nd Sunday - give church secre-tary details for bulletinChange decorations on tables in fellow-ship hall with the seasons

Kelli & Lars HansonAnita & John LowaryJosh & Merrie AthertonMelissa & Neil Gilbert, BrooklynPernell Graf, Alex, Caroline, DylanCarol KnechtYvonne Lorenz, SageBrenda & Tony MadsenTim OlsonJohn PadfieldKevin & Kara Pharis, KaleRoger & Pam rixLynette & Leroy SeversonFrancine & Marc Sippel, Anthony

Honorary MembersDarlys Kampa

Groton Oct Family Committee

GrotonStewardship

Report July 2018

AverageWkly Giving

$2,023

Needed Wkly forChurch Mission

$2,347

Average WeeklyAttendance Sunday

71

Total Building FundDonationsfor Repairs

$55

Sept 5 Sunday School Teachers Meeting 6:45 pm

Sept 8 Groton UMW Rummage Sale - pg 4

Sept 9 Groton Rally Sunday with joint Worship Service - pg 5

Sept 9 Conde Worship with Groton at 11 am

Sept 12 Groton UMYF begins at 7 pm for grades 6-12

Sept 16 Groton Sunday School 10 am

Sept 16 Newsletter Items Due

Sept 19 Groton Ad Council 7 pm

Sept 20 Groton UMW 1:30 pm - pg 4

Sept 25 Groton 10 am Bible Study starting a new study - pg 3

Sept 26 Groton Confirmation begins 4:45 pm

Sept 30 Worship & Coffee at Nursing Home 3 pm

Our Church Happenings