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Pastor's Letter                                                                                                       May/June 2007
Bread for the Journey

   






Spring When the cold temperatures stole the warm temperatures of spring for several days, I was concerned about the blooming plants. One flower I especially enjoy is "daffodils." But when I expressed my concern to someone, I learned something surprising. These particular flowers, native to Ohio, last longer in colder temperatures. I now had a reason to celebrate the temporary interruption.
What we see in life is not defined by what we expect, but rather our response and attitude. Of course, not all of the flowering plants weathered the cold spell without visible signs that hindered their awakening blooms. But most plants show a remarkable resilience. Some bushes in our yard I was sure were completely dead now have leaves that declare they are still vital and alive. I was thankful I did not get to my anticipated task of replacing them.
With the arrival of summer, new activities are here for us to enjoy. I encourage you to use this re-creation time to strengthen bonds with family and friends. But let's remember, our relationship to God and church depends on us sharing our time, talents and tithes (our financial gifts with God). God does not take a vacation.
Let's prove the anticipation of dropping summer church attendance wrong this year. Our resilience to be all God wants us to be at this time and place is defined by our decisions and actions. May your summer choices be a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over to God, your family, your church, and the world. 


Yours and God's
Your Interim Minister,
Pastor Ed


News from Lots of Tots

Thanks to all who helped make the Lots of Tots Appreciation Sunday such a great success.  Pastor Ed, Sarah , Gloria,, Linda, Jan, Rita, Lynn, Carol, Kim, Ahlene, Debi,, and probably a few more behind the scenes did a great job putting it all together. The poster with all the current preschool children is a beautiful and thoughtful remembrance of the day.  It was great to see so many past teachers and students and families in attendance.  The entire service focused around the scripture lessons of love and "bring the little children unto me." Mary, Beth, and Ellen, the current staff at the preschool were thrilled at the opportunity to be recognized by the church.  Columbia UCC is truly a church committed to serve the community by offering an outstanding preschool as part of its outreach program.
 This school year is rapidly drawing to a close.  Tuesday, May 22 is the last day and closing program for the Two-Day Classes and Wednesday, May 23rd is the closing program for the Pre-K classes.  Thanks to good support on our Flower Sale we will be having the preschool painted over the summer.  I am currently getting estimates and do not know the dates yet.  The eight-week summer program will be June 19th through August 9th on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.  To enroll a child in either summer or fall program call the preschool at 330-825-8447.
CHURCH CAMP
It's time to sign up for summer youth camp. This is a great opportunity for you to have a wonderful time and participate in Christian fellowship with other young people but time is running out. If you haven't signed up, contact the church office  as soon as possible. All costs will be paid by Columbia UCC and fundraising projects and guests of our campers will be paid for too!

Religious Arts Opportunity

Would you be willing to help out one or two Sundays a month? Children love arts & crafts!  If you love children, enjoy crafts and would like to be a part of the team that will lead our church children in arts & crafts during the summer, we need to hear from you! You may choose the projects or Christian Education will supply the curriculum for you. This is a great opportunity to get to know the children of our church family and let our regular teachers enjoy worship. For more information, please contact the church office.






FLEA MARKET-SATURDAY JUNE 23RD 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM

Have you searched the house for "stuff" you can donate to the flea market? It's only a couple of weeks away and this is a great chance to help Columbia and clean out the clutter! You may bring your contribution to church or if needed we will arrange for pick-up. Contact any member of the Christian Education committee, the church office.

Mother/Daughter Banquet

On Thursday, May 10th we had our annual Mother/Daughter Banquet sponsored by the Scrapbooking class. It all started with a covered dish dinner followed by a one woman show staring Carol K. as Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis. Everyone had a great time and you really thought the former first lady was here. Thanks again to all of the men who helped with the evening.

Hymn Sing-Sunday May 27th

We will be singing the first verse of your favorite songs, so pick out which songs you would like to sing on that day!


SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarship Applications  for fall 2007 need to be completed and returned to the church office no later than June 30, 2007



Easter Egg Hunt

Columbia sponsored their first Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31st at noon at the church.  Although it was a little chilly we had a wonderful turnout of approximately 70 children and their parents and grandparents from all over the Barberton area.  We separated the children into three age groups and took turns letting each group gather their eggs.  The church members supplied us with lots of their homemade cookies and we had punch and coffee.  We had plenty of toys to give away to the children who collected prize slips in their eggs.  It really was a fun filled event which we decided should be a yearly event. Thank you to everyone who helped make this church outreach a success.



Adopt A Soldier Program


We are excited to announce that we will once again adopt a soldier and his unit who are currently serving our country overseas.  Anyone who knows of a soldier who needs our support please contact the church office.  We support them through prayer, cards and care packages.  The items listed below are things that are allowed to be sent.  We ask that you pick up a few items occasionally and drop them off in a box labeled "Adopt a Soldier" in the Gathering room on Sunday mornings.


                                           ITEMS WE ARE ABLE TO SEND:

Baby Wipes                                                         Peanut Butter
Hand Sanitizer                                                     Word Puzzles
Magazines (your old magazines are okay)          Hard Candy
Powdered Mix Drinks                                         Disposable Camera's
Sun Tan Lotion (small)                                       Playing Cards
Lip Balm                                                             Paperback books
Mints                                                                   Gum                         
Small items in non breakable containers         
                                           

These items can be purchased at the Dollar Tree Stores or places like that. Let's do our part to support these brave men and women who are sacrificing their lives to protect our country and us.


Call the church office with any questions.




Ham Dinner Results from April 28th

A special thanks to all who helped make the dinner a great success. We took in $927.00 with a profit of $587.61. The proceeds will go to church camp

ACME Receipts

Thanks to everyone who brought in their receipts during this fund drive, we received a check for $186.07.

Unity Service

Sunday June 10th at 10:00 am at Lake Anna. Please come join us at the Lake. Pastor Ed will be participating in this service, join the community for this one of a kind service. The music for will be a mixture of string instruments. Remember to bring your own lawn chair and your church envelope (the money will be picked up and brought back to the church) Please note there will be NO service at Columbia that day. Hope to see you there!


Geraniums for the Church

We will begin planting flowers around the church very soon, if you have any extra geraniums you would like to donate, please bring them to the church by Sunday, May 27th.


Graduation Sunday

Sunday, June 3rd we will be recognizing our graduates. We need the names of your high school and college graduates from our immediate church family. Please call the church office at 33-825-9946 by Sunday May 27th and provide this information.

Sunday, May 27th-Pentecost Sunday

Don't forget to wear red today in honor of Pentecost.



WE'RE ON THE WEB!

We have a preliminary web site started for our church. Since it is still under construction, we only have one page, but please check back in the future.

You can visit us at: www.columbia-ucc.org


Keep In Contact

Please feel free to contact the church, Pastor Ed or the preschool at anytime using one of our e-mail addresses:

Columbia.church@sbcglobal.net

pastoredshriver@sbcglobal.net

lotsoftotspre@sbcglobal.net 











Please place June Food Donations of Instant Potatoes for BACM  and your large paper grocery bags in the basket in the Gathering Room.









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