Special Sunday
Support United Methodist Student Day: Sunday, November 29
United Methodist Student Day invests in our students by raising money for scholarships that will offer young people greater financial freedom and equip them to follow their dreams. By supporting United Methodist Student Day through a special offering on November 29, your congregation will provide resources for students to reach the next level of their life by uniting faith with knowledge.
The scholarships provided because of United Methodist Student Day are the only chance that some young people will have to be able to attend school. Be generous in your giving because when we educate students, we make a difference in the world.
Download the UMC Student Day resource kit for pastors and church leaders.
Financial & Administrative Services
Review Monthly Remittance Statements
Please take the time to review your church remittance statement each month. This is the final quarter for 2020 and we want to ensure that all apportionment payments are included in the current year so that each church gets the benefit of having achieved 100% of its apportionment commitment. In keeping with the notice in The Conference Journal, the final payment of the 2020 apportionment year needs to be received at our lockbox on or before January 6, 2021. Checks received in our lockbox after January 6, 2021, regardless of the postmark date on the envelope, will be counted as having been received in 2021.
Missions
#GivingTuesday is December 1
On #Giving Tuesday join United Methodists across the denomination in supporting #GiveUMC by generously donating to an East Ohio Conference Advance project.
View East Ohio Conference Advance projects.
Donate by mailing a check made payable to East Ohio Conference UMC (with the fund # of the project written on the memo line) to East Ohio Conference, P.O. Box 76019, Cleveland Ohio 44101-4755.
You may also make a donation online.
3Cs and International Missions Update
Since launching 3Cs in 2007 we have deepened our scope and widened our reach as we journeyed to more areas and discovered new ways to partner. We celebrate the movement of missions rooted in relationships in East Ohio. The time has come to shift the focus to individual projects and conclude use of the 3Cs general fund number 9936.
Thank you to every church and individual who helped to transform lives in the mission field by raising $1 million over the past 13 years for 3Cs: Churches, Clinics, and Classrooms (Fund 9936). Some of the 3Cs mission dollars went to container shipments of supplies, construction, school fees, scholarships, teacher training, and sponsoring visitors from other areas to East Ohio. Many new ministries formed and covenant relationships with missionaries began with 3Cs. Moving forward we encourage individuals and local churches to partner in specific ways with specific ministries.
View East Ohio Conference Advance projects. If you don’t find the mission or missionary you’d like to support there, search the Global Ministries website or e-mail Melanie Thomas. As your church continues to partner with missions as God’s agents of transformation, please e-mail Rev. Kathy Dickriede, director of Missions & Community Engagement or Conference Global Ministries Secretary Kevin Schaner for ideas of ways to build these relationships. View upcoming mission journeys.
Dinner by Candlelight: Advent Devotion and Zoom Conversation
This five-week Zoom devotion will be led by the Rev. Kathy Dickriede, director of Missions & Community Engagement, and Conference Global Ministries Secretary Kevin Schaner author of the book Dinner by Candlelight: Comfort and Joy for Advent.
Conversations will be 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. on Sundays during Advent. Rekindle your anticipation of Christ’s birth with comforting conversations on these topics: Hope (Nov. 29), Love (Dec. 6), Joy (Dec. 13), Peace (Dec. 20), and Christmas (Dec. 27).
Register for the Zoom Advent conversations.
World AIDS Day Online Service – December 1
You are invited to join in a special service at 2:00 p.m. EDT on December 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day bringing together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and demonstrating international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The theme of the service will revolve around the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day, Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility. Bishop Julius Trimble, chair of the Global AIDS Committee, will deliver the message during the service, which will also feature a testimonial from William Brawner, who is living with HIV.
Join in the World AIDS Day Service.
Young People’s Ministries
Practically Honest Blog and Podcast
Those who live and work with young people should check out this great FREE resource. Check out the latest issue “Youth Ministry in a Pandemic,” which includes great ideas and resources for leaders. Coming this week will be “Youth Ministry Post-Pandemic, a discussion about what ministry could look like moving forward.
Disaster Response
This is Winter Safety Awareness Week
The East Ohio Disaster Response Committee wants to remind folks that the best way to respond to hazardous weather is advance preparation. As seasons change, this is a good time to do a few simple things that can make a big difference in coming months.
- Practice Fire Safety & Prevention: People will be indoors now more than ever with the colder temperatures and the continuing pandemic. So take action now to protect your home and family by having working smoke detectors in the home, conducting fire drills, change the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, have auxiliary heating sources serviced, and never leave cooking food unattended. Learn more.
- Prepare Your Home’s Exterior: Remove and cut away low-hanging and dead tree branches to prevent them falling on your home and clean your gutters to prevent snow and ice buildup. Learn more.
- Prepare Home & Vehicle Emergency Kits: Winter emergency kits should include flashlights, batteries, blankets, coats, hats, gloves, a battery-operated radio/weather radio, first-aid kit, cell phone and charger, and enough nonperishable food and water to sustain every household member for several days. Learn more.
Credit Union
Thanksgiving Day Closing
All offices of the Christian Family Credit Union will be closed for business on Thursday, November 26 in observance of Thanksgiving Day. Our North Canton office will be closed for business on Friday, November 27, as well. Members may also view share account balances, pay bills, and transfer funds anytime through the Christian Family Credit Union website or by using our mobile app.
Media Center
The Media Center has recently acquired the following resources:
- Saving Grace is a program to help people of faith create healthy relationships with money and possessions. Participants will move through topics as saving, earning, giving, spending, and debt, along with helpful strategies for achieving a sustainable financial life.
- Forgiving What You Can’t Forget shows that to find life-giving freedom, we have to let go of our bound-up resentment and resistance to forgiving people who’ve hurt us.
To reserve these or other resources, call the Media Center at (800) 831-3972 x139 or send an e-mail to sarnold@eocumc.com. Browse the resource catalog at www.rqmweb.com/eocumc.
Message in the Movies 
Misbehaviour
Misbehaviour gets off to an interesting start by casing Keira Knightley against type as Sally Alexander, a single mother and aspiring applicant to university, majoring in women’s studies. The interview clearly reveals the hurdles that she faces to be taken seriously. It’s 1970 and London is preparing to host the Miss World beauty pageant. They are recruiting women from other countries who will perpetuate feminine objectification – swimsuit competitions with just enough topical conversations to suggest that beauty might be more than skin deep. Why, they are even going to include two contestants from South Africa (one white and one Black representing “South Africa” and “Africa South”) to show their stance against apartheid!
Obituaries
Please pray for the families of:
- Robert H. Schwenk, retired Elder, died November 6.
View obituaries To submit the obituary of an EOC clergy, clergy spouse, or surviving spouse, family should contact Melissa McGee, executive secretary to the bishop’s office, by phone at (330) 499-3972 ext. 112 or via e-mail.
Classifieds
Details of listings may be found here.
Positions Available
- Organist/Piano Accompanist – Wedgewood UMC in Akron
- Building Supervisor – Thoburn UMC in St. Clairsville
Items Available/Wanted
- Allen Spinet Organ available for free
To submit a classified ad please e-mail swilliams@eocumc.com.
To Subscribe
To subscribe to E-News and all East Ohio Conference news updates, enter your email address in the “Follow News via Email” widget on the right sidebar. Information from this E-News may be copied and used in your local church. The next scheduled edition of the E-News is Monday, November 30, 2020.
Deadline for submission is Thursday, November 26. Send articles to swilliams@eocumc.com.
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