Loving and Learning in Lodi December 1 2019

            I love the music of Advent and Christmas! I listen to it in my car, in church, at home and even when I ring bells for the Salvation Army at Miller’s! (I play it on my phone!) The music lifts my spirit and helps my heart get ready to celebrate Jesus’ birthday!

            Advent and Christmas have other songs as well…the songs of the angels, the ‘songs’ of Zechariah and Mary as they learn of the birth of their sons, John the Baptizer and Jesus. We’ll look at those in the weeks ahead in worship. We’ll begin this week with some of the poetry from the prophet Isaiah as we look with hope to the birth of a Savior.

                                                                          See you Sunday!                                                                                                                                             Pastor Diane

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Liturgist:      Colette Laughlin                                        Greeter/s: Larry & Connie  Cray

Hymns:         O Come, O Come, Emmanuel                      verses 1, 2 & 4                     #211

                     Jesus, Name Above All Names                                                               TFWS #2071

                     Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus                verses 1 & 2                       #196

                     O Come, All Ye Faithful                              verses 1, 3 & 6                     #234

Scripture                                                Isaiah 9:2 - 7                             Common English Bible

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.

On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.

You have made the nation great;

you have increased its joy.

They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest,

as those who divide plunder rejoice.

As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them,

the staff on their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.

Because every boot of the thundering warriors,

and every garment rolled in blood will be burned, fuel for the fire.

A child is born to us, a son is given to us,

and authority will be on his shoulders.

He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be vast authority and endless peace for David’s throne and for his kingdom,

establishing and sustaining it with justice and righteousness now and forever.

Leader:    The word of God for the people of God.                        People:    Thanks be to God.

THE CHURCH IN ACTION

Choir rehearses on Wednesday evening this week at 6:30pm. Join us!

Monthly Church Potluck is this Sunday after worship. Bring a dish to share and enjoy good food and great fellowship!!

Pick up your Advent Devotional at church this Sunday.

Saturday, Dec. 7 from 4pm-7pm. Winter Wonderland in Lodi.  We will partner with the Village of Lodi on Dec. 7 to Welcome Christmas to Lodi! We will have a live nativity, food, crafters/vendors, organ music, caroling, nativities set up around the sanctuary, and much more!   We need: plastic milk containers for luminaries.  Please let Dottie know if you have a nativity to share or would like to help in any way at mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.  Bring your nativities to the church on Friday, December 6^th from 5-6pm or on Saturday, December 7^th at 2pm. Or…contact Dottie for other arrangements. If you have a long table or card table, please bring it as well.

Tuesday, December 10 at 7pm ~ Blue Christmas Service…a time when we can, with others, acknowledge the “blue” feelings we have at Christmas time, the losses behind them, and offer them to God. In this service, we’ll share in some quiet music, hopeful words, light candles in memory of our loved ones, and find a place to simply be ourselves in the emotional struggles of the season.

You can place your order for poinsettias “In honor of” or “In Memory of” beginning this Sunday in Fellowship Hall. The cost is $10 each. Colette Laughlin will help you with your order. Proceeds will go towards her mission trip to Mexico, December 25, 2019 – January 1, 2020. Also, a form is included at the end of this email for you to use if you are unable to be in church. Make any checks payable to ‘Lodi UMC’ and note that it is for ‘poinsettias.’ You can mail your order form to the church. Poinsettias can be taken home Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas Giving Tree this year will focus on helping four families have an extra special Christmas this year. Take a tear off tag from the poster board in Fellowship Hall with an item to buy for a member of the four families we are helping celebrate Christmas. Wrap the present, put a tag on it telling us what is in the present and put them under the Christmas Tree in the Sanctuary by Sunday, December 15^th.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services ~ Tuesday, December 24^th at 7:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m.

Please save your plastic caps and lids for a “buddy bench” for Sylvia Anderson’s great nephew, Braden’s school.

Loving and Learning in Lodi November 24 2019

            When my daughter, Amanda, was a toddler, she learned to say ‘thank you.’ However, it sounded like key-oh-koo. If I handed her something to drink or gave her something to eat, her response was “key-oh-koo mommy”.

            This next week is our yearly “key-oh-koo” week…Thanksgiving week, when we remember and give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. We don’t have to think too long or too hard to find things to be thankful for. Most of us have enough food on our tables, a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. We have our families and our friends. We have our church home where we worship together and find loving encouragement as we seek to follow Jesus.

            We have the simple gifts of life that grace our days: blue skies, crisp fall air, the crunch of leaves under our feet, the warmth of turtle necks and sweaters. Our lives are rich and full.

            I invite us to enjoy this next week of ‘key-oh-koo’ days…days where we pause to remember how blessed we are…how much we’ve been given…how ‘rich’ we are…days when we whisper from deep in our hearts, “Key-oh-koo, God…key-oh-koo”.

                                                                          See you Sunday!                                                                                                                                             Pastor Diane

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Liturgist:      Larry Cray                                                 Greeter/s: Ron & Faye Stewart

Hymns:         We Gather Together                                  verses 1 – 3                         #131

                     Open Our Eyes Lord                                                                             TFWS #2086

                     Now Thank We All Our God                         verses 1 - 3                         #102

                     Praise to the Lord, the Almighty                  verses 1 – 5                         #139

Scripture                                      Matthew 6:25 - 34                                Common English Bible

           “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Leader:    The word of God for the people of God.                        People:    Thanks be to God.

THE CHURCH IN ACTION

Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7pm. Join us!

Our Men’s Group meets this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. All the men of the church are welcome to attend.

Saturday, Dec. 7 from 4pm-7pm. Winter Wonderland in Lodi.  We will partner with the Village of Lodi on Dec. 7 to Welcome Christmas to Lodi! We will have a live nativity, food, crafters/vendors, organ music, caroling, nativities set up around the sanctuary, and much more!    We need: your nativities to set up in the sanctuary and plastic milk containers for luminaries.  Please let Dottie know if you have a nativity to share or would like to help in any way at mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.

           Bring your nativities to the church on Friday, December 6^th from 5-6pm or on Saturday, December 7^th at 2pm. Or…contact Dottie for other arrangements.

Please save your plastic caps and lids for a “buddy bench” for Sylvia Anderson’s great nephew, Braden’s school.

Loving and Learning in Lodi November 17 2019

            Life is interesting…sometimes we have long stretches of the proverbial ‘smooth sailing’ when everything is going well. Other times we have long stretches of difficulties and challenges…of questioning and struggling. We may even feel like we’re being tossed about by capricious winds that will never stop!

            This Sunday, we’ll look at Jesus and Storms as we affirm our faith in Jesus, compassionately and lovingly, walking with us in the more difficult times of our lives.

                                                                          See you Sunday!                                                                                                                                             Pastor Diane

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Liturgist:      Jane Corbus                                               Greeter/s: Al & Martha Zona

Hymns:         There’s Within My Heart a Melody                verses 1, 3 & 4                     #380

                     Open Our Eyes Lord                                                                             TFWS #2086

                     Precious Lord, Take My Hand                      verses 1 & 2                        #474

                     It Is Well with My Soul                               verses 1 – 4                         #377

Scripture                                      Luke 8:22 - 25                                Common English Bible

           One day Jesus and his disciples boarded a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set sail.

           While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger. So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm.

           He said to his disciples, “Where is your faith?”

           Filled with awe and wonder, they said to each other, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

Leader:    The word of God for the people of God.                        People:    Thanks be to God.

THE CHURCH IN ACTION

Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7pm. Join us!

Saturday, Dec. 7 from 4pm-7pm. Winter Wonderland in Lodi.  We will partner with the Village of Lodi on Dec. 7 to Welcome Christmas to Lodi! We will  have a  live  nativity,  food,  crafters/vendors,  organ  music,  caroling, nativities set up around the sanctuary, and much more!    We need: your nativities to set up in the sanctuary and plastic milk containers for luminaries.  Please let Dottie know if you have a nativity to share or would like to help in any way at mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.

Please save your plastic caps and lids for a “buddy bench” for Sylvia Anderson’s great nephew, Braden’s school.

Loving and Learning in Lodi November 10 2019

            November is a month of remembering. Last Sunday, we remembered our ‘saints’…those people who have died or who are still living who taught us about Jesus and influenced our desire to be one of his disciples. Since Veterans Day is next Monday, we will take time to remember our veterans as we gather for worship on Sunday.

            Jesus had some encounters with Roman soldiers during his years of public ministry that are recorded in the Gospels. As we remember and thank our veterans, we’ll look at those encounters.

                                                                          See you Sunday!                                                                                                                                             Pastor Diane

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Liturgist:      Judy Foster                                                Greeter/s: Don & Patti Graves

Hymns:         God of the Ages                                         verses 1 – 4                         #698

                     Open Our Eyes Lord                                                                             TFWS #2086

                     Onward, Christian Soldiers                          verses 1, 3 & 5                     #575

                     Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus                      verses 1 – 3                         #514

Scripture                                      Luke 7:1 - 10                                Common English Bible

           After Jesus finished presenting all his words among the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion had a servant who was very important to him, but the servant was ill and about to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Jesus to ask him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly pleaded with Jesus. “He deserves to have you do this for him,” they said. “He loves our people and he built our synagogue for us.”

           Jesus went with them. He had almost reached the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Jesus, “Lord, don’t be bothered. I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. In fact, I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. I’m also a man appointed under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and the servant does it.”

           When Jesus heard these words, he was impressed with the centurion. He turned to the crowd following him and said, “I tell you, even in Israel I haven’t found faith like this.” When the centurion’s friends returned to his house, they found the servant restored to health.

Leader:    The word of God for the people of God.                        People:    Thanks be to God.

THE CHURCH IN ACTION

Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7pm. Join us!

The United Methodist Women meet this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. All women of the church are welcome to attend.

Trustees meet after worship this Sunday.

We need your votes! We will have the entries for the cookbook cover displayed on Sunday in fellowship hall.  Please cast your vote for your favorite!           P.S.  We have over 250 recipes to put into the cookbook!

Celebrate 100! We are off and running! The tuck pointing is complete. The restoration wash is complete. (And doesn’t our old building look wonderful?) The replacement of the rusted lintels is complete. (Final inspection was done 11/4 and passed with flying colors.)

           This week will see the old window by crumbling stairs bricked in, and glass blocking initiated.  You may see tarps around window areas. Not to fear. That is to protect the work from the elements and allow the brick masons to continue working.  This is so exciting, and we’re blessed! God is good!

Celebrate 100! Capital Campaign:  We have reached the Celebrate 100! goal. If you haven’t given/pledged yet and still want to, please do. The Trustees have several other capital projects that they could tackle with the additional pledges and gifts. As before, pledge cards can be turned in on Sundays in the offering plate. Thank you for this overwhelming response!!

Saturday, Dec. 7 from 4pm-7pm Winter Wonderland in Lodi:  We will partner with the Village of Lodi on Dec. 7 to Welcome Christmas to Lodi! We will have a live nativity, food, crafters/vendors, organ music, caroling, nativities set up around the sanctuary, and much more! We need for you to tell your family and friends to come and celebrate the coming of the Christ child! We need: your nativities to set up in the sanctuary, plastic milk containers (to make luminaries out of) and of course YOU! Any questions - contact Dottie at mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.

Seville United Methodist Church, 74 W. Main St. in Seville: Bazaar on Friday, November 8 at 4pm to Saturday, November 9 at 12noon.  Turkey Dinner on Friday 5-6:30 pm. Adults/$11, Children 6-11/$5, Children under 6/free.  Pancake Breakfast on Saturday 7:30-11am. Adult/$6, Children 6-11/$3, Children under 6/free.

Loving and Learning in Lodi November 3 2019

            I love hymns…they help me express some of my deepest feelings. This week, a line from Come, Ye Disconsolate by Thomas Moore, 1816, keeps running through my head: “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” As we look at “Jesus and Tears” in Sunday’s worship, we’ll see times when Jesus was overcome with sadness and sorrow…a comfort to know that he, too, experienced and therefore understands my…our sadness and sorrows. He knew heaven’s healing love…may we experience it, too.

                                                                          See you Sunday!                                                                                                                                             Pastor Diane

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Liturgist:      Bob Wooley                                               Greeter/s: Lil Tozser

Hymns:         O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing              verses 1 – 3 & 5                   #57

                     Open Our Eyes Lord                                                                             TFWS #2086

                     Be Still, My Soul                                         verses 1 & 3                        #534

                     Hymn of Promise                                       verses 1 – 3                         #707

Contact Information for Pastor Diane: Phone/Text:  719-648-9065 ~ Email:  dianebell7@msn.com ~

118 Evergreen Dr., Lodi, OH 44254

Scripture                                      Luke 19:41 - 44                                Common English Bible

           As Jesus came to the city and observed it, he wept over it. He said, “If only you knew on this of all days the things that lead to peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. The time will come when your enemies will build fortifications around you, encircle you, and attack you from all sides. They will crush you completely, you and the people within you. They won’t leave one stone on top of another within you, because you didn’t recognize the time of your gracious visit from God.”

Leader:    The word of God for the people of God.                        People:    Thanks be to God.

THE CHURCH IN ACTION

Choir rehearses on Wednesday this week at 7:00 p.m. Join us!

Our Yearly Church Conference has been moved to Thursday, October 31^st at Lafayette United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Church Potluck Sunday after worship. Bring a dish to share, stay and enjoy wonderful food and fellowship!

Celebrate 100! Capital Campaign:  Update from this Sunday:  5 new pledges of $3750 for a total of 38 pledges of $86,820. We had $26,277. So, we have a grand total of $113,097 towards the $100,000!! We have reached the Celebrate 100! goal. If you haven’t given/pledged yet and still want to, please do. The Trustees have several other capital projects that they could tackle with the additional pledges and gifts. As before, pledge cards can be turned in on Sundays in the offering plate. Thank you for this overwhelming response!!

The Trustees send a heartfelt thank you to the congregation for your generosity toward the Celebrate 100! Capital Fund. We are overwhelmed and humbled by your gifts, your faithfulness, and your trust in us as these repairs and improvements move forward.  We are excited to see the restoration of our lovely building! When the scheduled work is completed, we will then take a serious look at repairing the crumbling steps on the east side and adding parking spaces near the ramp—additional projects that were mentioned in all three informational meetings. God is good!

Lodi United Methodist Church Cookbook: Time to turn in your recipes for the Church Cookbook!! Be sure to include the following: Name of the recipe, your name, the ingredients and the directions for making the recipe.   PLEASE double check your ingredients and amounts before you submit them. Give your recipes to Dottie, put them in her office, in the offering, mail them or e-mail them to mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.

Seville United Methodist Church, 74 W. Main St. in Seville: Bazaar on Friday, November 8 at 4pm to Saturday, November 9 at 12noon.  Turkey Dinner on Friday 5-6:30 pm. Adults/$11, Children 6-11/$5,  Children under 6/free.  Pancake Breakfast on Saturday 7:30-11am. Adult/$6, Children 6-11/$3, Children under 6/free.

Saturday, Dec. 7 4pm-7pm  Winter Wonderland in Lodi  We will partner with the Village of Lodi on Dec. 7 to Welcome Christmas to Lodi! We will have a live nativity, food, crafters/vendors, organ music, caroling, nativities set up around the sanctuary, and much more! We need for you to tell your family and friends to come and celebrate the coming of the Christ child! We are in need of: your nativities to set up in the sanctuary,     plastic milk containers (to make luminaries out of) and of course YOU! Any questions - contact Dottie at mywifedot@aol.com or lodiumcsec.dottie@gmail.com.