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SEVERNA PARK
United Methodist
Church
HEADLINES
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Coming Events
On July 19, during
each service, we will finish our journey
with a salute to everything that makes SPUMC
the fantastic church that it is today.
Saturday, September 26, 50th Anniversary
Dinner Party in the Fellowship Hall
On Sunday,
September 27 after the 9:30
service, we conclude with a cake and punch
reception.
After
the 11:00 service, a Celebration Picnic will
be held here at the Church.
Again, more information to come.
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Looking Back
Over
the Years
In Videos & Slide
Shows
 Commemorative
Ornament Fundraiser
The ornament is was designed to replicate the
original sanctuary and can be personalized with your
family name or favorite verse over the door. The
ornaments are 3D Printed on a high resolution
printer and then plated with copper and nickel.
Because the ornaments have been donated, 100% of all
the money raised will be used to help defray the
cost of the Jubilee celebration.
You can purchase ornaments by mailing in
this
order form. Order forms are also
available at the welcome desk.
We plan to begin distributing the
ornaments at the Celebration Dinner in September.
Fun Fact & Interrestig
Ancedotes About SPUMC
Do you have a fun fact
or interesting anecdote about Severna Park
UMC from anytime in the past 50 years? Let
us know! Write it down and drop it in the
basket at the Welcome Desk, or email to
Stories@SevernaParkumc.org.
Reverend Wesley
Dodge once joked during his sermon:
''I don’t
mind you checking your watch during my
sermon, but please don’t take it off and
shake it to see if it still works!” ... Ray Guhse
Did you know that the tiny kitchen
next to the choir room was often used to
prepare dinners for many activities. Through
fundraising, the United Methodist Women
group raised $20,000 to buy the equipment
for our existing kitchen! ... Lynn Webber
Did you know that Severna Park UMC
used to have a swimming pool? We once used a
children’s pool in the steeple to catch rain
water when there was a leak. ... Carl Seaman
Another swimming pool fun fact: a
kiddie pool was used in the courtyard when a
mother duck hatched her babies! We provided
the pool so the ducklings could swim. The
difficulty came when it was time for the
mama to get the ducklings out of the
courtyard. They couldn’t fly yet, so we
eventually provided a ramp for them to climb
up and out. –Lynn Webber
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INTRODUCING CLUB
1965
By Rev. Ron
 As
part of our ongoing “Big 5-0” celebration marking
half a century as a church, I have found myself
scouring lots of historical documents that tell the
story of our early days as a congregation. I
continue to be amazed—and humbled—by the boldness
and deep faith of our early leaders and members who
dreamed of and then helped to create a faithful
Methodist (there was no “United” in our
denominational name yet back in 1965) worshiping,
witnessing, serving, and loving presence in Severna
Park.
On the afternoon of July
4, 1965, Dr. Edgar Becket, the veteran pastor
appointed to form this new congregation, met with a
group of 12 people on the porch of the building that
had been purchased by the Baltimore Conference Board
of Missions on the corner of Benfield and Holland
Roads. A month later they held their first worship
service there on August 8 with 94 people in
attendance. And by the middle of September, they had
already started a second worship
service and organized youth and women’s groups.
Dr. Beckett remembers that
in November they “did the daring thing and organized
a Building Committee just a little after three
months after we had our first meeting in the church.
I can’t begin to put into the words the courage of
that little group, with almost no money, undertaking
a building of nearly half a million dollars.”
As we move toward
our 50th Anniversary celebration and come to the end
of our capital campaign, the church leaders
invite you to honor the bold daring legacy of our
founders by joining Club 1965. Our
2013-2015 campaign was launched with three goals:
HVAC replacement, mortgage reduction, and growing
the Endowment Fund. We have already made great
progress!
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HVAC phases I, IA, and II are complete. Phase III is
underway and will be completed this summer.
• Church and parsonage mortgages have been
reduced 26% (from over $1 million to around $700K)
—assisted by individual designated giving
• Capital Reserve Fund (part of the
Endowment Fund) has grown 8%
.gif) Our
goal is to be able to pay off the remaining balance
of the parsonage loan ($135,000) by the Anniversary
celebration weekend of September 26-27 and to make a
significant dent in the church mortgage ($570,000)
over the next 18 months. The pay down on debt will
free up significant funds for mission and ministry.
Right now our yearly combined mortgage payments
total $150,000.
That’s where Club 1965
comes in and here’s how you can join:
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If you are new to the congregation in the last
couple of years or weren’t in a financial position
to support the campaign when it was launched you can
make a new pledge payable over the next 1-2 years.
• If you have already
been giving to the capital campaign, we urge you to
complete your pledge by the end of the year (or
better yet, by our big celebration on the last
weekend in September). Many, many thanks to those
who have already paid their pledges in full – that
automatically puts you in Club 1965!
• Commit to make a one-time
gift of $1965.
• Commit to make a
weekly or monthly gift of $19.65 over the next year.
• Join other church
leaders in extending your current pledge for an
additional year.
• Make a cash or stock
donation in any amount to support the campaign.
I hope you will join us in
honoring the legacy of our faithful founders as we
keep their vision for vital ministry alive in
Severna Park in our own time. We have a lot to
celebrate – then and now! |
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Marlena Summers
and Alexis Marsalek
choose Heaven's Kitchen as
the venue
for their Silver Award Project
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During this past
year, two Girl Scouts - Marlena Summers and
Alexis Marsalek - choose Heaven's Kitchen as the
venue for their Silver Award Project. Marlena
and Alexis created a table just for the children
who come with their families to Heaven's Kitchen
for a hot meal and fellowship. Marlena and
Alexis brought in crafts, books, markers and
paper. They sat with the children, reading
stories and helping them create pictures and
crafts. They developed relationships with some
of the kids who are regular attendees. Even more
so, Marlena and Alexis showed their compassion
for families who are struggling by offering the
kids their time and attention.
Marlena and Alexis
have completed the project but are hopeful it
will continue. To that end, they have created a
bin of supplies that other families, Scout
troops, Sunday school classes or individuals can
bring to Heaven's Kitchen so the Kids' Table can
keep going. Brochures with detailed information
and other ways you can help are available in the
Missions Corner in Fellowship Hall. Who knows,
maybe this is where God
is calling you!
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WINDOW REPLACEMENT
CONTINUES
Ever wonder just how many
exterior windows we have around the church? There
are 2 humongous windows in the Sanctuary and 77
regular type windows. Phase 5 of our Exterior
Windows Replacement Project started on June 15th and
if the weather cooperates, will be completed on June
19th. This huge project started in 2010 and finishes
with the completion of Phase 5.
These windows have UV
protection, are double paned and filled with Argon
gas, which is fantastic for energy conservation and
greatly reduces glare. Also, the surrounding
exterior trim of each window has been replaced with
No Rot material, so no wood rot to worry about and
no painting required! Thanks for your generous
support to see this project through!
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Lay Leadership Development
The vitality of our
church, and the Church as a whole, depends upon the
faith, abilities and actions of all who work
together for the glory of God. To
remain a vibrant church we need volunteers to step
forward and serve on church committees, and we
invite you to join our leadership team.
Our church committees
partner closely with our clergy and administrative
team, working together to promote the SPUMC mission.
As we follow Jesus we are called to grow
spiritually through various means of grace, one of
which is acts of service. Regardless of your
leadership or technical experience, your voice is
needed as we join together to meet our current and
future challenges.
As we prepare for our
Charge Conference (October 28, 2015), and the start
of a new year, we will be looking to add new
members to the Trustees, Finance and Staff Parish.
These three committees are very involved with our
building, financial, and human resource needs. You
don’t need to be an engineer, CPA, or HR Manager to
serve on these committees . Information about each
committee can be found on our website under “Committees
& Leaders” in the “About Us” section on the Main
Menu.
Please take a moment to
investigate what each committee does and pray about
how you will serve as part of our leadership team.
Please contact
Lynnette Cloughley or
Todd
Popham if you have questions or are
interested in joining a committee. We also
plan to host a SPUMC Leadership Opportunities
session this fall where you can ask questions of
church leaders and committee members.
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BOB GEISSLER
SOON TO RETIRE AFTER NEARLY A DECADE AS
CHURCH COUNCIL'S CHAIRMAN OF COMMUNICATIONS
 Have
you ever visited the SPUMC website, read an issue of
the Octagon newsletter, opened the eNewsletter, or
followed along from the screens in worship? Or
maybe you saw one of the many ads for our church in
the media. If so, then you’ve been touched by Bob
Geissler’s ministry at SPUMC.
Nearly 10 years ago Bob was
invited to a Communications meeting. He thought he
would simply attend, offer a ministry of presence
and listen for where he might be of service. Bob
left that meeting being tasked with designing and
launching the new SPUMC website, a job which he
would faithfully live out over the next decade and
which would morph into becoming the chair of all
Communications at SPUMC.
After many faithful years
of service Bob will retire from his volunteer
position at the church as Ryan (our new
Communications Director) is ready to assume all the
responsibilities.
Bob will remain on the Church Council as a “Member At Large.”
Instead of spending
countless hours behind a computer screen updating
and refining our online presence and publications
Bob will now have more time to sail, enjoy his
family and discern what God is calling him to next!
His dedication to this role has greatly impacted our
church and has brought many of us into the doors of
SPUMC.
We are also grateful for
Katherine Geissler’s faithful support of Bob in this
all-consuming role. If you see Bob and Katherine
please offer them a warm word of thanks for all of
their years of faithful service!
Grace and Peace, Rev.
Nicole
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EXELON CORPORATIOIN GIVES
$5000 GRANT TO THE ARUNDEL HOUSE OF HOPE
ON
BEHALF OF GENE CUZZART
(From Arundel House of Hope Newsletter)
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 THANK
YOU to one of our dedicated Winter
Relief volunteers, Gene "Cuzz" Cuzzart
and Exelon Corporation for our recent
grant of $5,000. The Exelon Energy for
the Community Volunteer Awards program
recognizes outstanding employee
volunteers by providing a cash grant to
the community organizations they serve.
The awards are open to all employees who
have logged at least 50 volunteer hours
on the company website. Gene is a member
of Severna Park United Methodist Church
and serves as a volunteer during Winter
Relief primarily as an overnight
chaperone. Gene requests vacation time
every year during his church's hosting
week so he can be available to help our
clients by providing medications,
transportation, conversation and to help
them feel safe and welcomed. It is
volunteers like Gene that make Arundel
House of Hope able to thrive and provide
the necessary services, shelter and
housing to our clients experiencing
homelessness in our county. Thanks
again! We appreciate your support!
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Volunteers in Mission (VIM)
planning FALL trip
to
Mission Central, Mechanicsburg, PA
We will be “Connecting
God’s Resources with Human Need“ by preparing
disaster relief kits in the United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR) warehouse in
Mechanicsburg, PA, October 8 - 10. These kits will be sent
around the world in response to disasters when God’s
people are called upon to serve those in need.
This is service that can be done by all skill
levels. In addition, if you can only commit to
a day or two, the site is close enough that you can
“come & go”, staying for just a few days as your
schedule allows (if you can provide your own
transportation). Take a look at
www.missioncentral.org
to get a better idea of what we will be doing!
We will staying at the
Waugh-Wilson Retreat Center in Mechanicsburg, PA. The facility includes five bedrooms, three full
baths, a full kitchen, and large gathering spaces.
We plan to arrive on Monday afternoon so that we can
work at Mission Central starting on Tuesday morning
through Friday afternoon. Take a look at
www.silverspring.org
for a look at our accommodations.
The cost to participate
in this mission opportunity is minimal…about
$10/day/person to help cover expenses. United
Methodist VIM policies require that trip team
members be at least 16 years of age and team members
under 18 years must be accompanied by a parent.
If you are interested in participating in either the
July or October trip, or need additional
information, please contact
Sue
Gerberich .
Only the first twelve people can be guaranteed a
spot on each trip.
Mission Central has
hosted thousands of volunteers who have experience
being "the hands and feet of God" in service.
Working with others, SPUMC’s VIM team will help to
send supplies to the areas of the world where the
needs are greatest. Please plan on joining us!
To sign up or for more information, contact
Sue
Gerberich.
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Children at
Severna Park UMC are always welcomed in
worship, but this summer we will be
mindfully including children in our worship
services.
June 7
through September 6,
children prekindergarten and older will
begin worship with the rest of God’s family
through song, prayer, giving of gifts, and
the proclamation of the Word.
Children
are predisposed to soak in the wonder of
worship.
They
eagerly partake in Holy Communion, Jesus’
great love feast.
They
delight in the music, rely fully on God
through prayer, take seriously our call to
give to God, and passionately listen to the
stories of God.
Children belong
to God’s family and it is with great
excitement that they will learn about the
act of worship by participating in worship
with you.
We are
aware that children bring a certain joyful
noise and movement to worship.
It is our
hope that you embrace this joy as you
worship.
In the
gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus
rebukes the disciples as they try to keep
children from bothering him.
Jesus
embraces their joyfulness, their dependency,
their curiosity.
Jesus
calls them to him, hugs and blesses them.
He then
calls us to be like children.
So this
summer we will embrace our childlike joy,
dependency, and curiosity in worship.
Each week our
services will focus on children in scripture
or prominent Sunday school stories.
Some of
these traditional stories you may not have
heard for years.
Cribbery
baby care will be provided at 8:00, 9:30,
and 11:00 as usual.
Toddler
and young preschool Sunday School will be
the full worship hour at 9:30 and 11:00 in
room 112.
Older
preschool and elementary children will begin
in worship and for the sermon move to room
302 to imaginatively explore the scriptures
with Legos.
On
communion Sunday children will remain in the
service for the full hour. The children’s
wing will be under construction all summer
due to HVAC renovations.
As children learn
about what it means to worship in the
sanctuary, we hope that you will be
gracious.
Just as
children learn to sit at a dinner table and
use proper manners by actually eating dinner
with their families regularly, they learn to
worship.
Becoming a
worshipful person takes practice.
We will be
offering tips and suggestions throughout the
summer so worship is more than coloring on
their bulletin and counting window panes,,
but praising God.
We hope by
worshiping as God’s family we will be
building faith brick by brick.
See the ABC's of Children in Worship
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SPUMC SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
Come Out and cheer our
team on.
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This is an
interdenominational faith league with two purposes;
to have fun and fellowship. If any individual thinks
that they are playing for any other reason, they
should not be playing in this league. It is okay to
have disagreements, but they should be discussed in
a respectful like manner. If any individual thinks
they will get upset if the umpire makes a bad call
(even if it is a really bad call), they should not
be playing in this league. If any individual thinks
they are playing to win at any cost, they should not
be playing in this league. If any individual thinks
they need to play aggressively against unskilled
players they should not be playing in this league.
If any individual thinks they need to use foul
language to express their emotions in front of or to
any other players (opponents or teammates), they
should not be playing in this league. Again, this is
an interdenominational faith league with two
purposes; to have fun and fellowship. For more
information contact
Kevin.
SPUMC Softball
Schedule 2015
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Download your copy of the schedule and game
rules
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SPUMC Nursery School
Learning through Fun, Friendship, and Love
Have you enrolled your
3- or 4-year-old in preschool for this fall? Now's the time! SPUMC's Nursery School is accepting registration for the 2015-2016
school
year, which begins on September 8th. We
offer half-day classes for 3-year-olds (2 days per
week) and for 4-year-olds (3 or 5 days per week).
Our program has been recognized for excellence, and
our dedicated staff and small class sizes (6:1
teacher/student ratio) provide an enriching,
nurturing environment for children to develop
spiritually, academically, and socially. Email the
Director, Heidi
Taflan, or call her, 410-987-8339 to inquire
about enrolling your child.
MORE ABOUT SPUMC NURSERY SCHOOL
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2015 VIM COSTA
RICA TRIP
SPUMC Volunteers in
Mission is planning a trip to Costa Rica the week of August 8th through
15th. We will be working with Wil and Yolanda Bailey at Costa Rica
Mission Projects where we have served on three other trips. You can
check out their website at costaricamissionprojects.com .
They have an excellent construction oriented program in the southern
part of the country and they have always provided us with plenty of good
work and fellowship with the communities in which we serve.
Although August may be our hottest month in
Maryland it is actually quite comfortable when compared to dryer months
in Costa Rica. It is the rainy season which means that they get a
cooling rain shower and a siesta after lunch every day - and then back
to work. It is usually sunny the rest of the time.
If you are
interested in joining us on this trip please email
Mel
Merritt. VIM trip first
timers are free, returnees only pay about $300. But you are expected to
help with our fundraisers such as brunches and the Garage Sale.
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Video Courtesy of Wil Bailey
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Young Adult Study
Have you ever heard
someone say “Everything happens for a reason” or
“God helps those who help themselves” or “God will
never give us more than we can handle?” Are these
statements Christian and are they even Biblical?
Join the Young Adult Group (YAG) during the month of
May as we explore these common phrases, how they
inform or faith and their Biblical or not so
Biblical basis. We will gather on Wednesday nights
(May 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th) from 6:30-7:30 in the
SPUMC Parlor. Childcare is provided. If you want
to know more email
Rev. Nicole.
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8:15 AM Adult
Bible Study
CLASS
NOW STUDYING
"SEARCH THE
SCRIPTURES"
Join anytime.
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Erica's ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR
CHILDREN'S & Family Activities
Lego Creations - Check out
the Lego creations of the Joseph story from last Sunday in Fellowship
Hall. The Sunday School kids did a great job.
VBS Training - VBS
Volunteers who have not attended training yet, must attend training on
July 9th at 1:00 or meet with Erica individually.
Moms Connect is a
group for all moms. We gather the
first and third Thursday of the month in the church
parlor at 6:30. Childcare is provided.
To get connected to the group contact
Erica.
7/2 – No Meeting – Summer Break
7/16 – Family
Mealtimes
8/6 – Confronting Bullies
8/20 –
Overwhelmed by Life
Family Ministry Flyer:
See the
latest Family Ministry Flyer here
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SUBMITTING ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATIONs
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How to submit articles: |
Submit articles electronically by email to
Publications@SevernaParkUMC.org.
This single email address reaches everyone
involved in all of our publications. Attachments in MS Word, Publisher or PDF formats are acceptable.
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Who should submit
Articles? |
Each SPUMC
Committee or activity leader is required to
have a Publications Coordinator (PC). The
PC's job is to make sure the information is
complete, accurate and up-to-date.
Anyone can submit
articles of a general nature and about how
God has worked in their life.
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Content and size: |
articles should
relate to the spiritual, outreach,
missions,and activities of SevernaPark
United Methodist Church or those in which
our church participates. Photographs are
welcomed. articles may be edited to fit
available space. articles without
originators name and contact information
will not be published.
There is no limit
to the size of the article for the website.
Articles for the Octagon should fit on one
page. Articles for the eNewsletter and
Sunday Insert should be short and concise.
If your article is lenghly, we encourage you
to submit two articles (in the same email).
A short version for the eNewsletter and
Sunday Insert and a more detailed one for
the Octagon and website.
Attachments such as
lists and flyers can be published on the
website.
See below for
room/equipment scheduling.
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Deadline for submission: |
Website:
Articles are published as received. There is
no deadline
Octagon:
The deadline for the next issue is printed
on the second page of the
Octagon.
eNewsletter:
4PM Wednesday of each week. During the
summer months the eNewsletter is published
every other week.
Sunday
Insert: Friday of the week before
the Sunday publication.
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Room/Equipment Scheduling: |
The use of SPUMC
rooms and equipment must be scheduled and
approved by the
SPUMC
Facility Manager (Dave McKinney)
prior to submission of the article.
More about
room/equipment scheduling.
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Reporting Errors: |
If you notice an
error (no matter how small) in any of our publications, please
email
Publications@SevernaParkUMC.org.
We appreciate your calling the error to our
attention so we can correct it.
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