Adult Koinonia (coin-oh-nee-ah) groups are starting back up this week! These small groups are perfect for people who are searching for ways to deepen their Christian discipleship and are looking for companions to journey with. Koinonia groups meet for one hour/once per week for 13 weeks and use the Upper Room Disciplines as their devotional guide and conversation starter. As the new year begins, think for a moment about how balanced you are in the 5 practices of discipleship: Prayer, Worship, Learning, Service, and Giving; and think about joining a Koinonia Group to help you discover the richness that can come from a balanced life of discipleship with Christian friends. Click here to signup for a Koinonia group. 

The Red Cross will host a blood drive this Sunday, January 29th, from 9am-1pm in Whittler Hall.  Stop by and give the gift of life! 

Each Sunday morning, Missouri UMC offers free rides to our 11am worship service for anyone in need of transportation. Dedicated volunteers make this happen! We are currently looking for a few more volunteers to serve once every 4-6 weeks. If you would like to be part of this important ministry, please email amanda.armistead@moumc.org or sign up through the bulletin tear-off this Sunday.

The Caring Ministries Committee will provide information regarding heart disease on Sunday morning, January 29th. Please stop by our table in the Connector where Dr. Greg Flaker, cardiologist at University Hospital, will be available to discuss heart health from 10 to 11am.

Join Pastor Amy for coffee (or a coke!) and conversation on Sunday, January 29th, from 6-7pm in the Connector.

Last Friday hard working volunteers from Community, Fairview, New Horizons, and Missouri United Methodist Churches filled a 40 ft. shipping container with supplies for Rainbow Network in Nicaragua. The shipment was conservatively valued at $35,000. Read More 

Cabinetry is in, appliances have been delivered, and lighting is coming along. The Cornerstone Coffee Shop is well underway.  Construction should be completed in the next couple weeks.  The goal is to be operational by the end of February. Are you interested in helping with this ministry?  We will need servers, as well as folks to keep tables and counters clean, take orders, and be a friendly face. Contact Sandy Ward at the church office, sandy.ward@moumc.org, or sign up on the tear-off in the bulletin this week if you would like to be a part of this ministry.

Are you looking for a non-intimidating way to get to know people from around the church? Do you enjoy food, conversation and fellowship? If so, Dinner Club is for you! Dinner Club is an opportunity for people to gather in groups of 8-10 people, 4-6 times each semester, for a meal and fellowship. Some groups are eat-out groups and some are pot-luck, hosted in each other's homes. You choose the style that is right for you. Dinner Club is open to all people, 18 years and over, single or married, new to the church or a "lifetimer." ALL are welcome! A new semester of dinner club is now organizing. The kick-off meal is Sunday, February 5th, at noon in the Multipurpose Room. To sign-up for dinner club, and to RSVP for the kick-off meal, stop by the church office to fill out a reservation card. The kick-off meal will be $8 to cover catering, and can be paid at the time of reservation.

The Columbia Marriage Encounter Community would like to invite you to a FREE romantic dinner out with your spouse- because we care about you and your marriage! A Spaghetti Dinner will be served on Saturday, February 18th, (please note change in date) at 6:30pm in the Parlors. Childcare will be provided. (We ask that you feed your children before you come.) For more information, contact Dora & Greg Thackery at 874-2067. Reservations and/or childcare arrangements may be made by calling the church office at 443-3111. After dinner there will be a small information session about Marriage Encounter Weekends.

All graduate students and young professionals will be invited to a lunch right after the 11am service on Sunday, January 29th, in CLC 111, from 12-1:30pm. They will meet with Andrea Hall, a graduate student at Mizzou, who used to attend a church that had an active "GAP" class - which stood for Graduates And Professionals. Keith Vessell and Heather Morgan will also be present at this gathering, to hear what the group's desires are for ministry next semester. Please bring your ideas, suggestions, enthusiasm, energy and friends!

Plan now to attend the "Haiti: Challenges and Hope" Study by the United Methodist Cooperative School of Christian Mission. Haiti's capital is still in ruins from the 2010 earthquake, and two-thirds of the population does not have a formal job. Join us on January 25th at 6:30pm for this Wednesday Night Live study.  

As a reminder, if you're interested in serving on, or learning more about, our Hospitality/Welcome Team, please come to the training on Sunday, January 29th, from 12-4pm in CLC 107/109. For more information, feel free to contact Ann Merrifield at 573-864-1839 or ann.merrifield@moumc.org. Click here to view the "Real Men of Genius" video. 

Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen will soon have a new home! The location will be moving to the basement (and a room on the main level for wheelchairs) of Wilkes Blvd Methodist Church at 700 Wilkes, 2 blocks west of St. Francis House. The move is expected to take place by March 1st. This move will allow for nearly three times the room for serving the evening meal. Watch for more details to follow.

If you or your group would like to serve dinner at the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen or provide other assistance, please contact Tyler Page at 573-355-1867 or pagetj@missouri.edu. 

The United Methodist Women are sponsoring a workshop called "Love Your Body" on Sunday, February 19th, from 3-5pm. All women from pre-teen through adults are encouraged to attend. The presenter will be an MU faculty member, Suzy Day, who is the Coordinator of the MU Women's Center.  Child care will be provided and refreshments will be served. You may sign-up on the tear off sheet in the Sunday bulletin or email RSVP@moumc.org. 

The Koinonia college-age ministry will be holding two additional training sessions before the February 5th kick-off of our new Mentor Program. These sessions are for any member of the congregation who would like to become a Mentor, as well as for any college-age person who would like to be paired with a Mentor in the spring semester of 2012. 

• Wednesday, January 25th, 6:30pm-7:30pm, Room 407
• Tuesday, January 31st, 12-1pm, Parlor (Room 205)

Please RSVP to let us know you are coming by emailing  heather.mccainmorgan@moumc.org or calling 443-3111. 

The work of Methodism in Mozambique started in 1890. The Rev. Dr. Erwin Richards began a Methodist mission at Chicuque in Inhambane Province. The United Methodist Church in Mozambique observed the 100th anniversary of Methodist presence in Mozambique in 1990. Then-Mozambique President Chissano praised the work and role of the UMC to more than 10,000 people who attended the ceremony.  Read More 

Join us for our February sermon series "MU at MUMC," Sundays, February 5-19, at 8:00, 8:50 & 11:00am.  

Rev. Amy mentioned in her sermon last Sunday that resources are available to those seeking help with sexual or pornography addiction. Please click here for a listing of these resources. 

Join us for our January sermon series, "No Perfect People Allowed," January 8-29 at 8, 8:50 and 11am each Sunday morning.  

We are currently looking for volunteers to help out in the church office during the week. Duties would include answering phones, general office work and some computer data entry. Morning and afternoon shifts are available. If you have a few extra hours each week and would like to be part of this team, please email amanda.armistead@moumc.org or sign up through the bulletin tear-off this Sunday.

Linda Robb (an active member of our Hospitality team) met a young man visiting us from West Africa. After visiting with him a while, she introduced him to members of the Seekers Sunday school class, who took him to class, sat with him at the 11:00 service and invited him to lunch after. What a wonderful example of what our welcoming culture is supposed to look like.  As Pastor Amy said, "Great ministry, all. It takes a village!"

Have you observed a random act of kindness? If so, email ann.merrifield@moumc.org so we can share it with others.  

We are looking for individuals who would like to operate the computer that is used to project slides and the DVD player used to play videos at the 8:50 and/or 11am worship services on Sunday. Training will be provided. Email Sandy Ward at sandy.ward@moumc.org or sign up on the tear-off in the Sunday bulletin if you are interested.   

Youth will be making scrumptious sub sandwiches for Super Bowl Sunday. Make sure and get one! Place your order by Wednesday, February 1st, for pickup on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5th. All proceeds benefit this summer's youth mission and church camp experiences. Subs are just $5 each! Place your order in the church office during the week or in the Connector on Sunday mornings. Thank you for supporting youth missions!

Tax-Aide, a free income tax preparation program, will begin at Missouri UMC on January 30th. Appointments will be done on a first come, first served basis. Tax preparers will be here on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3-7pm, and on Thursdays from 10am-2pm. The program is open to people of all ages and incomes, and will run through April 17th.  

Camp Jo-Ota is need of several Volunteers In Mission teams to help with a 20' x 30' addition to one of the cabins. Most of the work will include sheetrocking the interior, soffit and metal roof work, flooring, and painting and trim. The work needs to be completed by the end of March so the cabin can be ready for April visitors. If you can help please contact "Sarge" at 660-346-8834 or director@jo-ota.org or Jeff Baker at baker@umocm.com.