Join us on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd, for worship at 6:30pm in the Sanctuary. Come early for the pancake dinner at 5:30pm in the Multipurpose Room (cost is $6 for adults and $4 for elementary and teen age). Childcare will be available. 

The Columbia Church Women United will hold a World Day of Prayer meeting on March 2nd at 9:30am at St. Luke's UMC, 204 E. Ash. The theme will be "Let Justice Prevail." There will be a shared lunch at noon following the meeting. All are invited!  

A group from Columbia will travel to Nicaragua, July 8-14, to work and learn with Rainbow Network in Hilapo Dos, about 3 hours north of Managua. Activities include construction and visiting various project sites. Rainbow Network is a broad based ministry including healthcare, education, housing, and economic development. In January, the Columbia based Container Project sent resources to Rainbow Network valued at $35,000. This trip is an opportunity to see the results of local efforts and get to know the families who benefit from these resources. Trip cost is approx. $1,700 (partial scholarships available). Register by May 11th. For more information contact Rick Ellsworth (443-0032 or rcellsworth@mchsi.com).

The Cornerstone Coffee Shop will open this Sunday! Lakota coffee, lattes, cappaccinos, mochas, hot chocolate, chai tea, Tazo tea, Pepsi products and Upper Crust pastries will be featured. This is the start of another great ministry. It is part of the overall plan to develop the connector into a hospitable gathering place, because we know that churches are the center of making disciples. Creating a comfortable environment makes it easier for those less familiar or less comfortable with church to have an entry point. All income from the coffee shop will be cycled back into the church for missions and special projects. Read more 

MU faculty members Juanamaria Cordones Cook, Barbara Williamson and Julie Middleton have been collaborating with the MU Extension Cooperative Media Group to film a documentary about Educator Eliot Battle and the role that he played in desegregating schools, housing and the Columbia Missouri community. Eliot and his family have been longtime members and leaders at Missouri UMC.   This powerful and inspiring documentary will be shown in Bush Auditorium in Cornell Hall at 7pm on Saturday, February 25th. The event is free and open to the public. Read more 

The Festival of Sharing kit for February is the Layette Kit. Layettes provide gentle warmth for infants and basic tools for young mothers struggling with poverty or the consequences of natural disaster. Cost of the kit is $39. Click here for a list of the supplies that go into each kit. 

The 3rd Grade Sunday School class is collecting non-perishable food items during the month of February for the Columbia food pantry. Please make donations outside the church office (a marked bag has been placed in the waiting area) or in the 3rd Grade Sunday School classroom, Room 405. Thank you for helping with this mission!

We're back! The trip was a great success and we all feel so blessed to have been involved. I know I speak for the rest of the team when I say thank you so much, people of MUMC, for your support and prayers. You are such an important part of what we do in San Juan La Laguna, and we could not do it without you. Abrazos, Caryl Bryan

Student Travel School (STS) Foundation is looking for host families for high school foreign exchange students for the 2012-13 school year. All family types are welcome to apply. You would provide a separate bed, meals and a safe and nurturing environment. Students bring spending money and health insurance. If interested, please call STS Area Rep Julie Orr at 314-298-1228. 

Join the Columbia community for Lenten breakfasts that meet each Wednesday during Lent. Breakfast begins at 7am and ends at 8am. A donation of $1 is requested from those attending to offset the cost of the light breakfast. Any surplus funds will be given to the Interfaith Day Center. Each person is also encouraged to bring non-perishable food for the Russell Chapel CME Food Pantry.   

• Feb 29 - First Christian Church (101 N. 10th St.)
• Mar 7 - Trinity Presbyterian Church (1600 W. Rollins)

Join us this Sunday, February 26th, as we begin our Lenten sermon series, "Life is Good!"

Urgent Need: Volunteers are needed on March 10th to serve food at the Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen. Please contact Tyler Page at 573-355-1867 or pagetj@missouri.edu for more details. 

Missouri United Methodist Church joyfully invites you to attend our Worship Service & Special Event on Sunday, February 26th, at 8:50 & 11:00 a.m. worship, with an all church brunch following each worship service in the Christian Life Center. Pastries and coffee will be served following the 8:00 a.m. service. All members of your household are welcome. No reservations required.  Come join us! 

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."  -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10  

One of the great leaders of mission work in the United Methodist Church is Jeremy Basset, Director for Volunteers in Mission for the Oklahoma Conference. Jeremy was raised in Cape Town, South Africa and has led mission trips there, as well as other international locations. As Director of VIM, he inspires one of the most active VIM conferences in the country. Jeremy, in a recent article, entitled Building Lasting Mission Partnerships, talks about the importance of hands-on mission. Read More

Scholarships or grants-in-aid are available through the Foundation of Missouri United Methodist Church of Columbia for students in the Missouri Conference who have completed at least two years of college work and are working toward church-related careers in ministry or Christian Education. Completed applications for the 2012-2013 academic year should be received by June 15th for action by the Scholarship Committee and the Foundation Board at its July meeting. A request for an application should be addressed to: Scholarship Committee, MUMC Foundation, 204 S Ninth Street, Columbia, MO 65201-4899.

"Music in the Air", the second annual concert with proceeds to benefit the Salvation Army, will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 11th, at 3pm. Click here for further details. 

Naomi Tutu, scholar, activist and community educator, will present, "Now you have struck the women, you have struck a rock: Women, Africa and the Diaspora Struggling for Justice" next Tuesday, February 28th, at 6pm in Tate Hall Auditorium, Room 22. This event is free and open to the public. Read More

For those seeking to become members of Missouri UMC or for those interested in Methodist history and beliefs and what it means to join a church, please join Sandy Ward in the parlor on March 4th immediately after the 11am service. Lunch will be provided. The class will run 1.5-2 hours in length. Please RSVP to sandy.ward@moumc.org or sign up on bulletin tear off this Sunday.

Open Door Ministry will meet Thursday, February 23rd, at 6pm in CLC 108 to plan upcoming monthly meetings and events. Please join us to share your thoughts and ideas for upcoming programs as we work to meet and exceed the needs of our congregation and community. If you have questions, please contact Elisabeth Sobczak or Heather Morgan.

We are looking for individuals who would like to use live video and operate the computer used to project slides during 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.   

Tax-Aide, a free income tax preparation program, is now available at Missouri UMC. 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.  

Join us for Wednesday Night Live on February 29th as we enjoy a sneak peak of the True/False Film Festival's documentary film, Building Babel. Building Babel follows a year in the life of Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the "Ground Zero Mosque," a Muslim-led community center two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center. With unfettered access to El-Gamal's life and family, the filmmaker follows Sharif's struggle to build the community center against seemingly insurmountable odds, all the while struggling to keep his family and business afloat as he grapples with issues of religion and identity. Dinner will be served at 5:30pm ($6 for adults) and the film will start at 6:30pm and will last one hour. Youth are invited to attend the movie with their parents - children's programming will continue as normal.  
*Being a documentary, this film is not rated.  This film does include instances of verbal profanity.  For questions regarding context, contact Rev. Molly (molly.moore@moumc.org).