During Children's Sermons in the month of March, we will be inviting the children to participate in a "Noisy Offering" to help raise funds for our capital campaign. All children will be invited to come forward with change- pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, even silver dollars! As they come forward with their change, they will drop it in the bucket at the front of the Sanctuary, and, at the end of the month, we will celebrate the offering of these gifts to our capital campaign. Let's see how these young people can make a big difference! Don't have a child to send your change with? Find a child near you and share your change with them. They will enjoy bringing it forward on your behalf! Our first "Noisy Offering" will be on Sunday, March 11th.  

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!  

Join Pastor Amy for coffee (or a coke!) and conversation on Sunday, March 11th, from 6-7pm in the Cornerstone Coffee Shop.

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).

Now open Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings and for the True/False Film Festival! Featuring Lakota coffee, lattes, cappuccino, chai tea, hot chocolate, Dixie Cream donuts, and bagels and muffins from Upper Crust. During True/False, we will also have HoneyBaked Ham sandwiches and cookies. Like us on Facebook!
Click here to volunteer for a shift in the Cornerstone Coffee Shop.

The Festival of Sharing pack for March is the Personal Hygiene Pack. Cost of the kit is $20. Click here for a list of the supplies that go into each kit. 

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.    

• March 7 - Trinity Presbyterian Church (1600 W. Rollins)
• March 14 - First Baptist Church (1112 E. Broadway)  

The "Taste of India" benefit dinner for the Ludhiana Christian Medical College and Hospital will be held at Missouri UMC, on Sunday evening, April 29th, at 6pm.  The evening will include an Indian dinner and a 20 minute program featuring Indian culture has been planned by the MUMC Ludhiana Task Force. The meal will be cooked by Max Marble and task force members. There will be a free-will offering received for the ministry of the Medical College and Hospital, but there will be no charge for the meal. Reservations will be limited to the first 50 persons. Call the church office at 443-3111 to sign up.  

Part of the ministry of the Memorial Prayer Garden is the Memory Book, which contains pages dedicated to the life of each person in the Memorial Prayer Garden. We are in need of folks with a scrapbooking interest to help create these pages. If you are interested, please contact Phyllis Miller (millerp@missouri.edu or 874-5684) or Lori Popejoy (popejoyl@health.missouri.edu or 445-2354).  

The 2012 MUMC VIM team is making its preparations for the June VIM.  The members of the team are:Caryl Bryan, Jim Bryan, Elsie Heller, Ester Mendoza, Todd Oberlin, Randa Rawlins, Cindy Segrafredo, Craig Stevenson, Brittney Stevenson and Terri Williams. Two additional members can be added to the team if anyone is interested.  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.  

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.

Three new classes begin on Wednesday, March 7th. Join us for supper at 5:30pm and then join one of these new classes at 6:30pm! 

• Extravagant Generosity: Journey with us through Lent as we dive deeper into the spiritual role of generosity to daily financial discipleship. As we continue to grow as fully-formed disciples, this four-week study will help us explore our attitudes and practices of giving. The study is based on Bishop Robert Schnase's daily devotional, Practicing Extravagant Generosity, which will be available for purchase at WNL. This class will be led by Rev. Amy and Rev. Molly in CLC 103.
• Strengthsfinder Class: This is a great opportunity to help you find your place in life and ministry. Using the popular Strengthsfinder 2.0 tool, people attending this class will learn about the tool, what their God-given strengths are, and how they can use them in the church. This class will be led by Ann Merrifield in CLC 111.
• Worlds Apart: The life stage of college age and young adults is completely different than it was for previous generations. Using Chuck Bomar's book, Worlds Apart, this class will learn how the development of high education has led to and caused separation between generations. We will discuss the tension points and gain practical insight to how we can bridge our world with that of new generations. This class will be led by Rev. Keith in CLC 107/109. 

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).