Gift Commitment Sunday

Missouri UMC is proud to live within a Safe Sanctuaries Policy that works to protect children and vulnerable adults-requiring a training for adults who work with these audiences in how to provide a safe framework for being in ministry and supervision. For our children to truly be safe within our building, we need our parents to help live within this policy as well by living into these practices: 

• Children should not be left unsupervised at any time, no matter how comfortable you and/or they are in our building. Think of us as the mall-how far from your sights would you let your child roam?
• Walk your children to their Sunday school rooms and do not leave them unattended.
• Older children/youth, if not with an adult, should always be with a buddy when going to the bathroom or walking around the church.  

Free blood pressure screenings will be offered this Sunday, March 18th, from 9:45-10:15am & 10:45-11:15am in the Connector. The Caring Ministries Committee will also provide information regarding Alzheimer's disease this Sunday.  Please stop by the table in the Connector!    

Thank you to everyone who has helped get the Cornerstone Coffee Shop up and running. Many volunteers helped make the coffee shop a very welcoming place to be during the True/False film festival. Behind the scenes was Honeybaked Ham making sandwiches, cookies and brownies, and volunteers doing supply pick ups and helping with signs. On site, volunteers from our church, and even some other churches, ran the cash register, made coffee and popcorn, and cleaned. Now the coffee shop is so popular, folks are asking if it can be open in the day and evening. Currently the coffee shop hours are Sundays 7:30am-12:30pm, Wednesdays 5-7pm, and for large group events at the church. We are looking to hire 2-3 more part time staff members for expanded hours. We also need more volunteers to assist the paid staff. If interested in working or volunteering, contact Sandy Ward at 443-3111 or sandy.ward@moumc.org.  

Columbia Chorale will present the concert "Mini-Majors: Shorter Works of Major Importance" on Saturday, March 17th, at 7pm in the Sanctuary. Marci Major, Artistic Director of Columbia Chorale, will conduct. The Chorale will be accompanied by Glenna Johnson, pianist; Rochelle Parker, organist and a quartet of players selected from the string section of the 9th Street Philharmonic Orchestra. Purchase your tickets online at www.columbiachorale.com or at the door the evening of the concert ($20).  

Creative minds are needed to help transform MUMC into an amazing Vacation Bible School environment! Working with the theme Operation Overboard, we are planning an under-the-sea theme to captivate our youngest minds as they come to VBS this summer. Interested in lending a hand and sharing ideas? Contact Tim Root for more information. 

The Spiritual Connections team invites you to a day set apart for prayer and reflection on Saturday, March 17th. Join us all day, from 9am-3pm, or for one half day segment (either 9-noon or noon-3pm) in Room 407. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Celtic prayers and music will be available to use as resources for this time of prayer. Come and share in a time of prayer for our church and community and be a part of how God is at work in this place!  Please bring a sack lunch.

The Children's Ministry area is in need of these donations by Sunday, March 25th:  

• Large plastic Easter eggs
• Individually wrapped Easter candies (peanut free, preferably)
• Empty dozen-sized egg cartons.

Donations can be dropped off in the church office.  THANK YOU! 

We celebrate the recent release of the Documentary, Battle: Change from Within, recounting the journey of integration of the Columbia Public Schools and the Columbia community through the life and witness of Eliot and Muriel Battle, long time members of Missouri UMC. In the coming weeks, a schedule of showings at MUMC will be provided. If you would like to purchase a copy of the documentary, order forms are available in the church office.

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. 

Join Bishop Robert Schnase and Rev. Amy to learn more about the critical issues and decisions facing The United Methodist Church at the General Conference to be held April 25-May 4 in Tampa. The General Conference is the legislative body of the 11 million member, global UM Church. It meets every four years to determine the mission, social policy, core beliefs, organization and administration of the Church. Clergy and laity are invited to attend one of two learning and dialogue events: 

• Sunday, March 18th - 6-8pm, Christian Life Center
• Monday, March 19th -  12-2pm, Cornerstone Coffee Shop (Please bring your own lunch.) 

Children ages 4-10 are invited to join us March 17th for Kids Helping Kids Day at The Food Bank! Most days, the volunteer room is only open to children over 48" tall, but this is a special opportunity to teach younger children how helping others can be fun and rewarding! MUMC has reserved a group slot from 9-11am. Kids will be helping fill Buddy Packs that go home every week with thousands of children in need. Admission is one backpack (new or gently-used) and a 12 oz. jar of peanut butter per child. Email molly.moore@moumc.org to sign up. 

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 21 - Community UMC (3301 W. Broadway)
• March 28 - Broadway Christian Church (2601 W. 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.  

MUMC's Volunteers In Mission team to Mozambique will be meeting this Sunday, March 18th, at noon in CLC 107. Plans for the June VIM are being finalized. This team still has 2 open slots. If anyone is interested, please join the team this Sunday to learn about the opportunity. Final airline reservations are due next week. Also watch for our announcement next week on how the congregation can participate in the support of our covenant partner in its commitment to its partner, Chokwe United Methodist Church.
MUMC's 2012 VIM team will travel to Mozambique June 12-26. Click here to read their blog. 

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. Last week, our children raised $250. Do I hear a "Praise God!"? Don't have a child to send your change with? Feel free to drop your "grown-up" noisy offering in the bucket prior to or after the worship service.  

Safe Sanctuary trained volunteers are needed for the church nursery during Spring Break. Most of our caregivers are students who will be out of town during the break. Volunteers are needed during these times: 

• Sunday, March 25th - 8:30-10am & 10am-12pm
• Tuesday, March 27th -  5:15-7:30pm
• Sunday, April 1st - 8:30-10am & 10am-12pm

Please contact Julie Davis if you are Safe Sanctuary trained and willing to volunteer.

Open Door Ministry will meet on Thursday, March 15th, at 7pm in CLC 107/109 for a letter writing party. We are asking for your help in writing the delegates of the 2012 General Conference with a request to remove the language in the Book of Discipline regarding homosexuality. If you would like to write a letter prior to the meeting, please drop it off in the church office.  Please help us Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors.

As the weather warms up and makes its move towards spring, the children of our church are looking forward to a lot more time out on our playground. We are in need of a team of people to adopt our playground and help keep it clean -- tending to it on a regular basis by picking up garbage, weeding, etc. If you are interested in being a part of a team to adopt this area, please contact Rev. Molly.

Beginning Saturday, April 7th, Missouri UMC will host the Saturday Morning Breakfast for our neighbors in need. Please consider volunteering to help serve breakfast, visit with our guests over a warm meal and assist with cleanup each Saturday in April and June from 7:30-10am in Whittler Hall. Saturday Morning Breakfast is an outreach program that rotates among various downtown Columbia churches. Please contact Emily Murray at eagmurray@gmail.com for more information or to volunteer. We are also collecting travel-sized hygiene products for our guests, and these donations can be dropped off in the church office.

Security now being provided each evening from 5-10pm. The security person will be identified by either a jacket or shirt with SECURITY printed on it. Most evenings the security person will be Randall Tiffany. He will  patrol the interior and exterior of the building to see that all guests are safe. If you need any assistance at night, please do not hesitate to ask the security personnel. Please also note that, due to the construction across the street, the city has disconnected the lighting on the 10th Street side of our parking lot. It should be reconnected in the next few weeks. 

• 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.
• Applications for the United Methodist Women's Scholarship are available in the office or by contacting Sondra Flaker. To be eligible, an applicant must be a woman who is a member or affiliate of MUMC, have completed two years of study at an accredited college or university, be preparing for a career choice of ministry/helping profession (teaching, medical related, etc.), and have involvement in church related or community activities. The deadline for application is April 30th. 

A state-wide, college-age gathering called "Surge" will be held at Missouri UMC this spring.  All college-age people are invited to attend.  This event is being designed for college-age persons, college-age ministers, senior pastors, and laity from congregations all around the Missouri Conference. "Surge" will take place on Saturday, April 14th, from 10am-3pm. Watch for more information and registration details.