Point Pleasant United Methodist Church

All Saints' Sunday
Worship Schedule - Sunday, November 3rd

Contemporary Service
10:00 a.m. | Ministry Center | Sunday School* | Livestream**
https://www.youtube.com/live/O7DhM24k69Y?si=NGXICfU4GM3O0GSE

Traditional Service
11:15 a.m. | Sanctuary

Youth Fellowship
11:15 a.m. | Hein 4

Khmer Service
1:30pm | Sanctuary

Materials for this Week's Service:
https://www.ppumc.com/alternative-worship-resources

Tithes & Offerings
https://www.ppumc.com/giving

Point Pleasant UMC Worship Service for Sunday, November 3, 2024. Point Pleasant United Methodist Church will stream its worship service for Sunday, November 3, 2024, starting at 10:00 am. Online Giving: https://tinyurl.co...

Wednesday, October 30th
GROW

Wednesday Night Grow is what Point Pleasant UMC calls its night of fellowship, learning, eating, and well, GROWing together. The best bible study and fellowship opportunities usually include some type of food – GROW is no different. We join together for a meal at 5:30 p.m.. Then, around 6:15 p.m., we head to the Great Room of the Ministry Center for a few worship songs and prayer, then at 6:30 p.m. we break into smaller study groups. Grow is an opportunity for us to deepen our faith, build our community, serve each other, and worship our God through fellowship, learning, and discipleship. We'll see you there!

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. | Fellowship Hall | Community Meal
6:15 p.m. | Ministry Center | Singing & Praise in the Great Room
6:30 p.m. | Ministry Center | Classes for All Ages

Zoom Meeting Details for...Prodigal God Study

Pastor David's class: Two sons, one who kept the rules religiously, and one who broke them all. Both found themselves lost. One father who loved both lost sons beyond anything they could imagine.
- (Prodigal God, Timothy Keller).

Join us at grow!

Date: 10/30/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 862 5347 5618
Passcode: 574172

Meeting Link

Zoom Meeting Details for...The Gospel of Mark

Ben Harrell will led a class on the study of the Gospel of Mark. Join us as we journey with Jesus and the disciples through the major themes of Mark with the help of Francis Chan in this in-person/zoom offering.

Date: 10/30/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 872 8442 0215
Passcode: 673618

Chiloquin Update

It's mid October and we are working on our Chiloquin gifts. The drop off boxes are in the entry way of the ministry center and in the fellowship hall. We will be hearing from our contact there this Thursday, so will have more specific needs then.

If you have questions feel free to call Linda Harrell at (916) 539-1486.

Things we need for our Chiloquin trip:
Coats 2T to adult 2XL
Blankets
Hats
Gloves
Socks
Warm pajamas for kids & teens
Children's books
Toothbrushes

Sunday, November 3rd

All Saints Sunday
We will celebrate All Saint’s Sunday at our worship services on Sunday, November 3rd. This is our yearly time to remember those saints who have been a part of our lives and our community. Together we will give thanks for them and their ministries among us. If you have any saints in your life that you would like to remember, please email them to Martin in the church office by 10:00 a.m. on October 31st.

Office Email: [email protected]

A Word from Pastor David

Time to Vote!
Well, this time next week votes will be beginning to be tabulated. Which means that if you haven’t already voted, I want to encourage you to do so! It was determined a few weeks ago that Ezra would need braces, and he decided to let his class vote on what color braces he should get. This made for a fun exercise…but there were some considerable struggles. Ezra started to ask questions like, “Should I let my teacher, or my friends, or myself, get an extra vote?” and “What if the color they vote for is a color I really don’t like? Do I have to do it?” Those are very profound questions for a third grader…but they are questions that all voters must grapple with.

There is obviously a lot of media coverage regarding this election cycle. Unfortunately, some of that media coverage is more about attacking other candidates rather than really getting a grasp on issues and concerns that face our voters. Some things are local and will hit close to home, others are national, and even global.

This year, as I prepared to vote, I tried to not pay so much attention to the personalities, but to really think through what is important to me as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a citizen, and as a voter. Thinking through my vote this way has been helpful to put aside the noise surrounding the people and focus on what matters to me and why.

What matters to you? As a citizen? As a voter? As a follower of Christ? I encourage you to vote for the things that you care deeply about.

Regardless of how you vote – there will be life after the election. My prayer is that somehow, after the literal and metaphorical “storms” we have faced in our world and in this election cycle, we would come to know the peace of God in our nation and in our world.

Grace and Peace,

- Pastor David

Worship Schedule - Sunday, October 27th

Contemporary Service
10:00 a.m. | Ministry Center | Sunday School* | Livestream**
https://www.youtube.com/live/zeCntVc1sfQ?si=OlJVlgBs5laWKUfb

Traditional Service
11:15 a.m. | Sanctuary

Youth Fellowship
11:15 a.m. | Hein 4

Khmer Service
1:30pm | Sanctuary

Materials for this Week's Service:
https://www.ppumc.com/alternative-worship-resources

Tithes & Offerings
https://www.ppumc.com/giving

Point Pleasant UMC Worship Service for Sunday, October 27, 2024. Point Pleasant United Methodist Church will stream its worship service for Sunday, October 27, 2024, starting at 10:00 am. Online Giving: https://tinyurl.co...

Volunteers needed to help with our Americorps community garden workday this Saturday. Volunteers will be helping to remove vegetable plants, spread compost and w**d plots and pathways. The workday is from 9-3pm. So if you are able to come out for a few hours during that time it will be appreciated. Pizza will be provided for lunch and we ask that you bring your own work gloves.

Sunday, October 27th

Youth Group Event - Chopped!
On Sunday, October 27th an exhibition of the finest culinary skills the youth (7th-12th grade) at Point Pleasant UMC have to offer will be on display between 4:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall. The time-honored "Chopped" night offers a deep dive into the creative cooking genius that resides just below the surface of these teenagers. Creativity is a must for these budding chefs as in teams they prepare an appetizer, main course, dessert and beverage for locally (very, very local) renowned food critics who have, among other credentials, many years of preparing Grow meals to their credit. Point Pleasant teens (and their friends) are invited to join for this night of fun. Pizza is provided (along with fire extinguishers) to supplement the dinner menu. Cost is $10. Please let Ben Harrell know if you plan on attending. See you there!

Details:
Date: Sunday, October 27th
When: 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Where: Fellowship Hall
Who: Youth (7th-12th grade)
How: $10 at the door

Wednesday, October 22nd
GROW

Wednesday Night Grow is what Point Pleasant UMC calls its night of fellowship, learning, eating, and well, GROWing together. The best bible study and fellowship opportunities usually include some type of food – GROW is no different. We join together for a meal at 5:30 p.m.. Then, around 6:15 p.m., we head to the Great Room of the Ministry Center for a few worship songs and prayer, then at 6:30 p.m. we break into smaller study groups. Grow is an opportunity for us to deepen our faith, build our community, serve each other, and worship our God through fellowship, learning, and discipleship. We'll see you there!

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. | Fellowship Hall | Community Meal
6:15 p.m. | Ministry Center | Singing & Praise in the Great Room
6:30 p.m. | Ministry Center | Classes for All Ages

Zoom Meeting Details for...Prodigal God Study

Pastor David's class: Two sons, one who kept the rules religiously, and one who broke them all. Both found themselves lost. One father who loved both lost sons beyond anything they could imagine. - (Prodigal God, Timothy Keller). Join us at grow!

Date: 10/22/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 862 5347 5618
Passcode: 574172

Meeting Link

Zoom Meeting Details for...The Gospel of Mark

Ben Harrell will led a class on the study of the Gospel of Mark. Join us as we journey with Jesus and the disciples through the major themes of Mark with the help of Francis Chan in this in-person/zoom offering.

Date: 10/22/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 872 8442 0215
Passcode: 673618

Friday, October 25th
Church Conference

If you are not familiar with Church Conference, it is the annual business meeting of the church. It is convened by our District Superintendent and allows for reports and updates from various committees. It is also the time where we decide on leadership for the 2025 calendar year. It is an opportunity to hear some of the vision from our Annual Conference, as well as where our mission lines up with that. There are forms that will need to be filled out, information gathered, and paperwork to complete. It is a “busy time” for pastors.

And yet, Great is God’s faithfulness. While church conference may seem like just another meeting, my hope is that it is a celebration of how God has been faithful to us throughout this past year by the ways we have engaged in ministry.

Church Conference will be held Friday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Room of the Ministry Center. All are encouraged and welcome to attend!

- Pastor David

Finger Food Potluck

On Friday, October 25th before the Church Conference begins, we would like to invite everyone to join us at 6:45 p.m. for a "finger food" potluck. Bring something to share and come join us in fellowship and snack away before Charge Conference begins at 7:30 p.m.

- Elaine Armstrong

A Word from Pastor David

Cloud of Witnesses
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”
– Hebrews 12:1-2

I remember the first day of my first full time ministry job. I was an Associate Pastor / Youth Minister at a church in South Nashville. I remember walking into the youth room for the first time. The church had a tradition of having each youth draw on a brick. As I explored a bit more, in the basement of the church (where the youth group had met years before) there were more bricks that had been signed. The tradition was important to each of the youth, to know that they had left their mark on the space, and that the encounters they had with God had left a mark on them as well.

Most of those youth I never knew. I heard stories, they moved on. Some stayed connected to faith, others may have drifted away. But as I stood in that place, I realized that the markings on the walls were evidence of the “Cloud of witnesses” that had gone before me. Somehow, I stood in a line of people who had connected to the community before me. I was overwhelmed a bit.

I recognize the same kind of thing here at Point Pleasant. There are markers all around us, in buildings, in cemeteries, in relationships, that indicate the community of faith- the cloud of witnesses – that we join with when we participate in the life of Point Pleasant United Methodist Church. What a beautiful gift to have!

That cloud of witnesses doesn’t simply call us to look at our history and reflect, it calls us to run forward, with perseverance, with our eyes fixed on Jesus. I encourage you to reflect on how being part of such a rich community of faith before us calls us to continue in faithfulness today, and in the days and years to come.

This week is Church Conference – we’ll hear about some of our history, and we’ll also make plans for our future. We’ll name leaders and make decisions. And those decisions WILL MAKE A MARK on our community. And someday, folks may come into our community, and we will be the people of faith, the crowd of witnesses, that has set them up to continue to run the race.

On November 3rd, we will hold our All Saint’s Sunday service. Another opportunity to remember the cloud of witnesses before us, but to also remind us that we are included in that cloud for each other and for future generations.

Let us fix our eyes on Christ, and continue the race set before us.

- Pastor David

Worship Schedule - Sunday, October 20th

Contemporary Service
10:00 a.m. | Ministry Center | Sunday School* | Livestream**
https://www.youtube.com/live/3gYBMjA7Lsg?si=8_0wFdGVsNAP3XIU

Traditional Service
11:15 a.m. | Sanctuary

Youth Fellowship
11:15 a.m. | Hein 4

Khmer Service
1:30pm | Sanctuary

Materials for this Week's Service:
https://www.ppumc.com/alternative-worship-resources

Tithes & Offerings
https://www.ppumc.com/giving

Point Pleasant UMC Worship Service for Sunday, October 20, 2024. Point Pleasant United Methodist Church will stream its worship service for Sunday, October 20, 2024, starting at 10:00 am. Online Giving: https://tinyurl.co...

Friday, October 25th
Church Conference

If you are not familiar with Church Conference, it is the annual business meeting of the church. It is convened by our District Superintendent and allows for reports and updates from various committees. It is also the time where we decide on leadership for the 2025 calendar year. It is an opportunity to hear some of the vision from our Annual Conference, as well as where our mission lines up with that. There are forms that will need to be filled out, information gathered, and paperwork to complete. It is a “busy time” for pastors.

And yet, Great is God’s faithfulness. While church conference may seem like just another meeting, my hope is that it is a celebration of how God has been faithful to us throughout this past year by the ways we have engaged in ministry.

Church Conference will be held Friday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Room of the Ministry Center. All are encouraged and welcome to attend!

- Pastor David

Finger Food Potluck

On Friday, October 25th before the Church Conference begins, we would like to invite everyone to join us at 6:45 p.m. for a "finger food" potluck. Bring something to share and come join us in fellowship and snack away before Charge Conference begins at 7:30 p.m.

- Elaine Armstrong

Sunday, October 27th

Sunday, October 27th
Youth Group Event - Chopped!

On Sunday, October 27th an exhibition of the finest culinary skills the youth (7th-12th grade) at Point Pleasant UMC have to offer will be on display between 4:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall. The time-honored "Chopped" night offers a deep dive into the creative cooking genius that resides just below the surface of these teenagers. Creativity is a must for these budding chefs as in teams they prepare an appetizer, main course, dessert and beverage for locally (very, very local) renowned food critics who have, among other credentials, many years of preparing Grow meals to their credit. Point Pleasant teens (and their friends) are invited to join for this night of fun. Pizza is provided (along with fire extinguishers) to supplement the dinner menu. Cost is $10. Please let Ben Harrell know if you plan on attending. See you there!

Details:
Date: Sunday, October 27th
When: 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Where: Fellowship Hall
Who: Youth (7th-12th grade)
How: $10 at the door

Wednesday, October 16th - GROW

Wednesday Night Grow is what Point Pleasant UMC calls its night of fellowship, learning, eating, and well, GROWing together. The best bible study and fellowship opportunities usually include some type of food – GROW is no different. We join together for a meal at 5:30 p.m.. Then, around 6:15 p.m., we head to the Great Room of the Ministry Center for a few worship songs and prayer, then at 6:30 p.m. we break into smaller study groups. Grow is an opportunity for us to deepen our faith, build our community, serve each other, and worship our God through fellowship, learning, and discipleship. We'll see you there!

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. | Fellowship Hall | Community Meal
6:15 p.m. | Ministry Center | Singing & Praise in the Great Room
6:30 p.m. | Ministry Center | Classes for All Ages

Zoom Meeting Details for...Prodigal God Study

Pastor David's class: Two sons, one who kept the rules religiously, and one who broke them all. Both found themselves lost.One father who loved both lost sons beyond anything they could imagine. - (Prodigal God, Timothy Keller). Join us at grow!

Date: 10/16/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 862 5347 5618
Passcode: 574172

Zoom Meeting Details for...The Gospel of Mark

Ben Harrell will led a class on the study of the Gospel of Mark. Join us as we journey with Jesus and the disciples through the major themes of Mark with the help of Francis Chan in this in-person/zoom offering.

Date: 10/16/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 872 8442 0215
Passcode: 673618

A Word from Pastor David

Fear & Awe
I spent a few hours yesterday in a meeting with our new resident Bishop Sandra Olewine. It was a wonderful meeting, with a small group, so she really got to hear us and respond to our questions and concerns.

One thing that she said repeatedly was that she was trying to respond with curiosity and wonder. In my mind, I set this in opposition to fear and anxiety. There are some tense situations that our new bishop will have to face. Situations that may bring her a sense of anxiety or even fear. But if we live in that anxious space the best result that we get is relief. Regardless of what decisions we make, we simply want relief. That means we may try to please others, just to get out of an anxious situation…only to find ourselves in another.

But if we live in a place of curiosity and wonder, then the best result is awe. We can be struck with a sense of awe at how God is at work. We can be struck with a sense of awe at that mercy and grace that might be revealed in any given situation. And when we are struck with awe, we naturally begin to invite others to share in that awe with us. This draws us into deeper relationship with each other and with God.

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5, after Jesus spends a day doing miraculous healings, there is a response from the crowd: “And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” (Luke 5:26)

May we open our eyes to look beyond fear and anxiety, and greet each situation with curiosity and wonder, that our hearts may be filled with awe, and we may respond, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

God Bless,

- Pastor David

Worship Schedule - Sunday, October 13th

Contemporary Service
10:00 a.m. | Ministry Center | Sunday School* | Livestream**
https://www.youtube.com/live/5JrvMwS5ZSQ?si=7-n80i2oePWHe9if

Traditional Service
11:15 a.m. | Sanctuary

Youth Fellowship
11:15 a.m. | Hein 4

Khmer Service
1:30pm | Sanctuary

Materials for this Week's Service:
https://www.ppumc.com/alternative-worship-resources

Tithes & Offerings
https://www.ppumc.com/giving

Point Pleasant UMC Worship Service for Sunday, October 13, 2024. Point Pleasant United Methodist Church will stream its worship service for Sunday, October 13, 2024, starting at 10:00 am. Online Giving: https://tinyurl.co...

Friday, October 25th - Church Conference

If you are not familiar with Church Conference, it is the annual business meeting of the church. It is convened by our District Superintendent and allows for reports and updates from various committees. It is also the time where we decide on leadership for the 2025 calendar year. It is an opportunity to hear some of the vision from our Annual Conference, as well as where our mission lines up with that. There are forms that will need to be filled out, information gathered, and paperwork to complete. It is a “busy time” for pastors.

And yet, Great is God’s faithfulness. While church conference may seem like just another meeting, my hope is that it is a celebration of how God has been faithful to us throughout this past year by the ways we have engaged in ministry.

Church Conference will be held Friday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Room of the Ministry Center. All are encouraged and welcome to attend!

- Pastor David

Finger Food Potluck

On Friday, October 25th before the Church Conference begins, we would like to invite everyone to join us at 6:45 p.m. for a "finger food" potluck. Bring something to share and come join us in fellowship and snack away before Charge Conference begins at 7:30 p.m.

- Elaine Armstrong

Wednesday, October 9th - GROW

Wednesday Night Grow is what Point Pleasant UMC calls its night of fellowship, learning, eating, and well, GROWing together. The best bible study and fellowship opportunities usually include some type of food – GROW is no different. We join together for a meal at 5:30 p.m.. Then, around 6:15 p.m., we head to the Great Room of the Ministry Center for a few worship songs and prayer, then at 6:30 p.m. we break into smaller study groups. Grow is an opportunity for us to deepen our faith, build our community, serve each other, and worship our God through fellowship, learning, and discipleship. We'll see you there!

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. | Fellowship Hall | Community Meal
6:15 p.m. | Ministry Center | Singing & Praise in the Great Room
6:30 p.m. | Ministry Center | Classes for All Ages

Prodigal God Study

Pastor David's class: Two sons, one who kept the rules religiously, and one who broke them all. Both found themselves lost.One father who loved both lost sons beyond anything they could imagine.
- (Prodigal God, Timothy Keller). Join us at grow!

Date: 10/9/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 862 5347 5618
Passcode: 574172

The Gospel of Mark

Ben Harrell will led a class on the study of the Gospel of Mark. Join us as we journey with Jesus and the disciples through the major themes of Mark with the help of Francis Chan in this in-person/zoom offering.

Date: 10/9/24
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 872 8442 0215
Passcode: 673618

A Word from Pastor David

Prodigal God Study
Two sons, one who kept the rules religiously, and one who broke them all. Both found themselves lost.
One father who loved both lost sons beyond anything they could imagine.

- (Prodigal God, Timothy Keller)

One of my favorite parables that Jesus tells is the story of the “Prodigal Son.” The word prodigal means recklessly extravagant. In the parable, a son asks his father for an early inheritance and goes and spends it all in recklessly extravagant ways. He eventually spends all his money, returning home with the intent to ask his father to let him work on his land. The father is overjoyed to see his son return, while his other son, feels slighted because of the love the father shows the one who had left. It is a beautifully complex story. Read about it in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

My new series in GROW will begin looking at this parable. Timothy Keller wrote a study called “Prodigal God” – which flips the idea a bit. He says that God’s love toward us is recklessly extravagant. I hope you will join us!

- Pastor David

World Communion Sunday