Newsletter

October, 2017

We desire to make Disciples of Christ

by nurturing ourselves and reaching out to

others.

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters…May the God who gives

endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that

with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 14:1, 15:5+6

Dear Friends in Christ,

Some have questioned the word “disputable” as highlighted in my preaching on Sunday,

September 17 based on the Biblical text from Romans 14. The text in part is quoted above.

With the Apostle Paul’s use of the word “disputable” there is the implication that there must be

somethings which are “indisputable”. This is consistent with the teaching of the United

Methodist Church as found in the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, paragraph

103, p. 65, “The Constitution of the United Methodist Church, in its Restrictive Rules protects

both the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith as doctrinal standards that shall not be

revoked, altered, or changed.” These doctrinal standards and general rules of the church are

then printed in paragraph 104 and become for us the matters which are not to be revoked,

altered, or changed…these are the matters ‘indisputable.’”

The Commission on Finding a Way Forward which began its work following the 2016 General

Conference has just released for public understanding a list of things we hold in common and

that keep us connected. So whether we are left or right, progressive or conservative, young or

old, male or female, lay or clergy, the Commission has named these things which keep us

grounded in the Christian faith and consistent in our being United Methodist. Notice, that

included in the list are the doctrinal standards and general rules of the church. As a diverse

church in race, nationality, gender, age and culture we represent many opinions and

persuasions, but there are also many things that we share in common, give us unity, and allow

us to be of one faith and church. (continued…)

This same 2016 General Conference accurately recognized that many in the church today are

not knowledgeable of these “indisputable” matters called doctrinal standards and general rules.

Therefore, it was wisely suggested that all United Methodist congregations be instructed in

these basic beliefs of the church. So, in keeping with these words of instruction, it is my plan to

begin teaching and preaching these doctrinal standards and general rules next year.

I invite you to look forward with joy and anticipation our learning together next year those things

which are celebrated by the church as Biblically true and life giving, shared by the larger

community of faith, and preserved by the United Methodist Church as doctrinal standards and

general rules. This will be fun and exciting for all of us as we grow in knowledge and

understanding of Jesus Christ and His Church. Please watch for the schedule of sermons, the

gathering of classes and small groups which will allow for our growing together in Christ next

year.

Blessings,

Wade Panse, Pastor

LOOKING AHEAD

Returning to the evening group gatherings at the Parsonage in October, we will study together

the Epistle of Philippians in the Bible. Philippians is a delightful little book filled with great

wisdom and practical instruction. We will enjoy reading it together. This class will meet the first

four Tuesdays of October beginning at 6:30 p.m. and concluding by 8:00. As a complement to

this small group study, Pastor Panse will be preaching from the four chapters of Philippians

beginning the last Sunday of September.

November will give us another opportunity to unite with the church through membership

orientation and instruction. On Monday mornings in the church prayer room, our Pastor will

lead a membership preparation class that includes basic Christian beliefs, distinctive United

Methodist beliefs and responsible church membership. This class will be held three consecutive

Mondays in November beginning November 6 at 11:00 a.m. Those who are already members

may choose to attend and benefit from a refresher course and discussion.

Finally, in December we will share in a study designed for the season of Advent which helps us

prepare for the celebration of Christmas. We will be using the book by Matt Rawle entitled “The

Redemption of Scrooge.” The Advent study will “bless us everyone” and reinvigorate our

spiritual journeys as we look at this familiar story through the lens of faith. Plan to join us in

Wood Hall at the church for this Wednesday evening study beginning November 29 and

concluding on December 20.

A note from you church secretary: Not a day goes by that I do not thank the Lord for this church, and YOU, my church family. I also include praise

to God for sending Wade and Patti to us. We are so blessed by their calm, steady and loving leadership, not

only on Sundays, but at the many studies and enrichment opportunities they offer. Our numbers are growing

and I am blessed to know each and every one of you.

Please make every effort to attend our church conference on October 23 at 5 PM. At this meeting we are able

to communicate our thoughts about our church to the District Superintendent.

If you need something and the church office is not open, please feel free to call me at home 269-445-8391 or

Char Hiemstra 269-445-2334.

Vicki Beebe, Church Secretary

Walk. Give. Change the world. Sign up for the CROP Walk Sunday, October 1, 1:00 PM Outdoor track at the Council on Aging

Information is in the fellowship hall, or contact Jane Moraw.

OUR PRAYER LIFE

For the new members of our congregation, and to remind “old” members,

we have a very active and effective Prayer List. If you have an issue

that needs prayer, call or email Char Hiemstra 269-445-2334 or

charhiemstra@yahoo.com, and the need, named or unnamed, will go out

to our congregation for prayers!

Church Conference News Our Church Conference is scheduled for Monday, October 23, 4:30 PM for the SPPRC and 5:00 PM for the conference. All

are encouraged to attend. This is an opportunity to participate in the celebration of our church life.

Committee chairs may download their conference forms at resources.michiganumc.org/resources/fall-2017-church-

conference-forms/

Thank you note received:

Thank you so much for your recent donation. We appreciate your gift and look forward to using it to make a better program for the athletes

of Special Olympics Michigan.

Sincerely, Lois Arnold, President and CEO

Don’t forget our Hearty Fellowship lunch after

worship on October 29. Just bring a dish to

pass (or not) and be sure to stay for lunch. This

is a great opportunity to get to know each other

and catch up!

Sam Adams Elementary School Backpack Program

Update

January – June 2017: Year 1 Twenty Sam Adams students received six meals each Friday during the January – June semester. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks were packed weekly, delivered to the school, and sent home with the needy kids. September – June 2017-2018: Year 2 The program is growing. There are now six organizations providing weekly meals. Christ’s Temple and Helping Hands joined the team to provide meals for this school year. Funds were raised to provide meals to 40 students this year. Financial support can be provided by check to: The Michigan Gateway Foundation, 111 Days Avenue, Buchanan, Mi. 49107. Include on the note line: Sam Adams Backpack Program.

CASES FOR CASS COUNTY KIDS Come one, come all on October 20 at 10 a.m. to the second

Annual CUMC pillowcase Sewing Day.

Come even if you don’t know how to make a pillowcase. (We

will teach you.)

Come even if you don’t know how to sew, but can iron, pin,

and/or cut out fabric.

Come even if you just want to get out of the house for a couple

of hours to chat with friends. Drinks and snacks will be

provided.

Fabric will also be provided, but if you have a sewing machine, pins, rotary cutter, cutting board,

iron, ironing board, and/or long extension cords, please bring them. We will set up our work area at

the church. If you want to use your own fabric, you need ¾ yard for the main part of each case.

You can choose borders and flanges from a stash that has already been cut.

All the cases that are made will be donated to Cass County Family Independence Agency to be given

as gifts to Cass County children who are being served in some way by the FIA. Last year, CUMC

donated around 20 cases. This year, we already have 23 made by Pat Williams (17 cases) and

Dawn Atkinson.

Need more information? Contact Dawn: 445-2789 or dawnatkinson7@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who brought in supplies for the

UMCOR clean-up buckets. The items were all safely delivered to Crystal Springs

Campgrounds on September 30. The Michigan United Methodist conference will be

sending a semi-truck to Dowagiac and several other sites in Michigan to pick up the

supplies and transport them to Chatham, IL where there is a UMCOR Distribution

Warehouse. At the warehouse, the items will be packed in buckets that are then sent

to areas of need, such as to the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.

Also, our church sent a generous financial contribution of $2,200. to UMCOR for the

hurricane relief fund. We can rest assured that every cent of this donation will be used

to help alleviate the suffering of the many in the devastated areas. Thank you for your

help in continuing God’s work on earth.

Please sign up to:

Grief Share Grief Support Group is again holding weekly meetings from

September 6 – November 29, 6:30 – 8 PM at Adamsville Road Church

of God, 51287 CR 7, Elkhart, IN.

Room #102

Please contact Vicki Follett for more details.

269-462-1355 or vicki.follett@comcast.net

Brochures are located in Wood Hall.

For several years, CUMC has

participated in the project and will

so again in 2017. Operation

Christmas Child collects shoe

boxes filled with gifts that

parishioners from churches

throughout the United States have

donated. The boxes are delivered

to children in need in over 100

countries.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD is

an outreach project of Franklin

Graham's Samaritan's Purse

Ministries. Check it out

at smaritanspurse.org/occ

Watch for brochures and free

boxes on display in the Wood

Fellowship Hall. Contact Karen

Wright for more information.

Hymn Sing & Dessert Fellowship

w/special guest

Fred Walker

Friday, October 6 @ 7 PM

Diamond Cove Missionary Church

22820 Diamond Cove, Cass

Bring your heart, your voice, and a

dessert to share!

Council on Aging (COA) – The Cass County COA is an integral part of our community. It provides many services

to our senior citizens including Meals on Wheels, activities, Handy Helpers, home caregivers, adult day care,

lunches, special events, tax preparation, legal assistance by local attorneys, and other valuable assistance. The

COA began in our church. Our kitchen cooked meals for daily lunches and Meals on Wheels and this is the

reason we have a commercial grade stove and other appliances. The COA grew and eventually moved to its

current location at the Lowe Center and has a satellite facility in Dowagiac. Several of our members have served,

or are currently serving, on the COA’s Board of Directors, and other church members are active volunteers at

the COA with Meals on Wheels, tax preparation and other programs helping seniors.

Helping Hands – In 1987 Pastor Charles VanLente of our church created the vision of starting Helping Hands to

serve the community. Our church served an important role working with other churches and people in the

community to create this important and successful entity. The mission of Helping Hands is to provide residents

of Cass County with emergency food, clothing, medicine or household items. Helping Hands has become an

essential part of our community. Our continued support for Helping Hands includes food & other donations,

and is one of our regular noisy offering recipients. One of our members serves on the Board of Directors at

Helping Hands and many have volunteered in the store.

Sam Adams Backpack Program – The Sam Adams Elementary School found that some of their students did not

have food to eat on weekends. Our church joined others in forming the program to provide food for elementary

students on weekends. During our designated months a team of our members buy food, pack the food into

individual bags and deliver them to the school so the students won’t be hungry.

Other Projects:

While it is probably not possible to list all the things our members do for the community, we have individuals

involved in many aspects of community life. Our church family members are active in Habitat for Humanity of

Cass County; Special Olympics Michigan Area 17; Diamond Lake Triathlon; CROP Walk for Hunger; CASA (Court

Appointed Special Advocates); Bridges out of Poverty; our own dinners and other community-wide church

events; and much, much more. With apologies to any we missed, we will be expanding this profile next year as

we celebrate 180 years! (Church photo by Dawn Atkinson – John Kelley contributed to article.)

Cassopolis United Methodist Church

While we usually profile a member of our

church in each issue of our newsletter, this

month we are profiling our congregation and

its impact on the community. Our church will

be celebrating its 180th anniversary in October,

2018, marking 180 years of serving our

community. Our church has a proud history

helping others starting from the beginning and

through several generations. The following

are some examples of the impact the church

has had for our area:

Sermon Schedule for October

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 Worship - 10

AM Communion

CROP WALK 1 pm

Ron First Danica Heath

2 3

Bible Study at Parsonage

6:30

4 5 6

Hymn Sing at Diamond Cove

Missionary

7

Betty Ackerman

8 Worship - 10

AM

Trustees meet after worship

9

10

Bible Study at Parsonage

6:30

11

12

Jim Blue

13

14

15 Worship - 10

AM

Noisy offering- Helping Hands

16

Fred Lebeda

Bob Zillmer

17

Bible Study at

Parsonage 6:30

18

Mary Kuntz (89)

19

Ed & Dawn Atkinson

20

Wade Panse

Sewing Day 10 AM

21

Roger & Mary Bruegel

22

Worship - 10 AM

23

Bob Nickel

CHURCH CONFERENCE

5 PM

24

Bible Study at Parsonage

6:30

25

26

27

28

Lutheran Church Food Pantry 11:30

– 1:00

29 Worship - 10

AM

Turner Westrate

HEARTY FELLOWSHIP

30

31

HALLOWEEN

If your birthday/anniversary does not appear on the calendar, please

let the office know.

October 1 Humility World Communion Sunday- Claim It, Lose It - Phil 2:1-13

October 8 Perspective For the Sake of Christ Phillippians 3:4b-11

October 15 Beautiful Mind Pleasant Thoughts Phillippians 4:1-9

October 22 Worship Great Is the Lord Psalm 99

October 29 Wisdom A Heart of Wisdom Psalm 90

October 2017