Grace United Methodist Church NEWSCASTER

Doing A New Thing! See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

— Isaiah 43:19

God is doing some new things all around us and at Grace-on-the-Island!

I just got back from the 2012 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference (SEJ) of The United Methodist

Church, held in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. The SEJ Conference is held every four years. Its primary purposes are to elect and assign bishops, nominate and elect persons to general church agencies, and adopt a budget. The Holy Spirit’s presence was powerful along with the politics of human nature.

The task was to elect five bishops to replace retiring bishops. Jonathan Holston, from North Georgia Conference, was elected on the first ballot having received more than the required 60% vote. The presiding bishop announced the election of Ken Carter on the second ballot and Ken was brought to the stage with the customary standing ovation and applause. After a few awkward moments, the presiding bishop announced that there has been a mistake in math and Ken received more than 50% of the vote but not the required 60% vote. The computer had defaulted back to the majority vote threshold. So Ken went back to his seat after being told he was not elected a bishop. Ken Carter, from the Western North Carolina Conference, was then elected on the third ballot and the math was carefully checked.

Bill McAlilly, from the Mississippi Conference, was elected on the fifth ballot. Debbie Wallace-Padgett, from the Kentucky Conference, was elected on the eleventh ballot. Then there was a deadlock in the balloting and a slowdown for the election of the fifth bishop. Young Jin Cho, from the Virginia Conference, was in eleventh place on the first ballot and had dropped to only 15 votes on the fourteenth ballot. Young Jin began to gain momentum and was elected bishop on the twenty-ninth ballot with 287 votes. Cho referred to his late streak to the top of the ballot in his acceptance speech. “I learned there are many kinds of resurrections,” he said to laughter from the gathering. “By the grace of God, I am what I am. Thank you for your support and affirmation.” Young Jin Cho is the first Korean-American bishop elected in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. God is doing a new thing.

The thirteen bishops were assigned to their areas on the final night of the Conference and Ken Carter is our new bishop for the Florida Conference to replace Bishop Tim Whitaker who retires at the end of August. We will share more about Ken Carter in the next Newscaster. The assignments of all the bishops in the SE, as well as in the other jurisdictions, can be found at www.umc.org. There were also six other bishops elected across the connection.

Other news from the SEJ Conference: Allison Manning (my daughter) was one of four from the Florida Conference nominated and elected to general church agencies. Allison will be serving on the General Commission on Communication for 2012-2016. The SEJ budget was cut by 50% for the next quadrennium, 2013-2016.

Our God is doing a new thing! I am excited to be your new pastor and we welcome Matt Ramsland as our new Youth Ministry Director/Praise Team Leader!

What are the new things that God is doing in your life? I Love Being your Pastor, Jim

August 2012

For more information on any of the Children’s & Family Ministry notices, please contact Devon at

488-1374/525-6671 or email at devon@graceontheisland.com

Look for “Grace on the Island’s” Children and Family

Ministry page on

.Join us on... SATURDAY, August

18th from 4-7pm join us for a BACK TO

SCHOOL BASH! Bring a few friends for hotdogs,

bounce house, games, dunk tank and MORE! Hope to see you there!

WHAT A SUMMER! AND IT IS ALMOST OVER!!! We have had a very busy summer at Grace. In our summer camp program, we have about 55 children on site every day throughout the summer. During our SKY! Vacation Bible School program, we had about 120 children here each day to learn that “everything is possible with God.” Now we are preparing for the fall kick-off with our NEW CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL INITIATIVE called “GALAXY”. GALAXY is our new ministry for children on Sunday mornings DURING the 9am Contemporary Service. Then from 10-11 every Sunday, children will have a time to dig deeper into the lessons while parents participate in small groups. During GALAXY, the children will have a time of praise and worship, followed by a time of learning about God in a way that is age appropriate for them. They will also learn how to wor-ship together with other children and express themselves that are acceptable for them. As they grow in our programs, the children will grow in their abilities to worship as well! As with the life of the congregation, the children (birth through 5th grade) will be going through the Bible during the year as we begin “The Story” together. Welcome to another year of trying different ways to meet the spiritual needs of our children and families! Blessings! And thank you for your prayers and support!

STEP OUT is a time to learn about the various mission and ministries of the church. This event

will take place on Sunday, August 19th from 10-11 in Punch Hall. Come and learn about our new

Children’s Sunday School called “GALAXY” and learn about small group options for Adults!

4 Weeks 4 A Child Volunteers are needed to teach in our new Sunday School Program called “GALAXY.” Would you be

willing to teach in the Kindergarten and 1st grade room during the 9am worship hour? Would you like to be a small group leader for the 2nd-5th graders? Please pray about volunteering for an hour to two hours

a week for one month to teach and lead children to know Christ more! Contact Devon if you can!

August 2012

STUDENT MINISTRIES During the summer, student ministries will be having special activities and events instead of

their regular weekly meetings. Please contact Matt for more

information at matt@graceontheisland.com

PLEASE WELCOME MATT OUR NEW YOUTH DIRECTOR AND PRAISE TEAM LEADER!!

Aloha! My name is Matt Ramsland and I am the new Youth Director and Praise Team Leader here at Grace! We (wife, Nicole and daughter, Eva- 2 yrs.) are very excited to be in ministry in Venice! We are both Florida natives, but have most recently served at FUMC in Knoxville, TN (where Eva was born) since 2006. I am a graduate of Florida Southern College and Nicole is an FSU alum. We are thrilled to be back in our home state, and have already had the opportunity to meet many of you. We are looking forward to meeting the rest of you, and to learning more about your prayers for God's community at Grace. Some of our visions for the Youth ministry include a weekly gathering for worship, fellowship and small group studies, a monthly music venue featuring local and touring bands, a continued focus on both local and destination missions, and the start of a young adult Sunday School class/small group. I am also blessed to be leading our outstanding team of musicians, vocalists and technicians each week as part of our Life Journey contemporary worship service, and we will be seeking God's will for that ministry as well. We are planning some exciting events for the end of August and September, so check with Matt and and the church calendar for more details!

Time: 9:45AM to 5PM

Where:

Grace TFEC Worship Center

Cost: $39

per person

Tickets: Contact Tony at

941-270-2310

Interested in Church Membership? Is God leading you to become a member of the Grace Church Family? If so, new members will be received on Sunday, August 26, at both worship services. A New Members Class will be offered on Sunday, August 19, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Punch Hall. You can become a member by Profession of Faith or Transfer of Membership (we will take care of the paperwork). Indicate your desire to join the church on the response card and we will invite you to the New Members Class on August 19.

JUNE ATTENDANCE

Worship - 410 ~ Yearly Attendance Average Worship - 656

Meetings

August marks the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year. This August also marks the beginning of my twelfth year as organist here at Grace UMC.

On the 19th of August, 2001, I played my first service on Ol’ Betsy (my pet name for our Moller pipe organ). In 2007, I assumed the additional responsibilities of Director of the Chancel Choir and the GraceTones Handbell Ensemble. Since that first Sunday, I have experienced continued love and support from the people of God at Grace Church. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Organist/Choir Master, and I look forward to continuing to serve Grace on the Island for many more years. Please consider a donation to the Organ Fund, the Handbell Fund, or the General Music Fund when you need to remember a loved one in a special way. My heartfelt “Thanks!” for your ongoing support of the music programs at GUMC and for the continued encouragement you give to me and to Mary Jeanne Moorman, our fabulous pianist and choir accompanist. As always, I remain your “humble village organist.” Welcome Matt and Family!

Gene Hodges

August 2012

FINANCE CORNER The finance team would like to thank Doug Fingles for his many years of hard work during his leadership of the finance team. Doug has stepped down after 4 years as chairman. I now have the privilege of taking over as the new chair of finance. As you know, we have sold the Field Ave. house. We have applied $310,000 which are the proceeds of the house toward the outstanding mortgage. We have approximately 5 more years to pay off this mortgage. Designated donations would help us payoff the debt sooner if God is calling you in this direction. We are running the finances of the church on a very positive note this year. We are starting to increase our emergency reserve account. We have recently had sev-eral designated donation for new equipment in the church. There is a continual need in the church to re-place things like the old air conditioners and appli-ances; we thank all of you who have helped this year with extra gifts. We look forward to preparing a new 5 year financial plan for our church. Your ideas are welcome. Please make your suggestions to one of the finance team mem-bers. Diane Bender

Staff Parish Committee Meeting

Tuesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM in the Library

Finance Committee Meeting Tuesday, August 21 at 8:00AM in the Library

Fellow members of Grace, thank you for the kind words and support you have expressed to us in memory of JoAn Baur.

The Baur Family. To our church family: Thank you for your cards, telephone calls and most of all your prayers for us at this very difficult time. My family and I thank God every day for all of you and the comfort that surrounds us!! Audrey King-Tamblingson

E-votionals by People of Grace If you would like to receive Mon.-Fri a brief

devotional sent to your e-mail, please submit your e-mail address to Chris Flaherty at

cflaherty50@hotmail.com. Please add “e-votional” to the subject line.

Any questions, please ask Carol/Chris Flaherty at 966-3784.

Prayers and Pray-ers Have you had a burden where you needed others to

support you in prayer and didn't know who to ask? Are you actively praying with or for people around you who have burdens and need someone to help them

carry on? A "prayer chain" exists through our church office in the

form of an e-mail blast. You may call 488-1374 or send an e-mail to prayer@graceontheisland.com and

your request will be sent out to pray-ers. Thank you.

Priority of Prayer

The chapel is now open for prayer every Sunday

from 8:30-12:30.

Grace UMC Men’s Travel Events 2012/2013 November: To be Determined December 3-7: Trip to Branson, Missouri. Air travel from Tampa, housing at Grand Plaza Hotel, 6 show tickets, bus transportation at Branson, most meals furnished. Complete package $1,469 PP Dbl. occupancy with 20 passengers. Contact Cris at Expedia Cruise Ship Center at1-800-527-8666 Ext 623. December 13: 13, Palm Dinner Theater-MIRACALE ON 34th STREET-$65.00 January 17: Venice Theater-MOON OVER BUFFALO-$40-with dinner at the Church February 27: Ruth Eckerd Hall- Chorus Line- Price to be determined. March: Baseball game-open to all date prices to be determined March 13: Ft. Myers Capt. JP Luncheon cruise cost to be determined April 4: Sarasota Sailor Circus with 4:30 pm dinner at the church-$30 April 13-20: Cruise to Bermuda (Children under 11 travel free only pay tax. $1,469)

MEMORIALS MEMORIAL FUND IN HONOR OF KATE MCVICKER by Kathryn Haller. MEMORIAL FUND IN MEMORY OF BILL SCOTT by Sherry Levine.

August 2012

IN MEMORIAM Joseph Miles

Dorothy Williams Bill Scott

JUICE, JAVA, AND JIM

Our new pastor, Jim Mitchell, would like the chance to meet the members of our church family in small home gatherings. This is an old-time tradition in many churches with a new pas-tor. During the months of August, September, and October, we are looking for hosts to gather 8 -12 persons in their homes with light refresh-ments, such as juice and java, for 60-90 min-utes of personal sharing and spiritual discerning of where God is leading us as a Church. There will be time slots available during the week in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings, as well as some Sunday time slots. If you are willing to open up your home and host a “Juice, Java, and Jim” gathering, please contact the church office at 941-488-1374. Also, if you are willing to help serve on the team to organize this effort, please let us know that, too! More information to come forth!

August 2012

EVERY SUNDAY 8:15 - 11:00 Coffee Time, TFEC 8:30—12:00 Prayer Time, Chapel 9:00 LifeJourney Worship, TFEC 9:00 Galaxy; Children’s Sunday School 9:30 & 10:10 LifeWAY Classes 11:00 Traditional Worship, Sanctuary EVERY MONDAY 12:30 Preschool Dance, TFEC 3:45 Brownies, TFEC 203 6:30 The Bridge, TFEC youth room

EVERY TUESDAY 6:30 Cub Scouts, PH/EW/WW/MRC/Rm 2 7:00 AA, Parlor B EVERY WEDNESDAY 9:00 Piecemakers Quilting, A8 & PH 12:30 Preschool Gymnastics, TFEC 6:30 Boy Scouts, PH/EW/WW/Rm 2 7:00 Al-Anon, Mtg. Rm C 7:00 SR High Youth Group, TFEC Youth room

AUGUST Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 6:30PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal, Music Room

2 3

4 11:00AM Eagle Scout Gathering, Punch Hall

5 Communion

6

7

8 9

10 11

12 Mission Opportunity 11:30AM Your Turn Class gathering, PH

13 September Newscaster information due! 7:00PM Board of Trustee Meeting, Library

14 7:00PM Staff Parish Meeting, Library

15 6:30PM Pre-school Parents meet-ing, Sanctuary

16 Last day of Camp

17 18 4:00PM Back to School Bash, Grace campus

19 Children’s Coin Ministry & Back to School Observance 10:00AM STEP UP Rally, Punch hall 4:00PM New Member Class, Punch Hall

20 3:30PM After School Program begins, Punch Hall

21 8:00AM Finance Mtg, Library

22 8:15AM News-caster Collators meet, MRC

23 6:30PM Scout District. Mtg., EW

24 25

26 Canned Food 27 4:30PM Commu-nity Dinner, Punch Hall

28 29 6:30PM Chan-cel Choir Rehearsal, Music Room

30 31

Be sure to check the Church Calendar on our website at: www.graceontheisland.com The calendar is updated daily and is now the MAIN calendar for the church!!

EVERY THURSDAY 12:30 Preschool Gymnastics, TFEC 6:30 Disciple Class, West Wing 7:00 AA, Parlor B 7:00 LJ Praise Team Practice, TFEC EVERY FRIDAY 9:00 Threadcatcher Circle, A8

August 2012

If your birthday or anniversary is not listed but should be, or if there are any errors, please email or call the church office so that a correction can be made. Thank you!

Pick Up Take Home 8/5 Bob Bainbridge Bob Bainbridge 8/12 Sheldon Toepfer Sheldon Toepfer 8/19 Steve Boone Steve Boone 8/26 Robert Waldron Monty Andrews

Scott Onofrio ~ Garry Beck ~ Diane Slikas

Judy Johnson ~ Sue Nash

8/5 F Rosemarie Richter & Peg Mindon B Diane Slikas 8/12 F Bill & Bonnie Stuck B Anna Sparks & Ann Chile 8/19 F Wanda & Louis Karasek B Margarie Rosenaw 8/26 F Randy & Lynda Johnson B Isabel Fowler

1 Mazie Quigley Jane Ann Jennings Barbara Wood 2 Mary Earnest Sue James Bev Rogers Elaine Dobbins 3 Bethany Gallo 4 Patricia Andrews 5 Susan Kramer 6 Mark Beebe 7 Rev. Bill Granberry Ernestine Schattner 8 Lois Curran Aida Dulmer Michael McMahon 9 Lamont Andrews 10 Missy Carfield Vanessa Carusone Nicholas Carusone Chris Freeman Hannah Matosky Al Lynn Bill Stuck

11 Jo Ann Crumbley Tom Taylor James Clinch 12 Patricia MacLeod 13 Nathan Hogue Susan Bensen Margee Katterheinrich 14 Chuck Kresse Sherry Roberts Roxie Price 15 Clayton Jacob 17 Helen Kresse Marvin Foulk Edith Murray 18 Diana Horvath Michael Carpenter 19 Ken Walker Marcia Morley Carolyn Blethen John Kern 20 Sherry Angus

22 Cora Paquin Jack Dulmer Megan Cogburn 23 Martha Grant 24 Jackie Gabriel 25 Reita Burroughs Megan Delehanty 26 Karen Maniago Lucas Hogue 29 Nathan Stubbs Joan Miller Debbie Gailbreath Ken Logerquist Abey Drew 30 Martha Milton Wanda Weaver-Karasek Lovyne Turner 31 Haley Vidolin Bev Newton

2 Walter & Mae Armstrong 6 Richard & Virginia Warner Larry & Diane Bender 8 Gary & Celless Beck Tom & Kathy Granata Chuck & Laurie Schumacher 10 Richard & Anna Armstrong Paul & Diane Cline Kenneth & Tami Taylor 12 Robert & Beth Piel Les & Shirley Fountain Pat & Ren Sullivan 14 William & Reita Burroughs George & Rita Hopkins 15 Jack & Patsye Dulmer Matt & Darla Hager 18 Mike & Susan Kramer 19 Bill & Maggie Rodgers Terry & Carolyn Winfrey 20 Dan & Mary Earnest Eric & Susan Mori 21 John & Laferne Adams Jim & Nancy Mitchell 24 Bill & Pat Davis 25 David & Elizabeth Taylor 27 Joseph & Vanessa Carusone Parvin & Sally Russell 29 David & Joanne Farley Brett & Kim Stephens 30Tom & Ginny Derrough Albert & Virginia Del Sordo

Piecemaker News

The Piecemakers will continue to meet throughout the sum-mer, on Wednesdays in the East Wing from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. All are welcome to join us. We are working hard to re-plenish our supply of baby and lap quilts and to have many handmade items ready for our annual sale in November. Our mission is “to support each other in fellowship and love as we create quilts for our babies, shut-ins, and friends of Grace United Methodist Church who need comfort; and to make items for sale to assist our church financially.” If you know of someone in the congregation who would like to receive a visit and a comfort quilt please let the Piecemak-ers know. If you have a son or daughter returning home from active duty in the military, please call Carol Simpson at 497-5460 or Audrey Tamblingson at 497-5478. The Threadcatchers quilting circle meets every Friday 9am – Noon in Room A8. For information call Lorry Stover at

August 2012

NON– PERISHABLE ITEMS ONLY, PLEASE!

Mark through the bar code then place in the shopping cart located in the

Narthex. ALSO check the expiration date!!

Thank you for your support!!

Saving Campbell’s Soup Labels for the Red Bird Mission

This mission outreach supports a

school that is teaching new job skills, music programs and much

more. Please save the circled part of the

coupons. If that is not present they are considered void.

ALTAR FLOWERS Kindly consider enhancing the beauty of our worship areas by

placing flowers on the altar. Flowers can be given

IN MEMORY OF or IN HONOR OF loved ones or friends.

Bouquets are $30.00 each and are yours to claim after the 11:00 AM

service. Sign up on the flower Calendar in the hallway by

the staff offices.

Good Samaritan Mission Clothes: WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY

DONATIONS AT THIS TIME. We will start this mission outreach ministry again in the fall.

News from the

Current Projects from the Board of Trustees While some of you have been away for the summer, the Board of Trustees replaced the roof on TFEC. With all the rainy season before us, this will hopefully eliminate the “drips” that occasionally occurred on stage. We also paid for repairs on the Punch Hall restroom, painted the hallway in TFEC, worked on getting Punch Hall ready for the After School program, emptied out the bus barn to get ready for the move, and many other “housekeeping” items. We have also begun the huge task of inventory for the church, preschool and parsonage. We like to keep the congregation up to date on the projects that we are working toward so the following are the current projects and needs. The cost of the new roof took all of the reserve fund plus what had been specifically saved. If you feel called to donate to one of these projects, please contact Gene Stover, Chair of the BOT.

New Bus New Wheelchair Van Purchase a good used truck New 7 passenger van for smaller trips Paint the campus buildings Irrigation contract Lightening mitigation

In addition to monetary assistance, physical help is always appreciated on any of these projects: please contact Gene Stover at 941-716-0636.

The Story is a unique program providing up to 31 weeks of curriculum for children, teen and adult Sunday school and up to 31 weeks of corresponding sermons. When accompanied by reading through the five age-related books (The Story, The Story: Teen Edition, The Story for Kids, The Story for Children, and The Story for Little Ones), the entire church can be literally on the same page for 31 weeks. Our experience of The Story will begin on Sunday, August 26th. As a staff we are excited about beginning this new adventure The Bible is central to our faith, but many people are intimidated by its scope and size. The Story gives us a way to journey from Genesis to Revelation together in 31 weeks so everyone understands God’s story and how their story intersects with it.

GALAXY (NEW format for Children’s Sunday school) will include the following for chil-dren during 9am Sunday ser-vice: The Story for Little Ones is for our children birth through PreK. The Story for Children is for children in Kindergarten and 1st grade. The Story for Kids is for chil-dren in grades 2nd through 5th. The Story: Teen Edition is for those in 6th through 12th grade.

The Story for adults will be ex-plored in our various adult Sunday school classes as well as a Monday evening small group. Sunday morning, classes will gather at various times to watch the 10-minute DVD and then disperse to the various classes to dig deeper into the lesson.

9:30 in Punch Hall 9:45 in West Wing 10:10 in TFEC

Monday evening, a small group will meet at 6:30 in room 103 (depending on the size of the group).

If you have any questions regarding the various aspects of The Story, please contact the following people: Pastor Jim regarding sermon series, Pastor Devon regarding children and adult Sunday school, and small groups, Matt regarding music for LifeJourney and Youth program, and Gene regarding music for the Traditional service. Find more information at www.graceontheisland.com.

Wow! We cannot believe that summer is over and our new school year is beginning. We will have our New Parent Meeting on August 15th at 6:30pm in the Sanctuary and our Open House for students and parents on August 17th from 3:30-4:30pm. We only have a very few part time spots available. The new school year officially begins on August 20th.

Our very popular Dairy Queen nights will begin in September. We will publish dates for you to join us at the Big Q. Plans are in motion to begin our After School Program for K-5th grade students in August 20th also. This program will be held in Punch Hall for students from several of the elementary schools. The afternoons will be filled with fun activities and a bit of homework time too! It’s not too early to start thinking about our annual Dinner and Silent Auction. This year it will be held on November 10 at Plantation Golf and Country Club. Our committee is already busy working on gathering all the wonderful things for you to bid on. This is our largest fund raiser so we hope you will mark your calendars and plan to attend. We are looking forward to a fabulous year!

Grace United Methodist Newscaster (USPS 581-930) is published monthly (except July) by Grace United Methodist Church, 400 field Avenuce East, Venice, FL 34285-4035. Periodicals Postage Paid at Venice, FL 34285, and additional mailing offices.

Grace United Methodist Church 400 Field Avenue East Venice, Florida 34285-4312 941-488-1374 Website: www.Graceontheisland.com

Postmaster: Send Address Changes to:

Grace United Methodist Church Newscaster

400 Field Avenue East , Venice, FL 34285-4035

LABEL

The Newscaster is sent as an E-Mail publication. Contact Katrina Cook at 941-488-1374 or

trina@graceontheisland.com to be added to the list or pick up a hard copy in the Narthex.

NEWSCASTER DEADLINE Please submit all articles by August 13 for inclusion in the September Newscaster. Thank you, Katrina Cook