Office Announcements
Office Hours : Monday - Thursday, 8:30 - 3:30
-NEW Office Hours
GUMC office will now be open Monday - Thursday 8:30am - 3:30pm.
- GUMC Re-Opening Team
GUMC is going to start having limited In Person Worship on Sundays at 10:30AM. We are asking that each family unit only signs up for one Sunday a month and that all participants wear a mask and observe social distancing outside their family unit. If you would like to sign up to reserve your spot, go to ’s Home Page and click on the Sign Up Genius icon. Or click here.
- Check out our newsletter under the Resources tab for more information about all of our events and more
Blessed Community Meal Menu
Wednesday's @ 6 PM
Blessed Community for the month of November is full of thanks. We are thankful for our church community, thankful for willing volunteers, thankful for nice weather, and thankful for our health. Please join us by volunteering to help with prep or serving each week. We are a small and mighty crew and could always use another hand. To volunteer, please reach out to Amy in the church office or Jennifer at cogley@iowatelecom.net. Please remember as we head towards winter that we follow the school calendar.
-Jennifer Cogley
MENU:
Oct. 21: Smothered Pork Chops/Rice Pilaf/Green beans
Oct. 28: Ham & Noodle Casserole/French Bread/Fruit
Nov. 4: Tator Tot Casserole/Corn/Fruit
Nov. 11: Smoky Mtn. Chicken/Rolls/Roasted potatoes
Nov. 18: Ham or Roast Beef Sliders/Green Beans/Fruit
Dec. 2: Italian Baked Chicken/Rice Pilaf/Roasted Veggies
Dec. 9: Smothered Enchiladas/Corn/Tortilla Chips
Dec. 16: Ham Balls/Roasted Potatoes/Green Beans
Grinnell UMW Events
All UMW events are cancelled for October.
Youth Announcements
-ACES
This past month, we’ve continued virtual ACES time with our unit two on Faith and the story of Abraham and Sarah. We hope you’ve enjoyed gathering with our ACES leaders in the nursery each Sunday morning at 9:15am for a time of connection, story, and craft. Each Monday, Ashley also emails out weekly ACES offerings. These are follow up crafts, spiritual disciplines, and options to continue throughout the week to engage with the story. If you do not receive these but are interested, you can contact Ashley to be added to the list. We are continuing with virtual ACES in November with our third unit on Blessing--the story of Jacob.
Give Back Rally THANKS!
Sunday, October 18th, 9-10amOn Sunday, October 18th, from 9-10am, several families gathered throughout the Giving Gardens in our local community masked, gloved, and ready to worship with their hands in service for our annual Give Back Rally. Though this year was vastly different than previous years, we were thankful for our blessings, hopeful in the Lord, and joyful in the outdoor company of others. THANK YOU to all of those who continue to support these efforts with your prayers and your presence.
-Confirmation
Each year around this time, Confirmation spends time talking about the history of the Church and the United Methodist Church. This year is the same...but different. In the midst of this historic year-this election, this pandemic, these national tensions--teaching history takes on a whole new perspective. While we live history every day, it is rare that we realize the impact of it, until we find ourselves in moments, years, such as these, because the goal of teaching history isn’t just to learn about what happened. The goal is to learn, to understand, to see from different angles, so that it can inform the way that we live today.It is in this time of Confirmation learning about history that we have always taken our first field trip. Now, this year’s trip was a bit different. We organized a virtual trip to the Hindu Temple in Madrid, Iowa, by gathering up information about Hinduism, pictures of the Hindu temple, and various pictures of other temples. And, while it may seem strange to spend time talking about Hinduism in a United Methodist Confirmation class, the conversations, learnings, and fellowship of that evening’s virtual field trip all lend themselves to broadening our understanding of our world, our faith, and each other--things our world needs so desperately right now. Around this time in the year, I leave the youth with one of my favorite homework assignments. In our lesson about Jesus’ faith through the Reformation, we discussed the church, how it grew, and how it changed over the course of history. In learning about how the Roman Empire rose, we discussed how the church became intertwined and powerful along with it, and how the church remained powerful after the fall of the empire. Then, we spoke briefly about a man named Martin Luther who, among others, felt the church needed reforms. This is where my favorite homework assignment came into play. How would you change/adapt/improve/reform the church? This could mean THE United Methodist Church or our Grinnell United Methodist Church. If I asked you, our congregation members, what would you say? If you read this article last year, you might notice I posed a very similar question to you. Has your answer changed since then? Have you changed? What insights does this bring to the conversation?
In faith and love,Ashley
-t.a.g.
In the past month, our 5th-8th grade students got together to serve the Blessed Community meal on September 30th and October 21st, play turkey bowling on October 7th, and learn how to make perogies on October 14th. Each time we gather, we wear our masks and follow various procedures to keep our attendees safe. As the weather is turning colder, we are working on various ways to keep our group meeting safely both in person and virtually. Ashley provides weekly emails. If you would like to contact her, you can email her at to be on her mailing list each week.
-Senior High
SH Nights: Wednesdays 6:30-8pm, Friendship Center
Each Wednesday, our youth gather for fellowship, homework, games, cooking, and various other surprises. We wear masks, stay physically distanced, and keep things sanitized to keep each other safe. But, it is nice to gather with one another, check in, and laugh together. If you are in high school and would like to join us, feel free to attend on Wednesdays from 6:30-8pm as your schedules are free!
Blessed Community Meal THANK YOU!
Our youth joined with the t.a.g. 5th-8th in helping to prepare and serve the Blessed Community meal on Wednesday, October 21st. Thank you to the youth who have helped volunteer their time and energies in serving this much needed ministry and meal.
Committee Announcements
-Apocalypse Study
The Apocalypse Returns! Wednesday 4:45-5:45pm in the sanctuary.
District News
-GUMC Charge Conferences
The 2020 Charge Conferences will look different this year, as they will be held over Zoom. The Southeast Region's charge conference will be Sunday, October 25 @ 4:00 PM. If you would like to attend via zoom, click the following link.
COMMUNITY NEWS
-Grinnell Food Coalition is working at getting grocery vouchers to individuals and families that have recently experienced a change in job, finances, etc. due to COVID-19 or were previously food insecure. If you or someone you know is in need you can contact them at
localresources@ahrensfamilyfoundation.org or 641-236-5518 ext. 109. For more information visit their website https://ahrensfamilyfoundation.org/local-resources/
-COVID Recovery Iowa
Every Iowan is eligible for FREE, confidential counseling, group activities, support groups and resources. Visit www.COVIDrecoveryiowa.org and complete a contact form and a counselor will get back to you. Call the Iowa Warm Line, 844-775-9276; to connect with a peer counselor or request to get in touch with a COVID Recovery Iowa counselor.