-Meet the NEW PASTOR for GUMC

Pastor Eric grew up United Methodist with his two younger brothers on a farm outside of Britt, IA where his parents still live. He graduated from Luther College with a Music Education degree and directed high school choirs for 12 years. While teaching, Eric met his wife Bobbye, also a Luther grad, who grew up in New Mexico. In the Spring of 2008, the Holy Spirit told Eric it was time to become a pastor. Eric served as the student pastor of two country churches in North Carolina while attending Duke Divinity School full time. Upon graduation the family moved to Greenfield, Iowa, where Eric has been the pastor for the last 6 ½ years. Eric and Bobbye have 4 children – Catherine (7th grade), Anna (6th grade), Ella (4th grade), and Paul (1st grade). Their family is very active in their church, school, and community and have felt blessed to live in Greenfield for so long. They look forward to the new opportunities and ministries God has for them at Grinnell UMC and in the Grinnell community.

 

-New Door Locks

GUMC now has a new security system on the inside doors at the Ramp Door Entrance. You will now need to either stop in the office or use the intercom located next to the office door to check in with staff and be buzzed into the church during office hours. Thank you for your patience and understanding through this new process.

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- NEW! Now you can donate to GUMC with PayPal Giving Fund here.

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- Check out our newsletter under the Resources tab for more information about all of our events and more

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January Meals:

Jan. 15: Smoky Mountain Chicken/roasted veggies & potatoes/salad/rolls

Jan. 22: Taco Bar/corn/black beans/fruit

Jan. 29: Chicken noodle soup & chili/fruit/carrots

 

February Meals: 

Feb. 5: Smothered Pork Chops/rice pilaf/salad

Feb. 12: Pizza/salad/fruit

Feb. 19: Cheesy BBQ sloppy Joe’s/corn/salad

Feb. 26: Baked Potato/sweet potato bar

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Grinnell UMW Events

No Circle or Board Meetings

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-Annual Souper Bowl Lunch

Don't make any plans for lunch TODAY!  Our annual Souper Bowl lunch will be after the 10:30 worship service in the Friendship Center to benefit youth missions.  We'll have chicken noodle, chili, and vegetarian soups along with cheese, crackers, and desserts.

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-Senior High

Our Senior High have lots of things happening!  Check out all that we’ve added to our calendar for ways to get involved.

-Gifts for Jesus Tree

Our annual Gifts for Jesus tree will be up throughout the month of January in the Friendship Center.  We will be collecting non-perishable food donations as well as toiletry items, mittens, hats, and gloves for MICA.  More information will be included in the next newsletter.

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-Annual Take Away Hunger ALL CHURCH Meal Packaging!

Our 5th annual meal packaging rally will be on Sunday, February 9th, from 9:15-10:15am in the Friendship Center.  We will package around 7,000 meals in that hour, but we need help from everyone in the congregation (ALL AGES)! Join us in the Overflow area at 9:15am on February 9th. We’ll open our celebration with a short time for instructions, and then we’ll get started quickly!  Any and all hands are invited to attend—we have had 2 year olds through 85+ year olds helping in the past.

HERE’S HOW TO HELP!

1.      Donate now!  To help us package and serve our goal of 7,000 meals, we are in need of some financial donors.  You can sponsor a person: the cost per person to package meals is $30. You can purchase meals:  the cost per meal is $.25. You can give a flat donation. Anything helps us reach our goal!

2.    Come to help out, and bring friends!  We’ll have four to five different lines packaging meals, so we’ll need hands to measure, dump, seal, and package.  Plus, we will need strong arms and backs to help keep our line ingredients full, put together boxes, and more.

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-T.G.I.W.

T.G.I.W. (Thank God It’s Wednesday) After School Program for ages K-4, a partnership between St. John’s Lutheran Church and Grinnell United Methodist Church is going so well this year! TGIW meets every Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30 for grades K-4. The bus drops the children off at the Grinnell United Methodist Church for the program. We currently have 13 children enrolled and welcome more! If you have a child that would like to attend please email or call 641-990-0044.

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-Coffeehouse Baristas

Haven’t seen our coffeehouse open for a while?  We need YOU! We’ve got tons of flavors all picked out and ready.  We’ve got Ashley’s secret, special hot chocolate recipe all lined up.  We just need a few helping hands on Sunday mornings to warm up the milk and get the coffee brewing.  If you can help on Sundays between services, let Ashley know. We’ll train you (and swear you to secrecy on the hot chocolate recipe)!

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-Central District Laity Summit, February 1, 2020 at Ankeny, First UMC see the FLYER or register HERE.

Start 2020 off with other UMC Laity and focus on skills you need to grow your church and your leadership skills. The day will be filled with great speakers, worship, and time to brainstorm what YOU can do in your local churches and community. Speakers include: Rev. Dr. Lynnette Plambeck, Rev. Dr. Heecheon Jeon, Dr. Mary Bellon, Lynn Calvert, & Brent Gibbons

Registration begins at 9:00. Lunch provided. Please sign up on the Central District Webpage at

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-June 5-7, 2020 Annual Conference Dates

The 2020 Iowa Annual Conference is being planned to begin early Friday afternoon, June 5 and close late Sunday afternoon, June 7, 2020. This change responds to one of the more often named requests in annual conference evaluations, which asked that the length of the annual conference session be shortened. This change will have the effect of reducing expenses incurred by Annual Conference lay and clergy members and their local churches and lowering the cost to hold the Annual Conference Session, something that is funded through Conference Apportionments.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

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