Southport UMC Newsletter

Help your nonprofit organization receive $25.   Schedule your assessment today! Energizing Indiana Home Energy Assessments can help raise your home’s performance, lower energy bills, improve in-home air quality and increase your home’s value. When your assessment is complete, Energizing Indiana will donate $25 to Southport United Methodist Church. Please use ID code: SUMC11132013. www.energizingindiana.com   or 1-888-446-7750

Dear Friends, October is gone and November is here. Before we know it we will be gathering with friends and family and giving thanks for God’s blessings at our annual celebration of Thanksgiving.   After that the Christmas season will be upon us, and once again we will be caught up in the whirlwind of activity and preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Once again, I want to give each of you the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a manner that moves us away from the rampant commercialism and frantic pace that seems to permeate our lives during that time of year. At Southport United Methodist Church we will be engaging in Operation Christmas       Transformation again this year.   This is an opportunity to celebrate Christmas where we focus less on ourselves and more on whose birthday it really is, Jesus. Operation Christmas Transformation is an opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a simpler, more meaningful way and help othe...

Are you on a journey?   Let me answer that for you.   We are ALL on a journey!   Each and every one of us is on a journey in our faith. Babies start their physical and mental journeys as   newborns. Each continues through the    stages of being an infant, a toddler, a child, a youth, a teenager, and on into adulthood. Adults even go through their own stages of adulthood as they continue to grow (in more ways than we care to think about) and learn. The journey we are on applies not only to our physical, emotional, and mental abilities, but   also to our spiritual state as well.   Our journey as Christians is all about moving toward    Christlikeness.   I have to honestly admit that I did not understand that concept for a long time in my journey.   That is actually part of the journey – moving from a newborn Christian through various stages of maturity.   As we grow in maturity, we are moving toward Christliken...

In this season of thanksgiving, a sincere “thank you” is in order to everyone who supports our congregation throughout the year with their attendance, service and regular financial contributions. For those of you who are interested, the church offers an electronic giving option for making donations on a scheduled, automated basis.   It’s convenient for you and provides much-needed financial consistency for the church.   To donate, please pick up an authorization form in the church office or print one from our website at sumc.org

In our journeys, there are next steps that we can all be taking on our Christian journey.   Here are few examples: Come to worship each week and worship God as a Body of Christ. Many of you are already taking a next step in your journey of growing toward Christlikeness by being involved in a CORE Discipleship class. Some of you are in a small group on Sunday morning or during the week. Keep watching in December and January as we get ready for JOURNEY GROUPS.   (Oops – I let the cat out of the bag.) Many, many of you are serving on a ministry team, in this building or in the community. Here are a few more ways to continue on your journey while helping others on their journeys.    Children are new to their faith journey.   We need to help them to grow.   A way that you can help them on their journey and continue on your journey is to help with Children’s Ministries, including Children’s Church. Imagination Station is our p...

If you are interested in working with children through interaction, teaching and imagination, Imagination Station Preschool/Childcare, a ministry of Southport United Methodist Church is interested in connecting with you.  Full and part-time positions available.  If interested please contact Children's Ministry Director Allyson Ball at 317-780-4624 or allyson@imagstation.com.

The November food collection this month will be Nice Saltine Crackers.  Collection Days will be Thursday, October 31, and Sunday, November 3.