Category Archives: Announcements and Stuff

Old Time Worship Sunday
First Baptist had instituted a summer special “Old Time Worship Service.” The day of the Old Time Worship service came. Farmer John Calver rode into the church parking lot with his horse and carriage and a hand lettered sign on it: “Energy efficient vehicle. Runs on oats and grass. Caution: do not step in the exhaust.”

Claybanks United Methodist Church is once again scheduled to have our Old Time Worship Service and church picnic on Sunday, August 17, 2025, outdoors weather permitting.

2025 Mission Statement:
The mission of the United Methodist Church is to form disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.

This new Mission Statement was developed by the United Methodist Council of Bishops. It will be part of the Michigan Annual Conference being held in Traverse City from May 29 – June 1, 2025. Pastor Gary will be preaching on how our new Mission Statement can be “Lived into” by the Claybanks United Methodist Church on Sunday, July 6^th.

Bonhoeffer
Pastor, Spy, Seminary Professor, Assassin
As the world teetered on the brink of annihilation, Diedrich Bonhoeffer is swept into the epicenter of a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler. With his faith and his fate at stake, Bonhoeffer must choose between upholding his moral convictions or risking it all to save millions of Jews from genocide. Will his shift from preaching peace to plotting murder alter the course of history or cost him everything?

Find out on Sunday, June 8^th when Claybanks United Methodist Church gathers for a meal after worship. We will have prepared for us: hot dogs, baked beans, chips, strawberry shortcake with ice cream and popcorn. Plan to be there and what a great time to invite family, friends, and neighbors to join you and our church family in viewing a very important movie about the life of one of the prominent theologians in the 20th century.

Women of Faith
The date of our June meeting is unknown at this time.

It will be determined by when the strawberries are ripe and available.  It’s during this meeting time that we wash, hull, and prepare the berries for the freezer in anticipation of our annual August Strawberry Social.

The women will communicate by phone when a date has been determined.

United Women of Faith
March 20^th Meeting

The UWF will be taking orders for flowers to decorate our sanctuary for Easter.  Watch for order forms in the bulletins or talk with Cinda for details.

On Easter morning, there will be a continental breakfast following the early (out of doors) portion of the service.  We need people to sign up to help fill our fruit bowl for breakfast. There’s a sign-up sheet in the fellowship hall.  Please bring your donations in, ready to go, washed, cut up, etc.

Please come to our next UWF meeting on April 17 at 1:00 p.m.

Advent Lenten Sunday School
This Lent, we will begin a new Lenten Study Series “The Message of Jesus” by Adam Hamilton. Our first study class will be on Sunday, March 9^th beginning at 9:30 a.m. Study books are available. Please see Pastor Gary. All are welcome and invited to take a special journey during Lent with Jesus. The class will consist of short readings during the week, classes on Sunday morning with viewing a DVD presentation by Adam, followed by discussion of Adam’s presentation and our readings looking at the important themes of Jesus’s teachings.

Missions
Recently, we received a “Thank You” letter from Family Promise. Our Christmas Mission giving of $154.00 was used to support a family that was able to transition from temporary housing into their own place and with our assistance, the children had a joyous Christmas with gifts for all.

We are currently looking for mission ideas for this spring. One suggestion has been made to consider that would be helpful is The Trinity Food Bank, which we have and are continuing to support, has started a Baby Pantry and is experiencing a great demand for diapers, formula, baby food and other essentials for infants in need. Please give us your feedback on this possible mission or another local missional need that you have become aware of.

Sacred Moments
I would like to remind us that during our worship time to be considerate of others. It is a time of prayer, singing, rejoicing and meditation. Quiet time should be respected. Communion time is a reverent time when we focus on the receiving of the elements and Jesus’s presence with us.

While this happens seldom, please turn off the sound for your cell phone during worship. I have been guilty recently of not leaving my cell phone in the office and have had it vibrate during worship which has distracted me, and I apologize for it.

Pastor Gary.

From Shar B.

Hello friends and neighbors! With the help of friends, I am presenting a concert for Hope and Strength as we live through the very real challenges of loss or brokenness in this new year.  Come join us on Sunday, February 16, at 3:00 p.m. at Olivet Evangelical Free Church in Fruitport.  If you have, or are experiencing brokenness or loss, this time is for you – or your friend. Facetime Live is a possible option.  More details later.

A Note from the Treasurer

Year End Donation Statements

It’s quickly approaching time for me to fill out individual donation forms showing what your donations to the church were during 2024.

If you’d rather not receive a form showing your giving, please let me know as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Cinda

Mission Project for December

In the past, Claybanks had assisted Montague UMC with hosting families in the Family Promise Program. With a permanent home now in Muskegon we are reconnecting with Family Promise to sponsor a family for the holiday season. A special Love offering will be taken up on Sunday, December 8^th to support a family with gifts for the children and parents of a family.

Peru Mission Update
From Richard Lindell

Preparations are continuing for the mission trip with his church. They are preparing medical supplies, clothes, and eyeglasses which will be distributed between everyone’s checked baggage for the trip. Travel plans are being completed for the group. Richard will continue to keep us up to date on the trip as their departure date comes closer. He is appreciative of our prayers and support.

Women of Faith

Our Women of Faith group met on October 17.

Our most pressing task was to decide how to donate our ‘surplus ‘ funds, made from our annual Strawberry Social last summer. After a discussion we decided to donate $150 to each of the following organizations:

C.U.R.E. International 
Muskegon Rescue Mission
Every Woman’s Place 
MOKA
The Ladder
Oceana Council on Aging
Crystal Valley Care Fund
Oceana County Medical Center
White Lake Giving Tree
Women of Faith treasurer

Another topic of discussion was the disarray of the back rooms of our building. We decided to have a cleaning day on October 25, at 1pm, to sort and straighten up the Sunday school rooms, the library, nursery, and storage rooms. We want these rooms to be presentable and ready to be used as needed.

Our next meeting will be on Friday, November 29 at NOON. We will be decorating the church for the Advent season and can use the help of anyone who would like to join us. We will be serving a pizza lunch. Please consider lending a hand in this fun task.

Thank You!

Thank you to all who said yes to continuing to serve the Claybanks UMC on the various committees and Administration Council. Thank you to those who have said yes to new or additional positions to the Council and committees of the church for the next few years. Our church had a beautiful reflection on Sunday, October 20^th in that so many from Claybanks UMC attended our Church Conference at White Lake UMC along with seven other United Methodist Churches.

Disaster Relief

With the hurricanes and floods this fall the United Methodist Council On Relief (Which we support on UMCOR Sunday each spring) has been continually active in providing materials, service, and volunteers to help those effected by those disasters. Should you want to respond you can direct your financial donations to: Advance 901670 Global Ministries The United Methodist Church, 458 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE Building Q Suite 1 Atlanta, Georgia 30308 or visit the website:umcmission.org.