Winter Craft Fair and Flea Market

Saturday, March 13, 8:00am – 3:00pm

The timing is perfect to give others the opportunity to use the items you no longer need.  It’s also the ideal time to purchase a beautiful handcrafted item for Easter and/or Mother’s Day.  Space (length of one table) is available for only $15.  Need to use one of our tables…just $5 more.  We will offer hot dogs, chips, soda, coffee, tea, and soft pretzels for purchase throughout the day.  If you would like to reserve a space, please contact Diane McKairnes . 

All proceeds from this fundraiser will help offset the registration costs associated with Scottsville’s Annual Mission (SAM).  This year youth and adults will travel to Pittsburgh to participate in the “Pittsburgh Project.” 

Scottsville Merry Hearts Pillow Ministry

Since the beginning of the Scottsville Merry Hearts Pillow Ministry in May of 2005, volunteers have prepared and delivered a total of 7,925 cloth pillows to the St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne.  These pillows are given without cost to help patients in their recovery from surgery. This number includes 4,592 heart-shaped pillows for the cardiac care floor, and 3,333 rectangular ones for the medical-surgical floors.  A sincere word of thanks goes out to everyone involved.  We appreciate your participation in the making of the pillows, deliveries, contributions of fabric and labels, and monetary donations received from the Joyful Noise offering.

We are presently experiencing difficulty in purchasing bulk fiberfill as A.C. Moore has not had any in stock for several months.  We have had to switch to Walmart for lesser amounts at a greater price.  In addition, Walmart does not provide percentage off coupons to reduce the price.  If you know of any other supplier, please let us know.

Remember that we gather in the adult Sunday School room the second Saturday of every month to “stuff” the pillows.  The only months that we do not meet are August and November.

Detailed directions and patterns can be found in the stacked wicker baskets in Fellowship Hall.  Fabric is available in the adult Sunday School room.  If you have any questions, contact Sherry Landman  or Barb Gummo .  Thank you.

THE February Food Drive IS EXTENDED TO MARCH 14 – This is Scottsville’s seventh year of running the February food drive, and it has grown into an activity in which the entire church family participates.  We have collected, sorted, and distributed nearly 17,000 pounds of food in our first six years. 

The supply of food in the pantries is extremely LOW, and the need in our community is greater than ever.  We distribute this food to pantries throughout Bucks County. 

Help is needed in the following areas:

Ø  Volunteers to help collect donations at the Acme in Feasterville on Sunday, March 7, from noon to 4:00pm.

Ø  Awareness of our food drive.  Spread the word to everyone you know.

Ø  Volunteers to sort and weigh the food on Sunday, March 14^th.  Our semi-annual pancake breakfast is the morning of March 14.  Please bring a non-perishable food item. 

Ø  Drivers to deliver the food to the food banks on Monday or Tuesday, March 15^th and 16^th.

Ø  Food, food, and more food!  Bring all you can.  Seek all you can find!

God bless you all.  Please contact Jeff Smith if you have any questions or can help out.

Our little church does great big things!

A collection was taken on January 17^th and 24^th to aid those affected in Haiti.  These donations amounting to $949 will go to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief), and 100% of that money will go directly to Haiti.  Thank you for your contributions.

2010 AFF* Meal/Soup Mission Schedule

Scottsville UMC

Here is the 2010 schedule, which has been updated to relieve conflicts with some UMW scheduled events, so please update your calendars.

We appreciate all the help with the cooking of the meals, soup-making and putting meals into dinner trays from everyone at Scottsville.   You have made this mission a huge success in 2009, and your efforts will continue this mission through the coming year.   THANKS TO ALL!

*Note: AFF = Aid For Friends is a meal ministry for disabled and/or people in need based out of Philadelphia, and covers Philadelphia and its surrounding counties.  SUMC has been supporting this mission for over a decade.

Members of the congregation cooked and prepared 678 meals in January.  What a great way to start the new year!  Thank you all.

Wrapped in God’s Comfort

Scottsville Hat & Scarf Ministry

In 2009, I was asked to take over the Hat & Scarf Ministry.  We now have a name, bible verse, and logo for this ministry, “Wrapped In God’s Comfort” Hat & Scarf Ministry.”

Since May, I have been collecting, sorting and packing hats, scarves and mittens that this congregation so lovingly makes throughout the year.  In 2009, we collected 40 hats, 94 scarves, 20 sets, 17 mitten sets, one pair of slippers and six afghans.  With the help of Sherry Landman, we have prepared boxes for shipment/delivery to the following:

• A Woman’s Place          

• The Lower Bucks County Red Cross Shelter                   

• Frankford Group Ministries       

• Kensington Area Ministries          

• Wrapped By His Love Ministry                                                                                     

Everyone can contribute to this wonderful ministry.  Yarn is available in Fellowship Hall in the Wrapped in God’s Comfort cart.  If you can’t crochet or knit, but still want to contribute, we accept all donations of yarn, gift cards, and cash for yarn purchase.  Feel free to donate as God directs you.  If you donate by check, please mark your check “Wrapped in God’s Comfort Ministry.”

I am trying to schedule a Saturday morning get-together to show people how to crochet a scarf (the fellowship and camaraderie is an added bonus).  Please keep an eye on the bulletin for the date.  Anyone can crochet.  Come out and learn how.

God has truly blessed the Scottsville family with the talent to create these beautiful articles of clothing, and continues to bless this outreach ministry as it serves our community in sharing the love of God and the comfort that can be found in a life believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Patrice Matthews, Coordinator

and            

E-PRAYER CHAIN COORDINATOR FOUND:  Scottsville would like to thank Sue Britsch for volunteering to fill this position.  Beginning immediately, please forward prayer concerns and joys to Sue.  Her email address is:  sbritsch1@mtb.com

Prayer Request forms are available every Sunday morning at church.  Just ask a greeter or usher when entering the church.

If you have a prayer concern you would like to share with the congregation, please fill out the form and hand it to the usher during collection.  Pastor Keen will include the prayer request with joys and concerns.  The prayers will also be circulated through the e-mail prayer chain, unless otherwise noted. 

Applying Bible Principles

Someone once said, “Experience is a good teacher, but she gives the test first and then the lesson.” That’s certainly true, and based on many of life’s experiences, we frequently fail the test before we can benefit from the lesson.

The formula “e equals mc2” is familiar to many college students but understood by very few people. Most of us know it had something to do with Einstein and was the formula that led to the release of enormous energy and to the nuclear age. Similarly, in funding the local church, “e” might stand for every, “m” for member, “c” for commitment, and the “2” for the effort multiplied by itself. The fruit of that kind of effort is much more powerful than what Einstein discovered, even as Jesus described it in Matthew 21:22 — “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Right now, as we consider the opportunity to support the ministries here at Scottsville United Methodist Church, God is putting us to the test. As Gordon Moyes stated, “Responsible giving or stewardship is not man’s way of raising money, but God’s way of raising people. . . .The church’s budget is not a list of its expenses, but a record of its vision. It is not a list of bills to be met, but a program of ministry to be achieved.”

As each of us prayerfully considers what God would have us give, and as we obey what God asks of us, we can trust Him to provide the resources. That’s a test — a test of where we are spiritually much more than where we are financially. It’s a test of us as individuals and of us as a church. The question is whether or not we really believe that God has the power and ability to bless our obedience “more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).

How are you doing concerning God’s tests regarding money in your life? If God’s provision in your life in the days ahead depends on how you obey His leading now concerning your giving, what will the future be like for you?

It just might, you know. . . .

We don’t want this House of God to ever close its doors due to lack of funds. The Finance Committee as always, thanks you for your support.

March Special Offerings

The Joyful Noise offering for March will support Scottsville’s Annual Mission (SAM).  This year’s Summer Mission Trip will be to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The Pittsburgh Project was founded in 1985. It is an urban neighborhood-based Christian community development non-profit organization.  They help youth become servant leaders while upholding the dignity of vulnerable homeowners.

The youth will be assigned various jobs such as dry walling, painting, roofing and plumbing, while working with adult leaders and getting to know the people of the community and other mission workers.

The Communion Offering will support Native American Ministries.  Your offering nurtures mission with Native Americans and provides scholarships for United Methodist Native American seminarians.

Lower Bucks County

Code Blue

Penny Martin, ( advocates4homeless@gmail.com ) is a member of Emilie UMC and the Program Coordinator for Advocates for Homeless & Those In Need (AHTN), an advocacy group that sponsors a Code Blue mission in Lower Bucks County.  The mission was modeled after a similar program in Montgomery County.  There are currently four Host Sites that rotate the Code Blue activities monthly.  AHTN has many trained volunteers who can sign up on the AHTN web site for specific dates and times that they would be available to man a shift if a Code Blue is called.   No one can be a volunteer until they receive a 45 minute training session from the Red Cross.

The Code Blue period is from December 1 until April 15 and activated when the temperature is in the 20 degree range.  The shelter is staffed all night by AHTN staff and the Host Site Coordinator along with three volunteers (2 males and 1 female).  The shelter is not opened if the required volunteers are not available.

AHTN has sheltered 15 to 20 guests per night that Code Blue was in effect.  The individuals are the homeless who live in Lower Bucks County.  AHTN has a borrowed bus that is staffed by 2 volunteers (1 male and 1 female) who pick up the individuals at designated locations and transports them to and from the Host Site.  AHTN hopes to able to purchase their own vehicle in the future.  No children, nor pets are allowed.  The guests must not be under the influence of controlled substances nor alcohol.  All meds must be taken prior to entering the shelter and given to the staff for storage and accountability until they are returned to the individual in the morning.

After arriving at the Code Blue Shelter, the guests are signed in, loaned bedding, and assigned a cot.  They are provided with dinner, a light breakfast, and sometimes a bagged lunch.  In the morning, they are transported back to the pick-up location. All food and supplies are donated to AHTN. 

The Host Site’s obligation is to make their facility available for the Code Blue Shelter operations.  AHTN provides everything needed to shelter the guests. All food, bedding, cots, etc, are stored at the host facility and moved from one Host Site to the other during the change over. 

A 45 minute Red Cross Training session is scheduled to be held at Scottsville UMC on March 25, 2010 at 7:00pm for both Scottsville members and the general public.  A sign-up sheet will be available in the Narthex for those who which to attend.

SAM is looking to expand.  We are currently looking into the legalities of aiding neighbors in our own community, as well as participating in a yearly mission trip.  All members of the congregation, and the youth in grades six and up, are welcome to participate.  New members are also being sought to join the SAM committee.  It’s always refreshing to greet new members and fresh ideas.  The committee meets the second Monday of the month at 7:30pm.

 As always, thank you for your support.   The SAM Committee