Angel Gabriel Fair

We will be holding our annual Angel Gabriel Fair on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Haddock Chowder luncheon will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The fair will include Angel Gabriel Quilters handmade items, Holiday fresh greens cemetary baskets, costume jewelry and collectibles, "Newburyport Revisited" photos, handmade "local photos" greeting cards, attic treasures, baked goods and sweets.

Join us. Browse to your hearts content, buy up a storm, or sit a while and chat. Whatever you do, we know you'll leave with a joyful feeling to last throughout the Holidays!

Church Council, Saturday Worship, Bible Study and Mission

We will be holding our next Church Council meeting on Saturday, November 6 at 9:30am. We will be planning activities for Advent, reviewing our Lay Leadership Committee for next year, and planning our landscaping and new sign installation project.

We will be having worship on Saturday at 4pm. If you are looking for an alternative to Sunday morning, we encourage you to check out this service! If 4pm on Saturday doesn't work for you, but you are interested in alternative worship times, please contact the church at 978-465-5145 or respond to this post and let us know what you'd prefer.

We have started a new Bible Study, which will meet monthly on the last Tuesday of the month. We meet at LeeAnn's, 4 Goodwin Ave, at 7pm. This group is ideal for those who are new to Bible Study or folks who are looking for a less frequent commitment. Due to Thanksgiving, the next meeting will be November 18. In addition to this group, the regular Wednesday evening study continues to meet each week at 7pm on Parker Ridge Road.

We are continuing to collect school supplies for our "School Bags for Africa" project. If you have pencils, notebooks, construction paper, metric rulers, pink erasers or pencil sharpeners to donate, please call the church.

Christmas Cantata Rehearsals

Curtis Haley will be leading us in our Christmas Cantata again this year! Singers from Salisbury, Amesbury, Byfield, Merrimacport, Newburyport and the Good Shepherd church in Haverhill are once again invited to rehearse together as we prepare for an Advent concert. Rehearsals start October 19 and will be held from 4-6pm each Sunday afternoon at the Amesbury United Methodist Church.

Thank you for your support!

Thanks to your support, the People's United Methodist Church team raised over $500 for the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center. Our team of 7 enjoyed walking and talking together on the beautiful crisp fall day.

This week's Bible Study is at Beverly's house on Wednesday October 22 at 7pm. We will be holding a Saturday Evening worship service on October 25 at 4pm.

Worship on Sunday, October 26 will be at 10am because we will be holding our Charge Conference jointly with the Merrimacport UMC. This is the day our District Superintendent meets with us and reflects on our ministries for 2008. All are invited! Here is the schedule:
8:30-9:45am PUMC Pastor Parish Relations Committee
10-11 worship at PUMC (joint worship with MUMC)
11:30-1 join us for a pot-luck lunch. MUMC PPRC will meet over lunch
1 - 3:15pm Joint Charge Conference

Please plan to join us for an important milestone in our church year!

October 6 Update - Walk Against Violence, Adopt a Family

Due to the upcoming Columbus Day holiday we will not be having Bible Study or Saturday afternoon worship this week. We will be having a Church Council meeting at 9:30am on Saturday, October 11. All are welcome.

A team from PUMC will be participating in the Walk Against Violence on October 19 to raise awareness and funds to support the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center. If you would like to support our team, you may donate at our web site:
http://www.gifttool.com/athon/OurTeamPage?ID=1603&AID=451&TID=2367

Once again this year we will be buying Christmas gifts for a family as part of the Haverhill Department of Social Services "Adopt a Family" program. Our adopted family has seven children! If you would like to purchase a gift for either parents or a child, please contact the church. Gifts will be delivered in early December.

Ministry and Worship Update

At PUMC we are launching several new ministries!

• Joan Eaton and her daughters will be making school bags for children in Africa. She asked the church if we are intersted in providing No.2 pencils, pencil sharpeners, large pink erasers, spiral-bound notebooks, construction paper, blunt-nose scissors or rulers (must have metric markings) for the bags. She is also looking for help in stuffing the bags and shipping them. If you'd like to help or provide money, please leave a comment on this posting with your contact information (email or phone). Sewing and packing bags will be planned with the residents of the James Steam Mill.
  
• We are making and distributing Prayer Shawls. If you would like to make a shawl (must be machine washable) or if you know someone who would like a shawl, lap-blanket or stole, please let us know. Prayer shawls can be knitted, crocheted, quilted or any other form of soft material. We dedicate and pray over the shawls before giving them to those in need of warmth and comfort during illness, loss or other difficult time. The prayer shawl ministry group is sharing patterns, and is also considering meeting together to make the shawls with one another. This is a great opportunity for ministry on your own time, at your own pace, that really touches lives. It is also a wonderful way to learn a new craft!
  
• Saturday Evening Worship begins Saturday, October 4 at 4pm. We know that not everyone who would like to join us in worship finds Sunday at 9am to be a convenient or even a feasible time for their schedule. For those who are looking for an alternative, we will be offering this Saturday Worship option. The service will reflect of the gifts of the congregation. Our first service on October 4 will be a healing service with communion.
  

10/1 Bible Study

Our study of the books of Ruth and Esther using Warren W. Wiersbe's book "Be Committed" continues. This week's meeting is at 7pm at Beverly's house at 25 Parker Ridge.

Bible Study on Wednesday September 17

We are studying the books of Ruth and Esther using Warren W. Wiersbe's book "Be Committed". This week's meeting is at 7pm at Beverly's house at 25 Parker Ridge. Come join us for a lively discussion!

Outdoor Worship August 31

Instead of our normal 9am worship at the church, we will be worshiping in Merrimacport at Carey Park on River Road at 10am. This will be a joint worship service with the Merrimacport United Methodist Church. The service will be at the Merrimacport church in case of rain.

Please call the church at 978-465-5145 for directions or for a ride.

Bible Study

The next Bible Study will be held Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7PM at Jane's house. We will discuss the final chapter, lesson twelve, of Max Lucado's book "James".

On September 10th we will begin a new study on the books of Ruth and Esther using Warren W. Wiersbe's book "Be Committed". Check back for the location!

Music Celebration for Curtis Haley - June 22

Curtis Haley has been our church organist and choir director for many years, and is now retiring to move to North Carolina to be nearer to his family. He has also led the Hoperful Cluster of United Methodist Churches in Lenten and Advent Cantatas for the past 4 years. We have all enjoyed his humor, his stories, his patience, and his musical talents.

To celebrate his musical gifts and leadership, we will have a choir sing-along and reception on June 22 at the church at 4pm. Choirs from the Good Shepherd UMC in Haverhill, First Parish UMC in Salisbury, Amesbury UMC, Merrimacport UMC and Byfield Community UMC are invited to join People's UMC Newburyport by bringing an anthem to sing. We'll also sing a few hymns together and send Curtis off with a song of encouragement and blessing, "Go Ye Into the World."

A reception will be held in Hartson Hall after the musical celebration.

Bible Study - Summer Plans

Bible Study will meet this week (June 4) at Bob and Ardis' home. Please call the church for directions, 978-465-5145.

Bible Study will meet every Wednesday in June. One June 25 the group will enjoy a potluck supper at 6:30pm. For the rest of the summer, the group will meet once a month, on July 16 and August 20. We will resume our weekly fall schedule on September 10. Check back here for postings on where Bible Study will meet.

Bible Study

The next Bible Study will be held Wednesday, May 28 at Jane's house on Parker Ridge. Call the church for directions at 978-465-5145.

Children's Music Workshop

Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 9:30am until noon People's United Methodist Church will be presenting a music workshop for children ages 3 - 12 years old. This is a free event.

Your children will enjoy a morning of music, crafts, Bible stories and campfire songs! For more information, please contact Joanne at 978-463-8670 or the church at 978-465-5145.

The People's United Methodist Church is located at 64 Purchase Street in Newburyport.