2015
Season of Serving
Handbook
Loveland United Methodist Church
10975 S. Lebanon Road
Loveland, Ohio 45140
(513) 683-1738
[email protected]
www.lovelandumc.org
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What does it mean to serve?
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15
Is it really necessary to serve God?
What is the purpose of doing something that God could honestly do
better and more quickly without us?
Peter addresses the importance of serving God in 1 Peter 4:10-11:
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone
speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone
serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and
the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
Peter makes it clear that we have received our gifts from God for two
purposes— to serve others and to bring praise to God. Serving isn’t
about us receiving attention or glory; it is for Him to receive glory!
How does God receive glory when we serve?
We are speaking and serving directly on behalf of God to others, while
He gives the ability and strength for us to do so. And when we direct
glory towards Him instead of accepting it for ourselves, we stand out
from the crowd. Giving ourselves to God is our spiritual act of worship.
Serve the God who has provided the greatest service of all, His Son.
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS
FREE THE GIRLS (On-going)
Giving women a way out of human trafficking. Donate a bra, sports
bra, nursing bra, or camisole and help a woman buy a brick mold, so
she can make a brick to build her new home. If instead, and if you
can afford to, think about donating a dollar per bra, or if you were
thinking about purchasing a bra...please consider donating the money
that is needed to ship these bras to Africa. It takes one dollar to
send a bra to Africa. Please place used bras and donations in the
marked UMW basket on the Shelf of Generosity.
IMAGINE NO MALARIA (On Going)
Imagine No Malaria is the United Methodist church-wide effort to
overcome malaria in Africa and eliminate deaths caused by this
preventable disease—a goal world leaders hope to accomplish by
2015.
We, here at LUMC, work with our conference of churches to raise
money throughout the year to donate to Nothing but Nets. Each net
is $10 and saves a life. Donations can be made any time through
weekly designated offerings.
INTERNATIONAL TRIPS (Seasonal)
International mission trips are coordinated through our Mission
Team. Offerings are announced early each year and take place over
the Spring and/or Summer months.
Recent trips include: Belize, Columbia, China, Brazil and Mexico
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NATIONAL MISSIONS
HENDERSON SETTLEMENT (Spring/Summer only)
Henderson is an organization of the UMC, reaching out to Bell County,
KY…one of the 10 most economically challenged areas in the USA.
LUMC has supported the SOWER Mission, which builds houses for folks
in desperate need in the Henderson Settlement service area, for more
than 5 years.
We are currently sending volunteer crews to Henderson to build our
2015 house. Service weeks for 2015 are:
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
1 ---- May 3 – 9
2 ---- May 11 – 16
3 ---- July 12 – 18
4 ---- July 19 – 25
5 ---- August 16 – 22
6 ---- August 23 – 29
UMCOR
We support local, national and international emergency relief efforts
through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). Currently we
are helping to support the Haitian Relief Effort through financial
contributions and donations of health kits.
How can you serve at LUMC?
We have four different ways to serve at LUMC: Staff, UM Ministries,
Lay Ministries and ASOs (Additional Service Opportunities).
Here at LUMC, we have a group of paid staff members that work either
on a full time or part time basis in the areas identified. Our staff
includes:
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Terry Fisher – Senior Lead Pastor
Randy Parsons - Director of Youth Ministry
Missy White - Youth Ministry Intern
Becky Parsons - Director of Music Ministry
Mark De Young - Contemporary Worship Leader
Debbie Chotkevys - Pianist
Sharon White - Director of Discipleship
Miss Dorothy – Childcare
Carolyn Campbell - Childcare
Laurie Reagan - Director of Ministry Operations
Linda Plybon - Office Administrator
Robin Kerth - Office Administrator
Each United Methodist Church has a required group of United Methodist
ministry areas that have chairs, members, etc. If you serve on one of
these core ministry teams, you serve for three years before moving on
to your next “Season of Serving”. The required ministry areas include:
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Staff Parish – The Church’s Human Resources
Finance
Trustees
Each chair, along with representatives from other ministry areas and
staff members, are also part of our Church Council or Administrative
Board that meets monthly to discuss budget, vision, actions needed, etc.
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In addition to these required ministries, an individual church may have
however many lay ministry areas they would like as long as leadership and
financing are available to achieve effective use of the ministry.
We are unbelievably blessed here at LUMC to have an additional 25+
ministries, with new ones starting each year.
They include:
 Adult Discipleship
 Children’s Ministry
 Senior’s Ministry
 Youth Ministry
 Music
 Drama
 Family Ministries
 Brother’s In Christ
 United Methodist Women
 Missions
....and more!
LOCAL MISSIONS
NAST TRINITY UMC Support (3rd Sunday of each Month)
Each month, men and women serve the under-served by leaving LUMC on
Sunday morning by 4:15 a.m., driving to Nast Trinity UMC (Over the
Rhine) and begin preparing breakfast by 5:00 and serving from 5:30 till
around 7:15 a.m. and returning to LUMC by 8:00! Fantastic reminder as
to how blessed we are and the importance of serving others in a Christlike manner
L.I.F.E. FOOD PANTRY (Weekly and Seasonal)
Weekly:
L.I.F.E. {Loveland International Food Effort} is a ministry we support,
along with other local churches, for the purpose of providing food and
emergency financial aid to those in need. Our Shelf of Generosity serves
as a weekly drop off point for donations to the pantry.
Each of these ministry teams welcome new team members any time! If
you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact the church
office (683-1738 or [email protected]) for the contact
information for that ministry. You may also explore these ministries on
our website at lovelandumc.org.
But what about all those opportunities to serve that don’t fall under
one of these categories?
This booklet will step you through all the ASOs (Additional Service
Opportunities) that enable the full body of Christ here at LUMC to work
together in God’s Kingdom.
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Seasonal:
Each fall, LUMC, in conjunction with Church World Services, the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and Loveland Interfaith
Effort (L.I.F.E.) hosts the Festival of Sharing where intentionally gather
specific items that help improve the lives of people in need over a given
month.
For Christmas, LUMC works with L.I.F.E to gather items for their Annual
Giving Shoppe. Gift tags are chosen from the Giving Tree in our lobby
and delivered to L.I.F.E for families in the Loveland community.
LOVELAND COALITION FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
(Seasonal – typically in the late Spring/early Summer)
Loveland UMC teams with other churches in Loveland to build Habitat
for Humanity homes for a partner family.
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LOCAL MISSIONS
WESLEY CHILD CARE CENTER (Weekly and On-going)
The center provides quality childcare to over 150 families.
Weekly:
The Campbell Soup label bag, located on the shelf above the coat rack
next to the nursery, is a drop off point for labels which support the
center.
On-going:
By providing supplies and giving our time to freshen up the facility and
grounds we make help share God’s love with those at W.C.C.C.
RONALD McDONALD HOUSE (Weekly and On-going)
STAFF SUPPORT
Our church office is open Monday thru Friday from 9a – 3p. We have
two office administrators that job share and maintain our daily office
operations and support of the staff.
Extra hands are always needed to assist not only the office
administrators, but our part time staff members.
Weekly Opportunities
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Tuesdays – 1:00-3:00 pm – Answer phones during our weekly
staff meeting.
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Staff Support – (one hour each week for one month): You pick a
staff member to assist, the day and time that works best for
you and lend a hand on projects, administration, setups, etc.
Staff members to assist: Laurie Reagan, Sharon White and
Randy Parsons.
Weekly:
Drop your soda can tabs in the jar on the shelf above the coat rack next
to the nursery. Tabs are recycled for cash donations for Cincinnati’s
Ronald McDonald House—a home away from home for families of children
with serious illnesses who are undergoing treatment at nearby medical
facilities.
On-going:
Members of our church also serve at the house on a regular basis.
Seasonal Opportunities
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Cutting Club – Cutting projects, as needed (usually Happenings,
postcards, labels, etc)
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Mass Mailings – Assist the execution of large church wide
mailings. Typically occur in the holiday months and during the
Stewardship Campaign in the fall.
OTTERBEIN Retirement Community (Seasonal)
Otterbein Retirement Community located in Lebanon offers independent,
assisted living and nursing care to the residents. At Christmas, LUMC
through the UMW Miriam Circle provided the nursing care residents
toiletries, socks, slippers, candy, walker-carry bags, pens, combs, tissues,
lap robes, and miscellaneous items.
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CAMPUS MINISTRY
As we celebrate our 20th year in our building, we have a variety of ways
for you to serve to help us keep our campus up to date, looking welcoming
and inviting and putting our best foot forward.
We have an amazing housekeeping staff, therefore all service areas are
in addition to the basic weekly building maintenance we already employ.
Weekly Opportunities
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Kitchen Captain (10-15 minutes weekly, month of service
requested): Cleaning, purging and organizing of the kitchen.
Cleaning may include putting away items on counters, throwing
out expired elements in fridge, etc. Basic cleaning actions like
mopping, sanitizing, etc are done three times a week by our
housekeeping staff…..but we have a VERY busy kitchen!
OFF SITE MISSION FIELD SERVING
The mission of LUMC’s Off Site Mission Field Serving Opportunities is
to ensure that through selected outreach activities, every member of
LUMC can use their God-given abilities to reach out to others on a local,
national, and international level.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did it for me.” Matthew 25:40
It is our desire to provide year round opportunities for you to choose
from Local (Tri-State), National (USA) or International Opportunities!
For updated offerings, be sure to visit our mission page on our website
at lovelandumc.org.
Seasonal Opportunities
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Shepherds of the Soil (March – October): Select a gardening
plot on our campus, plant, water, weed and maintain the plot
throughout the growing months.
Deck the Halls Captain (Last Sunday in November): Facilitate
the decorating of our campus for the Christmas Season.
Typically requires an hour of service before the Sunday and 2-3
hours of service on that Sunday (especially if you have a lot of
help!)
Un-Deck the Halls Captain (1st Sunday in January): Facilitate
the un-decorating of our campus from Christmas. Typically
requires 2-3 hours of service on that Sunday (especially if you
have a lot of help!).
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YOUTH MINISTRY
F.U.E.L
(Friends United in Everlasting Love)
FUEL is the LUMC Youth Ministry for all youth in grades 7 – 12. The
regular group meetings are Wednesdays from 7 – 9 p.m. in the FUEL
room. Each Wednesday typically includes a large group study, activities,
snacks, and small group discussion.
A more intimate book and Bible study is held each Tuesday evening from
7 – 8 p.m. In addition to our weekly meetings, we have special outings,
retreats and mission trips that nobody wants to miss.
CHILDREN and FAMILY MINISTRY
We offer a variety of Children and Family Ministry programming
throughout the year and would love to have additional servers in a
variety of areas. What a fun ministry to serve as we share God’s love
with our LUMC Families and the littlest of these!
Monthly Opportunities
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Sanitizing Service (1-2 hours a month): Cleaning of all toys
and play surfaces in the Toddler Room, U1 and Nursery.
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Supply Chief (1-2 hours, bi-monthly): Organizing and restocking of Children's Ministry supplies in L6.
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"All Together Now" Saturday Class Leaders (once or twice a
month): Prepare for and teach the Saturday Night Kid’s
program “All Together Now” which is a one room school house
Sunday School Curriculum. Planning materials provided. Weekly
time commitment is from 5:30-6:30pm. Program is designed for
children in grades K-6th.
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M.O.M.S (Mothers of Many Seasons) Dinner Coordinator (one
Thursday a month) – Work with the MOMS coordinators to
arrange, setup and cleanup dinner on the 3rd Thursday of each
month during the MOMS meetings.
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Kid's Summer Book Club (NEW!) - Need two or three team
members for coordinating, planning and implementing this new
ministry.
“Lukewarm is not enough…” Revelations 3:16
Weekly Opportunities
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Administrative (1-2 hrs.): Running copies, checking permission
forms, organizing supplies.
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Driver (2-3 hrs. occasionally): Willing to drive occasionally for
outings. Varies from activity to activity, but might involve 2 - 3
hours on a Wednesday evening or Saturday.
Seasonal Opportunities
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SUMMER: In the weeks prior to the mission trip, a few hours of
help is needed to collect, organize, and copy the paperwork for
the trip.
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WORSHIP MINISTRY
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Baker’s Dozen (One Sunday, twice a year): Make or buy and
bring to church 13 dozen cookies to be served during worship.
Can be dropped off any time during the week you have selected.
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Communion Element Captain (1 Sunday a month, request three
months of service, so 3 times each quarter): Purchase and
bring communion elements to church for the 1st Sunday service
each month. All costs reimbursable. Will not have to set up or
serve.
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Worship Videographer (Two Saturdays a month): Record via
video tape our Saturday night service – message only – and
deliver file to office for distribution. All equipment and training
provided.
We offer three unique weekly worship opportunities:
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Saturday - 5:30 pm – Acoustic Worship
Sunday – 9:00 am – Traditional Worship
Sunday – 10:30 am – Contemporary Worship
Each worship service has a variety of areas where you can serve.
Weekly Opportunities
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Visual Elements Assistant (1-2 hrs.): Assist the visual
elements captain with dressing the altar, banners, and various
campus decorations as needed. Not necessarily every week.
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Saturday night Communion Elements Captain (20 minutes each
week, request one month of service): Purchase and bring
communion elements to church for Saturday services. May be
dropped off any time during the week. Elements will vary. All
costs reimbursable. Will not have to set up or serve.
Monthly Opportunities
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Hospitality Captain (1 Sunday a month, request three months
of service, so 3 Sundays a quarter): Responsible for making,
stocking and monitoring our coffee and cookie bar for both
worship services on Sunday morning. Typical morning is 7:45a –
12:00p. All supplies provided, so no cost involved.
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Service Captain (10 minutes - 1 service a month, do not have
to do both in one day): Responsible for completing our service
check list to ensure all the service details are in place (candles,
lights, etc.).
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