e-news

Summer is upon us!

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:40:40 +0100

Greetings friends and family of Ruffin UMC! We will have an updated E-News coming soon at the beginning of July. You can check here for the latest post, or if you would like to be added to our email list, please contact our minister at RevLauraWittman@gmail.com. Thanks and have a blessed day! <><

September E-News

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:49:40 +0100

Greetings Everyone! I hope that you will allow me a moment of preaching before I get to the Ruffin news, in light of today's anniversary. Today, of course is September 11, 2009. Can you believe that it has been 8 years since that tragic day in our Nation's history? Where were you when you heard the news? How did it change you? How did the events of that day speak to you, and what did it mean for your faith? For just a brief moment, we remembered that God is our source of comfort, God is the one who sustains us when we are hurting and when we are down. People flocked to churches, realizing that our faith was the only thing to get us through. But then things went back to "normal". What if we maintained that same spirit, remembering that God is the one who protects us, and God is the one we should be turning to when we are hurt? I bet church attendance would be much higher, not just in Ruffin, but everywhere. And the reason for that? We all have pains and anxieties that we should be turning to God for. 9/11 was one of the most horrible events that any of us will ever witness, but even in the midst of all that pain and suffering, God was working and God was with us. Let us be reminded of that. Let us never forget to turn to God, to trust in God, and to love God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ."
God consoles us in our afflictions. God consoles us when we are alone and hurting. Let us not only turn to God in times of tragedy, but remember that God should be our comfort and the one whom we praise when things are going well too!

With all that in mind... on to the news <><

Ruffin UMC Calendar

September 13- (Sunday) Charge Conference reports are due at the 11:00 service.
We will also have a brief Administrative Council meeting after church on Sunday.
The youth will have a Guitar Hero party with Fairview UMC in Elon. Youth Kids, meet at the church at 4:15. Tacos will be served! We will be home at around 8:30 Sunday night. Come dressed as your favorite band or rock star. The best costume gets a prize!

September 16- (Wednesday)- 6-8pm Christian Believer Bible Study

September 19- (Saturday)- 8:30-10, Angel Food Distribution. If you have ordered Angel Food this month- please be at the church to pick up your order at this time. Food that is left over will be given to a family in need. In addition, if you would be available to help with Angel Food distribution or ordering, we could always use some more assistance. If you would be willing to help, please contact Holly Hockett.
Saturday night- 1954 Class Reunion

September 23 (Wednesday) - 6-8pm Christian Believer Bible Study

September 24 (Thursday)- 6pm UMW Evening Circle Meeting

September 27 (Sunday)- 11am- Charge Conference. Our wonderful District Superintendent, Rev. Sam Moore, will be preaching, and we will celebrate all that Ruffin UMC has accomplished in the past year, as well as celebrating our goals for the year to come. Afterwards we will have a baked potato luncheon in the fellowship hall. On Sunday there will be a sign up list at the back of the church for items to bring to the luncheon.

September 30 (Wednesday)- 6-8pm Christian Believer Bible Study

October 3 (Saturday)- 10-2- UMW Bake Sale

October 7 (Wednesday)- 6-8pm Christian Believer Bible Study

October 11- (Sunday) - Homecoming with Rev. Mark Wimmer as our preacher! There will be a luncheon (yum!) afterwards in the fellowship hall.

News:

Mark your calendars for November 14th. We will be having a special event for the women in our church and in our sister churches. We will have a guest speaker to talk about gratitude, and soup and sandwiches will be served.
Please remember, once again, that Charge Conference forms are due this Sunday, the 13th at 11:00 service. Thank you so much to all of you who have turned your forms in already, and to all of you who have forms to fill out! Without your work and dedication we would never be able to get it all done. So I really appreciate all that you do.
A special thank you to Betty Collie for all of her work on the new pictorial directory!
I will be working, once again this week, on updating the church website. I would love for us to have a new activities page, or a page with special interests. If you have a picture that you would like to submit, or maybe news about an award or a new grandbaby (wink wink to all of our new grandparents) please let me know, as I would love to put those on our church website. In addition, I would love for us to have a recipes page, just for fun, so if you have a fantastic recipe you would like to submit, just email those to me, and I'll be sure to get them on the website.

As far as I know, that is all the information that I have for now (I'm sure I'll think of something else as soon as I send this email)... so I will bid you adieu. Be sure to check out our church website. http://ruffinumc.yolasite.com!

Have a Blessed Day <><

Love and Peace
Laura Wittman

August E-News

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:43:53 +0100

Hello everyone, I know that you all have been on the edge of your seats waiting for the August E-News... so without further delay, here it is!

August Calendar:

August 3:- UMW Fellowship Night at Hickory Grove UMC- 7pm
August 8- Ruffin UMC trip to Rivertrail Mercantile and Childress Vineyards- Depart 9am and return at 7pm
August 12- Nominations Committee Meeting- 7pm
August 13- Angel Food on-site ordering 5-7pm
August 14- Angel Food on-site ordering 9-11 am
August 19-Disciple Bible Study, "Christian Believer" begins, 6-8pm
August 20- UMW meeting- 7pm. This month's meeting is a special meeting, we will be having a Beauti Control spa night. Open to all the ladies in the church, come and celebrate a night of fellowship and a chance to have fun and be girly!
August 22- Angel Food pick-up 8:30-10
August 26- Disciple "Christian Believer" 6-8pm

Ruffin UMC News:

We will begin our study, "Christian Believer" on August 19th at 6pm. If you would be interested in participating in the study, there is a sign up sheet at the back of the church. There are also two books for you to look at to find out more about the class. Books cost approximately 35-40 dollars. If you would like, you may write a check to Robin for the cost of books and I will pick them up at Cokesbury for you.

On August 8th we will be taking our trip to Rivertrail Mercantile and Childress Vineyards. We will be leaving from the church at 9am and returning at 7pm.

Please remember to visit our church website: http://ruffinumc.yolasite.com

Charge Conference is scheduled for September 27th, during our regular Sunday worship service. This is a great opportunity for us to be in fellowship with our District Superintendent, as well as to celebrate all that Ruffin UMC has accomplished in the past year!

Charge Conference reports are due no later than September 6th. Thank you so much to everyone who has reports to do. Your time spent is greatly appreciated :)

Nominations committee will meet on August 12th at 7pm.

In your bulletins last week and this week are forms for nominations as well as a survey. Nominations and surveys are due August 9th. You may also email your responses to me any time before August 9th.

We are currently working on making a new pictorial directory. Beginning NEXT Sunday, August 9th and continuing through the rest of the Sundays in August we will be taking pictures after church. Please sign up for a Sunday on the sheet at the back of the church. Also, if you would be willing to contribute pictures for an activities page, please put your name on the back of the picture, so that it may be returned to you, and give it to Betty Collie before the end of August. In addition, there is an old directory at the back of the church, please check it and make sure that all of your information is up to date.

Throughout the month of August, there will be a box in the back of the church to collect supplies for the Animal Shelter. We are looking for lightly used collars and leashes, as well as bowls for water and food. In addition, the animal shelter needs dog food and cat food, any brand will do. If you would be interested in fostering an animal please let me know and I'll be sure to get you in contact with someone from the shelter.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day!!!

Love,
Rev. Laura Wyant Wittman
Ruffin UMC

July E-News

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:33:51 +0100

Hello Everyone! As promised, here is the July edition of our Ruffin UMC E-news. As always, if you know someone who is not getting our E-news, please let me know so I can be sure to add them to our email list.

July Calendar- Ruffin UMC
July 4th- Ice Cream Social and Game Night at the church. Bring your favorite Ice Cream and your favorite toppings... along with your favorite board game and prepare for a night of fun and fellowship. Afterwards we will go to Eden to watch the fireworks.
July 5th- the youth group will be hosting a hot dog dinner immediately after church. We hope you will be able to stay!
July 12th is the last day to place your Angel Food orders online for July
July 17th- the youth will be taking a trip to Concord Mills with a lock-in afterwards. If you would be interested in going to Concord Mills with us, please let Laura or Holly know... we would love to have you with us!
July 18th- Angel Food order pickup for July from 8:30-10. Remember that if you are not present to pick up your order, your food will be given to a family in need.
July 20th-23 is Vacation Bible School. This year's theme is Camp E.D.G.E. (Experience and Discover God everywhere). VBS will be from 6-8 each evening. July 23, the last day of VBS we will have a hot dog dinner open to everyone!

Church News:
As some of you may have seen already in yesterday's email... we do have a new church website. www.ruffinumc.yolasite.com At our new website you can find the church calendar, basic church information, as well as information about Angel Food ministry and a direct link to our Angel Food order form. Please pass this link on, especially if you know someone who is interested in Angel Food.
We are going to begin working on a new church pictorial directory. Rather than going through Olan Mills or another large company we are just going to put one together by ourselves. That being the case, during the month of July we are going to pass around the Old Directory at church. We ask that you let us know if there are any changes or corrections that need to be made to your information, or if you were not listed in the old directory, please be sure to provide us with your contact information. We will also be compiling a new Birthday/ Anniversary list to put in the back of the directory. During the Sundays in the month of August, we will be taking pictures immediately following the church service. If you know that you will not be present at any time during the month of August, we ask that you please submit a picture to Laura or Betty Collie by August 31st. Also, if you have any pictures that you would like to submit for our activity page, please write your name on the back of it and give it to Betty Collie. Your picture will be returned to you as soon as we complete the directory. We will have more information and details at a later time. If you would be interested in helping to put the directories together please let Laura or Betty know.

Conference News:
In August there will be a Gathering of Laity at Lake Junaluska that is open to all the laity of the conference. Pricing for the retreat depends on where you stay and if you purchase a meal plan. You can find more information here: http://www.wnccumc.org/lai/lai-events.htm
If you are available, you are strongly encouraged to think about attending. This is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship and to get to meet other laity in the conference.

Additional Information:
If you have anything that you would like to add to the church calendar please let me know and I'll be sure to add it on.

Have a blessed day! <><

Rev. Laura Wyant Wittman

Welcome

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:51:29 +0100

Welcome to our new church website. This blog will be used to provide an online version of our e-news. If you would like to have the e-news sent to you, feel free to subscribe to our blog, or contact Laura Wittman at preacherlaura@gmail.com to be added to our e-news list. Thanks for visiting!