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January 2012 |
USFW
January Meetings
The
Evening USFW will
meet at 7 PM on Tuesday January 10
at the church.
The Afternoon USFW
will meet Wednesday January 11 at
1:30 PM, also at the church.
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USFW Outreach Rummage
Sale
Friends are welcome to bring
secondhand clothing, household and
kitchen items, furniture,
electronics, and other sale goods to
the church attic in preparation for
the USFW's March rummage sale.
Proceeds from the rummage sale help
to fund the USFW's many outreach
activities throughout the year. If
you need assistance for transporting
your donations to the meetinghouse,
please call the church office.
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Community Easter
Musical
Rehearsals
begin on Sunday afternoon January 8,
from 3:00 - 4:30 PM at the Nazarene
Church (425 S. Main), for More
Than Just A Man, the third
annual community Easter musical
drama sponsored by the Ministerial
Association and area churches.
Singers, actors, extras, kids (age 5
and up), stagehands, and other
volunteers are invited to
participate. Our Music Committee
will pay for the music book for our
Friends who participate.
Performances are tentatively
scheduled for Good Friday April 6 at
7:00 PM, and Saturday April 7 at
2:00 PM. Please speak with Brian
Lilly, or contact Amber Hines
(584-6733) if you need more
information. |
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2012 Offering
Envelope Sets
Winchester Friends uses a
preprinted, numbered offering
envelope system (1)
to enable the bookkeeper to provide
year-end charitable contribution
reports to Friends for income tax
purposes; (2) to
provide a measure of privacy in
giving; and (3) to
maintain an accountability system
for those who handle the church's
offerings each week. The 2012
envelope sets are now available at
the church. If you don't currently
use envelopes but would like to
start, please contact the church
office to be assigned a numbered
set.
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2011
Contribution
Summaries
Winchester
Friends'
treasurer
and
bookkeeper
have
prepared
annual
charitable
contribution
summaries
for
individuals'
2011 tax
return
purposes.
Please
contact
the
church
office
(584-8276)
if you
have
questions
regarding
your
report,
or if
you have
not
received
your
expected
report
by
mid-January.
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2012 Church Budget
The Monthly Meeting for Business
held on December 4 approved a 2012
budget totaling $142,521 as proposed
by the Stewardship & Finance
Committee. The budget, which is 2%
lower than 2011's, anticipates using
$9450 of existing reserves for
college scholarships, trustees'
contingencies, piano lesson
subsidies, and
conferences/trainings. The
remaining $133,071 must be raised
through Friends' faithful
contributions of tithes and
offerings throughout the year
(average of $11,089 per month or
$2559 per week). The 2012
IYM program assessment
is $6375 ($75 per
member), and the IYM
missions assessment
also is $6375 ($75 per
member). Thank you for prayerfully
investing in God's Kingdom by
releasing ministry into the world
through Winchester Friends.
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Churches & Community Food Pantry
Statistics After
a rather tumultuous year of
transition, the Churches & Community
Food Pantry ended 2011 able
statistically to demonstrate strong
progress towards its stated goals --
increased efficiency and quality in
serving area residents needing help
to provide adequate nutrition for
their families. Over 70 volunteers
(35 from our Meeting) now are
working in this effort, up from
fewer than ten in previous years.
Since April 2011, the Pantry has
served an average of 288 households
(996 persons) each month, up from
188 households (533 persons) per
month in January-March. All those
extra people were provided
significantly larger amounts of
food, including quite a bit of fresh
produce, for $60,160 in 2011 -- $185
less than the Pantry spent in 2010.
That was made possible primarily
through increased procurement of
discounted food from Second Harvest
Food Bank in Muncie. It is also
important for Friends to know that
only 9% of the Pantry's clients
requested help in nine or more
months of 2011, while 65% of the
households sought assistance three
or fewer times (38% only once)
during the year. The Pantry Board
thanks all Friends for your
excellent support and efforts in
this important ministry!
Groundbreaking for New Facility
The Pantry's Advisory Board invites
everyone to the groundbreaking
ceremony on January 22 for the new
environmentally-green Pantry
building. The brief ceremony will
be held at 4:30 PM at the
construction site, just south of the
main parking lot on the St. Vincent
Randolph Hospital campus. The
Pantry Board's 2011 annual general
meeting and dinner will be held
following the groundbreaking.
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In Response to God's Gift of
Jesus.....
Friends at Winchester donated $713
to last month's Christmas
Envelope Offering for Missions.
The money will be shared equally
between our FUM missions
efforts in Belize (our fall
2011 missions focus) and the
Ohio Valley Gas Help
(matching) Fund.
Throughout 2011, the Missions &
Social Concerns Committee gave to
the Gas Help Fund 17% of all
unspecified missions donations, and
in December the USFWs gave another
$500 to it (raised through their
rummage sale and apple dumpling
projects).
Individual Friends also gave
$363 through the church in December
specified for the
Churches & Community Food Pantry.
The USFWs decorated a wreath for the
County Extension "Time For
Trees" auction that raised a
total of $2010 for the Food Pantry.
USFW also donated $300 for the
Community Christmas
Basket project that
served nearly 400 area households on
December 17. Friends from our
Meeting gave many hours of their
time leading that Christmas Basket
project, sorting and boxing the
food, distributing it to the
recipient households, and cleaning
up afterwards. Over the past year,
individual Friends donated hundreds
of dollars to the Pantry, to which
the Missions & Social Concerns
Committee added 17% of all 2011
donations received by the church
marked "missions," plus $900 worth
of soda crackers. Last October,
$104 of our Fast Once A Month
Fund (50% of the six-month
total) went to the Community
Pantry. Throughout 2011, Friends
also donated numerous staple food
items to the Pantry on the third
Sunday of each month.
Whites Residential &
Family Services at Wabash
received $250 from the USFWs'
Holiday Dinner Stocking Offering to
provide Christmas gifts for one
cottage of boys. Winchester
Friends' 2011 birthday/anniversary
offerings of $250 went to White's
Student Enrichment Fund.
Workers from our Meeting served
over 50 area households (around 200
kids) in the Toy
Connection distribution
of secondhand toys on November 30.
The USFWs purchased Angel
Tree gifts for at least 14
children in December. Many
individual Friends also bought
Angel Tree gifts, and several
Friends spent many days organizing
and distributing them in December to
around 600 area kids from
income-qualified households.
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Thank You!
--to John
Engle for many hours spent in
November and December cleaning and painting
walls in the meetinghouse annex basement
after repairs were made to the storm
drainage system at the west end of the
building
--to Mark Edwards, Suzanne Weber,
Jennifer Hartzler, David Longnecker, and
Jennie Suarez for sharing their
personal Advent stories with the
congregation last month
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January 29
Singspiration
The Ministry & Oversight will sponsor another 5th Sunday
Singspiration during the 9:15 AM meeting for worship on January
29. Much of the hour will be used for group singing, with
attenders invited to request a favorite hymn or chorus and
briefly to tell the congregation why that particular song
ministers to them. Friends also are invited to present
Celebrating the Arts specials during the singspiration.
Start now thinking about what song you'll request, and join us
on January 29!
Intergenerational
Sunday School For the past few
years, the Christian Education Committee has sponsored an
intergenerational Sunday School class following 5th Sunday
Singspirations. On January 29, the intergenerational class will
explore the "C" in the "SPICE" acronym for Friends' testimonies
-- Community. This 5th Sunday class will be a scripture study
and group discussion led by Christian Education committee
members. They will help the class explore what a vital 21st
century faith community looks like, and what it means to "watch
over one another for good." Everyone is invited for
refreshments (square donuts!), fellowship, and discussion about
living in Christian Quaker community.
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Please keep the church office updated with your
current address,
phone, email, and birthday and anniversary information.
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Congratulations!
--to
Bill Sipe on his
retirement from Hull Brothers farm
machinery dealership in Ft.
Recovery, OH, on December 23 after
sixteen years of employment there
--to Norman and Karen Peters
on their late-December/
early-January move into Winchester
from the family farm north of town.
Their new address is 820 E.
Greenville Ave.
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Youth
Winter Sneak
February 3-5
for grades 7-12
will be held at
Quaker Haven
from 7:30 PM on
Friday to Noon
on Sunday. This
year's speakers
are Adam and
Sara Van Dam.
The cost is $100
per student; the
Christian
Education
Committee will
consider
subsidizing that
fee for our
youth who want
to attend. The
registration
deadline is
January 27.
Brochures are
available from
the church
office.
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2011-2012 Woolman Award
Winchester
Quarterly Meeting's Woolman Award
project is to raise funds for a
ministry caring for orphaned babies
in the East African famine region,
and for Winchester's Pregnancy Care
Center. Some Friends are skipping
sodas or coffee daily or weekly and
donating the saved expense to this
effort. Donations may be left in
the church office or placed in the
Sunday offering clearly designated "Woolman
Award."
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26th KIVA Loan
The Missions & Social Concerns
Committee made its 26th microloan in
mid-December, this one for $400 to a
woman operating a small grocery
store in the Dominican Republic (in
the region of Friends' mission work
in Jamaica). The Committee now has
loaned out $8100 from the original
$2000 Best Special Projects fund.
Visit <www.kiva.org>
to learn about all our past and
current loan partners and monitor
their progress. At the top of the
Kiva home page, click on
"Community," then type Winchester
Friends into the "Search Teams"
box. Click next on the photo of our
meetinghouse, then on "Loans" above
the photo to see our loan partners.
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Howe-Fisher
Scholarship Program
With
assets bequeathed by
deceased Friends
Inez Howe, Mildred
Fisher, and others,
the Winchester
Friends Scholarship
Committee provides
financial awards to
help with the higher
education expenses
of members and
active participants
in the Meeting whose
academic work is
preparation for a
life of ministry for
Christ's Kingdom,
regardless of the
field of study or
future occupational
intent.
The Scholarship
Committee tailors
awards to individual
students based
upon: their
financial need;
their demonstrated
commitment to
Christ, to the
fellowship of the
Meeting, and to
serving others; and
their understanding
of education as
preparation for a
life of ministry.
Copies of the
Scholarship Fund
policy are available
from the church
office.
Students must
reapply for each
year they wish to be
assisted.
The Committee
welcomes those
applying for a
Howe-Fisher
scholarship for the
2012-2013 academic
year to obtain an
application from the
church office soon,
complete it, and
return it by
March 1, 2012.
It is important to
submit your
application on time,
especially if your
college has a
matching funds
program.
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Service Cancellation Policy
for Inclement Weather
The following policy was adopted in
2007-2008 to help Friends understand
how decisions regarding possible
service cancellations will be made
during Indiana's unpredictable
winter months:
1)
Anytime a Level Three (emergency
travel only) Travel Emergency is in
effect in Randolph County, services
automatically will be canceled.
2) In cases of
lower-level travel restrictions, the decision to cancel services
will be made (usually via phone consultation) by the Monthly
Meeting Clerk, the M&O clerk, the pastors, and other available
clerks or Meeting officers who can be polled. They will try to
make their decision early enough to prevent unnecessary travel,
but late enough to allow an accurate assessment of what actual
weather and road conditions will be at the time of the planned
services.
3) Anytime the
decision has been made to cancel services, Friends will be
notified by a combination of e-mail, phone calls, and
announcement on local radio stations (Winchester's WZZY 98.3 and
Indiana Public Radio). If you have not been notified of service
changes by e-mail, phone, or radio announcement, you may assume
that services will be held as usual. If in doubt, Friends are
welcome to phone the church or parsonage for the latest
information.
4) If services
are held during inclement weather, every reasonable effort will
be made to have the meetinghouse entryways, sidewalks, and
parking lot in usable shape. The Meeting's leaders assume that
Friends will attend if possible, but that individuals will
exercise good judgment as to whether they can safely travel to
the church, and that they will exercise due caution while
walking to and from the building. Those who are not confident
of their footing and balance are encouraged to remain safe at
home, praying with and for those who are gathering for worship.
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