This Week at Zion!

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Breaking News ...

CommUNITY Dinner is Here!

Please help us, help our church, and make the Turkey Dinner a success! Dates to remember:

• Monday, November 2nd, 9am: Peel apples and make applesauce. Bring peelers.
• Wednesday, November 4th, 6pm: Peel squash, set up dining room, cover kitchen steam tables and stove with foil, cover floor with cardboard, pick up turkeys. Bring peelers!
• Friday, November 6th, 2pm: Chop and make the coleslaw.
• Friday, November 6th, 6pm: Peel potatoes, set tables, fill take out containers with applesauce. Bring peelers! Set up take out area and complete the kitchen set up (anything that was not done on Thursday night).
• Saturday, November 7th, CommUNITY Dinner Day!
  • 9am: Bring knives, cut potatoes, and fill coleslaw take outs and rolls. Lots of help is needed at this time!
  • 1pm: Cooking help needs to arrive.
  • 3pm: Waitresses and kitchen help need to arrive.
  • After all are served, please stay and help with clean up!

Thanks to everyone for making this a successful year!

Any question, contact Jana Hodgkins at 585.377.0473, Kay Polis at 585.671.5550, or Kathy Priest at 315.986.1341.

Are You on Twitter or Facebook?

These new social media tools can become overwhelming. Here is a hint, start simple (with one), and go slow (do twice as much observing as you do talking). Also, know this: what ever you post, the whole world may be watching, so be careful!

I start on Twitter in April, quickly became frustrated and gave it up ... that is until I attended a workshop sponsored by the AdCouncil of Rochester about the marriage of Information Technology and Marketing. This gave me the impitus to go back to Twitter and try again. Shazam, it's working!

All of which is to say, if you're on Twitter and interested in my postings on preaching, church & religion, Alzheimer's disease, hockey ... or any of my other interest, come follow me. I can be found at: @ToddGoddard

I found Facebook to be easier to learn. I've been on it for over a year. If you are on Facebook, do a quick search on my name (Todd Goddard) or my email address (tgoddard@rochester.rr.com) and friend me (that is, invite me to be your friend). I've started to publish my weekly sermons on Facebook and have many other Zion related links to information and photos. You can also look into my profile to find other members and friends of Zion, who you can, in turn, send an invitation to be your friend, too!

Facebook is easy to learn and it's free. To create an account or learn more, go to http://www.facebook.com

Either friend me or follow me, it doesn't make a difference. The conversation is waiting for you to join in and catch me up with your life!

Walworth Council of Churches Retreat

We have moved our Walworth Council of Churches Retreat to Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at Walworth Second Baptist Church 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with
Pastor Rick Klafehn facilitating. Cost of retreat is $10.00 payable to Walworth Council of Churches and will cover the cost of lunch.

Please note this Retreat has been moved ahead one week, please let those at you church who were planning to attend of the new date, the time and place is the same.

Deadline for reservation is Tuesday, October 13th to Joyce VanHaneghem at 315-986-1429.

Confirmation for 2009-2010

If you are entering Middle school this fall, you are welcome to begin the confirmation journey leading towards full membership in the United Methodist Church and in our local church, Zion. We will meet during the Sunday school hour, from 10:45 to 12:00 noon on the following dates: September 13, October 11, November 15, December 13, January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, May 16, resulting in confirmation on May 23, 2010.

We will be studying faith, belief, history, tradition, and the rights and responsibilities of a member. Every student will be paired with an adult mentor who is a faithful member of Zion. If you are interested, see me immediately! We'll have a lot of fun on this journey together.

Check Out Blair's Video!

Pretty proud of Blair in the University of Rochester carillon video...they shot over two hours of footage to whittle it down to this! [ Click here to watch! ]

Have you seen the newly refreshed Zion Web Site?

Sunday's Bulletin

Take a look at this Sunday's bulletin to learn all the details about worship. It is now posted for your benefit. [ Sunday's Bulletin ]

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Previously Reported, but hot, Hot, HOT News!

The Cirque is Coming to Rochester!

Deb Germain is exploring interest and obtaining names of those who would like to attend as a group the Cirque Dreams Holidaze, Sunday, December 13, 2009, starting at 7:00pm at the Auditorium Theatre. A new holiday musical of season’s dreamings! Ornaments come to life as costumed characters who perform astonishing feats that celebrate the holiday season and showcase pageantry and breathtaking artistry. An international cast of aerobats, aerialists, singers, dancers and musicians fill this Cirque Dream on stage, in the air, and while dangling from a 24-foot tall magical tree.

Gingerbread men flip through the air; toy soldiers march on thin wires; snowmen daringly balance; icemen sculpt; penguins spin; puppets carol and reindeer soar high above a landscape of holiday wonderment. See Deb for ticket information. Let’s get a Zion group to go!

2009 Annual Charge Conference Announced

The Annual Charge / Church Conference for Zion will be held Wednesday, October 21, 2009, starting at 7:30 pm. The Pastor-Parish Relations Committee will meet prior to the conference at 7:00 pm. Bishop Marcus Matthews has specifically requested that all church conferences be completed before Christmas. The Bishop is expecting that all church conferences will include compensation package approval, budget approval and nominations. And the Bishop has requested that the District Superintendent be present and lead the church conference for every parish.

The date was chosen well in advance of our annual CommUNITY dinner, and with enough time not to be affected by Thanksgiving, Advent, or Christmas. All members and friends of Zion are welcome to attend. Members have the privilege and responsibility of voting.

Sermon Archive on the Web

Are you aware that every sermon I've preached since January, 2005 is archived and hosted on our web site? The direct link is: http://www.oocities.org/kittycatalien/Zion/sermon.file.html Yes, I put it right out there - without apologies - for the entire world to read. When you travel and miss a message, or when you want to go back and check out exactly what I said or meant, simply download the sermon (saved in PDF format) and enjoy!

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Prayer Concerns

Prayer is identified as one of our core values at Zion "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Zion's Connection with the District, Conference, and Denomination!
Missional outreach is one of our core values at Zion

Sidney Center United Methodist Church

The Sidney Center United Methodist Church, in the Wyoming Annual Conference, burned to the ground early Thursday morning, October 1. Firefighters were called to the church, at the corner of Main Street and Franklin Depot Road around 4:00 A.M. The church building is a total loss. Flames were so hot that the siding was burned off the former parsonage, located behind the church. The congregation leases that building to Delaware County for use as a foster care home. Residents had to be moved, at least temporarily to another location. Fire investigators from the state and county are looking into what may have sparked the blaze.

The church celebrated its one hundredth anniversary in 1997. Members of the congregation plan to meet tomorrow to discuss a temporary place for worship. One option is the nearby Maywood Historic Train Depot, where the church has held summer services. Rev. Jan Marsi, Oneonta District Superintendent was on hand this morning to view the damage and be present with members of the church and the community. She spoke by phone with Rev. Barbara Pease, Sidney Center’s pastor to offer help to the congregation.

Please keep the Sidney Center UMC Congregation in your prayers.

Grace Urban Ministries

You are invited to attend the “Helping Hand Dinner and Auction” Saturday, October 24, 2009, 6:00-9:00 pm, Green Lantern Inn, Fairport NY.  $40 per person.  Featuring Carol Ritter Wright. Every dollar spent at the auction and $10 of each ticket supports Grace Urban Ministry’s outreach for the residents of the Dewey and Driving Park neighborhood.  RSVP by October 13 to Grace Urban Ministries, PO Box 13109, Rochester NY 14613.

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Genesee Valley District: http://www.geneseevalleyumc.org/
Genesee Valley District Weekly e-Newsletter: http://www.geneseevalleyumc.org/eFriday.html
Western New York Conference: http://www.wnyumc.org/
The United Methodist Church: http://www.umc.org

Schedule of Church Events

• Wednesday, October 21: Pastor-Parish Relations Committee. 7:00 pm. Annual Church Conference, 7:30 am.
• Tuesday, October 27: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm Council of Churches Women’s Retreat, at the Walworth Baptist Church, led by Bob Williams. $10 pp, includes lunch.
• October 23-31, Red Ribbon Week.
• Saturday, November 7: Annual CommUNITY dinner.
• Friday, December 11th: Council of Churches Christmas Concert. 4 dozen cookies needed from Zion!
• Sunday, December 13: Cirque Dreams Holidaze! 7:00pm at the Auditorium Theatre. (It’s not too late to join the 58 of us going; there are four more tickets available - see Deb for details!)
• January 18-25: Week of Christian Unity, with pulpit exchange on January 24th.
• January 24th: Taking dinner to Protestant Chapel Community at the University of Rochester.

Zion's Birthdays:

Final Thoughts From Your Pastor

‘The greatest asset of a religious person is imagination, and the greatest shortcoming of most churches is a failure of imagination.’
—The Rev. Pat Shipley (Virginia)

God loves you, and so do I.