​Why Does the Church Exist?

The mission of the United Methodist Church, or why the United Methodist Church exists, is ‘to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”​

When we adopted our ministry plan (available in the church office) in May, one of the things we agreed to do is determine a vision statement and core values. As stated in our ministry plan: “A shared vision creates clarity, calms anxieties, and calls us to align our core values and structure in order to fulfill the outwardly focused mission of the United Methodist Church, “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
With that in mind we had a church wide workshop in September to begin that process. A writing team went to work with the information from that workshop which resulted in Church Council affirming the following vision statement:

​“Inviting people, living the love of Christ.

And, As Followers of Jesus, We Seek to Make a Difference in the World through these Core Values:

• Worshipping God
• Loving and respecting all
• Serving others
• Growing in faith

(This was introduced during worship on November 18th and in last month’s newsletter.)

​The next thing our ministry plan calls for us to do with in this area is a worship series and church wide study. These will begin Sunday, January 27th. Like the study that was done last winter with “Who Stole My Church” we will offer groups at various times and days. Please watch weekly bulletins and emails for more specifics about these groups. We will be using the book, “A Disciples Path” for the study. This book is also in preparation for a spiritual growth plan as called for in our ministry plan.
​This is an exciting time at Marble Memorial UMC! Have you visited “Cup of Grace” located across from the office for coffee? There are new furnishings as well as good coffee and tea! Have you noticed the new bulletin format? Have you noticed some less ‘clutter’ throughout the building?
Many things that are no longer of use at the church will be made available to members of the congregation January 13 – 27. During these three Sundays and during office hours you can come in to see what is available. Big items can be tagged until you can make arrangements for pick up in a few days. For those items where we know the donor, reasonable efforts to contact the donor or family will have been made to see if they would like the item back.
All of this, and more, to make ourselves more ready for guests who may not know Christ or know the building, so that we can fulfill our mission of making ‘disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’ while being “Inviting people, living the love of Christ.” 

See you Sunday! -Pastor Jackie Roe 

P.S. Thank you for all the cards, gifts and ways you have remembered me at Christmas. It was all appreciated. You are a great congregation with whom I am blessed to serve.