Worship Announcements

• You are needed! Sunday morning refreshments are greatly enjoyed by many, young and old. This hospitality is part of being a welcoming church and a time for the church family to visit with one another. We need folks to take one Sunday a month to put out refreshments and clean up after the service. You do not need to provide food unless you wish to do so. There are always snack items available. Making coffee not included. Paper products are always provided. Concerned you can’t commit to a specific Sunday every month? Contact info for all who volunteer to assist will be provided so that if you need to trade Sundays that can be easily arranged and there are always a few folks willing to fill in at the last minute. Sign up individually, with your family OR get a partner or another family and split the set up/clean up if you choose. Please consider this once a month commitment that will be a great blessing to all! We hope to start this schedule in February.
• ASH WEDNESDAY IS COMING! Please plan to be a part of our Ash Wednesday event on February 18th. On this special day that marks the beginning of the Lenten season, we will have a soup and sandwich dinner at 6:00 pm followed by a short mission project. Our project will be putting together “Bags of Love”, gift bags that will be given to foster children and teens as they are transitioned into a foster home. This is a great opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of these young people who are experiencing a very difficult life event. We will be putting together bags for boy and girl children and teens. With suggestions from the Department of Social Services as well as some of our church family experts, we have put together some examples of the items you can donate in the front hall. You can donate individual items, a group of items or make a monetary donation. We hope to put together multiple kits. A list of suggested items will be available. Afterward, there will be a very brief service with the imposition of ashes in the sanctuary. Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to begin the preparation of our hearts and minds for Easter. Mark your calendars and join your church family for a fun and meaningful evening. Sign-up sheet for soups, sandwiches and desserts will be at the Welcome Center.

Dates to Know

• Women’s Ministry Meal/Meeting – Thursday, January 15th at 6:30 pm – Mi Rancho, Weyers Cave
• Donuts & Devotions – Saturday, January 17th at 8:00 am – Fellowship Hall – All men are encouraged to attend
• February Echo Articles Due – Saturday, January 17th
• Youth Mission Trip Interest Meeting – Sunday, January 18th at 11:15 am – Verona United Methodist Church
• Pastor Blaine will be having Coffee Hours at Valley Pike Thursday, January 22nd from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. So come and grab a cup of coffee, tea, or even some ice cream!
• Fellowship Hall Reserved – Thursday, January 22nd from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
• Game Night – Friday, January 23rd at 6:30 pm – Fellowship Hall
• Young Adult Gathering – Sunday, January 25th from 3:00 – 4:30 pm – Alpine Goat Brewery, Weyers Cave

• On Sunday January 18th at 11:15 am at Verona UMC, there will be a Youth Mission Trip Interest Meeting. We are trying to figure out how many youth will be traveling to Wilmington, NC for the week of June 7th-13th. Please try to attend if you are interested in going on the trip, parents and youth are both encouraged to attend!
• On Sunday February 8th, the youth are invited to the Bridgewater Ice Skating Rink – Generations Park for a time of fun and fellowship, as we are renting out the rink from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm. We will cover the rink time and skate rental, as we hope our youth will invite their friends! There is a signup sheet at the Welcome Center.
• Remember Happy Huffer and fellow cheer teammates as they compete in Cheer Nationals at Disney World in Orlando.

• Women’s Ministry Evening Meeting – Thursday, January 15th at 6:30 pm. We will meet at the Weyers Cave Mi Rancho. What to bring: Money for your meal; Theme: Creation; Focus: Planning the activities for the year; (Bring your calendar.)
• Fun and Fabulous Friday Night Game Night. Come out Friday, January 23 at 6:30 pm for a Fun and Fabulous Game Night in the fellowship hall. Bring your favorite game and a snack to share. Hot and cold drinks will be provided. This event for ALL ages is sure to be a fun and uplifting time during these long winter days. If you don’t want to play a game, just come to chat. Bring a friend and join in the fun.
• SAVE THE DATE! APPLE DUMPLINGS COMING! Mark your calendar for our Bethany Apple Dumplings to be made on Wednesday, March 4th. We will need lots of help to peel, make, bake and wrap. Most of all we need folks to buy and sell them! $5 each. This will be a fundraiser for our Friends of Barnabas Mission Team.
• A note from Ken Elkins regarding the Birthday For Jesus project. Our Augusta North Gideons wish to express our most sincere appreciation to the Bethany UMC Family for their support of our worthy project in providing 273 pocket-size Testaments that we will be able to distribute among people in the Northern Augusta County area…(that may not have the relationship with our Lord and Savior that we enjoy). Your donations for 2025 Christmas totaled $455.00 compared to just $195.00 for Christmas 2024. And, to the 3 Individuals that donated $100 each, you have each provided us with 60 of the 273 Testaments that we will distribute hand-to-hand in person! We thank Bethany UMC for allowing us to have this timely project, and look forward to doing so again in 2026, as we acknowledge Christmas Day as being the “Birthday for Jesus” (B4J)!

Community Announcements:

• Camp Overlook will be holding their Winter Camp on January 16 – 18 (Friday – Sunday of MLK weekend). Campers between the grades of 3rd – 12th can join them for this camp, which will be an abbreviated version of Summer Camp. It is a great way for someone to try out camp for 2 nights or to come back and enjoy some of their favorite activities. See poster on Fellowship Hall Door for more information.