Author: knightstownumc

RETURN TO WORSHIP & RSVP

by knightstownumc

(This is the text of a letter going out in the mail tomorrow)

9/9/20

Dear Members and Friends of Knightstown United Methodist Church,We will resume in-person worship on Sunday, September 20th. While this letter cannot contain all of the details involved, here is what you need to know:• There will be two service times. One at 9:00 am that is just for adults. Please do not bring children to this service. One at 10:30 am that will have Kid’s Connection and nursery service.• Anyone wishing to attend either service needs to RSVP weekly for the service they plan on attending. This can be done online at https://reopen.church/r/sgTjyHCe or by contacting the church office. Seating is limited because of social distancing, so RSVP early.• If you RSVP online and will attend the 10:30 service, please RSVP the number of adults for the sanctuary service, the number of children that will attend Kid’s Connection, and the number of children that will need the nursery for each location separately. If you have any questions, please call the church office.

• For the time being, there will be no Sunday School.

• Both services will be available in real-time through Facebook Live.Entrances:• Anyone without children will enter through the southwest sanctuary entrance unless you need the handicap ramp.

• Anyone with children will enter through the south door, go downstairs to take your child to Kid’s Connection or the nursery, and then will walk through the JYC to enter the sanctuary through the back stairwell.

• Masks and hand sanitizer will be available at sanctuary entrances.

• There will be social distanced seating. An usher will guide you to available seating once you enter the sanctuary.

• Masks are required for anyone over the age of eight years old in the building.• Please do not shake hands or hug anyone. As much as is possible, maintain 6 feet of distance between yourself and anyone who is not a part of your household.

• There will not be any congregational singing in order to prevent the spread of germs. Other expressions of gratitude and worship are welcome and encouraged: clapping, waving, a thumbs-up, worshipful raising of arms, etc.

• There will be no congregational offering. Baskets will be placed by entrances for your tithes and offerings. You may also give online through PayPal at paypal.me/ktownumc.

• There will be no paper copies of bulletins, but the order of service will be displayed on the screens at the front of the church.

• Once the service is over, please wait to be dismissed by an usher. You will exit through the same door you entered the sanctuary.

• Parents with children in Kid’s Connection and the nursery will exit down the back stairwell, walk through the JYC to collect their children, and exit through the south entrance.

• The handicap entrance/exit will be available for anyone who needs it.

• If you or your family are sick or don’t feel well for any reason, do not come to church.

• If the church finds out that someone has been in attendance and is later confirmed to have covid-19, we will notify those that have been in attendance at that service. Please make sure we have your contact information when you RSVP for a service.

• Any covid-19 exposure at a worship service means we will stop in-person worship for two weeks to ensure there is not any further spread of infection.If any of this information is unclear or confusing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through the church office or my email at joel.troxell@inumc.org. The leadership of the church has been carefully and prayerfully trying to balance the need to protect the health and safety of the congregation with the spiritual needs of those who feel healthy and safe to return to public worship. We look forward to seeing you in-person or continuing to worship with you online!

Grace and Peace,

Joel Troxell,

Pastor Knightstown UMC

School Supply Donations for Knightstown Schools

by knightstownumc

We are going to do a “virtual” giving tree this year for school supplies.

If anyone would feel more comfortable giving a monetary donation, I would be more then happy to order in bulk from Amazon. Whichever is fine.

Crayola Box of 24 crayons
Crayola Markers
Crayola Colored Pencils
1 Large Pink Eraser
Elmers Purple Glue Sticks
#2 Ticonderoga Pencils
Highlighters
Pkg of 4 Black Expo Thin Dry Erase Markers
Rounded-Point Scissors
Pointed Scissors
Play Doh
Plastic School Box
Green Plastic 3 Prong folder
Blue Plastic 3 Prong Folder
3 Ring Binder any color- 1″
Clipboard
Wide Ruled Spiral Bound Notebook
Yellow Plastic 2-Pocket Folder

This is a combined list of what I received. Of course I do not expect for us to be able to provide them with everything, but anything would be greatly appreciated. They are also in need of kleenex, paper towels, ziploc bags and baby wipes and of course Clorox wipes, if you can find any.

Donations may be dropped off at the office by no later then July 31st. If giving a monetary donation, please provide that by July 24th. If you have any questions please contact Judy Messick-Rector 🙂 THANK YOU!!

The Upper Room

by knightstownumc

Suggestions for how to get the most out of your print copies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide during this unique time.

  1. If you would like a print copy of The Upper Room for May/June, please contact Pastor Joel at 765-422-8496, or Breanna at 765-345-5912 and we will do our best to mail you a copy or deliver one to your doorstep.
  2. You can also click on the link: https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19 and it will take you directly to the website for the online version.
  3. Through June 30, 2020, you can also get your daily devotional by clicking on this link: https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals

Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be happy to help. Thank you all and stay safe!

KUMC and the Coronavirus

by knightstownumc

A letter from our Pastor.

3/24/20

Dear Members, Friends, and Supporters of Knightstown United Methodist Church:

These are anxious times for many people. Because of the threat of the COVID 19 virus, some of us are at home by ourselves. Some of us are at home with school-age children and trying to continue educational activities while schools are shut down. Some of us are also trying to work from home. And some of us work in positions that require you to continue to be of service to others despite the risk. I want you to know I’m praying for you all. At this time, we simply don’t know how long it will be before public worship will be restored, so we must be prepared for policies of sheltering in place to be the general rule for the foreseeable future.

Though Jessica and I have not been in Knightstown very long, I have to say that I love the people of KUMC. Despite the hardships and uncertainties that all of us are facing, the most common question I’m asked by the people of KUMC is, “How can I help? What can I do?” So I wanted to write this letter to answer that question for us all. There are several things that you can do.

First, you can pray and give thanks to God. I do not believe that what we are experiencing is God’s wrath, I do not believe we are being punished for our sins. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:45, “…for he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (NRSV).” Good and bad will happen to all of us, simply because we are alive. But I pray that we see in the tragic and difficult events that are before us a God-given opportunity to deepen our faith, connect more closely with the people of God, and serve unconditionally as Jesus Christ did. So pray. Pray and give thanks to the God we see in Jesus Christ like you never have before. We have re-emphasized an early church practice of praying three times a day. Our facebook page posts prayers at 7:00 am, 12 noon, and 5:00 pm. I hope you will join together with us in taking time to pray as you are able.

Second, you can deepen your connection to the people of the church even though we are not assembling together. If you are not already, and would like to be a part of a connection group, where you can pray for the specific needs of others and find practical and material ways to help the people of your church and community, let me know. Also, our service is on Facebook Live at our usual time of 9:30 am on Sunday morning. We also have a Bible study on Wednesdays at 10:00 am, also on Facebook Live. Please join us and participate in the discussion. We are still able to be disciples of Jesus Christ and grow in our faith despite the challenges we are facing.

Third, you can give. God willing, once this is over, KUMC will go back to being an active part of the body of Christ. But the health and strength of our witness at that time depends on all of us and what we do today. We, as a church, are taking steps to ensure that we are using the resources we have as wisely as possible during this time. We are doing our part to operate with financial discipline while maintaining our commitment to be obedient to God’s call. We are asking that you do what you can in continuing to support the church. There are multiple ways that you can give. First, you can mail your gift to the church: 27 S. Jefferson St, Knightstown, IN 46148. Second, you can drop off your check at the church office (same address). Third, you can use PayPal to donate by clicking on this link paypal.me/ktownumc. For those of you who don’t have a PayPal account linked to your checking account, there is a 2.2% convenience fee plus $0.30 for each transaction that will not be included in your yearly statement of giving. But if you have a PayPal account, and it is linked to your checking account, there is no transaction fee. To give directly from your PayPal account, you can use the email address ktownumcfinancialsecretary@gmail.com.

Again, our prayers are with all of you, and if there is anything we can do for you during this time, don’t hesitate to contact us.

God’s Grace and Peace,
Joel Troxell, Pastor
Knightstown United Methodist Church