OVESTA EWS

Published monthly by:

Novesta Church of Christ 2896 N. Cemetery Rd. Cass City, MI 48726

Phone: (989) 872-3658

novestachurch@yahoo.com

www.novestachurch.org

Brad Speirs, Minister

November Issue

VOL. XXXVIII- - - No. 11

October 27, 2013

Let us give thanks for God’s bountiful blessings.

New Sermon Series starting November 10th

In America, we strive to pursue happiness and that pursuit takes us down many different paths at many different times in our lives. But what does the Bible say about happiness? How do we find ful-fillment and joy and peace in our lives? As Jesus begins the sermon on the mount, He starts off with the ‘Beatitudes’. These short ‘Blessed’ statements are God’s words to us on ‘who’ has a happy life. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at this famous passage of scripture and considering how we can tap into God’s plan for happiness and to truly live the ‘Blessed’ life.

November 10th - Blessed are the Humble November 17th - Blessed are the Helpful November 24th - Blessed are the Holy

BIBLE BOWL ROUND ROBIN COMES TO NOVESTA

Our Bible Bowl teams had their first competition a few weeks ago and the teams did great. We have five kids in the program this year. Kayla Zmierski, Luke Koepf, Sam Bootz, Lucas Wright, and Josh Brandel. Novesta Maize finished in 1st with a perfect record and Novesta Blue finished in 5th place with a record of 3-4. On the test, Luke finished in 1st, Kayla 4th, Lucas 8th, and Sam 10th. Josh wasn’t able to make it to the competition. Their next competition will be November 2nd, and it will be here at Novesta! We’re so excited to be able to host a round robin and we invite you to come and check out the action on November 2nd. The games will start around 12:30 and run till about 3 PM, so if you’re able, come and check out a game or two and support our teams that day. Please keep the team in your prayers as they work hard and study and compete!

During the month we will be collecting food items to put together food baskets for at least 4 needy families in our area. A sign up will be posted in the middle hallway. Please write your name by the item you intend to donate and then make a check mark by your name when you bring it. We need all items to be at the church by noon on Tuesday, November 26, for delivery that day. If you are willing to help either with filling or delivering the baskets, please let the office know. PLEASE NOTE: If you or anyone you know of, within the congregation, is in need of Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, please let the church office know by November 3. We don’t want to overlook any of our own, so please help us.

We welcome and congratulate our newest members who were immersed into Christ this past month. Michelle Krueger and her daughter, Savanna were baptized during the morning worship service on October 13. Michelle & her husband, Rob, have four children besides Savanna: Samantha, Tabatha, Robert & Madison. Ashley Bohannon accepted the invitation on October 20 and was baptized. Ashley has a baby daughter, Riley Rose. They live in Cass City with Ashley’s aunt & uncle, Robin & Scott Hendrian. Megan Nitz was baptized following the eve-ning service on October 20. Megan is the daughter of Rod & Renee Nitz and granddaughter of Larry & Sherry Thick. She also has a brother, Connor. Please continue to pray for others that need to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Our next Chick Flick Dinner and a Movie night is going to be November 9th @ 6 pm @ Heather Robert's home. We will be watching "Miracle on 34th Street" to help get us in the mood for the upcoming holiday season. We won't be having a movie in December since we're all pretty busy during that time of year--so this is your chance to watch a classic Christmas movie with friends! For dinner, we're going to do a Thanksgiving feast pot-luck--meat, rolls and potatoes are provided--simply bring a dish to pass! Remember too, this is for ALL LADIES, so bring a friend and come on out! Sign-up in the middle hall-way!! (Any ?'s see, Kristy Speirs)

S H I N E Our Wednesday after-school program has been going splendidly! We appreciate

the opportunity to work with such great kids and to share with them all the great message of Jesus. This fall our theme is the ’Armor of God’ and all of the kids are learn-ing what it means to put on God’s Armor! Our Wednes-day program runs each Wednesday this month until No-vember 20th! Our Sunday night Shine is also going great and all three groups are learning a lot and growing. Our Jr. Highers are being challenged by Garold & Jamie, our high schoolers are trying to not drive Jesse crazy, and our adults are learning what it means to be ’not a fan’ of Je-sus. We invite you to join us on Sunday nights as we dive into deeper fellowship and learning.

TIME CHANGE NOVEMBER 3 (fall back)

Great Lakes Christian College Presents “Christmas on Campus: Casting for a Miracle”

This evening of entertainment, music and drama will be held on campus at the Doty Center. Tickets are $10. Per-formances will be Thursday & Friday night, Dec. 12&13. The evening begins at 7 p.m. During the evening, wassail and a choice of desserts will be served. If you are inter-ested there is more information on the board. Note: this event takes the place of Madrigals.

Christmas Cantata Practice Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Come join us!! It’s not too late, we’d love to have you. If you have any questions about the cantata or our prac-tices, see Carrie Gilley.

Beginner Bowl! Calling all 3rd - 5th graders! Our Beginner Bible Bowl team is back at it and we’d love to have you join them. Beginner Bowl is a great way to have fun, meet friends, and to learn a lot about the Bible! The team is practicing on Sunday nights at 6 PM. Come join them! Talk to Sharron Hartwick for more information.

MOM’S BIBLE STUDY Meets at Brad & Kristy’s every other Monday night

which this month will be Nov. 4 & 18

LADIES BIBLE STUDY Meets at church on Tuesday’s at 10 a.m.

MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

Meets at church on Tuesday’s at 7 p.m.

LONG TERM PRAYER LIST

**Member Lester O’Dell - Emphysema Aneita Denhoff - (Carrie Gilley’s mother) Quinton Simpson - in a coma (Dena Anderson's nephew) Carol Hartman - awaiting heart transplant (friend of Pat McIntosh) Diane Wojtaszke - cancer (Ann Hartel contact person) **Heather Roberts - continued healing of MS **Dena Anderson - extreme pain Steve Wilkinson - aneurysm Don Kruse - recovery (Michelle Speirs’ grandpa) **Larry Harper - Intestinal problems Allison Newbegin - tumor (Sharron Hartwick’s great niece) Nancy Gyomory - tumor (Doris Hendrick contact) Tonya Armstrong - cancer (Sharron Hartwick’s niece) Mark Pierson - (Zmierski’s cousin) Ted O’Dell - cancer (Duane’s brother) Debra Slanec - cancer (niece of Peggy Nordquist) Lauren Hood - (Betty Powell contact) **Leonard Hawkins - at Stone Gate Village in Sandusky **Deborah Miles - at Tendercare Brian Puterbaugh - recovery, head injury Rachael Maurer - recovery from auto accident **Randee Speirs - lymphoma **Phil Klaus - Graves disease Julie Patterson - recovery from surgery Les Auten III - Kidney disease ATTENTION: If you know any of these on this list that are well and can be eliminated from it, please let the church office know.

FACTS & FIGURES

Average weekly attendance for the month of October (to date): Bible School … 101

A.M. Worship … 247

Offering average for October (to date): Sunday Offerings……….…$4,157.92

(Budget per Sunday: $3,827)

ANNUAL REPORTS

ATTENTION MINISTRY LEADERS: I will be compiling the Annual Reports for distribution before the Annual Meeting. Please have your reports in as soon as you are able because I will be working on them all month as they come in. CALENDER PLANNING: We will be scheduling events for the year 2014. Please let us know if you are plan-ning something for a certain date so we can put it on the calendar. This eliminates the problem of having more than one thing scheduled at the same time. Always check the calendar book in the office to make sure your date is open. Also remember to re-serve the van when needed by marking it on the wall calendar in the office.

SAGINAW SOUP KITCHEN

November 15 ~ 8:50 a.m. Sign up in the middle hallway if you would like to join the group of volunteers from Novesta that serve at the Saginaw Soup Kitchen the 3rd Friday of each month. We prepare and serve food to individuals and families in need of a good meal.

As our church continues to grow we’re continually in need of more volunteers to serve in many differ-ent areas. We’re definitely in need of more workers for our nursery and young children’s areas at this time. If you’re available to work more in the nurs-ery or toddler department, please let the church of-fice know and we’ll help get you more plugged in to the life of Novesta.

ATTENTION DADS!! MOMS!! KIDS!!

Join us for Family Game Night, Friday, Nov. 15 beginning with potluck at 6:30 p.m. and then the games begin. We have a lot of fun and hope you will be able to join us.

Dear Folk of the Novesta Church of Christ, Thank you so much for the hospitality and kindness you showed to the relatives and friends of Tim Knoblet. The memorial service and the lunch afterward were much appreciated. May God reward your thoughtfulness from his boun-tiful storehouse of blessings.

John Lockwood

OUR MILITARY

Scott Brownson - (Tom & Doris Stimpfel’s nephew) Justin Fischer - (Tom & Doris Stimpfel’s nephew) Toby Kilbourn - (Jim’s son) Ben Knoblet - (Tim’s nephew) Jamie Parrish - (Kristie Speirs’ brother, Betty Stilson’s grandson) - serving in Iraq Matthew Peck - (Mark’s son) Ryan Reid - (Jeff Hartel’s nephew) Julie Roche Griffith - Air Force - Japan Cody Ross - California Jason Spaulding - California Brandon Speirs - North Carolina Jacques Weilbach - (Jacques & Marsha’s son) Marius Weilbach - (Jacques & Marsha’s son)

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

11/1 Ann King 11/2 Krysta Hartwick 11/4 Fred Hicks 11/5 David Nordquist 11/7 Jeff Swoish 11/9 Madelyn Hicks 11/9 Laura Hiles 11/11 Cathy Healy 11/12 Marideth Nizzola 11/14 Jamie Little 11/14 Thomas Mittlestat 11/14 Zachary Speirs 11/14 Evan Neff 11/15 Susie Hartwick 11/15 Ethan Healy 11/16 Marie Peasley 11/19 (A) Paul & Mickie Bessler 11/20 (A) Phil & Cindy Klaus 11/20 Mike Zmierski 11/21 Kayla Koepf 11/23 (A) Mark & Julie Mozdzen 11/26 Kristie Speirs 11/29 (A) Ralph & Pat Zinnecker 11/29 Patty Peck 11/30 Carrie Luana

Please join us for a

honoring

Jennifer & Steven Steely Nov. 16th @ 12:00 p.m.

at Novesta Church of Christ

WHAT WILL IT BEE? Please bring a book in place of a card!

the parents-to-bee are registered at

BABIES-R-US & WALMART

We’ve had a lot of fun so far this fall and we’ve got one more week and this time it’s for a trophy! Come on out

and join us as we play for fame - haha, I mean foam. Championship Day - November 10th! Eve-ryone 7th grade & up is invited to join us!

Fantasy Football Update At about the halfway point of the sea-son the early leaders in the NFFL are Nick Romzek, R.J. Klaus, & Jordan Hendrian in the ‘friends’ league, and Chris Wilcox, Lauren Howard and Lu-

kas Schenk in the ‘in house’ league.

5th Quarter Thank-you!! We want to say thank you to everyone that came to help supervise and run the parties and also to say thank you to those of you who made snacks and treats for the kids as well! THANK YOU!

Updates For Your Directory Whenever we have any changes in address, phone, email,

etc. we will put it in the Newsletter for you to ADD TO YOUR DIRECTORY.

New e-mail address for Mary Helen:

prattmh@yahoo.com

THOSE SERVING IN NOVEMBER COMMUNION MEDITATION: 11/3 Fred Hicks 11/10 Russ Speirs 11/17 Gib Kern 11/24 Ken Peters DEACONS: Gib Kern Virgil Peters Duane O’Dell Larry Thick USHERS: Barry Brown Mark Peck Andy Gray Virgil Peters Greg Mika Mark Zmierski A.M. NURSERY: 11/3 9:30 Janie Kus 10:30 Bailee Ross & Emily Peters 11/10 9:30 Janie Kus 10:30 Cindy Klaus & Melissa Hicks 11/17 9:30 Janie Kus 10:30 Amy Peters & Susie Hartwick 11/24 9:30 Janie Kus 10:30 Cathy & Caitlyn Healy 12/1 9:30 Janie Kus 10:30 Kristie Speirs & Shelli Herford WORSHIP LEADERS: 11/3 Fred Hicks 11/10 Kim Gray 11/17 Lauren Howard 11/24 Sarah Zmierski SOUND SYSTEM: 11/3 Duane O’Dell 11/10 Scott Hendrian 11/17 Ken Peters 11/24 Brian Hicks POWER POINT: 11/3 Collin Hartwick 11/10 Carol Hicks 11/17 Ron Kampo 11/24 JoEllen Bukoski VIDEO RECORDING: 11/3 Tyler Brandel 11/10 Sam Bootz 11/17 Garrett Roberts 11/24 Lauren Bukoski

COMMUNION PREPARATION & CLEAN-UP: Mary Helen Pratt GREETERS: 11/3 9:30 (main) Jean Schulz & Mary Lou Spencer (center) Harold & Joan Little 10:30 (main) Jeff & Ann Hartel (center) Steve & Andrea Ross 11/10 9:30 (main) Duane & Kathy O’Dell (center) Virgil & Amy Peters 10:30 (main) Janice Winter & Mary Helen Pratt (center) Doris Stimpfel & Janet Wright 11/17 9:30 (main) Virgil & Amy Peters (center) Barry & Kerry Brown 10:30 (main) Mark & Patty Peck (center) Andy & Kim Gray 11/24 9:30 (main) Garold & Jamie Peasley (center) Rob & Susie Hartwick 10:30 (main) Keith Little & Ron Speirs (center) Jim & Wanda Lonsberry 12/1 9:30 (main) Doris Stimpfel & Lauren Howard (center) Gib & Pam Kern 10:30 (main) Chad & Cindy Pruitt (center) Ryan & Shelli Herford JUNIOR CHURCH: Leaders: 2’s-3’s: Scott & Robin 4’s-1st: Sharron, Caitlyn & Josh 2nd-4th: Ryan & Shelli Herford Song Leaders: 11/3 Sharron Hartwick 11/10 Lauren Bukoski 11/17 Beth Mellendorf 11/24 Bailee Ross

IF YOU ARE THE LAST ONE LEAVING THE CHURCH BUILDING, PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DOORS ARE LOCKED. YOUR HELP IN THIS IS MUCH APPRECIATED!

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

9:30-10:20 a.m. - Bible School

10:30 a.m. - Worship

6:00 p.m. - SHINE (7th grade to Adult)

6:00 p.m. - Beginner Bible Bowl

7:00 p.m. - Choir practice 2 0 1 3 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Gym RSVD by Jodie Mika

1:00-3:00 p.m.

RSVD by Ed Nizzola for Boy Scout

Over-nighter

2

Bible Bowl Round Robin

at Novesta 12:30 a.m.

3

TIME CHANGE (fall back 1 hour)

Service of

Remembrance @ Kranz 3:00 p.m.

4

Mom’s Bible Study - 7 pm @ Brad & Kristy’s

RSVD by

Marideth Nizzola for Girl Scouts

5

Ladies Bible Study - 10 a.m.

Men’s Bible

Study - 7 p.m.

6

RSVD by Quilters for Hospice

9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

SHINE - 3:30 pm

Bible Bowl - 7 pm

7 8

RSVD for Rehearsal

9

RSVD for Wedding

Chick Flick Night 6:00 p.m. @

Heather Roberts’

10

Flag Football Championship

Day

11 12

Ladies Bible Study - 10 a.m.

Men’s Bible

Study - 7 p.m.

13

Quilters Comfort Ministry

9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

SHINE - 3:30 pm

Bible Bowl - 7 pm

14

Mission Ministry Meeting - 7 p.m.

15

Soup Kitchen 8:50 a.m.

RSVD by Jodie Mika - 1-3 p.m.

Family Game

Night - 6:30 pm

16

Baby Shower for Jennifer Steely

12 p.m.

17 18

Mom’s Bible Study - 7 pm @ Brad & Kristy’s

RSVD by

Marideth Nizzola for Girl Scouts

19

Ladies Bible Study - 10 a.m.

Men’s Bible

Study - 7 p.m.

20

SHINE - 3:30 pm

Bible Bowl - 7 pm

21 22 23

RSVD by Girl Scouts 8 am - 4 pm

RSVD by

Marideth Nizzola 6 pm

24 25 26 Ladies Bible

Study - 10 a.m.

Deliver Thanksgiving

Baskets

Men’s Bible Study - 7 p.m.

27

28

29 30

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