The Central Link Newsletter - 7/26/26

Mark your calendars for UWF's indoor yard and bake sale on Saturday, August 1, from 7:30 AM - 12:30 PM.  Come to shop and support UWF's missional giving!  

If you would like to sell items at the yard sale, the cost to reserve a table is $10, and the deadline to reserve is 7/30.
 
You can register for a table online by clicking the button below or by calling Erica Kirby at 704-290-4607.

Central Youth will have a booth at the upcoming Indoor Yard Sale, and we need youth and parent volunteers to help staff our section throughout the event. Please register if you are able to volunteer and text Erica (704)-290-4607 what time you are able to help.

All proceeds from our booth will directly support the Central Youth Ministry. Thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success!

We hope everyone can join us as we celebrate Nathan Clements and his service at Central on August 16. If you would like to help we need desserts, chips, cheese, and crackers. Items can be store bought or homemade. If you are able to help please call or text Erica 704-290-4607 or Libby 704-996-6940.

We are in need of Communion Stewards for our worship services on October 4, November 1, and December 6. Stewards assist with the distribution of communion during the first Sunday service of the month.

You can sign up in a variety of ways: in person during Sunday service, by speaking to Erica Kirby, calling the office at 704-289-2186, or clicking one of the links below:

We have several discipleship opportunities at Central:

• Director of Missions
• Director of Young Adult Ministry

If you feel called or are interested in serving in one of these areas, please contact the church office at 704-289-3186 or jparker@centralumcmonroe.org.

This month’s Shareback is supporting Chalk It Up 2 Love, a school supply collection and distribution that helps local Title I schools start the year strong. Your donations will go directly to students and teachers who need a little extra support to kick off the school year.

Let’s come together to make a difference in our community and show a little love through something as simple as a box of pencils or a pack of notebooks. Items can be dropped off at the shareback table in the hallway by the Prayer Garden. Thank you for giving generously! Below, you can find the list of preferred items as well as a link to the Amazon wish list!

Preferred Items:

• Cow Print Notebooks (Wide & College)
• Notebook Paper (Wide & College)
• 1 Inch 3 Ring Binders
• 1 Subject Spiral Notebooks (Wide & College)
• 24 Count Crayons
• Colored Markers (Jumbo & Fine)
• Colored Pencils
• Dry Erase Markers (Black)
• Child Scissors (Blunt & Pointed Tip)
• 3x3 Post-It Notes
• Earbuds/Headphones
• #2 Yellow Pencils
• Backpacks

Click the button below to access the Amazon wish list: 

Please join us on August 2 for a summer social, hosted by the Hospitality Committee, following our 10 A.M. worship service.  We will enjoy some refreshing Italian ice and fellowship on the courtyard in front of the Sanctuary!

Please join us for a Back to School Blessing during the worship service on Sunday, August 9 at 10 A.M. Students of all ages and school staff will receive a blessing as the new school year begins! Additionally, there will be a Bible presentation for rising Kindergarten and rising 3rd grade students!

Please join us on Sunday, August 16 at 11:15 A.M. in Central Hall for a reception to celebrate Nathan Clements, our interim Director of Music Ministries, before he heads to college.  We will enjoy a time of fellowship immediately following the worship service.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) There is a time for everything, and a season for everything under the heavens.

The season for Dinner Church at Central has come to an end. We will conclude nearly four years of this wonderful program with our Tuesday night dinner on August 25, 2026. That night will be the 196th meal served since November 1, 2022! We have truly been a witness to the glory of God as we provided messages, meals and music for nearly four years. There has been a strong demonstration of our United Methodist Vision of Connecting with God, Community and Each Other.

Dinner Church is an initiative of Fresh Expressions, one of many lay-led programs that exist to widen the opportunities to witness and fellowship with others outside the traditional Sunday morning church services. With a decline in the number of volunteers and the fluctuating number of community participants, the leaders of Dinner Church made this decision after much prayer and consideration.

While I have been in conversation with our current Dinner Church leaders and volunteers about this transition, I also want to extend the invitation to all at Central. If you feel called to help lead Dinner Church or have ideas for how it might be reimagined so this ministry can continue, I welcome the opportunity to talk with you. Please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you to the many Dinner Church volunteers, past and present, who worked tirelessly cooking, serving, making coffee, setting up,  taking down, cleaning up and taking out the trash!

In His Service,
Rena McGee-Helms, Dinner Church Coordinator

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