TAKE WHAT YOU NEED CABINET:
Don’t forget to bring an item for the Take What You Need Cabinet this Sunday, Sept. 20th, and place your item in the hamper in the chapel hallway. We will be collecting items for the cabinet on the Third Sunday of each month, so mark your calendars now! Items urgently needed are listed on the dry erase board on the Take What You need table in the chapel hallway (bars of soap, toothpaste, & socks are currently listed.) See shopping list below.
SAVE THE DATE:
Rockport Charge Conference is Saturday, October 24th at 10:30am at Rocky River UMC. Any member of Rockport is encouraged to attend. Mark your calendars now!
ROCKPORT CHURCH T-SHIRTS FOR ALL:
We are ordering Rockport Church T-shirts and would love for you to get one. T-Shirts are free and we hope you will wear it everywhere to show your Rockport pride and advertise our church. So that we get the right sizes for everyone, a sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board. For questions, please contact Diana Leitch.
BOOK CLUB:
Join us on October 7th, 7:00pm in the church parlor, for book club. The book we will be reading is “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, a heart-felt and gut-wrenching epistolary novel of one woman’s journey to self-reflection Hope to see everyone on Oct. 7th for food, fun, fellowship, and discussion. Also, on Oct. 11th we will see the movie “Verity” (the book we read in Aug.) at AMC theater at Westwood Town Center for a matinee. More details to come….
DONUTS AND COFFEE HOUR:
Please consider hosting donuts and coffee before 9:30am worship and/or after worship coffee hour. Fellowship is an important part of the life of the church and why not have food as well! Sign-up sheet is posted on the chapel hallway bulletin board.
GOOGLE DRIVE REMINDER:
June 2026 Church financials can be found Here
or get a hard copy in the church office.
NORTH OLMSTED EVENTS (Shared Opportunities)
MATTHEW 25 SCULPTURE TOUR & LUNCH:
ADULT OUTING SEPTEMBER 26TH
Did you know there are is a collection of statues spread throughout the Cleveland area that calls us to think about the less fortunate people in our city? The statues are called the "Matthew 25 Collection." There are 6 statues of Jesus, and each one represents one of the areas called out in the Gospel of Matthew to care for the least of our brothers and sisters in need. We are only the 2nd city in the world to have the full collection of these bronze figures. Your Christian Education Team would like to invite you to join us on Sept. 26th as we tour the city in search of these sculptures! We will meet at the church at 11 AM, and then carpool to each statue, spending a bit of time to contemplate and take photos before moving on to the next statue. At the end of the tour, we will have lunch (suggestions welcomed!) Sign-up sheets will be available on the sign-in table in Fellowship Hall. Please indicate if you can be a driver and how many people you can transport. (Here is a link for more information: https://www.communitywestfoundation.org/matthew25collection) Please see Wendy or email her at sundayschool@noumc.org for more information. Friends are welcome to join us!
TRUNK OR TREAT:
AT NOUMC ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH
FROM 2-3:30:
DECORATED TRUNKS...AND CHILDREN... NEEDED!
Your Christian Education team will be hosting a community invited Trunk Or Treat in our parking lot on Saturday October 17th from 2-3:30! Flyers are available on the table in Fellowship Hall...please take a few and invite family, friends and neighbors with children that would enjoy gathering candy! Come join in the fun by decorating your trunk and bringing a bag of treats to pass out to the families that attend! If you would like to volunteer your trunk, please see Wendy or contact her at sundayschool@noumc.org.
NORTHERN WATERS DISTRICT NEWS: www.eocumc.com/northernwaters
We will be collecting Cleaning Kits (Flood Buckets) at our fall Charge Conferences!
 The stock of cleaning kits at our two Ohio Midwest Mission collection sites is essentially depleted after the recent flooding in central and southern Ohio. If your congregation would like to assemble flood buckets to bring to our fall Charge Conferences, the district will take care of getting them to the Gay Street UMC (a Midwest Mission collection point) in Mount Vernon to restock their supplies.
Access the Cleaning Kit instructions.
CONFERENCE NEWS: https://www.eocumc.com/
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By EOC News on September 17, 2026
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“Offering places, programs and role models away from daily routines and distractions for all who seek God to experience life change, a new friend, time with God and a lot of fun.” This is the vision statement for Wanake Camp & Retreat Center, an East Ohio Conference ministry named for the first syllables of three Native American words meaning “a beautiful, spiritual place among the hills.”
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On Saturday, September 12, campers from across the decades gathered to celebrate 80 years of life-changing ministry at Camp Wanake.
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“I’ve been coming to Camp Wanake since the 1940s, so I’ve seen a lot of things change over the years. But the heart of it is still here,” said Don Tallentire. “I’ve made lifelong friends here, and it’s always been a place where I could grow in my faith and just enjoy being with good people. At 90 years old, I’m thankful I can still be a part of it.”
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What is now a 250-acre camp and retreat center of The United Methodist Church was birthed as a vision by members of the Brethren Church who bought the 80 acres of the Virgil Camp farm and apple orchard between Beach City and Brewster in 1943. The first summer program at Camp Wanake was held in 1945 and the camp’s official grand opening was celebrated in 1946.
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“Every person who has come to Camp Wanake carries a story. It may be the story of making a lifelong friend, discovering courage on a trail, singing beside a fire, answering a call to ministry or realizing under the stars that God is near. Together, these stories proclaim, ‘God has been faithful here.’ And that story inspires us,” said Ohio Episcopal Area Bishop Hee-Soo Jung.
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Camp Wanake Director Julie Lautt shared that camp and retreat ministries are as important today as they’ve ever been.
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“One-fourth to one-half of the children attending camp do not have a church home and/or are not in regular attendance or involvement in a church family. Camp is a place where the Good News is new news and a relationship with God and the church can begin,” she said. “Campers’ lives are changed in powerful ways as they experience the love, acceptance and belonging of a community with Jesus in the center. And families are impacted as the children and teens bring their experience with God home. Many start and maintain Bible reading, prayer and conversation that is vital to building a relationship with God and others.”
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Ben Wilde, East Ohio Conference director of Camps Operations and Programs, said that camp is an outdoor laboratory where everyone who comes can experience God’s creation first-hand.
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“We see the impact of camp in so many ways. Children and adults alike grow closer to God, develop a deeper appreciation for the beauty of Creation, and discover more about themselves and who they are as beloved children of God,” he said. “Camp also creates leaders. Many of our alumni have gone on to serve as leaders in the church, their communities and the field of environmental conservation. For some, camp even becomes a place where they begin discerning their call and discovering their vocational direction.”
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Ohio Episcopal Area Executive Director of Connectional Ministries Rev. Karen Cook is thankful for the many decades of faithful ministry offered by Wanake staff and volunteers.
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“Camp Wanake has helped people disconnect from the noise of the world and reconnect with God, creation, community, and their God-given purpose. Every campfire conversation, every worship service, every friendship formed and every life changed tells the story of God’s faithfulness. May we honor this legacy by ensuring future generations have the same opportunity to discover that they are beloved by God, their gifts matter and their presence makes a difference,” she said.
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Tallentire looks forward to children and youth having the same opportunities he did so many years ago.
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“My hope is that the younger generations keep coming here. Camp Wanake has meant a lot to me over the years, and I’d like to see that continue for a long time,” he said.
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“For 80 years, Wanake has been a place where children encounter Christ, leaders are formed, strangers become friends and weary souls find renewal,” said Bishop Jung. “May the stories of those who came before us continue to inspire us. May the lives we live today become stories that inspire those who come after us.”
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The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.
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*Rick Wolcott is executive director of Communications for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.
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