We are offering babysitting on the second Friday of April (11th) and May (9th) to raise funds for our summer camps. Children of all ages are welcome from 6 to 10 p.m. for crafts, games, movies and fun.

RSVP to brjcoren@verizon.net. (requested but not required) There is no fixed charge, donations will be accepted.

Spring Flea Market. United Methodist Women will hold their Spring Flea Market on Saturday, April 19 from 8:am - 12noon. It is open to the community. Table rentals are $15.00. Call the church office for a reservation. Lunch will be available.

During the first week of March, Nichols-Bethel ministered successfully to 25 homeless men who were our guests. This successful ministry was made possible by the willingness of so many members of our congregation to step out in faith and extend a hand to these men, by providing transportation, by staying with them in the shelter, by preparing and serving their meals, and many other acts of Christian kindness. More
than 50 Nichols-Bethel members devoted approximately 500 total hours during this week and I believe that we touched their lives in important ways. I want to thank all of you who gave so freely of your time and energy. It was an uplifting week for me and I hope all of you feel similarly blessed.

Jim Roser
Shelter Director

Take part in the 2008 Ladies Retreat, “Women at the Well” April 25 – 26, 2008 at the Courtyard Marriott Fort Meade led by our own Reverend Linda. Check in is at 4pm. The retreat runs from after dinner until 2pm Saturday afternoon. Cost for rooms is $80/double and $130/single. Price includes breakfast, lunch and room accommodations. Make reservations with Kay Bush, Beverly Humbert, or Donna Mabry.

March 30: 5:00pm Begin preparations for Youth Sunday
April 6: 5:00pm Preparations and Rehearsal for Youth Sunday
April 13: YOUTH SUNDAY! ALL 3 SERVICES! Arrive 7:00am
April 19: Prom! Set up 1:00pm and Prom at 7:30pm – 10:30pm
April 20: No UMYF
April 27: 5:00 Meeting
May 4: Talent Show Preparations
May 11: Mother’s Day No Meeting
May 18: Rehearsal for Talent Show
May 25: Talent Show and Dinner

WOW! Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Holy Week activities! The ROCK-ATHON was so much fun as always! Thanks so much to Mrs. Humbert and the United Methodist Women for cooking breakfast. It was delicious. I hope you found the weekend’s activities to be spiritually uplifting and meaningful.

The Adult Fellowship is holding a Progressive Dinner on Saturday, April 26th at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. This is a fun way to meet or get better acquainted with members of our church family. At the appointed hour, all participants meet at the church, where we will receive our firs “assignments”. We will be given an address and directions to someone’s house for the salad course. When we have enjoyed our salads, we will be given an address and directions to another house for the main course. At each stop, we will dine with a different group than before. After the main course, we will all meet at one house for dessert (the Webbers).

The Adult Fellowship Committee is looking for volunteers to host either a salad course or main course. We need at least three hosts for salad and at least four for the main course. The hosts will be given recipes and the primary ingredients for the main dishes you will be asked to prepare. You will be reimbursed for any other expenses. Please see Jim and Terri Higgins, Ted and Diane Jones, or call the church office to sign up. Deadline to sign up is April 13th.

Save the date!

Saturday, May 3rd., 2-4 p.m. United Methodist Women will hold a “Teddy Bear Tea Party” $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids 6-12.

That’s right, you are invited to dust off that tuxedo or best suit, fluff up those puffy sleeves and crinoline and join us for the Nichols-Bethel Prom to benefit the trip to Camp Hope this summer. Tickets are $10 per person. All are welcome! Come with friends, come with family, come with your original prom date who has turned in to the love of your life. The theme is the “Enchantment by the Sea” dance where we will celebrate all of Jesus’ miracles by the shores of the Galilee. Come for great music, great snacks, and great fun. Watch for announcements about the collection of old prom pictures. Tickets will go on sale in April for the dance April 19 from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. Babysitting will be provided.

Come join us on Sunday, April 13 for Youth Sunday. The Youth will be leading 3 services of worship that day. The choir will sing, and scripture will come to life. You definitely won’t want to miss it!

The United Methodist Women will hold a spring flea market on Saturday, April 19, from 8am until noon.  The event is open to the public.  Table rentals are $15.00.  Contact the church for information at 410-674-2272.

On February 28, 2008, Jack Althouse with the architectural firm of Althouse, Jaffee, Associates, LLC presented the overall Master Plan for Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church to the Administrative Board, and specifically, reviewed the plans for the new Family Life Center.  The Administrative Board unanimously approved the Building Committee to proceed with the development of architectural building plans for the Base Bid, Alternate One, and Alternate Two.

The Base Bid includes the main Family Life Center, kitchen, restrooms, some storage, a classroom/meeting room, and a second floor unfinished.  The total area of the finished space is 9,274 square feet, and 2,408 square feet of unfinished space as a second floor.  The estimated construction cost of the Base Bid ranges from $1,729,208 to $1,938,748.

Alternate One includes the Lobby Connector to the existing Educational Wing of the Church consisting of 2,255 square feet of finished space, second floor unfinished portion of lobby connector consisting of 2,255 square feet, and minimal renovations to connect to the existing building. The estimated construction cost of Alternate One ranges from $639,460 to $719,610.

Alternate Two includes finishing the second floor of the unfinished space of the Family Life Center in the Base Bid, finishing the second floor of the Lobby Connector, and installing an elevator. The estimated construction cost of Alternate Two ranges from $834,200 to $926,200.

The members of the Building Committee are:  Addie Baldwin, David Baldwin, Charles Billings, Jim Gourley, Hillary Evert, Diane Jones, Steffanie Felder, Verna Munn, Barry Oren and Jane Lewis.

Ex Officio:   The Pastor, The Minister of Education & Evangelism, Youth Director, and the Chair of the Trustees, the Chair of the Finance Committee, and the Chair of the Administrative Board.

The estimated total cost (construction and other costs) of the new Family Life Center (Base Bid) is over 2.5 million dollars. The Building Committee will continue to work in concert with the Finance Committee to develop alternative sources of funding including grants, if available, bond programs, and financing options to present to the Administrative Board.

Should you have any questions or comments about the new Family Life Center or the Master Plan, please contact Charles Billings at (410) 987-5359.

Lots of pictures from Camp Hope 2007 have been posted in the picture gallery. Take some time to see fellowship, service, and worship of the Nichols-Bethel MYF. (Pictures can also be viewed full-screen using the slideshow applet)

About Camp Hope:

Camp Hope celebrated its 30th year anniversary in 2007. It is based out of Frostburg United Methodist Church and the campers are housed in the dormitories of Frostburg State University. It is a predominantly United Methodist based camp. The name of the camp is actually an acronym standing for Christian Appalachian Mission Project Helping Other People Enthusiastically. The homes that are worked on are in the Allegheny and Garrett County regions of Western Maryland. The camp runs for 4 weeks. Each week a different group of churches and campers attend. The average number of people attending a week is around 110. This summer, we will work on over 50 homes. That means that over 1,000 homes have been touched by this program throughout its history. Many home owners are ill or infirmed, widowed, handicapped, or are in some other way not economically able to make some of the repairs necessary on their homes. Each work team is divided within the church itself. So, we will be working with our own youth and adults. The day begins at 6:30 with morning devotions and breakfast, and concludes around 4:00. We travel to a variety of churches or community service organizations like the Lions Club for dinner each night. There, each church attending Camp Hope is assigned a night to lead vespers services. There is a spiritual life director who designs the spiritual theme for the week. This year’s theme is Extreme Home Makeover Camp Hope Edition! Thursday is a half day of work and a half day spent at Rocky Gap State Park and concludes with the talent/variety show.

Related links:

Youth Group Schedule of Events
Work Camp 2008 Update
Work Camp 2007 Recap

The first set of deposits have been made for Camp Hope workcamps. Our dates are reserved and WE ARE A GO! Please pay attention to the following due dates for deposits:

February 10 and May 4 for Camp Hope

Turning in funds and paying our debts must be punctual. Your fundraiser is deducted from these deposits. Also, please remember that there will be an additional fee this year for transportation because of our need to rent vehicles. February 10 is the first $100.

Oh my gosh! What an amazing weekend! I am still rocking out to “We Lift Our Hands In The Sanctuary” in my head! I am so grateful and thankful for all of you who participated in this fantastic weekend. We are all especially thankful for the adult chaperones who helped us this weekend. Steffanie Felder, Christine Blair, Kevin Blair, Denise McHarg, Mike McHarg, Wes Baker, Mrs. Patterson, and Christie McMullen, and Meghan Humbert. They gave up an entire weekend to be with us and we could not have participated had it not been for them.

Our theme for the weekend was “Jesus Christ – More than a Rock Star!” Salvadore was our musical band for the weekend and they were AWESOME! It was so much fun watching all of our youth and adults dance and sing and lift their hands in praise. The scripture lesson for the weekend focused on the Matthew scripture where Jesus asks his disciples “Who do YOU say that I am?” We were challenged by that question all weekend. We examined the idea of being “someone” for “somebody” after reading the scripture where “some people” bring a blind man to Jesus to be healed. We communed together under the Bishop’s direction with 5,500 other people. This was truly an amazing weekend. We did have some fun though – the Playland at the Boardwalk will never be the same! There were many challenging games of Ski Ball enjoyed by all. Not to mention the fact that we discovered the joys and wonders of Thrashers French Fries, Dumsers ice cream at 11:30 p.m., and the Candy Kitchen! We would especially like to thank the United Methodist Men for buying each participant a ROCK T-Shirt. They were worn on Saturday night and adorned by glow necklaces. The kids looked great.  Come see the bulletin board outside of the youth room for pictures.

NBUMC again achieved designation as a Global Mission Partner in 2007. This included contributing 100% of our apportionment in support of the UM missions; continuing our commitment to our covenant relationship with Unalaska, Alaska to the level recommended by the UMC; and continuing support to a GBGM sponsored Health Educator of Mother and Child Care in Afghanistan under the Partners in Mission program.

Altar flowers can be ordered to celebrate a joy or honor a loved one. Arrangements are $25, $30, or $35. The cost for a dozen roses is $50. They will be placed in a glass vase after the 11 AM service to be taken home.  To place an order, contact Peggy Williams at 410-672-5190 or email emptywilliams@hotmail.com. If you do not receive a reply within a day, please place your order through the church office.

We can’t wait to get started. All we need is you! Classes for those in the 6th grade, or age 12 or above, begin this year on February 17. Together we help launch youth on the Discipleship Adventure of a lifetime, and welcome them into the membership of the church. Please sign up at the church, call 410-674-2272, or see Rev. Ken or Rev. Linda. See you on the 17th, Choir Room, 9:30 AM.

The United Methodist Men, in coordination with our Volunteers-In-Mission program, is exploring a partnership with Partners In Care, an area community service organization, to identify community service projects that the church could support.  If you are interested in participating in such an effort, or you know of someone in our church family or community who could be served through our VIM program, contact our church mission coordinator, Doug Wallace (phone 410-969-8640 and email dougwall1@comcast.net).

Camp Hope will be the third week of July.  If you are interested in attending, you must sign up ASAP!  Deposits are due and numbers of youth and adults attending are quickly needed.  So, please sign up on the sheets in the youth room if you are interested.  Youth must be 14 years old or entering the 9th grade to attend.

Looking for a different–or additional–way to recognize a person or event, or to give glory to God?  Bulletins for one Sunday worship service can be sponsored for $25.  Your dedication will appear in the bulletin.  If you are interested in sponsoring a bulletin, contact the church office.

If you knit, crochet, quilt, sew or do any other form of crafting, this is the group for you!  We are going to use our talents to provide items to persons in need everywhere — within our church, surrounding communities, and the world.  Think of what we can accomplish, in service to others, if we join together in this endeavor.

God will bless any effort done in His name.  Join us and we will plan together this form of caring ministry.  Contact the church office if you are interested in this new group.

Coming to KNOW, GROW, SHOW, and GO in Christ…an exciting array of offerings to invite and assist you and your family in the spirit-adventure of following our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Settings include Sunday Mornings for all ages at 9:30 and 11 am and a variety of day and evening classes open to all.  We are committed to making child care available.

We have assembled superior study guides and leaders to enable us to delve deeply, whether as beginners or lifetime learners, into these important lessons in faith and life!  So don’t delay.  Plan now to attend.

See the Bible Study and Sunday School sections of the website (located under Education) for further details.

The architectural firm of Althouse, Jaffe and Associates, LLC and Jack Althouse as the Principal Architect has began the design phase for the new Family Life Center. Architectural drawings should be prepared during this summer.

As we embark on defining the actual design and functions of the new Family Life Center, the Building Committee will be asking for your input. This is the time to make your comments, suggestions and opinions known. This will be an exciting time. It is our turn to build for the next generation. We must be bold and go out on faith. And with your prayers, personal help and financial support, we will build this facility. We recently gathered together on June 23rd with the architect and members of the congregation to begin designing this structure in an Architectural Workshop. Updates to this session’s accomplishments will be available on the church website.

Although the estimated cost of the new Family Life Center is over 2.5 million dollars, a more refined cost will be available as the architectural drawing and the project proceeds. The Building Committee will continue to work in concert with the Finance Committee to develop alternative sources of funding including grants, if available, bond programs, and financing options to present to the Administrative Board this year.

The Greater Odenton area is a growing community and is expected to grow even faster with the announcement of the expansion of job opportunities at Fort Meade and NSA. With the new facility, Nichols-Bethel UMC will be able to offer a broader array of ministries to the Community and for our members.