Maple Grove UMC Blog

Maple Grove Harvest

2009-08-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

Our community garden is the subject of a posting to a blog that focuses on Columbus area community gardens. Check out the post here.

Maple Grove church plans 'Blessing of the Backpacks'

2009-08-18T15:20:00.003-04:00

From The Booster, Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 9:37 AM EDTSee the article online here.As most students -- and certainly most parents -- know by now, the first day of school is right around the corner. Back-to-school advertisements are everywhere. Signs are posted reminding people of supply lists and ice cream socials. In step with those things, Maple Grove United Methodist Church will host

Adult Mission Trip - Post Trip Pictures and Comments

2009-07-07T14:53:00.004-04:00

The Dakota people are quite interesting. Very friendly and welcoming to us, although they said there is still a mistrust of the white race. With regard to their spirituality, three separate speakers, in describing their prayers said they never pray for Blessings for themselves. Prayers are for others! Kay HoppersThe final total of projects completed by the Sewers: 27 Pillows, 19 pairs of curtains

Adult Mission Trip - Post Trip Pictures and Comments

2009-07-07T14:51:00.002-04:00

A fun time was had by all. Martha and Bill enjoying a moment following a wonderful meal at the Cattleman's restaurant.

Post Trip Pictures and Comments

2009-07-07T14:40:00.004-04:00

The plumbing team had one of the most depressing situations and just kept at it. Here is the team: Andy, Mary and Jeff.

2009-07-04T23:40:00.004-04:00

Martha and Carolyn sorting in the clothing room on the first day. Our final picture with Peter as we were preparing to leave. An awesome time was had by all!

2009-07-04T23:32:00.004-04:00

A few from Willard.

2009-07-04T23:15:00.003-04:00

2009-07-04T22:58:00.007-04:00

A collage of some of my favorites - the food pantry, our time in Wall, SD, Peter on the new bench and our special supper of fry bread and buffalo soup. Laura Batdorf

2009-07-04T22:48:00.003-04:00

Our contribution to the community garden at its new home in our favorite, shady spot.

2009-07-04T22:45:00.002-04:00

Our contribution to the Community Garden - a bench with a tree design. This bench was placed under a tree in the middle of the garden which became a favorite break place. Peter, our crew chief, is trying out this gift before we placed it in the garden.Laura Batdorf

2009-07-04T22:40:00.004-04:00

One table of our delicious meal at the Cattleman's Club. Best steak north of Texas and I'm from Texas! Barb Lipke

Day 7

2009-07-03T11:31:00.003-04:00

A good meal was enjoyed by all! We went out to eat in Pierre at the Cattleman's Steak House. It sat across the street from the Missouri. It was a fitting ending to another good day of work. David Kieffer

2009-07-02T12:30:00.002-04:00

This has been a truly remarkable experience. This morning, however, clarified why I am here.Throughout the work I have looked around and thought to myself, "Sure, I know these people are poor and depressed but the least they could do is pull a weed or pick up the trash." Today I visited the house where one of the teams is plumbing. This house, which is inhabited, has no power and no water.

Still Day 5

2009-07-01T22:48:00.001-04:00

We'd love to hear from some more of you! It's really not that hard. Spread the word and encourage others to go to the blog and then comment.

2009-07-01T22:43:00.003-04:00

Not knowing the people, I am amazed at how welcoming the group is. I am really having fun with the group!Barbara Jones

2009-07-01T22:36:00.002-04:00

I am so appreciative of the fact that we were able to drive through the Badlands. It was beautiful! I so wanted to touch the land to see what it felt like. Was it like sand or harder? It was both. We got to get out at the Visitor's Center and some of us walked on it and even climbed. Martha Trout

2009-07-01T22:33:00.002-04:00

We made it! This was a first time experience for many of us and was everything we had hoped it would be. We enjoyed lunch here as well.Toni Rausch

Day 5

2009-07-01T22:30:00.003-04:00

Oh, what a beautiful morning! (Oh, the sacrifices we're willing to make in order to get the blog on!) Bill

2009-07-01T22:26:00.002-04:00

Today is my birthday. While I usually celebrate it with dinner with friends at Villa Nova, I'm thrilled to be spending this birthday with fellow missionaries (ane newly made friends!) exploring the Badlandes, marveling at Mt. Rushmore and perhaps having 5 cent coffee and bread pudding at Al's Oasis.Susan LoweP.S. I did, I did, have bread pudding and 5 cent coffee at Al's Oasis!!!

2009-07-01T08:13:00.003-04:00

Our two fearless leaders! Peter is the crew chief for Tree of Life and he is everywhere! Dan did a really fantastic job of planning our trip. His attention to details relative to our lodging and meal stops was wonderful! Great job, Dan!Dorothy Croy

2009-07-01T08:09:00.003-04:00

This was the vehicle we travelled in on the way out and has been our transportation to our worksites. There was a lot of getting acquainted that happened as a result of sharing this space.Cathy Davis

2009-07-01T08:03:00.004-04:00

Our sleeping quarters. Pretty comfortable but when you're as tired as we are at the end of the day it doesn't take much! Sleep comes fast and the mornings are early. We have left for our mission sites and our day of tourism at 7:00 a.m. each day.Willard Becker

2009-07-01T07:56:00.002-04:00

Meal time is always a special time of nourishment and community building. We are enjoying homemade lasagna that Leah Shoemaker made. It was delicious! You should see us eat breakfast and make our lunches at the same time. What a time of laughter and creativeness! Let's see, should I add a piece of turkey or ham to my peanut butter and jelly sandwich today - an orange or a banana - or

2009-07-01T07:47:00.004-04:00

This is the sunset many of us enjoyed on Monday evening. It was awesome!

Additional Day 4 Happenings

2009-07-01T07:41:00.003-04:00

Lisa fixed us a Native American meal of fry bread and buffalo stew. It was very good!

2009-07-01T07:37:00.002-04:00

Day 4

2009-06-30T15:39:00.004-04:00

Willard, David, & Kirk putting the finishing touches on a newly installed window! This new ministry opportunity on a mission trip has been hard at work. They have made 7 pairs of curtains, 6 valances, 4 receiving blankets, and 7 pillows so far. This blanket they are auctioning off tonight for the bus ride home since the bus is rather chilly. Now, if anyone wants to make a bid you have until 8:00

MG Crow Creek Mission Trip

2009-06-30T09:34:00.006-04:00

Day 3

2009-06-29T19:49:00.000-04:00

Wow! After an uneventful negative, but very eventful positive trip to Crow Creek our first workday was wonderful! Our crew chief, Peter, began the day with an impressive bit of sharing about himself as a member of the Dakotas. During the day we formulated several workcrews based on the work needing to be done. We were the gardeners, the mudders, the

On the road again

2009-06-28T08:53:00.000-04:00

There are thirty-one of us on the trip - 8 men and 23 women. Another interesting fact is that 2 0 missioners are members of MG and 11 are guests. -------------------------- Sent using BlackBerry

Crow Creek Mission Trip - Day 2

2009-06-28T08:35:00.000-04:00

We're on our way to Sioux Falls to pick up a van and our final missioner. -------------------------- Sent using BlackBerry

2009-06-28T07:33:00.004-04:00

We're on our way! We successfully pulled out of Maple Grove's parking lot at a little after 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 27.After a very pleasant all-day drive we arrived in Iowa City and spent the night at a Best Western. We have had breakfast and are preparing for our second 10-hour drive arriving at Ft. Thompson on the Crow Creek Reservation around 7:00 p.m. Pictures will follow when we work

Preparation

2009-06-25T11:50:00.000-04:00

It's two days before launch and the excitemeny is building. All health and liability forms are in and people are busy making final preparations. -------------------------- Sent using BlackBerry

Crow Creek Mission Trip

2009-06-25T11:40:00.002-04:00

Thirty-one adults from Maple Grove UMC are leaving on Saturday, June 27, at 7:00 a.m. We will be working on the Crow Creek Reservation in Ft. Thompson, South Dakota until Saturday, July 4. Be sure to check back frequently to follow along.

2009-06-22T14:51:00.002-04:00

2009-06-20T14:39:00.002-04:00

2009-06-20T14:37:00.002-04:00

Three sets of t-shirt twins today.

2009-06-20T13:41:00.002-04:00

Some lunch at a Sonic in Nashville. We plan to drive by the headquarters of United Methodist Communications, Cokesbury and the General Board of Discipleship on our way out of town. We should be home just after 8:00.

2009-06-19T14:25:00.002-04:00

Hot, hot, hot. Tell us something we don't already know!!!

My 18th Birthday!

2009-06-19T01:09:00.005-04:00

So today I celebrated my 18th birthday. And though having your eighteenth birthday during a mission trip may not be your typical party site, I can definitely say it was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had. My mom and the rest of the group went above and beyond to make my day as special as possible. The festivities began right at midnight (central time) when everyone came running up the steps

2009-06-18T18:38:00.002-04:00

Cooling off and having some fun after a good week of work.

2009-06-18T15:49:00.002-04:00

Nathan and Mark using a miter saw on some quarter-round.

2009-06-18T15:44:00.001-04:00

Melissa using a nail gun to install some baseboard.

2009-06-18T13:23:00.002-04:00

The last two pieces of siding are complete!!!

Nathan's Blog

2009-06-18T01:15:00.002-04:00

A lot of work was successfully completed today. One of the first jobs donetoday was finishing a second coat of paint on the front side of the house.In the middle of the front there was a hole with no siding so after wefinished painting we put up a new side panel. Then of course we put twocoats of paint on it. Almost the entire house had siding but around thedoor and that was our next task. We

Steve

2009-06-18T00:20:00.002-04:00

Let me tell you about Steve... I don't know his official title but Steve is essentially the buildingmanager for our host church, First United Methodist Church in LakeCharles, LA. Steve is in his mid-50s; he married late in life, at the ageof 43, and inherited 3 step-children with his marriage. His wife and healso have a daughter of their own, age 11. I believe Steve has lived inLouisiana for most

Inside Job

2009-06-18T00:09:00.002-04:00

Today we endured yet another hot, Louisiana day but everyone kept on working hard. While siding was going up outside, I had the opportunity to work inside with the Americorps group. Painting trim definitely takes some skill and got frustrating at times, but conversing with the Americorps group really helped ease the

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

2009-06-17T11:27:00.002-04:00

Brett supervising the work. Great one-handed detail work with the roller Cami!

Day 4

2009-06-17T00:57:00.001-04:00

Today we worked on a different house, this time doing a lot of painting. Most of us worked on the exterior of the house. We painted the trim on the windows, put a second (and sometimes first) coat on exterior walls, painted the trim that will be put up on the soffit and facia (tomorrow’s work) and caulked the entire exterior. Several of us worked inside – painting nine interior doors. We were

2009-06-16T12:12:00.003-04:00

Guess who's painting???

First Day of Work

2009-06-15T23:09:00.003-04:00

Today was our first day of actual work, and there was a lot of work to be done. Our mission today was to repair a Lake Charles resident’s home. We put all new shingles on their roof and had groups nail them down using both power tools and hammers. Every person in the group was working hard and working well together to complete the project. Even though it was a challenge working in the VERY hot

2009-06-15T18:48:00.002-04:00

A roof complete in one day!!! Call the Maple Grove youth team when you need something done!

2009-06-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

Roofing!!!

The Indigenous Wildlife Report

2009-06-15T01:06:00.002-04:00

On our thousand-something mile journey aimed toward Lake Charles, we witnessed various forms of wildlife that you just can’t find back in Ohio. Unfortunately, a good portion of the exotic life we saw could not exactly be called living. This category included an unfortunate armadillo and an alligator that got into some sort of accident… Or was it a crocodile? What living things we did see

Why Are We Here?

2009-06-15T00:33:00.001-04:00

High school mission journeys are about unity, coming together both as a youth group and as a global Christian community: an indisputable sentiment for sure, but it still carries the baggage associated with most glittering generalities. If not supported with a tangible experience, this statement becomes nothing more than a fleeting moment in a one-hour Sunday School class. Not to diminish the

Day Two - The Two Sides of New Orleans

2009-06-15T00:28:00.007-04:00

Mugshots

2009-06-15T00:23:00.001-04:00

While staying at the University of Alabama Wesley Foundation in Tuscaloosa, we had the pleasure of dining at the delectable restaurant known as Mugshots. With a wide range of food choices from the Peanut Butter Burger (crunchy or smooth) to the giant “Mugshot” there were choices for everyone. The wait was long and we did not get to eat until 11:00 p.m. (Ohio time). That was all eradicated when

The first day of the journey...

2009-06-13T23:59:00.001-04:00

We had a great first day on our journey to Louisiana. Our two 12-passenger vans were filled to the brim with people and gear. The weather was perfect and the road straight and mostly smooth. We enjoyed a lot of laughs as we made our way south. We stopped for lunch in Louisville, KY then drove on to Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham we stopped at the scene of the 1960s Birmingham freedom walk

2009-06-13T17:23:00.001-04:00

Playin cards somewhere in Tennessee

2009-06-13T09:10:00.002-04:00

We're on our way!

Annual Conference - A larger picture

2009-06-09T15:23:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning, before our work began, we participated in worship. The service was very similar to ours at Maple Grove. We sang the Gloria Patri, hymns, there was an organ playing and a great postlude. The difference was the number of people present. A thousand people singing together, responding together, communing together. Today we all participated in a contemporary praise service. Again, a

Annual Conference - First Blog

2009-06-09T14:20:00.002-04:00

We’re midway through the second day of Annual Conference. There have been times of great joy, times of intense discussion and debate, some powerful worship experiences and some outstanding and inspiring teaching. In the picture, you’ll see (from right to left) Sandy Freer, Sherri Scholl, Pastor Jeff, Alison Gill and Dawn Nauman as they consider one of the proposed constitutional amendments.

Columbus Dispatch: Blessing of the Animals Picture

2009-06-02T14:39:00.000-04:00

From the Columbus Dispatch 6/1/09, Page B3 Yeah, right there, that’s the spot Lulu the guinea pig is actually getting a blessing from Associate Pastor Jeff Allen while owner Lola Nauman, 7, holds her at Maple Grove United Methodist Church’s “Blessing of the Animals.” About 30 pets and their owners were present yesterday to receive the blessings at the Clintonville church. NEAL C.

Children's Concert a HUGE Success!!!

2009-06-02T14:24:00.002-04:00

This year’s children's concert was a huge success!!! We estimate attendance at this year’s event to be around 600 people. That accounts for hundreds of families who were engaged and thoroughly entertained!From the children pushing boats around in the side yard, to our own train ministry engaging with kids in Room 8, to the kids dancing with the band, it was a perfect, perfect day! Seeing the

Pancakes Galore on Shrove Tuesday

2009-03-05T10:15:00.001-05:00

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" is a Cajun expression meaning "Let the good times roll!" It strongly conveys the "joie de vivre" ("joy of living") attitude that pervades south Louisiana. It is mostly associated with New Orleans. On Shrove Tuesday, February 24, 2009, it was 'Methodist' for food, fellowship and fun.Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving, when the faithful

Spaghetti Dinner a Success!

2009-02-18T14:26:00.004-05:00

Spaghetti. Meatballs. Parmesan cheese.Friends. Fellowship. Fundraising.Another spectacular spaghetti dinner and silent auction took place on Saturday, February 14th. Patrons got their fill of pasta and fellowship, and we raised some important funds along the way.The hard work of many people made this event a success yet again this year. Thanks to all who served and to those who came to eat as

SOUPer Bowl - What's Cookin' at Maple Grove

2009-01-31T20:40:00.009-05:00

Chili, it seems, is the great equalizer. It’s a good-time stew; brewing the perfect batch of chili requires no special training, no special ingredient –just a little people-pleasing magic. And so, on January 31, twenty-six local magicians (from all disciplines –chefs, accountants –even one young person) gathered together to share the best they could concoct at the Second Annual Clintonville Chili

Cookie Walk

2008-12-06T12:30:00.004-05:00

Oh Cookie WalkOh Cookie WalkYour goodies are so yummyOh Cookie WalkOh Cookie WalkNow just memories in my tummyFrosted, Chocolate, ApricotI can't bake and so I bought . . .Oh Cookie WalkOh Cookie WalkPlease come back weekly-weekly.Sadly, Christmas comes just once a year, and so does the cookie walk. Once a year the UMW ladies put out the goodies galore, and guests deck their hands with plastic

Maple Grove gives H-O-P-E to one local woman

2008-11-27T20:17:00.013-05:00

It truly 'tis the season for reaching out to the community. The cover story on the Thanksgiving (super-biggie) edition of The Dispatch highlighted one of the things that Maple Grove does best: reach out to help others help themselves.Check it out -the photo with the big grin on Reva Kitts' face will put a big grin on your face too!Read Reva's story from the Columbus Dispatch online.

Maple Grove UMW Beat Michigan Pancake Breakfast

2008-11-22T11:15:00.006-05:00

Fellowship Hall was festive in scarlet and grey and OH – IO could be heard throughout the morning. November 22 was the third annual Beat Michigan breakfast sponsored by the Maple Grove United Women. The menu was sausage and pancakes with all the “fixins”. About 60 church members and community friends partook of the food and festivities. All proceeds will sponsor mission projects for women and

WORLD's BIGGEST POTLUCK BUFFET

2008-10-13T12:31:00.005-04:00

Well, perhaps we didn't quite break the Guinness World Record for buffet size: Maple Grove needed 602 different items to make it to the record books. Still, the 379 items that did make it to the buffet made for one ginormous community party. October 12th can go down in history as the date of the Biggest Potluck Buffet in Ohio.And it was also a day in which we learned lots and lots about our

Maple Grove member Doug Morgan always seemed like a nice, normal guy.

2008-08-30T18:25:00.008-04:00

And he actually is a nice, normal guy . . . with a few habits that have put him in the pages of the Columbus Dispatch over the last couple of months.First, he helped launch an eco-friendly transportation project at his downtown law firm.Then, and more strangely, he moved an ancient barn. That’s right: took it apart and moved it from one county to another. Then rebuilt it.Now he’s been in the

Bless Those Backpacks

2008-08-24T13:39:00.003-04:00

It's really something to see all those bright-eyed kids (of all ages) up there at the Blessing of the Backpacks. The beginning of the school year always seems so exciting. I guess the beginning of anything is exciting.You know what else?As an adult it felt good to "stand up" (because that’s what the good Rev. Croy told us to do) too. The standing signified to that we’re there to support those

Maple Grove Muscle

2008-08-24T13:32:00.009-04:00

Every once in a while, even a church gets to be a show-off.Clintonville drivers might have noticed the display of sparkly Christmas lights on the corner of High & Henderson on August 23. That was jam-packed Magic in the Moonlight dinner out on the lawn. In the process of having a very good time, the guests learned several things:Cathy D.’s son, Joe, can do dumbfounding card tricks. He and his

Reflections from the Cherokee Mission Team

2008-08-21T21:01:00.006-04:00

Eleven youth and five adults from Maple Grove went to Cherokee, North Carolina for a mission trip from June 22-28. The youth participants were Alexa, Nina, Caitlin, Will, Nathan, Courtney, Laura, Daniel, Rachel, Jenna, and Melissa, and the adults were Jeff, Alison, Cami, Evelyn and Brett. Some of their reflections on the trip are included here. Thank you to all who supported the youth mission