King Avenue Digest 7/3/25

July 3, 2025

 

*NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS AND QUICKLY-APPROACHING EVENTS*

  • THIS SUNDAY, July 6: Communion Sunday - We will be celebrating Holy Communion this Sunday as a congregation both in-person and online. If you are worshiping online, please gather your bread and cup for worship Sunday so we can take communion together. All are welcome around Christ's table!

  • THIS SUNDAY, July 6: HeartSong Annual Front Lawn Concert... “A Hint of Country “ - Bring a chair, your favorite beverage and invite a friend for fun-filled hour of toe-tapping songs! The lawn concert will be held on Sunday, July 6 at 5:00 at the home of Linda Guyton & Lois Dosky (709 Garrett Drive, Columubus, OH 43214) The free-will offering benefits NNEMAP Food Pantry.

  • THURSDAY, July 10: Retirees Ministry to Gardens at Gantz Farm - Join the Retirees Ministry for a guided tour of the herb gardens at Gantz Farm in Grove City. Learn about herbs used to flavor and garnish food as well as those with medicinal properties, herbs used in aromatherapy and much more. Walk the Gantz Labyrinth. Walking the labyrinth represents a journey to your spiritual center and then back out into the world. Use this personal experience to unknot a worry or reflect on a joy in your life. We’ll lunch together in the picnic shelter. Please bring your own lunch and beverage. Free parking is available in the lot at the entrance off Home Road. Address: 2255 Home Rd, Grove City 43123. We will start our tour at 11AM at the Farmhouse, adjacent to the parking lot. (*NOTE* This is the rescheduled date since the original date was postoponed due to heat.)

  • FRIDAY, July 11: All-Church WICKED Sing Along - Everyone is invited to join us as we watch Wicked and belt out our favorite songs together. Themed costumes are definitely welcome. Please arrive after dinner on Friday, July 11th, in the Fellowship Hall. Doors will open at 6:45 pm and the sing-along will start at 7:00 pm. All ages are welcome, so bring your friends! No food will be provided.

  • SIGN UP NOW for NNEMAP Fair Parking - King Avenue has adopted Wednesday, July 30th to help park cars for the NNEMAP Ohio State Fair Parking Fundraiser. Not sure what to do? No fear! There will be a NNEMAP staff person at all times with the volunteers. Here are the shifts we need to fill: Noon-4:00pm (3 volunteers); 4:00-8:00pm (3 volunteers). Use the link to add yourself to an open spot on the Google Form. Thanks in advance for your help! CLICK HERE TO SELECT A SHIFT

  • *NEW* Wednesday, July 23: Retirees Movie Day - Ever wonder why the Wicked Witch of the West is green? And why is she so mean? Find out when the Retirees Ministry streams the movie WICKED on Wednesday, July 23 at 11AM. We will meet in the Parlor. Popcorn and iced tea provided. Bring a lunch or other snacks if you want.

  • *NEW* Friday, 7/25 - Saturday, 7/26: CORE Youth Group Overnight (incoming 6th graders to incoming 12th graders): The Summer CORE Youth Group Overnight will be Friday, July 25th, at 6 pm to Saturday, 26th, at 10 am. Youth in grades 6th through 12th are invited to join Ada and Pastor Andy for a night of fun, fellowship, and faith. Drop off your kids at 6pm on July 25th and pick them back up at 10am on July 26th. Please RSVP by July 18th so we can plan for food and all of the activities. Friends are welcome, but everyone MUST register for the event. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

  • *NEW* Upcoming Volunteer Training for CYFM - Due to the success of our Sunday morning program for children, youth, and parents, there are many opportunities for volunteering once a month with Worship Connections (in either service), and with Sunday School classes at 10 am. Training dates are in July and August (only one required). CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP. Contact Gwen with any questions at gwendolyn.derosa@gmail.com.

KEEP READING FOR THE REST OF OUR CURRENT HAPPENINGS AND NEWS...

  • 2026 Casa Trip Deadlines - We will be sending our next team to Casa de Misericordia on February 12-16, 2026. It costs $1,000/person. To be on the team, you must complete and submit a trip application, a copy of your passport, and payment by October 1, 2025. Financial assistance is available. Fill out and submit an application by August 18, 2025. An information session will be held Sunday, June 29 at 10am. For more information, attend the informational meeting Sunday, June 29 at 10:00 in the Chapel. CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION • CLICK HERE FOR FINANCIAL AID REQUEST

  • OPEN, Our Daily Devotional - Join your King Avenue family in reading through the Gospels and Acts in 2025! Starting in January, we will begin OPEN, a daily devotional that will deliver a bite-sized reading from the Gospels to your email inbox daily. The best part is many of the devotionals will be written by King Avenue members because we believe Jesus has something to say in the Gospels to each of us and through each of us. Our name "OPEN" reflects the King Avenue UMC theme song and positioning statement (Open minds, Open hearts, Open doors). In 2025, we want to OPEN the Gospels together day by day. If you want to join us in this journey, complete this form to sign up. CLICK TO SIGN UP FOR OPEN DAILY DEVOTIONALS

  • "Safe, Secure. Together." Radical hospitality at King Avenue includes ensuring that people within our walls are safe. The objectives of Safe. Secure. Together. are to establish, communicate, and practice emergency procedures related to active aggressor, severe weather, fire, bomb threat, and other critical incidents. If you would like to learn more about the specific initiatives included in this program, access resources, or find out how to get involved, visit our "Safe. Secure. Together." webpage at kingave.org.

  • NNEMAP Item of the Month for July - This month NNEMAP will be collecting bar soap and canned vegetables. There are collection carts available in the back of the worship space, both at Morning Blend and Traditional 11:00 Worship.

FAITH FORMATION, FELLOWSHIP, AND SUPPORT

  • Recurring on Mondays: Retirees Church at Home - Is your heart yearning for a spiritual connection with other Retirees? Consider joining the Retirees’ Church at Home, a weekly bible study that originated when the 2020 pandemic thrust many retirees into isolation. Today, the group remains committed and diligent in providing fellowship, meaningful discussions and connection with each other. The group meets Monday mornings from 11:00-12:00 on Zoom, where various members lead the study using the devotions from the Upper Room. If you are interested in participating with the Retirees’ Church at Home, contact Teresa Malloy at malloy29@aol.com or Dennis Chew at dennischew@me.com.

  • Recurring Weekly on Tuesday mornings & Wednesday evenings: Sermon Starters - Sermon Starters is a weekly small-group discussion of the upcoming Sunday's scripture lessons facilitated by Pastor Karen and Pastor Andy. Questions, insights, and stories help the pastors to think through their Sunday sermon ideas, as well as give participants a head start on their consideration of the week's lesson. Let Pastor Karen know (karen@kingave.org) if you'd like to be added to the Realm email group to receive the scriptures ahead of time. All are welcome in this "drop in" Bible Study Tuesdays at 7am in the Parlor, and Wednesdays at 6pm in the Chapel.

  • Recurring on Second Wednesdays of the Month: Caregiver Support Group - King Avenue UMC Retirees Ministry and the Alzheimer's Association of Central Ohio are partnering to bring a Caregiver Support Group to our church monthly. No registration is necessary and there is no cost. This group is designed to support families of individuals affected by any type of dementia. This group will meet the second Wednesday of each month from 6:00-7:30.

  • Recurring on Thursdays: Young Adults Small Group - King Avenue Young Adults will gather weekly to be with each other, check in with each other and share how their walk with Jesus is going. Thursdays at 6:30pm here at the church. If you're 18-35 years old, you're welcome to join us.

  • Recurring on First Saturdays of the Month: King Avenue Men's Group - The King Avenue Men's Group is a monthly get-together with men of different ages and backgrounds meeting in fellowship to discuss diverse topics of living as Christians. We meet on the first Saturday of month at 10:30am. For more information, please contact Roger Blocher rblocher01@gmail.com.

  • Last Sundays of the Month: Lit Club - Join the Lit Club on the last Sunday of each month at 7pm in the Logos Lounge. All are welcome! Simply read the book of the month, and get together to talk about it. The month's book is listed in the King Avenue Digest congregant blast and also on the slideshow on the monitors at church. You can also contact Rick Gilson (rickgilson@yahoo.com) to find out what the month's book is or if you'd like to be added to the communication group in Realm.

  • Every Other Sunday: Isaiah 35 Fellowship - Depression, anxiety, and many other mental health issues can challenge faith and hope and contribute to a feeling of isolation. Isaiah 35 is a confidential group providing fellowship, support, and prayer for adults with mental health struggles. We meet on every other Sunday (beginning 2/12/23) on Zoom from 7 to 8 pm. Due to the nature of this group, please contact Mary Bostian for the Zoom link and more details. (614) 371-0171 marybostian50@gmail.com

OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP

  • Open Shelter Lunch Packing - King Avenue packs lunches for the Open Shelter on several Tuesdays and Thursdays... 24 times in 2025. All hands on deck for packing 200-400 lunches at a time! CLICK HERE for the 2025 schedule, and join when you're able. All days/dates are 6:00pm in the King Avenue kitchen. Many hands make light work!

  • Fourth and Fifth Saturdays: Gates Fourth UMC Community Breakfast - Calling all cooks, servers, and hostesses! Gates Fourth UMC serves a monthly community breakfast at 119 E. Gates St. King Avenue assists the Gates Fourth team with greeting guests, distributing clothing/personal care donations, serving meals, assisting in the kitchen, and cleaning up. For more information on getting involved, please contact Shawn Compton at comptonlaw@msn.com or (614)378-6758 or simply show up to Gates Fourth on the fourth and/or fifth Saturday of each month to enjoy a meal with your neighbors. The dress code for this food service environment is casual but please wear closed toes shoes for safety. The only skills needed for this three-hour commitment are to smile and bring hospitality to this diverse community. We hope to see you there! Gates Fourth United Methodist Church, 119 E. Gates St., Columbus, OH 43206 from 8:00-11:00am.

  • Ushers and Greeters - Be the first friendly face someone sees at church! Our ushers and greeters keep folks safe and make them feel welcome. If you would like to help with this important ministry, please email Pastor Andy at andy@kingave.org.

  • Audio-Visual Volunteers - We are always looking for some folks who would like to learn how to help with live streaming our 9:00 and 11:00 services. You don’t need a lot of experience; we will train you! Please email Pastor Andy at andy@kingave.org if you are interested.

  • Item of the Month for NNEMAP - Each month, we are going to focus our donations on specific items our community partners. You can bring your donations with you on Sundays. There will be a place to leave them in the back of the worship space.

  • Item of the Month for Hubbard Elementary - Periodically we are asked for items to help students at our partner school, Hubbard Elementary. You can bring your donations with you on Sundays. There will be a place to leave them in the back of the worship space.

  • UMCOR Disaster Relief - UMCOR is the global humanitarian organization of the United Methodist Church that provides aid to people affected by crises and disasters around the world. You can contribute to UMCOR through Realm. CLICK HERE TO GIVE.

  • Use your Kroger Card to Give to King Avenue - Are you a Kroger Shopper? Do you have a Kroger Plus Card? If so, you can give to King Avenue every time you shop. If you have a Kroger Plus card, just log into your account, go to Community Rewards, and search for KING AVENUE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH to get this set up. LEARN MORE AND ENROLL

ADDITIONAL ITEMS OF NOTE

  • First Sundays of each Month: ASL Interpreter - King Avenue will be providing an ASL interpreter during worship. Elisabeth Clegg will be interpreting on the first Sunday of every month during both services. Thanks, Elisabeth!

  • Chancel Flowers for Worship - If you are interested in signing up to donate Chancel Flowers for worship in 2025, please use this form. You can specify that your flowers be listed in the bulletin in memory or honor of a person or notable event. The arrangement is yours to take home at the end of that Sunday's service.

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