King Avenue Digest 9/26/25

September 26, 2025

 

*NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS AND QUICKLY-APPROACHING EVENTS*

  • THIS SATURDAY, September 27: Young Adults Bonfire - King Avenue Young Adults are getting together for a bonfire! Saturday, September 27 at 6pm, we'll get together at Pastor Andy's house with a campfire, hot dogs, and s'mores. We all need community, and around a campfire is the perfect place to find it. Anyone 18-35 years old is welcome. Check the WhatsApp group for details and location , or contact Pastor Andy at andy@kingave.org.

  • THIS SUNDAY, September 28: Lit Club - All are welcome to Lit Club. Just read the book of the month, and come ready to discuss. Next up is The Lost Apothecary - A Novel by Sarah Penner. The group meets on the last Sunday of the month at 7pm in the Logos Lounge (downstairs).

  • *NEW* Friday, October 10: C.O.R.E. Youth Nerf Wars - Our next C.O.R.E. Youth Group event will be our Annual Nerf Wars on Friday, October 10th, from 6 pm to 9 pm. Pizza will be provided. You can bring your own nerf equipment or borrow the King Avenue equipment. We will need some adult volunteers for this event. Please RSVP by October 4th at the latest (gwendolyn.derosa@gmail.com).

  • *NEW* Sunday, October 12: Monthly Kinship Campus Ministry Lunch - On the second Sunday of each month, you are invited to our free lunch on at 12:15 pm in Donnenwirth (2nd floor, behind the balcony). We’ll be making sandwiches. Bring friends! Email Gwen by October 10th at gwendolyn.derosa@gmail.com with any questions or dietary restrictions.

  • *NEW* Thursday, October 16: Young Adults to the Pumpkin Show - King Avenue Young Adults (18-35 years old) are going to Circleville's Pumpkin Show! Join us on Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. We'll meet at the church and carpool down to Circleville. We plan to stay through the end of that evening's 8pm parade, then drive back. If you're interested, look for details in our WhatsApp group or contact Pastor Andy (andy@kingave.org).

  • *NEW* Wednesday, October 22: Retirees to Explore Our Neighborhood - Our church is fortunate to be located in an area with a rich architectural heritage. Susan Keeny, of course, knows the neighborhood very well. Recently retired from Columbus Landmarks, Susan has been a leading advocate for historic preservation and other urban issues across the entire city of Columbus. On October 22, Susan will share her thoughts on preservation in Columbus with King Avenue retirees in an informal lunch conversation. This will be followed by a stroll around our immediate surroundings, focusing on architectural gems. Lunch will begin at 11. Bring a sack lunch. Tea and coffee will be provided. CLICK TO REGISTER

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

  • Sunday, October 5: World Communion Sunday - The World Communion Sunday offering provides scholarships and leadership development opportunities for international students and U.S. racial-ethnic students who are pursuing advanced degrees. Gifts not only make an impact in the lives of individual students, but also the religious, social and civic communities in which they lead and serve. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

  • Sunday, October 5: Blessing of the Animals Service - God cares about every part of our lives, and pets are an incredibly important part of life for many of us. So let's get together and bless them! We'll gather on the King Avenue Tower Lawn on Sunday, October 5 at 5pm. All leashed/contained pets are welcome! If your pet cannnot come or has passed away, we can bless a picture of them. Bring a chair or blanket, and a pet food donation for NNEMAP if you're able. We'll provide ice cream sandwiches for the people-type animals!

  • September through October - The digital art of Eli Molasso-Matessa, a teen in our church community, will be displayed in the King Avenue Grand Hall Gallery. Eli, a high school junior, shares his love of photography along with the diverse beauty of the sky in this excellent exhibit of colored photos. Come check out the artful eye of our own budding photographer!

  • Art Exhibit, King Avenue... Unexpected Views - Our new History Room Gallery is opening with King Avenue... Unexpected Views featuring large photographs of Thomas C. Van Dyke. Thomas is the son of Rev. Stan and Deborah Ling, and he served as an assistant to the custodian of King Avenue during his time as a student at Ohio State. These photographs were taken as a part of his studies. Currently Thomas and his wife operate an Art Gallery in Brooklyn. In addition to Thomas' photographs, we have added some pictures we have discovered in our Archives which we felt were of interest to those who visit the gallery, in the Heber History Room. Special thanks to Kurt Reichert for his work in preparing the photographs for the gallery.

  • 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

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 Mondays of the Month: Rebels and Reconnection - This drop-in peer support group (for over 18 yrs old) is a safe, authentic environment where we process the trauma of purity culture, connect with our own amazing bodies, and formulate our own sexual ethics. We will dive into a variety of themes, including: faith and gender, purity culture history, and sex education. We’ll meet on the 2nd Monday of each month from 7 to 8:30 pm at King Avenue UMC. Contact Gwen with any questions: gwendolyn.derosa@gmail.com

  • 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. 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 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.

  • "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.

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