Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to the MAPLE STREET CHURCH page.


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WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CHURCH...


WORSHIP SERVICES

are Sunday Mornings at 10:15.  Most Persons attended have been vaccinated.  If you are not, we encourage you to wear a mask and keep a distance for your own safety.  You can connect online through the Facebook link above on the right column, or as the service is added to the links on the right.


For SUNDAY SCHOOL and other CLASSES, contact the church office for schedule and details. 


The FREE STORE is open to shop on Wednesdays 10-11:30 am.  Donations are accepted Wednesdays & Fridays 10-11:30.  Currently, we are only accepting CLOTHING, SHOES, HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, and PERSONAL CARE ITEMS.  We can suggest other locations if you have other items to donate.  Masks are no longer required, however, we are still social distancing.


The SCOUTS (Boy Scout Troop 106 & Cub Scout Pack 106) are not using the building at this time, but will return soon.  


The REFUGE now has daily Orientations at the Bridge, 115 W 5th Avenue.  Call (614) 991-0131 for more information.

  

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS meets Monday through Saturday at Noon.  Enter at the Maple Street Office Door.  There are also evening meetings at the Center of Hope, 1663 E. Main St., (704) 689-8077, 7 days a week from 6-8 pm.

For emergencies, call the Central Ohio Hope line at 

(614) 252-1700.


The COMMUNITY KITCHEN is continuing to serve breakfast and lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Please see the link below to their Facebook page for updated information.


NOTE.

If you would like to receive email notices from the church, please send a message to office@maplestchurch.com.


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CHURCH MEETINGS:

Almost all church committee meetings are either in-person or online.  This is the Login information for most meetings:​​​​​​​

call-in number is 224-501-3412

when it asks for an access code, press 983 206 765

or you can log in with your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop pc (with a microphone):

https://www.gotomeet.me/MapleStreet1 

(it might take a couple minutes to set up the app)


LATEST ADDITIONS:
Worship Video for JULY 25, 2021: (1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1)
Worship Video for JULY 18, 2021: (1 Corinthians 10:1-13)
Worship Video for JULY 11, 2021: (1 Corinthians 9:18-27)
Worship Video for JULY 4, 2021: (1 Corinthians 9:1-19)
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WHY WORSHIP SERVICES ARE OVERRATED;
VIDEOS ON HEBREWS 10:25 (7 parts)
PART 1           PART 2           PART 3              PART 4
PART 5           PART 6           PART 7
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as told in the Hebrew Bible
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IN-HOUSE WORSHIP GUIDELINES (since COVID-19)

  • Masks are encouraged for anyone who wants to wear them.  
  • Persons enter at either entrance on East Wheeling Street: the Upper Ramp or the Lower Ramp (for elevator access).  we take attendance, ask for prayer requests, and inform you that in the sanctuary you will be photographed.  This is strictly for one purpose: in case someone near you is later found to be infected, you will be notified. 
  • Offering buckets are at the sanctuary entrance—you can leave your offering before or after the service.  We may have printed material for you.  The order of the service is on the screen.
  • ​​​​​​​There is not yet coffee hour or refreshment time before or after the service.
  • Sunday School Classes are meeting at other times and are planning a return to 9:00 AM in the building.  Contact the office for more information.​​​​​​​

We are relaxing restrictions slowly, please be patient, as we are still concerned for your safety.  Please call with questions, concerns, or your ideas.




DAILY GUIDE for Living and Ministry THESE DAYS (a Prioritized List)
or "How YOU can do vital Christian ministry even if you are home alone"

PERSONAL PRIVATE CARE- do all of these daily

  1. Sleep

  2. Diet 

  3. Exercise

  4. Hygiene

  5. Prayer

  6. Scripture Reading

  7. Stress Relief

PRIMARY MINISTRY TASKS

1)  Phone Calls

This is the primary ministry for all of us who are in quarantine or semi-quarantine.  We recommend at least 2 calls (more, if you are able) to family and friends per day, and at least 2 calls to persons outside your normal circles.  These other calls would include: friends of friends, persons from the Church directory, work associates, and neighbors.  Don't forget to leave voicemails; a message as simple as
"I called because I was thinking about you and I care" can brighten anyone's day. 

2)  Outdoor Meeting/ Walking together

This has moved up to #2 on our list because it is so vitally important to meet person-to-person and get outdoors.  Recent studies suggest that meeting outside without a mask (while at least 6 feet apart) is up 19 times safer than meeting indoors in a closed space with a mask.  At Maple Street, we are encouraging people to meet whenever possible outdoors.

3)  Group Calls

At Maple Street, we have regular call-in meetings (see the schedule above), and we encourage you to host your own (we can help you get started).  The essential elements: PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, and Personal SHARING.  These are fundamental to any Christian group meeting.

4)  Video Chat

If you have the capability, you can do videocalls.  Many people can do this and do not realize it.  Two smartphones can do this, sometimes simply by tapping on the camera during a phone call, sometimes with an added app.  Having the ability to see each other as well as hear will become more important as the situation continues.

5)  Private Notes

Your social media accounts allow for general posts to be shared to many people, but they also allow for private posts.  Also you can send emails and text messages.  Each of these is more valuable than the posts to many (those are #10 on the list) because it allows the individual, personal touch that all of us need.

6)  Letter Writing

It is easy to underestimate the power of letters in our digital age.  But at the time of this writing, the old-fashioned mail still works.  You might consider that some time from now, when we are again able to visit people in their homes, you will see on mantles and taped to walls some of the letters that people received during these tough times.  Some of those will be kept for a lifetime.

7)  Drive-by

This one might seem a little silly.  We are not advocating taking extra trips outside or in a car.  But if you are out walking or in a car, take advantage of the situation.  Go a little bit out of your way to call someone, let them know you are outside and have them come to their window and to the front door and wave to each other.  This will encourage us to remember that there are real people behind the telephone voices and computer screens.

8)  FOLLOW-UP to 1-7:  MEETING NEEDS

If you are doing any of the Primary Ministry Tasks, you will find unmet needs—needs for supplies, medical attention, or advocacy.  So you then have the task of meeting the need if you can, or passing along the requests to others who can help.  There are works of service ongoing throughout the community, including Maple Street's Community Kitchen.  If you are able, there are ways that you can volunteer, but if not, you can still provide invaluable help by passing along needs that you encounter during your personal contacts.
SECONDARY MINISTRY TASKS

9)  Offering

Yes, the offering!  Even now, giving is a vital part of our personal spiritual growth.  You are probably aware that while the church building is not being used as before, and while staff are working in different ways, there are those ongoing church expenses.  But along with these are the expenses related to our communications, as well as the wider work of the church. 

As a United Methodist congregation, a percentage of all general giving is sent out to fund ministry all over the world.  Sunday, March 22, was to be UMCOR Sunday, where we were taking a special offering toward the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which is our primary world mission and disaster response ministry.  So your giving both to the general ministry of the church and what you specify to UMCOR will help extend YOUR response to help people worldwide affected by this crisis.

Consider the options at the bottom of this page for giving to the ministry of the church even though you cannot do it in person. 

10)  Worship Service- Online or Drive-in

For those of us who are pastors and regular church attenders, an online worship service may seem like a high priority spiritual task.  However, remembering the basic three: prayer, scripture, and personal sharing, it lacks a bit on the sharing part.  So, while these services have great value, they are secondary to the personal and group contacts.  Nonetheless, they can enhance your personal prayer and Bible reading times.

Maple Street began online services on May 24, and resumed public worship on June 14.  These services have been well received, and we (the leaders) have enjoyed doing them.  However, we have tried to keep the in-house time short, and the weather has made outdoor interaction afterward difficult.  So there is still a need for interaction and sharing to be fulfilled in other ways.

11)  Social Posts (like this one)

Finally, there are the inspiring posts that we receive and pass along, as well as the general posts on webpages such as this one.  Obviously, if we thought these posts had no value, we would not have bothered.  But by placing it as #10 in the order, we remind ourselves that this communication does not replace, but adds to the primary communications above.  
Remember the basics:  PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, SHARING.  With this GOD builds His Church.


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CHURCH INFORMATION:

MAPLE STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

ADDRESS: 438 E Wheeling St, Lancaster, OH 43130-3820

PHONE: (740) 687-6384

office@maplestchurch.com

OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Friday   8:30 - 12:30


PASTOR: Kevin M Chambers  (614) 580-5189

pastor@maplestchurch.com


WORSHIP: Sundays 10:15 a.m.

SUNDAY SCHOOL (all ages) Sundays 9:00 a.m. (postponed due to COVID-19)

 

CHURCH FACEBOOK PAGE            PUBLIC GROUP PAGE

 

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MINISTRIES:

 

The Free Store, Lancaster, OH

—Shopping on Wednesdays 10-11:30, except on holiday weeks.

—Accepting donations Wednesdays & Fridays 10-11:30, except on holiday weeks.


Maple St UMC Community Kitchen

—Free lunch, Wednesdays & Fridays 12 noon.

 

NA Groups:
—–Meet Monday-Saturday at noon.  NA also meets at the Center of Hope, 1663 E Main St, (740) 689-8077, 7 days a week from 6-8 pm).  For emergencies, call the Central Ohio Help Line at (614) 252-1700.


The REFUGE Ohio:

—–At the Bridge, 115 W 5th Avenue daily; call (614) 991-0131. 



GIVING OPTIONS:


—ONLINE BILL PAYMENT.

We encourage you to check first with your bank to see if online bill payment is a service they offer—for some banks, it is free!  That means not only will they write the check for you, but they will mail it (and cover the postage) if needed.   So you can schedule a donation to the church through your bank's website.


—AUTOMATIC DEDUCTION FROM YOUR ACCOUNT.

You can arrange to have a set amount automatically taken out of your checking or savings account on a regular basis.  Some paperwork needs to be filed for this.  To do this, send a message to offering@maplestchurch.com.


—MAILING DONATIONS.

You may also send a check through regular mail.  Always make sure to mark if it is designated for a specific purpose; otherwise, we will use it where it is most needed.


—DONATE QUICKLY ONLINE!  

You can make donations with your bank account, credit card, or PayPal by clicking on the link below: