Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Synagoge Visit

Unfortunately, the synagogue does not have a Friday night Shabbat (Sabbath) service on February 6th.

Here are the dates they have services:

Saturday, February 7th at 10:30 a.m.
Friday, February 13th at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 21st at 10:30 a.m.
Friday, February 27th at 7:30 p.m.

E-mail me or call me and let me know when would work best for you. If we can't get everyone there at the same time, we will go with the largest number of people available.

--Pastor David

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Confirmation 2009!

Confirmation 2009 is well under way!

We had a great first meeting, and I look forward to working with everyone this year.

Here are the dates we discussed at our meeting:

February 6--Visit to Congregation Rodef Sholom. I have put in a message with the folks at Rodef Sholom, and hope to hear back from them soon. I'll keep you updated here.

Feb 22-- Meeting at noon. (We will have lunch at the Relay for Life pasta dinner, bring $5.00)

March 21-- Meeting at 3:30 at the church, followed by Mass at St. Stephen's Church at 5 p.m.
(Mary Janek will provide the meal)

April 26th--Meeting at noon. (Amy Anos will provide the meal)

Check to see if the weekend of March 6-8 will work for you for the confirmation retreat. We need to know by the February meeting. If this date does not work for the majority of people, we will have the retreat in May.

May 31 is the intended date for confirmation. This date may not work for everyone, so we might have to work with that a bit. If need be, we can confirm those who have a conflict at another service.

--Pastor D

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Hi everyone!

I hope that those who went on the confirmation retreat enjoyed the experience--I know that I had a great time!

If you were unable to attend the retreat, you will still be able to be confirmed this spring if you continue your sessions with your mentor(s) and attend the spring retreat. More details on that later. For those who did attend the retreat, remember to finish your sessions with your mentor(s) before September 14th.

September 14th is the date of confirmation for the fall. You will be confirmed at the 11:00 service--remember, we go back to our fall schedule on this day! Please come to the rehearsal for confirmation at 11:00 on Sunday, September 7th, following the 10 a.m. service. Mentors will need to be at this rehearsal, also.

Good luck on finishing up, and I'll see you on the 7th!

--Pastor D.

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Retreat Weekend

The retreat is here!

We will be leaving the church today (August 8) at 5:30 p.m.

We will return on Sunday (August 10) at 11:15 p.m.

Parents--if you need to get in touch with us while we are away, call Pastor David's cell phone at: (330) 647-3198.

See you all there!

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Retreat Details. . .

Dear Confirmands, Parents, and Mentors,

As you know by now, our Confirmation Retreat is fast approaching. The information in this post is also being mailed/given to you this week, but as it is so important, I wanted to post it here, too.

We will leave the church parking lot (upper portion, near the church office) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday August 8th. Please come having had dinner—we will have snacks, but no evening meal together on Friday. We will be staying the weekend at Dream Horse Guest House in Kinsman. My wife, Kelly, and I will be the adult chaperones for the weekend. You can find a list of what to bring—and what not to bring—in your confirmation booklets.

Mentors are asked (but not required) to come for the session at 2 p.m. on Saturday called “Planning for Confirmation Sunday.” If mentors wish, they may stay through the session entitled “Grace,” at 3:15, but we will ask them to head home after that.

Please note that we will be going to the Centenary United Methodist Church for our last field trip on Sunday morning. If mentors wish to join us for worship, you can meet us at Centenary at 9 a.m. on Sunday August 10th. Centenary UMC is located at 1413 Belmont Avenue in Youngstown.

We plan to arrive back at the church by about 11:00 or 11:15 on Sunday morning, so parents can plan to pick up their youth shortly after the end of the second service.

Important: We need to have your permission forms in before you can go! Please turn them in to the office ASAP! The deadline for this has been extended to noon on Thursday, which is the last time that anyone will be in the office to collect your forms. If you do not turn them in by that time, you may not attend the retreat.

Cost: Some have asked about the cost of the retreat. Our approximate cost per person for this event is about $90. We are asking that we split this cost three ways: $30 from the church, $30 from the mentors, and $30 from confirmands’ families. If for some reason you are not able to contribute this amount, any amount will be accepted towards this, and the church will cover the rest. Contributions can be brought with you to the retreat, or you may send them to the office marked “Confirmation Retreat.”

If you are unable to attend the retreat, there will be another confirmation retreat in the spring of 2009. You may attend at that time, and be confirmed with that class of confirmands. All work completed for this confirmation session will count toward the next course.

I look forward to seeing you all at the retreat this weekend. May God bless you as you continue on your journey toward membership in Niles First United Methodist Church!


Yours in Christ,



Pastor David

P.S.—Don’t forget to mark your calendars for September 14th. That is the date for Confirmation Sunday.

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Field Trip and Picnic

Don't forget our field trip on July 20th! Meet at our church at 11:00 a.m., and we will travel downtown to Mt. Carmel Catholic Church for their 11:30 mass. Afterwards, we have been invited to a picnic at the home of Chuck and Nancy Phillipson--Chuck is Lolly Symcheck's brother. Lolly will be calling everyone's mentors with information about the picnic, so you will probably hear from your mentor soon.

I am looking forward to our retreat on August 8-10. Don't forget those permission forms! We need them into the church by the Monday before the retreat!

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Retreat--We Have a Place to Stay!

Good news!

We have a place to stay for our retreat--it is local, very nice, and actually less expensive for us than Villa Maria would have been.

The place is called "Dream Horse Guest House" It is a bed and breakfast located in Kinsman. We will be occupying about three rooms, and one of them has a kitchen, so we'll be able to cook our breakfasts and lunches for ourselves.

Here's a link to their website: www.kinsmanbarncats.com

Don't forget to get those permission forms in to the church office!

And, don't forget our visit to Mt. Carmel Catholic Church on July 20 at 11:30 a.m.

C-U around,

Pastor D.

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.