-

October 2 – Rev. Schnell (Communion)

October 9 – Rev. Schnell

October 16 – Rev. Schnell

October 23 – Rev. Horak

October 30 – Rev Schnell

August 21 – Total – 210

August 28 – Total – 222

September 4 (Picnic) – Total – 158

September 11 (Rally Day) – 9:30 – 180; 11:00 – 115; Total – 295

September 18 – 9:30 – 180; 11:00 – 102; Total – 282

First Time Visitors – (9/11) Ed & Toni Marcano from Mooresville, NC

Deaths – Dave Watson, son of long-time members Ray & Helen Watson and friend of the church; Robert Classen, brother of Marilyn Classen; Timm Page, son of Jack & Naomi Page; Raymond Porrello, uncle of Russ Piazza

Weddings – Dena Marie DiPippo & Joseph Dean Steuer; Rachel Ann Thieman & Nicholas Joseph Miller; Tara Templeman & Michael Tonsetic

VOA Food Pantry Needs – This month the Food Pantry is looking for peanut butter, grape jelly (no jars please), pancake mix, syrup and stuffing. Thank you as always for your generous giving.

AUDIO CD’S of the Sunday services are available in the library in the top drawer of the cherry chest to the right of the door. If you want to purchase a CD, contact Phil Ticer at 995-9318.

CONGREGATIONAL SURVEY – Every five years Long Range Planning conducts a congregational survey for feedback on programs and ministries of The Church in Aurora. That survey has been included in this issue of the Spire. Please take the time to complete the survey and return it to the church. There are return boxes in the Great Hall or you can mail it in. Thank you for helping us keep the church a vital and active community.

3H PM – Please come Thursday, October 13, at The Escape, 6-8 p.m.  We will be crocheting and knitting prayer shawls, prayer squares and baby blankets while we are reviewing Chapters 2-4 The Gospel According to Jesus and discerning what Jesus means by new birth and true worship.  Circle dues are $20; the book is $7. Questions? ~ Please call Kathleen Horak, 330-562-1930.

YOUTH INTEREST?  3H PM may host a two-week introduction to crocheting and knitting Jan. 12 and Feb. 9, 6-8 p.m. at The Escape.  Please call Kathleen Horak, 330-562-1930, if you are interested.

FARMERS MARKET – Don’t forget our Farmers market on the lawn at the Escape on Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m. They will take place through September 28. Come and shop for locally grown, organic produce and products that promote health and wholeness.

WOMEN’S GUILD – The Women's Guild will not meet in October as we will be getting ready for the "30th Nutcracker Sweets" that week. Please sign up to help and plan to be there to have fun with friends while helping.

The CARE TEAM is available for those who need meals during a time of recovery or a ride to an appointment or someone to pick up prescriptions or just a friendly visit. If they could help you, call Rita Suchanek at 330-562-3273 or 216-570-9808!

Eldercare Support Group – If you or someone you know are struggling to care for an elderly loved one, help is available. A good place to begin finding help is by attending our monthly Eldercare support group which meets the first Wednesday of each month beginning October 5 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in Harris Study (basement, under the North Chapel). Facilitating this group is a collaborative effort between The Church in Aurora and HomeInstead Home Health Care (who also provides free in-home help while you attend meetings). For more information about this opportunity, contact Sharon Jenkins (216/287-7973, sharonjenkins08@gmail.com).

NUTCRACKER SWEETS is coming up quickly, October 14 and 15. We need lots and lots of help this year as usual. There are opportunities for all ages to get involved, and we can almost guarantee that you will have fun! Joni Hanson will be sitting in the Great Hall Sunday’s before and after services with sign-up sheets starting Sunday, Sept 25th. Please stop by and volunteer. If you can’t sign up on Sunday but would like to help you can call Joni at 440-821-9377 or email her at guss@roadrunner.com. If you can distribute some posters or fliers at your place of work or places you frequent, Joni will have them on Sundays by the signups or they will be located on the shelves above the coat rack in Fellowship Hall. And most of all…remember to come and do some Christmas shopping or just some retail therapy at the Nutcracker Sweets!

Benefit Bank – Low income families now have a one-stop location to electronically enroll for public assistant benefits such as home heating assistance, food stamps, earned income credit and other programs for which they qualify. The site is at the Volunteers of America and is staffed by volunteers from The Church in Aurora trained on computers and software provided by the Community Action Council of Portage County. A coordinator is needed to replace Barb Brookhart, who pioneered the establishment of the Benefit Bank in Aurora. If you would like more information about what this volunteer opportunity entails, contact Rev. Schnell.

Thank You – John Hutcherson is the son of Rev. J.R. Hutcherson, who served as pastor of The Church in Aurora for over 31 years. On a recent visit from Texas to Aurora for his 50^th High School reunion, he and his wife Judy stopped by the church to reminisce and deliver creative communion ware crafted on a potter’s wheel by eldest daughter, Michelle Mosher—an accomplished potter, art teacher and Master of Fine Arts graduate. Watch for these beautiful pieces of liturgical art on the communion table the first Sunday of October. Thank you, Michelle, for honoring the memory and ministry of our beloved former pastor in such a worshipful way.

TIME AND TALENT SURVEY – A Time and Talent survey is enclosed with this copy of the Spire. Please take the time to fill out the survey and return it to the church.

Keep bringing in your used cell phones and ink cartridges! Last year, almost $500 was added to the WORKCAMP FUND and also kept these items out of our landfills. Look for the basket on the desk near the Nursery in the Great Hall. We thank you and Kim Williamson for continuing to chair this important fundraiser!

CHURCH LIBRARY – Miss Julia has a full plate in Ann Ross' newest book in the series, Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle.  Husband Sam wants her to stay out of trouble by minding her own business.  Who is passing bad checks in her name is, of course, her business.  A dead body is found in a tool shed just blocks from her house, and she must step in to help when Hazel Marie delivers twins.  Who would do otherwise?

Joan Medlicot has written a wonderful Christmas story, A Blue & Gray Christmas, about the ladies of Covington.  They have discovered a rusty old tin box in their old farm house which contains letters and diaries written by two Civil War solders, one Confederate, the other Union.  The ladies decide to track down the families of the two solders to invite them to Covington for Chrismas.  The families finally learn about the lives of their solders after the war.

Joyce Meyer has written a daily devotional, The Confident Woman Devotional, based on her best-selling book, The Confident Woman (which is in our library).  I like that each one is only one page with a short prayer at the end.  The author is a prolific writer of best-selling inspirational books, thousands of audio teachings, conducts conferences around the world, and even has a radio and TV show, "Enjoying Everyday Life", which is broadcast around the world.  Yes, her children are grown. 

                                            Sara Akins, Church Librarian

CROP Walk – Our community’s annual CROP Walk will be held on Sunday, October 9, at Sunny Lake (North End (Page Road) Pavilion). CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world. A Coordinator is needed from our congregation to join the planning team made up of representatives from all the churches in Aurora. If you can volunteer for this short-term ministry, contact Rev. Schnell for more information.

COUPONS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES – Circle 3H is sponsoring a new mission program and you can help. We will be collecting manufacturers’ coupons to send to military families stationed overseas. We have adopted a U. S. Army base in Okinawa, Japan. While military pay is over the poverty level, these brave men and women still are not making a lot of money, and anything we can do for them is helpful. Clip coupons from the Sunday insert or your national magazines that say Manufacturer’s Coupon (usually up on top by the expiration date). Cut them apart and drop them in the collection box that will be on the desk outside the toddler room in the Great Hall. They will take both food and non-food (like health and beauty items) coupons. Military base stores will accept these coupons up to six months after their expiration dates. For more information, check out their website at www.ocpnet.org. Any other questions, contact the church office.

CIRCLE 3H – At the September 9 meeting, Circle 3H enjoyed the devotion offered by Martha Gray expanding on the 23^rd Psalm based on the observations of her mother-in-law, Beatrice Gray. On October 7 we will have a brief meeting at the church after which we will carpool to visit a veterans’ home in Portage County.

Have you visited our web-site recently? A wealth of information is available at www.thechurchinaurora.org. Click on the "site map" and then whatever you're interested in. Give Alice Ann Wolf interesting news in a timely manner for inclusion on our site. If you use Facebook, you may also "like" The Church in Aurora for speedy updates about CIA weekly programming. Try us - you'll like us!

COURAGEOUS STEPS FOR PARKINSONS – The Leslie family is participating in fund raisers for "Courageous Steps for Parkinson’s". They are working to help this group with its 4^th Annual Step-a-thon by soliciting sponsors for the Leslie/Zawada team, helping form new walk/run teams or soliciting donations. This important event takes place on Saturday, September 24^th 2011 at Station Road Bridge Trailhead in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio. The event includes separate walking and running courses. Walkers may choose a 1- or 3-mile course, while runners compete on a 5-mile course. All proceeds go to Parkinson’s research, awareness and education. Each year, Courageous Steps for Parkinson’s grows stronger in its effort to fight this disease and help its victims cope. Thanks to the generous donations from families and friends, the group partnered with University Hospitals to provide several "Parkinson’s Boot Camps." These events are a huge success as they provide much needed education and support to patients and their caregivers.

Registration is taking place for WorkCamp 2012! We have two exciting trips planned for next summer: Irwin, PA - June 24-30 (for those 12 and up) and, in celebration of our 25th CIA Work Camp, Walpole Island, Ontario, Canada (passport required) - July 1-7 (for those 14 and up). Spaces are filling up fast, so please contact the Eavensons ASAP at 330-995-6268 if you are interested. To secure your reservation, a $100 registration fee made out to The Church in Aurora is due immediately. The next work camp parent/participant meeting is Sunday, October 9 at 5 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. See you then!

THE RUMMAGE SALE IS COMING! The fall rummage sale will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29. Place your donations on the stage in Fellowship Hall. If you would like to volunteer to help with set up or at the sale, contact the church office or Deborah Davis at 330-995-6491.

Stephen

Ministry

Is

Life

Encouragement

Are you or someone you know in need of a good SMILE? If so, please contact Diane Bush (330/562-4699), Sue Kray (330/562-1344), Russ Post (330/562-9789) or Susan Smith (330/562-8827).

Mission of the Month – This month the Missions Committee will be highlighting Berea College. Founded in 1855, Berea charges no tuition and admits only academically promising students primarily from Appalachia, who have economic resources. One of their commitments is to stimulate understanding of the Christian faith and its many expressions and to emphasize the Christian ethic and motive of service to others.

YOUR CHURCH BOARD UPDATE – October 2011 – I hope you have all had a wonderful summer and are anxious for the changes and excitement of autumn! A successful Rally Day is already behind us and we are into the new school year. As always, Christian Education and our terrific staff have promised new adventures, the choirs are back, the ministers have launched a new theme ("The Tie That Binds"), and the Farmers Market has proven to be a great success in yet another outreach initiative. Meanwhile, Stewardship has been compiling the next year’s proposed budget and the Faith Promise Campaign will soon begin. Your Board will be working with the Nominating Committee this fall, chaired by Mary Wallace, to identify church members to serve the church in a variety of capacities next year. Please be sure to return your Time and Talent Survey so that Nominating can consider your interests. The Long Range Planning Committee, chaired by Associate Moderator Gordon Ober, will be circulating a congregational survey which we try to do every five years or so to make sure we are meeting the congregation’s needs. Many thanks to Reed Fuller for an inspiring sermon on Laity Sunday and to Elder Barb Bigler and all of her lay volunteers who presented such a meaningful service that day. You are an engaged and loving congregation and I am proud to serve you. Your Moderator, Ann Womer Benjamin

BEHIND THE SCENES – Every summer our Chancel Choir takes a well-deserved vacation from the loft. They work very hard all year long to provide us with excellent music each Sunday. But our worship services would be very empty without any music. So let’s all take this opportunity to thank all those who step up to fill the gap and grace us with their musical talent during those summer months. First, Gordon Ober, who takes over on the organ and piano so that Anne Ramsay can take a vacation. Imagine what our services would be like with no organ!!! And then, in no particular order, all those musicians who sang and played for us this summer: Eric, Ben (he prepared but was unable to play) & Sarah Poe; Dave Cooper; Olivia Calder; Hannah Piazza; Elaine Schmidt; Mary Lynn Griff; Karen Mitchell; Kaley Voorhees; John Michael Sudsina; Daniel Simpson; Lynn McGill; Karen, Greg & James Hogan; Muriel French; Rob Albrecht and Flip Eavenson. Thank you to all of you for blessing our summer with your many gifts and talents.