Did you know.....

A lot is happening all over the place at Shiloh and I thought it would be good to mention some of the things that took place this week, so did you know......

Did you know that Wednesday Night Meal, Message, and Music at Shiloh @ Price Hill has been averaging 50 per week! 

Did you know that nearly 170 kids are signed up for Upward Basketball and Cheerleading and this week’s 1st game brought approximately 750 people to the gym! 

Did you know that 15 people started Disciple I, 20 people started meeting in Life groups,  and 45 people meet for Mid Week Bible Study at our Delhi Campus!  

Did you know that the Leadership Council went on retreat last week to name objectives, leaders, and time frames for the six major areas you all named as the most important focus for the next three years: Shiloh @ Price Hill, Radical Hospitality, Risk-taking Service, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, and Extravagant Generosity!

Did you know that Saturday a group from Shiloh traveled to Piatt Park to build relationships and meet some of the physical and spiritual needs of the homeless?  

Did you know that nearly 100 kids from Delhi Middle School came to Surge After Hours for our after school program?  

Did you know that hundreds of people from the community came for a great meal courtesy of the Friday Night Community Dinner?  

Now, I know I have left some one or something out last week, but in it is awesome to just think about the many ways that God is using Shiloh United Methodist Church to claim our Community and the City of Cincinnati for Jesus Christ!

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel 

Are we relevant?

This weekend I had the honor of being a part of The West Ohio Annual Conference Team that traveled to Nashville for a Quadrennial Event hosted by the General Board of Discipleship for The United Methodist Church.  For those of you unfamiliar with our United Methodist system-Shiloh is just one of about 1100 churches that make up our Annual Conference and then there are 63 Annual Conferences in the United States.  Over 1000 people from those Annual Conferences gathered to talk about leadership, adaptive leadership and the kind of risk taking necessary for United Methodism to not only survive, but thrive in the future.  Dr. Philip Clayton, Provost of Claremont Lincoln University and Dean of Claremont School of Theology, reminded us that United Methodist have a unique Wesleyan DNA.  John Wesley was committed to personal piety (loving God) and social holiness (loving others as ourselves) in such a way that it changed lives.  Dr. Clayton pointed out that our culture and the religious obstacles we face in the 21st century mirror some of the obstacles Wesley faced in the 18th century.  It all begs the question, “Are United Methodist Christians relevant in the 21st century?”  Do we really have a voice?  In century where millions of people in the United States are claiming little to no religious affiliation we can honestly wonder if the answer to that question is no.  No we are not relevant and no we don’t have a voice.   

And yet this week I can’t help but see God’s hope on the horizon.  Over the weekend the announcement was made that one of our own Adam Hamilton, Senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas would be giving the sermon during Tuesday Mornings National Prayer Service, an inaugural tradition that dates back to George Washington.  To be honest when I heard the announcement I cried!  Perhaps because of my respect for Pastor Adam and the people of the Church of the Resurrection, but also because I had this sense that we still have a voice.  That our commitment to personal piety and social holiness can speak directly into the division that so often characterizes our nation.  Some of you will see this blog prior to the service.  It will be broadcast live at http:/inauguration2013.nationalcathedral.org on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 10:30am, or can be watch on You Tube following the live broadcast.  I want to encourage you to pray for Pastor Adam, not only will be be speaking to the President and Vice President, but he also will be speaking to members of House, Senate, Cabinet and 2000 other honored guests.  Adam has a unique opportunity to speak into the our Nations Leaders, and to share a vision, God’s vision of what our Nation can be.  

So Shiloh, are we relevant for the 21st century?  If we stay committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, not only spoken, but lived out in our everyday lives, you better believe we have a story to tell to the Nation.  

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel     

Let's Begin!

Today we are beginning to read the Bible through 2013.  I hope that you were able to read Genesis 1-3 today.  If not it is never too late to get started!  Not only do we have a regular update of the daily Bible Reading on our Shiloh Facebook page, but you can also find the daily reading on our website.  Just go to the homepage www.shilohumc.com and click on Bible Reading Plan.  Don’t forget you can always use websites like www.biblegateway.com  or Bible apps on your phone or mobile device like YouVersion and read the Bible anytime or anywhere for free. The YouVersion Bible app will also send you a daily reminder.  Just remember we are reading the Bible in One Year from “Beginning to End.”  

Reading the Bible is a transforming experience and I just want to remind you that there is still opportunity to get involved in group opprotunities. 

Disciple I will be beginning meeting this Monday Night, January 21, 2013 at 7pm.  This first meeting is an informational meeting, so come and find out what is involved in Disciple I.  The following meetings will begin at 6:45pm.

Mid-Week Bible Study will beginning Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 7pm.  Even if you can not start right away you can join these Mid-week sessions at any time.  We will be meeting in the Sanctuary.  We ask that you bring a Bible with you when you come.

Life Groups will be meeting on Tuesday Evening, January 22, 2013 from 6:30-8pm at the Church and Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 4pm at the Billups’ house (5630 Treeview Dr.).  

You are still able to sign up for anyone of these group opprotunities!  Even if you are not able to be in a group, I want to encourage you to keep up with you daily Bible reading and remember:

Read- read slowly and thoughtfully

Reflect- what is happening in the story you are reading?

Write- write a prayer to God telling God how you were affected by this story?

Don’t hesitate in the comments section of the blog to share your thoughts on the scriptures that you are reading!  

 “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good” -Genesis 1:31 

Blessings

Pastor Rachel 

The Story of Numbers

Numbers tell us a story.  I’ve started reading the Bible Reading Plan (just because I need to be a little ahead of you all for sermon preparation purposes) and in my reading I have noticed a lot of numbers.  Six, the number of days of creation, 150 the number of days that water flooded the earth while Noah and his family were on the ark, and 75 the number of years Abram lived on the earth before he experienced a call from God.  It is fascinating to discover the importance of numbers in the Bible.  But numbers themselves are just that--numbers; however, when tied to people they tell a story.  So I wanted to spend this week’s blog telling you the story of where we are as Shiloh United Methodist Church.

Over the weeks of Advent and Christmas, this church contributed over $7,000 to Christmas Is Not Your Birthday.  We also helped 16 families with over 60 children through The Giving Tree, and 17 families with  35 children through The Angel Tree.    That is 32 families and 95 kids touched by your generosity!  Not to mention the hundreds of gloves, hats, mittens, socks, and underwear given through the HUMS Tree.  And then on Christmas Eve 561 people attended the three Christmas Eve Services, not only contributing to Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, but also celebrating the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

And God’s goodness and your generosity do not stop there.   For 2013, our Financial Commitments to God’s Kingdom work  total to over $337,000!  That is more money pledged to the General Operating Budget than has ever been pledged in the history of Shiloh United Methodist Church!  Already over 70 people have signed up to participate in Disciple Bible Study, Mid Week Bible Study or Life Groups!  And in Price Hill over 500 invitations have been handed out for the Message, Meals, and Music that will begin next Wednesday night, January 16 at 6pm!   I am in awe of the numbers, the people, and the stories that are pouring out of this place.   

Numbers.  They are only a marker, a way in which we can measure the signs of God’s promise in our midst.  And numbers like these tell us that God is on the move, in our lives, in our community, in our city, in our nation, and throughout the world.  

Thank you Shiloh for your faithfulness to Jesus Christ!  

Rachel 

Welcome Sandy Dietz!

Happy New Year Everyone!  In fashion with starting a new year we are welcoming a new staff person to our Shiloh Staff, our Executive Secretary, Sandy Dietz.  In this week’s bulletin you will find a bio of Sandy, including her prior work experience and her personal life.  So in today’s blog I want to communicate more about what Sandy will be doing and what information you will want to communicate with Sandy.  Sandy’s job responsibilities are centered around four major areas of church life:

• Communication
• Assisting the Senior Pastor 
• Building
• Membership 

Here are some broad strokes concerning those major areas:

Communication- Sandy will be taking over the Bulletin, Newsletter, and other major communication pieces to the congregation.  If you have any information that needs to go into the Bulletin or Newsletter please send it to Sandy or place it in Sandy’s mail box.  

Assisting the Senior Pastor- in addition to communicating all major care needs to the Senior Pastor including hospitalization and grief support, Sandy will be assisting me with everything from my schedule to making sure I am returning emails.  This will be a HUGE asset not only to me, but also to the congregation and will free me up to focus on ministry.

Building-Sandy’s responsibilities with regard to the building will include the supervision of the custodial staff, Hospitality Ministry, Scheduling, and coordinating the Receptionist Team.  

Membership- Not only will Sandy have the responsibility of keeping our membership records up to date, but she will also work in collaboration with myself and others to create a follow-up system that not only welcomes new people into the life of our church, but cares for those who are either in crisis or who have become disconnected.  

Sandy can be reached at 513-451-3600 #101 or sandy@shilohumc.com.  She will be in the church office from 8am-4:30pm Monday - Friday.  Please help me in welcoming Sandy Dietz to Shiloh!

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel