AnnouncementsLooking Forward

Please mark March 3 on your calendars for a Leap Year Party at the home of Barb and Jim Finn from 7:00-10:00 p.m. Singles and couples are welcome, and attire will be “country casual.” Please sign up at the Fellowship table to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. We’ll be asking for a $5 donation per person to cover the cost of beverages that will be sampled. Barb and Jim’s residence is located at 658 Bradford Lane, West Dundee in the Carrington Reserve subdivision.

Are you interested in membership at BUMC? We invite you to attend this informative session on Saturday, March 10, 5:00- 8:00 p.m. A light dinner will be served and childcare will be provided if requested in advance. Please contact the church office at 847-836-5540 if you are interested in attending.

We are in need of moms and dads to lend a hand in Children’s Church. We are very short on volunteers so if you have children, please sign-up. The weekly lessons are simple to teach and the kids love to have their parents as their teachers! See Missy or call her ASAP.

You can be a part of the Group Work Camp mission trip to Hamilton, Ohio, July 14-25! Here’s how:

• Sign-up in the Youth Room
• Be an adult chaperone
• Purchase a share of stock for $25

See Joel McClellan for more information. Connect. Equip. Serve.

The Flower Donation Chart for 2012 is available in the Narthex near the large bulletin board. Please sign up for any Sunday other than Easter. Please include your phone number. You will be contacted regarding price range (usually $45 and up), any specific color requests, and any specific flower requests by Helen Beckwith of Worship and the Arts Ministry Group. The Prairie Baskets of Barrington florist will bill you directly. You may specify your donation in honor, in memory, in celebration or to the glory of God. After the last service of the day, you are welcome to take the arrangement with you.

The Barrington United Methodist Church and the Barrington Area Library are partnering to put the church’s older records online. The church records are valuable both to our church family as well as to genealogists and anyone interested in the history of the Barrington area. The library is currently scanning the records. Completed records can be viewed on the library’s web site. The library is looking for volunteers to transcribe the older handwritten records. The work may be done at home with internet access plus Word and Excel 2007, or at the library. If you are interested in learning more about this volunteer opportunity please contact June Lee at the Barrington Area Library, 847-382-1300 x335.

Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) is an all-volunteer operated clinic providing free legal services to immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. A ministry of the United Methodist Church with sites across the country, JFON opened a site in the Northern Illinois Conference in April, 2011. The clinic is currently held the first Saturday of every month at Fourth Street United Methodist Church in Aurora. There are multiple opportunities for individuals or groups to volunteer at the clinic.

A volunteer training session for those interested in volunteering and those who want to learn more about JFON will be held on Friday, February 24, 2012 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at Fourth Street UMC, 551 South Fourth Street. This will be a training session which will provide full information about JFON and its ministry as well as opportunities for becoming a volunteer. For more information or to register for this training session, please contact Roger Curless, Clinic Coordinator by Wednesday, February 22, 2012.

January was a GREAT month for adding more volunteers for Humboldt Park. Thank you to all the new volunteers, as well as everyone who has stepped up this year and made this the easiest scheduling we’ve ever done for this ministry. Dates are still available for the second half of 2012. To volunteer for this special ministry contact Dennis Rossow or Gail Rossow.

Interest has been expressed in a possible “Men’s Bible Study” during the week for those who are not available Saturday morning. If you are interested in exploring a weekday Men’s Bible Study meeting, please advise Brian Kramper or Jim Finn.

Have you ever wondered if you were creative? In this hands-on workshop Saturday, March 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., you can explore your creativity through activities designed to be non-threatening. No artistic training is necessary. Workshop leader Karla M. Kincannon, artist, author, teacher, spiritual director, and United Methodist minister, believes God’s gift of creativity is an essential tool for navigating the spiritual journey. Karla is currently the Interim Director of Field Education and the Interim Director of Vocational Formation and Church Leadership at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Registration is due March 12. Brochure and registration forms are available at umcnic.org. The cost is $40 and includes lunch, snack and materials. Workshop location is The Log Cabin, Central United Methodist Church, 8237 N. Kenton Ave., Skokie, Illinois. For information contact Barbara Miller. This class is sponsored by the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The Good Friday Children’s Event will be Friday, April 6 from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. This is a FREE event for children 3 years and older, we just ask that you bring in 10 filled eggs per child. No peanut items due to allergies. Nursery Care is available for this event for parent volunteers. Contact Missy Konopka.

The Vacation Bible School (VBS) dates and theme are set! VBS will be held here at BUMC from Monday, June 18 through Friday, June 22 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Our theme is “Babylon-Daniel’s Courage in Captivity”. Have drama talents? We are going to need a few roles filled! Want to be Daniel? Contact Missy with any interest in VBS roles!

Please consider remembering the church in your estate planning. Thank you.