Spirit Center Construction Progress - October 2008

Construction is finally underway on the Spirit Center. A large hole is being dug in the gravel parking lot at the rear of the property. The large black pipe being stored in the rear parking lot will be installed in this large hole that will be enlarged to about twice the size it is now to hold all of the large pipe. The purpose of this port of the construction is to store and retain storm water runoff from the entire church property to alleviate flooding. This system will store about 10,000 cubic feet or 74,800 gallons of water when completed. This will then be paved over as a new parking lot and is scheduled to be completed about the end of October.

The next part of the construction is rerouting the underground piping behind the gym. The 48 inch concrete pipe will be used for this and the rerouting will remove the existing pipe from underneath the new building. This may well also be completed by the time you read this report.

The next phase will be to dig and pour the concrete footings for the new building and removing the Duke Power transformer next to the gym and relocating it to the rear of the new building. This work is scheduled for early in November.

The project is currently projected to be completed in mid June 2009.

Fall Festival - Sunday, October 26 (3-5 PM)

The Fall Festival will be even bigger and better this year. We have activities planned to entertain our whole "church family" and "extended family" (Mauldin community) in this mission focused event for Operation Christmas Child. This multigenerational event has something for everyone to enjoy. Invite your neighbors and friends to this big event. Let's see how many filled shoe boxes we can get for Operation Christmas Child this year.

• Outdoor concert by The Live Praise Band
• Trunk or Treat - back of cars decorated with people passing out candy
• Family Ministries is looking for 20 teams to decorate a car, SUV, or other type of motor vehicle for our first Trunk or Treat. A team could be one to three families working together. You are to turn your trunk into an exciting space. It can be decorated as a character, a foreign country, for Halloween, or fall, or even Christmas. Be as creative as you can. The only rule is it must be small child friendly (not scary). Alice Galloway has offered a free dinner for 6 for the team with the best-decorated car. We even encourage you to dress up in costume as you pass out candy from your car. You can provide your own candy or family ministries can provide it for you. We will have sign up sheets in the Son Room and gym and will accept the first 20 teams.
• Dunk tank sponsored by family ministries to raise money to fill more shoe boxes
• Carnival type games with prizes in the gym for children lead by youth
• Every child will receive 10 tickets to play the carnival type games in the gym. Ten additional tickets will be given for each filled shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. Additional tickets for games and bounce house can be purchased for only 50 cents each or 10 for $5.00. All proceeds will go to filling more Operation Christmas Child boxes. Our youth will be working in games.
• Costume parade for children of all ages
• Bounce house sponsored by children's ministry
• Hot dog dinner in the Fellowship Hall provided by United Methodist Women
• Bake Sale sponsored by 4th and 5th grade girls Bible study class "Beautiful in God's Eyes."
• Pumpkin contest- vote with your money for your favorite pumpkin
• Operation Christmas Child box drop off

Consecration Sunday, October 26

It has truly been an exciting time in the life of Mauldin United Methodist Church so far this year. Many of you have graciously supported the work of our church through your service, your gifts and your financial resources. Many church programs have continued to flourish through your support of the 2008 Operating Budget. In July, we witnessed yet another blessing as we broke ground on our new Spirit Center. This addition promises to greatly enhance the work of our church and to continue to Touch Lives for Christ.

We are now closing in on that time of year when we begin making preparations for the upcoming year. Sunday, October 26 will mark Consecration Sunday at MUMC. We ask that you prayerfully consider your support of the 2009 Operating Budget and the Building Fund. Your generous support continues to allow MUMC to provide the church programs that impact our congregation including our children and youth as well as the many community outreach programs that service our local area. With the construction start of the Spirit Center, it is vital that we follow through with the commitment to provide the adequate facilities necessary to effectively carry forward these many programs.

A copy of the 2009 Pledge card follows. Please note that you will again provide your pledge separately for the Operating Budget and the Building Fund for 2009. Additionally, we have included pledge opportunities for the Building Fund for both 2010 and 2011. Please note that these amounts confirm or revise all previous pledges for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Building Fund. Also, please note that an automatic draft option is offered for 2009. This electronic banking information can be completed on the back of the pledge card.

The pledge cards will be distributed during all services on Consecration Sunday, October 26. We ask that you complete and return these cards during the service either by leaving them down front during the traditional services or in the collection baskets in the LIVE service. Thank you for your continued support of our vision: "Touching Lives for Christ."