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The church newsletter "The Broadcaster" is available here, online.
Click on the broadcaster.
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We all had a great time Decking Woodland's halls for Christmas
on the November 29, 2009. We all made quick work of getting
the church ready for the holiday. Now it's ready for the most
womderful time of the year, Christmas!
As has been our longtime tradition, in coordination with our friends at Open-M, Woodland Church hosted a free turkey dinner on the evening before Thanksgiving. Many volunteers from the church helped to prepare and serve traditional turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes with gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, green beans, some additional vegetable dishes, and assorted varieties of pies. We had an exceptional turnout this year, and there was plenty of food for all. Once again, the people of Woodland enjoyed helping to bring a Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbors and friends! We thank all of our volunteers who worked hard to help make this event annual possible at Woodland!
Children came with their parents to Woodland's Neighborhood Ice Cream Social
on Sunday, August 23rd from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Woodland and friends
celebrated summer one last time with crafts, ice Cream, cookies and games!
The early arriving kids with parents also got some free supplies for school.
You didn't have to have kids to enjoy the ice cream and music, so many people with
and without kids joined us for this day of celebration at Woodland.
Click below to view the pictures (PLUS 2 short videos)!
Woodland's special summer event for 2009 was our TREASURE TREK Vacation Bible School. This
year's event was an adventure that the children will cherish for years to come. On a daily basis, they
sought to acquire a piece of a treasure map and search for clues to the whereabouts of their
week long goal, the treasure chest. Each day, they had opportunities to earn valuable treasure coins that they could
apply toward a share of the treasure at week's end. Each day featured a themed Bible
lesson that will took them on a new adventure in the trek toward their ultimate goal. And there
were similarly themed games, crafts, snacks, and more to make each day's adventure even more special.
The kids, ages 3 to 10, experienced 2 hours of Woodland's TREASURE TREK Bible Adventure each day,
and they all had a blast.
Saturday, July 18 at 10:00 a.m., Woodland Church held a Church Picnic and cookout. The event was open to
the entire church family, including the VBS attendees and their families. This was
both a terrific conclusion to the week of VBS events as well as a great kick-off
to the weekend. It was held at the Church, where we had food, fun, and games!
If you missed this year's big VBS and picnic events, watch the announcements on the main page
next summer, and be sure to join us for the fun! Note that there will still be an
annual Church picnic in the park later in the 2009 summer season!
The annual youth group trip to Cedar Point is always fun for both kids and adults. People from East Ohio United Methodist Conference converge on the park for a day of rides, games, food, and fun. The tickets are discounted for this fun event.
To view photos from some of Woodland's Cedar Point trips, click on the picture:
Woodland started Easter off with its annual Egg Hunt the Saturday one week prior to Easter. Linda Morrison and her
crew prepared a day filled with delightful treatsand surprises for children 10 and under and their families. They
sang songs, bounced cotton balls and danced. The Easter Bunny was spotted at the event, and the punch and cookies
added to the enjoyment of the hunt.
For Good Friday, we held an evening 7:00 communion service. This was the first service of its kind in recent years,
and the church chapel was packed. Woodland's Easter Sunday started out with a great breakfast provided courtesy
of the Kay family. Our main hall was transformed into a true testament to Easter joy and beauty, as everyone gathered around
tables filled with family and friends. The Easter services followed with the combined Contemporary/Traditional Services.
Our traditional children's bell choir presentation was held a few weeks prior to Easter this year, since some of the
participants had vacation plans that took them out of town for the holiday.
Click on the photo below to see past Easter Service pictures:
Click on the photo below to see past Easter Egg hunt pictures:
Don Kinney was the big winner of the chili Cookoff this year As always everybody had a great time and enjoyed sampling the various entrees. The People's choice vote came down to a tie this year between Don Kinney and Martha Miller. After the sampling was done, the crowd stayed for a few games and desserts.
To view photos from past chili cook-offs click on the picture:
Woodland PreSchool held its annual carnival on Saturday March 7th. America's favorite mascot, Zippy, was there from the University of Akron to greet the kids, and he was a big hit with all of them. There was a large crowd to take part in the fun and games, as well as the huge silent auction that wrapped up the event. The festivities lasted from 10:30 to 2:00. All the kids had loads of fun, and so did their parents. Thanks to everyone who helped to support our non-profit preschool.
To view photos from the 2009 Carnival, click on the picture:
A Special thanks to all who, on a monthly basis now, continue to help support Woodland Church by taking the family out for a great, inexpensive meal. These dinners have been our best fundraiser events, and we appreciate all of our friends and neighbors who have bought tickets and dined with us on Friday evenings. The multiple varieties of sauce always receive rave reviews, and some guests even buy extra dinners to take home. We also have had quite a few people come in just to pick up meals for carry-out. Since these events have been a big success, you can be sure that they will continue to be repeated monthly. Everyone is invited to join us again next time, and be sure to tell your friends. See the announcements on the main page for the date of the next dinner. Thanks for your support of Woodland Church!
Woodland Church members and attendees were invited to a cookout and bonfire held at the Church on Sunday, November 2. The cookout started at about 6:00 p.m . In addition to some of the best hot dogs and side dishes, we had marshmallows and smores for the event. This was a great fall celebration of food and friends. Thanks to all who stopped by to enjoy the event.
Woodland Church held its annual picnic with a lunchtime cookout on October 26, 2008. We also held the normal morning service at the park. Despite the late date for the event, the weather cooperated, and we all had a great time. We had a pavillion with indoor space by the fire for those who did not care to venture outdoors. But the weather was really good all morning, and many enjoyed games and roasted a few marshmallows on our cooking coals after lunch. Rain showed up later in the afternoon, so the event broke up slightly earlier than anticipated at about 2:00 p.m.
Click the statue to see the sand sculptures:
The August mystery trip took the participating members of Woodland on a journey across the
great local bodies of water known as the Portage Lakes. It turned out to be a great day for everyone,
and as you can see by the photos below, there are some beautiful sights to see on the lakes.
Click below to view the lake photos!
The annual youth group trip to Cedar Point is always fun for both kids and adults. People from East Ohio United Methodist Conference converge on the park for a day of rides, games, food, and fun. The tickets are discounted for this fun event.
To view photos from some of Woodland's Cedar Point trips, click on the picture:
Both our Choir and our Rock Solid Band were on hand along with our organist, for a special baptism and confirmation service
on Sunday June 1, 2008. Our youth group participated in
this service, where several of our young people were baptised and several more were confirmed as members of Woodland Church. Cake was served after the service.
Click below if you want ot to see the pictures!
Woodland hosts a special St. Valentine's Day dinner each February 14th. The 2008 dinner had to be
cancelled, but the tradition will return in 2009. Here is what went on at the 2007 dinner:
Our chefs prepared a special steak gilled in the freezing cold outdoors for this very special dinner. Everyone
who braved the blizzard to get here enjoyed some great food with their friends.
Dinner was served at 6:00 p.m. at the bargain price of $15 per person, which had to be paid in advance to ensure that
we had enough for everyone who planned to attend. We started out with wassail and baked brie with crackers,
followed by French onion soup, a mixed salad, grilled steak, steamed broccoli with cheddar sauce,
and a huge baked potato with sour cream and butter. For dessert, we finished with
a fantastic cheescake and raspberry sauce as well as some delicious chocolate covered strawberries.
On Thursday, May 31st, 2006, Woodland Church had the privilege of having the Celebration Singers, a youth Choir from Mountain
Park U.M.C. in Stone Mountain, Georgia perform their musical, "HIStory". They presented the story of God's
saving grace from the Old Testament through the New Testament.
We got together a little more than an hour before the musical program for a pot-luck dinner with
our friends from Church of the Good Shepherd and Christ UMC. They joined us for both the dinner and the
evening program. It was a great deal of fun all around with a talented youth group from Georgia and our UMC friends!
Click on the photo below to see all of the pictures:
After many, many, many years of discussion and debate, the church trustees have replaced the old, small, yellow, broken, unreadable sign on the front lawn of the church. There was little disagreement that something needed to be done to remedy the problems with the old sign. However, there was some debate about whether to repair the existing sign or replace it. The replacement option finally won out. Having completed some additional city approvals and electrical work, we have now placed a new, sightly larger, lighted sign in the exact same spot as the old one. As expected, the new sign has turned out to be a great enhancement to Woodland church and the neighborhood.
Woodland members met at the church on North Hawkins Avenue and headed over to see our friends at the Church of the
Good Shepherd on South Main Street for a covered dish dinner. As is the custom at most Methodist gatherings, there
was a ton of food at the event. There were so many people, that our hosts had to open the
other half of their dining hall to accommodate everyone, but there was still plenty of food and
deserts to go around. Reverend Paul Beal of Church of The Good Shepherd opened the program
that followed the dinner. The Good Shepherd Choir, led by their music director, Ron Corbin,
got everything started with some traditional, yet very upbeat, hymns. Then the members of both
congregations were invited to call out song requests. They did just that, and it became almost a
competition to see who got to pick the next song. Every one of them sounded great in the
old Akron-Plan Church, which is somewhat reminiscent of the old Woodland church building on Balch Street.
(See the Woodland Church Profile page for photos of the old church.) Woodland's Keith Bachman
led the crowd in several more hymns and then followed with a few solo songs. Reverend Kovach,
of Woodland, said a few words in closing this very successful event that turned out to be a great
time for all. We look forward to meeting with our friends at Church of the Good Shepherd again
whenever the opportunity arises. We had a lot of fun.
The gas well was drilled by a professional crew from a company that specializes in gas and oil exploration and drilling.
Most of the gas is sold into the public supply, and a small percentage of the proceeds returns to the participating
area land owners as royalties. The church receives a small supply of natural gas from the well for its use. Although
the stipulated amount does not come close to meeting the total heating needs of the church and pre-school, it does help
to offset the increasing costs of heating such a large structure.
To view the photos, click on the picture of the drilling Rig:
Thanks for supporting the recent pre-school and church rummage sales. Woodland church's annual sale was another success. We appreciate all the generous donations of both merchandise and the time of volunteers who worked at the sale. Most of all, we enjoyed the patronage of our neighbors who came and supported the event. Be sure to look for announcements next year to join us for this fundraiser once again.
To view the photos, click on the picture:
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the not-for-profit international humanitarian aid organization
of The United Methodist Church, active in many parts of the world bringing hope, providing relief from hunger and
disasters. Tax deductible contributions to UMCOR may be sent through Woodland United Methodist church. Through
Your donations, UMCOR delivers hope.
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