Archived News

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This Section Archived December 5, 2011

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Teen Family Game Night

Saturday, January 30, 2010

We just had our second annual teen family game night, January 30. We enjoyed a chicken dinner with everyone else bringing their favorite dish to pass. After eating, there were a lot of activities to enjoy like games in the youth room such as pool, air hockey, foosball, ping pong and TV games. Some also played basketball, mini golf and a few tried their hand at playing Wall Twister. Yes...some played Twister on a climbing wall, but the big excitement of the night was the big Family Fued in one of the rooms. There was a game of about 30 people playing the DVD Family Fued game.

A lot of our local businesses gave family board games and

gift card for meals. Overall, we had a wonderful

family night with everyone that was able to come.

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CLC Awards Night

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wednesday night, January 27, 2010, was our first CLC awards night and what a night it was!!! The program was headed by our CLC director, Priscilla Foote, and we had a total of 228 family and friends (and CLC children) in attendance. The kids sang 2 songs and then the children

got to wear their sashes and show off how many badges

they have earned so far this year.

It was a wonderful night had by all!!!

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Countryside Snowbird Reunion

January 13, 2010

Pastor Paul and Kristy went to Florida the week of

January 11th for Countryside's Snowbird Reunion!

Eighteen people gathered for a fun time of fellowship at the Golden Corral in Zephyrhills on Wednesday, January 13th. The Castles were also able to visit in the homes / parks

of many of our families in Florida for the winter.

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Time Capsule Opening

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Ten years have flown by!!!! The people of Countryside created a 'time capsule', sealed December 26, 1999. It was to be opened on the first Sunday of January, 2010. January 3, 2010 arrived! After Dan Surbrook opened the box, Pastor Paul Castle read from its contents. The box contained attendance on December 26, 1999, and a question/answer survey that many of our attenders filled out.

Pastor Paul read many surveys that day to the congregations and it was interesting to hear what people wrote. It was

also very sad to as we realized how many of our

church family had gone on to be with the Lord.

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CLC Children Carol at

Medical Care Facility

and Stonegate Village

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Many Christian Life Club Students and teachers went

caroling at the Medical Care Facility and Stonegate Village. While the younger classes stayed back at the church and

had Christmas parties with their teachers, the older students went caroling. Residents love, and look forward to

having the children come and sing to them.

What a Blessing children are - especially to the elderly!

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Children's Christmas Musical

Sunday, December 13, 2009

It All Happened In The Country was this year's children's Christmas musical / play. Priscilla Foote, our CLC Director, worked very hard to have the children know parts and songs for this very impressive program. The Christmas story was presented in a fun 'country' way. The children, along with

a few adults, had fun putting on this play and they all

did a wonderful job!

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Puppets for Christ

Saturday, December 12, 2009

The Puppets for Christ team put on a Christmas show at Autumnwood, of Deckerville, Saturday, December 12.

After the show, the teens visited with the residents. One of

the residents they visited with, was our own Edith McKenney.

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Lighted Farm Implement Parade

Friday, December 4, 2009

Countryside church, once again entered a float in Sandusky's annual Lighted Farm Implement Parade. This year our float featured our teen praise band headed by Countryside's new music ministry leader, Matt Cleveland. The band featured Matt as vocalist and on electric guitar, Olivia Bracken, vocalist, Kaitlyn Foote on bass guitar and

Kerra Foote on drums.

Many helped put the float together, but the master mind behind the creation was Grant Stone. The float won first place in the Religion/Community Award!

Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this another great float for our lighted parade!!!!!

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Courthouse Tree Lighting

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Our Wednesday night CLC group was asked to sing at Sandusky's Annual Tree Lighting. The community can 'purchase' bulbs on the trees either in honor, or memory of a loved one. They light two separate trees and one of those trees is for our military. We had 59 children in attendance

and after they sang, they each got to have a cookies and

hot chocolate, then they were able to put an ornament on

the children's tree. Each of the children also got to take

home an ornament. It was a fun evening for all!

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Senior Citizen Luncheon

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Senior citizens gathered for a luncheon fellowship on Thursday, December 3. Ron Kopacz, senior citizen luncheon coordinator, always provides a speaker or some sort of entertainment for those who attend. After this luncheon, Katie Frostic provided the topical discussion of senior issues.

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This Section Archived June 9, 2010

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Son Canyon River Adventure Vacation Bible School

June 22-26

Son Canyon VBS was a great success this year!

The children had fun in music with awesome, energetic

songs, great crafts and had a ball during recreation.

Storytime was wonderful too with many children acting

out parts in Bible stories. By the end of the week,

22 children had given their hearts to the Lord.

Praise God!!

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Father's Day

Sunday, June 21, 2009

This was our day to honor our fathers. What a great day! Our parking lot was peppered with father's day 'big boy toys' like motorcycles, a tractor and combine, older cars, kayaks and there was even a remote controled helicopter demonstration by Ron Darling! Coffee and donuts were served in the

Family Center and each father went home with a special gift.

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All Church Garage Sale

June 18, 19, 20

Many people of Countryside helped out by supplying items, setting up, being tellers, and simply helping out where and when needed. There was a bake sale, with proceedes

going to buy new folders for the choir, and the

teens supplied lunch and puppet shows on two of the days.

The income for these three days was around $3,400

and will go toward helping to pay off the family center.

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Sunday School Moving Up

Sunday, June 7, 2009

It's that time of year when all of our Sunday school

children 'graduate' from the class they are in and

'move up' to the next Sunday school class. It is a big

day for the children and the teachers. The children wore

their graduation caps, the handbell choir played along

with a song, and the children sang. What a glorious day!

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Spring Softball Team - 2009

This years team came out number 1 at the end of the season. We had a great softball year, and the support from the spectators was incredible! What a fun season!!!

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Christian Life Club Awards Night

May 13, 2009

This evening many awards and badges were presented to students in CLC. The John Wesley award is the highest

award and this year was awarded to two students;

Brooke Krueger and Michael Markey..

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Mother's Day

May 10, 2009

We were blessed on Mother's Day this with a

mini concert from Heather Castle. Her songs were

beautiful, and straight from her heart.

Heathers heads up the music ministry at Countryside.

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Mother's Day Banquet

May 9, 2009

This year our Mother's Day Banquet began with a delicious brunch followed by browsing at craft/personal interests tables. Many of our Countryside ladies sponsored tables and displayed their hobbies and hand crafted items.

Naysa Heilig demonstrated knitting to many of our

little girls that attended this fun filled banquet.

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Talent Night

May 3, 2009

Many people were on our list for talent night.

We had singing, puppets, instruments, jokes and readings.

A great evening was had by all.

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Senior Citizen Luncheon

April 30, 2009

Many seniors came out for a

potluck luncheon and fellowship time.

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Countryside Comfort Ministry

April 16, 2009

Countryside Comfort Ministry is Countryside's

newest ministry. Ladies gather to create and put

together 'lap quilts' to comfort those in hospitals,

medical care facilities, or home shut-ins.

Amy Darling made and delivered our first

quilt on April 16, 2009 to Barry Lester.

He was so excited to receive his 'special blanket'!

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Easter Sunday

April 12, 2009

Easter morning began at 8:00 A.M. with our

Sunrise Service being conducted by our teens.

The program consisted of the story of the resurrection performed by the teen puppet program.

.....then at 8:30 A.M., was our all church Easter breakfast. The Family Center was packed with over

300 hungry people for our traditional Easter breakfast.

Following Easter Breakfast was our Worship Services

at 9:30 and 10:55 A.M. A special worship experience

was put together by Heather Castle, which wove

together songs sung by the choir, narration and

skits created by Todd and Tina Foote.

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Journey to the Cross

Good Friday, April 10, 2009

Something new for this year was the Journey to the Cross. Journey to the Cross was a self-guided tour through the final days of Jesus. There were 13 stations throughout the church where you would read and meditate on a particular phase of Christ's journey to the cross. Over 100 went through this

very moving, emotional journey. The many tears were

witness to the power of this experience.

Top picture is Stations 5 and 6 and is the entrance

to the Garden of Gethsemane. Inside pilgrims

would reflect upon Jesus' passion as He faced

the agony of the cross and take communion.

Second picture is Station 8 and depicts Jesus' trial.

Here you are asked to imagine yourself in Peter's shoes.

You watch Jesus being beaten and mocked, and feel

the hopelessness of all your dreams being crushed.

Station 9 symbolizes the crucifixion. Here, you kneel

in front of the cross and imagine yourself at the scene

of Jesus's crucifixion. Next you would write on a piece

of paper a sin that you have been struggling with,

fold the paper, and nail it to the cross.

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CLC Outreach Night

April 1, 2009

Each year our CLC (Christian Life Club) hosts a community fun family outreach night. This year our special guest was Sheldon Rhodes who does magic, juggling and humor. It was a great evening of fun as well as hearing the gospel of Jesus. We had a great turnout with close to

300 in attendance, the majority being children!

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This section archived March 2010

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College Scholarship Banquet

March 21, 2009

To help provide scholarships to our college teens, each year

a fundraising banquet is held. This years entertainment

featured The Black River Bluegrass Boys. Over 100

attended the event and approximately $2,300.00 was raised!

Each year 50% of money raised is destibuted in

scholarships, and 50% goes into building an endowment.

The endowment is now over $10,000.

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CLC Communion

March 18, 2009

Each year at Easter time, Priscilla Foote, CLC (Christian

Life Club) director has Pastor Paul come to chapel to explain

and serve communion to the CLC students. It's a special

time as the children learn about God's great love for them!

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Pastor Paul Sings

For Community Outreach

Recently Pastor Paul had the opportunity to "sing for the Lord!" As he says, "it's a fun way to get outside the stained glass windows and use my gifts to develop new friendships!" He sang three times in March '09: For a fundraiser for the Lapeer Free Methodist youth group, for the special needs adults of Sanilac Country through Community Mental Health and for the Sandusky Stonegate Village Senior Adult Home.

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CPR Class

March 14, 2009

Kim Rudolph, from Covenant Hills Camp, presented

a first aid and CPR class at Countryside, Saturday,

March 14th. Several of our church leaders, teachers,

workers and others attended this class.

Countryside's Christian Education Director, Kristy Castle, organized this training session to help more of our workers

be prepared for an emergency should one arise.

Those who successfully completed the all day session

will receive CPR certification from Red Cross.

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Teen Ski Trip

February 17, 2009

Youth Director John Morris, packed a bus full of teens and headed north to Snow Snake Ski Resort in Harris, Michigan. Everyone had a great time and came home safely!

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CLC Store

The 2008-2009 year of Christian Life Club (CLC) had an exciting new addition to the program. To help encourage

the children, Priscilla Foote added a store where the children can go shopping a couple of times a year. When shopping,

the children purchase items with 'CLC dollars' that they

earn by attendance, bringing their Bible, memory

work, bringing friends and other projects.

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Valentine Banquet at Zehnders

This year Countryside's Valentine Banquet was held

on February 6th, 2009 at Zehnders in Frankenmuth.

Many gathered for a great meal and selected

couples shared memories of how they met.

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This Section Archived in March, 2009

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Countryside Christmas Float 2008

For the second year in a row, Countryside won top award for having the best float in Sandusky's Christmas Lighted Farm Implement Parade. Countryside received the top award for all floats which is the Mayor's Award and also the top award for religious category. This year's float was an older John Deere combine decorated with thousands of lights, a small church with singing puppets inside and a lighted nativity scene.

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The Christmas Shoes

December 20 and 21, 2008

Directed by Heather Castle

This Christmas, over 40 people were involved in our production of the dramatic musical "The Christmas Shoes". Performed 3 times during 2 days, the turn out was good, considering the weather; with Saturday being the most attended. This production, complete with full sets, was

an awesome experience to be a part of and to behold!

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Children's Christmas Program

December 14, 2008

This year's Children's Christmas Program was entitled

It's A Wonder-Full Life. The plot centered around

the idea of what would Christmas be like if Jesus

had never come. The children did a great job!

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Ladies Tea / Brunch

Saturday, October 4, 2008, was our ladies tea and brunch. We all gathered in the Family Center for a lovely pot luck brunch. Each lady and little girl brought their favorite tea cup and saucer. Hot water for tea was served by several of our young ladies. After brunch, all went to the sanctuary

for a program by Sally Zambron.

The subject of our tea was 'expressions'.

Countryside Secret Sisters

The Secret Sisters at Countryside is a group of ladies that 'secretly' send cards and give gifts to each other during the year. They gather together at each others homes for fellowship and support, and all is revealed at a meeting in October.  This is a wonderful way to get to know other women in the church.

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Children's

Sunday School Promotion

June 8th was a special Sunday as the children were promoted to the next grade in Sunday school. After they "graduation" marched into the sanctuary, they led the congregation in saying "The Lord's Prayer", then sang a special song. Those with perfect attendance for the year were recognized. Little 4 year old Madalynn Kohler shared some special thoughts about what Sunday school meant to her. Our children's teachers and volunteers were recognized and received a gift. Following the program, the children went back to their classroom for a party, and all of them were given a gift. It was a fun day!

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Memorial Day Weekend

Camp Fire / Fellowship

Sunday evening, May 25th was our annual camp fire / fellowship to start the summer off. Hot dogs were toasted and dishes were passed, as all those who came fellowshipped. It was a beautiful evening - a nice start to the next season.

Great Year in CLC

It's hard to believe, but we have just completed another great year of CLC (Christian Life Club). CLC (our kids club for kids pre-school through 6th grade), runs through the school year (September-May).

Our final evening was the Awards Night on Wednesday,

May 14th. It began with a dinner/fellowship time at 6:00 P.M.

Then at 7 P.M., we had the awards ceremony with

271 children and adults in attendance.

This year two children (Arica Frisbey and

Cathryn Lien) earned the highest award, the John Wesley Award. This award is given to those who have received

every badge possible for all six years of CLC.

We praise the Lord for the many children, parents

and volunteer workers that make CLC such a

wonderful success!!

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Mother/Daughter Brunch

Ladies gathered this year on Saturday, May 10th for our Ladies Brunch. A variety of food was served in the Family Center, and after everyone had eaten, we gathered in the Sanctuary for a Formal Fashion Show. There were 20 models in gowns such as prom dresses and wedding gowns, to party dresses and little girls modeling flower girl dresses.

Each was modeled individually with participants ranging in age from 16 months, to great grandmas! The meal was delicious, and the dress show was beautiful!

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New Fitness Center!

Recently Countryside added a Fitness Center to the many opportunities to minister to our congregation and community. Included in the equipment are stairsteppers, treadmills, elipticals, multi-station weight lifting machine and free-weights. The Center is self-service and is opened by staff in the mornings and locked back up in the evenings. There is no fee for its use. Donations for utilities and supplies are always appreciated. The Fitness Center is located in modular unit 2, behind the church.

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Countryside Puppeteers!

On April 12th, the Countryside Puppeteers were the entertainment for the many children at the Spring Showcase at the Sandusky Fairgrounds this year. The entertainment started at 9 in the morning and went until 7 in the evening. At the top of every hour, our puppets performed two different songs as children and many adults watched. Along with our puppets, the children's area included games, a craft and a climbing wall. Kids went home with a craft and prizes.

A fun time was had by all!!

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Sunday School Teachers

Appreciation Luncheon

On Sunday, April 20th, a luncheon was provided for our Sunday School teachers in appreciation for all they do. They all work very hard during the year in dedication to spread God's Word in their Sunday school classes. May God bless you all - you are VERY appreciated!

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Baptism Service

We continue to thank the Lord for those that are committing their lives to Him. On Sunday, April 6, 2008, we had the priviledge of baptizing four followers of Jesus.

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5th Annual Wild Game Dinner

This years wild game dinner was held on Saturday, March 29, 2008. The annual wild game dinner is presented by

Straight-N-Arrow, a chapter of the Christian Bow Hunters

of America. Each person attending brought a wild game dish to pass. There were also many trophy displays as well as local sports vendor booths and a silent auction.

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Easter Sunday 2008 Highlights

Easter Sunday is always a special time of the year! This year our day started with the Sunrise Service at 8:00 A.M. with the youth in charge. This was followed by our all church Easter breakfast at 8:30 A.M., then our 9:30 and 10:55 services followed with a special musical presentation by the choir

and a message on the hope of Easter by Pastor Paul.

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Spring Childrens Outreach

This year our Christian Life Club (CLC) outreach night was held Wednesday, March 12, at 7:00 P.M. This is a special time for the children in CLC to invite friends and family to church. Our featured guest this year was Tim Salsbury. Tim is a Christian entertainer who does juggling, magic, comedy,

plus much more. Countryside was filled with hundreds of children having fun and learning about Jesus.

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Salvation Army

Christmas Bell Ringers

Countryside is the official Salvation Army representative for Sanilac County. Ron Kopacz is the contact person for those needing assistance. Each year the Salvation Army has collection points for donations at Christmas time. This year Walmart invited the Salvation Army to have donation buckets and bell ringers in front of their stores beginning November 16 through December 24. This was a blessing as well as a challenge to get enough people to cover the two main entrances for 600 hours!! This turned out to be impossible, however, we were able to cover a good portion of the time. Last year the donations were approximately $1,500. This year, because of this generous extension of available time to collect donations, the donations totaled $11,788.67.

This will greatly help families in need this winter.

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Children's 2007

Christmas Program

The title for our 2007 children's Christmas program was

Christmas Around The World. It was performed on

December 9, and directed by Priscilla Foote.

It was a fun time to be reminded of God's love for all of mankind through the eyes of a child. Following the service, each child received a bag of Christmas goodies and each family a CD of Christmas music.

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Sandusky, Michigan's

Lighted Farm Implement Parade

This year Countryside Free Methodist had a float in the Lighted Farm Implement Parade, December 7, 2007. Our float was sponsored by the youth group. Many workers took part in the construction. Countryside won two top awards.

The highest award for Christmas Spirit; the Mayor's trophy, and also we received a plaque for best float for the

Religious / Community organization category.

Dave and Traci Raymond, from Countryside, were also involved in an outreach for Bikers For Christ. They had a booth set up on the parade route giving away

free cups of hot chili to cold spectators! At nights end, they had given away 24 gallons of chili (1 cup at a time), and a case of Bibles. Money donations for the evening totaled $103 to Bikers For Christ ministry, which was in turn, donated to H.E.L.P, Inc.; a local food and clothing pantry.

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College Scholarship

Elvis Dinner Theatre

A few years ago, Countryside established a College Scholarship fund to assist our youth in attending college. On Saturday, November 2, 2007, Countryside held it's annual fundraising banquet. This year, we had a dinner theatre featuring none other than Elvis (Pastor Paul Castle)! It was a fun evening for everyone and $2,700.00 was raised

for the Scholarship Fund.

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2007 Fall Outreach

"Passing The Torch"

This years outreach was entitled Passing The Torch. The focus was on inviting new families to church to learn about Jesus, and also to encourage our younger families to take ownership of the ministries of Countryside. Our desire is that our younger families understand that if we are to have a future, they must take the torch of Christ and reach THEIR generation with the good news!

The outreach lasted through October!

Following are highlights from each Sunday.

October 7, Celebrating the Past

This was kick-off Sunday - The day began with coffee and donuts and a fellowship time. The Calvarymen Gospel Quartet brought us special music. The theme of the day was Celebrating the Past.

As we prepare to pass the torch, we must thank

God for all he has done in the past.

October 14, Children's Sunday

On this day the focus was on reaching out to the children of our community. Special surprise guest was the Cat In The Hat. The congregation was delighted as the Cat In The Hat walked around sharing a special poem he had written just for the Countryside children. In addition to the Cat In The Hat, the children's handbell choir played, we had a special puppet show, and all the children received a gift to take home.

What a fun day it was!

October 21, Gideon Sunday

Each year Countryside hosts the Gideons as they share about their ministry of Bible distribution. Woody Bardell and his wife Nancy from Nashville, Tennessee was our guest speaker. Amazingly over 1 million Bibles every 5 days are now being distributed by the Gideons somewhere in the world. We praise the Lord for this annointed ministry. Our offering for the Gideon ministry was over $1,100. Following the service we had an all church pot luck.

It was a great day of inspiration, and fellowship!

October 28, Youth Outreach

This Sunday was devoted to reaching out to the teens of our community. Special Christian rock band Unsettled Citizen did a concert during the service. Also during the service was a passing the torch ceremony, symbolizing handing over leadership to the next generation. Following the service there was pizza and a fellowship time for all the teens.

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Bishop Jim Tuan

Speaks At Countryside

It was a special honor to have with us, Bishop Jim Tuan from the Philippines. Bishop Jim spoke at Countryside on Sunday, July 15, 2007. The Bishop oversees our Free Methodist church in the Philippines, where there are currently 245 Free Methodist churches. A love offering was taken for Jim and $880 was received. Bishop Jim shared that his wife has been having medical problems and they had been praying God would provide for this. He said the offering was an

answer to their prayers.

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This section archived in April, 2008

Father's Day, 2007

Sunday, June 17, our Fathers were honored on Father's Day!

For Father's Day many from our church brought out their combines, classic cars, cool motorcycles and this year we added hunting displays! Along with coffee and donuts, each father picked out a couple of gifts from the gift table.

It was a beautiful day outside for looking at the displays!

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Vacation Bible School

Our 2007 Vacation Bible School was held June 18-22

from 9-11:30 A.M. each day. The theme for this year was Sonforce Kids / Special Agents. All the children were "special agents" for God - like the movie Mission Impossible! The children were each provided a dark pair of sunglasses to wear as a part of the fun activities. They learned new songs, memorized Bible verses and learned about Jesus.

There were 31 children during the week that

asked Jesus into their hearts! Praise the Lord!

Each day the kids made crafts, had refreshment time, played outdoor activities and had their dhapel and story time.

It was a GREAT week with eternal rewards!

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Easter Sunday 2007

Sunday, April 8th was a very special Sunday as we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord! Our day started at 8:00 A.M., with our early service put on by the youth. At 8:30 A.M., the Family Center was full of hungry people for our annual Easter breakfast. Then we enjoyed a special musical presentation put on by our choir. The musical was entitled Crucified With Christ directed by Linda Rose.

Everyone was dressed in their pretty Easter best,

including our little ones!

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Children's Ministry Department Hallway Mural Painted

Talented Joe Allen has been busy for the past couple of months painting a beautiful mural in our children's ministry department. The mural is 5 feet high by 30 feet wide. As of this write-up, it is still a work in progress. The theme is Noah's Ark. It's great to have our own in-house Michael Angelo! Below is a sneak preview of Joe's amazing work......(4-07)

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Christian Life Club (CLC) Sunday

On Sunday, March 25th, 2007, we held our annual CLC Sunday. This is a special time to say thank you to the CLC parents for their support of the program. The children sang their CLC theme song and our director Priscilla Foote shared about the vision and mission of CLC. Following the service, the parents were given an appreciation gift. Also that same week we had our CLC outreach night. This was on Wednesday, March 28th. This was a special time for CLC kids to invite their friends who do not attend CLC. Some of the highlights of this night were Sally Zambron and her Countryside puppet program, Kristy Marlene and the big chair, Richard Riha and his puppets and the youth band.

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Homecoming Sunday

Our annual Homecoming Sunday was on Sunday, December 3rd. Homecoming Sunday is a special day to invite family and friends and past attenders to "Come Home for the Holidays."

This year we recognized all those who have been attending Countryside for 25 years or more. Without them and their faithfulness, Countryside would not be here. We praise the Lord for these faithful servants of the Lord. All of these 25 year or more attenders came up on the platform and sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" together.

Following the service each family took home a loaf of homemade bread. What a wonderful day to kick-off the Christmas season!

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Twenty Couples

Renew Wedding Vows

During the month of November, 2006, Pastor Paul preached a Marriage Enrichment Series. The series ended on November 19 with a renewal of wedding vows ceremony for any couple that desired to participate.

Twenty couples chose to renew their vows.

Following the service was Countryside's annual Thanksgiving dinner. For those who renewed their vows, a special "wedding table" was set up for the couples to sit together.

There was even a wedding cake! It was a wonderful time for marriages to be encouraged and strengthened!

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ELVIS!

Benefit Concert for

Sandusky High School Band

Raises $2,300.00!

On Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, 2006, Countryside hosted a benefit Elvis concert for the Sandusky High School Marching Band. In March, 2007, the band will be traveling to Disney World in Florida. This will be a great time for band members to sharpen their skills at special instrumental clinics they will be attending. In addition, the band will march in various parades around Disney World. The cost is approximately $800.00 for each student to attend. To help with the fundraising efforts, Pastor Paul performed two Elvis concerts at Countryside. The concerts raised $2,300.00.

The marching band personally greated each person attending the concert and also played a few songs during intermission. It was a fun time for all!

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2006 Fall Outreach!

Every Fall at Countryside is our community outreach! This is a special time for fun and exciting activities with the purpose of reaching out to our friends and family with God's love. This year the theme was "One More Soul."

October 1st was our kick-off Sunday and "Friend Day." Special music was provided by Pastor Paul's entire family. All of his brothers and sisters were here and helped to make this a very special day! Of course, Friend Day wouldn't be complete without coffee, donuts and refreshments. Dick and Debbie Blank organized our refreshment time for us.

October 8th was "Daves of our Lives." Since we have so many "Daves" at Countryside, we had fun with this as an outreach theme. Everyone was encouraged to invite a Dave to church with them. Every Dave received a "Dave" coffee mug and we had a drawing, giving away gift certificates for "Famous Daves" restaurant.

October 15th was "Youth Sunday." The Sonshine singers (a part of the Teens For Christ) were with us for a special concert and following the service we had a pizza party and games for the teens.

October 22nd was "Children's Day." This day was filled with fun and learning about Jesus! Of course the entire purpose was to encourage our families to invite a child to church to learn about Jesus. The day included gifts for the children, a puppet show, the children's handbell choir played and we had a surprise guest - Elmo! What a fun day the children had!

October 29th was a day of praise and celebration to conclude our days of outreach. On this day, we had a baptism and five persons were baptized into Jesus!

Each Sunday, Kristy Castle played "Kristy Marlene" - a six year old child who shared a lesson for us each week and added fun and humor to our Outreach Campaign.

~ Praise the Lord for a successful outreach!! ~

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Classrooms Brightened Up!!

Over the past month or so (October/November, 2006), Don and Ruth Hood have been overseeing the painting of our Christian Education classrooms and hallways.

They were getting dirty and dingy, but are now looking bright and cheery! The teachers are picking their own colors, so we now have rooms of blue, green, yellow, pink, purple, peach and ivory!    They are looking great!!!

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This section archived in June, 2006

~~Sanctuary Remodeled!~~

In May and June of 2006, Countryside's Sanctuary was remodeled! We are so thankful to all who worked hard and gave generously for the remodeling to become a reality! We worshipped together in the Family Center for three Sundays, June 4th, 11th and 18th, and returned to the Sanctuary on Sunday, June 25th. Our first Sunday back was a glorious time worshipping the Lord, thanking those who made the remodeling possible, hearing highlights of Vacation Bible School and we even used our new baptismal for the first time baptizing 7 people!

The remodeling included redoing the rear of the Sanctuary by removing the old sound room and storage area and building a new sound booth, building a larger and higher platform, new carpet, a wheelchair elevator, and installing a baptismal! Dan Surbrook, head trustee, oversaw the project and many, many people gave sacrificially of their time to get the job done.

~~New Landscaping!~~

Susan Wallace took on the project of redoing the landscaping in front of the sanctuary while the remodeling was going on. Old, overgrown and dead shrubs were removed and an entirely new layout was developed.

Roger Williamson helped tremendously, Grant Stone removed the old shrubs and many others helped out.

It looks beautiful!!!

~~Vacation Bible School~~

This year's VBS was a great success! VBS was June 19-23. Priscilla Foote oversaw VBS and the theme was "SonTreasure Island!" The children did crafts, had refreshments, chapel, recreation, Bible stories, learned music, and Bible verses. 33 children prayed to receive Jesus as their savior!!! Overall, 175 children and workers were included over the week. 129 children were enrolled and there were 46 workers. Highest attendance of children was Thursday with 95 children present!

What a spiritually fruitful week

that will last for an eternity!

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