Current News

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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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