Central Welcomes New Administrative Assistant

Central welcomes Savannah Murrin as our new Administrative Assistant. Savannah began work on November 2.

As she self-describes, she grew up with an adventurous soul and an open heart. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the suburbs of Midlothian Virginia, she found her love for the mountains while attending college at UVA at Wise before settling down in the gorgeous town of Staunton. Savannah grew up as the oldest sibling out of four brothers. All the chasing resulted in her love for outdoor running and hiking, which she now does with her fiancé, spirited stepdaughter, and loyal fur baby. She is beyond excited to begin her journey here with Central UMC and cannot wait to meet and grow with the CUMC family.

We are delighted to welcome her to our Church. You can contact her at 886-3441 or at office@centralumcstaunton.org

Online Giving Now Available

Central has taken advantage of an opportunity we learned about from the District Superintendent. He informed us that the Virginia Conference Treasurer has made use of the power of our Connection and has negotiated with a vendor called VANCO the free short-term use of their on-line giving services for local churches. This service has now been set up for Central and is available two ways:
1. Using your computer or tablet access the Central website (https://centralumcstaunton.org) where you will find a link for Online Giving with VANCO under the Worship tab.
Or,
2. Using your phone or tablet download the free mobile app from VANCO. Go to your phone’s app store or Google Play and search for “GivePlus Church” to find the app quickly.
A video is available at https://vimeo.com/262292774 that will walk you through using the GivePlus app.
Whether you choose to use the link or the app, you have two options:
a) Create an online profile so you can easily log back in for future giving and want to be able to view the history of all your giving to Central UMC. This is the preferred option for CUMC members. Note that your gifts can be one-time or recurring.
b) Give as a guest without creating a profile. In this case you will not have access to your history of giving at Central.
You can give through your checking account or by credit/debit card. All transactions with VANCO are secure. You will receive a receipt for your donation via e-mail.
If you have any questions about online giving, contact our Administrative Assistant at the church, 540-886-3441. Or, e-mail Joe Hill, Finance Chair (hjosephhill@gmail.com).

Lenton Luncheons Announced

We are happy to report this year the Lenten season will begin with Ash Wednesday service on March 6th, noon at Central and the next five Wednesdays Lenten Luncheon will be held at one of the Staunton 8 UM churches with different guest speakers. Lenten observation will end on April 21st (Easter Sunday) with SonRise Service at St. Paul UMC at 6:30 am followed by hearty breakfast at St. Paul UMC prepared by Men’s group of that church.

As before, we will meet at noon to hear a message delivered by a pastor and share a lunch and fellowship around 12:30 pm. Our theme this year is “Living as the body of Christ”. See the complete schedule below:

– March 13 @ Marquis Memorial; guest speaker: Dave Rochford

– March 20 @ Central; guest speaker: Tizzy von Trapp Walker

– March 27 @ Cherryvale; guest speaker: Sarah Locke

– April 3 @ St. John’s; guest speaker: Won Un

– April 10 @ Christ; guest speaker: Sarah Payne

– April 21 Sonrise Service @ St Paul; followed by breakfast @ St. Paul’s; guest speaker: Norman Ramsey

Drama Club Performance!

The Drama Club has been meeting at Central throughout the school year under the direction of Lia Wallace from the American Shakespeare Center.  The Drama Club has been diligently preparing material for their performance on Sunday, April 22 at 5 PM. The performance will take place at the Blackfriars Playhouse located at 10 S. Market Street, and is part of the Shakespeare’s Birthday Party celebration hosted by the ASC. There will also be activity booths, cake, and a bouncy house. The event will run from 4:30-6 PM. Come out for an afternoon of fun for the whole family and support two of our very own Centralites, Betsy Gutshall & Kainoa Peters, as they share their performance in the Playhouse.

Easter Offering

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the special Easter Offering. Together we collected $2,271 in total! That money will be used to support Valley Supportive Housing in the Staunton area and UMCOR relief on a global level.