ALL CHURCH

FALL FEST / TRUNK OR TREAT IS COMING THIS SUNDAY OCT. 26^TH –  IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE 11am SERVICE. IF YOU’RE ABLE, WE’D LOVE FOR YOU TO RSVP USING THE SIGN UP LINK BELOW! We need church members to decorate their cars and pass out candy, and we need volunteers to help with stations. Lastly, we need YOU, FAMILIES, to come enjoy! To sign up to help in an area, go to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4BAAAD23A75-59115609-fall#/. Questions? Contact Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

Don’t forget!  We need you to bring your 🌟🌟 COMPLETED SILENT AUCTION TREE BY OCTOBER 26^TH! 🌟🌟 Voting and bidding will start November 2^nd.  We want everyone to vote, so be sure to grab a ballot and pick your favorites. When you vote, we have an ornament to give you!  The final day to put a bid in at Grove City campus will be November 23^rd as they will travel to St Marks for the bilingual Thanksgiving service that day and the bids will come to an end!

CHRISTMAS BAGS OF LOVE-2025 HONDURAS – DUE BACK THIS SUNDAY!

Help Missions provide Christmas Bags of Love to 150 children in the country of Honduras this year. You can sign out one or more drawstring bags in the Great Hall and fill them with items for the child listed on the bag (you will have the child’s name, gender and age). Every bag must contain certain items (list attached to bag), but the rest is up to you. Bags are to be returned by THIS Sunday. Both campuses of the Purple Door Church are working together on this project to share God’s love this Christmas with the children of Honduras.

IT'S PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH! STOP BY THE INFO. DESK THIS WEEKEND AND WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE TO OUR PASTORS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who walks through our doors at The Purple Door Church Gove City and our St. Mark’s Campus! You CHOOSE to be part of our church family and that is such a blessing. Churches, just like houses, need regular care and maintenance and unfortunately, as they age, things need replaced from time to time. Currently, we need to replace the HVAC SYSTEM at our St. Mark’s Campus. The existing unit was installed in 2000 and while we have made some repairs to get as much as we can from it, the unit is no longer repairable. After researching and consulting with several companies, the best option is to install four mini-split units which will be more efficient, easier to maintain and provide excellent heating and cooling within the sanctuary. That was not a cost we had budgeted for this fiscal year. The total cost is $37,578. If you feel called to support this project financially, it would be greatly appreciated, and we thank you for your willingness to do so. 

ADDITIONALLY, we have had our struggles with the DISHWASHER at our Grove City location. We have been very fortunate to receive generous donations from church members as well as ministry groups that utilize the unit. We are $5000 short of the total we need to complete that project and ideally have it installed in time for this year's holiday events. Any support you could give to this effort would be so very appreciated. 

TRADITIONAL SERVICE INVOLVEMENT:

Traditional communion servers

Liturgists for 2026

Advent lighters for advent

Contact Nichole to get involved, NicholeA@gcumc.org. 

Church family, we could use your help! HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY is in need of some volunteers to come during the school day and read to students. What an honor they’d reach out to US! If this is something you might be interested in, please email Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org.

DINE OUT NIGHT @ FREDDY’S! Continue helping our team raise funds for their Mexico trip by dining out at Freddy’s on Buckeye Parkway OCT. 29^TH, 5-9PM. Mention that you’re supporting the Purple Door Church and we will receive 15% of the proceeds towards our trip. If you’re using online or mobile ordering, USE CODE GIVEBACK. Questions? Contact Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org. You can also print the flyer HERE and/or show it on your smart phone when you order. 

IT'S TIME TO ORDER POINSETTIAS FOR CHRISTMAS! You can order your poinsettias in honor of or in memory of a loved one to be displayed in our church during the holiday season. They are $9/each, and will be red. You may pay your money at the Info. Desk, the church office, or give directly to Faye Davidson. 

Church family, we could use your help! Highland Elementary is in need of some volunteers to come during the school day and read to students.  If this is something you might be interested in, please email Pastor Brandi .

Please RSVP to Pastor Brandi  to attend the TAILGATE and to register for the chili cookoff!

November 4^th LUNCH & LEARN will be a Medicare 101 class. Please RSVP to Pastor Brandi  reserve lunch!

For the last few years, we have been providing Thanksgiving meals to students in our local schools. This year, that need continues to grow. We would love for you to pray about sponsoring a thanksgiving meal for one of the students and their family. Starting October 26^th in the Great Hall, we will have bags with shopping list to grab, with details on when to return as well.

FREE COMMUNITY MEAL – This meal is the second Saturday of each month, 4:30-5:30pm and is for anyone and everyone in our congregation, as well as for those in our community of Grove City. We love welcoming the city into our doors, showing them the love of Jesus. Our November meal will be Nov. 8^th, and we’d love for you to join us for the meal or sign up to serve. If you’d like to serve, you can use this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D4BABA92BA4FE3-59766108-community. Questions, contact Andrea Nance, AndreaN@gcumc.org.  

MISSIONS TASK FORCE

As Pastor Lizzy shared with us last week, we’d LOVE for YOU to be a part of our MISSIONS TASK FORCE – to help dream BIG for the ministries of our church! THIS SUNDAY, stop by our table during the Ministry Fair, and if you have an idea for a ministry we can implement, please feel free to put your idea in the IDEA BOX on the table. We are excited to see how God will continue to grow the ministry of the Purple Door Church and St. Mark’s as He has set us in place for such a time as this! 

GIVING

SUPPORTING YOUR CHURCH FINANCIALLY: You have a few options: collection plates during all services brought around by ushers, giving boxes outside of both worship spaces where you can drop off your offering anytime, and also ONLINE through our online offering platform, QR CODE in seat back pocket and/or on our website purpledoorchurch.com. For help with setting up online giving, or any questions regarding your contributions, please send all inquiries to finance@gcumc.org.

CALL TO ONLINE GIVERS - Thank you for your faithful giving! If you'd like to help our church with offsetting the fees associated with your online gift, but not sure how to... Email Andrea! She would be happy to help with this small change that helps in a BIG WAY when it comes to online giving! 

KIDS/FAMILY/YOUTH

Youth Update:

Sunday nights, 6pm: 

10/26 – Pumpkin Party - Pumpkin carving, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin pies. DON'T MISS IT!

MERGE

Wednesday evening family programming. Sign up here .

FREE STORE

Always in need of toiletry donations or new socks & underwear.

MISSIONS TRIP TO MEXICO!

ST. MARK'S

Collecting these items:

There is a FAMILY DEVOTIONAL for the month of October available for pickup. Grab it at the family ministry resource shelves!!! 

MERGE! 

Merge is our mid-week family Programming that runs during the typical school year! We meet Wednesday evenings, 6-8pm. Sign up to attend here . 

HEY TEENS (7th-12^th grade)! YOUTH! SUNDAY NIGHTS, WE MEET AT 6PM IN THE FLC FOR A TIME OF DINNER, WORSHIP, MESSAGE & SERVICE OPPORTUNITY! If you were able to go to camp all week long this year, you can join us Sunday evenings for youth group! This is our summer schedule:

We are looking for DINNER volunteers! Sign Up here .

Don't forget about our YOUTH SMALL GROUPS!  The second Sunday of each month at 5pm, we have a GIRLS SMALL GROUP and a BOYS SMALL GROUP.  These groups are open to those preteen and older.

Questions on any of the above or to RSVP for events, contact Pastor Brandi .

If you'd like to visit our Children/Family/Teens page, go here .

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN FINDING A SMALL GROUP TO JOIN? We have many small groups that meet all throughout the week, different times, different days. If you’re interested in finding your people, reach out to Pastor Brandi, and she will help! BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

WOMEN'S RETREAT - January 2nd-4th – deposit of $50 due November 2nd. Questions? Contact Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SHARE THAT WE WILL BE LAUNCHING GRIEF SHARE AT THE CHURCH IN JANUARY 2026. At GriefShare, you’ll receive valuable guidance and tips, leading you to relief, comfort, and peace of mind. This is truly an amazing support group. We will also be having a gathering on November 16th and December 14th to acknowledge grief in the holiday season. For more information or to join this group, please contact Brandi Blackstone, BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

SPONSOR A PLATE: A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE TO OUR COMMUNITY IN A TANGIBLE WAY – Our community meal is the second Saturday of every month, 4:30-5:30pm, and over the last several years, it has become an integral resource for the members of our surrounding community. We often see the same faces, month after month, and many times, receive accolades thanking us for our commitment to this ministry. Not only are we feeding these people, but by doing this, where many times in society, they feel invisible, WE MAKE THEM FEEL SEEN. We sit with them, we eat with them, we talk with them, and we pray with them. Each and every month, we are carrying out the exact command given in God’s Word: “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'” – Deuteronomy 15:11; and Isaiah 58:10: “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” – Isaiah 58:10

On average, we prepare approximately 125 meals per month, and the average cost of each meal is roughly $2.50; therefore, we can prepare an entire community meal for around $320 per month.

We WANT to be that light that rises in the darkness - as written in the book of Isaiah - for every person who enters our doors. We WANT to be their place of hope; we WANT to be the place of stability. This is a ministry that is solely provisional; it brings in no money. It is simply our gift to our community. While we often partner with area restaurants, they are gracious to provide a side to our meal: bread/rolls, drinks, etc. But we could use some additional funds.

Sponsor a Plate was born out of the need for this community meal to continue, and for a donation of just $2.50, you can provide a meal for a person in need walking through our doors. Your donations are tax deductible and can be attributed to your giving records. Perhaps your business or your small group would be willing to contribute – or even just a single gifted donation of the $2.50 would help.

We thank you for continuing to partner with us in this endeavor as we become the hands and feet of Jesus, giving to those in need. Should you have any questions, please contact Andrea Nance, AndreaN@gcumc.org. 

FALL SPORTS are about to be in full swing! If you or someone you know needs sports equipment, it is available in our SPORTS CLOSET!  When the season is over, you can drop off the items that no longer work! Contact Pastor Brandi with questions!

DO YOU HAVE THE GIFT OF TEACHING? LEADING? BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS? WE NEED YOU! We are looking for volunteers who would like to teach Bible studies, lead small groups, gather church community together. (And if you are looking for a small group, we also want to know!) If this feels like a place God might be leading you, please reach out to Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org.

ARE YOU PROFICIENT IN A SKILL OR TRADE? We are seeking volunteers that have skill trades or just like to work with their hands that might be willing to serve in the church using those skills! If you're willing to come alongside and help, contact Tony Haughn, Tonyhaughn1@gmail.com. 

STREET CLEANING – 1st Saturday of the month. Questions? Contact Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

MEN! YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN OUR MONTHLY GATHERING. Family calendars book up, so please try to block out these dates for the year. Contact Bo Blackstone to get plugged in. 

Sunday November 2* (may get rescheduled)

Friday December 5

NEEDS:

BOTH CAMPUSES NEED BIBLES. Go here  to our specific Amazon link!

REMINDER – OUR ALUMINUM CAN COLLECTION IS ONGOING and is a way we continue to raise funds for our mission trips. You can leave them at the Info. Desk!

LOCAL SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS: 

BAGS OF HOPE - FOOD/BACKPACK PROGRAM – LOCAL SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Many children in our community experience food poverty and we are trying our best to provide for those needs. We have partnered with many local schools to send home weekend food bags for those kiddos. Check out the Amazon Wishlist we’ve created with specific food items for those who would like a simple way to grab some of our needed items. One of the best parts: you can have it delivered straight to the church (2650 Columbus St., Grove City, OH 43123)! 

 Amazon Wishlist 

IMPORTANT NOTES - NO GLASS. Cans that have tab tops are preferred. Precooked items are helpful or items that only need water added. This is not an exhaustive list, but examples.

Cereal*Poptarts*Oatmeal*Pancake Mix*Syrup*Peanut Butter*Jelly*Honey*Pasta Sauce*Canned Veggies*Fruit cups*Applesauce*Rice*Pasta*Instant potatoes*Macaroni & Cheese*Ramen Noodles*Granola Bars*Crackers*Soups*Canned Meat - Chicken, beef, tuna, etc.*Fruit Snacks*Koolaids packs

Toiletries - deodorant, Q-tips, shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, underwear

GET YOUR MERCH ON DEMAND! MERCH! Check out the website at HERE  for merch! T-shirts, hoodies, hats –you can order it online and get it in a SUPER FAST turnaround – AND – the company will donate $5 back to the church for every item purchased! You can also request your favorite name brands be used – for an increased price! If you ordered merch, you can pick it up at the Info. Desk!

TECH – We are in need of tech personnel for our traditional services. Training provided. Able to serve? Contact Traci, traciw@gcumc.org to get plugged in! It’s a GREAT place to be!

MENTAL HEALTH: REAL TALK, REAL SUPPORT - A peer-led, social-emotional support group for parents and caregivers of children with mental health struggles. Two meetings a month:

• 2nd Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8pm – The Buckeye Ranch (5665 Hoover Rd.), Mary Dunn Building
• 4th Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8pm – The Purple Door Church, Fireside Room

For questions, contact Sheri Dunagan at sheri.dunagan@att.net or call/text 614-439-7110. Learn more online: www.RealTalkOhio.org.

• CONNECT ON FACEBOOK HERE .

GET INVOLVED! We love being able to serve our families and our community and we have SO many opportunities to plug in at The Purple Door Church. We are fully open and have all of our activities available to our congregation and community! There are plenty of places for you to serve – WE NEED YOU and want to encourage you to check out list of opportunities – go to our website: https://www.purpledoorchurch.com/opportunities-to-serve.

A LOOK AT WHAT WE NEED: It truly takes the hands and feet of ALL of us to do our part to make this church run day in and day out! We have some AMAZING volunteers who make this place exceptional and a place to call HOME. Here is a look at where we could use some help:

TECH TEAM - traditional services - Contact TRACI WURSCHMIDT 

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS – Contact PASTOR BRANDI 

MONEY COUNTERS – Contact andrea nance 

LANDSCAPE TEAM – Help keep our grounds looking glorious! Kids are welcome! Contact communications

HOSPITALITY TEAMS – Contact Pastor Brandi, or sign up HERE .

WE NEED CHURCH OFFICE HELPERS - We need volunteers to work in the church office. You mainly will be answering the phones and other small jobs that might need to be done. If you are available, we need several spots to be filled on a regular basis: the second and fourth Tuesday in the afternoon from 9am-noon and the first and second Wednesday afternoon, 12-4pm. Also, we always need substitutes to fill in spots for our regular volunteers. If interested, please contact PEG ADDINGTON  or 614/270-1639.

PRAYER BOX – Did you know we have a Prayer Box located in our parking lot? It is a little purple mailbox located in the front of our parking lot facing Columbus Street. Our Prayer Chain is committed to praying for the people of this church and our city. If you have a prayer request, you can drop it in that box at any time. Prayer requests are collected weekly and prayed over by our committed prayer team.

PRAYER TEAM - Prayer is powerful and an amazing gift from God. We have the opportunity to talk directly to our Creator and the ability to pray on the behalf of others. Our prayer team started meeting this past Monday and we will continue to meet every week on Mondays at 9am. During our time together, we will be praying over our Sunday morning prayer requests, needs of the church, our community and nation. We will be prayer walking the church as well. If you are interested in joining, please contact CLARENCE DINNEN.

TO REQUEST PRAYER - If you'd like us to pray alongside you, you may fill out a prayer card during one of our services and put in the offering plate or in the offering boxes outside of our worship spaces; or, you may send an email to commuincations@gcucm.org . We would be honored to pray alongside you.

*RIGHT NOW MEDIA - Just a reminder that Right Now Media is available to all of our members as you think about your relationship with God in this upcoming year. Right Now Media is a database FULL of online Bible studies and social groups for individuals, families, children and groups. We often use this media resource in our Bible studies and small groups throughout the year. It’s a GREAT resource for you or for your family to be able to plug in to God’s Word and in the times we use it in our own church group setting. If you’d like to take advantage of this FREE online resource, contact Pastor Brandi to get set up. She just needs your email address. Your faith journey isn’t one you were ever meant to take alone. God made us for community!

MONDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY - VIA ZOOM - a study on praying the Scriptures

PASTOR BRIAN’S FALL BIBLE STUDY - From Heroes to Zeros: Lessons from the Judges of Israel. We will explore both the triumphs and the tragedies of the Judges of Israel and what they have to say to us today. We’ll look at the familiar judges such as Samson and Gideon, plus a host of the more unfamiliar as well. The Pastor’s Bible Study began Sept. 2nd and runs through November 18th – time: 6:30-7:30pm. Please join us! 

SATURDAY MORNING WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY - VIA ZOOM - meets the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 8am.

CONTACT PASTOR BRANDI, BRANDIB@GCUMC.ORG FOR ZOOM LINKS

THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

This study meets every Thursday morning at 10am studying the Parables of Jesus.

BIBLE JOURNALING - 3RD MONDAY OF EACH MONTH, 6PM, CHURCH OFFICE

Are you creative? Do you enjoy time in the Word? Join the two together, and come hang out with us on the 3^rd Monday of the month at 6pm at the church office. Questions? Contact Pastor Brandi, BrandiB@gcumc.org. 

PURPLE DOOR WOMEN’S GROUP: Join our new group! Our focus is on our church and parishioners/shut-ins. Need more info.? Contact Jean Davis, 614/282-8590. We meet on the 2nd Monday of each month at 10am.

This year, we would love to give a BILINGUAL BOOK to each kid! If you feel led, please share the good news with them: https://a.co/aY7SmM1.

“THE LITTLE HOUSE” - With the help of the Free Store and lots of donations, we have been operating the “Little House” where we can provide different resources specific to the new families in the country/state. These items include household items, bedding supplies, kitchen supplies, kids toys and when we have some, furniture. This has been a blessing to the community and also to share the love of God. We have the opportunity to pray for those families we are serving and give them a Bible. Contact Pastor Lizzy for more information or ways to connect with this ministry: LizzyO@gcumc.org.

As you know, we were looking for a teacher for our nursery and God heard our prayer. We are thankful to have Micah and Yoselin Eller helping with this group. If you are still interested to come to our campus and serve our Sunday School Classes, let us know! REMEMBER: language is not a barrier. Most of our kids go to school here and speak English.

BOOK COLLECTION! We are collecting Christian base books or coloring books (for babies to high school age). If you have some in good condition, we will take them! We have been buying some for our toddlers at the dollar store. This is to share with the kids who are attending the afterschool program in our church.

There will be a box on the Information Desk with a sign

 “Iglesia Hispana / St. Mark’s Campus.”

CAN YOU GIVE A DAY? Do you love your church and cleaning is something you enjoy? Every month, we have a cleaning day at our west side campus, St. Mark’s Iglesia Hispana. Every 3^rd Saturday of the month at 9am, we go through our building and make it pretty! Email Pastor Lizzy for more info: lizzyo@gcumc.org.

We hope you will participate in our new mentor program, ADOPT A FAMILY OR FRIEND. Psalm 145:4 “One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts.” Jesus invested in others, and Paul did the same. Indeed, the Apostle expected older believers to teach and train younger believers (Titus 2). When we do what the Scriptures mandate, we can expect God to bless it. When the generations learn from each other, the church will be stronger.

So, what are you signing up for?

ADOPT A FAMILY GUIDE

• Pray for the paired family weekly.
• Connect with this family when you see them at church. All we are asking is that you go out of your way to say “Hi! Good to see you! How was your week?” to this family. 
• Have two meals together in this coming year. It certainly doesn’t have to be fancy, and this can be at a restaurant, at your house, or you bringing take-out meal to their house! 
• Go a long way in making sure families know they are thought of.
• Connect with the family once a month outside of church. This can be in a phone call, email, Facebook message or something more formal. 
• Offer help/resources as able. 
• Give cards on their birthday, anniversary, other special times. A gift is absolutely NOT expected, but handwritten cards can be in a phone call, email, Facebook message or something more formal. 

Looking for a place to fellowship with other women, gain encouragement, give encouragement and grow deeper in your faith? We have several groups (aka “Circles”) that meet regularly throughout the week, have different areas of interests, and we’d love to invite you to find your fit!

We currently have three Circles:

REBECCA CIRCLE - meets the third Tuesday of the month @ 11:30am. For more info. or questions, contact Ann Beal (614-371-4472) or Peg Addington (614-877-4200), who are the leaders.

HANNAH CIRCLE - meets the 2nd Monday @ noon. For more info. or questions, contact Sue Flowers (614-357-7935) or Nina Riley (614-579-4624), who are the leaders.

MIRIAM CIRCLE – meets the 3^rd Sunday of each month @ 12:30pm. For more info. or questions, contact Brandi Blackstone (614-402-6706) or Tami Adams (614-545-8887), who are the leaders.

Each of the Circles would love to welcome new members. You do not need to be a member of our church. If you are interested in any of the Circles, please free to call the leaders or just show up at a meeting. Our UWF Circles are a wonderful way to meet new people and learn more about what actions they each do to help our church family and community.

CURRENT FUNDRAISERS:

SHOP AT KROGER AND GIVE BACK! Did you know that you can make a financial contribution to our Missions Task Force JUST by shopping at Kroger? It’s simple! All you have to do is link your Kroger Shopping Card to Grove City United Methodist Church.

Go to Kroger.com and log into your digital account (or create a digital account, if not already created).

Scroll down to “Community Rewards” and click. From there, you can select our organization by either scrolling or searching for “Grove City United Methodist Church.” Make sure our name matches our organization number, which is XY804. Enroll. Easy as that! Kroger will make donations to the organization based upon spending of those whose cards are connected to that organization.

Any questions regarding enrollment need to be directed to Kroger individually.

FREE STORE: 

Our Free Store is open every Wednesday, 5-6:30pm and serves 150-275 people each week. Lately, we have been serving individuals from 4 or 5 halfway houses, drug/alcohol rehab centers and addiction recovery centers. Therefore, we have several critical needs, especially for men.

GIRLS WINTER

2T,3T,4T,5T,6,18 & up - All

7/8,10/12,14/16 - Dresses

WOMENS

Leggings & sweatpants - All

Winter dresses - XS,S,XL & up

Blue jeans ONLY- 0  thru 8

Long Sleeve - XS,M,L,2x,4x&up

MEN

Shorts-33&below

Ath Pants/Ath Shorts-All

Shirts/Sweaters-S,4X & up

Pants-38,33 & below

Jeans-38 & below

Hoodies, Coats & Belts-All

BOYS-

Shorts,Shirts,Sweaters-7,12&up

Pants-6,7,8,10&up

Infant-24 mo only

Coats-All

New Underwear and Toiletries are always needed.  

Monetary donations are also welcome.

 ******PLEASE NOTE: WE ONLY ACCEPT CLOTHING. WE DO NOT ACCEPT APPLIANCES, TOYS, OR FURNITURE.

CAFÉ:

The time slots to volunteer in the café are: 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30am.

A sign-up sheet will be on the Mission Counter in the café area. If you’d like more info. or to volunteer, contact Pastor Lizzy . 

Refreshments are available in the café upon donation and all proceeds will go to further Missions projects throughout the year.

CONNECT & SERVE COMMUNITY MEAL!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THIS MINISTRY.

DON’T FORGET, OUR COMMUNITY MEAL IS THE SECOND SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH, 4:30-5:30PM, and is for our congregation, as well as for the City of Grove City!