The sky’s the limit this year at Vacation Bible School!  Kids will have the chance to make new friends, play some wild games, enjoy lip-smacking snacks, see amazing science experiments, make fun crafts, hear incredible music and go on some surprising adventures – all in 5 incredible evenings!

All this takes place from Sunday, June 24^th-Thursday, June 28^th from 6:30-8:30pm.  Registration forms are now available, you may print out  the (CLICK——>) registration form HERE (29)(<——-CLICK) or  you may stop by the church’s front office.  VBS is for children who are 4 years old (by August 1^st) thru entering 6^th grade this fall.

Becky Stephans is our Director of Children’s Ministries.  If you have any questions please contact her at becky@dhumc.com or call, the DHUMC phone number: (812) 637-3993.

Crew Leaders Are Still Needed

If you have been thinking about being a crew leader please contact Becky Stephans above or contact the front office.

The United Methodist Women will be hosting the Festival of Women (formerly the Mother Daughter Banquet) on Friday, May 4^th. An evening of dining and entertainment has been planned for your enjoyment and will be held in the Family Life Center starting at 6:00pm. Tickets for the evening may be purchased from any active member of the UMW or by stopping by the Church Office. Cost for this fun filled evening will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. This event is for ladies of all ages, so invite a friend or bring your family and come enjoy the evening with us.

Thursday – 6:30pm Holy Thursday Communion

Friday – 6:30pm Good Friday Worship

Sunday – 7:00am Easter Sunrise Worship

                – 9:00am Easter Worship & Sunday School

                – 10:15am Easter Worship & Children’s Church

Short Term Study

A short term study on the book of James from the New Testament will be held in the parlor on Friday evenings, starting at 7:00pm, beginning April 20 through June 1. There is a sign-up sheet in the hallway to Heavenly Grounds, or call Karen Stall 637-9953. Cost for the study guide is $6.00.

Missions

Heifer Banks:  The Missions Team will be collecting the Heifer Banks on Sunday, April 15^th.

 Minot, ND Mission Trip:  Harry J. Lyness will be traveling to Minot ND on April 7^th. He will be there for a month preparing for the work that our church Mission Team will be doing in July. Please see Becky Kersey or Harry J. Lyness for more information about the July Minot Mission Trip.

 Holton, IN Tornado Relief:  The Mission Team is currently waiting for word from Holton, IN. Holton is to let our Mission Team know when they would like a group to come help and what they would like them to do.

A six-week course on membership will be offered to those who are interested in joining Dearborn Hills.  Classes meet during the Sunday School hour and begin Sunday, April 15^th.  If you are interested, please contact the church office for more information.

Indiana Tornado Disaster Relief Update

The Indiana Conference has more than $240,000 in its Disaster Response Fund to date. Thank you for your generosity. Continue to send your church’s monetary contributions to the Indiana Conference treasurer at the Carol Stream address. 100 percent of these funds will be used for Disaster Response in Indiana.

Holton UMC is asking everyone to please send material donations to other organizations that help those in need. The Holton facilities are full and cannot hold any more materials at this time. Continue to contact the town of Holton to find out the best place to go to help with the clean-up effort. This past weekend, hundreds of hard working volunteers came to the Holton Fire Department and were sent to various fields in the area that have collected debris from the storm in farm fields. The effort from these volunteers can be seen as Holton is beginning to look much better than it did a week ago. Keep in contact with either Gara Kreider or contact the town of Holton directly to find out if there is a need for more volunteers, especially if volunteers are planning to drive a long way to help clean up. Remember cleanup will not take place over night and there will be a need for donations and volunteers weeks into the future, but response leaders want to make sure they have an organized plan available for all those who want to help. For more information, contact Gara Kreider at 812-569-6371.  Two people died in the storm in Holton and about 20 homes were destroyed along with two churches buildings (not the UMC). Asbury UMC of Columbus along with several churches in Lawrenceburg (Dearborn Hills, Hamline Chapel and Tanner Valley) are working on cleanup and repair.

Indiana Conference VIM Coordinator Bonnie Albert has been in touch with the pastor at Pekin First UMC. For the whole area, supply needs are changing as the response changes. VIM teams coming in should have their own gloves and tools, etc. What survivors need are building supplies bought by those coordinating the construction and paid for by groups, such as our United Methodists, and by those who are traveling to work. Contact the Pekin First UMC at 812-967-4682.

For more information, go to www.inumc.org and click on Disaster Response.

For more information, contact:

• David Powell, Indiana Conference Disaster Response Coordinator
  david.powell@inumc.org; 317-339-0013
• Bonnie Albert, Indiana Conference Volunteer in Mission Coordinator
  bonkay@hotmail.com; 219-464-1447

Again, thank you for your gifts, time and talents as we assist tornado survivors in southern Indiana.

April 1 – 10:15am Palm Sunday Worship

April 5 – 6:30pm Holy Thursday Communion

April 6 – 6:30pm Good Friday Worship

April 8 – 7:00am Easter Sunrise Worship

               – 9:00am Easter Worship & Sunday School Classes for all ages

               – 10:15am Easter Worship & Children’s Church

Indiana Tornado Disaster Relief

Immediate needs:  Cash is the most helpful gift right now. Send donations to the Indiana Conference Disaster Response through your local church treasurer, or through the United Methodist Committee on Relief online at www.umcor.org.  For southern Indiana in-kind donations, take them to 700 Patrol Road, Jeffersonville, Indiana off HWY 62 Open 24/7 Office phone 812-287-0090. Items needed include:  Safety supplies, gloves, work gloves, N95 masks, dust masks, tubs for supplies.

Volunteers  Call the reception center before you leave home as volunteer needs are still being assessed. The Volunteer Reception Center is located at 723 Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Ind. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 812-287-0519. Right now, the Volunteer Reception Center needs people with disaster response training.  Next week, disaster response personnel will probably be ready for Volunteer in Mission groups for clean-up and repair, and will need to go through Bonnie Albert, our Conference Volunteers in Mission Coordinator. Contact here at bonkay@hotmail.com; bonpotee@yahoo.com or call 219-464-1447.  District Disaster Response Coordinators are already in the areas and will be specific on the most helpful ways for us to respond. Right now only trained (and badged) Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) are being accepted into the area. If you are UMCOR-trained and would like to volunteer to help, contact David Powell at david.powell@inumc.org; or call 317-339-0013.

Next week, disaster response personnel will probably be ready for Volunteer in Mission groups for clean-up and repair, and will need to go through Bonnie Albert, our Conference Volunteers in Mission Coordinator. Contact her at bonkay@hotmail.com, or call 219-464-1447.

DON’T  Don’t just go to the scene to help! They are still in emergency phase and rescuing those in need. Untrained persons, no matter how caring, will only hinder rescue efforts.  If you want to see what has happened, watch TV and/or look at the web. Traffic is already bad and cellular bandwidths are jammed.  Don’t send clothing until asked. Responders and survivors probably won’t be able to sort it or use it at this time.

DO  Pray for the people and areas affected and the First Responders on the scene.  Donate to the Indiana Disaster Response offering for the Indiana Annual Conference or donate directly to UMCOR online at www.umcor.org.  Do plan to help when the area opens to responders.  If you are good with hammer and nails, plan on responding in a week or so as needs are identified and prioritized.  Volunteer opportunities will be announced on the conference web page under disaster response and VIM as information becomes available.

Remember to set you clocks ahead one hour this Saturday night, March 10^th.

Holy Week is April 1st through 8th

     April 1 – 10:15am Palm Sunday Worship

     April 5 – 6:30pm Holy Thursday Communion

     April 6 – 6:30pm Good Friday Worship

     April 8 – 7:00am Easter Sunrise Worship

                    – 9:00am & 10:15am Easter Worship

A four-week Short Term Bible Study will be starting next Sunday, March 4^th. The class will be held at 6:30pm in the parlor and led by Harry Lyness. You may contact him for more information at Hlyness@aol.com or call him at 513-623-1443. The study will be 2 Corinthians: Hard Knocks, Unbreakable Faith. Second Corinthians speaks about the harsh realities of life and the unbreakable faith that sustains us through difficult and dangerous times. Paul is qualified to speak on the subject of hardship.

     March 4th: Christ’s Power Is Displayed in Hard Times
     March 11th: God Comforts Our Heartache
     March 18th: God Is Reliable in Financial Hard Times
     March 25th: God Is Glorified in Our Weakness

Adult Choir

The choir will be singing on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Anyone interested in singing should come to the following practices in the Choir Room. Please note that there will be two services on Easter Sunday 9:00 & 10:15.

     March 14th at 7:30 pm
     March 21th at 6:30 pm (Spring Break)
     March 28th at 7:30 pm
     April 4th at 7:30 pm

Children’s Ministry
Children’s Lenten Project: This year, through Samaritan’s Purse, we will be giving money to buy blankets to keep families warm after a natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or earthquake. We have a goal to buy 100 or more blankets. Each blanket costs $6.00. More information is available in Heavenly Grounds Lent begins this Wednesday.

GriefShare is a Bible based grief recovery support group for adults, it isn’t grief counseling. GriefShare is for those that have lost someone due to death. Tom and Kim Bush will be facilitating a new GriefShare ministry at Dearborn Hills. The session will run March 5^th – June 4^th, on Mondays from 7-9pm. It’s thirteen weekly sessions which include video, discussion, workbook study and support. The cost is $15 which pays for the workbook.  For more information or to sign up contact the Bushes at 637-5394.

During our worship service on February 5^th, together we will recommit some of our financial resources to support missions locally, nationally, and around the world.  This is the element of faith in our giving beyond what we have already committed to DHUMC that lends the Faith Promise its special character.  Please be in prayer over the next few weeks to discern what God is calling you to give according to His riches in Jesus Christ.

Old Friends & Bright Beginnings Luncheon

Our next monthly luncheon will be Thursday, February 2^nd at 11:30am in the Fellowship Hall, please make your reservations toady. The meal will be catered by B&P Grubbs. Our program for the month will be a “Show-n-Tell” day.  We are requesting everyone bring an antique item or something that has a story or special meaning and be prepared to tell about it. Maybe you have an item that will not be familiar to us and you can “stump” the crowd. It should be very interesting and fun.

Valentine Dinner

The UM Men are sponsoring our annual Valentine Dinner on Saturday, February 4^th.  The dinner will be held at Aston Oaks, North Bend, OH and the cost is $18 per person, paid in advance. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. A sign-up sheet is on the UM Men’s bulletin board.