Applying Bible Principles For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10).

How would people describe you? Are you one who loves money? Is your life marked by a continual inordinate concern about and striving for money? If so, then perhaps you are one who truly loves money. Money is neutral. It is neither good nor bad. What matters is our attitude towards it. If we view it as a means to an end, a means of exchange, and something God can use in our lives to bring glory to Himself, then we probably do not love money. On the other hand, if we are always wanting more and more money, if we will do just about anything to obtain it, and if we think about money more than anything or anyone else, we likely are guilty of loving money. In that situation, it has become a god to us, and we bow at its altar in continuing service in order to obtain more of it. If you are determined to get rich, no matter what, before you continue that lifestyle, read Pauls admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:9-10. Consider Solomons counsel in Proverbs 11:28 and Ecclesiastes 5:10-11. And think about the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6:24, who said, No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Or as Jesus would say, Let anyone with ears listen. COMMUNITY DINNERS PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE. The October dinner will be held at Verona UMC October 24 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm since trick or treat night in the twin boros in October 31. These meals are provided keeping those who are having a difficult time in our current economy in mind, although everyone is welcome. There is no charge, but donations are accepted. These dinners are hosted by churches in Oakmont and Verona. If you would like to help with this ministry, please call the church office. October 2012

Open hear t s Open minds Open door s

A checkup -- Are You Healthy? You may be familiar with a physical checkup. Usually you are in the doctors office and a nurse weighs you and takes your temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Prior to the appointment you may have had blood drawn and analyzed. When the physician comes in all the numbers are in your folder and the two of you talk about how healthy you are physically. Do you ever have a spiritual checkup? What would be checked? I made a list for myself, and am sharing it with you. 1. How is your spiritual heart? Is it in tune with God? Do you have God listen to your motive and activities, then tell you if the rhythm is good? 2. How are your spiritual eyes? Are they turned toward God, toward yourself, toward other places? 3. How are your spiritual ears? Are you listening daily for Gods direction, or are your ears focused on listening to others? 4. If your daily activities were analyzed would you be deemed a healthy follower of God or a follower of whats happening now in the world? 5. Do you walk with other Christians, or sit in places that pull you from God? Unlike the medical community, I dont have numbers for you to use in checking your spiritual health. I can direct you toward some helpful numbers, though. First John is a letter that was addressed to Christians about their lives. Here is one outline with some numbers that may help: 1. God is Light [Chapter 1:1 through Chapter 2:29]; 2. God is Love [Chapter 3:1 through Chapter 4:41]; 3. God is Life [Chapter 5:1 through 21.] Take some time to read through and think about what you are reading, it will be a helpful spiritual check-up. There are other resources, too Jesus teachings, Pauls Letters and the other Letters in the New Testament. The Psalms are another resource. In fact, reading through the Bible and thinking on what you read is a great help! Blessings, Pastor Linda PS Our Church Conference had to be re-scheduled to Saturday, Oct. 13 at 10:00 am. Please try to be present. Bagels, donuts & coffee will be served.

BIBLE STUDY We continue our study of I Hear Voices & Thats A Good Thing! by James W. Moore. Rev. Moore introduces the book, in part, with this statement As a Christian, I am constantly hearing voices from the great personalities of the Bible. .(they) reverberate in my mind. Among the twelve personalities in the book are Jesus, Moses, King Saul and Paul. Join us on Tuesday Morning at 10 a.m. or Wednesday evening at 7 pm. Bible Study meets in the church parlor, and you are welcome to join in!

UMW NEWS I am proud to announce that General Conference approved a proposal making United Methodist Women a fully autonomous organization at the national level within the United Methodist Church. Greensburg District will hold its annual meeting Oct. 11 at Leechburg UMC with an 8:45 am registration. The WPA UMW Conference Annual meeting will be Sat. Oct .20 at St. Paul UMC in Allison Park, PA. More times to come. As far as whats been going on here in Oakmont, its hard to believe that another Bazaar is right around the corner. Everyone has been working so hard to prepare. Just a few reminders before the big event: If you pre-ordered soup, please pick it up prior to Bazaar Day. With all of the activity that day, we would hate to sell your soup by accident! Anything that is not picked up by the day of the Bazaar will be sold. Caramel orders will close October 15 th. There are order forms in the back of the church. Soup and Caramels can be picked up Wednesdays prior to the Bazaar from 9 12. Thanks to everyone who is working so hard to make this the best Bazaar ever. Yours in Christ, Julie Trenn HOPE CIRCLE BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP The next meeting of Hope Circle will be Monday, October 8 at 7:00 PM in the Parlor. The Captains Wife, by Douglas Kelley, is the book that will be discussed. Based on the true story of Mary Patten and incidents on the high seas in 1856, this is a fictional tale of treachery, intrigue, and danger. When her husband, Captain Joshua Patten, falls ill on a voyage from New York to San Francisco, Mary must confront the dangers of a mutinous crew, terrible weather, and the straits of Cape Horn. As she navigates the mean waters, she becomes much more than the captains wife. You are welcome to join the group for an hour of sharing and discussion.
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TUPPERWAREA GIFT TO OUR CHURCH And You are Invited Stewardship can be shown in different ways. While some simply write a check, others also give of their time, talents and presence. Remember during the Fulfilling the Dream campaign for capital improvements to our church we were asked to do without something and give the money gained to the campaign. One family changed their cable options to lower their bill, donating the difference. One family even delayed the purchase of a 2nd car willing to walk more and drive less for awhile. Nicki Mannas, a member of OUMC, has offered to donate her commission on sales of Tupperware to church members so that the profits can go to the General Fund. Trustees and the Finance Committee have approved this event and when news of its possibility was shared at Church Council, we were excited to think about it and began reminiscing about Tupperware parties of the past. We hope to see you Sunday, October 28. Lunch will be provided after the 2nd worship service to begin the fun! See you there! It is important to RSVP to the church office by Oct. 11412-828-9499 or oakmontumc@verizon.net! Go to www.my2.tupperware.com/nicolemannas to browse the catalog ahead of time. Information will be provided in upcoming church bulletins about ordering on-line. We hope you can attend this fun event and help the General Fund at the same time.

The Hope Circle is also busy sewing school kit bags for UMCOR. These bags are filled with school supplies for children who are victims of floods or other natural disasters.

GENERAL FUND NUMBERS FOR AUGUST October 3 4 6 7 8 9 11 14 15 17 22 23 26 27 28 30 Rhianna Mechesney Donna Maggio Katherine Burdelski Jeff Allen Cindy DiCocco Mark Mattis, Jr. Donna Medved Cathy Smierciak Alica Mechesney Victoria Burdelski Cindy Chapa Megan Minyon Jan Beiber Sharen Lenkey Gary Pennington Rob Jackson Meghan Stammer Nancy Standifur Thomas K. Ritter Janet Delchambre Eric McCall Jackie Kaminsky Edith Roney Sean Provenza Income $ 14,642.66 Expenses $17,999.91 Balance 8/31$14,011.20 Mission Share has been paid thru August. WENDYS FUNDRAISER A dinner fundraiser is held at Wendys in Harmarville the third Monday of each month. 20% of all orders (drive-through also) between 5-8 pm on that night will be contributed to OUMCs General Fund. NEWSLETTER Please submit articles for the November newsletter by October 15. If you would like to receive your copy by e-mail, please send us a message at oakmontumc @verizon.net. HOSPITALIZATIONS The following members and friends have recently been in the hospital: Jane Foster & Jeanne Knox. Please remember them in your prayers

NEWS FROM TINA WHITEHEAD What a joy to have been able to share the past 10 days with a group from Western Pennsylvania as weve traveled together through the Holy Land. And especially to have had the opportunity to share this with friends from Oakmont: Barbara Marcus and her grandson, Zane, and Norma Stanford. No matter how many times I make this trip, each time seems to be more powerful than the last. What made this trip so exceptional? Well, first of all, the group itself. It was a mix of people who had never met before, only 11 of us, but from diverse backgrounds: Methodist, Catholic, former nuns, clergy, laity. But as one member shared tonight, one of the highlights of the week for her was how we cared for each other. It was a difficult trip: incredibly hot, long days, lots of walking. And then, of course, there was the overload of experience, from the biblical sites to the present day situation. But we encouraged each other, helped each other and, as she shared, demonstrated the love of God as we made the journey together. We visited the holy sites in the Galilee, in Bethlehem and, of course, in Jerusalem. But what made the trip special for most of us were the opportunities we had to meet with the people: Habib, an Israeli Palestinian Christian in Nazareth; Daher, a Palestinian Christian in Bethlehem who told the story of his familys fight to save their land on a hilltop just south of Bethlehem; Samia and Johnny, Palestinian Christians in Beit Sahour, who opened their home and offered us the hospitality of a meal and an evening with their family; Eddie, who had recently opened a restaurant in Bethlehem and engaged us in delightful conversation as we enjoyed cups of strong Arabic coffee. We walked the Palm Sunday walk down the Mt. of Olives, the Via Dolorosa, or Way of the Cross, through the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked through the ruins of Megiddo and through the ancient water tunnel, dating back to 500 BC, and down the steep inner steps of the Herodian, where Herod the Great built his palace. But we also walked through the checkpoint that restricts travel between Bethlehem and Jerusalem; over the boulders that had been strewn across the road, preventing cars and buses from traveling up the hill road to the Tent of Nations; past the barrier that prohibited travel down the long road that led to Jericho. But it was our Palestinian guide who inspired and amazed us with his knowledge and generosity who made the trip exceptional. Saad was the same guide our group from Oakmont had traveled with in 2005. His knowledge of the Bible, chapter and verse, are unparalleled, and we were enriched by his wisdom, experience and generous hospitality. Life-changing is a phrase that is often overused but many of the group shared that their lives had been changed by what they had seen and experienced. What a blessing to have been able to participate in these experiences with these people. What a beginning to this next chapter of my stay here. And theres more to come! Tina

If we inadvertently missed listing DEATHS your birthday, please call the church office and let us know. Our sympathy and prayers are extended to the family and friends of Betty Stopp who BIRTHS passed away September 19, 2012. We celebrate the recent births of Ivy Banas and Sterling Fichte.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH Hurray its Fall! - my favorite season. Youth group is back to meeting on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30. We are studying Women of the Bible. If you are age 12 thru 12th grade please come out and join us! The youth will be helping with the childrens ministry events at the end of September and October. Our next homeless dinner on the southside is Thursday, Dec. 6 th. I know thats a few months away but we are planning the menu now, and are in need of desserts. If you can help us out let me know. The youth group is putting together Care Packages for our college students who are living on campus. If you would like to donate items for the care packages you can leave them in the youth room. There are, at present, nine students who will receive the care packages. We hope to send them in early October. The childrens group enjoyed a Drive In at the end of September. Thank you Laura Caruso for coming up with this great idea! And thanks to all who participated and helped. Our next childrens group event will be the Trick or Treat Party on Saturday, October 27th beginning at 6:30. Please RSVP to the church office so we can get a head count. Childrens ministry events are for kids preschool age thru 5th grade. We are also starting a group for the kids age 9 thru 11. I would like to meet with this group once a month. They are included in the childrens group events but I feel they need something extra as well. I hope to meet with parents to find a time that will be convenient, and I will keep you posted. The Post high group continues to meet. We had a wonderful planning meeting in September when we welcomed Jim Ashbaugh to our group. Thanks so much Jim, for agreeing to help out. This group is planning to focus on Service Projects or in the words of Dave Taylor Lets just help as many people as we can so, if you need help with any kind of project, or you know of someone who does, please let us know. As always, I look forward to the year ahead. I am so very blessed to have you all in my life.

TRUSTEES The church will host a Tupperware Party and receive the proceeds for the General Fund. The Trustees are grateful to Gladys Fichte for her diligence in insuring the vases were re-plated and returned in sufficient time for the re-dedication ceremony. The Allegheny County Dept. of Real Estate has agreed that the parsonage dimensions were incorrect regarding the recent reassessment for 2013. This greatly enhances our argument against the reassessment values quoted. The hearing is still pending, so the final value for 2013 is undecided. We are confident we will win our appeal. A rheostat has been purchased to see if that resolves the problem of the sanctuary fans running at one constant speed. Also, a new accordion type door was purchased for the kitchen area behind the new ice machine and will be installed soon. The insurance adjusters are looking at the interior of the church regarding water damage. The Trustees are hopeful that the damage will be covered. The Trustees thank Gary Pennington for his work in securing the boards that are sometimes placed over the altar rail . Paige Fichte has joined the Trustees as a young adult ex-officio member. Paige and Dave Fichte will decorate the bulletin board for the month of November. The Trustees will add language to the building use guidelines pertaining to non-member funeral services and will begin looking at weatherizing the church for the winter season. We thank Gary Pennington, Mark DiCocco, Ken Chambers and others for their time, talent, and energy in making small repairs throughout the church therefore saving us from extra labor-related expenses.

LIBRARY NEWS Recently we received some beautiful books incuding "The Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible," "O Holy Night," and "Book of Comfort and Joy." Our Christian fiction section has a display of colorful new titles, and the children's book "The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers" is a happy addition. Come browse our shelves. Barbara Marcus and Dottie Wolslayer, Church Librarians .