Fellowship

 

Chatham Community Church sponsors many opportunities for fellowship. Various organized groups plan service projects as well as having fun together. In addition, church projects such as the Apple Butter Festival and the Living Nativity, provide fellowship while they serve the community. Dinners like the Ash Wednesday Soup and Sandwich Supper and the Annual Church Breakfast get members of the congregational family together. Fellowship after summer worship  features punch and home-made cookies.

Chatham Christian Women

All women are invited to participate in the activities of the Chatham Christian Women. The group meets the second Monday of February, May, September and November.  Its major fundraiser is a rummage sale in May. It donates to many charities, including the Community Services Center and the Battered Women’s Shelter. In July it visits the Medina County Home with refreshments and entertainment and presents block quilts it has hand-tied. It prepares baskets for the needy at Christmas time and sponsors an annual breakfast for the congregation. Social activities have included Christmas parties, tea parties and Valentine’s celebrations when the identity of secret sisters is revealed. Meetings include devotions and fellowship as well as inspirational programs and business discussions to plan their activities.

2011 officers are President Heidi Gillespie, Vice President Rosalie Van Gilder, Treasurer Norma Siman, Secretary Carol Menon.

Upcoming CCW events:

  • Monday, July 11: Visit Medina County Home; families invited
  • Sunday, September 11, 8:30 a.m.: Free Church Breakfast for the Congregation at the South Church (Worship Center)
  • Monday, September 12, 6:30 p.m., Annual Restaurant Outing
  • Monday, November 14, 7:30 p.m.: Annual Christmas party and planning for 2012: devotions by Neva Bournival;  everyone to bring a dish to share
  • Saturday, December 3: make cookies for Make It/Take It Day
  • Saturday, December 10: make cookies for the Living Nativity
  • Saturday, December 17: Pack Christmas boxes

Chatham Christian Volunteers

The men’s group meets the first Sunday of each month at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and fellowship. Its service projects include re-roofing the home of an elderly resident, Habitat for Humanity construction, remodeling the Sunday School rooms, and maintaining the church buildings. They sponsor Make It Take It Day in December, assisting local youth to build wooden projects that they can give to their parents for Christmas. They volunteer to set up Vacation Bible School, the Apple Butter Festival and the Living Nativity.

Upcoming CCV events:

  • Sunday, Oct. 2: breakfast meeting, 7:30 a.m.
  • Friday evening, Oct. 7, set up Apple Butter Festival
  • Sunday evening, Oct. 9, dismantle Apple Butter Festival
  • Sunday, Nov. 6, breakfast meeting, 7:30 a.m.
  • Saturday, Dec. 3, Make It Take It Day
  • Sunday, Dec. 4, breakfast meeting, 7:30 a.m.

Chatham Community Seniors

The Chatham Community Seniors is a social group open to anyone in the community over 50 years old. The group meets the fourth Monday of the month for either a potluck meal or a social activity. Past activities have included dining at restaurants, going on sightseeing tours and to the theater, and enjoying summer picnics.

Upcoming events:

  • No meeting in January
  • Saturday, Feb. 25, 5:28 p.m.: Homemade Soup and Salad Supper and Information Fair at the Chatham Community Center. Donation. 
  • Saturday, March 10, 4 p.m.: Pancakes, sausage, maple syrup at VFW. Need a count.
  • Monday, April 23, 6 p.m. Potluck supper at South Church

Youth Group

The Youth Group plans activities that teens enjoy. They do service projects and participate in fellowship with other Christian youth, such as concerts.

  • January 29, 6 – 8 p.m., hosting Copley UMC Youth at South Church for food, fellowship, Bible study and Pictionary

Family Nights

Families are invited to an evening of fellowship including board games, movies, other activities and refreshments. Family Nights will be held quarterly.

Major Projects

Chatham Community Church’s two major projects are the Apple Butter Festival in October and the Living Nativity in December.

Apple Butter Festival

The Apple Butter Festival is held the second weekend in October  from noon to 6 p.m.  on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. It is the church’s only fund-raiser and offers excellent fellowship opportunities among church members and the community. The Apple Butter Festival is held the same weekend as the Medina County Fall Foliage Tour and is held at the Chatham VFW hall and pavilion on Rt. 83, just north of the Rt. 162 intersection.

Members stir a huge vat of apple butter over an open fire, while visitors feast on home-made chili, bean soup, freshly made donuts, cider and biscuits with apple butter. A “country store” features a bake sale, a harvest fruits and vegetables, and country crafters. Visitors may purchase jars of applebutter, cider, pumpkins and apples. A craft fair is held inside the VFW Hall. Outdoor demonstrations include the Raptor Center rescue volunteers and “bluegrass” music.

The Chatham Community Center holds a flea market and craft show across the street and the Chatham Historical Society will have all three museums open and offer demonstrations.

The Apple Butter Festival Committee donates a 10% tithe to the Campership Fund, so that children may go to summer church camp.

On the Sunday of the Apple Butter Festival, our worship service is held at the VFW rec room at 10 a.m.

Living Nativity

In an effort to “keep Christ in Christmas,” the members of the Chatham Community Church present a free, walk-through Living Nativity re-enacting a search for Bethlehem and the Christ Child on the second Saturday of December.

Guest “travelers” will join a guide and stop at several vignettes, featuring costumed actors and live animals. They proceed from a camp fire to hear the Angel Gabriel’s pronouncement to the young Mary, then visit a  rabbi’s synagogue and a shepherds’ camp. They will hear an angelic choir and continue to King Herod’s palace, then gain information at a busy inn, and finally meet the Wise Men and find Baby Jesus in a stable.

Guests are invited to warm up in the church dining hall and enjoy home-made cookies and hot chocolate. They are encouraged to bring non-perishable foods and canned goods to donate to a food pantry.

As the event is mostly out-of-doors, guests are encouraged to dress for the weather.