November 29, 2017
Tuscola Review
Page 3
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN Church in Tuscola hosted the Tuscola Area Ministerial Alliance’s community Thanksgiving Nov. 19. Photo by Amy McCollom.
Local churches join together for community Thanksgiving
By Amy McCollom On the outskirts of Tuscola, the warm glimmer of lights sprayed out through the windows of the First Christian Church as evening began to fall. It was Sunday, Nov. 19, and the First Christian Church had graciously agreed to host the annual TAMA (Tuscola Area Ministerial Alliance) Thanksgiving Community Service. Several churches from the community were involved in taking part in the night’s events. Lori Reed from the First Christian Church welcomed everyone to begin the service, followed by the opening prayer by Fr. Angel Sierra from Forty Martyrs Catholic Church. Worship through music was next with music provided by the community band from several area church members and led by singing from Terra Carter Smith, and other singers of various churches. The Thanksgiving offering prayer was given by Joel Rup-
pert of Eagle Mountain Assembly of God. The offering received during this annual community service is the largest one that TAMA will receive all year and is a major source of their funding. TAMA uses their funds to assist transient needs of people passing through Tuscola, through the Sheriff’s Department. TAMA also hosts the National Day of Prayer and assists with the Baccalaureate service at Tuscola High School in May. After the offering, Ted Mitchell from the United Methodist Church had a scripture reading in Psalm 103:1114. The main message of the evening was given by Darin Elder from Eagle Mountain Assembly of God, entitled “Recipe For A Great Thanksgiving.” Lori Reed, from the First Christian Church, closed the service with the benediction, and then everyone spread out and mingled. There were lots of delicious
The Vault Art Gallery in downtown Tuscola is hosting a "A Retro Christmas," from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, complete with 1950s aluminum Christmas trees, color wheels, and Susan Patterson playing holiday favorites on the piano in the Library Lounge Room. The "retro" theme will continue with the playing of the 1946 film, "It's A Wonderful Life," in the back classroom
area. The Christmas classic will be shown throughout the afternoon. Cookies, coffee and other beverages will be provided. The event is free of charge. The Vault Art Gallery is located at 100 N. Main St. in historic downtown Tuscola. For more information go to www.vaultartgallery.com, the Vault's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vaultartgallery or call 217-599-1215.
The Vault hosts retro holiday
refreshments prepared for everyone in the foyer and the atmosphere for lingering was rich with conversation and warm smiles. It was a great turn-out for a cold November night, with 139 guests in attendance. Several guests remarked that the Thanksgiving Community Service was their favorite service of the year because of all of the people they get to meet, and the special way it puts you in the holiday spirit. It is no wonder the TAMA Thanksgiving Community Service has such a long history of success and promising future of longevity. Darin Elder, the president of
TAMA, said that he had been a member of TAMA for 12 years, and TAMA has organized the Thanksgiving Community Service longer than he had been a part of it. It’s not clear the exact year that the Tuscola Area Ministerial Alliance first came to be, but there are Blast From The Past newspaper articles about TAMA going back at least 30 years. The current TAMA includes the following area churches: Faith Baptist, First Christian, United Church of Christ, Forty Martyrs, Immanuel Lutheran, Tuscola United Methodist, First Church of the Nazarene and Eagle Mountain Assembly of God.
Romine, Scribner to wed Dec. 30 Joshua Scribner and Emily Romine
JOSHUA R. SCRIBNER and Emily K. Romine of Tuscola are pleased to announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Joshua is the son of Tony and Linda Scribner of Tuscola and Emily Romine is the daughter of Tim and Debbie Romine of Arcola. Joshua is a technician at Tuscola Ford and Emily is employed at North Ward Elementary School and working toward her degree in education. The wedding ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. Dec. 30 at Forty Martyrs Catholic Church in Tuscola.