Chapel Chatter. May 2018 Volume 69 Issue #5

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1 1 Chapel Chatter May 2018 Volume 69 Issue #5 St John s United Methodist Church or Church stjohns_umc@comcast.net Church Facebook: Church Website: Reverend Gene Errickson g.errickson@gmail.com Cell Pastor s Musings Dear Friends in our Risen Savior, May our Risen Savior be praised, now and always. Amen. We are approaching the end of the Easter Season. I hope you have found it as spiritually enriching as I have. The Prayer Focuses for the week s after Easter along with the Daily Thoughts and the Lectio Divina Readings were very meaningful for my meditations every day. I found them helpful in trying to apply the Easter Theme, Following the Lord by living his commandments. It was also a good opportunity for me to focus on the Ten Commandments and apply them in my weekly contacts with God and with other people. As we move forward into the Ascension and Pentecost Seasons I will continue to develop Weekly Prayer Focuses, Daily Thoughts, and hopefully Lectio Divina Readings for use beginning the day after Pentecost Sunday up to Advent. Over the next six weeks we will observe Ascension Day on Sunday, May 13, Pentecost Sunday on Sunday, May 20, and Trinity Sunday, May 27. These are major commemorations in the Church year and hopefully will be spiritually beneficial to all of us. Also, on Pentecost Sunday we will commemorate the 140 th Anniversary of the opening of our current Church Sanctuary. The focus of this will be to see how we can build on the faith of those who have gone before us. Please be aware that on Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 we will begin our summer worship schedule. Worship Services will be celebrated at 8:00 AM in the Chapel and 9:30 AM in the Sanctuary. This schedule will be in effect through the Sunday after Labor Day. Currently the Commission On A Way Forward is submitting its recommendations on how to proceed as a unified denomination in dealing with the issues of same sex relationships/marriages and the ordination of homosexual clergy to the Council of Bishops. I have written a separation explanation which appears elsewhere in the Newsletter concerning this matter. Please keep the Bishops in prayer as they review this material. Once again, I want to thank you for the privilege of serving as your pastor. You are a wonderful church family and I look forward every day to being in ministry with you. Please pray for Gail and me. We will do the same for you. Love you in our Resurrected Lord, Pastor Gene

2 2 May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27 May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27 Nursery Schedule for May Brandi Hurst-Sunday & Christine Levering Kristen Dressler & Gail Errickson Monica Deckman & Liz Maisano Jillian & Jenae Knosp Scripture Readers for May Sue Sensenig Carol Dittoe Gail Errickson Sue Mallory Church Close-Up Schedule May ~ Matt Maisano June ~ Dave Canfield 6 th Sunday of Easter Acts 10:44-48 Psalm 98 1 John 5:1-6 John 15: th Sunday of Easter Acts 1:15-17, Psalm 1 1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 Day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:22-27 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 Worship Schedule for May 1 st Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 6:1-8 Psalm 29 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17 TREASURE BOX MISSION A MONTH May Prayer Focuses for May May 6 That in this last Easter Season Worship may God give us the Grace to remain in his love. May 13 That on this Ascension Sunday we may have the Grace to accept what Jesus taught us as our own. May 20 That on this Pentecost Sunday we will accept the Grace offered by the Holy Spirit to share the Christian message with others. May 27 That on this Trinity Sunday we will accept the Grace to always proclaim our God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3 May Altar Flower Sponsors Ushers Schedule for May 10:00 am May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27 Bernice Amway In Loving Memory Of my husband Lawrence Amway, parents Robert & Ellen Milley, and son Larry

Fullam Mary Herr In Honor Of my daughters, Dale, Anne, and Cheri and in Loving Memory Of daughter Joan and sons Dick and Jim May 6~ Team #1 May 13~ Team #2 Dean Seese ~ Head Usher Jim Bowman ~ Head

3 3 May Altar Flower Sponsors Ushers Schedule for May 10:00 am May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27 Bernice Amway In Loving Memory Of my husband Lawrence Amway, parents Robert & Ellen Milley, and son Larry Robert Amway and sister Almeda Koppenhele Tom & Nancy Pfahler In Loving Memory Of our parents, Tom & Marian Pfahler and Buddy & Betty Jones Anne Zimmerman In Loving Memory Of my granddaughter Katie Fullam Mary Herr In Honor Of my daughters, Dale, Anne, and Cheri and in Loving Memory Of daughter Joan and sons Dick and Jim May 6~ Team #1 May 13~ Team #2 Dean Seese ~ Head Usher Jim Bowman ~ Head Usher Brian Gregg Volunteer Wanda Gregg Dean Seese Jim Knosp Ben Pickel Louise Knosp Bob Dressler May 20~ Team #3 May 27~ Team #4 Volunteer ~ Head Usher Jon King ~ Head Usher Volunteer Lamar Sensenig Russ Groff Sue Sensenig Mike Worst Curt Moseng Volunteer Russ Groff 8:00 am Service Nelson Strubel ~ Head Usher

4 4 NEW BUSINESS COOKIES FOR MEALS ON WHEELS May 2 nd ~ Monica Amway May 9 th ~ Susan Lambar May 16 th ~ Doris Lichty May 23 rd ~ Mary Ellen Rice May 30 th ~ Carol Nickel SPECIAL CLOTHING BANK NEEDS/GIVING TREE Clothing items Coats for men and women-all sizes. Men shoes, jeans, underwear (s-xl) and socks. Women shoes, underwear (Sizes 5-8) socks. Boys and Girls Coats, Boys shoes, clothing, underwear sizes 10-16, Girls shoes, socks, and underwear sizes Place on Christmas tree or bin in Gathering Area. THANK YOU On behalf of the North Star Initiative I want to thank you for your generous hospitality to Kin Seldomridge who spoke on their behalf last Sunday and for your extreme generosity. The Free Will Offering was in the amount of $ and in addition the Mission Team donated an additional $ The total gift to the North Star Initiative was $ SOFTBALL TEAM SCHREIBER DONATION The softball team will take up its annual donation for Schreiber Pediatric Rehabilitation Center on May 20th at both services. If you are unable to donate on that day, donations can be accepted up to June 1. Please see either Steve Chretien or Tom Dittoe if you have any questions or to make a donation. Checks can be made out to SPRC. Please help the team support its annual mission project. Last year the team raised over $3, due in large part to St. John s generosity. SPRC helps over 4,000 children in Lancaster County at no cost to their families. Thank you for your present and past support. PARAMENT COLORS I was approached recently and asked to explain the different colors of the Paraments. The Paraments are the colored cloths that are on the altar and the pulpits in the sanctuary. They are for decorative purpose, but the colors are meant to signify the different seasons of the church year or major important events. The White paraments are used during the Easter and Christmas seasons and for Trinity Sunday, Christ, the King Sunday, Holy Thursday. The color gold or silver can be substituted for white. These colors are meant to signify a time of joy or happiness. We have special Easter white paraments at our church and a different white parament to be use for Christmas and the other significant events. The Red paraments are used on Pentecost Sunday and when we celebrate the Ceremony of Confirmation. The color, red is meant to signify the presence of God, the Holy Spirit in the tongues of fire that appeared on the first Pentecost Sunday. The Green paraments are used for most of the year. The color, green is meant to signify the virtue of Hope. We are meant to be a people of hope as followers of Jesus. The Violet or Purple paraments are used during Lent. The color, purple is meant to signify Penance. Lent is a penitential season preparing us to celebrate the feast of the Resurrection-Easter. The Blue paraments are used during the Season of Advent. Advent is a penitential season preparing us to celebrate the feast of Christmas. However, it is not meant to be as serious a penitential season as Lent. The color, blue signifies a less penitential season. During these different seasons or significant events, the pastor will usually wear a stole of the same color as the paraments. Christians use other signs and symbols. For example, we use bread and juice to symbolize the spiritual nourishment we receive in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Water is used in the Sacrament of Baptism to signify the washing away of sins. Oil is used in the ceremonies of Confirmation and Anointing of the Sick to indicate strength to be a follower of Jesus and healing. SAVE THE DATE Faithful Women will hold a mother daughter gathering on Saturday, May 19th, 9:30 am at Fisher s Amish Restaurant in Gordonville. We d love to see everyone there to celebrate the beautiful women in our lives. Breakfast Buffet costs: Children age 4 and under-free; Children ages 5-12 $6.50; Adults $8.50.

5 5 The Commission on A Way Forward The Commission was formed after the 2016 General Conference. Its purpose was to give to our United Methodist Council of Bishops a proposal on how to deal with the issue of same sex marriages/relationships and the ordination or licensing of homosexual clergy. Having met over the last two years the Commission the members have reported to the Bishops their inability to agree on a single proposal. As a result, they have submitted three options to the Bishops for their consideration. Option 1 would basically keep the present practice intact but allow churches who favor same sex marriage/relationship and the ordination or licensing of homosexual clergy to leave the denomination. The possibility of keeping their buildings for a nominal fee is being considered. This Option would require the Bishops to take strong stands and apply the regulations of the Book of Discipline uniformly. This has been something the Bishops have been unwilling to do. Option 2, referred to as the Local Option would allow pastors to determine whether they want to perform same sex marriages and Annual Conferences to determine whether they want to ordain or license homosexual clergy. The problem with this option is that it allows for multiple individual interpretations of biblical and doctrinal teaching. There is a lack of unity here. In addition, there are numerous other internal problems that must be solved. Option 3 would allow for the creation of three branches within the denomination, each with a different sexual ethic, ranging from thoroughly progressive to conservative. Now it appears that we would have three interpretations of biblical and doctrinal teachings within one denomination. Again, there is a lack of unity here and as with Option 2 there are numerous other internal problems that must be solved. As I reflected on the foregoing it appears to me, first, that the lack of unity in biblical and doctrinal interpretation is a major problem. Historically when the Christian Church has been lacking in biblical and doctrinal unity it has failed and schism has resulted. Schism is defined as a lack of discord or harmony resulting in division or separation. Second, the current position of our Bishops seems to be avoid schism at all costs. The problem is the Western Jurisdiction has already elected, ordained and assigned a lesbian who is married. This is in defiance to the teaching of our Book of Discipline. This defiance is based on an interpretation of biblical and doctrinal teaching that is false. Third, the result, whether the Bishops want to acknowledge it or not, is that we are already a church in schism. As additional information becomes available I will keep you informed.

6 6 Easter 2018 EASTER THEME: Following the Lord by living his Commandments. Easter Season: Lectio Divina-Divine Reading During this Easter Season I would like to suggest that as a means of living our Easter theme we continue to engage in a modified use of a practice known as Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is basically a prayerful reading of a portion of Holy Scripture until a passage strikes one strongly enough that they then begin to meditate and pray on it. To simplify this practice somewhat, I am offering a Scripture verse from Psalm 119 for meditation and prayer each day of the Easter Season beginning Easter Monday and continuing through Pentecost Sunday. Psalm 119 is the longest of the Psalms and often not read in one sitting. The passages I have selected are ones that I have found spiritually uplifting, strengthening, and consoling as I have dealt with health challenges in recent months. What I would suggest is to set five to ten minutes or more time slot aside each day to slowly read and reread the passage applying it to your own life situation. Then simply pray to God in your own words or the words of the Psalm. While you only need to do this once a day you can return to it at other times during the day if you care to. I have found that selecting one verse each day, I return to it throughout the day at different times. It then becomes a springboard for prayer throughout the day. You may also pray from other Psalms which you have found meaningful to you. You might begin your time with the words: May the meditation of my mind and the prayer of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord. or Open my mind and heart to spend this time with you, O Lord. An ending prayer could be: Thanks for taking time to be with me, Lord. Then add a short prayer for our Church Family. I hope this practice will add to the spiritual experience of your personal devotion during the Easter Season this year. The list of verses from Psalm 119 is attached.

7 7 Lectio Divina Daily Readings-Easter Season 2018 Psalm 119 5/1 vs. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me with your law. 5/2 vs. 30 I have chosen the way of truth. 5/3 vs. 30 I have set my heart on your commandments. 5/4 vs. 31 I hold fast to your commandments. 5/5 vs. 33 Teach me to follow your commandments. 5/6 vs. 33 I will keep them to the end. 5/7 vs. 34 Give me understanding and I will keep your law. 5/8 vs. 34 I will obey your Law with all my heart. 5/9 vs. 35 Direct me in the path of our commandments. 5/10 vs. 35 In your commandments I find delight. 5/11 vs. 36 Turn my heart to your commands and not to selfish gains. 5/12 vs. 37 Turn my eyes away from selfish things. 5/13 vs. 37 Preserve me according to your word. 5/14 vs. 38 Fulfill your promises to your servant. 5/15 vs. 39 Take away my shame. 5/16 vs. 39 Your commandments are good. 5/17 vs. 40 How I long for your commandments. 5/18 vs. 40 Preserve my life in your righteousness. 5/19 vs. 42 I trust in your commandments. 5/20 vs. 44 I will always love your commandments for ever and ever.

8 8 The Ten Commandments 1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have other gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord s Day. 4. Honor your father and mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor s wife. 10.You shall not covet your neighbor s goods.

9 9 Daily Thoughts for May May 1 Let God guide your thoughts today. May 2 Spend time with God today. May 3 Work on yourself today with God s help. May 4 God has a plan for your life. May 5 God will give you a blessing today. Look for it. May 6 Reach out to someone in need today. May 7 Trust God to guide you. May 8 Slow down. God wants to talk with you. May 9 Seek direction from God today. May 10 God wants you to know how much he loves you. May 11 Meet another person with God today. May 12 Trust God to take care of you. May 13 Accept others for who they are. May 14 Let God draw you close to himself. May 15 Seek heavenly things first, earthly things will follow. May 16 Have a conversation with God daily. May 17 God has a plan for a hope and a future for you. May 18 Let God lead you deeper in the life of faith. May 19 Look around, God is close to you. May 20 Don t just talk to God, listen to him. May 21 Slow down. God wants time with you today. May 22 Remember God is there for you. May 23 Now is the time to act. Don t delay. May 24 Reach out to someone today. May 25 God will give you the strength to help someone in need. May 26 Prepare yourself for God to work through you. May 27 Let God be the foundation of your life. May 28 Even though you can t see him, God is near. May 29 Others need your help. Let God lead you to them. May 30 The hymn reads, Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow so praise him. May 31 Talk to God today. He wants to hear from you.

10 10 We invite all women of St. John s to attend this celebration with all the special women in their lives!!!

11 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 Choir Practice @ 6:30 pm 4 5 Breakfast Gathering @ Bird-In-Hand @ 8:00 am 6 8:00 & 10:00 am Worship Services 7 Ashton Campbell 8 9 10

John s @ 8:45 pm Field 2 14 Leacock vs. St.

11 11 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Choir 6:30 pm 4 5 Breakfast 8:00 am 6 8:00 & 10:00 am Worship Services 7 Ashton Campbell Choir 6:30 pm Jessica Dittoe Barbara Faulkner 13 8:00 & 10:00 am Worship Service Weaverland #2 vs. St. John 8:45 pm Field 2 14 Leacock vs. St. John 6:30 pm Field Choir 6:30 pm 18 Happy Anniversary Tammy & Jamie Knosp 19 Kelly Cummings Avery Deckman 20 8:00 & 10:00 am Worship Service 27 8:00 & 10:00 am Worship Service 21 Keystone vs. St. John 8:45 pm Field 2 28 NO GAMES MEMORIAL DAY 22 Happy Anniversary Jon & Phyllis King 29 Happy Anniversary Brandi & Duane Sunday 23 Steve Chretien 24 Choir 6:30 pm Don Mallory Choir 6:30 pm 25 Happy Birthday Violet Brackbill Happy Birthday Thelma Rapp 26 Events Anniversaries Birthdays Choir Practice Worship Services Softball May June Altar Flower Pick Up Jim & Alice Bowman Jim Knosp

12 St. Johns United Methodist Church 3001 Lincoln Hwy E.

com Administrative Assistant: Vicki Worst Email: stjohns_umc@comcast.

stjohns-paradise.org ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Mission Statement: ~St.

12 12 St. Johns United Methodist Church 3001 Lincoln Hwy E. PO Box 86 Paradise, PA Pastor: Reverend Gene Errickson Administrative Assistant: Vicki Worst Church Facebook: Church Website: ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Mission Statement: ~St. John s UMC is a warm, welcoming church where all are invited to build relationships with Christ and each other. ~ Vision Statement: ~To be a growing, giving, praying church that responds to the needs of our congregation and community. ~ Worship Services 8:00 am & 10:00 am Praise Singing Nursery Provided Handicap Accessible Join Our Journey!!

Chapel Chatter. April 2018 Volume 69 Issue #4

Chapel Chatter. April 2018 Volume 69 Issue #4 1 Chapel Chatter April 2018 Volume 69 Issue #4 St John s United Methodist Church 717-687-6711 or 717-687-7259 Church email: stjohns_umc@comcast.net Church Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsunitedmethodist