The Link. Reaching out and welcoming all people to the love of God and Jesus Christ as we worship together and grow in faith.

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1 University United Methodist Church 2818 N. University Peoria, IL Address Service Requested The Link Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage Paid Peoria, IL Permit NO. 650 Reaching out and welcoming all people to the love of God and Jesus Christ as we worship together and grow in faith. MAILING LABEL Dear Church Family, February 8, 2016 At University United Methodist Church, we have a special opportunity to make the 2016 season of Lent as meaningful as possible. This year, Joanne Haupt compiled a book of Lenten devotions, one for each day of the Lenten season, beginning with Ash Wednesday. Each daily submission comes from a different member of our church. We are deeply thankful to Joanne for this idea, and for her efforts in recruiting people to write the daily devotions. We are thankful to everyone who contributed and/or helped in any way with this booklet, including our office manager, Julie Reed. It s been many years since our church has done a booklet like this one. What a blessing it will be! What else can we do to make the most of this Lenten season? Be proactive. Lent isn t just about the things we give up. This isn t just an exercise in holiness by subtraction. Lent is equally about the affirmative things we choose to take on during this season. Each of us likely has at least one area in which we could benefit from denying ourselves. But we should also consider extra giving, praying and acts of service. If necessary, take a break on Sundays. Every Sunday of the year is a mini celebration of the Resurrection. Technically speaking, the six Sundays in between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday are not included in the 40-day period of Lent. This makes bold Lenten resolutions more feasible, as we realize that, if necessary, we can take a break from our resolutions on Sundays. Even in the somber, reflective period of Lent, we are always under the umbrella of God s grace. Remember where we re headed. The goal of Lent is greater identification with the passion and death of Jesus. The desired fruit of journey is the renewal of our faith. Lent is not primarily about performance. The acts we perform in Lent are only important insofar as they prepare us to celebrate the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Lent is a sacred journey that leads to Easter! Blessings in Christ, Paul

2 Page 2 THE LINK Worship & Sunday School Times Sunday Services: 8:30 & 11:00 am Adult & Youth Sunday School: 9:45 am Rev. Paul Arnold, Directing Pastor peoriauumc@sbcglobal.net Fax JAN OFFERINGS General Fund ATTENDANCE JAN 8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 3 $7, $7, $5, $7, $5, Total $32, Average Newsletter Mailing Date: The March LINK will be mailed on Friday, March 4. All articles are due by Monday of that week. Thank you!

3 THE LINK Page 3 February Doris Bachman, Marilynn Weidman 2 Virgilio Dacayo 3 Jeanette Bergsten 5 Art Bell 6 Laura Curry, Anita Jaeger, Max Salmon, Barb Sprick, Anupa Thomas 7 Bob Ankrom, Gary Emery 8 Bipin Thomas 10 Barb Van Ormer, Jane Sullivan 11 Glenda Curry 17 William Rigley, Jack Keller 19 Nancy Powley 21 Lynn Nebergall 22 Lara Hahn 23 Pat White 24 Ellie Crum 25 Larry Fowler 26 Dan Folk, Kathy Newell, Maxine Shelton Lenten devotional booklets are available in the Narthex on Sunday, February 7. The booklet also can be downloaded onto your computer or mobile devices from an which was sent to everyone in the congregation who has their address on file in the office. You can then either view it on your computer/mobile devices daily or print your own copy to use during the Lenten season. If you need any help in downloading the booklet, feel free to contact the office (TUES-FRI, 8AM NOON) for assistance. The booklet will also be available for download from our on the UPCOMING EVENTS page. If you don t have a computer, please pick up a copy in the Narthex or call the office for one. February Anniversaries 22 Beverly & Jack Keller 27 Bill & Barb Sprick WORSHIP SERVICE February 7 PM in the Sanctuary The Funsters will be joining East Peoria Methodist for their spaghetti dinner on Sunday, February 5:30 p.m. A free will offering will be taken to support youth missions. The dinner is 4:00-7:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

4 Page 4 THE LINK News & Upcoming Events February 8 UMW Board 6:30 PM in Memorial Hall February 21 Chicken Noodle Take Out Sale 8:30 AM Noon $5 a Quart February 22 Ruth Circle 1:00 PM in Memorial Hall Guest speaker is Joyce DeRenzy, Director of Adult Protective Services for the Center for Protection of Abuse. February 23 Priscilla Circle 7:00 PM in Memorial Hall Feb March 4 IL Great Rivers Conference UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat Chatham UMC Church Women United World Day of Prayer 9:30 Memorial Christian Church on Newman Parkway (see article below) Did you know? One of Peoria s secrets is the ecumenical movement known as Church Women United. Its purpose is to encourage Christian women to witness to their unity and faith in Jesus Christ. The WELCOME mat is out for all Christian women, of any age and from any church, to come to the monthly meetings which begin at 9:00 AM and are held in a different church each month. Four of the meetings are celebrations, and three of those have a brunch. The celebrations follow a theme from national CWU and the fourth is a World Day of Prayer worship service (coming up March 4 at First Christian Church, by the University Post Office). The other meetings are General Meetings with a program that pertains to one of our priorities: Health, Environmental Care, Justice, and Economic Justice. Meetings are the first Friday of every month except June, July and August. We have been in Peoria since Please come, give us a try, and enjoy worship, study, action and fellowship in a spirit of Christian unity. Shalom UMW Chicken Noodle Take-Out On Sunday, February 21st From 8:30 a.m. to Noon $5 per quart Come and get it! Make checks payable to UMW GARRETT-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Last month you were notified that Illinois student Andy Black was named the recipient of the UUMC Scholarship Fund for the academic year! Andy is working toward a Master of Divinity degree, and recently wrote an impressive letter of thanks to us: It is with a humble heart that I wish to extend my warmest gratitude to you for the financial assistance you provided for my education at Garrett- Evangelical Theological Seminary... my name is Andy Black, a Master of Divinity student and pastor of McDowell United Methodist Church in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. My journey has been long and at times difficult, yet your contribution to my education has enabled me to respond to God s call upon my life and fulfill a dream decades in the making! Because of your generosity, I am pleased to share that I will graduate from Garrett-Evangelical debt free!... It is my sincere hope that I will one day be blessed to contribute to the education of another student in the same way you have contributed to mine. Wow! How can you say it better? Best wishes from University United Methodist Church to you, Andy!

5 THE LINK Page 5 There are still several openings for altar flowers on our 2016 flower calendar. Flowers are still $27 for a generous bouquet of flowers. Just sign your name to the chart located in the narthex next to the elevator. If the date you wanted already has a name, that s ok. We can easily have 2 bouquets on a Sunday. Please remember that we will only have poinsettias during the month of December. Karen Mohnen & Betty Fandel Carole Hill June Carlson Jeanne Gould Linda & Lara Hahn Wade Paul Kramer Faye & Warren Nelson Walt & Beth Ziegele Margaret Carlile John Lane Verne Powley Dick & Janice Edgcomb Please mark you calendars for the annual church garage sale. The sale will be held Friday & Saturday, May 6 & 7. So, start your spring cleaning now. More details of the sale will be coming in the next couple of months. Betty Fandel, Missions WORSHIP THIS FEBRUARY You want to take note of these special topics that will be celebrated in our worship services this February: FEB 7 - Single Christians & their faith journey FEB 14 - Couples renewing their marriage v v vows FEB 21 - African Americans contribution to c Christianity in America FEB 28 - Celebrating Christian unity with St. n Paul s UUMC (8:30 AM) a St. Paul s Lutheran (11:00 AM) Pastor Russ Rhodes, of the Deer Creek United Methodist Church, will be presenting his Holy Week Diaries at 6:30 PM on Sunday, February 28, at the First United Methodist Church of East Peoria. This uplifting meditation is an important opportunity to maximize the meaning of our Lenten season and help prepare us for Easter. Everyone is invited to attend. FUMC of East Peoria is located at 154 East Washington, in East Peoria. The Mt Calvary Lutheran Food Pantry needs our donations. The food pantry is in need of peanut butter, mac n cheese, boxed meals and cereal this month. The donation box is located by the main doors. The pantry distribution day is on the first Tuesday o of every month. Thanks for your continued support of the pantry!