~~~ APRIL 2016 ~~~ First UMC s Mission Statement To love God and neighbor and be a voice of hope. VISIT US AT CHURCH

Transcription

1 First United Methodist Church 144 Cedar Street, Corning, NY (office) / (fax) ~~~ APRIL 2016 ~~~ fumchurch@stny.rr.com Web Site: Com. Center: First UMC s Mission Statement To love God and neighbor and be a voice of hope. VISIT US AT CHURCH Sunday Worship 10:00 AM Sunday School during worship Adult Forum after worship Office Hours: Monday Thursday 1:00 4:00 PM Please note that the office is closed one afternoon a week. It is usually Friday, but can vary from week to week OUR STAFF: Pastor: Rev. Constance Seifert Administrative Assistant: Kathy Scudder Treasurer: Cheryl Howitt Organist: Charlotte Cook

2 1 Lent is over for another year! Easter has been grandly celebrated one more time! Where do we go from here? The Sunday after Easter is notoriously one of the worst attended, even though, technically speaking, Easter goes on for the next seven Sundays. The Easter season lasts until Pentecost Sunday (May 15 this year) when we will celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit marking the birth of what we call the Christian faith today. Back then, the people who mourned Jesus death and celebrated his resurrection were a small group of Jews who believed Jesus to be the long-awaited, promised by God, Messiah. This Messiah was supposed to save the world from the likes of the Romans and right all the wrongs for God s chosen people, the Jews. He didn t exactly fulfill all their wishes but they came to understand that he fulfilled God s promise of potential peace for the entire planet. Those first Christian gatherings were about remembering Jesus, following in his footsteps and continuing his God-given mission/ministry of sharing love and grace for all people. According to the Book of Acts, people who believed Jesus was the Messiah began to meet - mainly to remember Jesus, especially to hear stories about him from those who had known Jesus. Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free people, men and women, children, widows and orphans were all welcomed into a new kind of community where Jesus was seen as the pioneer and perfecter of their faith. (Hebrews 12:2) Our reasons for attending worship today can still be as simple as a desire to remember Jesus. Though there are no more firsthand witnesses to tell us what it was like to be with Jesus when he was alive, we have the accounts in the Bible about the different ways the world responded to Jesus. For the next seven Sundays, we will read the stories from Jesus day and ponder on their meaning for us today. April 3 Skeptical Thomas/Holy Communion; April 10 Fishermen have breakfast with Jesus on the beach April 17 Peter, Lydia and Tabitha: A Miracle in Joppa; April 24 What Happened to Judas? May 1 Introducing Paul, also known as Saul of Tarsus/Holy Communion May 8 Ascension Sunday: Jesus Goes to God; Promises to send the Holy Spirit May 15 The Holy Spirit Arrives/Pentecost Sunday (We all wear red!) What will our stories be? Will we be skeptics like Thomas, demanding answers before we will believe? Will we have a holy encounter like the fishermen and share moments of intimacy with Jesus as our beloved teacher and friend? Is there a bona fide miracle in our future? Hopefully, we will not carry a burden of guilt as heavy as Judas, or come to such a sad end. Will there be a total transformation of our identity and purpose in life, like Paul who went from persecutor to preacher? Will we be ready to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit which God sends to empower us and Jesus promises will inspire us to do good beyond our wildest dreams? We ve got seven more Sundays of Easter to decide and prepare. Continued good wishes for a blessed Easter! Shalom, Pastor Connie

3 EVENTS HERE & AROUND TOWN 2 RELIGION & SCIENCE This FORUM is open to people of all denominations, all faiths, and no faith, who are interested in the interplay of science and religion and in their impact on our lives, our environment, and the world's problems. We meet on the second Tuesday of each month, October through June, 7:00-8:30pm, in the church library. The next Religion & Science forum will be held on April 12. ETHNIC POTLUCK (ALSO KNOWN AS MUNCH AND MINGLE) For one time only (we go back to the usual Munch and Mingle in May) on Wednesday, April 20th the Southern Tier Interfaith Coalition will cosponsor an Ethnic Potluck supper - hopefully featuring dishes from the Muslim and Jewish communities as well as our own. Pastor Connie hopes to make either Quiche or French Onion Soup as my ethnic contribution. (I lived in France for a year and took French cooking lessons. They are two of my favorites.) We will have a main dish of pasta but you are welcome to bring an ethnic dish of your choice to add to the mix. All foods must be clearly labeled with a list of ingredients because of differing dietary restrictions. There is a sign-up sheet in the back of the sanctuary so that we avoid duplications of dishes being brought. Or contact Sunny Sample and Carol Allen (cba@stny.rr.com) to let them know what you will be bringing. Please note the difference in time - one time only - as STIC will be meeting at 5 p.m. before dinner is served. Meal will start at 6 pm instead of 5:30 pm. This is a marvelous opportunity to expand interest in our monthly Munch and Mingle meals. Help us to show our welcoming spirit and our interest in faith communities beyond these four walls by showing up taste buds at the ready for something new! Food items such as desserts or salads (even those purchased at Wegman s) will add to the variety of the evening if you would like to bring something like that. You are also welcome to attend without a dish to pass. There will be plenty to eat. And following the meal we hope to have a competitive round of Interfaith Jeopardy as designed by Imam Zaman Marwat. (You may remember that he and his family were our guests a couple of months ago at Munch and Mingle.) Beverages and place settings will be provided. Please let us know how many will be coming by Sunday, April 17th. That way we will know how many tables and chairs need to be set up. Reservations may be made by leaving a message at the church, ; sending an message to the church at fumchurch@stny.rr.com; signing up on the board in the rear of the sanctuary. VALLEY FOLK CONCERT First Church is the venue for Valley Folk Concerts. The next concert is Saturday, April 9 th, 7:30 p.m. Featured at this concert will be Sara Grey and Kieron Means playing American versions of old-time trans-atlantic ballads, cowboy songs and more with passion and heartfelt vocals. Sara s own unique frailing banjo style together with Kieron's blues-inflected guitar, are the perfect complements to their vocals. They sing in that special way in which families, like this mother and son, are able to instinctively blend. Prior to the concert at 6 pm is a jam session. All are invited to bring their instrument and join in the fun!

4 MEMBER NEWS 3 April Birthdays 4/3 Joanne Jones 4/5 Ryan Beall 4/10 David Arkin 4/12 Carol Allan 4/14 Hope Corneau 4/20 Deborah Beall 4/20 Bruce Peffley 4/21 Chuck Baldwin 4/23 Craig Russell 4/26 Krysta Bernhardt 4/26 Elaina Finger 4/27 Jonathan Howitt NEW ARRIVAL Congratulations to Dale & Kristin (Howitt) Button on the birth of their daughter, BrayLee Dee, born March 4, 2016, Weighing in at 8 lbs. 2.5 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. BrayLee will join siblings Chloe, Jacob and Tessa at home. Anniversaries 4/10 Clint & Lois Janes April Spotlight Winner: Sunny Sample Jinny Wright would like to put the spotlight on Sunny Sample. Sunny faithfully keeps our altar candles burning. She shares her karaoke machine with us each year for Cocoa and Carols. She also helps host the monthly Munch and Mingle - and last month was our star chef! Her Korean dishes were delicious! Pastor Connie even got some to go! Sunny sings in the choir and does a few solos too. We are grateful for her presence among us and all the work she does for First United Methodist Church. Thanks Jinny for putting the spotlight on Sunny for April! Spotlight On is a new feature as well as a sequel to The Gold Star which was started by Pat Jackson. You may nominate anyone for a Spotlight On award. It will be awarded monthly during worship on the second Sunday of each month. You may make the award yourself or the Pastor will using your words. Send your nominations by to fumchurch@stny.rr.com or speak to me in person. Thanks! Pastor Connie

5 4 JEWISH FOOD FESTIVAL Congregation Kol Ami will host the 8 th Annual Jewish Food Festival on April 10 from It will be held at 1008 West Water Street in Elmira. The cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door (includes 3 free food tickets), children 12 and under are free. Tickets are available at Christopher s, Gerold s (on Hoffman St.), B&C Photo (Elmira) Connor s or Market Street Apothecary (in Corning). Guests will experience the ambience of the lower east side of NYC in the early 1900 s, enjoy blintzes, falafel, pastrami sandwiches and more while enjoying the sold of live klezmer music while shopping for bargains! UPDATE ON THE CORNING ULTIMATE CHEERLEADERS The Corning Ultimate Cheerleaders just finished another successful season! The girls recently competed in their final competition of the season at the Elmira College Winter Cheer Competition on February 21st. The youth team won second place and the senior team won first place! Both teams worked really hard and did a fantastic job this cheer season. Our CUC seniors had their first undefeated season and our youth took 2nd place in Elmira against five other teams, which is the most that have ever been in their division. We are so proud of all of their accomplishments! Thank you to all of our friends at the First United Methodist Church for all of your support! We couldn t do it without you!

6 5 Heartbeats are the things people do to keep First United Methodist - the building and the congregation - alive and well. Please feel free to submit your own items for this part of the monthly newsletter. Thanks! Thanks to Chloe Button for supervising and sharing her baby bunnies with us on Easter Sunday. They are all adorable and I think some of them still need homes should anyone be interested. Thanks to everyone who donated flowers to make our Easter altar so colorful and celebrative! Thanks to Jan Harvey for the added sparkle! Thanks to Chuck Stefanini for making our first ever livestream production of the Good Friday processional possible! Thanks to Chuck and David Smith of MOW for assembling and disassembling the screen for said production. Thanks to Carol Allan for making sure the church was locked up tight on Easter Sunday. Pastor was in Watkins Glen when she remembered that she had forgotten to lock the door. Thanks be to God that there was no serious damage done when a tree was blown down behind the parsonage! The only casualties were the tree itself and the clothesline. Clothesline is good as new now that the tree is gone. Thanks to Lawn Boss for the prompt removal of said tree. Thanks to everyone who added their special musical talents to Easter Sunday. I am still humming the song the kids sang, Every Morning is Easter Morning. Charlotte s choices of music were outstanding! Kate got that Bell Choir together and they added their unique sound. Thank you Pat for your solo. And thanks to Cheryl for organizing the kids! Thanks to our egg hiders and hunters! All appeared to have a great time and filled their colorful pails with Easter treasures! Thanks to John Balch for fixing our flashing Exit light in the balcony as well as other minor fixes around the church. Good to know he is on the job! A special Easter thank you to my Administrative Assistant, Kathy Scudder, for her patience throughout this busy season of Lent and Easter. She is always on the job for us here at First United Methodist and I want her to know she is appreciated!

7 VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE Below is a list of those scheduled to help with Sunday morning ministries. If you are interested and able to help out in any of these ministries, please contact the church office. If you would like to donate the flowers or bulletins, please contact the church office. LITURGIST USHERS FINANCIAL RECORDERS FLOWERS BULLETINS 3 rd Dianne Roe John Helfinstine 1. Hope Corneau 2. Kate Gerwig Cheryl Howitt 10 th Cheryl Howitt Ray Leinen 1. Anne Leinen 2. Cheryl Howitt 17 th Jerry Wright Judy Pittman 1. Judy Pittman 2. Cheryl Howitt 24 th Chuck Baldwin Donna Leach 1. Hope Corneau 2. Kate Gerwig

8 APRIL 2016 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 S = Sanctuary L = Library CL = Cheney Lounge PO = Pastor Office 3 Food Pantry 10:00 Worship, S 11:15 Adult Forum 1:00 Set Up 3:00 Cheerleader Fundraiser Dinner, Cheney Lounge :30 Swing, 3 rd Fl :00 SPRC, PO 5:30 Cheer, Gym 6:30 Dance, 3 rd Fl 7:00 Chapter, PO :00 Dance, 3 rd Fl Dance, Gym 9 Dance, CL 6:00 Jam Session 7:30 Valley Folk Concert, S 16 10:00 Worship, S 11:15 Adult Forum 17 10:00 Worship, S 11:15 Adult Forum Newsletter Deadline 25 7:00 Religion & Science Forum, L :00 MOW, CL 5:30 Cheer, Gym 6:30 Dance, 3 rd Fl 20 5:00 STIC, CL 5:30 Cheer, Gym 6:00 Ethnic Potluck Supper, CL 6:30 Dance, 3 rd Fl 6:30Trustees, L 6:30 Finance, PO 27 2:00 Dance, 3 rd Fl 21 2:00 Dance, 3 rd Fl Dance, Gym 23 Dance, Gym 30 10:00 Worship, S 11:15 Adult Forum 5:30 Cheer, Gym 6:30 Dance, 3 rd Fl 2:00 Dance, 3 rd Fl Dance, Gym