Twig Bender. Bigger Isn t Always Better By Steve Stalnaker. Greenwood United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 May 2017 Greenwood United Methodist Church Page May 2017 Twig Bender Bigger Isn t Always Better By Steve Stalnaker F or the first time in many years, Glenda and I celebrated Easter Sunday in the church in which we grew up. With my mother, we attended Easter worship services at McFarlin Memorial UMC in Norman, Oklahoma. This is the church where my parents were married, where I was baptized and where Glenda worshipped as she was growing up. We ve been back to Norman many times and attended worship there, but this was our first Easter in a long, long time. It s always a little bitter sweet for us to visit McFarlin. It s a huge church with several thousand members. McFarlin s paid staff is larger than Greenwood s attendance some Sundays. Even though we grew up in big churches, we re always awed when we visit McFarlin awed by the size of their building (takes up an entire city block), the many in attendance at worship services, the plethora of Sunday School classes and Women s Circles and the church s willingness to accept offerings by credit cards. The 12-foot high cross made entirely of Easter lilies was beyond awesome. As awed as we sometimes are at McFarlin, we don t miss it, because it s too big for us. (Continued on page 7) Our Ministry Of Prayer Bobbie Jo Amos, Roger Eckwright, Page Jackson, Lori Lohr, Rob Maxey, Quincy Meade, Troy Patteson, Dean Pittman, Patty Prout, Susan Schermerhorn, Roy Sheets, Susan Wachter

2 Page 2 From the Pastor R e t r e a t T i m e We are now in the season of Easter. We have just finished the rush of all the things we do to get ready for the holiday and celebrate the resurrection. These days those things we do may include preparing to spend time with family or doing extra volunteer work during Lent. Some may spend more time in spiritual disciplines like devotion reading, scripture study, and prayer time. The Twig Bender At Greenwood, people gave up their day to make Easter Eggs, shop for UMCOR Health Kit supplies and stuff eggs, then supported the children for the Egg Hunt. In the midst of all the busy-ness, the rest of life continues to march on with health concerns, work and all the tasks of spring. We sometimes begin to feel exhausted. As I was reading the Gospels this week, I was looking at the stories in John and Luke about the time after the resurrection. The details are few, but telling. Luke 24 talks about the walk to Emmaus and how Jesus appears to two disciples travelling on the road. They are trying to sort through for themselves what all has occurred as they talk with this man they believe to be a stranger. Later, Jesus also appears to them and the other disciples. They have many questions and many concerns. He gives them final instructions including how they are to proceed in ministry. He takes them with him to Bethany where they worship together. John also has Jesus appearing to the disciples after the resurrection. The disciples had locked themselves away that same Sunday. Jesus appears and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. Thomas was not there. When he returns and hears what he missed, he says he needs to see for himself. A week later, the disciples were together again, behind locked doors. Thomas has a chance to talk with Jesus. Our May Communion Offering Goes to: Jesus later appears to the disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias (a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee.) Some are out fishing, not catching anything. Jesus arrives early (Continued on page 5)

3 May 2017 Page 3 United Methodist Family Services Vo l u n t e e r O p p o r t u n i t i e s United Methodist Family Services (UMFS) continues to offer volunteer opportunities to help them support children and others in need. Some upcoming volunteer activities include: Plant Sale Cashiers: The Green Thumbs, horticulture students at Charterhouse School, will be hosting their annual and most anticipated plant sale on May from 8 a.m. 3 p.m. We are looking for volunteers to provide cashier services for four hour shifts each day. This is a family friendly event so kids are welcome. Charterhouse School Lunch Servers: UMFS is looking for a few individuals or a small group to help serve a buffet lunch prepared by our culinary students on Friday, May 26, from 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Our kids will be participating in the annual Field Games and will break for lunch in the dining hall. Sensory Kits for Children in Foster Care: For many of our children in foster care, they commute up to an hour (or more) to attend school (prior to DSS approving the change in school system to the location of their new foster family). As anybody who has children or has worked with children before knows, kids can get overstimulated and overwhelmed during long car rides. To ease this unfortunate reality for our kids, we are looking for 12 (or more) Sensory Kits for each UMFS car so that our kids are more comfortable and calm during their commute. Sensory Kits include: a few fabric swatches (different textures); Altoids/mints/gum; FunRaisers Bag Lunches Beef and cheddar sandwich, potato salad, cookies, fruit cup and chips, only $7. Sign up in the narthex; pick up after worship Sunday, May 28. This will be the last one until September. (Continued on page 10)

4 Page 4 The Twig Bender What Does Memorial Day Mean to You? By Steve Stalnaker At the end of this month we ll observe Memorial Day, this year on May 29. The Federal Government observes Memorial Day on the last Monday of May in order to provide a three-day weekend and mark the beginning of summer. Some folks see this as just an opportunity for a day off, a barbecue or the first trip to the beach. Memorial Day should be viewed as a lot more than that: it s the day we remember those Americans who died defending our freedoms. Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of combat wounds. While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, that day is set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military in wartime or peacetime. Last year on Memorial Day, Glenda and I, along with our son Mike (a U.S. Army Infantryman who jumps out of perfectly good airplanes), visited Richmond National Cemetery on Williamsburg Road,one of many veterans cemeteries in the Richmond area. We walked among the graves, straightened out American flags that had fallen over and reflected. Buried in this cemetery are American service men and women from the Civil War through today. One grave marker is dedicated to a young naval officer who died in May 1968 when the submarine USS Scorpion was lost with all hands in the Atlantic. This grave is, obviously, empty, but dedicated to this submariner nonetheless. As I walked between the white grave stones, all alike, all in perfect rows, I thought of the World War I poem In Flanders Fields. (See sidebar, page 5) Whatever your plans for the weekend of May 27 29, remember those who have died defending your country so that you can enjoy freedom to worship as you please along with those burgers and hot dogs (ed. note: parts of this article were downloaded from the Internet.)

5 May 2017 Page 5 Retreat Time (Continued from page 2) the next morning and tells them to put their nets on the right side of the boat, which they do, filling their nets. As they eat together, Jesus leads them in worship. Later, Jesus and Peter have a discussion about Peter feeding Jesus sheep. These were instructions not just for Peter but all the disciples on how they were to continue in ministry. There are many similarities in these stories. The one that I share with you this month is the pattern presented. The disciples pull back from ministry and regroup. They take time to rest, to eat, to do something enjoyable and to spend time together for the sake of spending time together. While together, Jesus appears among them. They eat together, worship together and go out with a new sense of purpose, refreshed. As Christians, it is important for us to take time for retreats time out of our ordinary life patterns specifically to rest, to worship together, to eat together, to hear Jesus message for us for now and to go In Flanders Fields By LCOL John McCrae, Canadian Army In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. back out in ministry with a sense of purpose, refreshed. Too often we don t take advantage of retreat opportunities. There are many organized retreats where we can register to attend in our area, through our district and in our conference. But there are also wonderful opportunities available through other Christian organizations as well. Sometimes, it is important to go on these well planned day long or overnight trips. Most years in May, I do attend a two or three-day retreat sponsored by our Conference specifically for pastors. One day when finances permit, I will go to (Continued on page 14)

6 Page 6 Technology Update S h o u l d I J o i n F a c e b o o k? The Twig Bender Ed. Note: I received this from a contemporary of mine, who, for obvious reasons, chooses to remain anonymous. When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, my 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space. My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag. The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. That GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I have run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Recalc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Well, it was not a good relationship. When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the names of the cross streets. She is starting to develop the same tone as the GPS lady, but at least my wife loves me. To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once. The phone rings and I have to run around digging under chair cushions, checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets. We senior citizens don't need any more gadgets. The TV remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.

7 May 2017 Page 7 (Continued from page 1) Why We Love Greenwood After we got married and moved around the country to my Navy assignments, we always sought out small, intimate churches where we wouldn t be just anonymous faces in the congregation. For the most part we ve been successful. After 22 moves in 46 years of marriage, we consider ourselves experts on moving, and we know that the hardest part of moving is finding a new home church. It took us nearly eight months to find Greenwood when we moved to Richmond in We came at first because it was relatively small; we stayed because of the Godly atmosphere of worship, the church family s friendliness and the commitment to outreach. Over the years, Greenwood s church family has shrunk some due to deaths of beloved members, some folks moving away, and the fact that some older members have physical disabilities that deny them the opportunity to attend services and functions. But that spirit of Godliness, friendliness and commitment to outreach is still quite evident. It would be a shame to lose an institution like Greenwood. I ve talked before about the church that Glenda and I attended in Knoxville that had to close its doors due to greatly reduced attendance and consequent loss of revenue. It was a painful experience and one we re not anxious to repeat. But it could happen here at Greenwood if we re not careful. We need to build up our church family. We have two people who are actively considering joining Greenwood. This is good, and it s a trend we can all help encourage. We can pray for God s guidance about where He wants Greenwood. We can ask neighbors or co-workers to join us at Greenwood for worship, dinner or a Bible study. We can tell people about our outreach programs. We can emphasize the Godly and friendly environment at Greenwood. We can all get active in keeping Greenwood active and vibrant. Let s roll!

8 Page 8 The Twig Bender Greenwood UMC May 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 6:30 p.m. Cub Scouts 3 7 p.m. Ruth Circle 4 National Day of Prayer Star Wars Day: May the 4 th be with you! 5:30 p.m. Willing Workers 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 5 Cinco de Mayo 6 p.m. Free Food 6 Nurses Day 8 a.m. Men s Breakfast 7 Communion Sunday LAMB s Basket Sunday 11 a.m. Worship Service 8 VE Day Declared :30 p.m. Cub Scouts 10 Clean Up Your Room Day 11 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 12 Military Spouses Day 6 p.m. Free Food Mother's Day 11 a.m. Worship Service 15 Peace Officers Memorial Day 7 p.m. Finance Committee Meeting 16 6:30 p.m. Cub Scouts 17 11:30 a.m. Cornerstones 18 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 19 6 p.m. Free Food 20 Armed Forces Day 2:30 p.m. Shalom Farms Grand Opening Friendship Quilters a.m. Worship Service 22 National Maritime Day 23 6:30 p.m. Cub Scouts 24 Victoria Day 25 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 26 Twig Bender Deadline 10:30 a.m. Hermitage Country Store 6 p.m. Free Food a.m. Worship Service FunRaisers Lunch Pick-Up 29 Memorial Day (observed) 30 6:30 p.m. Cub Scouts 31 World No Tobacco Day

9 May 2017 Page 9 Mark Your Calendars June 4... Pentecost June Annual Conference June Father s Day July 4... Independence Day September 2... College Football Starts Finance your Car at VUMCU, Earn A Donation For Greenwood! Virginia United Methodist Credit Union will donate $25 to our general fund whenever a Greenwood church member finances a vehicle purchase through VUMCU. Visit for details.

10 Page 10 Greenwood Circle News The Ruth Circle will be going out to eat Wednesday, May 3. We will meet at Adamarye's house at 6 p.m. This is our last meeting until September. UMFS Needs You! The Twig Bender The Willing Workers will meet Thursday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the church. In March, we contributed to a fund for the family of the two Brunswick county kindergarteners killed the tragic traffic accident last month. (Continued from page 3) shaker instruments or baby shakers (auditory); I Spy or Where is Waldo books; Scratch and sniff stickers; magnetic drawing toy like the Magna doodle; fidget toy; light up toy; pipe cleaners; pinwheels; Silly Putty (non-sticky); Stretch Armstrong type toy; sunglasses/bandana (to cover eyes); soothing music CD for the car ride; lava lamp type toys (slow bubbles that move in toy.) Feel free to add or edit based on your own experiences as well. Sensory Kits can be placed in a small Tupperware container or a box and dropped off at UMFS, Walker House (building #21), 3900 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA. Thank you for taking the time to look over these events and for being unwavering champions for kids at UMFS! If you would like to take advantage of any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact Lisa Nicoll at lnicoll@umfs.org. New Shalom Farms Grand Opening Come celebrate the Grand Opening of the New Shalom Farms on Saturday, May 20 from 2-4:30 p.m. as we kick off our first growing season in Midlothian. Our new farm is located just off the intersection of Rt. 288 and Huguenot Trail! Enjoy farm tours, live music, seasonal snacks and local beer. Please arrive by 2:30 p.m. for the ribbon cutting and opening remarks. Visit our website for more information on this event and to secure your tickets today!

11 May 2017 Page 11 Food Donation Connection May Pick Up Rotation Wednesday, May 3: Charlene and Maurice Hawkins; Thursday, May 4: Glenda and Steve Stalnaker; Friday, May 5: Carolyn and Ray Smith. Wednesday, May 10: Jean Mowatt and William Gibbs; Thursday, May 11: Lewis Daniel; Friday, May 12: Brenda and Harry Shuler. Wednesday, May 17: Betty and Raymond Ritchie; Thursday, May 18: Glenda and Steve Stalnaker; Friday, May 19: Adamarye Patteson. Wednesday, May 24: Charlene and Maurice Hawkins; Thursday, May 25: Lewis Daniel; Friday, May 26: Carolyn and Ray Smith. Wednesday, May 31: Jean Mowatt and William Gibbs; Thursday, June 1: Glenda and Steve Stalnaker; Friday, June 2: Brenda and Harry Shuler. L i k e G r e e n w o o d o n Fa c e b o o k w w w. fa c e b o o k. c o m / g u m c va Be Prepared Read the Scriptures May Lectionary Readings May 7 Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 May 14 Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 May 21 Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 May 28 Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11: John 17:1-11

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14 Page 14 Greenwood Church Family Birthdays Izabel Stalnaker... 5/2 Bob Stapleton... 5/4 Kendra Thomas... 5/7 Patricia Rios... 5/7 Jeremiah Shuler... 5/11 Anniversaries The Twig Bender Lathan Shuler...5/13 Mary Walker...5/19 Page Jackson...5/26 Bob Smith...5/28 Steve Stalnaker...5/30 Adamarye & Riley Patteson... 5/2 Bobby & Jackie Schultz... 5/8 Jaroa & Kevin Favilla... 5/10 Gaynelle & James McFarland... 5/16 Kristin Bellino & Frank Sotos... 5/19 Brenda & Harry Shuler... 5/30 Don t see your birthday or wedding anniversary in The Twig Bender and would like to have us publish it? Send your dates to admin@gumcva.org or call the church office at ; likewise, let us know if you d like your birthday or anniversary removed. (Continued from page 5) R e t r e a t T i m e Scotland to participate in one of the opportunities available there at a sight close to the beginnings of the Celtic spiritual tradition. But in the meantime, I invite you to join me in intentionally participating in miniretreats regularly, as we leave our daily routine and gather with other Christians for worship, inviting Jesus into our midst to give us instruction, guidance, and to send us out refreshed, to serve others in Christ s name. See you Sunday! Grace and peace, Barbara

15 May 2017 Page 15 April Attendance and Offerings Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce Proverbs 3:9 Date Sunday School Worship Giving April $4,178 April $1,062 April $1,820 April $1,440 5th Sunday at LPUMC April 30 Weekly Averages $2, $8,501 YTD Weekly Averages $2, YTD Totals $32,673 April Totals In order to meet Greenwood s 2017 operating budget of $129,600, our goal is an average weekly offering of $2,492. Thank you for helping us reach our goal. Twig Bender is a publication of Greenwood United Methodist Church Office Phone: admin@gumcva.org Greenwood Road Glen Allen, VA Sunday School: 9:30 a.m. Worship: 11 a.m. Sunday Pastor The Rev. Barbara Lewis Phone: revbarbara@gumcva.org Office hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday Friday Fax: After School Phone: Acting Music Director Jackie Schultz Twig Bender editor Steve Stalnaker webmaster@gumcva.org Visit our web site at Greenwood UMC all rights reserved