President Susie Hagenstein (810)

Transcription

1 Crossroads District United Methodist Women President Susie Hagenstein (810) Shalom, Peace be with you, Peace be to your family and may peace be with you throughout the season. If you are wondering why I bid you Shalom, I just returned from a wonderful trip to the Holy Land, the birthplace of our Savior. It was a trip of a lifetime, a trip of dreams, a check off my bucket list. A trip that I am very grateful to be able to have taken and one I shall remember and cherish forever. (see photos page 2) As I write this, it is just before Thanksgiving, a time of gratefulness and gratitude, I am called to reflect on my own personal gratefulness. After Thursday we will be in a state of transition between Thanksgiving and advent, a time to ready ourselves for the birth of our Savior. For those who have responsibilities within our churches, myself included, Advent is a busy time preparing the church for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. For most it is time for the hustle and bustle of buying the perfect gift for Christmas. I do hope that in the time of Advent, even with all the busyness, we will all get a chance to reflect on the meaning of Advent. To ready ourselves for what was to take place, and to remember that Christmas is supposed to be a season of Peace, not hypertension. It is a time to stop and be still and to know God. It is a time to receive Christ into our life. I hope we don t miss the moments of Joy, the moments of excitement and the anticipation for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. (This gift, the baby born and put in a manger) I truly hope we are able to seize those moments of joy, to experience the angels singing and the love this season brings to the world, even if it is just for a short time. May the love and joy continue for you, your family and friends into the New Year. By the time you read this, we will be in the New Year and again we will be in a time of anticipation for what this New Year will bring. For us in the Crossroads district we will be watching to see how our district United Women will come together with other districts to make a new district. Perhaps we will take a moment to reflect on the women that came before us that made the Crossroads district what it is. May we thank God for all women who worked hard for missions, and those that work hard to make a place in their lives for United Methodist Women. Hearing Gods call we are doing things we never dreamed possible in mission, through the global ministries of the church. May God continue to bless our work in the New Year. Shalom Susie Hagenstein President of Crossroads District January 2018

2 Pictures from the Holy Land: Susie Hagenstein THE ARROW Michele Weston & Myself (The city of Jerusalem behind us) Carol Capell, Carol Cerny (On the Sea of Galilee) The Mediterranean Sea Vice President Alberta Gunsell (810) I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity to serve as Secretary for the Crossroads District in the prior years. It was a real learning opportunity that I am glad to have been part of. I am looking forward to serving as your Vice-President for the next year. I am positive that I will have the opportunity to learn more. My big project for this year as Vice- President will be organizing the Annual Meeting and Elected Leadership Training, which will be held at Swartz Creek UMC. I am looking forward to meeting you, if I have not had the opportunity yet to do so at the Prayer Breakfast, Social Action event and the Annual meeting & ELT. I have very big shoes to fill that were left by the former Vice-President, Jennifer, because she did an outstanding job. Look forward to more information on the Annual Meeting and ELT in the next Arrow. Have a blessed year. ~ Alberta Gunsell Outgoing Vice President Jennifer Rogers (810) Dear Sisters in Christ, It has been my profound honor to serve you as your Crossroads District Vice- President. I have appreciated all the challenges, and the people who have helped me through them. I feel that I have learned so much during my journey. As our District expands and becomes a new creation after our next Annual Conference, I look forward to serving you in a new capacity. Please continue to pray for our District, our Conference, the people we serve, and for me. Sending all of God s blessings to all of you on your individual journey s, ~ Jennifer Rogers

3 THE ARROW Treasurer Suzanne Tinka (248) Happy New Year. I hope you all had a great holiday. Now it is back to work. In case we have some new Treasurers in the District, listed below are the forms you will need when submitting funds to the Crossroads District. They are as follows: The Remittance Form for All Treasurers This form is used for submitting funds. Special Mission Recognition This form must be submitted when ordering Special Mission Recognition pins. Gift to Mission This form is used for card orders. 5 Star Woman Form This form must be submitted for each 5 Star Woman. The Remittance Form, Special Mission Recognition Form, and Gift to Mission forms are available on the Website at: UnitedMethodistWomen.org. Select the United Methodist Women Official Site. Click on the Orange Box Treasurers Resources & Remittance Forms The 5 Star Woman Form is available from me. and phone number are listed at the bottom of this article. 5 Star Woman To be a 5 Star Woman you must donate to all 5 channels of giving as follows: Pledge, Gift to Mission, Gift in Memory, and World Thank Offering are a minimum of $5.00 each. Special Mission Recognition is a minimum of $40.00 and up, depending on which Special Mission Recognition pin you order. Checks Checks should be made out to Crossroads District United Methodist Women. Send to: Suzanne Tinka, P.O. Box 186, Clarkston, Michigan Purpose of UNITED METHODIST WOMEN United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.

4 THE ARROW Secretary Program Resources Minnie Armstrong (810) Secretary of Program Resources CROSSROADS DISTRICT THE READING PROGRAM LEADS TO ACTION Scriptural Base for Reading Program: Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is better than jewels and all that you may desire cannot compare with her I am excited to join the Crossroads District UMW Executive Committee as your Secretary of Program Resources. This is definitely the right place for me, aligned with my love for reading. It gives me another reason to add to my home book collection. A hot cup of coffee and a book is all I need to ensure I have a great day. It is a fact as we grow in age and wisdom help is needed to improve memory. I am happy to report I completed Plan 4 of our UMW reading Plan and my goal for 2018 is to complete Plan 4 again. United Methodist Women are planning to gather in Columbus, Ohio May 17-20, 2018 to celebrate 150 years of United Methodist Women. The 2018 Assembly theme is The Power of The Bold. The United Methodist Women have been involved in mission, prayer, study, and we must continue to create a world in which all women, youth and children thrive. The Reading Program is a study opportunity so it should lead to action. Purpose of the Reading Program is to encourage United Methodist Women ~ Expand understanding of and participation in God s mission; ~ Increase sensitivity to all human beings their needs, interests and concerns; ~ Encourage critical thinking about issues facing humanity today ~ Enhance self knowledge and act from that knowledge; ~ Strengthen involvement in local and global Christian mission ~ Grow in your understanding of scripture as it relates to Christian faith; ~ Involve members in annual selection of book reviews; READING PROGRAM PLANS Regular reading of Response and New World Outlook should be a part of your plan ( women.org/readingprogram) Plan 1 5 books Plan 2 10 books Plan3 15 books Plan4 20 books ~ Bonus books counts for 2 books ~ 2018 Reading program book list is available online. FIVE AREAS OF THE READING PROGRAM Education for Mission Social Action Leadership Development Spiritual Growth Nurturing for Community ~Continued on next page~

5 THE ARROW Secretary Claudia Bowers (810) Hello, my UMW sisters and brothers [don t want to leave out our male clergy]! What an important responsibility and honor, to be trusted to take the minutes at our Crossroads District United Methodist Women s meetings! Thank you for electing me. In addition to being a member of the District United Methodist Women, I m also a member of Flint: Charity UMC, and the Secretary of Program Resources for our local UMW unit. In my role as the District UMW secretary, I understand my main responsibilities will be to: record the motions, actions and decisions that take place during the meetings present the minutes at subsequent meetings for review and approval distribute the minutes as instructed by the President, and keep track of the status of items that require action keep a file of approved minutes assist the president with meeting agendas, meeting notices, and meeting attendance file incoming correspondence assist the president with outgoing correspondence I know some of you local church UMW secretaries wear other hats or take on additional tasks besides the ones listed above. Perhaps you re also responsible for hospitality and make sure the meeting location is properly set up, the coffee and tea are hot, water is provided and snacks are available during or after the meeting. Others of you may have taken on the responsibility of leading your circle in a reciting of the Purpose at each meeting, or reading from the Prayer Calendar or Response Magazine. You may even be responsible for keeping track of whose turn it is to give a report from one of the Reading Plan books, or who is to give the Mission Moment during Sunday church service. Does your church have a newsletter or bulletin board that you provide some tidbit of information or promote an upcoming event? 1In whatever way we serve, we are to keep our purpose and vision in the forefront. My prayer for my sister UMW secretaries and me is that the Holy Spirit reminds and aids us in performing our job responsibilities and expectations in ways that will benefit each other and glorify God. I pray for us to be an example of how to represent Jesus the Christ when we re with UMW members, family, friends and especially when we encounter those we do not know. I pray that this year we will experience much excitement and joy as we work together to put our faith, hope and love in action! Feel free to or text other ways you are in, or can be of service as secretary of your circle or unit. I d be happy to share your thoughts and ideas in the next Arrow! Grace & Blessings, ~ Claudia Bowers claudialb57@gmail.com (810)

6 ~ Continued.. THE ARROW Feed Your Brain: READ Pick up your Bible and start to read it like your life depends on it because it does. Whoever said you only live once, wasn't a book lover. Reading will enrich your life, reduce stress, and exercise your brain Live your best life by reading more. Read to someone. One of the most enjoyable ways to grow is to read. The worst thing about good books they keep you from reading old ones Reading provides moments of free quiet time for us to turn the pages. Reading encourages us to use our brain and figure out the plot Books give us insight into the lives of people, their joys and sorrows Lastly, "Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible " ~ Joshua Wooden A Glance at a Newly Elected SPR The last hours, days, weeks, months have found me reading, calling, texting, typing, and compiling reports. I have attended my local UMW Executive Committee Meetings, I attended the Detroit Annual Leadership Training and the Leadership Training in St. Louis. Both of the meetings were well organized and they definitely will be of great value in assisting me in carrying out my duties as Secretary of Program Resources. A special thanks to Conference UMW President, Marchelle Phelps and Crossroads District President Susie Hagenstein for their assistance. I enjoyed the fellowship and meeting new friends. I am looking forward to continuing my involvement in the various activities and events within the United Methodist Women organization. Future Activities for SPR Units Quarterly News Update Encourage units to turn in book reports as soon as they are completed Recruit churches that are not participating in the Reading Program Increase children, youth, and congregation participation ~ Minnie Armstrong minibstrong1975@gmail.com Coordinator for Education and Interpretation Mary Allen (810) Happy New Year and I hope that everyone had a blessed Christmas. I am very thankful for another year with my sisters and family in Christ. You know we take so much for granted, like waking up each day, have water to drink, food to eat, and having air to breathe. We should be thanking the Lord continually. This year you will have another opportunity to participate in the many activities and both district and conference events. I am encouraging you to continue working toward increasing participation in Mission Today Unit Objectives; that is in the areas of; mission giving; spiritual growth; membership; attendance; mission education; and mission action. We had twenty-four United Methodist Women units to receive certificates last year. I am looking forward to the new changes within our conference; nine new districts down from twelve, renaming of districts, blue water and crossroads becoming one district. ~ Mary Allen

7 Greetings Sisters in Christ, THE ARROW Spiritual Growth Marie S. Weaver ( 810) Happy New Year! This is the time when we reflect on the previous years events. There may have been exciting happenings or we have had some trying times. Whatever path this road of life has led you down, I pray that you have Praised God for each and every step. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing and Give thanks in every circumstance...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. As we look forward to 2018 what better time to look at our Prayer life. If you have a strong Prayer Life, I applaud you. But I am sure that I am not alone in admitting my Prayer Life has room for improvement. More discipline, more dedication, more intention. Don't get me wrong. I pray a lot throughout the day. But to intentionally sit and spend quiet time in prayer...there is room for improvement. There is great power in prayer...sincere prayer. I have seen it work. I have felt it work. I rejoice when I can remove a prayer request from my prayer wall and place it in my book of answered prayers even if it is not answered how I wanted. Let us make 2018 a Year of Prayer. Start today. Join me in Prayer. Gather with us for our Annual Prayer Breakfast on March 10. This year we will celebrate in prayer at Holly Calvary in Holly with our theme of It's About Time. Hope to see you there. Blessings to All, Marie S. Weaver Spiritual Growth Coordinator mswbohn@comcast.net ( ) CROSSROADS DISTRICT UMW ARROW TIPS! Invitation to all Women: SAVE The DATE Rev. Faith Fowler from Cass Community, will be the speaker at a Women s Retreat at the Swartz Creek United Methodist Church on April 7 th, 2018 from 9:00am 12:00pm. All women of Crossroads District are invited. Watch for information on price and registration in January. ** Other District Events: Please add them to your calendars: Saturday, April 14 Keep Making Peace Lansing MI ( Saturday, May 19 May 31-June 3 October District Taking it to Your Streets Detroit Annual Traverse City School of the North Gaylord First UMC

8 CROSSROADS DISTRICT UNITED METHODIST WOMEN 2018 Dates to Remember Tuesday, February 13 Friday March 2 Saturday, March 10 May Saturday, July 21 Thursday, August 16 Thursday, August 16 Friday-Sat., August Thursday, September 6 Saturday, October 13 October 26 & 27 Tools for Ministry Swartz Creek UMC 5-6PM Call Michele Weston for info: Church Women United Day of Prayer 10:00 AM Asbury UMC Crossroads District Prayer Breakfast Holly Calvary UMC 8:30-12:00PM (see flyer) United Methodist Woman Assembly- Columbus Ohio (see flyer) One Day Mission u at Southfield Hope UMC Conference HOME, Port Huron Area One Day Mission u- LHRC Mission u at Lake Huron Retreat Center District UMW Mission Trip (watch for information) Crossroads District UMW Annual Meeting and Leadership Swartz Creek Detroit Conference UMW Leadership Officer Training & First UMC of Midland 10AM-3:00PM CrossroadsEsther Alderman 942 Whisperwood Dr Fenton, MI The Arrow NONPROFIT ORG..US POSTAGE PAID GRAND BLANC, MI PERMIT NO. 109