Volume 37 April 2018 Number 4

Transcription

1 Volume 37 April 2018 Number 4 Our Mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our Vision is to be a vibrant community of passionate believers who, in the love of Christ, will commit to know the needs of the communities around us in order to: CONNECT people with God, GROW people in their faith, & SERVE people s needs. Zion s Staff All Members, Ministers Laura Nothdurft, Youth Director Opal Shanks, Children's Coordinator Martha Nothdurft, Administrative Assistant Jamie Sepulvado Director of Music Ministries Brenda Neumeyer, Choir Accompanist & Organist Ken Phelps, Custodian Joel Kidwell, Pastor But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won t know what we re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells even though you still experience all the limitations of sin you yourself experience life on God s terms. It stands to reason, doesn t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ s! Romans 8:9-11 (the Message) Allow me to give a testimony: Recently in Zion s shared life, we had a very busy Saturday and Sunday. Moreover, typically, I m timid about us doing too many things all at once, and one after the other. Even so, right on the heels of the end of our very busy Lenten season, we decided to have a Dessert Auction, a Fish Fry and two Baptisms using our big stock tank. Any one of those things is labor intensive by itself. The desserts must be made. The fish must be carefully thawed. The fryers must be set up and closely monitored. The food must be delivered on time and hot. The stock tank needs to be taken from the shed, filled, and kept warm for a full day In my reflection upon those actions in the days afterward, God is making me aware and grateful. I am grateful to the Sunday Night Men s Group who worked to supplement the dessert auction by adding the fish fry. I am grateful to Janet and Robert who wrestled the stock tank from the shed and into our Sanctuary for the Francis Family baptisms. I m grateful to Bo Burns and Mike Crouch who made sure those waters of baptism stayed warm. I m grateful to the many folks to made and offered to make desserts to make our Youth s Dessert Auction a huge success. And I m grateful to everyone who showed up, offering their time, presence and generosity, thus making our Dessert Auction, Fish Fry and Baptisms true community events infused with

2 Z i o n N e w s Page 2 the Love of God made known in Jesus Christ. From a worldly point of view, such orchestration would need to be managed. But here s the kicker: My only parts were making a cake, eating a delicious meal, and having the honor to preside at the baptisms. Moreover, I don t think you can find one Zion person who was in charge of the whole thing. Instead, individual people, working out their salvation (Philippians 2:12), who said Yes! to discipleship by doing what they knew they could do to the glory of God and the aid of others just did it. So from a Faith perspective, what happened was miraculous and born from above (John 3:3). And we saw a glimpse of the Kingdom. You might be saying, So what? People pitched in and did some stuff. In rebuttal, I d say that people offered themselves to something greater than themselves so that people could see the powerful love of God at work. The above passage from Romans explains this Truth: That the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, animates us, and helps us experience life on God s terms. Does it get any better than that? I don t think so, and that s why I wanted to bear witness to what I saw: Resurrection Power and Purpose at work in our church. What a blessing! Let s keep our eyes on Him so that this, our Resurrection Life, grows and grows! Christ is Risen He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia! We shared some of those really yummy soft sugar cookies with green icing, we had green iced cupcakes, and a grapes/cheese and a meat/ cheese platter (which the boys dug). Thank you to Grandma Cindy Rogers for helping supply the food. W h i l e we snacked, each Mommy and Grandma received appreciation gifts from the Grow committee with books like The Joys of being a Mother and The Joys of being a Grandmother. The boys in turn, received goodie bags filled with My First Book of Meal Time Prayers and various reading and coloring books. (I ve got to tell you - most of the interest for the boys was in the snack part of that program!) After our snacks and drinks, we headed to the painting room, where we shared some creative painting time. Shirts off, aprons on, and away we go! After the boys were finished painting, we had some game time with Mom/Grandma. Each w o m a n had to look in their hand bag/diaper bags for various objects. Everyone came up with something; Bailey Gross came up with the most items (nothing like being prepared). We really had to work hard to find something Kate Brase was carrying around (Kate travels light)! Some boy play time and we began to sneak the boys out of the room one at a time and told them a secret... The boys went back to the play room, invited their dates to the Chapel -- to sit in the Special Chair. Moms/Grandmas were asked to close their eyes and relax for a minute. They were told they could only open their

3 Z i o n N e w s Page 3 eyes when requested... by that time their boy(s) were standing in front of them holding a beautiful rose. Each Mommy and Grandma received a rose and lots of hugs and kisses, for bringing their boy to share in evening of fun. Our projects had to set over night, but the kids were able to rip off the tape and take their projects home the following day. What do you think? The United Methodist Women will meet Monday, April 9, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the Disciple Center. Barbara Meinke will lead the Call To Prayer and Self Denial Program Learning for a Lifetime: Developing Leaders. Guests and visitors are always welcome to attend our meetings. Please come join us. Quilting has long been a part of family education, especially for the young daughters of the large rural families of yesteryear. It was a time when young girls eagerly awaited their time they could spend with their Mothers and Grandmothers, learning the art of piecing and sewing quilts. It was tradition to have a quilt for every bed in the house and eventually a quilt for every member of the family. The time would come when that individual would marry and leave home, and the quilt was recognized as a prized possession among both daughters and sons. Why? The quilt was seen as a memento or memory of the one who made it, whether it was from an ancestor of over a century ago or a young mother who had tragically died in child-birth, a common occurrence that devastated families. A cheaper and less durable version or kin of the quilt was a Counterpane. Introduced and used primarily by the Scotch-Irish, it required less painstaking and time-consuming sewing and relied on ties and knots to bind the fabric. You can find these mentioned in some of the estate wills from the 1800's on file at the Cape County Archives. The Counterpane faded in popularity rapidly with the advent of the sewing machine, and it would be hard to find one in existence today. The late Joe Trower, a Presbyterian Minister, was a big fan of the Festival of Sharing and its Annual Quilt Auction. He devised a plan to show the Best Hand Sewn Quilts from the Auction at various quilt shows throughout the Conference Areas. This allowed those who could not attend the event at Sedalia to see, first hand, the beauty and quality of a completed product of hundreds of hours of labor. Sadly, these requirements of hours have diminished the number of high quality quilts in recent years. A prized quilt at the auction may only bring a few hundred dollars. It's disheartening to those who spend so many hours of their time, carefully sewing and piecing, and realizing so little after their donation. Thus, machinesewn quilts are getting to be more the norm each year. Joyce and I have always been fans of the quilt -making societies, whether church, family, or museum related. We have seen the fine quilts of the Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as well as products of the Mennonites and Quakers. The oldest quilt we found was in the Paducah Quilt Museum. It was

4 Z i o n N e w s Page 4 made in Vermont in the mid 1700's. Surprisingly, it was still a beautiful quilt with Vermont green colors. Our daughters today, to no fault of their own, know little about quilt making. They have jobs outside the home and a quilt made in a foreign country looks okay, keeps us warm and costs much less. But where are the memories? Thanks for reading, Gene King (Historian) Cade & Conner Rodgers, Michaela Dyer, Eve, Elise, and Jeremie Nothdurft The Trustees have set Saturday, April 7, as work day on the Hill. We usually clean inside the church buildings as well as spruce up the yard and flower beds. Last year, we even had enough volunteers that we could incorporate our trash pick up along the roadside, so we will do that again this year! Please come out at 8:00 a.m. to help maintain our facilities and make our church shine! Thank you for help me transplant tomatoes. You accomplished at lot in the 2 hours. 66 trays, 1,188 plants I would recommend this group to anyone that needs help. They got it done. Thank you Alene Hamilton Hey Bridge, Let s talk...what do you think about an outing? Let s make plans for something in May! Text ideas to Mrs Our Communion Rail offering for April will go to the Safe House for Women. Their mission is to: Provide safe refuge to those affected by domestic abuse and violence. Provide support services to those affected by domestic abuse and violence. Provide training and education to increase awareness of and prevention of domestic violence for the community we serve. Advocate for social change and public policy that protect a person s right to live free of abuse. Polar Blast will be a 2-DAY Vacation Bible School this year. Date and times are to be announced. If anyone is interested in Directing or Co- Directing, please call or text Opal Shanks, Children s or at shanksopal@gmail.com.

5 1 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Easter Sunday Kim Scheffer 8 Wes Brase Taylor Denton Brenley Keller 2 Barbie Stroder Earth Day Lyle & Paulette Johnson 29 Suzie Kidwell Tamera Wright Gene & Joyce King Lane Bollinger 3 Darren Rodgers 10 Gauge Donner Church Council 7:00 p.m. Claire Kidwell Adriana Doran Jean Barks 4 Joseph Mosley 11 Serve 6:00 p.m. 5 Charles & Jeanette Hearn 12 Chris & Kali Francis 6 Jeffery Sneathen Jocelyn Doran Jerry Marshall Larry & Kim Scheffer 13 Stan Johnson Ryleigh Tyson Jim Mantz Jameson Moore Kim & Martha Nothdurft Feed My Starving Children 27 Jerry & Sue Marshal 7 Work Day 8:00 a.m. til done 14 Sharon Wendel 21 Feed My Starving Children 28 Aaron Foote April 2018 Z i o n N e w s Page 5

6 Zion News April 2018 Save the Date An invitation to Mothers and Others Salad Supper Monday, May 7, :30 p.m. Disciple Center THE SACRED SPACES OF NURTURING EVENING OF SPECIAL MUSIC AND AN INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER Mark your calendar now Child care available More information to come We are excited to welcome into membership Chris and Elizabeth Francis who were baptized on March 25, Chris and Kali Francis have been attending our church and have recently adopted Elizabeth (Lizzy). Chris made his membership official on Palm Sunday, and they chose to baptize their daughter on the same day. We are so glad the Francis family chose us! Page 6

7 Z i o n N e w s Page 7 Billy Graham was one of the most influential spiritual voices across the globe for decades. He preached to hundreds of millions of people, met with every U.S. president since Harry Truman, spoke out for civil rights in the 1950s and 60s and so much more. Recently, the evangelist died at the age of 99. Here are a few of his most memorable quotes: ON SANCTIFICATION Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ. ON MONEY There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men. ON COURAGE Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spine of others are often stiffened. ON HARDSHIP Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys. March Presence March Gifts Date Worship 8:00 10:30 Total # Reached March Sunday School Budget Trustees Sunday School Building Fund $4, $1, $ $4, $ $ $2, $ $99.15 $ $7, $

8 Z i o n N e w s Page 8 ON COMFORT Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has. ON COMMUNITY Churchgoers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out. ON JUDGING OTHERS It is the Holy Spirit s job to convict, God s job to judge and my job to love. ON HONESTY Don t ever hesitate to take to [God] whatever is on your heart. He already knows it anyway, but He doesn t want you to bear its pain or celebrate its joy alone. ON JESUS Many people are willing to have Jesus as part of their lives as long as it doesn t cost them anything. They may even profess faith in Jesus and join a church. But Jesus to them is almost like an insurance policy something they obtain and then forget about until they die. What keeps you from being His disciple? ON BIBLE READING The very practice of reading [the Bible] will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart. Let nothing take the place of this daily exercise. ON GOD S LOVE Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater the love of God. ON EVANGELISM The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless. ON SALVATION Salvation is an act of God. It is initiated by God, wrought by God, and sustained by God. ON HOPE I ve read the last page of the Bible. It s all going to turn out all right State Highway Z Gordonville, MO Sunday School: 9:15 Worship: 8:00 & 10:30 Contact Us: Phone Fax Pastor Joel s cell Web site: Church zionumc@showme.net Pastor Joel s cydwel@icloud.com Become a Friend of Zion: Zion United Methodist Church (Gordonville) This is a great way to keep up with what s going on at Zion.