Deeds and Opportunities

Transcription

1 Deeds and Opportunities Brentwood Community United Methodist Church 809 Second Street Brentwood, CA Office: (925) Fax: (925) Alexis Easton, Pastor Website: Brentwoodumc.org Facebook Group: Brentwood Community United Methodist Church Bob Clarke, Editor: September 2012 the only way to understand what is currently happening to us as 21 st -century Christians in North America is to understand that about every 500 years the Church feels compelled to hold a giant rummage sale. We are living in and through one of those 500-year sales. Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why (2008)

2 Heart to Heart (The Pastor s Column) Dear Friends In last month s newsletter I wrote about the time of change the Christian Church (including United Methodists) is presently undergoing and related this challenging time to the Bible as our guiding authority. I promised an opportunity to share questions, doubts and concerns about the Bible this fall in worship and small groups and website. Here are the Sept-Oct offerings and opportunities: SERMONS: Videos of each Sunday sermon from Sept 2 through Oct 28 will be on along with links to the Sermon Supplement and Ask-the-Pastor. SMALL GROUPS: Sign-ups for Wed small groups begin Sunday, Sept 2 at the Making Sense table following worship. The source of the seven Bible-related topics for sermon and small group is the book Making Sense of Scripture by David J. Lose, easily purchased through Amazon. PARTICIPATION IN SMALL GROUPS: Open to everyone, with special invitation to those who have not yet participated in a small group at BCUMC, those anticipating becoming members of the congregation, and those who have concerns about the authority of the Bible (including skepticism!). BCUMC groups do not tell you what to think, but give you permission and space to share your questions and insights, listen and experience the Holy Spirit bringing new understandings out of the contributions of those gathered. We might call it revelation through conversation. PRELUDE TO SEPT 16: On Sept 2 and 9 the sermons will focus on previous times of change in Christian history Hinge Times. These two weeks of historical background will bring us into the present and the Bible as we then encounter issues of Bible authority discussed in Lose s book for the next 7 weeks. Please review the following, drawn from last month s Heart to Heart: An Anglican bishop named Mark Dyer has observed that about every 500 years, the Christian Church is compelled to hold a Huge Rummage Sale. (The Bishop is being both witty and serious.) During the decades of the Rummage Sale, church institutions are shattered so that renewal can occur. At the conclusion of the Sale, stability is re-established, but the Church has been transformed in crucial ways into a different institution. Friends, we are in the midst of the most recent Sale! The last Rummage Sale was the Protestant Reformation. Although October 31, 1517 is often given as the start of the Reformation the day Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses of protest against the Pope and Roman Catholic Church practices on the Wittenberg church door -- tension and debates within the Church had already been going on for over a century. By 1517 it had become clear that the fundamental debates boiled down to this question: Where now is the authority? Protestantism answered with fervor: Authority is with the Bible, the Word of God, the scripture sola scriptura, scriptura sola. Everyone learned what those two Latin words meant only the Bible. And along with the concept of the priesthood of all believers, Protestantism claimed a clear, new AUTHORITY for centuries which now, approximately 500 years later, is in upheaval. Questions, imaginings, and disputes about the Bible its authority and interpretation -- is at the center of this Hinge Time. Present-day confusion is reflected in many Methodists being uncertain how to engage with scripture: (How) is it the Word of God? (How) is it true? What kind of authority does it have? How is it relevant to me and my life? How can we with integrity -- connect more personally and corporately with the Bible? A church-wide opportunity to ask questions about Scripture and connect with it is coming in September and October. Welcome to the Sale! Blessings of fruitfulness to you,

3 What day is church for you? By Julius Lukacs, Lay Leader Dearest BCUMC, what day is church for you? I suspect that most of us would say Sunday morning, of course, defining church as an address, a location, a time of Sunday morning sermon service. I would like to challenge all of us to think of church not as a noun, a place, or a building, but as a verb, an action, a sense of service to your fellow brothers and sisters. When you consider church in this form, you quickly understand that being in church can happen anywhere and at any time. You are filled by the action that is church and not just tied to a building, a yard, or your favorite pew! You become more aware that church can be put in your back pocket and carried anywhere you go. Most importantly, you can bring church to anyone at any time and wherever it s most needed. Whether you are packing a bag at H.O.P.E. House or going through your closest to donate clothes, you are in an action of church. When you put your arm around someone who is ill or struggling, you are at church. When you think of church in this way, you really never miss a Sunday at Church, it s always with you. Regardless of your schedule, your time commitments, your busy life, there is always an opportunity to be at church. I encourage all of you to open your mind and heart to explore those things at BCUMC beyond your Sunday morning attendance and experience church through the week, defined not by your presence in a pew, but by your actions through the week. Commit to get connected to the diverse ministries of this church and experience church as an action! Look for your Sunday + 1 opportunities, embrace it, and be filled by the Holy Spirit that guides us all. You will realize that church can be every day and at any time. Trustees Corner The air-conditioning project is complete and paid for!! A number of years ago, John Bonde passed away and left a sizable amount of money to the church for facility improvements. Since the amount of money needed for the air-conditioning project was over twice what we raised for the painting project, the Trustees decided to tap John Bonde s gift. Obviously, the air-conditioning project made quite a dent in the improvement fund! The Trustees hesitate to start a fundraiser because the church is having problems paying on-going expenses like PG&E, water bills and health insurance premiums. However the Trustees would appreciate it if members of the congregation could make some additional contributions to the airconditioning project without reducing their support for the regular budget. We need to replenish the Bonde improvement fund so we will have the resources available to fix the next things that break in our 120+ year old facility. Randy is working on the credits from the school furniture donations. He hopes to have a finished product in a few months. There is a need for more furniture. The kids we have are growing up fast and will soon be teenagers. That is where the present Trustees focus is.

4 The Circle of Concern and Response When I participated in the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) Urban Plunge last month, I learned about some great things that Bay Area churches are doing. One thing I found especially interesting was the concept of The Circle of Concern and Response, which is briefly explained below. If you are interested in doing this in our church -- for H.O.P.E. House, or another area of ministry -- please contact me: Patti Bartlebaugh at pattibart@sbcglobal.net or Praying regularly for specific concerns Giving Contributions to a specific cause Studying/focusing on a specific issue Circle of Concern and Response (Local to Global) Engagement volunteering for a specific cause Advocacy working to promote the specific cause in the community H.O.P.E. House Circle of Concern and Response Here at BCUMC Praying regularly for The H.O.P.E. House Ministry and the families of H.O.P.E. House. Starting a prayer outreach at H.O.P.E. House Giving Financial Donations to H.O.P.E House; Donations of Food and Clothing Studying possible areas of need, such as Hunger in America Poverty-Small group study Sunday mornings Engagement Volunteering at H.O.P.E. House Establish a working advocacy to promote H.O.P.E House and the needs of the families of H.O.P.E. House in the community. Looking Forward to (and Preparing for!) 2013 Every year during the Stewardship Campaign we ask people to pledge their Time, Talents and Treasures. This year we are going to have a new way for you to see where your time and talents are needed and can be used. This is going to be an exciting first for our church. Be sure to look at next month s newsletter for the details about our Fall Opportunity Fair!

5 SERVE THE WORLD We continue to SERVE our community and the WORLD. This summer church members have volunteered with United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) to serve in Haiti (Mason Mathews and Paul Slay) and San Francisco (Patti Bartlebaugh). Check out the Serve the World bulletin board for latest UMVIM photos and opportunities. Locally we are serving the people of East Contra Costa County with H.O.P.E. House. We are Serving people each day we are open (Monday and Wednesday 9am-12pm); in addition, we have started a twice-a-month, Tuesday evening fresh produce distribution. If you are interested in helping out on a Monday or Wednesday morning, contact Robin Vaughan. HOW YOU CAN SERVE H.O.P.E. House continues to need prayers for its ministry, the volunteers and the families we SERVE. H.O.P.E. House continues to need donations of nonperishable food, paper grocery bags, and clothing. We do not need any more hangers at this time. Special Volunteer needed-h.o.p.e. House is looking for someone (or two) who can coordinate the weekly packing of grocery bags. If you would like to help out and are not available on distribution days, this would be a great way to get involved and SERVE! Contact Patti Bartlebaugh to volunteer or if you have questions. Pattibart@sbcglobal.net or MERRY METHODISTS Merry Methodists invite you to an evening of enlightenment on September 15th at 6:00 p.m. in the Social Hall of the church. Two representatives of the League of Women Voters will be present to explain the pros and cons of the propositions on the November ballot. All people hoping to make an informed response on the ballot are invited. There will be no charge for the evening. THE MERRY METHODISTS EVENTS SCHEDULE The Merry Methodists would like to invite everyone to attend at least one of the following remaining events of 2012! Please mark your calendars now! As each event comes closer, a signup sheet to participate will be under the SIGN-UP SIGN in the Fellowship Hall. You may also respond to the reminder that will be sent out. October 27 th -- Liberty High School Haunted House November 17 th (tentative) -- Stockton Thunder Hockey December 15 th -- The Nutcracker

6 FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT Thank God from whom all blessings flow! Pastor Alexis, Debra Urzua and your Finance Committee Members have been busily involved in preparing for our Fall Stewardship Campaign kickoff (watch for some exciting news), and streamlining our financial reports for increased transparency of our budget. With the help of our auditor, we have changed our reports to more effectively represent all of our Church's finances, including Trustees, under the single heading of Operations. Memorial contributions will remain the same and noted. We have asked each Committee Chairperson and Team Leader to make requests for their 2013 expenditure needs and return them to our Finance Committee by September 15th. We have furnished them with actual expenditures to date. We are also seeking to learn what their goals have been the past year, accomplishments to date and by year's end, and what they dream of doing next year. Also in keeping with Time, Talent & Treasure, what resources of work hours, volunteers, in-kind gifts and amount of money needed to achieve the dream. We ask for your prayers of support as we consolidate this information into our 2013 Budget. Please continue your generous financial giving. At the end of August we have only $51.51 in our Operations fund and were unable to pay Pastor Alexis' health insurance in full. Yours in Christ's Love, John D. Moore Finance Committee Chairman NEWSLETTER EDITOR OPPORTUNITY It has been a great opportunity for me to serve as Ds&Os newsletter editor for two years. I was new to BCUMC when I became editor, and it really helped me get acquainted with all of you. As some of you know, I've begun going to school full-time majoring in Administration of Justice. So with classes, homework and continuing to parent Riley, it is time for me to offer this opportunity to someone else. If you would consider stepping up to take on the editor position, please contact me at for more information. Thanks so much... See you in church! Blessings, Bob Clarke.

7 September Notables Birthdays: 5. Donald Barnhill 16. Charlene Dobson Riley Clarke 17. Tuck Tennant 19. Jeffry Zamjahn 20. Gabriel Clarke 21. Beverly Johnson 22. Kyle Schults Anniversaries: 16. Martin and Beverly Tucker 27. Myron and Joyce Sorenson Acolytes: 2 nd Nate/ Wren/ John 9 th Jamie/ Jacob/ Aidan 16 th Ogechi/ Bella/ Sam 23 rd Alex/ Jaylynn/ Justine 30 th Wren/ Jacob/ Sam Worship Leaders: 2 nd Chu Ekpemiro 9 th Jan 16 th Jennifer 23 rd Paul 30 th Mason Ushers/ Greeters: 2 nd Robin 9 th Lisa 16 th Mel 23 rd Bob 30 th Robin Church Family News, Billie Fortner is getting better and hopes to be back at Worship in late September. Diana Easley has been having tests to diagnose heart problems. Hisako Suzuki is moving to Oregon for two years to be with her daughter and family. Bill Dobson has returned home and is being cared for by Charlene with additional support. They are looking forward to daughter Cheryl s return from her medical mission later in September. Please remember these friends in your prayers Please continue to pray for the pastor, church family, education, fire, armed forces, police, medical and public service personnel.

8 Lectionary (Scripture Readings) SUNDAY/SPECIAL DAY September 2 nd Fourteenth Sunday After September 9 th Fifteenth Sunday After September 16 th Sixteenth Sunday After September 23 rd Seventeenth Sunday After September 30 th Eighteenth Sunday After OLD TESTAMENT PSALM EPISTLE GOSPEL Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9 or Psalm 72 (UMH 795) Psalm 125 or Psalm 124 (UMH 846) James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, James 2:1-10 (11-13) Mark 7:24-37 Proverbs 1:20-33 Psalm 19 (UMH 750) James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1 (UMH 738) James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Mark 9:30-37 Psalm 124 (UMH 846) James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50

9 Statement of Inclusion: Because we believe that no one is excluded from God s love and that all may come who hear the Shepherd s voice (John 10:1-18), so we affirm: In keeping with the spirit and teachings of Jesus Christ and with United Methodist principles, the Brentwood Community United Methodist Church welcomes all persons into our fellowship. Resident Bishop: Warner H. Brown, Jr. El Camino Real District Superintendent: Kristie Olah Pastor: Alexis Easton; Lay Leader: Julius Lukacs Secretary: Debra Urzua The Mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Brentwood Community United Methodist Church 809 Second Street Brentwood, CA Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Brentwood, CA Permit No. 33 TIME DATED MATERIAL