Lawrence Free Methodist Church February 2015 THE UPDATE. News Information Events

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1 THE UPDATE LFMC teams return to Haiti News Information Events These words were written on Tuesday, Jan. 27, about 4:00 p.m. Our first-week missions team in Haiti had probably just wrapped up their second work day at the Kids Alive compound in Cap Haitien. At the end of the work day you are hot, tired, and grimy, and more than a little smelly with the aromas of sunscreen, bug repellent, and sweat. You choke on exhaust fumes from the tap-tap that transports you to and from the work site each day. You re actually looking forward to your cold shower back at the team house, and your Haitian supper, and an evening of reading, or playing cards, and almost certainly a lot of laughter with your teammates. And sleep. Whether it is your first time or your fifth time to be in Haiti, you re still a little overwhelmed by the sights and smells of the poverty that surrounds you as you make the bumpy, dusty trip through the dirt and gravel streets. You feel so blessed, and it seems so unfair, and if you think about it long enough, your eyes fill with tears as you face the reality that your children are not hungry every day, that you have resources to clothe them and educate them, and that your home, however modest it may be in Lawrence, Kansas, is a mansion compared with where the average Haitian lives (like the family of Richcade, at right in the photo above). And yet you are filled with gratitude for the opportunity to be here, to love and serve the people in the name of your Savior. And even though life in Haiti is not easy or pleasant, you can t wait to come back. Please pray for our missionary teams, who are serving in Haiti January 24 February 7. Spiritual Life Survey Redux We re going to take the MOVE : SPIRITUAL LIFE SURVEY again, beginning this month, and everyone is encouraged to participate. Details on page 3. 1

2 Lawrence Free Methodist Church February 2015 Primetimers Seventeen Primetimers, three church employees, and our special speaker were in attendance on January 13 for our monthly luncheon and meeting. The food for the potluck was very tasty and satisfying. Pastor Allie Klopenstein, our special speaker, provided us with information about herself and family. She gave us some insight as to her plans for the Children s Ministry. It was a very interesting and informative presentation. Our next meeting will be a potluck luncheon on February 10 at noon. If your last name begins with A-G, please bring a salad; H-L, a main dish; and M- Z, a dessert. Our special speaker will be Robert Baker. Mr. Baker is with the organization, Tenants to Homeowners. His topic will the Cedar Wood Housing Project. This is a project to provide housing for seniors citizens. This should be an interesting subject for those who may be thanking about downsizing your living area, or have friends or family who are considering doing it. If you are 50-or-better you need to attend the luncheon on February 10. Be reminded that February often has bad weather. If the weather is bad and you wonder whether we will meet, you can call Ernie Dyer, or the church. If you have questions you can contact Ernie Dyer at , , or epdyer@att.net. ADULT DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES Equipping men and women to walk with God, make disciples and serve Christ for a lifetime Divorce Care at LFMC Contact Person: Nick Zavatchin, facilitator (nzavatchin@hotmail.com). Enter church at side door to left of main entrance; the meeting is in Room 22 (across from kitchen). Meeting time: Sundays, 6 8 p.m. Feb. 8 Session 1 What s Happening to me? Feb. 15 Session 2 The Road to Healing/Finding Help Feb. 22 Session 3 Facing My Anger Mar. 1 Session 4 Facing My Depression Mar. 8 Session 5 Facing My Loneliness Mar. 15 Session 6 What Does the Owner s Manual Say? Mar. 22 Session 7 New Relationships Mar. 29 Session 8 Financial Survival Apr. 5 Easter Sunday [No meeting] Apr. 12 Session 9 Kid Care Apr. 19 Session 10 Single Sexuality Apr. 26 Session 11 Forgiveness May 3 Session 12 Reconciliation May 10 Session 13 Moving On, Growing Closer to God Other Divorce Care information: You may purchase a workbook, with sections for each week's material and space for your personal notes, reflections, or questions, which you may share with others in subsequent sessions, if you wish. The purpose of the workbook is to allow session attendees to review the previous week s material and to help them to gain clearer insight into their own situations. Though not required, it is highly recommended that all attendees obtain a workbook, and the cost is $15. This is the only cost for all 13 sessions. Childcare is not provided. If the scheduling of Divorce Care sessions at LFMC does not fit into your schedule check the Divorce Care Web site ( and enter your zip code to find sessions offered locally at other times and locations. 2

3 MOVE: SPIRITUAL LIFE SURVEY Your spiritual growth is of vital importance to our church, whether you are just beginning to explore the Christian faith, or you are a long-time follower of Christ. We want to do everything we can to help you on your spiritual journey. That s why we need your help. If you call LFMC your church home, we strongly encourage you to participate in the Reveal Spiritual Life Survey! This survey, which asks questions about your spiritual life, is being made available online to you from February 21 through March 9. The survey must be completed in one sitting and requires about 30 minutes to complete. A computer will be provided for use at the church for anyone who doesn t have Internet access at home. We will provide a link to the survey Web site, and this link will be ed to all whose addresses we have in our database, sometime after 12 a.m. on February 21. The survey information will also be in the bulletin on February 22, March 1, and March 8. Your input is crucial to the role our church plays in your spiritual development. Your responses are anonymous and are compiled by an expert third-party research organization that compares our responses with others responses. This survey is an important tool to help us understand our church s role in your spiritual maturity. Thank you in advance for your time and contribution to this tool that will help us understand and plan our church s role in your spiritual life! Communion on February 22 Congregational notes Thank you to Denise Yoder and her helpers for the heartwarming and delicious lunch provided after Emma Pogge s memorial service. Our family and friends experienced just a small taste of the kindness and generosity provided and shared by our church family. May God bless all of you. Ernie and Dorothy Pogge 3

4 CHILDREN S MINISTRY This Month in DU New Theme, New Lessons, beginning February 1 This past August, in St. Petersburg, Florida, some undercover kindness began at 7 a.m., when a woman in the drive-through paid for her iced coffee and a stranger s caramel macchiato in the car behind her. This drive-through kindness lasted 11 hours, with 378 people paying for each stranger s caffeine fix in the car behind them. That s a LOT of coffee. And a lot of kindness! Anonymous drivers joined in the undercover kindness because they just wanted people to feel special, to feel like someone cared for them. But as it turns out, they ended up being part of something so much bigger than themselves that the story of their kindness made national news! And whether they knew it or not, all of those people who joined in that extreme act of kindness were just reflecting something bigger. Think about it. When you look at the life of Jesus, He demonstrated kindness all the time. But He not only showed kindness to others, He actually flipped the whole idea of kindness on its head and redefined it for not only His disciples, but all of us. He showed kindness to all people. People who were marginalized. People with bad reputations. Children, beggars, the sick and outcast, all people regardless of whether they could return the kindness given to them. In the month of February, it seems like everyone is talking about how they re going to show their friends and family how valuable they are with cards and candy and flowers. But it could be that the simplest way we can make the most impact is by showing kindness the way Jesus did and the way He taught His followers. We live in a world that most often seems like it s anything but kind. Kindness is so rare that the acts of kindness like what happen in Florida make national news! And just think about the (Continued on next page) 4

5 (Continued from previous page) arguments that break out within our own families. But what would happen if kindness didn t seem so rare? What would happen if we decided to live out what Jesus said about showing others they are valuable? That s why we re taking the whole month to look more closely at kindness: showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. All month we ll be working on memorizing Luke 6:31, Do to others as you want them to do to you. This simple verse is a great reminder of what Jesus said about Kindness. We would want others to show kindness towards us, so it s important that we turn around and show kindness to them as well. For Week 1, we kick off the month with a familiar story found in Mark 10: Back in Jesus' time, children were seen but not heard and most often they weren t even supposed to be seen, but Jesus did something different. He said, "Let the children come to me... God's kingdom belongs to people like them." Jesus showed kindness to the children when He welcomed them with open arms. Bottom Line: There s always time to be kind. We hope kids can remember, that they are never so important that they can t take time to be kind to those around them. In Week 2, we ll look more closely at Ruth 1 and 2. We find Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth. Their husbands have died, and Ruth has the opportunity to return home to her family. Instead, she chooses to show kindness to Naomi and stays with her. Ruth's kindness doesn't go unnoticed. Boaz notices and offers kindness to Ruth, changing her life in a huge way. Bottom Line: Be kind to your family and friends. When it comes to our family and friends, often we take them for granted. We hope through the story of Ruth, kids will learn to show kindness to those we care about most. We ll continue in Week 3 with Matthew 25: We ll revisit one of Jesus' teachings on kindness. For one reason or another, people are overlooked every day no one even notices them, much less shows kindness to them. But Jesus says that when we show kindness to one of the least of these, it's as if we're showing kindness to Him. We hope kids discover how they can show kindness to people who are overlooked in their world. Bottom Line: Be kind to people who are overlooked. Some people are easier to show kindness to than others, but everyone deserves to be treated like they re valuable, no matter who they are. We ll finish the month in Acts 9: We find out that Saul, the guy whose main goal in life was to wipe out Jesus followers, had recently met Jesus and believed in Him. It's no surprise that when he went to meet with Jesus followers, they had a hard time trusting that his story was real. But Barnabas took a risk. He chose to believe Saul's story and helped the rest of the disciples accept Saul as well. Barnabas is a great example for us and helps us discover that we should show kindness to people who aren't kind to us. Bottom Line: Be kind to people who aren t kind to you. There will be people who won t always be nice to you, but that doesn t mean you can t try to show kindness to them. We hope kids see that they can be kind even if people aren t kind in return. Through these stories, we hope kids will understand that showing kindness is really important. Not only is kindness a fruit of the Spirit; but it s also one of the best ways to tap into Jesus character. When we show kindness to others, we are reflecting the heart of Jesus to them. As a parent or leader, one of the most powerful things you can do this month is help a child understand how they can cooperate with God to treat people with kindness; how they would want to be treated. And who knows, their own version of Undercover Kindness might just end up changing the world. By Dan Scott 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 5

6 Lawrence Free Methodist Church February 2015 Summer Missions Trip For current 7th-12th graders What is a missions trip like? Students from our church will join teens from other cities on an incredible journey of faith as they open their arms to others and their heart to God. They will deepen friendships and experience the love of Christ through service to others, large group nightly meetings, praise and worship, small group times, and prayer. At the end of the missions experience, our group will stay in Nashville for a couple days and experience one of the best Independence Day celebrations in the country, with live music and an incredible fireworks show. Cost: $500. This fee includes the registration fee, transportation, room and board and July 3 4 hotel and meals. Participants will need to bring money for food on travel days. Registration closes Feb. 8. Registration forms at lfmchurch.org/youth. Durley Camp Greenville, Illinois June for students completing 6th-8th grades Join teens all over the Midwest for fun activities, late night games, making new friends and an opportunity to encounter the living God and learn what it means to truly LIVE! Cost: $245 if registered by March 15; $275 after March 15. The cost includes camp registration, $15 for the snack shop, and transportation. More information and the registration form are available in the lobby and the Teen Center, and at lfmchurch.org/youth. 6

7 Next LINK Service Date Thursday, February 5 Our church will be serving at LINK (Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen) on Thursday, February 5. If you would like to provide food for the meal or serve, please sign up in the church lobby starting January 20 or Andi Neuhofel at andineuhofel@me.com. LFMC Missions & Social Justice going narrow & deep The Missions and Social Justice team has been focusing lately on the call to go narrow and deep rather than shallow and wide. We want to pour into partner ministries, missionaries, and lives here and around the world. However, if we spread ourselves too thin, it is all too easy to lose our focus and end up not connecting with ministries, not building relationships. Serving does not just change those we serve; it changes us. That change happens when we keep our focus narrow and deep. So, where does LFMC help here and there? We ll be updating the Missions & Social Justice page of lfmchurch.org soon, but for now, here s a list of the ministries and missionaries we are invested in: HERE Family Promise of Lawrence with quarterly support for First Southern Baptist Church and a transitional home ( Heartland Community Health Center with the food cart in the breezeway and a food drive coming in March ( L.I.N.K. (Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen) with quarterly meal preparation and service ( YoungLife a new partnership! We re very excited to begin exploring ways to get involved in supporting this ministry that reaches non-churched kids for Christ! We ll let you know more soon! ( THERE KidsAlive, especially in Haiti Did you catch the blog updates from the most recent trips? lfmchurch.org/missions-trip-blog Supporting missionaries: Roger & Vangie Stone Philippines (see January Update for the latest from them) Adam & Rebecca in a creative access country Ricardo & Beth Gomez Colombia 7

8 Sunday services and programs 9:00 a.m. Blended Worship, programs for nursery and preschool 10:35 a.m. Contemporary Worship, programs for nursery through senior high teens Nursery available 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Church Office Information Office hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Phone: Fax: Web: contacts Bill Bump, Senior Pastor Larry Baldridge, Pastor of Discipleship Carolyn Heacock, Pastor of Student Ministry and Missions Allie Klopenstein, Pastor of Children s Ministry aklopenstein@lfmchurch.org Bethany Harvester Administrative Assistant office@lfmchurch.org Doug Heacock, Director of Media and Contemporary Worship dheacock@lfmchurch.org Vanessa Thomas, Director of Choir and Blended Worship vanessathomasvoicestudio@gmail.com The Update Lawrence Free Methodist Church 3001 Lawrence Avenue Lawrence, KS