The voice. First United Methodist Church May Pastor s Message. Keep the faith, Derek

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1 The voice First United Methodist Church May 2017 Pastor s Message My wife and I share a passion for words: where they come from, what they mean, how they re used most effectively. Often in our conversations, we ll tease and correct one another, Um, I think you meant to say or That word does not mean what you think it means. Just as often, one of us will exclaim of something the other said, Oh what great word! We are unabashed (good word!) vocabulary nerds. I ve been thinking a lot about one particular word this week: Wonder. In this season of Easter, I was drawn to a passage from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24. Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection, and Luke says that they were startled and terrified. But as Jesus talks to them and shows them his wounds, it says, While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering There s that word wonder. Originally it was a noun in the Old English language: wunder. It meant a marvel, a miracle, a thing of astonishment. Then, later on, it came be associated with the emotions of seeing such a sight, like saying, I was filled with wonder. Only later did it become a verb that was associated with a sense of curiosity as a response to astonishment I wonder how the magician did the trick. Unfortunately, in this day and age, that sense of astonishment or amazement, that sense of the miraculous, has been almost completely drained from the word itself. We say things like, I wonder where I left my car keys, or I wonder what s for dinner. But really that s not wonder at all. That s expressing a curiosity. Wonder is what a small child feels when she sees a butterfly resting on a flower. Not really understanding it, she marvels at its color, the way it moves, its flutter. Wonder is what a new dad feels on the birth of his son. Sure, he may be curious about the biology, how the birth actually worked and all that, but that feeling he gets deep in his heart, that question in his soul, Am I really a father? How can that be? That s wonder. If I were to define wonder, I think I would say it s an amazed curiosity that acknowledges mystery. We are curious about things that we don t know, but we wonder about things we can t know. The resurrection of Christ is nothing if not a wonder. Our yearly Easter celebrations and recitations of the resurrection story are helpful in reminding us that Jesus was, in fact, raised from the dead but I m worried that after hearing the story over and over and over again, we have inoculated ourselves against the wonder of the resurrection. I m worried that in our adulthood, we lose our capacity to be astonished by God, to be surprised, to be amazed, to be overcome with joy, disbelief, and wonder, just like the disciples. This Easter season, which lasts until June 4 th, I hope you find wonder in your life. I hope that God amazes you and astonishes you and fills you with deep wonder. After all, that s what Easter is all about. Keep the faith, Derek

2 ############################################################################### Choir Notes Mark Skladan, Choir Director Thank you to everyone that helped to make our Easter worship special. Extra thank you to the students that provided their instrumental talent to enhance our music. ############################################################################### Organ-ized thought: May 14th will be Graduate Recognition Sunday. If you know of a student that is graduating please let membership know so we can recognize their accomplishment. Membership is once again planning an outing to a play. We will work out the details the first week of May at our meeting, but plan on something in early summer. The April-May offering seemed a little too risqué. We are hoping some of you will step forward and offer something musical this summer. Any or all talent is welcome. We will also talk with the various groups that are using our facility. Please let me know if you are able to share your musical talent. It is easy in the summer to forget about church. Don t! Church continues serving the community inside and outside our church family. Be sure to think about this when you attend the after-service Welcome Discussion on May 7th in the Fellowship Hall (basement). Membership wants to field ideas about how to improve our outreach to people who are shopping for a home church. We are open to hearing all ideas, so come with your thoughts and plan to share. Alan Montgomery Congregational Meeting about Welcoming the Stranger after Church on May 7th! Please plan on attending this very important conversation.

3 Eclipsing Empire Would it surprise you to learn that the names Son of God, Lord, Redeemer, Savior of the World were all commonly used in the first century to describe Caesar Augustus. Very few people in the Roman Empire knew much, if anything, about the Jewish carpenter, who preached in small towns around the Sea of Galilee, and even fewer would have used these exalted names to describe him. So what happened? What changed all this? Marcus Borg* and John Dominic Crosson* offer an answer to these questions in a detailed and well-reasoned explanation contained in a series of presentations called Eclipsing Empire. As you might expect, much of Eclipsing Empire is devoted to understanding the Apostle Paul, his teaching and writings, and the nature of the times in which he lived. The Sunday Morning Discussion Group will be listening to and talking about the presentations in Eclipsing Empire throughout May. We begin at 9:30 AM on Sunday mornings and are always happy to have additional people join us. *Marcus Borg and John Crosson are widely respected theologians and first-century historians. They both favor understanding the matrix in which Paul (and the other apostles) lived as a basis for understanding his actions, teachings, and writings. Roger Binkley

4 United Methodist Women May is a busy month for the UMW We will be attending the Church Women United May Friendship Day at Mt Zion on Friday May 5th at 9:30am. The Executive Board meeting will be Friday, May 12th at 1:30pm Liz McKernen will be honored at the 14th Annual Bodacious Women s Luncheon sponsored by Rust UMC on Saturday, May 13th, 12:00 2:00pm at Kendal. The program celebrates women that serve and shape the lives of others and Liz certainly fits that bill. The May Circle meeting will feature Tracy Fremon (Pastor Kubilus sister) a volunteer with RAHAB Ministries. RAHAB works to free local women from trafficking and substance abuse. Tracy will share her experiences from her mission trip to Thailand and tell us about the work of RAHAB Ministries. The program is at 7:00pm at FUMC, is FREE and open to the public. All are welcome. Gift card orders for May are due May 7th with pick up May 14th. Order forms are on the board in the welcome center. Purchasing gift cards is a great way to support the UMW while doing your usual shopping and eating out. See Jean Shannon with orders or questions. The BIG SALE will be here before we know it. As you do your spring clean up please think about saving your treasures and donating them. for the BIG SALE. ************************************************************************ Firelands District Conference at Norwalk held an election March 18th for District Members-at-Large for the 2018 Annual Conference. Nancy Gray was selected as a Member-at-Large Mary AufdenKampe was selected as an alternate.

5 From the Kitchen I would like to thank everyone who helped with the luncheon for the Wilma Pietch family. They were very appreciative of all of our work. It is really wonderful to have so much support from our church community. I would also like to give a big thank you to John and Evan Smith and Ryan Fury for the great painting they did in the kitchen and dish room. Also to Kim Murphy for applying the first coat on the wall behind the stove. I have a request. If you have a function and bring in food for that function, but do not finish it please take it home or send it home with someone to be used. If the plan is to use it again in the near future, please mark the item with your group s name. There have been many times when milk or juice have gone well beyond the expiration date and had to be thrown out. Items like syrup, pickles or salad dressings will last for quite a while and are ok to leave. However, items with a close expiration date need to be used or taken home. There will be a marker attached to the refrigerator for the purpose of marking items to be used at a later date with your group s name. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We have started ordering paper products. If you use something from the brown cabinet and see it is getting low please leave a note in my box (Camperships) so I can take care of it before we run out. Thank you, Bonnie Oberlin VBS July 17 July 21 9:00 12:00pm Lunch 12:00 12:30 First Church in Oberlin UCC Register: 2017.cokesburyvbs.com/oberlinvbs

6 May Birthdays Megan Bedo 5/01 John Smith 5/05 Brian Bliss 5/06 Pam Bliss 5/06 Brent Anderson 5/15 Rick Murphy 5/17 Jack Freas 5/18 Sue Brady 5/19 Alan Montgomery 5/21 Ann Murphy 5/23 Elizabeth Casper 5/24 Joseph Bedo 5/26 Laura Davies 5/26 Edie Binkley 5/29 Nathan Foisy 5/29 There are always needs at OCS for non-perishable food items, personal care items, cleaning supplies etc. You can bring any donations to church or drop off at OCS, 285 S. Professor, 9-12 and 1-5pm May Anniversaries Diane & Bob Ludwig 5/08 Elma & Joseph King 5 /16 Amanda & Brent Anderson 5/17 Mary & Gary AufdenKampe announce the graduation of their daughter Rachael on May 21, 2017 Juris Doctorate and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Akron School of Law

7 May Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Membership 2:30pm SPRC 7:00pm Bible Study 9:30a Confirmation Event 5:30p UMW Friendship Mt Zion 9:30a 7 8 Leah 7-9p 9 AA/Alanon 8p Taiko 7:30 9:30p Taiko 7-10p 12 CMS 5 & 7p Taiko 1-6p 13 Choir Rehearsal 9:30am 10:30a worship UMW Card Order Trumpet 3:45p Girl Scouts 6p Ad Council 7:00pm Bible Study 9:30a Confirmation 4:30p Health & Wellness 7:00p UMW Exec Board 1:30p CMS 2,3:30, 5 & 6:30 AA/Alanon 8p 14 Taiko 9-10p Taiko 7:30 9:30p Taiko 7-10p 19 Taiko 1-6p 20 Choir rehearsal 9:30a 10:30a Worship GRADS recognition UMW Card p.u. Trumpet 3:45p UMW 7:00pm AA/Alanon 8pm Bible Study 9:30a Confirmation 4:30p Finance 7:00pm Adult Game Night 6:00p Men s breakfast 8:30a Confirmation Event 3:45p Taiko 9-10p Taiko 7:30 9:30p Taiko 7-10p Taiko 1-6p Choir rehearsal 9:30a 10:30a Worship UMW Meet 1:30p Trumpet 3:45p A/Alanon 8p Bible Study 9:30am Confirmation 4:30p Health & Wellness 7:00p Taiko 9-10p VOICE DEADLINE Choir rehearsal 9:30a 10:30a Worship MS youth 1:00p Trumpet 3:45p Trustees 7:00p AA/Alanon 8p Bible Study 9:30a Confirmation 4:30p

8 First United Methodist Church of Oberlin Adult Sunday School at 9:30 am Worship and Sunday School for Children at 10:30 am Pastor : Derek Kubilus FIRST CLASS 45 South Professor Street Oberlin, Ohio First United Methodist Church