Newsletter Westby United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 w NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 1 SMALL STEPS EVERY SMALL, SIMPLE ACT COUNTS Our calling is to reach all people with the life-changing power of God s Love and Grace available to all through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Westby United Methodist Church welcomes everyone with open arms and open hearts as indicated in Romans 15:7 (NIV): Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Newsletter Westby United Methodist Church January 2019 IN THIS ISSUE Dream Small by Pastor Pam Harkema The tradition of resolutions associated with the turning of the annual calendar can bring frustration for us. We pledge to change those areas of our life where we have missed the mark, either in our excesses or in our falling short. Too much of something, perhaps food or alcohol or tobacco, too much spending, too much stress. Or not enough, as in not enough exercise, not enough rest, not enough time with family, not enough of the right kinds of activities. So, we resolve to change our ways. And we may do well for a while, a week, or even a month. But engrained behaviors are habits that are difficult to change. Why do we find it so hard to stay with our resolutions? Perhaps because we choose to put our largest and hardest challenges on our resolution list and when we have a setback, our frustration leads us to abandon the effort. We started with good intentions. We know this area of our life is the one we want to be different. Or perhaps the dream was so big, deep down we never believed it could be accomplished. Pastor s Message p. 1 Birthday Anniversary.. p. 2 Pastor s Schedule p. 2 Online Study p. 2 Sunday School p. 3 Daily Prayers p. 3 Mission of Month p. 4 Fellowship Brunch..... p. 4 Other News p. 4 Board Minutes p. 5 Study Group p. 6 Winter Weather p. 6 Forever Club p. 7 Calendar p. 9 There s nothing wrong with big goals. Certainly go ahead and make changes in life you believe are good for yourself. But every resolution, every goal, does not need to address the biggest aspects of life. A beautiful choice is to dream small. That s the title of a Christian song by Josh Wilson. Part of the lyrics follow: So dream small Don't bother like you've gotta do it all Just let Jesus use you where you are One day at a time Live well Loving God and others as yourself Find little ways where only you can help With His great love A tiny rock can make a giant fall So dream small Keep loving, keep serving Keep listening, keep learning Keep praying, keep hoping Keep seeking, keep searching Out of these small things and watch them grow bigger The God who does all things makes oceans from rivers Calling someone to say hello, I m thinking of you, sharing time with a person, truly listening to someone. These simple moments change the world.

2 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 2 Christians don t need to wait for the first of the year to roll around to look at the direction of our lives. We can choose and commit to living an enriched Christian life any day of the year and any hour of the day. We can make that commitment every day with small acts of gratitude to God expressed in moments of caring. And if we forget, or one of those opportunities passes us by, we have the marvelous gift of grace in Christ that forgives and lets us begin anew. So this year, instead of thinking about big resolutions and big dreams, let s dream small and take small steps. Let s make it our daily priority to love God s people in small ways. Small steps matter. In the love of Christ, DREAM SMALL January Birthdays Jan. 8 Maureen Davis Jan. 13 Tracy Brown Jan. 31 Kelly Bjornstad and Glenn Olstad Pastor Pam s Schedule: Monday Thursday Driftless Regional Ministry office (8:30-4:30) Friday Sabbath Saturday Available by Appointment (9:00-12:00) Driftless Regional Ministry Office: E2286 Hwy. 82 in De Soto Contact Information: Cell Phone Parsonage Phone Sunday Worship Services (8 am 12 pm) Pastor Pam is often away from the office for visitation or meetings. Please call the parsonage and leave a message or contact her via her cell phone. She can also receive text messages on her cell phone. January Online Study God Is Through Matthew Who is God to you? Is He angry and ready to pounce on you every time you fail? Or is He the God who is love, grace, and mercy? The way you view God will determine how you will stand in hard times. You will confidently know that your God has your back when you complete this 28-day journey to discover who God is through Matthew. Go to to sign up for this month s online study group. It doesn t cost anything to create a user account for this website or to participate in the study lessons.

3 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 3 Prayers for January Each day of the week, use this simple prayer starter as part of your conversation with God. Copies of these prayers are distributed on the last Sunday of each month in the bulletin; extra copies are available to place in different locations to help us remember to pray. Monday: A new year God. With a new calendar, we find new hope and new spirit. You are new every morning Lord and each day is your gift that draws us to serve. Holy Lord, in your mercy, renew me. Tuesday: It s me again God. I m sitting here in awe of all I need to thank You for. You are so much bigger and greater than I could every understand. Give me reminders to be grateful today. Don t let me overlook the small or big blessings all around me. Fill me with gratitude. Thank You Jesus. Wednesday: Lord, there are a lot of people I know who just don t pray. Maybe they think it s hard to pray, but prayer is really just talking to You. Yes, You want to hear from all of us. Give us all that hunger to pray more and release our human struggle to know how to pray. Forgive our arrogant boldness. Humble me before You my God. Thursday: Patient Father. Help me let go of the things which keep me separated from the life You want for me God. Help me release my guilt. Help me extend forgiveness. Help me be Your witness through the choices I make every day. Purify my soul. Friday: Today I lift to You those who are going through difficulties. People who are sick. People who do not have direction in life. People who do not have sustenance, an income, food, shelter. And especially I lift to You those without hope for these are the people who do not know You. Saturday: You are worthy of all my attention, praise, worship, and love. Help me be a light that shines to You today. Sunday: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, nor built by human hands. ~I Corinthians 5:1. Anytime throughout the day: Let my life praise You O God. Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life. Fill me with faith. Banish my weakness. Youth Sunday School Thank you to the Sunday school kids for sharing the Christmas message in such a special way. The video of their performance is available on the church Facebook page (Westby United Methodist Church) and the church website ( on the Recent Sermons page. We will not have Sunday school on December 30th or January 6th. We will resume on January 13th. Happy New Year! Sunday School at 9:30 AM Fellowship Time at 10:15 AM Worship Service at 10:45 AM

4 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 4 Mission of the Month Door of Hope For many years the Westby church has been supporting Door of Hope with needed supplies and financial donations. Door of Hope is an outreach ministry promoting a Biblical perspective on purity, pregnancy, parenting, adoption, and post-abortive healing for men and women, through the hope that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This life-affirming ministry is a multi-service organization committed to helping individuals and couples who are dealing with pregnancy and parenting issues. The staff strives to assist those who chose to parent their child, in order that they may face the future with hope and are better able to plan constructively for themselves and their family. At the same time, they encourage those who are considering adoption, with information, referrals, support and understanding. How can we help Door of Hope? There are opportunities to volunteer, to provide needed supplies, or with financial support. Some of the supplies always in need are: Disposable diapers and pull ups, size, newborn - size 6 Baby Wipes Baby Shampoo/baby wash/ lotions, Diaper Rash creams Baby, blankets, washcloths and towels, bibs New or Gently used boys and girls clothing Newborn- 4T Toys and Books New Cribs and Car Seats (Due to safety regulations only new cribs and car seats) Toddler plates, silverware and cups Baby food and Cereals and Baby Formula Paper goods like toilet tissue, paper towels, facial tissue and napkins The usual basket in the narthex is there to collect donations of supplies and there are baby bottles on the table to collect loose change even pennies, nickels and dimes count up and every dollar helps a child in a struggling family get a better start in life. Check can be made out to Door of Hope and dropped in the collection plate. Thank you in advance for any help you can give to this worthy cause. UM Foundation Informational Meeting On January 28, Faith, New Hope, Retreat, and Westby will meet together at 6:30 p.m. with Rick Churan, president of the United Methodist Foundation for the Wisconsin Conference. Rick will explain the reasons and benefits for churches investing their resources with the foundation. He will also highlight other foundation resources to help with church financial stability. The location for the meeting will be determined by interest from each church and will be at either Westby or New Hope church. Please let Pastor Pam know if you are interested in attending by January 13. Upcoming Events Coming up on February 9, 2019 at Faith UMC is the Women of Faith's annual Soup Supper and Auction. We will begin serving at 4:00 PM and the auction will begin at 6:00 PM. More details to follow.

5 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 5 Westby United Methodist Church - Board Meeting December 12, 2018 Present: Tim Gaskell, Jane Gaskell, Verna Drake, Ardith Hoff, Amanda Oney-Siam, Lois Gerling, Pastor Pam Harkema, Jean Shore and Linda Weilnau Opening: Tim Gaskell opened with prayer. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the November board meeting were ed to the board and published in the December newsletter, so they could be reviewed prior to the meeting. Verna Drake and Jean Shore motioned to approve the minutes. Motion passed. Treasurer s Report: Verna Drake provided the financial reports for November and the Yearly Report (Jan.-Nov.). The new furnace has been paid in full and there was a little left over in the furnace fund account. Jean Shore and Jane Gaskell motioned to approve the treasurer s report. Motion passed. Old Business: Status of Compassion International Child Support Are we still supporting a child? Is anyone corresponding with the child? Verna Drake reported that the child we were supporting, Carlos, has left Compassion International. It was decided to not support another child at this time. Life Touch Photography Church Directory It was decided to not have Life Touch do a church directory at this time. New Business: Hospitality-Visitation Ways to be welcoming to visitors and what can we do to try and have them come back again. Pastor Pam found a good book about hospitality/visitation which has some ideas. She will also contact the conference about possible training sessions. It was decided to continue this discussion at the January board meeting. Investing Church Monies Meeting in January This meeting will be on January 28, 2019, but the location is still to be determined. This meeting will explain different options on investing church monies. Canceling Service Due to Winter Weather After some discussion, it was decided to not cancel services due to weather, but we do not want people to feel compelled to come if the roads are bad for them. Pastor Pam will contact Tim and Jane Gaskell to find out about the weather conditions in Westby before she leaves the DeSoto area. If the roads are bad, Pastor Pam will stay home, and Tim and Jane will open the church for anyone who decides to come, and they will do a condensed service. Linda Weilnau will put this information in the January newsletter. Taking Attendance Count We need to make sure that someone takes an attendance count each Sunday because these numbers are needed to determine the percentages between the churches of the Driftless Regional Ministry. Pastor Pam Harkema also needs the numbers for her reporting. Linda Weilnau started a spreadsheet and will share the spreadsheet with Pastor Pam and Verna Drake. Linda has been taking the attendance count, but we need to make sure that someone does it if she isn t available on a Sunday.

6 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 6 Business from Board Committees: Trustees No report at this time. It was decided to keep the heat in the Fellowship Hall at 68⁰ during the day and 60⁰ at night for the month of December to see how this affects the heating bill. SPRC Pastor Pam, Tim Gaskell and Verna Drake need to have a meeting. Verna suggested a possible joint SPRC meeting with the Faith SPRC group. It was decided that Pastor Pam, Verna and Tim will meet after church on Dec. 16 th. Worship The children will present their Christmas program on Dec. 16 th and there will be a Candlelight Service on Dec. 24 th. Education There will not be any youth Sunday school classes on Dec. 30 or Jan. 6. Lay Leadership Ardith has started to write another series of articles, Food for Thought, which will be added to the website. Missions Amanda Oney-Siam got a list of families for the Baskets of Love mission. There are 12 families. They will shop for the food on Saturday, Dec. 15 and will need someone to deliver the food. Tim Gaskell said he and Travis Gaskell will deliver the food. Pastor s Report: Pastor Pam ordered banners to advertise the Christmas Eve service and they need to be placed in the front yard of the church. She also has some stakes for this display. Jean Shore motioned to adjourn. Meeting was adjourned. Minutes submitted by Linda Weilnau Small Study Group January 13 th and 27 th This month we will continue with our small study group session, covering the book Flood Gates, Holy Momentum for a Fearless Church by Sue Nilson Kibbey. This study group will meet from 9:30-10:15 AM on Sunday, Jan. 13th and 27 th. Anyone is welcomed to join us, even if you were not able to attend the December sessions. Please come and join us as we share thoughts and ideas with our fellow Christians as we explore this book and discover how we can help facilitate a new spiritual momentum for our church and ourselves. Winter Weather & Worship Service Since winter is here, we need to consider what to do in case of bad weather on a Sunday morning. We will not cancel our Sunday morning worship service. We will have someone, who lives in town, come and open the church doors to allow you to come and worship. If it is not safe for Pastor Pam to travel to Westby, we will have a condensed worship service. We will allow each person to decide whether it is safe for them to travel to come to church or not. We do not want anyone to feel compelled to come if the roads are not safe for them.

7 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 7 The Forever Club (by LaVonne Barlow) Forever Club Bible Study - The Genealogy of Jesus January Lesson 18 THE FINAL 10 GENERATIONS God is now in the final stages of preparing for the birth of His Son. It has been almost 4,000 years since He promised Eve that her son would defeat Satan (Gen. 3:15) and provide a way for all peoples to have Eternal Life if they repent, believe that Jesus is The Way to Eternal Life. LUKE 3: :25 #65 Naum #66 Amos #67 Mattathias 3:24 #68 Joseph #69 Janna #70 Melchi #71 Levi - was the name of Mary's Great-Grandfather. The Tribe of Levi was chosen by God to serve as Priests in the Tabernacle that He had Moses build until He allowed Solomon to build Him a house (TEMPLE) in Jerusalem. Levi's son #72 Matthat was Mary's Grandfather #73 Heli was Mary's father, no name is given for her mother, but she was a daughter of Eve and was of the tribe of Levi. The Hebrew language referres to all ancesters as father, mother, son or daughter. Mary is #74 and Jesus is #75 Luke 3:23 says Mary's husband Joseph was the son of Heli (by Jewish law.) We would say 'Son In Law' or (Son By The Law) of marriage to someone. The Forerunner One of God's final preparations before the birth of his son is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him who crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our Lord. This was fullfilled in Matthew 3:3 by John The Baptist. Luke relates the story in Chapter 1 of Zackarais, a priest of the family of Aaron, serving in the Temple in his specified week as being a member of The Course of Abijah and according to the custom of priesthood, his duty was to burn incense. The smoke from the incense carried prayers up to God in heaven, therefore, people who wanted or needed prayer would gather in the courtyard at this time of day. On this particular day he was delayed going out to the people because as he was preparing the incense, an angel appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar and when Zackarais saw him he was troubled. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zackarais, for your prayer has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Zackarais was in disbelief because he and his wife were by human standards beyond the age of having a child. The angel answered, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God who sent me to give these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute until this takes place because you did not believe me. Ref. Luke 1:5-25. Dates for the Begetting and the Birth's

8 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 8 After much research as well as soul searching and prayer, I agree with the following dates that are listed in Appendix 179 of the Companion Bible as given by E.W. Bullinger, a devout Christian, who had access to old Temple Manuscripts that were not available to other theologians. So, let's celebrate, The Word Became Flesh John 1:14a on December 25. * Conception of John on or about June 24 th in the year of 5 B.C. * Begetting of our Lord Dec. 25 th in the year of 5 B.C. * Birth of John the Baptist March in the year 4 B.C. * Birth of our Lord Sept. 29 th in the year 4 B.C. * The conception of John the Baptist can be dated by Zackarais's serving his priestly Course of Abia (Abijah) which was set up by David. 1 Chron. 24 * The begetting of our Lord was 6 months later. Luke 1:39,40. The Word was made flesh John 1:14a * Mary hastened to go to Elizabeth Luke 1:39,40 and stayed about three months * Luke 2:1-5 describes the necessity of Joseph going to Bethlehem to register for Rome's tax of all foreign citizens And Mary was great with child John 1:14b and He tabernacled among us. Luke 2:21 He was circumcised on the eighth day-the Great Feast Day which was the last day of the 'Feast of The Tabernacles'. Three Arguments against a December Nativity! a. The extreme improbability, amounting to almost an impossibility, that Mary, under such circumstances, could have undertaken a journey of about 70 miles through a hill district averaging 3,000 feet above sea level, in the depth of winter. b. Shepherds and their flocks would not be found abiding in the open fields at night in December as there would be no food for them. It was the custom to withdraw the flocks in winter and house them. c. Thirdly an astute ruler such as Augustus and the Roman Authorities would not have imposed such a census taking for the hated and unpopular foreign tax at the most inconvenient and inclement weather season of the year, by compelling people to enroll themselves in their home cities in December. They would naturally choose the time of least resistance and select a time of year that would cause the least friction and interference with their daily lives. This would be in autumn when the fall harvest was finished, and they would be thinking of going up for the fall Feast of The Tabernacles an eight-day Festival. In the early years after the Birth of Christ a Festival called Michaelmas or 'Michael and All Angels' was celebrated on September 29 th possibly for thanking the angels for announcing the birth of Jesus. The great archangel Michael was probably the angel that announced the birth of Jesus. Please contact LaVonne Barlow ( or lavonnec321@yahoo.com) if you have any questions.

9 NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH JAN 2019 Issue 9 January 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Pastor Pam s Sabbath Day 5 6 (No Sunday School) 10:15 AM Fellowship 10:45 AM Worship Service (Communion) :00 PM - Church Board Meeting All are welcome! Pastor Pam s Sabbath Day :30 AM Youth Sunday School & Study Group 10:15 AM Fellowship 10:45 AM Worship Service 12:00 PM - SPRC meeting 20 9:30 AM Youth Sunday School 10:15 AM Fellowship 10:45 AM Worship Service Pastor Pam s Sabbath Day Pastor Pam s Sabbath Day :30 AM Youth Sunday School & Study Group 10:15 AM Fellowship 10:45 AM Worship Service 28 6:30 PM UM Foundation Informational Meeting Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:32 Never stop doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ~ Hebrews 6:10