Circuit Rider. A Monthly Newsletter of the Lansdale United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 the Circuit Rider A Monthly Newsletter of the Lansdale United Methodist Church Lansdale United Methodist Church Our young LUMC friend, Tedeum Mensah, saw something missing at Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy a few weeks ago. He and some of his friends looked at what happened in the Florida school shooting and thought that this was just not right. Ted thought that there needs to be a change and his generation need to take a stand against gun violence and participate in the National Student Walkout in protest of national leaders failure to pass laws to protect students from gun violence. Ted and his friends went to the principal at his school in Norristown and asked that their school participate in the 17-minute National Student Walkout on Wednesday, March 14. Ted tells us that the majority of the students chose to participate and that he and his friends were allowed to speak to the student population about their generation being an agent for change in order to prevent more student deaths from occurring. We are proud of Ted for demonstrating his faith and taking a stand for social justice in his school. Ted and 7 other youth will be confirmed in our church on May13 and we look forward to welcoming them into our Methodist congregation. Save the Date! Free Car Wash May 12, 2018 Random acts of kindness for our community returns on May 12 with a free car wash in our parking lot. Please come and help us help others. Women s Tea Our annual UMW Tea will be held on Sunday afternoon, May 6, Our theme this year is a Baby Shower. More details on page 7. Youth Rummage Sale April 27-28, 2018 Please support our Youth Rummage Sale this spring! Church-wide help is needed! Watch for signups Fax: office@lansdaleumc.org Our church extends a warm welcome to everyone. Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr. Christopher Jacob Kurien Rev. Debra Neild, Deacon Sunday Morning: 9:00 am Worship Service 10:15 am Sunday School for all ages Nursery Care available all morning

2 WORSHIP SERVICES FOR April 1 Easter Day Acts 10: 34-43; John 20: 1-18 Message: Rev. Dr. Christopher Kurien April 8 Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4: 32-35; John 20: Message: Rev. Debra Neild April 15 Third Sunday of Easter Native American Ministries Sunday Acts 3: 12-19; Luke 24 36b-48 Message: To be determined April 22 Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4: 5-12; John 10: Message: Rev. Dr. Christopher Kurien April 29 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 8: 26-40; John 15: 1-8 Message: Rev. Dr. Christopher Kurien Remember to join us on Easter Sunday for worship at 9:00 AM. We will rejoice in the risen Lord with hymns, liturgy, children and adult choirs, and instrumental music. Stay for breakfast provided for all members and guests by the United Methodist Men. Eight young members of our church family will affirm their Christian belief and become full members of our church on May 13 during the worship service. Please plan on attending the service and stay for a reception to honor our youth and the hard work that they have put into their preparation. INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER? SIGN UP FOR MEMBERSHIP CLASS! Are you interested in joining our church? If you have been worshiping with us, if you have been enjoying our fellowship, and if you are interested in becoming part of our fellowship and want to join our church membership, please contact the office at and sign up for the membership class. Did you miss the service or want to share the message with someone who was unable to make it to church? Sermon recordings are now available on our website Click on the tab labeled services. 2

3 Dear Friends, I wish you all a very blessed Easter! Early Christians greeted one another on Easter Sunday with Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed! As we know from church history, many early disciples were persecuted for doing so. Sadly, even today there are many places in the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith in the risen Christ. May we pray for them and support them. Let us also commit ourselves to sharing our faith with those yearning to hear the good news of Christ s resurrection and help them experience the blessing of Christian fellowship and community. During Easter season we see new life spring up everywhere especially in nature. While I look forward to spring time as a sign of hope, there are some in our communities still without heat in their homes. In fact, as I write this article, we just got heat back in our own house after the recent storm. While these two-weeks have been difficult for my family, I have a better appreciation for people who go through harsh winter months without heat or even a roof over their heads. I thank God for our faithful volunteers who help with the interfaith hospitality network and code blue in our area. These actions bring great hope to many. Returning to the message of Easter morning, we read in the Gospel that the primary message to the women and disciples who went to the tomb was, He is not here. If Jesus was not there, where was He? He is with those who are struggling and lonely. Like the women at the empty tomb and the early disciples, we are given an opportunity to bear witness to Christ s abiding presence with people. May we be bold every day, as we witness at places of work, study and living. As a congregation, we are starting something new. We are reaching out to all our members who are active or not so active. A couple of months ago, I proposed to the church council an idea to form fellowship groups throughout our congregation based on location of residence. In so doing, the hope is that everyone will have the opportunity beyond church services, to connect and get to know one another, to develop new friendships, and to even invite non-church members to our homes and other relaxed settings like a picnic. Over the next couple of months, the assigned leaders of these fellowship groups will be contacting everyone to talk about how to become a part of these groups. Please give your wholehearted support and participate enthusiastically, so that we may nurture more meaningful relationships within the church family. Again, may you all have a very blessed Easter and a beautiful spring season! Regards and Prayers, Pastor Christopher Kurien 3

4 LANSDALE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Christian Education Learning about the Lord s Supper in Children s Sunday School We are Easter People Did you know that Jesus calls us to be Easter People? Who are Easter People you ask? Easter people were, and still are, all those that heard the good news that Jesus had risen from the grave and believed! The lives of Jesus friends were changed on the day of resurrection. Our lives are changed as we become Easter People through God s Grace. The story of the resurrection is told in all four Gospels. In John 20:31 it says But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. Through storytelling, science, art, games, video and cooking, the children will also come to believe and become Easter People. Come on out and be part of the fun. We are always looking for help in Sunday Grants to Assist In Defraying Higher Education Costs April 30 is rapidly approaching. On that date, the Education Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church will be accepting grant applications to assist worthy individuals with defraying the cost of higher education for the school year. The application is available on the Conference website. It can be accessed as "Grants to Defray Higher Education Costs." at the following website address: epaumc.org/administration/finance/higher-education-scholarships All applications received in the Conference Office (between and including) April 30 to May 21 will be considered for a grant. Like last year, all applications will be considered. Unless there is some disqualification, grant recipients will be randomly selected. Information and application forms are in the LUMC Library. 4

5 Bright Beginnings Egg-citing News from Bright Beginnings What an exciting and busy month March was. The children had a lot of fun at their St. Patrick s Day parties. We searched high and low for that sneaky leprechaun, but we were unable to find him. But he left us his pot of gold, and all the children were able to take a piece of the gold home with them. March also brought the arrival of 12 eggs from Quiver Farm. The farmer came with a hen and a rooster and shared with the children all about how the eggs should be taken care of and how they will hatch. The children got to take turns being Mama Hen by turning the eggs 3 times a day, until they hatched. They aren t so cute when they come out, wet and exhausted from all their hard work. But within 24 hours, they are absolutely adorable, yellow and fluffy and peeping away! What a wonderful miracle the children get to experience. Easter Egg Fun! We also celebrated our Easter parties at the very end of March. The children had fun searching for Easter eggs in their classrooms, and making lots of fun Easter crafts. We are currently accepting registrations for September classes. If you would like more info about our Church s nursery school, please contact Liz Bonner. Liz Bonner-Director Brightbeginnings5@verizon.net GYM Will Attend Faith Night The Youth will be attending Faith Night with the Philadelphia Union soccer team on Saturday, April 7. Game time is 7PM (we will carpool from church leaving at 5PM). Tickets will be $32/person. We are looking for Chaperones to drive and accompany us to the game. Contact Brent Snyder with questions. 5

6 Missions The blue envelope for April is designated for Camp Scholarships. These scholarships are to offset the cost of attending Methodist camps, such as Pocono Plateau and Camp Innabah. MISSIONS IN THE KITCHEN SAVE THE DATE: Tues., May 1, 2018 Apple Dumpling Sale Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 Cost: $4.00 each Place orders by Sun., April 22 Any extra will be sold day of sale but not guaranteed. Order forms on sign-up bulletin board in Stringer Auditorium Lobby Benefits Adult Mission Team Volunteers Contact Person: Barbara Hartmann (C) Mother s Day Treat!!! Volunteers are welcome to help put them together May 1! THANKS We received $1, from the blue envelope designated for Manna on Main Street. We also received an additional $ in February for the blue envelope designated for Volunteers in Missions (VIM). Thank you for your continuing generous support! We decided to designate $500 of our undesignated funds to Disaster Relief for Puerto Rico. This money will be sent through United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Our conference has been challenged to raise $100,000 for this effort. Carpenter s Calling Mission Team Mission Team heading to Clendenin, WV, April 7-14, Clendenin is about 20 miles north of Charleston, WV off I-79. Clendenin, a rural town, was flooded by the Elk River in June of 2016 and homes continue to need recovery repair work. About 7 or 8 volunteers from our church have volunteered with Carpenter s Calling Mission Team for a total of at least volunteers. Anyone not yet registered and would like to volunteer, contact Barb or Ed Hartmann A.S.A.P. for more information at ebhartmann1722@gmail.com. The trip is partially subsidized for LUMC members by Missions Work Area fundraising events. If you are interested in future mission trips or local missions work, please contact Cindy Scheetz, Mark Reinmiller, Ed or Barb Hartmann, any other member of the Missions Team, or talk to one of the many church members who have been blessed by serving God in missions work. The next Carpenter s Calling mission trip will be in October. We are also planning some local mission work, which would be a good way to get your feet wet. We are interested in any ideas or suggestions and would welcome anyone willing to help in any way. 6

7 Donation of Books to Library On December 20, 2017, the Wednesday Morning Women s Bible Study lost a valuable member when Renee Sherkness unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord. Renee was the author of a few children s books. The Bible Study group is donating 3 of her books to the church library. Renee encouraged science within her books. Winston the Whale and the Blanket of Darkness deals with protecting our oceans from pollution, such as oil spills. The Day Mother Nature Decided to Paint Her House is a fanciful story about the seasons. Besides loving science, Renee was a yoga instructor and wrote a book for instructors to use with children. It s titled Stories That Come Alive Through Yoga. Please take a look at these books in the library and remember Renee. Adult Dine Around Please join us for lunch on Thursday, April 5th at 11:30 AM at the Smokehouse Tavern. It is located at 155 Pennbrook Parkway, Lansdale. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board across from Stringer Auditorium. If you have questions or need a ride, please call Marlene Ney at We hope you will join us! Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Contact Janet Harper at to add your requests to the phone chain Add your request online at Prayer Shawl Ministry If you know anybody who could use a shawl, please take a shawl and be sure to fill out the card that is with the shawls, then leave the card in the pink box in the library. The prayer shawl ministry will be in prayer for each recipient. Visit aleumc/ to post concerns and joys. We would love to hear your joys as well as your concerns! All women are invited to UMW's 2018 Annual Tea Sunday May 6th, at 12:30 in Stringer Our theme this year is "A Baby Shower" Come help "shower" local mothers-to-be with necessary baby items. Suggested items to donate include diapers, baby wipes, formula, or other items you might bring to a baby shower. Enjoy a variety of teas, sandwiches, and scrumptious desserts! Bring a friend! 7

8 News from Deacon Deb The Deacons of the Eastern PA and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences of UMC are gathering for a Day Apart with the Bishop. As part of that day, we will be assembling Hygiene kits for UMCOR. Please support your local UM deacons by collecting as many items as possible by Sunday, April 8. The items list can be found on the bulletin board outside Stringer, online at and below. Please leave items in the collection bin outside Stringer. Contact Deacon Deb Neild for more information. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT UMCOR Hygiene Kit Value: $12.00 per kit Hygiene Kit Materials All items must be new. Do not wash any of the items as they will be considered used. 1 hand towel 15 x25 inches to 17 x 27 inches Kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not acceptable 1 Washcloth 1 Toothbrush Adult size only Do not remove from original packaging 6 Adhesive bandages ¾ inch to 1 inch-size Common household Band-Aids 1 Bath-size soap 3 oz. and larger sizes only No Ivory or Jergens soap due to moisture content Do not remove from original packaging 1 Comb Comb needs to be sturdy and longer than 6 inches long No pocket combs or picks, please Rattail combs and combs without handle are acceptable with a minimum of 6 inches of teeth 1 Metal nail file or nail clippers No emery boards, please $1.00 to purchase toothpaste For an evening of Grilling crowd-pleasers preparing salads creating desserts June 1 at 7:00 pm in Stringer Auditorium Come to the Party/Order online/browse the catalog All for Fulfilling Our Covenant 8

9 Applebee s Fundraiser April 14, :00AM to 10:00AM Price $8.00 for Adults $4.00 for children (10 and under) Let s complete our pledge now! Bring your family and neighbors! Proceeds will go toward the Fulfilling our Covenant Fund What Does Your Offering Support? Our congregation generously gives to numerous funds, but do we know exactly what they support? Here s a brief synopsis of each fund: Operations: Takes care of the overall budget of the church. This includes salaries, utilities, activities, and conference support. If an offering is not designated for a particular fund, it will default to Operations. Improvement: As the name implies, this fund is used to make improvements to the church facilities. While separate from the Trustee Funds, the Trustees can decide where best to allocate the Improvement Fund to keep the building in shape. Communion (second offering on the First Sunday): Goes toward the Minister s Discretionary Fund. Our Pastoral staff understands the needs of local families and will respond accordingly. Blue Envelopes: Each month our Missions committee designates an area of support that can be local, national, or international. See the Sunday bulletin or Circuit Rider for each month s focus. Yellow Envelopes (Pew Envelopes): Can be used when other envelopes are not available, just mark on the envelope where the funds should go. There are many other giving opportunities that are for specific activities such as disaster response or unanticipated expenses such as snow removal. The weekly bulletins and the Circuit Rider will alert us to each one. In addition, check out your box of envelopes for other special offerings including Blankets, One Great Hour of Sharing, Native American Ministries, Peace with Justice, Golden Cross, World Wide Communion and United Methodist Student Day. These special offerings occur throughout the year on specific Sundays. Prepare for the Upcoming Rummage Sale We are looking forward to the Rummage Sale coming on Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28. Collections and setup will begin on Saturday, April 21 from 9AM to Noon. Please plan on giving your time and assistance to help this program. We consider this a community outreach as well as a fundraiser for our Youth. Youth Mission Trip The Youth Mission Trip is coming July 14 to 21. We ve not decided the final destination but have started signups now. Cost is $100 for church members, $200 for non-active and non-members. Deposits of $50 are due April 1. Spots are limited. Please see Brent Snyder (brent@lansdaleumc.org) with questions or to sign up. 9

10 4/1 Ryan Neild 4/4 Don Dietterich Koshy John Thalakal 4/5 Joseph Yard 4/6 Steve Miller 4/7 Donna Beausoleil 4/8 Pearl Rhodes 4/9 Josh Litke Erika Shaedle Jean Weaver 4/10 David DeLong Ruth Dietterich Frank Mensah Important Events Birthdays 4/11 Eric Beideman Tony Fischer 4/13 Stephanie Ringbloom 4/15 Chase Montgomery 4/16 Lucas Bennett Sandi DeLong Chase Snyder 4/17 Katie Bradley 4/18 Ben Barnhart 4/19 Justin Filaferro Tara Reinmiller 4/20 Don Vance 4/22 Stella Pitts 4/24 Pete Clelland 4/26 Rita Conaway Shirley Eyre Kerri Joyce 4/27 Timothy Kurtz Johnny Mowbray Gary Silknitter 4/29 Patrick Stendahl 4/30 Lizzie Kosten James Linde Thank You, Thank You! Anniversaries 4/4 Jim & Katia Edgar 11 4/9 Jim & Stacey Spencer 19 4/15 Edward & Barbara Hartmann 51 4/22 David & Lynn Whitman 16 4/27 Richard & Louise Lehman 50 4/29 Nancy & Ron Fasano 18 4/30 Michele & Clark Benchouk 24 Walt & Jane Bingham 63 Deaths Jim Newell went to be with the Lord on February 22, His wisdom, strength and voice will be missed every day at Lansdale UMC. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Helen, Kim and Chris Newell. Thank you so very much for the beautiful flowers delivered to me for the passing of my other sister, Wilma. Also, thanks to Marilyn Snyder for delivering them. I really enjoyed your visit. God Bless, Lois Sibbach Thank you for the terrific flower arrangement for my birthday. It s always nice to be thought of. I'm not sure why I was singled out for this. So let me accept it on behalf of all the March birthday people. Dick Lehman Thanks to all of our caring friends at LUMC for the prayers concerns and cards after the death of my Dad. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Alan Dickel THANK YOU for all the prayers and good thoughts for me during my recent surgery. It means the world to me that all of you prayed and reached out to see how I was doing. I m happy to say that everything went well, and I m back in the office! A special thank you to Luann and Deb for stepping up and covering the office while I was out. Another extra-special thank you to Luann for coordinating the volunteers and details for the recent Tools for Ministry. I appreciate all of you, and I m very happy to have found a place in your church family. God bless all of you! Becky 10

11 LUMC Events Apr 2018 (Eastern Time) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat am - Worship Service 12pm - AA Hecker 7pm - Finance Meeting 6:30am - Men's Bible at 11:30am - Adult Dine 5pm - Youth Group - Faith Night 10:15am - Church School for all 7pm - Trustees 7pm - Missions New 9:30am - Women's Bible 7pm - Chancel Choir Rehearsal 11:15am - Confirmation 4pm - NO God's Youth in Motion 5pm - Discipleship Fast Track am - Worship Service 12pm - AA Hecker 7pm - Church and 6:30am - Men's Bible at Circuit Rider Deadline 7pm - Class am - Applebees Fundraiser 10:15am - Church School for all 5:45pm - Staff 9:30am - Women's Bible 7pm - Chancel Choir Rehearsal 11:15am - Confirmation 7pm - Church Council 4pm - God's Youth in Motion 5pm - Discipleship Fast Track am - Worship Service 12pm - AA Hecker 11:30am - Susannah Wesley 6:30am - Men's Bible at 7pm - Chancel Choir Rehearsal Rummage Sale 10:15am - Church School for all 7pm - Soul Sister 9:30am - Women's Bible 9am - Youth Rummage Sale Set 11:15am - Confirmation 7pm - North Penn Area 4pm - God's Youth in Motion 5pm - Discipleship Fast Track Rummage Sale Rummage Sale Rummage Sale Rummage Sale Rummage Sale Rummage Kitchen Rummage Kitchen 9am - Worship Service 12pm - AA Hecker 6pm - New Horizons 6:30am - Men's Bible at 6:30pm - Rummage Sale Rummage Sale Rummage Sale 10:15am - Church School for all 6pm - Youth Ministry Team 6:30pm - Rummage Sale 9:30am - Women's Bible 7pm - Chancel Choir Rehearsal 1pm - Rummage Stringer 9am - Rummage Stringer 11:15am - Confirmation 6:30pm - Rummage Sale 6pm - GS Stringer 7pm - Moms in Library 7pm - Class pm - Rummage Sale Clean up 4pm - God's Youth in Motion 7pm - Tech Team 6:30pm - Rummage Sale 5pm - Discipleship Fast Track Rummage Sale Rummage Sale 9am - Worship Service 12pm - AA Hecker 10:15am - Church School for all 11:15am - Confirmation 4pm - NO God's Youth in Motion 5pm - Discipleship Fast Track 11

12 Lansdale United Methodist Church 300 North Broad Street Lansdale, PA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Nonprofit U.S. Permit No. Lansdale, Church Staff Church Leadership Lay Leaders: Tom Tomlinson and Dave Edwards Church & Society: Verna Colliver Discipleship: Lance Patterson Finance: Jeff Clamer Librarian: Verna Colliver Missions: Cindy Scheetz Staff Parish Relations: Bill Cole Trustees: Kris Neild UMM President: Joe Millman The May 2018 newsletter deadline is April 12, 2018 The Circuit Rider is a monthly newsletter of the Lansdale United Methodist Church. Send articles to circuitrider@lansdaleumc.org. 12

13 the Circuit Rider A Monthly Newsletter of the Lansdale United Methodist Church H L Y N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E L A N S D A L E U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T Our young LUMC friend, Tedeum Mensah, saw something missing at Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy a few weeks ago. He and some of his friends looked at what happened in the Florida school shooting and thought that this was just not right. Ted thought that there needs to be a change and their generation need to take a stand against gun violence and participate in the National Student Walkout in protest of national leaders failure to pass laws to protect students from gun violence. Ted and his friends went to the principal at his school in Norristown and asked that their school participate in the 17-minute National Student walkout on Wednesday, March 14. Ted tells us that the majority of the students chose to participate and that he and his friends were allowed to speak to the student population about their generation being an agent for change in order to prevent more student deaths from occurring. We are proud of Ted for demonstrating his faith and taking a stand for social justice in his school. Ted and 7 other youth will be confirmed in our church on May 13 and we look forward to welcoming them into our Methodist congregation. Save the Date! Free Car Wash May 12, 2018 Random acts of kindness for our community returns on May 12 with a free car wash in our parking lot. Please come and help us help others. Women s Tea Our annual UMW Tea will be held on Sunday afternoon, May 6, Our theme this year is a Baby Shower. More details on page 7. Youth Rummage Sale April 27-28, 2018 Please support our Youth Rummage Sale this spring! Church-wide help is needed! Watch for signups. Lansdale United Methodist Church Fax: office@lansdaleumc.org Our church extends a warm welcome to everyone. Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr. Christopher Jacob Kurien Rev. Debra Neild, Deacon Sunday Morning: 9:00 am Worship Service 10:15 am Sunday School for all ages Nursery Care available all morning