GOOD NEWS! J U N E / J U L Y

Transcription

1 GOOD NEWS! THE NEWSLETTER OF MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, CLOVIS "THE MISSION OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IS TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD." 1726 POLLASKY AVE CLOVIS, CA J U N E / J U L Y M E M - U M C. O R G Watch for the Christmas in Summer Head Heart December is so FULL of activity we often don't have time for special Bible studies, or crafting beautiful symbols of Jesus. This year let's take time in the summer to celebrate Christmas at a more leisurely pace! For adults - choose from: Bible Study class Crafting group making Chrismons - beautifully decorated symbols for Jesus Doing light construction and set preparation for our Live Nativity in December For youth: Do puppets with Karen Ledbetter Crafting group making Chrismons - beautifully decorated symbols for Jesus Help with children's classes Hand Symbols to see how these ministries are targets to help your spiritual growth For children: A special summer edition of the Sunday evening programming including music, stories and crafts. Truly - something for everyone! When? The 2nd & 4th Sunday in June and July (June 14 & 28, July 12 & 26) Dinner at 5 pm Classes 5:45-6:45 Bring a friend!

2 P A G E 2 Upcoming Events Great Day of Music June 14 Combined Worship at10 a.m. We will praise God through music for the entire service - singing our favorite hymns and anthems. This annual event is uplifting and inspiring and joyful. A good time to bring family and friends to worship. This year we will also take time to thank Kathy Cannon for 15 years of service to our congregation as organist. Kathy will be retiring from this ministry. We have been so blessed by her talent so freely shared with all of us. We know you will want to be present for this special time during our Great Day of Music! Second Sunday Lunch June 14 We celebrate the return of BUCK A BURGER!! Giving thanks for all the "Fathers in the Faith" the UMW will bring salads and dessert while master griller George Grimsley returns to cook hamburgers to perfection! AND for the special price of $1 per burger! What a treat!!! Bring your family & friends and join the fun!! PLUS: we are lining up some special entertainment for the day! We promise it will be FUN!! June 14 right after worship - which begins at 10 a.m. for the Great Day of Music! A Special Invitation to a Special Music Event La Forza flute choir is in planning a concert on Saturday, July 18 at 3pm in the Sanctuary. The flute choir will include the flute and a few young conducting students of Janette Erickson, plus bass clarinet and string bass. Besides featuring the wonderful classical Russell S. Howland Flute Choir Library, the group will present some of its piccolo (small flute) members, who participated in the Nicola Mazzanti class with the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto and in the Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever March. Conference this year will be June in Burlingame. Pastor Janette will be attending, along with our lay members Stan& Guin Jenanyan and Mike Feist. The conference will cover basic business items, strengthen structures that help our denomination focus on living our faith in the world AND this year we elect delegates to next year's General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference. Flute Choir Annual Conference Session: Please pray for wisdom and guidance and traveling mercies as people from across California and Nevada gather to do the business of the church.

3 Upcoming Events P A G E 3 SECOND SATURDAY CINEMA: Quilter s Workshop Fun Day July 13th 10am 3pm Everyone is invited to join in this FUN Day of friendship, learning, sharing, food and FUN! Led by Guin Jenanyan, we will join the Monday Quilters in making FUN tote bags and aprons. Once these projects are finished they will be for sale at the October Blessing of the Animals. Bring your sewing machine, iron, ironing board or blanket and your spirit of FUN. All fabrics will be provided. A FUN delicious lunch will be prepared by Stan Jenanyan. Did I say we will have FUN? The SECOND Saturday of each month gather in our social hall at 4:30 p.m. Bring a comfortable chair and some munchies to share. We will heat up our big popcorn popper and enjoy different styles of movies month by month. New Day June 13: Second Hand Lions Haley Joel Osment is Walter, a 14-year-old boy left by his mother in the care of two grumpy old uncles (Michael Caine and Robert Duvall), the eccentric, reputedly wealthy proprietors of a farm in central Texas. The movie is pure hokum, but at least it spins out a yarn. The core of the film, set in the early 60's, consists of pulpy visualizations of the brothers' swashbuckling adventures overseas when they were young. July 11 : Bonhoeffer A Lutheran church outside of Germany. Those close with the minister, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, advise him not to return to Germany, but a doctor insists that he must due to his religious beliefs. Despite the possibility of persecution by the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer returns to Germany and preaches of the Jews and against Hitler and his Nazi agenda. Teams and Ministries The Christian Book Club The Christian Book Club will finish up the book they are reading within the next few weeks. Do you have a book you would like to read and discuss? Come and join us on Tuesday evenings at 7pm in the library. WWD Grief Et al Group A grief support group with focus on recovering joy in our lives. Meets the 2nd & 4th Saturdays each month beginning at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall (or an education classroom when the Hall in engaged) The basic meeting format is: 5 min introductions 10 min business 10 min program 35 min fun games Anyone experiencing any type grief is invited to participate in this group. Contact Don Haulman for more information.

4 P A G E 4 Teams and Ministries United Methodist Women UMW News June June 16th - Unit Meeting 10 am in the Fellowship Hall. Baseball Day-fun & games Luncheon salad & hot dogs All women welcome. Bring your friends United Methodist Men Men of all ages are welcome to join us for breakfast on June 6th and July 4th from 8-9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. See you there! Thank you, Andy Hansen- Smith President of MUMC s UMM Mission Thrift Shop Come see our new improvements at the Thrift Shop! We will be open the 5th and 6th of June and 3rd and 4th of July. We are in need of people to work these Friday and Saturday sales days. Youth/ and Young Adults Youth Group: It's time to 'move on up'! Youth's who are going into 7th grade next year are welcome to join us at youth group on Friday nights from 7-9 in the Bungalow. At the end of the summer, we will officially welcome you to youth group with our annual 'movin on up' swim party!! Keep watching for dates. Youth Summer Mission to New Mexico The youth mission is quickly approaching! Please continue to keep us in prayer as we prepare for this exciting opportunity at the beginning of August. Boutique News Do you believe time flies? I sure do. I can hardly believe it is nearly June. Which means that there are approximately: 152 days until Halloween, 178 days until Thanksgiving and 208 days until Christmas. And somewhere in there is our Holiday Boutique. Now don t panic because there is still time; even lots of time to make something to contribute to our Boutique sale. Seriously, we need the help of all members of MUMC to make our Boutique a success. The handmade items we sell do not have to be made only by women, I think there may be a man or two in or congregation who paint or create things. Please consider making and donating to our Boutique. Reminder: This fund raiser, like the Thrift Store, depends on donations from church members to succeed. We also want to encourage anyone who would like to join us on Wednesdays 9am to 11am. We sew, craft, quilt and visit and then around 11am someone asks; Where are we going to have lunch? Come see what we are about. Oh and welcome to Gloria McClanahan who recently joined the group.

5 Teams and Ministries Message from The Trustees We find that lack of storage space is a problem and in an effort to create new secure storage space and help eliminate clutter we are investigating closing the two porch areas in the front of the sanctuary as a solution. This will also accomplish another problem, since we have found these porches are being used in inappropriate ways from time to time. The design will be carefully reviewed before any action is taken to assure that it matches the existing style of our building. We envision that the part facing the street will have security windows matching the style of the stain glass panels and the walls will be insulated. Academy Update In late April at a meeting of The Church Extension Society, the passing of the mantle of Academy Church was formally turned over to Memorial. There are plans to start meeting together to form ideas for mutual participation at the site, and to have a memorandum of understanding with The Academy Foundation & Memorial United Methodist Church. This could be a long process and until we actually meet & start the discussions together we re confident that all should become clearer in the fullness of time. Stay tuned for more as we plan to get together in early June. Teams and Ministries Parish Nurses June is STROKE-Awareness Month Every year in the United States,795,000 people will suffer a stroke, of those 610,000 are new episodes and of those 130,000 will die. That is 1 out of 20 deaths. It is the leading cause of serious long term disability. If you have had a stroke, you are at risk for a second stroke. When searching the internet, there are 5 sudden onset symptoms of a stroke. The easiest method is remembering signs is FAST: F-Face, is the face symmetrical, especially the smile. A-Arms, can both arms be lifted equally. S-Speech, are the words garbled. T-Time is of essence call 911! As a stroke survivor I can urge all people to be aware of the subtle signs of a stroke. Severe headache is also a first sign of a stroke. I never had a headache, after a day of inability to stay awake my speech was affected, then the insidious numbness on my right side. After 10 days in the hospital and sheer determination, I have no remaining signs of a strole. I also have had a second stroke, which indeed was sudden and astonishing. After working with the roses in my backyard, I had a sudden kaleidoscope of color in my left eye, lasting for seconds, it effected my Left Optic nerve. I share this for others to be aware. To prevent strokes, be aware of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, but here in the valley, a main contributor to strokes is dehydration. Beware Good Health, Lucy Elgin, MSN, NP An additional note for the Living Fully, Planning Well Seminar, have you completed your folders, if so, please turn them into the office. If you are still having difficulties, we will plan a short session in the fall. Blessings Lucy

6 Teams and Ministries P A G E 6 Special Friends April The Special Friends Group met April 9th, meditating on how uniquely each of us is made so that each of us is different. While watching a purple finch trying desperately to drink from a humming bird feeder until it finally realized it couldn t hover like a humming bird, the author wondered how often he attempted to be or wish to be something or somebody he was not. In Psalm 139:14 the Psalmist wrote, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Realizing that God has created us as unique individuals, we can confidently live as the people God created us to be and share that uniqueness with family, community and church. Such celebrating and sharing can be a tangible way for us to praise God for creating us the way we are. We had reports on how well the Easter Baskets were received. During the month we made 16 visits, 10 phone visits and sent 15 cards and notes. Closing thought: Our uniqueness is a living example of God s boundless grace. Blessings Lorraine May May Special Friends gathered May 14th. Our meditation centered around the scripture reading in Acts 4:36 There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means son of encouragement ). Do you have a someone who has been your encourager in your life? Someone who listens when you are hurting and pour out your heart in prayer; when you are discouraged and find God s words in the Bible to inspire or challenge you; when you are frightened by the world s turbulence and God sends the Holy Spirit to comfort you by friends who share words of hope? We can follow God s example and be encouragers ourselves. When people are hurting, we can listen with compassion instead of criticism or judgment. When others need to be encouraged, we can use scripture to console them and lift up their spirits as the world swirls around them through tragedy, we can come alongside them and simply be present with them. While sharing news of our special friends we remembered Lu Bailey who has gone to her home on high. She was our oldest church member. During May we have recorded 26 visits, made 15 calls and sent 42 cards or notes. A busy month of caring. Our next meeting will be June 11th at 2 pm. Closing thought: How will I remember God s word today? May Good encourage us so that we may encourage others. Blessings Lorraine May Finance April Finance Report After a very good March financially at Memorial, partly due to the wonderful generosity on the fifth Sunday of March, when we had a total deposit of $11, which probably helped reduce the amount that came in during April. However, that money was available for the bills due during the first week of April. This is fortunate since we did have to pay out $9, in the first week for the quarterly health insurance premiums and payroll taxes. The total General Fund income for April was $16, The bills for the month, including the March apportionments, totaled $28, This left a balance for the month of $11, in the red. Deducting this from the balance at the end of March, the April 30 year-to-date balance is a deficit of $5, And the April apportionments have yet to be paid. We did have a successful and inspiring United Methodist Day at the Grizzlies with the emphasis on World Malaria Day. With our Easter offering, we should be able to send the conference the full $2,340 they requested to help with the Imagine No Malaria Campaign. However, more donations are always welcome to help the conference achieve its goal of $2 million since many churches will not be able to contribute their full share and we can help fill the gap. We appreciate all those who give generously to help the church meet its financial obligations and outreach.

7 P A G E 7 TEAMS AND MINISTRIES June July Birthdays Ly Chai Yang 06/01 Vu Yang 06/01 Tou Xiong 06/03 Mai Thao Hang 06/04 Brian Jennison 06/05 Shua Chang-Yang 06/07 Dorothy Sinclair 06/07 Joy Cole 06/08 My Thao 06/09 Bonnnie Harkins 06/10 Tony Vang 06/10 Pai Yang 06/10 Jeannette Alexander 06/15 Katie Her 06/15 Addy Vang 06/15 Cher Mai Xiong 06/15 Koua Xiong 06/17 Gary Gentry 06/18 Tuartee Mitchell 06/23 Barbara Nielsen 06/23 Cathy Walker 06/24 Madeline Williams 06/30 Graduates! All 2015 graduates will be honored on June 21 Please let the office know of anyone you would like to honor that is graduating from high school or college or a training program. Tessa Hansen-Smith 07/01 Sang Chong 07/02 Barbara Woodward 07/03 Kong Lee 07/04 Tiffany Yang 07/04 Mary Ettelson 07/05 Reddi Yang 07/05 Eric Jennison 07/07 Koua Vang Xiong 07/08 Danielle Uwaoma 07/09 May Pao Lee 07/12 Billy Moua 07/12 Bill Sautter 07/12 Mely Rinon 07/13 Lorraine May 07/14 Vicki Her 07/15 Nou Yeng Yang 07/16 Yi Cha 07/17 Judith Gross 07/17 Peggy Bos 07/19 Celerina Carlos 07/20 Gloria McClanahan 07/20 Georgia Holman 07/21 Garth Goudelock 07/22 Carole Linenbach 07/23 Dang Thao 07/23 Pagean Carter 07/24 Ricky Harkins 07/25 Mike Jennison 07/25 John Taylor 07/25 Patti Pond 07/29 Sue DeFranco 07/30 Dorothy Heskett 07/31 Clayton Potter 07/31

8 From the Pastor P A G E 8 Grace and peace be with you all! An important concept that was taught to me in seminary is: The decisions you make in ministry today effect ministry 10 years down the line. This congregation has been doing a WONDERFUL job of making good decisions that continue to empower ministry today and into the decades ahead: The remodel of the sanctuary in 2006 is still stunningly beautiful and inviting. Opening the doors to Hmong Language Ministry is really expanding our ongoing ministries today, and has HUGE potential for the future. The purchase of a parsonage and the policies for upkeep of that property save thousands of dollars a year and provide an asset that could be rented if future pastors do not want to live in it - offsetting their housing allowance. The solar panels on the roof are saving hundreds of dollars now - and will save us thousands of dollars in the years ahead. The elected leadership on MUMC is looking into making some upgrades on our facilities that will help us reach our community more effectively while maximizing the use of the resources currently available to us. On the weeks and months ahead you will be hearing more about plans to increase storage, the possibility of adding video screen signage facing Pollasky, rearrange and repurpose the space used for our library into the Lose Chapel & Library, and more! Already you can see upgrades happening along Scott Street. We are laying the groundwork for the labyrinth and prayer garden that will be in the area of the parking lot on Scott. This will improve the visual aspect of our campus, creating a better neighborhood for our community, and invite people to spend time exploring their spiritual side. We have poured the cement pad in front of the Mission Thrift Shop, making it visually more appealing and increasing the safety for all coming into our campus. The adobe wall has been dismantled and the bricks are being repurposed to make planters to add foliage in a way that conserves water. BUT - all the upgrades in the world do not actually fulfill our primary purpose as United Methodists: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. In the summer months we will begin strategic work to do upgrades to our ministries. We need YOUR input to make the best decisions possible. The leadership of this congregation understands there is always room for improvements to be made - it will not hurt our feelings to have ideas brought to our attention. I believe that as we continue to open ourselves more and more to God's indwelling presence we grow in our ability to find creative solutions to the challenges we face and find improved ways of reaching out to the surrounding community with the love of Jesus, and to become the body of Christ for the world today. The decisions for ministry - to do ministries, or not do them - will impact our ability to do ministry 10 years from now. Let's find ways to say "Yes!!" to whatever ministries God bring to us! -is

9 It s Camping Season Connect with friends and family MUMC/Academy Family Camp What! You don t CAMP! That s fine! These fun activities are planned at Academy Church only a few When May 29-31, 2015 Where Academy Church What Overnight Camping Games Crafts Activities Sing-alongs 11 am Sunday Morning Service Ice Cream Social Per person $10 Maximum per family $55 Day only attendance a donation will be accepted to cover any food costs. Sign-up Now in the Narthex or call Memorial United Methodist Church of Clovis 1726 Pollasky Ave Clovis, CA Sunday May 31, 2012 Primary Service to be held at Academy Will be an Outdoor Service as a finish to Family Camp with Academy Ice cream Social. 10:00 am-a small service will also be held at Memorial for those who can t make it to Academy. CHURCH PHONE: CHURCH memumc@mem-umc.org