Winthrop United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 Winthrop United Methodist Church M E S S E N G E R May/June 2018 Pentecost Sunday is May 20, 2018 Pentecost, considered by many to be the birthday of the Christian church, will be celebrated on Sunday, May 20 th, Pentecost marks the day the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, giving them the authority to speak in the name of Jesus, Lord and Savior of all. It falls50 days after the Resurrection. Everyone is invited to wear red to church on May 20 th in celebration. Following is a short, fun quiz to test yourself on how much you know about Pentecost. Answers can be found in Acts 2! What Christian holiday does the holiday of Pentecost follow? Memorial Day Christmas Easter New Year s Day How many days after Jesus ascended into heaven did the disciples celebrate Pentecost? Five Ten One Three While everyone was gathered together in a room celebrating the Jewish Feast of Weeks, what sound was heard all around them? Children laughing Fire crackling Rushing Wind Water gurgling What happened to the disciples when the Holy Spirit entered them? They fell into a deep sleep They could speak in different languages They ate like pigs They all began to cry

2 Volunteer Needed! After many years of faithful service to WUMC and the Winthrop Food Pantry, Kay Riggs is stepping down from her Food Pantry Angel ministry. Once a month, on the first Thursday after the first Sunday, Kay takes any donations left at the church over to the food pantry on High Street. The pantry folks weigh the donation, give Kay a receipt, and off she goes! Is there someone in the church willing to take over this ministry? It is a small commitment of time, but an important part of our outreach. If you are interested, please contact the church office. Parking Changes Parking in the Winthrop House of Pizza lot is available on Sunday mornings only and only in the spaces on the opposite side of the lot from the pizza shop building. Additional parking is available along the west side of the building on our side of the concrete barriers, and in the church lots on the east side of the building and at 72 Main Street. Parking is also available on the street and in the Kennebec Savings Bank lot. Violators run the risk of being towed. Thank you for your cooperation. Whale of a Sale is happening on August 18, 2018! For those of you unfamiliar with this event, this is a very successful fundraiser for our church which is held biannually. It is a giant rummage sale held on the lawn of the church and in Fellowship Hall. Merchandise for the sale is donated by the church family and proceeds from the sale support the work of the church. We are especially looking for donations of household goods. Please start saving any items you no longer need as you begin spring cleaning. Sadly we do not accept electronics or clothing. All clothing can be dropped off at Tabitha s Closet however! Beginning June 9 th space will be available in Wonder Awhile Nursery School classrooms. If you are interested in being on the committee, we are looking for volunteers. Please contact Janet Cowperthwaite, Jane Brennan or call the church office Our first meeting will be May 17 th at 6:00 pm. Sight and Sound Theatre Lancaster, Pennsylvania The tickets have been purchased, the bus has been reserved, the motel is saving rooms for us..all systems are GO!! The highlight of our bus trip will be attending the Sight and Sound Theatre to see their newest production called Jesus in Lancaster, PA but another smaller adventure is being planned as well. The dates will be October 1-4, 2018 so start saving your money! Sign up sheets will be available later in June. For more information, contact Mark or Judy Johnston or Pastor Ned. Stay tuned!

3 Musicians Needed! Calling all musicians! Please help us fill our summer special music calendar! If you would like to perform see Michelle Chick so she can add you to the summer calendar. She is trying to make sure it is full before she departs at the end of June. This has been a long winter and spring. I had plans for Ireland in April and bird walks in May, but instead I am in a hyperbaric chamber all morning every day. I ve reached day 20 out of 40, but they may have to extend the treatments. If it were not for you wonderful WUMC folks, I am sure I would be having counseling for depression now. Instead, I come home to find cards in my mailbox, little gifts in the mail or dropped off at my house, and every time I see someone they tell me they are praying for me and for my healing. It gives me hope and courage to just keep plodding on and not get discouraged. It is amazing how much I feel surrounded by love and caring when I don t have the energy to get to church and see people. (This treatment just wipes me out and I really need to sleep in on weekends and recharge). They are beginning to see some signs of healing. The radiation I had so very long ago (2002) has kept this incision from healing and this hyperbaric oxygen chamber is the treatment of choice for this problem. I feel so blessed that this treatment is available so close by (not that I like it or the time it takes). Now, I m having a recurrence of the sciatic pain, but don t have any room in my calendar to see another health provider about it! I ll have to trust that God will find a way to heal it. I just want to thank all of you for being so caring and taking the time to send a card and especially for your prayers! Love you all! Hope to see you soon. Joyce Hanna Our Mission and Purpose The mission of the Winthrop United Methodist Church is to be a Christian community that invites all people to participate in God s love. Our purpose is to live out the mission through nurture, outreach and witness. Medical Devices Ministry Do you or someone you know have a temporary need for a medical device? Our church has a lending program that might help. We have a supply of donated crutches, canes, walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, etc. that people can use when they are recovering at home from an injury, surgery, or other medical issue. Please see Chris O Connell or make your request at the church office. If we have it, we d love to have you borrow it. May 20, 2018 A Busy Sunday, Indeed! May 20 th is Pentecost Sunday. Everyone is invited to wear red to church that day. It is also Hat Sunday, so don your favorite (or most outlandish) chapeau. Tabitha s Closet is having an Open House Day, too! Stop by during the morning and check out this amazing ministry. The Christian Education Team is hosting an end-of-the-year picnic after church, and everyone is invited! Fun, food, mission, and the Holy Spirit all at once now that s what being a Christian is supposed to be like!

4 Prayer Shawls ATTENTION: DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD USE SOME COMFORT FROM YOU AND GOD? Here at WUMC we have an abundance of prayer shawls for you to give to those who do. We have shawls for the ladies, lap robes for the gents, and blankets for small children and babies.t hese are all ready to go and kept in the large, brown TV cabinet in the chapel. All items are in gift bags and clearly marked. Please help yourself and be sure to use the notebook marked "OUT". This records the name of the recipient, some way we could pray for the recipient, a description of the item, the date and your name. THE PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP! If you knit or crochet, and would like to participate, we are in need of baby blankets for christening (2.5' x 2.5') made with soft yarn, in white or pale pastel colors (solids please), kid blankets in all colors and patterns (approx 3.5' x 3.5') for kids and babies, men's lap robes (same size as kids blankets but in appropriate colors) and finally we need pocket prayer squares (2" x 2") in a variety of colors. If you sew, child size quilts are always welcome. Don't forget to sign in when you donate, using the notebook marked "IN". We will get it into a gift bag so it will be ready to go. Need more information about our prayer shawl ministry? Please feel free to contact Shelly Gearheart ( ) or Jan Leighton ( ) Thank you! Hannaford Cards The Hannaford cards are available for purchase every Sunday in Fellowship Hall following worship. There are denominations of $25, $50, and $100. Five percent of the proceeds from the sale of the cards go to the church, which amounts to approximately $1,200 per year. First Sunday Ministries Returnable Cans and Bottles: Graduation time is fast approaching! We have a few high school seniors associated with our church and we would like to continue the tradition of presenting them with a monetary gift from our church. This ministry is totally supported by your donations of returnable cans and bottles. So please bring your Donations to the church and put in the box outside the kitchen, or take them directly to the Redemption Center on Royal Street. Just ask the attendant to credit the Methodist Church account. Food Pantry Donations: On the first Sunday of each month, the congregation is invited to bring non-perishable food items and personal hygiene items to donate to the Winthrop Food Pantry. If the pantry has specific needs, we will pass that information on, however, all donations of nutritious foods are welcome. Kay Riggs currently delivers the donated items to the Food Pantry. WUMC Prayer Chain Our church has an electronic prayer chain which enables instant sending of prayer requests to a large number of prayer warriors made up of members of the WUMC congregation. If you have a request, or if you would like to become a prayer warrior and be added to the prayer chain, please Christina Kennedy at ckenny@roadrunner.com. For July 2018! Please your articles to the church office (office@winthropumc.org) by Saturday, June 20, 2018.

5 April was a very busy month for all ages with many different activities going on. The Adult Sunday School is having good attendance at their meeting before the Sunday worship service. Dawn Patrol meets on Monday morning from 7:00-8:30 am and has a committed group of ladies each week. Lots of sharing and studying God's word. Both groups are always open to new members who would enjoy the small group experience of learning more about God. The youth group had a Saturday outing this month that was well attended. They traveled to Lewiston to the bounce house for the day. They also helped with Coffee Cafe on April 30th. They made muffins and sweet breads that were served that morning. Several youth also helped as Youth Leaders during Vacation Bible School in April. Vacation Bible School for the younger children was well attended again this year. There were 22 children for the four days during the week of April 17-20th. The theme was "Shipwrecked, Rescued by Jesus." The many activities were based around being shipwrecked on a beautiful tropical island. The lessons, games, snacks, science projects, and fellowship all revolved around different ways Jesus rescues us in times of need. By Friday we had found enough drift wood and other items to build a raft and sail off the island back home to loved ones. The adults had as much fun as the children did. This was all possible because of all the wonderful adults who shared their individual skills to help make this a fantastic week and the great Youth Leaders who spent part of their April vacation week to volunteering to work with the children. My sincere Thank You to all who helped during the week - to those who created and set up all the outstanding scenery, people who donated all the snack foods for the week, and most of all to the dedicated parents and grandparents who brought their children each day to enjoy all the fun and learning. May 20th will be the last day of Sunday school for the summer. The teachers, classroom angels and I wish you all a wonderful summer vacation and look forward to seeing you in September. Blessings! Lynda Pratt, Christian Ed Chair Spring is on the calendar, even if it is not in the air. One of our earliest crops to bear fruit is rhubarb. Here is a recipe from one of Maine s sporting camps, West Branch Pond Camps in the Moosehead/Katahdin area. Rhubarb Surprise Cake: ½ stick butter, softened 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup sugar ½ cup flour 2 eggs 2 tsp. baking soda ½ cup milk In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder into wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with the following: Topping: 3 cups sliced rhubarb ½ teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup white granulated sugar Combine the rhubarb with the sugars and spoon over the cake batter in the pan. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees (pre-heated) for minutes. Serve plain or warm with whipped cream or ice cream. (The surprise is that the rhubarb starts out on top and ends up on the bottom!)

6 Wow! It's spring. At least nature knows. Our plants and flowers say let's shine and be alive. Excitement is in the air. Pastor finally got to celebrate that "big time" birthday, his wife is recovering from the painful shoulder surgery, and the rest of us have survived a very long winter in one fashion or another. Your trustees remain in the fix and repair mood, moving a few wires around, keeping doors and driveways usable and reminding all to pay strict attention to any no parking signs. While there has been a lot of buzz concerning our most important need for additional parking (wonderful need, isn't it), it would appear that this might remain in our bucket list with a hope that we will not be surprisingly caught as we were by the Jersey Barriers. We are wondering if lining off the parking at 72 Main would help solve our problem as parking for members, guests, and visitors allows our church to grow. Yes, plans are in the making for painting the walls in Fellowship Hall, the kitchen and ceilings as needed before any flooring can go down. We congratulate the ladies who stepped forward to chair the WHALE OF A SALE this summer. We all need to start thinking about our items in good condition, no longer being used, to put aside as this will help to provide dollars as we don't want to go into debt for the flooring purchase. Help will be needed to accomplish our responsibility for painting. Soon a call will go out to those who will offer a hand. Feel free to tap the shoulder of any trustee at any time as we plan to wait until our nursery school is on summer vacation and will be using a special, non-allergic paint. Trustees and ushers are working diligently to keep the appearance of the pews and sanctuary in tip top appearance. Please help by checking the area around you as you leave. Barbara has made up a splendid Usher Duty sheet so along with their USHER badges you can spot them. They are responsible for the final inspection and lights out after the service. No lollypops for us but our actions will go a long way in making a good impression to our visitors. School Day of Caring is now scheduled for Friday, May 18th from 9 am-noon in the morning (Monday the 21st is the rain date). Once again we hope to join with our energetic students to spruce up, clean up, and water up - projects that yearly show up! Bring a rake, a wheelbarrow, window wash stuff and we'll be off and running for about three hours. Once again, many hands and many ideas keep us moving forward. Your trustees have been dreaming, looking up, and outward as the years catch up with us sooner than we think. Bless all of you. Your ideas, your comments, and especially if you are not sure about something, you ask. God blesses us all, our friends, and our community. Sue Thomas

7 Nametags Wonder Awhile Nursery School has a busy Spring. We have polliwog eggs to watch grow into tadpoles, and we are watching caterpillars turn into butterflies as part of our Bug curriculum. Many gifts will be made for Mother s Day and Father s Day celebrations. We have been inside an ambulance and police cars. We will be walking to the Library and singing at Heritage Manor as we learn about the tools and equipment our community workers use. Wonder Awhile Nursery is accepting registrations for next school year. If you know any children who will be 3, 4, or 5 years old by October 15, 2018, please tell families about this important church mission. Brochures are available in the entry way or feel free to contact Jane with any questions. There is still time to support Wonder Awhile by attending the Family Fun Day scheduled for Friday, May 18, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. There will be a bounce house, parachute, popcorn and water. Everyone is welcome to join us while Wonder Awhile Plays Outside. This event is an opportunity for everyone to exchange phone numbers for summer play dates. A huge THANK YOU to all of you who drop off bugs (Sue), storage containers (Kay) and stickers. It always is exciting to come in on Monday morning to see what was left on the sensory table for us. We truly appreciate your prayers and support for this amazing mission. Many children s lives have been enriched with a firm foundation for later success as they continue their educational journey. As always, I feel blessed to be a mission of this great church. I was very proud to be a part of a great team where everyone worked together to provide Vacation Bible School for so many young children from the Winthrop area. It was amazing as everyday brought new challenges that the team overcame. Please don t forget to wear your nametag Sunday mornings or during WUMC fellowship events. They really help us get to know one another. If you do not have a nametag, please see Barbara in the church office. We ll get you one! Elevator Reminder We are fortunate to have an elevator to ease access to our second floor sanctuary, but please keep in mind that the elevator will not operate unless both the gates and doors are completely closed. When you exit the elevator, please be sure to close the gate and the door behind you. Only then will the elevator be available to the next person who needs it. And if you see a visitor trying to use the elevator, please stop and assist them to make sure they close the gates! Thank you. Wonders never cease as long as you never cease to wonder

8 We have had a busy spring! We were open a 3 rd Saturday in March (17 th ) making more room for spring and summer items. On that "Surplus Saturday," we signed in 105 people so it was a big success. After church on May 20 th we are planning an open house at Tabitha's Closet. If you have never had a tour, you are in for a surprise at how well-organized and inviting our space is. We would love to have you come and see the downstairs sorting area as well as the upstairs at 72 Main Street. You will be amazed at all the work that goes into this wonderful ministry and how hard our volunteers work. Sorting teams are working well; we have a crew Monday, Weds and Friday. Monday's shift is the busiest one with more than 10 volunteers and they do most of the unpacking of presorted clothing that has been separated into banana boxes and they restock the poles and shelves for the next open Saturday, tastefully displaying items. They do such a good job making it warm and inviting. In addition to sorting clothing items and linens, we have been fortunate to have had enough donations to share with other community outreach programs. Currently we are sharing our surplus with St. Peter s Thrift Shop in Bingham as well as W.I.C. in Kennebec County; Maranacook Community School; Winthrop Schools; the Vestry; Goodwill and Salvation Army. During the winter of 2017, we shared clothing with Hope Haven in Lewiston, which is a family homeless shelter. Granite Hill Estates has taken us on as their charity for about 3 years, and collections of clothing and many other items come from this wonderful group of people. We also have a new lead on a men s homeless shelter on Pine Street in Lewiston. Tabitha s Closet, with Pastor Ned as an additional member, has a core committee of 7 volunteers and we meet about every 6 weeks. We have our own operating budget which is not part of the church budget. That said, because W.U.M.C. owns 72 Main Street, we do not pay for heat nor utilities. We apply for, and so far have received yearly, a grant from the Mid State Machine Foundation that has helped immensely with operating costs. We have also been blessed this past year with two memorial funds due to the generosity of James Chick and his family in memory Donna and from Sue Reinke and her family in memory of Ed. We also have had a donation check recently from the Manchester Community Church and we usually have some cash in the donation s jar when we have an open Saturday. Through out the year, church members have also donated money to help with the operating costs and to contribute to purchasing needed items including school supplies and toys for Christmas. We are so blessed to have such a generous church family. We are always looking for new ideas and ways to do things. If you think Tabitha s Closet is something you might be interested in, we will be needing to add additional shifts this summer when the Mission s Teams are at Mechuwana. We have a wonderful brochure about Tabitha's Closet if you would like to give someone more information about our program. And in addition, we are starting to collect school supplies and new toys and books for our upcoming specials, August 11th is our Free School Supplies giveaway and December 8th is Tabitha's Christmas Closet. Donations of items for these special events are accepted anytime. Luke 3:11 tells us, John the Baptist speaking: The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same. Blessings and thanks to all of you who support Tabitha s Closet in so many different ways. Questions or concerns, please contact one of the following: Barb Hamblin; Chris O Connell; Crystal Belden; Jill Howes; Lynda Pratt; Sue Phillips or Sue Reinke.

9 Winthrop United Methodist Church P.O. Box 136 Winthrop, ME Church Office Hours: Tuesday Friday 9 a.m 2 p.m (207) P.O. Box Main Street Winthrop, ME Ned S. Crockett - Pastor Ron Leighton - Lay Leader Barbara Hamblin - Administrative Assistant office@winthropumc.org Pastor Ned: pastor@winthropumc.org Sunday Worship service 10:00 a.m. Sunday School 8:45 a.m. The mission of the Winthrop United Methodist Church is to be a Christian community that invites all people to participate in God s love. Our purpose is to live out the mission through nurture, outreach and witness.