November Pastor s Ponderings

Transcription

1 November 2018 First United Methodist Church of Salida Love, Live, Give As You Have Received 4 th & D Streets (P.O. Box 945) Salida, CO (719) Ministers: Everyone; Pastor: Melinda Roberts (O), (C); Office Administrator: Licia Iverson; Accompanist: Rod Schleicher; Choir Director: Mary Sandell Co-Lay Leaders: Burrell & Sherry Welton: Burrell , Sherry ; C0-Church Council Chair: Elaine Adams and Eduardo Brummel ; Treasurer: Randy Bergstrom ; Finance Secretary: Paul Wilson Pastor s pastor@salidaumc.org Church website: Church office@salidaumc.org Pastor s Ponderings This month I will be preaching a 3 week sermon series on the book of Ruth. Many often reduce this book to just a love story and characterize Ruth as a type of Disney style princess that is rescued by her prince charming, Boaz. That is the way we heard this story in Sunday School, right? Let me tell you there is so much more to the story! I am not going to give it all away here, but I will tell you the story of Ruth is no G-rated story just for Sunday School. In the Hebrew language this story gets pretty risqué! It is also not just a love story. The story of Ruth, at its heart, is all about generosity. Within this book we find the generosity of Ruth, Naomi, Boaz and ultimately, God. We also will dig into the other side of the story which is the lack of generosity shown by Ruth s father in law, Elimelech. As we walk through this rich Biblical story of the life of Ruth, together, I would ask you to prayerfully consider your pledge to Salida UMC as we seek to continue to generously Be the Church in Chaffee County and beyond. On Sunday, November 18 we will wrap up our series on Ruth, with Commitment Sunday. Please plan to attend on this day and bring your pledge cards with you, as we bless our 2019 pledges and participate in a Commitment Liturgy during our worship service. If you have not received a pledge card in the mail, we have them available for you, here at the church. Thanks so much for all the ways you already generously contribute to ministry at Salida UMC. May God continue to bless and divinely increase our gifts together in the future! Be the church, Mel Melinda Roberts, Pastor pastor@salidaumc.org; (505) DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGES TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR, SATURDAY NIGHT, NOV. 3RD BEFORE BED! DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS ON NOV. 4 1

2 Sharing Our Prayers, Praise, Needs & Celebrations Gayle & Jim Greene, Mary Lou McCausey Please continue to hold Gayle, Jim and Mary Lou deep within your prayers as they navigate these days following the unexpected passing of Gayle s son, Victor, and Mary Lou s grandson. Lyalla Pywell Please continue to keep Lonnie, and their family and friends in your prayers following the passing of Lyalla on October 19 th. If you d like to send Lonnie a card, you may mail it to his home address: Lonnie Pywell 2880 N. Roadrunner Parkway, Apt. #221 Las Cruces, NM Paul Million Please keep Norma Smith s brother, Paul Million, of Haysville, KS, in your prayers. Paul had a heart attack on Oct. 31 st. He is in ICU following surgery to open one of two blockages. She is not sure what the next steps to support for his recovery will be. If you would like to send Paul a card, you may mail it to his home address: Paul Million 207 Fager St. Haysville, KS From Judy Naviaux - THANK YOU!! What a wonderful and amazing Salida UMC! I'm saying "thank you" to all the great friends who sent cards, brought flowers, brought yummy food, and just came by for a visit. And here's also a special thank you to Mary Lou and Virginia who waited in the hospital waiting room until my surgery was over and I was ready to go home. Breaking a leg is quite a painful ordeal and the healing time is complicated by phlebitis and some superficial blood clots. But I have many physical therapy sessions scheduled, and I WILL get better and be able to get back to church and other fun activities. Please know how much I appreciate all of your kindnesses (and I'm keeping warm with the pretty prayer quilt). Thank you! Judy Naviaux Continued Prayers requested for: - Jim Rees as he continues his course of treatment - Marti Harsh as she recovers from an infection - Patsy Madzey (Wayne Iverson s cousin) as she continues to recover from one cancer related surgery and prepares for another in early December. - Judy Eyler, as she continues to recover from back surgery. Town Hall Meeting and Finger-Food Fellowship Thank you to everyone who attended our recent Town Hall Meeting and potluck Finger-Food Fellowship. The meeting was well attended and thank-you to all who provided the delicious foods. We gathered MANY excellent ideas to consider for next year s fundraising efforts. If you have a fundraising idea that you d like us to consider, please let us know! Please send your prayer requests, updates, celebrations and announcements to Licia at: office@salidaumc.org Ever wondered how you might be of service to the church? Please consider being on the volunteer rotations for one of these three areas of service! For more information, please contact the following coordinators: Ushers Ginny Cunningham (719) Liturgists Karen Yerkey (719) Fellowship Barbara Zechman (719) THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS November Ushers - Coordinator: Ginny Cunningham November 4 Rich & Susan Little November 11 Jerry Cunningham & Debbie Jackson November 18 Jerry & Ginny Cunningham November 25 Judith Kinzie & Jody West November Liturgists - Coordinator: Karen Yerkey November 4 Meg Brown November 11 Sherry Welton November 18 Kay Goble November 25 Mary Reeves November Fellowship Hosts Coordinator: Barb Zechman November 4 Available November 11 Available November 18 Available November 25 Available NOVEMBER CELEBRATIONS Birthdays Nov. 1 Nov. 2 Nov. 4 Nov. 4 Nov. 11 Nov. 19 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Nov. 30 Beth Urban Connie Cole Gayle Greene Ken Callahan Flora Parsons Jean Hanfelt Ed Kinzie Jerry Cunningham Larry Walrath Donna Henning Judith Kinzie Elaine Adams Anniversaries Nov. 30 Tom & Kay Breunich Request from Licia: Please be sure to let the office know about the dates of the birthdays and anniversaries in your family! We love to celebrate such joys! 2

3 Operation Spirit From The Heart of the Rockies Salida Troops Donations We are helping to collect items for a project at the Lutheran church for our Salida troops. All donations need to be here on or before Sunday, November11 th Collection box is in Century Hall. DOUBLE BOXES WILL BE PREPARED FOR THE HOLIDAYS Packing of Boxes will take place on Tuesday, November 13 th at 9:00am at the Lutheran Church, in their basement. Thank you so much for your help. Items needed are: Important Request: All items travel size or individually wrapped. Tuna Packets Batteries Popcorn Pkts Coffee Pkts. Moleskin Swiss Miss Cocoa Pkts Razors Jerkey Deodorant All items need to be in small packages. Monetary Donations for Postage see info below Thank You!!! We are always looking to add other troop members (who are stationed out of the country) to receive these monthly boxes. Please let Ginny Biglow know if you have someone in mind! Special Request: Monetary Donations are needed to cover the cost of shipping the packages to our troops! Make checks payable to: First Lutheran, write TROOPS on the memo line. Mail to: First Lutheran Church 1237 F. St. Salida, CO EDUARDISMS BY: EDUARDO BRUMMEL We are the Church Together A confession: Before I left for church, the last time I was to be Lay Leader, I was in quite an ungodly mood. The slightest, littlest things had been setting me off. I truly wasn t in the proper frame of heart to be up front, leading the Call to Worship, lifting up the Offertory Prayer, reading Holy Scripture. But I walked into the sanctuary, and *poof* my crankiness was gone. There s something to be said for suddenly being among folks who ve known you for over a decade who ve seen you at your worst, your best, and all the way stations in between for settling you down and grounding you. Such is one of the glories of being in church. (You know I m talking about y all, right? Not the building where we gather?) Church is not a club for those who are wholly together, but an alliance of the holy broken. It s not where we re merely allowed to drop our façades, our masks, and our armor, but where we are mandated to do so to be purely and cleanly who we elegantly are. Multiple, are the ways truth sets us free. Because church is home (at least it ought to be), those who comprise it are family. Family is shelter from the storms; even though it can be, and occasionally is, more storms than shelter. Home, and family, never leave you; therefore, neither does the church. Faith Book Club The Faith book club will meet Tuesday, November 13 th at 10:00 a.m. at the home of Catherine Hayden The book: Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh, by Uma Krishnaswami Everyone is invited to join us.85 3

4 2019 Our Stewardship 2019 letters and pledge commitment cards will be mailed out in early November. If you do not receive yours in the mail, please let us know and we will get one to you. Information is also available in our church office and on the information table in Century Hall. This year s Commitment Sunday will be held on Sunday, November 18 th. Please plan to attend on this day, as we bless our 2019 pledges and participate in a Commitment Liturgy during our worship service. Pledge cards will be turned in during worship that Sunday. If you are unable to attend on Commitment Sunday, you may mail your pledge card to Salida United Methodist Church, PO Box 945, Salida, CO; Attention: Finance Secretary. Thank you for your prayerful consideration regarding your financial support of our church for this next year. It is through your generosity, that we are able to do God s work through this beautiful community of faith. Please know that your pledge information is held in strict confidence. If you have any questions, please speak with our Finance Secretary: Paul Wilson. You may reach Paul via at: pwilson54@aol.com or call on his cell: (719) Remember to purchase your Safeway cards or at the Church office or from Barb Williams. As we approach this time of the year, when many of us are planning delicious meals for family and friends, please consider using our Safeway gift cards for your purchases at Safeway. You can also use Safeway cards to purchase other gift cards for Christmas gifts. Your Safeway card can also be used at the Safeway pharmacy. You may purchase a reloadable gift card for $10 and it has $10 available on it. Then just have the cashier (before scanning your items) add your desired amount to the gift card and you re ready to go! You can also do this at the Customer Service desk before shopping! We also have gift cards in denominations of $50 or $100. Our church receives 5% of your purchases. This is a very convenient fundraiser for our church and your participation is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions, please see Barb Williams or you may inquire in the office. Your gift cards are waiting for you. HERE COMES THE FUDGE! We re excited that Faith Fudge season is upon us and there are many ways that you can help! Thank you to all who helped with the purchasing of ingredients needed and for those who came to prepare the kits! Please read through the following items and see how you want to join in!! FUDGE MAKERS NEEDED Fudge Kits will be available on Sunday, Nov. 4 th, for you to pick up (sign-out) to prepare at home and then return to the church. The kits will have everything you will need to make our proprietary recipe (with nuts & without nuts), minus a couple of things we ask you to provide, like vanilla, Butter Pam Spray and Press & Seal wrap. Details are on the recipe.and for those of you who knew Dixie Stanton, you ll hear her voice in the recipe too! Can t make fudge without thinking about Dixie!!! WHERE TO SELL FUDGE - In previous years, we have sold our beloved fudge in the entryway of Safeway on the weekends prior to Thanksgiving and leading up to the week before Christmas. This year, Safeway is currently in the midst of a massive remodel effort so we may modify the number of days to sell there. Regardless, we will be making fudge available for purchase to the public, here at the church during the week, as well as on Sundays after church. Watch for the sign-up sheet for volunteers needed to help cover any shifts. PREPARE TO PURCHASE FUDGE! Consider purchasing our fudge for your family and friends for the holidays. We are actively taking Commercial Orders for businesses who would like to purchase for their employees and/or customers. If you know of someone who would be interested in ordering for their business, please have them contact the church office at (719) or Licia at: office@salidaumc.org Any questions, please contact the office. This annual deliciousness has been a favorite treat for years, to many in the Salida community and the faith community of our church. This effort is an important fundraiser for the church s general fund, to help support all that we do. And as you can imagine, it takes many hands to do it well. We thank you for your support and participation in whatever way you are able to help. Thank You!!! 4

5 Dear Friends, TRINITY VIEWS Many of you have previously heard my encouragement to you regarding being Missional. I know that s a funky word, so will offer the simplest explanation I have. I think it means something along the lines of: Mission + Relational = Missional. In other words, BEING Missional is all about BEING the life-saving, transforming love of Jesus Christ in the world BEING Christ s hands and feet, serving all those whom Jesus calls us to help BEING with real people, where they are, whomever and however they are BEING real with people, sharing our vulnerabilities as well as our gifts and blessings I believe that each of us individually as disciples of Jesus, as well as all of us together, congregationally, are called to BE MISSIONAL as our way of being in the world. This is a radical vision and expression of living out our Christian faith. I am excited to share that we will soon have on-the-ground assistance in growing in this direction. As part of the structure of the new Mountain Sky Conference, a Conference level staff position has been created to regionally locate in each District a Congregational Resource Minister whose job it is to build relationships with clergy and laity across the District and help resource churches for what you need to grow and develop both internally & externally. The CRM is all about Mission + being Relational = Missional! The Congregational Resource Minister for Trinity District will be selected from clergy and lay applicants from within the District boundaries. They will work 20 hours per week with the goal of listening deeply to churches about their community and congregational contexts in order to then recommend and provide resources for congregational and leadership development. It is so exciting to look toward assistance that is created and tailored specifically for our needs in our region, especially as we seek to be more vital as churches and in our ministries of outreach and mission to our communities. Applications are currently available here: The position begins work on January 1, Please be in prayer with me for this process! In Matthew 25:34-36 Jesus said, Come here, you beloved, you people whom My Father has blessed. Claim your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of creation. 35 You shall be richly rewarded, for when I was hungry, you fed Me. And when I was thirsty, you gave Me something to 5 drink. I was alone as a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your homes and into your lives. 36 I was naked, and you gave Me clothes to wear; I was sick, and you tended to My needs; I was in prison, and you comforted Me. May we eagerly seek to be Christ s beloved in this way! Blessings on the Journey from your District Superintendent, THANK YOU! We hope the next time you are in the church you will take a few moments and look at our beautifully restored 1899 stained glass window, in the Choir Room. Denver Art Glass did a wonderful job with the restoration process and your generous contributions made it ALL possible. We are basking in the gratitude that this particular window is done and will be making plans to move on to the next window. We ll let you know when those plans are taking shape! Sundays: Wednesdays: Thursdays: Fridays: Sun, Nov 4 Sun, Nov 4 Sun, Nov 11 Tues, Nov 13 Tues, Nov 13 (Mark your calendars NOW!) Ongoing Weekly Scheduled Items Include: Tues, Nov 20 Tues, Nov 20 Mon, Nov 19 Thurs, Nov 22 Choir Practice 9:15am Worship 10:30am Women s Bible Study, 9:30am, Century Hall Heaven at 11:00am Contemplative Prayer Gp. Church is closed for cleaning, 12:00-2:00pm Salida Brass Rehearsal, 6:30pm, Choir Room Church Office is Closed Worship with Communion Daylight Savings Time Ends Fall Back 1 Hr. Troop Donations Due (Earlier due to holidays) Pack Troop Boxes, 9:00am, Lutheran Ch. Bsmt Faith Book Club, 10:00am, Home of Catherine Hayden, NAMI Support Gp, 5:30pm, Parlor NAMI Connections Gp, 5:30pm, Century Hall Monitor Articles Due! Happy Thanksgiving! Office will be closed.