TIDINGS OF WELLER. May Centering on God

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1 TIDINGS OF WELLER Affirm Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as we care for others and tell people about Him. Affirm ~ Care ~ Tell May 2016 Centering on God I have a love/hate relationship with the pictures hanging on the walls of my home. I love to look at them, especially the more colorful ones that brighten up the house. I really like the family photos and the oil painting done by my Mom and my grandmothers. They re not professional by any stretch of the imagination, but they have a certain quality about them like a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies, they were done with TLC (Tender Loving Care). I love the pictures all right, but I hate to hang them. That s because I can t line them up without something turning out crooked. Try as I might, I can t center the frames so they are straight and neat. If you could see the last set of pictures I put up in the living room, you d notice they have a distinct list to starboard ; that is, they tilt to the right. Fortunately, God gives us the way to center our lives in God in the person of Jesus Christ. When we put our faith in Christ, we are set right with God. When we allow Jesus to shape our lives, we gain a good set of eyes to detect where we are out of line with God s will; a guide who can lead us into proper alignment with God s love; and, we have the steady hand of the Holy Spirit to adjust the course of our lives along the path God would have us go. Centering our lives in the life of God is no easy task. It takes a lot of work, each and every day. Daily prayer is one practice that can help align us with God by centering us on God s love for us and focusing us on God s priorities. Adam Hamilton, the senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, recommends a centering prayer at the start of each day. This kind of prayer helps to focus our mind and our spirit on God. Here s a prayer by Adam that helps me, and I hope it will help you: Centering pictures is hard for me to do alone. To make sure they re straight, I need someone to help me out. Aligning the pictures on the wall takes another set of eyes, someone to direct the placement of the picture and a steady hand to make the final adjustments. I m going to venture more than just a guess that our spiritual lives wind up being a lot like trying to hang a picture on your own. We can try to get everything in place, strive to make ourselves right with God loving God with our whole beings, and our neighbors as ourselves. But on our own, we are out of alignment with God. On our own, the result is always a life lived askew. Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be today. Take away the desires that shouldn t be there, and help me be single-minded in my focus and my pursuit of you. Pray in this way and you can center your life in the life of the One who is remaking the world. You may even want to try hanging a few pictures. :) Peace, Pastor Bob 101 N. Altamont Avenue, Thurmont, MD Office: On the Web:

2 GETTING READY FOR GRADUATION: SPECIAL OFFERNG FOR GRADS, 1 MAY! It s nearly time for that annual rite of passage Graduation! This year, we have four college seniors and seven High School seniors who will be donning cap and gown to celebrate the completion of these important milestones in their education. This year s graduates are: College: Matt Eyler, Kaitlyn Herbert, Caitlyn Merico, and Elaine Schray. High School: Alec Baugher, Kelsey Herbert, Kelsey Mathias, Alison McGuire, Emmalee Miller, Brianne Selders, and Makalya Stull. To demonstrate our continuing love and support for these young women and men, Weller UMC will honor our graduates at two upcoming worship services: College Grads on 22 May, High School Grads on 12 June. We want to give each of these graduates a gift to remind them of God s love and our continuing support for their faith journeys. To accomplish this, we will receive a special offering on Sunday, 1 May, that will go toward the purchase of gifts for our Grads. Please watch the announcements for this special offering, and prayerfully consider what you can give to help us recognize our graduates. If you have a senior (high school or college) graduating this year, please contact the church office so we can add their name to the list , secretary@wellerumc.com. PLAYGROUND IS READY! The playground is ready! The fence has been installed. Weller kids and children from the neighborhood will have a new place to play. We will dedicate the playground later this Spring.

3 SABILLASVILLE ELEMENTARY SUMMER READING PROJECT Summer Books for Sabillasville Kids is our May focus again this year. Last year our goal was to collect books for the Kindergarten class where Weller members were volunteering. That drive was a great success so we are expanding our goal this year. We have six Weller members volunteering this year in various grades so we re going to collect enough books for each of the approximately 115 students to have at least two to three books each to take home. We are being joined in the effort this year by Deerfield UMC in Sabillasville and two churches in Rocky Ridge. They are Rocky Ridge Lutheran Church and Rocky Ridge Monocacy Church of the Brethren. We re very happy to have them on board! Deerfield is going to focus on the Kindergarten class, although they are welcome to bring books for other grade levels, too. The other three churches are free to bring new or very gently used books for grades 1 through 5. Picture books for the early grades are always fun but we don t want to forget some chapter books for the older kids. We will have some handouts available soon with suggestions. There will be a box in the hallway in which to place the books. The deadline will be June 1 st. If you have any questions, contact Pat Alexander or Kelly Alexander for more information. POP TABS AND LABELS Be sure to pop the tab and snip the label. So far this year 16,000 tabs have been sent to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Red Bird Mission has received 2411 education labels and the Board of Child Care received 2400 labels. These otherwise throw-aways are used by these organizations in their effort to help many people in various ways. Insignificant as it may seem, the benefits are great!

4 April Youth Group Announcements By Sarah Pickett Below are the upcoming events for the youth group for the month of May. May 15 th 1:00 to 4:00 Picnic and Hike to Cunningham Falls. Families are invited to attend and bring your favorite picnic food. May 22 nd - Youth Group Meeting from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Weller House Please sarah.pickett@fcps.org if you plan on attending or have any questions. VBS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Weller United Methodist Church will hold Vacation Bible School June 20th to the 24th. We are in need of Volunteers for teachers, snacks, music, and crafts. Please contact Amanda Keilholtz if you are interested in helping. acrone10@yahoo.com. Thank you everyone for all the prayers, phone calls and visits while I was in the hospital. It truly meant a lot to me! Thank you, Joe Bailey Thank you so much for the Easter Basket. I enjoyed the visit with the youth and youth leader Sarah. I am grateful for my church family and for you thinking of me. Kim Lavigne

5 WELLER BASKETBALL SEASON UPDATE By Robbie Shaffer The Weller Basketball Team is having a great season. They are now 7-2 for the year. The last regular season game is at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, May 1st, at First Baptist. Then playoffs will begin. Come on out and support the Weller basketball team! LADIES NIGHT OUT 11 May in the Fellowship Hall at Weller UMC, 6:00 p.m. Adults - $7.50 Ages $5.50 4yrs. and under - free Tickets on Sale: 17 April thru 4 May Catered by Mountain Gate Family Restaurant. Ticket sellers - Dorothy Clever, Cindy Hart, Pat Alexander, and Karen Younkins. Marty and Jessica Hogan shared a Mission Moment during worship on 3 April.

6 Emmalee Miller and Dorothy Clever Easter Cantata Kid s Choir sing at Easter Cantata

7 On April 9th, Weller UMC heard Adam Swanson accompanied a Silent movie titled ONE WEEK staring Buster Keaton. Even though he is only twenty-three years old, Adam has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States, and he is the youngest three-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. Below, friends and family gather for a tree dedication for R.J. Shorb to remember his life and his work for the church.

8 Update on Weller Finances General Account ( st quarter): Jan. 1, 2016 Beginning Balance $1, Receipts Jan - March , Funds Available 41, Expenses Jan - March , Balance, Mar.31,2016 $ Capital Account: Playground Building Renovate 185 Totals Jan 1, 2016 Beginning Balances $7, , , $33, Receipts Jan - March , , , Funds Available 7, , , , Expenses Jan - March , , Balance, March 31, 2016 $7, $11, $18, $36,631.06

9 May 2016 Sunday School Worship April 3 96 April April April April AVG. 96 April 3 43 April April April April AVG. 39 BIRTHDAYS 03 Debbie Hobbs 08 Steve Valentine 09 Steven Howard 18 Mandy Howard 19 Phyllis Wynkoop 21 Florence Stitely; Kathy Wivell 23 Eric Woods 26 Bob Kells 27 John Hart, Sr. 28 Jody Hahn 30 Glenn Watson ANNIVERSARIES 19 Donetta & Buddy Herbert 30 Joyce & Bob Kells Church Offering April 3 $3, April 10 2, April 17 4, The church office will be closed: Monday, 30 May (Memorial Day) April 24 2, ACH Monthly Deposit 1,360 Total $13,056 In the event of a church service having to cancelled, Pastor Bob will put the closings on his blog.

10 HELPERS FOR MONTH OF MAY Greeters 8:30 01 John & Cindy Hart 08 Jamison & Melissa Mathias 15 Robert & Joan Follin 22 Joan Freeze 29 Bill Clayton & Kay Miller Acolytes 8:30 01 Jolene Mathias 08 Robbie Shaffer 15 Chloe Mathias 22 Skyla Smith 29 Daniel Dutrow Scripture Readers & Call to Worship 8:30 01 Sarah Pickett 08 Bill Clayton 15 Paulette Mathias 22 Virginia Gelwicks 29 Jody Hahn Greeters 11:00 01 John & Vickie Howes 08 Donnie & Darlene Wastler 15 Deb & Michaela Stull, Joan Staub 22 Barb Barbe 29 Mark Eyler Acolytes 11:00 01 Megan Clark 08 Charley Keilholtz 15 Josh Miller 22 Makayla Eibert 29 Megan Clark Scripture Readers 11:00 01 Christine Miller 08 Mark Eyler 15 Michele Merico 22 Renee Shaffer 29 Josh Miller Messages and Scriptures: 01 Discipleship Road: Prayers, Psalm 139:23-24, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 11: (MOTHER S DAY) Discipleship Road: Service, Mark Eyler Preaching, Serving with our Helper, John 14:15-17, 25-27, 1 Peter 4: Discipleship Road: Gifts, Psalm 24:1-2, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Matthew 25: (COLLEGE GRADUATION RECOGNITION SUNDAY) Discipleship Road: Witness, John 1:43-50, John 4: (MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND) Calm Faith, Luke 7:1-10 5

11 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Holy Communion, Prayer Shawl 2 Scout Leaders (Weller House) Romans Bible Study, (Library) 3 Puppet Ministry 6 p.m. 4 Prayer Time 5 Trustee s 6 7 Puppet Ministry Rehearsal, 9-11 a.m Romans Bible Study, Puppet Ministry 6 p.m. Worship Design Team, 7 p.m. UMW 1 p.m. Ladies Night Out 6 p.m. Puppet Linganore UMC Youth Group Hike & Picnic to Cunningham Falls, 1-4 p.m. Romans Bible Study, Puppet Ministry 6 p.m. Prayer Time Youth Group, 4-5:30 p.m. Romans Bible Study, Puppet Ministry 6 p.m Memorial Day Church office closed Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, June 1-4