The Grapevine. New Covenant United Methodist Church. Corner. Pastor s. February Young at Heart Valentine. Luncheon on THOUGHTS OF THE PASTOR

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1 The Grapevine New Covenant United Methodist Church February 2014 Young at Heart Valentine Luncheon Please join the Young at Heart for their Valentine Luncheon on Wednesday, February 26th, at 11:30 a.m. in the FLC. There will be good food and great fellowship. All senior adults in the church or community are welcome. Questions regarding the luncheon, please see Nancy Gasperson or Mayoris Hart. Corner Pastor s THOUGHTS OF THE PASTOR When you think of the month of February, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of the Super Bowl in early February hoping your favorite NFL is in the big game. If you are the sentimental or romantically inclined, perhaps Valentine s Day on February 14 comes to mind as a day you must remember the people that you love. As you will see elsewhere in this newsletter, February brings birthdays and anniversaries to some among us. One of the things that comes to mind when I think of February is that it is the shortest month of the year. Why, it is only 28 days long. February is the runt in the litter of months of the year. Being short is not always seen as a good thing. Many women talk about men who are tall, dark, and handsome but few yearn for the man who is short, dark, and handsome. And no one wants to come out on the short end of the stick. Though we don t often use the word short in a positive way, I got to thinking how central the word short is in following Jesus. Two verses come to mind that have something to say to us about being "short": 1. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23 We come out on the short end of the stick when it comes to following God. All of us are sinners, but thanks be to God we are saved not by our works and righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ Jesus. 2. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. - I Corinthians 7:29 We only have 28 days in February, and who knows how many years, months, weeks, or days we have in our lifetime. There will come a time when all of us will either go to Jesus or Jesus will come back to us. How will we live the life that God has given us? The month of February is upon us. It is a short month. Make each and everyone of those 28 days count to the honor and glory of God. Pastor Randy Wall

2 Greetings in the name of our Great God. His mercy and grace goes on forever. In February, we have some exciting things that we will be doing outside of our church. On February 1st, we will be going to the House of Prayer to praise and worship with the men who are there. The Floyd Brown Band will be playing and we will also have a skit or message to deliver God's message. On February 14/15th, we are planning on assisting with Room in the Inn. And on Saturday morning, we plan on beginning a new ministry we learned about called, "Make the Homeless Smile," where we will make sandwiches and take fruit and water to hand out to the homeless in downtown Charlotte. We will plan on assisting in clean-up from RITI and then make our sandwiches and plan on heading to Charlotte around noon. All the youth are excited about this so plan on coming out and helping us make the homeless smile. We have also set the dates for Youth Sunday, which will be May 4th and Graduate Sunday will be May 18th, so mark your calendars today. Please continue to love and support our youth, and pray for all their growth in the Lord. May God bless you!!!! Todd Guest We would like to express to each of you our thanks and appreciation for your prayers, visits, text messages, cards, flowers and wonderful meal during this time of sorrow. Although it was the hardest thing anyone in our family has ever done, we know that our blessed Madelyn sits in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. Please continue to pray for us in the coming days as our life has been changed forever. We love all of you and are blessed to have such a loving church family, Thank you again. The family of Woodall, Hutchison and Smith. During a time like this we realize how much our friends and relatives really mean to us. Your expression of sympathy will always be remembered. Dear New Covenant Church Members, Thank you for the love, support and prayers that were shown to the family during the death of Dwight Lefty Price. What a blessing to have so many people to surround us for Lefty s homegoing. The flowers were beautiful and thoughtful. Thanks again, Love the Price Family Acolytes for February February 2 -Cooper Towe February 9 -Carter Goodling February 16 Hunter Reavis February 23 Seth Moore Online Bible Study You can do this bible study with friends and family, or all by yourself. Facebook users, ask to join the New Covenant Church online bible study group. Once you are a member of the group, you can see the weekly videos, post comments, and share questions. Want to be apart but not on Facebook? Get with a friend or family member who is on facebook. During February, we will continue our bible study on the Gospel of Luke.

3 Visitation Teams for February February 2nd Bobby & Jane Riggins February 9th -Shannon Reavis & Debbie Stewart February 16th Gregg & Cindy Ganous February 23rd Marvin, Matt & Janet Hinson 9:00 a.m. Service 11:00 a.m. Service Barry Rhyne Robert Towe Tim Reavis Bill Hamilton Terry Hallman Jerry Miller Happy Anniversary! Ben & Joann Harkey 14 Bill & Frances Smithey 26 OOPS... Did we miss your birthday or anniversary? Please let us know! Drop a note off by the office so that our records can be updated. Happy Birthday! Hannah Murr 1 Bob Simmons 1 Wesley Stroupe 1 Mallory Kizer 4 Sandy Cox 5 Charis Sumner 5 Frank Moore 7 Austin Beatty 8 Laura Lamm 9 Wendy Callahan 10 Ben Harkey 14 Bailey Canady 15 Matthew Price 18 Jeff Canady 20 Sandy Poole 20 Calvin Hart 21 Bryce Jackson 21 Lissie Hunter 23 Nick Ferens 24 Mason Gardner 24 Katie Pruett 24 Harvey Thomas 24 Laney Sholar 26 Donny Fedukovich 27 Dave Hunter 27

4 Important Dates/Activities Lay Speakers There will be a gathering of the Lay Speakers on Monday, February 3rd, at 7:00 p.m. Fellowship Meal Join us for our Fellowship Meal on Wednesday, February 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The Choir will be sponsoring this meal. Menu will be announced. Proceeds will go to the Building Fund. UMM Breakfast The UMM breakfast has been scheduled for Sunday, February 9th, at 7:00 a.m., in the FLC. Shannon Reavis Barbara Garver Ashley Margetich Ginger Owens LeeAnn & Victoria Underwood Family Hamilton Family Firefighters, Teachers & Police All Marriages Carol Hamilton LouAnn & Jim Simmons Bob & Betty Simmons Dorothy Reed Jennifer Simpson Seth Tinsley Bailey Tindall Family DeAnn Humphries Paul Warren Family Morgan Baucom Josh Stickel Tom & Cynthia Stickel Brittany Hutchison & Donnie Woodall Michelle Stroupe Alvin Jones Betty Burton Hooper Family Mike & Tina Miller Ruth Holder Jaimee Harrison Family Homeless & Hungry Gio Peterson Tyler Kennedy & Family Auten Family Ruth Allen, Hannah Martin Danielle Poteat, Martin Family Frank Moore & Heather Dover Troops Bill Cranfield Angela Johnson Unspoken Jerry Miller Bobby Riggins Jerry Thomas Eloise Warren Phil Chavez Jobs Unemployed Austin Beatty Lauren Oehler Fired Up Ministries Hinson Family Beaver Family Jeff Gardner Barbara Woodard Family Gary Travis Carol Dickinson Roger Tench Chris Hoehn Will Delong Mary Pearson Edith Cranfield Reavis Family Aloma & Tom Dougherty Smith Family Remember those who cannot be a part of our fellowship on a regular basis: Ruth Allen Terrace Ridge Assisted Living 1251 East Hudson Blvd. Gastonia, NC (704) Gerald Carroll 321 Winding Trl. Stanley, NC (704) Jane Waldroop Woodlawn Haven Rest Home 301 Craig St., Room B4 Mt. Holly, NC If there is someone you would like to put on this list, please call the church office.

5 Isn t It Exciting Being A Christian? 2014 and 2015 may prove to be among the most significant times in world history. We Christians may just witness momentous events affecting our brothers and sisters in Israel within a very short time. Why do I say this? According to God s word in Joel 2: I [God] will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and smoke and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. You see, God sends us messages about His plans for history by alerting us with wonders in the heavens: WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I TALKING ABOUT? In , we will view heavenly signs which have only been seen three times in human history A cycle of 4 lunar eclipses within a two year period called a tetrad. These total lunar eclipses cause the moon to appear to be red in the sky. The blood red moons occur very rarely but when they occur in tetrads they are EXTREMELY rare. When these tetrads have occurred in the past, they have always coincided with a time of great distress, sorrow and tribulation for the Jewish people, followed by a miraculous delivery of them by Almighty God. Also, the cycle has been the same each time: a monumental, historical event coinciding with a tetrad of four blood red moons accompanied by a total solar eclipse within the cycle. These unique cycles occurred in ; ; and Amazingly, these blood red moons fell precisely on Jewish feast days as well. In 1493, there was a blood moon on Passover (the first Jewish feast) followed by another on the Feast of Tabernacles (the last feast of the year). In 1494, there was a blood moon again on Passover and another on the Feast of Tabernacles. This tetrad followed a dark period of Jewish history, when they suffered persecution in Spain. Their material possessions were confiscated and they were expelled from the country. Their goods were sold and used to finance the voyages of Christopher Columbus. This ultimately, led to great blessing for the Jews as many of them emigrated to safety and peace in the New World. The next tetrad happened in 1949 and In both years, the blood moon was seen at Passover and again on the Feast of tabernacles. This sign in the sky came shortly after Israel s darkest time, the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were brutally murdered by the Third Reich of Germany. Once again, however, the Jewish people were blessed as they were able to return to their native homeland, Israel, for the first time in nearly 2000 years. Finally, the last blood moon tetrad fell in 1967 and During this time, Israel faced insurmountable odds as four neighboring countries waged war on them in the Six-Day War. Israel was outnumbered by two-to-one in troops and four-to-one in the number of tanks. Stories abound of numerous miraculous events in the war which ended with Israel s deliverance. Not only did Israel win a seemingly unwinnable war, they regained control of their capital city, Jerusalem, again for the first time in two millennia. And, guess when the blood moons happened in those two years? EXACTLY! It was on the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles both years. If a blood moon is relatively rare and a tetrad of 4 blood moons is extremely rare, than the chance of 4 blood moons happening three times in human history on the exact same feast times approaches complete impossibility. But God said He would give us signs in the heavens, and God knows the future before it happens. So, if the next tetrad of blood moons is only a few months away, then what can we anticipate will happen with Israel and the Jewish people this time? We could speculate about Iran and its nuclear capability or about the Muslim nations surrounding Israel that have vowed her ultimate destruction. But that would just be speculation. What I would expect, though, is that Israel will experience a time of tears, trial, and tribulation; followed by some miraculous, unexpected blessings from God. The dates for this tetrad will be: Passover April 15, 2014, Feast of Tabernacles October 8, 2014, Passover April 4, 2015, and Feast of Tabernacles Sept 28, It is important to note that we here in Mt. Holly may not be able to see the blood red moon because of our location, but it will be fully visible in Israel. I believe we should keep our eyes on Israel and pray for her and her people. Lastly, though, we should take comfort in God s word. The quote from Joel above was Chapter 2 verses The very next verse gives all the comfort we could ever need: And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved Isn t god amazing? Isn t it exciting being a Christian? Marvin Hinson February Nursery Schedule 9:00 11:00 February 2 Eddy & Sandy Cox Sam & Judy Price February 9 Luann Elliott & Amy Jackson Lori & Robert Towe February 16 Katie Lamm & Anna Hallman Ashley & Natalie Price February 23 Cindy & Cameron Ganous Robin & Lauren Lanham Thank you for helping with our nurseries! If you can t make your assigned Sunday, please contact Amy Jackson & Luann Elliott for 9:00 a.m. and Marjorie Goodling & Dannette Carson for 11:00 a.m..

6 UMW Morning Circle Please join the UMW Morning Circle on Thursday, February 13th, at 10:00 a.m., at the church. All ladies are invited to attend. Would you like to become a New Covenant Sunday School Teacher? We need a teacher for the Sr. High Sunday School class and the Preschool class. This is a great opportunity to impact the life of a child or teenager. Please prayerfully consider taking one of these positions. If you are interested, please see Missy Michael. UMW Morning Circle Volunteer at Mt. Holly Adult Day Care On the second Tuesday of every month, the UMW Morning Circle will volunteer at the Mt. Holly Adult Day Care. They will be leaving the church at 9:30 a.m. to go to the day care center. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please see Carol Thomas. UMW Hart Circle The UMW Hart Circle will meet on Thursday, February 13th, at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Karen Rhyne. Cindy Ganous will lead our study. Group 3, Gail Foster, Robin Lanham, Marjorie Goodling, Dannette Carson and Jennifer Tucker, will provide refreshments. All ladies are invited to attend. MiniRingers The MiniRingers will meet on Sundays beginning February 2nd from 4:30-5:00 p.m. to ring the bells. All children grades K-5 are welcome. This is a great first musical activity for young children. Music can also be presented to challenge older students. A presentation is set for March 23rd. Come and make music with us! Mrs. Kat & Mrs. Amy. Adult Handbells We hope you were blessed by our Christmas music! We would love to have you join us for spring. We meet on and we have a GREAT time! We have several positions available. NO experience necessary; we'll teach you everything you need to know. We ask for a week commitment and then take a break for summer. us at handbells@newcovenantumc.org or see Angie or any other handbell choir member. Our first practice will be FEBRUARY 3. Our February Special Mission offering will go to the New Covenant Quilt Ministry. The Quilt Ministry provided 143 quilts last year to those who needed prayer for illnesses or other special needs. If you would like to request a quilt for someone, forms are available in the narthex. Questions regarding our quilt ministry, please see Nancy Gasperson. Our offering will be received on February 2nd during both worship services. Thank you in advance for your donations.

7 Church Staff Ministry Team Rev. Randy Wall Pastor Todd Guest Director of Youth Ministry At New Covenant Sunday through Thursday Linda Stroup Church Secretary At New Covenant Monday through Thursday Janet Hinson Director of Music At New Covenant Wednesday and Sunday Church Office Hours Monday Thursday 8:00 AM 3:00 PM NEW COVENANT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Lucia-Riverbend Hwy. Mt. Holly, NC Phone: Fax: The Body of Christ: Going in Faith, Growing in Love, and Serving Others