Volunteers in Mission: Guatemala, Johns Island, New Orleans

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1 Please join us for Sunday worship at 9:30 and Sunday school at 11:10 the LUMC March 2006 Sunbeam Don Queen lansingunited.org Lansing United Methodist Church Route 34B and Brickyard Road, South Lansing Pastor: Bill Gottschalk-Fielding Program Associate: Marilyn Paradise Volunteers in Mission: Guatemala, Johns Island, New Orleans page 10 Debris from a house in Chalmette, Louisiana, awaits removal. The house is ready to be cleaned and reconstructed.

2 Making the Most of Lent As of Ash Wednesday (March 1) you and I are living in the season of Lent. Is this a good thing? Some would say, No! Some associate Lent with somber themes and dreary actions. It s the time when church people really lay it on about sin. They give up desserts or refrain from eating meat on Fridays. They spend even more time thinking about the death of Jesus. Some make no associations with Lent at all, even people who attend church regularly. To them this time of year feels no different from any other. Life is just as hectic. Church is the same. People are still saying their prayers and still talking about Jesus. No big deal. Where are you in Lent? Is this a somber time for you spiritually or are you oblivious to the season? Or could there be another option besides anxiety and apathy? Lent doesn t have to be a rough time or a waste of time. Instead, it can be a time of transformation. This newsletter describes many different ways you can make the most of this time, from shared Sunday School learning and worship experiences to private personal devotional times alone at the end. It can also be a time of deliberate acts of love and mercy, such as volunteering at the Food Pantry (March 27). The bottom line: Lent is what we make of it, or, more to the point, what we allow God to make of us during Lent. Grace and Peace, Sunday School and Youth Activities Hearing God s Message The joy of our spiritual journey is experiencing God s familiar words over and over again and sometimes hearing the message for the first time. The Bible has many translations and is interpreted by its many readers with various meanings. This is the gift of knowing that our spiritual journey takes a lifetime. It is meant to challenge us and greet with new meaning as we grow in understanding. One of the reasons we introduced rotation Sunday School was to allow the children to hear God s message through various learning media. Some learn better by doing or saying, others by viewing or hearing, and still others by touching, tasting, discussing, or pondering. The Children s Ministry Team has revised the structure of the committee to strengthen our ministry as we serve more children. Chairs Peg Stoyell and Dianne Walter have assumed the responsibility of Events Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator respectively. Peg coordinates family events such as the Family Winter Game Night, which will be held on Saturday, March 4, 5:00 7:00 PM, in the Fellowship Hall. Dianne Walter coordinates special programs, namely, Vacation Bible School and the annual Christmas pageant. Kay Thomas serves on the team as Sunday School Coordinator. She assists the Team in choosing curriculum and other activities and programs that we incorporate into our Sunday School program. Shelly Uhl Stark will assist in the Kindergarten classroom. Kristin Burt will lead with the third and fourth grade class in preparing communion bread on Saturday, March 4, at 9:30 AM in the continued on page 5 LUMC Sunbeam 2

3 Host Families Needed The University of Wisconsin Concert Choir will perform at Ithaca College on Sunday, March 12, at 7:30 PM, as part of their spring East Coast tour. The choir, with 40 touring members, consists of a mix of undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Music at UW Madison. The ensemble s choral literature spans five centuries. Host families from our area are needed to house the choir members overnight. If possible, host families are encouraged to attend the concert and connect with students at Ithaca College following the concert. Otherwise the student will bus to LUMC after the concert, where host families can pick them up. Families are asked to provide a breakfast for the students the next morning (Monday, March 13) and bring them back to LUMC by 8:00 AM. If you are able to help by being a host family, please contact Lesa Wilson at or lesaw@twcny.rr.com Update on Plans for Two Worship Services A note from the Worship Committee: In keeping with the vision of our strategic plan, we will see a change in the Sunday morning worship service schedule as of Sunday, April 23, the Sunday following Easter: 8:15 AM worship; 9:30 AM education; 10:30 AM fellowship; and 11:00 AM worship. One Great Hour of Sharing Offering March 26 Here is a chance for you to support the relief efforts of UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. One Great Hour of Sharing covers UMCOR s expenses in its mission work around the world, including recovery work in Pakistan and Louisiana. Also on March 26: VIM Trip to Guatemala. Hear about our mission team s trip work among the people of Guatemala during the Sunday school hour. Prayer Chain John Almon (Marie Larison s brother) Kathryn Campbell, 1942 East Shore Dr. Glenn Evans (Jim s brother) Clarice Hoag, 38 Auburn Rd. (Groton) Regina Knapp (Janet Keefe s friend) Brent Larsen, 215 Salmon Creek Rd. Oran Magee, 200 Lower Creek Road, Apt A12, Ithaca Aubryn Neubert (Hank and Amanda s daughter) Ginny Sargent, 200 Lower Creek Road, Apt A12, Ithaca Amy Rankin, (Bill Rankin s daughter ) 108 Murray St., Auburn Lorraine Reardon, 119 South St., Groton Teresa Sherwood, 304 No. Lansing School Rd. (Groton) Diana Wagner, 452 Ridge Rd. Cayuga Medical Center, 101 Dates Dr., Ithaca Marian Thompson Groton Health Center, 120 Sykes St., Groton Virginia Larison Nancie Madar Oak Hill Manor, 602 Hudson St., Ithaca Carrie Hagin Reconstruction Home, 318 So. Albany St., Ithaca Florence Marino (#303) Please pray for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including these family members and friends: Robert Gudbranson, Daniel LaBar, Trevor Judd, Shaun McCray, Travis Potter, and Eric Tee Monica Van Every 3 LUMC Sunbeam

4 Worship in March: Ash Wednesday and Lent This space is used to lay out where the Church is going liturgically in the month ahead. So here s a bit of orientation: Ash Wednesday (March 1) begins the season of Lent. Lent is the 40-day season of preparation for Easter (April 16, this year). Easter is the central event in the Christian story. In other words, we re about to start a pretty significant journey. I pray this journey will be transformational for us. As you ll see below I ve organized my preaching around the topic of Against the Grain: Counter-cultural Claims of Christ. Jesus lived very differently than his contemporaries and from us. He often went against the grain of his culture and he invites us to do the same. I hope you ll join me during these Sundays in Lent as we explore his radical outlook and lifestyle. Pastor Bill Wednesday, March 1 Ash Wednesday Service, 7:00 PM. Change Is the Norm. For some things to change in our lives, some things must die or be cast aside. When a child s feet grow, their old shoes no longer fit and must be passed on. We begin the season of Lent seeking to acknowledge this dynamic: to become the people God (and we) longs for us to be, some things must die in us. What needs to die in your life so you can live? All who are seek it can have ashes imposed on their foreheads tonight. Read: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, March 5 First Sunday in Lent. Evil Is Real. Shirley MacLaine (actress and New Age guru) seemed to suggest in one of her books that evil was an illusion. This would ve been news to Jesus. He saw himself engaged in a struggle against evil forces and expected trouble wherever he went, even in the desert as he prayed. What does evil look like from Jesus perspective, and how does he challenge us to face it down? Holy Communion will be served. Read: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22; and Mark 1:9-15. March 12 Second Sunday in Lent. Suffering Is Required. We live in a world of modern conveniences, where a high value is placed on eliminating effort and exertion. Who wants to take their wash down to the lake and clean it with a washboard and basin? But some things in life can t be accomplished without effort, or even suffering. Are we ready to pick up our cross? Read; Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:23-31; Romans 4:13-25; and Mark 8: March 19 Third Sunday in Lent. Profit Doesn t Make it Right. I think it was J.D. Rockefeller who, when asked how much money was enough, said simply, More! Making money is a deeply rooted value in our culture. What are we to make of Jesus, corded whip in hand, chasing the money-changers out of the Temple? Was he anti-business? Read: Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; and John 2: continued on page 5 LUMC Sunbeam 4

5 Sunday School and Youth Activities (concluded) church kitchen. The Children s Ministry Team is always in need of your help. Please listen if God is calling you to serve in this ministry. Adult forum. Rev. Dave Nicholls is a retired minister and frequent participant in adult forum class. As a person in ministry, Dave discerns how we hear God s message in our lives. He reminds us of the line from the popular Christmas carol, do you hear what I hear? He responds of course, we don t all hear the same thing. And that happens in worship as well. The Lord speaks to us in different ways during Sunday worship. Sometimes we may even wonder where we have been for the past hour. How then is the Word going to sustain us for the coming week? Dave will lead adult forum on March 5, 12, and 19, and discuss ways to hear the preached Word. He has questions that will be addressed during the class. He invites you to think about the following as you worship on Sunday. What is your understanding of the scripture after hearing today s message? What March Worship, concluded March 26 Fourth Sunday in Lent. What You Believe Matters. President Eisenhower said, I don t care what you believe as long as you believe in something. He captured a deeply held value in American culture. It has some merit in that it makes room for different beliefs and creeds. But Jesus was pretty clear what you believe does makes a difference a life and death difference. Read: Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; and John 3: was the theme of today s worship service? What was the scripture(s) used for the message? Join us on March 5 as we try to answer some of these questions and learn how to better hear God s message. Lansing Christian Women continue with the Beth Moore s Believing God book study on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. See Dianne Walter for details. The Youth Ministry Team is busy planning Sr and Jr High Youth Group Events, Spring Retreats, and a revised Confirmation program. The Confirmation Journey for 2006 includes Bible study classes, a discipleship class, a retreat and a series of meetings with confirmands and mentors. The Confirmation candidates and parents are invited to participate in a Bible study of the Gospel of Luke on Sundays in March at 4:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. A confirmation retreat is planned for the weekend of March 24. Pastor Bill, Christa Salmon, and Dianne Walter are coordinating the plans for this year s Confirmation process. Candidates will be confirmed in the fall. Jr. High Youth are planning a St. Patrick s Day Dance in March. Sr. High Youth are planning a Spring Retreat in April. Watch the Youth bulletin board in the addition entryway for dates and times of upcoming events. Guatemala mission. Finally, the LUMC mission team that recently returned from Guatemala will visit the adult forum on March 26, to share the experience, the goals, and vision of their ministry. Join us to hear what God has spoken to them through their work. As often happens in mission work, the trip presented numerous surprises. Please listen for how God is speaking to you today. Marilyn Paradise 5 LUMC Sunbeam

6 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY March 2006 Note: This calendar is current as of February 28. For updates to all LUMC events, visit lansingunited.org and see our virtual church calendar and check the Sunday Bulletin. 5 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT 6 7 COMMUNION Worship 9:30 Sunday school 11:10 Junior Choir 12:00 Guatemala Coffee Sale Lectionary at Bakers 6:30 Caregivers 9:30 Quilt Bee 9:30 Staff-Parish 7: SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT Worship 9:30 Sunday school 11:10 Junior Choir 12:00 Membership 7:00 Outreach 7:00 Quilt Bee 9:30 19 THIRD SUNDAY S OF LENT L Worship 9:30 Sunday school 11:10 Junior Choir 12:00 Quilt Bee 9:30 Guatemala Coffee Sale Lectionary at Bakers 6:30 Haiti Committee 7:00 26 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING Worship 9:30 Sunday school 11:10 Junior Choir 12:00 Food Pantry Setup 12:00 Food Pantry 4:00 Quilt Bee 9:30 6 LUMC Sunbeam

7 WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Women s Bible Study 9:30 MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) 10:00 World Day of Prayer Mens Breakfast every Saturday at Linda s in North Lansing 7:00 Ash Wednesday Service 7:00 Family Game Night 5: Women s Bible Study 9:30 Bells Angels 6:00 Choir 7:00 Trustees 7:30 15 Women s Bible Study :30 SUNBEAM DEADLINE 12:00 Midnight Bells Angels 6:00 Choir 7: Women s Bible Study 9:30 Worship Committee 7:00 Mens Breakfast every Saturday at Linda s in North Lansing 7:00 Mens Breakfast every Saturday at Linda s in North Lansing 7:00 Mens Breakfast every Saturday at Linda s in North Lansing 7:00 Bells Angels 6:00 Choir 7:00 Confirmation Retreat Bells Angels 6:00 Choir 7:00 Lansing United Methodist Church LUMC Sunbeam 7

8 The Haiti Connection Haiti Canteen Please give a quarter if you care Every once in awhile I am sensitive enough to see & feel what wonderful gifts God has allowed me to have. In the past eight months our family has been increased by not one but two grandchildren. As I was holding Amelie (granddaughter #1) on my lap & sharing some of life s secrets (the different types of chocolate available or the wonderful true value of country music), there was a realization of how fortunate she was. No, it wasn t the fact that she had a grandfather full of fascinating information, but that she lives in America, a country that allowed her parents and grandparents the opportunity to thrive and prosper. Now she was surrounded by a network of people who were willing to help give her many opportunities to do the same. When I was feeding Zoe (granddaughter #2) on my lap a few weeks ago, there was this realization that she too was fortunate. Not only for the reasons already listed, but also because she had the best medical care available to her. You see, Zoe was born prematurely and was allowed to go home after reaching a hefty 5.5 pounds. She was given the task of gaining an ounce a day, and with the help of her parents & grandmother (Debbie), she achieved her goal and more. With advanced formulas available, along with the latest technology in milk supplementation and overall care, she gained 24 ounces in sixteen days. Only in America, the land of abundance beyond belief. One starts to think of other children, perhaps not so fortunate. At the Haiti meeting recently, those students that our church and others help sponsor came to mind. The subject of need came up and the canteen was mentioned. My understanding was this was referred to as the kitchen for the students and surely it could not be a concern. Wrong! Evidently my real education about Haiti was about to begin. So let us begin with HAITI 101! There are two schools one is in Banique, grades kindergarten thru 6th grade, and the secondary school is composed of grades 7 thru 12. Each student is fed a meal (small bowl) when in school, (which is 5 days a week, 9 to 10 months a year). There are students & it costs $800 per month to feed them. So the question is, how much does it cost to feed one student per day? The amazing answer is 12 cents a day ($800/350students/20 days a month). That means that 1 quarter would feed 2 students a day. Please give a quarter if you care! If our students are fed in this country, they have a better opportunity to succeed. We have free breakfast & lunch programs available. Wouldn t that work in other countries also? I have been told by Americans who work in less fortunate countries that if you feed them, educate them & keep them healthy, the children magically rise to the next level. Please give a quarter if you care. Would you take a moment & look for the loose change in your pocket, on your desk, in the folds of your favorite chair or even under the seat in your cars. All those coins could be feeding the next Haitian superintendent of a school (that has already happened), or the next Haitian doctor (there are two in medical school right now), or the next group of teachers to instruct future students (there are two in the program right now). Please give a quarter if you care! continued on page 9 LUMC Sunbeam 8

9 Haiti Connection (concluded) These programs do not enable people, but rather empower people. There programs are self-feeding in that the students become the next caretakers, educators & leaders, and the cycle continues. Please give a quarter if you care! Thank you for reading this. I would like to ask one more thing. Simply pray to God tonight and thank him for some of the nice things that have happened to you in your life. I know that Ihave two more reasons to feel very fortunate when I think of Amelie & Zoe. God bless you every day! Ed LaVigne Another Way to Support the Haiti Canteen The Haiti Market Some of you may have noticed eggs for sale on Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall. Jim Evans and his ladies have been donating the proceeds of the egg sales to the Haiti Canteen, which provides a hot meal for all of the school children at the Banique and Verrettes schools in Haiti. Even if you don t keep chickens, you can be part of the Haiti Market. Bring in your excess produce for the Haiti Market during the growing season. People who would like your castoff zucchini, tomatoes, or what have you can make a donation to the Haiti Canteen and take the produce home. The proceeds are used to purchase food for the Haiti Canteen, as explained here by Ed LaVigne. You can also make donations for the canteen and skip the zucchini. Just write a check to LUMC with the memo Haiti Canteen and you will provide a child with perhaps the only hot meal that he or she will receive that day. Often the meal is shared with brothers and sisters who are not students but stand waiting outside the school. VIM Trip to NOLA Editor s note: In the second week of February, Volunteers in Mission (VIM) set out from LUMC to three locations, Johns Island, South Carolina, Guatemala, and New Orleans. The following is an account of one of the trips. We hope to present the other trips in future Sunbeam issues.-gw In February I joined eight other people from our conference and two from Illinois in a one-week work team trip to New Orleans, LA. We were hosted by St. Matthews UMC in suburban Metairie, where UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) has set up a relief station to coordinate volunteers. Our main job was to work on tearing out damaged drywall, insulation, and a bazillion of nails from houses that were flooded. Once the gutting is completed, the houses can eventually be rebuilt, which UMCOR will also oversee at the owners request. At the moment, however, demolition work is the order of the day. Our team worked at a total of five houses. We finished gutting one and it is ready to be powerwashed before being rebuilt. This house, a one-story ranch-style property in suburban Chalmette, had been flooded by 12 feet of water four feet into the attic. This one was also hit by an oil spill from a nearby refinery. We made good progress at a second house, a twostory property that had been hit by 8 feet of water. The next team would have to finish the work there. At three houses, we did outdoor work, cleaning up lawns and setting up a deck that had been knocked askew. Most important to our trip was the people we met. The owners of the homes where we worked were so appreciative that we had appeared. One woman, 82-year-old Irma, told a phone caller that her friends were there cleaning up the yard. She had despaired that continued on page 10 9 LUMC Sunbeam

10 VIM Trip (continued) anyone was going to come at all, especially after scammers had taken her money but did not clean up her yard. At another house, Patricia made cookies and coffee as the team fixed her deck. Over at Vinnie s house, we were unsuccessful at removing two huge tree roots, but we hacked at them a bit. Vinnie was delighted to see us and treated us to lunch with carryout from a nearby burger place. In the grocery store, in a restaurant, even in the airplane, people thanked us for coming. They made it clear that the thing that was important to them wasn t the work we did so much as the fact that we showed up at all. The UMCOR operation in Metairie is well organized. Each morning we were given a work order with specific instructions for our job, plus directions for finding the house. Okay, so we weren t very good at orienting ourselves the first day or two, and we unexpectedly saw many parts of New Orleans as we tried to find our way around. Much of Metairie seems to be in fairly good shape, but as we drove east across the Ninth Ward toward Chalmette, we saw blocks and blocks of damaged houses. Some are clearly not salvageable, as they are twisted, smashed, or off their foundations. But far more houses seem still to be solid, although they are badly damaged. We learned to interpret piles of debris as a hopeful sign. If people were piling debris out by the road that meant that they had returned and were clearing out the house. In Chalmette, we left a pile of debris five feet high and 30 feet long, which the city will eventually pick up. We left a similar pile of Irma answers a knock at her FEMA trailer, set up in her yard. The red wagon that Irma used to haul her groceries was rusted out. After the team used the old wagon to clean up Irma s yard, team member Betsey Comstock of Penn Yan presented Irma with a new wagon as a parting gift. rugs, kitchen appliances, and drywall at another house in Meraux. As part of our trip we became tourists for an afternoon, visiting the French Quarter and finding a good seafood restaurant. Leaving some money behind is another important thing we could do for the city, which is trying to restart its economy. In that regard we purchased all our food from local stores, rather than pack provisions. One other important task we had was simply to talk to the people we met. Irma, for one, was feeling very alone and forgotten until our team members came. It s easy to get caught up in the work, but our work is more than just ripping out drywall. Pastor Jeff Childs, our team leader, asked us to think about where we saw God during our trip. Certainly, God was at work in the warm welcome we received. When our team members were in the grocery store, they ended up in discussing God s work with patrons and continued on page 11 LUMC Sunbeam 10

11 This house on Despaux Street in Chalmette was flooded with 12 feet of water plus an oil slick from a nearby refinery. We removed everything to the frame so that the house can be powerwashed. VIM Trip (concluded) clerks. When is the last time you had a discussion about God in the grocery store? On a personal note, I was having an attitude problem while working on the second house. In my mind, the purpose of our trip was to help the Irmas and Patricias of Lousiana poor and elderly people. But here we were working on a house with a spiral staircase, game room with wet bar, three and a half baths, including the master Jacuzzi bath, and a home entertainment center with Bose speakers still mounted high in the wall. Much nicer than my own house, to say the least. Finally, it hit me that Jesus was pointing the way on this. If this house were in Lansing, that is, one of my near neighbors, I and everyone else would be there to help out. The owners of this house, Earl and Judy, were just as much our neighbors and had suffered a terrible loss. That is one of the lessons of the parable of the Good Samaritan. We could do only a little bit in our week in Louisiana. A huge amount of work remains. The real story, though, is not the amount of damage remaining or the people who have not returned. The real story is the people who have returned and are fixing up their houses, plus the steady stream of volunteers working to clean up and rebuild, one house, one building at a time. By one estimate this work will take six or seven years. If you want to go to Louisiana, work teams are forming regularly. If you cannot work in dust and mold, you could do other important work, like helping in the UMCOR office, which operates on a shoestring and needs a ton of help with filing, communicating with people who are requesting help and with volunteers, and with assessing the work to be done. We learned that another large need is for people to minister just to meet with people who feel isolated and to listen to their stories. We tried to do this during our week, with mixed success, because we were also focused on getting rid of that moldy drywall. But you don t have to go to Louisiana to help out. You can help directly this month without leaving Lansing. On March 26, we will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This offering is the one that supports UMCOR s mission work and pays the overhead for its operations, including the one in Metairie. This was a good trip. I feel that we made a real contribution. I would go back in a heartbeat, if circumstances permitted. The only thing I d do different is to bring a map of New Orleans. Glenn Withiam 11 LUMC Sunbeam

12 U.S. POSTAGE PAID NON-PROFIT ORGAN. PERMIT #414 ITHACA, NY Lansing United Methodist Church Ash Wednesday March 1 Inside: God s Message, page 2 Lenten Worship, page 4 VIM Mission, page 10 The Sunbeam March 2006 One Great Hour of Sharing March 26 LANSING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 32 BRICKYARD ROAD LANSING NY Lansing United Methodist Church 33 Brickyard Road, Lansing, NY one mile north of the stoplight on Route 34B in South Lansing. Church office: lumcoffice@twcny.rr.com Office manager: Mindy Dahl To reach the pastor at home: pastor@lansingunited.org (in confidence) The Sunbeam is published each month by Lansing United Methodist Church. Please send your news to Glenn Withiam, editor, at grw4@cornell.edu, or use the Sunbeam folder near the church office. Please sign your contributions! Deadline for the next issue is March 15, 2006.