The Messenger. From the Pastor... Easter wisdom from a guest author

Transcription

1 The Messenger Volume 17 No. 5 May 2017 The Newsletter of The United Church of Sandwich Passionately united to feed all people body, mind and spirit To the glory of God! From the Pastor... Easter wisdom from a guest author Two small groups spent this past Lent studying a little book called Why? Making Sense of God s Will, by Adam Hamilton. He is pastor of The Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area. In the last part of his book, he writes about the ultimate triumph of God s goodness over evil and death. Written from the perspective of Christ s resurrection, he puts his hope in the One who overcame the hideous shameful death of the cross to be with us forever. Wishing all the UCS church family a blessed, peaceful and hopeful Easter season, I d like to quote an excerpt from Pastor Hamilton s book, as he reflects on what it means to have hope: Dr. Jerome Groopman holds a chair in medicine at Harvard. He notes in his book The Anatomy of Hope, Hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them. For all my patients, hope, true hope, has proved as important as any medication I might prescribe or any procedure I might perform. This is precisely what the biblical message offers us. It is not hope that we will not die of cancer or that we will get a better job soon. It is not hope that evil will not have its way for a time. It is hope that God is with us all the time. It is hope that God works through us to help others and through others to help us. It is hope that God redeems suffering and forces evil to accomplish good. And ultimately it is hope that the day will come when there will be a new Jerusalem where God s will ultimately triumphs. This hope sustains us.... I have come to appreciate how Frederick Buechner captures this when he says, Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing..... Every year I end my Easter sermon at the Church of the Resurrection in the same way. After twenty years the people anticipate it. I note that people ask me, Do you really believe this story about resurrection? Do you really believe that Easter means that the worst thing is never the last thing? Do you really believe that ultimately good will triumph over evil and God s plans will ultimately prevail? And my answer is always the same, I not only believe it, I am counting on it. I ll end this book by inviting you to count on it too. Steve Mindrup

2 May 2017 Sunday Scriptures May 7: The Fourth Sunday of Easter ( Good Shepherd Sunday) Acts 2:42-47 The early Christians shared freely with each other and lived in community. Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 1 Peter 2:19-25 Because of the example of Jesus suffering, we can also endure. John 10:1-10 I am the door for the sheep. May 14: The Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60 Stephen becomes a martyr for the way of Jesus. Psalm 31 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love. 1 Peter 2:2-10 Christians are living stones, becoming a spiritual temple to God. John 14:1-14 In my Father s house there are many dwelling places. May 21: The Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22-31 Paul proclaims the way of Christ to the Greek intellectuals. Psalm 66: 8-20 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard. 1 Peter 3:13-22 Live in Christ s resurrection power to overcome evil and to do right. John 14:15-21 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to all who have faith in him. May 28: Ascension Sunday Acts 1:1-11 As our Lord returns to the Father, he promises the gift of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 47 "God has gone up with a shout; the Lord with the sound of the trumpet." Ephesians 1:15-23 The theology of Christ s ascension sees him as the cosmic ruler of all. Luke 24:44-53 Luke recounts an ascension tradition slightly different from Acts. We still need members to sign up for altar flowers and bread. The sign up sheet is to the left outside of the office. There are still a lot of openings left on both sign ups. Also make sure you check often as a reminder for what day you have signed up for. 2

3 Happy, Blessed, Holy Easter to all! Pastor will return from vacation May 6 Steve and Kelley are on vacation through Saturday May 6. Call the church office if you need pastoral assistance. 3

4 De March April April April Total Our generous gifts glorify God! Uniters Circle will meet on Monday May 1st at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held here at United Church of Sandwich. This months meeting will be hosted by Phyllis Davis. Please remember for the months of June and July there will be no Uniters Circle meeting. Meetings will resume on Monday August 28th. Mission of the Month Sandra Kaye Raasch A Native of Missouri and a member of the church of the Resurrection in Leawood KS, Sandy was commissioned as a missionary in 2005 and has been active in the Honduras Mission Initiative ever since. She currently coordinates VIM teams to Honduras, allowing them to work with and equip Hondurans in ministry. An example of her work is that she finds temporary licenses for medical teams to practice in Honduras. United Methodist Women will meet on Thur s- day May 11th at 9:30 a.m. Worship Committee will be hosting Fourth Sunday Coffee Hour this month. Epic Youth will be meeting here at United Church of Sandwich every Wednesday this month at 6:oo p.m. Hope Circle will hold their next meeting on Thursday May 4th at 1:00 p.m. Fair Stand Committee will have their next meeting on Tuesday May 16th at 7:00 p.m. 4

5 March Worship Assistants Greeters 5/7 Gary & Judy Anderson 5/14 Mary Leach 5/21 Lynn Reeder 5/28 Ron & Bonnie Miller Ushers 5/7 Reid & Deb Heinekamp 5/14 Josh & Mindy Chrestman 5/21 5/28 Al & Myrtie Warren Liturgists 5/7 Les Banks 5/14 Myrtie Warren 5/21 Carole Forman 5/28 Kevin Duy May Communion Ministers Deb Seymour, Debby Hill, Rick Hill Reaching our inactive members Our effort to reach inactive members is continuing. We still have a table full of names of folks that we have not seen for awhile some for many years now. Pastor Steve has appreciated the feedback he has received from the letters he has sent, and also from the active members who have taken names off the table and reached out. Please continue to help with this effort. And, there are always new people in your neighborhood, co workers, friends and family who don t have a church home that you can invite. Research shows that most people get active in a church by relating to the members of the congregation, and because someone from that church invites them to participate. We are now taking donations for pie ingredients. We need Pillsbury or Gold Medal flour, Crisco shortening, and any type of sugar. There is a table in the narthax where you can leave the ingredient donations. Thanks to all in advance. 5/2 Phyllis Davis, Richard Robinson, Zachary Morel 5/5 Macie Chrestman, Cindy Carr 5/6 Renee Eipers, Renee Richards, Andrew Salisbury 5/7 Shirley Basler, Justin Vegrzyn 5/9 Betty Reiners, Gerred Jaeger, James Bernhardt 5/11 Thomas Nehring 5/12 Sandy Gustafson, Al Wig 5/13 Beverly Lowe, Darrell Lohmeier, Glenn Chivers 5/14 Sherrie Johns, Phillip Paul 5/16 Gary Anderson 5/18 Lilly Heiman, Linda Duy 5/19 Ron Henrich 5/23 Nina Covert 5/25 Kevin Rose 5/26 Heath Dannewitz 5/27 Olivia Whitmer, Verian Cassell, Vivian McMaster, Jane Heyer, Max Reynolds 5/28 Dakota Heiman, Roger Rebhorn, Richard Banko 5/29 Richard Hill 5/31 Matthew Hill Anniversaries This Month 5/5 Sue & Vince Olson 5/12 Sherrie & Thomas Johns 5/17 Cindy & Dan Carr 5/19 Angie Miller & James Martin 5/22 Jackie & Wayne Hargrave 5/27 Sandy & Carl Gustafson 5/29 Linda & Dave Munson 5/29 Mindy & Josh Chrestman 5

6 Shopping on line? Help your church through UMCMarket.org Here is an easy way to support UCS. Before you make an on line purchase, go to UMCMarket.org. Once you establish an account at UMCMarket.org, over 3,000 businesses with donate a portion of your purchase to United Church. Automatically. It s easy to register. Just go to UMCMarket.org and set up an account. It takes less than five minutes. It will take you through the steps to get your donation directed to UCS. Then when you are shopping on line you can look on the UMCMarket site for what you want. Each purchase you make will earn UCS a percentage of the total (in some cases as much as 5%). If a lot of us take advantage of this (especially on big ticket items like TVs or other appliances), the donations will add up. Sandwich/Somonauk Ministerial Alliance 4 T H T U E S DAY COMMUNITY FREE FELLOWSHIP FEAST 4:30 6:00 pm Tuesday, May 23rd Federated Church 403 N. Main St. Sandwich Looking for fellowship? Join us! Having trouble making ends meet? Join us! Love community dinners? Join us! All are welcome! Invite your friends and family to come as well! welcome! Worship & Music Committee will hold a meeting on Sunday May 7th following Worship service. United Methodist Men s Breakfast will be held Sunday May 7th at 7:30 a.m. Men s group meet first Sunday every month for breakfast, fellowship, and devotions. All men are Carol Larson would like to thank everyone for their thoughtful words and caring expressions of sympathy. Thank you all very much for the prayers during the death of her brother. Deadline to turn all newsletter information will be Monday May 15th at 10:00 a.m. Trustee Meeting will be held Tuesday May 9th at 6:30 p.m. 6

7 2017 Worry LESS Smile MORE Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :00 p.m. Prayer :00 p.m. Uniters Circle Meeting 6:00 p.m. Youth 6:30 p.m. Chimes 1:00 p.m. Hopes Circle Meeting 7:30 p.m. Choir 7 7:30 am Men s Breakfast 8:45 am Sunday School 10:00 am Worship Worship & Music Committee Meeting 14 Mother s Day 8:45 am Sunday School 10:00 am Worship 21 8:00 am Sunday School 10:00 am Worship 28 8:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Worship 8 9 9:30 a.m. UMW Meeting 2-3 p.m. Nursing Home Ministry 6:30 p.m. Trustee Meeting :oo p.m. Fair Stand Committee meeting 10 6:00 p.m. Youth 6:30 pm Chimes 7:30 pm Choir 17 6:00 p. m. Prayer 6:30 p.m. Youth 6:30 p.m. Chimes 7:30 p.m. Choir :00 p.m. Youth 6:30 pm Chimes 7:30 pm Choir :00 p.m. Youth 6:30 p.m. Chimes 7:30 p.m. Choir 11 6:30 p.m. Mother / Daughter Banquet 6:30 p.m. 18 6:30 p.m. Finance Committee Meeting

8 The United Church of Sandwich 512 East Lions Road Sandwich, IL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED THE MESSENGER MAY 2017 The United Church of Sandwich 512 East Lions Road, Sandwich, IL Church: (815) website: Sunday Schedule Worship 10:00 am Adult Sunday School 8:45 am Church Office Hours Monday Friday 8:00 am 12:00 pm The Rev. Steven Mindrup Office Hours: Monday Thursday, 8:00 am 12:00 pm or by appointment Mobile: Kelley Mindrup s mobile: We are passionately united to feed all people body, mind and spirit to the glory of God! Leadership Team 2017 Church Council Chair Reid Heinekamp Treasurer Pam Nehring Financial Secretary Pat Hallaron Finance/Stewardship Chair Ken Young Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Sarah Stevens Lay Leader Brenda Moland Trustees Chair Matt Olson Annual Conf Delegate David Seymour Missions/Evangelism Chair Ed & Jane Heyer Memorial/Endowment Chair Nancy Brown United Methodist Women Myrtie Warren United Methodist Men Church Staff Secretary: Andrea Knasel (Tuesday-Friday 8:00 am 12:00 pm) Choir and Chimes Director: Kevin Duy Organist/Pianist: Carol Larson Ministers and Missionaries: All Members