ECHOES. Pentecost Sunday May 19 Wear Red! A Time of Renewing Consecration of Pledges on May 19. Pentecost Special Day Offering CALLING ALL GRADUATES:

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1 ECHOES Monthly Newsletter of Woodland Christian Church May 2013 Pentecost Sunday May 19 Wear Red! Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free. Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on a sea. On Pentecost Sunday, we read Luke s exhilarating story from Acts of the coming of the Holy Spirit God s amazing power at work in the world through the church! God s breath, wind, flame, the color red, a dove are all symbols of the spirit of Pentecost. On this special Sunday, it will be even more special as we celebrate with baptisms of candidates from this year s Pastor s Class. Pentecost Special Day Offering On Pentecost Sunday, we will collect one of our 6 Special Offerings of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Pentecost gifts support the development and growth of new churches. Fifty cents of the offering is available for new church ministries in the regions it was given and the remainder supports the General Assembly s New Church Priority that is housed in Church Extension. All gifts to the Pentecost Offering directly support the operating expenses of new congregations and the training of new church pastors, mentors and coaches. A Time of Renewing Consecration of Pledges on May 19 As we celebrate the Resurrection, and witness the resurrection of the beautiful earth God has provided us, we often feel revitalized and refocused. We re filled with energy and enthusiasm as we begin a time of expectation, joy, and renewal. That same energy and enthusiasm is present at Woodland this time of year. Many groups and leaders are busy preparing for the new fiscal year and developing plans to carry out our mission and helping spread the good news of Christ s love for us. This is also a time to focus on needs of the present-day church, especially Woodland. Woodland has accomplished many great things in the past 10 months, and we have great plans for our future. In the coming weeks, members will begin to hear about those plans, and will be asked to consider their support for those plans. One very vital means of support is by making a financial pledge. As you think about your pledge for the 2014 years, remember the many ways that Woodland has uplifted, comforted, supported, and enriched you and your family over the years, while considering ways we can help others. Pledge cards will be arriving in the mail in May. You may bring them or mail them at any time. On May 19, we will collect and consecrate the pledges during worship. Michael Wells Chair of Stewardship CALLING ALL GRADUATES: Do you know of someone graduating from high school or college? If so, let us know! We will honor them in the June Echoes and with a reception in June following worship.

2 MAY WORSHIP NOTES May 5 Stewardship Sunday Acts 16: 9-15 Purple Cloth Sharing: On Being Stewards of the Church May 12 John 17: That They May All Be One: A Prayer from Our Mother God May 19 Pentecost Sunday! On this special Sunday, we will have baptism of those youth who have been in Pastor s Class. In addition, we will invite people to bring their pledge cards and consecrate the pledges. Acts 2: 1-21 John 14: Spirit Sculpting May 26 Proverbs 8 Wisdom Calls A Note from Dalene For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave give talents, to another two, to another one So begins the familiar parable of the talents (an amount of wages) from Matthew s gospel. (Mt25: 14 30) We have been discussing the gospel of Matthew as part of this Spring s pastor s class. This last Sunday, our reading landed on the parable of the talents. It s not a difficult concept for youth to grasp; God has given us talents and resources that we are to put to use for God s work, not hide away or keep to ourselves. It is also a favorite and familiar scripture used this time of year as we focus on stewardship and how we individually use our time, talents and resources for the common good. Sometimes we as church forget that one of our talents or resources entrusted to us is our building. I am so very thankful to our group of trustees who keep our building in good condition. That s no small task for a structure built in the early 1900 s! I am also very thankful that we are a congregation that does not hide our building away as the one steward did with his one talent. Many of you don t have the chance to see all of the ways in which our building is used. Here are just a few glimpses: On Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings, people who are struggling to overcome the addiction of alcohol can find an AA meeting in our building. At least once a week we have girl scouts/brownies meeting in building. One Friday there was a knock at the door. A woman recently moved to Lexington from Burma was here for a cooking class that meets every other Friday to teach refugees how to cook with American ingredients. A neighborhood needlepoint group uses our building once a month. The Aylesford Place Neighborhood Association meets here. Mother-to-Mother has monthly activities and board meetings at Woodland. The Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass meets at Woodland every 3 rd Thursday. And wow!: one day last month, the entire Maxwell Street Elementary school evacuated to Woodland when they had a water leak EVERY room in the building was full of children and teachers! 2 I can t help but think that God is looking our way, nodding her head and saying, Well done, good and trustworthy servants! Dalene

3 3 -- Disciples Build Begins May 25! Lexington Habitat for Humanity, Inc. is an ecumenical Christian ministry partnering with volunteers and donors to eliminate substandard housing. Families in need achieve homeownership by purchasing simple, decent affordable homes they help build with community partners. More information can be obtained by going to Meet Cora Waite and her family. Cora is the Partner Family for the next Disciples Habitat home at 631 Breckenridge Street. She has been renting a home on Breckenridge and was very happy to learn a Habitat lot was available and knew it was where she wanted to build her home. She loves the neighborhood, which is only a few streets away from where she grew up. Family is very important to Cora, a single, working mother. She learned about Habitat from a neighbor who has a Habitat home. After the death of her mother, Cora took responsibility for her sister, Joy, who has cerebral palsy, and her two nephews in addition to her own son and daughter. Pictured with Cora are her daughter, Brielle, 3; nephew, Laron, 5; son, Byron, 7, and nephew, Dameon, 9. In addition to family responsibilities, she works as a cashier at Sam s Club. Disciples for Habitat will be the family s sponsors and Cora is tremendously grateful for their support. She is looking forward to building her new home alongside the many dedicated Disciples for Habitat volunteers. The Disciples for Habitat build is a rewarding way to meet other Disciples in Lexington while you hammer and saw. No skill necessary come one, come all. This year s build begins on Memorial Day weekend. Go to to sign up to volunteer. In addition, Woodland will be providing lunch to the workers on Wednesday, May 29. A sign-up sheet will be posted soon to bring lunch items. OPEN CIRCLE Open Circle is a meeting where women get together to have fun and share. They meet the first Wednesday of each month in the Fellowship Hall. Come and join them on May 1 st at 2:00 pm. CHURCH CAMP Our campground is Wakon Da-Ho. Camp season begins June 2. The deadline for early bird registration is due no later Wednesday, May 1 st. If you did not make the May 1 st deadline, applications and fees are due no later than two weeks prior to opening day of the camp. Go to for more information and to download the application and parents information. If you are unable to access a computer, applications are available on the table outside the church office. Woodland will pay for one half of the camp fee for members. GREEN CHALIC Celebrate Earth Day Every Day! Save PAPER: ü Print on both sides ü Send e-cards ü Read e-magazines, newspapers, books Save POWER: ü Unplug small appliances when not in use ü Use power strips to bundle electronics to make switching off simple ü Use CFL and LED light bulbs inside and out Save PLASTICS: ü Use refillable water bottles such as glass, aluminum, stainless ü Invest in roll-up cloth bags to use when shopping at the mall, mesh bags for produce at the Farmer s Market or grocery ü Switch to glass storage containers And, of course: Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle whenever possible!

4 TRUSTEES THANK YOU! A huge THANKS! to the Trustees and members who participated in the Trustees workday in March. Those who came out to enjoy fellowship with one another and serving the church in March are: Rick Buchanan, Kyle Spring, Gerry Hann, Jimmy Owens, John Forbes, Barbara Blodgett, John and Sam Clay, Tracy, Kristi, Emily, Ashley, and Annaliese Taylor, and Michael Wells. With many hands, so much can be accomplished. At the March workday, these jobs were able to be done: put drain pipes on downspouts; clean gutter and roof on boiler room; fasten chain link fence around A/C chiller; clean and weed eat A/C chiller pen; pick-up yard debris and sweep parking lots; cut up and remove broken tree limbs; sow grass seed on entire church lawn; take plastic off window air conditioners; hang two marker boards in third floor classrooms, and clean boiler room and arrange supplies. Thanks to all that brought tools, supplies, donuts, etc. Thanks Jimmy and John for bringing your pressure washing.. With the arrival of spring comes work. Trustees have been busy with more jobs on the building and church property. We recently coordinated installation of the new sound system in the sanctuary (thanks to a generous donation by anonymous parties). Tile Floors in the Fellowship Hall and other first floor areas have been stripped and waxed, along with new tile in the 2 nd floor restrooms. We are planning on having another Trustees workday tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 1, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for anyone that may want to help with building improvements or grounds tasks. We are also planning maintenance work and projects for the next church year. (It will be here before we know it!) In conjunction with this, we are in need of some new members on our team. Please contact one of the trustees or any of the church leadership, if you are interested in working with the building or church property in any way. Craig Locke THANK YOU FROM FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OWENSBORO As you will remember, back in March an early morning fire broke out during a thunderstorm and destroyed the auditorium and quickly spread to other areas of the church. Our prayer group sent a prayer and Woodland sent a Chalice Hymnal. We received the following thank you card from First Christian Church and continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers: Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your kind gift of a Chalice Hymnal. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we heal and move forward in service to our Lord and our community. Sincerely, First Christian Owensboro, KY YOUTH NEWS SCHOOL SUMMER BREAK May 19 will be our last Sunday school for this school year since the next Sunday is Memorial Day weekend with many out of town. The Hayes Farrish adult class will continue over the summer. For the month of May, Student Intern Rachel Bogale will coordinate activities with the Youth Group. May 5: Youth Group meets and lunch following worship May 12: Regular Youth Group May 19: Joint Youth Gathering at Arlington Christian Church Youth group does not meet regularly in the summer, but a couple of fun get togethers will be planned. In addition, please check out the article on Church Camps. Many of our youth have enjoyed Camp Wakon Da-Ho. Woodland pays one half of the cost for members. WOODLAND IS GETTING NEW ADDRESSES 4 Effective June 1, 2013, we will have new e- mail addresses for you to contact us with. Please watch the weekly announcements for the new listing of e- addresses this month.

5 BEST WISHES AND THANK YOU, WES! 5 Wes Becker has been our youth director at Woodland for almost three years. Sunday, April 28, was Wes last Sunday with us in that position. In May, he will be traveling to Europe to take a month long intensive course in off shore investing. Wes will graduate from Transy on May 25 and immediately begin an intensive year of classes at UK for a Masters in Accounting. We have been blessed to have Wes with us. He has kept our small but nighty youth group together and they have grown under his leadership. In appreciation for his ministry with us, there was a reception following worship. The youth then took him out to lunch to show their appreciation. ß The youth and Wes in New Orleans last summer! Week of Compassion and the Week That Was Week of Compassion has been monitoring the disasters of the week of April From flooding across a couple of Midwestern states to explosions in Texas and Boston to the Friday report of a devastating earthquake in China, it seemed like one couldn t turn on the news without another report of tragedy. As always, the faithful support of congregations and individuals across North America and the faithful partnership of our partners both here and around the globe have allowed Week of Compassion to respond. Week of Compassion has been in touch with the Northeast Region and several ecumenical partners to see if there are Continued on page 6

6 6 Week of Compassion and the Week That Was (cont d) needs emerging as a result of the Boston Marathon explosion. Likewise, we are currently working with the Southwest Region and Central Christian Church, Waco, Texas, to respond to needs emerging from the week s explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. In addition, we will continue to monitor the situation so that we might support longterm recovery efforts in West. We have also responded to churches and church members affected by flood damage in Indiana and Illinois, and through our partners in Global Ministries, to needs emerging from a devastating earthquake, measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, that rattled the Sichuan region in western China on Friday (April 19). If you would like to help bring comfort to communities facing tragedy, be part of relief efforts all over the world, and join our movement of Courageous Compassion, click nposubscriptionid=2980. Thank you for all the ways you have expressed concern over that week. Your care, hope, and commitment inspire and effect change all over the world. NEWS FROM GLOBAL MINISTRIES Global Ministries is the common witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ responsible for nurturing relationships with international partners on behalf of Disciples and the UCC. With our congregational support, Global Ministries has been able to place 126 full and part time missionaries serving with partners in over 43 countries around the world. From Teresa and Anil Henry in India: Christian Hospital, Mungeli also runs the Rambo Memorial School, which is an English medium school subsidized by the hospital in order to educate rural children from the surrounding villages. Starting from 80 students in 2003, the school now has 650 children, out of which 400 children belong to the villages within a radius of 25 miles and are brought by our school buses, there being no other mode of transportation (unless you count the bullock-carts and cycle-rickshaws!). To keep up with the times, the school has recently been furnished and equipped with a computer classroom, where on-line classes can be taken from the Khan Academy. Of course, we were helped by our software friends I the US but most of all YOU who support us and in turn, support the school. We could never have achieved what we were able to, without your support. Love and prayers. Our heartfelt thanks to all! REMEMBERING GLENN FUGATE Glenn Fugate passed away Friday, March 29, 2013, at Good Samarian Hospital. The funeral for Glenn was on April 3 at Milward Funeral Home with Rev. Dalene Vasbinder presiding. On November 21, 2010, Glenn and partner, George Pinson, came forward to place their membership with Woodland Christian Church. Over the last few years, Glenn was a faithful van driver for the church. He also added helpful insight during Sunday school discussion. Last September, he walked with Woodland in the Lexington CROP Walk. For the last year, Glenn had been battling attacks of pancreatitis, with numerous hospitalizations. In spite of this, his faith in a loving God surrounding him in care remained strong. Glenn s gentle spirit will be missed. We hold Glenn s partner, George Pinson, in prayer. Glenn s obituary can be found on Milward s website.

7 WHO S IN THE PEWS Roy and Bonnie Phillips Faithfully Roy and Bonnie Phillips can be found for worship sitting in the center section, on the back row on the pulpit side aisle. They came to Woodland in the late 1990 s when Roy took a job in Lexington. Roy had attended Woodland when he was a student in Lexington while Elmore Ryle (Margaret s husband) was pastor. He liked the friendliness and size of Woodland then so decided to come again. And they stayed. Bonnie grew up in Cynthiana and was a member of a Baptist congregation and when she first came to Lexington. She has lived in Lexington 60 years. Roy is from Bourbon County and grew up in Little Rock just down the road from Cane Ridge. He has been a lifetime Disciple attending North Middletown and Little Rock Christian Churches in Bourbon County before coming to Woodland. He enjoyed going by and seeing the Cane Ridge Meeting House before it had the Shrine built around it to save it. He remembers that it was nifty to see. He said of his home in Little Rock, They were going to make Main Street one way but you couldn t get back in town. Bonnie and Roy met in business school. They have been married 43 years. Bonnie has worked for Lexington Granite Company, IBM Credit Union, and Link Belt. Roy was a farmer in Bourbon County and then worked for Lowe s. When asked about any hobbies, Bonnie said, We have 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. They are proud of their daughter s adopted five children. They like the friendliness of Woodland and we are pleased that they are here. You know where to find them, so stop and say hi. Birthday Cupcakes Will follow worship on Sunday, May 5. Come and join us to sing Happy Birthday to: Denny Edens 5/1 Del Osborne 5/1 Peggy Garnaat 5/9 Daene Wilds 5/9 Lee Ball 5/10 Anne Vandervort 5/10 Pamela Trautner 5/11 Norman Drury 5/12 Paula Ladd 5/12 Cookie Adams 5/14 Josh Deel 5/14 Don Lowe 5/15 Richard Day 5/16 Todd Dotson 5/17 Nevaeh Smith 5/19 Emily Taylor 5/19 Kim Roark 5/22 Steve Johnson 5/23 Mark Barker 5/25 Laura Phillips 5/26 Jackie Ricard 5/26 Ben Stocker 5/27 Debi James 5/29 Wayne Bryant 5/30 Melissa Snow-Groves 5/31 CONGRATULATIONS! Dianne Chiles will be inducted into the Henry Clay High School Hall of Fame on May 10. To receive such an honor, the individual will have brought significant recognition to the school or have, by their unusual successful service, achieved significant accomplishment on behalf of the school, or have by a significant act or contributions distinguished themselves as an annual former student, coach, or faculty members, or have been a significant and unusual supporter of the school. Dianne is one of five selected this year by the committee for outstanding service to the school. 7

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