The voice. First United Methodist Church September Pastor s Message

Transcription

1 The voice First United Methodist Church September 2017 Pastor s Message Romans 12:4-8 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the preacher, in preaching; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. What is Church? I mean, really? What is this place-building-community-nonprofit-organization-family-body of Christ-thing of which we are all a part? Why do we support it with our time and our money? Why do we work so hard making this place function? Honestly, I have no idea I m sure that takes some of you by surprise. After seven years of full-time ministry, I m surprised! I thought I d have the whole Church-thing down by now. But here I am, sitting in my office, realizing that I don t know what this thing is even though I m supposed to be the one leading it. I ve seen so many churches that look so different from one another. I ve seen churches that are big and little and everything in between. I ve seen churches that are totally focused on serving their community and those that are literally out in the desert away from civilization. I ve seen churches that cater to the young and to the old, churches for the disabled, the addicted, the poor, the rich, white folks, black folks, Korean folks, and gay folks. Every church looks just so frustratingly different from every other church. There s no model, no formula, no set pattern to which we can point to judge how we are doing at being a church. But when I read passages like the one above, I realize that this frustrating lack of a model or formula is actually what makes church great. This isn t McDonalds or Starbucks or any other cookie-cutter franchise of some larger institution. No, this thing we call Church is us and it is what we make of it. Here we are given the space to explore what gifts and talents we bring and how we can put them together to build our little piece of God s Kingdom. It s a place we have the freedom to discover what our gifts are and how they might be used to help, support, encourage, heal, strengthen, and provide for others. Sunday, September 10 th is something called Rally Day. After service, we re going to have a little fair downstairs where we can sign-up to volunteer for various ministries and committees but more than that, it s an opportunity for us to come together and renew our commitment to this odd, indefinable, frustratingly chaotic and mysterious family that we call our Church. Please don t miss this special time! Keep the Faith, Rev. Derek

2 Hey Middle and High Schoolers! Be on the lookout for info on our new youth group, coming in September/October! We are going to get together and have fun and eat and talk and laugh and learn and act weird Adopt a College Student Being in college is tough stuff. Long classes big papers recitals late night study sessions being away from home it can make for a challenging four years. We ve had a lot of college students coming to the church lately, and we re taking sign-ups for folks who want to adopt them for a year. If you sign-up, we ll provide you with all the student s contact information, and all we re asking you to do is check-in with them, and once a month provide them with some kind of blessing. You can bless them by taking them out to lunch, sending them an encouraging note, inviting them over for a home cooked meal, giving them some Apollo movie tickets or a gift certificate to the Feve whatever you like. This is a great opportunity to show God s love to young people who are a part of our community! Sign-up at the Welcome Center or tell Rev. Derek you d like to be involved. First UMC Book Club We are putting together a Saturday morning Book Club this fall! We ll be reading novels, biographies, poetry, spiritual writing, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We d like to meet once a month over coffee and a light breakfast. Sign-up at the Welcome Center if you d like to join. We will decide together on our first book in September. Rally Day and Ministry Fair: Sunday, Sept. 10 th Mark your calendar, and be in prayer about where you would like to serve our Church and grow in your faith this Fall and in This is an important day of the year for our Church! After service we will gather in the Fellowship Hall to sign-up for committees, ministry teams, small-groups, and Bible studies. Pastor Kubilus Office Hours (unless the office is closed for vacation.) Tuesday: 1-4 Wednesday and Thursday: 8:30-12 Come by anytime for coffee and conversation!

3 Organ-ized thought: Well, students are back, and, as I write this, we are planning for the First Day of Classes Breakfast. It should be wonderful. Weather report for the Sale and the Breakfast is good at least for now. A lot can change. Please take note that September 3 is an outdoor service in front of the church on our plaza. We will use the keyboard, the choir will sing, and it will include Communion. I think I ll play piano music instead of organ music for the service. If the weather cooperates, it will be a chance to attract attention of the newbies walking by. Starting August 29 th, we will once again be serving Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday coffee to students and faculty walking by. Loki will gladly greet anyone entering, as will Beowulf just not on the same days yet. Some students actually stop in because they miss their home pets, and these two dogs supply a ministry to them of a touch of home. Sorry about the lack of parking during the week. That happens when a town gains about 2,800 new and returning students! Alan Montgomery - Membership Chair SPRC announces changes in our Church School Staff: Beginning September 10, some familiar faces with new job descriptions and titles will welcome your children black to classes. Nic Mathisen will be the Sunday School Superintendent. He will be choosing curriculum, coordinating the teaching schedule and gathering supplies. He will also be communicating with parents, children and teachers for classes. Please contact Nic to volunteer or to enroll. Ryanne Fury will be the Nursery Care Coordinator. The children are familiar with Ryanne and she will keep them safe and busy during church. Please take some time to fill in the info sheets for contact numbers and additional information. Ryanne will also be needing some volunteers. Both Nic and Ryanne have been active with the children and have many ideas and talents they are eager to share. Join us on September 10th and get off to a great start.

4 What is Big History? When people are asked What is evolution?, they often reply with a state-ment such as survival of the fittest. Michael Dowd* points out that evolution is much more than this. Evolution is Big History, that is, everything that has happened in the universe in the 14 billion years of its existence. Everything means all the physical, biological, and cultural change that has taken place and continues to take place. We are part of it. How does the universe evolve physically, biologically, and culturally? The universe has been evolving physically from the very beginning. At first there were no planets, no stars, and no galaxies. They evolved as the universe developed and expanded. It is still expanding and evolving today. Biological evolution is the relentless drive among living things to adapt to change. This accounts for the development of single celled animals into more complex and more capable multi-cellular creatures. We witness this evolution today as new species arise while others become extinct. Cultural evolution is perhaps even more rapid. Think about the changes that have taken place in society over the past 200 years, as we have been transformed from a primarily agricultural society to an industrial one. We are witnessing now the industrial society evolving into one based on the flow of information and knowledge. Big History raises serious questions for Christians. Some of these are: Is creation complete or continuing? Are we the first species that can choose not to become extinct? Have we unwittingly already made this choice by our inability effectively to face the global warming we are causing? Where does Jesus fit into Big History? Is his passion for justice and nonviolence, particularly where the poor and powerless are concerned, an example of what humankind could become? *Michael Dowd is an American Progressive Christian minister, author, and eco-theologian known as an advocate of Big History, religious naturalism, sustainability, and climate activism. Michael Dowd What is evolution? It is big history. Most people think evolution means survival of the fittest. Evolution is much more than this. Evolution is big history. It is physical, biological, and cultural evolution. It is the entire 14 billion years of the universe. We are part of it. Barbra Rossing Creation is not complete but continuing. The universe is still expanding and biological evolution continues to give rise to more and more complex living things. Michael Dowd The trees in the Amazon basin are our external lungs. We are our world. We are waking up. We thought we were disconnected from the earth. We thought our true home was somewhere else. Matthew Fox Science will always be a source of inspiration for healthy Christianity. The ecological agenda is a moral agenda of the future of our species. Philip Clayton The most destructive persons on the planet are American Christians. Continued on the next page

5 Continued from previous page What does it mean that we are in a rush to vertical transcendence but have blindness to horizontal transcendence? Why do Christians believe that there is no need to conserve resources? Do we expect Jesus to come and bring us home some day? Michael Fox We are the first species that can choose not to go extinct. We have not made that choice yet. It is religion s task to get us to make that choice and to outfit us with the skills that make this a practical choice. Philip Clayton We need to regulate what we do in a way that increases our chances of survival. You are programmed to get short-term gain. Programmed to live in a comfortable house, drive a comfortable car, and accept the status that comes with wealth and privilege. Jesus call was to side with the ones that have no power. In order to abide by Jesus system, we need to overcome our innate programming. Catherine Keller We get into trouble when we think that God specifically designs everything that happens. This makes is difficult to account for all the dead ends and cruelty. Does God specifically design everything that happens? (butterflies) Philip Clayton The term Christian has become baggage. We should take our understanding of Christian away from a collection of frozen truths from the past. The doctrines we inherit are like a bitter pill we must swallow. Think of Christianity as an invitation to discussion. Does faith have to change in order to survive? Do we have to choose between intellectual integrity and Faith? Is the church is telling us we have to make this choice? (turning water into wine, virgin birth, rising from the dead) Are these and related questions of interest to you? Would you like to know more about what scientific experts and progressive theologians are telling us about these topics? Would you like to hear what you fellow church members think? If so, the time is 9:30 on Sunday mornings. Roger Binkley

6 United Methodist Women After a summer break the UMW are gearing up for a busy fall. Monday, September 18th - The UMW would like to extend a special invitation to EVERYONE to enjoy an evening with Sue Pete as she presents Evolution of Sports Medicine She has been involved with Lorain County Sports for over 40 years as a coach, teacher, referee and is trained in sports medicine. Currently Sue runs the Lorain County Track meets. Please join us at 7:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. Saturday, September 30th - The Firelands District of UMW continue to be concerned about the problem of Human Trafficking. Come learn more at Norwalk FUMC with State Representative, Teresa Fedor. Teresa is a leading voice in our area to solve the problem of trafficking in Ohio. She has introduced, and helped to pass, new laws to assist young people who are enslaved in these situations and has enacted legislation to charge the perpetrators with acts of crime. The cost is $7 and lunch is included. All are welcome! Gift Cards - September 10th is your next chance to purchase Gift Cards from the FUMC. Remember, these cards can be used for your shopping and dining AND it helps the UMW. Order forms are on the board in the welcome center or see Jean Shannon. Mission If it takes a village to raise a child, we have shown that it takes a community to run a fundraiser. From start to finish more than 40 individuals from the church helped with the BIG Sale. We raised almost $3000 on the first day alone. The set up on Sunday was the best yet. A huge thank you to all who helped. The money we raise is used to help provide camperships for our youth that go to summer camps. Helping in Houston If you are looking for a way to help in Houston, consider donating through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). 100% of your gift will be used to provide assistance. Designate your gift HOUSTON. UMCOR 475 Riverside Drive New York, NY 10115

7 September Birthdays Ed Casper 09/03 Douglas Reno 09/03 Sandra Hougland 09/07 Susan Johnson 09/08 Penny Locke 09/11 Sandra Habecker 09/13 Ronnie Cole 09/14 Andrew Green 09/17 Wendy Smith 09/17 Jennifer Pack 09/19 Robin Hoover Shaffer 09/20 Adam Freas 09/23 Katherine Delude 09/24 Nathan Anderson 09/26 Mary Lou Kidney 09/26 Scott McDaniel 09/28 September Anniversaries Dennis & Samantha Clark 09/01 Michael & Judith Claycomb 09/06 Gary & Mary Aufdenkampe 09/22 Louis & Pam Bliss 09/27 Matthew & Briana Hicks 09/30 Sunday, September 3rd Join us for Outside Worship (weather permitting) Come prepared to sit outside. Rally Day Sunday, September 10th After service we will meet in the fellowship hall to sign up for committees, ministry teams, small groups and bible studies. Hope to see everyone there!!

8 September Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 BIG Sale 9-2p :30a worship Membership 2:30p Outdoor Service Trumpet 3:30p SPRC 7:00p CMS 7:00p AA/Alanon 8p :30a Worship Rally Day UMC Card Order Trumpet 3:30p Ad Council 7:00p Bible Study 9:30a UMW Exec Bd 1:30p Men s Breakfast 8:30a AA/Alanon 8p Adult Game Night 6:00p :30a Worship UMW Card pu UMW Program 7:00p Trumpet 3:30p Bible Study 9:30a Finance 7:00p A/Alanon 8p Trumpet 3:30p 10:30a Worship Trustees 7:00p Bible Study 9:30a AA/Alanon 8p VOICE DEADLINE

9 First United Methodist Church of Oberlin Adult Sunday School at 9:30 am Worship and Sunday School for Children at 10:30 am Pastor : Derek Kubilus FIRST CLASS 45 South Professor Street Oberlin, Ohio First United Methodist Church