Latham Farmers Market

Transcription

1 May 2015 Vol. 4 Issue 5 Connecting Generations to Grow Relationships with God, Others, and Creation Latham Farmers Market Stephanie Och The Farmers Market, now named Latham Farmers Market, will kick off its 3 rd year on May 5 th of 2015 at 3:00pm with a festive Cinco De Mayo scene including chips, salsa, and piñatas for the kids. The Farmers Market board works very hard every year to bring you the best farmers with the best and freshest local fruits and vegetables around! Most of the farmers from last year will be returning along with some new ones who we are very excited to be hosting. The market is located in the Latham UMC parking lot and is a wonderful place to bring your family and friends for weekly shopping enhanced with all age entertainment. Children can enjoy jumping in the moon bounce and many other activities each week while the adults are listening to live music, sampling the freshly made fare made from the freshest ingredients possible. Customers, or as we like to call them friends, can purchase fresh peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, homemade jams and jellies, baked goods, fresh flowers, numerous herbs, plants of all kinds, and other vegetables. There are truly too many wonderful choices to list. If you get hot you can purchase iced tea or iced coffee, gourmet ice cream, and popsicles while cooling off in the misting tent. There are many special events planned week after week. Help us get the word out with Latham Farmers Market yard signs and flyers. continued on page 2 Inside this issue: New Pastor Bio 4 Financial Report 5 Youth News 6 Calendar 11 Lifetree Café 12

2 P a ge 2 Continued from front page. If you do not have a yard sign, please take one and place it in your yard each Tuesday. We will have those in the welcome center for you to pick up. Pass out flyers to friends and neighbors to help us have the most successful market possible even though last years will be tough to top! Remember when you support the market not only are you supporting the wonderful mission at Latham UMC and helping build our membership, but you are also supporting local farmers who really need you in order to keep their operations producing for the community! We need them and we want them! Come and you will see why. Below is a list of our vendors for the 2015 season. Please keep in mind this may change from time to time due to weather or abundance of crops. Remember though, no matter who is there, it will be a wonderful time with your family and you will be supporting the farmers right around the corner from you! You will leave with the freshest most delicious fruits, vegetables, and products possible! Meet our farmers. JENEE LE CUISINES, Davina Duffy, THE SHARP EDGE, Walter Brosemer, *will be at the market 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month -Sharpening service for Knives, Scissors, Gardening Tools CAMPBELL FARMS, Danny Campbell, SCOTTS ORCHARD, Larry, Tommy, & Kevin Scott, HUMBLE HEART FARMS, Leslie Spell, PIPER & LEAF GARDENS, Caleb & Brigette Christopher, Conner Knapp, Mary Claire Knapp THE NATURAL GLENN, Heather Glenn, J. SPARKS FARMS, Jimmy Sparks, OLIVE BRANCH WAGYU, Jack & Anne Ingram, WHIRLWIND FARMS, Dove & Russell Stackhouse EVELENA SCHULTZ, Evelena Schultz 3 BLANKS FARM, Tricia & Eric Blanks SANDLIN FARM, Scott & Elizabeth Sandlin BETH'S BREAD and BAUBLES, Beth Essner TALLEYS FRUIT FARMS, Stephen Talley CHAMPION FARMS, Marilyn & Robert Champion, LONDON BREAD, Joyce London BUDDY S TOMATOES & PRODUCE, Buddy Clark, GREEN LEAF NURSERY

3 P a ge 3 On Changing Churches and Pastors Rev. Hughey Reynolds On April 9, our District Superintendent, the Rev. Dale Cohen, called to tell me that beginning June 10, I will be pastor of Decatur First United Methodist Church. On April 10, Dale called Dean Stone, Latham s SPRC chairman, to say that the Rev. Mike Ratliff will be Latham s senior pastor. Mike s bio is printed in this issue of The Branch. I opened myself to the likelihood of moving when in January I asked the Bishop and Cabinet to help discern where I could best be used. After weeks of prayer and deliberation, they concluded that I am the right person at the right time for Decatur First. When I answered the call to preach in 1973, and again when I was ordained in 1979, I agreed to go willingly wherever the appointive authorities sent me. As Sandy and I have done in seven previous moves, we go willingly and with anticipation of a good and happy ministry ahead of us, but we go with sadness over leaving the Latham staff, congregation, and community we have grown to love dearly. We will always cherish in our hearts relationships we have developed here. We have grown closer to Christ and each other as we have lived and loved and struggled and cried and laughed with you. At the same time, United Methodist pastors make a vow to go where we are sent and stay away from when we have been. That may seem harsh, but we do this for the sake of your continued growth as disciples of Jesus Christ. I want you to turn to your new senior pastor, Mike Ratliff, and allow him to be the primary shepherd in your faith journey and your priest in critical and joyous moments such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals. I will not interfere with his ministry but will do all that I can to support him to be successful among you. If circumstances ever arise and you feel that it is important to contact me, you may do so. Please know, however, that I will consult Rev. Ratliff and we will determine together the best response. If I do return to Latham for any occasion after June 10, it will be at your senior pastor s invitation. The author and priest Henri Nouwen wrote this about leaving and loving: Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving. When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for good, when the beloved friend departs to another country or dies the pain of the leaving can tear us apart. Still, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking. Sandy and I have loved and been loved deeply in our ten years with you at Latham. We have also felt and perhaps caused pain in our relationships, but nothing like the pain and sadness of saying goodbye to a people we have lived among and loved longer than any other in all my years of ministry. We hold you in our hearts and prayers. We ask you to do the same with us even as you send us away with blessings to serve Christ with the members and community of Decatur First United Methodist Church.

4 P a ge 4 Incoming Senior Pastor Bio Mike Ratliff For over 30 years I served as an ordained minister in The North Alabama Conference. After graduating from Shades Valley High School in 1972, I attended The University of Montevallo and graduated with a degree in Music Education. Obtained a Master of Divinity from Emory University, Candler School of Theology. I served on the Board of Superannuate Homes for the North Alabama Conference and have served as chairperson of the District Board of Location and Building for the Mountain Lakes District. Over the years, have served through UMVIM and SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology). Mission work has been through local, domestic and international opportunities. While serving in Marshall County, I assisted in the formulation of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Assisting in Disasters) through the EMA of Marshall County. I enjoy helping others through different types of ministerial opportunities; missions, music, and SCUBA Diving. SCUBA is a passion, helping people become more aware of the marine environment. I am married to Brenda (Bee) McDonald Ratliff. We have been married for 39 years. Brenda is a retired Registered Nurse and has served in a number of areas over the years including Pediatric nursing and Surgical nursing. We have two children, James Michael, and Anna Kristine. We have three grandchildren; Murphy Preston Thomas, Brady Rose Thomas and Zita Pearl Thomas. Cheers and God s Blessings to You All Chris Klaus, Minister of Music and Worship Nearly eight years ago, I entered the doors of Latham UMC a young man with minimal ministry experience and a heart for service. The SPR Committee lead by Gerald Smith worked tirelessly throughout the months prior trying to find a good fit for what was perhaps a difficult mission. To my great joy, the church leadership decided to take a chance on me when they made the decision to go with someone who was less about the job and more about the mission. I remember vividly the moment I received that phone call with the offer to serve in full time ministry. Without hesitation I accepted and began following God s will for my life. During my time serving Latham, this congregation has been gracious in times of need; encouraging during times of triumph; supportive of exploring ways to worship; and all the while, steadfast in leading and guiding me toward better paths of leadership and excellence. You provided childcare and a warm and loving environment for my daughters to grow in Christ s love. I have learned so much from my time here and will always cherish the wonderful moments of worship and song as, together, we lifted our voices in praise. Now, it is with great sadness and with much prayerful consideration that I must inform you of my final season serving as Minister of Music and Worship at Latham. I have accepted a position of worship leadership at Destin UMC and will report June 1. I would like to thank each of you for the outpouring of love and support shown to my family and me during the past eight years. Please pray for our church leaders that they may find a suitable replacement in a timely manner and that the transition may be as smooth as possible. As you know, Latham will be undergoing some major changes in the months ahead. Please be open to these changes as God moves in our lives and in our community. When we let Him have control, amazing things take place!

5 P a ge 5 Financial Committee Report April 2015 Marty Martin, Chairman 2015 Operating Budget - The Finance Committee continues to monitor the operating budget. So far, income and expenses are tracking within acceptable bounds. The SPR Committee recently discovered that due to an administrative error we have been paying our Associate Pastor at a lower rate than the salary approved by the Charge Conference for 2013 and We have corrected this error and provided our Associate Pastor with back pay for this timeframe. Unfortunately, the discrepancy in the Associate Pastor s salary was not discovered until after SPR had allocated pay raises for 2015 to the staff. In order to provide an equitable pay raise for the Associate Pastor the Board of Stewards approved an increase in the SPR budget line to cover the pay increase. Financial Procedures Manual - The Finance Committee has updated the Financial Procedures Manual to remove references to rental income and update financial procedures. These procedures apply to our staff, ministry teams, committees, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and others. An electronic copy of the manual has been provided to all of these stakeholders. A copy of the Financial Procedures Manual is also available to all members of the church upon request. If you would like a copy, please contact Marty Martin, Chairman of the Finance Committee (martynmart@aol.com), or Anita Banks, the Latham Business Administrator (admin@lathamumc.org). Hard copies are also available. The Financial Procedures Manual is a living document so if you see anything that you feel needs to be corrected there is a procedure for that. Just contact the Business Administrator or the Chairman of the Finance Committee and present your concerns over errors, omissions, or areas that need to be changed or corrected. The Finance Committee will review all suggested changes and take action as appropriate. We will also provide feedback to inform you of the action taken on your concern. Cash Flow Analysis - The Finance Committee has completed a Cash Flow analysis of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 budgets. The Finance Committee is reviewing the Cash Flow Analysis to determine better ways to manage our finances so that we balance expenditures with income whenever possible. Historically, Latham has some months in which expenses exceed income and some months in which income exceeds expenses. Our goal is to even out our cash flow so that we don t have these monthly swings between feast and famine. The Finance Committee is also seeking a way to better portray our financial status to the church membership. Currently, our church bulletin includes an Attendance & Offering Report for the previous week. Information is provided on the offering to date, operating expenses to date, and our budgeted income to date. The problem is that you can t tell from the information given if we are in good shape or if we are in bad shape because the information doesn t show what expenses are coming up in the next weeks or months. And while our finances may look good today, we know that during the summer months giving drops off while our expenses continue and in many cases increase. So, we are looking for a better way to show a picture of how we are doing financially. Any ideas on how to better portray our financial status are welcome.

6 P a ge 6 Student Ministry Adam Miller, Youth Minister I would like to share a couple of topics that we in the Student Ministry at Latham UMC discussed in our April Parent s meeting so that the general congregation can know where the Student Ministry is and where we are going. Snack Supper- Snack supper is a great ministry that our church has been offering for a long time that a lot of people have put tremendous time and effort into. I have been in conversations with several people since I have been here in regards to what we should do to help snack supper be better and how to motivate more people to help out with it. On this journey there were three choices that could have been made 1. The first was to completely do away with snack supper and let students know they needed to eat before they got to youth group. 2. The second was to continue to do snack supper the way it has always been done. 3. The third was to start charging a small amount of money for each student to eat snack supper that would either go into a pot for future snack suppers or to go to the person that brought the snack supper that week. Our leadership team thought and talked through the pros and cons of each of these choices and made a decision. Our decision is to start charging $2 a person for snack supper and the money made will go to reimburse the parents or volunteers that brought the meal that week. We believe that this will be the best decision because we believe that snack supper is important both as a time of fellowship and feeding the nutritional needs of our students. Also this decision was made because we have seen an average cost of $40-$60 a meal and we do not want finances to be a reason people do not volunteer to bring the supper. If a student cannot afford the $2 or forgets to bring it they can speak with me and we will make sure they are still able to eat. We will start this new way of having snack supper on the first Sunday in May which is May 3. Along with this Sam Lasseter has been the organizer of snack supper since last year but has been doing out of necessity and not out of it being a passion for him. We have discussed it and have decided that his time and gifts would be better suited in preparation for small groups and Sunday School. With this transition we will need someone to step up to be our snack supper organizer and leader. I would like to have someone in place for this position by May 3 so that we have a whole new functioning set up when we start our new Snack Supper style. If you believe that organization and volunteer recruiting is something you are gifted for and God is leading you to do it please let me know so that we can discuss what all goes into this position. I believe God is leading someone to step up as Sam moves into a different role in youth ministry here at Latham UMC. My Philosophy and Direction of the Youth Group- I would like to also share my vision and philosophy of ministry with all of you and the direction I see God leading us through the end of this year. My vision for the youth group here at Latham UMC is to see it become a spiritually lead group of students who are devoted to becoming disciples of Christ who seek to build up the family of God and to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. My philosophy of how to do this is to have a very intentional and relational atmosphere in our ministry. I believe that student and people in general don t care what you know until they know that you care. I want each and every student that comes to our youth group to know that they are cared for and that they are welcomed in this place. That starts first with me and how I treat them and then extends to our leadership team and our students. Each and every member of our youth group has a role to play in creating this atmosphere. I will try to teach them how to do this by leading by example and through the lessons that I give in youth group. As far as our lessons series go, right now I am going through the prayers of Jesus Christ that we have quoted in the gospels and what we can learn from them. After this series I will go through a series on the theology of John Wesley and how that has shaped how we do ministry in the United Methodist Church in preparation for our mission trip. During the summer I will take a light series to give our students a break and to build our community in the youth group. And Finally during the fall I will have one overarching topic for four months that I

7 P a ge 7 will look at from different sides each month. I believe that this kind of teaching side gives our students time to think through the overarching topic for a while and then take a deeper look of each side of the topic. Also I want to share with you a few events we in the Student Ministry have coming up in May and June. First with Mother s Day being the 10th of May we are going to cancel Youth Group on that day. I am doing this so that our students can spend time with their mothers on this very important day. I like to give families as many chances as possible to build those strong connections that are important during the teenage years. Second, on the 17th of May we are very excited to be hosting our Annual Senior Recognition Service during The Orchard Service. We have two members of Latham UMC graduating with year, James Brahm and Erica Lewis. Along with the Senior Recognition Service we will be hosting the graduates and their families to a Senior Luncheon and also will be giving them a graduation gift from the church. Lastly, in June we will be having a Youth Lock-In at Shakalaka. This will be held on June from 8:00pm-7:30am. We will meet at the church at 8:00pm and then head to Shakalaka at 11:30pm. We will stay at Shakalaka until 7:00am before driving back for students to be picked up at 7:30am. While we are there the Shakalaka staff will leading us in events and games designed specifically for overnight parties like ours. I hope that you and your students will invite other students to come and go with us to this exciting event. The price is only $25 a student and we will be providing food and drinks for the students. Please let Adam know if you are wanting to go so he can get you signed up.

8 P a ge 8 Child Development Center Traci Harris, Director What a fabulous time of year! We have been busy little bees as we've welcomed the wonderful spring weather, bright colors, and new life. Curious eyes have been observing caterpillars turning into chrysalides and then butterflies. We enjoyed a butterfly release party in the courtyard as we waved good-bye to our fluttering friends. We are also watching an ant farm in Ms. Tedi's Enrichment classroom and are excited to see these smart insects work together to create their home. We even have two spunky dwarf frogs named PB and J in Ms. Traci's office for all to enjoy. We celebrated the "Week of the Young Child" complete with Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday and Fun Friday. Each day was filled with special activities, food, games, dress up days, and crafts. Generous hearts of LUMCDC families and friends raised $1315 to benefit St Jude Children's Hospital during our annual Trike-A-Thon. It was a great week of fun, exploring, and learning for all. The staff and families helped make this an extra special week! Our annual Family BBQ & Spring Program was a huge success! Many LUMCDC families, staff and friends joined together for food, fun, and entertainment. The children did a wonderful job performing through song, movement, sign language and even Spanish! We presented our 4 year olds with a special certificate since they will be off to Kindergarten soon! Appreciation goes out to the members of the LUMCDC Board for their hand in making this event a success. May 20th will be the last day of attendance for our Half Day Preschool friends for this school year. Registration continues for the school year. We currently have openings in our 2, 3 and 4 year old classes so if you know anyone who needs a great Preschool program send them our way. On June 2nd our 6 week Summer Camp will begin for children ages 2-2nd grade. This year's theme "Superheroes of the Bible" will prove to be a great time for all. Spaces are available for new friends to join us this summer. LUMCDC is the place to be!

9 P a ge 9 In Reach Ministries Liz Hall Zeman, Lay Leader For Stephen Ministers, Ministers of Communion, Congregational Nurses, Elders, Deacons, Sunday School Teachers, Pastors and All Who Give Spiritual Care The Spiritual Care of the Aging and Their Care Givers Presented by the School of Applied Ministry of the Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care Tuesday, May 5, 6:00 pm 9:00 pm (Supper and Registration at 5:30) First Baptist 600 Governor s Drive Community Room in the Family Life Center (Entrance 7 across St. Clair from Public Library) (Cost: $35 (includes supper!) except for those from sponsoring churches. To register or for more information: malmcarl@hotmail.com or Nursing and Social Work CEU s (2.75 contact hours) available through HAPC (ABNP # 1490, Eugenia Graves, RN, BS.FCN, HAPC Education Director). Participants will be able to identify at least three ways they can address the spiritual needs of the aging and at least three ways they can address the spiritual needs of care givers. Presenters Dr. Edith Fraser, Ret. Professor of Social Work, A&M University; Adjunct Prof. at Oakwood University The Rev. Traci Loveman, Chaplain, Amedysis Hospice The Huntsville Assoc. for Pastoral Care represents many Christian denominations and exists to improve the quantity and quality of pastoral/spiritual care in our community. Among its ministries are supporting and encouraging community chaplaincies; The Council on Faith and Mental Illness; The Center for Loss, Grief and Change; congregational/parish nursing; The School of Applied Ministry; and other educational opportunities for ordained and non-ordained spiritual care providers. Contributions may be mailed to HAPC, P.O. Box 16032, Huntsville, AL End of Life Issues & the Ministry of Presence Thursday, May 7th, 2:00 p.m. In the Welcome Center Come hear Marsha Farrell from Hospice Family Cares Open to the entire congregation

10 P a ge 10 In Reach Ministries Liz Hall Zeman, Lay Leader Pastoral Counseling Services Available There are several counseling services available that are based upon a spiritual, pastoral approach. They include: United Counseling - A ministry of the North Alabama United Methodist Conference. This service maintains a local counselor, Robbie Dodson, here in Huntsville. She offers an array of counseling services and can be contacted through the Birmingham main office at A sliding fee scale is available. The Vine An ecumenical pastoral counseling center. It can be reached at Services include a free self-help lending library and a suicide survivors support group as well as individual, couple, and family counseling. A sliding fee scale is available. The Center for Loss, Grief and Change Carl Malm uses a spiritually-based approach to help People through the changes in their life. He can be reached at A sliding scale is available. Elderberries Note Rose Battle, Program Chair Sana Seikel, Marketing Director for Brookdale Senior Living, will present our program on March 21st, after a delicious meal at 11:30 A.M. Jana s topic will be Living with Purpose. I look forward to you joining us then. United Methodist Men Michael Gris, Secretary / Treasurer Our speaker for this month is James Byrd, III, MD. Dr. Byrd deals with internal medicine and he will be speaking on men s health issues. Bring your questions and be ready to hear about this important subject that all of us can appreciate. May 3rd, at 7 AM Prayer Breakfast with Meeting to follow. RSVP is encouraged to help in the preparation of the breakfast. A ministry of the United Methodist Church providing counseling and consultation for more than 45 years United Methodist Women Judy Gillespie, Chair Ladies, mark your calendar Thurs., May 7 th at 6 p.m. Mother-Daughter-Daughter-in-Law-sister-friend dinner in honor of Mother s Day. This is a church wide event sponsored by UMW Live entertainment, lots of time for fellowship and dinner at no cost! You can bring your daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, friend. Important: You do need to make a reservation by calling or ing the following no later than Monday, May 4th: Judy Gillespie jjgillespie@bellsouth.net or Cairenn Martin cairenn2@aol.com

11 P a ge 11 May 2015 Event and Birthday Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Every Sunday: 7:45a Band Rehearsal 8:30a Morning Watch 8:55a Orchard Service 10:05a Sunday School 11:05a Liturgical Service 3:00p Discipleship 5:00p Discipleship 5:00p Pastor s Bible Study Every Monday: 8:30a Bend & Stretch 6:00p Discipleship 6:00p Praise Band Every Tuesday: 5:00a Discipleship 7:00p Tutoring Every Thursday: 8:30a Bend & Stretch Noon Discipleship 2:00p Discipleship 6:00p Discipleship 6:30p Lifetree Café Every Wednesday: 10:00a Ladies Bible Study 10:30a Staff Meeting 1:30p Wesley Singers 6:00p Boys Scouts 6:00p Jubilation Handbells 6:00p Discipleship 7:00p Ladies Bible Study 7:00p Chancel Choir 1 2 5:30p Hammers Game Pat Lesher Paula DeBraccio Eunice Hislop Gaynell Rowden Sarah Sutinen Graham Martin 3 Blood Pressure Check 7a UMM Breakfast 10a Acolyte Training 2p Buchanan Scholarship Meeting 4 1p Morris Tutoring Zoey Frost 5 10a Alzheimer s Support Group 1p Morris Tutoring 3p Farmers Market Dave Welch Marianne Hutzler 6 9a Bob Ross Painting Class Allie Craig 7 2p Lecture-InReach 6p UMW General Meeting 8 Jerimy Lee Tom Parker 9 1p Unity Festival Dean Stone Amy Wells Kim Whitt Lisa Kruse 10 Food Pantry Pat Lewis Ben Worsham 2p Jo Walton Literary Group Baxley Porter 9:30a Circle 3 1:30p Circle 1 3p Farmers Market Marty Bryan 10a Circle 5 10a InStitches Rhonda Judy Ann Livingston Lyn Sheehan Chad Rutherford Grace Drummond Hugh Ayres Lawrence Robinson Dorman Chasteen 9:30a Circle 4 3p Farmers Market Doris Howard Bernadette Williams 10a Circle 2 Monica Paceley Jon Reynolds 10a Elderberry Board 11:30a Elderberry Luncheon/Program Noon Book Study Brianna McCormick Samantha Wear Michelle Kruse Steven Cantley Delores Padgett Nicholas Putnam Annette Cooper Brent Blackwood OFFICE / CDC CLOSED 6p Health Ministry Meeting 3p Farmers Market Alicia Hernandez 9:30a UMW Board Meeting Brain Cantley Noon Book Study Denise Graham Jason Bailes Doris O Donel Diana Byrd 7p Circle 7 31

12 May 21st May 7th May 28th May 14th Latham United Methodist Church 109 Weatherly Road Huntsville, AL Phone: Fax: On the web: lathamumc.org Connect with the Staff Rev. Dr. Hughey Reynolds, Senior Pastor Chris Martin, Minister of Discipleship Susan Terry, Minister of Connect & Children s Ministries Chris Klaus, Minister of Music & Worship Adam Miller, Minister of Youth Marvene Borntrager, Staff Coordinator for Inreach Anita Banks, Business Administrator Traci Harris, Director of Child Development Center Cherry Keeton, Organist Joey Evans, Pianist hughey@lathamumc.org chrismartin@lathamumc.org susanterry@lathamumc.org chrisklaus@lathamumc.org adammiller@lathamumc.org office@lathamumc.org admin@lathamumc.org lathamcdc@lathamumc.org Lifetree Café Join the conversation each Thursday Night at 6:30 PM. An hour long experience is packed with interesting stories, fascinating people, and lively conversation that will feed your soul.