St. Paul s United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 St. Paul s United Methodist Church June 2018 Newsletter All articles for the monthly newsletter must be submitted to Barbara@stpaulslascruces.com by the 15th of the month. Our purpose is to lead people to become disciples of Christ, who know and love God and transform our world from the heart of Las Cruces. Two items you need to know about: 1. Missional Area Meeting May 30 th at El Calvario UMC at 5:30 pm. All are invited to attend this meeting. All churches in the Las Cruces and T or C areas are meeting with El Paso District representatives to develop strategies to fulfill the Vision of the El Paso District to provide everyone in the geographical span of the District a place to Belong, Believe and Be Useful. The meeting will include a worship experience and a time for discernment. Our District Superintendent and District Lay Leader will lead us to develop a strategy for reaching our mission field here in South Central New Mexico. There is a pot luck meal. El Calvario will be making a main dish of turkey enchiladas, so side dishes of rice, beans, salad, etc. would be appreciated. Please, RSVP to the church office by May 25 so we can let them know to plan and set up. Leaders of the church and anyone interested are invited to participate as we dream of making disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world. 2. Commission on Way Forward the Council of Bishops (COB) of the United Methodist church have received the final report from the commission. This report will be available for the general church to read, discuss and deliberate by July 8 th when it will be forwarded to the Special called General Conference in February It is specifically related to how the church will minister to LGBTQ individuals. The current information at hand details three sketches or ways forward. The Three Sketches : #1 Affirms the current Book of Discipline language and places a high value on accountability. #2 Removes restrictive language and places a high value on contextualization. This sketch also specifically protects the rights of those whose conscience will not allow them to perform same gender weddings or ordain LGBTQ persons. #3 Is grounded in a unified core that includes shared doctrine and services and one COB, while also creating different branches that have clearly defined values such as accountability, contextualization and justice. The Council of Bishops have met and will present all three ways forward to the General Conference with their preference to recommend the second as their best way forward. As the time draws closer for the decision to be made, St. Paul s will hold a series of meetings to fully inform members, friends and guests of the sketches and proposals. In September, a sermon series and small group study will begin called The Anatomy of Peace based on the book by the same name. Along with the sermons and small groups, town hall meetings will be held so that anyone interested can be informed of the proposals and process we as a denomination are going through. Bishop Bledsoe will also hold informational meetings in the fall to inform and hear from the churches of the conference. When that information is available, we will let you know. More information is available on the NM Conference Website at and Please be in prayer for the UM church and the Way Forward process. Blessings, Darren

2 JUNE NEWSLETTER Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! By now most have heard that at our last Council of Bishops mee ng in Chicago we received the final report from the Commission on the Way Forward. I want to express my apprecia on and thanks for all of you who prayed not only for the Council, but also for the work of the Commission Praying Our Way Forward. I can truly say we would not have been able to complete our work without the prayers of individuals and the churches. It is important to also realize that the work of the Council was guided by a mission, vision and scope that included the following: To design a way for being the church that maximizes the presence of the United Methodist witness in as many different places as possible, allows for contextual differen a on, and creates as much unity as possible. A er receiving the report of the Commission, we as the Council of Bishops agreed to submit all three plans (Tradi onal, One Church and Connec onal Conference) to the delegates of the special called session of the General Conference to be held in February There was strong support in the Council for the One Church plan and this plan will carry the recommenda on of the Council of Bishops. I know there will be many ques ons surrounding this ac on. Why forward all three plans if the Council is recommending one? To maintain transparency, we wanted to honor the values contained in all three models and to acknowledge that within the Council of Bishops, there is support for each of the three plans. The Council of Bishops believes the One Church plan is the best way forward for The United Methodist Church. We believe this plan allows for contextualiza on of language about human sexuality in support of our mission. I will be mee ng with the conference delegates to the special called session of the General Conference to talk about next steps and providing informa on for The Annual Conference. I will also be working with each district superintendent to plan opportuni es for me to visit each of the districts to hear your concerns and hopes regarding this recommenda on prior to the Special Called Session. My prayer is that we remain focused on our mission while con nuing to pray for the leadership of the church as we con nue to discern God s will and plan for the church. I look forward to seeing you at Annual Conference. W. Earl Bledsoe Bishop

3 St. Paul s Honors 2018 High School Graduates with Scholarships St. Paul s has a long history of supporting our own young people through scholarship awards. The Scholarship Committee knew we had a bumper crop of outstanding graduates. The committee quietly sent out letters and through the generosity of YOU, our church family, almost $6000 was donated to support our young adults. To the many who donated, we are truly thankful, and we appreciate your support and we know our graduates do as well. Of the nine applicants, many of them we have known since birth. Some we have come to know through the sharing of their talents through music and leadership. Some we have come to know through their recent participation at St. Paul s. All our graduates are outstanding students as well as participating in extracurricular activities and organizations. Through scholarship giving, the Scholarship Committee is proud to award $9900 in tuition and book awards! Those who received scholarships are Aubri Block, Benjamin Skinner, Eric Franco, Eva Barber, Donetto Heckathorn, Kamryn Neill, Kira Cunniff, Miranda Sanchez, and Rebekah Gill. Congratulations Graduates! Donations to any of our educational scholarship funds are accepted through church giving any time and can be made in honor or in memory of a loved one. We have four educational scholarship opportunities. *Leta Stroben Endowment for church vocation education *Seminary Fund for students in seminary studies *Scholarship Fund for graduating high school seniors *The Marian Ebert Wolle Scholarship for a student Pursuing an Art Degree in Church Work. Criteria for this new award are as follows: No age limit on applicant High School or GED grade point 2+ Scholarship can be used at a university or community college Renewable up to four years No specified art medium Scholarship available for all levels in higher education Applications for this award may be picked up in the church office. Deadline for turning in applications is June 11. We congratulate our graduates and pray this new adventure of higher education will be challenging, rewarding and fun. God bless you! Our newest members Fred and Pam Hueston Thank you Jane Gurnea for your creative touch.

4 JUNE NEWSLETTER First Friday Fun Night is June 1 st from 5:00-8:30 pm. We will be having a Glow Party to let Jesus light shine. $10 per child, $30 max per family. VBS News We are signing up volunteers now for our Family Camp Out Weekend VBS. Just a few hours of your time for one weekend could make a huge impact to the kids that come to our VBS. We will also be requesting donations for some necessary supplies later this month. They will be posted on our VBS display in the commons. Please take a look! VBS Sunday will be July 1 st! You are invited to attend our special service (only ONE) that day at 10:00 a.m. to participate in an interactive VBS worship celebration. Then we will have an all-church potluck in the Fellowship Hall inviting all of our VBS Families to attend. We need you there to meet and greet these families and make vital connections! Thank you for your support of our children s ministries! Attention All Fathers! NEWS Fathers, wear your ugliest tie on June 17 for two chances to win a gift certificate to Cattle Baron. Judging times: 9:15am & 10:45am Location: Outside of the Chapel Event Sponsored by SPUMC Youth. Sheila needs our help: On June 3rd, during the 9:30 service, St. Paul s will have an opportunity to listen to the Love Singers Youth Group from St. Stephen's Church from Amarillo TX. We also will be feeding them lunch after that service. If you are available to help provide sandwich fixings or chips, please contact Sheila at June 17-23: Midlothian UMC Youth will do mission work around Las Cruces. We will need to provide dinner for 80 people on June 22 at 6pm. Needed: Enchiladas, beef and chicken for Tacos, Beans, Rice, and Water. Please feel free to make food and freeze. Contact Sheila if you can help: June Calendar June 2nd: Learn how to Scuba Dive at the Bullocks- Tentative time 2pm. Welcome Youth Group in from Amarillo-6pm Chihuahuas Baseball Game in El Paso-4:30pm-9 or 10pm. Youth Paid For. June 18th-21st 9am-5pm-Decorating for VBS-All week long! June 4pm- Set up and Feed Youth Group VBS News June 24: 4-6pm: Training/Safe Sanctuaries for VBS-Students and Adults must attend if helping with VBS. June 29: Be at the church by 5:30pm June 30: 8:30am-3pm July 1: 10am-12pm VBS Sunday Lunch provided after church.

5 FOCUS ON PRAYER Praying for Our World As followers of Jesus Christ, our contribution to his kingdom is manifested by our love shared with others. We are his hands and feet, his arms put around others, his voice bringing assurance and comfort. Today, I will share with you some prayers and thoughts from the devotional guide A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God, by Rueben Job, Norman Shawchuck, and John Mogabgab, which focuses on this topic. Read John 17:1-13,20-23 from Jesus prayer for his disciples. In this prayer, Jesus cites a specific purpose for the relationship of loving union with God. He notes a vital intention for being restored in the glory of God: that the world might believe that you send me. The world will not believe and know that God sent Jesus because our theology is true, our doctrine correct, and our liturgy proper. The world will know and believe when it sees Jesus in us. The Word becomes flesh in us so that God s transforming love might touch a broken and hurting world through us. We are to be those in whom God s life touches people enmeshed in the deadly illusions of the world; those in whom God s light illumines the darkness of persons blinded by the world s false values; those through whom God s healing touches the wounds of people crippled by the corrosive lifestyle of the world; those in whom God s wholeness touches persons broken in body, mind, or spirit by the pernicious perspectives of the world; those through whom God s liberating grace frees people held in the bondage of dehumanizing attitudes, habits, and addictions; those through whom God s transforming love challenges social, cultural, political, and economic systems that disfigure human communities. (M. Robert Mullholland Jr. and Marjorie J. Thompson) Prayer God of our best hopes, you keep watch over all that you have created to nourish it with the vitality of your loving care. Where human intentions go astray, your faithfulness shows us the way to life in abundance. Where human institutions falter, your kingdom endures forever. You regard with kindness all who are lost, ill, oppressed, disregarded, or trodden down by any form of adversity. And in Jesus Christ, you become one with us in suffering so that we might become one with you in commitment to the life of the world. Therefore it is right that we should praise you with our whole being. Amen. Offering of Self to God and Blessing May the words of our mouths and the thoughts that guide our actions be in accord with your continuous and costly commitment to health in the world you love so much. In the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven who gives life to the world. May the Lord and giver of life create in us a desire to be servants of love for the life of the world. Amen. (Ruth J. Moorer)

6 GLOBAL MISSION MOMENTS Global Missions is the group that plans and promotes St. Paul s mission opportunities beyond the city limits. The committee offers mission trips and mission experiences in nearby places like Fabens, TX and most recently, in March, our team of eight travelled to Aransas Pass to help with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. Recovery is far from being done. It is reported 8000 homes need repair or replacement in the Costal Bend Area (Aransas Pass, Rockport, Port Aransas, Ingleside, Refugio, Victoria, Bloomington, Port Lavaca, Seadrift, Columbus and La Grange). The group worked on several homes doing interior work taping and mudding, painting, roofing, and general repair work. The side of the story one doesn t hear is the loss of people who provided much of the labor force. When people evacuated and returned to find little left of their homes, they relocated, and the Costal Bend area lost 1/3 of the workforce. The other challenge in doing hurricane relief is the lack of supplies. We heard the major hardware stores were out of paint pans for 10 days. The Rio Texas Conference has made a commitment of 3 to 5 years to help with recovery. It is one board, one hour, one house at a time. The group enjoyed the trip, felt the work we did was needed and appreciated by the families we served and the seafood was out of this world! It is hoped to take a return trip to the area possibility Spring, If this is something you would like to do, please contact Jan Archey or at archeyjan@gmail.com to receive information on future trips. Many of us say, a mission trip is something I plan on doing. The truth is sometimes we wait until the time is right and that time doesn t come because we wait too long, and our bodies won t cooperate. The youngest person on the trip was 58 and the most mature was 77. Therefore, as God s chosen people, holy & dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness & patience. Col 3:12 Prayerfully consider a trip to give hope and help to those in need.

7 GLOBAL MISSIONS BEYOND THE U.S. BORDER St. Paul s members, Bobbie & Wilma Hutson, took a recent trip to Tanzania. The United Methodists have a shiny spot in the heart of darkest Africa, near Iringa in the middle of Tanzania. Ilula Orphan Project (IOP) is that spot. IOP was founded in 1998 by Brite Skaare because of the AIDs epidemic and the loss of a whole generation. IOP presently has 30 (+ or -) orphan girls in the dorms BUT it has a large foster family program. The foster family program greatly help the older generation who can no longer depend on their children of the "lost generation." IOP has a school, to the 8th grade, on campus where the girls and the village children attend. A high school is presently being built. It also maintains a sponsorship program to educate orphans in the foster homes or remaining family members and some are even sponsored to the college level. Being totally sustainable is a goal of IOP and they are presently working on a commercial building on the main highway to support their work and provide jobs for the area. IOP is probably the largest employer in the area, paying slightly above average wages. Almost all the food used at IOP is grown there in gardens or produced in the livestock program -- eggs, milk and meat. Being a good steward of the earth is also very important to IOP. They use solar energy when and where possible, collect rain water, use drip irrigation and recycle what is reusable. Organizations such as IOP give hope to the people of Africa. While serving at IOP, the Hutsons were part of a planning team for future renovations of the IOP property. Sometimes one volunteers to go work and ends up using skills to help plan for future teams to return and do the work. Global Missions has made a promise to donate $750 when the plans come to fruition. The Hutsons found this trip on the VIM website The Hutsons love to travel. Win, win to be able to see new things, learn about other cultures and share one s talents and gifts to help those in need. A vacation doesn t have to be a trip where one is entertained. It can be a trip of learning and serving.

8 St. Paul s United Methodist Church 225 West Griggs Avenue Las Cruces, NM Change of address requested W E RE ON THE WEB! WWW. STPAULSLASCRUCES. COM We are looking for a Phil Tatton - Apprentice. Phil does yeoman work as our communion steward and altar/worship designer and he would like some assistance (or assistants). If you like to work with your hands and worship God with your creativity, contact Doug at or Barbara at Dear Booklings at St. Paul's!! I'm excited. At my last book sale event in the church commons you helped raise $86.00 extra for the St. Paul's general budget! You did this by purchasing a copy of "The World Below: A Story of Future World." (I still have a couple of copies in the office if you didn't get one and are interested). MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 10!! I'll be featuring one of my newest books of 2018: "Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Love Rediscovered." It's the story of a former pastor who hears God's call to re-enter his former vocation and mend fences with God and his wife. It's a book about God's "second chances" for everybody. GET YOUR COPY FOR ONLY $10.00 ON June 10, and I'll be glad to sign it for you. As before half the sale income will go to this church's general budget. I don't think you can beat a deal like that!