The Samaritan. Children s Programs: What s Happening? OUR STAFF

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1 January 21, 2013 Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, Edina, Minnesota OUR STAFF KATIE SCHNEIDER-BRYAN Senior Pastor BECKY SECHRIST Associate Pastor JEAN ELLIOTT Pastor Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries HEATHER MILLER Director of Children s Ministries heather@good.org GAVIN BERG Music Coordinator & Children s Choirs Director gavin@good.org CAROL HIPPS Organist mandchipps@comcast.net AARON BREID Chancel Choir Director aaron@good.org SUE NISSEN Director of Chancel Chimes MARILEE STEVENS Youth Choir Director marilee@good.org BRAD CARLIN Contemporary Music Coordinator band@good.org MARY PARSONS mary@good.org JOHN HUGHES john@good.org Office Administration DAN GREEN Custodian DANDY LEWIS Media Specialist dandy@good.org RACHEL HAUSE Newsletter Editor rachel@good.org The Samaritan Our Mission: We are a Christian community of acceptance, nurturing faith and reaching out. Children s Programs: What s Happening? Good Samaritan is blessed with an amazing Children s Council who plan and run a wide variety of programs not only for kids and their families but for the whole congregation! The Children s Council is such a fun, creative group and we are always looking for more people to join us! Please contact Kristina Morton, Kristina.Morton@genmills.com, or Heather Miller, heather@good.org, if you would like to learn more about our council or to join us. Here is what is happening right now in Children s Programs: SUMMER CAMPS! That's right we are already planning and registering people for VBS and Peace Frogs this summer! All members and frequent attenders get first dibs at registration for VBS go to For Peace Frogs, Heather or sign up at VBS is a whole church experience so stay tuned for ways you could help and get involved! OPEN GYM! Let your kids come to Good Samaritan s amazing gym and run off some energy! All kids up to 4th grade are welcome. This is a great time to invite friends, family, and neighbors to bring their kids and come to our church. A Good Sam family hosts, so bring your coffee and join us! (All dates are listed on the Children s Corner page). ALL CHURCH SERVICE DAY! The name says it all, ALL church! We will set up lots of great service projects in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, February 10 and before, between, or after services come complete a project that will help someone in our community while working with other Good Sam families of all ages! This is a great Sunday to bring a friend to see what our church is all about, working as a community to help others. Kids will also work on service projects during their Sunday School hour on this day. MOZZA MIA SOCIAL EVENT! Combined with the Youth Council s Parent's Night Out event, drop your kids off at the church and meet us at Mozza Mia for dinner and drinks from 6:30 9:00 PM on February 1. EVERYONE is invited no kids or no need for a babysitter? No problem. Everyone is invited to join us for this fun social event! Kristina Morton to RSVP: Kristina.Morton@genmills.com. For more about what Children s Programs have to offer at Good Samaritan, please contact Heather Miller or any of the Children s Council members. We d be happy to tell you about Sunday School, Milestones, W.I.L.D. Ones, retreats, special events, service projects, fundraising events, get-togethers, and more!

2 P AG E 2 January 21, 2013 A Journey of Faith God is able to do far more than we ask or imagine. Ephesians 3.20 Thank you, thank you, thank you! Each time we gather for our Visioning work, I am so grateful for the time, energy, and commitment of so many of you. You have carved time out of your busy schedules to work together as we imagine and envision who God calls us to be as the Good Samaritan community. Please reserve Sunday Feb. 10, for 11:30 AM lunch and our next congregational gathering (with child care), and watch for details on what we will be addressing. Each time we meet we gain more clarity and momentum, and month by month, various teams are doing homework to help us forge ahead. Here are some highlights of our work together: At our fourth congregational meeting held Jan. 13, 70 people participated as our coach, John Laster, lifted up several of our strengths which will supply energy in addressing all 11 characteristics of healthy churches. The top five strengths and some growing edges in each are: Strength #1: Solid Community of Faith: cohesive, open congregational system, characterized by an environment of trust, with an absence of factions or conflict. John lifted up a representative member s comment that There is magic here! A distinctive dimension of Good Samaritan s community is the climate of freedom to explore, ask hard questions and develop one s own faith, reflected in another quote from a member, that You don t have to fit in a little box here. Challenge: better embrace each member s theological diversity across the spectrum. Strength #2: Empowering Leadership many highly capable women and men; leaders, entrepreneurs, servants. John commended the Common Council for their bold initiative. Challenge: implement clearer path so that each and every member/friend has found a place to belong (small group for friendship) and to serve (members are deployed to use their unique gifts). Strength #3: Space and Place our facilities are inviting, relaxing and contemporary. Challenge: a slightly aging facility needs continued good attention, and major attention is needed to address the acoustics/visuals in sanctuary, which are sucking energy out of the worship and music experience. (Our acoustics/visuals team is reconvening soon!) Strength #4: Healthy Missional Opportunities we engage in mission near and far. Challenges: continue to develop hands-on travel mission opportunities for a growing number of people. Increase our focus within our own neighborhood. Strength #5: Worship that Connects/Transforms: meaningful, characterized by excellence, and appropriate contextually to the intended target group. John noted that having three children s choirs and a youth choir is uncommonly broad. Challenges: See acoustics, above. Address second service music challenges by expanding music ministry so that no music group exits during a service of worship. Find additional ways to deepen prayer and spiritual life. Our coach continues to highlight the energy and vitality of our Children s Ministry as an example of what can happen with excellent leadership and team members who are excited and committed. We have engaged a coach so that our good church might become even better and more vital. While we have work to do and changes to make if we are to grow and be relevant for new generations, I believe our unique identity and message is an answer to many who have been disenchanted or burned by the church. We build on the richness of the past, and know that God is beside us and ahead of us! God is able to do far more than we ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3.20) So let s keep imagining and listening to God and each other while always praying for boldness and courage to make this new journey in this new day and time! With you on the road, Katie

3 T HE SAMARIT AN PAGE 3 Happenings GOD S PRESENCE AMONG US AT GOOD SAMARITAN Games Night Everyone is welcome to come to the church on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 7:00 9:00 PM for a games night. Child care will be provided, but you need to sign up on the Adult Council table by February 8 so we can make sure we have the right number of child-care workers. Bring a snack to share and we ll have group games at the church. If you have a game you love, then bring it as well. Since we re thumbing our noses at winter, our Games Night will have a beach theme as well. We ll turn up the heat, so dig out those flip flops, and loud shirts are welcome. You can bring a beach blanket to sit on, but we ll have tables and chairs available as well. We look forward to seeing you! UMW Fellowship Group will NOT meet in January. Beginning in February, we will meet on the third Thursdays at 1:00. (NOTE CHANGE). Our February meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the church. Everyone is asked to bring titles of books you have enjoyed reading and to be prepared to tell a little bit about them. Thursday Afternoon Book Group will meet on February 14 at 1:00 PM in the Fireside Room. Our title for discussion is The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Set in Bombay, it is the story of two women separated by blood and class but bound by gender and experiences. Please join us for an interesting discussion and refreshments. Christmas Mission Offering Thanks to everyone who gave so generously to the Christmas Mission offering. Through your generosity, we were able to give over $23,000 to the eight organizations we selected: VEAP, Families Moving Forward, ASP, Emma Norton Services, Project for Pride in Living, A Better Choice, Grace Children s Hospital, and Opportunity International). Sunday Morning Adult Class, which meets at 10:30 AM, is reading and discussing Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagel. Anyone interested in this book is welcome! HONORING CHOICES: Who would speak for you if you couldn t speak for yourself? As Minnesota s population ages, we all (yes, even you) need to begin family conversations with our loved ones on end-of-life care wishes. How can you begin this conversation in a compassionate and sensitive way? How can you demonstrate that this conversation is one of the greatest gifts to loved ones that you can offer? What health care directive can you use to begin discussing your values and wishes in case of a medical emergency? We will be providing an afternoon seminar on end-of-life choices and conversations on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 from 2-4 PM. Our presenter will be Ms. Judi Beardsley from Honoring Choices Minnesota. She is an active educator and ambassador with Honoring Choices, a statewide initiative to begin advance care planning conversations with all adults over age 18. Participants will be introduced to the process of advance care planning and having end-of-life care conversations and learn about Minnesota s Honoring Choices Health Care Directive and why it s important to complete. Baptisms If you are contemplating a baptism at Good Samaritan, we encourage you to join with some other families on January 27 or February 17. Please contact Becky Sechrist if you are interested or want more information. Joys and Concerns WINGS OF PRAYER CARRY HIGH AND FAR We hold in our thoughts and prayers those with health concerns, including Jean Elliott, Ginger Gilderhus, Chris Woods, Marlys Rechkemmer, Dave Lindberg and Jake. We remember Dee Wyatt and family following the death of her grandmother. We remember Susan Shaffer following the death of her father.

4 P AG E 4 January 21, 2013 Children s Corner INFANT THRU GR. 6 More information on Children s Programs is featured in the front page article of this issue. Open Gym begins! All families with children ages infant through 4th grade are invited to join us in the Good Samaritan gym for free-play time every other Saturday (Jan. 26; Feb. 9, 23; Mar. 9, 23) from 9 to 11 AM. Children s Council families will host each open gym and we will have coffee and good conversation for parents. Bring your friends! 4th and 5th grade Milestone All 4th and 5th graders AND parents, please join us at the 9:00 or 10:30 service on Feb. 3 for your Milestone, Eat Your Way Around the Seasons of the Year! We will learn about all the seasons of the church year while eating foods that go with each season. This is a fun milestone and a great way for the 4th and 5th graders to get to know each other since they will be spending a lot more time together next year in Sunday School and W.I.L.D. Ones. Parents, join your kids on the 3rd (younger sibs will go straight to Sunday School as it is a communion Sunday) at either service, no need to RSVP. Snow Tubing for All 5th and 6th graders Please join us on Thursday, Feb. 21 for our annual tubing event! We will meet in the lower level of the parking lot at 5:30 PM. We will take the church van Children s Ministries: Heather Miller ext.226 or heather@good.org to Buck Hill and tube from 6:00-8:00 and will return to the church by 8:30 PM. Cost is $15/person and friends are welcome! Chaperones are needed and your tubing is free! If you want snacks, bring extra cash for that. Please Heather, heather@good.org to reserve your spot! This will take the place of W.I.L.D. Ones on Wed., Feb. 20. Summer and VBS and Peace Frogs, Oh My! Be on the lookout for our Good Samaritan summer camp brochures! For all of you early planners, VBS and Peace Frog summer camps are ready to go! VBS Everywhere Fun Fair! Dates: June Times: 9:00 12:00 preschool 3 rd grade 9:00 3:00, 4 th 7 th grade 12:00 5:00, Club VBS (after VBS care) This year Church Members/Frequent Attendees are given sign-up priority until Feb. 3rd. SPACE IS LIMITED THIS YEAR! Sign up now at: Peace Frogs Camp: Peace, Service and Fun! Dates: July 29 August 2 Ages: Entering 1 st grade entering 5 th grade (kids will be placed into similar age groups) Questions? Want to Volunteer? heather@good.org / For more information, see the Good Samaritan summer camp brochure available Jan. 27. Families Moving Forward Good Samaritan is one of nearly 50 congregations of many faiths that support the journey back home for homeless families in the Twin Cities. On any given night in Minnesota, over 13,000 people are homeless. Over 100,000 people experience homelessness for part of the year. Over 1/3 of these people are children and their parents. In 2012 Families Moving Forward sheltered 52 families consisting of 68 adults and 119 children an average of 54 days. The pathway for FMF is to a stable education for the children, a safe home environment, and productive employment for the adults. FMF provides transportation, counseling, access to training, and access to housing. Good Sam will again house several families from Sunday, February 3 through February 10. If you can help please sign up in the narthex on Sunday, on good.org, or by to joannknutson@hotmail.com. Here is the help we need: Prepare a meal for up to 20 and host the dinner Wash and sort laundry during the week and/or at week s end Care for the children during the evening Provide overnight supervision Help set up/take down the families rooms

5 T HE SAMARIT AN PAGE 5 Youth Info BUZZ: GRADES 7 & 8 SYF: GRADES 9 12 Youth & Young Adults: Jean Elliott ext.229 or jean@good.org Super Bowl Sub Sandwiches Youth Ministry Fundraiser The Good Sam youth are taking orders for Super Bowl Sunday Subs now thru Sunday, Jan. 27. YUM! Order forms are available in your Sunday worship bulletins and in the lobby following worship. Students will assemble the sandwiches on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 1:00 PM. The subs will be available for pick-up in Fellowship Hall on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3 following both worship services. Parents Night Out Friday, Feb. 1, 6:30-9:00 PM $10 per child Our Good Samaritan youth groups and their adult volunteers invite parents to enjoy an evening out while we entertain your children! Parents are invited to an evening out together at Mozza Mia at 50 th and France for dinner and drinks! This event is for children infant to 6 th grade. Younger children will have qualified nursery care in the church nursery. Money raised will go to Good Sam youth programs. Register online at good.org by Wed., Jan. 30. Youth, please sign-up to volunteer on the sign-up sheet located outside the Youth Rooms. Youth Super Bowl Party Sunday, Feb. 3 5:30 PM Youth Rooms 201 & 200 Come and watch the Big Game on the Big Screen with all your friends at Good Sam! The football game will be on the television in Youth Room 201. Wii and other games will be set-up in Youth Room 200. Pizza, subs, and drinks will be provided. Please bring a snack to share and invite friends. Youth Ski Trip: Lutsen Mountains March 1-3, 2013 Cost: $190 All 7th 12th grade skiers and snowboarders let s hit the slopes! We ll enjoy the beautiful view of Lake Superior for a weekend of fun and fellowship on the slopes. This trip includes: 2-day lift ticket, 6 meals, an unlimited Sven & Ole s pizza dinner, pass to the Grand Marais pool, and 2-nights lodging at the Lake Superior Youth Hostel. To sign-up, grab a registration packet from the Youth Ministry table in Fellowship Hall and return the forms and $90 non-refundable deposit by Wednesday, Feb. 6. (The remaining $100 balance will be due by Wednesday, Feb. 20.) Sign-up soon to reserve your spot on the trip! Joyful Stewards: Help us make our goal! Thus far our Joyful Stewards campaign has resulted in 246 pledges totaling $768,248. Thank you to all who have responded thus far. Although this is still below our goal and our finance committee is making plans to finalize a budget based on significantly fewer pledge dollars, I remain optimistic that we will finish the campaign strong and near our original goal of 300 pledges and $832,000. If we do in fact come up short in reaching our goal, we will again be faced with the predicament of having to accept a certain amount of financial risk as we embark on the fiscal new year. While we have successfully navigated such risk in recent years, it is true that we have made sacrifices in order to do so. Such sacrifices have included frozen staff salaries, deferred building maintenance, and reduced programming among others. Ideally, we prefer not to make such sacrifices, but our wants (and needs) as a congregation have traditionally outpaced our giving and 2013 may very well end up being no different. With this in mind, I hope those of you who have yet to make a commitment will prayerfully consider doing so no matter the amount. Contact the office staff or go online to make your pledge at Collectively, we can reach our goal this year! When we do, we will provide a solid financial foundation from which we launch our many wonderful ministries, empowering us in faith both within and beyond our church doors. Mike Hutson and Gayle Sit, Stewardship Co-Chairs

6 The Samaritan Good Samaritan United Methodist Church 5730 Grove Street Edina, Minnesota Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No Return Service Requested Our Vision: Opening Hearts and Minds in a Divided World on the Web at good.org Time Dated Material Sunday Worship Schedule Services at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM Nursery for infant age 2 offered during both services. Children s Sunday School at 9:00 and 10:30 AM for Preschool & K-6 Youth Sunday School at 10:30 AM Fellowship, coffee & lemonade after each service. JESUS FOR A NEW DAY AND TIME Sunday, January 27 A Jesus of Justice Luke 4:14-21 Music by the Youth and Chancel Choirs Camping and Scouting Sunday Sunday, February 3 Jesus of the Outsiders Luke 4:21-30 Music by the Chancel Choir 4th & 5th Grade Milestone during both services A MOMENT OF REFLECTION Heaven and earth are threads from one loom. SHAKER PROVERB INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Journey of Faith 2 Joys and Concerns 3 Happenings Honoring Choices Games Night UMW News Families Moving Forward (FMF) 3 4 Children s Corner 4 Youth Info 5 Joyful Stewards 5 Building Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday Friday Telephone: