Swepsonville United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 ! Swepsonville United Methodist Church From The Pastor "The Church is...us!" I love this response that one of you gave in response to the prompt "Church is..." Yes, we are the church. As the song so wonderfully puts it, "the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people." We have been talking about "what is the church" over these recent weeks, and as we are reflecting on the church as the body of Christ, home, forgiveness and healing, and God's love in action, we remember that WE are all of these things. WE are the body of Christ. WE are "home," or as one of you so beautifully put it, "God home." WE are forgiveness and healing. WE are God's love in action. I think God always calls us to give thanks and celebrate the good things that God has given. So my hope during these weeks of focusing on "the church is..." is that we are giving even greater thanks for the gift of being part of the church...our church here in Swepsonville, but also the wider church: Local- - isn't our joint VBS a great way to make that real to us?! Methodist- - Our Methodist family is wide and varied. On our mission trip we will be eating, studying, and worshiping with Sandy Plains UMC, a Native American congregation in Pembroke, NC. Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal is a part of the Methodist family, separated because of the racism in UMC forerunner, The Methodist Episcopal Church; yet we are united with them as brothers and sisters in Christ, first and foremost, but also as members of the Methodist family. When one part of the body suffers, all parts suffer with it. (1 Cor. 12:26) Worldwide- - We are part of a much bigger body than that which we see every week. Every time we gather to worship, there are millions who are also worshiping. Every time we pray, there are millions praying. Every time we reach out to love our neighbor, there are millions reaching out in love of neighbor... While God calls us to celebrate and be thankful, God also is always calling us forward in faith, calling us to more, calling us to greater holiness. So I also pray that all of us will strive for the greater good, grow to be more like Christ, grow in the fruits of the spirit. WE are the church, the body of Christ here on this earth. It is a great joy and a great responsibility. Let us give thanks, and let us move forward to be more like Him. Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. St. Teresa of Avila We pray for our brothers and sisters at Emanuel AME church in Charleston, and also St. Matthew's AME Church in Saxapahaw, our near neighbor. May God grant peace, justice, and comfort, and unite us all in one spirit. Peace, Pastor Christi Newsletter July 2015 Our Vision For Christ s sake, just love. Our Mission To be open to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. To nurture the people of the church with the love of Jesus Christ. To reach out to the community around us and offer God s love. Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 1 July 2015

2 PRAYER CONCERNS... Stonie Reaves, who had an angiogram on June 15 th and will have a procedure on June 24 th. Lee Lovette, who had injections in his back on June 2 nd. Don Wright, who is undergoing more chemo treatments. Dorinda Woods, who was in a minor auto accident on May 28 th. Pat Maynor, who injured her thumb. Jerry & Phyllis Clyburn Candy Phillips (Shirley Lloyd s sister), who underwent cancer surgery. Harold Buck James (Donna Gillespie s dad), who fell and broke several ribs in May. Whit Hodgin (Tommy & Ginny s son), who continues to improve following surgery. Eileen Penn s daughter, Veronica, and her husband who are in Viet Nam teaching English and having a rough time. Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC St. Matthew AME Church The Mission Trip Just a reminder that if you do not get a chance to lift someone s name up for prayer during the worship service, you can always call or e- mail Phyllis Clyburn to add names to the Prayer List. PRAISES FOR... Frances Allen, who is now at home. Melissa will be her daytime caregiver this summer. Those who visited with Joe Lister while Cindy was at Charge Conference. CONGRATULATIONS TO... Colleen LaRusso, who got married recently! Will Johnson, whose sister had a new baby on June 19 th. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO... Al & Theresa Elsenrath, who celebrated their 44 th wedding anniversary on June 1 st. Will & Christi Dye- Johnson, who celebrated their 4 th wedding anniversary on May 28 th. Hank & Kim Kirkpatrick, who celebrated their 26 th wedding anniversary in May. Dillard & Peggy Paris, who celebrated their 55 th wedding anniversary on June 12 th! OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO... The family of Bob Stephens, who passed away June 20 th. Treasurer's Report Month of May 2015 Offering Income: $10, Expenses : $10, Net Loss: (92.28) Apportionments for May have not been paid. CHANGES TO DIRECTORY Please make the following changes to your directory: Barry & Sheila Oakes Phone: Joe Lister s address: 3727 Wade Coble Dr., Apt. 214, Burlington, NC June 7 June 14 June 21 June 28 Attendance & Giving SS W ship Offering $3, $1, $5, THANK YOU! Thank you to all who came for the church cleanup day! The nursery looks great, and the storage areas are coming along very well! Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 2 July 2015

3 JULY CALENDAR July Liturgist Greeters Nursery Ushers 5 Carolyn Allen 12 Greg Dodson 19 David Hadley 26 Lee Lovette Betty Hall Stonie Reaves Tommy Hodgin Joann Wright Linda & Dickie McAdams Mary Long Peggy Smith Beverly Handy Prescott Kirkpatrick Deborah Zombar Aaron Moss Tiffany Handy Will Kirkpatrick Kathy Pike Alli Aldridge Dickie McAdams Stonie Reaves Dillard Paris Kevin Moss Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat PM Choir Independence Day No Choir :30 AM UMM B fast 10:15 AM OR 12:10 PM Safe Sanctuaries Training 9:30 AM Good Shepherd Kitchen 7 PM Willing Workers Circle No Choir :30 PM VBS Ballpark 7:00 PM VBS Ballpark No Choir 8:30 AM 2 PM VBS 26 9 AM Sweps Ballpark 11 AM Sweps Baptist No Choir July Birthdays 1 Annie Hensley 19 Heather James 1 Elizabeth Clarke 21 David Wynne 1 Matthew Handy 22 Persephone Fuller 3 Tabitha Zombar 22 Meredith Hadley 5 Doug Coon 22 Heather Riley 6 Sandie Moneypenny 25 Jimmy Long 6 Alan Pritchard 26 Linda McAdams 11 Sienna Dodson 26 Isleigh Sharpe 16 Mike Williams 27 Megan Scott Reminder: If your birthday is not listed, please contact Phyllis Clyburn to add your name to the list! Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 3 July 2015

4 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW... Here are some things you should know and remember: Ø Did you know...that you can watch sermons on the website? They are posted each Ø Learn more about L'Arche ("the ark") communities, where Pastor Christi lived for 9 years through the "On Being" podcasts with Krista Tippett of NPR. She aired an interview with L'Arche founder, Jean Vanier, in May. Just open the website, and you should be able to play the podcast on your computer for tenderness/234 Ø Calendar: Saturday, June 27, 10am VBS Craft preparation day in our fellowship hall. Ø Safe Sanctuaries training (for all those working with children or youth): Sunday, July 12 10:15am or right after church (same training, two different times). If you keep nursery for church or VBS or work with our children or youth in any way, please attend. Ø Saturday, July 25 8:30am- 2pm Joint Community VBS (Swepsonville Baptist, Swepsonville, Salem, Phillips Chapel Methodist Churches). Please sign up to volunteer and help support this adventure in ministry! Ø Sunday, July 26 Joint Worship Services 9am Swepsonville Ballpark and 11am at Swepsonville Baptist (please plan to attend one of these worship services, there will not be any worship at Sweps UMC that am) CLOTHES CLOSET By Janet Walton We now have a drop box for the Clothes Closet, thanks to Al Elsenrath. It is located at the top of the steps at the side of the building. Please feel free to use it if you have clothes to donate. Right now, we have a need for boys summer clothes (baby and children s sizes). Thank you, Al, for all your help! GOLF TOURNAMENT By David Hadley The United Methodist Men and the golf committee would like to thank all those who gave their time and effort toward our annual golf tournament. Also, many thanks to our teams that played and those who donated prizes and were hole sponsors. We especially want to thank the Thompson Family (Kyle, Kent, Kirk) for donating the food, condiments, drinks and everything we needed to feed the group at the tournament, as well as door prizes! With everyone s effort it was quite a success. We were able to give a check to the church (for our budget shortfall) in the amount of $6,885.00! VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL By Tiffany Handy & Christi Dye Vacation Bible School will be here in a few short weeks and we are continuing to work with members of Salem UMC, Phillips Chapel UMC and Swepsonville Baptist to host a Community Vacation Bible School with the theme of Growing in God's Love. Thank you to all who have volunteered, but we could still use more. We are looking for volunteers for the following areas: teacher, crafts, buddy, recreation, food, cooling station, nursery, registration, safety monitors, runners, parking, and set up & clean up. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Christi or myself. ( , tiffany_handy@abss.k12.nc.us) There will be a training session for volunteers on Sunday, July 19 at 4:30 PM or Tuesday, July 21 at 7:00 PM, with both being held at the Swepsonville Ballpark. Please make plans to attend one of the training sessions if you have volunteered to help. If you are unable to attend, please let us know. Please see the flyer at the end of this newsletter for additional information, and feel free to print it and post it in your favorite restaurant or business. We hope to see you there! Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 4 July 2015

5 UNITED METHODIST RESPONSE TO THE CHARLESTON SHOOTINGS "As a people of faith committed to social justice and opposed to gun violence and racism, we grieve the lives lost and destroyed by this horrendous act of violence...the reality is that no one is unaffected. We are all impacted by the horror that occurred in this place of worship." South Carolina's United Methodist Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, in a request for prayer. "We call on United Methodists and all people of good will to support the victims of this and all acts of violence, to work to end racism and hatred, to seek peace with justice, and to live the prayer that our Lord gave us, that God's 'kingdom come, (and) will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,'" From a letter from the UM Council of Bishops For more news and information on the United Methodist response to the Charleston shootings, see and- media/united- methodists- stand- with- ame- after- church- shooting2 PLEASE PRAY! A prayer from our bishop in response to the shooting in Charleston: Lord God of liberation, you saw your people as slaves in Egypt and delivered them from captivity. You see works of violence and weep. Relieve the suffering of the people of Charleston, grant them your peace that passes understanding and a renewed faith in your protection and care. Protect all people from the violence of others, keep all people safe from the weapons of hate, and restore us all to tranquility and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen UNITED METHODIST WOMEN NEWS By Pat Maynor SCHOOL KITS/BACKPACKS: School kit items and backpacks are due and will be assembled during the Willing Workers Circle meeting on July 13 th. The backpacks will be delivered to Alexander Wilson and B. Everett Jordan schools on July 20 th. We have a committee that will be purchasing these items. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL / JULY 25 th : The nursery for VBS will be at Swepsonville UMC. The nursery workers and toddlers will need snacks and a meal. As a good neighbor, the UMW will be taking care of the snacks and meal. Snacks and meal will be decided upon when the event is closer. REPORTS FOR DISTRICT CORRIDOR OFFICE: Some reports are due in July and August for some of our work areas. Thank you! SPECIAL RECOGNITION PINS: Circle Leaders!! If there are members of your circle you would like to recognize with a Pin, please let Brandy Elsenrath or me know of your decision by July 27 th. These pins will be presented at the UMW Sunday Service on September 20 th. 7 STAR MEMBERS REMINDER: To present a Special Recognition Pin, along with cards to honor and in memory, are also due July 27 th. These items take time in ordering to be presented at the UMW Sunday service. A PENNY AND A PRAYER: Reminder! Your donations for this mission project will be due in August for joint circles meeting. WILLING WORKERS CIRCLE: Christi will begin a Bible study at our July meeting. Please try to attend. CALENDAR: JULY / SCHOOL KITS/BACKPACKS July 13: School Kit Supplies due July 13: 7:00 pm Willing Workers Circle Meeting / Fellowship Hall July 20: Deliver School kits/backpacks to Schools Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 5 July 2015

6 The 2015 annual conference of the North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church, was held in Wilmington, June Pastor Christi Dye and lay delegate to the conference Carolyn Allen attended, representing Swepsonville UMC. Bishop Hope Morgan Ward opened the conference by sharing readings from Matthew 25, which she identified as a unifying text, expressing that God feeds us and we feed one another. There was a special emphasis throughout the conference on diversity, showcasing our Native American population, especially the Lumbee tribe in Eastern NC. In addition, Bishop John K. Yambasu, of Sierra Leone, Africa, addressed attendees on the success of the Imagine No Malaria campaign, and the need to continue working to eradicate malaria. Bishop Yambasu shared that where just a few years ago, only one in five children in Sierra Leone survived to their fifth birthday, now three in five reach the age of five, and the Imagine No Malaria campaign has contributed greatly to the survival of these children in Sierra Leone CONFERENCE REPORT By Carolyn Allen Several resolutions were considered during the conference, including: 1. encouraging local churches to enter into conversation with those of different religions passed. 2. encouraging efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking passed. 3. encouraging providing assistance and support for the mentally ill in our communities passed. 4. requesting adjustment of language in the Book of Discipline regarding the practice of homosexuality failed. 5. encouraging adoption as an alternative to abortion passed. The complete wording of these resolutions is available from Christi or Carolyn. The conference adjusted the minimum salary for clergy up 1.2%. Insurance premiums will rise 1.75%. Conference statistician Rev. George Speake reported that for the North Carolina conference as a whole, membership in local churches has increased slightly, however average worship attendance has declined slightly. Participation in mission trips and activities has risen, and giving to the needy has increased. Delegates were elected by both clergy and laity to represent the North Carolina conference at both General Conference 2016, to be held in Portland, Oregon, and Jurisdictional Conference 2016, to be held at Lake Junaluska. Rev. Christi Dye has been reappointed to serve Swepsonville UMC in Corridor District will have a new District Superintendent as of July 1. She is Carol Goehring. She is very enthusiastic, and ready to hit the ground running for the Corridor District. The conference site for 2016, 2017, and 2018 will be Greenville. Everyone is encouraged to take a few minutes and visit the North Carolina Conference website at to get more details on the conference as well as activities being sponsored by the North Carolina Conference. Following are notes from the June Board meeting: NOTES FROM THE BOARD By Brandy Elsenrath Brandy Elsenrath has volunteered to be the new secretary for the Board. We are looking at digitizing our membership roll. We are looking at software but in the interim, we may use an Excel spreadsheet. The annual Golf Tournament was a success. A check was presented to the church for $6,685 and UMM retained $1000 for their budget. Swepsonville UMC hosted 8-9 churches from Southern Alamance County on June 7 th for Life Around the Table where we discussed the churches different missions and outreach programs. There was a lot of interest in meeting people from other churches. In discussing our +inancial situation, the Board agreed that we would send out a mid- year statement to all givers, as well as a mid- year update letter as to our -inancial situation and goal to support our budget from offerings alone, rather than being dependent upon fundraisers. Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 6 July 2015

7 YOUTH NEWS By Phil & Phyllis Norwood In June we said goodbye to our seniors: From Southern Alamance: Matthew Handy, heading to Elon University Nick Hargrove, heading to East Carolina University Garrett Rich, heading to Rockingham Community College Ryan Long, heading to East Carolina University From Eastern Alamance: Alli Aldridge, heading to UNC- Greensboro We are so excited to see the next chapter in the Life Book of these fine young adults!!! Also in June we spent Father's Day with the Methodist Men serving hotdogs and hamburgers at the Allied Churches shelter. What a wonderful way to honor our dads in service to others. The end of June marked our first Mission Trip to Roberson County with volunteers from our church family. Many thanks to Aaron and Maddie Moss (along with their parents) for joining us in this experience and to Christi in pushing us to reach further in our service to others. More to follow... For July we are taking a break until Vacation Bible School on Saturday, July 25th. We are excited to share in God's love with the entire community. Many thanks to our alum Tiffany Handy in helping to coordinate this amazing community outreach!! Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 7 July 2015

8 SWEPSONVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1307 E. Main Street Graham, N.C ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED This newsletter sent with God s blessings to: Non- Profit Organization Swepsonville, NC Permit #2 COMMMUNITY VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Saturday, July 25, 8:30-2:00 Swepsonville Ballpark Children Ages 3-5 th grade completion Come Grow with us in God s Love! Worship, music, crafts. Recreations, community resources, hotdog lunch, and cool off stations Please bring a canned food item to donate to the Swepsonville Baptist Food Bank Brought to you by: Swepsonville Baptist, Swepsonville Methodist, Salem Methodist, and Phillips Chapel Methodist (Registration begins at 8:30 at the ballpark or through any of the above couches) Please join us for worship on Sunday, July 26 Swepsonville Ballpark-9:00 Swepsonville Baptist Church-11:00 Swepsonville UMC Newsletter 8 July 2015