The Oasis. Church Events. Welcome to Cross in the Desert UMC. Cross in the Desert UMC Monthly Newsletter. June 27. Where God s Love Transforms Lives

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1 The Oasis Cross in the Desert UMC Monthly Newsletter June 2017 Table of Contents Pastor s Corner... 2 Anniversaries and Birthdays... 3 Youth News... 4 Events... 6 Sermon Schedule for June... 8 Annual Conference Mission Project... 8 CITD Finance Corner... 9 Initiative for Growth & Vitality Announcements Welcome to Cross in the Desert UMC Where God s Love Transforms Lives The people of Cross in the Desert United Methodist Church welcome you to our church. We are a vibrant community that loves God and each other. We live out our faith by worshipping the risen Lord each week, serving our church and our world. June 3 June 5-9 June 6 June 7 June 8 June 10 June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 20 June 22 June 24 June 27 Church Events Men on a Mission Vacation Bible School Trustee Meeting UMW Mission Team** VBS Program & Dessert Auction Art Show at Parson s Village UMW Outreach Staff Parish Committee Meeting Women s Chorus Rehearsal Congreagational Care Shalimar, Florida Youth Choir Concert Bookworms United** Kids Night Out Empty Nesters Potluck Devotions & Dinner** Desert Daisies*** UMW Spiritual Retreat Prayer Committee Meeting Church Council Meeting

2 Pastor s Corner WHAT IS PENTECOST? Pentecost is one of the three major Jewish feasts also called the Feast of Weeks. The name Pentecost is derived from the Greek word meaning fifty. Pentecost occurs in the month of Sivan (May/June), 50 days after Passover, and celebrates the end of the grain harvest. The Pentecost that followed Jesus death and resurrection was the occasion on which the Holy Spirit was given to believers in Jerusalem. Believers were together celebrating Pentecost when suddenly unusual sights and sounds signaled an event that would have far reaching implications. They had the sound of a violent rushing wind (Acts 2:2). They saw tongues of fire resting on believers, and each believer was able to communicate in languages they had never before spoken. They were able to speak with Jewish pilgrims of many languages from all over the Mediterranean world. Never was there a more international crowd in Jerusalem than at the time of Pentecost. These phenomena got the attention of the Jewish faithful gathered in Jerusalem. Many thought the disciples were intoxicated. But Simon Peter got up and pointed out it was too early in the day for people to be drunk. Peter then took this unusual opportunity to proclaim that this event was the fulfillment of Joel s prophecy that God would pour out His Spirit on all people. Peter linked the gift of the Spirit with the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Peter s message found its way into the hearts of over 3,000 who responded by repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. My hope for everyone at Cross in the Desert UMC is that you will move closely to the One who has been sent alongside to help. The Holy Spirit longs to empower you with His dynamic presence. The Holy Spirit wants to strengthen you in the weak and fragile places of your lives. May we all bear witness to our Triune God now and forevermore more! Blessings, Pastor Julius June Prayer Focus Bishop & Staff of the Desert Southwest Conference Staff & Churches West District, North District, and South District 2

3 John & Sharon MacVean June 1 Wes & Wanda Picciotti June 1 Jeff & Karen Bulkeley June 5 Nadia & Wayne Lattin June 7 Emily & Gene Lumba June 8 Jeff & Linda Moore June 8 Jerry & Joan Rockwell June 9 Hank & Barb Hendrickson June 12 Bill Moyer & Ada Thompson June 12 Dan & Gretchen Miller June 14 Francisco & Hyacinth Carpio June 18 Peter & Amanda Dudek June 18 Art & Dinah Brooks June 30 Eugene & Joan O Bryan June 30 Communications at CITD Our website is full of all the latest information about the church. Please visit it at: Refresh, our weekly newsletter, is sent out each Friday with a devotion and a reminder of the events of the weekend. Please update your address with the church office by placing it on your attendance form. Our Facebook page is very active and provides the most up-to-date information. You can like us at: Out of the Mouth of God s Kids A pastor was speaking to a group of second-graders about the resurrection of Jesus when one student asked, "What did Jesus say right after He came out of the grave?" The pastor explained that the Gospels do not tell us what He said. The hand of one little girl shot up. "I know what He said: He said, 'Tah-dah!'" A small boy told a Sunday school teacher: "When you die, God takes care of you like your parents did when you were alive only God doesn't yell at you all the time." Buck Ashcraft June 3 Patrick Kelley June 3 Emily Martinello June 4 Tyler Joy June 5 Nancy Stein June 5 Mary Jane Byfield June 7 Justin Franklin June 7 Kathy Doyle June 8 Dick Hummel June 10 Ada Miller June 12 Donna Cox June 13 Roz Falkenhainer June 13 Phyllis Fricker June 13 3 Jim Guthrie June 15 Billy Pleake June 15 Dinah Brooks June 17 Billie Albright June 18 Kate Flavell June 18 Georgia McCormick June 19 Barry Doyle June 20 Debbie Ellis June 27 Julius Keller June 27 Kay Davison June 29 Steve Ellis June 30 Gene Fricker June 30

4 Youth News We recently ended the school year with a graduation pool party. Cynthia Crawford and Gabi Robbins are our seniors who have led youth group through times of victory, goofy events and serious discussions. Thank you to the Cahill family for letting us have our pool party at their home, their yard and pool are beautiful and the teens are already planning for the next party. Congratulations to our seniors as well as those who graduated from 8th grade: Sara Heller, Erin Mershon, Haley Falknor and Elizabeth Robinson. Nothing like a barbecue to attract teenagers! This past month 13 of our Methodist Churches in our district decided to start meeting with each other for activities and events to give our youth a chance to have some fun. It is a great opportunity for some of the churches who have youth groups small in number right now and also for all of us youth leaders and volunteers to meet and encourage one another. Our plans and goals were to have games and a barbecue, hoping to attract at least teenagers. Leaders were all quite excited as we all watched the vans, cars and SUV s empty out into the parking lot with teenagers ready to have fun! Last count was 122 for the evening. The next event that is planned is June 14th at our church for the Youth Choir from Shalimar, Florida. Please be sure to join us on that date at 7:00 pm to encourage the youth in our district. Cookies will be served afterward, so please join us and bring a dozen or two to share so they can hang out together before the Shalimar Choir boards their bus for home. Good memories! Look back over the activities and smiles from years past. I m going to be digging up more remember when photo s. Watch for yours. :) Connie Bruhn Coordinator of Children s & Youth Ministries Brian Moore and Christina Moore, Volunteer Youth Leaders 4

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8 Sermon Schedule for June June 4 The Promise of the Holy Spirit - John 14:15-20 June 11 Chosen to Witness - John 15:26-27 and Acts 1:4-8 June 18 Looking at God through Daddy Eyes (Dr. Stacey Elsasser preaching) - Luke 11:9-13 June 25 Don t Drift Away - Hebrews 2:1-4 Annual Conference Mission Project The Desert Southwest Annual Conference is asking all churches to donate items that can t be purchased with food stamps. Food stamps can t be used for anything that isn t labeled for human consumption. The following items are desperately needed by people who have limited resources: Toilet paper and all paper products Laundry detergent, all cleaning products Toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss Diapers, feminine products Deodorant, shampoo, lotion, powder, sunscreen Please bring your donations to the church by June 11 and they will taken to the Annual Conference meeting. There are thousands of people who need the basics, such as listed above.. products that we take for granted. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by many. 8

9 CITD Finance Corner Overall, CITD s financial pulse is rapidly improving. It is great to see our smiling members talking about where we will apply the extra $18,000 each year that will be become available when the mortgage is paid off. We are dramatically changing CITD s path forever. For perspective, I looked back at my financial comments in May of Our $226,000 mortgage continued to drag us down with an expectation of about 25 more years to pay it off. Offering continued to shrink another 3% compared with the prior year. We were holding our collective breath for survival. Fast forward to May, Your support of Unleash capital campaign has paid down the mortgage to $105,152. With the pledges still coming in, we expect to have the whole mortgage paid off by the end of That will be 21 years sooner than expectations only one year ago. At the same time, 2017 offering is 5% above the 2016 level. What a difference a year makes. In May 2016, expenses were more than offering which was causing us to begin to slip behind on apportionments. In May 2017, offering is slightly above expenses, which has allowed us to meet all obligations including already paying all of May apportionments. As we celebrate, we remember that we are not out of the woods yet. The slower, hotter summer months are coming which typically strains our ability to match offering with expenses. We have also benefitted from no A/C breakdowns yet. These are historical times that are making sure CITD will be the spiritual center of our community for many generations to come. Bob Cummings, Chairperson CITD Finance Committee 9

10 God is calling us to focus on growing and becoming more vital so that our ministry of praise and prayer, compassion and caring, and mission and outreach will touch lives and transform communities for many years to come. A conference team asked for input about church vitality, values, measurements, and more so that the team of clergy and laity could converge those insights and write the vision that God has inspired in the people of the Desert Southwest Conference. After prayer and reflection on the data collected so far, the convergence team met and identified the most frequently mentioned themes and obstacles. Using that information, they wrestled with the task of defining characteristics of a growing church.* *Source: dscumc.org 10

11 Cross in the Desert UMC Art Partnership with UMOM Art Show June 10th 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Parsons Village We will be displaying the art that the kids have been making for their families to see. We can use your help! Sign up to help us by providing extra hands for the art show. The Academy will be on summer break until September 17. The Young Adult bible study on Sunday morning will be taking a break for the summer and will resume in early August. Stay tuned for more Young Adult summer activities. Contact Dave Delster (602) for more information. Calling all Men of Faith interested in growing a significant men s fellowship for all ages. Saturday, June 3, :00 AM in Fellowship Hall. This month s topic: TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS Bring a friend. You do not want to miss out on sharing God s work with others. Matthew 9:37 37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Be a part of the few, not the plentiful!!! menonamission@minister.com Join us on Face Book - Men On A Mission (CITD) 11

12 Cross in the Desert United Methodist Church N. 32nd Street Phoenix, AZ Phone: Fax: Facebook: Cross in the Desert Staff Pastor Financial Secretary Alice Easter Julius Keller Lay Leader Communications Karen Bulkeley Coordinator of Children s and Youth Ministries Connie Bruhn youth@crossinthedesert.org Administrative Assistant Linda Moore linda@crossinthedesert.org Dinah Brooks dinah@crossinthedesert.org Music Traditional Worship Leader Jeff Bulkeley Contemporary Worship Leader Jeremy Wyner Director of Bell Choirs Julie Wagner Accompanist Traditional Service Stacey Elsasser 12