The ARK. Wayland United Methodist Church Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

Transcription

1 1 Wayland United Methodist Church 200 Church Street Wayland, MI NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE P A I D PERMIT NO. 2 WAYLAND, MI Address Service Requested TO: The ARK Wayland United Methodist Church Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors WORSHIP WITH US AT: 10:00 AM Join us for coffee fellowship following worship! For Up-To-Date information Like Us on Facebook and visit our website: CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY-THURSDAY 9:00 AM-1:00 PM PASTOR OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Office: ~ Pastor Jeff: Office office@waylandumc.org Pastor Jeff jeffwrev@gmail.com

2 2 March/April 2018 Are Thought and Prayers a Way In or Out? I write this on the day that students, teachers, administrators, and staff return to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida two weeks after the shooting deaths of 14 students, a Geography teacher, Athletic Director, and Assistant Football Coach. In the grief, funerals and memorial services, political activism of high school students, and heart ache has come a criticism of people offering their thoughts and prayers. Some people have sent checks worth thoughts and prayers to politicians. As I understand the criticism from those to whom they are offered, thoughts and prayers are meaningless responses empty of empathy that represent a step away from the pain and anguish of the people most affected by the violence. As I shared in the February 18 sermon, Thoughts and prayers are rightly ridiculed as shallow and meaningless when they are out of sync with meaningful actions and commitments to justice and safety. For me it raises the question, Are thoughts and prayers a way in or out? Are they a way IN to the pain and injustice of the world that Jesus shares with us or are they a way OUT of responsibility for creating and contributing to a world of justice, peace, and love. In responding to the question, I appreciate the wisdom of Scripture, the experience of the early Church, and the testimony of people whose lives have been changed. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9). Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). One day Jesus rebuked an evil spirit that had made a boy unable to hear and speak. Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, Why couldn t we cast out that evil spirit? Jesus replied, This kind can be cast out only by prayer (Mark 9:25-29). In The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, Alan Kreider writes: Prayer enabled them not only to cope with the dangers of day-to-day living but also to do joyfully the risky things that enabled the church to grow to travel to new places, to touch plague victims, to see enemies as potential brothers According to Adalbert Hamman, Christian prayer was existential prayer. It was gutsy, practical, passionate and immediate. It grew out of the struggles and concerns of the people who prayed, many of whom had little control over their lives. If at times it was noisy, that was unsurprising (my emphasis, pp. 204,207). Each Sunday in worship we receive prayer requests and answered prayers. Our Prayer Chain receives requests during the week. As a follow up to a recent worship prayer request, I learned of this testimony from the person we lifted up in prayer: It is hard to believe that I arrived here Monday night close to death and in the space of just over 48 hours have been restored to normalcy in heart and lung function I will tell the story of the many exceptional professionals who delivered an outstanding level of personal service to me here in more detail later. Suffice to say it is humbling to be the recipient of so many talents and skills If you question the power of prayer and positive energy intervening in circumstances we feel are out of control, I will gladly be the first to set you straight (my emphasis). I feel the weight of the criticism of those who offer thoughts and prayers as a way to stay OUT of the pain and responsibility of engaging with the world God loves. I also recognize the call to truly embody our thoughts and prayers and believe that the Church can be a witness to the God who suffers with us and the Christ who shows us a way IN to God s love for people who hurt and need help. Peace, Pastor Jeff ; jeffwrev@gmail.com

3 3 March 1 Worship Team meeting 7 pm 2 Doug & Donna Cole 16 th Anniversary 3 4 Communion 10 am 5 Small Group 7 pm April Easter Sunday-Worship 10 am Easter Egg Hunt following worship Becca Drozd Birthday Small Group 7 pm Ken Josey Birthday 6 Shirley DeVries Birthday 7 Sabrina Shirley Birthday Lenten Group 7 pm 8 SPPRC meeting 7 pm 9 10 Kenneth & Elly Pasma 51 st Anniversary 11 Daylight Savings Time Begins Women s Fellowship 7 pm Small Group 7 pm 14 Lenten Group 7 pm First Responder Breakfast 9:30 am 19 Small Group 7 pm 20 Jack Hott, Laurie Trainor & Judy Shafer Birthday 21 Lenten Group 7 pm Kenneth Pasma Birthday Palm/Passion Sunday Holy Thursday-Worship UCofW 7 pm Rose Sears & Jeremy Johnson Birthday Good Friday-Worship UCofW 7 pm Dennis Muczynski & Rebecca Thebo Birthday 31 Harold Lenz Birthday Communion 10 am 9 Keith & Tammy Kohtz 24 th Anniversary Women s Fellowship 7 pm Small Group 7 pm 10 Keith Kohtz Birthday 11 Memorial Team Meeting 7 pm Ryan Mauchmar Birthday Josh & Lacey Harnish 10 th Anniversary Gwen Josey Birthday 15 Beverly Williams Birthday 16 Small Group 7 pm Kelvin & Rita Lapham 33 rd Anniversary Ad Council/Finance meeting 7 pm 20 Grant Chestnut Birthday 21 Pastor Jeff Birthday Small Group 7 pm Mason Allen Fein & Edward Miner Birthday 25 Lori Roberts Birthday Jack & Janel Hott 22 nd Anniversary Wilma West Birthday 30 Small Group 7 pm

4 4 March/April 2018 Children s Sunday School is offered after worship. Beverly Williams leads this ministry with the support of Sue Jensen and Vanessa Dodson. Children s Church meets during worship after the Children s Message with Pastor Jeff. Adult Sunday School meets 11:15 Noon In this informal group, we are doing a chapter by chapter study of Acts. Come as you are on the Sundays you are here. We welcome your reflections on the worship service as well as the Scripture study. Monday, March 12th at 7:00 Sandi Ragan's home Monday, April 9th at 7:00 Donna Cole's home Do you knit, crochet, or have other interests? Call Sue Jensen ( ) or Margaret Smith ( ) with questions. Please come even if you don t have a hobby and just like to visit. Adult Small Group meets Mondays at 7:00 pm at the Church In this small group, we raise questions of faith from previous worship services and current events. The conversation is insightful and encouraging as we share multiple perspectives on God s presence and power in our lives. Come as you are with a desire to learn and be blessed by the fellowship of people who take faith and its questions seriously. We will meet on Mondays through January and then decide about reorganizing. Lenten Prayer Group meets Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00 pm HERE We are sharing Lenten Wednesdays again with United Church of Wayland. This season s theme is Paths of Prayer. We learn a new prayer practice each week. Join us downstairs in the Gold Room. If you cannot be in worship, you can listen to the worship service through our web site Find the Listen Live link. Choosing it, you will have streaming audio from our sound system. And if you want to listen to worship from a prior Sunday, choose the Archived Services link right next to Listen Live.

5 5 Lenten Series, Making Room in This Busy Life March 4 Communion Open Table March 11 SPRING FORWARD "Tuning In" "A Time for Every Matter" Luke 10:38-42 Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 March 18 March 25 First Responders' Breakfast (9:30 am) Palm/Passion Sunday Worship (10 am) in Gold Room Portions of Mark 11 and Mark 15 "Give It a Rest" Mark 2:21-28 Holy Week Maundy Thursday, March 29 Good Friday, March 30 United Church of Wayland United Church of Wayland 7:00 pm 7:00 pm EASTER Series Just As He Told You: When in Doubt, Read the Instructions EASTER SUNDAY, April 1 April 8 Communion - Open Table Go, Tell Stay, Witness Mark 16:1-8 Acts 1:1-11 April 15 Native American Sunday April 22 Touch, Heal Beware, Don t Worry Mark 6:53-56; Acts 3:1-10 Mark 13:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 April 29 Don t Argue, Agree to Disagree Mark 9:34-35; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

6 6 March/April 2018 Hymn Highlight - Blessed Assurance There are many great hymns that we sing during service at Wayland, and many of them have interesting backgrounds that we can consider as we sing them. Learning about a hymn s origins can give us more insight into its textual and harmonic beauty, as well as its purpose in the overall worship. The hymn Blessed Assurance was written by the well-known 19th-century poet and lyricist, Fanny Crosby. She was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, having written over 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. Fanny was blinded at the age of six weeks after being maltreated from illness. She went on to the New York Institution for the Blind for education, and later in life, taught at the institution. She later started writing Sundayschool hymns in 1864, of which she is most known for. This text, along with To God be the Glory, are most likely her best-known work. The tune ASSURANCE is one of many tunes that composer Phoebe Palmer Knapp wrote for Crosby. From the very day she wrote them, Crosby s words have provided comfort for millions of Christians in the face of fear, persecution, sorrow, and doubt. In spite of all the trials that may come, we know that we serve a Savior who came to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, and as we serve Him, we participate in, and belong to, that Kingdom. We each play our own part in that glorious foretaste of what is still to come. We belong to Christ and his Kingdom what an assurance this is! This hymn can be found in The United Methodist Hymnal #369 A Membership Class is currently in progress through Sunday, March 18, 2018, during adult Sunday School. Pastor Jeff leads this exploration, Becoming God s People in Christ, into the meaning of membership in The United Methodist Church through Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness. This also may be a refresher course for current members. A person becomes a professing member when they have been baptized and publicly profess the vows of the baptismal covenant, affirming their faith in God and their desire to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. They commit to a life of service in and through the local congregation (Book of Discipline, 217). "The test is not what I do for the church, but what I do as a member of the church in political, social, economic, educational and recreational life of the world" (Man's Need and God's Action, Reuel L. Howe)

7 7 For the 2 nd half of 2018, we will be adding Audio/Visual Tech to the servant sign up sheet. Please prayerfully consider joining the team and talk with Pastor Jeff if you are interested. A big thank you goes out to everyone that bought, helped, talked about, sold, promoted, and ate our Candy and Nuts from Terry Lynn over the years! We have sold Terry Lynn products since 2000, and have helped to send 50 youth to camp! Any youth that is interested in going to church camp this summer, let the office and Sandi Ragan know. The funds raised through this year will continue to support any youth going to camp until the funds are depleted, as we wrap up the Terri Lynn Candy and Nut Fundraiser Program! Thanks for your support to the Youth Candy and Nut Fundraiser! Congregational Goals for 2018 Our objective is to create a balance between our inward focus and outward focus. 1. Grow average worship attendance by 10% ( ), as defined by attending 2 times per month, and include those listening on line. a. Identify special Events, Programs, Recognition Sundays 2. Spiritual Growth new chair on Ad and Mission, and new lay member of annual conference, and maintain current number on other committees 3. Grow our education department and offerings, goal to have 75% of attendees involved in something outside of Sunday worship. Further define list of activities. (goal of 40) a. Adult Sunday School, Mega Sports, Boy Scouts, Choir, Bell Choir, Christian Neighbors, Green Acres, Camp New Day, Mission Trip 4. Education of local and church conference Missions by increasing monetary support; goal to be at 100%, through % of giving or Noisy Offerings.

8 8 March/April 2018

9 9 March Worship Service Servants March 4 Communion: Julie Phillips Opener: Wade Greenawalt Liturgist: Ron Thebo Greeters: Harry & Margaret Smith Ushers: Wade Greenawalt & Pete Phillips Coffee: Margaret Smith & Elaine Rewa March 11 Daylight Saving Time Begins Opener: Harry Smith Liturgist: Gayle Stewart Greeters: Paul & Robin Nyenhuis Ushers: Harry Smith & Gary Ragan Coffee: Michael & Dawn Bos April Worship Service Servants April 1- Easter Sunday Opener: Wade Greenawalt Liturgist: Gwyn Meisenbach Greeters: Michael & Dawn Bos Ushers: Wade Greenawalt & Paul Schloop Coffee: Sandi Ragan & Julie Phillips April 8 Communion: Kelvin Lapham Opener: Harry Smith Liturgist: Gayle Stewart Greeters: Gary & Sandi Ragan Ushers: Harry Smith & Pete Phillips Coffee: Paul & Susan Schloop March 18 April 15 Opener: Gayle Stewart Opener: Gayle Stewart Liturgist: Julie Phillips Liturgist: Julie Phillips Greeters: Doug & Donna Cole Greeters: Jon & Sue Jensen Ushers: Gayle Stewart & Kelvin Lapham Ushers: Gayle Stewart & Gary Ragan Coffee: Nick & Sarah Fein Coffee: Brian Middlemiss & Lori Roberts March 25 Palm Sunday April 22 Opener: Doug Cole Opener: Doug Cole Liturgist: Kelvin Lapham Liturgist: Paul Schloop Greeters: Michael & Dawn Bos Greeters: Nick & Sarah Fein Ushers: Doug Cole & Paul Nyenhuis Ushers: Doug Cole & Kelvin Lapaham Coffee: Margaret Smith & Elaine Rewa Coffee: Michael & Dawn Bos April 29 Opener: Kelvin Lapham Liturgist: Gayle Stewart Greeters: Brian Middlemiss & Lori Roberts Ushers: Kelvin Lapham & Sue Schloop Coffee: Pete & Julie Phillips

10 10 March/April 2018 Ministry Shares are the financial dimension of our relationship with the West Michigan Annual Conference. Our 2018 Ministry Shares are $16, (a $716 increase from 2017). They are equivalent to 12.8% of our church general fund income. Additionally, the district ministry shares are based on the per-member rate or budget approved by our district conference. Our current practice is to contribute 10% of the monthly General Fund offering total, several months of Noisy Offerings, and our quarterly Harding's rewards. We dedicate our Noisy Offerings in selected months as additional Ministry Shares contributions. At times, we will invite recipients of Ministry Shares to be guests in worship so we may be more personally aware of the impact of our giving. January April July August October December Evenly distributed to all Ministry Share areas Indian Workers Conference Native American Awareness Connectional Ministries office Higher Education & Campus Ministry Grand Rapids District Board of Missions Board of Ordained Ministry General Fund offerings and other gifts are reported in the bulletin. These are the calculations for January & February 2018: 1/7 $ 2, /4 $1, /14 $ 1, /11 $2, /21 $10, /18 $1, /28 $ 3, /25 $2, Total General Fund $17, Total General Fund As of 10/22/17 $7, % payment $1, % payment $ Noisy Ministry Shares $ Total payment $1, Total payment $761.12

11 11 Thank you for your generous Noisy Offerings during January & February! We supported our Ministry Shares and Keith Anderson's Local Strength Through Service Program. The March Noisy Offerings support Abby VanPeursem's Poetice International. The April Noisy Offerings support the Indian Workers Conference. We collected 48 lbs. of donated items in December & January, and 21 lbs. of donated items in February for the Christian Neighbors Food Pantry! The requested Pantry items for March & April are canned tuna & chicken. Search and Like Wayland UMC on Facebook. We use Facebook as a communication source for daily Scripture passages; ministry team meeting reminders; and upcoming Church events. We want to increase the number of people reached in this way. Donna Flick s Kitchen is going on vacation: Instead of my recipes, I m going to put in recipes from the ladies and one sweet man, who have passed on, from the WUMC cookbook. Chocolate Chip Cookies (Irene Overmire) 1 pkg. Pillsbury yellow cake mix 2 eggs ½ c. margarine, softened 1 (12 oz.) chocolate chips 1 T. vanilla ½ c. nuts Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine cake mix, margarine, vanilla & eggs. Beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips & nuts. Drop dough by teaspoonful cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.