COMING UP IN FEBRUARY...

Transcription

1 THE NEWSLETTER OF SENOIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH FEBRUARY 2017 COMING UP IN FEBRUARY... Join us on Wednesday, February 15th at Wednesday Night Supper for our annual Silent Auction to support the 2017 Guatemala Mission Trip. Join us, Sunday Feb. 5th as we highlight and celebrate Scouting Ministries Sunday! A Word from YB, From the Organ Bench Children & Youth, Missions & Outreach, UMM, UMW, Children s Choir, Wednesday Night Supper, LEO Connection Update, UMW Field Trip, Silent Auction The La Senda Story Guatemala Mission Trip & On Line Giving Stewardship, Volunteers, Children & Youth Connection, New Members Monthly Calendar Join us, on Fat Tuesday for an all you can eat pancake supper as we prepare for the Lenten season. All proceeds from the supper will go to support the 2017 Guatemala Mission Team. Sponsored by the Untied Methodist Men. Pastor: Rev. Erik A. Mays erikmays@senoiaumc.org Minister of Discipleship: YB Nobles ybnobles@senoiaumc.org Organist/Choir Master: Jim Preece Administrative Assistant: Lee Berry office@senoiaumc.org Nursery Coordinator: Bereatha Brooks Housekeeping: Polly Watson A/V Techs: Gail Noble & John Felbinger

2 Page 2 Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow! Hello Senoia UMC! First of all, I would like to thank everyone for your kindness and the warm welcome I have received. I am very glad and blessed to be here at Senoia UMC. You have made me feel at home and I am looking forward to working with you as we continue to Praise God and Make Disciples for Christ! With that being said, let us get down to business. The season of Lent is fast approaching and there will be a 6 week Bible Study held during this time. It will began on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017 at 7 pm in the Joy Room. We will skip the following seek in observance of Ash Wednesday. The study will resume on March 8, 2017 at 7 pm. What are we going to study during this time? I am glad you asked that question. The answer is Our Mess and Restoration. 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV) says: Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. The key word in this verse is Restoration. During this study we will understand and know that messes are a part of being human and a part of living in a messy world. John 16:33 says I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." Yes, we will experience trials/sorrows (messes) in our lives. Some messes are of our own doing, while others are through no fault of our own. The bottom line is that life can be a hot mess at times. So how do we resolve our messes, get through our messes? During this six week study we will realize the good news is that God is in the mess with us, working to Redeem and Restore each of us from our messes. So please join me in studying: Restored Finding Redemption In Our Mess Author: Tom Berlin The signup sheet is posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. Peace and Blessings! YB Nobles Minister of Discipleship On Sunday, February 5, the Chancel Choir will be singing "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name," composed by Tom Fettke. Based on Psalm 8, this classic anthem written in 1990 has a unique history. Music publishing companies are like book publishing companies in that unsolicited manuscripts arrive every day. It was a Friday afternoon, and the person responsible for accepting or rejecting new choral anthems was ready to go home. On his desk was a stack of envelopes containing new anthems sent to the publishing company. Wanting to leave the stack until Monday, he hesitated, thinking that maybe he could plow through some of the submissions over the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, he sat down to browse through the stack of new anthems. The longer he plowed, the taller the stack seemed to get. "Just one more, and I'll stop," he thought, noting that there had been nothing worthy of looking at twice and expecting more of the same. The next anthem was "The Majesty and Glory of Thy Name," submitted by unknown Texan high school band director Tom Fettke. The publisher admitted that 95% of the music submitted usually ends up in a dumpster. The anthem has remained in sacred choral music's "top ten anthems" list for over 25 years, and Tom Fettke is now a renowned choral composer. What was destined for the trash became a treasure. Thanks for singing! Jim

3 Page 3 We just met and are planning some great projects this year with local and global missions trips and community outreach. If you want to be a part of Missions and Outreach, contact Linda D'Allen or Kathy Burdg Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 21st in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00pm. Going forward we will meet the 4th Tuesday of the month. As the Children s Sunday School classroom continues to grow, we are in need of more teachers. Presently we have two teaching teams that teach every other month. Our goal is to add another classroom and will need two more teams by this May. We have a wonderful Sunday School curriculum and many resources available. We also need one more teacher or teacher s assistant in the Youth Sunday School. If interested, contact Education Chair, Abigail Abel, at abigailabel60@gmail.com or call at The UMW invites all women of the church to their meeting on Monday, February 27, at 7:00 in the Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions, please contact Karla Sowell at (770) or Kallie Zollman at (770) All men of the church are invited to their breakfast meeting at 8:00am on Sunday, February 19th in the Fellowship Hall. Pastor Erik will give the devotion and share with you his experiences from his trip to the Holy Land. The Children's Choir has a very active winter and spring ahead! Choir rehearsal is every Wednesday night following supper unless noted on the schedule that follows: Sunday, Feb. 13, Sing in 11:00 worship Wednesday, Feb 22, no rehearsal/ school break Sunday, March 26, sing in 11:00 worship Wednesday, April 5, no rehearsal/ school break Sunday, April 16, Easter, possibly sing in worship Saturday, April 29, 10:00 AM, rehearsal for musical followed by trip to Noah's Ark in Griffin Sunday, April 30, "100% Chance of Rain" Children's Sunday Thursday, February 16, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. at J. C h r i s t o p h e r s i n Peachtree City. If you know ahead of time that you will be joining us, let Barb Combs know ( ). If you find that you re free and available on February 16, come right over to join in the fun, fellowship, and food. We ll all have a great time together! See you there! Menus for the Month of February Feb. 1 - United Methodist Fundraiser for the Guatemalan Mission Trip - Chicken Pot Pie, Salad, Dessert Feb 8 - Team 1: Beef Stew, Salad, Rolls, Desert Feb Guatemalan Mission trip fundraiser and Silent Auction - Featuring Chicken Hilachas Feb Team 2: Soup, Sandwiches, Salad, Dessert Please make WNS reservations no later than 10am on Tuesday of each week by using the Connection Card or contacting the church office. If you have a standing reservation, we do expect you unless you cancel. Thank you!

4 Page 4 nection Groups, you can still join several of the groups which began in November. The Helping Hands Connection Gr oup, led by Melissa SevHow exciting! A new Connection Group is now forming! The Holy Strollers has begun and welcomes erson, is a hands-on participation group: cooking, you to join in the fun. Each Wednesday the group baking, doing crafts, or even playing board games! will meet at 12:00 noon for a time of walking, mak- Meeting times vary so contact Melissa for information about joining in on the fun ing connections and rela( ) tionships, all while getting our hearts and bodies in shape! All The Men s Connection Gr oup levels of walkers are welcome! To also has room for all you men of begin, the group will meet the church. Jon Morris leads this at the church parking lot but evengroup, which is looking to possibly tually plans to vary the meeting change the day and time to accomplace to include the cart paths in Peachtree City. Put modate more of you busy men. Join the group as they on your walking shoes and join us on Wednesdays as move forward with projects, fun, and great we stroll around town and share wonderful times to- times together. Contact Jon at for ingether. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the formation on their next meeting time. church hallway. If you have any questions, contact Exciting times are happening at Senoia UMC! Laura Riggiola at There s something for everyone. Join in on the fun If you feel you are missing out on the fun of our Con- today!! We will have a Day Trip on Saturday, February 25 All women of the church are invited to meet at the church at 9:30 a.m. We will go to the Swan Coach House for lunch. The reservation is for 11:00 a.m. Please plan for $15.00 to $20.00 for lunch. We have to put the bill on one check so UMW will pay and we are asking everyone to bring cash to pay Linda DAllen so she can deposit in our account. After lunch, we will go to the Atlanta History Center. The cost is $16.50 for adults and $13.00 for seniors. Each person should plan to give $3 to $4 dollars for gas for the bus. The Mission and Outreach Team will be holding a silent auction on Wednesday, February 15th. There will gifts from local merchants, framed art and photography from local artists and lots of other items that you just can t live without or will make wonderful gifts. Don t miss out! Bring your $$$

5 Page 5 You ve heard the name. You ve heard it s connected to the Guatemala mission trip. But..what is La Senda? With so many newer folks here at Senoia UMC, we thought it might be nice to give everyone a brief introduction, or re-introduction. La Senda consists of 2 entities: a Children s Home and a Christian School. This is a non-denominational ministry. Steve and Pam English have been missionaries in Guatemala for more than twenty years. Both Steve and Pam were raised United Methodist and Steve serves as conference evangelist in the southeast conference of the Methodist Church in Mexico. They started ministering in the city dumps of Guatemala where thousands live in the trash heaps. In 1999, they started an orphanage called La Senda, which means The Way. It was intended to be a home with only twelve children who were abused, abandoned, orphaned, and/or impoverished: a place for children to call home who have no family but are not able to be adopted either. After temporarily housing more than 75 children over the years, there are twenty permanent children who call Steve and Pam Daddy and Mommy. Two are their biological sons and they also have an adopted daughter. Six of the children are now adults and living off of La Senda s campus. In an effort to better educate the children, La Senda became accredited to become a school, now known as the La Senda Methodist School. This year they added a class of 11 th graders and have plans to add a 12 th grade class next school year. There are currently around 150 children from five different villages who come each day to study. Senoia UMC began partnering with La Senda in 2014, with our first mission team going in This year marks our third year. Each year we get to know the kids there better and they get to know each of us better. How rewarding it is to see their faces light up when they recognize us again. Each person here at Senoia UMC has a part to play in this wonderful ministry. Here are ways you can help: You can be a part of a mission team. You can attend the Wednesday Night Supper fund-raiser meal. You can donate an item or service for the Silent Auction. You can bid, HIGH, on an auction item. You can help with planning and organizing the mission team s lessons and projects while at La Senda. You can help receive, organize, sort, and price items for the yard sale. You can provide snacks, beverages, or a light meal for all the volunteers organizing, sorting, and pricing the yard sale items. You can help carry all the items from the fellowship Hall to the parking lot on the morning of the yard sale. Get the idea here that LOTS of help is needed for the yard sale?! You can clean out your garage, attic, and closets and bring your donations for the yard sale. (tax forms available) You can make a financial donation for the Guatemala Mission trip on the church web site (a portion can be claimed for tax purposes). Finally and most importantly, you can pray, for the members of the 2017 Guatemala Mission team, for safe travels, for Steve and Pam English and the kids at La Senda. If you haven t seen something above that you can help with, call Barb Combs at We ll find something together for you that you can do! What is La Senda? A rewarding and inspirational example of God s love to all God s children. Blessings, from your 2017 Guatemala Mission Team, Scott Tinsley Emily Tinsley Owen Keller Shelby Trowell Nancy Lewis Dedee Ressl Emily Wilson Wyatt Wilson Hayes Wilson Barb Combs

6 Page 6 Guatemala, here we come!! Our Guatemala Mission Team this year consists of 10 people: 7 adults and 3 youth! Planning has begun and it is proving to be another great year of being in connection with our La Senda partners. The trip is planned for April 2-7, We have some great opportunities for everyone at Senoia UMC to help support this mission work done at La Senda. Mark down these dates: Wednesday, February 15, The Guatemala Meal returns to Wednesday Night Supper. Lori Kohlbenschlag, chef extraordinaire, will once again this year be preparing chicken Hilachas, a traditional Guatemalan dish. If you have come in past years, you know how delicious this is. Also on February 15, 2017, during the Wednesday Night Supper, we will have our Second Annual Silent Auction. Check out all the wonderful items up for bid while you enjoy your meal. Then make your bid on those items that catch your eye most. Remember: make your bids high --- so you don t lose out! And finally, but most certainly not least, our Yard Sale returns.! On Saturday, March 18, 2017, the parking lot at Senoia UMC will be filled with collectibles, antiques, and unusual items of every sort. Donations can be brought to the church on Thursday and Friday, March 16 & 17 between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 pm. So start cleaning folks!! Bring those donations!! No item too large or too small; we ll take them all. (No unruly kids or pets accepted though!) Be sure to check out the Guatemala Mission bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall for continuing updates. It takes a village to make this very important and meaningful partnership mission happen. Please be part of our missional village here at Senoia UMC. You Can Make A Difference This year we are fortunate to have 10 people going on our mission trip. This includes 3 youth! Now it s time to help them raise funds for the trip. Help defray the costs of the supplies needed by La Senda and craft items they will use with the children. How can you donate? It s easy! We have set up an On-Line giving account on Realm. It is our internal fundraising account, exclusively for SUMC. Go to: Or use this QR Code: We love, because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19

7 Page 7 Wednesday Night Supper - Please contact Gail Noble at gailnoble@ymail.com if you want to schedule a fundraiser. Only one date remains! Nursery - We need volunteers! Volunteers are needed for both 8:45 and 11:00 so that parents of young children have an opportunity to participate in worship. The calendar to sign up is in the nursery, or contact Bereatha Brooks at bereathabrooks@gmail.com. Greeters - Greeters are needed at the 11:00 service. Please contact Jane Hutchinson-Arnold at if you would like to be the first smiling face people see on Sunday. Usher Schedule - 11:00 Service: 2/5 Dale Graves & Jon Morris. 2/12 Robert Belisle & Jim Garver. 2/19 Danny Branch & Carl McKnight. 2/26 Bob Tinsley & Kemp Wright. 8:45 Service: Leigh Morgan. Acolyte Schedule - 2/5 Elle White. 2/12 Micayla Siemon. 2/19 Amy Orr. 2/26 Annslee Morris. Counters Schedule - 2/5 Sharon Boyer & Mark Edwards. 2/12 Jo Morgan & Barb Combs. 2/19 Melissa Severson & Jean Cotton. 2/29 Ralph Arnold & Skip Hughes. Children s Choir - for children age 4 thru middle school. Practice is on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:00pm and also as a part of Sunday School on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. Children s Sunday School - Meets at 10:00am in the Sanctuary Turret. Through our ministry with children, we hope that all persons will encounter the love of God in truly transformational ways. Boy Scouts - Troop 49 meets on Monday evenings at 6:45. Please contact Dave Shelby for information at Girl Scouts - The Girl Scouts meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 3:00. For more information, please contact Melisa at mcelmurrayclan@gmail.com For information on Brownies, contact Nicole Moore (678) Worship Attendance Stewardship 1/1 1/8 1/15 1/ Church Membership: 332 Jim and Laura Riggiola Our Mission To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

8 Wednesday, February 1 6:00pm Wednesday Night Supper - Mission Fundraiser by UMW 6:30pm Children s Choir Practice 7:00pm Chancel Choir Practice Thursday, February 2 7:00pm AA Saturday, February 4 5:30am Cupid Chase - Parking Lot Reserved Sunday, February 5 Scout Sunday - 11:00pm Service 8:45 & 11:00am Worship Service 9:45am Sunday School 12:15pm Worship Team Meeting Monday, February 6 6:00pm Finance Team Meeting 6:45pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm Church Council Meeting Wednesday, February 8 6:00pm Wednesday Night Supper 6:30pm Children s Choir Practice 7:00pm Chancel Choir Practice 7:15pm Giving & Gratitude Connection Thursday, February 9 1:30pm Spirit Journey Connection 6:30pm Education Team Meeting 7:00pm AA Saturday, February 11 9:00am Women s Prayer Breakfast Sunday, February 12 8:45 & 11:00am Worship Service 9:45am Sunday School 3:00pm Girl Scouts Monday, February 13 6:45pm Boy Scouts Wednesday, February 15 *Deadline to send items to the church office for the February Newsletter* 6:00pm Wednesday Night Supper & Silent Auction Fundraiser for Mission Trip 6:30pm Children s Choir Practice 7:00pm Chancel Choir Practice Thursday, February 16 11:30am Ladies Eating Out 7:00pm AA Sunday, February 19 8:00am United Methodist Men 8:45 & 11:00am Worship Service 9:45am Sunday School Monday, February 20 6:45pm Boy Scouts Tuesday, February 21 6:00pm Missions & Outreach Team Meeting Wednesday, February 22 6:00pm Wednesday Night Supper 7:00pm Chancel Choir Practice 7:00pm Lenten Bible Study 7:15pm Giving & Gratitude Connection Thursday, February 23 1:30pm Spirit Journey Connection 7:00pm AA Saturday, February 25 9:30am UMW Field Trip Sunday, February 26 8:45 & 11:00am Worship Service 9:45am Sunday School 12:15pm Making Friends Connection 3:00pm Girl Scouts Monday, February 27 6:45pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm United Methodist Women Tuesday, February 28 9:00am Fellowship Hall Reserved 2:00pm Cancer Support Group 6:00pm Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper 7:00pm Trustees Team Meeting 229 Bridge Street Senoia, GA SenoiaUMC.org