United Methodist Church of Le Mars

Transcription

1 United Methodist Church of Le Mars Transforming Hearts, Minds, and Lives by the Gracious Love of Christ Rev. Dr. Okitakoyi Michel Lundula Pastor Jane Rowe Administrative Assistant May 2018 Let us be in prayer for our United Methodist Church 901 3rd AVE SE Le Mars, IA Phone: Fax: Office Hours 8:30 am 4:30 pm Monday - Friday Prayer Chain Connect with our prayer chain by ing or calling the church office or calling Mary Laughton at laughmg@frontier.com Change of Address? Please let us know by or phone at the church office office@lemarsumchurch.or g Website: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1-2 On Saturday April 21, Bishop Laurie was in Cherokee to give an update on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. According to umc.org, this Commission was proposed by the Council of Bishops and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph of the Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and explore options that help to maintain and strengthen the unity of the church. Here is a summary of the two sketches in process that were presented by the Bishop in Cherokee. Details may change based on the work of the Commission at its next meeting. ONE CHURCH MODEL The One Church Model gives churches the room they need to maximize the presence of United Methodist witness in as many places in the world as possible. The One Church Model provides a generous unity that gives conferences, churches, and pastors the flexibility to uniquely reach their missional context in relation to human sexuality without changing the connectional nature of The United Methodist Church. MULTI-BRANCH: ONE CHURCH MODEL This model is grounded in a unified core that includes shared doctrine and services and one Council of Bishops, while also creating different branches that have clearly defined values such as accountability, contextualization and justice. The five U.S. jurisdictions would be replaced by three connectional conferences, each covering the whole country, based on theology and perspective on LGBTQ ministry (i.e. progressive, contextual, traditional branches). Annual conferences would decide which connectional conference to affiliate with; only local churches who choose a branch other than the one chosen by their annual conference would vote to join another conference. (Source: Final vote on the Way Forward report will the at the Special General Conference on Feb , 2019, in St. Louis, MO. Let us continue praying for God s direction and discernment, the Council of Bishops and the Commission on a Way Forward. If you have any question, don t hesitate to stop by the office and we will help you based on the available resources that we have. To God be the Glory. In Christ. Pastor O. Lundula

2 April 2018 Page 3 UMCL invites children from 3 years old thru 5th grade (6th in the fall), to experience the ride of a lifetime with God at Rolling River Rampage Vacation Bible School! This whitewater rafting adventure includes exciting new music, amazing science, creative crafts, fun recreation, and memorable Bible stories that will help children know God is always with them as they ride the rapids of life! The adventure runs from July 16th through July 19th. Free-will 5:30 pm, VBS 6:00 8:00 pm. Join us for the ride of a lifetime at Rolling River Rampage by calling Joan , jsmith1878@yahoo.com, the VBS website umcl, or call the church Camp books went home with each child and youth. There are more in Fellowship Hall. Our church wants every child to attend church camp. If you want to go, we will help. Let s work together to make this a reality. Camps run from June 18 thru August 11. Please see Diane Hodson about financing camp and Barb Johnson about registering for camp. Camp... The Adventure of a Lifetime! UMC PRAYER WALL The UMCL Prayer Team would like to inform the Church family that we now have a PRAYER WALL in the South Hallway in our church building. The Prayer Wall will help us to engage in prayer for ourselves and help others beyond our Congregation. You will find prayers for Hope, Healing, Addiction, Thanksgiving/Praise, Marital Concerns, Salvation, those who are Grieving, Anxiety/Stress/Worry, Forgiveness and Depression. Feel free to take one of these prayers for yourself or somebody who may need your support. Celebrate With Us!!! The Lundulas would like to invite the UMCL Family to celebrate the Graduation of Berth Lundula and Nicolas Lundula (Pastor s Young Brother) from Morningside College with Bachelors in Organizational Management. The Graduation Party will be on Sunday May 13 at 4 pm at the United Methodist Church of Le Mars (901 3th Ave SE Le Mars, IA 51031) (Downstairs Fellowship Hall) To help us plan this celebration, please add your name to the signup sheet in Fellowship Hall Or lundulafamily@gmail.com

3 May 2018 Page 2 Celebration Sunday May 6 will be Celebration Sunday at UMCL. There will also be a special presentation during the worship on FIF (Forward In Faith), the progress we have made and future plan for our Building Loan. We will have POLUCK following the worship. Please bring a dish to share and celebrate what God has done. UMCL MISSION TRIP TO OKOBOJI CAMP On May 5th, we have a Mission Trip to Okoboji Camp. We will spend our time at the camp cleaning up, painting, staining, etc. We need parents, mentors, adults to go with us. Call or the church at / office@lemarsumchurch.org, sign-up in the Fellowship Hall if you would like to join us. National Day of Prayer May 3rd, 2018 We are invited to join together as a community to pray for the nation. Where: Convention Center When: 11:30 Lunch starts 12:00 Program Honoring our Graduates We are gathering names, addresses and s of all high school and college seniors who are graduating this spring! Please provide school name and area of study. Please reply to this (office@lemarsumchurch.org) or call office BLAST LUNCHEON We raised $617 on Sunday April 29 that will go toward the Outdoor Water Fountain at the Okoboji Methodist Camp. Special THANKS to UMCL Family for your support to our youth. Congratulations to our Confirmation Students

4 May 2018 Page 4 United Methodist Women Peace Circle Wed. May 9:30am Church Fellowship Hall Hostess & Program: Judy Brower Esther Circle Thurs. May 1:30pm Church Fellowship Hall Hostess: Barb Rebstock Program: Cleone Brown Priscilla Circle Thurs. May 7:15pm Hostess: Cherry Ferrie Program: Executive Board Mon. May 9:30am Thank You Special thanks to parents, mentors and UMCL Family for supporting our Confirmation students. To God be the Glory Welcome our New District Superintendent: Rev. Ron Carlson McCausland UMC. Bishop Laurie Haller has appointed Rev. Ron Carlson to begin serving as the Northwest District Superintendent starting July 1, Ron has been serving at Eldridge- Average Weekly Attendance at Worship January February March

5 May 2018 Page 5 Church Family Fun Night Special thanks to our UMCL Men and all who participated in different ways to make our Church Family Fun Night successful on Wed. April 25.