THE GATEWAY. First United Methodist Church, Sheridan WY Don Derryberry, Pastor (307) JennaRae Akers & Tracee Davis, Editors June 2017

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1 THE GATEWAY First United Methodist Church, Sheridan WY Don Derryberry, Pastor (307) JennaRae Akers & Tracee Davis, Editors June From the Pastor: As United Methodist clergy person, I am not a member of the local congregation I serve. My membership is in the Yellowstone Conference that appoints me serve God in and with a specific congregation. In my fourteen years here at First United Methodist Church I have been careful not to say, My church. I try to talk about The church I serve, or The people with whom I do ministry. It is not my church. I do not own it, I am not responsible for it, nor am I officially a member of it. It is first and foremost God s church. Secondly it is the church of the people who chose to make it their community of faith, the people who support it with their (your): prayers, presence, finances, time, service and witness. After July 1 st I will no longer be the appointed pastor of First United Methodist Church of Sheridan. As a member of the conference I must locate my clergy credentials with a local congregation, and I ve chosen this church. At that point I will begin to proudly call this My Church. After an appropriate time away, I will continue here not as a pastor but more as a member. I will be here, not to function as a pastor to read weddings, funerals, baptisms, serve communion, or preach (unless invited by the current pastor). I will pray for my church, I will financially support it; I will make a pledge to the capital campaign to pay off our modernization debt, I will attend and be active as is fitting. As I turn over the pastoral duties to Rev. Barth I give thanks for my fourteen years of ministry here in Sheridan and all who have made it so faithfully wonderful. When I arrived I had no idea I would be here this long, that we would accomplish so much together and that I would fall in love with the community. I ask your forgiveness for the times I fell short in my ministerial responsibilities. To those who feel sadness at my departure, I pray you will continue to support our church as you get to know our new pastor. For those who have found it easy to step back, I pray you will return to share in the excitement of a new pastor, new possibilities and new opportunities. Your church needs you, God needs you and maybe more importantly, you need both the church and God. May God bless you with an awareness of the ways God is blessing you and the ways God desires to bless others through you. Pastor Don

2 The Gateway Page 2 June Cares Concerns Celebrations Prayers ~...for Rev. Barth & family as they move to Sheridan...for Bill Conrad, cancer treatments....for Chloe Deeds, mouth & teeth injury....for Families of Paul Jolovich Sr. & Hal Quist...for Pat Jones, hospitalized recovering in Denver from a brain aneurism....for Helen Knepper, physical therapy at home....for Chuck Simon, upcoming cancer surgery....for Pat Solomon, hospitalization....for Morris Zemple, recovering from surgery....for Rev. Don & Zell as they move into retirement....for Our church in this time of transition....for Those leading & participating in VBS. you put into our parsonage. And we wish you the best in this next chapter of your lives. ~First United Methodist Board of Trustees Modernization Committee John Laster, with Horizons Stewardship, was here for three days starting May 19 th to hold interviews with members of our congregation. He is conducting a feasibility study in anticipation of a capital campaign to eliminate all remaining debt from the building modernization. Individuals not interviewed yet will be receiving a survey in the mail soon along with a cover letter explaining various methods of responding. All completed surveys will be compiled directly at Horizon s Home Office in Cabot Arkansas. John is asking us to have responses in by June 12 th. The committee encourages and appreciates your participation as we embark on the final chapter in modernization. Thank You The Board of Trustees would like to express our thanks to Don and Zell for treating the parsonage as their home, not just a house. Few people know how much time and effort they have put towards the maintenance and upkeep of our parsonage. From lawn care, snow shoveling and interior decorating, they have kept the exterior looking great and the interior warm and inviting. They kept the Board of Trustees informed of problems or potential problems. Through the years they have been VERY patient with us and were always aware of budget constraints. Don and Zell are leaving the parsonage in as good if not better shape than when they arrived. We could not ask for more than that. Don and Zell, the Board of Trustees want you to know how grateful we are for all the work On Going Opportunities As we prepare for ministry with our new pastor there are a number of lay ministry opportunities. As always, there is room on ministry teams, especially Education, Worship, Communications, Stewardship, Scholarship, and Evangelism/ Mission. We especially need a secretary and members at large for the Committee on Finance and Administration. In the area of worship we are looking for several people to assist the Alter Guild, someone to coordinate providing bread for Communion, people to assist with sound and projection and folks to take responsibility for locking doors following services. Someone(s) to cut out newspaper articles pertinent to FUMC for posting on the church bulletin

3 The Gateway Page 3 June Board. Training is available for any and all of these opportunities. For more information and to volunteer please speak with Pastor Don or Lay Leader Butch Bennett. Women's Bible Study Evaluation Just a reminder for all the women who attended one or more of the Thursday "Twelve Women of the Bible" series this spring: Please complete a very short evaluation of this study. If you have completed one but not turned it in, please mail/give to Tracee in the office. If you need a copy of the survey, Tracee can provide those to you! Thank you for your feedback! Pentecost Sunday June 4 th Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday and based on Acts. 1:2-31 where the Holy Spirit comes upon the Apostle Jesus. It was on this day the followers of Jesus were empowered to preach the gospel in languages everyone could understand. Pentecost is considered by some to be the birthday of the Christian Church, the liturgical color is red. We encourage everyone to wear red. We will share Holy Communion. Annual Conference From June 8 th -10 th clergy and lay members of the Yellowstone Conference will meet in Billings for worship, prayer and legislative business. Pastor Don and Lay Leader Butch Bennett will be in attendance. For information concerning legislative petitions and other Conference activities check out the conference website: Peace with Justice Sunday is June 11, When you give on Peace with Justice Sunday, your gift makes it possible for the United Methodist Church to Do Justice in Jesus Name. Because you give: Methodists spearhead a peace ministry uniting Arizona border communities United Methodists in Liberia are being equipped to implement the denomination s Social Principles to address social-justice issue Pennsylvania students are educating their community about sex-trafficking at home and abroad Your Giving Makes Possible the Proclamation of Christ s Peace. Duel Celebration Potluck Picnic Come one, come all! Don t miss one of the biggest events of the summer! Join us on Sunday, June 11 th for a dual celebration: the church s annual potluck picnic and commemoration of Pastor Don s retirement. Bob Hall will be grilling up hot dogs & hamburgers at the Kendrick Park pavilion. Everyone else is asked to bring their own table service along with a salad, side dish or dessert to share. The picnic kicks off after the regular worship

4 The Gateway Page 4 June service at the church. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Thursday July 13 th at 6:30pm. The gathering will be in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist church. Plan to bring a potluck dish and come visit with Bill. Vacation Bible School JUNE 12 TH 16 TH Who is your Super Hero? Is it your mother, father, a grandparent, maybe a teacher or movie character? Children ages 3 thru 6 th grade plan to come to Vacation Bible School and discover your Super Hero Strength in God. Your Hero Verse for the week will be: Do good! Seek peace and go after it! During this fun filled week you will learn how God s Heroes have hearts, God s Heroes have courage, God s Heroes have wisdom, God s Heroes have hope and God s Heroes have power. You will also sing fun songs, eat awesome treats, play fun games, create exciting crafts of all kinds and make new friends. VBS will begin each 9 am in the Methodist Sanctuary and end there at 12 noon. You can call the church@ between the hours of 9am to 1pm to register or pick up a registration form inside FUMC glassed entryway on Sundays. Bill Avery Potluck Long time FUMC member and bell choir director Bill Avery will be in Sheridan. A pot luck meal is being organized for Tools of Hope Offering The United Methodist Church is one of 37 denominations of Church World Service supporting ministries for disasters, hunger, and poverty through Tools for Hope. You ll have your chance to give on Father s Day, Sunday, June 18 th. Hunger is the number one risk to global health. In many places in this world, food exists in the marketplace or could be grown in the environment but vulnerable populations lack access or resources to buy or grow the food or secure the water needed to flourish. The key to solving hunger is to address the root causes of hunger with transformational development projects that give not a hand-out, but a hand-up to our brothers and sisters in need. Health Kit Collection We are in the process of collecting items and funding for the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR). There is a blue barrel in front of the sanctuary available for people to donate health kits to be distributed to people that have been displaced from their homes because of conflict or natural disasters. A detailed list of what and how to donate is

5 The Gateway Page 5 June included here on page 5 and with the donation barrel. Gathering efforts will continue through June 4 th and the materials will be delivered to national UMC efforts at the Mountain Sky Area conference at the end of that week. Unafraid and Unashamed Facing the future of United Methodist Church UMM Dinner Meeting Come Join the United Methodist Men for their final dinner meeting before summer break. On Monday, June 12 th at 6:00 p.m., spouses are invited and we3 will be providing chicken. Attendeeds are asked to bring a side dish or salad. You don t have to be a regular attendee to the men s group meetings to come. Please plan to join us for a fun night. In the light of the United Methodist Church and homosexuality issue, this book is a must. In it author Wil Cantrell offers a theological, political, historical, and missiological context on the debate regarding human sexuality and denominational structure. With an engaging style, easily accessible to lay and clergy readers, Rev. Cantrell considers the current impasse in light of the Wesleyan means of grace and John Wesley s instruction to spread scriptural holiness. On the conference web site you can view an interview with the author by Bishop Karen Oliveto. The interview is a great introduction to the book offering wonderful insights. A follow up discussion with Mountain Sky Area clergy and lay people will be available o line after Mary 31. The book is available from Amazon.com SCRIP Gift Cards: A Thrifty Way to Support Your Church THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by the church office to have a photo taken for the updated church directory! There s still time to come by, but our efforts now have moved to encouraging those who can to a photo to the church office at fumc215@fumcsheridan.org. We hope to have all photos submitted by June 28 so we can have the updated directory ready for our new pastor. If you re looking for an easy way to support the church on a tight budget, consider purchasing a SCRIP gift card through the United Methodist Men. You purchase a gift card to stores you already plan to shop at (Walmart, Albertson s, Home Depot, etc.) and a portion of the card amount is given to the church while the dollar value to you remains the same. Check the church website for a full list of participating businesses and contact Rollie Hein at to purchase your cards!

6 The Gateway Page 5 June Health Kit Collection for Annual Conference Health kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Health kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition, and cooking classes. Health Kit Value: $12 per kit Health Kit Materials 1 hand towel o 15 x 25 inches to 17 x 27 inches o Kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not acceptable 1 washcloth 1 comb o Comb needs to be sturdy and longer than 6 inches long o No pocket combs or picks please o Rattail combs and combs without handles are acceptable with a minimum of 6 inches of teeth 1 metal nail file or nail clippers o No emery boards, please 1 bath-size soap o 3 oz. and larger sizes only o No Ivory or Jergens soap due to moisture content o Do not remove from original packaging 1 toothbrush o Adult size only o Do not remove from original packaging 6 adhesive bandages o ¾ inch to 1 inch-size o Common household Band-Aids 1 plastic bag o One-gallon size sealable bag only $1.00 to purchase toothpaste **********************************Important Notes***************************************************** All items must be new. Do not wash any of the items as they will be considered used. Please remove all packaging, unless otherwise specified. All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Due to the fact that strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items, nothing more. Do not include any personal notes, money, or additional material in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed and will delay the shipment. UMCOR is now purchasing toothpaste in bulk to be added to health kits before shipping to ensure that the product does not expire before they are sent. Do not put single dollar bills in each kit. Collect all money for toothpaste and shipping, then place it in a separate envelope and send along with the kit donations. UMCOR does require that the source of manufacturing be removed from the kit contents. For example, if an item in a kit has a stamp that says, Made in the USA or Made in China, that stamp must be removed, covered or blacked out. ITEMS CAN BE PLACED IN THE BIG BLUE BARREL, OR A CASH DONATION CAN BE MADE AND THE EVANGELISM MISSIONS TEAM WILL SHOP FOR YOU.