Mt. Hope Messenger March, 2019

Transcription

1 Mt. Hope United Church of Christ 2400 Mt. Hope Church Rd. Whitsett, NC Office: Fax: website: church pastor Rev. Kristin Gerner Vaughn (336) (cell) choir director Joan Hedrick accompanist Ekin Ustunel church secretary Shirley Connor Office hours: Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Thurs. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. consistory president Noral Belvin board of Christian education Carmen Cox, director youth director Lisa Moser custodian Brenda Currie Mt. Hope Messenger March, 2019 Your Love Letter from Your Pastor: Empty Enough to Receive There is an ancient yet modern story about a student who was instructed by her spiritual teacher to pour a glass of water into the pitcher sitting on the table. The student desiring to be obedient picked up the glass and stopped short of pouring the water into the pitcher. The pitcher was already full of water and if the student had poured even the slightest bit of the water from the glass in the pitcher the water would have run out of the pitcher, over the sides, down onto the wooden table and soaked through the carpeted floor. Even still, the teacher instructed the student to pour the water into the pitcher. Against her best judgment she finally did. The water did as she expected. The pitcher unable to hold anything else allowed the water to billow over the sides of the vessel, run down the sides, soak the wooden table and the carpeted floor. The liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 6 th ) and marks the 40 days before Easter, give or take a few (remember, Sundays are feast days and are not counted in the 40 days of Lent. So if you decide to fast something like chocolate or television for Lent, Sundays are not fast days!) Lent is marked in the church with purple cloth, times of confession, a penitent spirit and a humbled heart. We also use purple in Advent, but in Advent we wait expectantly for birth, new life, preparing our hearts for Jesus to come, where in Lent we are preparing our hearts for new life that arises after death. In order to get to this place of new life, Lent commands a penitent heart, a soul of confession, an emptying out of the believer so that we may receive the fullness of God s grace, mercy and abundant love. As the student above so aptly demonstrated a full pitcher of water cannot hold anything else before it first empties itself. So it is with us. We cannot receive anything, including God s blessings of grace and mercy, forgiveness and resurrection if we do not engage in the work of emptying ourselves and making room for such things.

2 Is your life full, too busy to add anything else in or take on any other responsibility? Are all your closets full of clothes you don t wear, laundry room billowing over with things crammed in the corners? What about your spirit? Is it full? Full of dread? Full of regret? Full of thoughts that you have been too busy and too tired to sort it all out? Feel frazzled? Disorganized? Running around like a beheaded chicken? Lent is a season for you! Start your Lenten season with Ash Wednesday service at Mount Hope on March 6 th. Remember that we were created in God s image and we will one day return to the image of God s divine love. Secondly, make a choice to be intentional about emptying your life during the Lenten season so that may create room for the Holy to enter your life. Clean out closets, choose to carry a smaller bag with less items in it during the day. Intentionally decide to make do with less. Pack your lunch instead of eating out. Maybe you will fast one meal each day, or decide you will not eat or snack during a certain period of the day. During the time you would normally spend eating you may decide to read scripture, pray or journal about your unleashed thoughts. The possibilities for emptying out the full places in your life are endless. Pray about it. Be intentional about it. Plan it. When your pitcher is empty you will be amazed at how God can use the empty places in your life to bring the full bounty of God s richest blessings. Courage for your emptying journey Pastor Kristin P.S. Let me know what you are doing to empty out. I would love to be a conversation partner with you. Mt. Hope United Church of Christ Consistory Meeting Members Present: Gloria Apple, Lorie Arrington, Noral Belvin, Bill Craft, Bennie Gerner, Bob Hamlett, Dora Moore, Cheryl Royal, and Kraven Webb Pastor Present: Pastor Kristin Guest Present: Linda Shue The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m. A quorum was established and Noral welcomed all. Lighting of the Christ Candle We celebrate our past: Approval of the Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as written. Motion carried. Treasurer s Report: Dora Moore presented a report on December. The beginning balance for December was $105, and the monthly income was $30, Expenses were $30, This resulted in a closing balance of $105, A motion was made and seconded to accept the treasurer s report as presented. Motion carried. Pastor s Monthly Report: Kristin reported there is a new Member class going on and Jan 20 th would like different committees to speak to them at 9:15a.m. Last class we had 7 join and this class has 10. They will be joining the church on February 3 rd. A motion was made and seconded to approve the new members class. Motion carried. Kristin would like each consistory member to help with the worship service for a month. Noral Belvin is January, and Lorie Arrington and Gloria Apple will do February and March. January 13 th Alonzo Smith will be baptized and will join in February. A motion was made and seconded to accept the baptism. Motion carried. Kristin spoke about a family in need with rent and coordinate with Brightwood Church s gift of $500. A motion was made and seconded for us to do so and pay the balance of the rent which is $ out of our community resource fund. Motion carried. Kristin presented an idea of prayer every day with a prayer partner for different ministries

3 within the church. Consistory members will pray every day about the ministry they are signed up for. Family Ministry Cathy Gossett & Dave Blakesly. Worship- Gloria Apple & Dora Moore. Christian Education & spiritual growth Kraven Webb & Bob Hamlett. Social justice, outreach & community engagement- Lorie Arrington, Cheryl Royal and Bill Craft. Pastoral Care Bennie Gerner & Noral Belvin Call to Confession Words of Assurance We present our offerings Committee Reports: Youth Lisa Moser no report. Maintenance & Trustee Bennie Gerner reported that the water at the church has been tested. They have treated the well. Glycol water to be done. The tree removal has been done but still have to dispose of the brush pile. Mt. Hope Fire Department offered us a trailer for the generator that Steve Shue donated. A motion was made and seconded to allow maintenance committee to proceed with getting quotes to complete. Motion carried. Column in front of the church needs work. Stanley Buff worked on them and will try again but we will need to address moisture rotting the columns. Steeple leaking waiting on roofer to come check it out. Stewardship Committee Bill Craft reported they will be meeting prior to the hot dog lunches. Finance Covered during Treasurer s Report Evangelism No report Music & Worship Linda Shue reported they try to meet once a month with Joan. Trying to do one contemporary song a month. Personnel Committee No report Meals4kids Gloria Apple reported they are helping 28 families twice a month this school year and their next opportunity to volunteer to bag is February 5 th at 5:30p.m. Happy to see new members volunteering. Greensboro Urban Ministry Bob Hamlett reported they had dropped off 183lbs of food after Christmas. They are trying to lift up the 2 nd Sundays of the month to encourage donations. Blessing Bag No report Social Concerns No report but lifted up what a blessing it is to see the children putting money in the wishing well. Nursery No report Old Business: The maintenance committee is meeting with trustees for ideas of parking for the picnic shelter. We offer our concerns for the future (New Business): We need a replacement for Lauren Moser for her remaining time on consistory. A motion was made and seconded to offer the open seat to Janet Ellis. Motion carried. Search Committee Linda Shue reported that Elizabeth Craft had been on the committee as Consistory President but would like her to continue in her role. A motion was made and seconded to approve Elizabeth Craft being on the search committee. Motion carried. The search committee has asked what incentives we can offer an associate pastor. Will table until our next meeting. Dora Moore will check into it on the finance side. We give Thanks to God and Go out in God s name Prayers of Intercession We have 26 people in need of prayers. Greg Moser scheduled for knee surgery Jan 11 th. Webb family wedding Ruth Moore, her husband Willie passed away Kristin closed in prayer. Charge and Benediction Meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m. Next meeting is Thursday February 14 th at 7p.m. Will look into rescheduling. Respectfully submitted, Gloria Apple, Secretary

4 We extend our love to several faithful members of the women s fellowship who are all recovering from recent surgery. Prayers for complete recovery for Elizabeth Craft, Jaynee Brown, Sara Shue, Carolyn Simpson, Peggie Coble and Blanche Greeson. Our next meeting will be a joint meeting on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. This will be a joyful occasion as we celebrate with a baby shower for Leah and Cameron Thomas who are expected to deliver triplets on February 28 th. The triplets (two girls and a boy) are the great grandchildren of LuEller Ingold. Thanks to Doug and Dianne Clapp, who provided the movie I Can Only Imagine which we thoroughly enjoyed. We then shared a great lunch and fellowship at the Mayflower Restaurant; Doug led our blessing. Thanks to our driver, Clifton Greeson for getting us there safely. Blessings, Dee Greeson Members of the Friends & Neighbors met in the church fellowship hall on Tuesday, February 19. Pat Branson welcomed everyone and led the business meeting. Doug Clapp had devotions which he related to the movie we would see later, I Can Only Imagine. Doug asked questions like, When our time comes to meet our heavenly father, our creator, face to face, what will it be like? How will we behave? Will we dance? Will we be still? Will we fall to our knees? Will we sing Hallelujah? Will we be speechless? Cards were sent to the sick. We recognized the February birthday of Lloyd Gilliam and sang happy birthday to him. Door prizes were awarded to Cynthia Morris and Lin Gallagher. Pat reminded the group of our March 19 th meeting at 10:30 when Janet Shoffner will be our guest speaker. Following the meeting, we will have lunch at Ciao s. We hope you will join us for our next meeting.

5 On February 3 we welcomed our newest members: James and Laurie Baker, Gabrielle Baker, Nate McArn, Stan Buff, Dennis McGee, Gary Owens, Joan Hedrick, Ekin Ustunel, Ric and Amanda Freeman. Ric and Amanda Freeman Left Stan Buff; Right Dennis McGee Nate McArn & Gabrielle Baker Left to Right: Joan Hedrick, Ekin Ustunel, Gary Owens James and Laurie Baker

6 On February 10 th, Alonzo Smith was baptized. He will join the church with the next group of new members. Looking on is Freddie Gossett. We had a great night of Bingo, Meal and fellowship with lots of winners! Thanks to everyone who attended. We would like to thank Lisa Moser, Greg Moser, Becky Stafford, Stephanie Webb and everyone else who pitched in to clean up. Special thanks to our coordinator Gloria Apple!

7

8

9 Blessing Bag Ministry February 24, 2019: Our journey continues... A life changed. A life made a difference in. A life shown compassion. We continue to serve those less fortunate with the same grace God shows us.

10 We had our March bagging Tuesday evening, February 26 th. A special thank you to Barbara Honey and girls for coming up with the idea to use baskets to put each week in so we did not have to handle but once, testing it out and donating them. It made our jobs a lot easier! Thanks to Barbara Greeson, Dona Branson, Barbara Honey and Lilly and Lizzy. Your help is so appreciated! Gloria Apple

11 Garden Club: The Garden Club will be meeting on Tuesday, March 5, at 7:00 PM, in the New Fellowship Hall. We will have a guest speaker from the NC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers. HELP AND DESSERTS NEEDED We still have a few more areas where we need workers for the Chicken Pie and BBQ Supper on Saturday, March 9th. If you can help call Dee at If you can provide a dessert contact Dee or Stephanie Webb. A huge Thank You to all those who have already committed their time and efforts.

12 Come and join us for our Lenten Bible Study! The Lenten Study will be guided by a book called Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth, MD. The Lenten Study will begin on March 13 th at 6:00 PM in the parlor. Books can be found on or on Amazon. There are a few copies in the church office available for loan. (an excerpt from the back of the book) Turning to Jesus for guidance, Sleeth discovered how the scriptural lessons of personal responsibility, simplicity, and stewardship could be applied to modern life. The Sleeths have since sold their big home and given away more than half of what they once owned [the book] shares the joy of adopting a healthier, less marerialistic lifestyle, which led to stronger relationships and a richer spiritual life. With the storytelling ease of James Herriot and the logical clarity of C.S. Lewis, Sleeth lays out the rationale for environmentally responsible life changes and a how-to guide for making those changes. Creation is groaning. And Matthew Sleeth has responded. Serve God, Save the Planet is not an alarmist call of despair, but a hopeful invitation to reimagine the way we live. Sleeth s words have the urgency of an ER crisis coupled with the deep faith that the church is ready to join God in healing a wounded world. --Shane Claiborne New Member Dinner, March 30 th at 6:00 PM in the New Fellowship Hall. New Members and their families will be our guests. All church members are invited to prepare their best dishes to fill the table. Come out, eat, play games and be entertained by talented church members as we welcome our new members, Mt. Hope style. March 31 st, from 4:0 0 6:00 p.m. is Kite Day and Meal at the Moser home (6529 Holts Store Rd., Julian. Open to all interested. Kites will be available. (Please wear good kite flying shoes to get the kites up high in the air. Not all ground is level.) Sponsored by: Freddie & Cathy Gossett, Greg & Lisa Moser March Piano Concert by our very own Ekin Ustunel and Friends: Pianist and graduate student, Ekin Ustunel and friends at Salem College will be delighting us in concert on March 24, 2019 at 4:00 PM in the sanctuary at Mount Hope UCC. This concert is free to all. Sunday, March 3 Collecting for Greensboro Urban Ministry 9:30 a.m., Fellowship in the Hallway 10:00 a.m., Sunday School 11:00 a.m., Worship 3:00 p.m., Search Committee - CR 4:00 p.m., Children s Music NFH 4:30 p.m., Young Disciples NFH Monday, March 4 9:00 a.m., Quilters meet

13 Tuesday, March 5 7:00 p.m., Garden Club NFH Wednesday, March 6 Ash Wednesday 6:00 p.m., Ash Wednesday Service SAN Thursday, March 7 7:00 p.m., Creative Worship Team CR 7:00 p.m., High Lonesome Strings OFH Saturday, March 9 4:00 p.m., Chicken Pie / BBQ Supper Sunday, March 10 Collecting for Urban Ministry - Daylight Saving Time 9:30 a.m., Fellowship in the Hallway 10:00 a.m., Sunday School 11:00 a.m., Worship 4:30 p.m., Young Disciples - NFH Monday, March 11 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet Tuesday, March 12 7:00 p.m., Joint Ladies Meeting PAR Wednesday, March 13 6:00 p.m., Bible Study - PAR 6:45 p.m., Handbell Choir Rehearsal - CR 7:30 p.m., Choir Rehearsal SAN Thursday, March 14 7:00 p.m., Consistory CR Sunday, March17 9:30 a.m., Fellowship in the Hallway 10:00 a.m., Sunday School 10:00 a.m., Youth Pack Blessing Bags OFH 11:00 a.m., Worship 4:30 p.m., Young Disciples NFH Monday, March 18 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet Tuesday, March 19 10:30 a.m., Friends and Neighbors NFH Wednesday, March 20 6:00 p.m., Bible Study PAR 6:45 p.m., Handbell Choir Rehearsal CR 7:30 p.m., Choir Rehearsal SAN Thursday, March 21 10:00 a.m., Music & Worship Team CR Sunday, March 24 9:30 a.m., Fellowship in the Hallway 9:30 a.m., Youth Deliver Blessing Bags 10:00 a.m., Sunday School 11:00 a.m., Worship 4:00 p.m., Piano Concert - SAN Monday, March 25 9:00 a.m., Quilters Meet Wednesday, March 27 6:00 p.m., Bible Study PAR 6:45 p.m., Handbell Choir Rehearsal CR 7:30 p.m., Choir Rehearsal SAN Saturday, March 30 6:00 p.m., New Member Dinner - NFH Sunday, March 31 9:30 a.m., Fellowship in the Hallway 10:0 a.m., Sunday School 11:00 a.m., Worship 4:00 p.m., Kite Day / Cookout at the Moser s 2019 Communion Dates We will be celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion together during 11:00 worship on the following dates in 2019: April 14 Palm Sunday April 18 Maundy Thursday (7:00 PM) service April 21 Easter May 26 2 nd quarter July 7 3 rd quarter October 6 World Communion Sunday December 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight service We celebrate the birth of Kayleigh Grace McArn. Kayleigh is the daughter of Gabriella Baker and Nate McArn, the granddaughter of James and Laurie Baker and the goddaughter to Ric and Amanda Freeman. Welcome Kayleigh Grace, we are so glad you are here!! Pancake Breakfast, March 23 rd, 7am-10am, $6 per plate, (All you can eat) Pancakes, Bacon OR Sausage & Drink. Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church, 4400 Alamance Church Road, Liberty, NC Please come support Cub Scout PACK 365! Thank You!

14 1 st Katelyn Neal 2 nd Janet Welker 4 th Mike Volle 6 th Gloria Belvin 7 th Jaynee Brown, Michael Johnson 8 th Austin McDade 9 th Tammy Reece, Emily Smith 10 th Mitchell Clendenin, Jacob Szychowicz 12 th Lillian Clapp, Ruth Harris 13 th Brianna Chapmon, L.B. Friddle, Alan Sawyer 14 th Haleigh Bradsher, Conner Chapmon, Lin Gallagher 15 th Dana Andrews, David Blakesley, Tiffany Cauthren, Gregory Whitesell 18 th Donald Nance 19 th Ashley Phipps, Tony Whitesell 20 th Peggy Kilby 21 st Shannon Neese, Deana Spainhour 22 nd Shelby Andrews, Orville Woodard 23 rd Rick Morgan, Bridget Roberts 25 th Jacob Sowers 26 th Betty Jean Clary, Nathan Presgraves, Dorie Whitman 27 th Cindy Belvin 28 th Gary Apple, Megan Gardner, Stephanie Neese 31 st Brittany Clark Thank you: I want to thank the ladies of the Mt. Hope Quilters Group for the beautiful quilt. It was such a gesture of love and I will always cherish it. Sylvia Belvin. Thank you: Thank you for your prayers, thoughtfulness and support during my surgery. Dean Greeson Thank you: Words can t express my appreciation for all the prayers, cards, calls, food, and visits I received after my surgery and recovery. I m so thankful to be a part of such a loving and caring church all my life. God bless each of you. Jaynee Brown Thank you: During a time like this we realize how much our friends and relatives really mean to us. Your expressions of sympathy will always be remembered. Thank you for the meal and use of the church. The O Ferrell Yarina Family Thank you: Golly gee! I think you must miss Bob and me as much as we miss all of you! I really appreciate all the cards, prayers and calls from you as I make (a very) slow recovery from the chemo and then the heart problems. I start 3 rounds of chemo in early March maintenance? I m just praying the defibrillator and the pacemaker are helping and I ll soon get some energy and gain some weight. Thanks so very much for keeping us in your prayers. Love and blessings to all, Dottie and Bob. P.S. The newsletter is great very colorful and pretty! 12 th Bob & Dottie Deeter 17 th Jim & Lin Gallagher 25 th Steve & Sandy Gardner 30 th Trevor & Jessica Bolton Our Christian sympathies go out to the following families: The family of Karen Kirkman who passed away on Thursday, January 31 st. The Family of Nancy O Ferrell who passed away on Tuesday, February 5 th.