For further information, visit or ask Pastor Ron

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1 The Friendly Visitor September 2016 Worship Schedule Sunday Schedule Gathering & Hymn Sing 9:15 am September Remember Labor Day, Sept.5 & Sept. 11 (9/11) Traditional Worship 9:30 am Adult Sunday school, EPIC Youth Sunday school Children s Sunday School 10:45 am Coffee & Fellowship Nursery Care all morning Holy Land Tour for Ten Days with Pastor Ron Faux Departure Date: January 31, 2017 Cost: $2898 from New York. All inclusive pricing, entrance and program fees, breakfast and dinner daily, first class hotels, deluxe motor coaches. Covered Areas: Galilee, Canna, Nazareth, Tel Megiddo, Caesarea, Jericho, Qumran, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and more. For further information, visit or ask Pastor Ron HOLY LAND TRIP There will be an informational meeting for those who may be interested in traveling to the Holy Land with Rev Faux in January The meeting will be at the United Methodist Church of Yucaipa, Sunday, July 17, 10:45 am

2 Greetings to you all in the Lord! A couple of weeks ago, a clerk at a store greeted me, How are you doing in this hot weather? I do not have any complaint about the weather, for I have lived here long enough, I answered. About two decades ago, my answer would have been completely different. I was serving a parish in Maine before moving to Southern California. It was a beautiful place with plentiful mountains, lakes, and shores. Before Maine, I served churches in Massachusetts. Seoul, Korea where I had lived is on the same latitude of Boston. In terms of weather pattern, all of these places were similar to each other, having four distinct seasons. They had four distinct seasons, refreshing spring, and humidity during summer, gorgeous fall foliage, and a lot of snow in the winter. Before I came to California, I had never seen a winter without seeing snow on the ground. In my move from Maine to California, I experienced a big change in weather. I did not immediately notice it in Morro Bay, but I remember when I drove down from Morro Bay to attend the Annual Conference at Redlands University, when I got out of the car, I felt like I had walked into a dry sauna. I felt like Boston was my second hometown and I loved the weather and the environment. Having lived here for quite a long time, I m now more acclimated to Californian weather. When I visited Boston in June, I did not like the humidity. I thought about moving back to Boston when I retire but now I am having second thoughts. This summer, the temperatures have hit a record high; on a normal day, it was anywhere between 90 and 110 degrees. Yet I found myself not too troubled by it. I think this was because I ve been so invested in the church s ongoing theater project. This is actually the third parish in which I ve worked on installing a theater system, so I have had a lot of experience going into this, but it is still not a simple task; there s a lot of measuring and specifications and bargaining involved. Nevertheless, I am more than happy to work, and I hope this theater will bring about many good things for the church. While I preached in Burbank, I learned that Burbank was the media capital of the world, having so many entertainment studios and productions in its area. In fact, many members of my church there used to work for those industries. For instance, the SPRC chair was a dancer and appeared in many movies. The church secretary was an actress, the praise leader was an actor and stunt man. I was, and still am, deep in thought about ways to reach out to the communities surrounding my churches. I came to realize that, living in times where growing numbers of people were gaining an interest in movies, a theater system gives us an edge to reach out to the younger generation who are so influenced by multi-media and its culture. I went to work on a theater in Burbank and Fullerton, and here in Yucaipa, I m doing the same thing. Through extensive research and the grace of God, I found a reliable manufacturer in China and was able to order a custom-made movie screen. The screen is 26 feet long. It is being shipped and will arrive at Long Beach Port within a month. The overall project has been delayed a bit but we will finish it sometime in October. In terms of the expenses, the transformation of our fellowship hall into a multi-functional venue will cost us a fraction of what it normally would. Once it is completed, UMCoY will be the church with the biggest theater system among the churches within our Annual Conference. I m sure all of you will love this upgrade. When we finally start having family movie nights, please be sure to invite everyone you know! The summer heat is almost gone and cool breezes are becoming more common. Before we know it, fall will be here. Without having to be concerned about the hot temperatures, we can be active again. So let s keep on spreading the good word and bring people in to the House of Faith. According to the records Linda has accumulated, we have added about 20 new members to our roster so far this year, which is incredible. Please continue to pray and let us work together for the growth of the church. God is good! All the time! Phillips

3 September Birthdays Emily Hinckley Sept. 18 Helen Davis Sept. 20 September Anniversaries Alan & Sarah Van Tassel Sept. 1 Kent & Karen Colby Sept. 4 Ron & Jeri Pittsenberger Sept. 23 Stater Bros. Scrip Program Your participation in the Scrip program adds income to the church budget. Please see the ladies in the fellowship hall to purchase your scrip. Cereal Sunday The second Sunday of the month is Cereal Sunday. This helps support the Interfaith Community Support Center. The Sept. 10 meeting of the United Methodist Men will feature Ms. Vicki Grunewald as speaker. Ms. Gruenwald is Pres. of Kids Cures Foundation of Beaumont. They meet at 7:30 am at the Oak House Restaurant in Yucaipa, for prayer, mediation, program, fellowship and good food. All are welcome. United Methodist Church of Yucaipa - Koinonia Scholarship Fund Praise God for our great youth and young adults. The UMC of Yucaipa has some of the best and brightest in Yucaipa, and we are so proud of each and every one of you. The Koinonia Scholarship Program has a long tradition of assisting our church members who wish to further their education. The IMC Koinonia Scholarship Fund is again pleased to announce its scholarship recipients for this year. Rebecca Harps, St. Cloud State University, Minnesota; Breanna Hinckley, Cal State University of San Bernardino; Emily Hinckley, Crafton Hills College, Yucaipa; Rachael Moore, Riverside City College; David Rolf - Cal State University, Fullerton; Jenna Rolf, Seattle University; Judy Salveson, Cal State University, San Bernardino; Jonathan Whang, Boston College. Since 1977, the Koinonia Scholarship Fund has awarded 319 scholarships totaling $90, Thank you all for your support of our students and the church s scholarship fund. Please keep our students in your prayers as they pursue their educational goals. Donations to the UMC Koinonia Scholarship Fund are always welcome and appreciated. DID YOU KNOW The pull tabs on aluminum cans contain more aluminum than the can? The Ronald McDonald Houses have been collecting tabs for several years. This is one of Ron s and my favorite projects. Would you be willing to help? We will place a jar in the Fellowship Hall, and you can drop in your tabs. When we have a jar full, we will take them to the Ronald McDonald House in Loma Linda. If you have questions, please let me know. Thanks you, Joan Faux

4 Greetings from Leah s Circle, Leah Circle News As the new president of Leah s Circle, I am looking forward to leading the United Methodist Women of Yucaipa this year. Currently, I am in process of making contact with the various organizations we support to invite them speak to our Circle on how our efforts have helped the Community. Our first speaker will be our very own Sarah Van Tassel. Sarah will be talking about tutoring special needs children and how she received a special invitation and tour of the Whitehouse with Michele Obama s assistant. Leah s Circle would like to thank Emily Hinckley, and Barbara Forte for their recent donations of yarn. The yarn is put to good use by making, quilts, afghans, lap robes and prayer shawls. Your generous donations are greatly appreciated. We also knit and crochet bandages for Vietnamese people suffering from leprosy (Hanson s Disease). The bandages can be knitted or crocheted using size (10 )100% mercerized cotton bedspread thread. White, cream or ecru colors only as other dyes can irritate the skin. Our supply of thread is sadly lacking right now so any donations of thread would be greatly appreciated. Several people have asked for a written pattern for the bandages, so I have posted both knitted and crochet patterns below: Knitted Leprosy Bandage Instructions: Use size 2 (2.75mm) knitting needles if you knit loosely or average Use size 2 (3.25 mm) knitting needles if you knit tight Cast on 24 to 34 stitches so the bandage measures about 4 across Knit every row until the bandage is 4 feet long then bind off Crocheted Leprosy Bandage Instructions: Use size D (3.00 mm) crochet hook Chain enough stitches to measure 4 across Row 1: Single crochet into each chain. Chain 1 and turn Row 2: Single crochet into single crochet across row. Chain 1 and turn Repeat Row 2 until the bandage reaches 4 feet long. We accept completed projects anytime throughout the year however we ask that all completed projects be turned in by All Saints Day, November 1, The items will be blessed the 1 st Sunday in November and will then be mailed or hand delivered. You don t have to be crafty to join the Leah s Circle. The United Methodist Women members seek to share the blessing of their relationship with God through mission. There are many causes we support. We meet the third Wednesday of the month September through June. The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall Camilla Room. Our first meeting will be Wednesday September 21, 2016, all are welcome. Aleta Kerker, President UMW of Yucaipa A Special Thank-You Dear Church Family and Friends, It is always risky to thank people by name for a big project, as inevitably someone will be left out. But I have to try, because I am so grateful to everyone who made the weekend with the African Children s Choir such a wonderful experience. So I apologize profusely to anyone who I fail to mention here, and please know I did my best. I had so many nice comments and expressions of gratitude yesterday for my efforts in bringing the choir to UMCOY. But truly, the organization and coordination aspect was mostly done in the comfort of my air conditioned home, on my phone and computer, over a three month time span. So I was in awe of the amazing men and women who worked most of the weekend in a hot kitchen to feed the choir and the host families. It was all delicious, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And a great deal of flexibility was required when the bus was delayed by a traffic jam on the freeway on Saturday, so thanks for that too. The Saturday meal was chaired by Sue Abel, and her amazing committee: Ron Faux, Noreen Ayres, Janet Reed, Carol Pistilli, Karen Wahe, Brenda Cassel and Kathy Anderson. And throughout the

5 weekend, I saw Mike Hinckley, Mike Pistilli, and Steve Dyerly doing all kinds of behind the scenes jobs in the kitchen, unloading equipment from the bus, working in the fellowship hall and doing whatever needed doing. (Not to mention Mike Hinckley going on the roof last week and repairing the swamp cooler that fits in the heroic category in my book. And I know Pastor Phillips was up there at least once to help check it out.) The Sunday meal for the choir was chaired by Karen Wahe and her amazing committee: Kathy Anderson, Debbie Richter, Sue Abel, and Denise Hinckley. They were treated to an adorable thank you song from the choir after the meal. And several people brought extra goodies for coffee fellowship, but this is where I will get in trouble because I sent out a plea and I m not sure who brought things. I do know Chris Smith spent Saturday baking all of her delicious goodies in her hot kitchen and the Whangs, and Paula Fisher brought goodies as well. Our ushers and product sales volunteers were great: thank you Bill Harps, Perry Jones, Ralph Snook, Tom Cassel, and Laurie Pertile. Susan Wamsley was the offering counter who worked with one of the choir staff to get the donations counted. I should tell you that the choir normally has a booking fee, but they waived that for us due to our tight budget constraints, so the offering and sales was the only income they received from their performance. Thanks to Amy and the children of UMCOY for the lovely prayer bracelets they made for the children. They loved them and put them on as soon as they received them. I got 18 hugs in thanks. I wish Amy had been able to be there to get the hugs herself. Thanks to Linda Ewan for going above and beyond her job description and putting away tables and setting up chairs in the balcony, and I am sure a dozen other things that are not part of her secretarial duties. Of course the most challenging part of my job was recruiting the host families, but I would venture to say they have already been thanked a million times over by the blessings we all receiving by just having those children in our homes. I can t even describe how much their brief visit touched our lives. But I know it was still a sacrifice to set aside your weekend and to prepare your homes, so thank you to our awesome hosts: Sharon and Jack Kelsey, Steve and Linda Chase, Debbie Wilson, Deb and Paul Davidson-Wohlers (helped by Rachel Moore they took a double set of kids and chaperones), Steve and Johanne Dyerly, Janet Aragon, and Veronica McLaughlin. And last but certainly not least, thanks to Deb Davidson, who did a little bit (or a lot) of everything to help me prepare for this event, including much of the promotional and advertising duties, and all that tech stuff that is beyond me. Thanks Deb, and I know you loved it all as much as I did. And of course to Pastor Phillips, who supported us in many ways and helped make this happen, and incorporated it into a lovely worship service. I am very proud of my church family and how you all stepped up to support this event. It was a blessing to us all volunteers and congregation alike, and I believe God touched us in a life changing way through these children. Debbie Wilson and I went to Alta Loma Sunday night and saw them perform their full, 80 minute concert, with drums and other instruments and several costume changes. That is our next project hopefully in about 18 months when the next choir returns to our area. It should be cool enough to do it in the Fellowship Hall, on stage where there will be room for a full performance. It isn t too early to start talking to your friends and neighbors and telling them they won t want to miss it. Love and Blessings, Johanne

6 Koinonia Scholarship Thank-you s

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8 United Methodist Church of Yucaipa Non-Profit Org Beech Avenue U.S. Postage Paid Yucaipa, CA San Bernardino, CA Rev. Phillips Whang Pastor Rev. Ron Faux - Care Ministry Grace Jhun Music Director Chris Nielsen Accountant Linda Ewan Church Secretary Amy Bahnson - Children & Family Ministries Deb Davidson - Youth Ministries David Newport - Facilities Management Gerald Pugh Caretaker info@yucaipamethodist.org To submit articles or news items to the Friendly Visitor, please items to Linda Ewan: linda@yucaipamethodist.org or bring your submission.