May ~ In This Issue: St. James United Methodist Church 646 Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH Rev. Sharon Lovejoy, Pastor

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1 St. James United Methodist Church 646 Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH Rev. Sharon Lovejoy, Pastor Phyllis Riviere, Office Administrator Contact Us: Office phone: (603) Website: May ~ 2014 Welcome to the first issue of Opus Christi, the newly formatted St. James Newsletter. The Latin word opus means work. Combined with the Latin word Christi or Christ it translates to Works of Christ. The Vision Committee has spent a lot of time and energy sharing all of the wonderful ways we witness the presence of Christ within our church and community. Our new format highlights the ministries of our church divided into 5 categories: Worship, Christian Education, Community Connections, Fellowship Opportunities, and Outreach Missions. It is our hope that by sharing information in this new format, our congregation and community will have a better understanding of the ways our many ministries exemplify working for Christ, and witnessing Christ s presence among us. Please let us know what you think of the new format, and submit any information or suggestions to the office at the above address. Worship In This Issue: Outreach Missions Fellowship Opportunities Christian Education Community Connections Youth Confirmation Class p.2 Our College Graduates p. 4 Community Connections p. 6-7 Youth Group Update p. 8 Change the World Day p. 9 Mother s Day Project p. 9 Kids Page p. 12 May Calendar p. 13 1

2 St. James is home to more than 100 meetings in any given month. We are a valuable resource for Community Connection groups such as Scouts, Friars, Merrimack Garden Club, AA, Beekeepers, and St. James Preschool. Outreach Missions groups that use the facility include the Community Food Pantry, the ARK, and HUB Central. Worship opportunities include Sunday services, holiday St. James Building Use services, weddings, and choir rehearsals. Fellowship use includes weekly coffee hour, committee meetings, youth group meetings, community and church suppers. Christian Education groups include our Sunday School classes, bible studies, and membership classes. We are blessed to have a large building that is used by so many groups! Worship Fellowship Opportunities Christian Education Outreach Missions Community Connections WORSHIP Congratulations! We welcome the following youth, who were confirmed as new members of our congregation on Sunday, April 13, 2014: Jonathan Dinsmore, Erin Finken, Teyah Grantham, and Daniel Wilson Celebrating Mom In spring 2013, a young man named Aba Atlas wanted to do something special for his birthday, so he gave his mom a present and made a video about the gift and its beloved recipient. (Locate it on YouTube by searching for iprojectatlas, Dear Mother. ) For years, Aba s mother had worked long hours outside the home and then cared for her kids each evening. She d bought a house so her children would always have a place to call home, yet the mortgage caused her great stress. Working at a $30,000/year position, Aba saved enough money to pay off his mom s mortgage and, on his birthday, presented her with a check. According to a caption in the video, her response was Wow x I want to celebrate my life by celebrating the woman who gave me life, Aba says. 2

3 WORSHIP May is Tithing Month at St. James UMC 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you. (Genesis 28:10-22) Last November our stewardship program was centered on the works of Christ or, the St. James Opus Christi. We learned of all the good works we do together as the body of Christ, and these good works were categorized into five areas: Worship, Christian Education, Outreach Missions, Community Connections (relationships), and Fellowship Opportunities. Check out the posters on the wall as you enter fellowship hall! In order to continue to do these good works of Christ into the future we must ensure that our financial support for these ministries is sufficient. Although many stepped up in their giving for this year there is still a shortage and we need to continue to support these ministries for the rest of the year. Therefore, to continue to support our ministries the month of May is being designated as Tithing Month! To tithe is to give back to God one tenth of your first fruits. First fruits giving require the theological idea that our possessions and assets ultimately belong to God. All that we have in life is a gift from God! Faith-filled, first fruits giving is our opportunity to return to God a small portion of God s abundant blessing in our lives. Most of us can examine our own lives and find numerous blessings, perhaps even some astounding miracles. As Christians, we are called to give to God what is right, not what is left, as the popular quote from a church marquee states. God calls us to offer our first fruits, not the leftovers. To assist you in giving during Tithing Month, here are a few ideas to help: If you are still working toward pledging a tithe every year, consider trying a tithe for May. Try for one month to tithe your monthly salary; then, be attentive to those Godly blessings that will come your way.. Consider upping your pledge for the month of May by ten percent. If you currently give $40 a week, try increasing 10% and give $44.00 a week. Perhaps you can give an extra weeks pledge during the month. How about bringing your 2014 pledge current if you have fallen a little behind. Whatever you do, let s try to bring our very best to God during Tithing Month. If it is really your very best, then God will surely be pleased! Thank you for your continued support of the St. James Opus Christi! The Stewardship and Finance Committee 3

4 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION We would like to extend our congratulations to the following college students who will be graduating this year. Both women plan on continuing their education at Graduate School. Michele DuLong May 18 th Siena College Cathy Walter May 3 rd St. Andrews University Wanakee United Methodist Center is nestled in the hills of central New Hampshire, along the shore of Lake Pemigewasset, in the town of Meredith. We are a Christian Adventure camp and retreat center providing an eight week summer camping program to children and youth (4-18 yrs). Our emphasis is small groups designed to further growth in mind, body, soul and strength. Wanakee's summer program offers a wide variety of camping experiences designed to build relationships with each other and with our God. Over 700 campers learn and study scripture, live in a Christian community, have fun, swim in a spring-fed lake, enjoy the best food, and make friends that will last a lifetime. A staff of 25 summer employees and over 90 volunteers make this ministry possible. Our lifeguards and adventure programmers are fully certified and have many years of camping experience. To see a listing of all 2014 Summer camps visit: Heifer Farm Event May 17 Rutland, MA Meet the animals, enjoy light refreshments, or bring a picnic lunch. For more information visit: 4

5 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Tri-State District Leadership Day Saturday, May 3, :00 am to 3:00 pm Eliot UMC--238 Dow Highway--Eliot, ME Keynote Speaker: The Rev. Dr. Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship, General Board of Discipleship Keynote Address: Are You Raising Funds or Raising Generous Disciples? Clergy and Laity are invited to this event Ten Exciting and Informative Workshops What Happened to the Offering? Imagery in Worship Have a Little Class: Treasurers/Finance Committee Lay Leadership Mission on the Road Community Connections Consumerism and the Christian Trustees Year Round Stewardship Ken Sloane Allen Ewing-Merrill Sue Frost Sue Ellery Rich Hughen Barbara Burnside Ben and Melissa Yosua-Davis Ken Sloane Caryl Walsh Gary Melville RSVP to Henry at tri-state@neumc.org or ext. 270 Lunch will be served. Child care available upon request. Save the Date! Vacation Bible School 2014 July :50 am 12:00 pm Please see Jen Savoy if you can help! 5

6 COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS St. James United Methodist Church s Annual Upscale Yard-sale is on June 14, 2014 from 8 am to 1 pm. This is a time for anyone interested in having a yard-sale of their own without the traffic in their own yard, or for anyone who has a small business to showcase and sell their products. For a mere $15, prior to May 14 th a space can be rented to accommodate your table and canopy. The only restriction of items that can be sold is food and beverages, which will be sold by the members of St. James. This unique event will be held in conjunction with the Merrimack Garden Club s Annual Plant Sale. Both events will be held, rain or shine, on June 14, 2014 from 8 am to 1 pm, in the parking lot at St. James United Methodist Church located at 646 Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack. For additional information or to reserve space please see Lesley or Brenda after Church; contact Brenda DuLong by bsdulong@yahoo.com; or call the Church Office (603) Submitted by: Brenda DuLong & Lesley Fallu 6

7 Nurture, Outreach, Witness and Worship The NOW committee strives to provide support for a variety of activities, both within our church and in the Merrimack community. Participating in this committee is a great way to express your faith and to serve the Lord through handspun work and specific projects. If you are not already connected with us, please ask me more about how you can get involved we have many opportunities available AND we are open to any new ideas you may have. Currently, we are working to compile a TALENT DATABASE so we have a resource for finding assistance when it is needed. My contact information will be posted in the hallway. is the best venue but for those of you without the ability to do so you can call my cell phone and leave a detailed message but please remember to include a return phone number. We would really like to have this up and running for this spring clean-up season. The next NOW meeting will be Wednesday 5/14/2014 at 6 pm. EVERYONE is welcome. Sincerely, Carolyn Meyling, NOW Committee Chairman MY DESCRIPTION OF THE HELPING HANDS FOR JESUS Can you do this? Install a ceiling fan? Replace the light bulbs on a ceiling fan or install a light fixture? Replace a light switch or receptacle? Install or reinstall window blinds or curtain rods? Read instruction for assembling items or assembling them? Spend time with someone just relaxing and listening? Rake the yard? Pickup brush? Cut tree branches? Mow the grass? Help load a pickup truck for the dump? Install outdoor flood lighting? PROFESSIONAL HELP Please let us know if you have any of these professional maintenance expertise: Plumbing HVAC Carpentry Construction Accounting/ Administrative Drafting For this project to truly be successful we need participation from everyone either by volunteering your services or by supplying names and addresses of those in need of small to moderate projects -Submitted by: Carolyn Meyling 7

8 FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Beef Kabob Supper Saturday, May 17, :00-6:30 pm Tickets $10 Adults, $8 Seniors, $6 Children under age 12 For a reservation call: Tickets may be available at the door. Youth Group Update The youth group has been busy planning end of year activities. On Saturday, May 17 th we will help with the supper sponsored by the Finance Committee. On Sunday, May 18 th we will join the church-wide Change the World event at Wentworth Place. We will assist in visiting with the elderly, playing games, serving refreshments, passing out goodies, and making for a delightful afternoon. Our Rock-a-thon will be Friday June 20 th from 8pm until Saturday 6 am. Look for our youth soliciting pledges in the coming weeks. The leaders are calling it a stay-up-all-night-a-thon! After a full week of work, adult leadership is very tired on Friday night. During the rock-a-thon, the youth will be assembling health kits as they have been challenged to see how much they can purchase with very little money. We want to see if we can be as thrifty as the mission committee shoppers for health kit supplies. The youth of St. James are active in the life of St. James. Please recognize them and offer your support. Blessings, Pastor Sharon, Gwen Murray, Kerri Snell to Thanks Christian Ed for coffee in May! making Figure 1 8

9 OUTREACH MISSIONS CHANGE THE WORLD! May 18, :00 4:00 pm St. James will once again be participating in Change the World weekend. On Sunday May 18 th we will be going to Wentworth Place in Merrimack. We will be offering the residents free potted plants, puzzles, games and laundry assistance. There will be games and refreshments. We are hoping for a nice turn out. Your participation and donations are essential for the success of this worthy event. A donation jar will be located on the piano in the sanctuary. - Submitted by: Carolyn Meyling Mother s Day Project For the sixth year, the Mother s Day Project of the Mission Committee will be giving Mother s Day gifts to the ten mothers who reside at Marguerite s Place, which is an apartment house that provides a transitional housing program for homeless women with children. They provide daycare for the children and supportive services to the mothers with the goal that they will be able to live independently. Marguerite s Place is located in Nashua, NH and their services are available to Merrimack residents. We are requesting monetary donations in honor or in memory of your mother or someone who has been like a mother to you. A list of names will be included in the Mother s Day bulletin. I will purchase gifts that will be given to the mothers with the money received. Some of the gifts that I will be purchasing will be laundry supplies, kitchen supplies, and cleaning supplies. In order to have the names printed in the bulletin your donation must be placed in the offering plate no later than May 4 th. Please make checks payable to St. James UMC and mark them as Mother s Day Project. If you would like to have a card to present to a mother that you are honoring please see me. Thank you in advance for your support of the mission project. E. June Johnsen Mission Chairperson 9

10 Mother s Day Project May 11, 2014 In Memory of: In Honor of: Given by: Please place your check in the offering plate with this form no later than May 4 th. Make your check payable to St. James UMC with Mother s Day Project in the bottom notation section. Thank you Military Mission Due to the changing deployments of our military and warmer weather in Afghanistan, we no longer need to be knitting wool caps or socks. However, there is a need for new t-shirts, socks and underwear in Large or X-large at the Bagram Military Hospital for wounded soldiers. Also, suicide is more common now than battlefield injuries. To prevent this we are asked to send cards and notes of encouragement to Any Soldier and the chaplains will pass them out. They could also use small games, cards, puzzle books, etc. All can be left in the church office and will be forwarded to Soldiers Helpers. Thank you in advance. Submitted by: Liz Langley, Mission Committee. Food Pantry Needs for May: Canned pasta, tuna, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner. Please save your plastic grocery type bags to 10 donate to the pantry as well.

11 A special offering will be taken on June 1 st & June 8 th in support of - Imagine No Malaria Please consider donating to this great cause! Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As a mother, grandmother and loved one, I can t imagine life with poverty so bad that our families could be stricken with disease such as Malaria. Imagine no money to buy bed nets, medicine to protect our loved ones, to educate in how to care for one another. How blessed I am, we all are that we are not in that situation. Imagine how we can help with gifts and donations to buy bed nets, medicine, Doctor s at clinics to educate, to help save lives and end Malaria. I read a story of a mother with young children who had to go 3 times a week to a clinic to sleep when it rained for protection so her children would not be effected as she was. There at the clinic, she learned about the bed nets and medicine to help keep the chance of Malaria down. At the clinic there is now a decrease in Malaria since they received donations from the United Methodist Church Hospital Zing. There are bed nets, vaccines, and trained Doctor s to educate on how to protect against Malaria. Imagine what they can do with our help, so families like the one I read about can be safe from poverty and death. This mother went on to help raise awareness to others so the rate is down. Imagine how wonderful for her to see such a difference and imagine what a difference we can also make together. My prayer is that we will be able to help support The United Methodist Global Ministry to help fight Malaria and all other diseases. I pray we may continue to buy bed nets and medicine, and to educate so one day there is no more Malaria. Last year we donated $ from our Missions, a wonderful thank you was received. Let s again open our hearts, imagine that their families could be as safe as ours are. Thank you and God Bless! Priscilla Fowle Missions committee Wanakee Work Days: May 3 and June 14 9:00 3:00 pm Help New Hampshire's only Methodist camp and retreat center maintain its facilities and prepare the camp for a summer of spiritual growth and renewal for all ages. Join other volunteers as we open the cabins and grounds for the spring and summer season. Paint, plant and pound nails! All ages and abilities welcome. Volunteer and be in mission for a day. Lunch and coffee provided. Contact Wanakee to make a difference: or mail@wanakee.org 11

12 SMALL BLESSINGS 12

13 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday May Facility Use Calendar Trp 401 UC 6:30-8:30 AA BC 8am UMM/Joey's 7:30 Choir P :30 Worship 5:30-7:30 GS FH 9:30-12 Pantry/Ark 6-7 Trp 401 UC 6-8:30 Sc Lead UC 6:30-8:30 AA BC Communion 6-9 Trp 401 UC 6-7:30 Trp 401 UC 7pm Fly Eagles UC 6-7 Trp 401 UC 7:30 Choir P Sunday School 6-8 GS BC 7:00 Men's Gr P 4-6 Youth Group P/FH 7pm Finance P 6-7:30 Mer Safe FH Native Amer Sunday Mother's Day 6-9 Trp 401 UC 9:30-12 Pantry/Ark 6:30-7:30Tr 401 UC 6-7 Trp 401 UC 6:30-8:30 AA BC Change the World 9:30 Worship 6-7:30 Trp 401 UC 6:00 NOW CR 7:00 Men's Gr P 7:30 Choir P Weekend Sunday School 6-8 GS BC 5-6:30 Supper FH 7pm C Council P :30 Worship 6-9 Trp 401 UC 9:30-12 Pantry/Ark 6:30-7:30Tr 401 UC 6-7 Trp 401 UC 6:30-8:30 AA BC Sunday School 7 pm UMW 6-7:30 Trp 401 UC Preschool Grad FH/K 7:30 Choir P 1-4 Change the World 7pm PPRC P 7:00 Men's Gr P 6:30 Vision CR Newsletter Deadline :30 Worship Memorial Day 9:30-12 Pantry/Ark 6:30-7:30Tr 401 UC 6-7 Trp 401 UC 6:30-8:30 AA BC Sunday School 5:30-7:30 GS FH 6-7:30 Trp 401 UC 7:00 Men's Gr P 7:30 Choir P 6-9 Trp 401 UC 6-8 GS BC 6:30 Garden Cl FH 7pm Trustees P KEY BC Basement Class UC Undercroft P Parlor T/TH/F - Preschool CR Conf Room K Kitchen S Sanctuary 8-1:00 pm FH/K/CL FH Fellowship Hall GS Girl Scouts CL Preschool Class 13