Epworth Events. Sunday Funday! Choir Practice Begins August 22! Join us! Living, Sharing, and Growing in God s Love

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1 Epworth United Methodist Church 680 8th Avenue SW Valley City, ND Non Profit Organization US Postage Paid Valley City, ND Permit #40 Presorted Standard Rate Epworth Events Living, Sharing, and Growing in God s Love RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY Open 6 am 6 pm, Mon. Fri. 8 am 4 pm, Saturday Choir Practice Begins August 22! Join us! Volunteer, Share, Enjoy! All are Welcome! Tues., Aug. 28, 5:30 pm Sunday Funday! Sunday, August 26th, 9:00 am Join us for games, music, and fun! Worship at 10:30 am 680 8th Ave. SW Valley City, ND Ph Fax: Dayne Zachrison Pastor pastor@epworthvalleycity.com Home: Cell: Anita Tulp Office Administrator Newsletter Editor office@epworthvalleycity.com Home: Cell: Dawn Thomsen Director of Christian Education christianed@epworthvalleycity.com Cell: Rydel Samuelson Director of Youth Ministries youth@epworthvalleycity.com Cell: VirLyn Hoff Congregational Care Coordinator virlynhoff@yahoo.com Cell: *Note: Pastor Dayne is away at Canoe Camp this week and as he does each year, he teaches the basics of canoeing. These lessons were outlined in the August newsletter last year since they are easily applied to everyday life as a Christian, they are appropriate material for review this year. Here is the article. Leadership Lessons from Canoe Camp Last week I had the great opportunity to lead a canoe camp at Wesley Acres. From Sunday to Friday, my friend Rev. Kris Mutzenberger and I, along with the camp staff, worked with 14 youth to learn basic canoeing skills and then take a 5-6 mile trip down the Bald Hill Creek to the Corps of Engineers camping site at Ashtabula Crossing. It is a week full of laughter and fun, teaching and learning. As I was following the group to the lake, I realized that there were a number of lessons from the week that could also be applied to our life together as a congregation. I have come up with five lessons to share with you as we head into the fall busy season at Epworth. Have Purpose. It is so much easier to help these young people tap into their own strength if we keep reminding them that the skills we are learning have purpose. We want them to learn to steer well and not zig-zag from bank to bank because we are headed to the lake, and it s a long journey. Jesus left his followers with work to do. In Methodism, we talk about the General Rules: Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in Love with God. This is our purpose as Christians. If we remember our purpose, it s a lot easier to decide what skills we need to grow. Full Strokes. One of the biggest problems that beginning canoers have is in taking full strokes with their paddles. If you simply skim across the surface of the water, it s a lot less work, but you don t go anywhere. If you want to go somewhere with your canoe, you have to lean over, dig into the water, and pull with your whole body. Often, we have this problem in our faith life. We want to feel connected to God, but aren t willing to spend time in prayer or study to fully engage in a spiritual life. We have to commit our whole selves to our faith if we hope to really see God s transforming power. Continued on page 9

2 5 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30am Open Table Planning 26 12:15pm Meals on Wheels Delivery 7pm The Vine 6 12:00pm Summer Feeding Program BC Library VCSU night classes begin 12pm Rotary 12pm Rotary 21 VCSU Classes Begin 12pm Rotary 3pm All Staff pm Rotary 5:30pm Open Table Community Meal 1 10am UMW Brunch :30pm Church Family Supper 6:30pm Ministry Teams 7pm Living Low Carb 8pm Ad Council 22 First Day of School VC & BCN 7pm Choir 7pm Youth 29 7pm Choir 7pm Youth 10am Pastor s Bible Study 10am No Pastor s Bible Study 16 Circles Meet 10am Sunny Circle 10am Pastor s Bible Study 7pm Circle of Faith 23 10am No Pastor s Bible Study 30 10am Pastor s Bible Study pm Last Day of Summer BC Library 2pm Claris Cink Burial 10am Fick/ Werlinger Wedding meeting 2pm Jackie Owen Birthday Celebration Pastor Dayne on Vacation pm Pat Nielson s 90th Birthday Open House 2 nd Mary Lou Weber 4 th Shannon Bowman Jackie Owen 5 th Sophia Hansen 9 th Chesney Thomsen Charlotte McKay Mavis Myers Addy Lint 10 th Ariyana Malec 11 th Christina Goeller 16 th Jan Anderson 17 th Easton Hesch Gerri Harris 18 th Tyler Clark 20 th Dane Grebel Diana Vagle 21 st Marshall Pederson Tony Van Dyke 23 rd Derek Shape Bill Bertram Kevin Zahn 26 th Amy Martineck 27 th Gale Hansen 28 th Sue Skarloken Rudy Hanson 30 th Jim Leadbetter 1 st Katie & Derek Woehl 3 rd Michelle & Joe DeMasi 4 th Sarah & Trevar Hansen 5 th Cindy & Kevin Zahn 6 th Sheila & Scott Cummings 6 th Gerri & Dale Harris 12 th Barb & Jon Owen 23 rd Holly & Michael Olauson 28 th Vange & Dick Tulp Kitchen Care Please refer to the poster in the kitchen for care and clean up after kitchen use. The next funeral will be served by the June serving group. Your serving group provides the fellowship of Sunday mornings and the comforting presence that all need following a funeral service. These are important ministries that we provide for one another within the community of believers. It is a way to reach out to those who have not found that gift of the Holy Spirit as being real in their own lives. Please take seriously your assignment to one of the serving groups. If the month is not a fit for you, please contact VirLyn Hoff, Carol Peterson, or leave a note in the office with Anita. Serving for August CHAIRS Becky & Darrell Schroeder Lisa & Don Baasch Denise & Gale Hansen Randie Markuson Kim & Joel Owen Pat & Tom Stoen Shelley & Dave Vareberg Karen & James Zubrod Serving for September CHAIR VirLyn Hoff Darlene & Marvin Bloom Carol & Bjorne Breske Bonnie Burchill Marlys & Richard Christ Kelly & Butch Flath Mavis Myers Pat Nielson Connie & Merlin Trapp Connie & Jeff Schlittenhardt Pat & Arlen Shape Have Questions? Please call: VirLyn Hoff ( ) or Carol Peterson ( ) August Greeters 5th Marv & Darlene Bloom 12th Bonnie Ranum 19th Lloyd & Kathy Miller 26th Dick & Marlys Christ

3 10 Epworth Events Epworth Events 3 Spiritual Growth Lydia Project May 30-June 27, 2018 Stewardship Daily Expenses/Maintenance $13, Building/Trustees 1, Capital Campaign/Construction loan 1, Matthew Parking Lot Upper Room We Love Washington School Worship Team Worship Attendance July 1 69 July 8 93 July July Memorials in memory of Loralee Bloom Bob & Dottie Werkhoven to Worship Don & Bev Enger to Building Fund School Kit Supplies Needed The Missions Team will once again assemble School Kits for UMCOR. UMCOR will distribute the school kits to places in the US and its territories where they are most needed. Please check the list to the right for changes and further instructions about the contents of the kit. Please bring items to the church at anytime during August. A basket and/ or table will be in the gathering space for them. Thank you! Mortgage Balance 1/1/2018 $508, Mortgage Balance 7/17/2018 $475, Last Principal Payment 2/12/2018 Principal paid year-to-date in 2018 $32, Interest paid year-to-date in 2018 $14, Total paid year-to-date in 2018 $47, Interest paid in last 30 days $2, Interest accrued as of 7/20/2018 $ Daily Interest accrual $ day Interest accrual $1, When this account was refinanced, that established a maturity date of 3/15/2019. Since our payments have pushed our actual next due date out to 2019, the account currently reflects a due date of 3/15/2019 for the payoff balance of the loan. We will either have to pay off the account or refinance by that date. Thanks to all who have contributed. Wayne Winkler School Kit List Blunt scissors (round tip, not plastic) Spiral bound, wide-ruled one subject notebooks Loose-leaf paper ( page pkgs.) Hand held pencil sharpeners 12 inch or 30 centimeter rulers Unsharpened pencils (advertisement free please) 2 1/2 inch erasers 24 count boxes of crayons You may also donate funds towards items! *Please Note: Cloth bags are no longer needed. All items must be new. Please refrain from items with cartoon characters, advertisements, religious, patriotic, military or camouflage symbols. As we enjoy the summer and look toward the fall, there are a couple of opportunities for Spiritual Growth. The FaithLink Adult Discussion Group has decided to continue meeting over the summer. This is a new study every week that invites us to use the Bible and our United Methodist faith to address current events. Some recent topics have included workplace harassment, nuclear waste, and summer reading. We invite you to join us as we gather around the high-top tables each Sunday morning at 9 am. Childcare provided. We have also chosen two Adult Studies for the fall. We will begin with a series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity. In October, we will join in our All-church study entitled Three Simple Rules by Bishop Reuben Job. This is a study that we have done here at Epworth in the past, but we believe that these General Rules for Methodists are worth visiting again. In 2020 our General Conference will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. To show radical hospitality to all those attending, all churches are invited to participate in the Lydia Project (in honor of Lydia in Acts 16). If you knit or crochet, this is the project for you! We would like to collect 10,000 purple scarves from across the Dakotas and Minnesota in order to bless each person with a scarf. Details are on the bulletin board or visit lydiaproject Praying Our Way Forward For the last 18 months, the Commission on a Way Forward has brought together leaders of The United Methodist Church who differ on issues related to homosexuality, including marriage, ordination, and appointment to the local church. The final report of the Commission has been sent to the Council of Bishops, and the recommendation of the Council of Bishops will be published about July 30th. In anticipation of the Called General Conference beginning February 23 (2/23) in St. Louis, the Council of Bishops has invited every United Methodist to pray for the work of the General Conference at 2:23 each day. I know there is a great breadth and depth of thought and concern around this topic within Epworth, as there is within every United Methodist Church. We simply invite you to pray for the unity of the Church and the work of the Delegates as they prepare.

4 4 Epworth Events Christian Education, Dawn Thomsen, Director Getting Ready for Fall Fall...hmmmmmmmm...YIKES!! Already!! School starts, back to routine! What a busy summer it has been! The halls will soon be booming with activity, though. We are planning a Fun Day (see more info below) to kick off our Sunday School year on Sun., Aug. 26 th, & will officially start classes at 9:00 am on Sun., Sept. 9 th. We will start the day out with Opening Exercises for ALL ages in the gathering area. Our 4 th graders will have a brief acolyte training after opening time on the 9 th. We have the privilege of presenting Bibles to our 3 rd graders during Church! This is a very special day! Look for a letter in the mail about the bible presentations and acolyte schedules. Sunday School! We have our curriculum planned for fall. Here is a glance at what we have coming in the fall! Our Preschool 4 th graders will continue their adventure through the Deep Blue curriculum. The 5 th 6 th graders will continue with the Submerge curriculum. Aimee & Rydel have some fun lessons planned for the Jr. & Sr. High classes. We are looking forward to all these fun opportunities to learn & grow in Christ! I also need some new Sunday School Leaders this year. Please let me know if you would be willing to lead (or co-lead) any of these fun classes!! Sunday Funday is August 26th! This is a combined end of Summer/start of Fall day full of fun. We will start at 9:00 with some large group activities of music & games during our regular Sunday School time followed by coffee fellowship & a back to School Worship service. After worship, we will be having a Picnic potluck lunch with more games for the kids! Come join us for a fun day & get together with friends that you may not have seen all summer J Summer Camp! We ve had several kids and families attend many different, fun camps this summer! Camp centers include Wesley Acres Camp and Retreat Center, Storm Mountain Center, and Lake Poinsett Camp. We want to give a huge Thank You! to our United Methodist Men and Women for covering half of the cost for our campers. We are already looking forward to next year. VBS Recap/Feedback I sent out a VBS recap of what I thought went well or could be better to my lead helpers. Please let me know your feedback on this. I would also like feedback from anyone who attended or helped in anyway at VBS. We want to make next year even better! Have a fun & safe Rest of your Summer! Dawn christianed@eporthvalleycity.com Epworth Events 9 Continued from page 1 Have a Goal Before You. Have you ever watched the water swirl around a good stroke of a canoe paddle? If you do everything correctly, there are two whirlpools that form around the edges of the blade. We had one canoe that appeared to be doing everything correctly. Good strokes, good balance, matched power, but they kept going from side to side all over the creek. When we finally watched this canoe from the front, we realized that the problem was that the person in charge of steering was spending too much time watching his whirlpools and not enough time looking ahead to choose a point toward which to steer. In the life of the church, we can get caught up in the tasks of the project before us and forget why we are working so hard. We lose our way if we don t remember that God has called us to love our neighbors and make an impact on our community. All of our work with our new For the Glory of God ministries ask us to look toward a goal and not get caught in the details. Steer Into the Wind. There is one particular curve in the creek that causes the most worry and fear for the leaders of canoe camp. The wind (it s North Dakota, so there s always a west wind) can catch a canoe and take it far out of the path into a deep bay in the creek. In years past, we have lost a canoe on this corner several times, because for about the next three bends, the wind wants to take you back to this same spot. This year, even though some of our canoes were lighter, and all had only two canoers, making them more susceptible to the wind, we kept all of our group together by teaching them one simple step: steer into the wind. They would get so flustered by the wind affecting their path that they would try to look too far down the creek rather than steering straight into the wind to get back to the shelter of the rushes along the shore. When we run into difficulties in our life together as the people of God, we often try to ignore the source of the difficulty and go on as if someone isn t upset or has questions. When we have challenges in our faith life, our best bet is to deal with the challenge before us, with conversation, with prayer, with understanding, and then, once we have restored community, we can get back on track. In our personal lives, it can be more difficult to deal with distractions, yet we need to lay aside that which keeps us from growing our relationship with God. Enjoy the trip. After we have instilled fear and care with the campers, we have to remind them that this trip to the lake is going to be fun. Yes, they have to watch out for the wind, they have to keep working together, they need to set a goal, and they need to dig in, but in the midst of this, there is fun, fellowship, and the beauty of God s Creation all around them. One canoe, taking special care to see wildlife, counted 68 turtles on their way to the campsite. We saw pelicans, killdeer, gulls, baby ducks, dragonflies, butterflies, and fish along our path. Ultimately, God wants us to be filled with love and with joy for our calling. That doesn t mean it isn t difficult or that we don t experience trouble, but God is equipping us with skills, and bringing us into relationship. Enjoy our trip together as we strive to follow the call of Christ, as we grow together along our route, and as we strengthen our relationships with God and one another. In Christ,

5 8 Epworth Events Mon. Sept., 3 Church Offices Closed Wed. September 5 7:00 pm Choir / Youth Sun., September 9th 9:00 am Sunday School Classes Resume Wed. Sept. 12 7:00 pm Youth Sun. Sept. 16 9:00 am Sunday School Classes 11:30 am Open Table Planning Wed. Sept. 19 5:30 pm Church Family Supper 6:30 pm Ministry Teams 7:00 pm Youth / Living Low Carb 8:00 pm Administrative Council Thurs., Sept. 20 Circles Meet Newsletter Items Due Sun. Sept. 23 9:00 am Sunday School Classes 12:15 pm Meals on Wheels Delivery Epworth UMW to Host All-Church Garden Produce & Bake Sale Last year s bake sale held during the Men s Corn Feed was a huge success so we decided to do it again! Big sellers at this time of the year are garden produce/ pie/ caramel/sweet rolls/ (pkg. in smaller amounts of 4 and 6)/ donuts/ bars, cookies, cookies, & cookies. Your donations will be greatly appreciated! Proceeds will support UMW missions. Please have items to the church by 3 pm, Sun. July 29. Epworth Events 5 Welcome! This year, we not only welcome all of our youth back to a new year of fun, learning and adventure, we also welcome Rydel Samuelson as our new Youth Director. Rydel is currently working as a counselor at Wesley Acres Camp yet is excited to be a part of the youth ministry here at Epworth! The first meeting for Youth Group will be on Wednesday, August 22nd at 7:00 pm. Yes, it is the same day that school starts for many of our youth! All 7th through 12th graders are invited and welcome! Tues. Sept. 25 5:30 pm Open Table Community Meal Wed., Sept. 26 7:00 pm Youth / Choir Sun., Sept. 30 9:00 am Sunday School Classes Resume We Love Washington School Please help support Washington School by clipping Box Tops and by bringing them to the Church. The collection box is located in the kitchen. Every Wednesday! 7:00 pm

6 6 Epworth Events To continue with the 2018 Program Theme, Sacred Spaces: An Encounter with God and Neighbor, the August program is the sacred space of rest and self care. The story of Creation in Genesis shows God as setting an example for us. After doing good work, we are to rest. God created Sabbath, a time blessed, consecrated and made holy by God. Jesus needed and took rest and attention. After the temptations in the desert, angels ministered to Jesus. Jesus napped in a boat. Jesus sat at the well of Jacob. Jesus went off alone, apart from the others to pray. We need rest 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. We need Sabbath a sacred space of emotional and spiritual restoration. We need the sacred space of meeting God. We can encourage those who are going through tough times by supporting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The summer months can be a time to slow down, take a vacation, ease off schedules, enjoy lazy days. Personally, I have not found vacation as a time of rest. The change of pace, break in routine, connections with people is a blessing to us but not necessarily restful. Epworth Events Ideas for UMW Bazaar Basket Fillers Kitchen items towels, utensils, coffee mugs, unique containers. cook books, serving dishes Men s items hunting/fishing equipment, sports items, tools, books, blankets, gift cards Children s items books, toys, stuffed animals, blankets, baby items, games, movies Women s items books, candles, blankets, scarves, gloves, soaps, lotions Holiday items décor, napkins, towels, mugs, serving dishes Items grouped by theme or color work very well 7 Congregational Care Church Family Supper Our Next Church Family Supper will be Wednesday, August 15th, Serving will begin at 5:30 pm and continue as people arrive for meetings. Ministry teams will meet at 6:30 pm and the Administrative Council at 8 pm. All are invited to these times of food and fellowship. Please note that this date is in the third week of the month. Meeting night is potentially switching to the third Wednesday so the Church Family Supper will follow that schedule. VirLyn Hoff, Congregational Care Coordinator I am hoping that with some rest and time of Sabbath, United Methodist Women will continue with summer events. Blood Drive Update Mission u was held Thursday-Sunday, July Bev Enger, Michelle Grebel and myself attended. Hilde van Gijssel spent a day with us at Mission u and presented in the evening how she sees science and faith working together. Her words reminded us of the awesome miracle of life for both humans and non-humans that are Creation. We took the mission classes and shared in some exercises to help us understand our connection to all of creation. Our Epworth sponsored community blood drive was held on Tuesday, July 10th and Wednesday, July 11th. United Blood Services of Fargo collected lifesaving blood products from 79 donors. Blood is a valuable natural resource within each of us. We thank all who donated. Special thanks to those who made this event a success. Thank you to Anita Tulp for organizing, Bonnie Burchill for setting the appointments and registration. Thank you to Jan McCarthy, Marian Drevecky, VirLyn Hoff, Randi Watterson and Aimee Zachrison for providing and serving refreshments. A coordinator is needed for this annual blood drive. If you would be interested in facilitating this ministry, contact Anita in the office. A Produce and Bake Sale will be held with the United Methodist Men s Corn Feed on Sunday, July 29th. Thank you to Michelle Grebel for organizing the event. Thank you to all for your items. Our August Brunch will be held on Wednesday, August 1 at 10:00 am. Sunny Circle will host. The District Officer appointed as Shepherdess to Epworth will be visiting. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Learn from me and find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28 & 29 (adapted) VirLyn Hoff, UMW Unit President Open Table Served on the last Tuesday of every month, this ministry is something to look forward to for many in our community. Planning meetings are held on a Sunday after worship. Donations of food items, cookies, funds, and helping hands are welcome. Our July Open Table meal to be served on Tuesday, July 31st, will consist of leftover corn and pulled pork from the Men s Corn Feed if available. If you have garden produce you would like to offer for this meal, please bring it to the church on Tuesday morning. Serving begins at 5:30 pm. All are welcome! The Open Table Team 2018 Mission u