St. John s United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 St. John s United Methodist Church January 2010 RING IN THE NEW YEAR BY JOINING A SMALL GROUP January 4, 2010 (16 weeks): Daily Bread, Parlor Let s join with our Christian friends to overcome past failures and achieve new weight-loss goals, and find encouragement in Scripture. Weigh-in begins 30 minutes prior to sessions each Monday through April 19 and is led by Peggy Sager. Child care is provided for the evening session. January 5, 2010 (6 weeks): ONE In a Million, The Center If you hunger to experience God s power, hear God s voice and live in the abundance promised to you, then this study is for you. This session ends February 9 and is led by Naomi Copeland. January 6, 2010 (6 weeks): Fearless, Wesley Room This study is based on Max Lucado s book Fearless. The dvd-based study will address questions about work layoffs, economic slowdowns, Middle East flare-ups and global warming. This session ends February 10 and is led by Pastor Ron. Child care is provided. January 20, 2010 (12 weeks): Alpha Study, Parlor Think you know the basics? Alpha explores the Christian faith in a low -key, friendly setting - and is supported by main Christian churches. We meet on Wednesdays at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and a wonderful weekend away on March 5 and 6. All are invited to enjoy a meal, video segment, and fellowship. Childcare is provided. Questions? Contact Bill: , william.muehlbauer@bankofamerica.com or Erin: Airintheballoon@gmail.com The Church Office will be closed December 31st at Noon and January 1st in celebration of the New Year Holiday. 109 E. 14th Street Davenport, IA Phone

2 STAFF CONTACT LIST (Pastors, Lay Employees and Volunteer Staff) George White, Senior Pastor, ext. 203 Ron Carlson, Associate Pastor, ext. 204 Pennie Cady, Financial Secretary, ext. 205 Linda Clark, Office Manager, ext. 202 Naomi Copeland, Ministry Assistant, ext. 201 Steve Ernst, Director of Jesus Country Worship, ext. 210 Linda Hoppe, Director of Living Faith! Worship, ext. 212 Mitzi Harris, Organist, ext. 214 Pennie Kellenberger, Director of The Center and Youth Outreach, ext. 306 Dave Meumann, Director of Music and Media Ministries Jamie Nielsen, Youth Discipleship Coordinator Peggy Sager, Director Children & Family Ministries, ext. 231 Glenn Wilkerson, Building Superintendent, ext. 208 On the web: The Church Office will be closed the following days in celebration of the New Year s Holiday: December 31 at Noon January 1st In case of Pastoral emergencies, please call Messages will be checked twice each day. One Church, Many Worship Opportunities (Sanctuary of church, unless otherwise noted) Classic worship (traditional) 8:30 a.m. Living Faith! worship 9:45 a.m. (The Center) Celebration 11 a.m. The Edge Youth worship 6 p.m. Jesus Country worship 5:30 p.m. SkateChurch (skaters) 6 10 p.m. at The Center SkateChurch (bikers) Saturdays 5 9 p.m. at The Center Sunday School for all ages 9:45 a.m. FINANCIAL UPDATE A complete financial report for St. John s and for The Center is now available in the church office. Stop by during the week to pick up a copy. Sign up for 2010 Flowers for Sanctuary. The monthly calendar is located on the door of the Sacristy located on the Main Level. Flowers may be given to honor someone or in memory of a loved on. St. John's Foundation wish to thank the following for their contributions to the Birthday Fund The Foundation of St. John's wish to thank the following for their contributions to the birthday fund: Don Foreman, Carole Meinert, Wayne Wagner, George White, Martha White, and Eleanor Mooney. DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRIES UPDATE The Staff Parish Committee (SPRC) has formed a subcommittee who is in the process of conducting interviews with candidates for the Director of Youth Ministries position at St. John s. SPRC will make an announcement when they have finalized a decision.

3 KEYS TO LIFE by Pastor George I d like to begin the new year with some random key words about life. These are not the final words, maybe not even the most important words. But, I pass them along. Feel free to respond back with words which are keys for you. GRATITUDE James McDonald affirms gratitude because, it turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (November 26, 2009 Our Journey) COURAGE It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. (Theodore Roosevelt) DEPENDENCE Dependence doesn t mean that I am less than something, but rather that I am made for something. That space in my should that I have so desperately tried to eliminate is a God-shaped vacuum. Dependence is, in fact, the best thing about being human. Hollow is the unique human shape, giving us the capacity to carry God. We need God, and God delights in our need of Him. (David Henderson, p. 54 Sept/Oct 08 Discipleship Journal) Many blessings for you and your family during this year! A Special Charge Conference of St. John s UMC will be held on Monday, Jan. 18th at 7:30 p.m. for the purpose of setting pastoral salaries for 2010 Date Oct. 31 st / BLESSED TO BLESS UPDATE St. John s was blessed by a fruitful and successful finance drive for our 2010 budget. Although a few estimate of giving cards are still coming in, we wanted to give you a nearly final report. We are pleased to report that anticipated pledges of $688,135* represent a 6.7% increase compared with last year. Two factors contributed to this increase. First, more than half our giving families increased their giving estimate for 2010, many significantly. Secondly, we had 86 new pledging families/individuals the largest increase in more than 20 years. Our total number of pledging families/individuals is the largest in recent memory. The Steering Committee and the Church Council now have adequate information to form the working budget for By the time you receive this Tidings, that budget will likely have been adopted. A summary of the budget will be provided in the next Tidings and detailed copies will be available in the church office. Our thanks to our Finance Drive Committee for their effective work and to the 342 families who made an estimate of their giving for 2010 (plus others who are still completing their cards). *As of December 14, 2009 NOVEMBER ATTENDANCE SUMMARY The following chart summarizes the attendance during worship services, SkateChurch, The Edge youth ministry, and the CD ministry for the month of November Skate Church 8:30.am. LF! 11 a.m. The Edg e CHURCH LEADERS Pastor George will host a Church Leaders Information meeting on Monday, Jan. 25th at 6:30 p.m. in the Parlor. This will be a potluck meeting. If you are on Steering Committee or on Church Council you are asked to attend CD None Nov. 1 st 7 th /8 th th /15 th st /22 nd N/A th /29 th None N/A Jesus Country Ministry TO- TAL

4 UNITED METHODIST WOMEN By Linda Jantz Unit Meeting - Wednesday, January 12:00 noon in Fellowship Hall or Parlor Topic: - Health Concerns in Our Community Presenter: Community Health Care Reservations: Please call Pat Burroughs at It is requested that Circles call Pat with their number of reservations by Sunday evening before the Unit meeting so that circles that are serving have a number for which to prepare. Executive Committee: In the conference room at 10:45 Hostess: Executive Committee Friendship: Deborah DVAP: Deborah Diapers: Elizabeth United Methodist Women's Circles Deborah: Tuesday, January St. John's Wesley Room at 7:00 p.m. Hostess: Linda Jantz Dorcas: Tuesday, January St. John's Parlor at 7:00 p.m. Hostess: Clara Haack Elizabeth: Wednesday, January 20th St. John's Parlor at 12:30 p.m. Hostess: Dorothea Buck Joanna: Tuesday, January St. John's Parlor at 7:00 p.m. Hostess: Cherlyn Foster; Co-Hostess: Pat Guzis Martha: Wednesday, January 20th at 1:00 p.m. Northridge Party Room at Ridgecrest Naomi: Wednesday, January 20th at 12:00 noon Hostess: Cindy Carpenter 291 Hillcrest Ave., Bettendorf Thank you to all of you who participated in the Children's Bazaar; the elves (confirmands and others) UMW members and others. We feel it was really a success. The kids had a great time shopping and I feel the adults had just a much fun helping and watching. A special thanks to Ed, Connie and Mel Lower who took pictures all morning. We even made a little money for UMW general budget; but the important thing is that it was a really good outreach to our neighborhood. We had many positive comments. Thanks to everyone again. JAZZ AND JUST DESSERTS February is going to be here before you know it.! That means and Jazz and Just Desserts is right around the corner. Once again the Celebration Band and Ray Wierson will be provide music along with the great desserts we will have. Put the date of Feb. 5th on your calendar. Tickets are still $10 and will be on sale at the Perry Street entrance on 1/24 and 1/31. They will also be avail. in Church Office during the week. Plan to attend you will have a great time! A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR Eternal God, thank you for bringing us once again to the threshold of a new year. Help us dedicate each day of 2010 to following your will for our lives. Guide us, Lord, in all our decisions and actions, day by day and hour by hour. Help us accomplish all that you desire for us to do, until our mission on earth is finished. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

5 PIECES OF GRACE It seems like just the other day that we were anticipating the dreaded Y2K and all that it would bring. Remember power grid failure, computer crashes, transportation disasters and the list goes on and on. Now we are all X years later and most if not all of those fears never materialized. Looking around there seems to be a culture of fear that surrounds and engulfs everyone. People are afraid of losing influence, death, disease, the end of the world and again the list goes on and on. In Matthew 8:26 Jesus says Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? This is a good question to ponder. When we are consumed with a spirit of fear we are paralyzed, and can do nothing. Jesus knew that we should not be in this state. In the four gospels there are over 120 times that Jesus tells us not to fear, yet we continue to worry. I am wanting to just start your thoughts here, the subject is too big to go in depth in this space. But FEAR NOT Max Lucado wrote a book in response to this phenomenon of fear and he titled it Fearless. I will be using some of the ideas from this book, combined with stories from the Bible to develop a sermon series that I will preach at the 8:30 service before Lent and at the other services after Easter. I hope that you will find this series beneficial and enlightening. In conjunction with the series we will also have a Fearless small group on Wednesday nights. Grace and Peace, RON CONFIRMATION CLASS UPDATE by Peggy Sager Confirmands continue to be busy learning about their faith, Christianity and the Methodist church in a variety of ways each week. Additionally, Confirmands have helped throughout the church in a number of ways: children s bazaar, Advent wreath candle lighting, and distribution of nativity pieces. Some will also help usher and light candles at our Christmas Eve services. Cancer Support Group The St. John s cancer support group meets on the third Monday of the Month. This month we will be meeting at 130 in the Wesley room on January 18. If you or any one you know has been touched by cancer, they are invited to this time of sharing and support. We have a short program, a time of sharing and fellowship. We learn of techniques to survive and get through the tough days. Cancer is not something you should tackle alone, come join us. Questions? Call Pastor Ron CELEBRATION SERVICE RELFECTIONS OF 2009 by Carl and Bonnie Boehl, Lay Leaders The end of the year is fast approaching and the Christmas season is here. Last month we celebrated our Thanksgiving meal together and we were busting at the seams! It reminds me of how great our God truly is. We prepared the meal as we usually do and the people kept coming, and coming, and coming... Somehow, we only ended up a little short (which, as you know by now, is my worst fear). God provided for us. How exciting it is to watch the masterpiece God is creating here at St. John's. This past year has been especially meaningful to Carl and I. We have seen the magnitude of His work first-hand. The reality of Christ's existence is perfectly clear. He uses each and every one of us even when we feel we are not worthy. In the book of Romans it talks about how we are all part of the body of Christ. "We belong to each other, and each of us needs the other. God has given each of us the ability to do something well. If God has given you the ability to prophecy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is serving others, you need to serve them well. If your gift is to offer encouragement, then you need to do it. If you have the gift of listening, then listen. If you have the gift of money, you need to share it generously. If you have a gift of showing kindness, you need to do it gladly." As we begin 2010, it is my prayer that we will continue to befriend each other here at St. John's - that we will step "outside the box," out of our comfort zones, and realize its okay to feel a little bit uncomfortable in order to help someone who desperately needs it. I challenge you to stop...and listen...to what God is telling you. When you feel that tug on your heart, take that step. Instead of sitting and wondering, go ahead and reach out to that person - make that phone call. A simple greeting can lead to a conversation that could change your life, and possibly save another. Listen to your heart. Listen to what God is telling you. You will be showered with blessings.

6 ANNOUNCING NEW MEMORIAL PROCESS Effective October 1, 2009 memorials left in memory of loved ones will be directed to the St. John s Foundation for perpetual use. This change will allow memorial money to be placed in the principal investments of the Foundation with the annual interest distributed through the granting cycle. During December, letters were sent to 25 families who had memorial money totaling $11, in the undesignated account. The Steering Committee identified three options for families to designate monies: Option 1 Sanctuary Stained Glass repair; Option 2 St. John s Foundation; and Option 3 Deferred Maintenance. As of Dec. 16th, 5 of 25 response cards have been received designating wishes of the families for memorial funds of loved ones. We hope to have this process completed and memorials transferred to the options chosen by the families by the end of the first quarter of LOST AND FOUND The Church Office has several items that have been found recently in the church building...if you have lost an items at church recently, please stop in and see if we have it! FOOD PANTRY UPDATE by Sharon Imming God has blessed each and everyone of you who contributed to our November Food Pantry/Thanksgiving baskets. We collected a total of 1500 items with 374 of those items going to the Thanksgiving baskets. The total money/gift cards that I am aware of is $ Items given to the Thanksgiving baskets were: 160 cans of vegetables; 54 cans of fruit; 10 cans of sweet potatoes; 30 boxes of stuffing mix; 29 packets of gravy; 22 boxes of macaroni & cheese; 10 cans of cranberry sauce; 5 boxes of powdered milk and 29 boxes of instant potatoes. December totals and the total for 2009 will be reported in the February edition of Tidings. MISSIONS UPDATE by Willie Trusheim Thank You Very Much! Maximized Living, a student club at Palmer College of Chiropractic presented a $6,300 check to the Center to help support operational costs at the Center's food pantry. A great help for the pantry. Tree to Help Others One of the Christmas trees will remain up after the Holidays for your gift of stocking caps, mittens, socks, scarfs for children or adults. The items need to be new. You may find lots of items of all sizes on sale. They will be given to those in need. January Manna for Missions During January, Manna for Missions will be for Human Relations. Human Relations Day strengthens outreach to communities in the United States and Puerto Rico and encourages social justice and work with at-risk you. Volunteers In Mission (VIM) Thank s You! The Mission Committee at St. John's thanks all of you for your generous giving during The support for our VIM mission team, support for our two missionary families, the manna for mission projects, food pantry cash and food, and other project support are dependent on your giving. Thank you so very much. For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant. Martin Luther

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8 St. John s United Methodist Church 109 E. 14th Street Davenport, IA RETURN ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 54 Davenport, IA Monthly Tidings deadline NOON on: JANUARY 18th (covering all February events) your articles to: newsletter@stjohnsumc-dav.com HOSPITALIZED AND RELEAS ED Hospitalized as of December 16, 2009 Genesis East: Phillip Young, Sr. Released: Martha Border, Percy Hier, Genievee Bollman, John Harris, Dorothy Jane Aye, Keith Fulton, Bonnie Boehl, Ann Klopp and Catharine Crist For a complete listing of those in local assisted living center, please contact the church office. An up-to-date Member Care list is available at the Perry Street entrance or by contacting the church office at OUR SYMPATHY To the friends and families of Martha Marty Calvert, James Cale, Shelby Followwill, Vivian Dodge, Margaret Briles, Sharon Briggs, and Norida Mohr who passed away since our last publication. PRAYER CHAIN The Lord is near to those who call upon Him Prayer requests may be called into the Church Office during office hours at After 5 p.m. please contact Jan Becker at