Feb Pastor s Postings

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1 St. Andrews Parish United Methodist Church The Reverend Brad Gray, Pastor 3225 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC standumc@gmail.com God Gathers Us + To Worship Together + To Care for One Another + To Become God's Love for the World + Feb Pastor s Postings... 1 Ray s Reflections... 2 Announcements... 3 Birthdays/Anniversaries... 4 Calendar... 5 SUNDAY SERVICEs: 8:45 am Worship Service 10:00 am Sunday School 11:15 am Worship Service OFFICE HOURS: Monday 8:oo am - 5:00pm, Tuesday - Friday 8:00am to 2:00pm Please give address updates to the church office. If you would like your address removed from the mailing list, please let us know by phone, , or return mail. Thank you. Pastor s Postings For the last eight months I have been working on the design team for the South Carolina United Methodist Youth Basketball Tournament. I know, you did not know we had a tournament. It began nearly 40 years ago and is played each year in a different part of the state. I participated as a youth for six straight years. It was one of the things that shaped me as I grew in faith. The idea that my faith could be something that was practiced and lived out even on a basketball court allowed me to see the sacred and holy in everyday life. During my time in Columbia, I was so fortunate to get to participate in the tournament again, this time as I coached the Epworth Children's Home high school and middle school basketball teams. We were never very good, but did we ever have fun. I would like to think that we had a positive impact on those boys' lives as well. This year's tournament was held Friday, January 22nd through Sunday, January 24th. The snow in the upstate took us to the brink of actually cancelling the tournament. Since we had put in so much time and energy to make it happen, we decided to go forward with it and invited the participating church's to use caution if they chose to come. We only had one church opt out. Some of the stuff I saw during the weekend really gave me hope for our young people and for the future of our church and our state. I saw churches, who were in competition with each other, come together arm and arm in prayer. I saw teams who were -1 - being beaten really bad on the court continue to live out their faith in a very joy -filled and gracious sort of way. One team in particular was a sight to behold. The coach approached me before one of their games to explain that they had a 'special needs' young man (his words, not mine). He was hoping that before the game began we could arrange to have both teams line up so the young man could take a couple of free throws. Both teams agreed. Even the referees played along. The crowd was even engaged and watched on. As his first shot rimmed out, the whole placed sighed. As the second one went through the hoop, the whole gymnasium erupted in cheers. It was easily one of the loudest celebrations the whole weekend. Even the opposing teams went up to celebrate with him. That was one of a couple of ways in which I saw the love of Christ shine through during the weekend. The next day, the boy's mother stopped a few of us to thank us for making her son feel a part of all that went on. She said, "It's almost like he's a celebrity here and he loves it." I realized through the tournament and from several other things that have occurred recently in the life of our congregation and in my personal life, when it comes to faith, simple may in fact be better. When it comes to how we do church and faith, and maybe even religion in general, we tend to complicate it with rules, do's and don'ts, wants and desires. Maybe the secret to it

2 all is simply to love the people in front of you. I know that is what the people at the basketball tournament attempted to do. They were given a chance to play a game of basketball and they loved doing it. They loved competing and playing, but even more they loved the other participates. I cannot imagine what a difference we could make as disciples of Christ if we tried to simply love the people who are in front of us. Think about it. If God is love, like we are told, and the clearest representation of God in the world is Jesus, what could be more Christ-like than to love who we can when we can, no more and no less. It may mean we have to give up some stuff, like our own self-preservation and our own agenda, but in the long run, the love will always return to us in some capacity. That's what love does. So during February, a month in which we have a day to celebrate love, let us attempt to love the people in front of us and see where that may take us. God is moving among us, I hope you can feel it. I look forward to all the opportunities that we will experience together to share that love. I hope to see you soon. Blessings and Peace, Pastor Brad <>< St. Andrews Parish collects soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The money raised from collecting these tabs helps families who need a place to stay while their family members are in the hospital. Please save your tabs and bring them to the church. There is a collection bucket in the food pantry. Thank you to those who have already been giving. We were able to turn in a large pile of tabs recently. Please continue to give. Andy Cox, Director of Development for The Oaks, will be speaking at a combined UMM/ UMW meeting on February 11, at 7pm. ALL are welcome to attend. This is a Methodist Retirement Community featuring space ranging from independent living to a nursing care facility. The Oaks is located in Orangeburg. Please plan to attend and learn about all the available opportunities when you may need them. Ray s reflections In loving memory of Ray LeTellier Sunday, January 31st will be a combined worship service at 10am. From February 2014: God will put you at the right place at the right time. He can use your kind words to help someone get back up on their feet again. - Joel Osteen This was reaffirmed to me on my recent trip to Costa Rica at Christmas. He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing

3 UMM Annual Dinner The Annual United Methodist Men s Dinner was held on January 14th at Gilligan s West Ashley. Charles Leeper recognized Ronnie Leppert for his dedication and service to the Lord and to St. Andrews Parish. Meetings every 10:30am UMM meets every 2nd Thursday of every month at 7pm with a meal at 6:30pm. Every man in the church is a Methodist Men s member and is invited to participate in all meetings and functions. THUMBS It s Round Up Time! UP EXERCISE Saturday, Feb. 7pm GROUP Meeting every Thursday at 1:30pm in the sanctuary. All are Cost $12.50/each or $25 per couple Prime rib dinner with all the trimmings! February 10th Drive Thru Ashes 7am-9am Evening Service 7pm Sing Along Schedule Wear your best Western duds! Feb. 2nd Palmetto Assisted Living Feb. 16th Ashley Park Feb. 23rd National Healthcare We will be collecting for the annual Souper Bowl of Caring on Feb. 7th during communion. Soup pots will be available for your donations. All funds collected will go to the Backpack Buddy Program. Joy Circle Feb. 10am Genesis Circle Feb. 7pm (combined meeting with UMM) For more information contact Miriam Hunter or Cindy Walden

4 Focus on Youth Cindy Curtis Grace and Gratitude The title of this article sums up what working with Youth personifies. The month of January, we have been focusing on being thankful for the support of our church, learning about the grace of God, and the importance of developing an intentional prayer life. The youth and their families donated to the Back Pack Buddy program this month and took down and put away the larger Christmas decorations as a part of their mission focus to serve others. To enhance our prayer focus, Pastor Brad led us on an interactive Prayer Walk down the path towards Bees Ferry Road. We heard scripture, prayed for our schools, those who have passed on, confessed our sins, and prayed for the people in cars passing by as we walked back to the church with glow sticks to remind us to be a light to others. By the time you read this, twenty youth and six adults will have attended Revolution, the statewide youth Spiritual Retreat in Columbia. Look for a youth written/illustrated article next month on Revolution The parents of the Youth were invited to a Coffee and Conversation workshop just for them to offer support and a network of resources to assist them in parenting Youth. We will be reading a book together, Love Does by Bob Goff and participating in an online book talk. Guest experts will be at youth meetings periodically to speak to parents. The SAP Youth are thriving, learning and growing in their faith! Another Successful Soup Sale! The UMW prepared and sold soup in January with sales occurring on the 10 th, 17 th, 24 th, and soup being delivered on the 31 th. Orders were taken before and after both services. Announcements for the ongoing sales were made in all services. We are grateful for Missy Wilson who created an advertising poster and posted our information on the screen in the sanctuary, in the weekly bulletin, and in the Parish Post. Thirteen ladies and two men volunteered to make soup with a new soup, Curried Lentil, being offered for the first time. Of course, the ever popular soups such as Vegetable Beef, Loaded Baked Potato, and Italian Wedding soup were available, for a total of eleven varieties. Thank you to all who helped make or sell soup, and a special thank you to Jamie Johnson and Charles Leeper! Quart containers of soup were sold at $9.00 per quart. The UMW expenses were minimal because of the generous donations of those who made soup. We are grateful for all who purchased soup, or who made donations, to enable our sale to be so successful. One-half of all proceeds will go to build the SAPUMW s Scholarship Fund for Anyone interested in applying for a scholarship should contact Gladys Bledsoe for further information. Congratulations on a job well done! Letha S. Henry, UMW president The 2016 Altar Flower Calendar is available on the door of room A-1. Don t forget to stop by and sign up! BIRTHDAYS: Sophia Broomall 2/1 Robin Steinberger 2/1 Phyllis Fullmer 2/2 Jeremiah Treadway 2/2 Cooper LeTellier 2/3 Gary Cook 2/4 Emily Sisson 2/4 Kirstin Sutton 2/6 Charlotte Murray 2/12 Alaina Broomall 2/13 Bob Waller 2/22 Kirk Hendricks 2/23 Linda Jordan 2/23 John Sweeten 2/26 Erin Lawson 2/28 Maggie Rotta 2/29 ANNIVERSARIES: 9 Fran & Claire Wright 9 Al & Christine Freeman 11 David & Deborah Lawson 17 Tom & Joan Gallagher 24 Philip & Ashley DeAntonio 27 Donald & Denni Grunstra - 4 -

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6 Lenten Services will be held each Wednesday from February 17 - March 23 at John Wesley UMC. Lunch will be provided at 12pm and 1pm. The service will begin at 12:30pm SAPUMC will provide lunch at the March 9th service and Pastor Brad will be preaching. Please see the bulletin board outside the church office for sign ups, service opportunities, and Bible studies. NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID CHARLESTON, SC 294 PERMIT NO 416 St. Andrews Parish United Methodist Church 3225 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC standumc@gmail.com The Parish Post