Memorial United Methodist Church 1100 West C Street Kannapolis, NC

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1 July August 2013 I found an old book this week... one given to me by a good friend. I have not seen this little book in years! It made me stop and reflect on what was going on in my life when I first read it. At the time, I was comfortable and reasonably successful in my business career. But something was stirring within me. I remember wondering what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life. At the time, God had begun to open doors for me... mostly doors of passion and curiosity within my own soul about the nature of God and about my own personal faith. I didn't see myself in a crisis, but do recall the need to find a deeper sense of meaning in my life. I wanted to make a difference, not just for my family or my employer, but for my God. This book, The High Calling of Our Daily Work, is a collection of short stories, each intended to help the reader discover how his or her daily work can become more meaningful to God. It opens with a story called The Stonemasons, and it goes like this: Three stonemasons were building a cathedral when a stranger wandered by. The first stonemason was toting rocks to a pile near a wall. "What are you doing?" asked the stranger. "Can't you see I am carrying rocks?" The stranger asked the second laborer, "What are you doing?" "I'm building a wall," he replied. A few steps away, the stranger came upon the third mason. "What are you doing?" he asked. The worker smiled. "I'm building a cathedral to the glory of God!" Same jobs... three different missions. Which mason are you? This story serves to remind us that everything we do can serve a higher calling of God. Don't ever make the mistake of believing that the tasks within your daily routine do not matter. Whether you are a student, a business person, a homemaker, or a retiree, it is important to remember the high calling of your daily work. May God bless you in your steps, and may everything you do be done for His glory! Pastor Jim Memorial United Methodist Church 1100 West C Street Kannapolis, NC jbbrookshire@yahoo.com

2 COMMUNITY FUN DAY/VBS. You ll find pictures from this great day interspersed throughout this newsletter. The P athreat g e 2 of rain was a hindrance for some, but we had a great M e time, m o rand i a l most M of e sthe s attendees n g e r were new to us. THANK YOU for your support and prayers. For more pictures, go to Nifty Over Fifty Here we go again! Our July meeting featured Pam Outen, Extension Agent for Cabarrus County, as our speaker. 31 persons attended and Gary s BBQ provided our lunch. Mrs. Outen encouraged us to use 1/2 of our plate size for fruits and vegetables and choose to prepare foods with less salt or sodium. She called our attention to reading labels to help us make better food choices. I will be taking birthday cakes to Midway UMC, for use by Opportunity House, on a regular basis. Bring your cakes and put them in the freezers in the Fellowship Hall. Susie Johnson US & THEM? Edward R. Murrow: What is the worst word in the English Language? Carl Sandburg: Exclusive! 1954 Interview To exclude others is to disassociate, to reject, to marginalize. We exclude by ignoring and labeling. Exclusive is the kissing cousin of hostility and violence. Carl Sandburg Today, as I get back in the Ruminations and Reflections swing of things, I simply invite you to ruminate a bit on the kinds of behaviors that we might unknowingly engage in that are inhospitable and unwelcoming, the kinds of attitudes we may have cultivated over time toward those who are different from us, the ways we have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves, the times we have failed to see the face of Jesus in the face of the other. Come to think of it - I don t think Jesus would have cared much for the word, exclusive "either. Pastor Randy Lucas from Ruminations & Reflections Please be in thoughtful prayer for: the Disciple classes; that those who are called to attend will listen and that those who are leading will step out of the way to allow Him to the teaching. for Dawn Grant and LeeAnn Barnette as they prepare to go on THE WALK TO EMMAUS September

3 M e m o r i a l M e s s e n g e r August 4 UMM 7 am Sept 1 UMM 7 am August 6 August 11 August 12 August 13 August 14 Alma Price Circle N.O.W. Committee 6:00 Back Pack Give-away Disciple I Orientation Hefner-Neese Circle Adams Sherril Circle Sept 3 Sept 10 Sept 11 Sept 17 Sept 18 Alma Price Circle N.O.W. Committee 6:00 Hefner-Neese Circle Adams Sherril Circle Nifty Over Fifty Administrative Council August 17 UMW Annual Meeting August 20 Nifty Over Fifty August 21 Administrative Council August 26 week Disciple I first class Through DISCIPLE, persons are strengthened in their faith and guided into service and ministry. Strong, biblically nourished leadership will help our church grow in vitality and Christian discipleship. Disciple III will be offered this fall. If you ve taken Disciple I, you can then take II, III, or IV. Beth Harrison is taking the lead for DIII. An orientation meeting will be held on August 12th at 6:00. This meeting is more for those who have decided to take the class. At this meeting you will receive your workbooks and decide on scheduling. The first meeting will be the week of August 26th. Is this your year? There is a sign-up sheet in the Fellowship hall, or contact Linda Peterson to begin your journey in Disciple I, Becoming Disciples Through Bible Studies. You have NOTHING to lose, and EVERYTHING to gain. Please do not park in / block the drive-through at the Fellowship Hall. Sort of cancels out the idea of handicapped accessibility! THX! Congratulations to Belinda Childers at the birth of her new cousin: Braelyn Blackwelder.

4 P a g e 4 M e m o r i a l M e s s e n g e r Attendance & Offerings 6/2 6/9 6/16 6/23 6/30 7/7 7/14 7/21 7/28 Worship Attendance Sunday School Attendance Offering Memorials 75 Building Fund We Care Youth 5 Boy Scouts 80 Current Needs: Breakfast Items such as cereal, grits and oatmeal Canned Fruit Tuna Canned Pasta with Meat Vienna Sausage Assorted Canned Vegetables Current Needs: Food Pantry Cereal Soup Canned Fruit Canned Vegetables Canned Meat Rice Beans Clothing Men s seasonal clothing Soup Kitchen Individual packets of mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, salt & pepper Institutional size cans of vegetables or large bags of frozen vegetables Shelter Washcloths Towels Flip flops (shower shoes) July/Aug 2013

5 P a g e 5 M e m o r i a l M e s s e n g e r AUGUST BIRTHDAYS Leeann Cyphers 1 George Milstead 3 John Russell 8 Josue Cervantes 8 Robbie Measmer 8 Dillon Bentley 11 Carrie Hayes 13 Tanya Carter 14 Ed Aldridge 14 Jaxon Coody 14 Danny Garrett 14 Janet Boggs 15 Alice Poston 16 Jeff McCombs 16 Cat Cannon 26 Darlene Measmer 31 AUGUST WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Ed & Doris Aldridge 16 SEPTEMBER WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Steve & Peggy Lambert 11 Bob & Dolores Daniels 16 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS Susie Johnson 1 Ava Coody 1 Gloria Garrett 5 Helen Poston 11 Valerie Lloyd 12 Doug Donaldson 13 Ruth Ballard 16 Michael Atwell 16 Linda Peterson 17 Shirley Phillips 18 Trish Foster 19 Judy Brown 20 Edward Brown 23 Doris Aldridge 27 Memory of Max Christy: Suzanne Irvin, Melanie Overcash, Larry & Mary Bentley, Margaret Adams & Linda Barringer, Albert & Dorothy Weast, and Memorial UMC Honor of Jim Brookshire: Dolores & Bob Daniels

6 P a g e 6 By now most everyone is aware our 2001 Cargo trailer was taken from our church property and not returned. It is believed the trailer went missing sometime around May The appropriate police reports were made, and after a waiting period required by insurance companies, and since the police authorities have not recovered this property, our insurance carrier has determined this as a total loss. I have filed an insurance claim and our carrier will cover our loss less deprecation. Your trustees have voted to replace this trailer but as of this date we re not sure if a replacement will be a new or used trailer. Since we want get a 100% replacement value we will consider a used trailer. We will let you know our decision as this progresses. Trustees Your trustees have voted to fill in the boiler room pit area and brick up the opening on the outside. This is a cosmetic repair but is believed that it may help with some of the water problems that have flooded the Upper-Room Sunday school classroom. Other repairs to our facility are likely to correct all the water problems in this area. The deck at our parsonage will soon get a facelift. We promised our renter that when we had funds available from the rent of our parsonage we would refurbish the deck to make it safe. I have given the contractor the ok to proceed with this work. Early in this lawn mowing season our caretaker for this service had to call it quits due to equipment failure. We had to act quickly and contact several lawn care companies for quotes. Our budget for this upkeep was already set and none of the four companies we contacted gave us a quote to fit our set budget; however, I do have an agreement with the Beaver Boys Lawn Care to keep up our grounds throughout this mowing season and not exceed our set budget. They are doing a great job at maintaining our lawn needs. The trustees will revisit this need again in the next mowing season. Steve Lambert

7 WOW! 85 backpacks collected! What a wonderful example of the generosity of MUMC when there is someone in need. BACK PACK GIVE- AWAY Saturday, August 11th 11:30. Come and be blessed! The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40. Wow!! United Methodist Women are busy, busy now. We could use your help by attending meetings and donating to our projects. Remember a lady can be an active UMW member just by keeping her mission pledge current. We are #1 in giving status in the nation in 2012 for the 12th consecutive year in the following categories: Special Mission Recognition Gift to Mission Gift in Memory World Thank Offering Total Undesignated Giving (5 channels) For the first time we also led the nation in Pledge to Mission. If you wish to honor someone (who has everything) consider the gift to mission in honor or in memory. This can be done with as little as a $5.00 donation. Just give Denise Reid your money and a name. You may send your own card to the person if you choose. Also remember we have items to sell : Happy Home Flavoring, Rada stainless knives, Danny Duzits. August 17 Annual meeting Metro District Mineral Springs NC. cost $7.50 per person for the breakfast meal. Reservations must be made before August 5. Please give me your name and money soon. We will leave at 7:00 on that Saturday morning. General Meeting date to be announced later (after checking school schedules). Fund Raiser--Lunch after church on Sunday, August 11---Baked potato and salad, dessert and drink. The cost is $5.00 adults and $2.50 children. Please come and support our mission projects. Doris Aldridge July/August 2013

8 Staff-Parish-Relations-Committee (SPRC) Dawn Grant has accepted the position of Coordinator of Youth and Children's Ministry. We are so excited for Dawn and our MUMC kids. Please continue to keep our youth and children's ministry in your prayers as Dawn transitions into this new role. If you have any questions or concerns regarding Youth/Children at MUMC or would like to help support this ministry, please contact Dawn directly. After many years of service to our church, Doug Johnson will be stepping down from the custodial position. We greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication he has shown through the years. "Thank You" Doug!! LeeAnn Barnette, Chair SOMEBODY oughta.somebody should..somebody needs to.. WHO is this SOMEBODY? It s YOU and ME and HER and HIM. It s all of us. Recently, the Administrative Council fixed lunch for the congregation wearing this t-shirt. We had a great lunch and fellowship, but SOMEBODY should have.. WANTED! BIBLE STUDY LEADERS Experience: NONE. God does not call the equipped He equips the called. Time: God will give you the time. Subject: Plenty to choose from. What excites you?talk to Linda Peterson if you're interested. REWARD: Priceless

9 MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1100 WEST C STREET KANNAPOLIS, NC 28081