HIGHLANDS CHURCH A United Methodist Congregation

Transcription

1 HIGHLANDS CHURCH A United Methodist Congregation Church highlandschurch@humcbv.com Dr. Bryan Fink, Pastor Volume 21 Issue 5 May, 2018 Highland Flea We need your items! Donate Clean out your closets, attic, garage, etc. and set aside those items you would like to donate to the Flea. We accept pre-owned items: household, linens, decorative items, tools, lawn & garden, furniture and jewelry. General item drop off will be Monday, April 30 th thru Wednesday, May 2nd. If you need assistance with furniture and large items, contact Pat Lehman to arrange pick-up. NO books or magazines, electronics or clothing. Your help is also needed into provide a good selection of baked goods for the Bakery. Vendors If you would like to rent an outside space contact Barb Zillmann to make your reservation. Fees are $10 for 3 parking spaces, $15 for 5 parking spaces. Highland Flea Saturday, May 5 8:00 am to 12:00 noon There will be lots of very interesting items for sale! Be sure to drop by and make your selections. There will be a Coffee Shoppe where you can purchase cinnamon rolls, cookies and coffee to enjoy while at the Flea. In addition, there will be a Bakery where shoppers can take home a variety of baked goods. This is UMW s biggest fundraiser of the year to provide support for local women s and children s charities. It takes many volunteers to make this event successful. In return for your help with unpacking, pricing, displaying of goods (and so much more) you may do early shopping on Friday afternoon. The Library will be having its ANNUAL BOOK SALE at the Highlands Flea on May 5 th. If you have books that you have read and no longer want to keep, we would appreciate your donating them to the Library to sell at the Flea. The Library does not receive any funding from the Church operating budget. Our book sales are the only way we raise money to operate the church Library. Please NO magazines or Reader s Digest Condensed Books. You may leave your donations in the Donations bin in the first Library room. Thanks for helping us and we look forward to seeing you at the Highlands Flea where you will be able to shop for new and different books to read at very reasonable prices. OUR MISSION: The Mission of Highlands Church is to make Disciples of Jesus Christ.

2 PAGE 2 FROM THE HEART OF THE PASTOR: I can t believe I ve been the pastor of Highlands Church for 6 years. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement would be aghast. Mr. Wesley was adamant that his Circuit Riders be appointed to a circuit for no more than 3-6 months at a time. He believed a congregation would get tired of hearing from the same preacher after that. Changes in pastoral leadership present challenges for the congregation and the pastor and family. Whether the transition for Highlands Church is positive or negative is not a matter of chance nor does it rest with those outside the congregation or in circumstances beyond the churches control. It s a matter of choice and rests with the body of Christ Highlands Church. Someone once said that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond. How can the people of Highlands Church make the most of this pastoral transition? Keep praying for the Rev. Robert Cloninger and his family. In doing so, try to imagine what they must be thinking and feeling as they say good-bye to friends in one location and move into a new setting where the average age of the church is more than double their age. Secondly, pray for misguided expectations that could be placed upon the new pastor. A colleague of mine once told his congregation, Begin praying now that God would protect us from thoughts of what I would like the new pastor to be like. Third, be intentional in welcoming him to the area. Imagine the impact if he received a welcome card, text, Face Book post or from every member of the congregation saying, Welcome! I and the growth group I belong to have been praying for you and your family. And while you re at it consider sticking a gift card to a local restaurant or Walmart for incidentals. I know that Highlands Church may not have the able bodies needed to unload a moving truck, but maybe a few groups could all pitch in together and hire 3-4 movers through U-Haul to unload the truck. I m sure there are other things you can do that will set the foundation for a great ministry together as well. I have been praying for Robert and his family. I have also been praying for you and the rest of the church. On another note, May is going to be an unusual month for me. Between the time allotted to me for vacation and my continuing education to Israel, I will only be in the office May 5-9 and And just a heads up. We will have an infant baptism on Pentecost Sunday, May 20. Pastor Bryan Fink Fellowship Fun Food Farewell Bring your lawn chairs and join us on June 10th at 12:00pm for an old fashioned church picnic. There will be a picnic lunch consisting of hotdogs, chips, salad, dessert, and drinks. Sign-up sheets will be available on the information table starting May 5th to June 3rd. This will be a time for the church to gather for fellowship and a farewell to Bryan and Luckie. At Bella Vista Community Church Guest Speakers: Mayor Peter Christie NICA Coach Ben Rowell Community Project Clean up trails near BVCC trailhead RSVP required: bvcc.net OR 479/ Suggested donation $5.00 at the door.

3 PAGE 3 THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE By Michael Callahan In today s contentious environment we are often confronted with the challenge of who, or what, is the most powerful force in the contest. But let me turn our attention to the eternal answer to that eternal question. The greatest force in our universe is LOVE. And the reality of that omnipotence is solidified in the Word of God when in 1 John 4:8 our omnipotent God is identified as God is Love! And the all-powerful God kind of love is described completely and in detail in 1 Cor. 13. This is often referred to as The Love Chapter. After writing extensively about the use of spiritual gifts in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul introduces this chapter on love by saying earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way, thereby placing God s spiritual gift of love as the preeminent expression of His divine spiritual nature. And God has given every believer this precious, never can be defeated, treasure to be used everyday of our life, in every circumstance or situation! Christ proved the reality of the omnipotence of God (Love) when on the cross He said Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit, then died, went to hell, and was raised from the dead by God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you, the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also quicken (make alive) your mortal body! (Rom 8:11) We just got through celebrating the singular event that transformed humanity: the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Like Paul in 1 Cor. 15:19 said, If Jesus is not alive we are to be most pitied. But I would add, since we know Jesus Christ is alive those who deny His resurrection are to be most pitied, and thus prayed for. I think we Christians need to realize the omnipotence that resides within our heart of believing, and let that never defeated power of God have preeminence in our heart, mind, and direct our every action. We are Christians, and the most powerful witness that Jesus is alive is our personal, complete, and total reliance on the Holy Love Spirit of God in every dealing and relational encounter. When Jesus said You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself and on this rest all the law and the prophets (Matt 22:37-40), perhaps He was admonishing us that whatever is done in word or deed, if it is not done in love, will not be acknowledged by Our Savior, or have the omnipotence of His Holy Spirit. As Christians we need to realize the eternal truth to which Christ s resurrection testifies, and implement into our daily life that truth and reality that the Holy Love Spirit of God has never and will never fail, because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Highlands Care Group Co-Coordinators This is what the Care Groups are doing at Highlands Church! If you are not part of one, give us a call, we will make it happen for you. This is what we did this past month: Care Group Hagaman, Donna/Dave Newman, Deb/Mel Snyder Grilk, Gloria & Ernest Pinkerton, Lori & Gary Stone, Lynn & Doug Edwards, Marilou & John Foster, Sandra & Jerry Pehosh, Joan & Mike Henkel, Katy & Bud Maginness, Chris & Mike Lasher, Julie & Ted O Neil/Marshall Balzer, Alice & Lee Sheldon/Howe, Julie Williams/Hudec March Activities Party at Highlands Rehab Monte Ne Chicken St Bernard s Fish Fry Lakepoint Sunday Brunch Bella Vista Museum & DQ Arvest Ball Park-Naturals SERVING US IN MAY Saturday Host & Hostesses 5-Ted & Julie Lasher 12-Mark & Ruth Richardson 19-Ernest & Gloria Grilk 26-Trevor & Jan Taylor Liturgists: 6-Darleen Olson 13-Joyce Sheldon 20-tbd 27-tbd CPR/AED: 6-Angie Hansen 13-Mel Snyder 20-Sue LaHood 27-Linda Virgili On Call for Security: Bud Henkel Head Usher: Lowell Davis Trustee for the Month: Bud Henkel

4 PAGE 4 Connect: connect with God and the body of Christ through weekly corporate worship. Saturdays Celebrations Worship at 5:30 p.m. Sundays Traditional Worship at 9:30 a.m. Sundays Contemporary Worship at 11:00 a.m. CENTERED IN PRAYER: a movement Michael Callahan Centered in Prayer is about hearing the voice of God and then obeying His voice. It is a spiritual movement directed and controlled by God the Holy Spirit. The following is this month s selection from the devotional A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants. I am a creature of a day, passing through as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God: just hovering over the great gulf, til a few moments hence, I am no more to be seen: I drop into an unchangeable eternity. I want to know one thing the way to heaven: how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end He came from heaven. He has written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri (a man of one book). by John Wesley (Note: John Wesley read extensively and on a vast range of subjects, having more than 1000 titles in his personal library. When he said homo unius libri he was declaring the Bible as his preeminent book by which all other books should be judged, and the sole identifier of his faith and practice.) Holy Bible Book Divine Holy Bible book divine, Precious treasure thou art mine Mine to tell whence I came, Mine to teach me which I am. Mine to comfort in distress, Suffering in this wilderness. Mine to show by living faith, Man can triumph over death. Hymn by John Burton and William B. Bradbury UMW MEETING MONDAY, May 14 at 9:30 am Change of date to Second Tuesday TUESDAY, May 8 Coffee at 7:45 am Breakfast at 8:00 am Speaker: Gravette School Superintendent and information on upcoming Bella Vista Board of Directors Election. Grace Notes Summer Choir Approaching Last year Highlands Church tried something new. We had a Summer choir at the Traditional Service. Oh my goodness! Heaven forbid! The sky is falling! What will we do? Seriously, the Summer Choir was a great success and, as far as I know, most everyone loved it. We had one rehearsal per month on a Wednesday night and sang for all the worship services during the summer. At the worship service, the choir sang the Offertory Anthem and then went into the congregation for the rest of the service. Everyone wore street clothes and didn t have to get overheated with choir robes. The best part was that several people sang with our Chancel Choir who otherwise couldn t make that commitment to sing all year for one reason or another. We are going to do that again this year. Everyone is invited to sing with the Summer Choir, including the youth! If you, or possibly a visiting relative or friend, would like to join us on any Sunday morning during June, July or August, just be in the choir room at 9:00 am. to rehearse the anthem and then join the congregation after the Doxology. The music will be familiar to most and easy to learn with minimal rehearsal time. You ll also have a great view from up front. Come see why the choir smiles all the time! See you in church! John Matthews, Traditional Worship Leader

5 PAGE 5 Grow: growing in one s love and knowledge of God and others through weekly growth groups. THE ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL (You are invited to any or all Sundays.) 8:15 am For information about this study group, please call Donna VanderSchaaf at 479/ :30 am For information about this study group, please call Gary Marshall at 479/ The Wesley Resource Center for Spiritual Growth the book racks in the Gathering Area are a part of the spiritual growth resources located in the Luke Room in the Activity Center. Please take time to browse. May 20 is Student/Grad Sunday. We will be honoring our Graduates in the Traditional and Contemporary Services. There will be a reception with cake and punch right after the Contemporary Service on that Sunday. We will be honoring Chris Childress, Daniel Huntsman and Isabella Dell. Please let John Moore know if we have missed anyone or contact him for more information at Children s Ministry Join us in learning about Jesus and His love! Would you like to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Ask about serving in the nursery or helping children s church for one service a month. It s fun, rewarding, and joyful! Contact Julie Chernota 479/ or jdchernota@gmail.com Moore s Musings (Rev. John Mark Moore is Coordinator for Contemporary Worship and Student Ministries) Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. -Thomas Aquinas True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His Promises. -Francis Chan When we come to God in faith, we come to him in hope! When we hope in God, we know that our efforts are not meaningless. In fact, 1 Peter 1:3 says: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What an incredible journey of faith this has been thus far at Highlands! I am really enjoying serving you and working with Pastor Bryan Fink! God has renewed my faith, and is growing me in faith as I lead in worship and with your students. I am thankful for what God is doing, and what he is going to continue to do in these vital ministries! As I reflect on Contemporary Worship and on our Student ministries I would like to share with you that God is building our faith, and in fact we are growing in many different ways. In our student ministry times on Sunday nights at 5:00 we are building faith over fear. We are learning about what faith is, and how we can apply it to our daily lives, and we are doing some crazy, messy games too! It is such a pleasure to take up the mantle of faith from Luckie and continue what she has been doing with our precious students. She has really done a great deal of faith building! I am also really excited to be working with our Contemporary service and see the band come together in such an incredible way. Kris really did a great job laying a strong foundation! I am so pleased with our growth in grace, and continue to be amazed at what we are accomplishing together as a band! We ve been singing and playing Newsboys songs for gosh sake!! Wow! As we continue the next few months through transitions of pastors and staff leaving and new coming, let us keep our hopes up! Let us hope for new spiritual experiences! Let us hope for new faith! New Vision! New opportunities to share our faith! New times of growth in our ministries. And let us hold to our faith, and be open to where God will lead our faith in the months ahead! Remember, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and it is the evidence of things not seen oh..and like the people of old we will be commended for our faithfulness! (See Hebrews 11) Stay strong in your faith, and keep hoping, there s nothing to fear about that! Be faithful in small things, because it is in them that your strength lies-mother Teresa Faithfully Yours, John Mark

6 PAGE 6 Go: serving the Church, our community and our world while sharing Jesus. Compassionate Disciples Ministry. Our mission is to reach out to those in our church family experiencing spiritual, emotional or physical needs. We accomplish this by providing support to families of those that are hospitalized and those individuals who have been on the prayer chain. Also to those who no longer are able to attend church services. We bring a Church presence to people who are in need of some tender loving care. We send loving, encouraging cards to those who are suffering as we find out about their circumstances. Compassionate Disciples began about five years ago as a two person team to assist Michael Callahan. We have been blessed to have grown in number. This helps us cover needed hospital visits. We are a caring group of individuals who are truly interested in the well being of others. We stress communication and education of our team members. We would love to add more to our ministry if anyone desires to join us. For more information, contact Jane Rowland. jrowland643@cox.net BLOOD DRIVE ASSISTANCE NEEDED We need a HUMC contact person to exchange information with the Community Blood Drive office. Very little time involved five times a year. We then need a person to distribute PR material in the local community. Contact Bob Marsh 479/ for more information or to volunteer. ANNUAL SPRING CLEAN UP SATURDAY, MAY 19 Lunch provided FREE. THE ANNUAL SPRING CLEANING OF OUR CHURCH WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, MAY 19, FROM 9 AM TO NOON. All church members and their friends are invited to help. We need inside and outside workers. Inside workers should bring hand vacuums, cleaning rags, window cleaning equipment and dust rags. Outside workers should bring rakes, pruning equipment, and blowers. A sign-up sheet will be on the Gathering Area information counter. Thank you for your help to keep our church neat and clean. Dave Hagaman, Chair, Trustees New Pastor The Staff/Parish Relations Committee is pleased to announce the new pastor for Highlands Church, effective July 1, Reverend Robert Blackwell Cloninger, II, is currently the senior pastor at Marion United Methodist Church in Marion, Arkansas. Reverend Cloninger and his wife, Betsy, have two children. Daughter, Caroline Elizabeth is 2 years old and son, Robert Blackwell, III is twelve weeks old. Reverend Cloninger is 34-years-old. He received a B.A. in History from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and a Master s of Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Ok. Please feel free to reach out to Reverend Cloninger at r.b.cloningerii@gmail.com, to welcome him and family to Highlands Church and Bella Vista.

7 1-Tuesday 10:00 am Flea Item Drop off 2-Wednesday 7:30 am Flex N Stretch 9:30 am PEO-DH 10:00 am Flea Item Drop off 2:00 pm Fellowship Committee 3-Thursday-National Day of Prayer 6:00 pm Contemporary Reh. 4-Friday 2:00 pm Compassionate Disciples 5-Saturday 8:00 am Highland Flea 5:30 pm Celebrations Worship 6-Sunday 8:15 am Adult Sunday School 9:30 am Traditional Worship 9:30 am Children s Sunday School 9:30 am Adult Sunday School 11:00 am Contemporary Worship 11:00 am Children s Sunday School 5:00 pm Student Ministry 5:00 pm Growth Group-Schisler 7:00 pm AA Meeting 7-Monday 12:00 pm One Table Cards 1:00 pm Mahjongg/FUSS 5:00 pm Men s Emmaus 8-Tuesday 7:45 am HUMMERS Meeting 9-Wednesday 7:30 am Flex N Stretch 1:00 pm Staff Meeting 10-Thursday 9:00 am Kitchen Cleanup 2:00 pm Trustees Meeting 6;00 pm Contemporary Reh. May Friday 9:30 am Samba 12-Saturday 5:30 pm Celebrations Worship 13-Sunday 8:15 am Adult Sunday School 9:30 am Traditional Worship 9:30 am Children s Sunday School 9:30 am Adult Sunday School 11:00 am Contemporary Worship 11:00 am Children s Sunday School 5:00 pm Student Ministry 5:00 pm Growth Group-Schisler 7:00 pm AA Meeting 14-Monday 9:30 am UMW Meeting 12:00 pm One Table Cards 1:00 pm Mahjongg/FUSS 3:00 pm women s Emmaus 5:00 pm Men s Emmaus 15-Tuesday 6:00 pm Admin Council 16-Wednesday 17-Thursday 2:00 pm Library Meeting 4:00 pm Care Group Leaders 6:00 pm Contemporary Reh. 18-Friday 9:30 am Samba 19-Saturday 9:00 am Spring Cleanup 5:30 pm Celebrations Worship 20-Sunday Honoring Graduates 8:15 am Adult Sunday School 9:30 am Traditional Worship 9:30 am Children s Sunday School 9:30 am Adult Sunday School 11:00 am Contemporary Worship 11:00 am Children s Sunday School 5:00 pm Student Ministry 5:00 pm Growth Group-Schisler 7:00 pm AA Meeting 21-Monday 9:30 am UMW Board Meeting 1:00 pm Mahjongg/FUSS 4:00 pm Election Setup 5:00 pm Men s Emmaus PAGE 7 22-Tuesday 7:00 am Election 23-Wednesday 10:00 am Hummers Blood Drive 1:00 pm Staff Meeting 1:00 pm Stitchers 24-Thursday 9:00 am Kitchen Cleanup 6:00 pm Contemporary Reh. 25-Friday 9:30 am Samba 26-Saturday 1:00 pm Scrapbooking 5:30 pm Saturday Celebration 27-Sunday 8:15 am Adult Sunday School 9:30 am Traditional Worship 9:30 am Children s Sunday School 9:30 am Adult Sunday School 11:00 am Contemporary Worship 11:00 am Children s Sunday School 5:00 pm Student Ministry 7:00 pm AA Meeting 28-Monday-CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED 9:30 am UMW Book Club 12:00 pm One Table Cards 1:00 pm Mahjongg-FUSS 3:00 pm Women s Emmaus 5:00 pm Men s Emmaus 29-Tuesday 30-Wednesday 31-Thursday 6:00 pm Contemporary Reh.

8 PAGE 8 Finance News We have completed the first quarter of 2018 at Highlands Church, meeting monthly obligations including our tithe payments to the Arkansas Conference. We concluded $5,791 in deficit for the quarter. Although we are doing slightly better than last year at this time, the Finance Team wishes to remind you to be current with your giving so we can stay up-to-date. We appreciate the willingness of our members to pledge support of the church and to be faithful to God with our giving. OUR HIGHLANDS FAMILY The U of A Wesley College Ministry is hosting A Charity Golf Tournament Monday, May 14 Paradise Valley Golf Course, Fayetteville Register at uawesley.com/golf Or call 479/ Cost is $75 per player. How would you like to enjoy a homemade dessert, made especially for you, every month for a whole year? The UMW are sponsoring a special fundraiser and Sunday, May 13th between 10:30 and 11:00 AM is your LAST CHANCE to make your monetary donations for a chance at this SWEET DEAL - Dessert Every Month for a Year!! This month we begin with a Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake. In June, Layered Carrot Cake w/cream Cheese & White Chocolate Frosting, and so it goes on through April next year! Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20! All proceeds support women's and children's ministries. WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS: Robert and Suzanne Evans moved to Bella Vista in 2016 from Batesville, AR, where Robert worked for the AR Dept of Human Services as County Administrator and Suzanne worked as Office Manager of the U of A Soil Test Lab. They are active volunteers and have one child. Prayer Chain if you know of someone in need of prayer, call the church office Member Care if you know of a member who is ill or hospitalized, notify the Church Office H a group of women who enjoy golf for FUN, FELLOWSHIP And FRIENDSHIP For more information contact Susan Brumbaugh, brumbaugh.susan1@gmail.com or at CHURCH STAFF Dr. Bryan Fink, Senior Pastor Michael Callahan, Pastor of Adult Discipleship John Matthews, Traditional Worship Leader & Chancel Choir Dir. Pam Meyer, Celebrations Worship Leader & Accompanist Jeannine Wagar, Organist John Mark Moore, Contemporary Worship Leader Joyce Sheldon, Handbell Choir Director John Mark Moore, Student Ministry Coordinator Julie Chernota, Children s Ministries Coordinator Lori Heald, Office Administrator Amey Burkett, Administrative Assistant Dru Matthews, Bookkeeper Judy Payne, Custodian Deadline for the June 2018 Newsletter is May 21 at 12 noon. Send items to Dru Matthews at dru@humcbv.com or place in the newsletter mailbox in the hallway next to the church office.