FOR THE JOURNEY. Pastor Hyejung Hwang HOPE United Methodist Church / 2233 Golf Road, Eau Claire, WI / (715)

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1 FOR THE JOURNEY May Vol. 25, No. 5 HOPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2233 Golf Road Eau Claire, Wisconsin / / hopeumcec@yahoo.com Sunday, May 6 th, is Confirmation Sunday. We will be confirming three youth who have been on a journey of learning and serving together during the past months. As our congregation prepares to celebrate this important moment with the confirmands, I think it may be helpful for all of us to remind ourselves about what confirmation is all about. In our United Methodist tradition, when a baby is baptized, parents make the vows of baptism. They profess their own faith in Christ and then promise to raise their child in the church so that the child will one day accept God s grace and choose to lead a Christian life. The congregation also takes a vow that we promise to live out our faith with them in front of this child, that they will learn how much God loves them and see what a life of discipleship looks like. So, as we nurture and teach the children around us, our hope is that they will love Jesus Christ and choose to become his followers. When they are ready to make that choice, they are confirmed as a Christian and as a member of the church. Since that is the time that they are confirming the baptismal vows, we call it Confirmation. It s an important moment. They have arrived at a point in their journey with God and now they are ready to choose for themselves, and they are choosing to follow Christ. It does not mean they arrived an ending point or any accomplishment, but only a step to continue their journey with God. But, it is a big step and huge movement for these young people. So, I hope we all, as a companion, join in the celebration of this moment together because we are all on the journey of faith together. I hope you will be here on Sunday to witness their vows and to renew your own commitment to Christ. I hope you will be praying for our confirmands, Alyssa Hysell, Jackson Curtis, and Julie Marino, as they prepare for Sunday, and welcome them into the church. May we all celebrate together what God has done, and is doing, in the lives of these young people and all of us. Pastor Hyejung Hwang - 1 -

2 PREACHING THE WORD Date Preacher Message May 6 th *Communion Hyejung Hwang Confirmation Sunday Belonging John 15:9-17 May 13th Hyejung Hwang Celebrating ALL Women on Mother s Day Reimagining Motherhood May 20th Hyejung Hwang Pentecost Sunday When the Breath of God Blows Acts 2:1-21 May 27 th Guest Preacher Memorial Sunday - 2 -

3 May 5 th Koinonia Fellowship (hosted by Nancy and Mike Troyan see details below) May 6 th May 13 th May 15 th May 19 th May 27 th June 2 nd Confirmation Sunday (10:30am Service) Mother s Day Koinonia Fellowship (hosted by Jan & Chuck Lorentz see details below) Blood Drive at Hope UMC 12:00pm-6:00pm Koinonia Fellowship (hosted by Sharon & Doug Fortune see details below) One Sunday Service at 9:30am - begins Memorial Day Weekend Eau Claire Express Game Faith Night VOICES OF HOPE MAY SCHEDULE Everyone is invited to join and add their voice. Please sign up and join us in singing! Contact Jan Lorentz (shawtown90@yahoo.com) or Andrea Blaeser (alblaeser@gamil.com) with any questions. Practice Tuesdays at 7:00pm: - May 1st - May 6th - May 15th - May 20th Singing for 10:30am Sunday Worship: You are invited to participate in the Koinonia fellowship meals in May. The first one is a dinner out at a restaurant on Saturday, May 5 hosted by Nancy and Mike Troyan. The restaurant will be decided by the participants. The second one will be a lunch at Altoona Family Restaurant on Tuesday, May 15 at 11:00 a.m. hosted by Jan and Chuck Lorentz. The third one will be dinner at the home of Sharon and Doug Fortune on Saturday, May 19 at 6:00 p.m. To sign up, please contact Sharon Fortune by either leaving a phone message at or ing her at szfortune@yahoo.com

4 Get your gloves ready - we will be scheduling a Spring Clean Up Day at Hope! More details coming soon. EAU CLAIRE EXPRESS GAME Join us for an evening at an Eau Claire Express game at Carson Park on Saturday, June 2nd at 6:30pm. This game is our fourth annual Express Game Night. You will receive grandstand seating, a hotdog, and small beverage for $ Please sign up on the clipboard by Sunday, May 12 th. Contact Nancy Troyan for additional information

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6 WOMEN OF HOPE The Women of Hope typically meet at 9:30am on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 19 th at Randy s Family Restaurant. Please contact Jan Lorentz with any questions. Beginning May 27 th we will have ONE SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP at 9:30am during the Summer Months INTERESTED IN JOINING A CARE TEAM? We are looking for those willing to be part of a care team that will lead and participate in monthly devotions at Heritage Court Memory Care Community. This group will meet every 3rd Thursday at 10:30am, and the first meeting will be held May 17th. If you are interested in this ministry, please contact Pastor Hyejung. Happy Birthday to you, to Jesus be true May God s richest blessing, now rest upon you! Birthday Blessings to all who are celebrating a May Birthday! HOPE FOOD PANTRY Did you know we have a food pantry right here in our church? Our food pantry is located in our kitchen in one of the large shelving units labeled Food Pantry. During the Month of May we will be collecting TOILETRIE ITEMS! (Ex: Bar Soap, Shampoo, etc) Please bring in your donations at anytime. Items can be placed in the baskets located in the area outside the kitchen. Thank you for your contribution to this ministry that our church is able to provide to our neighbors and those in need. Other local food pantries: Immanuel Lutheran Church 3214 Golf Road / Tues, Wed, Thurs please call first Chapel Heights UMC 300 E. Hamilton/ Wednesdays please call first Trinity Lutheran Church 1314 Lexington Blvd / Mon-Thurs 1:30-3:00pm &Tues 5:50-7:00pm - 6 -

7 SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE (Split classes are when confirmation will meet separately) Date Type Topic May 6 th split True Love: Love is Everlasting May 13 th combined Special Holiday: A Mother s Obedience May 20 th combined Special Holiday: A Father s Love Sunday School & youth Programming will resume again in the Fall Have a great Summer! Join us for Middle and High School Fellowship. Friends are always welcome! Wednesday, May 9 th - 6:30pm Setup for Women s Event Saturday, May 12 th (time to be determined) Help with Women s Event - 7 -

8 BIBLE STUDY CORINTHIANS Please join us as we read and discuss God s Word. In March we will begin studying Corinthians. Our study is informal and open to all, no matter where you are in your Faith Journey. Our class will meet in the Library between services from 9:30am 10:15am. If you have any questions or would like more information about the class, feel free to talk to Mark Hysell (hysell.mark@dol.gov) and Mike Clauson (mclauson60@gmail.com). WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY We will meet at 6:30pm on the 4th Monday of each month. Our next meeting date is May 28 th. Please contact Cindy Hanson with any questions In May we will begin a new series titled Loving Justice. The focus of this series is on striving for justice in our everyday lives and in the lives of those around us. Please contact Cindy Hanson with any questions. BIBLE STUDY LIVING THE QUESTIONS 2.0 Join us Sunday mornings between worship services (9:15am-10:15am) in the Ministry Room across from the nursery for an adult study using a video series "Living the Questions 2.0. LtQ2 is a popular video & internet-based small group exploration of progressive Christianity featuring premier religious voices of our day. The 20-minute video segments include conversations with leading voices of faith, digital stories illustrating aspects of an evolving faith, and concrete spiritual practices and disciplines. We will watch the video each week and spend some time together discussing it and sharing our thoughts. No preparation required and feel free to come whenever it works for you - and don't worry if you have to leave early or come late! The group may decide to take up other topics at times and take a break from the video series as we feel we need to. All are welcome!! Please contact Joanne Mellema (mellemjr@uwec.edu)

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10 MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS Scripture Reader 8:15am - Service Scripture Reader 10:30am - Service Children s Moment Ushers 8:15am Service Ushers 10:30am Service May 6th May 13 th May 20 th Joanne Mellema Ruth Nyland Sharon Fortune May 27th 9:30am Service Becky Gochanour Bruce Gardow Mark Hysell Joey Bohl June 3 rd 9:30am Service Cheryl Muller Sharon Fortune Pastor Hyejung Anne Allen Cheryl Muller Rich Swanson Joanne Mellema Ruth & Ray Nyland Dennis & Dorothy Barry Lois Nelson Connie Jacobsen Kay Lee Nancy Troyan Cyndee Kaiser Bob Schwartz Cheryl Muller Greeters Kay Lee Cyndee Kaiser Audio-Visual 10:30am Service Coffee Fellowship Nursery Volunteers (2) Gary Gochanour Christian Educ. (Confirmation) Dan & Judy Shuck John & Merry Weiland Elsie Bartlett Alberto Larabee Alberto Larabee Alberto Larabee No Nursery No Nursery ** for the most updated copy of the Hope Serving Schedules, follow this link: HOPE UMC STAFF Pastor Rev. Hyejung Hwang Office Manager Kristen Kirchman Pianists Andrea Blaeser & Melissa Ruhbusch HOPE UMC OFFICE HOURS TUES, WED, THUR 9:00AM 1:00PM SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE 8:15am Worship Service 9:30am Sunday School & Adult Bible Study 10:30am Worship Service **REMINDER - Starting May 27 th we will have ONE SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE at 9::30am during the Summer months** Visit our church website at Visit and LIKE the Hope UMC Facebook page. (From our website, click the Like Us on Facebook button just above the map showing our location.) FOR THE JOURNEY Newsletter articles and updates should be submitted to the church office by the 20 th of each month. Contributions are welcome