St. Andrew s United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 St. Andrew s United Methodist Church 1004 Rock Road, De Soto, MO Phone: (636) secretary@standrewsumcdesoto.org Morning Worship, Sunday: 10:30 AM Children s Church, Sunday 10:30 AM Adult Bible Study, Tuesday 1:30 PM Website: K. Darlene Payne, Pastor Melissa McAlpine, Ministry Assistant Vol. 30, No. 5 May 2017 Recognition of Graduates We will honor our graduates on Sunday, May 21 st during worship. We will then visit over lunch during fellowship dinner immediately following the service. The following is a list of graduates: Jillian N. Bryant Morgan Samantha Fauth Karleigh Marion Faust Lauren June Grace Nuckols Danielle Wintermute Dylan Wintermute A Change in Leadership Deuteronomy 34:1-9 As uncomfortable as change may be, it s a fact of life. To live is to change. Change is inevitable in all living systems. People and organizations which refuse to change and adjust to a rapidly changing world soon become extinct. Now I not suggesting that all change is good. Some change can be debilitating and even destructive. But change isn t necessarily a bad thing. This is particularly true when it comes to a change of leadership. In our scripture reading, the Israelites were experiencing a profound change of leadership. Moses had been their leader for forty years plus. And now just as the Israelites were preparing to enter the land that God promised them, The change for the Israelites couldn t have been more dramatic. It was a change from Moses to Joshua. That must have been quite a transition for the Israelites to make. But it was probably no more traumatic than the transition many churches have to make after a long pastorate. I m sure there were Israelites who thought they were doomed because they no longer had Moses to lead them. But God cannot and will not be limited to using one person. If you don t think so, read the book of Joshua. In some ways, Joshua was an even greater leader than Moses, because he led the Israelites into many victorious battles when they were hopelessly (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) outnumbered. The scriptures clearly and consistently teach that God can use anyone to accomplish God s purposes. They simply have to be open and willing to be used by God. The same can be said about any change of leadership, including a change of pastors. I want to share with you three practices that will help smooth the transition between pastors and allow your new pastor, David Duncan to be a strong and effective leader here. Let s begin with the first practice. First, let the pastor be the pastor. Notice that in verse 9 we read, So the Israelites listened to [Joshua] and did what the LORD had commanded Moses. The Israelites didn t demand that Joshua be exactly like Moses. Joshua had a different leadership style than Moses but God was able to work just as effectively through Joshua despite the differences. I m often amused at how congregations expect a new pastor to function exactly like the old pastor. How many of you remember the story of David and Goliath? When David first approached Saul and told him that he was going to fight Goliath in combat, Saul urged young David to put on his armor. He even dressed David up in a coat of armor with a bronze helmet. But David found the armor wouldn t fit. David told Saul, I can t go in these, because I m not used to them. (I Sam. 17:39b) So David took off the armor and picked out five smooth stones from a stream and brought his sling. And the rest as they say is history. The point is, David had to fight Goliath his own way. He couldn t do it Saul s way. The same is true for your new pastor, David. You need to let the pastor be the pastor. Don t expect him to be me or to be something he s not. He s got to fight the spiritual battles his way, with his own unique skills and talents. Don t force him to be something he s not. Joshua couldn t be Moses. David couldn t be Saul. And Elisha couldn t be Elijah. God uses each of us in unique ways because our skills are unique. We re not all the same. Each of us has unique strengths. Celebrate David s skills and allow him to use them for the glory of Christ and Christ will use him powerfully and you ll share an effective ministry together. And that brings us to the second practice. Second, assist your pastor in ministry. While David does possess unique skills for ministry, don t expect him to do everything. He s only human and he s going to need your help. He can t do it alone. You may recall the time Moses father-in-law, Jethro, once gave him a timely piece of advice. Jethro had noticed that Moses was acting as judge for all the Israelites that came to him with disputes. Jethro told Moses, What you re doing isn t good. You re going to wear yourself and the people out. The work s too heavy for you; you can t handle it alone. (Ex. 18:17-18) Jethro told Moses to find God fearing leaders who were capable and honest and to have them judge the minor disputes. Then he told Moses to hear only the most difficult cases. That will make your load lighter, because they ll share it with you...[and] you ll be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied. (Ex. 18:22-23). In the same way, David can t carry out the ministries of this church alone. He s going to need your help. If you make suggestions for his ministry, be prepared to help him carry them out. To do otherwise, will be setting him up for failure. Remember the pastor s like the coach of a team. No team in their right mind expects their coach to get out on the court and play. David can train and equip you but you have to get out on the court. You re the players. You live in the real world. And it s you who have to get out on the court and play. No team or church can be successful if it rejects the leadership and directions of its leader. Which brings us to the last practice. Last, but by no means least, pray for your pastor. David s going to need all the prayers he can get. I know. I ve been there. Being a pastor is no easy task. No one can pastor a church in their own strength. If they try they re doomed to fail. Only the strength of Christ can empower and enable the pastor to face whatever challenges may come his way. Paul knew this and that s why he once wrote to the Thessalonian Christians, Brothers, pray for us. (1. Thess. 5:25) Pray each day for David that God will strengthen him for the challenges here and that Christ will grant him the spiritual wisdom to provide the leadership that NMC needs. If you want to see a smooth change of leadership, let your pastor be the pastor, help him in his ministry and pray for him constantly. 2

3 2017 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete: Karleigh Faust To the entire St. Andrew s congregation: Your kindness really made a difference. Your thoughtfulness really touched my heart. The gratitude I feel really can t be put into words. It is so hard to express my gratitude and thankfulness for the food, the prayers, and the cards. Rich loved you all and was still looking forward to coming back to church. He said his brother-in-law could lift him and bring him! Again, thank you all! Love, Ann Congratulations Congratulations to Karleigh for being named a 2017 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete! She s graduating third in her class and has received the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence, Jefferson County Activities Association Athletic- Academic Award, and high honor roll. She plans on attending Missouri S&T in the fall. Morgan Fauth graduated magna cum laude! She earned her undergraduate degree (B.S. in Psychology) from Truman State University. She will soon be applying for medical school. Christian Sympathy Extended...to the family of Dennis Greenlee who passed April 21, Dennis was a brother of Ray Greenlee....to the family of Shawn Snider who passed away May 12, Shawn was the uncle of Devin Wymore. Thank You Food Pantry Per Mildred Sloan, the food pantry could use canned vegetables, but NOT corn or green beans! She suggested carrots, peas, mixed vegetables, etc. Prayer Needs Bob Alexander, Miloud Atchi, Tisa Ayers, Charlene Barr, Lorraine Bay, Richard Bell, Elmo and Ann Blum, Elaine Bone, Nick Borusiewich, Don Bourbon, Sue Bowman, Scott Boyer, Becky Bradford, Joe Brock, Glen Brod, Bill Brooking, Joe Bryant, Peggy Calhoon, Paul Case, Beverly Clark, Dave Cohen, the Crow family, Ashley Daegling, Larry Deaton, Wanda Dillingham, Patty Donnell, Ralph Doyen, Barbara Duncan, Deanna Dunnegan, Karol Dunnegan, Mike Farris, Brian Fauth, Carol Fauth, Darla Finch, Bobby Fisher, Rebecca Fisher, Karen Ford, John French, Lori Gardner, Robin Gray, the Dennis Greenlee family, Ray & Betty Greenlee, Mary Greenstreet, Priya Grover, Hunter Guertzgen, April Hale, Kimberly Hall, Barbara Hanna, Rich Hessler, Barbara Hibbert, Mary Jinkerson, Bob Johnson, Geraldine Johnson, Linda Keeley, Austin Kingsland, Aleashia Kite, Mike Klaus, Dixie Klein, Valerie Konert, Cindy Korkhamer, Beth Land, Claudia Lawrenz, Bob LaRouche, Jackie Lewis, Earl Lintner, Milton Loessberg, Catherine Loucks, David Loucks, Macunhe UMC and Pastor Raquel Joao Alar, Danny Mahn, Irmalee Mahn, Gene Martin, Regina Martin, Ruth Martin, Sarah Martin, Joan Mason, Keith Mason, Norma McCally, Tiny Medcalf, Patty Melton, Bob Miller, Chris Miller, Margaret Morgan, Diane Naujokaitis, Thomas Estus Nicholas, Dorothy Noack, Matt Owens, Dick & Dorothy Parish, Angie Peters, Dan Poggemoeller, Joyce Pope, Connie Pouliezos, Amy Pressey, Cole Propst, the Wayne and Judy Propst family, Tom Pruitte, Billy Pullen, the Becky Queen family, Zach Rasse, Betty Ray, Stewart Reed, Grant Resler, Marie Rhodes, Beth Mahn Ross, Savannah Santonge, Pam Skaggs, Tommy Scharfenberger, Michelle Schott, Matthew Scott, Blanco Seibels, Jim Smith, Karen Smith, Lawrence Smith, Lucas Smith, the Shawn Snider family, Joe Soetebier, Ronald Speidel, Ashley Stellhorn, Felipe Suazo, Dennis Sullivan, Martin Thomas, Eric Thuer, Maureen Touchstone, Butch Turek, Linda Twomey, Joann Underwood, Donna Walker, Margie Walker, Carol Walters, Ron Walters, Jim Watson, Natalie Weiss, Barbara Weston, Megan Wheeler, John White, Mary Lou Whittemore, Addie Wiggins, Marian Willis, Joe Wilson, Zach Wilson, June Wilson, Chuck (Continued on page 4) 3

4 (Continued from page 3) Wintermute, Marie Witzke, Mary Zimmermann, unspoken requests. Our service personnel: Paul Case, Caleb Huskey, Kelsey Kingsland, Nick Mahn, JP Parkin & family, Clark Robinson, Ryan St. John, Sharon Snow, Bill Tucker, Keith Wakeland, Chris Weaton, Stokely Wischmeier. Welcoming the New Pastor A card or letter can be sent to the new pastor to welcome him to De Soto. Contact information is: David and Barbara Duncan 209 Cedar St. Perryville, MO dbduncan1980@gmail.com Cell: As a congregation, we can help David get off to a strong start by helping him acclimate and making him feel truly welcome. Here are some starters: Begin praying daily for the Duncan family, even as you continue to pray for the Payne family. Say goodbye to Pastor Darlene in a healthy way; we have an opportunity to show love, thanks, regard, and grief on Sunday, June 4th. Help work on the improvements to the parsonage prior to the Duncan s arrival. Ask a trustee how you can help. Help clean the pastor s office at church. Stock the parsonage pantry and fridge in late June. You can talk to Lee Mahn if you d like to coordinate the effort to do this. Introduce yourself to the new pastor...repeatedly. You have to learn one name. He has to learn many names. You can even wear a nametag if you d like. Invite the Duncan family to attend community events and meetings with you and your family. Other Church News Have you let Dawna Watkins know that you ll be attending the Payne s 50th Wedding Anniversary Party? In an effort to NOT run out of food, please contact her if you plan to attend. The party will be Saturday, May 27 th from 1-5 PM. You can contact Dawna by , phone, or mail. Dawna.watkins@icloud.com Easy Street De Soto, MO If you provided a meal for the Costello s, Payne s, or another family during recent illnesses, chances are that the container used to transport your scrumptious food has been returned to the church. Containers can be picked up in the kitchen, on the counter near the stove. They ll be lovingly donated to the church at the end of May. The monthly church newsletter is now provided in a new way! We have been mailing and ing them for quite some time. However, we are no longer sending the newsletter as an attachment. This is good news if you have slow internet and abhor waiting for the attachment to download. The electronic version of the newsletter can be accessed on the website. This means the that you receive about the newsletter simply contains a link that will take you to the church website where the newsletter is stored. This should be a better option for those with slow internet, allows you to get the newsletter faster than the mailing, and saves the church on postage! Check it out. 4

5 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Burt & Melissa McAlpine (a) 2 David & Jackie Brown (a) Celebration of Pastor s Retirement! Admin Council Mtg. 6:30 PM Bonnie Graves Bible Study 1:30 PM Isaiah Haynes Leslie Reed Stan & Jan Fauth (a) Paxton Wright Clark Robinson Edgar & Karen Huffman (a) Missouri Annual Conference JUNE William & Lou Watson (a) Bible Study 1:30 PM Austin Kingsland Tom & Ashley Stichling (a) Angela Keys Wanda Dillingham Barry & Mary Margaret Rogers (a) Stan Fauth Kay Scauzzo Alice Adams Sharron Moore Jerry Greenstreet Jeremy Parkins Bailyn Schellert Kate & Chuck Bigelow (a) Harold Schackelford Marcia Dunnegan Kay Lamken Elizabeth Owens Larry Bay Chancel Choir 7 PM Joe & Kelley Vollmer (a) Amy Smith Harold & Nancy Shackleford (a) Devin & Tiffany Wymore (a) 5

6 St. Andrew s United Methodist Church 1004 Rock Road De Soto, Missouri DeSoto Farmer s Market News Military Appreciation May 20 th Church Breakfast & Clean-Up May 20, :30-10:30 AM Open Saturdays 8-noon 6