SWARTHMORE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 129 Park Avenue, Swarthmore, PA

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1 SWARTHMORE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 129 Park Avenue, Swarthmore, PA April 2017 From the Pastor: In all four gospels, Mary Magdalene appears as the first witness of the resurrection of the Lord. She was among the women who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. Magdalene was present at his crucifixion and burial. Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, she went to the tomb to give Jesus a decent burial ceremony. She was worried about the stone at the entrance of the tomb. But you know that familiar story. The stone was already removed. When she saw the empty tomb, she ran to the disciples and announced the risen Christ. They did not believe her until they saw Jesus with their eyes. I thought about why the risen Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first not to the other disciples. It may have been because he knew that she was the one who had experienced a resurrection in her own life. Remember? Jesus cast out seven demons from her. We don t know what they were for the Bible doesn t tell us. Perhaps she possessed an evil spirit, or sinned, or suffered from mental illness. All we know from the gospel is that after she was cured she became his faithful disciple. In early Christian writings, she was called an apostle to apostle. From her background, we can tell that her life was like a tomb. Jesus rolled away the stone of despair from her tomb. He rolled away the stone of uncertainty, the stone of fear from the tomb of his disciples. We have heard the Easter story over and over, but the question is, Do we experience the risen Jesus in our daily lives? Do we have stones that keep Jesus from resurrecting in our hearts? If so, what are they? Perhaps it can be the stone of sin, the stone of arrogance, the stone of an unforgiving spirit, the stone of unbelief, and the stone of bigotry. You name it. It is easy for our lives to be sealed off with our own stones from the evidence of resurrection and new life. It is easy to let a stone settle with a thud, keeping us from enjoying the visible evidence of God s presence in our lives. Our risen Christ invites us to roll them away, live a new life, and shout from the top of your lungs, He is alive! Christ is indeed risen! Hallelujah! What s Inside Pastor s Message Trustees News 2 Education Notes 2 Events & Groups 3 Worship Notes 3 Serving Schedule 4 Outreach Notes 5 Book Club 5 Calendar (Insert) Love & Peace, Sukja

2 TRUSTEES NEWS Save the Date! Saturday April 8th from 9:00am - 1:00pm It's time for Spring Cleaning! Take a good look around our church, inside and outside. Do you see something that needs cleaning, a small repair or clutter removed? A favorite project or area? Bring your supplies - we can use your help! Please join the Trustees for our all church clean-up day on Saturday, April 8th from 9:00am - 1:00pm. Coffee and breakfast treats will be provided. EDUCATION COMMITTEE NOTES Faith and Life Class Schedule April 2: April 9: April 16: April 23: April 30: Rabbi Louis Kaplan traditional Passover Seder Class will not meet (meeting with Hal Taussig) Class will not meet (Easter) Video: An Act of Love part one Video: An Act of Love part two 2

3 All the World s a Stage Theater Groups at SUMC MARPLE-NEWTOWN PLAYERS SPOTLIGHT THEATER Performances at Swarthmore UMC UPCOMING EVENTS AT SUMC Please join us for the following events: April 3: SPRC Committee, 7:00 pm April 3: Outreach Committee meeting, home of Ciampa Family, 7:30 pm April 8: All Church Clean up day, 9:00 am April 9: Palm Sunday Service (Meeting with Hal Taussig, 11:15 am) April 10: Board of Trustees meeting, 7:30 pm April 11: Ralph Ciampa, meeting in the parlor April 11: Finance Committee meeting, 7:30 pm April 13: Maundy Thursday Communion Service, Centennial Room, 7:00 pm (with dinner) April 16: Easter Sunday service April 17: Administrative Council meeting, 7:30 pm April 26: PBJ Night, 7:45pm April 28: Spotlight Theatre performance April 29: Spotlight Theatre performance ======================================= Deadline for the April Caller is April 25th Be sure and let the Church office know about any events you would like published April 2: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 130 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 WORSHIP NOTES April 9: Psalm 118:1-2, Matthew 21:1-11 April 16: Acts 30:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-18 April 23: Acts 2:14a, Psalm 16 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 April 30: Acts 2:14a, Psalm 116:1-4, Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:

4 Thank You for Your Service! Readers: April 2: Judy Luzak April 9: Sheila Bell April 16: Penni Flick April 23: Bev Stewart April 30: Kelly Figura Children s Message: April 9: Pastor Sukja Bang April 16: Janice Ciampa April 23: Nanette Tobin April 30: Richard Cresson Ushers: April 2: David Page and Joy Charlton April 9: David Page and Joy Charlton April 16: Linton Stables and Greg Brown April 23: Bev Stewart and Bill Murphy April 30: Stewart Family Fellowship: April 2: Nanette Tobin April 9: Bell / Lee April 16: Ciampa family April 23: Marion Purdy April 30: TBD Counters: First Sunday: Second Sunday: Third Sunday: Fourth Sunday: Fifty Sunday: Andy Lewis and Marion Purdy Rick Sultzer and Hogie Hansen Bill Flick and Harriet Hudgins Barb Weir and Tom Morton Bill Flick and Harriet Hudgins Please let Peggy Mattox (church office) know if you cannot serve on the date for which you signed up so that a substitute may be arranged. You can reach her at ( ). 4

5 He has showed you, o Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Just this: To do Justice; To love Kindness; and to walk, humbly, with your God. OUTREACH Touching Lives for Christ For as much as you have done unto these, you have done unto me. Our last Grace Café hosting of this season is happening Sunday, April 2 at Arch Street United Methodist Church. Most of the preparations have already been made, but there would still be opportunity if you would like to serve dinner that evening. We will plan to gather at SUMC at 4:15 p.m. to carpool into Center City, Philadelphia, serve dinner at 6:00 p.m. and be back in Swarthmore by 8:00 p.m. We have been serving around 200 individuals at each Grace Café hosting and they are always appreciative of our service. Please let Janice Ciampa know if you would like to be part of this. Our Lenten focus has been raising money for UMCOR Sunday, aka One Great Hour of Sharing, and collecting donations to make school kits for UMCOR. The estimated cost of a school kit is $11. School kits are sent to children in need around the world. UMCOR sent school kits to Syrian refugee children last fall and will be able to do so again with our help. You can designate your donation for either UMCOR Sunday or school kits or both. We are maintaining an ongoing collection of food and toiletries for City Team. Items may be dropped off on the collection table in the narthex. Thank you for your generous donations to the grieving families whom we try to support with murder-site witnesses through the Chester/Delco Heeding God s Call. With the warmer weather, the local chapter is resuming installations of the tee shirt Memorial to the Lost. You will see it this month at St. John Chrysostom Church in Wallingford. PBJ Night will take place on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 7:45 p.m. Please bring two loaves of sliced bread and we will provide the peanut butter and jelly. The sandwiches go to the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County where they routinely serve meals to 200 disadvantaged folks daily. If you have not yet tried your hand at this, please come by and check it out. Save the books save the date. We will be collecting children s books for the Reach Out and Read program at St. Christopher s Hospital for Children s out-patient clinic during the month of May. Collection bins will be appearing in the Centennial room after Easter. SUMC Book Club Date Please note that meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm On April 12th the Book Club will meet at the home of Anne Hansen, 535 Gradyville Road, V203, Newtown Square, PA Topic of discussion is Joshua Hammer s book, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu. 5

6 2017 Tools for Ministry Date: Saturday, April 29, 2017 Location: West Grove UMC 300 North Guernsey Road West Grove, PA Registration on line: $10 Standard Registration - March 16-April 14 $13 Late Registration - After April 14 Registration is Online - please use a debit or credit card. Schedule: 8:30 Registration & Breakfast Gathering Music 9:00 Bishop Johnson Welcome/Opening Devotion 9:15 Keynote Address 9:45 Session I for all participants on Engaging Racial Dialogue 11:00 Break 11:15-12:30 Session II - Workshops 6

7 Easter Joy Jesus came to earth, To show us how to live, How to put others first, How to love and how to give. Then He set about His work, That God sent Him to do; He took our punishment on Himself; He made us clean and new. He could have saved Himself, Calling angels from above, But He chose to pay our price for sin; He paid it out of love. Our Lord died on Good Friday, But the cross did not destroy His resurrection on Easter morn That fills our hearts with joy. Now we know our earthly death, Like His, is just a rest. We'll be forever with Him In heaven, where life is best. So we live our lives for Jesus, Think of Him in all we do. Thank you Savior; Thank you Lord. Help us love like you! By Joanna Fuchs 7

8 Swarthmore United Methodist Church 129 Park Avenue Swarthmore PA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 8