THE WINDOW Claremont United Methodist Church February 6, 2019

Transcription

1 THE WINDOW Claremont United Methodist Church February 6, 2019 CUMC S Reconciling Committee invites ALL! View the movie, BELIEVER: On a Journey to Reconciling Pride and Faith Panel Discussion and Brunch! ($10 suggested donation for the brunch, which will be a catered breakfast by Classy Café.) Sunday, February 24 11:00 a.m. Round Building Douglas Lusk, panelist Rev. Mark Wiley, panelist Dean McVay, moderator RSVP with Dean McVay at deanmcvay@hotmail.com or by February 15. Turn to page 8 to learn more about the panelists and the movie, Believer.

2 As members and friends of Claremont UMC, we support the church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. Our Prayers... Please Remember: To publish someone on the public prayer list, she/he needs to give consent to be published. Remember to keep the church office updated on your loved ones on the prayer list, (909) or Thank you. Unwillingly Absent We list all temporarily or permanently homebound persons and their caregivers who are a part of Claremont United Methodist Church. This reminds us that they are a part of this church, and would be here if they could. Dixie Allen, Myrtle Atkins; Jeanne Avera; Merrell Baker; Jean Bogus; Jay Carlisle; Sue Carlisle; Savannah Chalifoux; Elizabeth Clarke; Betty Cramer; Lila Haage; Dave Harshman; Dorothy Hartzler; Orion Morrison; Pat Pruden; John Regan; Ruby Richardson. CUMC Members New to the Prayer List Bill Brown (Mili Dawai s friend) Stella Lenzen (Pete Serrano s sister) Rev. Martha Morales Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Germany, Monaco (World Council of Churches Countries of the Week through February 23) Friends and Family of CUMC Members Alannah (Savannah Chalifoux s daughter) Beth Ellen (Savannah Chalifoux s friend) Jane (Debbie Schultz s aunt) Joy & Family (Lottie Lilley-Coles daughter) Mike (Andy & Candy Hubbard s son) Sanja (Lottie Lilley-Coles friend) Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2 Abraham Alobaidi & Family Myrtle Atkins Vivien & Dick Bruner Bob Davis Eleanor Dornon Insar Gohar (studies) The Haage Family Andy Hubbard Laura & Lottie Lilley-Coles The Mohl Family Debbie Schultz (surgery recovery) Anna, Natasha Scott, & Family Maralyn Tipping

3 Sophia Carrena (request from the Campo-Poe Family) Cecily Chaney (Pam Williamson s friend) Donnie & Georgie Childers (Laura & Lottie Lilley-Coles roommate and his mom) Dios es Amor (CUMC s sister church in Tijuana) Families Torn Apart at the Border Steve & Korie Gagnon (Linda & Steve Kronseder s son & daughter-in-law) Gloria Gastelum (Sharon Estrada s sister-in-law) Government Workers without Pay Alexander Harris (Sharyn Landers friend) Health, Well-Being, Peace, Love, Joy, & Hope for All Improved Relations between Races Leaders of All Nations (cease from violence & hate) Love in the World Loved Ones of Frank Lambert Loved Ones of Bob Stillwell Gregory McArthur & Family (Pearl Viggers nephew) Military Members Peace: in the hearts of our leaders, among all peoples Peacekeepers in Israel & Palestine The People of Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Sierra Leone & Liberia The Singleton Family (friends of Christine and Ethan Rincon) Tijuana Churches in Ministry with Migrant Caravan Victims of Hate Crimes and Violence Christine Weber (Nancy Goodman s friend) Joan & Irwin Weiss (Laura Lilley-Coles mom & stepdad) Susan Wickam (Bette Corner s friend) All Facing Deportation The Homeless & Hungry Those Struggling with Addiction, with Finances, with Mental Health Our Presence 1/27/19: 216 2/3/19: 210 3

4 Our Gifts, Service, Witness Adult Ministries Corner Reading the Bible Together, a weekly Bible study led by the Rev. Mark Wiley and Rev. Martha Morales, meets Wednesdays, from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in Room 2. All are welcome, whether a beginner with the Bible or a seasoned veteran! Speak to Rev. Martha or Pastor Mark if you have any questions. Life Goes On : meets Sunday, February 10 (the second Sunday of each month) at 11:00 a.m. in the Round Building. This month the group meets to talk about Tears of Grief and Remembrance: What Are the Triggers? Part of the human experience of living and being in relationships is facing death, dealing with loss, and working our way through grief that can, at times, threaten to overwhelm us. We realized that there is a great need for people to talk, to share, to work through their feelings of loss and grief or feelings of being overwhelmed with caring for a loved one who is ill or approaching the end of their life on this earth. If you would like to be part of Life Goes On or if you d like more information, please contact Rev. Martha Morales: marthacumc@gmail.com or (909) Men s Enrichment Group gathers on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. of each month for food, fellowship, individual sharing, and faith forming study. Upcoming meetings are February 13, 27. Would you like more information? Get an invitation card from Abraham Alobaidi, Bill Beck, Carl Williams, Dale Smith, Dave Harshman, Dick Tipping, Ed Huff, Ed Kania, Frank Cookingham, Harold Unland, Insar Gohar, John Regan, John Tate, Ron Harrington, and Thom Armstrong we're happy to share. Book Group: meets the fourth Monday of February, on the 25th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Narthex. The book for February is Rise of the Robot: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford. Martha Bellinger will lead discussion. All are welcome! Contacts: Peggy Williams & Wilma McLeod February is African-American History Month The Library of Congress, National Archives, and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. To learn more about this important month of remembrance, visit or You go to school, you study about the Germans and the French, but not about your own race. I hope the time will come when you study Black History, too. ~ Booker T. Washington 4

5 Celebrating Women in Mission and Ministry Sunday, March 17 You are invited to an All-church brunch directly after worship Sunday March 17 will be UMW (United Methodist Women) Sunday, and we will celebrate women from Claremont UMC who have been involved in mission and ministry. UMW will lead us in worship, and the Rev. Jan Wiley will preach. After worship, in lieu of adult Sunday school, everyone is invited to the Round Building. Women who have served in mission and ministry will be special guests, and we will enjoy a potluck brunch together. UMW will provide the main dish, and you are invited to bring fruit, muffins, etc. to go with the meal. UMW has been gathering biographies and pictures of all women who have been connected with Claremont UMC who have been in the mission field or ordained as ministers. A slide presentation will be given as part of the program after brunch, celebrating all women and their ministry. Please mark your calendar and plan on staying after church March 17 to be part of this special celebration! This celebration also marks the 150th anniversary of United Methodist Women and its predecessor organizations. Goodbye, Farewell, So Long Planning Workbook It s a new year, so what better time to take care of the personal and financial matters you ve been intending to address for a long time? Here s a good way to begin! Goodbye, Farewell, So Long.... is a 30-page work book where you can list information you d like your family to have at the time of your death or serious illness. There is place to chronicle your personal history, describe your wishes regarding end of life medical care, burial and memorial service, and list personal and financial information your close family members would need to have. Many of you received a hard copy of this work book last spring during CUMC s series on Death, Grief and Loss in the 21st Century, when we were reminded of the need to consider these matters. We ve just updated Goodbye, Farewell, So Long... to include more detail about memorial services. And we re offering it in three formats: hard copy (available in the church office); online at in Word so you can fill in the blanks online and save on your own computer; and online in PDF format so you can print out copies to fill in yourself or share with friends and family members. Don t wait to pick up or download your copy. Leaving a Legacy Leaving a Legacy through Claremont UMC can touch the lives of many and create a memorial. If you are considering such a legacy, contact Endowment Committee Chair, Alex Morales at

6 CUMC s Church Council Motion for the Journey to Dismantle Racism: We, the members and friends of Claremont United Methodist Church, embrace the statement from the Ebony Bishops in the United Methodist Church to the Council of Bishops on the Resurgence of Racism in the United States. We affirm its subsequent adoption on November 6, 2018, by the full Council of Bishops. We accept its invitation and call to dismantle racism. With intentionality, we will continue and invite others on a journey to educate ourselves, reflect, pray, and act around white supremacy, white privilege, and internalized racism. We support the statements recognition that until Anglo brothers and sisters are free of their racism, and acknowledge their White privilege, none of us will be free. In conclusion, as the community of Ebony Bishops have stated, we also reaffirm our commitment to our baptismal covenant to renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. We accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. The CUMC Church Council adopted the Council of Bishops Statement on December 18, CUMC s Growing Christians class has felt called to support our congregation on this journey. It has established a Dismantling Racism Committee (currently composed of Ardys Hunter, Lois McAfee, Henry Jefferson, Frank Cookingham, and Alex Morales) and perhaps some of you will feel called to join this committee s work to guide our learning journey Lay Servant Ministry Event in Los Angeles: Called to Teach February 23 from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wilshire United Methodist Church, 711 S. Plymouth Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Cost: $35 if you register by February 15 ($40 for late registration); includes lunch Visit to register online. At Called to Teach 2019, Lay Servants and any leader in any local United Methodist Church can learn about how to teach church classes from the Lay Servant Ministries (LSM) perspective. Led by Melody Ashley of Downey UMC (the West District Co-Director of LSM), this all-day event will provide teaching on topics that include: How people learn Learning Hooks Basic Classroom dynamics Analyzing teaching activities to understand how and why they work Developing skills and having practice in leading a course It will surely be a great time for all who attend! Brochures are available on the welcome table by the front door in the Narthex. If you don t wish to register online, you may pick up a brochure from the Narthex and send it with your payment to: Cal-Pac Annual Conference Attention: Registrar 2019 Lay Servant Ministries Event P.O. Box 6006 Pasadena, CA

7 Immigration Information Clinic #17 Saturday, February 23 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Round Building On February 23rd, CUMC will host its seventeenth Immigration Information Clinic. What a difficult time it is for those in the immigrant community; so much anxiety and so many unknowns. Anything we can do to help alleviate some fear means a lot. The stories of those who come to our clinics are poignant, the need is great, and it is such a privilege to be able to offer this service to people who don t know where else to turn. We rely heavily on volunteers. Some volunteers offer hospitality and welcome, others who are Spanish speaking serve as interpreters, others provide refreshments, and still others help with child care. If you are interested in volunteering please contact me at rpbunce@verizon.net. If you can t offer your time, perhaps you d like to support the program with a financial contribution. Checks can be made payable to CUMC. In the memo section, specify, Immigration Clinic. With deep thanks, Pam Bunce, Chair Creative Peacemaking Committee Common Good Film Festival celebrating the wisdom of Alfred North Whitehead February Mudd Theater, Claremont School of Theology The 2019 Common Good International Film Festival, a program of The Center for Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology is one month away. The full schedule of feature films and short films has been announced. You are invited to be a part of this festival of ten films. The films deal with a wide range of issues and events related to the Common Good, including human rights, family relations, refugees, love, creativity, mental illness, and our relation to the earth. Tickets and Passes: Film passes, banquet opening night tickets, and registration for the class, Film & the Common Good, are all available online at where you will also find the full list of films. You can also call the Center for Process Studies at Sign Up for Altar Flowers (or Plants)! We are always looking for volunteers to help provide some flowers or a plant for Sunday morning worship services. You can bring flowers from your garden, order a bouquet or arrangement from a florist, (or pick something up at a market), or bring a plant. You can then take your flowers or plant home when worship is over. This is a thoughtful way to honor the memory of a loved one who has died, or celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other important occasions. The NEW Signup for 2019 is now available outside the church office in the Narthex. THANK YOU to all who bring flowers or plants for worship!! 7

8 Seeking New Ushers: Could it be you? Ushers welcome you to worship, handing you a worship bulletin. If you aren t quite sure where to sit, the ushers are there to guide you. They coordinate the passing of the offering plate during worship. After you leave the sanctuary, the ushers stay to make sure things are tidy. We have four open usher slots: two ushers the Sundays of every January, May, and September; one usher the Sundays of every March, July, and November; AND one usher the Sundays of every April, August, and December. If you are interested, please contact Jessica Johnston, CUMC s Office Administrator, churchoffice@claremontumc.info, or (909) Thank you! To all ushers, thank you so much for your ministry! more about Believer and panelists, continued from the cover Sunday, February 24 11:00 a.m. in the Round Building Panelists: Douglas Lusk is Juris Doctor and the President and Founder of the National Society for Legal Technology, and an Adjunct Professor of Law. Doug grew up in Utah in the LDS (Latter Day Saints) church, and served a Mormon Mission. He is the only openly gay member of the National Board for the LDS Church s J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Doug is engaged to his life partner, Peter Veiguela, and they are raising their son, Jared, together. Rev. Mark Wiley is an ordained Elder in the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the Lead Pastor here at Claremont United Methodist Church, where he has been for almost five years. Moderator: Dean McVay is a lawyer and law professor in Southern California, a former BYU student, and a former Mormon Missionary, having served a mission in Anaheim, California in the 1980s. He grew up in the LDS Church in his home state of Michigan. He is now a member of the Claremont United Methodist Church. Believer is about Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the band, Imagine Dragons, and his struggles as a Mormon in Utah who supports LGBTQ youth. The LDS musician has stated, Celebrate our diversity, embrace our LGBTQ youth. To accept does not simply mean to love it means you give true validity and fully embrace and support diverse sexual orientations and do not see one s sexuality as incorrect or sinful. Love is an empty word otherwise. In this movie you will explore some of the struggles from within the LDS church and Utah to support LGBTQ equality in a state and religion that have historically not been gay-friendly. You may observe some similarities between the LDS struggles with LGBTQ issues and our own Methodist denomination. Please join us for this informative movie and panel discussion, hosted by the CUMC Reconciling Committee. 8

9 Dismantling Racism An invitation Sunday, February 17 at 11:00 a.m. in the Round Building refreshments served An important reflective discussion of the 10 Myths White People Believe about Racism by Carolyn B. Helsel, published in The Christian Century, December 27, ALL are invited! To read more about the article on the ten myths, visit Photos by Terry Givens Unless it s clip-art, an official book or movie poster, or otherwise noted, Terry Givens takes and shares all of the pictures of CUMC s worship, campus, and events that you see in each issue of The Window. We are SO grateful to Terry for this special ministry that enhances our newsletter! Please join the CUMC staff in saying thank you, Terry! The deadline for the February 20 issue of The Window is Sunday, February 10. Help GREEN CUMC Receive The Window online! Jessica: churchoffice@claremontumc.info. 9

10 Cal-Pac and the Special Called Session 2019 an sent out by the Conference Office As we, the California-Pacific Conference, enter into this particular moment in the life of The United Methodist Church, we are reminded of our call to embody a heart of peace and to nurture an outward mindset so that the Holy Spirit may lead all of us in new ways forward. Our identity, as time has proven, is grounded in our belief that there are places that only God can take us if we would only be so willing. And so, we are once again enabled to spiritually greet this Special Called Session without fear, through the many ways that have been planned and are explained below. Understanding the Special Called Session Summary Packet - Now available is a downloadable packet that summarizes the series of events that have led to a Special Called Session of General Conference. Detailed Presentation - Bishop Grant J. Hagiya, in one of many District Gatherings, delivered a more detailed presentation, of the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. Before the Special Called Session Daily Devotion - We will be led in a daily devotion for seven days prior (February 16-22, 2019) to the Special Called Session. During the Special Called Session Online Prayer Vigil - We will hold a 24-hour (February 24-25, 2019, beginning at 1:00PM) online prayer vigil via Zoom, facilitated by specially trained hosts. Sign-up online now, volunteersignup.org/e7bc8, to lead a 15-minute segment of holding vigil. Use this link, zoom.us/j/ , or call (669) to connect to the vigil at any time during the 24 hours. Bishop s Daily Reflection - Bishop Hagiya will share a daily reflection at the end of each day of the Special Called Session. After the Special Called Session Bishop s Sending Statement - Bishop Hagiya will share a sending statement after the end of the Special Called Session. Resource Packet - We will receive a resource packet, with information, pastoral responses, worship resources for the Sunday after, and Bishop Hagiya s statement, to support our pastors leading gatherings locally. Special Worship Service - We will worship and celebrate our unity under the Lord, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit on Sunday, March 3, 2019, at 6:00PM, at Pasadena First UMC as well as via livestream, with Bishop Hagiya delivering a special message. Finally, as Bishop Hagiya introduced to us, let us remember the attitude of convicted humility with which we consider all that is before us: This is an attitude which combines honesty about the differing convictions which divide us with humility about the way in which each of our views may stand in need of corrections. It also involves humble re- 10

11 pentance for all the ways in which we have spoken and acted as those seeking to win a fight rather than those called to discern the shape of faithfulness together. In that spirit, we wish to lift up the shared core commitments which define the Wesleyan movement, and ground our search for wisdom and holiness. They are offered as a starting point for conversation, and a reminder that what unites us is deeper and more central than what divides. For more information, visit the California-Pacific Annual Conference website at 11

12 The Window (USPS ) is published bi-weekly by the Claremont United Methodist Church, Periodicals Postage paid at Claremont, CA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Window, 211 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont, CA Claremont United Methodist Church 211 W. Foothill Blvd. Claremont, CA Periodicals Postage Time Sensitive Material POSTMASTER PLEASE DO NOT DELAY Office: (909) Fax: (909) Toll Free: CUMC warmly welcomes you to worship and fellowship. Sunday Worship Service 9:30 a.m. Sunday School Classes Children 9:50 a.m. Adults 10:45 a.m. Youth 10:45 a.m. Youth Group Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m. during the schoolyear CUMC Clergy and Staff Rev. Mark Wiley ~ Lead Pastor x224 Rev. Martha Morales ~ Minister of Education & Caring Ministries x231 Jessica Johnston, M.Div. ~ Church Administrator x222 Genaro Cordova ~ Facilities Engineer Jeri Bollman, M.S. ~ Director: CUMC Preschool, Sara Swift Tharpe, M.Div. ~ Director: Children s & Youth Ministries Jared Pugh ~ Director: Sanctuary Choir Katie Ledsinger ~ Organist; Director: The Circuit Ringers, CUMC Kids Choir, & Youth Chimes Dr. Barbara Durost ~ Drama Coordinator Marie Soltero and Elizabeth Slater ~ Nursery Attendants Mateo Mamea ~ Sunday Custodian Linda Sheldon ~ Wedding Coordinator Leeann Nabors ~ The Clinebell Institute, , Susie Holway ~ The Window Editor Located in the California-Pacific Annual Conference: Rev. Dr. Grant J. Hagiya ~ Resident Bishop Rev. Melissa Roux MacKinnon ~ East District Superintendent