Mission Opportunity To Serve Locally!

Transcription

1 August 2018 St. Helena United Methodist Church Page 1 Mission Opportunity To Serve Locally! As you know, Lake County has been hit hard over the last few years with fires disasters. As a result, many have lost homes and are now struggling to survive in one of the poorest counties in the state. The United Methodist Volunteers in Mission aka UMVIM has been helping out with fixing homes for those in need. Our sister church in Lynnewood UMC in Pleasanton is sending a group to assist in November from this fall. We have been invited to help too. You can stay for a day or overnight or for the week! Interested in helping out? Let Pastor Burke know! A Celtic Prayer Bless this church and those within. Bless our giving and receiving. Bless our words and conversation. Bless our hands and recreation. Bless our sowing and our growing. Bless our coming and our going. Bless all who enter and depart. Bless this church, your peace impart. Events! Fridays 3 August 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM 10 August 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM 17 August 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM The first three Friday evenings in August, our church will offer parents, or grandparents, the chance to have a night away from their little ones. Children ages 4-12 will enjoy an evening of crafts, games, snacks and fun with the Parents Night Out Team (5 talented folks including the Leininger and Pastor Burke) while you decompress, have a quiet dinner or catch up on your zzzs! Drop off at 6 pm, pick-up at 9 pm in the Fellowship Hall of the SHUMC. $25 per child for three hours. Multiple siblings negotiable. All fees collected go toward the Steppin up Campaign! Please ask Dawn Leininger if you have questions. R.S.V.P. shofficeumc@aim.com or call Dawn at (707)

2 Page 2 St. Helena United Methodist Church August 2018 Dear friends, Summer is surely upon us as I write, with the temperature climbing toward 106*!. But, sitting at my desk, with the fan blowing, I feel pretty comfortable. This month is fairly quiet here at SHUMC until local schools are back in class on the 15th, as families get back into the swing of things. Yet, before the school year fully returns, there are a couple of events going on that I hope you ll keep in mind. First up is Church Film Night on Wednesday August 8 where the romantic adventure comedy, Moonrise Kingdom will be shown at 6:30. This excellent hipster film by the great director Wes Anderson, tells the story of a young Khaki Scout who embarks on a journey of self-discovery, challenge and romance one summer in coastal New England. Highly recommended! Bring your dinner and join us. Then, on Friday August 24th at 6:00 pm, we have another Family Children s Film Night. Last month s showing of Milo & Otis did so well that we are doing it again but this time we are showing a classic from long ago, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Based on a children s story by Ian Fleming, CCBB is the story of Caractacus Potts, an inventor and his family as they soar in their flying car into one adventure after another. With music by the Sherman Brothers, who also wrote Mary Poppins and the Jungle Book, CCBB is truly scrumptious! This month is also a time for our church to reach out to others, especially children and their families, as we offer three evenings of Parents Nights Out!. Organized by Dawn Leininger for three Fridays in August (3,10 & 17) PNO! will offer a place for parents or grandparents to leave their children, ages 4-12, for an evening of games, crafts, snacks and fun. Drop off is at 6 pm with pick-up at 9 pm with a suggested donation of $25 per child per evening. Families with multiple children are negotiable. To make reservations or for questions, please contact Dawn at or contact the church office at shofficeumc@aim.com. All funds raised will go toward our church Steppin Up Capital Campaign! Speaking of which, the Steppin Up Campaign is getting close to the $6000 mark in fund raising. This is great news and I am so pleased that the church community has responded so well to the request for donations to repair our front stairs. Thank you all This month we are in the dog days of summer, when Sirius, the brightest star in the evening sky, rises before the sun, bringing hotter weather. The heat is on and it can be nice to sit indoors, where it s cool, and watch a movie. But watching films does not have to be mindless entertainment! Generally, movies are stories and stories can help us understand our lives more fully and can even bring us closer to God. Remember, the Bible is mostly stories, and look at how much we learn and realize as a result of its wonderful tales and teachings! For August, I have selected four outstanding films. Each is well known and acknowledged as a classic. All are in the top 100 list from the American Film Institute. More importantly, each one has the power to inspire, to teach and to entertain. So grab your popcorn and get ready for a really, really good show! ~~~~~~~ August 5 th ~~~~~~~ Holy Communion Scripture: Psalm 84:2 4 Sermon: The Wizard of Oz (1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) The Brunswicks ~~~~~~~ August 12 th ~~~~~~~ Scripture: Luke 15:4 10 Sermon: It s a Wonderful Life (1946, R-K-O Radio Pictures ) Mike Greensill ~~~~~~ August 19 th ~~~~~~ Scripture: Luke 10:25 37 Sermon: Star Wars Episode Five-The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Lucasfilm, Ltd.) Elle Wheeler ~~~~~~ August 26 th ~~~~~~ Scripture: Romans 8:4 8 Sermon: Casablanca (1941, Warner Brothers) Napa Valley Duo

3 August 2018 St. Helena United Methodist Church Page 3 for your generosity and excitement about this project and the maintaining our sanctuary. As I mentioned at church recently, it is time for an all church meeting to discuss our way forward with our church repairs but also to do some visioning on our church and looking to the future. Summer is a difficult time to meet as a large group, what with folks traveling and being on vacation much of the time. And Sunday after worship is often somewhat rushed to really hold a meeting. So I propose that we hold a church council meeting on Saturday September 8 from 9:30 am to noon. It is important for us as a church body to discuss the repair plans, look to our future and celebrate our past too. For 2018 is the 165th year since our church first formed and gathered up at the Bale Mill with Reverend Asa White. A sign of the ongoing grace brought to our community through the faithful stewardship of previous generations of Methodists; an inspiration for all of us to prepare the way for future Methodists to worship where we stand and pray today. Please come join our all-church meeting at 9:30 am on September 8th! Coffee and donuts will be served to ensure a blessed time of tasty fellowship. This month s worship series has a theme already established though not usually seen at Sunday Worship. For St Helena United Methodist Church goes to the Movies!, is a bit unusual. However I thought it would be good to look at our religious and spiritual life through another lens, one that seems independent of church. Movies were initially created nearly 130 years ago; the first films were quite short, a minute long, or less, viewed by an individual using a kinetoscope, a large box with a keyhole opening. By 1900, technical improvements made longer films possible as well as the ability to more easily project them onto a screen for a larger audience to watch at a time. By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, movies had become the most popular entertainment in all major cities and were becoming more common even in smaller towns and more out of the way locations. As a result, movies have been a significant part of our culture, as entertainment, as education and, at their best, as inspiration for close to seven generations. I have selected four films, one for each Sunday in August, that are well-known so that they are familiar to you. In weekly order they are, Wizard of Oz, It s a Wonderful Life, Star War s-empire Strikes Back and Casablanca. One a musical based on a beloved children s book, the next a dramatic holiday tale of redemption, afterwards a science fiction fantasy and finally a wartime drama. Each of them is a classic, included on best of lists from across the nation and round the world. Two of them were not terribly successful when first released (one did very poorly indeed) while the other two were big hits right away. All feature strong characters and powerful stories that challenge and transform both the players and the audience who watch their struggles. All four have lighter moments as well as dramatic ones and each makes use of music in a manner that drives the story along while guaranteeing we remember, from Ding Dong the Witch is Dead to Darth Vader s Theme. Since we cannot project these in the sanctuary, I encourage you to watch each of these four films ahead of time if you can. All are available on Netflix or at your local library or on-line somewhere. But don t worry if you cannot watch them beforehand. I will fill you in on the storyline each Sunday as we explore the gifts to be found in each of them. I look forward to going to the movies with you a few more times than usual this month! Blessings, Pastor Burke In August When August days are hot an' dry, When burning copper is the sky, I 'd rather fish than feast or fly In airy realms serene and high. I 'd take a suit not made for looks, Some easily digested books, Some flies, some lines, some bait, some hooks, Then would I seek the bays and brooks. Paul Lawrence Dunbar

4 Page 4 St. Helena United Methodist Church PLEASE PRAY FOR: David Hudson Ruthie Rydman Ardys Grindheim Ben DiMaio Peter Dixon And for all those in our community who are ailing and anyone in wild fire areas; Blessings upon them and may they be well in body, mind and in spirit. WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO HALF WAY! August 2018

5 August 2018 St. Helena United Methodist Church Page 5 6:30 pm. Trustees meet 3:30 pm Worship Committee meets Thursday 10:00 6 pm Movie nights in August Two special movie nights this month 8 August: Wednesday, 6:30 PM Film Night featuring a romantic adventure comedy, Moonrise Kingdom (2012, Focus Features), a cool adventure dram-edy of young love, family, summer storms and the Book of Genesis. Bring your Dinner if you like popcorn and lemonade provided. 24 August: Friday, 6:00 PM Family/Children s Movie Night featuring the great Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! (1969, United Artists) A family adventure with a magical flying car, a heroic dad, a silly grandpa and truly scrumptious! Lots of good songs, action sequences and general silliness. (Milo and Otis was very well-received so we are choosing another great Family-Friendly Movie)