The SUMC Grapevine. So CCD is cause for concern.

Transcription

1 The SUMC Grapevine Spencerport United Methodist Church Pastor Jack Laskowski The SUMC Grapevine Sept/Oct From the Pastor s Desk I m sitting safely inside my office this Thursday knowing that just outside my office door a rescue mission is taking place. A rescue mission of honey bees wedged deep inside and above the church entrance. A few weeks ago, when the Trustees made me aware that there was someone coming to take the bees away, I naively asked, Why not just destroy them? I guess I am not a fan of Whinny the Pooh. After speaking to the professionals who were in charge of moving the hive instead of destroying it, they told me that across America, honeybees are disappearing without a trace. And it s a cause for huge concern. The disappearance of the bees is related to a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which beehives suddenly die off. And if you think of a church, or the church as a colony, a community, it s fair to ask the question as to why we re experiencing colony collapse. CCD of the bee variety occurs in widespread areas and involves many hives which is what is happening in our country now it creates problems not only for people whose livelihood depends on harvesting honey, but also for farmers who rely on the bees to pollinate their crops. And that, of course, means it could soon impact us, the consumers of those crops and related products. In recent years, at least half of all U.S. commercial honeybee colonies have been affected and billions of bees have gone missing. That there are more than 90 fruit and vegetable crops that need bees to pollinate them, and that the value of those crops is estimated to be more than $14 billion in this country alone, suggests the extent of the concern about CCD. So CCD is cause for concern. Which brings us back to the church. Speaking of concern for the vanishing, Christians across America are disappearing without a trace, too. While there is no single reason that explains the drop in the number of disciples of Jesus, in some cases it is related to Colony Collapse Disorder in which local congregations die off. Inside this issue: From the Pastor s Desk Mission Trip 4-5 Upcoming Events 6 Fall Chicken BBQ Flyer 7 First 5 App 8 Congratulations! 8 Birthdays and Anniversaries 9 Calendars 10-11

2 Page 2 Having said that, I might add that while every church closing could be described as a colony collapse, not every church closing is a collapse disorder. Just like people, congregations have life spans, and there s no shame in recognizing that the time has come for a church to close or merge when demographics, lack of economic opportunity, the non-availability of jobs or similar factors in the neighborhood of the church drain a congregation of attendees. Many churches that close do so after years of effective and faithful ministry. It s just that they re eventually overwhelmed by forces beyond their control. That s simply a colony collapse, with no disorder involved. To see the difference, consider the picture of the early church. According to the Book of Acts, believers began to pool their resources, caring for all of their people in their congregation; they also began to spend their time in worship, learning, fellowship, the breaking of bread with glad and generous hearts and prayer. And one result of all of this is that they had the goodwill of all the people, meaning that everyone, even those who had not themselves embraced Christianity, saw the colony of Christians as a bright spot in the community. So it would seem that if we wanted to point to a church today that should not collapse, it would be one where people are clearly and creatively called to Christ, where there is strong worship, fellowship, caring for one another, common goals in mission and ministry, an active prayer life among the membership, a thorough Christian education of our faith and where the church is held in high regard by the larger community. And there are many such churches in our land. But as I ve already said, sometimes the forces that lead to the collapse of a congregation are things that have nothing to do with spirituality, faithfulness, fellowship, hard work and the like. They are outside forces, and some colonies of faith collapse, but do so honorably. What turns a colony collapse into a collapse disorder, however, is what the newly released individual members do afterward. The church mergers or closings that I have experienced tell me that typically, there are some people who use the event as a reason to drop out of church altogether. As far as the larger faith community is concerned, those folks disappear without a trace as if they never existed as a part of the church. You could say that they become, instead, part of VBS (Vanishing Believer Syndrome). The same thing also happens with some people when they relocate to a new community. They don t bother connecting to a church in the new town. Likewise, sometimes when some event disrupts our church-attendance habit, such as a family crisis, an illness or even a tiff with another church member, we withdraw from church altogether. VBS is what turns a mere church colony collapse into a collapse disorder. So here s my point: Being a follower of Jesus is both a group trip and an individual experience.

3 Page 3 While the church has a prime responsibility to help us in our life of faith, we as individual Christians always have a prime responsibility to our church to help it be a place where certain things happen the preaching of repentance, baptism, seeking the Holy Spirit. The church, with our help, should also ensure that the practices of the early converts worship, fellowship, caring for one another, common goals in mission and ministry, an active prayer life among the membership, a thorough Christian education to the faith and so on are carried out. We should keep showing up and helping out at our church. That way, if somewhere down the road our church were to close for some reason not now expected, it would release a colony of committed Christians to carry the spirit of Christ into new colonies of Christians. And, like the bees in our church, none of us would disappear from the church without a trace. Pastor Jack Pictures from the bee removal NEW SIX-WEEK BIBLE STUDY Short Stories by Jesus By: Amy-Jill Levine Sunday, September 9 9:00am with Mike Schwartz Tuesday, September 11 th at 6:30 with Pastor Jack All are invited to join us on Sunday morning or Tuesday evening. In this Bible study, Amy-Jill Levine takes readers back in time to understand how the original Jewish audience understood Jesus most popular teaching parables. She interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.

4 Page 4 Mission Trip Pictures Pastor Jack, Ruth Miller, and her friend Rylee went to Niagara Falls with a mission team from Ogden Presbyterian Church.

5 Page 5 Working outdoors. Using power tools. Socializing in the cafeteria. Having fun at a gathering.

6 Page 6 UPCOMING EVENTS Estate Planning Speaker The seniors group at Elmgrove UMC is planning to have a speaker come in to talk about estate planning. If this is a topic that interests you, you are welcome to join them September 19th at 12:30 pm. If you are interested in attending or have further questions, please contact Diane Newton at Dress A Girl Around the World Ministry Continues SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 from 12 3 (New time!) SUMC Fellowship Hall If you sew, bring along your machine, if not, come to help with non-sewing tasks (there are several) and join us for fellowship time. Donations are always needed: 100% cotton fabric (all sizes 1 1/4 yard will make a larger size dress, remnants are used for pockets and trim) Check out the $1.50/yard fabric bin at the Walmart in Greece, the choices are constantly changing. Bright colors make cute dresses! JoAnn s coupons (used for ½ elastic, double wide seam binding) Vacuum packing bags (to fit lots of dresses in little space) Money to purchase shorts, t-shirts, material, other supplies (checks can be made out to SUMC with Dress A Girl indicated at the bottom) For more information, talk with Angela, Ann Lee or Bev. Charge Conference Thursday, November 1 North Chili UMC 6:00-800

7 Page 7 Spencerport United Methodist Church 32 Amity St. Spencerport Chicken Barbecue Saturday, September 22 nd Dinner includes: Half-chicken, potato, coleslaw or applesauce, roll & dessert Prices: $10.00 Adult $9.00 Seniors $5.00 Child (under 10) Eat-in or Take-out, 3:00 6:00

8 Page 8 The SUMC Grapevine T H E A P P T H AT W I L L T R A N S F O R M Y O U R T I M E W I T H G O D We say we put God first So wouldn t it make sense that we give Him the first 5 minutes of each day? We must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world. - Lysa TerKeurst This app makes it easy to connect with God first thing in the morning via your smartphone. Written by women and intended for female readers, a short devotion is shared each day and readers share thoughts, comments and insights gained through the reading. (If you are interested ask Bev for more information). Congratulations! On September 18 th, Greg and Angela Dorgan will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary! Congratulations on the silver jubilee of your marriage!

9 Page 9 The SUMC Grapevine 1: Tim Muck 1: Mary Rohrbacher 5: Christy McKinney 6: Beverly Frisch 9: Kay Brott September 10: Tom Lyons 19: Bob Kaser 20: Beverly Frick 24: Shirley Lienhart 24: Jenna Strom Thiele October 28: George Frick 29: Owen Muck- McNall 30: Diane Kepple 4: Margaret Lyons 6: Debbie Laskowski 16: Melanie Schwartz 18: Bob Burnett 25: Rachel Dorgan 27: Rick Miller 30: Gary Hartman 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ~1Corinthians NIV Sept. 4: Tom & Dolores Indovino Sept. 14: Jim & Judy Heinlein Sept. 15: Bill & Ginger Hull Sept. 18: Greg & Angela Dorgan Sept. 19: Dean & Trish Phelps Oct. 5: Bill & Loretta Jewsbury Oct. 10: Bob & Karen Burnett Oct. 18: Dale & Vickie Kellerson Oct. 28: Richard & Sasha Stafford

10 Page 10 The SUMC Grapevine SEPTEMBER Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Holy Communion 3 Labor Day Bible Study 6:30pm Finance Meeting 6:30pm Bible Study 6:30pm Ad Council Meeting 7:00 pm Chicken BBQ 3:00 6: Bible Study 6:30pm 26 Lunch Bunch 12:00 Slayton Place 27 SPRC Meeting 6:30pm Dress A Girl 12:00 3: :00 pm 7:00 pm

11 Page 11 The SUMC Grapevine OCTOBER Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30 pm 7 Stewardship Sunday & Holy Communion 8 Columbus Day 9 6:30 pm :30 pm Lunch Bunch Slayton Place Consecration Sunday :00 7:00 pm