The North Shore United Methodist May 2016 Summer s coming, and you know what that means?!? so is VBS!!! A quick re-write for Olaf s song In Summer in the blockbuster hit Frozen: Bees they buzz, kids ll blow dandelion fuzz And I ll be doing whatever snow does in summer. VBS at North Shore, learn about God and so much more, Don t stay home and snore like a bore in summer. Remember as we baptize even the youngest among us, we all promise to help our children grow to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We also each have unique gifts to offer in this raising of our spiritual gifts. Vacation Bible School is a transformative time for kiddos as they learn songs, hear stories from the Bible, and memorize Bible verses that will stay written on their heart. Below are some ways you can help us for VBS. Pray for us!!! Pray all the precious kiddos who will be on our campus and their families, pray for our VBS leaders, pray for our health and safety, pray God s Spirit would be thick in this place as we love on and guide our young ones. Invite your young friends!!! Your kiddos, grandkiddos, neighbor s kiddos, cub/girl scout friends, little league, swim team, dance or gymnastics friends!!! Volunteer!!! We need Surf Guides* to lead our grade level groups throughout their week, we need station leaders, we need cooks, we need decorators, we need a nurse/safety expert, we need greeters, we need drivers/ carpoolers to help all the kiddos get here, etc. *no actual knowledge of surfing necessary, just a love of Jesus!!! Mission Items!!! Packs of 12oz of water to decorate, pray over, and deliver to first responders, powdered laundry detergent, gently used clothing and toys, toiletries & snacks for manna bags Snack!!! Look for a list of tasty treats you could help prepare or donate. List will be published on Sunday, June 12 th. Décor Items!!! We are hanging out at the Surf Shack this summer, so we re on the hunt for all things beachy. Help us transform our campus into a beachside retreat! Please label all your items if you would like them returned. Contact Pastor Bethany on where to drop-off items or to schedule a pick-up May 3rd United Methodist Men s Breakfast Meeting @ 7:30am May 3rd United Methodist Women Field Trip 9 am May 5th Open AA Meeting @7pm May 12th United Methodist Women Creative Hands @ Carol Bryant s Thistle Dew Studio 9-2:30 May 12th Open AA Meeting @7pm May 15th Confirmation Sunday May 18th United Methodist Women Reading Circle @ 12:30pm May 19th Open AA Meeting @7pm May 22nd Church Council Meeting After second service May 26th Open AA Meeting @7pm VBS Volunteer Training - June 5th 3:30pm VBS Work Week - June 20-25th - all Decor hands on deck It truly takes a village and I feel strongly that this is one of the most important weeks of the year in the life of our church. Not only does it leave a lasting impression on the hearts of our children as they experience God, but it is a phenomenal opportunity to make an impact on our communities by being super invitational and welcoming to those who might not have a church home. North Shore is an awesome place to be and I think everyone should know that! Let s be a body that lives out Acts 1:8 and start by being witnesses right here in our Jerusalem of Canyon Lake
United Methodist Men U MW Greetings Just a couple scant weeks of Easter season remain. The excitement of Pentecost is right around the corner and will continue for several months as we enjoy church Ordinary time (which started right after Easter Sunday). During our May meeting, we will prepare for the upcoming Summer months with schedule and meeting details to be determined. The Coaches Dinner (burger burn) will be a hot topic. The skills inventory matrix (cataloging our individual ministry strengths) continues to be in work. This device allows us to highlight where The Holy Spirit has indicated each of us can be of greatest use in advancing Christ s Kingdom. Please join me in prayer as we each reflect on our Baptismal vows and act on The Holy Spirit s direction. In Christ, Fred... Open AA Meetings Thursdays @ 7pm at North Shore UMC. Contact Pastor Burke for more information.... Greetings from the Prayer Ministry!!!. We pray all the time, but meet on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM if anyone would like to join us in the Prayer Chapel in the Education Building. Please stop and say hi to anyone of us. We would be happy to speak to you, take a prayer request or just chat about prayer and how wonderful and privileged we feel it is to be able to take your concerns, joys, praises, etc. before the Lord. When I said, "My foot is slipping, " your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:18-19 BLESSINGS Katie Mason Our May meeting will be Tuesday, May 3 field trip to the San Antonio Food Bank. We will meet at church at 9 AM and carpool. We will not meet in June or July. Save the date August 2 for our next meeting. Our Rio Texas UMW President, Lillie Williams will be speaking to us! UMW READING CIRCLE - Jan Booth As you enjoy your dinner at your favorite restaurant, have you ever wondered what is behind the kitchen door? In her book author Saru Jayaraman blends personal narrative and investigative journalism to focus less on the food sources and more on the working conditions and wages of the people who prepare and serve the food. Reading Circle will meet on Thursday, May 19 in the Youth Room at 12:30 p.m. We will discuss Behind the Kitchen Door, a bonus book of only 208 pages (counts as two books) from the Social Action category. We invite you to widen and enrich your world with us through the United Methodist Women reading program! CREATIVE HANDS Carol Bryant We will meet at Carol Bryant's Thistle Dew Two Art Studio Thursday May 12 Thistle Dew Studio is next door to the left of her home: 2322 Valley Forge, Canyon Lake. We will be finishing book bags with school supplies. Please bring your sewing supplies. Bring a bag lunch 9:30am till 2:00pm. I will have coffee and cookies. All are welcome. If you need more info call Carol Bryant - 830-832-4483. Directions: FM 306 to Potters Creek Rd; First left on McIver Rd; cross two cattle guards; at the bottom of hill Private Rd sign; Valley Forge at the end of road is our home on the lake; take driveway to left to the studio. Carol s Cell # 830-832-4483. Also you might want to put June 9th on your calendar to package the bags and School supplies for Mission U the first week in July. We will not meet in July, but August 11 to discuss the CRRC Fair in November. PRAYER MINISTRY Annie Perez UNITED METHODIST WOMEN Another opportunity in July is Mission U in Kerrville. From Friday July 8 through July 10th. There are workshops on Human Sexuality and the Bible, Latin America and Climate Justice. This is a great way to get to meet and get to know your fellow UMW sisters from throughout our conference. If you have any questions, how to register, etc. please see Susan Harris, Diane Kunz and Linda Franke UMW women are the best educated faith based group of women in the world. We must be educated to be able to address the needs of marginalized women, children and youth in the world. So plan on coming to the meetings on the first Tuesday of each month and get to know us and our mission, we are much more than a social club! Pat Cahill 2
Music News Who does the congregation sing hymns for? For pastor Kim? Probably not. She leads the service and certainly wants to hear the congregation sing together? But no, we don't sing for her. For ourselves as a congregation? Probably not. Most of the service, the congregation is a primarily passive participant as scripture is read and the message is delivered by the pastor from in front. Our engagement is called upon to pass the plate and offer up prayers, but primarily we are in receive mode, not broadcast mode. For God? Right! Singing hymns is how we actively express thanksgiving, joy, praise and a myriad of other God -directed expressions. Next Sunday morning, sing to God, who doesn't care if you are exactly on the right pitch, or have a lovely voice. What God hears is as we say "music to His ears." Apologies for the English language experts for the opening sentence. I do remember you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition. But opening with "Ask not for whom the congregation sings. They sing for God." Just didn't quite sound right. Marty Chrisman May 1st Communion Offering Peace with Justice. Donations made on Peace with Justice Sunday fund programs that advocate for peace and justice in the United States and around the world. These programs empower United Methodists to speak out for removing structures and systems that harm God s children globally. Bereavement Committee We can use your help if you are willing to make a meal or part of a meal now and then to bring to someone in our Fellowship at NSUMC who is grieving or suffering or is needing help to feed arriving friends and relatives. This is part of what the Bereavement Group does. We also need help when we have a reception at the Church following a funeral or Memorial Service and usually need sandwiches, fruit or vegetable trays, sliced cheese and finger food desserts. If you are willing to be called to help, please send your name,email, and phone # to Beryl Josephson at 830-935-3667 or email at berylj@prodigy.net. We will appreciate your support giving us the opportunity to call different people and not the same few each time. North Shore Youth The Youth Spaghetti Fundraiser was a great success bringing in $1,392 to go towards lowering costs of youth summer camp as well as providing scholarships to students in need! Thank you to all the students, parents, and amazing volunteers who helped to make this fundraiser a great success. Special shout out to Myra and Darin Zumwalt, the LeStourgeons family, as well as Luke J. for coming out Saturday AND Sunday to help cook and set up the sanctuary! The remainder of the school year we will be breaking down The Lord s Prayer verse by verse, diving deeper into the scripture, and further exploring the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray. This past Sunday we kicked off our discussion looking at what it means to address God as "Father" and how we as sons and daughters are called to honor and respect ("hallow") His great name! It was a great evening of tacos, worship, discussion, and a very intense game of Tic- Tac-Toe. Feel free to come and check out our youth group for yourselves! We meet Sundays @5-7pm and would love to have you! Confirmation 2016 is coming to an end as we approach our last class, retreat, and Confirmation Sunday! I encourage you to continue to be in prayer for our nine confirmands as well as their mentors and families. Don t forget to come and celebrate all their hard work and commitment on Confirmation Sunday on May 15 th! What a time to welcome these young people into membership here at North Shore! Our Dave Ramsey Generation Change Bible Study comes to an end this month. We have loved learning about ourselves, our money, and how we can use both to glorify God! Thank you for your prayers and support of this study! We will wrap up our Generation Change Study Wednesday, May 18 th, and begin a new study on Preparing for Local Missions on Wednesday, May 25 th. Join us as we prepare for our summer of service! Lastly, it's time to start registering online for UM ARMY! If your student registers by May 8th, they will receive $25 off their total cost of the trip! We have a limited number of spots and they will be given on a first come basis. High Schoolers will be headed to Weimer, TX: June 12 th 18 th Middle Schoolers will be headed to Corpus Christi, TX: July 3 rd 7 th If you are interested in coming as an Adult Volunteer, please contact Melissa Arishita. We are always looking for individuals who are interested in serving and loving on our students. We will have a UM ARMY Volunteer Development Conference on May 14 for those interested in attending either of our UM ARMY trips. This will be a time to meet the other adults attending as well as get information and training about our week at camp. As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to chat, feel free to contact me! Thank you for all you do to support our young people and our youth ministry! Melissa Arishita 3
Greetings Easter People! May wait, how did we get here?!? Wow! Time sure flies when you re having fun! The end of school is upon us and then it will be the time of year that all kiddos love SUMMER TIME!!! Time to stay up late and sleep in, to cool off with a dip in the pool or lake, to travel and make memories! But for some kiddos summer can be long and tough. Parents or guardians still have to work to provide the very basics and there aren t free or reduced breakfasts and lunches at school anymore. For many in our community and some right here in our midst, summer means long hot days with empty bellies and not much to do. Let s be in prayer for those in our community and look for ways to be Christ. Myra already has applications in the church office and more info will be coming out soon on how we can help with our summer feeding program. How else can we serve one another? We re all in this together right? Not everyone may be able to take a vacation this summer, but why not enjoy a stay-cation and join us at the beach! We are super excited about Vacation Bible School this summer. We ll be transforming our campus into a surf side wonderland for our kiddos to come, learn, and explore how much God loves them. But we need your help! Do you have some beach décor hanging around that we could borrow?!? A boogie board, some pool noodles, beach towels, grass skirts?!? If it s got some tropical flair we d love to use it to help transform our space. Contact Bethany for pick up or drop off information. children@northshore-umc.org or 210.595.0383. Pictures are helpful too. (Please make sure to label your items and make sure we know whether you would like your items back or if we can keep/donate them) Register or sign up to volunteer here! Register Here! Vacation Bible School June 27 th July 1 st 9:00-12:00 Summer Camp!!! Come Catch the Wave of God s Love Mt. Wesley July 21 st 24 th (Current 3 rd 5 th Graders) 34 I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other. John 13:34-35 A phenomenal way to form faith together is to serve together. And by serving with extravagant love, we show and share Christ s love for us! Serving others doesn t have an age requirement. We are never too young or too old. Babies share joy just by sharing their smiles, giggles and snuggles. Here s a link to a great site that has ideas and ways to serve for toddlers through teens. https://lauragraceweldon.com/2013/06/27/40-wayskids-can-volunteer-toddler-to-teen/ How can your family serve others together this month? How can your family make it a habit to serve others on a monthly, weekly, or maybe even daily? Our first featured Family Faith Formation idea suggested taking time as a family to ask one important question every day, Where did you see God today? I hope you are still asking that question and that it has become a beautiful and meaningful part of your day. Our invitation this month is to serve, so that along with Where did you see God today? we can ask How did you serve today? There are lots of ways big and small to serve others in the name of Jesus. Keep your eyes and ears open for ways to show God s love by serving others. By starting now, your children will continue to grow with hearts to serve! 4
CRRC needs for May The CRRC continues to need personal soap products; bar or liquid bath soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener, shampoo/ conditioner, tooth brushes, and tooth paste. Next time you are at the grocery store pick up a few items to donate then drop them off in the Narthex in the baskets located under the TV. Mark Your Calendars! Next years Dominican Republic Mission Trip will be February 25th thru March 3rd. If you are interested in going please see Myra or Darin Zumwalt. We need to see how many people might be interested so we can get our deposit in to hold the date. Space will be limited! 5