Laurens United Methodist Church 201 W. Main St., Laurens, IA 50554 The Newsletter Volume 25 Issue 3 January 21, 2019 United Methodist Women s Welcome Back Luncheon Thursday, February 7, 2019 @ 12:00 P.M. Our UMW Welcome Back Luncheon will be Thursday, February 7th at 12:00 p.m. Rachel Circle will be serving, followed by our Pledge Service and a short business meeting. Jeanette Korrect will have a Response Moment. My apologies for the error on the meeting schedule handed out in December! Thank you to Eve Circle (our new circle) for providing greeters in January. If any Eve member can join us at noon on your lunch break, we would love to have you on Feb. 7!! Another change will occur in March; Rebekah Circle will serve the afternoon refreshments and a special program recognizing 150 years of UMW will be presented by Jeanette Korrect and friends! Looking forward to seeing all of you for a time of fellowship and our individual pledges to share in the work God has for us. ~ Wendy Wed., Jan. 23rd: Book Club @ 9 a.m. Confirmation Class @ 6 p.m. (lead by Larry Perkins) Fri., Jan. 25th: Men s Bible Study @ 7 a.m. Sun., Jan. 27th: Youth Group (Jr. High) 6-8 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church
Four Reasons Christians Need the Church By Heidi Charalambous NewSpring A few weeks after high school graduation and shortly leaving for college, my dad came home with a 1995 Mitsubishi Galant. This car was a serious upgrade from the 1982 Mercury Grand Marquis I d been sharing with my brother. She had leather seats, a radio that worked, a six-disc changer, and a sunroof. While those features were nice, they weren t necessary. I was most excited about the freedom of having a car that was mine and the opportunity to spend my paycheck on something other than gas. For a long time, I felt the same way about the church as I did about the sunroof in my car. I liked the idea of church. I even enjoyed coming to church. But like many people, I believed the lie that while church was a nice part of Christianity, it wasn t necessary to follow Jesus. Four Reasons Christians Need the Church 1. We need other Christians. If you want to know what you believe, listen to what your friends say. The more time we spend around people who ridicule God, the more we allow their attitudes to affect our thoughts and attitudes (Psalm 1:1-2). The more time we spend with God s people and in His presence, the more like Jesus we become. That s why the writer of Hebrews encouraged Christians not to give up meeting together. If we want to hold unswervingly to our faith, we need to surround ourselves with people who will encourage us to follow Jesus even when it s hard, to have faith when everything seems hopeless, and to rely on Jesus even when we think we can do everything on our own (Hebrews 10:23-25). 2. We need opportunities to discover our spiritual gifts. Every one of us has a skill God wants to use to help others know Him and follow Him. The Bible calls these skills spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), and we discover our spiritual gifts the same way we discover any other kind of special talent. Kobe Bryant realized he was great at basketball when he started playing basketball. Katy Perry discovered she could sing when she started singing. We will never uncover what God has equipped and called us to do if don t get involved. 3. We need authority. We don t have to believe anything anyone tells us about God. He appointed men and women in the church to lead us and to teach us (Hebrews 13:17). God gave us the Bible and the church so we can know what s from Him. Through the church s authority structure, we can test and see what s of God and what isn t when we can t tell on our own. When we ve prayed, read the Bible, and still aren t sure what to do, the church is where we go for advice. 4. We never stop needing grace. Church people are not perfect people. We are for given, but we are still sinners. No matter how long we ve been following Jesus, we are going to screw up, fall short, and sin. And when we do, we need a place where we can come to be healed, restored, and renewed. That place is the church. The sunroof in my little red Galant ruined me. I can t imagine owning a car without a sunroof ever again. The same is true when it comes to church. As I made friends, joined a group, and started serving, God changed me. I woke up one day and realized I couldn t imagine not being involved in church. Church is no longer just nice; it s necessary.
Thank you to the family of Mary Beth Murray for sharing flowers from her funeral service with us this past Sunday. Elementary Sunday School students will be singing during the worship hour for the Children s Sermon THIS Sunday, January 27th. Please join us!
There will also be a Silent Auction! The Laurens Area Community Youth Group will be meeting at our church for the month of February. If you would like to donate snacks, drinks or volunteer to help at the meetings, please see Angela Christenson, Youth Group Director.
In case of inclement weather, church cancellations will be aired on KAYL (101.7 FM), KICD (107.7 FM & 1240 AM), and KJYL (100.7 FM) radio stations. Cancellations will also be posted on our church facebook page (Laurens United Methodist Church), our website (www.laurensumc.org) and Channel 4 (KTIV). There WILL BE Confirmation Class on Wed, Jan. 23rd @ 6 p.m. Larry Perkins will be leading the class. Pastor Ed will be out of the office January 23 through January 25 for continuing education.
Members of the Laurens UMC, Thank you for allowing me to speak to your congregation this past Sunday. It was a pleasure being able to share my faith story with you all. Special thanks to Autumm, Michelle, Jean and Don for making me feel welcome as did the entire membership of your church. It was truly a pleasure. Sincerely, Dan Keen If you or a loved one are hospitalized and would like a visit from Pastor Ed, please contact him at (712) 577-3605 or call the church office at (712) 841-4476. Thank you to everyone who participates, helps, performs & serves each Sunday morning to help make our fellowship & worship service a wonderful & meaningful experience for all in the glorifying of our Lord. If your mailing address, phone number or email address has changed please notify the church office at (712) 841-4476 or methodistsec@laurens-ia.com Watch our worship services online at your convenience at www.laurensumc.org Click on Sermons Worship services may be viewed on local Channel 2 every Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
Contact information: Pastor Ed Frank: Pastor s Cell phone: (712) 577-3605 Pastor s Email: swmreved@hotmail.com Autumm Brazel, Executive Secretary: Office (712) 841-4476 Email: methodistsec@laurens-ia.com Linda Olson, Custodian Office Hours: 8:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. Monday Friday visit our website at: www.laurensumc.org Stewardship for Sunday, January 20, 2019 Weekly Year-to-date Special Total Receipts for Jan. 20th: NOT AVAILABLE - Projected Budget Needs: $ 4,022.07 $ 8,044.14 Attendance for Jan. 20th: Sunday School ~ 54 Worship ~ 80 PRAYER REQUESTS: Family of Oneta Forsythe, Lisa Larson and Spirit Lake UMC (Rev. Duane Larson passed away), Mark Kyle, family of Dorothy Nelson, family of Mary Beth Murray, Harlan Johnsen, Gloria Bell, Denny Waters, Pete Davis, Carolyn Garton (hospice), Deb Buse, Jamey Turner, Amy Gustafson, Emmaline Roenfeldt, Edith Colleen White, Gabrielle Wingler, victims of natural disasters, our schools (safety), our military, our nation (unity), our world (peace). Sunday, January 27, 2019 WORSHIP Adult Sunday School @ 9:00 a.m. Sunday School (kids) @ 9:10 a.m. Fellowship Coffee ~ 9:30 A.M. Worship ~ 10:30 A.M. Choir performs Elementary Sunday School students sing during worship Liturgist ~ Jean Murray Pianist ~ Connie Dallenbach Ushers ~ Thaine Hopkins, Terry Spanier, Bill Mather and Frank Bringleson Greeters ~ Jason, Amanda & Gage Gustafson Acolytes ~ Landen Tate and Kyler Tendal