February 2019 Providence United Methodist Church 901 S. Providence Rd. North Chesterfield VA 23236 ~Families of Providence Series~ Getting to know the Vogelers! (L to R) Michael (14), Sara with Katarina (2), Jake, Christiana (6), Aaron (12), Eliana (4), Gabriella (10), and Ariana (15)----------------------------------------------------------- Direct your eyesight to the right front of the sanctuary during any given service and you are likely to spot a sea of gorgeous red hair on the heads of the Vogeler children. You may see the long red locks of Ariana in her choir robes, or you might spy Michael and Aaron playing handbells. And you will surely see Christiana, Eliana, and Gabriella sitting on the front steps during Children s Time. When asked which family member was responsible for their children s lovely hair color, Sara told me that her husband Jake, as well as both his and Sara s fathers, had red hair growing up! What a lifetime treasure for a self-proclaimed Anne of Green Gables fan. Sara came to us from Willis United Methodist Church in Varina, and worked in Illinois prior to that. She has been our director of music ministries for barely a half year, and already she has made her mark on the congregation at PUMC as the Chancel Choir, MiM Team, Handbells, and SonRise Sisters leader, not to mention a wildly successful and intricate Christmas Cantata program! Sara began her classical piano studies at the age of 4, and at this time, most of the Vogeler children play the piano to some extent. Sara began accompanying church choirs in her teenage years, and has been giving lessons to people of all ages and abilities for nearly 2 decades! Sara and Jake are originally from Northern Illinois, and moved to the TriCities area of Virginia several years ago, where she is blessed to be able to homeschool all the children. She loves being outdoors, whether it is hiking in the mountains, exploring the beaches, or other amazing scenery Virginia has to offer. Sara grew up in a home where the love of Jesus Christ was prevalent, and at the tender age of 5, she gave her heart to the Lord and began searching for ways to serve Him. That lead to her music ministries, and playing piano in nursing homes and small family gatherings. Sara has always been amazed with the genius of classic composers such as Bach, Handel, and Mozart, all of whom worked under extraordinarily difficult conditions, yet produced astounding volumes of music with incredible brilliance. Providence is thrilled to have Sara and her family as part of the congregation and the
music ministry. If anyone would like more information on how to lend their musical talents, give Sara a call at the church office, or better yet, reach out to her via email, sara.vogeler@providenceumc.net Sunday School Spotlight: The Christian Builders Class is one of the longest-running Sunday School classes at PUMC. It was originally formed as the Future Leaders Class in 1954 when the Friendship Class became too large. It met in various places such as the balcony of the sanctuary and the Chapel before moving into its current home in Room 205. The class has been led by Flora Scott for about 5 years now, with help from Jean Winfrey (VP), Bobby Ward (treasurer) and Peggy Gillette (secretary). There are currently about 20 regular members and many former members who are no longer able to attend but are still considered family. Four teachers, Jim Chappell, Jean Chappell, Betty Gregory and Laura Loper rotate weekly discussions based on the Adult Bible Studies from Cokesbury, with new books for each season of the year. There is lots of participation and discussion from class members. One important class project is heading up the CHASM Thanksgiving Baskets, coordinated by Shirley Hudson. In 2017, 96 baskets were assembled and distributed. For 2018, the goal was set at 50 because they didn t think they could do as well again so for this year they put together 102! Other missions the class participates in are putting together school kits or health kits for Conference as needed. Flora Scott stated that this class is so supportive, We are like family. Anything we ask of each other is done. She said they would love to have visitors or new members, and that the class will give everyone a book, a seat and a hug! Missions Committee: The Mission Team is continuing the End of the Month Hump food distribution program, which takes place on the third Saturday of each month. We are currently serving approximately 25 families to whom we provide a bag of groceries containing nonperishable food items as well as some fresh foods. We try to include any or all of the following: peanut butter, canned meat, meal starters (e.g. hamburger helper), cereal, canned vegetables, boxed macaroni and cheese and soup. We are blessed to have contributions from Panera Bread and Little Caesars, which allows us to add even more items to the bags. Additionally, we are seeking support from some of our local grocery stores, who may be able to contribute grocery items. If church members are interested in helping to support this program, any contributions of money or food would be greatly appreciated. Food contributions can be dropped off in the Missions room on the first floor. Another new program for Missions Committee is our recently-formed partnership with New Life for Youth. Our first project is to buy new Study Bibles for the program participants. We recently hosted a Wednesday Night Dinner to raise funds for this goal, and would like to thank everyone who attended for their generous contributions. Altogether, we have collected $425.00 towards the purchase of the Bibles but ultimately we would like to make sure each of the participants has their own Bible. We will continue our fundraising efforts until we reach that goal.
Donna Smith would like to extend an invitation to anyone that would like to join the Mission Team. Email her at dmsmith7200@gmail.com and she will add you to the list. We would also like to hear from anyone that has suggestions for future projects for the team. We would love to get more involved in our community and to fulfill the Providence mission to Belong, Be Transformed, Make a Difference. Wednesday Night Dinners are a great way to socialize with other church members and to raise funds for your Sunday School class or organization. There are no dinners currently scheduled, but recent dinners sponsored by Donna Smith and the Missions Committee and the CSI Sunday School class have been very successful and LOADS of fun! Many people attend every time there is a dinner and it s also a great way to provide a hot, home-cooked meal to attendees. If you haven t attended a dinner, please consider joining in the next time one is scheduled. And if you want to sponsor one, please let Linda Collins know as she can put you on the schedule and let everyone know about it! Help Wanted 1st Floor Greeters Looking for friendly, outgoing people to greet our members and visitors on the 1st floor. Sunday work only with 2 shifts to choose from. Trustees: April 1st will be the anniversary of PUMC s Safety Plan. Many thing having greeters at the locked doors makes our members and visitors feel welcomed as well as being another safety precaution. With having two services, it is like having two churches meeting here. Those who attend one service never have the chance to know the other congregation. Being a greeter gives you that opportunity. There are two shifts one during the early service 8:15-9:45 a.m. and the other during Sunday School and the beginning of the late service 9:45-11:15 a.m. Sign up is easy and you ll get an email reminder. Please consider being a Greeter one Sunday and see how wonderful the fellowship can be as well as providing a service to the church. From the church s website: click on Resources click on Door Greeters (1st Floor) scroll down to the Sunday you want click the sign up box for the time slot click on Submit & Sign Up enter your name and email address click Sign Up Now and you are done! You will receive a confirmation email that your sign up is complete. United Methodist Women: Greetings and Happy New Year from the United Methodist Women! We started off the New Year with a delicious luncheon on January 20 th and celebrated another year as a group. The United Methodist Women are celebrating 150 years of service so we have a great year of events coming together. If you haven t joined us yet, you are always welcome. For more information on UMW circles and the unit as a whole, feel free to contact me, Mary Elliott, at 370-3706. It s a great time to join a fun group. ~ A Stewardship Message From Tony~ Thank You to everyone who submitted an Estimate of Giving for 2019. If you have not yet submitted your estimate, it is not too late. You
can mail the card to Linda Collins, care of the Church or stop by the office and she will assist you. The value of these estimates of giving is of great value to the leadership team. The Stewardship team will continue presenting how our members, committees, and mission projects are impacting those who are the focus of our assistance. There are many great things that are happening at PUMC that are impacting our community in very positive ways. One past Sunday Parson Derrick reminded us in his sermon that we are the church and the work of God is being done by each of us, especially while we are not inside the building. There are opportunities everywhere right in front of us, even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference in the life of someone in need of a little help. This past month I learned something very interesting regarding giving to PUMC. You might already be aware that you can give on the church website at www.providenceumc.net. Well I discovered you can also give from either your mobile phone or a tablet (either iphone or android). Yep it works I tried it on my iphone and on an android tablet from the comfort of my kitchen. It requires a quick download of the GIVE PLUS app from either the Apple app store or Google Play app store. There is a quick registration process and the completion of an account set up but they are very intuitive and go quickly. If this sounds like a giving method that fits your lifestyle give it a try. If you would like a little assistance please let me know and I will be happy to answer questions or assist with the process. In Christ, Tony Fleshman Stewardship Chair GOOD NEWS! The new roof for the education building has been approved, we are currently awaiting a start date from the roofing company. When you see construction material sitting outside in the parking lot, don t get alarmed and I ask that you be patient as the work will take at least two weeks once the new roof construction begins. We will begin replacing the ceiling tile on the third floor that as been damaged by water when the roof is complete. We have researched roofing quotes from several companies and believe we have obtained the most cost-effective solution. I hope that you have a blessed year and see you in church on Sunday. ~Steve Reese Congregational Care Committee: We will be contacting our college students and our military loved ones this month with a beautiful Valentine. They are always in our hearts and prayers. We continue to touch base with our shut-ins and pray for them. Our visits are always appreciated and special. Please continue to remember our Shut-Ins. Take a moment to let them know we love them and are thinking of them. A list of our Shut-Ins is in the narthex (the pink sheets). Our committee and church are lifting our church members, Sherry and Keith Nelson in prayer. Due to the fire in their home, we are supporting them in various ways. If you would like to help Sherry and Keith, please call me, Jean Chappell @ 804-276-7266. Faith, hope and love are in all we do. In His Name, Jean Chappell, Chairman Congregational Care Coming Events: The following are some of the activities and events coming up at PUMC in the next few weeks. For more details or
information, please refer to the weekly bulletin and/or the on-line calendar. Wednesday night dinners when available CHAMPs Fridays when scheduled Men s Study Thursdays at 6:15 pm, PUMC Library Laughon Circle March 12 and April 9, 10:30 am at PUMC Gregory Circle March 21 and April 18 at 7:00 pm in room 301 at PUMC Newton Circle March 5 and April 2 at 7:00 pm, contact Kathy Aldred for location UMW Unit Meeting March 24 at Noon in the Social Hall at PUMC End of the Month Hump March 16 and April 20 Providence United Methodist Church is in the love/action business! Our Church is aware that there will always be those among us to whom we can demonstrate the love that Jesus tells us to be and do. Those of us who know Jesus will reach out in the true hospitality of love. So, the question is: How do we continue to show love to the unfortunate members of our society who have no resources to pay it forward? They will know we are Christians by our LOVE! God loves you, and so do I! Althea s Corner: Love In Action "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you". John 15 :12 Very often the words I love you" are spoken at the conclusion of a phone conversation to someone we know very well. Perhaps our text messages end with the heart emoji also indicates the same expression. Our greeting cards end with the often-used written words "With Love". The Communications Committee is interested in hearing from YOU! Please let us know what kinds of programs or activities you would like to see at Providence! Just email us at Communications@providenceumc.net We d love to hear from you!! We have heard from the Pulpit and in Bible Study that the word "love" is an action word. This means that it requires demonstration of how sincere and intentional we are about its use. But what about those who are on the outside of our circle who are on the fringe of society? They are our brothers and sisters to whom we may only verbalize the words "I love you". Where is that action to them? They are unable to reciprocate in the way our relatives and friends do. But God loves us all the more for the action, not the lip service that is given to the "love" word.