Concord United Methodist Church 1645 West Street, Concord, California, 94521 Phone: (925) 685-5260, E-mail: concordumc@sbcglobal.net, Web-site: www.concordumc.org February, 2019 The Concord Connection Seeking God, Serving the Community, Supporting Each Other Sunday Worship Schedule 8:00 a.m. Worship in the Sanctuary 10:15 11:45 a.m. Nursery Care Available 9:00 a.m. Adult Bible Study 9:00a.m. New Life Celebration Oglesby-Close Hall 10:30 a.m. Children and Youth Sunday Schools 10:30 a.m. Worship in the Sanctuary 11:30 a.m. Fellowship & refreshments in Oglesby-Close Hall Wednesday Hour of Prayer 6:30-7:30 p.m. Chapel One Body Communion Service CUMC is implementing a once a month One Body Communion Service. It will be held on the 1 st Sunday of each month at 9:30 AM beginning March 3 rd in the sanctuary. On the 1st Sunday of each month there will be only ONE service to bring all of CUMC together to worship and take communion as a true Christian family. Newsletter Deadline The deadline for articles is on the 1 ST TUESDAY, 10 AM of each month. No exceptions. Please email articles when possible. Thank you, Marilyn Robrecht Editor March 6: Ash Wednesday 6:30 to 9AM Drive thru Ashes & Communion 6:30 to 8PMDrop in Chapel service (Ashes & Communion)
2 Pastor Lee In the middle of disaster, we found hope through God s Grace and the love of people! When we heard that fire destroyed the whole town Paradise, we were all shocked. However, we acted quickly as we did last time. When we heard that Bud and Babe Busick barely escaped from fire and saved their lives, we collected offering and delivered it to them right away. It helped them to find the daily necessities that they need immediately. We collected gift cards and delivered them to Blake Busick, the District Superintendent in the area twice (first $1,045, and then secondly $639). That was not the end of our response to the disaster. Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Catholics decided to have a joint benefit concert to help the victims of the fire. (Joint Choir at the benefit concert) We also decided to invite the pastors in the area. Rev. Bob Chicou from the Paradise UMC came and shared his experience. He said that even though it was a horrible experience, he also found God s Grace and the love of people in the middle of tragedy. He said that he restored faith in God and in goodness of humanity. Many people stepped up to help the victims in many ways possible. (Left: Rev. Bob Chicou shared his experience) (Right: Pastor Lee, Micheal Pope, Bob Chicou, and Betsy McLeod at the concert) (Continued on page 3)
3 These are two stories that Bob shared in his own words: Statue Picture As we drove up to see the remains of our home, we had been prepared for what we would see, by the photo posted by Cal Fire. Our home was just a pile of ash. Yet, as we pulled up to the site, our hearts sunk. Everything was gone dropped down to one thin layer of ash. As we stood talking at the sight, two men from Samaritan s Purse came along. As we talked, one of them stopped the conversation, asking us to look at the corner of the foundation of our home behind us. There stood a little statue of Jesus cradling a lamb. The night light that had been our daughter, Shelby s, before she died 14 years previously. Since that time our son Rob had always placed it in his room. The only thing saved, and sitting almost untouched, overlooking the ash, was this reminder of the love that Christ has for us and the love of our sweet daughter. A clear message that when nothing else remains, we are in the safe arms of Jesus Christ and love survives. Sanctuary Picture - The Glow of Hope and Peace The morning of the Camp Fire, our church administrative assistant, had already begun working at the church. Patty recalled that as she started to leave the church for evacuation, the fire was already traveling up the back side of our church property. She and her husband tried to fight the flames, but soon decided that is was time to flee. We were certain that our dear church had been lost, like most of our town. However, over time, various photos came to us showing the buildings still standing. Many photos indicated that there may be some fire damage, especially to our fellowship Charter Hall. Photos did confirm that our playground had been destroyed and we had lost the sheds that contained our drive-thru live nativity scenes (an annual highlight for the town of Paradise that we provided) On the day that we were finally escorted up by the National Guard, for a 15 minute look at the church, we were anxious about what we would find. We were, however, relieved to see that the damage to our church was minimal and could be cleaned up. Without electricity, this photograph shows a brilliant light that filled the sanctuary with peace and beauty. The brilliant, beautiful, peaceful, light is a reminder that Christ will continue to lead us and be present as we move into the future. As God s light continues to light up the Paradise United Methodist Church, God will be glorified.
4 Wednesday March 20, 2019 Business Meeting:10:00 am in Sherrill Hall Program begins at 11 am. Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of UMW!! Lunch: 12pm, Hosted by Abigail Circle Guests are welcome! You do not need to be UMW members. Buy a Chair Campaign! The Buy a Chair Campaign for the Oglesby- Close Hall chairs has resulted in 190 chairs sold! We still have 32 chairs for purchase! Help us by buying a chair (or more!) 1 Chair - $28 4 Chairs - $100 Checks can be made out to the church with Buy a Chair in the memo line. Ask a Trustee for more information! GOOD TIMERS Tuesday, March 12, 2019 12 noon, Sherrill Hall Hosted by Dean and Pam Hall Bring a friend. Bring a sandwich, drinks and dessert provided. Please call Pam Hall: 777-9868 so she will know how many will be attending! In Our Prayers The family of Connie La Coste following her death on January 25. A memorial service will be held at CUMC on March 2 at 11am. Max Perez who is home now, following tests at Kaiser. Continued Prayers: Eldonna Dayton, Mary Ginochio, Don Johnson, Marge Boyer, Midge Sundsten, John & Connie La Coste, Bill Shannon, Doug McLeod, Chuck & Diane Rogers, Carole Engler, Lee Woods, Chris Gregory. FREE TAX RETURN PREPARATION FREE FEDERAL AND CLAIFORNIA INCOME TAX RETURN PREPARATION will again be offered by AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the church (classrooms 1 & 2). The service, provided by IRS certified tax counselors, is available starting February 6, 2019 through April 11, 2019. Tax-Aide does not specify an income limit but the service targets low- and moderate-income taxpayers of any age with special attention given to seniors 50+. Beginning January 2, 2019, to make an appointment for Tax-Aide please call (925) 405-5234 (available 24hrs/everyday). For general information and other site locations, call: (925) 726-3199. To complete your tax return, Tax-Aide will need you to bring to the appointment your: Social Security Card or ITIN letter and photo ID for all individuals to be listed on the return Photo ID All W-2s All 1098 s and 1099 s Other income and deduction records Your 2017 Tax Return and documents Covered California: All documents including forms 1095 Tax Law Change: Although federal tax law changed, California tax law has not changed. If you itemized deductions for 2017 be sure to bring related records for 2018.
5 Winter Nights Coming Soon! Winter Nights families will be visiting CUMC for two weeks beginning Monday, March 11, until March 25. Good Shepherd Lutheran and St. Bonaventure s Churches and Concord High School Key Club will be working with us to make sure our guests feel comfortable, safe, and cared for, but we will still need lots of help from CUMC members and friends. Ways to help include. Set up (l0am) Monday, March 11 and take down (10AM).Monday, March 25 Breakfast setup and cleanup - (6-7 AM) weekdays Help prepare weekend breakfast (8-10AM) or lunch (12:30-1:30 PM) Daily coordinator (4:30-9 PM) Homework help and activities (5-8 PM) Monday thru Thursday Sleep over (9 PM - 6AM) nightly Weekend help during day wherever needed Laundry - Monday, March 18 and Monday, March 25 Donations of money for food and supplies. Please mark contributions CUMC -- Winter Nights and place in offering plate on Sundays. Any donation not needed for Winter Nights will be used for monthly homeless shelter meals. Prayers that the families will soon find homes and get their lives back together. Groups within our church can participate by preparing a meal or providing an activity (crafts, games, sports) during the evening or on the weekends. As of February 4 th there were eight families, 13 adults and 15 children ages 17 months to sixteen in the shelter. Two babies are expected in February and one in March. The families are housed in tents in Oglesby-Close Hall. They arrive each evening at five and leave each morning at seven during the week. The kids go to school and parents go to wherever they need to be during the day or to the Oasis in Pittsburg where there are computers, counselors, showers, On weekends families may come and go as they please. There is always a paid Winter Nights supervisor at the site whenever families are here and we must also have a church person around whenever families are here. Winter Nights fills a great community need and you can participate right here at CUMC, so come take part, make some new friends, and get a wonderful, warm feeling for doing good work. Signups began Sunday February 3 and will continue until all jobs are filled. Our next planning meeting will be Saturday, February 23, 9:30 AM in Susannah Wesley Room. All are welcome. The Chapel is open for a weekly time of prayer. Quiet Time of Prayer Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. We invite all who want to pray. We feel that a quiet time of prayer will help those who are feeling down and don t know how to get feeling better. Prayer is a very powerful way to get us through times that are difficult, so please come and join us. You need not be a member of our church community, just someone who needs a little extra prayer. God Bless
6 Youth Happenings Sundays: Youth Sunday School at 10:30 AM Wednesdays: Mid-Week at 1 PM Fridays: Youth Group at 6:30 PM Want more info? Email James youth@concordumc.org The Concord Connection Concord United Methodist Church 1645 West Street Concord, CA 94521 925/685-5260 Return Service Requested NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 76 CONCORD, CA 94521 Concord United Methodist Just a few of the gift cards we have on hand!! Gift cards available to purchase from our inventory of over 30 vendors that we keep on hand. Visit the Prosperity Table in Oglesby-Close Hall after the 9 and 10:30 services Gift cards available to purchase from our inventory or to order from over 500 participating vendors! Concord United Methodist Church And Alzheimer s Services of the East Bay Invite Individuals living with memory loss and their caregivers to a specially designed worship service. Sing, worship and fellowship with families that are coping with Alzheimer s and other forms of memory loss. Every 4 th Saturday from 2pm 2:30pm, In the Chapel