Hilda United Methodist Church HILDA HERALD MARCH 2012 www.hildaumc.org Sunday Worship 11:00 AM Sunday School 10:00 AM Wednesday Prayer 9:00 AM PASTOR S INFO Rev. Wade Powell 14201 Ranch Rd. 783 Mason, TX 76856 Cell: 325-347-7219 arcwade@gmail.com Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors NEW PROGRAM IN MASON YOUNG LIFE What is Young Life? Young Life is a world-class ministry for adolescents. Our staff and volunteers enter the world of kids, focusing on what matters to them fun, adventure, friendship and a sense of significance. In doing so, we earn the privilege of talking to them about something that we think matters most of all the truth about Jesus Christ. Our goal is to plug kids into the church for life. We want all of our staff and volunteers to be active members of a church community. Young Life is nondenominational and works with all major denominations. We have something to offer believing kids too the opportunity to join with folks who want to impact their school for Christ. What is Young Life Specific to Mason? Our vision in Mason, Texas is to provide opportunities for every adolescent in Mason to meet Jesus and follow Him. The Church is losing its younger crowd and teenagers don t want to come to Church. If the teens won t come to Church, then the Church must go to the teens. This is what God did for us when we could not go to Him due to our lost state in our sins (Rom 5:8). This is what Young Life does: Young Life is an expression of the Church in Mission. Young Life is not the Church. (by Bob Mitchell, former Young Life president). We go to where they are, earn their trust by loving them where they are, tell them about Jesus, then keep loving them no matter how they respond. Teens are in desperate need of social capital from adults (i.e. they need adults willing to pour into them without an agenda or anything in return). The future of the church and community depends on it. Who is Running Young Life? Young Life is founded on Jesus Christ. Just as Christ is head of the church (Col 1:18), He is also head of any Young Life program. The next layer involves the area director and all volunteer leaders. My name is J. W. Harle, and it is an honor to be called by God to function as the area director in Mason. My wife is Bonnie, who will function as a volunteer leader, and we have a 21-month-old daughter, Bree. We arrived in Mason on February 13 th and are thrilled to be here. We are praying and searching for volunteers in the community from all the local churches to join us in this ministry as leaders, committee members, and prayer warriors for the souls of our youth. 1
Page 2 Hilda Herald United Methodist Women Linda Kesler - our hostess with the mostess! Jan Appleby, program leader Linda Kesler, Leatrice Haley, Dian Willmann, Rebecca Dodson, Gerry Daniel Rebecca Dodson, Gladys Lively, Janice Friedrich The Hilda UMW met on Tuesday, February 14 in Fellowship Hall. Rebecca Dodson gave the devotional about personal prayers and personal needs. Jan Appleby presented the program, A Time for Change which dealt with modern day technology and how it can be used for good and bad. We concentrated on the good in that we are not able to connect with other women all over the world and with our missionaries. During the business meeting, we discussed the upcoming Lenten lunch which we will serve on March 14 and the possibility providing lunch for the Habitat Caravaners in March or April Our next meeting will be on April 10 with a program about social justice. We will see the movie Amazing Grace. Those attending are asked to bring a salad to share for lunch. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. MARTHA CIRCLE The Martha Circle met Tuesday evening, February 28 at 6:00 p.m. in the Hilda Fellowship Hall. Following a shared meal, a short business meeting was held. The Martha Circle will be providing desserts for the Lenten Lunch on March 14. Jan will pick up that morning around 7:30 a.m. if you are not able to take yours to town. Connie Witt read a thank-you note from the school nurse in Mason for the donation we made for supplies for her office. Connie presented the lesson about how God holds us together. Discussion followed about things in our lives where it was God who got us through the tough times. Our next meeting will be March 27th in Mason at Teresa Walker s office. in Mason. Carol Sattler, Joyce Gerloff, Peggy BrowConnie Witt, Teresa Walker, Cindy Spencer, Jan Appleby DISTRICT UMW MEETING HELD IN SAN ANGELO Six UMW members attended the annual District Enrichment Encounter Meeting held at St. Luke s UMC in San Angelo on February 18th. Carol Sattler, Rebecca Dodson, Florence Smith, Gerry Daniel, Linda Kesler, and Jan Appleby enjoyed a day of fun, good food, and fellowship. We were a little late getting to the meeting as it poured rain on us most of the way, but it was fine because we definitely needed the rain! Our speaker was Sammye Ruppeck who gave a very interesting program on the Concho Valley Home for Girls located in San Angelo. 2
Volume 6, Issue 1 Page 3 CALENDAR OF EVENTS MARCH, 2012 Sunday, March 4- Communion Sunday Choir Practice after church Wednesday, March 7 - Lenten Lunch at St. Joseph Catholic Church @ Noon Sunday, March 11 - Choir Practice after church Tuesday, March 13 - UMW @ Hilda Fellowship Hall 10:00 Program: movie, Amazing Grace (Social Justice Program) Hostesses: Everyone bring a salad to share *Wednesday, March 14 - Lenten Lunch at TBA hosted by Hilda UMC @ Noon Saturday, March 17 - HAPPY ST. PATRICK S DAY! WORK DAY 9am-Noon Sunday, March 18 - Choir Practice after church Wednesday, March 21 - Lenten Lunch at St. Paul Lutheran Church @ Noon Sunday, March 25 - Choir practice after church Tuesday, March 27 - Martha Circle @ 6:00 in Mason @ Teresa Walker s office Wednesday, March 28 - Lenten Lunch at First UMC @ Noon We will soon be signing up for Easter lilies. Watch for announcements about the cost this year and the signup sheet. They can be in memory of someone or in honor of someone. They will be placed in the church on Easter Sunday. ARPIL 2012 Sunday, April 1 - PALM SUNDAY & Communion Sunday - there will be a special program with the youth and the choir celebrating Palm Sunday Choir Practice after church Thursday, April 5 - Holy Thursday Service - 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 6 - Good Friday Service - 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 8 - EASTER SUNDAY Sunrise Service - 6:30 a.m. 11:00 Service - 11:00 a.m.with Easter Egg Hunt following the service NO Sunday school classes today Please bring flowers (fresh or silk) to place on the cross during our 11 a.m. service. Tuesday, April 9 - UMW @ Hilda Fellowship Hall - 10:00 a.m. - Program: National and International Ministries - Leader: Linda Kesler; Hostess: Gerry Daniel Sunday, April 15 - Advisory Council Meeting - Hildas Hope Team will provide lunch as a fundraiser for the Mason County Cancer Benefit - lunch by donation Sunday, April 22 - Choir Practice following service Saturday, April 28 - Mason County Cancer Benefit @ Heritage Park 10:00 am - 10:00 pm - Come out anytime during the day/night to support our team and the cancer benefit - there will be lots of food, fun and games! Sunday, April 29 - YOUTH SUNDAY - Choir Practice following service 3
SPECIAL DAYS! March Birthdays: Carol Sattler 3/2 Debi Loeffler 3/3 Birgit Gideon 3/3 Randall Brown 3/4 Teresa Walker 3/11 Connie Witt 3/28 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 a.m. Please join us on Sunday at 10:00 as we begin a new study on January 8th using the J. Ellsworth Kalas book, The Ten Commandments from the Backside. There is a light breakfast available and always a pot of coffee so you can come with an empty stomach! This new series will be led by Nanci Gibbons. IT S A BOY! Birgit Gideon is a grandma - again! Ethan Vox Gideon was born February 23 in Austin weighing 8 lbs. 3 oz. Parents are Birgit s son Matthew and his wife Angelina. This is their second son. SUNDAY, APRIL 15th Advisory Council Meeting following 11:00 service The Mason Cancer Benefit s Hildas Hope Team will provide lunch before the meeting. It will be by donation & all proceeds go to provide help for Mason County cancer patients (gasoline, hotel/motel, meals, etc.) If you ve not given your birthday date and/or anniversary to Nanci Gibbons, please do asap so that we can recognize you in the Hilda Herald. HILDA CHOIR NEWS If you enjoy singing, the Hilda Choir would love to have you join us! The choir practices after worship on Sundays & there is always lunch available in Fellowship Hall after practice. Come and give it a try during Lent! We ll be having a special service on Palm Sunday with the choir and the youth. Contact choir director extraordinaire Nanci Gibbons if you have questions. Cell: 210-240-4299 4
MASON COUNTY CANCER BENEFIT UPDATES Thanks to everyone who purchased chocolate-covered strawberries during Hildas Hope first fundraiser for the Mason County Cancer Benefit! We raised $300.00 for the cause! Hildas Hope Team Sheryll Bibb & Cindy Powell - Co-Captains Veleda Boyd, Sue Kaan, Pat Tucker, Suzanne Bjork, Sara Powell, Ethan Powell, Jan Appleby, Carol Sattler, Wade Powell, Barry Graves, Margaret Graves, Nanci Gibbons HILDAS HOPE RAFFLE Sue Kaan has donated a beautiful hand-quilted crazy quilt (can be a wall hanging or table runner) and a beautiful landscape painting. They are on display in the sanctuary. Raffle tickets can be purchased before or after church service $1.00 each or 6/$5.00 HELP THE KIDS AGAINST CANCER TEAM & THE HILDAS HOPE TEAM to earn points by donating the following types of canned goods for the Mason Food Bank:: 5 pts. per can of non-perishable food items 5 pts. per sugar free/diabetic friendly cans of non-perishable items or drinks 20 pts. per can of canned fruit There will be boxes in the church foyer and in Fellowship Hall to drop off canned goods. We will split the cans between the KAC and Hildas Hope Team. We will have bags available for a $5.00 donation. We ll even decorate them for you! These are used to line the track where we walk during the cancer benefit. They have candles in them and are beautiful to see as you walk around the track. Then in the evening, they are placed on the steps at Heritage Park to spell out the word HOPE. It s quite a sight to see! EASTER EGG HUNT There will be an Easter egg hunt following the 11:00 service on Easter Sunday in the church yard. Children ~ bring your Easter baskets! 5
. Prayer Concerns Birgit Gideon, Nanci Gibbons, Herbert Loeffler, Artie DeLong, Debi Loeffler, Hugh Weaver, Ruth Carlson, Kay Hudler, Pat Tucker, Skip Slaughter, Doris Ogden, Ann Nitsch, Dutch & Joyce Gerloff, Danny Watkins, Ervin Eckert, Eric Goading,Maribelle Hoerster, Jim Drewitz, Don Zelenka, Joe & Susan Shaffer, Kelsey Turner, Denver Mixon, Jacob Bibb, Chloe Settle Don Zelenka, Maribelle Hoerster, Ruth Carlson, Allen Boysen Kelsey Turner, Toni Hurlbut, Michael & Kendal McLeod, Kodiak McLaughlin, Roger Rietz, Dwayne Vantreese, Jocelyn Coo, Laura Brown, Charlie Morris (Joyce Gerloff s son), Scott Spencer, Ismael Garcia, and Jeff Gideon, serving in Germany And all the men and women in the armed services as well as our EMS personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement groups, Mason County Cancer Benefit Teams HERBERT LOEFFLER Herbert is now home from the rehab center in Fredericksburg and we wish him well as he continues to recover. You can send cards to their home address: 2143 Panther Creek Rd. Doss, TX 78618 It was so GREAT to see Scott Spencer back at church the past 2 Sundays,(& at Sunday school & Advisory Council Meeting)! We have really missed you Scott!! ARE YOU MISSING ANY DISHES?? There are a number of casserole dishes, plates and bowls on the back porch of Fellowship Hall that don t belong to the church. If you are missing any from church luncheons, funeral meals, UMW mee ngs, etc., please check to see if any are yours. THANKS! JUST A REMINDER PLEASE remember to pick up and coffee cups, napkins, plates, etc. a er you are thorough with them. Seems like there are always some le a er Sunday school and mee ngs in Fellowship Hall and some mes in the church foyer. Also, don t forget we have recycle bins on the back porch for plas c (includes plas c cups & utensils), aluminum, and glass. COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR Friday March 30 - Friends of Library Annual Book Sale - 3pm-6pm - Mason County Library Stribling Room Saturday, March 31 - FOL Book & Bake Sale in Stribling Room at library - 10am-4pm April 2-4 - Book Sale continues 10am-6pm Saturday, May 19 - Mason County Habitat for Humanity Annual Spring Event @ Dr. Van & Willeda Rae s home - 6pm-9pm - See Jan Appleby for tickets $50/person Sunday, May 20 - Mason County Historical Commission s Annual Historical Symposium 2pm-5pm @ MISD Auditorium - Comanches in the Texas Hill Country - 3 speakers including Ron Parker, greatgrandson of Quanah Parker - No charge & the public is invited. There will also be many historical books for sale during the break and before and after the symposium. THE MASON STUDY CLUB IS SELLING HAMS FOR EASTER - $35 for a 5-6 lb. peppered boneless ham or $38 for a 6-8 lb. spiral ham. - See Nanci, Kay, Gerry, Florence, Margaret, or Jan to purchase one. 6
Rev. Wade Powell Releases New Book Wade Powell, pastor of Hilda United Methodist Church, has released a new book designed to enhance the Lenten journey. In his book, The Way of the Cross: A Companion to Lenten Devotion, he takes us on a journey with Jesus from his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane to being laid in the tomb. The book begins with an introduction to Lent. Powell discusses his own Lenten journey and how it has enhanced his relationship with Christ. Because fasting has been a vital part of Lenten devotion for centuries, he also discusses the various aspects of self-denial during Lent. The introductory portion of the book concludes with a chapter on daily prayer. The meat of the book follows the path Jesus takes to his sacrifice on the cross. It is a pilgrimage of the heart that all Christians should make, both Catholic and Protestant. This account is based on the scriptural Way of the Cross as presented in the United Methodist Book of Worship. Each station begins with prayer, followed by scripture, and concludes with commentary by the author. Powell said, this book started with my own pilgrimage as I began preparing myself for Lent. I read through the scriptures and began meditating and taking notes on each of the stations, then ultimately decided to compile it into a book. Powell went on to say that the whole point of Lent is to prepare ourselves for Easter, Easter is the culmination of the Good News of Jesus Christ, while Lent marks the difficult journey that leads us to the resurrection. Without the journey, without the trials and temptations, the message of Easter falls short of the extraordinary event that it is. For Powell, the joy of Easter has become much deeper and prominent when viewed through the lens of Jesus sacrifice. The Way of the Cross is available at local bookstores or by going to the Hilda United Methodist website www.hildaumc.org. It will also be available for purchase through Amazon.com and other online retailers in about three weeks. A NOTE OF THANKS A big THANK YOU to James Feuge for the delicious lunch he prepared for everyone before the February Advisory Council Mee ng. He is a terrific cook and if you missed it, you missed a good one! 7
How can you par cipate in Young Life? First and foremost we ask for prayers. Pray that the Spirit would move in the hearts of the teenagers in Mason, and that God would use this ministry to bring ALL of them into His Kingdom and into a local church. Nothing is too big for God!!! Also, we would love for you to consider joining us as a volunteer leader or committee member. This ministry needs to be built on Christ and the local body of believers, not on the personality of the area director. It is my prayer and desire that the community of Mason takes ownership of this ministry and works me out of a job. Then we could do it all over again in neighboring small towns!!! J.W. & Bonnie Harle and their daughter Bree have recently moved to Mason. J.W. is the Area Director of Young Life. **************************************************************************************** MASON COUNTY YOUTH LOCK IN FEBRUARY 23 24 @ Mason Community Center The rap group Grits performs at the Mason County Youth Lock-In at the Community Center A comedian entertains the kids at the Mason County Youth Rally held on February 23 & 24. YOUTH CONFIRMATION CLASSES BEGUN Pastor Wade has begun Confirmation classes with 3 of our youth, Margaret Graves, Casey Stengel, and Sarah Powell. They are meeting on Sunday mornings and should be ready to become members in the near future! If you d like to help out with some snacks before they begin their class, please let Pastor Wade know. 8
Noah's Ark : Everything I need to Know, I Learned from Noah's Ark ONE: Don't miss the boat. TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat! THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. SIX: Build your future on high ground. SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs. EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile. TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. YOUTH SUNDAY SCHOOL Rosemary Davis will begin teaching the youth group Sunday school classes on Jan. 15th. ALL youth are invited to come to the Brandenberger Ess Haus - Sunday school begins at 10:00. This will be for all ages from elementary age to high school with the older kids helping out with the younger ones. Hope all the kiddos will come for fun learning and fellowship! HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL ON SUNDAY! 9
YOUTH NEWS ITEMS Colby Brown recently won Grand Champion with his rabbit at the San Angelo Stock Show. Courtney Brown placed 3rd with her rabbit. Jayde Wi won Reserve Champion over all Angoras at the Kerrville Stock Show. In San Antonio she placed 4th with her doe kid in her class and 10th with her billie kid in his class. At the San Angelo Stock Show she placed 2nd with her billie kid and 6th with her doe kid. She won a $3000 scholarship at Kerrville and ribbons at all places! CONGRATS to all our kiddos who have done so well at the stock shows! Also congrats to Doris & Ruben s granddaughter who has done very well this year and I believe she s won about $10,000 in scholarships! We re proud of all of these young people! Jayde is also playing golf for the first me at MHS and had her first tournament on Feb. HILDA ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS The Advisory Council met on February 19th in Fellowship Hall following a GREAT lunch prepared by James Feuge. We had lots of things to discuss. We will be participating in a pictorial directory with First UMC and Art/Trinity UMC - this will probably begin in April & we ll get the info out as soon as we know more. We re also going to update our own directory. Discussion ensued on painting the church steeple, the new copier (when will we get it?), when will the dead trees be cut and the parsonage sidewalk and road completed as well as it s beginning to be time to do a bit of yard work! Pastor Wade went over the Easter week services and you can see the schedule on P. 3 of the newsletter. He also noted that we need someone to continue with the youth group which meets twice a month on a Sunday evening while Herbert is recuperating. Anyone interested, please let Wade know. We found out recently that Viola Balzen left a monetary gift to the church - it will be 6% of her estate, but we won t know what it is until we actually get the check. Don Daniel noted that we only owe a little over $34,000 on the parsonage and of course, discussion was held again on the need for a larger fellowship hall. We have definitely outgrown our current one! Don, as Finance Chair, also noted that our expenses have gone up considerably this year with a full-time minister and insurance costs for Wade and his family (and they are worth every penny of it!), but we do need to let everyone know that with Viola s death, we lost a most generous giver ($1000/month to the church and $300/month to UMW). IF you can, it would sure be nice to give a little extra whenever you can. A couple of suggestions were made - 1) Our monthly parsonage payment to the bank in $460 and perhaps every now and then, some of our members might make one of those payments or a portion of the payment to the bank 2) If you make weekly payments to the church when you are there, think about doubling that amount if you miss a Sunday to make up for not being there. Hilda has never had a Consecration Service as we have always been able to get by without having pledge cards, but that is another idea. Anyway, please think about ways you can help out financially. We ve been here 150+ years and want to continue being here for many more years to come! 10
COMMUNION ON THE MOON, JULY 20, 1969 by Eric Metaxas Forty-two years ago, two human beings changed history by walking on the surface of the moon. But what happened before Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong exited the Lunar Module is perhaps even more amazing, if only because so few people know about it. I m talking about the fact that Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon. Some months after his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine. And a few years ago I had the privilege of meeting him myself. I asked hi about it and he confirmed the story to me, and I wrote about it in my book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God (but Were Afraid to Ask). The background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian church in Texas during this period in his life, and knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history, he felt he should mark the occasion somehow and he asked his minister to help him. And so, the minister consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine. Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth s orbit and on to the surface of the moon. He and Armstrong had only been on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin made the following public statement: This is the LM pilot. I d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way. He then ended radio communication and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Here is his own account of what happened: In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the scripture, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute they had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O Hare, the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly. I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eater there, were the communion elements And of course, it s interesting to think that some of the first words spoken on the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the Earth and the moon - and who, in the immortal words of Dante, is Himself the Love that moves the Sun and other start. How many of you knew this? Too bad this type of news doesn t travel as fast as the bad does...share it if you ve felt God s love. Ed.note: This was from an email I received recently. You can check it out at: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/ communion.asp 11