Walmsley Boulevard United Methodist Church Church Office: 804.275.8508; Church Website: www.walmsleyblvdumc.org Church E-mail Address: walmsleyblvdumc@verizon.net Reverend Denise Watkins, Pastor Dear Friends in Christ, I m so thankful for the Spring and Eastertide season that we have enjoyed together this year at Walmsley. We have had wonderful worship services with a celebratory spirit as we have celebrated Easter Sunday, the 5th Sunday service with Bobby White and the Blue Grass Gospel Band, Mother s Day, and Heritage Sunday. This year I believe that we are rejoicing in Christ and God s great gift of Salvation for us. We are entering a new season in the church, the summer season. Together we will celebrate our graduates, and our Fathers. We will also be turning in our Visioning forms on June 10th.Then Bob and Anne Moseley and I will be going to the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. And then later in July, we are planning another wonderful VBS weekend, July 27-29, that will have a hero theme. There are a lot of good things happening at Walmsley Boulevard! Please stay faithful to the church during these summer months with your presence, your prayers, your gifts, and your service. During the summer I am planning a summer sermon series and leaning towards the one on the book of Ephesians with the theme of Each One a Minister. So invite someone to come with you to join into this great family of believers. I hope that you enjoy these summer months, when our schedules slow down a bit. I hope that you enjoy some fresh food of the season or some iced tea on your porch. I hope that you enjoy playing with your children or your grandchildren. But most importantly, enjoy the good gift of life that God has given to you and live in the present knowing that God has promised good for your future. Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessings, Pastor Denise Watkins
June Events Compassion Care Team Meeting June 24th, 12p Visioning Sunday June 10th Bluegrass/Gospel Jam Saturday June 23rd, 5p Country Christian Breakfast Sunday June 17th, 9am Bring your visions/ideas written down and leave them on the altar during the worship service as we discern the way forward for WBUMC! We will have a round-table meeting in later months to discuss our ideas and vision for the church. Bring your children to join the music and fun during Children s Choir at 9:45am every Sunday! Grocery Ministry & Clothes Closet Tuesday June 12th, 10a-12p Summer Choir Rehearsal Schedule June 13th June 27th July 11th July 25th August 8th August 22nd If you ve ever been interested in singing with the choir, the summer is the time to try it out! We will have rehearsal every other week. FUN music, in combination with learning CDs to make each anthem EASY to learn, will leave you LOVING every minute and maybe even sticking around for the EXCITEMENT of fall and Advent music! See Victoria Myers or any choir member for more info! 2
Fireplace Concerts Young adult alternative/indie music hosted by Chris Campbell June 7 th & 16 th In the Activities Building. See Chris Campbell for more info. Vacation Bible School July 27-29 Raspberry Almond Coffeecake 1 cup fresh raspberries 3 Tbsp brown sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup white sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 egg 1/4 sliced almonds 1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar 1 tsp milk 1/4 tsp vanilla extract If you d like to share a recipe, please submit it to the church office. 1. Preheat oven to 350 o F. Spray an 8 in. round cake pan with cooking spray. 2. Combine raspberries and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine sour cream, butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and egg, and add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread raspberry mixture evenly over the batter. Spoon remaining batter over the raspberry mixture. Top with almonds. 4. Bake for 40 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 min on a wire rack. 5. Combine confectioners sugar, milk, and 1/4 tsp vanilla. Stir well. Drizzle glaze over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. 3
3 Kelsey Stewart 7 Marie Barnett 8 Matt Thore 9 Gloria Lambert 10 Debbie Teachey 13 Susan Campbell 20 Dylan Kidwell 21 Amber Farmer 23 Jacob Watkins 26 Ashley Seay 3 Tyson Thore 3 Talia Thore 3-Jaxon Thore 5 Scott Thore Sunday Morning Greeters for June 3 Ronda Scott 17 Jackie Matze 10 Anne Moseley 24 Ann Benson 7/4 4th of July (Office Closed) 7/10 Grocery Ministry/Clothes Closet, 10:30a Christine Price Bonnie Heretick 7/11 Choir Rehearsal, 6p 7/15, Admin Council Mtg, 12p 7/25- Choir Rehearsal, 6p 7/27-29 VBS 7/28 Music Jam, 5p 7/29 5th Sunday Brunch & VBS Celebration, 10a 7/30 Office Closed Sunday Morning Readers for June 6 Bonnie Heretick 10 Bob Moseley 17 Gloria Lambert 24 Shaun Cox Would you like to contribute to the Walmsley Witness? We welcome your news, articles, quotes, and jokes! To be included in the July Newsletter, please have your submissions to the church office no later than Monday, June 18th. 4
Applying Bible Principles For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). How would people describe you? Are you one who loves money? Is your life marked by a continual inordinate concern about and striving for money? If so, perhaps you are one who truly loves money. Money is a neutral. It is neither good nor bad. What matters is our attitude towards it. If we view it as a means to an end, a means of exchange, and something God can use in our lives to bring glory to himself, then we probably do not love money. On the other hand, if we are always wanting more and more money, if we will do just about anything to obtain it, and if we think about money more than anything or anyone else, we likely are guilty of loving money. In that situation, it has become a god to us, and we bow at its altar in continuing service in order to obtain more of it. If you are determined to get rich, no matter what, before you continue that lifestyle, read Paul s admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:9-10. Consider Solomon s counsel in Proverbs 11:28 and Ecclesiastes 5:10-11. And think about the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6:24, who said, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Or as Jesus would say, He who has ears, let him hear. 5
In just 5 short months, Bob and Anne will be leaving for their Mountain Medical Mission trip to Honduras! So far, they have raised $750.00 of the $5000 needed for the trip! A huge thank you to each and every one of you who have donated! If you haven t heard, they are asking for monetary donations to help offset the cost of the trip and to assist Friends of Barnabas purchase the needed medical supplies to take with them. If you feel led to donate, you may make the check out to WBUMC and earmark it Moseley Mission Trip, or you may give the donation directly to one of them. Your donation of money AND prayer is greatly appreciated! Annual Conference 2018 June 15th 17th We will be putting together Kits for Conference again this year and are asking for your help! Supplies lists can be found on the Narthex bulletin board or picked up from the Church Office. The deadline to bring in items for the specific kits is June 10th. You are also welcome to designate a special offering, Kits for Conference, if you d like to contribute in that way. 6
SAMARITAN PROGRAM The 1948 report of the Board of Hospitals and Homes to the Virginia Annual Conference noted the amount raised through the first special offering to support the mission and ministry of the Virginia Conference Home for the Aged. For seventy years, Virginia Conference churches have continued to dedicate a special offering time period for the Samaritan Program of Pinnacle Living, formerly Virginia United Methodist Homes, Inc. Over the years, the name and time frame of the special offering have changed, but the focus has remained the same: to ensure the personal security and peace of mind of our most vulnerable residents. During the 2017 fiscal year, the Samaritan Program provided $922, 712 to help residents remain in their homes at their respective Pinnacle Living community. Your gift to the Samaritan Offering supports residents who have been blessed by longevity but have outlived their financial resources. Samaritan gifts are not used for operational, capital, or administrative cost but are instead made available only for benevolent care. Your gift ensures someone s personal security and peace of mind. Samaritan Offering gifts, which are received from Mother s Day, May 13th, through Father's Day, June 17th, may be designated to any of our Pinnacle Living communities. Undesignated gifts will be used where the need is greatest. Both designated and undesignated gifts serve the same purpose: to provide financial assistance to residents whose ability to pay for care has been diminished. Please consider making a gift today to help those who are in need of your generosity. You truly can make a difference in someone s life. Contributions can be made through the church offering. You can also visit the Pinnacle Living website at www.pinnacleliving.org or Facebook page @PinnacleLiving to give online. For more information, call Pinnacle Living at (804)474-8700 or (888)673-1031 toll free. 7
Walmsley Witness WORSHIP-GROW-SERVE 8
Hymn Story: Onward Christian Soldiers Onward, Christian Soldiers was written in 1865 with no intention of ever being published, especially in adult hymn books. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, its author, was at that time the curate of a parish in Yorkshire county in the north of England, and he recounts how and why he wrote it: It was written in a very simple fashion Whitmonday is a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire, and one Whitmonday it was arranged that our school should join its forces with that of a neighboring village. I wanted the children to sing when marching from one village to the other, but couldn t think of anything quite suitable, so I sat up at night resolved to write something myself. Onward, Christian Soldiers was the result. It was written in great haste, and I am afraid some of the rhymes are faulty. Certainly nothing has surprised me more than its great popularity. Though it was never meant for publication, it was nevertheless found its way into a periodical later that year, and soon it became included in English hymnals around the world. Louis Benson suspects that it caught on in the United States, at least in part, because it tapped into the soldier-spirit left in the hearts of young and old Americans by the four years of the Civil War which had just ended. In 1871 Arthur Sullivan wrote the tune St. Gertrude for the hymn, which further popularized the hymn and has ever since been its standard melody. Due to its militaristic theme and martial melody, the hymn has encountered some resistance in recent years, and some church denominations have removed it from their hymn books entirely. However, it is appropriate to remember that Paul commands Timothy to share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3), and that he instructs the church to put on the whole armor of God because we wrestle against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6). The words of the hymn make it clear that the focus is on this spiritual battle that our foe is Satan, not men, and that our King and Commander in Chief is the eternal, omnipotent Christ whose kingdom cannot fail. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle see His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before. At the sign of triumph Satan s host doth flee; On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory! Hell s foundations quiver at the shout of praise; Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise. Like a mighty army moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod. Borrowed from https://www.challies.com/articles/hymn-stories-onward-christian-soldiers/ 9 We are not divided, all one body we, One in hope and doctrine, one in charity. What the saints established that I hold for true. What the saints believèd, that I believe too. Long as earth endureth, men the faith will hold, Kingdoms, nations, empires, in destruction rolled. Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, But the church of Jesus constant will remain. Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail; We have Christ s own promise, and that cannot fail. Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng, Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song. Glory, laud and honor unto Christ the King, This through countless ages men and angels sing.
3 Every Sunday: 17 Annual Conference 4 5 6 Every Wednesday: 7 Every Thursday: 15 Annual Conference 16 Annual Conference Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 9:45a, Sunday School/Children s Choir 11a, Worship 10 Visioning Sunday 11 12 Father s Day 9a, Country Christian Breakfast 24 12p, Compassionate Care Team Mtg 10a, Grocery Ministry/ Clothes Closet 6:30p, Boy Scout Initiative Mtg 10:30a, Bible Study 13 6p, Choir Rehearsal 8p, NA Fireplace Concert 14 10:30a, Josephine Day Cir. Mtg 1 2 8 9 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 6p, Choir Rehearsal 28 29 30 Fireplace Concert 5p Music Jam 10