September 2018 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, I am just getting back from the Embrace 2018 Retreat for Clergywomen. It was the vision and dream of our new Bishop Sharma Lewis and the first such retreat in thirty years. It was incredible - a time set apart for Worship, and Bible Study, and Fellowship, and sharing meals together. These clergy women also packed approximately 800 blessing bags to be sent to each District and to the organization of that district s choice. These women, some who have served our churches for over thirty years are so inspiring. Often they have served in positions less than they are qualified for. Often they have been change agents but there has been a lot of hurt that has come along with that privilege to serve. This gathering time was a time of healing and renewal and inspiration. Please remember all your clergy leaders, male and female, in your prayers along with their families. As one of my colleagues and friends said, This is hard work but one that we have been called to. So pray for us that we may faithfully fulfill the ministry that God has given to us. Our Bible story was from the Book of Ruth and about the beautiful, transformative story of Naomi and Ruth. In closing, I d like to share with you a prayer that was written by some of the Clergy at my table: O God, Thank you for Ruth who had the courage to step out to a new reality even when it came with risk and an immense unknown. We yearn to be brave like this. In the midst of a rocky and rugged terrain, help our footing to be grounded and firmly planted in your presence, power and provision. In Jesus name, Amen. Grace and peace to you, Pastor Denise Watkins
October Events 2018 Charge Conference WBUMC Charge Conference is Scheduled for Sunday October 14th, 2-5p. This year it will be held at Central UMC, located at 1211 Porter St., Richmond, VA 23224. Please plan to attend this important time of worship, reflection and planning! Saturday October 13th $8/quart or $21/3 quarts Sponsored by the UMM Peeling Party Friday Oct. 12th 5:00 p.m. Bring your peelers! Country Christian Breakfast Sunday 10/14 9:00 a.m. 2
Bluegrass/Gospel Jam YOUTH Oct. 20th Meet @ WBUMC in Fellowship Hall; Bowling 4-6p Upcoming dates: Nov. 10th Dec. 8th Saturday October 20th, 5p Bring your children to join the music and fun during Children s Choir at 9:45am every Sunday! 3 Jerry Holmes 17 Larry Lambert Grocery Ministry & Clothes Closet Tuesday October 9th, 10a-12p COAT DRIVE! Collecting coats, hats, scarfs & gloves for the Clothes Closet to prepare for the winter! 6 Cliff Thore 9 Gage Thore 12 Dezmond Burnett 13 Bryan Teachey 16 Margaret Fallen 19 Denise Watkins 25 Anne Benson 25 Betty Kreider 27 Rose Henshaw 29 Jason Dodson 30 Genevieve Whetstone Sunday Morning Readers for October 7 Gloria Lambert 14 Gage Thore 21 Bonnie Heretick 28 Shaun Cox 11/10 Youth Group, 4p 3 Rosie Woods Sunday Morning Greeters October 7 Pasty Weaver 14- Louise Madison 21 Bob Moseley 28 Matt Thore 11/11 Country Christian Breakfast, 9a 11/13 Grocery Ministry/Clothes Closet,10a 11/17 Community Thanksgiving Dinner 11/18 Stewardship Sunday 11/20 Community Thanksgiving Service 11/25 Advent Decorating 3
From Rose Henshaw, Lay Leader: What is the Pastor s Discretionary Fund? Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17 Did you know a special offering is taken on ever Communion Sunday? The offering is used by the Pastor, at her discretion and in confidence, to help our members and neighbors in a time of emergency or need. Please consider making a contribution at the alter every first Sunday. Music festival 1pM, $10 tickets at door See Chris Campbell or Facebook for more info The Hermitage Annual Bazaar Oct. 26th & 27th 9:30a-4p, @ The Hermitage 4
1. Brown the bacon in a Dutch oven; remove from pan and drain. Pour off half the bacon fat and cook onions until soft in remaining fat. 2. Add potatoes, 1 cup water and bacon. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are done. 3. Add bouillon, milk, remaining water and corn; simmer for 15-20 min. 4. Add spices and serve. Serves 6-8. Note: Can be made a day ahead and gently reheated at serving time. Serve with hot ham biscuits and a salad for a delicious meal! Corn Chowder 6 strips of bacon, diced 2 medium onions, diced 6-8 small potatoes, peeled and diced 2 cups water 3 cups milk 1 Tbsp instant chicken bouillon 2 16oz cans cream-style corn 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper Fresh parsley, minced (optional) If you d like to share a recipe, please submit it to the church office. Dear Pastor Denise, John and I want to thank WBUMC for the love, compassion and support shown to our family during this difficult time of loss. We especially appreciate all the help provided by Victoria in coordinating and planning Lonie s service and reception. She is a real blessing to your church and we felt her servant heart hard at work to ensure Lonie was properly honored. Your membership was also extremely faithful in their visits with Lonie and the many calls, letters and cards she received from them over the past years were so appreciated. Your church may be small but its light shines bright and you are living examples of what it means to live a Christ-like life. May God continue to bless WBUMC and all its members. Will be in touch soon... Blessings, John & Vickie Pansy Sale by UMUMR benefitting Shalom Farms $20/flat(32) OR $4.50/pack(4-6) See Gee Gee Whetstone to order Deadline to order Oct. 15th, Pick up Sunday Oct. 21st 5
Visioning Responses Below are listed all the responses received for visioning ideas. Ideas with more than one mention have their number of mentions listed. 1) Pave back lot (10) 2) Picnic table/shelter (7) 3) Basketball hoop (7) 4) Church van (7) 5) Family movie/games nights/dinners for all ages (6) 6) Children s program (5) 7) Playground (5) 8) Sports field (5) 9) Coffee hour (4) 10) Monthly youth group /events (3) 11) Monthly adult activities (3) 12) Install shower/caritas (3) 13) Community canvasing (3) 14) Monthly community dinners/activities (2) 15) Senior activities (2) 16) Afterschool care (2) 17) Additional Bible Studies outside work hours (2) 18) Monthly birthday greetings 19) Paid nursery worker 20) Walking trail 21) Flag storage 22) Decorative flags 23) Different styles of music 24) More musicians 25) Better advertising for events 26) More visiting for Compassionate Care 27) Invite feedback 28) 4th Sunday kickball & pizza 6
Walmsley Witness WORSHIP-GROW-SERVE The UMM and Ignite Youth held a very successful car wash/yard sale/bake sale! In all, they were able to raise around $240 for Anne & Bob Moseley s Mission Trip to Honduras! Hymn Story: We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations Article written by Kelly Tennille Grooms We ve a story to tell to the nations, That shall turn their hearts to the right, A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And the dawning to noonday bright; And Christ s great kingdom shall come on earth, The kingdom of love and light. If you attended Sunday School or Vacation Bible School in the United States any time during the twentieth century, you are likely familiar with We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations. This gospel hymn was written in 1896 by Henry Ernest Nichol (1862-1926), a British civil engineering student turned musician. Nichol frequently signed his text with pseudonym, an anagram of his middle and last names Colin Sterne. According to Hymnary.org, Nichol/Sterne wrote around 130 hymns, almost all for children. Most were included only in Sunday School songbooks rather than larger hymnals. Even so, few made it into more that two publications. We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations, on the other hand, which was first published in 1896 in London in The Sunday School Hymnal, has been included in at least 250 songbooks and hymnals. According to William J. Reynolds, a Southern Baptist musician and scholar, in the Companion to the Baptist Hymnal (1976), this text s first printing in the United States was probably in Turner s Hymns and Tunes for Schools, published in 1908. Continued on next page. 7
Hymn Story: We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations Continued... Carlton R. Young, in the Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, writes, This hymn... Is typical of hundreds that were written to express the determined, dynamic, energetic, and expansive attributes of...christian missions (Young, 1993, 686). He goes on to describe these songs and their reflection of the theology of mission at the time. Christians in the Western world, and especially in the United States, saw their version of religion as superior to the culture and belief system elsewhere in the world. In the early twenty-first century, this view of Christian mission continued in some areas, but it has been gradually changing in most of the Western church, leaning more toward building mission partnerships instead of hierarchical relationships. What has made this particular gospel hymn so popular through the years despite its narrow concept of mission? And what about it has compelled hymnal editors to continue including it a century or more after its writing? Stanzas 1, 2, and 4 certainly set up the disparity of us and them common to the time period. The third stanza differs slightly with its use of us : God has sent us his son to save us. Even with the attention drawn to religious and cultural differences and the resulting superior/inferior dichotomy, Young argues that this text encourages peace and unity found in Jesus Christ, thus its survival into contemporary hymnals. As in the case for many of his texts, Nichol also wrote new music for We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations. MESSAGE is lively and march-like supporting the feeling of going out to spread the gospel. Words and music are similar in content and mood to other songs of the period included in The United Methodist Hymnal, such as Arthur Sullivan's ST. GERTRUDE ( Onward Christian Soldiers, UMH 575), James Walch s TIDING ( O Zion, Haste, UMH 573), and William H. Doane s RESCUE (Fanny Crosby s Rescue the Perishing, UMH 591). Rinda Coleman, in her column about Nichol s hymn in the Chalice Hymnal Worship Leader s Companion, explains that this style of hymn was part of an effort to maintain Christians enthusiasm for mission projects, and, in turn, secure their energy and money toward these endeavors. She suggests that We ve a Story to Tell to the Nations be used as a closing hymn, reminding worshipers that they are to be missionaries throughout the week. Borrowed from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-weve-a-story-to-tell-to-the-nations Welcome to Betsy Lewerenz who joined WBUMC on Sunday Sept. 23rd, and to Baby Austin Thore who was baptized on the same day! We are so happy to have you both as part of our church family and welcome you with open arms! Would you like to contribute to the Walmsley Witness? We welcome your news, articles, quotes, and jokes! To be included in the November Newsletter, please have your submissions to the church office no later than Monday, October 15th. 8
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 7 Every Sunday: 9:25a, Sunday School/Children s Choir 11a, Worship 14 9a, Country Christian Breakfast 2p, Charge Conference @ Central UMC 21 11a, Guest Rev. Dorothee Tripodi 28 12p, Kickball 1 2 3 8 6p Scouting Orientation 9 10a, Grocery Ministry/ Clothes Closet Every Wednesday: 10:30a, Bible Study 6p, Choir Rehearsal 10 11 4 Every Thursday 8p, NA 10:30a, Josephine Day Cr. Mtg 5 6 12 5p, Peeling Party 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 29 30 31 6:30p, Lantern Fest Preview 13 8a, Kairos 11a, Brunswick Stew 3p, Youth Group 4p, Youth Bowling 5p Music Jam 27 2p, Lantern Fest 9