MEMORIAL UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Memos from Memorial V OLUME 9, I SSUE 4 APRIL 2019 Kevin s Korner In last month s edition of Kevin s Korner I talked about how we are entering into the dating scene with Westminster Presbyterian to see if we like each other enough to join as one. We have begun a time of discernment which has been fueled and has flourished as we have shared our Wednesday evenings this Lent around tables of food, fellowship, service projects and prayerful worship. So, let me ask you how you re feeling about all this. What are you thinking? Have you made new connections or solidified long-term ones? Have you heard stories of mission and ministry from the folks at Westminster that have excited you? Have you begun to wonder what new thing God might do in and through a combined congregation? To hope and imagine and wonder together are all things people do when they date. No doubt along with any hopes also come fears. If we would merge, what will we have to give up? What changes in our normal course of events will be so disruptive we can hardly stand it? Do I really have to give up my favorite pew just because that other couple got to church earlier this Sunday? Is merging really the best thing for both congregations? That s the question we are all faced with. Is this what God wants and needs of us and for us? I have heard lots of very positive comments about merging both from you and from our friends at Westminster. At this point I think it would serve us well if our session would consider proposing to Westminster that we merge, which we will take up at our next session meeting, after Easter. Like couples moving from the dating stage to being engaged, there is no guarantee our proposal will be accepted. But if it is, the next step will be to enter into serious conversations with representatives of the Westminster church and see how that goes. Once we do, we can hear of their hopes and fears as well, we can begin to imagine ways to make the transition smoother and as painless as any such transition can be, we can nail down some details, and we can begin to get a firmer and clearer notion of what ministry and mission will look like with a newly combined congregation. There would still be no guarantee the merge will happen. We may come to a point at which moving forward seems just too difficult because there are too many differences that cannot be resolved. But, that s a fear for another day. So for today, continue to pray and talk and think and check your emotions. Consider what things make Memorial United the church you love and what things are our essential witness to the community and the world? What are our strengths and what are our weaknesses? What is God calling us to? These are always good questions. But at this time, in this season of discernment, they are essential questions. I ll see you in church and as the church in the world. Peace, Kevin INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Children/Youth News The Spoken Word Around the Church 3 Missions 4 What s Going On 5 Volunteers - Birthdays 6 Appreciations/ Contact Information Calendar 8 SPECIAL POINTS OF IN TEREST: April. 3& 17 - Kid s Night Out April 3, 10, - Lenten Soup Suppers April 14 - Palm Sunday/One Great Hour of Sharing April 18 - Maundy Thursday April 19 - Good Friday April 21 - EASTER 2 7
P AGE 2 V OLUME 9, I SSUE 4 News for the Younger Set Kid s Night Out for the month of April will be on Wednesday the 3 rd and 17 th from 5:30-7. Please bring your children for Faith, Friends, and Fun. Please join us for our next movie night which is this Friday, April 5 at 6pm in the fellowship hall. Everyone is invited for a relaxing evening. Not only will you be seeing a fun movie and spending time with our church friends, there also will be popcorn and candy to enjoy. This is dinner time for so many of you, so please feel free to bring it with you! We are collecting coins in our fish banks for One Great Hour of Sharing. We hope you all will join us by participating this year. The money goes to help people in our country and around the world that are affected by natural disasters and human-caused disasters and to help people that are hungry or may need help in building a better future for their families. We will collect the fish banks on Palm Sunday which is April 14. Easter this year is on Sunday, April 21 and we are looking forward to sharing this holiday with your families. After Sunrise Service, we will enjoy a light breakfast and fellowship. Our Easter Egg hunt will be on the front lawn at 9:45, so please bring your children and grandchildren to share in the fun. We wish you all the best this Lenten and Easter season and hope you remember just how much God loves you! Blessings, The Children and Youth (This recipe can also be done with crescent rolls and the whole roll dipped in the cinnamon sugar before baking) April 7 Fifth Sunday in Lent Sacrament of the Lord s Supper Psalm 32, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 The Eldest April 14 Sixth Sunday in Lent Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Luke 19:28-40 The Call of the Restored The Spoken Word April 21 Resurrection of the Lord Acts 10:34-43, John 20:1-18 Darkness does not overcome this LIGHT! April 28 Second Sunday of Easter Acts 5:27-32, John 20:19-31 Seeing and Believing
P AGE 3 V OLUME 9, I SSUE 4 Around the Church Lenten Soup Suppers: As we began on Ash Wednesday, we will continue every Wednesday in Lent to gather in our Fellowship Hall for soup supper, service, supplication, and song. We will be joined by our Presbyterian cousins across town from Westminster Presbyterian. Our evening begins at 5:30 with supper followed by a small hands-on service project and rounded out with a quiet devotional time of scripture, song and prayer. Please plan to make these evenings a part of your Lenten devotion as we prepare ourselves for Holy Week and Easter. Sunday, April 14 Palm Sunday 9:15 a.m. Sunday School for all ages 10:30 a.m. Worship service with Palms and One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Thursday, April 18 Maundy Thursday 6:00 p.m. we gather at Xenia Westminster for a meal and service of Communion Friday, April 19 Good Friday 7:00 p.m. Service of Tenebrae Sunday, April 21 Easter Sunday 8:00 a.m. Sunrise Service (location TBD) 8:30 a.m. Light Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall 9:45 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt outside (weather permitting) 10:30 a.m. Easter Service of Celebration in the Sanctuary
M EMOS FROM MEMORIAL P AGE 4 Mission Opportunities Our last Lenten Service Project will be collecting and packing school kit bags for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance of the PC(USA). The Mission Team will have a sign-up sheet out in the vestibule so that we can collect the whole variety of goods to pack bags for children in need. On April 10, our project will be to pack school kits. Our children and youth will provide cloth bags and we will fill them with: 1 pair blunt scissors (round tip), 3 70-count spiral or other notebooks (total 200-210 pages/no loose-leaf paper), 1 30cm ruler, 1 hand-held pencil sharpener, 6 new pencils with erasers, 1 large eraser, and 1 box of 24 crayons. You can also donate money and we will do the shopping for you! If you would like more information on these programs, brochures are available on the Welcome Center or in the church office. Mark Your Calendars: The Mission Ministry Team invites everyone to attend the Sunday Café on Sunday, May 5 to benefit The Caring Place. The Caring Place offers a free meal every Thursday evening to anyone who comes to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Xenia. More details to come! BAGS 4 BEDS - Time to get out the scissors and crochet hooks for a new year of making sleeping mats for the homeless. Anyone interested in learning how to make the mats is invited to join the dedicated ladies who have been doing this since the project began in 2011. We'll meet this month on 4/9 and 4/23 from 9:30 to 2:00. Bring a sack lunch and beverage if you are staying over the lunch hour. The more, the merrier! For more info, contact Elaine Anderson at 372-7139 or Ruby Rector at 372-6771. FISH FOOD PANTRY Sunday, April 28 is collection day for the FISH Pantry. Please check to make sure that the food isn t expired! Monetary donations are always appreciated as well. Please place your food donations in the FISH boat in the Narthex. Specially marked envelopes are available in the pews and can be dropped in the offering plates.
M EMOS FROM MEMORIAL P AGE 5 What s Going On A Musical Classic For All Ages Friday, April 5 at 6:00p.m. Popcorn and Snacks Provided The church office will be closed on Monday, April 22 for the Easter holiday. Memorial Ladies Lunch This month, our single ladies group will be gathering on April 15, to eat at The Village Family Restaurant in Waynesville. We will meet at noon at the restaurant. Call Linda Howey at 376-9686 if you are interested in joining us or car-pooling. Session Update, April 2018 This column brings you information from the latest session meeting. For additional information on the topic(s) we present, please contact Mary in the office and she will find the information or person you need to contact. Session approved/accepted/discussed the following: * Pastor Kevin gave a short training session to our elders covering questions for ordination and installation and explained contents of The Book of Order, which covers foundations of Presbyterian polity, our form of government, a directory for worship, and Presbyterian rules of discipline. Training occurred as well for the Deacons at the March meeting. * The Trustees located a defibrillator at the beginning of the hallway leading to the pre-school wing; it will be shared with our pre-school; The new exterior doors have been installed and all earlier concerns have been addressed. Key fobs have been distributed to all trustees and other people who have a need to enter the building when staff or trustees are not present. * The Worship and Music Team is encouraging congregation members to bring a single flower for our large wooded cross on Easter morning. The team also presented additional information concerning the purchase of new hymnals. * The children are collecting coins in their FISH banks for the One Great Hour of Sharing. The money goes toward helping people in our country and around the world who are affected by natural and human-caused disasters. * On Friday night, April 5, the Spiritual Growth Team will sponsor movie night in the Fellowship Hall with a family-friendly movie and popcorn, cookies, and candy. * Session approved a modification of our Medical Reimbursement Policy for our staff to cover those expenses not reimbursed by an insurance program. * We discussed the Lenten Mission Team Projects, which we have been doing on Wednesday evenings. Following the soup suppers, the mission team and members from Memorial and Westminster have assembled hygiene kits for the Presbyterian Disaster, handtied throws for Westminster s blanket mission, and weekend food bags for our local school children. At our upcoming Wednesday night Lenten suppers, we will be doing other projects for mission. We also provided for INH meals the week of March 24th
P AGE 6 Birthdays/Volunteers V OLUME 9, I SSUE 4 Remember in Prayer: Barbara Meade, Ann Edwards, Mary Jo Black, Carolyn and John Sparks, Joan Anderson, Ben White, Julie Martin, our shut-ins, and military personnel and their families who wait for them to come home. Please contact the church office (376-9461 or mquinn@xeniamemorial.org) to add a prayer or praise to the list in the bulletin. Attention All Graduates: It s getting close to graduation season and the Spiritual Growth Team is ready to start planning to honor our Memorial Church graduates. If you are graduating from high school or college this year, or are the parent or grandparent of a Memorial Church graduate, please contact Mary in the church office with your graduation information (376-9461 or mquinn@xeniamemorial.org). We want to make sure we are able to celebrate this achievement with ALL of our young adults! April Birthdays Joyce Stacy Chris White Thais Reiff Dixie Szalejko Ina Bickett Jane Garrison Debbie Bickett Connor Detty Pam Lubbers Betty Martin Emily Bradley Mary Ann Noble Rosemary Laxson Marsha Saxer Kyle Ann McKiernan Mary Quinn Buzz Daum Morning Fellowship Coffee Schedule April 7 - Women s Association April 14 - Women s Association April 21 - *Easter April 28 - Women s Association May 5 - *Sunday Cafe If I have missed anyone s birthday, please let me know in the office. Mary 3-Apr 3-Apr 6-Apr 10-Apr 11-Apr 14-Apr 16-Apr 17-Apr 17-Apr 21-Apr 22-Apr 22-Apr 24-Apr 24-Apr 27-Apr 28-Apr 30-Apr Lay Readers Children's Time Ushers 4/7 Judy Martin Kathleen Strickland Kathleen Strickland 4/14 Evelyn Falk Michael Weller Thais Reiff 4/21 Nancy Bigley Caroline Prindle Don Robinson 4/28 John MacMillan Millicent Townsley Carolyn Robinson
Memorial United Presbyterian Church 343 West Ankeney Mill Road, Xenia, OH 45385 Church Office 376-9461 Office Hours: Monday- Friday, 9:00 am-2:00 pm E-mail: xmpc@xeniamemorial.org Website: www.xeniamemorial.org Memorial United Presbyterian Church Appreciations On behalf of the staff, volunteers, our board, and myself, we would like to thank you for your contribution. Whether your gift was food or monetary donation, it was welcomed and put to good use. Each dollar provides 5 lbs. of food. These are difficult economic times for an increasing number of families and as a result, an ever growing number of people are seeking assistance. But we have never had to turn anyone away who needed help and this was possible because of organizations like you, whose generosity always enables us to match the needs of the people with sufficient food. Gail Matson, Xenia FISH Food Pantry ***** *all thank you notes are posted on the bulletin board outside the office Rev. Kevin Murphy Interim Pastor kmurphy@xeniamemorial.org Nancy Beam, Director of Youth & Children s Ministries nbeam@xeniamemorial.org Michael Weller, Music Director Jill-Ann Bryant, Organist Dixie Szalejko, Memorial Preschool Director Mary Quinn, Secretary mquinn@xeniamemorial.org Pastoral Needs Information If you are hospitalized, need a pastoral visit, or know of someone who does, please call the church office at 376-9461. If it is after office hours, contact Pastor Murphy (859)391-7867, Elder Kathleen Strickland 287-1451, or Deacon Robin Fife-Riley 510-1865. You can also request to be put on the prayer circle list for urgent needs. We re on the Web: xeniamemorial.org Interim Pastor Contact Information: kmurphy@xeniamemorial.org Office Hours: Monday - Wednesday, 10-5 After Hours: please leave a message on office phone extension and Pastor Murphy will return your call as soon as possible Bulletin information must be received in the office by Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. to guarantee inclusion in the next week s bulletin. Newsletter information and articles must be received in the office by the 22nd of each month to guarantee inclusion in the next Memos from Memorial. Committees and Teams, please let the office know of any meeting schedule changes.
April Calendar Non Church Events in Green 7 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 9:15 AM Christian Education Classes - East Wing & Parlor 10:30 AM Worship with Communion - Sanctuary 11:45 AM Fellowship - Narthex 1 10:30 AM Bible Study - Library 8 10:30 AM Bible Study - Library 12:30 PM Ruth Circle 2 1:00 PM Women s Association Mtg. 9 7:30 AM Men's Fellowship Breakfast Xenia Frisch's - 9:30 AM Bags 4 Beds Fellowship Hall 4:00 PM Stewardship Team - Library 5:00 PM Worship and Music Team - Computer Rm 6:30 PM Mission Team - Computer Room 6:30 PM Spiritual Growth Team - Rm 1 3 1:00 PM GCRTA - Room 1 5:30 PM Kid's Night Out - Art Room 5:30 PM Lenten Soup Supper 10-5:30 PM Lenten Soup Supper 4 2:00 PM Women s Club of Xenia - Parlor 6:30 PM Bell Choir - Parlor 7:30 PM Chancel Choir - Choir Room 11-6:30 PM Bell Choir - Parlor 7:30 PM Chancel Choir - Choir Room 5 6:00 PM Movie Night - Fellowship Hall 12 6 13 14 Palm Sunday 15 16 17 18 19 20 9:15 AM Christian Education Classes - East Wing & Parlor 10:30 AM Worship - Sanctuary 11:45 AM Fellowship - Narthex, FH 10:30 AM Bible Study - Library 12:00 PM Memorial Ladies Lunch - - 5:30 PM Kid's Night Out - Art Room All Team and Committee Reports Due - 6:00 PM Maundy Thursday - at Westminster 6:30 PM Bell Choir - Parlor 7:30 PM Chancel Choir - Choir Room 7:00 PM Good Friday Service - Sanctuary 21 8:00 AM Easter Sunrise Service 8:30 AM Easter Breakfast - Fellowship Hall 10:30 AM Worship - Sanctuary 11:45 AM Fellowship - Narthex 22 Office Closed Deadline for Memos 23-9:30 AM Bags 4 Beds Fellowship Hall 6:00 PM Deacon Meeting - Room 1 7:00 PM Session - Library 7:00 PM Trustee Meeting - Computer Room 24-25 - 6:30 PM Bell Choir - Parlor 7:30 PM Chancel Choir - Choir Room 26, Fellowship Hall 27 28 FISH Food Pantry Collection Day 9:15 AM Christian Education Classes - East Wing & Parlor 10:30 AM Worship - Sanctuary 11:45 AM Fellowship - Narthex 29 10:30 AM Bible Study - Library 30 - April