CONTACT US EL BUEN PASTOR UMC 705 E. University Dr. Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone #: 956-383-2515 isidropina66gmail.com normapollard63gmail.com rosarodriguez217.rr gmail.com For Newsletter Article: Contact: Priscilla R. Patterson prispat56aol.com We re on the Web! Www.elbuenpastorumc.com/ OFFICE HOURS: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Secretary Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. SUNDAY: Sunday School 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon WEDNESDAY: Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 8:15-9:30 p.m. - YA s EL BUEN PASTOR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH EDINBURG, TEXAS June JANUARY 2017 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 Communion Sunday 11 18 FATHERS DAY 25 5 12 19 Sunday, June 4 Pentecost Sunday RED Graduation Sunday June 7-10 - Rev. Piña, Norma Pollard, Priscilla Patterson, Anita Calderon, Luis Gonzales and Laura Garza will be attending Annual Conference in Corpus. Sunday, June 11 Trinity Sunday GREEN Sunday, June 25 Third Sunday after Pentecost GREEN 6 7 Wednesdays Rev s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 13 14 Wednesdays Rev s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 20 21 Wednesdays Rev s Bible Class 6:00 1 2 3 Shawl Ministy 3:00 PM 8 COFFEE WITH THE PASTOR BIBLE CLASS 10:00 AM 15COFFEE WITH THE PASTOR BIBLE CLASS 10:00 AM 22COFFE E WITH THE PASTOR BIBLE CLASS 10:00 AM VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL JUNE 19TH 23RD 26 27 28 29 COFFEE Wednesdays WITH THE PASTOR Rev s Bible BIBLE CLASS Class 6:00 10:00 AM 9 10 2017 Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, TX 16 17 Shawl Ministy 3:00 PM 23 24 30 All articles for the July newsletter are due by Friday, June 23rd. In This Issue: Breakfast Before Sunday School Children s Ministry Father s Day VBS Wednesday The Prayer Room Beach to Bay Annual Conference Mother s Day Memories Treasurer s Report District Conference & Celebration Dinner Bishop s Exemplar What is Pentecost Sunday? Congratulations Graduates June Birthdays & June Anniversaries 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 June Calendar 12 El Buen Pastor United Methodist Church Edinburg, Texas A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters II Corinthians 6:18. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! I John 3:1. Father s Day is coming up. Even though this day is frequently overlooked. This day is not celebrated as Mother s Day, Valentine s Day or any other popular event. However, we still see greeting cards in the stores with messages such as, Relax, this is your day! or World s Greatest Dad. We see pictures of fathers sitting in front of the television set holding the remote control or sitting on the beach just relaxing. Fathers come in different shapes and forms. We have those who are great fathers, great role models, those who served or still serve in the military, those who support their families, and those fathers who grew up in the perfect home and received the teachings of their own dads on how to be a daddy. And we also have those who chose to be your father. Those who could not have children of their own but decided to adopt; and they did a great job by being there for you and loving you as one of his own. All of this is beautiful. Nevertheless, we have those fathers who were raised in a home lacking the father figure in their lives and as a result they now struggle to be a great dad to their children. Growing up as a child without a father figure can be devastating. Many of us grew up lacking that one important person in our lives. Yes, we had other relatives who tried really hard to become that father figure in our lives, and they succeed in being present, but deep inside of us we knew that that is not how society sees it. I grew up without my father in my life. He moved away when my mother passed away. We were left under the care of our paternal grandparents. They were loving grandparents; however, the father and mother figure were lacking in my siblings and in my life. Countless times I would sit outside at the edge of the sidewalk waiting for the red car to appear around the corner bringing our dad. My father drove a red car. He would come home to visit us once a month in Mexico, where we lived with our grandparents. He would come and stay for a couple of days and leave back again to the USA. I am sure that the distance between us was as hard for him as it was for me. JUNE 2017 Perhaps you were fortunate enough to have the perfect family and a loving father growing up; praise God for that! Rev. But Isidro if you are Piña one of those, like me or like many others, just know that you are loved by God. If you grew up without a father figure, or if you are still growing up without him being present in your life, know that God says, He is your Father. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters II Corinthians 6:18. And by following His footsteps and His teachings, He will show you how to be a great dad to your own children. Happy Father s Day! Rev. Isidro Piña
Page 2 Children s Ministry EBP Kids sang a beautiful song for their mothers on Mother s Day. Following their song, each child presented their mother with 2 roses. Special thanks goes out to Ms. Leora Shanks for working with our children to get them ready for the presentation. Breakfast Before Sunday School The United Methodist Men continue to provide an awesome free breakfast to all who come to Sunday School. The breakfast starts at 9:00 a.m. with Sunday school beginning at 10:00 a.m. Food, fellowship, Bible study, worship, that s what it s all about! Page 11 June Birthdays 6/1 Suni Garcia Crystal Reyes 6/2 Amy Villanueva 6/16 Roel Contreras 6/28 Irene Lopez 6/3 Victoria Mendosa 6/17 Ayssa Espericueta 6/29 Savannah Ramos Sabrina Garza Freddy Salazar 6/30 Maria Galloso Elizabeth Reyes 6/18 Norma Pollard Lucy Garza Jennifer Salinas 6/19 Joe Martinez Marisela Rivas 6/4 Kelly Vargas 6/20 Ianeli Enriquez 6/5 Carlos Rodriguez Noemi Perez 6/6 Robbie Gonzalez Ramon Guerra 6/7 Nora Neck 6/21 David Anzaldua, Jr. Javier Robles Freddy Espericueta Elida Vasquez 6/22 Mark Garza 6/9 David Martinez 6/23 Rene Flores Omar Reyes Sarah Flores Fidel Perez 6/24 Myra Zapata 6/10 Melissa Cantu 6/25 Rebecca Gorena 6/11 Roland Anaya 6/27 Samantha Garza 6/12 Kailey Caldwell Terry Viña Vanessa Mendosa 6/28 Noel Espericueta June Anniversaries Father s Day Pictures We are collecting photos for our Father s Day Presentation. We want participation from ALL fathers, grandfathers, uncles and the special men that play a father role within our congregation. We will be honoring and remembering ALL fathers, so please submit a photo of your loved one by turning in to Martha Olivarez, sending via email to: martha02angelicayahoo.com or sending via Facebook Messenger. 6/4 Israel & Dora Reyes 6/21 Joe & Yolanda Martinez Carlos & Carmen Quiroz 6/25 Mario & Janie Lopez 6/7 Sergio & Crystal Reyes Mark & Chris Gordon Anibal & Belinda Gorena 6/29 Jaime & Ophelia Solis 6/15 Carlos & Amalia Reyes 6/16 Robert & Cynthia Rios 6/18 Eduardo & Debbie Enriquez DEADLINE to submit photo is June 11, 2017.
Page 10 Page 3 Kids, come take an awesome adventure alongside some of your favorite Bible heroes and discover the qualities that make us truly heroic in God. VBS Hero Central uses epic music, spectacular science, crafty crafts, heroic recreation, and fantastic Bible stories to help YOU discover your strength in God! Dates: June 19-23, 2017 Time Monday-Thursday 6:00-8:30PM Friday celebration 6:30PM Color of the day: Monday-Red Tuesday- Green Wednesday- Orange Thursday- Blue Friday-Yellow Wednesday El Buen Pastor Kids meet every Wednesday at PM to learn about God, play games, Congratulations to all Kinder, High School, College, University and Doctoral Graduates! sing, fellowship and just have a great time. Join us and invite a friend!
Page 4 Page 9 The Prayer Room Please visit our newly restored prayer room located in the Sanctuary of the church at any time you may desire. You are welcome to spend as much time as you wish in prayer and meditation making your requests known unto the Lord. It is a true blessing to have it available to us any time we wish to spend time alone with our Lord. I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped in the restoration of our Prayer Room. You are truly appreciated, Thank God for your faithfulness. Noemi Perez, Prayer Advocate What is Pentecost Sunday? One of the principal days of the Christian year, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. The Greek word pentecoste means "fiftieth day." Pentecost is the day on which the Christian church commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and others assembled in Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of the Christian church and the proclamation of its message throughout the world and is often referred to as the birthday of the church. The liturgical color for Pentecost is red. Traditionally, Pentecost has been a day for baptisms. Because it was the custom in the early church for persons being baptized to wear white robes or clothing, the day also became known as Whitsunday, a contraction of white Sunday. Acts 2:1-21. On the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrives with power upon 120 disciples of Jesus gathered in an upper room. They begin preaching publicly, and thousands of pilgrims from nations far and near hear the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ in their own languages. Psalm 104:24-34, 35b (United Methodist Hymnal, 826). 1Corinthians 12:3b-13. The Holy Spirit gives many gifts for many ministries in the one body of Jesus Christ. On May 19, 2017, a group from EBP represented our church at the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi, Texas. A big applause goes out to those who participated in this event. Way to go runners! John 7:37-39. Jesus preaches at the Feast of Sukkoth/Booths (five days after Yom Kippur): "Come to me, and rivers of living water will flow from you!" Following Jesus means becoming a channel of the Spirit for the whole world.
Page 8 Bishop s Exemplar Award On May 21, 2017 during the El Valle District Conference Celebration Dinner, Bishop Robert Schnase and District Superintendent Dr. Robert Lopez presented our very own Norma Perez the Bishop s Exemplar Award. EBP is proud of you Norma! NORMA PEREZ Page 5 2017 Mother s Day Memories
Page 6 TREASURER S REPORT District Conference & Celebration Dinner Page 7 April 2017 On May 20, 2017 the El Valle District Conference and Celebration Dinner was held at FUMC in Harlingen. Bishop Robert Schnase was the guest of honor. Our pastors and their spouses attended as well as some of the delegates. It was truly a great blessing to be amongst so many of God s people! Support General Budget-Tithes & Offerings- Income $24,549.38 Budget Expenditures (20,872.78) Difference $3,676.60 Budget Expenditures: Administrative Costs $10,583.91 Church Property Exp. 7,057.99 Conference Assignments 3,000.00 Ministry 230.88 $20,872.78 Blanca and Rev. Bill and Norma Designated Account Balance $ 58,220.07 Rio Texas Conference Assignment Balance $ 23,000.00 Texas Methodist Foundation Balance $270,750.64 A detailed monthly report may be obtained and/or viewed at the church office. Please contact Rosa Rodriguez, church secretary, at 383-2515 or Leonor Zarate, church treasurer, at 318-1160. Walter and Prissy Norma and Luis