Hilda United Methodist Church Hilda Herald JANUARY 2015 WEBSITE 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 P.O. Box 1404 Mason, TX 76856 Cell: 325-347-7219 arcwade@gmail.com Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors Newsletter Editor: Jan Appleby janell@ctesc.net Once again, January symbolizes a new beginning. It is the new year, 2015. How is that possible? Ethan is an 8 th grader, Sara is a sophomore, and Afton is moving into a new apartment in Houston. January is often a time when we gather our thoughts for the coming year and try to organize our goals. That is true not only personally, but also true for a church. Here are some of the things that I hope to act on in 2015. On a personal level, I will be finishing up my Masters of Divinity degree. I will be in Orlando January 4 th 10 th for a course on sacramental theology. I will be interviewed by the Board of Ordained Ministry on the 12 th in anticipation of being accepted as a Provisional Elder in June on the road to full ordination. Later in January, I will travel to Atlanta for a week of urban mission work to fulfill a requirement for my degree. Then, in the Spring I will take my final course and graduate in May. At the church level, I think there may be some restructuring of responsibilities that we may want to address. There may be ways in which we can become more efficient as a church. I know there are responsibilities that have fallen on some folks that were kind enough to take them on, but have been saddled with those responsibilities ever since. I don t know what the answers are, and frankly, I m not sure what all the questions are, but an effort to bring some things into focus and address ways to accomplish the work of the church could be a really good thing. We will probably begin with some cottage meetings in February to get a sense of where we are, where we want to go and how to get there. So, in the meantime, please start thinking of the areas in which your gifts lie. Where would you like to be more involved? Where would you like to be less involved? And, how do you see the Hilda United Methodist Church fulfilling the mission that God has for us? God bless you, Pastor Wade NEW BEGINNINGS 1
Page 2 Hilda Herald UNITED METHODIST WOMEN HILDA UMW The Hilda UMW met on Tuesday, December 9th in Fellowship Hall. Pastor Suzanne Brantley was our guest speaker Following her program, we opened gifts from our Secret Pals and found out who they were. Then we drew names for next year s secret par. Everyone brought a dish to share for our luncheon and following lunch we wrapped our gifts for the Mason Angel Tree. They were delivered to FUMC in Mason after the meeting. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 13th with the Doss ladies as our guests. WE WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! Pastor Suzanne & Judy Holik Dian Willmann with our Angel Tree gifts at FUMC SPRING RIO TEXAS CONFERENCE UMW MEETING Saturday, Feb. 21 PLACE - TBA 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Registration 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. 2
Volume 6, Issue 8 Page 3 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Thursday, Jan. 1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sunday, Jan. 4 - Communion Sunday; Choir practice following Communion Sunday, Jan. 11 - Choir practice after church Tuesday, Jan. 13 - UMW in new Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16 - Hilda Community Club - 6:30 p.m. @ Hilda Clubhouse Sunday, Jan. 18 - Choir practice after church Saturday, Jan. 24 - West District Leadership Training - Registration 8:30 a.m. - Sessions begin at 9:00 a.m. (See P. 5 for more info & Registration Form - Deadline to register is January 16) Sunday, Jan. 25 - Choir practice after church Tuesday, Jan. 27 - Martha Circle - 6:00 p.m Sunday, Feb. 1 - Communion Sunday; Choir practice following Communion Sunday, Feb. 8 - Choir practice after church Tuesday, Feb. 10 - UMW in new Fellowship Hall 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 - HAPPY VALENTINE S DAY! Sunday, Feb. 15 - Choir practice after church Thursday, Feb. 19 - Mason Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet - 6:00 p.m. @ MISD Cafetorium Friday, Feb. 20 - Hilda Community Club - 6:30 Saturday, Feb. 21 - Rio Conference UMW meeting in at Church Sunday, Feb. 22 - Choir practice after church Tuesday, Feb. 24 - Martha Circle - 6:00 p.m. - Place TBA 3
SUNDAY SCHOOL DISCUSSING MENTAL ILLNESS For more information you can contact Rev. Wade Powell at (325) 347-7219 or Nanci Gibbons at (210) 240-4299. We all want to help when we see people suffering, but often we don t know what to do. More importantly, our efforts to help can actually hurt those we want to serve. On November 2, the Adult Sunday School class will begin studying the book When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Part I of the book talks about the nature of poverty, and Part II discusses 3 issues that should be considered when developing a strategy to address poverty. If a class member wants a copy of the book it costs $16.00, and Nanci will order it for you. JANUARY BIRTHDAYS Florence Smith - Jan. 12 Jo Ann Barwise - Jan. 18 Doris Geistweidt - Jan. 24 Ethan Powell - Jan. 26 Walter Barwise - Jan. 28 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Walter & Jo Ann Barwise - Jan. 6 WANTED CHOIR MEMBERS!! The choir needs old members to return and new people to join us! We meet after church on Sunday morning and everyone is welcome!! For more information you can contact Nanci Gibbons at (210) 240-4299. Janis Friedrich sings a beautiful Christmas song at the Dec. 28th service HOLIDAY LUNCHEON PHOTOS December 21st 4
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CHRISTMAS ~ 2014 POINSETTIAS DONOR/S IN MEMORY OF IN HONOR OF Allen, Loeffler, Price, Walker Families Jan Appleby Tom Price, LeeRoy, Louise, Laura Laura, Casey, & Herbert Loeffler Larry Appleby, Sr. George & KK Brannies Pastor Wade & Family Don & Gerry Daniel Our Parents Yvonne & Ellen Eckert Ervin Eckert & Hal Pilcher Pastor Wade & Family Diane Evans Passed Family Member My Family Ken & Janis Friedrich Reuben & Doris Geistweidt Our Parents Our parents & Valerie Ann Tom & Nanci Gibbons Clyde & Leatrice Haley Henrich Family Lee & Dee Henrich Dorman & Lisa Henrich, Dorothy Tartt Our Family James Feuge Jared & Jayton Henrich David & Linda Kesler Al & Margaret Leake Our Children & Grand- Earl & Rose Mary Kesler Children Tuck & Pat Tucker Gladys Lively T.J. Mitchell Wade & Cindy Powell Carol Sattler Pearl Maples & Alvina Tucker Wallace Lively, Sr. My parents, Imogene & Tommy Loftin Our moms Sara H. Powell & Virginia H Shelton; John & Ethel Mae Hatch Harold Sattler Danny & Florence Smith Stephen & Lisa Stengel Our Family Audrey Mae Burton Tuck & Pat Tucker Pearl Maples & Alvina Tucker 6
NEED USHERS & SCRIPTURE READERS FOR 2015 There is a copy of this sign-up sheet in the front of the sanctuary on top of the organ. Please sign up if you are willing to do one of these tasks - thanks! USHERS - 2015 January - February - March - April - May - June - July - Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov, Dec. READERS - 2015 FIRST SUNDAY COMMUNION HELP NEEDED JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPT NOV FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER 7
PRAYER SHARING Someone has said that if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. During WWII there was an adviser to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace. There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate then every evening at 8:00 PM Central Time, stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States and for a return to a Godly nation. I If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have! THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR We learn more and more about ourselves and the things that truly make us happy every day and more importantly, the things that don t. There are moments in life when everything is blurry and moments when everything seems to be in focus. Just like the lens of a camera, you have the power to adjust your vision. And, even on the darkness days, where you can t see anything, just keep moving forward. It s the only constant, and forever the direction in which we all must go, keeping God s love as our focus. 8