CROSS AND FLAME NEWS First United Methodist Church of Evergreen Park 9358 S. Homan Avenue Evergreen Park, IL 60805 March 2017 Vol. 21 No 3 Website: http://evergreenparkmethodist.org
CROSS AND FLAME NEWS FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF EVERGREEN March 2017 Vol. 21 No. 3 LENT begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1 st as we enter this solemn and Holy Season Lent means many things to many people. Whether you are seeking solemnity, renewal, or rejuvenation on Ash Wednesday, we are bonded by the physical and spiritual connection we share as followers of Jesus. May the Holy Spirit be upon us as we prepare ourselves for these coming 40 days of Lent. This year we will offer two opportunities to receive the ashes and worship. You may come to the church individually any time between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm to receive the ashes. In the evening we will combine our worship and Holy Communion with the United by Faith Lutheran Church congregation. We will meet at 7:30 at their church located at 3240 W. 98 th St. For those interested in carpooling we can use the church van. We will gather at 7:00 at the church and depart at 7:15. This is intended to be an ongoing exchange and collaboration with other churches in Evergreen Park. Each year we can rotate the host church. The UMY are inviting people of all ages to join us for our Lenten Bible Study. We will be doing Destination Easter! The richness of Lent and the events of Holy Week are brought to life. Each exciting program has a meaningful and related practice which gives the opportunity to experience various traditions and celebrations related to the season. There are also devotionals and bible study as well as interactive experiences. The journey starts Sunday, March 5 th immediately following our regular worship service. It will continue each week through Lent. If you are interested in being part of the journey, please let Pastor Larry or Joy know by February 26 th. is sponsoring Have a Heart food drive for the Evergreen Park Village Pantry through March. Your donations of non-perishable items will help the needy within our community. Please leave donations in the boxes in the back of the sanctuary. We can share and show we care. Thanks for helping us help others. The Girl Scout Daisies Troop 65101 will be recognized during the Worship Service on Sunday, March 12t h. The Daisies meet every Thursday evening. For the month of February the food team served a meal of oven stew; along with the usual salad, vegetable and dessert. The number of people that we are now anticipating is between 70-75 people in need. God continues to bless each of us in this endeavor. Keep each of us in your prayers that we are able to continue this much needed service. Lois Morris Food Team Coordinator The Endowment committee is accepting formal written request for special project funding. Please submit written request by March 5 th to Marilyn Steennwyk or Nicole Zable.
I have been asked on a number of occasions about my views on political issues of the day. In particular one person asked about the role the church plays in taking political stands. This is a controversial topic; one that leaves me feeling pulled in more than one direction. Let us consider this topic through multiple lenses. 1) Legally, the separation of Church and State means that a pastor is not to use the pulpit to endorse any individual candidate. Likewise, the State is not permitted to endorse any one faith over against another. 2) Morally, we are compelled by scripture and the example of Christ to be proactive in loving our neighbor. From these two understandings we also acknowledge that we as people of faith are free to exercise political will through our voice, our presence, and our vote. Likewise, persons holding political office are welcome to exercise their own personal religious views. As disciples of Jesus Christ I strongly suggest we take our lead from the example of scripture. Yes we speak truth to power, yes we must obey God rather than men, and yes we sincerely pray for those in positions of political leadership. We are the salt of the earth. As salt we draw out the good in others. Salt acts as an agent of preservation. And salt is used to purify and cleanse. As people of faith engaged in the political arena let us measure our words and deeds by whether they are seeking to nurture, educate, promote wellbeing, and serve the common good. Much of our society need to see and hear a constructive alternative to an eye for an eye and fighting fire with fire. Matthew 5:16 says In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Mother Theresa was one such example. Whether Christian or not, whether Roman Catholic or not, almost universally her good works were recognized as the love of God in action. In her life we see the truth of actions speak louder than words. We are the light of the world. As light we are to show the love of Christ to all people. This kind of light has more to do with demonstrating love in action than shouting down opposing voices. There is certainly a time to make our voices heard, marches and rallies are good examples, but showing up in community forums, school board meetings, and on the doorstep of a sick neighbor bring a focused light into a real place of darkness! In terms of politics our loudest public voice is heard at the voting booth. Was your voice heard on November 8, 2016?
The UMM continue to meet on Saturday evenings at 5:00. On the third Saturday we join forces with the Beds Plus group to prepare and serve a meal to the homeless. \We are currently doing a study on Christian meditation known as Lectio Divina. This is also called praying the scriptures. While we encourage regular participation we also welcome walk-ins. We recently had the pleasure of having Jared Fuentebella join us!! UMM provides opportunity for fellowship, prayer, small group study, and service to our church and community. Men, you are invited to join us one day soon to be a part of this ministry. You will be blessed and you will be a blessing to others. A very big THANK YOU to everyone who came to our Super Bowl luncheon after church on Sunday, February 5 th. Sandwiches, chips and desserts were enjoyed by all! Our free will donation brought in $149. We will be sending those funds to support UMW mission work. Thank you for your generosity! As we welcome spring, the UMW will begin to plan for our annual Women s Spring Banquet (formerly known as the Mother Daughter Banquet). This event is successful when we have many hands to help. If you are interested in being involved in the banquet in any capacity, please see Joy, Joyce or me as soon as possible. We only have 2 meetings between now and the banquet: Thursday, March 16 th and Thursday, April 20 th at 7pm. If you are interested in what UMW is up to or want to come check us out, please feel free to come to any of our meetings (held the 3 rd Thursday of EVERY month at 7pm in Iowa back of the sanctuary) or ask any UMW member for more information. We would be thrilled to have you join us! Love in Christ, Roberta Vogeltanz Vice President The youth had a successful Flake Fest Bake sale in February. We raised $140. Part of that will go towards buying items for the Sunday School s food drive. The other part will go towards supplies for the youth. March will be an exciting month! We are inviting people of all ages to join us for our Lenten Bible Study. We will be doing Destination Easter! The richness of Lent and the events of Holy Week are brought to life. Each exciting program has a meaningful and related practice which gives the opportunity to experience various traditions and celebrations related to the season. There are also devotionals and bible study as well as interactive experiences. The journey starts Sunday, March 5 th immediately following our regular worship service. It will continue each week through Lent. If you are interested in being part of the journey, please let Pastor Larry or Joy know by February 26 th. SAVE THE DATE!! The youth will present their annual Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, April 16 th at 7am with a buffet-style breakfast following. A free will donation will be taken for the breakfast. The 2016 year end giving statement have been mailed. If you did not receive one, please call the church office. Thank you shoppers! We received our quarterly rewards check for $34.51. Reminder, when FUMCEP members shop at Food 4 Less, we receive 4% for purchases up to $500, and 5% over $500. It is easy, just swipe your card each time you shop. If you need a card see Lois Morris or Joyce Petersen.
1 John Daly Mary Zvolanek 3 Elise Kornick 4 Bob Izydorek Lori Vorwald Ysabelle Galsim 7 Lydia Rupisan 8 Julie Ehteshami Bill Moore 10 Ruth Fuss David Sacharian Michael Starr Lara Batchelor 17 Deanne Gustafson 19 Susan Ledbetter 20 Roberta Vogeltanz 22 Sara Izydorek 24 Linda Silva 25 Donna Peters 26 Amanda Vieu Jillian Culbreth 27 Sharon Goshorn Elmer Nelson Michael Lorenz 29 Susan Mastandona 30 Lee Harwig 31 James Goshorn Danny Gustafson We continue to remember the sick, the infirm, and all those recommended to our prayers. Surprise someone with a greeting card or note! Make a call to let them know we are thinking of them. If there are others who should be listed, please contact the church office HOMEBOUND: Doris Baker Bill Melvin Wanda Holcomb Joe Zettek NEW BABY: Ryan James Boss proud parents are Matt and Colleen Boss and big sister Nora. Grandparents are Jim and Joan Boss March 1 - April 16, 2017 Scripture Readings for Lent Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday March 5 March 6 March 7 March 1 2 COR 5:20-6:2 Ash Wednesday March 8 March 2 9:22-25 March 9 March 3 58:1-9 March 10 March 4 58:9-14 March 11 MARK 1:22-15 25:31-46 55:10-11 11:29-32 7:7-12 5:20-26 103:1-4, 9-12 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 16 March 17 March 18 ROMANS 8:31-34 6:36-38 1:10, 16-20 20:17-28 16:19-31 21:28-34 103:1-4, 9-12 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 1 COR 1:22-25 43:3-4 18:21-35 5:17-19 95:1-2, 6-9 MARK 12:28-34 18:9-14 March 26 March 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31 April 1 3:14-21 30:2,4-6 11-13 5:1-3, 5-16 145 EXODUS 32:7-14 34:17-23 7:40-53 April 2 12:20-33 Palm Sunday April 3 8:1-11 April 4 NUM 21:4-9 April 5 53:3-6 April 6 8:51-59 April 7 18:2-7 April 8 EZEK 37:21-28 April 9 MARK 14:1-15:47 April 16 Easter 20:1-18 April 10 12:1-11 April 11 49:1-6 April 12 50:4-9 April 13 1 COR 11:23-26 April 14 18:1-19:42 Maundy Thursday April 15 COL3:1-4 Journey to Jerusalem
Ash Wednesday, March 1, 9 a.m. 1 p.m. ashes March 1, 7:30 United by Faith Trustees: Wednesday, March 1, 10:00 a.m. SPRC: Thursday, March 2, 7:00 p.m. Worship Committee: Wednesday, March 8, 7:00 p.m. Youth Council: Thursday, March 9, 7:00 p.m. Daisy Sunday: March 12, 10:15 a.m. Finance: Wednesday, March 15, 7:00 p.m. UMW: Thursday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. BEDS Plus: Saturday, March 18, 3:00 p.m. Church Council: Wednesday March 22, 7:00 p.m. WEEKLY Sunday Worship 10:15 am Coffee & Tea: Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. (Parsonage) Music, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Daisy Troop: Thursday, 6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts: Friday, 6:30 p.m. United Methodist Men: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. MONTHLY: Special Parents of Special Kids 1 st Monday at 7:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl: Last Saturday at 10:00 a.m. March 12 th - Daylight Savings Don t forget to change your clocks Spring Ahead March 5... MacKenzie Kazin March 12... Lara Batchelor March 19... Joy Vogeltanz March 26... Dave LaCognata March 5... Lara Batchelor, Austin Neary March 12... Jan Paris, Fiona Lindenbusch March 19... Ruth and Wayne Hastings March 26... Ardith Inman, Lisa Henderson March 5... Fiona Lindenbusch, Lois Morris March 12... Janet Fettig, Jean Hector March 19... Ardith Inman March 26... David LaCognata Chito Del Rosario Family March 5 Team 1 Ardith Inman, Marilyn Steenwyk March 12 Team 2 Nicole Zable, Janet Garrett,... Bill Runowski March 19 Team 3 Louis Steenwyk, Judi DeWaters March 22 Team 4 Jeffrey Fuentebella, Lois Morris... Joyce Petersen