Life can become nothing more than a series of routines or rituals. Waking up, making coffee, driving to work, fixing dinner, etc. Much of what we do is so similar day in and day out; it s like much of our days requires no thought at all. Even conversations with family take on a routine. A dad says to a child, How was your day? The child replies, Fine, or Um hmm, never looking up from their cell phone while this end-of-day ritual takes place. Both parent and child understand there s an obligation to talk to each other. The challenge is figuring out how to get past the predictability of the exchange. Easter can be an equally predictable routine. Go to church. Try to stay awake while the pastor talks. Go to a lunch or dinner with family. Hope for a really excellent dessert (I m looking forward to some great cookies, since I gave up cookies for Lent). This kind of Easter lacks inspiration and soul. Whether it s the daily routine, the obligatory conversation between parent and child, or the ritual holiday, sometimes life will only offer rewards equal to our efforts. A routine that fails to be personally rewarding is one that we have unplugged from; more is required of us. A sincere, honest effort at allowing the rituals of life to take on sacred value is necessary to overcome the emptiness of familiarity. My April message series is titled Renew and it focuses on the ways God s eternal love offers to renew life. Our lives don t have to be boring and meaningless. This month can be a time for God to renew the patterns of daily life, to offer us a different way of seeing the people and activities that fill our calendars. May God break into your lives this month, inspiring you to embrace the risen Christ. For Christ, Dr. Mike APRIL 2017 NEWSLETTER Upcoming EVENTS Palm Sunday Sunday, April 9 Easter Egg Hunt Sunday, April 9 10:00 am Good Friday Service Friday, April 14 7:00 pm Easter Worship Services Sunday, April 16 8:00, 9:15 & 11 am UMW/New Day Circle Thursday, April 20 11:30 am UMM Saturday, April 22 8:00 am Knowing the 10 Signs of Alzheimer s Saturday, April 22 10:00-11:30 am Follow us on Facebook Cornerstone UMC Follow us on Twitter @cornerstoneumc2 umcornerstone.org
This Month s MESSAGE SERIES Dr. Mike Gillen, Carol Fairchild, Betty Heller, Earl Hippensteel, Terri Gerler, Bill Penrod, Deanna Campbell, Paula Ford, Jean Rapert, Janet Gillen, Bill Carr Jean Leutzinger & family, on the death of husband, Richard. Jon & Mary Jo Woodrum have a new granddaughter, Stella Jo, born on February 28. Bill & Linda Trautwein have a new granddaughter, Lydia Mae, and a new great grandson, Lucas Kent. Jim & Bev Todd have a new grandson, McKellen James Todd, born on March 6. Sunday mornings in April - Renew - God s eternal love offers to renew life. April 2 Remind Holy Communion reminds us to set our mind on Christ s way. April 9 Retrain God retrains us to follow Christ. April 16 Reset We can reset our relationship with God through the resurrection. April 23 Restore God s eternal love aims to restore us to spiritual health. April 30 Repair God wants to repair our relationships on earth and in heaven. Don t miss our Annual EASTER EGG HUNT! Please join us on Sunday 4/9/17 at 10:00 am (Between services) for our Easter Egg Hunt for kids! We'll have almost 1,000 Easter eggs hidden at Cornerstone, including some GOLDEN eggs that will contain instructions for how to find special prizes! We hope to see you there, see Greg Evans for details or information, or email Gtevans1@gmail.com! Pg. 2
Know the 10 signs of ALZHEIMER S Alzheimer's Workshop: Would you like to know the 10 early warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease and separate myth from reality on this subject? Plan to attend a workshop on this subject Saturday, April 22, from 10 AM to 11:30 AM at Cornerstone. An Alzheimer's Association speaker will address common fears about Alzheimer's Disease, tell us the difference between early warning signs and age-related memory problems, and provide resources to help if Alzheimer's is detected early enough. Please sign up for the workshop on the bulletin board at Sign-Up Central. Coffee & cookies will be served. Food Pantry - Help Needed! SATURDAY JUBILEE The "Saturday Jubilee," which is a Metro area food drive, will be on June 24th this year. We are working with Operation Food Search. They are changing things up a little bit this year. We will be getting our own volunteers to work our two stores. We will also need volunteers to work at the church when the food gets dropped off. You will get a T-Shirt for your trouble and get to see just how generous our town really is. Our stores are Dierbergs @ Salt Lick Rd and Hwy 70 in St. Peters, and Schnucks @ Dardenne Prairie in O'Fallon. The time is 9 am to 4 pm. Of course, you will not be asked to work all day. We will schedule two hour shifts. We will have a sign up sheet @ Sign up Central in late May. Please be in prayer as to where and when you would like to work. ~ Terri Mendenhall, Food Pantry Director Announcing GLENN CADENA S RESIGNATION On Monday, February 27, Glenn Cadena resigned as Cornerstone s Media Director. Glenn held this position since 2010. He put his heart into the media ministry of our worship services and was behind the scenes for weddings, funerals, and many special events. Glenn also volunteered to play guitar in our modern worship service this past year. We thank Glenn for his years of service and pray that God blesses him in this next chapter of his life. The Staff Parish Relations Committee is considering the next steps for this staff position. In the meantime, Mark Roach will work with our media booth volunteers to maintain an excellent ministry of lights, sound and multi-media presentations in worship. Receipts & Attendance February 26, 2017 March 5, 2017 March 12, 2017 March 19, 2017 Receipts - $7,089.08 Receipts - $29,953.79 Receipts - $11,113.02 Receipts - $10,733.16 Bldg. Fund - $1,360.00 Bldg. Fund - $3,262.00 Bldg. Fund - $1,790.00 Bldg. Fund - $2,157.50 Attendance - 306 Attendance - 286 Attendance - 264 Attendance - 255 Pg. 3
April BIRTHDAYS 1. Seana Bone Vera Stage Cathy Windes 5. Trevor Sutton 6. John Denother Rebecka Dunivan Kenna Windes 7. Kellie Staback 9. Nicholas Gavan Wes Hoch 10. Pat Remley Jordyn Wofford 12. Sue Harris 13. Bob Holscher Cheri Schultz 14. Breanna Winkler 15. Lorraine Cadell Linda Cooper 16. Elizabeth Brands 18. Teresa Balestreri 19. Trent Cole David Fleming 21. Bill Trautwein 22. Nikki Playle 24. Joan Bowman 26. Mary Jenkins 27. Trisha Playle Margaret Yates 28. Alex Capp Kevin Zelle 29. Ken Bass 30. Jeannie Reek St. Charles County Police & Parks SPECIAL NEEDS EASTER EGG HUNT Cornerstone is participating with St. Charles County Police and Parks departments again this year in the St. Charles County "EGGSTRAVAGANZA FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES," taking place at the St. Charles Youth Activity Field on SATURDAY April 8, from 1-3 PM! We need volunteers to help hide eggs, direct foot traffic and help with other tasks as needed. Please see Greg Evans, or email gtevans1@gmail.com if you would like to help! Volunteers will need to have background check forms filled out and returned prior to the event and will be blessed to participate! We hope to see you there! The Seven Last Days GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE The number seven holds great significance in scripture. Creation took seven days; there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; the tabernacle was built in six days and dedicated on the seventh; and we often associate the Christ s passion with seven last words or phrases. Each one of those days is of particular importance, though some were far more eventful than others. On Good Friday, April 14 th at 7:00 pm, the Chancel Choir will present the musical journey The Seven Last Days to help us experience the events of each of the seven days leading up to Easter. A study guide for the Passion Week will be inserted in your Palm Sunday bulletin so that you can personally walk through scriptures each day as we move closer to the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior on Easter morning. Please plan to join us on Good Friday, April 14 th at 7:00 pm for The Seven Last Days. United Methodist Women MEETING You are invited to attend a UMW-New Day Circle meeting on April 20 th at 11:30 AM in Fellowship Hall. The meeting is casual and friendly so all you really need to do is arrive with your favorite brown bag lunch, your ideas, and your joy. Peggy Gilbert will provide the UMW program, and Clifdel Dowler will lead us through our plans for the upcoming months. We look forward to seeing you on the April 20 th at 11:30 AM. Pg. 4
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A monthly publication of Cornerstone United Methodist Church 1151 Tom Ginnever Ave. O Fallon, MO 63366 Phone: 636-379-5334 Fax: 636-978-2687 www.umcornerstone.org Invite your family, friends neighbors to worship with us!