JULY To one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to that person it is sin. (James 4:17 NASB) I recently shared in the privilege to participate in the annual Vacation Bible School held in our church. I am amazed and impressed with the leadership and their organizational preparation for what is an exciting week for approximately 50 young children within or related to our community. One of the overriding themes amongst leadership and recited repetitively during the week is how wonderful it is to serve God and the children simultaneously. It is a great revelation to see the loving and caring hearts of the people here reaching out to others in the Spirit of doing what is right and pure in motivation. In contrast, the above Scripture in James is the tail end of a chapter in which the writer calls out the selfish motivation and worldly gain that hinders most people s spiritual life. The chapter carries the overtone of selfish ambition that inhibits people and their relationships. For example, throughout many years of ministry I have had nominal, non-practicing, or ex members of the church contact me seeking help in their personal relationships. Their desire is to fix shortcomings or faults of the other person. This angle is an attempt to manipulate the other person by wielding the power of God to gain the upper hand. There is a great deal of selfishness involved when a person seeks counseling to not better themselves, but rather to call out the faults in other people they are partnered with in some way shape or form. The writing of this chapter carries the overtones of some business relationship in which people are taking advantage of one another or seeking personal gain at the expense of others. We all maintain a variety of relationships in our day to day life. James reminds us that these relationships can only be whole and fruitful when it is about serving one another by the will of God. When we only attempt to serve ourselves and our position it systematically destroys our relational trust with God and each other. Take care to look after one another in service and love. God s blessing Todd
VBS, 2018 Shipwrecked Rescued by Jesus To start the fun filled week, we participated in the La Porte City Festival of Trails. Thanks to Colleen and Gary Shultz for the use of their boat and Terry and Rachel Ward for being the drivers of our float! What an exciting week it was to be shipwrecked on an island with over 55 enthusiastic young ones! Through song, stories, science gizmos, games, treats and KidVid cinema features; we all discovered the wonder of Jesus s love for each of us and that he is always with us, even in the hard times. Our participants from ages 4 to fifth grade: Our wonderful, loyal Volunteers that helped to make the VBS week such a huge success!
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN A few days ago I heard it was only 6 months until Christmas Day. Time really does fly when we are busy sharing God s love with everyone. We have had a couple of busy weeks. Special thanks to everyone who helped with the Festival of Trails Supper by donating food or working that evening. Thanks also to all who came and ate with us. We had great food and wonderful fellowship. Our profit for the evening was just $3.00 short of $800.00. We were also able to serve some of the extra food at our Annual Swim Party, which follows the end of Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School was four days packed with the sharing of God s Love for everyone! Hats off to all the volunteers and especially to the talented, behind the scenes workers, who made these wonderful four days possible. Most of the beautiful creative scenery will be shared with two other Churches for their Vacation Bible School. Thanks to everyone who helped with one of our biggest Vacation Bible School Swim Parties ever! We all had a great time and loved sharing with everyone. The Annual Bible Conference at Cedar Falls, Iowa will be starting July 28 and runs until August 5 th. Faith Kindness Circle will be carpooling from our church to hear some of the great speakers that are scheduled. Please check your church bulletins for more information or call Pat Benda. You do not have to belong to this Circle, everyone is welcome. Make plans to have a wonderful morning of Bible teachings and great fellowship. Our Bible Verse for July is found in Luke 6:27-31. Jesus Teaches about Loving Enemies. But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. Enjoy your Summer, it s only started and it is going fast. God s Blessings to you and your family and friends. Pat and Charlene Free Swim for the Community on Saturday, July 28th from 6:15-8:15 pm Sponsored by Crosslines JUNE Review Date General Budget May 27 $ 956.00 June 3 $3,585.00 June 10 $1,689.00 June 17 $3,346.00 June 24 $2,419.50 Thank you for your faithfulness towards our church financial needs. Hopefully, your summer has some spiritual growth as yu enjoy various events. May God bless you. Finance Committee
Outreach Opportunities Thank you from the House of Hope. Many of you donated clothing and bedding to the Women s Shelter. The van that we loaded could not have held on more box! We have decided to support the Kies, who are missionaries in Africa. As summer passes, we will be thinking about school bags. A change this year is they want things packed in clear plastic bags to be distributed in the United States. We will have bags available for you to fill. School Bag Supplies 3 Notebooks, appox. 8 1/2 X 11 1 eraser, 2-inch or longer (total of 210-250 sheets of paper) 1 blunt-end scissors (metal blades) 1-30 cm metric ruler 1 pencil sharpener (1 minimum) 1 box of 24 crayons (ONLY 24) 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers Or perhaps you would like to make Hygiene Kits, that stay in the United States and are used in disasters. Hygiene Kit 1 new hand towel (15"x25" up to 17"x27") 1 new washcloth 1 bath-sized bar of soap in wrapper (3 oz. or larger); No lvory or Jergens 1 large, sturdy comb (longer than 6 inches) 1 new toothbrush in original sealed wrapper, not child-sized 6 band aids (3/4"-1") 1 metal nail file or fingernail clipper (no emery boards or toenail clippers) Lay out hand towel and lay washcloth flat in center. Place rest of items on top of washcloth. Fold sides of towel to cover items. Fold one end of towel so it covers all items. Grasp bundles of items and roll over rest of towel tightly. Place rolled bundle in one gallon zip-lock bag. Note from Judy Hora ~ Lay Leader We all want to be more like Christ. We should feel assured that God is changing us. We need to be patient with ourselves and be patient with the process. Christ is changing us little by little. Our job is to spend time with Christ, spend time in the Word, and believe. We can't change all by ourself. We need His help, and He is there. Romans 8:26-30 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those Whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified.
8 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 10:00 am 10:00 am 2 7 pm 9 7 pm 3 4 5 10 Council 6:30 pm 11 Prayer 9:30 am 12 Faith Kindness 9 am 6 7 13 14 15 10 am 16 7 pm 17 SPRC 6:30 18 Peace Circle 9 am Prayer 9:30 am 19 20 21 22 10 am 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 10 am 30 31 Meekness Circle 7 pm St. Paul United Methodist Church 501 Sycamore St. Box 187 La Porte City, IA 50651 Phone: 31-342-2208 -Church Pastor Todd Holman email: toddlholman@gmail.com email: lpcumchurch@gmail.com Website: www.lpcsaintpaulumc.org
St. Paul United Methodist Church 501 Sycamore St. Box 187 La Porte City, IA 50651 NEWSLETTER