June 2014 Pastor Bob Miller Laity A Note Service from Bob Awards A Awards/VBS Note from Bob Journeys 1 2 3 Laity Service Awards May 2014 Bev and Les Scott Mary Setzer Bday/Ann. UMW 4 5 Calendar A Note from Bob 6/7 History/Build Church Council UMM/Prayer 8 9 10 At the 11 o'clock service on June 1, three church members received the 2013 Laity Service Award. Bev Scott, Mary Setzer, and Les Scott were presented certificates and pins from the Board of Laity, WNC Conference UMC. These three were recognized for their service to Sparta UMC over the past several years. Laity Service Awards were started by the Conference more than 15 years ago as a way to recognize members who serve the local church and its ministries in ways great and small. Sometimes service to the church is not always celebrated, but the Laity Service Award gives us a chance to do that. Sparta UMC's three recipients contribute much to the life of our church. Beverlee Scott takes an active role in the life of Youth/VBS 11 Sparta UMC. She is involved in the administration of the church by serving as Chair of Staff Parrish Relations Committee, a member of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Church Council. She is involved in worship as a member of the choir. Beverlee is in her third year of service as president of United Methodist Women where she makes an impact on the missions, outreach, and spiritual growth of Methodist women. Beverlee leads numerous fundraisers for both local and district missions. She attends and takes others with her to district UMW events, such as officers' training, prayer breakfast, annual meeting, school of missions, and the spiritual growth retreat. She and two other women attended UMW Assembly 2014 in Louisville earlier this year. Mary Setzer has a wonderful gift for nurture. She has served on the Nurture Committee for 7 years, preparing meals for sick and homebound, making calls and sending cards, and preparing funeral meals. She has been a Shepherd, keeping contact with a group of church members assigned to her. Mary has served as an Offering Counter, Communion Server, and Usher. She has helped with Bible School. As a Stephen's Minister Mary offers pastoral support to church members. Cont. page 2
Page 2 Laity Service Awards cont. Les Scott makes important contributions to the life of Sparta United Methodist Church. As a member of the Trustees, Les has participated in projects to repair and maintain the church as well as other church property. Les's presence in the choir helps fill out the men's section. He drives the church bus to pick up Sunday worshippers and participates in UMM's wood ministry to cut and deliver wood to people who are not secure for heat in the winter. When the church could not find someone to volunteer to work in the Prayer Garden, Les stepped in and devoted numerous hours to maintain and expand the garden. We appreciate all the many contributions these three members make. Join me in congratulating them and thanking them for their service to Sparta UMC. Pratt Davis, Lay Leader Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL NEWS It is closer than you think! We are starting to gather supplies and making plans! Here is a list of things we know we will need, please help as you are able! Decorations Tissue paper all colors Balloons all sizes and colors Beads Streamers all colors Poster board all colors Foam paper Ribbon & Ric-A-Rack Pool Noodles Paper plates and bowls Glitter Games Cardboard-large pieces Blue balloons Large marshmallows Rubber bands Swimming Flippers (2 pair) Large spoons 4 4 buckets 2 plastic baseball bats Bouncy balls 6 Bath toys 5 large bath towels 4 spray bottles Imagination Station Baking powder Masking tape Green, purple washable ink pads 4 packages of wet wipes Small river rocks Rubber chicken Light weight bowling ball Sandwich bags 50 Party tub Fine tip markers ~ Hebrews 13:16
Journey to Louisville Page 3 On a rainy Friday, in late April, Beverlee Scott and I began our journey to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend our first United Methodist Women's Assembly. The drive would take us seven hours, but we knew we might never have an opportunity again to attend, so off we went. We arrived in Louisville in the early afternoon, found our hotel and left off our bags to walk to the convention center where the event was being held. We picked up our registration and headed off to a session. We met ladies from all over the United States and the world who were also attending the assembly. This year the theme was "Make It Happen, and the scripture for the weekend was the story of the feeding of the 5,000 found in Mark 6: 30-44. In the first evening session we were greeted by a band composed of women from several states and speakers from all over the US and the world. In the midst of some 7,000 women, we sang and prayed and listened. It was quite an overwhelming experience. On Saturday, we were able to hear from Hillary Clinton, as she gave the keynote address. We overcame the crowds in the hallways while we waited, so we could hear her speech. She spoke of her upbringing in the United Methodist Church and how the United Methodist women in her church had shaped her life. Following her address, many of the women attending the conference met to march for equality in Louisville. Saturday evening brought another worship service and on Sunday morning, before the closing worship and communion, there were 26 women consecrated as Deaconesses. We attended sessions on Saturday afternoon on Politics is Personal and Communicating Faith in the 21 st Century. In each session we heard ideas that were happening in women s groups around the country. We were able to listen and share ideas together in meaningful ways and bring back some new ideas for our group. In the exhibition hall, we met with Catherine Ritch, who will be the speaker at our Festival of Tables in October. She was busy selling her books and signing them, but she still took time out to talk with us. I bought her latest book, You Raise Me Up, and discovered it was about the beginning of the Agape ministry in Armenia. Our former church in Kernersville had strong ties to the beginning of the Project Agape and I read far into the night to see what Catherine had written about the ministry and the part that our former pastor and neighbor had in her story. It was a connection that we shared, but I was completely unaware of it until that day. I went back to the hall later to talk to her more about that connection. Displayed in the exhibition hall were prayer shawls from all over the country, each one dedicated as are the ones that we make in Sparta. Each shawl will be given to someone in need, as a way to reach out and share the love of Christ. During the assembly we were challenged to hear God s word in new ways. The scripture was repeated in each session, but presented in some new way. On Sunday morning, it was acted out in modern day terms, thinking of the 5 loaves as 5 hamburger buns and the two fish as two fish sticks, but each time it brought the message clearly to us. Jesus wanted the disciples to feed the 5,000 not send them away- or let someone else do it. We must take action to follow in the way Jesus spoke to his disciples. Go and make it happen! Submitted by: Margaret Connor
BIRTHDAYS Faye Reeves-June 5 Vickie Sears-June 7 Marion Adams-June 11 Bill Nilo, Jr.-June 12 Bonnie Vaughan-June 12 Darcy McKenna-June 14 Greg Wyatt-June 14 Keith Howell-June 20 Dora Sue Smith-June 20 Billy Fleckenstein-June 24 Brenda Irwin-June 24 Peggi Cioefi-June 26 Susan Murphy-June 28 Les Scott-June 28 Margie Mitchell-June 29 John Tracy-June 30 Dorcas Wagoner-June 30 ANNIVERSARIES Richard & Jane Doughton-June 5 Michael & Linda DeHart-June 8 James & Karen Saintsing-June 8 Larry & Patti Cox-June 10 Susan & Mack Murphy-June 15 Jack & Barbara Martin-June 18 Boyd & Doris Farmer-June 19 Rick & Libby Squires-June 26 Paul & Louise Blizzard-June 29 Danny & Melinda Boyer-June 29 FINANCE REPORT April 2014 Average Monthly Attendance Sunday School 79 We would like to extend a very special thank you to the church for the peace lily, contributions, cards and prayers given on the passing of Charlie Pugh. Thank you Pastor Bob and Karen for all your support. ~Bryan Pugh, Judy Brooks and family Worship Services 180 Needed Each Month From the Congregation to Meet Budget Received from Worship Services This Month Total Needed Year to Date Total Collected Year to Date Monthly Offering $17,246 $16,225 $68,984 $60,739 Under/Over for the Year (-$8,245)
United Methodist Women Page 5 As I look over my copies of previous articles, I noticed that I failed to mention the annual Spring Lunch that was held on March 22 nd at the River Rock. There were 25 who attended the lunch including Pastor Bob and Karen Miller. We had a wonderful lunch and Mintie told some not far from the truth stories about a couple of the ladies. We all had a good laugh. We would like to welcome two new members to the Sparta unit. Margaret Ann Aycock and Jody Tracy joined us this spring. They are a welcome addition and already helping with the Mother s Day Tea and Jody is now a part of the Sewing Circle. Speaking of the Mother s Day Tea, we had a wonderful lunch with over 70 ladies in attendance. Pastor Bob and the Methodist Men kept us supplied with tea and goodies. Nancy Jones and Victoria Phillips performed a piano and flute duet. Margaret Connor and Donna Myers with help from Jill, Margaret s daughter, performed a skit about the Lord s Prayer with many interruptions and instructions from the Lord. Thanks go out to Bonnie Vaughan for the beautiful fresh flowers, and to Lucy Roe s decorating crew for the beautifully arranged tables. We had a brief rainstorm just as everyone was arriving, but most of the ladies hats survived. Margaret Connor and Beverlee Scott attended the UMW 2014 Assembly on April 25-27 held in Louisville, Kentucky. The United Methodist Women assemble every four years to celebrate, to lift up, to learn, and to return to their communities better equipped for mission. There were morning and evening worship programs with speakers and with Hillary Clinton giving the keynote address on Saturday morning. There were workshops on various topics throughout the day that kept us busy and trying to keep a schedule so we would not miss anything. We heard an estimate of 7,000 people from all over the world attended. However, our biggest surprise and delight was getting to meet author Catherine Ritch. Catherine will be our guest speaker at the Festival of Tables in October. I will let you in on a big secret-we are in for an entertaining event with Catherine. I can t wait for everyone to get a chance to meet her. A small group of UMW members met after the Lenten service and lunch on April 16 th. The goal of the group was to select this year s recipient of the scholarship awarded to a senior graduating from Alleghany High School. The Scholarship Award Ceremony will be held on June 4th at the school where we will present a $1500 scholarship from the UMW. At the recent May meeting, three boxes of cleaning supplies were collected and will be donated to the Solid Rock Food Closet. The collection was the result of the Spring Cleaning program led by Pratt Davis and Mintie Saintsing. The group also decided to add a new idea for the Auction at the July picnic called the Mystery Bag. If you are bringing items for the auction, place something in a paper bag and seal it. Write a clue or hint on the outside of the bag about the contents. The bag is not to be opened until after a winning bid is made. It should be fun to see what is actually inside the bag. Please remember that the picnic is open to everyone in the church and will be hosted by the UMW. The Sewing Circle continues to meet on the first Monday of each month from 10am to 1pm in the Fellowship Hall. A new contact has been made for a mission group going to Kenya in July that we hope will be able to deliver Little Dresses to a school there. Our next meeting is June 2 nd. As always, you are invited to be a part of the women s ministry at the church by attending the UMW meeting held on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm and join our circle of Faith-Hope-Love in Action. Submitted by: Beverlee Scott, President
Our History by Bonnie McMillan Vaughan This church memory goes back to the ministry of Rev. Steven Ray, our Sparta United Methodist Church minister from 2000-2004. It has to do with foot washing. Our beloved Pastor Bob mentioned foot washing in a recent wonderful sermon. I always look forward to Pastor Bob s weekly sermons as I'm sure we all do. I call Pastor Bob our AAA minister I approve, admire and appreciate him so much! Back to foot washing memories here in our Sparta United Methodist Church. During the Lenten worship on Maundy Thursday, one of those years Reverend Ray was our pastor, a foot washing was part of the evening worship! This was a complete surprise event of our Maundy Thursday worship. A community foot washing it was. Reverend McCray, Sparta Baptist minister washed my feet. I remember feeling very humble. Later my Bible Sunday School Class found a photo of an ancient bowl used for foot washing. We discussed having a pottery bowl designed like the ancient foot washing bowl. Rob Mangum, our local pottery designer, was interested. This is the end of my memory. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ~ Romans 12:10 Let all that you do be done in love. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:14 Building Program Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~ 1 John 4:8 We have presented the plans that we have been working on for our church and its future growth to meet the needs of our community and God s calling. We will continue to keep you informed as progressions are made. If you have any questions, or concerns please contact the building committee through the church office.
Page 9 Sparta United Methodist Church Council The motions listed below have come before council from March through May 2014: March 10, 2014-Church Council voted on line items the Finance Committee suggested removing from the 2014 budget and one motion from the UMW. Fifteen members present. 1. Bob Miller made a motion to pay the $300 monthly Ministerium payment from the Grace Fund not from the 2014 budget line item and to do this retroactive from the beginning of the 2014 but the Ministerium payment will remain in the budget in 2015, Sandy Lovett seconded, motion carried. 2. Larry Prince made a motion to discontinue the weekly newspaper ad, Tommy Thompson seconded, motion carried. 3. Larry Prince made a motion to pay $2,000 of the youth annual salary out of the youth fund gift given in 2013 instead of from the budget. Tommy Thompson seconded, motion carried. 4. Larry Prince made a motion to use the kitchen clean up fund to purchase kitchen supplies, Disa Wishon seconded, motion carried. 5. Disa Wishon made a motion to allow the UMW to purchase 12 round tables and 2 carts to be stored vertically for the Fellowship Hall. Max Cox seconded, motion carried. April 1, 2014-Called Charge Conference: The purpose of the Charge Conference was to make a decision on how to proceed with the parsonage that the church owns. The Trustee Committee made a motion to sell the parsonage to Church Council on November 11, 2013 who in turn voted to sell the parsonage. The Appalachian District has approved the decision. The proceeds from the sale must be held in an investment account to use in the future for the church s future housing requirements. The funds can only be used to purchase another parsonage or can be used for a pastor s housing allowance. Thirty church members present. 1. Ed Adams made the motion to sell the parsonage. Dora Sue Smith seconded the motion. With no further discussion, a vote was taken. There were 30 church members present, the vote was 30 yes, 0 no, the vote was unanimous to sell the parsonage. April 23, 2014-Called Church Council: The purpose of the called meeting was to seek approval from Church Council to allow the Building Committee to present their recommendations regarding the expansion of the church building to the church members in small group settings. Sixteen council members present. 1. Brant Banks made a motion to allow the committee to present the building plan to the church members in small groups, Tommy Thompson seconded, 100% yeas; motion carried. 2. Beverlee Scott made a motion to send a letter to the congregation advising them of the small group meetings to discuss and to hear their thoughts and concerns regarding the building plan, Disa Wishon seconded, 100% yeas; motion carried. 3. Disa Wishon made a motion to permit the church to sell enough of Lowes stock to cover the cost of the engineer and the demolition of the old parsonage beside the church, Sandy Lovett seconded, 100% yeas; motion carried. 4. Tommy Thompson, for the Trustees, recommended making the parsonage presentable for sell, leaving most furniture and items, keeping the yard in good condition and listing the parsonage with a person from a real estate company that is not a member of the church. Max Cox made the motion to approve the Trustees recommendation. Larry Prince seconded, 100% yeas; motion carried. May 12, 2014-No motions were presented to the Church Council for a vote. Eleven members present. Submitted by, Donna Myers, Church Council Secretary
Page 10 United Methodist Men The wood ministry ended a good year with over 130 loads delivered. Now it s time to restock our inventory and get ready for next year. I will be calling those that have expressed an interest in helping to cut and split wood for days that we will be working. Anyone interested in helping can call me (336-200-0163) or call the church office. We completed a work project at Camp Elk Shoals of building partitions for the handicap houses, replacing bathroom fixtures and painting bathroom partitions. Thanks also goes to the Blue Ridge Christian School for yard work and cleanup. Our Mother s Day lunch was very successful and seemed to be enjoyed by everyone. We served over 100 meals and just enough food left to feed the volunteers at the Food Closet. Thanks to everyone that came to the lunch and the ones that helped prepare and serve. The men s choir also sang and there were no requests for seconds. The extra flowers were taken to the Nursing Home and were a great hit with the residents. Mike Dehart is now head of the Building Ministry for the Ministerium and will be needing our help in finishing the work on the duplex that is under construction. If you have an interest, please let Mike or the church office know. Most of the work to be done is to finish the inside of the house and cleanup around the outside. All help is welcome. All men and their spouses are invited to come to the Men s Breakfast the 3rd Sunday every month at 8:00am. It is a rewarding ministry and you will enjoy the fellowship and teachings. We all have a purpose and you may find that this is a great way to get involved in the ministries of our church. Prayer Garden Trustees have found the walkway to the Prayer Garden to be too difficult to keep in good condition with the amount of rain that comes down the hillside and out of the Prayer Garden. They have had a local company look at the situation and that company has suggested that a series of step terraces be installed to correct the problem. They suggested to use 6"x6" treated timbers to frame the steps that will be dug out on the hillside and filled with stone dust and topped with the paver bricks that Walt Green gave us. This will improve the access to the Prayer Garden and blend in nicely with the church. The Trustees are asking for any donations that people would like to make to this project so they can proceed with having the new access completed. Thank you from the Trustees.
Youth Group What a busy Summer we have planned! This summer we will be going on a mission trip with Christ Episcopal church July 13th-19th. We will be doing mission work with Eagle Adventures and will also get to go Whitewater Rafting. We will do various work projects on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Whitewater rafting and team building Thursday, work project Friday and return on Saturday. I believe this will be a great experience for all! Depending on the skill we bring with us, determines what work we will do. If anyone is interested in giving their talents to these youth, please let Talina know as soon as possible. (We will probably be painting or doing yard work if we don't have any other skilled person with us.) Mission Trips are expensive no matter, so we have been working hard on coming up with ideas to raise some money. Our first fundraiser was our Yard Sale on May 24th at the church at 7:30 am. Thank you to everyone who donated items to our sale. We made $695! Second will be our breakfast before Sunday School on June 1st and June 22nd. Please come early to enjoy some yummy treats. Our T-shirt sale is back. This is an ongoing sale. Please see a youth to look at the catalog or see one located in front of the church office. Checks can be made to Sparta UMYF. The cost for this trip is $450 per person. If you would like to sponsor a youth please see Talina. We want to make sure that every youth has the opportunity to go. Thank You! Weird Animals??? How can weird and unusual animals teach us about God and the love He has for us? Come to VBS August 4th-8th to find out. We are working hard on making this a memorable VBS that can plant the seed of God in each person there, young and old. We are still in need of volunteers to make this happen. If you are interested, please see Talina or an Education Committee member. We need help with set-up, making decorations, supply donations, Science leader, Group leaders that take groups to their stations, as well as a few other duties. We will have a meeting on June 8th following the 11am service.
190 N Main Street PO Box 697 Sparta, NC 28675 Phone: 336-372-4441 Fax: 336-372-1534 E-mail: office@umcsparta.com Website: www.umcsparta.com Non Profit Organization US POSTAGE PAID Permit No 36 Sparta, NC 28675 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED E N T E R T O W O R S H I P, D E P A R T T O S E R V E