SEPTEMBER OCTOBER, 2018 Winds of the Spirit Lindenwald UMC... a Stephen Ministry Church Our Mission Statement: The LUMC exists to make disciples! Dear Lindenwald UMC, It is a joy to finally be here! My family and I have been exploring the area & enjoying all the wonderful things Hamilton has to offer. We are grateful for the ways that you welcome us & we thank you for all your kindness, generosity & prayers. There are so many new people, new processes & new ministries. It is exciting to witness all the ways you serve Christ in this place, as his body. I am eager to see where God is leading us. Have you ever moved and had to set up a new living space? It can be challenging. It takes patience, discussion & planning to figure out where everything will go. Starting fresh at a new church can be similar. As we ve been unpacking boxes at the parsonage, I ve been thinking about how to begin unpacking at this new church as well. As a pastor with a family I bring with me, my experiences & gifts, but I can t just start unpacking those things wherever I want. I need to take time to listen, pray & reflect. I need to learn about you, your gifts & all the different corners of this church body so I can understand why God brought me & my family to Lindenwald UMC. I believe this will be a fun & fulfilling process, but it requires a few things from all of us: prayer, patience & hope. I know many of you have deep prayer lives. I am learning about the wonderful prayer ministry that exists at Lindenwald. I love prayer! Its power can never be over estimated. Since moving to Hamilton I pray for Lindenwald UMC everyday at 3:00pm. I invite you to continue in your personal prayer lives & also to join me at 3:00pm each day in prayer for Lindenwald UMC, that God will continue to reveal his vision for our church. I have an alarm set on my phone; when it goes off, I take a few minutes wherever I am. It s so easy. I hope you will join me in this practice. In prayer the word that comes to me is patience. I can be impatient because I want things to happen NOW! But, in scripture, one of the greatest fruits of the spirit exemplified in Christ and his disciples is holy patience. Holy patience is the ability to wait and listen with deep expectation that God is at work even when we don t see it. He does the heavy lifting while we are called to be still and know that he is God. Finally, together, my friends, we are called to hope. Hope in the Lord is not a limp dreamy optimism but a holy expectation that God acts powerfully on behalf of those who love him & seek his will. He calls us to the adventure of following him to unexpected & sometimes even uncomfortable depths of trust. To hope in Christ is to trust in the good news of his death & resurrection. The resurrection is a clarion call to our imaginations to believe that all things are possible in him who strengthens us. What hope has God put in your heart for Lindenwald UMC? I believe the Lord is calling us to prayer, patience & hope. Just like in a new house, we have things to unpack & figure out. We will do this together, as we go. I look forward to learning about you and how Jesus has been at work in your lives & the life of this church. In the months ahead I hope to start up a Dessert with the Pastor time where I will meet with 10-12 people at a time for an hour to just listen and ask questions. This will help us to get to know one another better. We will begin the journey of praying together, being patient together & hoping together in our wonderful Lord. Below is a quote from one of my favorite authors, Eugene Peterson, about hoping. It helps me on my journey following Christ & in learning how to be led by our Good Shepherd. I hope it can help you as well. Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meanings & the conclusions. It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying & worrying. And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is willingness to let God do it his way & in his time. It is the opposite of making plans that we demand that God put into effect, telling him both how & when to do it. That is not hoping in God but bullying God. I pray to GOD-my life a prayer-and wait for what he ll say & do. My life s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting & watching till morning, waiting & watching till morning. (-Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society) May we grow together in God s grace, rooted in the gospel, living out the adventure of his calling here at Lindenwald United Methodist Church to the praise of his glory! Amen. In Christ, Pastor Rob
THE MINISTRY OF THE BARNABAS CARDS The Ministry of the Barnabas Cards gives you the opportunity to be a Barnabas. Is there someone you know who would benefit by sending them a card of encouragement? If so, just fill in their name and address on the right-hand side of the card and your caring words on the left and we ll do the rest. Return your cards to the church office and we will stamp and mail them out for you. Look for them in the Sanctuary and tables in Fellowship Hall! FREE COMMUNITY MEAL Feeding the Body & Soul Community Meal offers a free meal to those who may be hungry and have no food. This meal is free and open to the public and will be served from 5:00 to 6:30pm on Saturday, September 15th & October 20th. Our food pantry is also open during those hours and bags of groceries are given to those in attendance. Transportation is available, if needed. PRAYER DRIVE THRU The next date for the Prayer Drive Thru is on September 6th and October 4th from 4:30 to 6:00pm (weather permitting), when we open our parking lot to our community for drive thru prayer. As you're driving home, stop in and our prayer team will listen to your request and pray with you. Volunteers are always needed. Call Freda Halderman at 513-829-2375 if you d like to help. ARE YOU A CAREGIVER? You are a caregiver whether you devote as little as 5 minutes a week or as much as 24 hours a day to providing or supervising the care of a loved one who is disabled, frail or elderly. Here is the opportunity to meet with others who share your experience to discuss topics like maintaining balance as a caregiver, solving caregiver problems, the guilt/stress of caregiving and learning to take care of yourself. The caregiver group meets at Doverwood Village on the 2nd Friday of the month. Call the Caregiver CAREline at 513-869-4483 for times and more information. UMW CIRCLE MEETINGS Genesis Circle Will meet on September 11th and October 10th at 6:00pm in Room 209. Mizpah Circle Will meet on September 13th and October 11th at 1:00pm in Room 204. UM MEN S ANNUAL FISH FRY The United Methodist Men s Fish Fry will be held on Saturday, October 13th @ 4:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. CHILDREN & YOUTH Lindenwald UMC, along with Lindenwald Protocol, are hosting the community Trunk or Treat to be held at the Lindenwald Splash Pad on Wednesday, October 24th from 6:00p 8:00pm. The splash pad is located at the corner of Hayes, Noyes and Putnam. Besides the candy, there will be other fun activities such as a face painter, balloon artist (by donation) and Kona Ice (by donation). If you would like to decorate your trunk or pass out candy, please contact Lisa Gebhart @ 513-203-3587. TRUNK OR TREAT will be held at Courthouse Square on Saturday, October 27th. LUMC members will be donating individually wrapped bars of soap and our goal is to collect 1,000 bars. If you wish to donate, there will be a container in the church parlor. Rumor has it that if we meet our goal, Elvis will make an appearance on Courthouse Square. Please contact Edie Simons @ 513-313-6154 or email @ besimons1@gmail.com.
D.A.R.E. DRUG PREVENTION NIGHT Please join us on Wednesday, October 17th in the Fellowship Hall for Drug Prevention Night. Hamilton Police Department D.A.R.E. Officer Kristy Collins will speak to K-12th graders about drugs and how they can affect your life. We will have dinner at 6:15pm and the program will be from 7:00p 8:00p. Please contact Lisa Gebhart at 513-203-3587 to make your reservation. CUB SCOUTS All boys in grades K-5th are invited to join the Cub Scout Pack #906. Meetings will begin on Monday, September 10, 2018 in the Fellowship Hall. Contact Cub Master Carey Calihan @ 513-364-8494 or e-mail carey@calihankitchens.com for more information. STEPHEN MINISTRY CARING CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE When someone you know is hurting, it can be tough to know what to say. There is no magic formula, but here are three caring phrases that can make a difference: 1. I m sorry this happened to you. 2. That sounds so hard. 3. I m here and I m listening. A caring word spoken with sincerity, a smile, an attitude of I SEE YOU can make a difference in someone s life who is experiencing difficulties. We are all caregivers in some form or another to others. Caregiving can, also, be in the form of a planned, one-to-one caring relationship between a person who is hurting and a trained Stephen Minister. Since 1996, Lindenwald UMC has been offering STEPHEN MINISTRY training classes for those members who have a calling into a deeper Christian caring ministry. These folks are STEPHEN MINISTERS and are available to meet on a regular, one-to-one basis, for as long as necessary, with anyone who is hurting. The next training class begin on Tuesday, October 9th from 7:00p 9:00p at The Presbyterian Church; 23 South Front Street in Hamilton. Please contact Neil or Julia Hayes @ 867-1027, Nancy McCormick @ 738-7273 or Pastor Rob @ 863-8822 for more information. THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and donated to help make the World s Longest Yard Sale a huge success! UPCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS September 28th BUNCO: We are looking for help with Bunco. We need volunteers to collect prizes from the community and donations of finger foods and appetizers for the night of the event. Contact Megan Walker @ 513-760- 8801 for more information. October 27th CAR WASH: We will need volunteers to hold signs and dry cars. We could use one or two car washers. FOOD PANTRY The Church would like to thank everyone who faithfully donates food to our pantry each and every week. Your generosity allows us to continue this important ministry to feed those in need in our community. You are greatly appreciated. Thank You! DANCE MINISTRY The Dance Ministry begins on Thursday, September 6, 2018 in the Fellowship Hall. Darla Dirr will be the teacher. Please contact Lisa Gebhart at 513-203-3587 for more information. The 2019 United Methodist Men Birthday Calendar will be available soon. Please call Ray Kissinger @ 829-4262 or Russ Moore @ 869-0451 if you are interested in purchasing one. TOWN HALL MEETING The Hamilton City Schools will be holding a Town Hall Meeting in our Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, October 23rd from 7:00p 9:00p to discuss the upcoming school tax levy that will be on the November ballot. All are invited to attend.
September/October Newsletter 2018 Summer Shine: Maker Fun Factory Wow! We had a wonderful Summer Shine: Maker Fun Factory, Created by God built for a purpose the week of July 9 th -13th! Each year we bring in more kids and teens to learn more about Gods love and grace. We had an average of 50 kids from 4 years - 6 th grade who participated in the program. An average of 24 teens that came out each day and volunteered either from our Teen Guard group, teens who attended our preschool program many years ago and wanted to come back, and teens out in our community. It was such an honor and privilege to watch the teens be the light of Jesus for that week. The teens showed the light of Christ through the opening and closing ceremony by being group leaders, taking over the craft room, the bible room and taking charge with the sports! All the kids and youth discover how they are created by God and built for a purpose. Kids learned how God made you; God is for you; God is always with you; God will always love you; and God made you for a reason I have to say, watching the teens and the kids, I would get emotional on how they are learning to light the way to others. This program is so successful from all the volunteers that came out each day to help shine the light of Jesus Christ. Thank you all for your love and support!
Teen After Hours The week of Summer Shine: Maker Fun Factory - We had 24 teens who volunteered as group team leaders, in sports, bible teacher, craft coordinators and so much more. The teens enjoyed teen after hours on Wednesday and Thursday. They went swimming at Greg and Nancy Albright s house, a trip to Jungle Jim s and ate at Cici s and spent the night at church for two nights. We are so very proud of all the teens! They showed compassion, kindness and shined the light of Christ the entire week! Loved seeing all the teens growing in their faith journey!
World s Longest Yard Sale Youth Fundraiser. T
Youth Sunday On Sunday, August 12 th we had a privilege to watch the Teens take over the Sunday service. The teens became our greeters, ushers, choir and playing adult hand bells, children time, acolytes and so much more. Ed Gebhart, our youth counselor, brought in the word of Christ! It has been such a blessing to watch the teens grow closer to our Lord and Savior and watch them on their faith journey. We are so very proud of the teens in their accomplishments!
September/October Newsletter Our LUMC youth group enjoyed a nice spiritual outing on Sunday, August 26 th at the Florence Freedom Game/Worship Concert at the UC Health Stadium. We saw the Florence Freedom win a game and Sidewalk Prophet perform. It was a great day and night for the teens to bond and to become closer to our Lord and Savior!
Ability to Thrive On Monday, August 27 th Ability to Thrive (adults with special needs) had their talent show in the church fellowship hall. They all did an amazing job; singing, dancing, playing the piano and loved seeing all the smiles. We especially enjoyed a special guest from the T-Rex. The Ability to Thrive theme song is from Casting Crowns Thrive Here s a few lines from Thrive We lift Your name on High Shine like the sun made darkness run and hide We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives It's time for us to more than just survive We were made to thrive
Lindenwald United Methodist 3501 Pleasant Avenue Hamilton, Ohio 45015 Return Service Requested LUMC Staff Senior Pastor Robert Ulmer Children & Youth Director Lisa Gebhart Choir Director/Organist Nancy McCormick Office Manager/Adm. Secretary Vickee Campos Custodian Glen Chastain Treasurers Joyce Magly, Suzete Miller Financial Secretaries Jerry Smith, Carrie Titus Contact Information Phone: 513-863-8822 Email: lumc@lindenwaldumc.org Website: www.lindenwaldumc.org We re on Facebook! Church Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00am 2:00pm Newsletter Deadline: Fifteenth day of month Bulletin Deadline: Wednesdays 2:00 PM