August 2011 Mountain Monthly - Cloudcroft United Methodist Church

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
MOUNTAIN MESSENGER
Cloudcroft UMC
AUGUST 2011
Pastor’s Pen
Greetings Friends, in the name of our awesome Lord, Jesus Christ! I love this greeting also: “God is Good!” and the
response: “All the time!”
I would like to encourage those undecided in their commitment to Christ’s Church. Cloudcroft UMC leaders have made
some decisive efforts to keep ministry and programs moving forward for your church family. Let me share some of them
with you.
In 2010 the Ad. Council approved a recommendation of the Finance Committee that we teach stewardship regularly as a
church. We ask our members to tithe. The church tithes as well and experiences the same outpouring of blessings God promises every person that brings a tenth of their income to God’s house. We need abundance and unlimited resources God promises as a Church too, and we want to be faithful.
There is one full-time employee and five part-time ministries in service to CcUMC and the greater church. These are
leading, teaching, planning, serving, and changing lives, helping CcUMC build the Kingdom of God here in New Mexico.
We are starting new study courses, alternative music groups, additional outreach and missionary support, increasing child
care, youth and adult programs. Our leadership has assisted other churches, local families in need and our state Camp & Retreat Center. This year, new construction of a parsonage accessible to everyone began in the Cloudcroft West subdivision.
All of the Church’s facilities will be available to its members and visitors. Your help in this project is welcome (prayers, materials, labor and gifts).
If you are new to this fellowship or uncertain whether your support is needed at this church, let me assure you that your
prayers, talents, gifts and service are important! It takes all hands on deck to keep such a large vessel going in the right direction and bring its vital cargo home safely. Together we are changing lives and “making disciples of Jesus Christ.” Please
assess today your giving plan, made last year. If you have not pledged, ask God to help you know what you are to give toward the ministry of your church. God will bless your faithfulness. He promised! Blessings, Pastor Ran
Lay Speakers School—Coming Soon
Last year several of our members were prepared to attend a school in Roswell but were unable for various reasons. Now
we’ve asked our District representative to have one in our area. Our hope is for a school on two different weekends (Saturday
only) in September so folks do not have to leave work, take vacations days or miss worship on Sunday in their own church.
If this idea appeals to you and you would like to pre-register, call the church office today and let us know your desire.
Lay Speakers are trained in a variety of areas to give leadership in their local church, and at the advanced level to lead
in other local churches when asked. Sometimes they train, bring a morning message, teach a discipleship class or lead a
group. Call and register your interest today for an entry-level course (Local Lay Speaker) or advanced course (Certified Lay
Speaker), for those that have already taken a LLS course.
Our District News
Rev. Barry Dickens is scheduled to have a total knee replacement surgery August 8th. Please pray for him.
The Church Conference will be later this year due to his recuperation. As soon as a date is available we will begin
publishing that information for you. Several of our church committees and work areas are already preparing for this annual
meeting.
Preschool News
Jennifer Ridley
Where did the summer go? That is a question all of us, even the kids,
are asking. I guess we were having too much fun playing outside on
our new playground, doing arts and crafts and visiting the Library on
Mondays. We have really taken advantage of the nice weather and
new playground this summer. We want to say a very special Thank
You to all who helped restore it.
Our fall enrollment has started. So far we have 8 enrolled in the
infant/toddler room and 8 in preschool. We recently got the State’s
approval for a School aged Monday program. We are looking for
bigger furniture (bean bag chairs, love seat, etc.) to accommodate
these kids.
The Methodist men were very busy on the new parsonage, so we had
the opportunity to run the bake sale during the July jamboree. The
event was poorly attended and the location isn’t optimal for receiving
passing traffic. Because of this we walked away with about $200. I
have talked with the other non-profit vendors and we expressed our
concerns to Lisa from the chamber. We hope for a better turn out at
the Oktoberfest.
We are now taking fall enrollment and have openings in each room.
We will be closed the first week of August, but I can always be
reached on my cell phone (575)921-6994. If you know anyone
looking for a fun, safe and loving environment please let them know
about us!
On a more personal note, I am trying to find someone or some
people to help in the church nursery on Sunday mornings. My
children are getting older and I would like to be able to sit with them
during the service. My idea is to have a signup sheet for a nursery
attendant just for the church service. I am willing to still be the nursery
attendant during Sunday school. Everyone who signs up to volunteer
that hour will have to have a background check as a requirement by
the State. If you are interested, please let me or the Pastor know.
Mark Your
Calendar
8.4
5:30p Trustee’s Meeting
8.4-7
Men’s Walk to
Emmaus @ SMA
8.10
5:30p Youth Welcome
Back Party
8.18
Newsletter Due
8.20
8a UMM Meeting
9a All Church Work Day
10a WIM Meeting
8.25-28
Women’s Walk to
Emmaus @ SMA
8.26
WIM Work Day
8.27-28
WIM Sale
8.28
50th+ Anniversary
Recognition Service
5p Ice Cream Social &
Hymn Sing
Walk to Emmaus
Joy Robbers –
Contacts: Women’s Pecos Valley—Darla Breedyk, Lay Director 575-734-6430 (home) or [email protected]
Men’s Borderlands—Jim McGee 575-808-0017 (work) or 575-257-9033 (home)
There are still spots open in both the Men’s and Women’s
walks that are coming up in August. The Women’s walk
will be Aug 7-10 and the Men’s will be Aug 25-28. Please get
a hold of the contacts for more information.
**REMINDER:
The Women’s
Church Sale is going
to be held on
Saturday, August 27th
starting at 6:30a at Zenith
Park. The women will meet
at 8:ooa on Friday, August 26th,
at the storage, to collect the
articles and to set up for the sale.
Info for the Pecos Valley Community walks, which covers
all of Southeast NM, are at http://www.prvemmaus.org/.
Info for the Borderlands Community walks are at
http://www.emmausborderlands.org/.
The pulse | Youth
Wednesday, August 10th there will be a
beginning of the year party at 5:30p-7p
welcoming the 6th graders to youth group.
Bring your friends!
Beginning in August,
the Trustees will be
meeting every month
instead of bi-monthly
during the building of
the parsonage.
Thank you from SMA
Dear Cloudcroft UMC Volunteers,
On behalf of our entire staff, we want you to
know how very much we appreciate your hard
work while you were here at Sacramento, helping
to feed the firefighters. Being at the dining hall at
all hours, helping with breakfast, packing sack
lunches, washing dishes, etc., etc., as well as
organizing your volunteer schedule, were truly acts
of love, both for the firefighters and for
Sacramento. We realize there were many ways you
could have chosen to spend your time, and we are
humbled that you would choose to spend it in
service here.
Without volunteers like you, giving their time and
efforts to this special place, Sacramento would not
be what it is today . Your efforts, and those of
many other wonderful volunteers, let us know in a
very tangible way that there are people who truly
love Sacramento, and wish to leave it a better
place for those who follow. This camp is a
valuable tool of God’s ministry and you have
added to its value, while providing a place for
souls to be refreshed!
Again, we offer our sincere thanks, and with our
thanks, an invitation to come join us again on
the mountain, whether it be for work or renewal.
In Christ’s service,
Bill McCuaig and
the Sacramento Staff
Financial Peace University
By Rudy Wood
Starting in September,
Jane and I will be
leading a 13 week
course called Financial
Peace University by Dave Ramsey. It
is a biblically based curriculum that
teaches people how to handle money
God’s Way. There will be a $90 cost
for study materials. If interested,
please call Rudy @ 491-3881.
Hello Everyone!
Thank you all so very much for keeping
me in your prayers before, during, and for
the recovery portion of my scheduled angiogram and
possible heart stent on July 19th. I did not have the
stent. Praise God!
I have complete faith in Dr. Leon of Las Cruces, so
when he told me that my coronary arteries looked
“beautiful”, I was ready to agree. Now we have
proof that all is well!
May God richly bless and guide all of you!
Love in Jesus Christ, Arlaine Brinkmann
Applications are available in the office if any families
are interested in hosting an international exchange
student. Students must be placed with families by
August 15th.
New Parsonage
Updates to Share
Melanie Gordon
I talked to Biff this week and he has good news to report. The
walls have started going up on the parsonage! He thinks they
are about half way through with the exterior walls.
They have finished all the dirt work and block work. Then they
started working on the floor joyces and subflooring. Now
they’ve been working on the exterior walls. He says next comes
the interior walls and then the roof treces. He says it’s coming
along nicely. All one bit at a time though.
Biff, Dan and Glenn working on floor treces
He says if anyone is interested in volunteering at any time, just
give him a call or head on out there. They’ve been working in
the mornings with it raining in the afternoons.
Pray the Lord helps them and keeps them safe.
View of all their treces work
Cement and block work being done
Exterior walls
ial
Soc
m
Crea
Ice
I know it’s still summer, but it’s time to start
thinking about the Christmas Cantata. This year it
will be held on December 4th at 4pm. Practice will
begin on September 13th and will be held every
Tuesday at 6pm.
This year’s Ice Cream Social and
Hymn Sing will be held on August
28th at 5pm. Come join us for a
bowl of the cold and delicious
and stay with us to enjoy some of
your favorite hymns.
Prayer Concerns
Judy Hedderman prays for, Bill who will be having elbow
surgery July 28. Please pray that everything will be okay.
Linda Baker prays for the Dickinsen family, who lost a family
member this week.
Gerri praysfor our military ,wherever they may be, and
especially for Jamie Bradsher.
Kendra’s sister-in-law who is pregnant, that she might carry the
baby to full term.
Joyce Loy prays for the family of Gene Barrows who died. He
is part of the extended family of the Loys.
Robert and Sondra Morgan pray for Kirstie Morgan, their
granddaughter, who is to have brain surgery on July 20th in
Austin, Texas.
Prayers for Michael Dennis who is fighting cancer.
Chuck Smith prays for Geneva Smith who is fighting myeloma
cancer, Justing Greenwald who has ALS, Jeremy, Matthew and
Misty Compton who are battling drug addiction.
Bill and Patricia Allen prays for Mary Kay, a friend of their
daughters who was in a motorcycle accident and was badly
hurt. They also pray for Lisa, a very close friend of their
daughter-in-law, who is fighting stage 3 ovarian cancer. Keep
Bill and Patricia in your prayers as they travel to Las Cruces
for a check-up for him, and surgical procedures for her.
Prayers were asked for Becky Smith, former president of the
First National of Cloudcroft who is facing a mastectomy.
Prayers for Earl Williams' son, who fell off the porch of their
house, and they praise God that he is doing better.
Tom Broom gives thanks to all who prayed for Patricia and her
healing. She is doing better, but still requests prayers for
continued healing for her back.
Ray and Ruth Genuske celebrate their trip to Albuquerque to
check on the brace on her right foot and ankle and everything
was working well.
The Moffits pray for Chris Samson for healing for her shingles.
Mary Richards celebrated Andy Saulietis had successful gall
bladder surgery.
Buck Denton, who was instrumental in the building of this
sanctuary, passed away on July 21st. Services will be next
Friday. For more information see www.sunsetodess.com.
Please keep Buck’s family in your prayers.
Please pray for the family of Carole Anderson’s, father, Pat,
who is now under hospice care and pray for the family during
this time.
Dan & Lynn celebrate that Ed Armstrong had a clean bill of
health, his lungs are good.
Evelyn Miller asked for prayers for their neighbor, Ray Post,
who fell in Weed, was taken to Gerald Champion and then
taken on to El Paso where they have put in a drain tube to drain
blood from the brain
Susan Saulietis celebrates Andy and she are at home. They
thank everyone for their prayers. They greatly appreciate
them.
Bobby Jones went to M.D. Anderson for his checkup. The
doctor said he was giving him a paper with the results of his
last tests and handed him a blank piece of paper. He said there
was no cancer left in his body. In addition to that, he’s felt fine
during all his treatments and is walking the golf course, playing
18 holes a day.
We have many in our church family battling cancer: Dub
Brown, Bobby Tucker, Jane Harrison, Alan Booth, Larry
Drake and Chris Samson. We celebrate with those who are in
remission: Blake Brown, Jerry Mansur, Diane Brown, Mike
Ingle, and Bobby Jones.
We pray for those in recovery from surgery, illness or trauma:
Darrell Moore in Abilene, Don Burress.
We lift those awaiting surgery, Shirley Polson.
We pray for those in grief: the families of Paul Marez, TC Watts
& Jim Goodman.
The Bellons celebrate that for the fourth time the Lord has
protected Sacramento Methodist Assembly, for the firefighters
who helped save the camp and residents of Sacramento. GOD
IS SO GOOD!! ALL THE TIME!!
We pray for the firefighters, and the millions affected by the
drought throughout the Southwest, and we are grateful for the
work of the Forest Service hot shots and all the fire crews
working in our state. We also are grateful for the support folks
who fed firefighters and helped out at Sacramento Camp and
Retreat Center.
We pray for the firefighters in the Guadalupe Mts. of the
Lincoln National Forest, and rejoice for the moisture we’ve
received and the opening of the National Forest in our area.
We ask for comfort and peace to the households and community
of Oslo, Norway from the Friday attack by Brewik with
weapons and bombs that killed 93 people; the victims of the
high-speed train wreck in China where 34 died and 200 were
injured; and for the families of the 11 victims in the shooting in
Dallas.
We continue to pray for the unrest in the middle east and Africa,
and for the people of Libya and Syria, where 21 have died and
500 protesters were arrested.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE, GROWTH AND FELLOWSHIP
Music Programs: Bells (beginning August) – Wednesday’s @ 4:45pm. Choir – Wednesday’s @ 6:00pm;
United Methodist Men: Third Saturday of the month, 8:00 am (Meeting places will vary)
Women In Ministry: Third Saturday of the month, 10:00 am (Meeting places will vary)
United Methodist Preschool: For further information call Jennifer Ridley, Director
682-2264 or email at [email protected].
Inquirers Course – Meets in the Pastor’s office @ 9:30am Sunday mornings –Join me 7/3/11 for week #1 (for people
interested in a four week study of United Methodist beliefs, history and practice)
Berean Class – Meets in the Parlor @ 9:30am Sunday mornings
A Walk through the Bible - Meets downstairs in the Preschool @ 9:30am Sunday mornings
Seekers Class – Meets downstairs in the Triangle Room 9:30am Sunday mornings
The Joy Class – Meets in the Fellowship Hall 9:30am Sunday mornings
Moore and More Study – Meets upstairs at 9:30am Sunday mornings
Children’s Classes K-6th grades, meets downstairs across from the Nursery.
Teen Ministry – Sunday mornings – Junior and Senior high students, 9:30am, upstairs in the Youth Room
Youth Night - Wednesday’s Jr high @ 5pm Meeting place will vary.
Disciple Bible Class – To Be Announced
Cub Scouts – Thursday 6p or Sunday 12:30p
Boy Scouts –Sunday 12:30p Imaginary Books
*M&M Course will begin August 14 at 9:30a during
discipleship hour in the pastor’s study. Please look at chapters
1-10 beforehand. Booklets are available in the Church office.
The new church web address is www.cloudcroftumc.org
Cloudcroft United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 229 / 50 Chipmunk
Cloudcroft, NM 88317
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED