STRASBURG UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Transcription
STRASBURG UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
STRASBURG UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 114 West Washington Street Strasburg, Virginia 22657 Phone (540) 465-8788 Email: [email protected] Website: www.strasburgumc.org AUGUST 2014 We are knee deep in summer, and I know that my family’s life has been revolved on getting settled in to a new home and enjoying the beauty of nature here in Strasburg. It’s also been filled with taste testing all the restaurants in town and many afternoons at the town pool. This summer has been busy! So busy, in fact, that it has been hard to find a moment of peace or a moment for Sabbath. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, spoke often about “Acts of Mercy” and “Acts of Piety.” He encouraged his followers to embrace and enact both. Acts of Mercy are things we do for others (missions, outreach, generosity), while Acts of Piety are the things we do to connect to God (prayer, communion, fasting, study of scriptures, holy conversation, resting) Both fulfill the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-39), where Jesus says: Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. (My paraphrase). I’ve found in my own experience that some people are good at one or the other, but not both. This can be roughly seen in the theological divisions of the church, some people emphasize missions and evangelism while others may emphasize prayer and worship. The key to a healthy relationship with God is to actively embrace the entire promise and commitment of the greatest commandment. The promise, of course, is that God loves us and embraces us unconditionally. The commitment is that we go and do the same for others. I have gained knowledge and studied the lives of those who have come before as a I read devotional material and I have been impacted by the mentors in my life (I am sure that you have also done the same). The questions that have emerged have all been built upon this commitment to live my life in balance between Acts of Mercy and Acts of Piety. I know enough about myself to realize that my natural tendency is to be a “doer.” Preaching, witnessing, working all come naturally to me. (Acts of Mercy) The hard work for me is resting, fasting, listening, and praying. (Acts of Piety). Maybe you know the same about yourself. Maybe you, too, are struggling with elements of your spiritual life. If you are, I hope you don’t ignore that tugging of the Spirit. I’ve been reading a book by Marva Dawn, titled Keeping he Sabbath Wholly. While it was written in the late 1980's, it still is relevant to the busyness that is the world in which we live. The pattern she outlines for keeping the Sabbath is fourfold. 1. Ceasing: work, productivity, anxiety, possessiveness 2. Resting: spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual 3. Embracing: intentions, values, giving, vocation 4. Feasting: beauty, music, the eternal, food, affection I know that is a very simplistic outline of her book, but you can probably grasp that keeping the Sabbath is more than just “taking a break.” It’s about dedicating our lives to God for a set time. I hope that you will journey with me as I continue to enrich and embrace my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ and a believer in a loving God. Grace and peace, Rev. John Haynes, Jr. Operation Christmas Child As you know, Operation Christmas Child is a way for churches to gift children all over the world. These gifts include toys, toiletries, clothes, school supplies, etc. These gifts also include the story of our Christ Jesus. As we enter into 2014 the Operation Christmas Child Mission has already taken off and expectations are HIGH. Our 2014 goal of 700 boxes has already begun. With prayer, faith and working together we, as a church, can accomplish anything as we are confident that this goal will be met. Each month there will be a list of items that we will be collecting. (This does not mean that you can’t bring in other gifts for the gift boxes). You will find this information in the bulletin and in the newsletters. Announcements regarding our progress will also be made at our church services. The following is a schedule of the gifts that we are focusing on for each month: August: Pencils, pencil sharpeners, colored pencils, watercolors, paintbrushes, crayons, notepads, markers, stamps and ink pads, writing pads, rulers, solar calculators, books, picture books, journals, small puzzles, erasers, chalk, playdough, stickers September: Jump ropes, jacks, small balls, small Frisbees, dolls, stuffed animals, puppets, necklaces, bracelets, headbands, hair clips, elastic hairbands, matchbox cars, flashlights w/extra batteries, marbles, yo-yo’s, finger puppets, legos, musical instruments (kazoos, harmonicas), slinkies, sunglasses October: Baseball caps, hats, socks, flip flops, mittens, scarves, gloves, t-shirts, NEW underwear, wrapped hard candy Financial contributions are always accepted. If you would like to make a financial contribution, please make the check out to Strasburg United Methodist Church with a notation ”Operation Christmas Child.” If you would like to work with Operation Christmas Child, please contact Willie Mitchell at 465-9172. We thank you for your prayers. Changing the world, one heart at a time. Willie Mitchell Volunteers Needed We are looking for volunteers to work with the flowers beds around the church. If you are interested in helping with this, please contact Richard Hiserman at 304-838-9808 or Greg Wood at 301-674-8685. Thank You We would like to thank UMW for the gift Sarah received for graduation. Also with great appreciation and thanks for being one of the Virginia Cooper Scholarship Award recipients. Love in Christ, Ralph and Janice Crabill Pastor’s Bible and Book Study Beginning Thursday, September 4th, the Pastor’s Bible and Book Study will return! The book we will read is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. You may find this book on Amazon.com and I ask that you order it before our first gathering together. We will gather for discussion on Thursdays at 7pm in the library. Trustee News Did you know that, twenty-four years ago, there were no central air conditioners in the church? In the summer time windows would be opened and fans would be waving in the pews. Many times the minister and the choir would not wear robes to help stay cool. Now that we have A/C in the church, it has to be maintained. The life span of most A/C units is 20 to 25 years. All of our A/C units are in that range and are starting to have problems, and parts are either hard to find or more expensive than replacing with new units. Currently one of the units in the Sanctuary is in that boat. As units start having issues we are looking into replacing them with new ones. The new units have warranties which should give us peace of mind for a while. Our parking lot is in need of sealing. This is something that is supposed to be done at regular intervals however has not been done for some time to save money. With council approval we will be getting this done along with some asphalt repairs in the near future. We will try to let everyone know when this happens since no one can use the parking lot for a couple of days. Ralph C. Crabill Trustees Chair Strasburg Cooperative VBS 2014 sponsored by Strasburg United Methodist, Mt. Zion United Methodist and Strasburg Christian Church Where: Strasburg United Methodist Church 114 E. Washington Street Strasburg, VA When: August 3rd-August 7th from 6-8:30 pm (light dinner included) Who: children ages 3 years to 12th grade (6-12th graders will be asked to be helpers) How: Through the many wonderful volunteers, GOD’s excellent inspiration and the fantastic children of our community! If you are interested in volunteering please contact Dianne Hisghman at 465-8096 or email her at [email protected]. Lay Readers August 3 Janie Miller August 10 Trina Ashcraft August 17 Ralph Carl Crabill August 24 Karen Tignor August 31 Marquetta Mitchell Sunday Monday AUGUST 2014 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 6 7 Kiwanis 7:30 am Vacation Bible School 6pm-8:30 pm 3 4 5 Vacation Bible School 6pm-8:30 pm Vacation Bible School 6pm-8:30 pm Vacation Bible School 6pm-8:30 pm Vacation Bible School 6pm-8:30 pm 10 11 Youth Meeting 12:30-2 pm AOJ practice 6pm Community Dinner 5:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm Scouts 6:30 pm Lydia’s Board 6:30 pm Youth Meeting 12:30-2 pm AOJ practice 6pm 19 2 ____________ 8 Vacation Bible School Decorating 6 pm 20 21 Kiwanis 7:30 am Cub Scouts 6:30 pm 15 16 UMM 8 am 22 23 Private Party noon-6 pm (Fellowship Hall) Senior Lunch 11 am Scouts 6:30 pm Mt. Zion Luncheon noon-3 pm 1 Education/Youth Meeting 8 am 14 18 Saturday 9 13 17 12 Friday Greenfield Communion 6:30 pm 24 25 26 27 28 Youth Meeting 12:30-2 pm Lunch Bunch noon Church Council 6:30 pm Community Dinner 5:30 pm Cub Scouts 6:30 pm AOJ practice 6pm Scouts 6:30 pm 31 One Combined Service 10:45 am Youth Meeting 12:30-2 pm *All events are subject to change, check your weekly bulletins for updates. 29 30 Education Training (all dayFellowship Hall) AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 1st-Dianne Hisghman 3rd-Willie Mitchell 4th-Sewall Fultz Jr., MacKenzie McClellan 5th-Mary Bible, Colton Ganzhorn, Tom Knowles 6th-Mary Vance 8th-Eddie Lynam, Bessie McGrady 9th-Esther Miller, Matthew Signor 10th-Dolores Fultz, Brian Krueger 11th-Zachary Hoffman, Charles Miller 12th-Luke Estep, Katie Smallwood, John Tefft 13th-Diane Jordan, Lauren Stickles 14th-Hunter Caricofe, Natalie Davis, Joshua Pritchett 15th-Wayne Cottrill, Kyla Smith 16th-Nicole Deavers, Brianna Kitchen, Betty Stevens 17th-Gertrude Hoffman 18th-Sandra Engle 19th-Shelby Kline, J. Ricci Troxell, Randall Williams 20th-Pam Rosenberger 21st-William Layman 23rd-James Caricofe, John Stickley 24th-Ashley Mauck, Brandon Mauck, Debra Shaw 25th-Lea Anne Coffman, Robert Kline, Genevieve Rager 26th-Rosalie Boland, Linda Bott, Jane Rosenberger 28th-Ralph Carl Crabill 29th-Jacqueline Ferguson, Matthew Kline, Chase McComas 31st-Daniel Hershey