THE STORY |
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VOL. 25 NO 3 REV. KIRK TUTTEROW MARCH, 2010 |
Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Dear sisters and brothers,
The season of Lent begins with the reading of Psalm 51 in which we are invited to a time of soul-searching and soul-cleansing, a time of self-reflection and self-assessment, and a time of focusing on the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross, on forgiveness and new life and mercy. Unfortunately for too many of us, we have turned the season of Lent into a game of giving up things without pondering the meaning of sacrifice and the sense of utter dependency upon God that is a necessity in the discipline of a Lenten experience.
I am sure that our churches will be filled with Lenten activities, prayer groups, and studies. I suspect the sermons and the series of sermons preached will invite us to go deeper in our love for God and our commitment to follow Jesus. I know that in some meaningful way we will walk the way of the Cross and call to mind the sacrificial love of Christ. But my prayer is that these will not become items on a calendar or activities to fill up time and space without also engaging our hearts and souls. In the words of Charles Wesley: "O Love divine, what hast thou done! The immortal God hath died for me!...Is crucified for me and you, to bring us rebels back to God. Believe, believe the record true, ye all are bought with Jesus blood. Pardon for all flows from his side: my Lord, my Love, is crucified."
In thinking about these matters on this Ash Wednesday, I return to two writers who are often on my reading list in quiet times of meditation and reflection. Their observations and comments take me into the heart of the season and the heart of grace. Here are a couple of quotations for your reflection in these first days of Lent.
n his imaginative little book, Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner writes: "To confess your sins to God is not to tell him anything he doesn't already know. Until you confess them, however, they are the abyss between you. When you confess them, they become the bridge." (page 15)
Kathleen Norris, in Cloister Walk, writes: "Repentance is not a popular word these days, but I believe that any of us recognize it when it strikes us in the gut. Repentance is coming to our senses, seeing, suddenly, what we've done that we might not have done, or recognizing, as Oscar Wilde says inhis great religious meditation De Profundis, that the problem is not in what we do but in what we become." (page 165)
In her further reflection on repentance in her follow-up book Amazing Grace, Norris tells of a young boy she had in a class one time. He had written a poem about his anger and his actions that ended by hurting others and wrecking his room and then the whole town. He then sits down in what he called his messy room and says to himself, "I shouldn't have done that." Norris comments: "If the house is messy ... why not clean it up, why not make it a place where God might wish to dwell?" (page 70)
Perhaps this Lent we can come to our senses - individually and corporately, church and community. Perhaps this Lent we will do more than pay lip service to the emptiness in our souls and open ourselves to the grace of God that builds bridges and heals relationships. Perhaps this Lent we can, by the indwelling of God's Spirit, clean up our messy houses and hearts, and offer ourselves anew to God.
Have mercy on me, O God, and create in me a clean heart!
Larry M. Goodpaster
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN
The Elbaville United Methodist Women did not meet in February due to the snow. The next meeting will be March 1, 2010.
SENIOR CITIZENS The Senior Citizens did not meet for their
February meeting due to the snow. The next meeting will be March 2, 2010.
PRAYER MISSION
We at Elbaville are praying that God will lead us into a Prayer Mission Ministry. We are asking that each one spend time in prayer for the next few weeks seeking God's will that will lead us to volunteer as a Pray Warrior. The volunteers will meet as a group and plan their program of service to our Lord. At this time, we will not meet in a prayer room but set a time for each Warrior to pray at their home sanctuary at a given time. Then we will be praying in unison as our Lord's Disciples did. Pray for us that we will do God's will
Ken Blakley
Prayer Coordinator
The following shut-ins are on our prayer list: Edith Myers, Mabel & Grady Watson, Calvin Minor, Betty Spry, Mary Zimmerman Shirley Snyder, Mattie Tucker, John Toth, Mildred and R. J. Markland.
AROUND THE CHURCH
FELLOWSHIP TIME
Each Sunday at 9 am, we will have a time for fellowship with drinks and refreshments in the Fellowship Building. We invite all members to come out and participate in this
FLOWERS FOR THE ALTAR
If anyone would like to place flowers in the sanctuary for any special occasion, in memory, honor, birthday, anniversary, etc.,please notify Christine Welborn at 998-2269.
ONGOING
Please continue to save aluminum cans. A trailer is located under the arbor behind the church where you can deposit the cans. This is one continuing fundraiser that helps all of the youth with their expenses
PLASTIC BAGS
The Storehouse for Jesus continues to need plastic grocery bags. Please bring your extra bags and leave in Fellowship Hall. Mary & Linda will deliver them to the Storehouse
OLD EYE GLASSES
If you have any old eye glasses or lenses, please bring them and place them in the box located in the Family Fellowship Class. We will be collecting these for the Lions Club and they will distribute to needy people and other countries.
MISSION EMPHASIS
This month we have had no calls to help any families or individuals. Also, our collection for the Food Pantry is almost nonexistent. If you would like to contribute, even if it is only 1 or 2 items a month, it will be greatly appreciated. The list of food needed by the Storehouse is:
Baby Products
Paper products
Soap products
Hygiene products
Cereal
Sugar
Canned vegetables
Spam
Chicken
Tuna
Tea
Coffee
Juice
Cornmeal
OilPancake mix & syrup
The items needed by Ronald McDonald House are:
Microwavable soups & pasta
Individual cereals
Pudding & jello cups
Dried soups
If you know of anyone in need, please call me at
998-9727 or Rev. Tutterow's number is 998-8117.
Next month I'll have something about our Jars of Hope that you may want to participate in.
Linda Harmon
Local Missions
AROUND THE CHURCH
(CONTINUED
FOR THE TROOPS
In the narthex, there is box labeled "For the Troops" and on the side of the box is a list of the needed items. If you prefer to make a donation give it to either Mary Welborn or Debbie Livengood and they will make the purchases. Let us continue to show support for our fighting men and women as we will be collecting items year round. Thanks for you support.
CHURCH & SOCIETY
Lent is the season of repentance, self, examination, and awareness of the hurts of the peoples of the world. March 14th is the day of One Great Hour of Sharing which calls the Church to share the goodness of life with
those who hurt. These funds go to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. UMCOR is active in many parts of the world, most recently in Haiti. They bring hope, provide relief from hunger and disasters, and teach peace. Please give generously.
Mary Welborn, Chairperson
SUGGESTION BOXES
We have placed two Suggestion Boxes in the narthex. One is labeled Prayer Concerns and Mission Needs Any Prayer Concern you have or if you know anyone who is in need of Mission Help, please place the information in this box.
The other box will be for general suggestions for activities, programs, suggestions for Sunday School or Worship service, music, etc.
CHURCH MISSION & MINISTRY BUDGET
Attached are the minutes from the Finance Meeting on Feb. 9. We have changed the procedures for handling our finances and the work areas responsible for various budget amounts. Each quarter we will put in the newsletter a recap of amounts collected and spent out.
As the Holy Spirit continues to work in our lives, we begin to think less about ourselves and more about others. We begin to see the needs of others and wonder, if I don't do something, who will? As this change takes place within us, we experience real joy. We discover that we find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. These spiritual realizations bring us to a central theological foundation for generosity:
Life is a gift and everything belongs to God.
We look to God as our Source, giving thanks for what we have. It means we ask God to give us the right perspective on money and possessions and to change our hearts each day. It means we decide to live simpler lives, wasting less and conserving more. And it means giving more generously. (Taken from the book "Enough" by Adam Hamilton)
Connie Brinkley, Chairperson
MISSION & MINISTRY BUDGET
Avg. collection for Year to date is $980.92
Needed $1,319.60
OTHER FUNDS
PARSONAGE FUND $88,441.94
PAVING FUND $14,970.89
REPAIR FUND $6,600.94*
*error made in reporting balance last month
If you would like to make a contribution to any of the funds, please mail your check to:
Debbie Livengood, Financial Secretary
354 Livengood Rd., Advance, NC 27006
CHILLI & BAKED POTATO LUNCH
Everyone enjoyed a delicious chilli and baked potato lunch after Church on Feb. 21. We had a very good number attending and donations of $369 were made for the Brooke Ziglar Scholarship Fund. We have collected $3,092.98 to date to pay for Brooke's tuition and expenses involved with attending the medical conference this summer.
Mission & Ministry Team
A meeting took place on Jan. 23, 2010 of this new team which has replaced the former NOW council. There were ten members present and much of the day was spent in planning sessions and setting up the church calendar for the first part of the year. Most of the duties and responsibilities of the NOW council have been incorporated and reorganized with some
additions as well. There are now nine sub-teams with individual sub-chairs and, in many cases, their own teams. Each team has been assigned their tasks and monetary funds have been allocated for the needs of each team as required. A chart elsewhere in this newsletter shows
exactly how it has been worked out. It is a work in progress, and with the cooperation of each team member, this new group hopes to accomplish the work of Elbaville UMC with as much efficiency as possible. Connie Brinkley did an exemplary job for many years as the chair of the NOW council. She is to be commended for all her hard work and she remains avaluable member of the Mission & Ministry team. I can only pray that I do as good a job as chair of this team.
Mary Welborn, Chairperson
UPCOMING EVENTS
FEBRUARY 28
PPR District Training at First UMC, Lexington 3 - 4:30 PM\
MARCH 7
BISHOP GOODPASTER AT FIRST UMC LEXINGTON 6:30 PM TO DISCUSS PLANNING & VISIONING IN LOCAL CHURCHES
MARCH 13
RETHINK CHURCH TRAINING AT TYRO UMC 9 AM TO 3 PM
COST $8 INCLUDES LUNCH & TRAINING MATERIALS
MARCH 21
SENIOR CITIZENS BANQUET 6 PM
MARCH 24
ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL AND MISSION & MINISTRY TEAM MEETING 7 PM
MARCH 29
TRUSTEES MEETING 7 PM
APRIL 1
MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE
ADVANCE UMC 7 PM
APRIL 2
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE, ELBAVILLE 7 PM
APRIL 4
EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE
FULTON UMC
ACOLYTES:
Andrew Minor, B. G. Minor, Nathan Minor
JR. USHERS
Shawn Myers, Hayley Carter
Alt: Megan Minor, Nathan Minor
USHERS
B. G. Minor
Andrew Minor
NURSERY WORKERS
Emily Robertson, Mickey Minor
2010 PURPOSE STATEMENT
GOD IS CALLING US IN THIS TIME TO DO ALL WE CAN FOR GOD, THE CHURCH, AND THE COMMUNITY. ELBAVILLE UMC IS RUNNING GOD'S RACE AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST
FUELED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.