Moments of Resurrection
All ladies of the church (and their friends) are invited to join United Methodist Women members on Monday evening, August 26 at 6:30 as our own Nancy Runner will talk about her moments of resurrection as described in her book, Early Birds Flock Together. Have you had a resurrection moment? Join us for this evening of Christian fellowship. Copies of Nancy’s book will be available for purchase.
Barb Ritchie
Aesthetics Ministry Team
The Aesthetics Team was busy earlier this year helping to prepare our building so the Y Childcare could move in. We helped organize and clean the classrooms, storage rooms and basement.
This summer and fall you will see several committee members and volunteers paint hallways, doors and classrooms to give a fresh, clean look to our building. We also hope to redecorate the main office to give it a more warm and welcoming feeling. Finally, we plan on coordinating a “rummage sale” this fall to find new homes for all the extra items that we do not need to put back into the classrooms after the Y moves out.
Mary and Tony continue to keep our church grounds looking green and blooming – thank you!!!
Sue Kissinger
Random Thoughts July/August 2019 by Mike Zahn
Basketball and Spiritual Gifts
When I was young, I wanted to be a basketball player. The only problem was that I was too short, too slow, lacked skills, and didn’t work very hard. When I tried out for 7th grade basketball I got cut and I was crushed, even though I was shorter than John Cameron, slower than George Curtis, couldn’t shoot as well as John King, and didn’t work as hard as Scott Decker. Then I was given the chance to be a manager for the team, and participated in that role all the way through high school. I got to hang with my friends, shoot free throws, spin the ball on my finger, clean basketballs, keep statistics, and do whatever else needed to be done to get the team ready.
I recently took a course in Rediscovering Your Spiritual Gifts, and my basketball experience reminded me of Spiritual Gifts. Each and every follower of Jesus is given (not earned, but given as a gift), one or more spiritual gifts, as listed primarily by Paul in Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and 27-31, and Ephesians 4:7-16. These include the following (there is no ranking, all gifts are equal): Apostleship, Prophecy, Evangelism, Pastoring, Teaching, Encouragement, Knowledge, Wisdom, Assisting, Giving, Leadership, Compassion, Faith, Discernment, Miracles, Healing, Tongues, and Interpretation. In a similar way that a basketball team is made up of many players with different skills, the body of Christ is made up of people with different spiritual gifts.
We want to discover our particular gifts, because when we are serving God using these gifts, we tend to be more passionate and happy, and therefore more effective in our roles. So whether it is on a basketball team or in a church, find out what you are meant to do and do it!
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Equal Exchange Fair Trade New Product!
We are adding another product to our Equal Exchange inventory. It is a single serve coffee for use in Single Serve Machines. There are 12 cups per box and it is compatible with Keurig 2.0. The cost will be $8 per box.
(Equal Exchange single serve coffee cups are a greener alternative to traditional K-Cups.* Our organic single serve coffee is sourced directly from small-scale farmers and disadvantaged producers around the world. You get the same quality, organic coffee you know and love in a convenient, environmentally friendly coffee pod. Our Fair Trade organic single serve coffee cups are made from recyclable plastic and aluminum with a compostable filter. The conversation around waste from K-Cups is an important one, and we want to do our part to reduce waste with our single serve coffee cups. If you use a Keurig, make the switch to our environmentally friendly, organic coffee cups and do your part to reduce, re-use, and recycle. Equal Exchange is not affiliated with KEURIG, Inc.) www.equalexchange.coop
For the more than 20 years United Methodist Women have been offering Equal Exchange Fair Trade products to our congregation. This decision was made to introduce people to a way of supporting a more equitable alternative trade system that empowers small farm- ers worldwide while also providing support to United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) and the UMW mission projects.
Equal Exchange is a co-op business structure that has over 120 worker-owners, each with an equal stake and an equal vote – in the business. Their mission statement is “We believe that we should expect no less from ourselves and each other than we demand of our farmer partners. For that reason we have organized ourselves as a democratic worker co-operative, now one of the largest in the country.” Thank you for your continuing support of this work. Mary Ann Dykes
God’s Love Breaks Through
By Joan Stroyny
Even when my faith seems faded, Lord,
the blossoms of spring return alive and new;
And when in brokenness my heart appears,
it’s your love that always breaks through.
Even when my eyes don’t see, Lord,
the morning light is created by You;
with Christian love and care abiding,
it’s your love that always breaks through.
Even when I can’t find hope, Lord,
your spirit soars among the skies of blue;
and when my strength can not avail,
it’s your love that always breaks through.
Even when I don’t have peace, Lord,
your tranquility surrounds the misty dew;
and when other answers fail and fall,
it’s your love that always breaks through.
Even when my soul is sleeping, Lord,
show me the journey I must pursue;
and if my life is broken helplessly,
it’s your love that will break through.
This is the victory of Easter,
when Christ is risen to set us free;
so the brokenness of spirit and sin
brings salvation and peace eternally.
