CARILLON
A Free Publication of
First United Methodist Church
305 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-963-3579 ~ [email protected] ~ www.fumcsb.org
Facebook: First United Methodist Church Santa Barbara
February 10, 2015
LENT: AN INVITATION TO COME CLOSER TO GOD
In the season of Lent, we take a long journey toward the cross, a journey containing
both heartache and joy. Lent is forty days, not including Sundays, during which we
enter one of the most sacred times of the Christian year – a time of reflection on our
sins, the ways that we separate ourselves from God and from one another. The Lenten
season invites us to enter a period of self-examination and repentance, in which God is
able to change hearts, mend lives, heal relationships, and restore creation.
Sarah Parsons, in her book A Clearing Season, suggests that the ultimate purpose of
Lent lies beyond penitence. She writes, “In essence Lent serves as our annual invitation
to come closer to God. It provides a time to look at our lives and ourselves, not so we
may criticize ourselves more harshly but so we can identify the obstructions that keep us from God.
What keeps us from feeling the presence of the divine in our every day? How do we hide from God,
and why? Lent gives us a chance to look at such obstructions and to move them gently away so that
we can come closer to the Love that gives us life, the Love whose triumph we will celebrate on Easter
morning.”
I have always considered Lent to be a gift because it reminds me how safe it is to engage in
honest self-reflection in the presence of God. I may not always want to admit my mistakes or misdeeds
to myself or to others, but there is no hiding from God, and that is a source of spiritual freedom in my
life. “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” the psalmist asks. It is
liberating to believe that the Creator God knows me completely and chooses to remain in relationship
with me through all the days of my life.
Someone else has suggested that Lent can be a dangerous time. “It is dangerous to meet Jesus in
the dark places, to ask the same questions of ourselves that Jesus asks of his disciples, to accept Jesus’
radical touch. In these moments of utter truth and honesty, we find ourselves vulnerable enough to
connect with the risen Christ as never before” (Feasting on the Word, David L. Bartlett, et. al). So Lent is
more than just six weeks of introspection. Lent involves building a life of deeper trust in our crucified
and risen Lord.
The gospel message is that in Christ we are becoming a new creation. The old is passing away and
everything is becoming new in Christ! Paul writes, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us” (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
This act of reconciliation, initiated by God through Christ, provides us with the opening we need to
draw closer to God and to the community of the faithful. Reconciliation is the meeting place in which
we can be ourselves without veneer and offer ourselves lovingly in service to the world.
Thus Sarah Parsons is able to say, “Following close upon Lent’s penitence is hope – hope that the
barriers between us and God will not remain, that with God’s help we will clear them away and begin
to experience greater joy and newness of life.”
May you journey toward hope, Mark
SOUPER/SUPER BOWL THANK YOU!
Super Bowl weekend included two FUMC events
that were fun and successful.
A Community of Prayer
Please keep the following people in your prayers
Sunday School collected over $700 by
holding soup pots after both services as
part of the national movement to fight
hunger and poverty. This year the funds
collected went to the Unity Shoppe, which operates a
year-round “free” grocery and clothing store for registered patrons who can shop with dignity for their
basic needs. Thanks to all who put coins, bills, and
checks into the soup pots for those in need.
Diane & Dan Adamson, Terry Becker,
Anne Clark, Gracie Fisher and family,
Mark Franklin, Randy Harper, Myra Hogan,
David Holmes, Harry Kreitzer, Ilana Massy,
Brigitte McKee, Joslin Merwin,
Marilyn Metzner, Socorro Orozco,
Joyce Richardson, Carol Holle Umber,
Ruth Warkentin, Bonnie Warren,
Nancy Weirbach, Rev. Elwood Wissmann.
Gary, Izzy, and Elizabeth gathered the Youth
Group at Siena Hogan’s for their annual Super Bowl
watching
party.
While Izzy’s team
did not prevail, the
group did have a
lot of fun AND collected two big boxes of canned goods
for Unity Shoppe!
In Remembrance
Jim Kenward, January 30th
Jared Joseph, February 3rd
Belated Congratulations
Omri Robert Finc, born September 10, 2014.
Proud parents Jeff and Raia,
and sister Veronica.
Service Personnel
Damon Belanger, Ryan Hirschler, Sean Jones,
Catherine Lily Karl, Scott McKee, Kevin Meinert,
Alycia Porter, Timothy Radcliffe,
Matthew Wissmann.
IN GRATITUDE
On behalf of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Steering Committee, I would like to thank
Pastor Mark Richardson and the entire FUMC
family and volunteers for the assistance
given in providing lunch for the more than
200 persons that attended. Because of your
efforts, the Community Lunch was a success.
Missionaries
There are over 300 UMC Global Ministries
missionaries serving in over 60 countries. FUMC
partners with the following missionaries to
provide financial, spiritual and emotional
support. Please keep in prayer:
Blessings, Annell Stewart
MISSIONARY SUPPORT
Mozart Adevu: Regional Coordinator for the
Sustainable Agriculture and Development
Program for UMCOR, based in Accra, Ghana
and West Africa.
As shown in the prayer concerns to the right,
FUMC partners with a number of missionaries to provide financial, spiritual and emotional support. Below
is the email contact information. If you would care to
assist in their financial support, please make your
check out to FUMC and include the UMCOR Advance Directive number in the memo line.
Rev. Claudia Genung Yamamoto: Kobe, Japan includes relief work in Tohoku, affected by the
2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Mozart Adevu: Email: [email protected]
Missionary Advance #13996Z
Sustainable Agriculture Advance #982188
Rev. George Martzen: Assigned to the Methodist
Church of Singapore as the minister attached to
the Bishop’s office.
Rev. Claudia Genung Yamamoto:
Email: [email protected]
Advance #11868Z
Rev. Dr. Chin Cheak Yu: Dean of Students,
Trinity Theological College, Singapore
Methodist E-Academy: Provides internet-based
learning courses for those preparing for the
ordained ministry in European countries where
the UMC has no seminary.
Rev. George Martzen:
Email: [email protected]
Advance #14173Z
Rev. Dr. Chin Cheak Yu: Email: [email protected]
Advance #14172Z
Methodist E-Academy
Advance #3021181
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LENTEN CALENDAR/EVENTS
Why Lent? The season of Lent is a season of preparation for Easter. In Lent, we are attentive to
the parts of Jesus’ life - his self-control, his patience, his faithfulness even in suffering - that we
hope to gain as his disciples. A yearly observance of Lent is helpful in this respect.
Many people give up something during Lent. But in our culture, fixated on self-improvement as
we are, this can result in a big misunderstanding: we start (even if only in the back of our minds) to
think of a Lenten fast in terms of a diet! But Lent is not New Year's Resolutions Round Two! Lent is
not about us! Lent is about Jesus Christ.
In Lent we might give up something, do a specific prayer discipline, or change something to push ourselves spiritually. But the point is not self-improvement. The point is not even just self-denial. The point is to feel a
discomfort, a measure of pain, and by that to be constantly reminded of the love of our Savior Jesus Christ, who
denied himself for our salvation. Observing Lent with prayer and fasting, helps us use that prayer and fasting first
of all to remember Jesus.
Adapted from Ministry Matters: Clifton Stringer
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
FEB. 18TH AT 7:00 P.M. IN WESLEY CHAPEL
You are invited to begin the season
of Lent on Wednesday, February 18th,
at 7:00 p.m. in Wesley Chapel. The
small, fireside service includes
communion and offers the imposition
of ashes for those who wish. FUMC
youth will assist with the service. All are
invited.
2015 LENTEN ORGAN SERIES
FREE RECITALS BEGIN FEBRUARY 22ND
SUNDAYS AT 3:00 PM
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SUPPER RETURNS!
FEBRUARY 17TH IN FELLOWSHIP HALL
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Did you miss our fun Shrove Tuesday
Pancake Supper last year? We didn’t
have one! This year we will resume
that lively, tasty evening with proceeds benefiting our FUMC Garden
Preschool. Save the date: Tuesday,
February 17th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. with live
music and our Cakewalk, of course.
Tickets are $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 10
and under. Willing to help? Please Email Karen
Roberts: [email protected] or 682-5709. Thank you!
Our Lenten Organ recital series has
moved to a new day and new time!
There will be four Sunday recitals beginning February 22nd, the first Sunday in
Lent. The free concerts begin at 3:00
p.m. in the Sanctuary.
Established in the 1990s by Lucile
Beasley, FUMC Organist Emerita (1984-2005),the series
features local and nationally recognized organists. This
year’s Lenten Organ Recitals are co-sponsored by the
local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. This
year’s schedule and featured organists:
•
Feb. 22: Barbara Baird, Organist, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.
•
March 1: Christoph Bull, UCLA and First Congregational Church, Los Angeles.
•
March 8: Thomas Joyce, newly appointed Organist, Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara.
•
March 15: Ty Woodward, First UMC, Santa Monica,
and Schantz Organ Company, Orrville, Ohio.
LISTENING WITH THE HEART
Silence and sharing around the Word of God
Lent is a unique season for the soul’s exploration
of life lived in God. As people on a journey of faith
with Christ our Lord, we listen for the Word
within the words of Scripture as we seek to hear the
still, small voice of God.
You are invited to a spiritual practice involving
the reading of Scripture, contemplative silence, and
prayers for our community and world.
Four Wednesday evenings
March 4, 11, 18, and 25
6:30 p.m. in Wesley Chapel
Led by Pastor Mark
“Holding Space,” a time of prayer for Grace
Fisher, will become part of Pastor Mark’s “Listening
With the Heart” Wednesday night program
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NEW STEPHEN MINISTRY TRAINING
BEGINS SOON.
Pierre de Chardin once wrote, “Someday
after mastering the winds, the waves, the
tides and gravity we shall harvest for God
the energies of love, and then for the
second time in the history of the world we
shall have discovered fire.” Stephen Ministry is about mobilizing and organizing the
energies of God’s love to provide support and care
for those who are going through times of trial and
transition. Stephen Ministers are trained to come
alongside another, to walk through a difficult time in
ways that are neither evasive or invasive, but instead
encourage and nurture the rekindling of another’s
spirit.
Stephen Ministry is for those who find themselves
called to the caregiving role. The next training begins
soon. Please contact Coventry Harris, Martha Saatjian,
or Pastor Alan Strout for more information.
SPRING WORK TEAM SIGNUPS
UMCOR, Salt Lake City West Depot
April 27 - May 1, 2015
FUMC is joining Central Coast Methodist
Churches in recruiting and preparing a team
to go to the UMCOR West Depot in Salt Lake
City from April 27 - May 1. UMCOR West is a 22,000
square-foot depot that stores much needed disaster
relief supplies that are sent stateside and abroad in
times of disaster and war. Team members gather,
assemble, package and shelve relief supply kits for
future shipments.
Expenses will include air fare, lodging and meals.
Lodging costs will be $50/night and will be at the
Episcopal Church Center of Utah. If you are planning
on joining the work team from FUMC, please call the
office or Scott Burns, Chair of the FUMC Missions
committee.
CONTINUED PRAYERS AND SUPPORT
FOR GRACE FISHER
A HEARTFELT THANK YOU
FOR THE FEAST FOR GRACIE!
Words do not seem adequate as
we try to express our thankfulness to
our church, our friends and the entire
Santa Barbara community. The time,
energy, hard work & donations, involved in bringing
together so many to the beautifully prepared and
orchestrated luncheon was incredible! A wonderful
example of "the whole Village" working together to
help Grace and the family get through this difficult
time.
The prayers, cards, thoughts and caring you have
so generously bestowed on Grace and our family has
given strength, support and comfort. We believe this
spirit of love & prayers sent up on Grace's behalf is
what has brought her to this "stable" condition so we
can now concentrate on her rehabilitation & healing.
In thanksgiving and love for each and every one
of you!
Bill, Debbie, Grace & Emily Fisher
CONCERT FOR GRACIE
A Rocking Fundraiser to Help Grace Fisher
When: Sunday, February 15th: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Blind Tiger, 409 State Street
Who: SB High School Madrigals, State of Grace
(Gracie’s band), and others who have played with her
on stage.
Tickets: $15 Suggested Donation. Youth free! All ages.
On December 21st, Grace went to
the hospital with symptoms of sudden
paralysis which was eventually diagnosed as Acute Flaccid Myelitis. On
January 28th, Grace was admitted to
Craig Hospital and the family Bill, Deb
and sister, Emily, relocated to Denver
to be near her. For updates from the
family see the website
SANTA BARBARA VILLAGE
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT EVENT
SB Village provides a range of
resources to help local seniors
continue to live successfully and
independently in their own
homes as they “age in place.” Its success is due to the
generosity of time and talent provided by volunteers.
Potential volunteers are invited to learn more about SB
Village on Friday, February 27th from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
at the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center, 524
Chapala Street. A light lunch will be provided. For
more information or to RSVP, please contact Susan
Brindle at [email protected] or 729-5038 or go to their
website: www.SBVillage.org.
www.posthope.org/gracefisher
Hospital Address:
Craig Hospital
c/o Grace Fisher
3425 South Clarkson Street
Englewood, CO 80113
Donations:
Gracie Fisher Fund
308 Paseo Del Descanso
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
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VALENTINES FOR SSP
UMW GENERAL MEETING
FEBRUARY 12TH @ 11 AM IN ASBURY
United Methodist Women will hold
their February General Meeting on
Thursday, February 12th at 11:00
a.m. in Asbury. The guest speaker is
Carolyn Berry, Santa Barbara
District UMW Program Resource
Coordinator. The Topic is “Ready! Set! Read!”
SB MISSION AREA CHURCH
PULPIT EXCHANGE: FEBRUARY 22ND
In the spirit of preaching the Word of
God by persons divinely called, the
Santa Barbara Mission Area will have
another pulpit exchange on February
22nd. Pastor Joseph Yoo will preach at
FUMCSB with Pastor Mark, Pastor Alan
Strout will preach at Isla Vista UMC
Student Ministry with Pastor Frank
Schaefer, and Pastor Rahel Yoo will
preach at St. Mark UMC. What a
blessed idea!!
INVITATION FROM PASTOR MARK
TO ATTEND C.LAB WORKSHOP AT FUMC
You are invited and encouraged to attend an
event coming to FUMC on Saturday, February 21,
from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, followed by lunch. It is
called a c.lab, and is described as “a hands-on training event for leaders of church ministries and events
to gain skills and learn the principles behind creative
program development, event promotion, and
contemporary communications strategy.”
James Kang, the Communications Director for
the California-Pacific Annual Conference, is the
speaker and facilitator of this training event for the
three churches in our Santa Barbara Mission Area. We
will have a chance to discuss FUMC’s outreach and
ministry, as well as how the churches in our mission
area can collaborate to become a stronger United
Methodist presence in the Santa Barbara area. I believe this will be an inspirational learning experience
as we rethink ways to communicate who we are as
the Church in our time and place. I hope you can attend. Please RSVP to the office ([email protected]) if
you are able to join us!
OFFICE CLOSED FEBRUARY 16TH
IN OBSERVANCE OF PRESIDENTS’ DAY
Please call and leave a message at the
office (963-3579) should you need pastoral
assistance on that day
Thanks to all those who purchased Valentines for
their sweethearts this February!!! Your purchases will
help send our youth
to Nevada for their
summer
Sierra
Service Project.
The Walker River
Paiute Tribe's Housing Authority has
invited the Sierra
Service Project (SSP)
to repair homes in the small town of Schurz,
Nevada. Based on the 2010 census, 658 people live in
Schurz with over 26% of the population living below
the poverty line. Volunteers will be housed at the large
Tribal Gym (with showers!). Work will consist of typical
SSP repairs for homeowners including carpentry
projects, repairing roofs, painting and some work on
the Schurz United Methodist Church. Your Valentine
packets have kept the love lights burning, AND have
kept our youth doing work teams!!!!
BOY SCOUT SUNDAY CELEBRATED
On February 8th, Boy Scout Sunday was celebrated in both worship services. Participating were Troop 1
and Scout Master Bobby Blessing and Pack 21,
Webelo unit, led by Thierry Broucqsault. FUMC is proud
of the many scouts and their leaders who meet regularly at the church. Blessings to all who are part of our
scouting family.
MAKING CHECKS PAYABLE TO THE CHURCH
There has been a lot of confusion over
how checks for the church should be
made out. The bank has been really scrutinizing the checks that we take in for deposit. They do not like it when a part of the
name is omitted, such as First or United, but
they do still accept the initials "FUMC".
It would really help us if everyone would use
them. That red number on the lower right of each envelope is very important to us. Thank you for your help
in this matter.
Carol DeWaay, Financial Secretary
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First United Methodist Church
305 East Anapamu Street
Santa Barbara, California 93101
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Non profit organization
U. S. POSTAGE
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Santa Barbara, CA 93101
PERMIT NO. 43
Dated Material
February 10, 2015
First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara: How to Contact Us
Church Office: Open Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (805) 963-3579
Caroline Kavanagh and Suzanne McAdams, Admin. Assistants
[email protected]
Pastors:
Rev. Dr. Mark Richardson, Senior Pastor
[email protected]
Rev. Dr. Alan Strout, Associate Pastor
[email protected]
Children & Family Ministries: Aimee Dutch, Children & Family Ministries Coordinator [email protected]
Izzy Jarvis, Elizabeth Spencer, Youth Leaders [email protected]
Garden Preschool: Heidi Casper, Director (805) 451-5487 [email protected]
Membership: Sylvia Morikawa, Membership Coordinator [email protected]
The following may be also reached through the church office:(805-963-3579)
Music Director: Nathan Kreitzer Organist: Dr. Steve Hodson Weddings/Events: Marte Franklin, Toni Straka
Daily Devotional - A different inspiring recorded message each day by Pastor Alan: 805-962-5697
The Carillon is published on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, except when otherwise noted. The
submissions are due to the office by the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month.
FUMCSB VISION STATEMENT
The vision of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara
is to provide a welcoming place where the congregation encompasses multiple generations,
diversity is respected and celebrated, and commitments of faith
lead to acts of mercy, social justice,and compassion.
We encourage and support each person on their Christian journey of faith
and offer a variety of ways of connecting with God through:
Fellowship and Caring Ministries,
Understanding through teaching and learning,
Mission and Outreach,
6 Christian Faith.
Creative expression of