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2. christianity
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The Mendota Messenger
First United Methodist Church, Mendota, Illinois - March 2015
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. The people of the United Methodist Church.
Following my message on Sunday,
February 15th entitled “Will You Also Be My
Witness?” in which I talked about our
responsibility to take the message – the Good
News of Jesus Christ – into the world and invite
others to experience that Good News in worship
each week, I received this email via JoAnne
Riley. It’s a daily devotional that she receives
each morning from the pastor of the church her
daughter and son-in-law attend. To emphasize
my message, I wanted you to hear much the
same words through another voice:
“Today's encouragement comes from
Luke 2:49, where we read these words (of
Christ): ‘And [Jesus] said to them [Mary and
Joseph], 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not
know that I must be about My Father’s
business?'’ On all Sundays, we who claim to
belong to God, ought to be easy to find. Anyone
looking for us should be able to immediately
discern that we would be in our Father's house,
being about His “business” – just like Jesus was.
Nothing trumps this, for the true believer. Mary
and Joseph apparently looked all over the place
for the young Messiah, but, had they
immediately gone to the temple, they would
have found Him right away.
May we be just like our Savior, in this particular
(at least): that we put Christ's church and His
business before everything else. We are sinners;
Christ is holy, but in this one regard we may
match Him almost step-by-step.
[From: Mark Joseph Henninger; Mon., 2/16/15
Devotion (Lk. 2:49)]
Mary and Joseph hunted high and low for
their son Jesus for three days, but if they had
spent a few moments in prayer rather than
panic, they would have found their son precisely
in His Father’s presence doing and being what He
had be sent into the world to do and to be. On
each and every Sunday morning, each of us also
should be easy to be found – “being about our
Father’s business.” But here in is the wrinkle
and our tie now to Lent: We are all too entangled
in the world to be even bothered by God, even
occasionally! Ouch???!!!
Let me give you a personal example. On
the second Sunday of our vacation, Peggy and I
were scheduled to drive from Sebring, Florida to
Naples, Florida to visit with two of her sisters
who live there. We could have gone to the 8:30
AM worship service in Sebring that morning, but
decided instead to begin our 2 ½ hour journey a
little earlier so we would arrive in time to do
some more visiting.
But a funny thing
happened: when we arrived an hour before
expected, we were asked to wait for an hour
because they weren’t expecting us that early.
Bottom line: the hour we thought we were
saving was wasted; what we had claimed for
ourselves, God took for himself.
Let me give you another example: Years
ago when Peggy and I were farming and it was
the “busy season,” I would at time, “skip church”
to work in the field – seemingly no big deal. But
almost every time I did skip church to
accomplish something, on Monday morning
something would break down and I’d spend part
if not all the day repairing it. So the question
arises, in my ignoring the Sabbath, did the Lord
then take that next day from me? I’ll not answer
that because I sense that you know my
response. But I’ll ask you to reflect on times in
your life when you’ve “stole from God” only to
“come up short” soon thereafter.
I wrote to you last month and I spoke on
it at our Community Ash Wednesday service that
Lent is a time of personal reflection.
It’s a
particular 40 day journey to look within
ourselves for the SIN within us.
Once we
recognize that SIN – or more appropriately said,
once the Holy Spirit reveals the SIN within us –
we then have a responsibility to confess that SIN
and then to turn from that SIN – which in the
church, we call repentance. SIN is a “naughty
word these days because it calls us to account
for our deeds, and we don’t want to be held
accountable. Want it or not, YOU must, or God
will!! Judgment from God is real! That’s why
many don’t like reading the Old Testament – too
much “judgment.” I don’t want to be the bearer
of bad news, but as the commercial once stated,
“You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.”
Now is the time!
On your knees
anywhere is the way and the place. I hope God
will see you in church this and every Sunday.
Pastor Mike
A Request from Our Garage Sale Workers
Dates for the Spring Garage Sale have been set. Workdays will begin Tuesday, April 7
and will be held each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8:30 until 11 AM until the
time of the sale which will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 14, 15, and 16. We
really appreciate everyone’s donations—we couldn’t have our sale without them—but
we request that everyone please call ahead before you bring any large furniture items
for donation. We don’t always have the man-power available to move large items.
Thanks for your help in making our past sales so successful!
Men’s Breakfast at Ziggies’ – Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 AM
Men’s Lenten Dinner – 6 PM Thursday, March 12th here at Mendota 1st
This year’s Men’s Lenten Dinner promises to be enlightening and filling. Kevin
Goy is going to be serving up a dinner of smoked pork loin, mashed potatoes
and gravy, a vegetable or two and bread, plus, of course, pie for dessert. We
will need some pies for our silent auction, so you’ll have something sweet to take home with you. Then
following the meal, a retired Navy Seal will speak of some of his experiences and how his Christian faith
was lived out in those experiences. Look for the fliers to come out soon and plan to attend. And while
you’re at it, bring a friend!
Lent—A Time of Reflection and Preparation
Each Wednesday
6 AM - 6 PM Open Communion in the sanctuary
9:30 AM Mendota Church Women Lenten Worship at St. John’s
6:30 PM Lenten Discussion and Gathering in Welker Hall (not on 3/11)
March 29
9 & 10:30 AM Palm Sunday Worship services
April 2
7 PM Maundy Thursday Worship service here
April 3
12 noon prayer vigil begins in the sanctuary
7 PM Good Friday Worship service at Zion United Methodist Church
April 4
12 noon prayer vigil concludes in the sanctuary
April 5
6:30 AM Easter Sunrise Worship in the sanctuary
Church website:
www.mendotafirstumc.com
First United Methodist Church
100 East 6th Street Mendota, Illinois 61342
815-538-5587 Office
815-539-6234 Parsonage
Rev. Mike Morrell, Pastor
Pastor Mike’s office hours: Monday Off
Tuesday - Thursday
8 AM until noon
(appointments suggested, but walk-ins welcome)
Pastor’s cell phone: 815-751-1923
Pastor’s e-mail: [email protected]
Church office is open Monday—Friday 8 AM until noon
website: www.mendotafirstumc.com
The Mendota Messenger
Published monthly at
1st United Methodist Church
100 East 6th Street
Mendota, Illinois
61342
Issue #53 March 2015
Sandra Smith, Youth Pastor
Barb Buck, Choir Director
Keith Collings, Sound System
Jeri Atherton, Lay Leader
Kim Van Rheenen, secretary
([email protected])
Tony Escatel, Pianist
Please always call to notify us of someone being hospitalized or
having any other emergency. Better 10 phone calls than none!
We want to be there for you, so you have to call
and let us know if you need a pastoral visit.
Mendota Church Women Series Continues
The Mendota Church Women will continue to hold their Lenten Worship Services
each Wednesday at 9:30 AM at St. John’s Lutheran Church, which is located at 607
10th Avenue in Mendota. The theme of this year’s service is “24 Hours That Changed
the World”, based on a book by the same name and authored by Adam Hamilton.
This service is open to all community members. St. John’s Lutheran Church is handicapped accessible. Each Wednesday morning during Lent, the women of a different
area church will host the study with a continental breakfast to follow at St. John’s Lutheran Church.
From the Office of the Bishop
February 2015
Dear Friends and members of Mendota: First United Methodist Church;
On behalf of the United Methodist Church and all its ministries and mission locally and around the world,
I want to thank you for your faithful 100% participation in the payment of apportionments.
A sign of health and vitality in a congregation is the eagerness to reach our beyond its own walls and
serve others in your community and beyond. Your 100% payment is one sign of that vitality. Sincerely,
Sally Dyck
AHA – Awakening, Honesty, Action – by Kyle Idleman
– A New book study beginning Saturday, April 25th
If you attended the Community Ash Wednesday service, you heard me mention a book that
I’d recently been given entitled AHA written by the same author who wrote the book Not A
Fan. I found the book intriguing and I’d like to share that experience with you. I’ve
tentatively scheduled this study for Saturday mornings at 9:00 beginning on April 25 th.
There’ll be more information about this study in the April Messenger and on the bulletin
board in the church narthex. Signup will begin shortly after Easter.
“Never stop praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
Military personnel
Holly Full
Rosalie Russell
Norma Fitch
Mendota 1st Presby.
Steven Botts
Mendota 1st UMC
Bishop Sally Dyck
Millie Truckenbrod
Amy Atherton
Delbert Spitz
D.S.Young-Mee
Park
Barbara Weiser
Nancy Peach
Donna Howdeshell
Lorene Kreiling
Jill Rister
St. John’s Lutheran
Margaret Davis
Fred Akre
Jim Pierce
Florine Fischer
Art Dalton
Jessie Reutner
Bob Setchell
Minerva Crow
Harriett Selders
Viletta Heiden
Jenny Wise O’Dowd
Alice Baughman
Bob & Vera Godfrey
Beth & Charlie
Dana
Irma Lu Madden
Dorothy Cole
Mildred Ulmer
Susan May
Lola Burkardt
Randy Clark
Zelma Simpson
Melissa Wallace
Matthew Rubio
Michelle Barker
George & Betty
McMahon
Rich Stevenson
Geneva Knowlton
Del Knowlton
Gina Ganschow
Ava Denault
Wendy Klatt
Kim Meyer
Sandy Stevenson
Calvin & Bev Faber
Family of Jill Abbott
Kessel
Donna Witt
Verna Gordon
Keith Collings
Lloyd Howdeshell
Lynda Kwiatkowski
Christina McGovan
Family of Don
Marschang
Lola Dewey
Elliott
Tony Escatel
Cong Church Wells
Bonnie
Rick
Matthew
Janet Reck
February Mission Offerings
Mendota Area Christian Food Pantry
$147
Reynoldswood Renovation
$
Henderson Mission Project
$
Klatt Family
$
Thank you for answering God’s call for generosity and cheerful
giving as you donate to our various missions appeals.
Lenten Mission Emphasis
I don’t need to write to you to tell you of Heifer Project International.
You’ve bought everything from water buffalos to chickens and from
milking goats to hives of bees. This is a “self-help ministry” that just
keeps on giving. The first female progeny from these animals is passed
on to others who in turn are asked to pass their firstborn female from
their animal to help another, and so on and so on and so on. Help us get
that snowball rolling this Lenten Season! Start a challenge among
friends to raise the funds for that first heifer or goat or flock of chickens.
Let’s have fun with this and help others at the same time.
Trivia Night to Benefit Henderson Team
-
Saturday, March 21
The Henderson Mission Team will host another of their popular Trivia Night fundraisers. Get
a team together and come enjoy the food, competition and learning as you help the team
raise funds for this year’s mission trip. Saturday, March 21 here at the church. Doors open
at 5:30 PM and play begins at 6:30 PM. See Cathy Burke or call the church to sign-up
Wendy Klatt Benefit - Saturday, March 28
4:00 PM - 11:00 PM
-
Mendota Elks Club
A benefit is being held to help Wendy Klatt and her family as they battle together for a healthy outcome.
Show your support and help raise some funds to help with the many expenses.
The night of the benefit: Hog Roast Dinner - 50/50 drawing
Bake Sale by 1st Methodist Church Auction of donated items
Dancing
-
-
Live Music by Second Chance Band
Fun for all! - Tickets on sale at 1st State Bank, from benefit
committee members, and at Sullivan’s Grocery store.
Pre-benefit fundraisers include:
T-shirts with logo at right on the front—at Sports N Stuff—$20 for short-sleeved,
$25 for long-sleeved
Cooking for A Cure cookbook sales
Wishes for Wendy bracelets - $1 each
One Great Hour of Sharing – Sunday, March 15th
One Great Hour of Sharing is what allows UMCOR to act as the arms and legs of Christ's church, moving
toward the most vulnerable in their darkest days. Your gift toward this 2 nd of six Special Offering
Sundays will allow 100% of our Heifer International Lenten offering to go to those who need it most.
Said another way, OGHS pays for the administrative costs of meeting the needs of “the most vulnerable
in their darkest days.” Please support this offering and make a difference in the life of someone else!
A message from UMCOR: “When disaster strikes around the globe—Haiti’s 2010 earthquake or Hurricane Sandy of
2012—so many watching the drama unfold on our living room televisions feel entirely helpless. How could any one
person make a difference in the wake of such widespread devastation? As responders around the globe scramble to
help survivors, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, UMCOR, is prepared to act.
The response of UMCOR isn’t something “they” do, it’s something “we” do.
When You Give You Equip Christ’s Body to Serve in His Name.”
SAINTS IN ACTION
READERS
March 1
Susan Hoffman
March 8
Cathy Burke
March 15
Hailey Myers
March 22
Diane McCully
March 29
Rachel Kennedy
USHERS
March 1
GREETERS
March 1
March 8
March 15
March 15
March 22
March 29
March 8
Scott & Sue Seng
Becky Deming
Ellen Stuber
Ken & Barbi Purvis
Bret Kelly
Don Kelly
Mike & Kathy Pierce
March 22
March 29
Sandy Stevenson
Karen & Garry White
Gary Wulf
Bret Kelly
Don Kelly
Madison Myers
Patrick Myers
Diane Archer
Charlie & Gerri Smith
Kim Smith
Charles Fahler
Karen & Garry White
Jerry & Diane Denault
Jean Kelly
Shirley Morris
Daylight Savings Time Begins Sunday March 8 at 2 AM—set your clocks forward 1 hour
before retiring Saturday the 7th.
Lay Servant Academy – March 14th & 21st at Dixon 1st UMC
This Spring’s Lay Servant Academy will feature some intriguing classes and some basic spiritual discipline
classes. The Basic Course in preaching and the advanced course, You Can Preach, will be offered as will
the United Methodist Heritage class. The two new classes are Growing Spiritually Through Daily
Discipline led by the Rev. Paul Judd and Transforming Outreach led by DeKalb District Lay Leader, Jim
Miller. The registration cost for these two weekends (which includes lunch and study materials) is $50,
but upon completion of the coursework, this church will reimburse in full any member who attends this
training. There are fliers on the bulletin board in the church narthex. Registrations need to be received
by Sunday, March 8th.
----------------------------------------------------------------Easter Flowers Order Form
Placed by ___________________________________________________________
In memory of _______________________________________________________
In honor of __________________________________________________________
Easter Lily (s) ______________
$10 each
Spring Plant (s) ______________
Please make check payable to “Jerry’s Flower Barn”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
March 26, 27, & 28 —A Friend In Need FREE Children’s Clothing Swap - Memorial Building
10 AM to 2 PM each day—bring your children’s clean, outgrown and swap them for clothes that fit.
Thank you to Elaine Setchell for
sponsoring this month’s
Mendota Messenger newsletter
in honor of Floyd’s 90th
birthday March 4th.
Happy Birthday, Floyd!
March 2015