FIRST CHURCH WINDOWS
May 2010
“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first
lived in your grandmother... and in your mother... and... now lives in you
also.”
2 Timothy 1:5, NIV
-----
FIRST CHURCH WINDOWS is published by:
The First United Methodist Church
201 Dayton Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08108
Phone: (856)858-1186
Fax: (856)858-1775
E-mail: info@fumccollingswood.org
Church Staff
------------
Rev. Sam Mountain - Senior Pastor
(pastorsam@fumccollingswood.org)
Mr. Shawn Zook - Youth Director
(shawn@fumccollingswood.org)
Mrs. Elizabeth Averell - Director of Music
Mrs. Maria Gianfrancesco - Church Secretary
(maria@fumccollingswood.org)
Office Hours
------------
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Closed for lunch 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm)
-----
FIRST CHURCH WINDOWS is online at
www.fumccollingswood.org.
FIRST CHURCH WINDOWS is available via e-mail. Send an
e-mail to ewindows@fumccollingswood.org to subscribe.
--------------------
IN WINDOWS THIS MONTH
From the
Pastor’s Heart
Announcements
VBS
The RYVER
Missionary Messages
Birthdays and
Anniversaries
Financial Notes
----------
The submission deadline for the June
issue of Windows is May 10th.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING WINDOWS!
====================
FROM THE
PASTOR’S HEART
Life can sometimes produce anxiety and fears even in the midst of good times of
life. I saw an episode of the Cake Boss TV show where they made this amazing,
beautiful cake, put it in the truck, arrived at the destination and pulled it
out carefully, only to discover it was to big to set up in the room where the
cake was going. Talk about anxiety. As we listen to the news, it is amazing how
many things that are reported on a daily basis that produce anxiety and fear. I
heard a weather report predicting that we should have a hot summer this year.
(YEAH!) Then, it was said that we should have many more hurricanes than normal
this summer. On top of that, earthquakes are happening at a much greater rate.
The Bible
speaks to how we are to deal with the fears in our lives. As I shared with many
on Easter Sunday, there are fears we can carry that are not good for our lives.
I have been asked to share the list that was in my message. A list of some
common fears:
Arachnophobia - The fear of spiders
Dentaphobia - The fear of dentists
Arachibutyrophobia - The fear of peanut
butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth
Aulophobia - The fear of flutes
Cyberphobia - The fear of working with computers
Peladophobia -The fear of bald people
Scuirophobia - The fear of
squirrels
Long winda phobia - The
fear of long sermons (Steve Latch)
Luposilpaphobia - The fear of being pursued by a timber
wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a freshly waxed floor
Methophobia -The fear of
Methodists
Anatidaephobia - The
fear that somewhere in the world, there is a duck watching you.
The fact of the
matter is many fears are based upon a false reality or lie. I was reading Mark
Bearden from “Revive” the other day. He stated this and gave the following
example to illustrate that thought as well:
FEAR LIE
---- ---
Fear of death My security is in this life
Fear of rejection Worth comes from people
Fear for safety God may not do what’s
best
Fear of poverty God won’t
take care of me
Fear of suffering
I won’t be able to bear it
Worry feels deceptively necessary, but remember: It
accomplishes nothing. Jesus asked, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour
to life?” (Matt. 6:27) In apostle Paul’s writing to the Philippians' church he
commands: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Paul says, in the middle of a world of worrisome
possibilities and fearful scenarios, do not be anxious! Bring your cares
directly to God. Do not fear about anything, but pray about everything with
THANKSGIVING! When we do that, we are making a choice to believe that God loves
us and has a purpose for the things that are going on in our lives. He is
shaping us to be like Jesus.
You may say, “I could never do that! You don't know the
circumstances I'm facing!” But it’s important to remember that you don't have to
have the answer to the problem before you can thank Him. For those who take the
step of obedience to trust God with our fears, He reserves a blessing that goes
beyond anything we could ever have anticipated: “The peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” Like the words of a old hymn: “What have I to dread, what have I to
fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace, with my Lord so
near, Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
I don’t know what you’re facing in life,
but I do know the one who does. Just remember to give HIM thanks and receive HIS
peace. It is a privilege to serve, as your pastor.
In His Love & Care
Pastor Sam
“Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”
Psalm 23:4
====================
ATTENTION!
TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCH
All Sunday School Teachers and
assistants are invited to a “Teacher Appreciation Luncheon” on Sunday, May 2
from 12-1:30 pm in the Church Parlor. We will celebrate your service to First
Church and have a special ceremony during this time. Your families are invited,
too. Please notify Ruthmarie Weinberg or Kay Shannon on how many people will be
attending this luncheon. All reservations are due by April 28. You may call the
church office at 856-858-1186.
PLAN AHEAD
----------
Sunday, May 2nd
Education Sunday
Sunday, May 9th,
Mother’s Day Mrs. Evelyn Cannon will be our special speaker.
Saturday, May 15th, 8:00 AM
Men’s Breakfast. Dick Esher will be the speaker.
Saturday, May 22nd
Men’s Trip - Shady Maple/Strasburg RR
Saturday, May 29th
Collingswood Mayfair
June 3—5
UMC District Convention
--------------------
MOTHER’S DAY
SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2010
Join us for this special day. Mrs.
Evelyn Cannon will be our speaker. Evelyn is a member of the First Baptist
Church in Mt. Holly. She serves as a coordinator of their women’s ministry. She
also is involved in a prayer ministry and children and youth ministry. She is a
member of the Fellowship House board. She is married to Tom, mother of 2 and
grandmother of 6. Her message is: “Blessings of the Lord”, Ephesians 1:3-5.
--------------------
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED
Summer is coming upon us and we need to know what teachers
are willing to work a few weeks this summer and if anyone else would like to
assist us in teaching our children and adults. Please let Ruthmarie or Kay know
by May 16. Thank you.
--------------------
Men's Trip Sat., May 22nd
Shady Maple/Strasburg RR
We will leave from the church at 7:00
am, cost to be determined depending on the activity you choose. See Harry
Rameriz to sign up or with any questions.
===================
Vacation Bible School
2010
June 28 to July 2
Pre-registration begins at the
Collingswood May Fair
on May 29th
- visit us in the FUMC Parking Lot!
Children age 3 (by June 30th) through
entering 6th grade are invited to
participate!
HERO HEADQUARTERS
Where Kids Jin
Forces With God!
There will be a brief meeting after church
on May 16th for all volunteers &
those thinking of volunteering.
We’re looking for teachers, class
helpers, snack helpers, nursery helpers, registration/check-in help, and other
behind-the-scenes help.
We’re collecting 2-liter rinsed soda bottles and 16-ounce
rinsed water/soda bottles (any color).
Please drop them in the box outside the parlor.
For more information contact
Cheryl Averell or Nicole Meyers
Be in prayer about how you can help make
VBS 2010 better than ever!
====================
Collingswood May Fair
It’s not too soon to plan for the annual
Collingswood May Fair on May 29th! Our church will have a double space this year
so we have room for lots of helpers and lots of visitors. We’ll have VBS
registration, crafts for kids, balloon animals, and lots of interesting
materials to share with those cruising the Avenue that Saturday. This is a super
easy way to let others know about how God’s love makes THE difference. If you
can join us for a 2-hour shift, please let Ellen Wagner know. Thanks in advance
for helping and praying.
--------------------
SOCIAL CONCERNS CORNER
In May, starting Mothers Day and ending
Father's Day, we will be having the Baby Bottle Boomerang for the Pregnancy Care
Center in Cherry Hill. Our contributions will help pregnant women make the
correct choices during their pregnancy.
====================
THE RYVER YOUTH
MINISTRY OF FUMC
A ministry of students
loving God, loving people,
connecting with our neighbors
Senior High (grades 9-12) meets on
Sunday nights and Junior High (grades 6-8) meets on Wednesday nights, both from
6:00-8:00 pm (for relationship building and spiritual topical discussions), and
everyone meets on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am (for deeper Bible teaching and
spiritual life training) except for the following:
ryver staff – (first Sun) – for all
youth leaders – praying, planning, preparing
All-ryver Games – (first Wed; all grades) – come meet
people through sit-down games, open-gym, etc.
All-ryver Serving – (last Sun; all grades) – focused on
meeting needs in our surrounding community
All-ryver Worship – (last Wed; all grades) – experience God
through music, teaching, and arts
COMING EVENTS
SUMMER TRIP DATES AND DEADLINES:
* 1st Kentucky Meeting - Sunday 5/2 - 4:30 pm. MANDATORY
for all students involved in our KY trip this summer. Pizza will be provided.
* Overflow - Wednesday 5/19.
Registration and deposits are due tonight.
Youth Staff Dinner - Monday, 5/3
For all youth leaders!
Happy Mother's Day -
Sunday, 5/9
(Senior High will not
be meeting tonight!)
Make sure
you do something extra special for your Mom today!
May Fair - Saturday 5/29
A great opportunity to join with our
church in reaching out to our community with the love of Jesus! See Shawn for
ways to get involved.
--------------------
SENIOR HIGH MISSION TRIP 2010
Henderson Settlement, KY
Henderson Settlement
is a ministry located in Frakes, Kentucky, an area of the Appalachians struck
with intense poverty. Our youth group (grades 8-12) will be
joining other groups for one week -
August. 8-16 - serving the needs of Henderson Settlement and the surrounding
community. Please be in prayer for the youth and look for support letters from
the participants in the next coming
====================
MISSIONARY MESSAGES
Saints Prison Ministry
Praise the Lord for six decisions for
Jesus Christ at our Basketball team’s game at Fishkill, in March. Our basketball
team had a great season - over 1,760 inmates attended their games - 1,575
inmates heard the Gospel message and 95 decided to follow Jesus Christ as
Savior. The team finished the season with a 7-8-1 record.
Praise God for two
decisions for Jesus Christ at our Women’s Volleyball team’s game at Muncy in
March.
Praise
the Lord for a spectacular feature-length documentary premiere in March! More
than 400 people attended two screenings of “Touching Base” and the documentary
received great “reviews.”
Neil & Wannee Thompson
There are about 1500
new believers in a big valley of KT91 (very resistant people group) and Lisu
people. They are being encouraged by another people group with their testimonies
and eagerness to share the Good News. We are helping with the logistics of this
‘partnership.’
Twelve people attended the recent Candidate Course. Please
pray for them and all our appointees in varying stages of preparation. We are
also thankful for the eight who just completed Orientation Course in Singapore
and are now at their ministry destinations.
Ken Pregizer, Alaska
We look
forward to spending time with our Canadian missionaries as we'll drive to
Whitehorse for the Spring Prayer and Praise. Then, we'll take a couple days to
look for housing. Please pray that we would have a home under agreement by this
summer. Please pray for more applicants to our Summer Missionary Program -
especially guys!
Barbara & Neale Goetch
We may not always sense or see the
evidence of the Savior’s presence, but there is no question that wherever He
sends us, He is there. Whether our ministry is in the home to the young or aged,
engaged in our daily work, or sent on specific errands of mercy, having
opportunities to speak or privileged to be silent channels of His grace. It was
with that assurance we prepared to leave for England 38 years ago and which
encourages our hearts as we anticipate returning this month. There has been much
cause for rejoicing; retracing our steps and reviewing the work of God’s Spirit
in Indian and Chinese hearts leads to only one conclusion: the One Who promised
to go before and with has been faithful.
Debbie & Dana Cherry
Last night we
took the kids out after dinner for a small walk in our town. We were taking them
out to get some air because they have been suffering from croup, but something
very special happened. We walked down to the local fire station but when we got
there, it was all closed up. We lifted David up to look in the windows and see
the trucks. We then noticed that Danielle was using a stick to draw something on
the dirt that was on the fire station doors. When we told her to stop drawing on
the doors, she looked up and said, “but I want the fireman to know that Jesus
died for their sins so they can go to Heaven.” Then we noticed she had been
drawing crosses on each of the fire station doors (in the dirt). We stopped
right away and just held hands and prayed for the firemen of our town to come to
know Jesus.
We
are not sure if the firemen will get the message from just seeing the crosses,
but God got the message and he knows a little girl and her family want to share
Jesus with these men. Please pray with us for open doors to share the gospel
with these men this Easter!
Ellie Hall
The political situation in this area
continues to make it impossible for me to travel to meet with the MS people.
It’s unclear when the situation will improve but we expect a change this year.
In the meantime, I’ve been working with my recordings and notes from previous
trips. I was able to meet again with the pastor who is working with the MS in a
border town. He brought along a MS man who recently finished Bible school and
began serving as a pastor! This man is very interested in working with us. This
was especially encouraging because there are so very few MS people who have any
education. The time we had together was short, but very intense lots of
discussions about where things are going, and lots of notes about the MS
language, as well as more audio recordings. Pray that God would continue to open
doors.
David and Phyllis Schmid
It’s been two months since the most
frightening few seconds of our lives. When we stop to think about what has
happened since that time it is truly a testimony to God's sustaining grace and
mercy which is NEW every morning. We see changes in the city when we are out -
some places are being cleared by huge machinery and other places the change is a
bit slower as it is being done by hand, but clean up is taking place. Food
distributions continue to take place. We’ve seen some people move back into
their houses when they were determined to be safe. Pray with us for those who do
not have a home to return to. The solutions are not easily come by. One young
man had a backpack on his back and I knew he wasn't going to school because
there are no schools functioning. Here he had all his earthly possessions in
that little backpack. One couple came to the campus shortly after the wife
delivered their child by C-section. Her incision opened and they were able to
get shelter and medical care in a tent on campus. Today the husband came to
thank David for all the help they had been given. Many times it’s our actions
that speak so much louder than our words. It is something we pray for all the
time here as weariness and fatigue can get the best of us. Please pray for
patience and strength to meet each day's needs. Two woman doctors with “Doctors
Without Borders” were kidnapped and held for a week and then released. This is
the first we have heard about this kind of problem since the quake.
“Help us, O God of
our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins...”
Psalm 79:9 NRSV
====================
BIRTHDAYS AND
ANNIVERSARIES
Birthdays
---------
May 4 Christine Fink
May 6 Phil Boswell
Betty Stoms
May 8 Ben Patterson
May 10 Bill Alexander
May 11 Ken Underwood
May 12 Ken Steward
Ethan Zook
May 14 Eric Wertz
May 15 Ruth A. Covintree
May 17 Patti Butler
Torian Robinson
May 19 Mary Newell
May 20 Rosalie MacGlaughlin
Tina Hemphill
May 21 Margie Hammond
Dana Schoch
May 22 Meagan DeFoney
May 23 Bea Brown
May 24 Kathy Boswell
May 26 Justin Cuevas
Anniversaries
-------------
May 8 Harold and Marion Shallcross
May 15 Dave and Margie Hammond
May 23 Doug and Val Zediker
May 29 Shawn and Nicole Zook
If you have not already done so, please
give your dates (birth dates and anniversary dates) to the church office in
writing or by e-mail: maria@fumccollingswood.org.
====================
Prayer – Communication with God!
One of the greatest
things we can do for each other is pray. It’s a privilege and joy to ask God to
meet someone’s need or thank Him for blessings. To make it a little easier to
get your requests to the church, we’ve established a dedicated computer mailbox
just for prayer. You can email your praises and prayer requests to
prayer@fumccollingswood.org. Only a couple of staff members will have access to
this mailbox. They will take the information and, maintaining confidentiality,
communicate it to our dedicated prayer warriors.
“I bow my knees before the Father, from
whom every family in heaven and earth takes is name.”
Ephesians 3:14-15
====================
UP, BUT NOT AWAY
Many Christian denominations celebrate
the Feast of the Ascension, which refers to a post-resurrection event that took
place 40 days after Easter. This year it occurs on May 13.
According to Luke, Jesus led his friends
to a Jerusalem suburb called Bethany. While on a small mountain, he blessed his
friends and then rose into heaven while they watched.
The ascension was such a momentous
occasion that after Jesus disappeared, his followers had a worship service at
the spot. Then they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52, NRSV).
Because Christ
had promised to be with his followers always (Matthew 28:20), from then on they
knew he would be with them as Spirit. Jesus’ body was up and away, but
spiritually he was still and always would be their companion.
====================
FINANCIAL
NOTES
Missions
Thru March 2010
------------------------
2010
Budget $114,346.00
Income
$26,355.61
Disbursements
$26,358.00
Thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord in your giving.
“Give and it will be
given to you.”
Luke 6:38
====================
The First United Methodist Church
201 Dayton Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08108
Loving God...Loving People...Connecting
With Our Neighbors