705 E. University Dr. Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone #: 956-383-2515 [email protected][email protected]rosarodriguez217.rr @gmail.com CONTACT US EL BUEN PASTOR UMC EL BUEN PASTOR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH—EDINBURG, TEXAS We’re on the Web! Www.elbuenpastorumc.com/ OFFICE HOURS: Monday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Extended Hours on Tues., Wed., & Friday 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Secretary Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Sunday School 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon WEDNESDAY: Wonderful Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. For Newsletter Article: Contact: Pastor Norma April 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service Communion 2 UMM/ UMW Meeting 6:00 PM 3 4 Wonderful Wednesdays 7:00 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 5 Coffee with the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 6 7 8 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 9 UMM/ UMW Meeting 6:00 PM 10 11 Wonderful Wednesdays 7:00 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 12 Coffee with the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 13 14 15* 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 16 UMM/ UMW Meeting 6:00 PM 17 18 Wonderful Wednesdays 7:00 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 19 Coffee with the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 20 21 22 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 23* UMM/ UMW Meeting 6:00 PM 24 25 Wonderful Wednesdays 7:00 Rev’s Bible Class 6:00 Bible Study 7:00 26 Coffee with the Pastor Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 27 28 29 10:00 am Super Sunday 11:00 am Worship Service 30 UMM/ UMW Meeting 6:00 PM SPPRC Meeting after worship service on April 15th Finance Team Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on April 23rd “Our Daily Walk with the Resurrected Christ” We find the events on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. Here we find two disciples, Cleopas and another disciple, which his name is not revealed. These two were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus the day Jesus rose from the dead. When these two men were walking and talking among themselves another man joined them in their walk. Interested in the conversation the man asked them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” (Lk. 24:17). The men did not know that it was Jesus who had just joined them on their walk. To their amazement, this man who joined them has not heard of the death of Jesus and all the commotion that this brought to the town. They went on to tell Jesus everything that had happened. Jesus replied, “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’” (Lk. 14:25-26). Jesus explained to them what the Scriptures said about Him. Once they arrived to their destination the disciples were ready to eat and invited Jesus to stay. As Jesus broke bread, “their eyes were opened” and they were able to see that it was Jesus who had been walking with them, but at that instant He disappeared. How did the disciples react to this revelation? Their hearts were changed. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?” (32). “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found eleven of those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen’” (33-34). We just celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Lord has been revealed to us. What impact has this revelation made in your life? Has your heart been changed? Has your heart been renewed? What will you do with this revelation? The disciples went on to tell the story of the resurrected Christ. What about us? What about you? Rev. Isidro Piña A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR The Shepherd Newsletter El Buen Pastor United Methodist Church Edinburg, Texas APRIL 2018 In This Issue: Children’s Ministry 2 EBP Kidz April is Autism Awareness Month 3 One Youth Gathering Event All4Him Spring Break Outreach Event 4 United Methodist Women BBQ Fundraiser 5 Something Wonderful Garden Organ Speaker Boxes Installed Garden Wall Painted 6 Noisy Coin Offering for VBS John Wesley’s View on Care of the Earth EBP Choir Daughter of First Pastor at EBP 7 Letter of Reconciliation 8 Letter of Reconciliation 9 Treasurer’s Report 10 April Birthdays & Anniversaries 11 April Calendar 12
All4Him praise band was invited to participate in a spring break concert in Brownsville, Texas at Living Way Church. The church has been hosting this event for about 6 years. It's their way of giving youth an alternative for a safe spring break. The pastor’s wife lost her brother about sixteen years ago in a accident during spring break. He and some friends were on their way back from the beach when they had a car accident.
ONE YOUTH GATHERING is an annual district event for youth in 6th-12th grades. It’s a free event with games, dinner, and worship! Don't miss out and register today! For more information, contact Amy Villanueva
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Meeting in Berlin offered the board opportunities to engage with German United Methodists, learn of their ministries with refugees and migrants, and worship together.
Retired German bishop Rosemarie Wenner led the board on a tour of the Berlin Wall and shared insights about the Church as a tool for reconciliation and peace. The board gathered in the Chapel of Reconciliation, which sits in what was known as the “Death Strip” between East and West Berlin when the city was divided. The chapel sits on the site of the destroyed Church of the Reconciliation, which was separated from its parishioners when the Wall was erected and stood “in the way” of Soviet desires for complete control. A German guide shared that it is “sometimes important for the Church to interrupt the way the world is moving.”
Board members also had the opportunity to hear from a representative from the office of Responsibility of the Religions for Peace in the German Federal Foreign Office. Dr. Silke Lechner shared how the German government is collaborating with leaders from all faith traditions to help build diplomacy and peace.
A panel highlighting perspectives from non-governmental organizations, local United Methodist churches, and a Syrian refugee herself, gave the board some context for the current state of the migration crisis in Germany and in Europe. This panel was an opportunity to learn from churches ministering with migrants and hear from those directly impacted – either migrants themselves, or those working to aide migrants in adjusting to a new life.
On the last day in Berlin, the board split up to worship at three United Methodist churches in the city: Kreuzkirche Berlin-Lankwitz, Christuskirche Berlin-Kreuzberg, and Gemeindezentrum Versöhnungskirche Berlin-Marzahn. The board was able to hear from clergy and lay people about what United Methodist life is like in what one pastor referred to as “the most secular city in the world.”
After church, the board traveled to the neighborhood of Neukölln where the group split into four groups to take a walking tour led by refugees from Syria. Learning from tour guides Mahmoud, Samer, Firas and Hamdi, the board heard about life in Syria as the war broke out, the journey to Germany, and their life in Berlin now. Unexpectedly, one of the tour guides spoke to his group in Arabic for the first five minutes to simulate what life in a foreign country is like for refugees. The many challenges of leaving a home country, families and jobs behind were highlighted, as well as explanations of how the German government is helping resettle refugees and how much more needs to be done.
Board member Lanella Smith of North Carolina Annual Conference questioned what the board might learn from these tours and take back home, “If we built more bridges and less walls then what are the possibilities?”
Taking inspiration from the Chapel of Reconciliation, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward reflected at the conclusion of the meeting on her desire for the Church to be “in the way” of injustice in our world.
“This experience in Berlin served as a beautiful opportunity for the board to be inspired by what the Church has done and is doing in Germany,” offered Susan Henry-Crowe. “As we struggle around the world to address conflict and crisis, we have been shown examples of compassion, justice-seeking, and reconciliation. I hope that all board members will take back what we have learned and apply it in their own contexts.”
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Church and Society Board of Directors Gathers in Berlin, Germany
(submitted my Mary Alice Ponce, Church and Society chair)
A Lesson in Reconciliation: Church and Society Board of Directors Gathers in Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany – The General Board of Church and Society has concluded the spring 2018 meeting of the Board of Directors, which occurred March 15-18. For the first time in the agency’s history, the board met outside of the United States in Berlin, Germany.
General Secretary, Susan Henry-Crowe, opened the meeting with a reflection on “crossings.” Crossings from east to west and south to north, from poverty into possibility and war into peace. This message framed the meeting as a time to listen to the stories we would encounter, and learn from history and the people we would meet. Henry-Crowe challenged the board members to consider what 12 million United Methodists might be able to accomplish if working together for justice and peace. Following the general secretary’s address, the business of the meeting commenced.
At this meeting, the board took action on the following:
Approved $20,000 in Human Relations Day grants in the Florida and East Congo Annual Conferences, and
Approved $30,000 in Peace With Justice grants in the Oklahoma, North Georgia, Northern Illinois, Missouri, Congo, North Katanga, Zimbabwe, Tanganyika, and Central Congo Annual Conferences, and
Supported the March for our Lives to end gun violence, and called upon young people, including church youth groups, to participate in marches near them on March 24, 2018. For further information about board support of this movement, click here, and passed a statement of support for the rights of migrants across the globe, which you can read here.
Apart from formal actions, the board was updated on the process for revising the Social Principles. The draft of the revised Social Principles will be available for public comment after Easter. After the comments are received, the board will take action in the spring of 2019 to approve a final draft for consideration at the 2020 General Conference. The board also received a report about a new reporting mechanism for staff and their work.
Lonnie Chafin, chair of the finance committee, shared that the meeting location necessitated a larger budget than normal to accommodate the logistics of traveling to Germany. However, the per-person cost of the Berlin meeting was only $300 more per person than an average meeting in the United States. The board met virtually in the fall of 2017 to accommodate the cost of the spring meeting.
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United Methodist Women had our Chicken BBQ fundraiser on March 24th. It was a big success! We would like to thank all the people who made this possible. The youth who helped with running back and forth, cleaning, etc... Thank you for your help preparing with the stuffing the bread , jalapenos, and cutting the onions. The hands that prepared the rice/beans... the men who cooked the chicken...and for all the donations!!!
Page 6 The Shepherd Newsletter
Noemi Almaraz and Jorge Garcia will begin working on EBP’s
Community Garden on Saturday, April 7th at 7:30 a.m. Volunteers
are needed to prepare the beds for planting! Please contact either of
them for more information.
EBP Iron Men working hard to prepare for the organ’s speakers.
Many thanks to Robert Flores of South Texas Professional Painting and his crew
for painting the wall in the garden!
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Alejandro Gomez, Sr. and Dora Moraida Gomez, daughter
of Rev. Zenon Moraida, the first ordained pastor to minister at
El Buen Pastor UMC in Edinburg.
Continue collecting your coins!
April’s noisy coins will be designated for Vacation Bible School. We want VBS to be a big success so we need all of the monetary help we can get.
So, please set up a piggy bank at home and start saving your coins so that VBS can be a wonderful and an unforgettable experience for all this summer!
APRIL NOISY COIN OFFERING
EBP Choir prepares for Holy Week Services
John Wesley taught a holistic view of salvation that included the deliverance of the created world in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.
In the sermon “The New Creation” (#64) Wesley speaks imaginatively about what the new heavens and the new earth will be like, imagining into the scriptural promises of an end to death and suffering (Revelation 21:1-7), and an end to present environmental catastrophes like storms, polluted water, and animal suffering. This is all part of the promise of God’s “greater deliverance” from sin. “And, to crown all, there will be a deep, an intimate, an uninterrupted union with God; a constant communion with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, through the Spirit; a continual enjoyment of the Three—One God, and of all the creatures in him!”
(For full article: https://www.umcjustice.org/who-we-are/social-principles-and-resolutions/caring-for-creation-a-call-to-stewardship-and-justice-1033)
