Come Worship With US 8:30am: Contemporary Service 9:45am: Christian Education Groups for all ages along with fellowship time. 11:00am: Traditional Service Hearing devices are offered at both services. A fully staffed nursery is available beginning at 8:15am. SEPTEMBER 2017 EDITION Church Family News 2 Prayer & Care 3 Pastor Steve Notes 4 Worship Themes 5 Growing in Faith 6 Stewardship Update 7 Thank yous 8 Groups & Upcoming 9 Service, Mission, Out- 10 UMCOR Mission Trip 11 Reaching Staff 12 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Messenger First United Methodist Church Our Mission is to Worship God and Love One Another by Taking Christ to the Community and the Community to Christ. What’s Cookin’ In September Sept. 4 Labor Day-Office Closed Sept. 7 UMW Luncheon & Program Sept. 10 Choir back in worship; Adult Learning Fair Sept. 13 A Little Noon Music Concert
Transcript
Come Worship With US
8:30am: Contemporary Service
9:45am: Christian Education Groups for all ages
along with fellowship time.
11:00am: Traditional Service
Hearing devices are offered at both services.
A fully staffed nursery is available beginning at
8:15am.
SEPTEMBER
2017
EDITION
Church Family News 2
Prayer & Care 3
Pastor Steve Notes 4
Worship Themes 5
Growing in Faith 6
Stewardship Update 7
Thank yous 8
Groups & Upcoming 9
Service, Mission, Out- 10
UMCOR Mission Trip 11
Reaching Staff 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Messenger
First United Methodist Church
Our Mission is to Worship God and Love One
Another by Taking Christ to the Community
and the Community to Christ.
What’s Cookin’ In September
Sept. 4 Labor Day-Office Closed
Sept. 7 UMW Luncheon & Program
Sept. 10 Choir back in worship; Adult
Learning Fair
Sept. 13 A Little Noon Music Concert
P A G E 2
Our church newsletter is published each month
with the next deadline being Friday, September 15,
for October newsletter.
Please submit articles by email whenever possible,
otherwise drop them off typed (if possible) to the
church office.
A full color version can be found at www.fumcgj.org
Death Notices
Please keep the families of those who have passed
away in your thoughts and prayers.
Pam Lochrie passed away August 3, 2017
Sandee Moorhouse passed away August 11, 2017
VOLUNTEER POSITION AVAILABLE There is a fantastic and satisfying position open for Christian Discipleship this year. The need is for some-one to be trained to coordinate the Special Pal Pro-gram which has been so successful in our church for 17 years. Not only has it been successful at First United Methodist Church, but the First Baptists have joined the program and provide special pals for some of their members. Vicki Stites has agreed to do the initial work so the Special Pals Program is organized when school begins. Vicki will train someone and pro-vide assistance to the new coordinator as he/she works with the program during the year. This volun-teer opportunity does not require a lot of time invested, but offers great rewards. Please contact Vicki Stites at 256-7797 or [email protected] for more information.
Would you like to be a Special Pal? Brochures explaining the program are available on the bulle-
tin board in the main hallway. If you would like to
our prayer room at the top of the main stairs on the 2nd
floor. There are bibles, writing paper, and various other
prayer resources for your convenience. Also, there are
consecrated communion elements available for you as
well.
We have a ministry of bringing communion to members and friends of the congrega-
tion who aren’t able to get to worship on communion Sundays, the first Sunday of the
month. We call it “Extend the Table” because other church members with a love for
Christ and a heart for caring for the congregation bring communion elements conse-
crated at worship that Sunday by Pastor Steve and Rev. Laura to those who can’t
make it to worship.
This ministry is for anyone who can’t make it to worship that communion Sunday, not
just for our long-term “at-home worshippers.” That can change from one month to
the next, so please let us know if you’d like communion brought to you whether its on
an on-going basis or just for one month. If you desire to receive Extend the Table
communion, please contact the Church office at 242-4850.
P A G E 4
Greetings, Friends in Christ –
There is much going on in September to be ex-cited about! For starters, we’re beginning a new sermon series on Sept. 10th dealing with the vari-ous creeds that are published in our United Meth-odist Hymnal and exploring what they say about the historical Christian beliefs and how more con-temporary expressions of those beliefs might sound.
The Scriptural basis of the series is the well-known passage from John 3:16-21, shared in various translations as the series pro-gresses. Because the creeds were used so extensively in Bap-tismal preparation for adult con-verts in the early church, we’ll also be pairing a Baptismal theme with each week’s focus. This series will extend past Sep-tember into October, and we’ll end with a celebra-tion of the remembrance of our Baptisms later in October. We’ll also look to begin adding a recita-tion of one of the creeds in worship at least once-a-month. But I wanted us to have some orientation to them before we just started that.
We also have a Guest Preacher with us on Sep-tember 24th: Rev. Brian Diggs, who will be here to share with us the significance of the UMCOR West Depot over in Salt Lake City and how we can be supportive of that ministry through short-term mission trips. One is planned for October – see elsewhere in this issue of “The Messenger” or in the “What’s Cookin’?” insert in the bulletins for details.
Finally, the first Sunday of October will be Youth Sunday. As we did in August of 2015, we will be holding one worship service at the Amphitheater at Las Colonias/Botanical Gardens Park. This is a very special opportunity to not “come to church” but to be the church – and living into our congre-gation’s mission statement “…to worship God and love one another by taking Christ to the commu-nity and the community to Christ”. Do you believe
in that mission? Then make that belief tangible and join our Grand Valley Youth as they literally take Christ to the community on World Commun-ion Sunday, offering the life, the grace, and the love of Christ to anyone who will join us down at the Las Colonias/Botanical Gardens Park.
This will be a multigenerational and multi-style worship experience, as members of our Sanctuary Choir will be joined by many of the Youth for their anthem, and others will be called upon to help serve communion and lead in other meaningful ways. The youth will be helping older members who need some assistance walk from the parking area down to the grassy area where the service will be. And the Church bus and drivers will be called upon to offer rides from FUMC to the Park to make it easier for all to attend. We will not be holding worship at FUMC that day, so please plan accordingly and come out and live into our mis-sion statement and demonstrate what the Body of Christ in worship can look and feel like!
Another ministry I want to let you know of the op-portunity to “Adopt-a-College-Student” for the se-mester. CMU will have started by the time this gets to your mailboxes, and there will be a host of new, young students in town who may really ap-preciate being invited to share a meal in your homes or be introduced to the Grand Valley and our Church. I am working with the leaders of the Intervarsity Campus ministry to establish more of a connection between our Church and the college mission field. Be in touch, if you’d like to get to know a new college student and introduce them to First United Methodist Church.
That’s it for now – don’t be a stranger! Join us for
life in the Family of Jesus! – Pastor Steve
From Pastor Steve
P A G E 5
Worship Themes for September
(The preacher is Pastor Steve unless otherwise indicated.)
Sept. 3 – LABOR DAY WEEKEND. Movie/Drama: Les Miserables
Jim Werner: Special music John Ranyan: Communion reflection piece
Communion Sunday
Scripture: Luke 7:36-47
Sermon Focus: Hopelessness and redemption/grace; the power of forgiveness.
Credo: I Believe…
Sept. 10 – Credo I
Scripture: John 3:16-21, NKJV
Sermon Focus: The Fundamentals of the Faith: The Nicene Creed (UMH #880) MAKE A CHANGE Sunday
Sept. 17 – Credo II
Scripture: John 3:16-21, NIV
Sermon Focus: A Statement of Faith of the Korean Methodist Church (UMH #884)
Sept. 24 – Guest Preacher: Rev. Brian Diggs, United Methodist Committee on Relief or “UMCOR”
3rd
Grade Bible Sunday at 8:30 AM. If you have a 3rd
grader who has not received a Bible, please let Megan Weaver know.
Oct. 1 – Youth Sunday at the Botanical Gardens Amphitheater! One service at 10 AM, no ser-vices at FUMCGJ this Sunday – Please join us and invite friends. This is a special Sunday to support our Youth and the Grand Valley Youth Ministry. It is also a celebration of World Com-munion Sunday that will be most significant because our Youth will be leading us!
P A G E 6
Men’s Breakfast Bible Study
Join us at 7am, on Friday morn-
ings, at Four Winds Coffee & Tea
at “The Christ Center”, 1235
Bookcliff Ave. (on the SE corner
of Bookcliff and 12th). We enjoy coffee, a
great breakfast, enriching fellowship, and
bible or book study.
CONTEMPLATIVE JOURNEY Part 1 The Essential Elements of Centering Prayer A Way to Deepen Your Experience of the Divine Mystery Whitewater Benedictine Community 8250 Kannah Creek Road, Whitewater, 81527 Wednesdays: 9:30 to 11:30 am - September 20 to Octo-ber 25, 2017 Anyone interested in learning about Centering Prayer and those who are seeking new insights into the prayer are in-vited to join. In the Contemplative Journey, Part 1, we ex-plore the spirituality and psychology of Centering Prayer and Christian contemplation. We use the writings of Fr. Thomas Keating, one of the founders of the movement, and the DVDs created by Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. The 6-week course will be offered in the contemplative set-ting of the Benedictine Sisters on Kannah Creek, about a 40 minute drive from Grand Junction. All faith traditions are welcome. For more information and an outline of the topics and books needed contact the Sisters at 970-241-3847 or [email protected]. Cost for the Contemplative Journey, Part 1: $90.00, plus books Partial scholarships available
Lay Servant Basic Course-
Sept. 15 &16 led by Dr. Susan Yeager and
Ellie Young at
Grand Valley United Methodist
Church, Parachute, Colorado.
Registration form (due Sept. 10) can be found
on the bulletin board outside of the church
office.
Schedule: Friday 6-8:30pm; Saturday 8am-
4pm with lunch provided.
Love offering for Lunch (otherwise there will
not be a registration cost for the beginning ba-
sic class this time).
If possible, please obtain the book yourself in
advance of the class. Cokesbury or Amazon
can be good sources. Lay Servant Ministries,
participant’s book; by Sandy Zigler Jackson
and Brian Jackson, ISBN 978-0-88177-626-3.
If you need assistance in acquiring the book
for $12 plus shipping, please contact Gayla Jo
Slauson at least 3 weeks prior to the class,
(970)623-9671.
Note: an Advanced Course: Leading in Wor-
ship will be taught at the same time and date
at the Parachute church. We encourage you
to take the BASIC course within the first three
taken, due to the foundational nature of the
class.
The Adult Stair Climbers Sunday School
Class will resume meeting on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 9:30am, in the Chapel room. We will
have a party and sharing time. On Sept. 17 &
24 the theme of discussion will be pseudepi-
grapha and pseudonymous New Testament
passages. Bring your bible. Later we may look
at parts of Christian movement apocrypha.
Contact Bill Iiams for any questions at 243-
9526.
Give Your Marriage an Exciting New Set of Communica-
tion Tools on a Marriage Encounter retreat, October 20-22, 2017, at the Glen Eyrie Conference Center, Colorado Springs.
In a comfortable and private environment away from distrac-
tions, the two of you will connect like you did on your honey-
P A G E 7 We wanted to let you know that many of you have really stepped up to the plate in terms of your response to the finan-cial needs expressed in worship on July 9
th.
Below is a table that was printed, in draft form, in the “What’s Cookin’?” insert in the bulletin on August 13th. It was modi-
fied following discussion at the CF&A (Church administrative leadership meeting) on August 16th. At that meeting, deci-
sions were made as to how to steward the substantial extra giving that came in in the month of July.
While the table shows a considerably improved financial position when comparing July with June, there is a large pit for us to dig out of in terms of monies owed to the Annual Conference in the form of Tithe Plus denominational support and paying ourselves back monies “borrowed” from designated gifts to pay bills in the shortfall months of the year.
There is much to celebrate, but please don’t back off now. We need to maintain higher levels of sustainable giving than we saw in the first 6 months of the year in order to meet the vision of ministry God has blessed us with. That being said, Thank You! for your increased support in July and in the coming months.
* Includes Tithe Plus/Denominational Support
After payments made from the July “surplus” to Tithe Plus ($15,708) and our designated funds overage ($16,460), we still owe a total of $36,649.05 to those two areas. So, we have gained LOTS of ground, but we are not out of the woods yet. Keep up the good and faithful work!
– Buzz Schoenbeck, Jeff Carpenter, and your CF&A
Average
Worship
Attend.
Giving to the General
Operating Fund
General Operating
Expenses*
Surplus or
(Deficit)
July ’17 220 $81,548 $46,921 $34,627
June ’17 205 $30,141 $40,186 ($10,045)
Year-to-Date (End of July)
234
$348,012
$324,666
$23,345.86
Dear FUMC,
Thank you for the gift of $709.48 from FUMC’s Make-A-Change program to Grand Valley
Catholic Outreach and the thoughts and prayers that may have accompanied your gift.
We are blessed by many who join us in helping people day after day in various unexpected ways. Each Monday
afternoon a group of women trying to maintain their sobriety meet at Catholic Outreach. They are either homeless
or formerly homeless as they bring to the table experiences that are foreign to those who have always had a home.
One of our volunteers has taken the leadership for the group which frees up a staff member to complete other
tasks. The Brownson Foundation is a major contributor to this ministry.
We hear about the Lunch Lizard here in Mesa County—indeed a major force in alleviating hunger during these
summer months. The number of our daily Soup Kitchen guests has also increased. In fact, we served 2,000 more
meals this year than last year.
As always we pray that you will be blessed for the blessings you bring to others.
Gratefully, Sr. Karen Bland,
Dear Family of Faith,
On March 20 of this year, only four short months ago, LeAnn and I were packed and heading to Denver for what
we prayed would be the last surgery needed on my neck. The uncertainty of the days to come filled us to over-
flowing. I will long remember taking a walk through our home and wondering if I would ever be here again.
There are many of you that not only know our story, you lived it with us, and most importantly you were there to
pray for us, for the surgeons, and for the amazing people who cared for me afterward (including one of the most
amazing of all, LeAnn). There are so many reasons for us to say thank you and so many people to say it to; the
task can never be fully accomplished. It is very humbling to think that others believe you worthy of their prayers;
and even more so that God would stop to listen to my prayers as well as yours on my behalf. Listen He did, and
reach down and hold us He also did.
Tomorrow morning LeAnn and I are planning to play 9 holes of golf, and we are traveling to a family reunion in
November. To all of this we give glory to God. To each of you we give our deepest thanks for your kindness, your
faith in prayer, and for helping us through the past year. Each morning is filled with gratitude for the miracle of the
new day.
I remain, the luckiest man that I know. You remain in our gratitude filled hearts.
Thank you, Les & LeAnn Zetmeir
Thank you!! HOPE of the Grand Valley would like to send each of you our heartfelt ‘thank you’ for providing HOPE of the Grand Valley families with much needed school supplies!!!! With these donations, you provided school supplies for many of our children, and this assistance gave our parents a great sigh of relief! Thank you for all you do for HOPE of the Grand Valley; your donations help us to help others!!!! We are so grateful!!! Thank you, Vicki McGee HOPE of the Grand Valley
P A G E 8
Dear FUMC,
Please know how grateful we are for your recent gift of 28 lbs of food in June. It is
generous donors like you who make it possible for us to be here when our
neighbors need food.
Together, we can provide hunger relief for those Mesa County residents going
through a hard time.
Gratefully, Darcy Johnson, Exec. Dir.
Dear First Methodist Church,
Please let your congregation know how
much the GMCA Camp appreciates your
continued faithful support. We couldn’t
keep the camp going without your financial
help. God bless you.
Stan Hayes, Treasurer
Thank you to my church family
and friends for your prayers,
cards, and calls during my recent
surgery. I really appreciated
them. Joann Huff
Dear FUMC, Thank you for your prayers and concerns. I have
enjoyed receiving the many cards, thoughts, and well wishes.
Audre Ball
P A G E 9
Coming up in September
We will begin our fall programming by gath-ering for lunch on Thursday, September 7, at Noon, down in Gaines Hall. After lunch a program on immigration with be presented by Monica Peers. The Utah/Western Colorado District Annual meeting will be held on September 8-9, in Montrose. As part of this district meeting: UMW is collecting items for the New Be-ginnings Program at the Navajo United Methodist Center by Sept. 7th. A list can be found near the basket located in the Court Yard breezeway or on UMW board down the front stairs to Gaines Hall. (Energy saver light bulbs; toilet tissue/paper towels; pow-der free vinyl gloves – all sizes; Duct tape; Pine Sol, toilet cleaner, Windex, Clorox; scrubbing pads, toilet brushes; trash bags; Mason jars; Dish detergent, dish rags & scrubbers; Children’s books; laundry deter-gent, laundry baskets; Reams of paper, White Out) For information, contact Cheryl Pickrell at 986-9950.
To register for this meeting contact Ellie Young at 245-8157.
All Women are invited
All the time!
Groups and Upcoming Events
FUMC Book Club will resume in September so why not
get a head start on a couple of the books that are on the
list.
We meet on the Fourth Monday of the month, at
1:30pm, in the church Parlor. We would love to have
new people join our group.
Sept. 25 The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo
Oct. 23 The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
A Little Noon Music—Free Concerts
Second Wednesdays @ 12:15pm
FUMC Annual Humble Hackers Golf Outing: All Welcome: Men, Women, Golfer, Non-golfers. When: Thurs., Sept. 21, 8:30am (Shot Gun Start). Where: Adobe Creek Golf Course; Cost: $50 Includes Golf, Cart, Lunch & Prizes; Format: Four Person Scramble. Sign up in the Library now or call Buzz Schoenbeck at 644.2082.
September 13
Brian Hanly—Violin
William David—Piano
October 11
Carlos Elias—Violin
Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun—Cello
Andrea Arese-Elias—Piano
Yet Set Outing—You are invited to Buzz & CJ
Shoenbeck’s home (116 Donaldson Rd, GJ) for a
fabulous picnic, fun games, and a sing-a-long on
Friday, Sept. 15, at 6:00pm. Cost is $5. Sign up
in the library.
P A G E 1 0
Attention! Kids aid starting again for school year 2017 -2018. Need food packers at Pear Park Elementary School (30 1/4 & D1/2 road) for one hour a week on Fridays once a month or more. Call Cheryl Pickrell at 986-9950.
Mission Branches (ongoing) Email Prayer Chain Ministry—to participate contact the church office, by email at
Collection basket in the court yard breezeway for Community Food Bank.
Diaper Depot: Can you volunteer some time to help run the depot? Contact Anna Aleksa at [email protected] or 970-946-3179.
Donations of food, money, or volunteering your time for Breakfast in the Park - for more info contact Buzz Schoenbeck at [email protected] or 644-2082, or Darrah Barnes at 250-4409 [email protected].
Box Tops for Education & Tyson’s A+ labels can be dropped off in the Library (white
tub under UMW boxes)
Aluminum Cans—drop off in receptacle by alley door.
Sidewalk Ministry: To give your time to greet people outside before each worship ser-vice contact Pat & Larry Backes at 778-0300 or [email protected].
On the second Sunday of the month all coin & cash (unless otherwise designated) is given to one of the Grand Valley’s non-profit organizations. FUMCGJ recog-nizes these organizations as agents of Christ’s work to meet the needs of many people in ways that are consis-tent with the teachings of Christ. Please plan ahead to support the wonderful work of these great organizations.
MAKE A CHANGE is Senior Daybreak
Senior Daybreak of Hilltop is an adult day care program
that enhances the quality of life for both memory impaired
and or frail elderly and their caregivers. The program pro-
vides socialization, cognitive stimulation, entertainment,
exercise, nutrition, pampering and assistance with activi-
ties of daily living for the elderly participants in a safe and
caring environment. Family caregivers can rejuvenate and
relax during this time of respite, enabling them to stave off
caregiver burnout, and possibly delay or prevent place-
ment of their loved one into a long-term care facility. Res-
pite for caregivers often affords time to attend personal
appointments, to do necessary daily tasks, or participate
in caregiver support groups. Program objectives include
assisting and interacting with memory impaired and/or
frail elderly participants to provide socialization and stimu-
lation in a safe environment and to provide family mem-
bers/caregivers critical respite.
These funds will go towards helping families who have
difficulty with the financial means to pay the daily fees for
Senior Daybreak, (in the form of scholarship (s) and dis-
counts).
Service, Mission, Outreach Attention Embroiderers: There are printed tea towels ready to be em-broidered in the craft room. They will be sold at the annual bazaar in November. We have plenty of embroidery thread available also. The room is open every Wednesday morning 9:00am – 12:00pm, or call Elaine Moore at 523-7113 if you need to come at another time.
The Board of Trustees of Grand Mesa Camp, ad-
jacent to Baron Lake, is sponsoring the Annual
Work Camp on September 8th and 9
th. Many jobs
need to be completed in these two days. You can
come for one or both days. Meals will be provided
beginning with lunch on Friday and ending with
lunch on Saturday for a suggested donation of
$3/meal. Lodging will be provided in The Lodge
or other cabins, just bring your own bedroll. Reg-
P A G E 1 1 UMCOR Mission Trip Planned for October 24-27
We’re taking a quick mission trip to Salt Lake City to work at the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) West Depot. Come join us! While in Salt Lake City, we will work on various tasks relating to assembling relief kits that UMCOR distributes throughout the world or we may help with cleaning the depot. Rev. Brian Diggs, UMCOR West Depot Direc-tor, will be preaching here at FUMC on a Sunday, September 24, and will tell us more about UMCOR’s work helping people affected by hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other crises. While in Salt Lake City, we will also spend some working on a service project with one of UMCOR’s local partner agencies. The group will leave the church on Tuesday afternoon, October 24 and return on Friday afternoon, October 27. We have not yet determined whether we will take the church bus or carpool in individual cars. We’ll be staying at Hilltop House, part of Hilltop United Methodist Church in Sandy, Utah. Hilltop House has a kitchen, which will allow us the option to make group meals. There are eight twin beds, additional mattresses if needed, and two bathrooms. We have room for 10 people on this mission team. Since space is limited, it is recommended that you sign up before the October 13 deadline. This mission trip will also be open to members of Crossroads and Redlands UMCs. Please let Fran Parker ([email protected] or 970-255-1157) know if you have any questions and are in-terested in participating. The cost for the trip is $30, which includes the application fee and a portion of the lodging cost. Food costs will vary, depending on how the group decides to handle food. Gas costs will be shared among team members. Please let Rev. Laura know if you need financial assistance in order to partici-pate in this mission trip because it is available!!! There will be an organizational meeting at church to discuss logistics on Tuesday, October 3 at 6 pm.
Supplies for UMCOR Health Kits Being Collected!
As part of our mission trip to the UMCOR West Depot October 24-27, we will be collecting supplies for health kits. If you’re not able to go on the mission trip, please consider bringing some of the following supplies and depositing them in the basket located in the Court Yard breezeway labeled UMCOR.
It is not necessary to assemble the complete kit – that can be done by volunteers at the Depot. We need the following items for the kits:
Hand towels (15 x 25 inches to 17 x 27 inches. Kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not acceptable)
Washcloths
Combs (Needs to be sturdy and longer than 6 inches. No pocket combs or picks please. Rattail combs and combs without handles are acceptable with a minimum of 6 inches of teeth)
Metal nail files or nail clippers (No emery boards, please)
Bath-size soap (3 oz. and larger sizes only. No Ivory or Jergens soap due to moisture content. Do not re-move from original packaging)
Toothbrushes (Adult size only. Do not remove from original packaging)
Adhesive bandages (¾ inch to 1 inch-size -Common household Band-Aids)
