Dear Trinity Church family, Isaiah 43: 2cd “…when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” The promises of God are, bluntly, sometimes hard to believe. He promises that even when we go through fire, we will not be burned or consumed. Our experiences in this life are often very different—it seems as though we are being battered, torn, defeated, chewed up and spit out in this world. But faith informs us differently. As we read the pages of this month’s Trinity MESSENGER, let’s see how God has been working for our good, to bless and not to curse us, and believe that the things Jesus says are actually so. Love you all in Christ Jesus, Pastor Jim Dr. James E. Swecker Senior Pastor MAY 2018 VOLUME 40, ISSUE 5 From the Pastor's Pen... Highlights from Trinity United Methodist Church THE HIGHLIGHTER Inside this issue: Blessings, Thanks & Prayers 2-3 Help Send a Child to Camp 4 Security Seminar 4 Youth Ministry and Fellowship 5 New Pictorial Directory 6 Free Spring Concert 7 Message from Evangelism — The People You Meet at the Foot of the Cross 8-9 Trinity Memories 10 Trinity Blood Drive 11 Special Events Corner 12-13 Listen to the Words... 14 May Events Calendar 15 TUMC Mission Statement : “To ignite such a passion, for Jesus Christ and His teachings, that it sets our world on fire.”
Transcript
Dear Trinity Church family,
Isaiah 43: 2cd “…when you walk through fire you shall
not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
The promises of God are, bluntly, sometimes hard to
believe. He promises that even when we go through
fire, we will not be burned or consumed. Our
experiences in this life are often very different—it
seems as though we are being battered, torn, defeated,
chewed up and spit out in this world.
But faith informs us differently. As we read the pages of
this month’s Trinity MESSENGER, let’s see how God has
been working for our good, to bless and not to curse us,
and believe that the things Jesus says are actually so.
Love you all in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim
Dr. James E. Swecker
Senior Pastor
MAY 2018 VOLUME 40, ISSUE 5
From the Pastor's Pen...
Highlights from Trinity United Methodist Church
THE HIGHLIGHTER
Inside this issue:
Blessings, Thanks & Prayers 2-3
Help Send a Child to Camp 4
Security Seminar 4
Youth Ministry and Fellowship 5
New Pictorial Directory 6
Free Spring Concert 7
Message from Evangelism —
The People You Meet at the Foot of the
Cross
8-9
Trinity Memories 10
Trinity Blood Drive 11
Special Events Corner 12-13
Listen to the Words... 14
May Events Calendar 15
TUMC Mission Statement:
“To ignite such a passion,
for Jesus Christ
and His teachings, that it
sets our world on fire.”
Blessings, Thanks & Prayers
THE HIGHLIGHTER
Trinity
United
Methodist
Church
90 Church Street
P.O. Box 2142
Prince Frederick,
Maryland 20678
410-535-1782
Office Hours
M-F 8am-4pm
email:
churchoffice
@trinityumchurch
.org
web:
www.trinityumchurch.org
Lead Pastor
Dr. James E. Swecker
pastorjim@
trinityumchurch.org
Washington-East
District Supt.
Dr. Rebecca Iannicelli
Bishop
LaTrelle Miller
Easterling
Page 2
Prayers for Those Who Have Been Hospitalized Recently…
Jessie Jo Bowen, Hayleigh Rae Eckard, Jimmy Catterton, Linda Lusby and Larry
Wood.
God’s Blessing Upon…
Rayelle Finlayson, as she resigns as Coordinator of Christian Education. Thank you
Rayelle for your Godly service to our Trinity family.
Praising God For New Life…
† Congratulations to Mary Stortzum, who welcomed a grandson on March 29 -
Max William Kyser
† Congratulations to Robert and Paula Bailey, who welcomed their first grandchild
on April 2 - Riley Isabel Bailey
Visitation List...
Doris Benesh - 1140 Scenic Way, St. Leonard, MD 20685
Dorothy L. Bowen - 4915 Sandy Point Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Mildred Bowen - 990 Dan Bowen Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
For your convenience, all photography and portrait viewing will take place at
our church with no sitting fee. You will have a variety of poses taken and one
pose will be selected for the directory. In addition to your complimentary
8x10, you will have the opportunity to purchase additional portraits on the day
of your portrait session. Lifetouch’s portrait price lists are available in the
church office for those who would like them prior to photography. A 20%
discount will be offered to Active & Retired Military, First Responders and
Seniors.
Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to be professionally
photographed. We are looking forward to seeing you in our directory. I am
encouraging 100% participation!
Terese Wells
Directory Chair
P.S. Your photography session will take about an hour.
During which time, you will check-in, be photographed
and view your portraits.
Page 7
VOLUME 40, ISSUE 5
Page 8
THE HIGHLIGHTER
Message from Evangelism
The People you Meet at the Foot of the Cross This year, Good Friday was different in many ways. This
year, I put a vision into action and received more than I
can even comprehend. The Holy Spirit shared with me an
idea; Pastor Jim and a few members put it in action; and
members of Trinity made it meaningful.
What I learned about Good Friday from books, websites
and the Bible was eclipsed by what I learned from the
people that came to the foot of the cross that day.
The first lesson was from children. The girls that helped
were happy to be at church, loved being outside, happy
about the day, the weather, the freedom. I asked two girls
to spot me as I climbed the ladder to nail the seven deadly
sins to the cross. I did not want to share what they were or
what they meant. They had an innocence—A precious gift
to children to feel free, happy and full of love for God. I
pray to have that childlike innocence again.
At 12:00, the first man came and said Hi. He came right at
12:00, had his card and found the hammer and nailed and
added another nail and again hammered hard. He wanted
to make sure the card was fixed to the cross. He had a
purpose, a reason for the day and a schedule. It was clear
in his mind what he was doing. To be so clear about
God’s calling and his message. Clarity is what I pray for
each day.
Next came a woman, I did not recognize her. She sat on the bench that was placed at the foot of the
cross and prayed in silence. The silence is what I crave and found as I sat at the church that day
and waited and watched. She did not say much, but I knew this day was meaningful to her and her
few words meant more to me. The woman said this was good. She blessed me, yes, she said, bless
you for doing this. I felt moved instantly by a stranger. Someone who has not been to Trinity in a
while came today and I felt blessed. I pray she will come back.
The second man came to the cross. He came with a purpose, he wrote on his card, nailed it to the
cross and left. He did not speak, he was there for his own reason and took swift action. This was a
personal event. Some came that day with a card and some came with a thought or maybe God put
something on their heart that day. It took me a while to write something and to think of what to
write. To have the thought in mind and to know you want to do this and do it quickly showed he was led by God. God speaks to us and this man listened. I pray I will listen when God calls me to
do something quickly.
Then two women came together, a mother and daughter who I came to know better that day. The
daughter said the symbolic action of the nail on the cross makes today more memorable. As she
nailed her card to the cross, she said it hurt! To truly feel the hurt and pain is more than I imagined.
They spoke about many things that they had seen and ideas they had, and I instantly felt
friendship and I felt I knew their hearts for they were full of love for Jesus.
The daughter said she went to a sunrise service where they were given a rock to remind them
that he had risen. She kept the rock for years always with her to remember that he has risen
and is at the right hand of God. Sometimes we need reminders like holding a rock or nailing a
nail. A physical, tactile reminder of the miracle that happened. As she dropped the nail and
picked it up, I said take it as a reminder.
We continued to talk about the imagery of the stations of the cross and what happened at the
foot of the cross. We both struggled to understand why so few people were there at the cross
when he died. John wrote that three Mary's stood at the foot of the cross, Mary—Jesus' mother,
Mary Magdalene, and Mary—the wife of Clopas all stayed with him and loved him with all their
heart and soul. The women anointed Jesus, cleaned him and came back to find the tomb empty and ran to tell the disciples. All strong women full of love for Jesus. I pray that I will be a strong
woman who demonstrates my love of Jesus.
I met another couple, a married couple. They had a simple, pure faith and love. She was raised
Catholic and said confession is something we did every day, we need to ask God for
forgiveness every day. She knew that God loved her; she knew since she was a child. Her
husband was not raised Catholic. He said something I think about every day, “we make our
lives harder than it should be.” His message was simple, we try to live right, but we make
mistakes. We confess, and it is wiped clean. Is it really that simple? She added it’s all a
learning experience, life is a learning experience. They make it seem so simple. I think God
wanted it to be that simple. Worry, doubt, grief, guilt is not from God. I pray that I will try to live right, but know that if I confess to God and ask, he will wipe my debt clean with his grace.
Next, I met another woman who came up behind me as I sat on the front steps. She arrived
through the front door and clearly knew her way. She asked me questions. She wanted to know
what this meant to me and how I came up with the Good Friday event. I told her it was not from
me, but God. I told her Mike had made the cross and that Sue made the basket and I made the
cards, it was a group effort. After she nailed her card to the cross, she said it made her feel
free, free from burdens. To actually write it down was cathartic. She said loudly, IT IS DONE!
What a profound feeling of freedom the cross gives us. Some need a smile each day, some
need the freedom to live another day. It was clear that she knew the way. It was a blessing just to listen to her. How fresh it would be to have that confidence to proclaim out loud, I’m a sinner
and I’ve been set free. She said everyone has sin, it’s good for the church to go through this to
show that we are all sinners, just like the people driving by. She said keep up the cross and do
it again next year.
I looked at the cars that drove by that day. Some people waved, a few looked up to see what
was going on, and I wondered if anyone saw the cross and what we were doing and thought
about Jesus that day. I wonder if anyone will look at Trinity again and think, that’s the place
where I saw the cross on Good Friday. I wonder if they would think about reading the Bible and
find out what it’s all about. I pray that not only did the actions today speak to the members of
Trinity who walked away with a sense of freedom but to those who drove by and saw the cross
on the hill in front of Trinity and thought about what Good Friday means and wondered about
coming to Trinity to find out more.
Cheri DeLaVergne, Evangelism Chair
(Continued from page 8)
Page 10
THE HIGHLIGHTER
Trinity Memories
Trinity United
Methodist Church
Sunday Schedule
8 - 9 a.m. ~ Worship Service
9:15 -10:15 a.m. ~ Sunday School
(for all ages)
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. ~ Worship Service
Open Bible Study
Wednesdays at 10 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Remember the
Sabbath day by
keeping it holy.
Exodus 20:8
Page 11
VOLUME 40, ISSUE 5
Blood Drive
Trinity United Methodist Church
Fellowship Hall
Sunday, May 13, 2018
7:00 am to 12:00 pm
Please contact 800-REDCROSS or log on to www.redcrossblood.org
(enter sponsor code “Trinity UMC Prince Frederick”) to schedule
your life-saving donation or be a walk-in on May 13.
Thank you!
Trinity United Methodist Church
Staff
Rayelle Finlayson ....... Coordinator of Christian Ed
