“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” THE UPDATE January 2012 Christians... what DO you tell the mother who just lost her child? As a minister, I find myself struggling to find the right words in those moments, which is why I feel driven to explore this important question. This is not only a difficult subject, but is an essential one for us. When it comes to the weightiest problems for our faith, like suffering and unanswered prayers and God’s will, philosophers don’t get the job done for me. Answers to the question of theodicy are difficult to arrive at and are usually not as satisfying as we’d like. In this series, we will seek to bring fresh insight to the age-old questions of how to understand the will of God and how we can comprehend God's plan for the world and ourselves. —Pastor Geoff Helton When the ground shakes, and a poor nation's economy is destroyed; when the waters rise, washing away a community's hopes and dreams; when a child suffers neglect and abuse; when violence tears apart nations; where is God? If God is all powerful, and if each one of us is a beloved child of God, then how can God allow tragedy and suffering to infest his creation? This is an ancient question and one so common to the human condition that it has a name: theodicy. From the Greek words for “God” and “justice,” discussions of theodicy defy simple answers and can at times test our faith. Since the beginning the people of God have questioned how an all-powerful, all loving God can allow evil and suffering in the world. Theodicy is one of the hardest subjects facing Why? Making Sense of God’s Will A Four Week Sermon Series Begins Jan. 8th
Transcript
“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”
THE UPDATE January 2012
Christians... what DO you tell the mother who
just lost her child? As a minister, I find myself struggling to find the right words in those
moments, which is why I feel driven to explore this important question. This is not only a
difficult subject, but is an essential one for us.
When it comes to the weightiest problems for our faith, like suffering and unanswered
prayers and God’s will, philosophers don’t get the job done for me. Answers to the question of theodicy are difficult to arrive at and are
usually not as satisfying as we’d like.
In this series, we will seek to bring fresh insight to the age-old questions of how to
understand the will of God and how we can comprehend God's plan for the world and
ourselves. —Pastor Geoff Helton
When the ground shakes, and a poor nation's
economy is destroyed; when the waters rise, washing away a community's hopes and
dreams; when a child suffers neglect and abuse; when violence tears apart nations;
where is God? If God is all powerful, and if each one of us is a beloved child of God, then
how can God allow tragedy and suffering to infest his creation?
This is an ancient question and one so common to the human condition that it has a
name: theodicy. From the Greek words for “God” and “justice,” discussions of theodicy
defy simple answers and can at times test our faith. Since the beginning the people of God
have questioned how an all-powerful, all loving God can allow evil and suffering in the world.
Theodicy is one of the hardest subjects facing
Why? Making Sense of God’s Will
A Four Week Sermon Series
Begins Jan. 8th
PAGE 2
JANUARY 2012
SUNDAY, JANUARY 1 Food Bank Donations No Sunday School Worship Service/Jim Moore: 10:00 AM No Youth Group
MONDAY, JANUARY 2
Office Closed for New Year Holiday TUESDAY, JANUARY 3
Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Youth Group: 5:30 PM
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24
Quilters: 9:00 AM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25
Update Folding: 9:00 AM Youth Group @ Bookery: 3:33 PM Praise Band: 6:00 PM
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26
Community Dinner: 5:30 PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 29
Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Youth Group: 5:30 PM
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31
Quilters: 9:00 AM
Girl Scouts: 3:00 PM (Rm 105) Note: There is no Wednesday evening Choir Practice in January
Men’s Fellowship
The United Methodist
men will meet Saturday,
January 7th, at 7:30 AM.
Will it be a blizzard or just freezing? No
matter, come and your heart will be
warmed.
The video study will continue. The break-
fast host will be Ed Rogers. A regular
group of 10 to 14 men will welcome you.
Needed: New Purchasing Person
A volunteer is needed to monitor and purchase supplies, once a quarter, for the coffee cart. We buy supplies both locally and at Costco. You will be reimbursed for expenditures. Please call the church office for details and to volunteer.
PAGE 3
In 2009 our church began to oversee and administer the Food Voucher Program of the Ephrata In-
ter-Church Council (ICC). This program provided a $25 Safeway gift card to those in need from the
Ephrata Area. At that time Pastor Geoff began to use a fund already in existence, the Pastor’s Discre-
tionary Fund to provide that same $25 to people who did not meet the requirements of the ICC
Voucher Program.
Things have changed. The Food Voucher Program is no longer being funded and it has come to our
attention that the $25 gift cards were being used to purchase tobacco and alcohol, which we believe
are not in the spirit of our church’s mission and heritage. Therefore we are implementing a new way
of distributing funds from the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund. This new way, the Crisis Cupboard was
planned by the “Change the World” small group.
We are going to prepare “Crisis Food Packets” for those in need. They will include enough food for
6 meals and are designed to meet a variety of needs. We will be able to provide 1-4 of these pack-
ets to a family depending upon how large a family they have. This does not replace people going to
the food bank, and the church will still support the Food Bank as we have since it’s inception. The
idea is to provide enough food for 1-2 days, until they can get to their local food bank. We hope to
soon be able to provide $20 Gas Gift Cards. We already provide Grant County Transit Bus Tickets
to those in need to help them access other help and get to important appointments.
The packets, which we estimate
will cost about $10 each, will
also consist of “ready-to-eat”
meals that will need very little, if
any, preparation in order to be
ready to eat. This is so that the
packets will meet the needs of
people traveling through town
as well as the homeless who are
without a kitchen to prepare
food.
We also hope to keep them
balanced nutritionally (at least
as well as we can with non-
perishable, ready-to eat meals)
and with enough calories to
sustain someone for a few days.
Our church, with its location downtown and our reputation for helping those in need, helps many
people each month. In fact, it is hard to calculate the need because, even though we keep records,
we often have to turn people away because of lack of funds. We hope this new system will help us
better address the needs and help more people in need. There will be more information on how
you can help financially and volunteer to prepare packets in the February Update. Meanwhile, keep
this new ministry in your prayers as it launches this winter.
MEAL ITEM COST FOR ONE CAL./SER. COST FOR TWO
Breakfast: Orange Juice $0.25 80 $0.50
Cereal Bar(2) $0.50 240 $1.00
Sweet Memory Peaches $0.50 140 $1.00
Lunch: Ritz Cracker Sandwich $0.19 200 $0.38
Sliced Cling Peaches $0.75 158 $1.50
Beef Stew(3) $0.65 200 $1.30
Dinner: Chicken Breast $0.65 60 $1.30
Macaroni & Bean Soup $0.65 160 $1.30
Ritz Cracker Sandwich(4) 0.19 200 0.38
Totals $4.33 1438 $8.66
One Sample Crisis Packet
PAGE 4
Youth Ministry Page Our Youth Group took a little break for Christmas and New Years, but we’re ready to
get back to what we do best: learning, growing and having fun!
Jr. High Students (Grades 6-8) Mark your calendars! Pastor Geoff will be the speaker
at the Conference Jr. High Retreat at Lazy F Camp on March 3-4, 2012. This is a great
opportunity to connect with friends from church camp and meet new friends as we
seek to grow closer to God. Sign-up information will be coming your way soon.
Sr. High Students (Grades 9-12) Mark your Calendars! CONVO, the annual Sr. High
retreat will be May 26-28, 2012 at the University of Puget Sound. This is a great way
for you to connect with friends from church camp, meet new friends, hear great
speakers and bands, and grow closer to God. Sign-up information will be coming
your way soon.
PAGE 5
FOR HEALING/RECOVERY FROM NEW HEALTH PROBLEMS
Bruce Kellams Debbie McDonald Marjorie Baldwin Greg Winson John Shore Elmer Johnston Dick Hoyt Ron Whitman Cally Griez Abby Thorndike Mary Beth Smits Tom Goetz Nadine Hansen Cliff Ebberson Duane Bassuer Carrie Nick & Family Helen Ruth Susan Smith Maxine Lyerly D.J. Gray Duane Lewis Marjorie Baldwin Dakota Duane Bassuer Randy Senn
FOR OUR MEMBERS IN ASSISTED LIVING AND RETIREMENT HOMES
Irene Armstrong Opal Burck Louise Gallaway Bill Lowry Bill Turner Helen Ruth Don & Arline Callan Louise Moore Lenora Walters Linda Morris Ruth Walker Hazel Scobey
FOR HEALING/RECOVERY FROM ONGOING HEALTH PROBLEMS
Bob St. Clair Jr. Dee Gray Bob St. Clair Sr. Patsy Meyer-Odell Bill Black Lee Ann
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of Praise” James 5:13
One of the most wonderful gifts we are given is the gift of prayer.
We can pray for one another in times of need as well as times of celebration.
Join the Prayer Chain. To receive the prayer chain by email send an email to Mary Fulk at [email protected]. To join the phone prayer chain contact Joan Jensen: 246-1691.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please let us know if someone should be added or taken off our prayer list by contacting the church office: 754-4664.
Also contact the church office if you know of someone in need of a visit by our Congregational Care Team, our Staff Associate for Congregational Care, or Pastor Geoff.
OTHER
For all our military personnel, their families and friends
PAGE 6
Birthdays in January
January 4 Lonny Holleman January 6 Marian Fulk January 7 Beverly Dell January 7 Louise Gallaway January 7 Joan Warner January 7 Bob Winters January 13 Victoria Ryan January 14 Pat Boyd January 14 Shirley Morris January 14 Mike Reynolds January 16 Gail Luddington January 17 Dick Hoyt January 17 Marna Kellams January 20 Kyle Smith January 20 Albert Treiber January 26 Gary Archer January 27 Ken Slininger
Treasurer’s Report As of November 30, 2011
Income $ 116,369.48
Expense $ 109,162.29
Total $ 7,207.19
CONGREGATIONAL NOTES
I would like to thank the following people for decorating our Fellowship Hall and tree: Joe Hatch, Merle Gibbens, Lonny Holleman, JoAn Isaman, Vivian Plew and Tura Yount. It sure makes our get-togethers more festive for Jesus’ Christmas Holiday.
Cammy Hatch
Howdy, Just a general thank you for all the cards, letters, prayers and visitors. I tried to an-swer all but I’m afraid I might have missed some-body.
Elmer Johnston
No Anniversaries in January
Fun & Fellowship
There will be no January Fun & Fellowship meet-ing. No one signed up to be the hosts. The February 9th meeting will be hosted by Tom & Dolores Pheasant. A signup sheet for the rest of the year will be filled out then.
Turkey Dinner Fundraiser
The Pastor’s Discretionary Fund received a boost of over $650 from the turkey dinner that was held on December 15th. Thank you to all that attended. Fun & Fellowship hosts Denis & Vivian Plew arranged the event. Camille & Christy Price were asked to cook the dinner. Decorations and dessert were by Vivian, salads by Dolores and the program by Denis. Tom Pheasant helped with setup and cleanup. Fifty-seven diners were served. Denis used baseball cards to give away many prizes. The money will be used this winter to help the people that come to our church with emergency needs.
Choir
The choir received accolades from many for the Christmas music on December 18th. Peo-ple loved “The Little Drummer Boy/Almighty Glo-rious” with Pastor Geoff drumming and Margaret Treiber singing the solo part. Third grader McKinley Fulk signed the song “Silent Night” as the choir sang. The week before, Janet Nelson sang the solo for “Make My Life a Bethlehem.” The choir is taking a winter break and is not singing on January 1st or January 8th. There are no Wednesday practices in January. Sunday evening, January 8th at 5:00 PM, the choir will have a potluck at the home of Mary and Lonny Holleman at 136 Nob Hill Drive, Eph-rata. Bring your spouse and a potluck dish. We will practice songs for January at this time. The choir will sing January 15th, 22nd and the 29th. They will meet as usual at 9:45 AM to go over the songs. Wednesday evening practices will resume on February 1, 2012.
PAGE 7
WORSHIP SERVERS— January 1, 2012
Assistant of the Day: Herb Reynolds Ushers: Denis & Vivian Plew Greeters: Louise Ingebrigtson & Tura Yount Liturgist: Ann Chandler Coffee Hour: Maggie Reynolds Lead Counter: Denis Plew Assistant Counter: Louise Ingebrigtson
Activity Time: No Sunday School
WORSHIP SERVERS— January 8, 2012
Assistant of the Day: Alan Fulk Ushers: Alan Fulk & Georgia Bassuer Greeters: Ray & Eleanor Hoople Liturgist: Margaret Treiber Coffee Hour: Mary Fulk Lead Counter: Shirley Pederson Assistant Counter: Linda Bryant-Smith Activity Time: Mary Holleman Sunday School: Linda Bryant-Smith
WORSHIP SERVERS— January 15, 2012
Assistant of the Day: Ed Rogers Ushers: Camille & Christy Price Greeters: Gary & Sandy Archer Liturgist: Sandy Archer Coffee Hour: Meagan Helton Lead Counter: Kathy Buhl Assistant Counter: Darryl Pheasant
Activity Time: Sunday School: Christy Price
WORSHIP SERVERS— January 22, 2012
Assistant of the Day: Lonny Holleman Ushers: Darryl Pheasant & Barb Deycous Greeters: Lonny Holleman & Joan Warner Liturgist: Elaine Carpenter Coffee Hour: Mary Holleman Lead Counter: John Morris Assistant Counter: Marj Burkhart
Assistant of the Day: Scott Kellams Ushers: Bill & Judy Nixon Greeters: Georgia Bassuer & Marlene Albee Liturgist: Beverly Dell Coffee Hour: Marna Kellams Lead Counter: Mary Mantz Assistant Counter: Georgia Bassuer
Activity Time: Sunday School: Carla Pheasant
UMW
January 16th Meeting: Ladies will meet on Monday at 11:30 AM at Time Out Pizza for fellowship and a brief program.
Bake Sale Report: Many brought items for sale and we thank them all. A profit of $352 was given by our generous congregation. This will be used to buy kitchen supplies.
December 18th UMW Coffee Hour: “One thousand cookies.” That’s what Pastor Geoff said as he invited people to stay for fellowship – and they did.
Ovenell Memorial Service: The Funeral Team of Dolores Pheasant, JoAn Isaman, Ann Chandler, Shirley Pederson, Vivian Plew, Beverly Dell and Marilyn Bluhm helped the family serve 250 people at the reception.
Our Christmas Gift: UMW gave monetary gifts to the Pastor and staff, and $100 to the Food Bank for teen gifts. Baby Andre and Jill Holleman and Baby Serenity and Jenna were also remembered. Carnations were taken to fifteen of our congregation in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and those who are home-bound. Ann Chandler arranged the flowers. $100 was given for the Kitchen License. The fee was paid and the inspections passed so our kitchen is certified to serve the public.
Officers for UMW for 2012 are: President Dolores Pheasant Vice-President Ann Chandler Treasurer Joan Jensen Secretary Vivian Plew Devotions Vivian Winters
117 C. Street NW, Ephrata, WA 98823 - (509) 754-4664
Update Deadline January 18th!
12:00 noon
Get your articles and announcements in!
Thank you for supporting the work of the church through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness as we pursue our mission:
“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”
January 2012
Our front page article talks about the new
sermon series that starts on January 8, 2012
Be sure to check out this new ministry to help those in need in our
