THE C IRCUIT WRITER 5
The Circuit Writer
State Street United Methodist Church 1101 State Street
P.O. Box 3340 Bowling Green, KY 42102-3340
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit Number 325 Bowling Green, KY
State Street Staff
Senior Pastor ~ Dr. Jay Smith
Associate Pastor for Faith Formation ~ Rev. Cindy Bright
Minister of Music, Worship, and Congregational Care ~ Lee Young
Minister of Student Formation ~ Jami Unland
Children’s Ministry Assistant ~Gina Bingham
Organist ~ Julie Pride
Office Manager ~ Tricia Hendrix
Church Hostess ~ Betty Lee
Housekeeping ~ Pam Fitzgerald
Maintenance ~ Dennis Jones
Return Service Requested
March 12th
Lenten Sermon Series
Beginning March 5th
March 5th - ”Bread of Life”
March 12th -”Light of the World”
March 19th-”The Gate”
March 26th-”The Good Shepherd”
April 2nd - ”The Vine”
MARCH 2017
Making disciples of Jesus Christ around the corner and around the world!
1101 State Street | Bowling Green, KY (270) 842-8171 | www.statestreetumc.org
March 28
12 p.m. Finance Committee Mtg.
March 21
5:30 p.m. Trustees Mtg.
March 23
12:00 p.m. Circuit Writer Deadline
March 19
5:00 p.m Faith Builders
Elizabeth Downing will be speaking
March 26
11:00 a.m. Ralphie’s Fun Center
March 26
Youth MT Sign Up Deadline
March 4
10:30 a.m. Local Leaders Church
Training
Christ UMC
March 12
Spring Clocks Forward
March 18
9:00 a.m. Chancel Choir
Rehearsal
“The Cross: Where Love Will Lead Us”
Not long ago I was finishing a book by Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, entitled Every-
thing Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer. Near the end of the book, he wrote
these words that gave me a refreshing perspective on the cross of Christ and caused me to
write in the margin of the book, “Yes,” underlined three times for emphasis!
“Christianity is a religion of attachment. Jesus says to love and pay the price for it…
…when we fall in love, we risk pain and we will always suffer for it…The cross is not
the price that Jesus had to pay to talk God into loving us. It is simply where love
will lead us.”
During the season of Lent, the church shifts its focus to the cross of Christ and the price
God’s love paid in order to reconcile each of us to God. As a child, the way the message
of the cross was so often presented was that in order to appease God’s wrath and anger
towards a sinful and broken world, Jesus had to step in and pay the price for you and me.
Jesus’ dying on the cross, according to these often times loud preachers who seemed
angry themselves, appeased an angry and vengeful God, or as Richard Rohr puts it, “…
the price that Jesus had to pay to talk God into loving us.”
I no longer view the cross as a means to convince God to love us. The cross represents
the depth and breadth of an already heart-broken, loving God who pays the ultimate price
to provide forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation for the world. Yes, the world is
broken and sinful and in need of God’s grace. Yes, you and I are broken and sinful and in
need of God’s grace. But, the cross of Christ represents in the most profound way what
that grace looks like, what God’s love looks like and what God’s mission for each of us
looks like as we “take up our cross and follow Jesus.”
The cross, as Richard Rohr points out, reminds us “where love will lead us.” And “where
love will lead us” will be different for each of us, but it will always involve an element of
risk, challenge, heartache and pain. It does not matter if you are talking about the love
between a husband and wife, parents and children, friends or complete strangers. When
we risk enough to love others, we open ourselves up not just to the joy and bliss that
comes from love, but to the inevitable heartache and pain. As the title of Rohr’s book
suggests, “everything belongs.” Not just the good, but the bad. Not just the joy, but the
pain. God’s love revealed in the Cross is an invitation to see it all as a means of God’s
transforming, reconciling, forgiving love.
This season of Lent, I would ask us, Where do we sense God’s love leading us? What
broken parts of our families, community and world are waiting for people like you and
me to accept “where love will lead us”? To borrow Rohr’s words one last time, “The
cross is not the price that Jesus had to pay to talk God into loving us. It is simply where
love will lead us.” May God give you and me the grace and courage to go “where love
will lead us.”
Much Lenten grace and peace!
Dr. Jay
THE C IRCUIT WRITER 4
THE C IRCUIT WRITER 3
Birthdays
Anniversaries!
Please Remember Our Special Friends in Prayer:
Fred Carter 01
Hunter Hanks 01
Anthony Martin 01
Brady Riedel 02
Karen Summers 02
John Lasater 03
Andrea Burrell 04
Becky Leavy 04
Keith Skiles 04
Ben Lawson 04
Jim Bullington Jr. 06
Carrie Gilreath 07
Austin Ring 07
Alice Barnes 08
Lucinda Anderson 10
Mike Burrell 11
Wilburn Jones 11
Ethan Burrell 12
Iris Dotson 12
Stephen Riedel 12
Andrew Speakman 12
Lauren Wester 14
Annee Lasley 15
Hayden Lasley 15
Mike Gardner 16
Chance Calton 17
Joan Burrell 19
Barrett Barnes 20
Alice Nicely 21
Nicholas Westray 21
Marv Leavy 22
Diane Greer 23
Heather Lasley 23
Logan Turner 23
Remi Mays 25
Vernon Martin 25
Judith Knee 26
Parker Cummings 27
Juanita Denham 28
Jackson Stahl 31
Emily Burrell 31
Gale Combs 31
George & Judith Knee 19
Ken & Shellie Allen 26
Adam & Brittany Butler 31
Stephen & Phyllis Schnacke 31 SSUMC Food Pantry Needs:
Remember to check the bulletin each week for items needed
for the food pantry! Groceries are distributed to those in the
community who come in and ask for food assistance.
Donated items should be placed in the white bins located
near the church office and near fellowship hall.
Please Note: The names of persons for whom prayer has been requested will remain on our prayer list for one month unless we are notified otherwise.
The names of the homebound and ill of our church family as well as our church leaders and military will be kept on our list indefinitely.
Prayer Requests
Keep praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To
that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the
saints. Ephesians 6:18
Retirement Village
Lovell Parsons
Jackie Mathison
Ken Whitfield
Dick Cooper
Magnolia Village
Nancy Napier
Village Manor Frederica Williamson
Sarah Watson
Barbara Neale
Colonial Manor
Sue Bullington
Homebound Bridgepointe
Madge Bailey Carolyn Brake
Geneva Duff
Ina Ree Wright
Massey Springs Sally Mayfield
Recent Requests:
Debbie Drake Davis
Dan Riley
Anna Vincent
Debbie Campbell
Phillip Rogers
Charles &
Margaret Swaty
Irma Beck
Robert Lyon
Pierce Ford
Bernie Cox
Brenda Wheeler
Hal Rogers
Tom Lett
Jennifer Wallace
Wanda & Jay Faulkner
Quinn Holland
Kenneth Allen
Katheryn Loy
Becky Leavy
Ken Whitfield
Kammy &
Cory Carpenter
Recent Requests:
Kelly Steen
Norman Greenwald
Charles Morris
Lauren Hester
Regina Priddy
Richard Cook
Teresa Wilson
Glenna Burton
Anne Newton
James Dies
Victor Padilla
Arthur Carman
Gary Ritchie
Mindy Winningham
Will Conley
Rose Carlton
Gloria Lyles
LuLu Hochstetler
Jonathan Barnes
On Going Requests: (Church Family)
Betty Satterfield
Jenks Britt
Evan Rudolph
Carrie Gilreath
Tom Cannon
Lavinia Rogers
Virginia Fullen
Joyce Robertson
Bob Rice
Bob & Jane Gillaspie
Suzanne Vitale
Bill Franklin
Marilyn Laney
Juanita Denham
Elizabeth Honeycutt
Matthew Nelson
Our Military:
Schuyler Purdue
(Marines)
In Memory of Don Lawhorn
Given to the Kentucky United Methodist Children’s Home by Mr.
and Mrs. Daniel Modlin
In Honor of Don Sergent
Given to the Endowment Fund by Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Westray
In Memory of Mrs. Tabar
Given to the Endowment Fundy by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Canter
THE C IRCUIT WRITER 2
Gifts Given to the Church
Faith Builders
March 19th
5:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Downing will be
speaking and refreshments
will be served. We will meet
in the Fellowship Hall.
April 23rd
3:00 p.m.
We will meet with Rick
Shreve at the church for a
presentation on the BG Air
Park. Following the
presentation, we will take
the church bus to the Air
Park.
May 21st
5:00 p.m.
Potluck at The Crossings for
fellowship and election of
Officers for the next year.
Mondays of March Lenten Bible Study
March 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th
Taylor Chapel AME Church 503 Clay Street
Rev. Joshua Hale
Should be a great time of learning and fellowship for us all!
New Member Sunday - March 12th
Have you been
thinking about
joining our church
family? In the
United Methodist
Church, people join
in two ways:
1) by baptism and profession of faith 2) by
transfer of membership from another church.
Is God leading you to follow Christ through
State Street UMC? We would love to speak
with you about this important decision.
Please contact Dr. Jay or Lee Young at 270-
842-8171.
“A Word of Thanks from
Our Finance Chair”
I want to thank all of you for your ongoing
generosity. Because of your love for
Christ and State Street, our ministry
continues to be vital and alive. In our
January Finance meeting, we learned that
we finished the year very strong and it
was our best year ever. We budgeted for
$717,000 in contributions and we ended
up receiving $738,716 in contributions.
Please know that complete financial
statements are available in the church
office for anyone who would like to see
them. On behalf of the Finance
Committee, again, thank you for your
generosity!
Steve Sutton, Finance Chair
THE C IRCUIT WRITER THE C IRCUIT WRITER 7
THE C IRCUIT WRITER 6