News & Notes 9/4/08
September 4, 2008 St. John’s Church “News & Notes”
A blessed September to you, my Friends,
I’m not the first to make this exclamation, but here it is nonetheless: What wonderful weather!! Good comes to those who wait! I hope you’re able to enjoy this – especially as we pray for our sisters and brothers in the paths of hurricanes (through Louisiana and elsewhere)!
On Saturday, at 10 AM, we’ll celebrate the life of one of the saints of St. John’s Church – Eleanor Murray. It has been awhile since Ellie has been active in the life and ministry of the church, so many of us don’t know her. May God grant peace to her children, grandchildren and friends who grieve her death.
And this weekend we’ll celebrate the wedding of one of our own – Alison MacK. and her fiancé, Dave M. Praise God! Speaking of hurricance, let’s home Hanna stays south (or east) of us until after the wedding!
This Sunday we return to our “winter” hours for the morning schedule. I hope to see many folks who have been traveling and unable to attend worship through the summer!! It’ll be great to see you. Remember, the services are at 9 and 10:30 AM. This Sunday is Registration Sunday for Sunday School. You can fill out the registration form online, if you wish. Get it from our website (www.stjohnsdover.org) – go to Ministries then Education, then Sunday School/Registration Form. To save time, you can fill it out and bring it with you! We’ll need a registration form for your child(ren) even if they came to Sunday School last year.
I hope that lots of kids will come to worship this Sunday, as we’ll have a Blessing of the Children – and we’ll do it with a fresh “twist” this year. Come for the Blessing, and stay for the whole service!! If you have children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews that will not be able to attend the service, you can bring a picture of them, and we’ll ask God to bless that child as well.
I was reminded this week that our Sunday School is a “peanut-free zone.” We have one or more youngsters who have allergies to peanuts, and we ask that everyone refrain from bringing snacks to school that would contain peanuts. This even includes peanut oil, peanut butter crackers, candy and other things you don’t always think of, so could we ask that everyone be extra diligent in checking the goodies we bring to church?
And this reminds me of something else that’s sort of tangentially relevant. There are some folks in our congregation who are allergic to perfumes. This isn’t a rule or policy of the church, but I’d like simply to ask that we all exhibit the spiritual fruit of compassion toward our sisters and brothers who find it difficult to attend worship and other activities at church when someone else is wearing perfume or cologne.
Youth Groups will gear up this Sunday as well. If you and/or your children haven’t received an email from Brenda Borchers about the first Youth Group meeting, please call the office, and we’ll get that information off to you.
“Stuff” has begun to arrive for our Rummage/White Elephant Sale – which will be held next Friday and Saturday, September 12 & 13. Remember we’ll need LOTS of “stuff,” and setter-uppers and sales people and cleaner-uppers to make this another huge success for our congregation. Speak to Debbie Hollis to offer you help!!
A week from Tuesday – September 16th – will be the first class for Wanda Winnicki’s “Sisters – Knowing God: Making God the Main Thing in My Life” study. If you haven’t heard about it, look at the September issue of “The Bell-Wether” for all the details. And speak to Wanda if you have any questions.
I’m still looking for folks who might be interested in Disciple Bible Study. I’ve got three or four folks who have expressed interest so far, but we’ll need another four or five folks before we can make the class “fly.” I hope others might be interested.
CHERUB CHOIR will begin on Sunday 9/21! We will meet in the Pre-K classroom from 10:30 – 11:00 (right after Sunday School). We welcome any new little singers who want to join us. We have a great time singing, playing instruments, dancing and learning songs about God! It is also a great way for parents to enjoy coffee hour while the kids have “social time” of their own. Cherub choir is open to children age 4 – grade 2. Please contact Sue Williams with any questions. Sdwilliams [at] metrocast [dot] net or 664-7362.
Do you have anything that you’d like included in the October issue of “The Bell-Wether?” The deadline is next Monday, so let me encourage you to get your articles off to Claire soon! (Cvblcdr [at] aol [dot] com)
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologisms, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. Last week I gave you the first seven definitions on the list. The rest of the winners are:
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Actually there were four more submissions, but I was advised that they were a little risqué for “News & Notes.”
That’s it for this week. There are many wonderful things happening at St. John’s Church. I hope you’ll take part in as many as possible. Peace, Mark
United Methodists Prepare for Hurricane Relief Work
After being battered by Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav, UMs along the
Gulf coast are beginning to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts.
In the days prior to Gustav’s landfall just west of New Orleans on Sept. 1, UMCOR
secured its Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La., and made sure evacuating staff
members had proper credentials to return immediately after the storm had passed.
Flood buckets and other supplies are being distributed from Sager Brown to aid
relief efforts across Louisiana and other affected annual conferences.
“We are receiving reports of catastrophic flooding and debris in parts of the
state,” said Marilyn Swanson, director of Disaster Recovery Ministry for the
Florida Annual Conference, affected by Tropical Storm Fay in late August. Four
UM churches reported minor damage, including one that was looted during the storm.
Bishop Timothy Whitaker is asking the UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for a $10,000 emergency grant to help with initial needs. The conference is poised to provide
flood buckets filled with cleanup supplies to homeowners. It has 1,400 buckets
stored in a warehouse in Madison, about an hour outside of Tallahassee.
Churches can support hurricane relief efforts by assembling and shipping flood
buckets to Sager Brown and the Florida Annual Conference. UMs are also asked
to re-stock their local food pantry or food bank. Work teams are expected to
be needed after the water recedes. Volunteers should contact their Jurisdictional
Volunteer in Mission Coordinator for information about when and where their help
will be needed. To donate to UMCOR, drop checks in church offering plates or
mail them directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write Advance
#3019695, Hurricanes 2008 on the memo line. Credit-card donations can be made
by calling 800-554-8583 or at www.givetomission.org. - Erik Alsgaard, Florida
Annual Conference (UMNS) and UMCOR (taken from the 9/9/08 “Newscope”)