Delightful Letter from Marcia Robinson!

Pastor Charles received this wonderful letter in today's post.

Marcia Robinson

14778 Espola Road

Poway, CA  92064

Pastor Charles

Stevensville United Methodist Church

Stevensville, Montana 59870

Dear Pastor Charles,

Although this is late, it is a hearty welcome from our family.  My husband, Ralph, and his family were long-time members of UMC Stevi.  That included Robinson, Lamoreux and Longbottom families.

When we were married in Wisconsin, I married a Montanan sailor going to Navy school at Great Lakes in Waukegan.  We had a second wedding reception in your church forty-six years ago.

For forty-four years, we summered in Stevensville, as my mother-in-law lived there.  We camped and fished up the Burnt Fork.  We had and have wonderful memories.  But one of my best memories is of attending the UMC.  I always found the services very uplifting.  I admired the servants in that church.  It is a tiny church, but mighty in its spirit.  Christianity just blossoms in your church.  I miss those services.

As I attend my LCMS church and participate in activities there, I'm always challenged by memories of the servants at UM Stevi.  Lent certainly is a time to reflect how we can reflect our faith to others, especially non-church-goers.

May you enjoy living in that beautiful valley.  Maybe we'll meet sometime.

Sincerely,

Marcia Robinson

Lent: Day 23

Read Psalm 26

Almighty and Everlasting God,
You have given the human race
Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility.
He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man
And giving His life on the Cross.
Help us to bear witness to You
By following His example of suffering
And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Amen.

- from Creighton University

E. Angola Conference missionary

Sally McConnell, Ellyn Jones, and Ken Koome

Ken Koome making his presentation

We were blessed to have a missionary from the E. Angola Conference to be with us today.   Ken Koome Nkando was accompanied by Sally McConnell (the YAC MISSION coordinator)8.  Twenty SUMC members were on hand for the fantastic talk about the work being done in Angola in partnership with our conference.

Ken is on a tour of Yellowstone Conference churches that are in partnership with the East Angola Conference. 

To learn more about this mission effort of our conference, please visit this link.

Sunday school favorites!

David leads the singing

Clay provides the accompaniment
 

Clay, David, and Bob play during the interlude

Carole and Belinda help with refreshments

We enjoy our fellowship times!

 Our 'Fifth Sunday hymn-sing' took place Sunday night with an energetic gathering singing more than twenty Sunday school favorites from years past.

Thanks to Clay Freeman for putting this ministry together.  Thanks also to David Paul and Bob Edgar for their part in the brass trio, and to Trudy Freeman for coordinating the refreshments.

Last Sunday in March

Pastor Charles & the children

the t-shirt table was hopping!

Oh, what a glorious Sunday we experienced today!  Wonderful worship... fellowship... and more...

Thanks to our lay leader, John Fisher, and his leadership, we have the joy of being offered an opportunity to purchase a church t-shirt for only $10.  We expect the shipment of our first order to arrive in the next couple of weeks.  (Orders can be made in the weeks ahead.)  The idea is that we can enjoy wearing them (as a church family) whenever we have a function at the church or participate in community events as a group.

The color choices are lime green, blue or gold. 

The sizes are as follows.
Adult Sizes:  S-6XL.
Ladies Sizes:  XS-4XL.
Note:  The ladies t-shirts are tapered for a better fit.  (Belinda said the ladies 2X fit her just right.)
Youth Sizes:  XS (2-4), S (6-8), M (10-12), L (14-16), XL (18-20).
TALL Sizes:  LT (large tall) - 4XLT (4 extra large tall).

Orders can be placed at the fellowship time after church services ... or by calling/stopping by the church office.

Thanks be to God for a church family who enjoys spending time with one another .... both inside and outside of the church's walls!

Prayers

JOYS

Prayers of thanksgiving for …

No Department of Defense combat-related deaths reported last week.

This season of spring and new life… at this time… in the cycle of life.

A loving community of faith.

Overwhelming gratitude for family, church and spring.

Beautiful birds are in their nests.

Olivia’s cousin just had a baby boy:  Bradley James.

Reunion visits with family and friends.

Safe travels.

Florence-Carlton High School band’s spring break trip to Disneyland, California.

Today’s visitor:  Jim.

Healing mercies, e.g., positive medical health reports for Ed S.’s daughter Cindy, Callie’s mother, friend Maureena, Linda K.’s daughter Colleen and Rich G.

Prayer shawl and prayers from my church family.

Birthday blessings for those near and dear to us:  Billie M. and Fred J.

The blessing of moisture in the valley.

Tonight’s fifth-Sunday:  “Big Sing,” starting at 6:00 p.m.

People who write poetry and who are willing to share their poems with their church family.

Hannah’s comment:  “I like church.”

CONCERNS

Prayers for our military Veterans and their families, especially those who are dealing with “the loss of body, mind and/or spirit.”

Prayers for the people of the Ukraine.

Prayers for those hungering for peace.

Prayers for the family and friends of those involved in the recent mudslide in eastern Seattle.

Prayers for emergency responders.

Florence-Carlton High School band’s spring break trip to Disneyland, California.

Prayers for the families and friends of those on the Malaysian plane with 200+ people onboard that vanished last week.  Some 26 nations are involved in the search now.

Prayers for healing mercies for Julie L.’s uncle, Ms. Hattie, Friend Marlene, Friend Elarian, Friend Lisa, sister Barb, Lynn M.’s former colleague, Dean D.’s mother Ruth, Friends Steve and Cathy, Edie B., Libby, Friend, Loved One, Judy F.’s sister Carol J., Molly M., Joanne K., Dennis, Sister Libby, Phyllis D., Olivia’s friend Leona, Jim, neighbor Kristie, Clay F.’s friend in North Carolina whose father is dying and Clay F.’s friend who is dealing with a blood clot as a result of his involvement in a recent car accident.

Prayers for Gretchen S.'s friend who is dealing with the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Prayers for Callie’s grandpa Steve’s mission trip to Nicaragua.

Prayers for travelling mercies and for those not with us today.

Fifth Sunday hymn-sing poem

Tonight at 6:00, we gather to sing

 

A new tradition for Stevi the thing;

 

The sun is up later, the streets are all clear,

 

So make a real effort to find a way here.

  

 

We have no idea the number of church guests,

 

But our count should be larger to welcome them best.

 

And please don’t forget to bring goodies and snacks

 

To take the load off of just two people’s backs.

 

 

Remember our purpose to share sing-a-long

 

To praise God this time with Sunday school song;

 

As we fellowship together without denomination

 

May we all be as one, making great declaration…

 

              

 Christ Is Lord!

A poem for today

BE LIGHT
John 9

Once it took dirt and spit
for a blind man to see--
to see an eruption of doves
in the bluest sky,
to see the dappling light
awakening a tapestry of green
in the singing trees,
to see love in the eyes
of the man who first saw him,
the slight curl at the edges of his smile,
the smudge in the palm of a hand
that would hold the world.
Lord, I would see, too,
such holy things,
see you in the fabric
of my simple days,
see you still at work
on your new creation,
fashioned out of dirt and spit,
blood and bone,
heart and soul.
Be light in me, O Lord.

--Rev. Tim Haut, 2011
Deep River Congregational Church
Deep River, Connecticut

Fourth Sunday of Lent

We'll be using prayers from the Methodist Church in Britain each Sunday in Lent.

As Christians use the Lent period to prepare themselves for God's great act of self-giving on Calvary, Dr. Deidre Homer, a Methodist local preacher in training (British Methodist Church), reflects on the need for Christians to undertake their own self-giving - responding to God's activity in the world by acting on behalf of those around us.  

 

God of mercy and love let us serve you in our world
We pray for countries where justice seems far away,
where human rights are ignored.

Let us remind those in power that prisoners are not forgotten.

We pray that the dignity of life is respected
and remember those who have lost that dignity
through age or infirmity or neglect.
We pray for situations

where the sex of a baby may lead to abandonment,
where women are not offered the same opportunities,
or are actively demeaned or mutilated.

May we act to challenge injustice
and seek to affirm your love for all humankind.

Fifth Sunday hymn-sing

Fifth Sunday hymn-sing

 

Sunday, March 30th at 6:00 pm

One Great Hour of Sharing

One Great Hour of Sharing

One Great Hour of Sharing, one of United Methodism’s six church-wide Special Sundays with offerings, enables the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to live out its mission to alleviate human suffering.

UMCOR’s specialized ministries — responding in disaster, providing relief supplies around the world, fighting hunger, alleviating poverty, offering hospitality to immigrants and refugees, and promoting global health and strong hospital systems — assist the most vulnerable people whose need is greatest. Often, the offering benefits under-funded programs.

One Great Hour of Sharing gifts lay the foundation for UMCOR to share God’s love. The offering underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not for administrative costs.
View this link to learn more about how you can support the work of UMCOR.

Lent: Day 22

Read Psalm 24

As Jesus resisted temptation by the devil in the wilderness, help us reflect on his faithfulness to God, his rejection of worldly values and hold these thoughts in our hearts throughout Lent and beyond. Amen

Lent: Day 21

Read Psalm 23

Lord, as we enter Lent help us to draw near to you in praise, stripping away all that distracts us from worship. Amen

Lent: Day 20

Read Psalm 22

Lord may Lent be a time of inward searching that makes me more able to look with compassion at the needs of the world. Amen

Lent: Day 19

Read Psalm 18

Each day we'll add a question members of the Holy Club (started by Charles Wesley at Oxford) asked themselves each day during their private devotions:

Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially the Pharisees who despised the publican?

Am I defeated in any part of my life? Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful? 

Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other          words, am I a hypocrite?

Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?

Can I be trusted?

Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

Did the Bible live in me today?

Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

Am I enjoying prayer?

When was the last time I spoke to anybody about my faith?

Do I pray about the money I spend?

Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?     

Lent: Day 18

Read Psalm 20

Each day we'll add a question members of the Holy Club (started by Charles Wesley at Oxford) asked themselves each day during their private devotions.

Is there anybody who I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?  

Do I disobey God in anything?

Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?

Can I be trusted?

Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

Did the Bible live in me today?

Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

Am I enjoying prayer?

When was the last time I spoke to anybody about my faith?

Do I pray about the money I spend?

Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

UMW District Retreat Sign-up: Deadline TODAY!

The deadline to sign-up for the Western Mountains District spring United Methodist Women's (UMW's) event, which is going to be held at our Stevi UMC on Saturday, April 5th -- is today!  ALL women of the church are welcome to participate!

Theme:  The Big Picture Today -- Connecting the Dots... Come learn more about UMW supported missions in the USA.  Share unit missions supported in your community.  Featured mission project for the event will be the Stevensville Clothes Closet and Pantry Partners (food bank).

It will be a guaranteed GOOD TIME!  When fabulous women get together for fun, fellowship, food, chocolate/sweets ... and sing and worship and talk about missions' opportunities... Look out!  The Stevi UMC ... with be "the" place to be on that Saturday!  Don't miss out!  All are welcome! 

Please coordinate your registration by March 25, 2014, with Mary Lyon, 394  Sunrise Ave., Stevensville, MT  59870, mcdl394@montana.com, 406-777-2269.