Volume 13, Issue 7

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Contents

3 Pastor’s Letter

4 Women’s Bible Study

4 Home Sweet Home Ministry

5 Five Practices

6 Financial Generosity

7 News You Can Use

8 Calendar of Events

9 Servant Schedule

9 Lawn Mowing Schedule

10 Contact Information

Morningstar UMC seeks to share the light and love of Jesus Christ to all we encounter. Morningstar will be a community where each person is offered opportunities and challenged to grow in his/her relationship with God throughout his/her life. As we grow in our love of God, we will increase our growth of healthy relationships by encouraging people of all ages through accountability, study, prayer, fellowship, and service. The more our congregation grows in these primary relationships (with God and our neighbors), we will see ourselves reaching out into the local community, region and world through acts of service – sharing the light of Jesus Christ in hands-on, meaningful ways, and inviting others to experience God’s love for themselves.

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Growing up, one of my favorite movies to watch was called, With Honors. The story is set on the campus of Harvard University, and tells of four roommates who are students at the school. More than one is working on a thesis, and the main character has quite a head start. He is working late at night when their home loses power, and his thesis went unsaved on his computer. Having printed out numerous pages previously, he runs to the library to make copies. On the way, he trips, falls, and his copies fall into a grate outside the library. Once he gets inside, he goes in search of the papers, only to find a homeless man burning them in the furnace room to keep warm. So begins a relationship that is embattled, but also one in which both the student and the homeless man learn from each other. My favorite line from the movie is spoken by the homeless man at one point: “When I give, I give myself.” Extravagant generosity is just that: giving of oneself. We often think of giving in three areas: time, talent, and treasure. All three of those areas are gifts of oneself, through the use of the time we give to/for God, the use of the spiritual gifts God has given us, and the use of the treasure (financial resources) that God has entrusted to us. I would add a fourth “t” word to these areas of extravagant generosity. The word is “trash.” It may seem odd, but I remember learning of “trash” as a generous word in my first appointment. A gentleman was a part of the finance committee, and as part of his daily routine, he would walk two miles each morning. He would take trash bags with him to clean up the sides of the avenues on which he walked. He would recycle those materials that could be reused, and collect and put in the garbage those that couldn’t. The man was serious about utilizing everything he had been given for God – recycling and caring for God’s creation included! I only knew the man a short time; he died of lung cancer within my first five months at the church, but I know that he made a profound impact on me in terms of understanding extravagant generosity. In the pages of this newsletter, you’ll find articles that give us opportunities to be extravagant in our generosity. I hope you’ll invest in God’s kingdom by using your time, talents, treasure, and trash. It’s my prayer that our world will meet Jesus because when we give, we give all of ourselves to God. I will see you in worship! Grace and peace,

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Beginning in September, Morningstar UMC will offer a

morning and evening women’s Bible study. The

morning class will begin Friday, September 7 at 10 am.

The evening class will begin Tuesday, September 11, the

time to be announced. Both classes will last an hour and a

half. The study this fall and winter will be, Women of the

Bible, both Old and New Testament. Books will be $10.

For more information, please contact Eva DeVore at

(309) 452-4534 or evadev4@yahoo.com, or Pam Venter at

(309) 825-1603.

For the past 3 years, Morningstar UMC has been helping to minister to some of the neediest in

our community by serving dinner once a month at Home Sweet Home Ministries. Our generous

donations of food and time now serve approximately 115 people each meal. Teams are now

being formed to serve for 2012-2013. Team members serve 4 times a year – once every 3

months, the second Sunday of the month from 4-6:30 pm. With food donations from MUMC,

we cook and serve a meal to the residents of the mission. If you would like to serve on a team

this year or just need more information, please contact the church office or Eva DeVore,

(309) 452-4534 or evadev4@yahoo.com.

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Description from http://fivepractices.org/extravagant-generosity/

Want to know more about Extravagant Generosity? Check out Rev. Robert Schnase’s book, The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. The Practice of Extravagant Generosity Generosity describes the Christian’s unselfish willingness to give in order to make a positive difference for the purposes of Christ. Congregations that practice Extravagant Generosity provide ministries that address our spiritual need to give in ways that exceed all expectations and extend to unexpected measures. Fruitful congregations thrive because of extraordinary sharing, willing sacrifice, and joyous giving out of love for God and neighbor. The Personal Practice of Extravagant Generosity Through the practice of Extravagant Generosity, we offer our material resources in a manner that supports the causes that transform life and relieve suffering and that enlarges the soul and sustains the spirit. God uses our giving to reconfigure our interior lives and form us anew. We give back.

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"Congregations that practice Extravagant Generosity provide ministries that address our spiritual need to give in ways that exceed all expectations and extend to unexpected measures. Fruitful congregations thrive because of extraordinary sharing, willing sacrifice, and joyous giving out of love for God and neighbor.." This is taken from Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase.

Let's apply Bishop Schnase's writing to our current annexation adventure. You may wonder, how do we have Extravagant Generosity when we have to annex the Church to the Town of Normal. What jumped out at me is extraordinary sharing and willing sacrifice and joyous giving out of love for God. We have been giving for months now to raise money so that our church may complete this annexation and be compliant with regulations. I have seen faces light up when there is a report on how things are going. We are all in this together! We are working together because we love to worship God and we choose to worship at Morningstar UMC. Sometimes when Churches go through a struggle or have a need, people begin to jump ship. Not here, not at Morningstar, not with this annexation. The need is still there, we will have more funds to raise. The end of our annexation adventure is coming closer each day. I believe that we all have proven our ability to give and give generously so the ministries of Morningstar UMC can continue on and we can spread the news of the Lord.

- Tricia Todd Finance Committee Chair

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Are you receiving the weekly calendar of events? Every Monday an email with

the current week’s events is sent out to anyone who wishes to know the

church’s schedule. If you are not on our current mailing list, please visit

http://eepurl.com/jd4Ln to register your email address. If you would prefer a

weekly paper copy, please fill out the form below and return it to the church

office.

____________________ ____________________

First Name Last Name

____________________ ____________________

Address 1 Address 2

____________________ __________ __________

City State Zip

____________________

Phone

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August 2012

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

6:00pm Ladies’ Crafts

3 4

5

9:00am

Christian Formation

10:00am Prayer Time

10:15am Worship

11:30am Safe

Sanctuary Training

5:00pm

Romans Study

6 7

7:00pm Finance Committee

8

9:00am Ladies’ Crafts

9

6:00pm Ladies’ Crafts

10

7:00pm Youth Lock-In

11

7:00am Youth

Lock-In Ends

10:00am Praise

Band Rehearsal

12

9:00am

Christian Formation

10:00am Prayer Time

10:15am Worship

5:00pm

Romans Study

13 14

1:00pm Sit-N-Knit

15 16

6:00pm Ladies’ Crafts

17 18

19

9:00am

Christian Formation

10:00am Prayer Time

10:15am Worship

1:00pm Lay

Leadership Meeting

2:00pm SPRC/

Trustees Meeting

20 21

1:00pm Sit-N-Knit

22 23

6:00pm

Ladies’ Crafts

6:00pm

Chancel Choir

7:00pm

Handbell Choir

24 25

26

9:00am

Christian Formation

10:00am Prayer Time

10:15am Worship

11:30am Safe

Sanctuary Training

27 28

1:00pm Sit-N-Knit

29 30

6:00pm

Ladies’ Crafts

6:00pm

Chancel Choir

7:00pm

Handbell Choir

31

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August 2012 Lawn Mowing Schedule

August 04 August 11 August 18 August 25

Joe Kao Ryan Jimison

Teri Peterson Rev. Jay Regennitter

Hunter Wright Sharee Wright

Mike Norris

August 05 August 12 August 19 August 26

Offertory Music

Vocal Quartet Summer Choir Praise Band Vocal Duet

Liturgist Michelle

Giermann Tricia Todd Gary Wang Rachel Immke

Children’s Message

Adam Drake Rev. Jay Regennitter John Weter Dave Venter

Acolyte Laura Westpfahl Morgan Kao Shelby Todd Riley Fleck

Media Technicians

Mark Immke Joe Kao Dean Westpfahl John Weter

Ushers

Dave Wright (H) Sharee Wright

Larry Haag Betty Haag

Andrew Immke (H) Josh Immke

Georgia Griffith Mary Ann Altine

Mike Schneider (H) Bill Sheets Joe Kao Kim Kao

Mark Immke (H) Wayne Goris Tricia Todd

Tanner Todd

Greeters Jim Snow Larry & Betty Hagg Andy Goveia Georgia Griffith

Coffee Host Tricia Todd Dave & Pam Venter Eva DeVore Regan Jimison

Offering Counters

Sue Fetters Barb Engel Kim Kao Ryan Jimison

Newcomer Callers

Michelle Giermann

Georgia Griffith Bill & Ruthann

Sheets Michelle

Giermann

Church Cleaning

Ryan & Regan Jimison

Dave & Pam Venter John Weter Lori Immke

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Morningstar United Methodist Church

Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:00am -3:00pm

Office Telephone: (309) 452-6255

Website: www.mymorningstar.org

Worship with us on Sundays at 10:15 am

Contact Information

Rev. Jay Regennitter, Pastor pastor@mymorningstar.org

Pastor Stephanie Soon, Deacon & Pianist music@mymorningstar.org

Andrew Stange, Administrative Assistant office@mymorningstar.org

Adam Drake & Megan Peterson, Nursery Ministry Staff nursery@mymorningstar.org