May Memorial Messenger September 6, 2016

Our children have returned to school!

We have... planned, shopped, packed,

prepared, worried, encouraged...

But...have you prayed for your children?

This Sunday during worship the congregation of May Memorial Church will pray for our stu-

dents, teachers, bus drivers, support staff, and administrators.

You are invited, and your student is invited to bring his or her backpack for our blessing of

the backpacks. Worship with Blessing of the

Backpacks at 11:00

We welcome

Anne Willis who joined

May

Memorial on 8/28.

May Memorial Weekly schedule for the Fall: Sunday: 9:45 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Evening Youth Soul Food

Wednesday: 10:30 am Adult Bible Study Group 6:00 pm Church Wide Meal 6:30 pm Adult Bible Study Group Children’s Discipleship RA’s

Thursday: 4:00 pm Children’s Choir** 4:45 pm GA’s 1st & 3rd Thursdays 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study Group 6:30 pm Handbell Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal

** children who are registered for Children’s choir can ride bus from Powhatan elementary, and a driver will bring children from

the other 2 elementary schools.

Promotion Sunday is next Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

Everyone is invited to breakfast and a time of fellowship, adults as

well as children.

After Five Years…What I Want to Say This morning when I came into the pastor’s study at May Memorial I was cogni-zant of the fact that today marks five years for me as the pastor at May Memorial. La-bor Day 2011 was our first day spent in Powhatan, and then my work as pastor began on the next day. As I mark this time, there are several things, probably seven to be exact, that I want to say to the church family. These statements will be my next seven newsletter articles, beginning this week. When I was in seminary I envisioned my dream church. In my mind’s eye I could see what the church looked like. I could see the people. I could imagine what worship was like, and I envisioned a traditional sanctuary. At that time, it seemed that I was a lifetime away from being the pastor of such a “dream church,” but I knew what kind of church I wanted to serve as pastor. I also believed then as I believe now that this “dream church” was the type of church God had (and has) called me to pastor. May Memorial is my dream church. May Memorial is like every other church in the world in that it is imperfect, but for me, it was and continues to be an answer to prayer. I love May Memorial Church, and I love those who worship, work, learn, and participate in any way in our life together. I love the church as a whole, and I love the individuals who make up our church. I love the sense of welcome and community that is felt at our church. I love our traditional worship. I love the devotion of Sunday School teachers and the quality of lessons that are delivered each Sunday. I love our teenagers. I love our children. I love hearing babies cry and coo during worship on Sunday mornings. I love our Sr. Adults and the goodness they bring to May Memorial, and I love our Sr. Adult lunch-eons. I love how missions is so important to our church family. I love the quality of music that is a part of May Memorial’s long history. I love our deacons and their vi-sion of themselves as a ministry-oriented body. I love how our building is well cared for and maintained, that it is an orderly and welcoming place for us to gather. I love our choir and their musicianship and devotion. I love that May Memorial still uses an organ in worship. I love the people who have skills that I do not have, and that they are willing to use those for the good of the church. I love our current staff, and the staff that have given of themselves in the past. I love the people who are here every Sunday, and I love those who are here at Christmas and Easter. I love those who are on committees, and I love those who quietly come to worship without doing much else. When things are going well it is easy to love a church and its people, but I also love you and May Memorial when I struggle. I love people who speak the truth in love, who disagree and are strong enough to put a voice to it, and I love people who are willing to admit and discuss their struggle. May Memorial Church is not perfect, none of the members are perfect, and neither is its pastor. But on our best days and on our worst days, I love this church, and I love the people that are a part of our church family. May Memorial is a gift of God to our community, it is a gift of God to my family and me, and I have great love for you and for our church.

Reception for Chris Wondree

____________________________Join us following the service next

Sunday September 11 to thank

Chris for all he has done for our

church!

PRAYER REQUESTS 9/6/2016

FAMILY AND FRIENDS*: Wilson Denoon, son of Snead Denoon Dr. Bill Torres-son-in-law of Jackie & Paul Lindsey Stanley Pearce, Debbie Mottley's father Sarah Packer, niece of Irma Alvis Gene Hatcher Bobby Wells, sister of Gladys Rabon Peggy Harrell, sister of Gladys Rabon Nita Ketron - Bill's sister-in-law

Jane Clements Ellis Lloyd, friend of Bob Wood Kaithlyn Breeden, granddaughter of Martha Oberg Parker Moody, relative of Sandy Shelton Pat Reed, friend of Christina Wheeler Randolph Martin, brother of Esther Fitch Trevor Ellington Kenneth Hagen, Gerald’s brother Lillian Wallo, Christina Fredette’s grandmother MILITARY: Danny Myers, Brent Templeton, Jay Walls, Ben Scudder, Quint Sutton, Lewis Newman, David Brizendine *Please contact the church office if you would like your prayer request to remain longer than 2 weeks.

Edith Branum Tom Buckner Fred Butler Lucy Ann Cella Bob Cox Vivian Cox Josh Deal Debbie Elam Nick Elam Don Fitch Donnie Hatcher

Stuart Howard Bill Painter Nita Porterfield Joy Sanudo James Simpson Anna Turley Nancy Wilkinson Family of Sam Jordan

HOMEBOUND: Frances Tilman 3904 Old Buckingham Road Anna Turley 1520 Mill Quarter Road

Nita Porterfield-Morningside of Bellgrade 2800 Polo Park-way, Midlothian, VA 23113 Vivian Cox-Morningside of Bellgrade 2800 Polo Parkway, Midlothian, VA 23113

This Week & Next Week at May Memorial Thursday, September 8 6:30 p.m. Handbell Choir 6:45 p.m. Beaumont Ministry 7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Sunday, September 11 9:00 a.m. Promotion Sunday Breakfast 9:45 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Worship Blessing of the Backpacks 12:00 p.m. Reception for Chris Wondree Monday, September 12 7:30 p.m. AA Meeting, Gathering Room Tuesday, September 13 11:30 a.m. Anna Circle Meeting, Esther room 7:30 p.m. Backpacks of Love-Aerations Plus Wednesday, September 14 Church-Wide meals, Bible Study Groups and Children’s Discipleship begins

Attention all singers!!! Adult Choir will begin regular rehearsals this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. This is a great time to join the choir. We will soon begin rehearsing music for Advent and Christmas as well as our usual weekly anthems. Additional ringers are needed for the Handbell Choir. Regular rehearsals resume on Thursday, Sept. 8 at

7:30 p.m. If you have basic music reading skills and can make a commitment to weekly rehearsals you are invited to join. Please contact Beverley Edwards at 598-3098 for more information.

Children will meet at the church immediately after school. The Children’s Choir is open to quiet, loud, wiggly, fun-loving, shy, experienced, or inexperienced singers!! There is movement, learning of anthems, playing instruments, learning to use hym-nals, and children learn how to lead in worship. Regular rehearsals begin on Sept. 22. Children must be registered if they want to ride the bus to the church. You may go to our website at maymemorialchurch.org to register. Please contact Beverley Edwards (music.edwards@gmail.com) or 598-3098 for more information.

Thank you to the church family for all the cards and phone calls. They certainly lifted my spir-its. I hope to see you all very soon. With love to all, Fred Butler

Financial Information September 4, 2016

Attendance 119

Weekly Amount Needed: $6,983.73

General Fund

$7,012.35

A Time to Build

$20.00

Total

$7,032.35

Children’s Chatter (from Mrs. Crump)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful first day of school! This is such an exciting time as we meet new teachers, make new friends and settle into new routines. I hope that part of that routine includes the activities and events we have planned for your family here at May Memorial. Much time, thought and prayer has gone into building a program that will provide opportunities for your children and your family to grow as disci-ples in Christ while also nurturing relationships and sharing God’s love with others. We need your help to make these programs successful. Join us on Sunday for break-fast at 9:00 and then stay for a brief TEAM Meeting to see how you can be a part of the good things that are happening in our children’s program here at May Memorial. TEAM – Together Everyone Accomplishes More! Looking Ahead . . . 9/11 Promotion Sunday – Breakfast (9:00 am) & Team Meeting Blessing of the Backpacks (during worship) 9/25 Service Sunday (after worship) – Lunch provided! 10/9 Sunday School & Sacraments (4th & 5th Graders during Sunday School) 10/16 Sunday School & Sacraments (1st – 3rd Graders during Sunday School) 10/23 Fall Festival (5:00 pm) 11/9 Packing Party for Operation Christmas Child (after dinner) As a reminder, each Sunday morning all youth and children gather in the Sanctuary to prepare our hearts for worship at 9:45 before heading to Sunday School. During the Worship Hour, there is both Extended Ses-sion (3 years – Kindergarten) and Children’s Church (1st – 5th grade). During these times, children have a structured (but fun!) time of learning and applying Christian principles to their lives. In Isaiah 11:6 we read, “…and a little child will lead them.” This Sunday the children in Extended Session and Children’s Church will begin a new unit of study to discover how God has equipped them to be leaders. It is the perfect study for a new school year! Wednesday evening programs for children will begin on September 14th. Thursday afternoon programs will begin on Septem-

ber 22nd. It is going to be a fantabulous year at May Memorial! Come and join us!

WMU-Rachel Circle Rachel Circle will have our first meeting of the year on the 6th of September at 6pm at the home of Nancy Wood (3770 Donavon Mill Circle) . We will do appetiz-ers and finger foods at 6 and start the meeting around 7pm..

We love guests so if you are interested in joining us this is the perfect meeting to attend..

Nancy Wood

WMU-Anna Circle The Anna Circle will have our first meeting on September 13. We will meet in the Esther Classroom at 11:30 a.m.

We look forward to seeing all our faithful members return as well as welcoming some new faces! We are involved in many minis-tries of the church including missions, children's, Girls in Action, youth, homebound, veterans and the Food Pantry. We have also helped out by baking cookies for different events.

If you have any question please feel free to contact Gladys Rabon at 598-1683.

May Memorial

T-shirts and

Mugs

with church

logo

On sale at the church office.

T-shirts $7.00

Mugs $5.00

We also have a selec-

tion of other t-shirts for

$2.00 each.

Senior Adult

Luncheons

The first luncheon is

Thursday, September 15

at 11:30 a.m. This is a

wonderful time dining,

enjoying a program and

fellowshipping with

friends. Billy Boelt will

be our speaker with a

look at Old Homes of

Powhatan. A fried chick-

en meal is included. Cost

is $9.50/person. contact the church secretary at 598-3098

or maymem@verizon.net to sign up.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Non-Profit Organization

US Postage Paid

Powhatan, VA 23139

Permit 10

Visit our website at maymemorialchurch.org May Memorial Baptist Church 3922 Old Buckingham Rd. PO Box 56 Powhatan, VA 23139, Office (804) 598-3098

ay

emorial

essenger

Carla Crump, Minister of Children 804-598-3098 childrensministry@maymemorialchurch.org Beverley Edwards, Minister of Music 804-922-1117 (cell) music.edwards@gmail.com Michael K. Edwards, Pastor 804-922-0101 (cell) pastor@maymemorialchurch.org Chris Wondree, Minister of Youth 540-847-4674 (cell) youthministry@maymemorialchurch.org Linda Pulliam, Financial Secretary 804-598-3098 (office) finance@maymemorialchurch.org Diana Schmitz, Church Secretary 804-598-3098 (office) maymem@verizon.net Gerald Hagen, Deacon Chairperson 804-356-1319 (cell) deaconchair@maymemorialchurch.org

Visit our website at maymemorialchurch.org

AA Meetings

Each Monday, 7:30pm in the Gathering Room The Alcohol Anonymous Meeting that is to be held at May Memorial, the Change May Come group, will meet weekly on Mondays.

Join the…Ruby Leonard Food Pantry Ministry

For the month of September we

will work Saturday, September 3

and Saturday, September 17.

If you are interested in serving with us email Michael.

Join the Prison Ministry Team Each month on the second Thursday May Memorial sends a team of adults to host a game night for a small group of residents at Beaumont JCC. Game night is a very laid back, pressure-free evening. We simply play card and board games, and have refreshments. It is a night in which the residents are able to experi-ence a "normal" evening that is different from the feel of prison. Our next night at Beaumont is Thursday, September 8. If you would like to go with us to Beaumont email Michael.

Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center Ministry Lonesome Dove Veterans' Ride dates for Sep-

tember are: 6, 14, and 20. Volunteers are en-

couraged to come to "Rides", even though May

Memorial may not be providing the meal that

day. Please advise Michael or Juli Garrett (517-

6810) so we can have lunch for all.

BACKPACKS OF LOVE

Packing at Aerations Plus on

September 13 At 7:00 p.m.

Contact the church to join the team

1-B.J. Smith 1-Colette Saxton 2-Parker Mead 3-Michelle Strathy 3-Lindley Waters 5-Courtney Chambers 5-Carolyn Hash 6-Howard Sheppard 6- Kay Stokes 6-Ethan Niles 6-Jerri Allen

8-Diana Smith 8-Marjorie Cave 8-Zachary Bilthuis 9-Cassidy O'Neil 10-Kayla Tibbs 10-Ben Cunningham 10-Enola Jewell 12-Lucy Ann Cella 13-Ewell Flippo 16-Kerri Bilthuis 17-Betty Bodsford

20-Randolph Phillips 20-Gabe Satterwhite 23-David Deal 25-Georgia Hening 25-Gloria Jamerson 25-Dee Carter 26-Zach Wilson 27-Christina Lindsey 27-Fran O’Donnell 28-Joann Cole

Needed for September: ketchup, mayo, mustard. Sugar, cooking oil, canned

black-eye peas and butter beans, Tuna Helper, beef Stew, bathroom tissue.