Ogallala, Nebraska 69153 www.methodistchurchogallala.com

FIRST UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH

Ministers

The Worshiping Congregation

Pastor

Chuck Rager

Christian Education Director

Renee Meyer

Administrative Secretary

LaVerne Schimpf

Custodian

Meridee Ewert

Newsletter Editor

Karen Nenstiel

District Superintendent

Cindy Karges

Bishop of Great Plains

Conference

Ruben Saenz, Jr.

First United Methodist Church

Pastor’s Page 2

Easter Lily Donations 3

Mark Your Calendar 3

United Methodist Women 4

Requested Recipe! 5

An Activity Page 6

Church Basement Quilters 7

Youth Group Pictures 8

Randy Davis Program 10

Stewards for January 11

IN THIS ISSUE

14th Annual SPRING FUN FEST

Sponsored by Ogallala First United Methodist Church

KEITH COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS 1100 West 3rd Street 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Saturday, April 27, 2019 Breakfast: Waffleman waffles, sausage, juice, coffee

All you can eat - Serving from 7:00-10:30 AM Adults $6.50 - Children (6-11) $4.00 - (5 and under) FREE

For Ticket info call: Jerry or Joan Speck 284-4119

Lunch: 12:30 PM (Extra Charge)

Other Activities Include:

ENORMOUS Garage Sale COUNTRY STORE

SILENT AUCTION

Plant Sale Bake Sale

All at the Fun Fest!

Dear Friends,

Vern Schimpf has decided she would like to retire as church secretary.

I cannot adequately express how much I appreciate all that she does for our

church. She will continue until we find a suitable person to fill this 20 hour per

week position. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in this part

time position, please visit with me.

In other news:

April 10—We have our Second Wednesday service. Supper is at 5:30

and service is at 6:15.

April 14--We will receive new members.

April 14--We have a wonderful special service planned for this night at

6:15 P.M. See page 10 in this newsletter about the chalk artist ministry of

Randy Davis. Invite some friends and attend this great service.

April 19—There will be a Good Friday service Friday night at 6:15 P.M.

April 21—This is Easter Sunday. We will have two services that morn-

ing; one at 7 A.M. and one at 9 A.M.

April 21—We have our next Sing a Long at Indian Hills and WelCov

this afternoon.

April 27—This is Fun Fest.

April 28--The Bishop will be at a town hall meeting in North Platte Sun-

day afternoon from 3P.M. TO 6 P.M. CENTRAL TIME at the United Methodist

Church in North Platte. You are invited to attend.

See me Sunday,

Pastor Chuck

Page 2 Apri l , 2019

“Calvary Cross” (Graded Cross)

This Latin cross with three steps

symbolizes both Jesus’ climb up

Calvary’s mountain and the three gifts of faith, hope and love.

Those gifts are intrinsically

connected to Jesus’ death and

resurrection and are ours by sheer grace.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the

greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians

13:13, NIV).

Christian

Symbols

Page 3 The Messenger

Board of Trustees on Wednes-day, April 3, 7:00 p.m.

Finance Committee on Thurs-day, April 4, 5:00 p.m.

Second Wednesday service on Wednesday, April 10, supper at 5:30, worship at 6:15 p.m.

Randy Davis presentation on Sunday, April 14, 6:15 p.m.

Administrative Council on Wednesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m.

Good Friday Service on April 19, 6:15 p.m.

Easter Sunday services on April 21, 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.

Spring Fun Fest on Saturday, April 27

Mark Your Calendar Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 7,

2019

Holy Week, April 14-21, 2019

Palm/Passion Sunday, April 14, 2019

Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019

Good Friday, April 19, 2019

Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019

Administrative Professionals Day, April 24, 2019

Special Dates

Tomb, thou shalt not hold him longer;

Death is strong, but life is stronger.

Stronger than the dark, the light;

Stronger than the

wrong, the right. Faith and hope

triumphant say Christ will rise on

Easter Day.

—Phillips Brooks

Please consider sharing an

Easter Lily to be placed on the

alter for Easter Sunday ser-

vices. You may leave your lily

at the Church Library during

office hours. Put your name

on it if you want to reclaim it

after Easter Sunday.

Thank you!

Confirmands Ryder Smith

and Ian Shaw will be taking

orders for homemade runzas

and burritos. They will deliver

them on April 14. All

proceeds will go towards their

Confirmation Class project.

If you would like to order,

please call (308)280-0456…

or ...they will be in Hess

Lounge on Sundays with

order forms.

1/2 dozen = $12

1 dozen = $20

Thank you for your support!

. . . to the following persons who worked and/or furnished food for the Lenten

Luncheon on March 20, 2019:

Marge Blaase Shirley Parks Teresa Davis Rose Holechek Bea Hatch Janice Cerny Bev Roberts Linda Sheldon Rhonda Duba Norma Schrack Judy Cross Mona Radcliffe Janet Curtis Barbara Nootz Judi Adkins Doris Keller Vern Schimpf Twila Haney Shirlee Knispel Bev Johnson Phyllis Reed Jo Teaford Collette VanBorkum Dorothy Glenn Laura Sexson Julie Neill Barbara Draucker Ramona Upright Bonnie Taylor Jonnie Peterson

Thank You . . . .

Page 4 Apri l , 2019

United Methodist

Women April

Meetings

UMW General

Thursday, April 11

12:00 noon

Fellowship Hall

Circle 1

Thursday, April 25

9:00 am

(Lawler)

Circle 3

Thursday, April 18

2:00 pm

Hess Lounge

Circle 5

Monday, April 15

6:00 pm

Hess Lounge

“Easter is more than a day, an event, a remembrance. It is a way of life.”

~~Michael Marsh

“April … hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”

~~William Shakespeare

“Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.”

~~Charles Dickens

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

~~Margaret Atwood

Our Christian love and sympathy to the families of:

~Irene Harmonson, who died on February 27, 2019.

~Adeline Ford, who died on March 7, 2019.

. . . to the following persons who worked and/or furnished food

for the Irene Harmonson funeral luncheon on March 7, 2019:

Judy Markussen Twila Haney Jen Blackman

Cena Graves Sharen Terry Susan Schimonitz Dorothy Glenn

Bertie Siders Doris Hickam Bev Armour Linda Sheldon

Diane England Sondra Sharkey Bea Hatch Charlotte Ruser

Penny Benda Roberta Rager Bonnie Taylor Marge Blaase

Linda Fuller Norma Schrack Darlene Peterson Mona Radcliffe

Ellen Ward Rose Holechek Karen Nelson Gwen Johnson

. . . to the following persons who worked and/or furnished food for the Velda Baack

funeral luncheon on March 15, 2019:

Ruth Hermance LaVerne Schimpf Barbara Nootz Chris Snyder

Mona Radcliffe Judi Davis Linda Sheldon Bea Hatch

The Messenger Page 5

This casserole was

served at the Lenten

Lunch on Wednesday,

March 20. It was such

a big hit that the recipe

is printed here by

special request. Enjoy!

“Spring is when you feel like

whistling, even with a shoe full of

slush.” ~~Doug Larson

“If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God do not nourish the breath of spiritual life, we risk suffocating in the midst of a thou-sand daily cares. Prayer is the breath of the soul and of life.”

~~Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

should encourage people who feel

far from God.

Defining friendship as candor

and consistency, Keller notes

that friends always let you in,

never let you down and always

have time for you. Jesus didn’t

let us down on Good Friday —

or on Easter. Al-though Jesus

“had all of hell coming down on

him,” Keller says, our Savior

proclaimed to his Father, “Not

my will but thine be done.”

While taking boxing lessons,

Timothy Keller was warned to never

put his hands at his side. That

position leaves one’s face and

torso exposed to the opponent.

In a video on ChurchLead-

ers.com, the pastor and author

notes that Jesus’ hands were-

n’t just out to the side on the

cross, they were nailed there.

“How much more vulnerable

could he be?” That vulnerabil-

ity, Keller says, makes Jesus’ death

the ultimate act of friendship, which

Vulnerable Yet Victorious

Page 6

Apri l , 2019

Answer: D (See John 12:1-3.)

A Bible Quiz

An Activity Page for Younger People

After Jesus raises Lazarus from death, what

does his family do to thank Jesus?

A. They host a dinner for him.

B. Martha serves the meal.

C. Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with an extravagant

amount of expensive perfume.

D. All of the above.

The Messenger Page 7

SonShine Singers

will sing in

church on

Sunday,

April 14.

Come for practice

at 8:20 a.m.

Recently a few of the "Church Basement Quilters" made 24 travel size

pillow cases for the "Kids World Village" in Florida.

The making of these pillowcases was part of a country-wide program called

the "One Million Pillowcase Challenge.” The Village/camp is held for 2 weeks

at a time and is available all year around. The camp is for kids and families

which include special needs, abused, foster care or homeless. Each child is

given a pillow case upon completion of the camp as a remembrance of their

time at the Village. These pillowcases were made using fabric from donations

to the Church Basement Quilters and some of the quilters’ own fabric.

Submissions for the May issue

of The Messenger need to be in the

editor’s hands no later than Friday,

April 19. Bring stories, pictures or

ideas to the Church Office or e-mail

them directly to the editor at:

ogallalaumcnews@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help!

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

We would like to thank the

members of our church family

for their prayers and many

expressions of love and support

at the time of our grandson

Jeremy’s death.

Our special thanks go to

Pastor Chuck for his support and

words of wisdom during our time

of shock and grief.

We thank God for our church

and its members who are a living

embodiment of Christ’s love.

Pete and Jonnie Peterson

Page 8

Apri l , 2019

Solid Rock Youth Group

The Messenger Page 9

Ski Trip ~~ March 1-3, 2019

Page 10 Apri l , 2019

No matter how hard the world

may seem, You still deserve

the sweetest dream!

As the day turns into night,

Keep your worries out of sight.

Apr. 7 Greeters Cliff & Shirlee Knispel, Jim & Dorothy Glenn Fellowship Rose & Ryan Holechek, Liz Meyer Acolytes John Van Borkum, Ethan Dickinson Children’s Moment Penny Benda Ushers Group 7: Jim & LeAnn Ayres, Allen & Janice Cerny, Herb & Karen Knudsen, Apr. 14 Greeters Lyle & Barbara Nootz , Barbara Draucker Fellowship Roger & Judi Adkins Acolytes Zaden Peterson, Sawyer Smith Children’s Moment Carmen Troxel Ushers Group 8:Lloyd Johnson, Pete Knudsen, Bud Haney, L.D. Walker, Ted Slagle, Jim Hixon Apr.. 21 Greeters Dennis & Teresa Davis, Roger & Judi Adkins Fellowship Acolytes Children’s Moment Bea Hatch, Karla Lawler Ushers Group 9:Buck Markussen, Eric Troxel, Parker Reil, Hunter Reil, Ryan Holechek, Gary Williams Apr. 28 Greeters Brian & Claudia Stevenson, Cena Graves Fellowship Acolytes Tylie Walker, Tai Le Children’s Moment Jonnie Peterson Ushers Group 10: Cena Graves, Dave Sheldon, Todd Neill, Dave Baltzell, Sharen Terry, Susan Schimonitz May 5 Greeters Judy Cross, Doug & Linda Fuller Fellowship Lyle & Barbara Nootz Acolytes Hayden Shaw, Hayden Erwin Children’s Moment Ginny Steinke Ushers Group 1: Jeff Peterson, Lonnie Peters, Craig Draucker, John Stulich, Jim Persinger May 12 Greeters Shirley Bassett, Jim & LeAnn Ayres Fellowship Acolytes Tayven Lumpkin, Amaris Cobaugh Children’s Moment Penny Benda Ushers Group 2: Steve Shull, Burrell Albee, Terry Johnson, Jerry Speck, Richard Johnson, Lou Hoak, Mike Henry

If you would like to have your name added to the rosters for any of the service opportunities listed above, please contact the church office.

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The Messenger Page 11 The Messenger Page 11

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Our Vision: “To be a dynamic church, sharing and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Our Mission: “To love God, love each other and extend that love beyond our church”

T h e M e s s e n g e r

F i r s t U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h

4 2 1 N o r t h S p r u c e P . O . B o x 9 1 6

O g a l l a l a , N e b r a s k a 6 9 1 5 3

R e t u r n S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d

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VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IS COMING!

MAY 28-31, 2019

GET READY TO SOAR!

Loading Flood Buckets to Go East

On Wednesday, March 20, members

of the Solid Rock Youth Group loaded

flood buckets into the Ogallala FUMC

disaster response trailer to be delivered

to areas of Eastern Nebraska that have

been affected by recent flooding.

On Friday, March 22, Disaster Re-

sponse Coordinator David Baltzell left

Ogallala to deliver the flood buckets to

several communities in Eastern Nebras-

ka. Dave delivered a total of 171 buck-

ets from our area churches — 140 of

them from our own supplies.

On Tuesday morning, March 26, a

group of volunteers gathered at the

church to begin filling more flood buck-

ets in anticipation of preparation for fur-

ther needs.