OGALLALA, NEBRASKA Permit No. 74 The Messenger · Acolytes Ella Dam, Jasmine Biel ... Acolytes...
Transcript of OGALLALA, NEBRASKA Permit No. 74 The Messenger · Acolytes Ella Dam, Jasmine Biel ... Acolytes...
FIR
ST
U
NIT
ED
M
ET
HO
DIS
T C
HU
RC
H
P.O
. B
ox
9
16
42
1 N
or
th
S
pr
uc
e S
tr
ee
t
Og
alla
la
, N
E 6
91
53
Ph
on
e:
(
30
8)
28
4-
84
55
o
r (
30
8)
28
4-
84
56
Pa
rs
on
ag
e:
(
30
8)
28
4-
01
37
E-
ma
il a
dd
re
ss
es
Ch
ur
ch
O
ff
ic
e:
o
ga
lla
la
um
c@
gm
ail.c
om
Re
ne
e:
o
ga
lla
la
um
ce
du
ca
tio
n@
gm
ail.c
om
Pa
st
or
C
hu
ck
: o
ga
lla
la
um
cp
as
to
r@
gm
ail.c
om
Ne
ws
le
tt
er
: o
ga
lla
la
um
cn
ew
s@
gm
ail.c
om
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
OGALLALA, NEBRASKA
Permit No. 74
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”
JU
ST
FO
R F
UN
!
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
FIRST UNITED FIRST UNITED
METHODIST CHURCHMETHODIST CHURCH
Ministry TeamMinistry TeamMinistry Team
Ministers
The Worshiping Congregation
Pastor
Chuck Rager
Christian Education Director
Renee Meyer
Administrative Secretary
LaVerne Schimpf
Custodian
Ginny Volberding
Newsletter Editor
Karen Nenstiel
District Superintendent
Cindy Karges
Bishop of Great Plains
Conference
Ruben Saenz, Jr.
Ogallala, Nebraska 69153 www.methodistchurchogallala.com
The MessengerThe Messenger
First United Methodist ChurchFirst United Methodist Church
Pastor’s Page 2
Did You Know….? 3
Meetings This Month 3
United Methodist Women 4
The Last Supper Pageant 5
An Activity Page 6
Young People’s Activities 7
Solid Rock Youth Group 8
Missions Outreach News 9
Spring FunFest Plans 10
Stewards for March 11
IN THIS ISSUE
Sunday,
February 11,
2018
photos by Jeff Peterson
Easter is coming! Easter is coming! Easter is a
BIG day for us who believe in Jesus and seek to follow Him. It is a day
where we most joyously celebrate His Resurrection from the dead and re-
member our own offer of new life once this mortal body dies.
Easter is one of the biggest days of our Christian faith and a day
where more people than normal attend church at the same time. My own
observation, and the observation of other pastors I visit with, is that attend-
ance at Easter is greater than a typical Sunday, but a clear and distant
second to attendance at Christmas Eve. I have some thoughts of my own
as to why that is, but I invite you to ponder it as well.
At the same time, I hope you and yours will be with us in worship on
Easter Sunday, April 1. We will have two services that day: an early ser-
vice at 7:00 A.M. and our regular service at 9:00 A.M. There is no 11:15
service that day.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Chuck
Page 2 March, 2018
“Torch”
The torch primarily
represents the Passion
of Christ, perhaps
because he was
arrested and tried
during the night, when
the Temple guard would
have used torches for
light. The torch also
can symbolize spiritual
enlightenment, or
martyrdom for the sake
of the gospel.
Christian
Symbols
Mar. 4 Greeters Herb & Karen Knudsen Fellowship Arlene & Kim Dahlgrin Acolytes Abigayle Bassett, Sawyer Smith Children’s Moment Jonnie Peterson Ushers Group 10: Cena Graves, Dave Sheldon, Todd Neill, Dave Baltzell, Ron & Sharen Terry Mar. 11 Greeters Ted & Jean Slagle, Ken & Edna Meyer Fellowship Roger & Shirley Rankin Acolytes Emma Spiehs, Tylie Walker Children’s Moment Ginny Steinke Ushers Group 1: Jeff Peterson, Lonnie Peters, Craig Draucker, John Stulich, Jim Persinger Mar. 18 Greeters Jim & Dorothy Glenn, Buck & Judy Markussen Fellowship Ginny & Rod Volberding Acolytes -Amaris Cobaugh, Jamie Biel Children’s Moment Penny Benda Ushers Group 2: Steve Shull, Burrell Albee, Terry Johnson, Jerry Speck, Richard Johnson, Lou Hoak Mar. 25 Greeters Roger & Judi Adkins, Barbara Draucker Fellowship Emma Dickinson (Potato Bar — see page 7) Acolytes Ella Dam, Jasmine Biel Children’s Moment Carmen Troxel Ushers Group 3: Dennis & Teresa Davis, John & Sharon York, Todd & Kim Peterson, Wendell & Ramona Upright Apr. 1 Greeters Dennis & Teresa Davis, Lyle & Barbara Nootz Fellowship Happy Easter Acolytes Ethan Dickinson, Jarrett Bassett Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 4: Roger Rankin, Pete Peterson, Phil Armstrong, Ken Meyer Apr. 8 Greeters Brian & Claudia Stevenson, Cena Graves Fellowship Ted & Jean Slagle Acolytes Andrea Bassett, Abigayle Bassett Children’s Moment Bea Hatch Ushers Group 15: Jim Glenn, Mike Samuelson, Gerold Radcliffe, Todd Benda, Shawn Haney
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.
Pa
lm S
un
da
y
Ea
ste
r S
un
da
y
Fo
urt
h S
un
day
in L
en
t
Th
ird
Su
nd
ay
in
Le
nt
The Messenger Page 11 The Messenger Page 11
Fif
th S
un
da
y in
Le
nt
STEWARDS FOR MARCH, 2018
Page 10 March, 2018
Fun Fest will be here before you
know it! Saturday, April 28, the First
United Methodist Church will be
holding a huge Garage Sale, an
amazing Bake Sale, a thriving Plant
Sale, a Country Store filled with
homemade candy, jelly, honey and
lots of other goodies as well as a
Silent Auction.
We will start the morning with an
“all you can eat” Waffleman Break-
fast of waffles served with butter,
fresh whipped cream, and six syr-
ups plus pork sausage links as well
as coffee and juice. The Event will
be held at the Keith County Fair-
grounds.
And we need your help…….
We have reserved the building
at the Keith County Fairgrounds for
April 26 and 27 for the purpose of
accepting donations for the Garage
Sale. As we do not have storage
space, donations may be dropped
off at the Fairgrounds from 8:00 am
to 4:00 pm either of those two days.
Please keep in mind that we cannot
accept old television sets, old com-
puters, any old electronic equip-
ment, or any old mattresses. All
donations must be in clean, usable
condition.
There will be sign-up sheets in
Hess Lounge if you are interested in
helping with breakfast, the garage
sale, the bake sale, or the country
store.
You may contact Dennis or
Teresa Davis — they will be coordi-
nating the Breakfast Volunteers, Jo
Teaford, Shirlee Knispel, Dorothy
Glenn, Judy Cross, or Judi Adkins
would be the contacts for the Silent
Auction, Barb and Lyle Nootz or
Shirley and Roger Rankin for the
Bake Sale, Jean Slagle or Bonnie
Taylor for the County Store, Mona
Radcliffe or Ramona Upright for the
Plant Sale, and Nancy Drake for the
Garage Sale.
Last year Fun Fest used the
profits to tithe to the general Church
fund, provide additional support to
Christian Education, add money to
the Boiler Fund, purchase a new
roof for the Parsonage and Garage,
and buy new Church entrance doors
and a new door to the bell choir
room with crash bars and add a
crash bar to the door across from
the bell choir room.
Let’s Get Ready for Spring FunFest Again!
Many people look forward to
the Fun Fest plant sale, donated
houseplants, garden art, flower
pots, perennials, bulbs, garden
tools, etc. make this a successful
sale. Each donated item is so ap-
preciated! If you have questions
or have house plants that need
some tender loving care now call
Mona Radcliffe at 284-4555 or
Ramona Upright at 284-4715.
Hope to hear from you!
FunFest Plant Sale
Special Days This Month
About nine years ago Ogallala
U.M.C. installed the elevator. It is a
tremendous asset for us to have. It
certainly puts in motion (pun intend-
ed) our church Mission Statement:
“To love God, love each other and
extend that love beyond our
church.” It is a gesture of care and
love embraced by every person that
uses the elevator. However, the cost
of owning The elevator did not stop
with the installation expenses. There
are repairs, maintenance, licenses
and inspections that cost money.
Did you know?
In 2017:
We had a repair bill from
O’Keefe elevator in January of
Page 3 The Messenger
Finance Committee on Thursday, March 1, 5:00 p.m.
Board of Trustees on Wednesday, March 7, 7:00 p.m.
FunFest Committee on Monday, March 12, 6:00 p.m.
Administrative Council on Wednesday, March 21, 7:00 p.m.
Meetings This Month
2:00 A.M.
Sunday, March 11,
2018
Set your clocks
ahead one hour
$2136.92 to fix a damaged sensor —
not covered by maintenance agree-
ment.
We had an Elevator Mainte-
nance Agreement fee in February
from O’Keefe for $250.00
We had the Annual State In-
spection fee of $769.50 in March.
We had the second installment
of the maintenance agreement in
August for $250.00.
That is a total for 2017 of
$3,406.42.
I might add that there is also a
Five Year Inspection in addition to
the Annual Inspection. We had the
Five Year Inspection done in Janu-
ary 2016, and the cost of that was
$1,890.00. This is State mandated
and does not replace the annual in-
spections.
We must have the inspections
done to keep the elevator properly
licensed by the State. We need to
have the license current for our in-
surance to cover the elevator.
It is good that we have the eleva-
tor. It truly helps us fulfill our Mission
Statement. It also costs money to
keep it operational.
Rev. Chuck Rager
• World Day of Prayer, March 2, 2018
• Third Sunday in Lent, March 4, 2018
• Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 11,
2018
• Daylight-Saving Time begins, March
11, 2018
• Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 18, 2018
• First day of spring, March 20, 2018
• Palm/Passion Sunday, March 25,
2018
• Holy Week, March 25-31, 2018
• Maundy Thursday, March 29, 2018
• Good Friday, March 30, 2018
services have been added.
Next General meeting will be
March 8 in Fellowship Hall at
noon. Circle 3 will serve lunch,
Janice Cerny will give devotions and
Bonnie Taylor will give the pro-
gram. All women are welcome to
attend.
Mona Radcliffe
UMW President
. . . to the following persons who worked and/or
furnished food for the Doug Parks funeral luncheon on
January 30, 2018:
Linda Sheldon Vern Schimpf Pam Abbott
Mona Radcliffe Vicki Snogren Roberta Rager Marge Blaase
Donna Messersmith Beverly Schroder Ginny Steinke Barbara Nootz
Jean Slagle Chris Snyder Judi Davis Ruth Hermance
Bea Hatch Bev Johnson Barb Jeffres Connie Heinis
Christine McKnight Shari Schlichtemeier
Thank You . . . .
Page 4 March, 2018
United Methodist
Women March
meetings
UMW General
Thursday, March 8
12:00 noon
Fellowship Hall
Circle 1
Thursday, March 22
9:00 a.m.
(Lawler)
Circle 3
Thursday, March 15
2:00 pm
Hess Lounge
Circle 5
Monday, March 19
6:00 pm
Hess Lounge
The Ogallala United Method-
ist Women give a monetary dona-
tion to Epworth Village at York, Ne-
braska, every year in December to
help with their many services. The
name has been changed to Little
Jewels Child Care and Enrichment
Center. Funds are still needed to
carry out their mission, and we will
continue to support them. In addi-
tion to the name change some new
Our Christian love and sympathy to the family of:
Dorothy Sexson, who died on February 25, 2018.
Condolences also to:
Bonnie Johnson and family at the death of her father.
Dorothy Glenn and family at the death of her father.
The March wind roars like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver as he passes by.
When winds are soft, and the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb, then spring is here.
~~Author unknown
The Messenger Page 9
Mi s s i o n s O u t r e a c h
The Missions Outreach Committee
is proud to continue facilitating the
Bless the Badge campaign. This mis-
sion has been so well supported and so
much appreciated by the recipients, that
continuing on the mission is an obvious
choice. Thank you to everyone who has
shown their support of our emergency
personnel. Keep them in your prayers
as they protect us each and every day.
What fun at the Family Fun Night.
We hope everyone enjoyed the sweet
treats our committee served. Special
thanks to the Ragers for sponsoring the
goodies for this event. Left over treats
were shared with our Youth Group and
the Bless the Badge campaign.
Sincere appreciation for everyone
who supports the efforts of our Missions
committee. Without your continued
prayer and support, we could not reach
out to others.
In Christ’s name,
Gigi Berol
MOC chairperson
TUESDAY,
MARCH 20
Since your newsletter editor is no longer in the church office every day, it has become more difficult for her to be aware of all the hustle and bustle happening in the church family. Sooooo… we need your help in shar-ing and spreading the latest news.
If you have ideas, pictures or arti-cles to submit for the April, 2018, issue of The Messenger, please have them turned in no later than Tuesday, March 20. Please respect this deadline so that the newsletter can be prepared and distributed in a timely manner.
Submissions may be made to the
Church Office, or you may e-mail them directly to the newsletter editor at:
Thanks so much for your help!
C h u r c h C a m p N e w s
Ogallala First UMC has funds which
are designated to help children and
youth share the life-shaping experience
of Church Camp. Scholarships are
available for young people who wish to
attend one of Nebraska’s United Meth-
odist Camps this summer. The camps
are: Camp Norwesca near Chadron;
Camp Fontanelle near Fontanelle; and
Camp Comeca near Cozad.
A Camping Scholarship application
is included in this newsletter. If you
need more applications, they are availa-
ble in Hess Lounge or the Church Of-
fice.
Please note that the deadline to
submit the completed applications is
May 4, 2018.
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” ~~St. Catherine of Siena
* * * “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
~~C.S. Lewis
* * * “We live and die; Christ died and lived!”
~~John Stott
Page 8 March, 2018
SOLID ROCK
YOUTH GROUP
PIZZA MAKING
FUND RAISER
Special thanks to those who
helped on pizza-making day:
the parents, Roger Rankin, Gail
Hayford, and Terry Johnson.
Thanks to everyone who bought
pizzas to help support the
activities of the Solid Rock Youth
Group this year!
photos by Renee Meyer
The Messenger Page 5
The First United Methodist Church of Ogallala will present the Last Supper Easter
Pageant in Ogallala on March 29 and 30. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the
United Methodist Church. located at 5th
and North Spruce St. This is the reenactment
of the Di Vinci’s Last Supper portraying Jesus and his twelve disciples. Each disciple
challenges his own soul for the answer to the statement, “One of you here, betrayed
me.”
First United Methodist
Church, Ogallala
Last Supper Easter
Pageant
March 29 and 30, 2018
7:00 pm MDT
What a great way to share the Easter season with the people of Ogallala. Each of
you can be a part of this pageant. We need volunteers for ushers, meals, baby sitting,
publicity and prayer partners. If you would like to help, please contact Judi and Roger
Adkins (284-2326) or call Vern at the Church Office (284-8455).
Please consider sharing
an Easter Lily to be placed
on the alter on Easter
Sunday. Bring it to the
Church Office before
Easter Sunday and pick it
up after church if you
want to take it
home. Thank you.
The Last Supper Pageant
An interesting legend is associated
with the painting “The Last Supper.”
Some say Leonardo da Vinci used a
rival’s face for Judas. Then when the
painter tried to create Jesus’ face, all he
could see was that of his enemy. Sup-
posedly, da Vinci was able to complete
Jesus’ face — and the entire master-
piece — only after making peace with
his enemy and repainting Judas.
This tale shows the necessity of
forgiving other people so we can accept
Jesus’ forgiveness for ourselves. As
Jesus says in Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV),
“For if you forgive other people when
they sin against you, your heavenly Fa-
ther will also forgive you. But if you do
not forgive others their sins, your Father
will not forgive your sins.”
~~adapted from Hot Illustrations for
Youth Talks by Wayne Rice
The “Art of Forgiveness
Page 6
March, 2018
Answer: D (Matthew 27:51)
A Bible Quiz
A. Mary’s headdress — she tore it as a traditional Jewish sign of grief
B. A Roman guard’s sash — Peter grabbed and ripped it in anger
C. Jesus’ robe — the soldiers divided it among themselves
D. The temple curtain — torn in two from top to bottom
According to Matthew’s account, what was torn when Jesus died?
An Activity Page for Younger People
It’s time for the high school seniors,
and those already in college, to begin
thinking about scholarship applications.
Ogallala First United Methodist Church
offers three scholarships, due to the
generosity of several former and current
members:
1.) The Dowling Family Scholar-
ship is given in loving memory by the
Phil and Betty Dowling family. Mr. and
Mrs. Dowling were long-time Ogallala
residents and faithful members of the
Ogallala UMC who believed in support-
ing area youth and their community.
2.) The Draucker Family Scholar-
ship Fund was established by the
Draucker family of Ogallala. The pur-
pose of the Fund is to provide financial
assistance for members of the Ogallala
UMC who wish to further their educa-
tion following graduation from high
school.
3.) The Haggard-Samp Scholar-
ship was started and dedicated to the
memory of Marge Haggard from the
Haggard family, and in honor and
memory of Rod Samp, by Rod’s family
in 2003. Combining the assets provid-
The Messenger
ed a scholarship to be offered each
year to an Ogallala UMC student high
school graduate.
To receive these scholarships, the
applicant must be a member of the
Ogallala UMC. The recipient may be a
graduating high school senior or a stu-
dent already attending a post-
secondary school or any adult (of any
age) who is enrolled, or planning to en-
roll, as a student during the ensuing
school year. Students who receive a
scholarship in one year are eligible to
apply in future years. Any student may
apply for all these scholarships by filling
out just one form, but he/she must apply
to be considered.
Scholarship application forms are
included in this newsletter and will also
be available in the Church Office. Com-
pleted applications should be returned
to the Church Office no later than Fri-
day, March 30, 2018.
If you have questions about the
scholarships, please see Pastor Chuck
or one of the committee members
Becky Plate
Scholarship Committee Chair
Page 7
SONSHINE SINGERS
will rehearse on Friday,
March 9, 4:00-4:30 p.m.,
and Sunday, March 11
at 8:30 a.m.,
and sing
in the 9:00 a.m. service
Scholarship Applications Are Now Available
Emma Dickinson will be
holding a baked potato bar on
March 25th as part of her
confirmation project.
Chili, pulled pork, and all the
fixin’s will be served along
with salad and a dessert. It
will be $6 per plate or free will
donation. It will take place
downstairs immediately
following the 9:00 a.m.
service.