Hope · The decision to resume in person “Freedoms” today. We are all for freedom. Period. But...

Staff

Pastor Russ Jacobsen - Email: [email protected] 507-600-9155

Administrative Assistant Sandy Kitts - cell 507-525-0414...E-mail: [email protected]

Visitation Pastor Jan Redman - E-mail: [email protected], Cell 507-430-1448

Office: 507.526.2144

Office hours at Hope UMC are 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Tuesday & Thursday

Bulletin items are due 12:00 PM on Wednesday. Newsletter items are due the 17th of the month.

Please send announcements for the bulletin and the newsletter to the above email address or call the church office.

Please notify the church office of any changes in names, addresses, incorrect birthdays or anniversaries, or if you’d like

to receive this newsletter via email.

Sunday Services: 9 AM Worship 10 AM Fellowship Time

Sunday 9 AM Service is broadcast on KBEW 1560 AM Wednesday Services: 6:30 PM Worship

Visit behopeumc.com to stay updated with current events, bulletins & newsletters.

Non Profit Organization

US Postage

Blue Earth, MN

Permit No. 50

Hope United Methodist Church

12080 380th Ave.

PO Box 125

Blue Earth, MN 56013

Address Service Requested

Hope UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

May 2020

Dear Friends,

The reason that this newsletter is late is because I’ve been waiting for directions from our Bishop. My thinking is that before we

send out a newsletter, we should actually have some news. So here is the news . . . which might change by this afternoon’s press

conference from the Governor:

Bishop Ough has requested that all Minnesota United Methodist Congregations refrain from in-person activities through May

30. AT THIS TIME, that opens the door for POSSIBLY resuming public services on May 31. BUT . . . and this is a very im-

portant “BUT” . . . even IF we get permission to resume public services, EVERY CONGREGATION WILL BE EXPECTED TO

DEVELOP A MITIGATION PLAN THAT IS IN KEEPING WITH “BEST PRACTICES”.

Guidelines for such plans are being developed by a variety of sources. These guidelines will include: Varying restrictions on the

number of gathered participants, Cleaning procedures, Curtailing serving food and beverages, Maintaining 6-foot distancing,

Curtailing things like V.B.S. and Mission Trips, Discouraging vulnerable members from participating in-person. And the lists

go on and on. These guidelines will be in place at varying levels depending on various thresh-holds. For instance, at first it may

be OK to have a gathering of 10 people, then 25, then 50.

In other words, our gathered life as a congregation will not be going back to what it was like in February. At least not for quite a

while. We are going to have to adapt.

So, here is what I do know . . .

Hope UMC will NOT be holding in-person gatherings through May 30, 2020.

Hope UMC WILL abide by the directions of our Bishop, the Governor and the Center for Disease Control.

Hope UMC’s Administrative Council is scheduled to meet on Monday, May 17, 7 pm via a conference phone call. The pri-

mary agenda item will be to discuss our general guidelines for re-opening and specifically to decide what to do for the

weeks of May 31 – June 21. As always, meetings are open to everyone who wants to attend. Council members will re-

ceive an e-mail with suggested guidelines for re-opening and the phone number / access code. If you are not on the

Council and want to attend the meeting, contact me directly to get the phone number / access code.

Through Memorial Day Weekend, we will continue to offer our three weekly worship options:

Sundays, 9 am – KBEW AM 1560 (can be live streamed from KBEW’s website).

Sundays, 11 am – Zoom Family Service for Kids

Wednesdays, 7 pm – Contemporary Service.

Confirmation Sunday will not be held in May and will hopefully be rescheduled for the Fall. We are currently in the process

of setting up Confirmation interviews, so I do not have the names of students who will be confirmed and / or becoming

members. Please look for those names in next month’s newsletter. Confirmation classes have been continuing online.

We will NOT be together on Memorial Day weekend. We DO want to deeply express our appreciation and heartfelt respect

for all the veterans in our congregation. Thank you!!!

High School Graduation Sunday will not be held in May and will hopefully be rescheduled for the Fall. The Seniors of 2020

have certainly had their plans disrupted and our hearts go out to them. Here is the list of our Seniors: Cooper Amund-

son, Gavin Bruellman, Jonathan Hill, Keagan Ihle, Zachary Murphy. Please let me know if I have missed any of our

Hope Seniors. Congratulations to these Seniors. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We look forward to hearing

of your accomplishments in the future. I’ve heard the plans of several of these students, and they are inspiring. Best

wishes to you all!

Back to “When to Re-open” church issue . . . My friends, as Americans, we love freedom. The decision to resume in person

gatherings will eventually be ours to make as individual congregations. I hear a lot of folks talking about “Freedoms” today. We

are all for freedom. Period. But in my understanding of life is that freedom always is accompanied by RESPONSIBILITY. We

might have the freedom to re-open by a certain date. But that doesn’t mean re-opening is the responsible thing to do. There

are going to be tough decisions to be made in the near future. We will NOT always agree on those decisions. That is to be ex-

pected. The key is HOW we make these decisions. In the UMC tradition, that includes listening to our Bishop and working

through our normal processes. And after decisions are made, the next key is HOW we treat one another as we move forward.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support during this time. We also are deeply grateful for those who continue to sup-

port the church financially. Checks can be mailed to PO 125 or you can give online via our website. And remember, if you are

in a financial need, please let me know and we will see what we can do to help.

God bless you,

Pastor Russ

V o l u m e 1 2 ; I s s u e 5

Hope United Methodist News Page 2

May Missions

Our March Mission focus was the Food Shelf. Pastor Russ took 2 big boxes plus a check for $300. Plus through our Assistance Fund and/or running essential er-rands, we helped five community households. Thank you to everyone who chipped in with our Mission Project! Your generous gifts to the Food Shelf are much ap-preciated. If you want to continue making donations to the Food Shelf, there is a box in the Ag Center for food, and monetary gifts are always welcome directly to the Food Shelf or through the church.

Thanks to any who have been making PPP masks for essential workers. Hopefully everyone is wearing a mask and being safe when they go of their home!

The Mission committee hasn’t chosen the next hands-on mission since they don't know when we'll be back together at the church building. The Mission Committee reminds everyone that for a personal mission, please continue connecting with our church family via phone, internet, and mailed cards since we can't be together in person. Let’s continue to be a blessing to others.

UMW

Since Hope UMC is not holding in-person gatherings through May 30, 2020, UMW will not be meeting.

Sign

As of the printing of this newsletter, I am having trouble with the sign again.

I’ll get some technical support, but meanwhile, thanks for your patience.

Sandy’s Scoop!

I am not here much these days. I miss you all, and I

hope everyone is staying safe and happy!

Hang in there, and remember, we are always together .

Page 7

We had a short newsletter last month, and didn’t include the birthdays and anniversaries.

I am including the birthdays and anniversaries for April and May this time!

April Birthdays 2- Laura Becker 8- Jane Brooks 17- Tyrone Johnson 24- Amanda Steele April Anniversaries

Newton Toland Kimberly Fenske 18- LaDonna Johnson Jean Millmann 2- Timothy & Jodie Murray

3- Timothy Nesheim Kinsley Steele Alicia Murphy Marilyn Schaefer 3- Howard & Mollie Paschke

Bob Berndt 9- Scott Peterson Jaxton Dusing Leon Hixon 5- Craig & Lora Johnston

4- Berkley Wielenga Jeff Schaefer 19- Bonnie Ankeny 25- Rachel Wilson 9- Dan & Shellie Poetter

Mary Toland Gavin Millmann Darrel Hacklander 26- Mara Olson Brandon & Melanie Farnham

Gavin Storbeck 10- Courtney Dutton 20- Nolan Millmann Sandra Geist 15- Kent & Sara Roper

Ryon Steele Pat Richards 21- Jeff Campbell Abigail Uecker 16- Bucky & Melissa King

5- Florin Jordahl Terry Goodwin Alexis Poetter 28- Betty Fenske 17- Skip & Nicole Meyers

Caleb Goshorn Judy Whitney Tim Perrizo 29- Elsie Olson 23- Lester & Jane Brooks

Mason Mensing Addison Dusing Ryan Borris Dan Poetter 24- Bruce & Bonnie Ankeny

6- Ray Wigern 11- Susan Reynolds 22- Cale Borris 30- Elly Nowak Allen & Janet Maloney

7- Brody Eckmann 15- Rachel Thompson Erica Sunde-Nowak

Sarah Murray 16- Jacob Murray 23- Sherry Abel

John Roper Amanda Steinke Jordan Moen

Gary Olsen Nancy Thompson

May Birthdays

1- Tammy Davis

Susan Hinton

Jonathan Hill

2- Gordy Miller

4- Susan Salisbury

Audrey Brod

5- Florence Hacklander

Loyd Hinton, Jr.

Craig Weir

6- Jennifer Johnson

Allen Maloney

7- Thomas Nesheim

Caroline Whitney

10- AB Russ

Terri Burns

12- Jessica Eckmann

13- Robin Parsons

Gordy Bruellman

14- Kathy Anderson

16- Judy Bailey

18- David Berndt

TJ Lewis

James Whitney

Lisa Frommie

19- Ben Eckmann

20- Chase Davis

JR Hanson

21- Julianna Lewis

Eldon Steele

22- Roger Davis

Kerrie Nesheim

23- Dale Matheson

Mollie Paschke

25- Ron Fox

Linda Berndt

28- Ayla Warmka

29- Lucille Christensen

Mavis Scheid

Avery Asmus

Samantha Erichsrud

May Anniversaries 5- Terry & Jody Johnson 24- Jarett & Alesha Stauffer

14- Nicholas & Crystal Uecker 27- Alan & Nancy Huff

17- Tim & Sue Perrizo 29- Dale & Francine Russell

22- David & Linda Berndt

————————————————————————————————–—————

The Upper Room devotionals are here.

If you would like one delivered to you, please contact Pastor Russ

or the church office, 526-2144.

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Community Meals on Wheels: A reminder: United Hospital District in Blue Earth provides meals M-F, delivered to your home by volunteer drivers within Blue Earth city limits. You, too, can volunteer! Hope Church has volun-teers for this service, as well! To order a meal, please call UHD at least 24 hours prior to delivery time. Please contact the Food Service Department at

507-526-7924.

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Save the Date: Red Cross Bloodmobile returns to Hope UMC Monday, June 22, Noon - 6 pm

———————————————————————————— Ministry Opportunities

Thank you Radio Sponsors! Your generosity has helped us maintain this vital ministry during the time

of social distancing. Here are the dates that are open for sponsorship for the rest of the year:

July 12, July 19, July 26, August 16, August 30.

Sponsorship is $35 per Sunday broadcast. Please call the church office if you would like to sign up. Please also include if there is a special message you would like included on your day.

Betty Fenske wants to thank everyone for cards they sent

her to help celebrate her 90th birthday. You helped

brighten Betty's day!

Hope United Methodist News

Please lift up in prayer….

Muriel Hanna

Merre Kivlin

In the service of our country: Tucker Bottin, Aron Goshorn, Bryce Hanson, David Miller, Cole Steinke, Terry Keithahn, Kenneth Torgerson, Michael Wohlrabe, and Brett Sandum.

Armed Services personnel and their families.

Members and Friends in Health Care Centers and those at their homes including: Mary Fenske, Mae Hove, Caroline Whitney.

We as a congregation are mourning the loss of several members in recent weeks. Our deepest sympathies are extended to the family and friends of the following people. Please keep their loved ones in your prayers. In keeping with current restrictions, private grave-side services have been held. Watch for details about Memorial & Celebration of Life ser-vices to be held in the future.

Richard Donald Paschke October 30, 1927 - April 9, 2020

Christopher Paul Uecker March 24, 1982 - April 12, 2020

John M. Poetter June 22, 1929 - April 21, 2020

Deepest sympathies are also extended to Rev. Jan Redman on the passing of her Mother, Darlene LaVonne Redman, March 10, 1926 - April 27, 2020.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Online Giving

Visit the church website at: www.behopeumc.com

Locate the Giving button with a heart farthest to the right,

Click on the Giving button and you will be redirected to our giving website,

Click on the Create Profile button, then follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your contribution.

If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to contact Sandy in the office at 507-526-2144. She will be glad to help you set up your online giving.

Lonny Schmidtke Newt Toland

tel:5075267924

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

3 Fourth Sunday of Easter

9AM Listen to KBEW for the Church Service

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7 pm - Zoom Contemporary Service

Growing as a Disciple of Jesus

10 Fifth Sunday of Easter

Happy Mother’s Day! 9AM Listen to KBEW for the Church Service

11 am - Zoom Family Kid Friend-ly Service - We can trust God!

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17 Sixth Sunday of Easter



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24 Ascension Sunday



25

Memorial Day

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31 Pentecost



Hope UMC ~ May 2020

We are called to follow Jesus Christ and serve all people as we make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Hope Church delivers Meals on Wheels this week M-F

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Zoom Contemporary Service


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National Day of Prayer

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Hope UMC ~ May 2020

We are called to follow Jesus Christ and serve all people as we make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Hope · The decision to resume in person “Freedoms” today. We are all for freedom. Period. But...

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