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Humans are built to wander. History is crisscrossed by their tracks. Sometimes there are obvious reasons for it: to get better food for themselves or their animals; to escape weather, wars, or plague. But sometimes they go―at great expense and risk―in the name of God, seeking a place that feels sacred, that speaks to the heart.

God seems to have a bias toward the nomad. The road is a favored

place ― a place of epiphany. That’s all very well if you are fit and free. But what if you are

paralyzed by responsibility or disease? What if the only journey you can make is to the office, the school, or the bathroom?

I have wandered quite a bit and traveled searching to find God and also to introduce

people to God for the first time. Through this I have learned a bit about what can be found (and lost) on a sacred journey, and that pilgrimage involves doing something with whatever faith you have. And faith, like muscle, likes being worked.

Recently I had the opportunity to take a once in a lifetime sacred journey to the Holy Land.

In the midst of the journey I realized that the pilgrimage on which I found myself was a time to rekindle the fire of God in my life. You see, I realized that as we go in and out of our daily routines we become comfortable with and even numb to the Holy Spirit’s movement around us, in us, and through us. This is one of the reasons sacred journeys are so crucial for our own spiritual journey of being made like Christ. The journey allows us to not only become aware of God’s movement in other places around the world but also awakens us again to see how God is still moving right here. The sacred journey reminds us that everyone is a traveler in search of the truth about God, himself or herself, and the world. Grace and Peace, Pastor Kaury

THE LINK THE LINK THE LINK THE LINK March 2016

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318 W. St. Catherine, Louisville, KY 40203

Official Supporter of the Fairness Campaign

Pastor: Reverend Kaury Edwards

www.fourthavenue.uswww.fourthavenue.uswww.fourthavenue.uswww.fourthavenue.us 502502502502----585585585585----2176217621762176

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Update from the Fourth Avenue UMC Leadership Council

By: Pam Anderson, Leadership Council Chair

The Fourth Avenue UMC Leadership Council met on Feb. 22 and here are some highlights from the meeting:

All of the Committees and both Ministries Teams met in February prior to the Leadership Council meeting and each Committee and Team reported on their meetings and activities.

The Trustees have overseen the completion of the cleaning and repair of our boilers. Of course this was not an expense we had planned for the 2016 budget so at the recommendation of the Stewardship Committee most of the cost for the boilers repair and cleaning was approved by the Leadership Council to come from the Capital Campaign funds. We do appreciate all of the work of the Trustees in making sure this work was accomplished. The Trustees will make sure that annual maintenance and cleaning of the boilers occurs.

The Connect/Grow Ministries Team reported that two Sunday school classes have begun. One is for our children and will be taught by Margaret Butler. The other class is for our youth and will be taught by Joyce Ware. There is an effort to begin a class for Young Adults. We do have some young adults interested in a class.

The Reach/Send Ministries Team noted the following:

The CLOUT Rally will be on March 1 at the Greater Good Hope Church. The CLOUT Nehemiah Assembly is scheduled for March 15th at Memorial Auditorium. Our Justice Network at Fourth Avenue is inviting our church members to attend the Assembly.

Our website, www.fourthavenue.us, which has been updated, received a special grant that is in effect throughout the Lenten season and is directing people to Fourth Avenue’s website.

We will host the Maundy Thursday Dinner and Service on March 24th. Christ UM Church will provide the desserts and Open Door will prepare the main course. We hope many of our church members will join us in this special dinner and service.

Via the efforts of Reach/Send and with the concurrence of Open Door, the Dental Clinic will resume in April and operate on the first and third Saturdays of each month. Thanks to the Dental Task Team of Send/Reach that is spearheading the effort to resume the Dental Clinic.

The next meeting of the Leadership Council is scheduled for March 28th. Thanks for the work of all of our Committees and Ministries Teams.

Finally, I trust that we will move forward as faithful servants working and praying together to carry out Fourth Avenue UMC’s mission: “To share the love of God in the heart of our City.”

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News from the Open Door Clinics By Peggy Bennett, RN, Parish Nurse Well here we are, almost to March 2016, and even though I am not a forecaster of any sort, this month promises to be a busy one. I have finally stopped handing out coats from Share the Warmth in October. Everything has been either packed away or carted to Calvary Episcopal's clothes closet. I put things up for all to see, left them for a couple of weeks and then took them away. I can truly tell you that it is a lot of work, but well worth it. Only the real small sizes had to go to Calvary. Next I will be putting the gloves, hats, etc. away in the closet. I aim to finish all of this real soon. The speed will depend on my healing shoulder. We will have St. Patricks' day, the first day of spring, Maundy Thursday dinner, Good Friday, and of course Easter this month. Look for the signs to go up and please try to attend the church services. And if you have not been made aware, we are studying the book of John on Wednesday Evening, and you can let Amy know if you are interested in having a copy of the book that we are using as a study guide. I am reading also, and I have already learned several facts that I did not know. Sullivan College came the first Saturday of February to do blood sugars for our folks, and this year they are recording their findings. Many years ago, I learned as a student nurse that if you didn't record your work, it was the same as never having done the deed. Thus the reason for recording the findings. As we age, and that is an ongoing situation, our bodies do change and the chance for being a type 2 diabetic increases. Many reasons help this dreaded disease along, among them, the older we get, the less we exercise, we adopt a more sedentary life style, and our eating habits change. Sometimes it is as simple as our dentures not fitting as well, thus some vegetables, nuts, etc. are harder to chew. Instead of eating an apple, we chomp on snacks, cookies, bread--bakery goods. Most of us develop a "sweet tooth" thus adding more calories per day, and they soon develop into the need for larger clothes. It seems that as we get older, our pancreas does not always produce as much insulin as we need. Taking the blood sugars and recording them certainly does help us. Much work needs to be done on this subject. Every time that I offer some of our folks a B/P check lately, the "regular folks that come "proudly" tell me that they have their own instrument and they are taking it at home". I know that this is true, because they proudly tell me what it was the last time they checked it. This makes me feel real good, as they are beginning to pay attention to some of their health needs. I sure don't mind being "put out of business". I always tell them if there is much change in their readings, they should see their clinic or physician. Sometimes the medicine that they take for hypertension does not always take care of their problem. Sometimes the medicine is not always effective. It seems that sometimes our bodies get immune to the ingredients of the prescribed medicine, and it should be changed. Greg Hatcher, another volunteer, is handing out personal care items for our folks on the second and fourth Saturdays. For all of the folks that have been helping us by contributing items, we say a rousing "Thank you". We have added a couple of items to our agenda due to your help with our selections. We are adding large bars of soap, along with their packets as some of the folks live in an apartment, and can keep cleaner longer. Also we have been handing out toilet paper, and sometimes larger sizes of lotion. The ones that have their own places, seem to be pleased to have access to some of the things. As allergy season approaches, we will have Kleenex or the smaller packages of them. To make our supply go farther, I have been putting about one sixth of a large box of Kleenex in plastic bags for distribution. They are clean, fresh out of the box, and easier to handle. These are just some of the ways to help the less fortunate have a better life.

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Honorarium Giving for February

In Memory of Joanne Bondurant by: Joyce and Charles Wilmoth Donna Morton Trudy DuVal Sally Rose Gil and Betty Schroerlucke Judy Westerman In Memory of Pauline Tandy by Greg and Lisa Tandy In honor of Alice and Crawford Wells by Amy and James Frederick In honor of Pastor Kaury Edwards by Joyce and Charles Wilmoth In honor of Pastor Jack Steiner by Joyce and Charles Wilmoth 8:45 Worship Schedule

March 6 – Summer Papajeski March 13 – Roxie Keese March 20 - Donna Morton March 27 - Sunrise Service at 8:30 a.m.

The Rose -Benz Circle will meet on Tuesday, March 1 at 10:30 a.m. in the church Parlor. Sally Rose is our hostess and Pam Anderson has the program. Everyone is welcome.

Spiritual Discovery "The Twelve Degrees of Silence - #6: Silence with One's Heart", Wednesday, March 2nd, 6pm in Parlor with Wayne Anderson.

Room Request Forms

If you wish to use a room(s) for any special meeting or activity, you must complete a form entitled "Request for Use of Fourth Avenue Facilities". Please complete this form as soon as possible in advance of your activity. These forms are in the church office in the folder by the large wall calendar. After you complete the form, return it to the folder by the calendar. Your request will be reviewed by the office manager, Amy Lee and Trustee chairperson, Sarah R. Sloan, and you will notified regarding approval of your request. Since we have no janitor and the cleaning service only comes on Saturdays, you may be responsible for setup and cleanup of your room(s). --- Sarah R. Sloan, chairperson, 4th Ave. UMC Trustees

Church Calendar

Every Sunday we have chapel worship at 8:45 a.m., Sunday school at 9:30 a.m., Sanctuary worship at 10:45 a.m. Every Monday we have Choir at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday Nights include community prayer at 5:00 p.m., supper at 5:30 and the program at 6:00 p.m.

March 1 – 10:30 a.m. Rose –Benz Circle March 12 - 9:00 a.m. UMM 11:00 – Healthy Living Clinic March 13 – Daylight Savings begins – Spring forward March 14 – Trustees 4:00 p.m. March 15 – 5:30 Connect/Grow 6:30 Reach/Send March 19 – 11:00 a.m. Finance Task Team March 20 – Palm Sunday March 24 – Maundy Thursday March 25 – Good Friday March 26 - 11:00 Healthy Living Clinic Holy Saturday March 27 - EASTER March 28 - 7:00 p.m. Leadership Council March Birthdays

March 1 – Rogna Wagoner

March 4 – Chris Johnson

March 6 – Alexandria Secession

March 12 – Carolyn Olds

March 17 – Sally Rose

March 21 – David Hodson

Holy Week Schedule:

March 24 - Maundy Thursday Service 5:30 p.m. March 25 - Good Friday Service 11:00 a.m. March 26 - Holy Saturday Service 11:00 a.m. March 27 – Sunrise Service 8:30 a.m. Breakfast after the Sunrise Service Easter Worship 10:30 a.m.

World Day of Prayer:

Friday, March 11, 2016 Registration – 5:30 p.m. Worship – 6:00 p.m. Coke Memorial UMC; 428 E. Breckinridge Please bring canned goods for Dare to Care. Food and Fellowship – Everyone is invited! Office Hours: Monday and Friday – 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Tuesday –Thursday – 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

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Food and Fellowship News from The Open Door

By Sarah Richardson-Sloan

Nothing is more satisfying than receiving validation that your hard work has produced the intended results. When I started as kitchen manager, 2 years ago, one goal was to make a safe, clean kitchen. Another was to prepare balanced meals. We have done that, with the addition of a new stove and refrigerator. On a recent biannual visit from Dare to Care, we received that validation below:

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Crossing Over Event A Big Thank You to Councilman David A. James, Mrs. Mattie Jones and all other participants and supporters that were part of our African-American History Event. The Re-enactment March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, our program and our fellowship time together on Saturday, February 20, 2016, at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church was an educational journey through history. We met several Civil Rights activists. Knowledge is a powerful thing. May we never forget the proud achievements of a turbulent era that enriched the lives of all people.

Fairness and Equal Rights are an ongoing struggle. Come be with us in 2017. Thanks again.