The Outlook Newspaper - June 7, 2013 Issue

M arathon F un The Outlook Two Sections Section A 909160 Vol. 160 No. 6 June 7 , 201 3 The United Methodist Reporter (USPS 954-500) is published weekly by UMR Communications, 1221 Profit Dr., Dallas Texas, 75247-3919. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, Texas and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Un ited Methodist Reporter, 1221 Profit Drive, Dallas, Texas 75247. an edition of The United Methodist Reporter Almost 3,000 years ago, King David composed and sang some lovely and powerful songs. All these thousands of years later, and because institutional religion—the “Church ”—has always had a great penchant for organizational structure, we have numbered the ancient songs of David in an effort to keep us all on the same page. Psalm 51 is one such example, with additional numbering of its lines of lyrics. Even further, Psalm 51 has been classified as one of the seven “Penitential Psalms” that express sorrow or penance for our sins. In particular, though, apart from all this naming, numbering and organization, this ancient song holds a very powerful, spiritual, healing thought, and it is this: “C reate in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a r ight spirit within me.” There are many times when I need God to do some serious cleansing of the spiritual cholesterol that can build up in my heart. There are many times when I know…in my heart… that all the clutter , the cholesterol build-up of prejudices, lingering disappointments, unrelen ting obstacles and unchallenged notions of how things ought to be done—all of it needs to be eliminated! And I need this to happen simply because, if it doesn’t , I know I can develop within me a wrong spirit. A wrong spirit is a powerful visitation by Negativity and all sorts of its sorry relatives, which end up twisting the sacred portions of my soul. A wrong spirit, if left to take control or stay a second too long, is certain to ruin my day! For me, a wrong spirit changes any ability to entertain new opportunities into making Basketball Awards | 8A Youth Retreat Fun! | 4A Thank You, Dancers | 4A chalk talk BY DR. KENNETH W. CHALKER Continued on back page Norine Sharp Recognized Through music and word, the UCUMC family of faith took time during the Sunday , May 5th service to pay tribute to stalwart member Norine Sharp for her many years of support for and involvement in the life of this church and especially the music program. As her family members looked on, Norine came forward to receive not only words of appreciation from Dr. Chalker but an autographed copy of the score of I Will Sing , a choral piece written by noted composer Mark Miller and dedicated “with love and admiration” to Norine Sharp. This inspiring piece was then performed by our Chancel Choir with the congregation’s resounding appreciation. During the ser vice the choir also performed choral responses composed by Norine in years past, and family members played violin and oboe as part of several musical pieces, including I Will Sing . Without a doubt the musical life of this church would not be what it is today had it not been for the loving care offered by Norine and her late husband, Bob. Our church family is eternally grateful for Norine’s years of service and support, and we look forward to many more. Remembering Hallie Christian A memorial service for the Rev. Dr. Hallie Christian will be held at UCUMC on Sunday, June 30, at 1pm. Last Outlook Issue as Part of UM Reporter With this issue of Outlook comes the sad news that UMR Communication s, publisher of the United Methodist Reporter publication in which the printed pages of this University Circle UMC Outlook appear, will close May 31. We learned of this unfortunate happening just days before completing the UCUMC conten t you see in this issue. According to a United Methodist News Service report, after years of financial struggles, the board of UMR Communications unanimously voted May 16 to shutter the Dallas-based nonprofit, ending a publication that has been covering Methodism since 1847. The closure will cost the jobs of 26 employees, some of whom have worked with the ministry for more than four decades. At one time, the ministry published nearly 300 conference and church editions of the newspaper. Those editions have dwindled as more conferences and churches have opted to drop print and distribute information exclusiv ely online as a less expensive and potentially “greener” alternative. We will investigate alternativ e methods for providing a print and online version of Outlook in the coming months; your suggestions are welcome. In the meantime, we hope you appreciate this “final edition” of Outlook in its present form. The Editor by Marilou Abele On Sunday, May 19, about 30 UCUMC f amily and friends were once again out on the corner of Chester and Martin Luther King to cheer, encourage and otherwise support the runners of the 2013 Cleveland RiteAid Marathon. Runner responses often showed real appreciation for our motivating cheers . Many gave a thumbs-up or pumped fists, raised hands and gave a s mile. One young lady said, “You make me feel like a celebrity!” Another said,“You sure know how to throw a party!” Many expressed a simple “Thank you. ” There were several touching scenes. Early on, a father, daughter-in-law and grandchildren joined our cheering g roup. We had friendly conversation as they waited for the son/husband/father to arrive. When he did, the children gave him some runners’ snack bars, and he gave his wife a quick kiss. Shortly afterward, another runner stopped to greet and kiss his child in a stroller and his wife. Of course, the pièce de résistance was the sight of our own Nathan Motta as he strode by, waving and applauding and looking as fresh as a daisy. What a heartwarming experience! I am convinced that this is a must-do event for me every year I am able. M arathon F un

The Outlook Newspaper - June 7, 2013 Issue

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