Download - May 2016 Lamplighter

Transcript

1

Zion United Church

of Christ May 2016

Inside This Issue

1 Pastor’s Peace

2 Palm of Prayer 3 Worship Ways

4 This Month’s Events

5 Community & Conference Clamor

6 Butterfly Room

7 Celebration Occasions

8 Worship Whirl

No matter who you are or where you are

on life's journey, you are welcome here. We believe in extravagant wel-

come. This is why we insist that God's com-munion table is open, not closed, and God's gift and claim in baptism are ir-revocable. We advocate justice for

all. Our congregations extend hospitality as a sign of God's inclusive love. We

teach that evangelism - offering bread to those in search of it - is God's mission. Our perspec-tive is global, not provincial. We work with - not

against - people of other faiths. Why? Because God is still speaking!

The Lamplighter

Zion United Church of Christ—Established 1880

105 N. Mary, Mayview, Missouri 64071-8224

Phone and FAX: (660) 237 - 4355

PASTORS PEACE

"Of One Mind" "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--God's good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 What is the pattern of this world? How are we a part of the pattern? How does each one of us see the pattern repeating through each generation? How do we repeat the pattern that we see and are a part of? What are re-sults that occur from following the pattern of the world? Is it joy or sorrow, growth or stagnation, forgiveness or grudge? May 15 we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church (remember to wear red!). Peter and 120 disciples were gath-ered together, waiting for the promised Companion to come. They had cele-brated Pentecost for 3500 years; it was the celebration of First Fruits, from the Law of Moses, God's covenant with God's people. But Jesus had changed everything through his death and res-urrection, bringing the new covenant of love through his sacrifice, death and transformation in resurrection. "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all to-gether in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Acts 2:1-4 The Scripture goes on to say that folks from "every na-tion under heaven," were there for the celebration and they were drawn toward this new thing that was happen-ing before their eyes and in many of their hearts. They were confused and awestruck, yet they understood what was being said, even though they all spoke different lan-guages. About 3,000 were baptized and added to the number of disciples that day!

2

The Lamplighter However we imagine the scene on this Day of Pentecost, some 3500 years after the first, something extraordinary and life-changing happened to those present. It changed some dramatically; I imagine for others it took time. And others mocked them, thinking they were drunk--yeah, drunk on the Spirit of God! Whether or not this is in our experience, we must admit that relationship with God changes us. We are drawn to, tempted by, and are often held captive by the pattern of this world, but we are called every moment of every day to allow Spirit in to change our lives, so that others can be encouraged to seek and embrace this change in their lives because of what they see in us! We cannot go on living in our old ways. As it has been said throughout the years, we must die to our old way of living and be reborn into the new, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds! What does this mean, to become of one mind? How can this happen? Do I dare allow the Spirit to turn my life upside down? Yes, yes, and yes! It won't necessarily be easier, yet can you imagine sorrow turned into joy, stagnation into growth, and grudge turned into forgiveness? As we live into the mind of Christ within our diversity as creatures of the world, we begin to change it. Let's light the birthday candles of Pentecost in our hearts and be set on fire! With the Spirit's Spark,

Pastor Kristin

One must still have chaos in oneself to be able

to give birth to a dancing star. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Pastoral Visits and Prayers Please feel free to contact me at any time if a pastoral care visit or prayer request is in your heart. The best way to reach me is at the parsonage, 660-237-4902, and the next best option is my cell @ 660-

641-1038. Blessings! Pastor Kristin

Spring Fever Four high school boys afflicted with

spring fever skipped morning classes.

After lunch they reported to the teacher that they

had a flat tire. Much to their relief she smiled and

said, "Well, you missed a test today so take seats apart

from one another and take out a piece of paper." Still

smiling, she waited for them to sit down. Then she said:

"First Question: Which tire was flat?"

PALM of PRAYER 8 But God

demonstrates His own love toward

us, in that while we were yet

sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NASB)

Concerns Please continue to surround in love and prayer, those experiencing health difficulties & or recovering from surgery, the loss of family and friends, & those adjusting to new seasons in their lives: Kenton Dittmer, Josephine Ryan, Irene Miller, Honey Tyler, Mark Aversman’s son, Jim & Sharon Wampler, Karen Neher, Shirley Nowack, Carol Schemmer ; family and friends of Catherine Dittmer, Danya Dittmer; the election of our nations leaders; first responders; military personnel and their families; families around the world that are in the midst of tensions, conflicts, acts of violence and wars which are going on in different parts of the world.

Joys Easter Joy!!! Baptisms of Trinity Jannae Alvested and Rachael Renae Begemann; welcome to new members Amber Brianne Bertz, William Douglas Ogan II and Rachael Begemann! Garrett Fiegenbaum and Seth Bayless won 1st place at Odessa High School for a Math contest!! Happy 90th birthday to Emma Jean Lear, sister of Dorothy Begemann. The growing and ever-evolving Community

Garden!

WHO KNEW? The Kentucky Derby is the most popular and oldest horse race in the world. The race is 1.25 miles long, Grade I stakes horse race for three-year-old thoroughbreds on a dirt track. It is held annually at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby, run on the first Saturday in May of every year, is the first leg of the elusive Triple Crown races. It is followed by the Preakness Stakes two weeks later in Baltimore, Maryland and the Belmont Stakes, 3 weeks after the Preakness in

Elmont, New York.

Rachel Begemann, Pastor Kristin, Trinity Alvested

3

ZION UCC WORSHIP WAYS BOARD of CHRISTIAN EDUCATION On May 1 after Worship the Board of Christian Education will be hosting a luncheon and discus-sion on curriculum for adults this summer and fall. We will also have a discussion, led by Tresina Alvested, on engaging in the process of becoming an Open and Affirming (ONA), congregation. Open and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ's (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other bodies in the UCC which make a public covenant of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expres-sions. On Mother's Day, May 8, all mothers will receive a carnation and all graduates will be recognized. A special offering designated for The House of Hope will be collected during Sunday School. On May 15 we will celebrate the birthday of the church, Pentecost--wear red to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit! VBS will be held during June, July, and August during Sunday School. Our Summer Schedule begins June 5th with the Adults vs Kids kickball game, Sunday school 9 AM, Worship at 10 AM.

SAIL

SAIL held its 8th Annual Community Clean-Up in

Mayview on April 9th. It was a chilly day and turn-out was light. However, we covered most of the streets in Mayview and picked up many bags of trash and quite a few old tires. Everyone enjoyed the wiener roast lunch, before moving up the street to the Community Garden. We were joined in the Community Garden by a few people from Mayview as we helped to prepare the soil and plant flowers and vegetables. On April 14th a dozen Zion ladies went to lunch at Simple Life in Concordia. On May 17th, mem-bers of SAIL and anyone who would like to join us, will be going to Blue Springs Terrace for a Work Day (morning) with lunch afterward. We will plan to leave from church at 8:30 am.

YOUTH YAK Our 2016 graduates are Garrett Fiegenbaum and Ty Wagner. Congratulations! Their gradua-tion will be on Thursday, May 12, 7pm at UCM in Warrensburg. Makenzie Koch will be graduating from MU.

Donovan and Austin Aardema Faigh are continu-ing with their work in Confirmation. One more year! All youth are invited to participate in the Commu-nity Garden on Marshall Street.

MISSION COMMITTEE Festival of Sharing Kit collections begin in May. We would like to thank members for their past con-tributions and encourage them to continue to sup-port this mission project. During the months of May thru September we will highlight a kit and request donations. The month of May features the Hygiene Kit. 1 hand towel 16 x 28 (no fingertip or bath towels) 1 washcloth 1 wide-tooth comb 1 nail clippers 1 bar of bath size soap (in package) 6 standard size Band-Aids 1 toothbrush (in original package) Please place all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure.

Strengthen The Church (STC) is a special mission offering to reimagine and build the future of the UCC. Shared at the conference and national levels, STC largely supports youth ministries and full-time leaders for new churches in parts of the country where the UCC voice has not been heard. Zion will

collect this special offering on Sunday, May 15th.

EXPRESSION SESSION THANK YOU’s Dear Zion UCC, Your Lenten Study collection of $88.00 is truly a blessing to the Steppingstone Auxiliary, for it will be put to good use in taking care of the ongoing needs of the young peo-ple of the Steppingstone Program. Thank you so much for your loving support. Stepping stone Auxiliary , Jeanie Adkins Dear Friends at Zion, Our family would like to thank you for the many phone calls and prayers surrounding our daughter’s injuries. She has made great strides and is much improved. Continued prayers are appreciated and thanks again for your love and friendship. Bill and Judy Begemann

Dear Members of Zion, Thanks so much for your well wishes, prayers and cards. My kneecap is healing nicely and my mobility is much improved!

Jenny (Hop-a-Long) Holt

4

COMMUNITY, COUNTY & CONFERENCE CLAMOR Mayview MO Foundation Thanks to the outreach efforts of Elaine Hudson, the Univ of MO Extension office is playing a key role in the Mayview Community Garden! The ex-tension office provides a free gardening program, Getting Healthy through Gardening, where par-ticipants learn how to plant and care for a garden, how to prepare healthy dishes and be physically active. The program includes six lessons that are taught while participants are planting, weeding and harvesting. The first official planting day was April 9th, followed by April 16th, where participants planted peas, beans radishes, corn and flowers. Kathy Smith from the extension office spoke about the benefits of gardening for healthy living. Adult volunteers will be working at the garden most Saturdays and Tuesdays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Youth from the community are encour-aged to join in the experience and will receive a coupon for a free treat from local restaurants for their participation. Kathy Smith from the extension

office will be back at the garden on Tuesday, May 24th to provide another les-son of healthy living and benefits of gardening. All ages are needed and wel-come to come and join the fun!

Pictured: Martha Hawthorne, Lily Jennings, Juanita Wright, Kathy Smith, Univ. Extension Service, the Haywood Family, Jake, Clarissa, Allison, Mason and baby girl .

The Lamplighter

Sunday School—9:30 A.M. Worship—10:30 A.M.

May 1, 2016 Communion Congregation Luncheon May 4, 2016 Choir 7:00 PM

May 5, 2016 Ascension Day National Day of Prayer Service: The Crown Odessa , 6:45 AM May 8, 2016 Mother’s Day Graduates Recognizing Confirmation May 9, 2016 MLK Jr. Meeting Salem UCC 5 PM May 11, 2016 Choir 7 PM May 15, 2016 Pentecost Sunday-Wear RED! Strengthen the Church Offering May 16, 2016 BCE 7:15 PM May 17, 2016 SAIL-Work Day Blue Springs Terrace May 18, 2016 Lamplighter Info. Due May 22, 2016 Confirmation May 24, 2016 Comm. Garden Mo. Extension Education 10 AM May 30, 2016 Memorial Day Office Closed June 5, 2016 Summer Schedule Begins 9AM Sunday School, 10 AM Worship

Copyright © 2011 The Zondervan Corporation

5

National Day of Prayer The local National Day of Prayer event will take place at the Crown in Odessa on May 5 at 6:45am, followed by a breakfast at 7:30. Pastor Kristin will be participating and anyone else who would like to attend is welcome! Let's get together and pray for our communities, schools, local and national leaders, and for our world!

MMSUCC Conf Annual Gathering (CAG) Mark your calendars for this year's Conference Annual Gathering to be held at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, MO, June 9-11.

Together in Faith Attending the installation of Rev. Cathy Jurgens at Immanuel UCC in Sedalia on April 17th, these long-time Mayview community acquaint-ances enjoyed the opportunity to re-connect

and share a few memories.

Pictured L to R: Elaine Hudson, Martha Hawthorne, Julie Bales, and Leora Bremer.

Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will

always be tangled, I’m glad for that. ~Ally Condie

INSPIRATION STATION

Think on This...People invest time and

energy into developing their career, their

bodies and relationships, but often neglect

the spiritual dimension of their lives. How

do you actively pursue spiritual growth?

25 She is clothed with strength and dig-

nity, and she laughs without fear of

the future. Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)

Electronic Waste Event Saturday, May 21, 2016 from 9 am to 12 noon

Lafayette County Road Shed 19717 N Outer Rd – Higginsville, MO 64037

http://www.trailsrpc.org/solid-waste/hhw-e-waste-events/

6

The Lamplighter

BUTTERFLY ROOM 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I

am, there ye may be also. John 14:3 (KJV)

We don't 'lose' our mothers – the reality is more violent than that David Ferguson

Two dear friends of mine lost their mothers this month, a high school friend and an old love. I’ve been sitting here trying to write condolence cards to them, but the inadequacy of everything I’m trying to say, especially having lost my own mother 18 months ago, is leaving me stymied. “I’m so sorry you’ve lost your mother,” sounds like they might have left her at the mall or in their other pants. It doesn’t even begin to convey what I understand about losing your mother, that even if her death came peacefully after a long struggle, it still feels like a wrenching severance, an amputation. We have not “lost” our mothers. We say that to be polite, but in truth, we have become un-mothered, like Marie Antoinette was un-headed or that wilderness hiker who sawed off his arm was un-handed. It feels vio-lent. It feels raw and fundamental, a pain that reaches all the way down to your ligaments and bones. Our mothers were our first firmament, literally, our first homes, the universe from whose substance we were formed. And while this is a pain that all creatures who are born must face, it does not make saying goodbye to your mother any easier to do. To my grieving friends I would say: “Brace yourselves.” Grief on this scale is like a physical object that the body must expel. My uncle fought in Vietnam and was close by when a fellow soldier stepped on a landmine and died instantly. My uncle survived, but with serious injuries. For years after, pieces of shrapnel would occasionally begin to work their way up and out through his flesh. Grief is like that – it’s inside you and it has to come out. There are no shortcuts. Be prepared for sudden ex-plosions of feeling that overtake you at inappropriate times. Once, upon seeing a mother with twin toddler sons at the local grocery store, I had to abandon a nearly full cart of groceries and rush out of the store to go cry in the car in big, ugly, gulping sobs. Over the course of the first year, I became quietly obsessed with Victorian mourning customs. I checked the calendar periodically to see at what points it was appropriate to exchange black crape for bombazine, at what date the black ribbon should be taken down from the house’s front door, and how long as a male member of the family would it be appropriate to wear a black armband or hat band, a signal to the world that says: “Be kind to me. I am in pain.” Nowadays, of course, we don’t do any of that. We take a few days off of work and then we’re back in the game, ready or not. Please, no crying in the break room, like Joan Holloway on Mad Men said. “There’s a place to do that – like in your apartment.” We’re left to wander back into the world, where everything looks the same, but for us, every movement and every breath feels weighted down by this suffocating cloud of sadness. What are we supposed to do with that? How are we to function? My high school friend, a West Point graduate who has done multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan, wrote to me: “For the first time in my life, I know sorrow. I’ve felt sadness, deep sadness, but this is another thing.” “She will always be with you,” say the well-meaning, but if that’s true, I want to know why I still feel so misera-bly alone. Why can’t I talk to her or smell the sweet, clean scent of her hair when I hug her one last time? There’s nothing good that comes out of the death of someone you love, but I have learned this: the magni-tude and bottomlessness of the pain you feel is a testament to the love you shared. And while I don’t ever ex-pect to arrive at a point in life where I’m alright with the fact that my mother is gone, I know that I am so, so lucky to have loved and been loved that much by anyone. That may be small consolation against the howling wind of sadness that is blowing through my friends’ lives right now, but it’s the best that I can offer. That pain you’re feeling is directly proportional to how much you loved and were loved. It does not ever, apparently, go away altogether, but over time the howling diminishes to a roar, which de-grades to a sigh and you find yourself able to go about your life again, though sadder, different. Be gentle and kind to yourself and honor each stage of what you’re feeling and, as much as you can, be thankful for your

mother’s love.

7

The Lamplighter

Celebration Occasions May Birthdays

Date Birthday

3 Trey Hoeppner

10 Warren Hawthorne

12 Wilbur Neher

15 Darrell Fiegenbaum

19 Dorothy Begemann

22 Jesse Engel

Phillip Hoeppner

23 Robert Brueggenjohann

31 Teresa Begemann

Juanita Wright

Administrative Affairs

Reverend Kristin Aardema Faigh

Home(660) 237- 4902 Church (660) 237-4355

[email protected] Cell (660) 641-1038

Council President

Juanita Wright (816) 633-8818

[email protected]

Cole Courtway Admin. Assistant

(660) 237- 4355 [email protected]

Jenny Holt Newsletter

(660) 237 - 4923 [email protected]

Teresa Begemann Organist

(816) 633 - 4133 [email protected]

Dawn Stuart Custodian

(660) 237 - 4355

Serving Souls

May ACOLYTES GREETERS

1 Trinity Alvested Juanita Wright & Laura Nolte

8 Macey Begemann Garrett F. & Matthew E. & Adam H.

15 Alyssa Hoefer Laura Nolte & Judy Pragman

22 Austin Faigh Norma Mittelhauser & Jeanette

Starkebaum

29 Donovan Faigh Roger & Mary Ellen Thomson

Office Hours

Pastor Admin. Assistant

Tuesday

8:00 AM—Noon

Tuesday

10am—Noon

Wednesday

6:00—8:00 PM

Thursday

8:00 AM—Noon

Thursday

10am—Noon

Reminder!

The deadline for submissions for the June newsletter is Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Send your submissions to:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Or Call (660) 237-4923

May Anniversaries

20 Robert & Amy Hoefer

23 Mike & Amy Burns

31 Ronnie & Martha Hawthorne

8

Zion United Church of Christ 105 North Mary St. Mayview, Missouri 64071-8224 Generous - Loving - Dedicated Christians Sunday School 9:30 am Worship at 10:30 am

The Lamplighter May 2016

Zion UCC Mission Statement The avowed purpose of our church shall be:

To worship God, to proclaim and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the Sacra-ments; to experience Christian fellowship, to build unity, and to practice charity within this congre-

gation and the wider church; and to share this witness of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Winter Worship Whirl

Traditional Worship 10:30 AM Sundays

Come As You Are Service 10:30 AM Monthly - 3rd Sunday

Sunday School 9:30 AM Sundays

Communion 10:30AM Monthly 1st Sunday & Special Holidays

Church Council 7:15 PM Monthly

Board of Christian Education 7:15 PM Monthly

SAIL (Serving All in Love) 7:00 PM Monthly - 4th Tuesday

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED