The Pastor Ponders…

Letting Go

     Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  And immediately they left their nets and followed him.      ~Mark 1:17-18

      Don’t be afraid: you don’t have to leave job and family.  What you have to let go of is more immediate:  habits and attitudes, attachments, agendas and desires that keep you from following Jesus.  Wanting to be right….having things go your way….being comfortable….feeling safe….being in control…..upholding your self-image….avoiding feeling unsettled…..setting right someone who has wronged you.  Each of us has our own entangling nets, our own little boats that we don’t want to get out of.  But if you want to follow Jesus you have to let go of it all.

     Each moment is an invitation, a call:  “Follow me.”  To follow Jesus is to love deeply, to risk gladly, and to serve humbly.  It is to forgive the hurtful ones, to love the strangers, to walk with the broken hearted and embrace the outcast, and to work for justice no matter how long and hard the road.  This requires that we let go of a lot, and overcome our resistance.

     Maybe we resist because we think it’s going to be hard.  We think really following Jesus is going to be unpleasant.  But the call is not a demand, or an onerous task.  It’s an invitation:  “Come to me, you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”  In the moment that we let go of all we cling to and open ourselves to Jesus, we receive the fullness of his presence and his blessing.  And then, even the most challenging occasion to love, forgive and heal becomes blessed because we ourselves are caught up in Jesus’ bright net of love.  Then we become fishers of people.

     Each moment, each breath, listen for the call, let go of everything that prevents you, and follow him in the way of love.

     Blessings,

                              Pastor Susan

Faith & Film, Feb. 5^th, at 4 p.m.

On February 5, we’ll watch Love Begins.  This is the prequel to Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series.   When Clark Davis and Ellen Barlow meet, they develop feelings for each other and a turn of events inspires the pair to begin a legacy of love and faith together in this stirring family drama.

     On March 4, we’ll watch Snowmen, a humorous and heartfelt coming-of-age story about three unlikely heroes and the winter that changed their lives forever.  After a surprising discovery in the snow catapults the three small-town boys into the spotlight, the best friends hatch a plan to be remembered forever by setting a Guinness World Records title.  Along the way, the trio battles schoolyard bullies, unites their community and discovers that – while fame may be fleeting – true friendship lasts forever.

    A Dove-approved family film rated PG for thematic material, some rough bullying and peril, language and brief juvenile humor.

     Bring snacks to share and a spirit of adventure….maybe some warmer clothes for the “snowy, winter movie.”

Please cover the Walk to Emmaus weekends in prayer:

         Men’s weekend is February 16-19

         Women’s weekend is February 23-26

Lent Begins Feb. 22

     Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season. At 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday evening through Lent, Pastor Susan will offer the Lenten study 40 Days of Fruitful Living: Practicing a Life of Grace by Robert Schnase.  The daily readings will inspire and encourage your daily walk of faith.  These devotions will open your heart to the joys of a life rich with meaning, relationship, and contribution.  With each reading, become immersed in the practices of disciples – receiving God’s love, loving God in return, growing in Christ, serving others, and giving back – and settle completely in God’s transforming grace.

     At 9:30 a.m. each Sunday morning, Jarrell Tharp will lead Adam Hamilton’s Lenten study entitled Final Words from the Cross.  Hamilton examines Christ’s dying hours and his final words as seen and heard through the eyes and ears of those who stood near the cross.  Then, he moves beyond the cross to Jesus’ words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and to those who were witnesses to the Resurrection.

     Ongoing classes offered are the 6 p.m. Tuesday evening study The Journey, the Wednesday evening Disciple course of Jesus in the Gospels, and the 10 a.m. Sunday morning classes The Wired Word and the book study, Heaven is for Real.

Healthy Congregations Seminar,

March 16-18

     Powell UMC, together with Cody UMC, will host a Healthy Congregations Seminar in March.  The Rev. Keith Hudiburgh will be the guest leader of this important weekend for both congregations.  We will have the opportunity to look at our congregational life together to discover how to be “healthier” and look into the future with an affirmation of God’s vision and purpose for us in Powell: stepping forward in faith.

     The seminar begins Friday evening with a meal and an introduction to the weekend.  Saturday will be the “center” of the weekend, and Sunday will offer a summary and closing.  All are welcome to attend and help become a “healthy congregation.”

 February 2012

SOUND TECHS:

      5^th                   Tracy Darrah

      12^th                 Sherri Simpson

      19^th                 R.J. Kost

      26^th                 Deb Kelly

 HEAD USHERS:

       5^th                  R. Denny Hall

       12^th                R.J. Kost

       19^th                Duane Dearcorn

       26^th                Gene Borcher

Your help is always appreciated!  Contact any of these Head Ushers to volunteer.

GREETERS:

       5^th                   Edna Daugherty

     12^th                   Ann Copenhaver

     19^th                   Ann Copenhaver

     26^th                  Jack & Paula Crumrine

(Contact Lois Asher 754-2584)

LAY READERS:

     5^th                    ?

     12^th                  Diane Martin

     19^th                  Diane Martin

     26^th                  Diane Martin

(Contact Judy Dearcorn 754-3857)

          Granny’s Words of Wisdom

One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

 

Mission Committee

SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY,

Feb. 5, 2012.

Once again, after church, the Mission Committee will be selling containers of soup for you to take home.  You can feast on Chicken Noodle, Vegetable Beef and/or Potato Soups at $2.50 a pint or $5.00 a quart.  There will also be sandwich spreads available for $2.50 per container.

This year’s proceeds will go to projects supported by your Mission Committee.

                          Mission News:

The amounts you gave for Dec., 2011, to Alternative giving follow:

Angolan Pastors               $220

Heifer International       $375

UMCOR disaster relief   $460

Backpack Blessings          $480
Crisis Intervention          $205

Good Samaritan Fund       $495

TOTAL                 $2,235

Your faithfulness in the support of these projects is so greatly appreciated; you are carrying on Christ’s work here on earth.  Thank you.
 

UMW News

At year end in 2011, the UMW dispersed their funds as follows:

$450 was given to each of these projects:

Locally -- Backpack Blessings and Lifeline Support
              Conference -- Intermountain Children's Home and

                         UMCOR depot in Salt Lake City
              World-Wide -- Nothing but Nets and Tsholofelo

                          Baby Sanctuary in South Africa

A couple of other things which UMW did in December was to buy five white coffee servers and two of the light weight 8 ft. long tables, like the ones we already have. United Methodist Men bought two tables, too.  Hopefully that will eliminate the need to bring tables up and down stairs for special events.

First United Methodist Youth Group

PLEASE, Can You Help “Feed the Children”?

Every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday our Youth Group meets for dinner and study.  They are asking for your help.  They are looking for volunteers who would be willing to provide dinner some evening for these hungry teens & tweens.  This task has been done mostly by the group leaders every week. A meal only needs to feed 6 to 9 people.

If you would like to undertake this mission to help our Youth Group leaders by preparing a meal for them one evening, please call Caroline @ 754-7174.

Local Mission Opportunity

Your Mission Committee is hoping you'll take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to others - specifically our college youth.

Once a month, on or about the 4th Sunday, we are looking forward to having about three couples, singles, or families plan and bring food for the noon meal to the Campus Ventures house, 231 W. 6th St, at about 12:15 p.m.  We will be serving about 25 to 30 people, as well as having an opportunity to visit and get acquainted with the college youth.   We hope to help bridge the gap between them and the community. 

If you can help with this ministry, please call Carol Wiesen at 764-6240 for further details.

       Waste Not Quilters

This is an update on the doings of the quilters since the group began in 2004. 

To date we have made and distributed 447 regular sized quilts, as well as 132 lap robes and baby blankets.

These quilts have gone as far away as Taiwan, Angola, and South America.

They have been distributed to victims of fire and tornados in WY, as well as to Veteran's Hospitals.

Some quilts have gone to Browning, MT. Also, Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, MT Rescue Mission for Women and Children, and the Center for Children and Families which are all in Billings have received quilts. 

Crisis Intervention Services and Heart Mountain New Beginnings Ranch here in Powell have also been given quilts. 

This is your Mission Committee at work reaching out to others.

Hymn #365

A southern Baptist minister was completing a
temperance sermon. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."

And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he
said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world,
I'd take it and pour it into the river."

Sermon complete, he sat down.

The song leader stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song let us sing Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

Show and Tell

A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment.  Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion.

The first student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David."

The second student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Mary.  I'm a Catholic and this is a Rosary."

The third student got in up front of the class and said, "My name is Tommy.   I am Methodist, and this is a casserole."

What does LOVE mean?

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.  The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door
neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently
lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the
old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just
sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the
neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

1^st          Committee meeting night @ 5:30 PM 

              Administrative Council meets @ 6:30 PM

             “Jesus in the Gospels” small group meets @ 7:00 PM

              Chancel Choir rehearsal @ 7:30 PM

2^nd           Boutique is open – 10:00 am to 4:00 PM

              Power-Up rehearsal @ 7:00 PM           

                                Faith & Film @ 4:00 PM -“Love Begins”

7^th           “The Journey” bible study @ 6:00 PM

8^th           Mountain View Circle meets @ 1:30 PM

                    FUMC Youth meet @ 6:00 PM

                    Small group Jesus in the Gospels meets @ 7:00 PM

        Chancel choir rehearsal @ 7:30 PM

9^th           Boutique is open 10:00 am – 4:00 PM

              Power-Up rehearsal @ 7:00 PM           

13^th         Evening Circle meets @ 5:30 PM

14^th         Wesleyan Guild meets @ 9:30 AM

        “The Journey” bible study @ 6:00 PM

        HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

15^th         Small group meets @ 7:00 PM

              Chancel choir rehearsal @ 7:30 PM

16^th                      Bargain Boutique is open 10:00am – 4:00 PM

                          United Methodist Men meeting @ 6:30 PM

              Power-Up rehearsal @ 7:00 PM

                            Powell men’s Walk to Emmaus weekend begins

19^th         Men’s Walk to Emmaus weekend ends

              Sunday School Teachers meet @ Noon

20^th         PRESIDENTS’ DAY OBSERVED                   

21^st         Altar Guild meets @ 4:30 PM

       The last “The Journey” bible study @ 6:00 PM

22^nd         FUMC Youth meet @ 6:00 PM

              Lenten Bible Study in Chapel @ 6:30 PM

              Small group study @ 7:00 PM

              Chancel choir rehearsal @ 7:30 PM

23^rd        Boutique is open 10:00 am - 4:00 PM

      Power-Up rehearsal @ 7:00 PM

      Powell Women’s Walk to Emmaus weekend begins

26^th         Women’s Walk to Emmaus weekend ends

29^th         LEAP DAY

      UMW executive team meeting @ Noon       

              Lenten bible study in Chapel @ 6:30 PM

              “Jesus in the Gospels” group study @ 7:00 PM

              Chancel choir rehearsal @ 7:30 PM                

March

4^th     Faith & Film @ 4:00 PM-“Snow Men”

Happy Valentine’s Day!