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RAMSEY MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

5900 Hull Street Road, Richmond, VA 23224,

P.O.Box 75655, North Chesterfield, VA 23236

804-276-4628, www.ramseymemorial.org

2020 MARCH / MARZO

Dear Ramsey Memorial UMC Saints,

One of my favorite spiritual disciplines began over 20 years ago. My spiritual director at the time suggested that I take a 24-hour Silent Retreat. Yes, me, quiet and silent for 24 hours. That first year or two it was quite the challenge for me to know how to practice silence for that many hours. But over the past 20 plus years it has grown to either 48 or 72 hours and is one of my most anticipated and most beneficial annual times with God. It is my alone, intimate, time with my first love – God.

Lent, the season of 40 days between Ash Wednesday and the Easter

Sunday, lends itself to drawing in closer with Christ in intimacy through Bible study, prayer, fasting, repentance, reflection and worship. During Lent we may take up something new (extra scripture study, additional pray-er time, performing at least one act of kindness a day …) or letting go of something (ice cream, television, social media, gossip, anger ….) for those 40 days in an attempt to better focus on our first love – God.

As we continue to journey together

through Lent 2020, I am praying for you. Please share with me what you and Jesus are doing to make this time an intimate experience of knowing God better and giving God more of you. The transform-ative hope and joy of new life and resur-rection await us at the conclusion of this time. But since we are already Easter People, that hope and joy permeate these 40 days also.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” (James 4:8) With transforming Lenten hope, Claudia

March/Marzo

ANNIVERSARIES - ANIVERSARIOS

David and Darlene Sweat 9

March/Marzo BIRTHDAYS—CUMPLEAÑOS

Joan McGowan 1

Linda Sings Guilmart 5

Pat Meadows 5

Claudette Stuart 5

Kevin McGowan 7

Lynn Flynn 9

Abby Ogungbade 9

Matthew Cheatham 10

Alexandra Velasquez 10

Brian Barnstein 13

Rosa Bonilla 15

Gene Sheek 15

Steven T. Meadows 17

James W. Jump Jr. 21

Eric Ahles 22

Kathy Holmes 22

Allison S. Moorehead 22

Emily Bucknam 24

Cinthia Cantarero 24

Dear Ramsey Friends,

Thank you once again for the lovely love

basket Rita delivered to me at Christmas.

I love you all and I love our Church.

God Bless,

Sandy Loan

THANK YOU.

Ignites 70’s night was GROOVY!

We appreciated all the support we received.

From those who attended, and to those who

knew they were unable to, but donated

anyways. We had so much fun planning,

hosting, and dressing up; we hope you all

enjoyed the night as much as we did.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

-IGNITE YOUTH GROUP &

LEADERSHIP

Desde una esquina pastoral

Enséñanos de tal modo a contar nuestros días, que traigamos al corazón sabiduría. Salmo 90:12

Sucedió ese primer día de kindergarden. El menor de mis hijos estaba ya listo para finalmente comenzar

su primer día de escuela. Su corazoncito estaba lleno de mucha emoción, su carita nunca dejo de sonreír

dejándonos saber así lo emocionado que estaba. Mas, sin embargo, el miércoles por la mañana, de esa

primera semana de escuela, mientras él y yo esperábamos su bus, su semblante de alegría cambio al de

preocupación y quien seguidamente me pregunto, “Mami, if I go to school everyday I am going to miss

church and I don’t want to miss church!”. Su preocupación de no ir a la iglesia, por el hecho de que esta-

ba yendo a la escuela todos los días, fue tan sincera que, hasta el día de hoy y casi 10 años después, hace

que en mi corazón se dibuje una sonrisa de oreja a oreja y de mucha satisfacción.

Enséñanos decía el Salmista, ensénanos de tal modo a contar nuestros días, que traigamos al corazón

sabiduría. De la pregunta de mi hijo aprendí dos cosas; primeramente, lo importante que es el estar co-

nectados con Dios a través del cuerpo de Cristo, su amada Iglesia. Segundo, aprendí lo mucho que nece-

sitamos tener un corazón de niño, un corazón que extrañe venir a la iglesia. Enséñanos a contar nuestros

días… creo que es la mejor manera de vivir nuestra existencia, contando nuestros días en conexión con

Dios y con los demás; vivir conscientes de nuestra brevedad y de la realidad de que, al fin y cuentas,

¡todos y todas somos como una flor que se desvanece rápidamente o como el vapor que se lleva el vien-

to y la realidad de que hoy estamos aquí y mañana ya no!

Mi hijo eventualmente aprendió que a pesar de que su vida cambio al convertirse en un estudiante de

kindergarten, su rutina y diario caminar como miembro del cuerpo de Cristo no tuvo por qué cambiar.

En cuanto a mí, de mi hijo aprendí, que mi compromiso o conexión con Dios y con su amada iglesia,

mis hermanos y hermanas en la fe, no tiene por qué cambiar ni mucho menos verse afectada por los

cambios esperados o inesperados que nos llegan. Dios, nuestro Creador y el arquitecto de nuestra exis-

tencia comparte con nosotros Su sabiduría, invitándonos a vivir en su conocimiento y compañía. Conec-

tados con Dios y su sabiduría, y con aquellos que, al igual que nosotros experimentan cambios esperados

e inesperados en sus vidas, hace que nuestro viaje, como pasajeros de este tren llamado vida, sea más

real y mejor vivido.

En cuanto a mi hijo menor, el ya no es un “kindergartener” y muy pronto se convertirá en un freshman

in HS, (Lord in your mercy) y quien en los cambios que experimenta sigue aprendiendo que su conexión

con Dios y los demás, no tienen porque cambiar debido a lo esperado o inesperado de la vida.

En la brevedad de nuestros días y hasta nuestro próximo

encuentro,

Su hermana y Servidora en Cristo,

Pastora Norma.

Easter Cantata

Jesus the Cornerstone

by Craig Adams

Will be done at both services

April 5, 2020

presented by

members of the Chancel, Praise

and Community Choirs.

Joy seekers

In northern Minnesota several years ago, some women formed a “joy circle.” They settled into a routine of meeting every couple of weeks to share joys they’ve no-ticed. Their aim, amid our troubled world and chaotic lives, is to deliberately focus on the positive. The women don’t simply hope to stumble upon good news among the outrage, bitterness and tragedy surrounding us; they actively seek out joy and report it to the group. Joy is a fruit of the spirit named in Galatians 5:22-23. As Christians, we don’t ignore or dismiss life’s struggles and sorrows, and neither do joy-circle partici-pants. But God promises that life is stronger than death, and Jesus’ resurrection is proof. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can make a spiritual discipline of seeking and sharing joy — and thanking God for it. (Visit joycircles.network online to learn more.) —Heidi Mann

Church-wide Lenten Study:

Sunday, March 1st we will begin a church-wide study of 40 Days with Je-sus: Celebrating His Presence by Sarah Young. If you are interested in participating in this study, please call or email the church office to receive a copy of the devotional. Each Sunday March 1st through April 5th (except March 29th’s One Ramsey Sun-day) we will come together in the sanctu-ary from 10:00-10:45am to dis-cuss what the pre-vious week’s days with Jesus have meant to us. No one will be required to share but everyone will be welcome to share.

March 6, 2020

Our Lenten Offering this year

will run from March 1 through April 12,

Easter Sunday. We traditionally use this

offering for maintenance projects around

the church. This year we will buy new

computers for the office staff with up-

dated software and we will make im-

provements to our WiFi system. Also

the door between the sanctuary and the

Sunday School wing is currently not

wide enough for wheelchair access. We

hope to reconfigure that doorway to ac-

commodate everyone using the outside

ramp with easy access to the rest of the

church.

Our congregation always sup-

ports this offering very generously and we hope you do it again this year. Enve-lopes will be in the pew racks for your

convenience. Thank you for your stewardship.

Thursday Morning Prayer Group

Our goal is to study God’s word as we search for a closer relationship with Him. In so doing, we are growing in prayer and in our commitment to one another;

here at Ramsey, throughout our community and our world. Come and join us as we seek to learn and share and live God’s word for our lives.

“Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:5-7

March

Children’s Church Roamers

March 1 Rand Sayles

March 8 Oswaldo Aguilar

March 15 June Bryant

March 22 Phyllis Woodfin

March 29 Nelson Orellana

Join us on March 13th

for our annual

Corned Beef & Cabbage Luncheon

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Place: Fellowship Hall

BRING A FRIEND AND JOIN US

RSVP by March 11th

Hope to see you there!

March

Children’s Sunday School Teachers

March 1 Scotty Doyle

March 8 Katie Smith

March 15 Sally Wheat

March 22 Norma Aguilar

March 29 Tiffany Stone

Y A B S (YOUNG ADULTS BIBLE STUDY)

DATE NAME LESSON LOCATION

March 4 Nicole #15 Church

March 11 Laura #16 Aguilar & Robinson

March 18 Darrin #17 Pastora Norma

March 25 Sammy #18 Aguilar & Robinson

April 1 Nicole #19 Church

April 8 Laura #20 Pastora Norma

April 15 Darrin #21 Aguilar & Robinson

April 22 Sammy #22 Pastora Norma

April 29 Will Flynn #23 Aguilar & Robinson

COME! SHARE YOUR

GIFT OF GENEROSITY!!

BE ENRICHED!!!

Are you looking for a way to share your love of

the Lord with others?

Would you like a free, home-cooked meal??

Join us for our monthly

Neighborhood Suppers!

March Neighborhood Supper

Meat loaf, potatoes, leprechaun salad, and chocolate, of course!

We could really use your help!!!

Just come, enjoy your meal, and spend some time

visiting with neighbors from our surrounding communities.

Irish proverb:

A good friend is like a four-leaf clover,

hard to find and lucky to have.

LILLIES & MUMS FOR EASTER

It time to order your Easter flowers

Check the bulletin for prices

Coming

Soon!!

WORKDAY JOBS LIST 1. Library ceiling repair from leak.

2. Thermostat replacement Sanctuary

3. A new digital timer in the men's room in the office hall for the light that shines on the large stain glass window in the rear of the sanctuary.

4. Remove the thorny bushes out front and replace them with some ground cover.

5. Remove and replace the dead evergreen bushes.

6. Change the light switches in the Woodfin Building to motion sensors.

7. Shave the access door to the Prayer room.

8. Cut out drywall and install electrical box extensions to allow the pulling of the light switch out to be flush with the new drywall in the Prayer room.

9. the same with the wires sticking out of the adjacent wall after installing a wall plug there in the Prayer room.

10. Have some of the young BUCS move the ladder back into the tool shed

CHURCH WORK DAY - MARCH 7 9am - noon

Come one come all, we will have projects for everyone that wishes to help.

Check the bulletin for the announcement of what projects we are planning.

Breakfast will be prepared by the BUCS.

UMW Sisters,

It is time again to update you on happenings in the Ramsey and Richmond District UMW.

These months are flying by and it seems we just started in 2020 but here it is almost

MARCH!

First, be sure that you have March 7th on your calendar as that is the Ramsey UMW Unit

meeting date. We meet at 10:00 am as usual but due to so many church activities that day,

we will meet in the Together Room (the Old Library) instead of the Fellowship Hall. With

the changes that have been made in that room, we can get many more chairs, so don't worry

about a seat. We have a lot of items to discuss and we want your input, so please join us!

By March 30th the Ramsey UMW needs to turn in

our census report for 2020, but I am hopeful to com-

plete it by Feb. 25th.

Looking ahead, there will be a Prayer Breakfast on April 4th, at High-

land Springs UMC. The Registration starts at 8:30 am and the Break-

fast and Worship will be from 9:00 to 11:00 am. I hope you will be

able to join us.

Since we will be meeting in the Together Room, be sure to select a

book to read for the Reading Program. Be sure to select one that was

printed between 2014 to 2020 to be counted. If each member read

only one book, we would have read nearly 50+ books! Wouldn't that

be wonderful!

I hope to see you on Saturday, March 7th at 10:00am in the Together Room.

Sue Wheat, President

It is time to get purses & jewelry to us!

Happy New Year! We are counting

down the weeks to our big annual

fundraiser, Another Woman's Treas-

ure! We are calling on all of our

lovely, well-accessorized friends and

supporters to clean their closets and

jewelry boxes for our students. And

please ask your friends and col-

leagues to pitch in to support the re-

gion's youth and young adults who

face homelessness. Who do you

know who can donate jewelry, purs-

es, scarves, belts, and hats to support

our students?

Donations may be delivered to our

friends at Bon Air United Methodist

Church, Papeterie, and Quilting Ad-

ventures. You may contact us, and

we will pick up items as well. We

collect donations all year long, but for

this year's sale, we'd love to have

items by March 1st. Carol Hotchkiss will pick up the items donated to the church

office for the sale and deliver them to Bon Air UMC.

March 8,

2020

If you use online banking to make your donation to Ramsey,

Please Notify your Bank

To Change the Address TO

Ramsey Memorial UMC

PO Box 75655

North Chesterfield, VA 23236

AGAPE YARD SALE

The annual AGAPE Yard Sale is April 18. This is our

only fundraiser for the year and proceeds are used for

mission projects and donations back to Ramsey to

support special requests for funds.

Beginning April 12, the gym will be available for the

donations. Please bring them early in the week if you are

able. If anyone is available to help unpack and sort any

time during the week, we are grateful for the help.

Our goal is to have the treasures ready by Thursday , April 16, when Care-a-van uses the

facility. We usually sell over $500 on this day. This year, the yard sale will be the only

event at Ramsey on this day. If you need assistance with larger items, please let Joan

McGowan or Shelley Jump know and we can make arrangements. All donations and help is

appreciated.

ONE RAMSEY SERVICE

March 29th 5th Sunday

Guest Speaker will be Ted Smith,

Director of Connectional Ministries

Brunch will be served after service,

Please bring a breakfast or a lunch dish to share.

MISSION TEAM NEWS

J.L. Francis Elementary

March is pulling SPRING toward us as we enter a

warmer season with flowers and budding flowering trees !

Several members of Ramsey UMC attended the "Read Across America" event on March

2nd at our Communities in Schools partner across the highway from our church on Snead

Road - J. L. Francis Elementary School. Thank you for those who attended. For persons

who missed this happy event, there will be next year, and we would love to have more

participation.

Plan ahead - April 24th, Friday - "Book Tasting" School Library

* 20 or more volunteers are needed

* Event time frame from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

* Duties include: preparing food - arrive at 8:00 am bring favorite 'cutting

tool’ wear your apron - cutting is messy !

you will cut up fruit/other food into small pieces

clean up 'cutting' area

* Passing out the small food samples during the event to kids

* Clean up the library area from the event

* Donations accepted for food and/or funds to purchase foods to be used-

list will be supplied by school

School Needs:

* Behavioral and Attendance Incentives

- At J. L. Francis, we recently implemented a monthly attendance incentive for

students who did not miss any school during that specific month.

- We are looking for sponsors to help with the cost of the events.

* Eagle Tickets to visit the Eagle Store

- Quarterly, we acknowledge our students who have strived to make excellent

choices and are given "Eagle tickets" to visit the Eagle Store.

- Sponsorship for the store would give more opportunity for JLF to provide a

more diverse range of incentives for appropriate behavior choices.

Henry Jimenez, Communities in Schools staff member at J. L. Francis, Pastor Claudia

Stallings, and I thank you all for your willingness to support the students.

Questions can be addressed to Pastor Claudia (276 - 4628) and/or Sally Wheat (447-9214).

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

11:00am Ignite

3:00pm Dreamchasers

3:00pm Community Choir

3:45pm Praise Choir

4:45pm Bell Choir

Peanut Butter Lover Day

2

8:00am Care A Van

6:00pm James River

3

2:00pm McGuire Park Circle

(Homes)

6:00pm Dreamchasers

Caregiver Appreciation Day

4

10:00am Pickleball

2:00pm Nina Woodfin

6:00pm Dreamchasers

6:00pm HASA

6:30pm Praise Band Practice

7:00pm Administrative Council

5

8:00am Care A Van

9:30am Prayer/Knitting

6:00pm James River

7:00pm Estudio Biblico

7:00pm Chancel Choir

6

5:00pm Private Party

10:00am Pickleball

6:00 pm James River

7

8:00am Private Party

9:00am WORK DAY

9:00am UMW Unit mtg

12:00pm BWSL Dreamchasers

8 DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

SPRING FORWARD

11:00am Ignite

3:00pm Dreamchasers

3:45pm Praise Choir

4:45pm Bell Choir

9

6:00pm James River

10

11:00am Ada Mae Bookman

6:00pm Dreamchasers

11

10:00am Pickleball

6:00pm Dreamchasers

6:00pm Trustees

6:00pm HASA

6:30pm Praise Band Practice

12

8:30am Care A Van

9:30am Prayer/Knitting

6:00pm James River

7:00pm Estudio Biblico

7:00pm Chancel Choir

13

10:00am Pickleball

12:00pm 55+ Luncheon

6:00 pm James River

14

10:30am Come & See

12:00pm Dreamchasers

15

11:00am Ignite

12:00 Spud Sunday Lunch

3:00pm Dreamchasers

3:00pm Community Choir

3:45pm Praise Choir

4:45pm Bell Choir

Ides Of March

16

6:00pm James River

17

6:00pm Dreamchasers

St. Patrick’s Day

Corned beef and

Cabbage Day

18

10:00am Pickleball

6:00pm Dreamchasers

6:00pm HASA

7:00pm Finance

6:30pm Praise Band Practice

19

8:30am Care A Van

9:30am Prayer/Knitting

6:00pm James River

7:00pm Estudio Biblico

7:00pm Chancel Choir

20

10:00am Pickleball

6:00 pm James River

21

10:30 am Come and See

12:00pm Dreamchasers

22

11:00am Ignite

3:00pm Dreamchasers

3:45pm Praise Choir

4:45pm Bell Choir

23

6:00pm James River

24

6:00pm Dreamchasers

National Chocolate Covered Raisens Day

25

10:00am Pickleball

6:00pm Dreamchasers

6:00pm HASA

6:00pm SPRC

6:30pm Praise Band Practice

26

8:30am Care A Van

9:30am Prayer/Knitting

6:00pm James River

7:00pm Estudio Biblico

7:00pm Chancel Choir

27

10:00am Pickleball

6:00pm James River

28

12:00pm BWSL Dreamchasers

5:00pm Neighborhood Supper

29

ONE RAMSEY SERVICE

11:00am Ignite

BRUNCH

3:00pm Dreamchasers

3:45pm Praise Choir

4:45pm Bell Choir

30

6:00pm James River

7:00pm Security/Safety Team

31

6:00pm Dreamchasers

MARCH 2020