2013 MUMC Summer Mustard Seed

For a second year, we are volunteering to change our world

and community by joining forces to work on renovating our

Park District. This year, however, we are joined by members of

First Assembly of God, First Baptist and Zion Lutheran

Churches.

Work will begin on Saturday, May 18th at 8:00 a.m. and

continue into the late afternoon. There will be projects for

people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

On Pentecost Sunday, we will begin by

celebrating the founding of the

church at a unified service at 10:00

a.m.. Everyone is then invited to

meet over at the Park District for

lunch and afternoon work

projects. Members of other

Summer Sunday Schedule

We have a summer filled with

special Sunday events. Get out your

calendars and turn to our calendar

of Sunday events.

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5 Follow me to Page

Mustard Seed

We are a community of compassionate fellowship . . .

Marengo United Methodist Church 119 E. Washington St., Marengo, IL 60152

Summer 2013

Inside:

Changing Marengo 2013

May 18 & 19

New Director of Children

and Youth Ministry!

After years of building our children

and youth programs, we are finally

ready for a director – Erick

McKnight.

The Mustard Seed Summer 2013

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News for

Families

Youth & Children

I want to join with you in welcoming Erick

McKnight as our Director of Youth and

Children’s Ministry. Erick and Meredith

recently joined our congregation, and we look

forward to celebrating the baptism of their

daughter in the near future.

Prior to coming to Marengo, Erick served a

number of United Methodist Churches. He has

served as a congregational pastor and director

of youth, children and family ministries. Erick

was appointed as the pastor of United

Methodist congregations in Capon, Chemung,

Shirland and Owen Center. He has also

directed children, youth and family ministries

at Linn Presbyterian Church and First United

Methodist Church in Palatine. Currently, he is

a Unit Technician, managing a group of 14

adolescents through their recovery process, at

the Rosecrance Griffin Williamson Campus.

Erick is a graduate of North Central College

with a degree in psychology and has studied at

Welcome the McKnight family and Erick as our new

Director of Youth and Children’s Ministry!

Duke Divinity School and Garrett Evangelical

Theological Seminary.

He joins us at a particularly propitious moment

in our congregational life. Due to the

development of wonderful youth and children’s

ministries, we have grown and are now in need

of focused leadership, organizational

development and volunteer collaboration. I

believe that God has led Erick to us at a time

when we need his gifts the most. With Erick’s

guidance, I believe we can take the next step in

our goal to be a community church, reaching

out with the message and hope of Jesus Christ

to people of all ages.

He will need, however, your help. Please help

and pray for Erick, as he seeks to do God’s

work among us. Join him in serving Christ by

serving the needs of our children and youth.

Pastor Keck

Summer 2013 Marengo United Methodist Church

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Annual “Sunday Driver”

Motorcycle and Car Trip

Sunday, July 28th

11:30 a.m.

Destination: Old World

Wisconsin

Ruth Circle Gift Acknowledgement:

On behalf of the Trustees, I want to thank the

members of Ruth Circle for their very generous

donation of $720.00 to purchase the twelve new

conference room chairs. We all have been

enjoying their comfort during our time in church

meetings. Each year Ruth Circle produces many

interesting craft items which they sell to the

community during their Annual Christmas

Bazaar. In addition to supporting the work of

UMW and their missions, Ruth Circle shares the

fruits of their labor by donating funds to the

church for various needed items. The new

conference room chairs are a gift we will all

appreciate in the coming years. Thank you so

very much.

Richard Anderson, for the Board of Trustees

Thank You from Isaiah Burnside

Over Christmastime, Pat Merritt’s grandson,

Isaiah, who was serving our military overseas,

had given a plea for long underwear and warm

clothes for children in an orphanage he was

volunteering at. Isaiah has passed along a thank

you and some pictures of the children. (Some are

wearing the hats made by MUMC’s Hat Ministry)

“A huge thank you to everyone who donated clothes to the local orphanage that I have been associated with lately. Everyone's generosity by far surpassed

my wildest expectations. The donations brought smiles to kid’s faces that usually have nothing to smile about. It was a great visit to the orphanage and the children couldn't be more appreciative.

Thank u again for all the support and the wonderful donations. Hopefully the attached photos show how much of an impact your contributions made.”

Isaiah Burnside


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Change Marengo Sunday – May 19th @ 10:00 a.m.

Pentecost Sunday and last Sunday School Classes of the season.

Following the service, join us for a church picnic at the Park

District.

Memorial Day Sunday – May 26th @ 10:00 a.m.

Join us as we dedicate our restored stain glass windows.

Graduation Sunday – June 2nd @ 8:30 & 10:00 a.m. services

This Sunday we celebrate and honor our High School graduates.

First Life 101 class meets at 11:15 a.m.

Fathers’ Day Sunday – June 16th

Mission Dedication Sunday – June 30th

Youth and Rosebud Mission Teams will be dedicated prior to

their mission trips.

Summer Sunday Schedule Begins – July 7th @ 9:30 a.m.

Beginning this Sunday we move to one unified service. Services

will be traditional or contemporary in worship style. We will

continue with this summer schedule through Labor Day

weekend.

Youth Mission Sunday – July 21st

Share in the stories of our first youth mission trip to Keansburg,

New Jersey.

“Sunday Driver” Sunday – July 28th

Last year we took a motorcycle and car ride to Wisconsin to

honor the memory of Ken Dennison. This year we continue the

tradition with a Sunday ride to Old World Wisconsin.

Church Family Sunday – August 11th

We will celebrate what it means to be a church family by

traveling to Wesley Woods Retreat Center on Lake Geneva to

enjoy lunch and the afternoon together.

Rockford Rescue Mission Sunday – August 25th

Every year we volunteer to prepare lunches and feed the residents

of the Rockford Rescue Mission. We also worship with them and

share our love of Jesus Christ.

Rally Day – September 8th @ 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.

This is the Sunday that we return to two services and welcome

back our choirs and Sunday School classes.

Sunday Summer Schedule

It has been on our “to do list”

for many years. We have never

had the financial resources to

repair and protect our stained

glass windows. Due to a

generous gift from the Audrey

Anderson Fund, we have been

able to complete the work of

repairing all our windows and

installing protective glass.

Have you seen the results? They

are quite amazing. The windows

shine with a glory we have not

seen for many years. With the

protective glass, they will

continue to shine for generations

to come.

Join us as we re-dedicate our

windows on Sunday, May 26th at

our unified 10:00 a.m. services.

Stain Glass

Windows

Done!


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Continued from page 1

Marengo churches will join us at lunch.

Our Rosebud Mission Team will be raising money for their trip

by providing lunch. So, even if you cannot help on Sunday,

have lunch at the Park District and support the Rosebud Team.

Also, since it is Pentecost Sunday, we are asking that you find

something red to wear to church and at the picnic. Red is the

traditional color for Pentecost, since it is remembered for the fire

of the Holy Spirit that entered the church.

Below is a list of projects that we will undertake. Choose a

couple and join us!

Pool Area

Power wash inside of bath houses Paint Floors in both houses

(Two-part epoxy paint)

Paint pool floor

Weed & prepare sand play areas (easier project)

Weed and clean out landscaping

Cut out dead trees & clean out west fence area

Pond

Repair drainage ditch, provide proper grading

Building Parking Area, West Side

Remove railroad ties and replace with stones

Building Parking Area, East Side

Clean up tree line

Hiking Trail

Clear out and widen where brush and trees are encroaching

VACATION BIBLE

SCHOOL

REGISTER NOW

$5 per child through May

26th ($10 after that)

Information and

Registration forms went out

in the mail

and there are also

registration forms on the

Welcome Center table.

SAVE THE DATES:

August 5 –9

6:00-8:00 pm

HEY EVERYBODY…..

You know you want to

help…

Call Liz McGowan

815-568-0992


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Renwick Park

Pick up trash and fill gopher holes

Shelter #5

Power wash, scrape, prime & paint south side

Tree Line along O’Connell Road

Clean up debris after a 10 ft wide strip has been cut along the road. Clear out dead and downed

trees.

Skateboard Area

Remove growth in fence line

Remove brush to the north

Doral Park

Move 5-7 cubic yards of black dirt

Level dirt, seed, and add straw

Donations

We will need cash donations for the various supplies. Please make them to your particular church. Thanks!!

General Tool Recommendations A. for Outdoor work

1. work gloves

2. hat

3. sunscreen

4. insect repellant

B. Interior cleaning and painting

1. Hat

2. Latex gloves

C. For brush clearing

1. Work gloves

2. Loppers

3. Garden rake

4. Chain saw

1. Pool Area

A. Power wash* inside of bath houses 1. Power washer 2. Boots

3. Cleaning soap B. Paint floors in both

houses (Two-part epoxy paint)

1. Paint mixer 2. Latex gloves 3. Rollers

4. Pans 5. Roller pads

6. Handle extensions C. Paint pool floor – same as above plus 1. hat

2. sunscreen D. Weed & prepare sand play areas

(volleyball court and playground) 1. work gloves

2. hat 3. weeding tools

4. spade 5. garden rake

E. weed & clean out landscaping 1. weeding tools 2. garden rake

3. shovel F. Cut out dead trees & clean out west

fence area 1. “loppers”

2. pruning saw 3. garden rake 4. lawn rake

5. Chain saw

2. Pond A. Repair drainage ditch

1. Shovels

2. Pry bars 3. Garden rakes

(Continued)


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B. Provide proper grading – same as above

3. Building Parking Area, West Side

A. Remove railroad ties & replace with

stones

1. Pry bar

2. shovels

4. Building Parking Area, East Side

A. Clean up tree line

1. “loppers”

2. pruning saw

3. garden rake

4. chain saw?

5. Hiking Trail

A. Clear out and widen where brush & trees

are encroaching

1. “loppers”

2. pruning saw

3. garden rake

4. chain saw?

6. Renwick Park

A. Pick up trash and fill gopher holes

1. shovels

2. dirt?

3. garbage bags

7. Shelter #5

A. power wash*, scrape, prime & paint

south side

1. power washer

2. scraper and wire brush

3. Paint brush

4. rollers and pans

5. step ladder(s)

8. Tree Line along O’Connell Road

A. Clean up debris after a 10 ft wide strip

has been cut along the road

1. “loppers”

2. garden rakes

B. Clear out dead & downed trees

1. chain saw

9. Skateboard Area

A. Remove growth in fence line

1. weeding tools

2. shovel

B. Remove brush to the north

1. “loppers”

2. garden rake

3. chain saw?

10. Doral Park

A. Move 5-7 cubic yards of black dirt

1. shovels

2. wheelbarrows

B. Level dirt, seed, & add straw

1. garden rake

2. seed spreader

3. seed?

11. Woods

A. Cut dead & down trees for firewood

1. chain saw

2. gas

3. chain oil

12. Concession Stand

A. Clean concession stand

1. pails

2. sponges, rags

3. Pine Sol, Spic & Span, etc.

(Continued)


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Allow me to

share a brief

story with you.

It was June of

2009; I was

working in the

Welcome

Center at the

Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This

has been an annual mission trip I have been

attending for the past 6 years. Most years I

helped with painting, dry walling, and helping

to build a wheelchair entrance, until 2009. You

see the Welcome Center is a very easy, inside,

low stress job, just right for me. That day my

job was to stock shelves and I was very happy

to help. I was working when a man came up to

me asked if my name was Russ. Politely I said

“no” and he then asked if I could help him.

He stated to me that his roof was leaking and all

he wanted was a tarp to cover the hole. I told

him I would see what I could do but he really

needed to talk to Russ from the Tree of Life

organization. At that crucial point he looked up

at me and said if he couldn’t get any help that he

had picked out his tree. When he finished that

sentence I sat down in shock. You see that very

morning, we had been told that this was a

favorite saying of the Lakota. Translated it

meant that if things got too bad they had their

own tree picked out to end their life. I was

trembling as I sat there thinking I am not a

counselor, who can I find to help this man?

I sat there as Everett started his story. He told

me how his car had died and because he had no

The Story of Everett by Bob Rucker

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of excellent coffee, tea, and chocolate bars. Stop in the narthex and place an order. Prices are

on the order sheets. (Chocolate will be available again this fall). If you have any questions

please contact Judy Andrews, 568-7746 or [email protected].

Continued on next Page.


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transportation, he had lost his job in Rapid City.

With no job he couldn’t feed his family so his

family went to Montana to another reservation

to live. His house was in need of repairs, a new

roof, doors, and windows. All he wanted was a

tarp to keep the rain out. I continued sitting

there listening, and he just continued talking

about his life. He told me about walking 10

miles into town each day to have a hot meal,

which was his only meal. Then he would walk

home and do the same thing the next day again.

He told me about dancing in Pow Wows as a

young man. Then he told me about dancing in

many Sun Dances and participating in sweat

lodges, which are very sacred to the Lakota.

While telling me about this, he started crying,

and then continued to share his entire life’s

history.

I sat there and listened to him for 2 hours as he

got everything off of his chest. People would

walk by, look at us and I just ignored them as

this man sat there, pouring out his heart to me.

He never touched his food as he talked to me.

The longer he talked it was like a heavy weight

was being lifted off of him. Finally he stated

that he had bothered me long enough. I was

stunned, a little speechless, but managed to

convey that he was no bother, and I loved

hearing the story of his life. I felt closer to him

than almost anyone else I had met on the

Reservation.

I looked at the women in the kitchen preparing

food, who were from my group and asked

them to prepare him some new hot food. I had

also asked the ladies to bag up what they had

served him 2 hours ago so he could take it

home. As he got his new meal we stood up

and I started to shake his hand. To my surprise

he hugged me and said thank you for listening

to him. I looked at him and said thank you for

sharing his life story with me. As I left to go

back to work I said a prayer for Everett. Later

when I found Russ, I told him Everett’s story

and he said he would see how he could help.

I thought about and prayed for Everett for the

entire year until I went back to Rosebud in

2010. The first thing I did was ask Russ about

Everett. I cannot tell you the relief and joy in

my heart when I found out about how his life

had turned around. According to Russ, Everett

had found a new job, had a car that was

running, a new roof and

food in the house and

was in the planning

stages of getting his

family back from

Montana.

Help Support this year’s

Rosebud Mission Team

on Sunday, May 19th

Hot Dogs, Chips, Desserts & Drinks will be

served at our picnic at the Park District.

Support them with your free will offerings!

(Continued)


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Marengo United Methodist Church

Wesley Woods

Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013

A day of fun, family, fellowship, good food, and play.

Picnic lunch on the beach followed by fishing,

swimming, boating, archery, volleyball, basketball,

hiking, sunning, resting.

Costs:

Lunch: Free for children 2 and under, $4 children 3-6, $8 age 7 and up

Archery $2 per person for 1 hour session (in groups of up to 12)

Kayak and Canoe usage $8—for whole afternoon—we can organize hourly usage if desired. 1 person per Kayak. Up to 3 in canoes. (2 adults, 1 child). Life jackets provided.

Sunfish Sailboats $10 per hour (experienced sailors)

Pontoon Boat 1 hour cruise $5 per person


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Parent’s Day Out Update

With the ever-evolving Parent’s Day Out

Programs, it’s important to keep reminding our

church family, as well as our community, about

what we offer for our children. In the past four

years, we have added a summer preschool

program, an after school program, a before school

program, and full time childcare at our childcare

center. It’s hard to keep up with all these changes,

even for me!

These changes

have been

brought about

largely based

on input from

families in our

programs as to

what their

needs are as

their own families grow, change, and age. In the

beginning, we served children between the ages of

12 months-5 years. We now offer programs from

15 months -12 years old! In the beginning, we

offered programs from 9 AM to 1 PM during the

months of September through May. We now

offer programs year round, beginning from 6:30

AM and ending at 6:00 PM!

And, we are set to change once more! This

summer, we are planning to offer a school age

summer camp for children ages 5 years old-12

years old. Weekly themes, field trips, swimming

at the pool, outdoor play, and academic

reinforcement will be just some of the fun things

that will be offered. Our hours will be from 6:30

AM to 6:00 PM. We will serve breakfast, lunch,

and two snacks during the day.

Registration for Preschool Summer and School

Age Summer Program is open now. Registration

for 2013-14 School Year for Preschool and

Before & After School began March 18, 2013

and our Childcare Center has openings and

is taking registrations now.

Please help us to continue to grow and serve

our community and church families by

spreading the news of all the wonderful

opportunities we offer here at Marengo

United Methodist Church!

God’s Blessings,

Jennifer Haas

PDO Director

Thanks for the Pretzels!

Pretzel Sunday was a huge success, I would

like to thank everyone who helped with

baking, assisting and game playing. The kids

really enjoyed it; not only did they get to

make pretzels, they also got to play twister

and get all twisted up like pretzels. There

were some stories about the History of the

pretzel that were sent home for the kids. I

hope you enjoy reading it to them or with

them. They were all so tasty!

Thank you for

the kind

donations of

pretzels that we

can also share

with our troops

overseas.

Kathy Wojtas

Sunday School

Superintendent


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This year has been a lot of fun learning,

playing and just being silly. The Middle

School Youth group has had a very busy year.

We have found that the kids are very proficient

in the kitchen! At our very first meeting for

this year, the kids made dinner for Debbie

Oakes and her family. The kids grouped up

and worked so well together. Each group

made one dish each: baked mostaciolli,

homemade meatballs, green bean casserole,

corn bread, and cake (which went to the Oakes

residence un-frosted with a new can of frosting

because the cake was still too hot to frost at the

church!) It was really great to see the kids

work together. The second trip to the kitchen

was for our Christmas cupcake baking and

pizza party in December. Many of you got to

see the explosion of cupcakes from that baking

fun. The kids grouped up again and each got

many, many, many boxes of generously

donated cake mixes. The kids followed

instructions to and baked up about 300 or so

cupcakes, I believe.

January was low key after all the busy-ness of

Christmas. The kids made encouragement cards

for children in hospitals. They were distributed

through a non-profit organization called, “Cards

for Hospitalized Kids.” The young girl who

started the foundation is in a wheel chair herself

and has spent much time in and out of hospitals.

During some of her toughest challenges she found

cheer through cards given to her from people she

didn’t even know. So she created the non-profit

and collects and distributes cards to kids all over

the country in hospital care. Our kids made some

really great cards for the kids.

February brought another fun meeting as we

watched the video by Sanctus Real of their song,

“The Face of God” and then discussed living our

life to be the “Face of God”. Then it was

downstairs to our Pajama Party! We kicked off

the fun with a PJ’s Fashion Show. The girls voted

for the boys winner and the boys for the girls.

Brody Coudal took first for the boys in a tight race

with Jacob Vance and Anthony Gailloreto.

Continued on next Page.

Middle School Youth Group – What has been happening?

Spring Cleaning at Christ Wilcox’s


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Maddy Fitch took first for the girls.

In March we had an UNO tournament and

learned about being “ONE” with God. We did

a little “science-like” experiment where vinegar

represented Jesus’ teaching. (His words,

actions, love.)

Jesus showed his followers how to truly “Walk

the talk” of Christianity by joining together with

him.

First we added the vinegar (Jesus’ teachings) to

a teaspoon of powdered milk in a clear jar.

“Some people curdle like this powdered milk.

They complain about how hard it is to follow

God and they never grow. They just turn into

lumps of gunk.”

Then we added the vinegar (Jesus’ teachings) to

a teaspoon of baking soda in a clear jar.

“Some Christians have lots of fizz when they

first hear Jesus’ words, but very little follow-

through.”

Then we added the vinegar (Jesus’ teachings) to

a teaspoon of oil in a clear jar.

“Some people never learn how to mix Jesus’

words and teachings into their lives.”

Then we added the vinegar (Jesus’ teachings) to a teaspoon of clear water in a clear jar.

“What does the jar look like?” The kids

answered, “water”. We passed the jar around to smell it and it smelled like “Jesus’ teachings”.

“The water has become part of the vinegar. In the same way, we need to be Christians who

become so much like Jesus that people see Him

when they look at us.”

1 Corinthians 6:17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one

spirit with Him.

April took us on our first outing to the Glo-Bowl

Fun Center. What an amazing time. 23 middle

school-aged youth attended and had a blast.

What I really admired from our kids was the

way they worked together to form teams at each

lane. No one was left out. Then each of the

“teams” all intermingled as they danced, sang

and bowled all night. It was wonderful.

Finally, we had our May meeting at Ms. Chris

Wilcox’ home where we celebrated her 90th

birthday. Our youth worked to spring clean her

yard and planted a few flowers. Ms. Chris made

cookies and the kids all sat cozy in her living

room talking to her and each other. The kids

had the light of the Spirit in their eyes while they

were learning and talking to Ms. Chris.

We keep it all very simple, and it turns out very

meaningful. It is fun showing the kids that

everything doesn’t have to be a giant production

each time we get together, and just meeting

together in His name is a lot of fun.

We plan to head to the Park District for our June

meeting and will welcome our new 5th graders!!

From there we have plans to attend the Annual

Conference Youth Session and hope to gather

for a summer outing, possibly to an Aviator

ballgame or to a Sycamore Stock-car Race.

Finally it will be back to business (and more fun

and fellowship) in September with our monthly

meetings on the first Friday of the month.

Dawn Hoffman

Co-Middle School Youth Leader

www.MarengoUMC.org Office: 815-568-7162

Marengo United Methodist Church

119 E. Washington Street

Marengo, IL 60152

[Recipient]

As the people of Keansburg, New Jersey continue to rebuild after

hurricane Sandy, hundreds of youth and adults from around the

country are preparing to arrive in July to aid them in their work.

Here in Marengo, we have been working on putting together a

team of youth and adults that will leave the first week of July to

travel to Keansburg. They will spend a week with over 400 other

Christians working on homes that are in need of repair.

This Keansburg home, picture on the right, is an example of the

efforts to repair homes that have been damaged and prepare them

for the future. FEMA has required that some homes be rebuilt and

elevated. While we will not elevate homes, we will help to rebuild

homes for residents who cannot afford to do the work themselves.

Thank you for your support. Thank you for donating over $700 for

Bonnie Voller’s baked goods. You are such a blessing to us.

Youth Mission Trip

Documents

2013 MUMC Summer Mustard Seed