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2016 April~ Letter from our Senior Pastor
Easter Litany
We thought you were dead. We thought the cross was the end. We thought that when the stone rolled over the tomb, that was it.
But this is it: the dead are living; t he cross is empty; the stone is rolled, and one word describes it all: Alleluia! Jesus is risen!
We thought you had said your final word. We thought those with the power had won. We thought that when you cried out, that was it.
But this is it: the word breathes; the powers are defeated; the final cry was only the beginning, and one word says it all: Alleluia! Jesus is risen!
We thought the story was finished. We thought the hope had ended. We thought that when the tomb was sealed, that was it.
But this is it: the story has just begun; the hope is newly born; the tomb is empty, and one word says it all: Alleluia! Jesus is risen!
This is the news: Jesus is risen!
This is the moment Jesus is alive!
This is the gospel Jesus is with us!
We thought that when they crucified you, death had defeated life, and that was it.
But this is it: Love is stronger than death, and one word says it all: Alleluia! Jesus is risen!
~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws
In This Issue
Letter from our Senior Pastor
Worship Page
Pathway Pages
Special Announcements
Epworth Classifieds
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Epworth: a United Methodist Church Newsletter E-NEWS ~ April 2016
Letter from our Senior Pastor
In my Holy Week preparations, I found this Easter Litany and loved its message. I encourage you to save this page and read this daily during the 50 days of Easter. As a prayer, a time of worship, a reminder of the Good News of these 50 days of Easter!! With love and gratitude,
Worship in April
Sundays in April
April 3, 2016 2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20: 19-31
April 10, 2016 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 9: 1-20
April 17, 2016 4th Sunday of Easter
Revelations 7: 9-17 Psalm 23
April 24, 2016 4th Sunday of Easter
John 13: 31-35
Church Leadership
Rev. Victoria Starnes Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Pat Loughlin
Associate Pastor
Rev. Kody Witt
Assistant Pastor
Mickie McManamon
Doug Yetter
Director of Music Ministries
Betsy Plowman
Preschool Director
Debbie Hunt
Special Projects/Newsletter
Ken Mahan
Darlene Ford
Office Manager
Diana Young
Administrative Assistant
Wanda Hudson, Sheila Cottman,
Bill Steward, Mike Harrigan
Custodians
Bill Jones
Kitchen Sexton
Fred Smith
Cemetery Superintendent
Glen Pruitt
Lay Leader
Church Council Members
EPWORTH NEWS is published periodically by the Epworth
United Methodist Church and distributed without charge to
members and friends of the church.
©2014 by Epworth United Methodist Church.
All rights reserved.
April Newsletter
Sponsored in memory of
Loved Ones by Andy &
Linda D’Aloisio
Worship Page ~ April 2016
Stewardship: Grocery Card Program Epworth has begun a new program to benefit the foundation of all we do, our CHURCH. Each Sunday volunteers are in the Narthex to provide grocery gift cards for the following stores in our area:
Giant,
Acme,
Food Lion, and
Safeway.
Everyone grocery shops. The cards will be at face value, but the merchants pay back 3-5% to Epworth. This program provides a way to help defer our expenses while still giving the buyer full value.
Cards are available in $50 and $100 denominations. Payment may be made by cash, check, or via the kiosk. (A service charge will be added for using the kiosk to cover our credit card fees). If paying by check, make checks payable to Epworth Fund Raising.
Your support of this new program to help with the Epworth budget will be greatly appreciated! (P.S. This program is open to your friends and neighbors.) If you have any questions, c o n t a c t J e a n n e J e r f s t e n a t [email protected] or Joanne Quass at [email protected].
Epworth Preschool: On behalf of the children and staff who use the Education Wing, THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the “Keep Our Children Warm” fundraising
campaign. We appreciate your generosity and support for our programs! Thank you!
P r e s c h o o l - N e w Offering: Epworth Preschool is now offering a 5 day, 9:00am - 3:00pm class for children ages 2-4. Curriculum will include, but not be limited to:
Our regular morning schedule, 9:00am-12:00 noon;
Lunchtime; Arts and Crafts; Age-appropriate math and science
readiness skills; Planned themes; Cooking; Music; Exercise
Cost: $575 per month Supply Fee: $300 (one-time payment)
Class space will be limited For more information call the
Preschool office at 227-7120 or e-mail Betsy Plowman at
Pathway Pages ~ April 2016
Pathway Pages ~ April 2016
Social Justice: Fair trade coffee, teas, chocolate bars,
and olive oil products are sold by the Social Justice Pathway the first Sunday of every month. Look for the fair trade sales table in Fellowship Hall from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m.
There are still enough chilly mornings and evenings in April to enjoy a cut of hot cocoa! Here is an interesting recipe from Equal Exchange (our fair trade products provider) for Chai-Spiced Hot Cocoa:
2 cups milk of your choice; 2 Tbsp. Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa; 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar; dash of cardamom; dash of ground ginger; dash of allspice; dash of ground cloves; and dash of cinnamon.
Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and stir consistently over low heat for several minutes, until hot enough for your taste. Serves two.
As you enjoy this drink, remember that all chocolate and cocoa products from Equal Exchange avoid cacao beans farmed or harvested using forced child
labor, which infests much of the chocolate traded in the world.
In 2010, three plaintiffs who allege they are former victims of child slavery in Ivory Coast filed a lawsuit against Nestle USA, Archer Daniels Midland, and Cargill in a U.S. District Court in California. The complaint alleged the three companies aided and abetted child slave labor. The plaintiffs claim they were forced to work for up to 14 hours per day, 6 days a week; that they were given only scraps of food and were whipped by overseers. At night, the plaintiffs claim they were locked in small rooms. The District Court dismissed the complaint in September 2010. The dismissal was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in September 2014. The Circuit Court’s opinion notes the corporate defendants dominate the Ivory Coast cocoa market, which produces 70% of the world’s supply of cocoa. They maintain a steady supply of cocoa by forming exclusive buyer/seller agreements with Ivory Coast farmers. The Circuit Court remanded (sent back) the matter to the
District Court with directions to allow the plaintiffs to amend their complaint to accommodate recent changes in the law relating to the Alien Tort Statute, which allows civil actions by aliens in federal courts for a tort committed in violation of international law. John Doe, et al., v. Nestle, et al., 766 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir. 2014).
The three corporate defendants appealed the 9th Circuit Court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in January 2016, the Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari, allowing the Circuit Court’s decision to stand without hearing at the top court. This means the plaintiff’s case may continue in the lower courts. If the plaintiffs are successful, the court will allow proceeding as a class action and damages could be recovered not only for the 3 initial plaintiffs, but also for others who are former slaves. Abby McGill, campaigns director for t h e W a s h i n g t o n , D C - b a s e d International Labor Rights Forum, said a recent study showed that 2.1 Million…
cont’d on next page
Pathway Pages ~ April 2016
Cont’d from previous page... children in Ivory Coast and Ghana
were still involved in forced labor in the cocoa industry. McGill said efforts to alleviate forced child labor have so far not been fruitful “because they are not focused on improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers, who are so poor they are unable to provide workers with a living wage.”
One of the purposes of fair trade is, of course, to provide small farmer families with a living wage by paying a fair price for their labor. Equal Exchange works very hard to ensure that coerced child labor is not used in farming, harvesting and processing of its food and beverage products.
Readers can learn more about the lawsuit against the 3 food corporations by conducting internet searches focusing on the case name or by focusing on the company names and child slavery.
The Food Empowerment Project promotes just and sustainable sources for food and also promotes a vegan diet. The project has published a list of chocolate producers showing whether the companies source chocolate from areas where slavery can still be found. Unfortunately, the list only includes companies that produce vegan products, so Nestle and Mars, which are culpable, are not on the list because they make no vegan products. The list can be found at www.foodispower.org/chocolate-list/ Small Farmers – Big Change!
Kiva@Epworth Celebrates One Year Anniversary The Social Justice Pathway is so
excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Kiva@Epworth. You may have already heard about kiva.org but if you have not; Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.
At Epworth, it works like this. We join together over a meal and make a free will donation. Next, we pool the money with the interest that has been earned from our former loans and browse the profiles of possible lendees. It could be a dairy farmer in Kenya, a woman who needs a refrigerator for her restaurant in Honduras or a tailor in Bulgaria. We then select entrepreneurs and make one or more loans. Kiva also shows us where our money goes and how our small loan makes a big difference.
Since Kiva was founded in 2005, there have been 1,350,152 Kiva lenders with $776,972,750 in loans in over 83 countries. That is astounding but even more celebratory is that in the one year since our Kiva@ Epworth has been operating, we have loaned $1,350 to 27 entrepreneurs in 18 countries. The very first loan we made has been repaid in full. 81% of our loans have been to
women with children. We are thrilled with what we have
accomplished so far and we feel it is time to grow and invite others to join us in this endeavor. We meet every other month, on the second Wednesday, we meet in Scott’s Chapel at 5:30 p.m. We encourage you to stop by at our next meeting , visit kiva.org and learn more, read the stories and then, if you are interested in changing the world one loan at a time; become a member of our team.
Food Truck Fridays return starting
April 8, 4-7:00 p.m.
STEWARDSHIP OPPORTUNITY
One way to give to Epworth is via hundreds of Online Merchants. If you shop online you may already be using a participating merchant and if you join shopEPWORTH, every time you shop online the merchant will send a referral check to Epworth. It is really easy to do, too. Once you join, your computer will do all the work- automatically. Yes, automatically.
FIRE: FIRE, which stands for Faithfully Inviting and Reconciling Everyone, plans to have a presence in Fellowship Hall the first Sunday of each month. Members of the FIRE team will be at the Fair Trade table sponsored by the Social Justice Pathway. Please stop by to learn about events FIRE is sponsoring or planning and to peruse materials from the Reconciling Ministries Network. You can sign up to become a part of the growing FIRE team and reserve a FIRE stole. Stop by and catch the fire!
Film Screening/Discussion on Opening The United Methodist Church To LGBTQ Clergy & Congregants
Epworth’s FIRE (Faithfully Inviting a n d R e c o n c i l i n g E v e r y o n e ) organization – in partnership with the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) of the UMC – is sponsoring a screening of the documentary film, “An Act of Love,” on Sunday, April 24, in the Epworth sanctuary. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. and is open to all. There is no admission charge.
Donations will be accepted at the event and will go toward the costs of obtaining and showing the film.
An Act of Love tells the story of the Rev. Frank Schaefer’s religious trials for officiating his son’s same-sex marriage and the ensuing controversy that made national headlines and continues to challenge the UMC’s doctrine. FIRE and the RMN hope to inspire United Methodists to change the doctrine at the 2016 General Conference and embrace their LGBTQ clergy and congregants.
RMN has created a campaign website rmnetwork.org/itstime to enable supporters and allies to share their stories and tell their General C o n f e r e n c e delegates that “It’s Time” for full LGBTQ inclusion in The United Methodist Church.
The Best is Yet to Come!
Have you been sneaking a peek at the obituary columns lately? Afraid you are going to see your name? Counting
the tiny wrinkles that have been sneaking into various crooks and crannies as your skin is possibly starting to sag a bit? Afraid you just might be getting old? Tom Starnes (you know him—he’s that older guy who sits with Wave) gathers a few older folks like those described above to join him the first Tuesday of every month to chat about all sorts of wonderful subjects that younger folks
have no clue about. The problems of the world are not solved, but it’s such fun to talk about our little problems that often seem so big. Attendance is not taken, reservations not needed, participation or even listening not required—come when you can or want, but come join a mixed group of caring people. Branford Lounge 10:30 a.m. the first Tuesday of every month.
Special Announcements ~ April 2016
Special Announcements ~ April 2016
2 + 12 = 1………..Really?! Yes! When the two women of Simple Gifts take the stage with 12 instruments, you can count on having one very good time! Please join us on Saturday, April 9, at 8:00 pm, when Simple Gifts will be in concert at Epworth! Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance in the church office or at the door. Karen Hirshon and Linda Littleton play a wide variety of ethnic folk music. We’ll hear wonderful selections that range from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer freilachs, haunting Gypsy melodies, and exotic Balkan dance tunes. Throughout their performance, Simple Gifts puts their own distinctive stamp on traditional tunes, creating some of the finest arrangements in folk music today. Based in State College PA, Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon have performed as Simple Gifts since 1995.
Their performances include appearances at the Smithsonian, Longwood Gardens, Hershey Theater, National Theatre, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Ontario Center for Performing Arts, Old Songs Festival, Pennsylvania Consort Society, and dozens of schools and colleges throughout the region. F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t : www.simplegiftsmusic.com and www.eumcrb.org .
Camp Pecometh Make plans to join us this year for Pecometh Day on Saturday, April 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Bring your family and friends and enjoy some great activities, including hayrides. Steve, the Bal-loon Man, games, music and more!
Plus, there will be an opportunity for you to tour the camp property, meet our staff, and learn more about the camp programs we offer to your camp-er. For more information, visit us online at our Pecometh Day page.
Also, don’t forget about our Volunteer Day, Saturday, April 16 from 8:00 a.m.—4:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit us online at our Volunteer Day page. We look forward to seeing you this April.
HELP WANTED ~ April 2016
HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED
MANY HANDS
MAKE LESS
WORK & MORE
FUN...
Many of our Pathways
are busy working on
many, many, many
different projects. Call
the church office to
volunteer, 302.227.7743.
thekitchen@epworth
food rescue
Christmas Joy! 365
Youth Leaders
thegarden@epworth
Worship Visuals
Planning
Set-up
GARDNERS
GARDNERS
GARDNERS
YES! GARDENERS
Communications
Pathway
The Communications Pathway a vital part in the life of our church is looking to add new members to our team. We help share the good news of Jesus Christ and the many ministries at Epworth. Our biggest need to to develop a team of “runners” who deliver brochures and church announcements to local hotels and keep them stocked. The runners will also be asked to “run” around town placing posters in local business, such as hotels, restaurants, book and grocery stores and libraries. For more information see Kenny Mahan or via e-mail at [email protected].
Send your
HELP WANTED messages to
The deadline is the 15th of each month
Our Caring Pathway seeks to provide care for our members, friends,
and their families through a variety of services. Please contact Mickie
McManamon at 302.227.7743 x107 if you can help. We are currently
seeking additional volunteers for the following ministries:
LEASHES OF LOVE Are you interested in participating in Epworth’s
Leashes of Love Pet Ministry? Our friends at “Doggies at the Beach” are
hosting a training session on Saturday May 16th at 1 pm. At this session,
your dog can qualify for a Pet Ministry certification. This will allow you
and your dog(s) to start visiting assisted living facilities in our community.
All dogs should be well tempered, interact well with other dogs and be
comfortable interacting with residents in the facilities. If you have any
questions concerning our pet ministry or training, please contact Barbara
Kulbaba at [email protected] 302-569-1607 or Jean Waters at
[email protected] 302-226-1555.
caring.eumcrb.org SPRING IS HERE:
The gardens surrounding the church are now peeking out as the weathers warms up. We have a small team of people who take care of the gardens, but we
can always use more… more hands, more shovels, more tender loving care. In joining the team, all we ask is that join us when you are available - hopefully - regularly and help keep our gardens in good growing order. If this sounds like a job for you, please contact Kenny Mahan at [email protected] or 302.227.7743 ext 101.
2016-17 Enrollment
Applications are now available for the 2016-17 Preschool year. Parents and guardians are welcome to enroll their children ages 2 to 5.
Call Ms. Betsy at 302.227.7120
or go online to
preschool.eumcrb.org
www.eumcrb.org/ epworth-online-giving/
ISOP KITCHEN! Summer is almost upon us and with summer comes our
weekly ISOP (International Students Outreach Program)
dinners. Contact Reber Whitner to join a team via e-mail
at [email protected]. We need…
- Set-up and clean-up people
- Food Prep and Servers
Birthdays, Anniversaries & Sympathies ~ April 2016
April Birthdays
1st *Al Brown Nettie Green Teri Moore Susan Sprague Dee Ammerman 2nd *Melda Bengston Skylar Hatch Colee Coleman 4th Joyce Koeneman Dane Baich 5th Thad Hudson 6th Reed Jones Joan Jones Marilyn Smith Ron Otis 7th Terry Lake *Jan Woodman 8th Bill Shook Christina Mahaffie *Lucy Koon June Fortney Karen Kaufman Arne Jerfsten 9th Melissa Woodson 10th Corey Mahoney 11th Andrew Montano 12th *George Simpson Maureen Keenan Bob Bryan 13th Grace Pesikey 14th Josh Hensley Harbert 15th James Harris 16th Susan Downs Susan Cunningham Cheryl Tarlecky 17th Ken Mahan Judy Moore Doug Yetter 18th *Dick Harp Sheldon Lebowitz Lamont Hudson 19th Deborah Hannahoe 21st Fred Gentry Monica Ringler 22nd *Gereldine Grant Jackie Shockley *Ray Shaffer 23rd Pam McMillan Guillermo Silveira 24th Lindsey Shook 25th *Evelyn Diggs Susan Mitchell Colby Fausnaught 26th Robbin Murray Mary Maki Ellen Orrell Henri Fields Nancy Brooks *Judith DiFilippo 28th David Humes Barbara Brewer *Dorothy Foster !Elisa Harris
29th *Jane Jones Amantha Allen Jonathon Harper Randy Sproul Jeffrey Shores Richard Garrison Jeffery Shores 30th Melissa Clement ! - Cradle Roll (infant - 3 yrs)
* - 75+ year
April Anniversaries
2nd Jim & Gayle Brebner 4th *Linda & Stuart Bruce 5th Keith & Sheena Sweeney 8th Donna & Harry Wilson Beth & Paul Ewell 9th David & Nancy Bendekovits Charles George & Dennis Rivard 17th *Jim & Gere Barley Carolyn & Gary Arrell 18th Shay & Barry Eli Karen & Jay Abel 21st Chana & Andrew Fitzkee 23rd Frank & Betty Ann McGinnis 25th Susan & Troy Selph 27th *Richard & Joan Thomas 29th Judy & Thad Hudson 30th John & Kathy Carney
50+ years Congratulations
To Dawn Walsh and all the family and
friends of Dawn’s mom, Barbara Pyle
Rev. Woody and Christina Wilson, Mariner’s Bethel, on the death of Rev. Woody’s mother, Helen Zeigler
To Mimi, Chet & Sue Sprague, family & friends on the death of Mimi’s niece and namesake, Mimi Lesnowski, 3/13.
NEW BIBLE STUDY Title: GROWING COMFORTABLE WITH CONTEMPLATION Based on the teachings of Thomas Merton. When: Tuesdays 5/31 –7/2 Duration: 10 weeks Time: 9:30- 11:00 Place: Scott's Chapel Facilitator: Toni Worsham Class limit: 20
Embracing and undergirding the vast volume of Thomas Merton’s written works is the theme of contemplation which he says as “the fundamental reality of life.” According to Thomas, contem-plation “makes life real and alive” and makes each of us “truly and fully human.” This ten-week series of conversations will review and hopefully deepen our understanding of the essential role of contemplation in our own spiritual lives and increase our desire to participate in the mystery of contemplation in which God waits to reveal Himself as the “Being within our being, the Life of our life….the very center of our own inmost self.” Selected readings will be provided throughout the program.
PLACE STAMP HERE
Sunday Morning
Worship Services
7:45 ~ 9:15 ~ 11:15
7:45 &11:15 *
Traditional Worship
Message of Faith
Choir and Special Music
9:15*
PRAISE!
Contemporary Worship**
Sunday School
for all Ages
* Child Care Available
Dress is Casual
** American Sign
Language Interpreted
19285 Holland Glade Road
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
302-227-7743 Fax: 302-227-7891
www.EUMCRB.org
e-mail: [email protected]
Epworth United Methodist Women's Treasure Attic and Bake Sale
Friday, April 8 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Saturday, April 9, 9 am to noon (everything will be 50% off, except baked goods)
You can bring your treasures to Fellowship Hall starting on Sunday, April 3
Please no books, old model televisions, computers or clothes. Would love your furniture, gadgets, china
and other house hold goodies.
If you would like to provide much appreciated help with set-up on Wednesday or Thursday morning beginning at 9:00, with selling on Friday and/or Saturday or providing baked
goods, sign-up sheets are located in the Narthex.
Any questions call Lori Watson at 226-9732 or e-mail me at [email protected]
Paulens Host River Cruise Join Rev. Bob and Sandy Paulen on a Grand Circle Cruise L i n e s ’ 1 5 d a y Amsterdam to Vienna river trip. This classis cruise on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers features 14 ports with pre (Bruges) and post (Prague) trip options. The trip begins November 5, 2016. Details may be viewed at www.get.com/sge16 or contact Bob at 302-226-2269 for a brochure and additional information.
