The Messenger April 2014

First United Methodist Church Wellsville, NY

God’s love grows here . . . Through Worship, Bible Study, and Service W

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Our Staff:

Pastor ………………………………………….Rev. Burton Smith

Office Manager ………………………………Mrs. Kim Smith

Music Director ……………………………….Mr. Evan Farley

Organist ……………………………………....Ms. Joy Caldwell

Church Custodian …………………………...Mrs. Mary Brown

First United Methodist Church of Wellsville

Regular Worship Services 8:30 & 11:00 am

Sunday School 9:45 am

1st Sunday of Month — One Worship Service at 9:45 am

Phone (585) 593-1860

Fax (585) 593-1889

E-mail: lovegrows@wellsvilleumc.org

Web Page: www.wellsvilleumc.org

Serving Christ and Community

Since 1852

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

Sunday, April 6th — 9:45 AM Combined Communion Service

Sunday, April 13th

8:30 AM Regular Service with Presentation of the “Passion of Christ”

11:00 AM Regular Worship with Presentation of Lenten Cantata “Harvest of Sorrows”

by Joseph Martin Directed by Evan Farley

Also the “Passion of Christ” from the

Gospel of Matthew

Thursday, April 17th — 7:30 PM

Maundy Thursday Celebration of Last Supper

Sunday, April 20th — Easter Sunday

8:30 AM — Contemporary Service 11:00 AM — Traditional Service

OUTREACH/MISSION NEWS

This month we bring several opportunities for outreach ministry to your attention. On April 26th the church will be cooking and serving a lunch at the Christian Temple Church. These are excellent opportunities for Christian fellowship while we work together to provide a nutritious meal to less fortunate members of our community. If you are interested in being part of the cooking team, please contact Bryan Caldwell or Max Shay for more details.

In April we will be preparing for the semi-annual donation drive on behalf of the residents of the VA Center in Bath. This is always one of our more successful outreach initiatives, and I expect that to be true in May as well. Some items that are always needed are new under-wear, shaving supplies, stationery, prepaid phone cards, pens, deodorant and other sun-dries. We will be preparing a more complete listing of needed items and publishing that list in the last two church bulletins in April. Look for the patriotically decorated collection box, which will be present in the sanctuary during the month of May. Once again, this is our chance to give back to some deserving veterans who gave so much for their country.

Please consider reaching out to a child in need somewhere in the world. Compassion Interna-tional’s Compassion Child program provides financial, emotional and spiritual support to children in need in third world countries. You can find applications to be part of this worthy effort in the entry area of the church. The cost is $38 a month. By giving that relatively small amount, you can change the life of a child in need and his/her family.

The Outreach Team urges you to get involved and stay involved in the outreach initiatives of the church. Your time, talents and prayers will help those efforts prosper. Thanks for your support. Bryan Caldwell

Grace and Peace to you and yours in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I have often pondered how the disciples coped with the time from Good Friday until Easter morning. It had to be a dark scary time, thinking about what they had seen on Friday. They also had to be scared for their own lives. It was as if a dark cloud had fallen over the past three years and the future they dreamed of with Jesus.

An old newspaper clipping tells the news of the victory at Waterloo and the news arriving in England. There were no phones or telegraph in those times, but everyone knew that Wellington was facing a battle with Napoleon. This was going to have a direct impact on the future of England. A system of semaphore flagmen signaled the news from the shores of France to a ship in the English Channel, then to London and all over England.

When the ship came in, the signalman semaphored the first word of the message, which was W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N. The next word was D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D and the fog came down and the ship could not be seen. WELLINGTON DEFEATED went all over England and there was great distress in the hearts of the people. After two or three hours, the fog lifted and the signal came again: W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D T-H-E E-N-E-M-Y! And then all of England rejoiced!

There was that day, when they put the body of the Lord in the tomb and the message appeared to be: C-H-R-I-S-T D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D. But three days later, the fog lifted!

HE IS RISEN! RISEN INDEED!

May the fullness of God’s victory BE the celebration of your EASTER! Rejoice! HE IS ALIVE!

Love & Peace,

Pastor Burt

An Encouraging Note from Dot James…

How many agree with me that the teenage years are the best for memorizing information. 70 years ago I had a wonderful Sunday School Teacher (Mrs. Kreamer) who wanted us to memorize the titles of the books of the Bible and in the right order in which they appeared! Seeing that the Easter season is upon us, I remember Mrs. Kreamer wanting to teach us what each book meant in regard to Jesus. As I was getting ready for church about three weeks ago, I was listening to Dr. Michael Youssef on the TV, and he was reiterating what I had learned in the 40’s. Perhaps you have not heard it, so here goes… In Genesis — He is the Seed of a Woman In Exodus — He is the Passover Lamb In Leviticus — He is the High Priest In Numbers — He is the Smitten Rock In Deuteronomy — He is the Prophet In Joshua — He is the Captain of the Lord of Hosts In Judges — He is the Great and Final Judge In Ruth — He is the Heavenly Kinsman In Samuel — He is the Anointed One In Kings — He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords In Chronicles — He is the Glory and the Temple of God In Ezra — He is the Teacher come from God In Nehemiah — He is the Rebuilder of Broken Lives In Esther — He is the Protector of His People In Job — He is the only Comforter in times of trouble In Psalms — He is our Good Shepherd In Ecclesiastes — He is the Preacher of the Kingdom of God In the Song of Solomon — He is the Bridegroom coming to His Bride, the Church In Isaiah — He is the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace In Jeremiah — He is the Potter who shapes the clay of our lives into the image of God. In Lamentations — He is the Weeping Prophet In Ezekiel — He is the Wheel in the middle of the Wheel In Daniel — He is the Son of Man who is coming in clouds of great glory, and He is the fourth man in the fiery furnace. In Hosea — He is the Love of God to the backsliders In Joel — He is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit In Amos — He is the Author of Judgment and Mercy In Obadiah — He is the God of Vengeance In Jonah — He is the Salvation of our Lord

In Micah — He is the Great Intercessor In Nahum — He is the Stronghold in the Day of Trouble In Habakkuk — He is the God of Mercy In Zephaniah — He is the Establisher of the Kingdom of God upon the earth In Haggai — He is the Desire of all the Nations In Zechariah — He is the Branch of Jehovah In Malachi — He is the Refiners’ Fire, the Son of Righteousness who shall rise over the entire world with healing in His wings. In Matthew — He is the Kingly Messiah In Mark — He is the Miracle Worker In Luke — He is the Great Physician In John — He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Acts — He is the Risen Lord In Romans — He is our Justification In Corinthians — He is our Sanctification In Galations — He is our Liberation In Ephesians — He is our Perfection In Philippians — He is our Joy In Colossians — He is head of the Body, His Church In Thessalonians — He is the Coming Lord In Timothy — He is the Judge of all Men In Titus — He is the Redeemer of the World In Philemon — He is the Friend who sticks to you closer than a brother. In Hebrews — He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. In James — He is the Healer of all Nations In Peter — He is the Chief Shepherd and the Bishop of our Souls In John — He is the Word of God In Jude — He is the coming One with ten thousand of His Saints to execute judgment upon the earth. In Revelation — He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, the Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords I hope this has drawn you closer to Jesus. Happy Easter! In Agape Love, Dot James Psalms 103:2 & 3 P.S. A research was done why God took 39 stripes. They found out that there are 39 major diseases — the rest of the diseases are offshoots!

FUMC APRIL PRAYER LIST:

1 — Women’s Bible Study 2 — Jail Ministry (Max/David) (Jessie) 3 — Youth for Christ 4 — Men’s Bible Study 5 — Pastor Burt 6 — Pastor’s Wife & Family, Shut-Ins 7 — Choir & Praise Team 8 — Music Director (Evan) 9 — Jail Ministry (John) (Diane) 10 — Holy Week Services 11 — Organist (Joy) 12 — Pastor Burt 13 — Pastor’s Wife & Family, The Sick 14 — Team Meetings & Adm. Council Mtg. 15 — Custodian (Mary) 16 — Jail Ministry (Ron) (Ruth) 17 — Office Manager (Kim) 18 — Children’s Ministry Volunteers 19 — Pastor Burt 20 — Pastor’s Wife & Family, The Unemployed 21 — Naomi Circle 22 — Committed Prayer Warriors 23 — Jail Ministry (Max/David) (Eila) 24 — Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones 25 — Staff Parish Relations Team (SPRT) 26 — Pastor Burt 27 — Pastor’s Wife & Family, The Hospitalized 28 — Children’s Ministry Volunteers 29 — Revival in Our Community 30 — Jail Ministry (John) (Eila)

Food Pantry

Please bring in your nonperishable grocery donations

for the Salvation Army food pantry on the 1st Sunday of

each month; the collection box is located just inside the

sanctuary to the right. Giant register tape & Campbell

Soup label (UPC barcode only) collection bin is located

in the Welcome Room. Thanks for your continued help!

Altar Flowers

To purchase an altar flower arrangement, please sign up on the flower chart next to the bulletin board. Choose an available Sunday; be sure to write In Honor, In Memory or In Celebration of, and the person’s name, along with your name in the “given by” space. We order from Hannigan’s Florist in Belmont. Specific colors can be accommodated, just contact the office with the request a week prior to your designated Sunday. The cost is $15 each. You may pay with cash or a check made out to FUMC. Place it in the offering plate in an envelope marked ’Altar Flowers’ or you may bring it to the Church Office, Mon.-Fri., 9 am—3pm. You may take your arrangement after the 11 AM Service. Thank you for helping to provide beautiful flowers for our Sunday Services!

April Altar Flowers

All Sundays in April are currently available!

April Greeters April Counters

Roy & Polly Lucas Alan Forsberg/Max & Gloria Shay

LIBRARY NEWS UPDATE — MARCH By Sue Browning

During the month of March, we had 9 books donated to the Library. One was donated in Memory of Lillian Fox by Bob and Connie Brandes. “The Price to Pay” by Joseph Fadelle. I have read this book about an Islamic man who is imprisoned and meets a Christian whom he tries to convert to Islam. It turns out the reverse happens and changes his life completely along with his family. He goes through trials and tribulations unimaginative, which he fears will end his life, and almost destroys his family as well. Seven other books were also donated this month. Six were non-fiction and two fiction: “Wounded By God's People” by Anne Graham Lotz “The Heart of Henry Nouwen” by Rebecca Laird & Michael Christensen “First Hand Youth Book” by Ryan & Josh Shook Study Guide “How We Got The Bible” by Neil Lightfoot “Life Application Bible Commentary” by Bruce M. Barton Study Guide

Philippians, Colossians & Philemon “Study of Philippians” Teacher's & Student Study Guide “Serendipity” by Cathy Marie Hakes “The Three Angels” by Kathy Lee Gifford A Children's Book There were four music DVD's also added this month.

The look of the Library has changed a bit with the addition of a new serving table. It will be used for the Coffee Time at Church on Sunday Morning. It was made and donated. Myron Zimmerman built it with Dwight Fanton providing the cherry wood and the planing done by Larry Browning. Beautiful job. Remem-ber to stop in for a snack and drink. We welcome you. Thank you to all the people who donate snacks, coffee, juice boxes & donations for sup-plies to keep this fellowship going. Your gifts are greatly appreciated.

UNITED METHODIST MEN

Greetings From The United Methodist Men. Their will be no breakfast in April. The third Sunday is Easter and their are plenty of things going on that Sunday.

Our next event will be the Annual Mother’s Day Brunch to be held Sunday May 11th at 9:45 am. More information and sign up sheets will be forthcoming in April.

Hopefully the dumpster pad will get poured by summer. Other than that, we are all looking forward to warmer weather. Blessings for your Lenten season, Alan and Bryan.

UMM...where all men and boys are welcome.

NAOMI CIRLCE

Warmer weather is finally approaching and our thoughts are turning to Spring time activities.

The kitchen has been repainted, thanks to the efforts of the Trustees. We have hung new curtains and are in the process of a thorough cleaning. The kitchen will be in great shape heading into summer!

Please note that the United Methodist Women of the Mountain View District are hav-ing a Lenten Communion breakfast on Saturday, April 12th at the Corning Grace UMC beginning at 9:00 am. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested in attending.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday afternoon, April 29th at 3:00 pm. Mary Zimmerman will share devotions. A local Master Gardener will share Gardening tips with us.

Our 2014 Rummage sale will be May 7, 8, and 9th at the Church. We need men and women volunteers to make this a successful event, so please consider helping out. We are looking for clean, working items for sale, and also baked goods for our always popular bake sale. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Diane Forsberg and Sue Sweeting

We are pleased to announce that Bishop Mark Webb of the Upper New York Confer-ence intends to appoint Rev. Gregory DeSalvatore as Pastor of our Church effective July 1, 2014. Pastor Greg is currently serving the Amsterdam UMC and will finish out his appointment there. He and his wife Bonnie have three children and one grand-child. Pastor Greg is a dual career professional, with his earlier career in Building Sciences with an emphasis in structural steel. After a successful 20 year career, he felt God's call to build Christians, and after prayerful discernment and family discussion, he left his job, sold their home and entered Asbury Theological Seminary, graduating 2003. His first appointment was with the Ames-Sprout Brook and Sharon Springs UMC. He was appointed to the Amsterdam UMC, which is similar in attendance to our Church, in 2006. Their current address is 341 Golf Course Road, Amsterdam, NY 12010, welcoming cards and letters are encouraged. We are also asked to pray for Pastor Greg and his family as they prepare once again to follow God's calling. Our current priority is to find adequate rental housing nearby, if anyone knows of any opportuni-ties, contact Elva Cornell or Truett Sweeting.

We are trying to make the web site a useful tool not only for those outside our Church looking for infor-mation about us, but also for those inside our Church looking for information and the latest news.

The site is easy to navigate. There is a “Welcome” page with general information and also a link to the latest Messenger. The “About Us” page has infor-mation on who we are and what we believe as Methodists. This page also has information on our Staff and our Team organization, including current team members. On the “Announcements” page we have the latest news about our Church and high-lights of key upcoming activities. The “Ministries” page contains a lot of good infor-mation on our various Ministries. In the “Prayer” section, you can submit a prayer request and also see our daily prayer list for the month. In the “Children” section there is information on the upcoming “Fun with Art” classes including a registration form. The “Library” page is updated with new titles as they become available. You can also access a Calendar with key upcoming events.

We hope you take the time to look at the web site www.wellsvilleumc.org and see if you find it useful. We welcome new ideas and suggestions for improvement. Please contact Truett Sweeting with comments or if you have something you would like to post.

WEEKLY OFFERING COUNTERS NEEDED

In order to comply with generally accepted accounting practices, we are looking for members of the congregation to help count the weekly offering.

Counting the offering requires approximately 30-45 minutes immediately following the 11:00 service. The counting is done by a team of two unrelated persons every Sunday for a month. Counters rotate months, ultimately counting approximately three months in a year.

An accounting background is not required, although basic math skills are important. Please be in prayerful consideration as to whether the Lord is leading you toward this opportunity and contact Pat Barry to express your interest or to get more details.

EDUCATION TEAM UPDATE

April 5th and 12th are the big days to remember! From 10-11:30 am on those Saturdays, Eila Shea will be leading our “Fun Art” for kids.

We are looking for an alternative to Vaca-tion Bible School, which in the past has served mostly kids who already have church ties and know about the Christian way of life. We still want to serve the kids who attend FUMC, but this year we are mak-ing an effort to also serve the neighborhood kids who may not know about Jesus or who have a distorted view of Christianity.

We will be taking fliers to families who live near the church on March 22nd, weather permitting, leaving each interested kid a watercolor set to bring to the classes. Those participating will be able to take home all their work. There will be no cost to the young artists for the instruction.

The kids will learn how to use basic art skills, including watercolor, which Eila specializes in. They will make bookmarks and learn how to do portrait and still life. All of the instruction will emphasize creating with God as inspiration. Snacks will be provided for those attending.

Registration will be required, with those who attend our Sunday School getting preference. The forms are available at church or registration can be done on the church’s website, www.wellsvilleumc.org.

Please pray for us as we visit families in the neighborhood of the church so we can be servants for Christ to those who may not understand why we are called to reach them.

If you are wiling to help with snacks or with the instruction, please contact any member of the Education Team.

Your Education Team: Sharlet Fuller, Chair; Eila Shea, Teacher; Nancy Levitt, Member; Paula Stitely, Member

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Wednesday, April 2 — Worship Committee Meeting, 10 AM

Thursday, April 3 — “Love & The Outcome” Concert, 8 PM, Youth for Christ, 55 E. Fassett St., Wellsville

Saturday, April 5 — “Fun With Art” (for kids), 10-11:30 AM

Saturday, April 12 — Lenten Communion Breakfast, 9-11 AM, Corning Grace UMC

“Fun With Art” (for kids), 10-11:30 AM

Monday, April 14 — Team Meetings 6:15 PM; Adm. Council 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 17 — May Messenger Articles Due

Wednesday, April 23 — Lifeline Screening, Pre-Registration Required

Saturday, April 26 — Cooking/Serving Lunch @ The Christian Temple

Tuesday, April 29 — Naomi Circle, 3 PM

Tuesday Mornings — Women’s Bible Study @ 9:15 AM in the Welcome Room/Library

Friday Mornings — Men’s Bible Study @ 9:00 AM in the Welcome Room/ Library The Schedule for Holy Week Services is listed in the front of the Messenger.

February 2014

FEB Y-T-D

Operating Budget Income $ 10,277 $ 24,841 Expenses:

Pastor’s Package $ 1,992 $ 3,659 Other Staff $ 4,317 $ 8,634 Maintenance & Supplies $ 948 $ 2,050 Teams $ 222 $ 651 Ministry Shares $ 2,622 $ 5,244 All Other Expenses $ 270 $ 490 Total Expenses: $ 10,371 $ 20,728 Income less Expenses $ (94) $ 4,113

Morgan Levitt 4 Joshua Ost 24 Brent Rohrabacher 5 Pat McQueen 25 Matthew Bittel 5 Kimberly Ost 26 Mark Miles 9 Sarah Bittel 27 Sandy Kasprowicz 11 Alexander Brandes 27 Anne Barnes 12 Hunter Brandes 27 Chris Barry 13 Mary Rogers 27 Kyle Braymiller 13 Samuel Schmidt 27 Barbara Potter 13 Caitlin Bittel 28 Dave Reynolds 17 Theresa Brown 29 Jeff Dennis 18 Andrew Smith 29 June LaForge 20 Mary Tomak 30

Darrin & Elva Cornell 3 Michael & Tracey Horton 4 Chris & Jamie Forness 21 Roland & Cynthia Miles 26 Guy & Brenda Milligan 28 Bob & Tina Lingenfelter 30