N E W S L E T T E R O F H I L L T O P U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

September 2017

In the Groove By Pastor Mario Alejandre

These 11 weeks with my (yes, I said my) Hilltop family have been a balm for my

soul, an oasis in the wilderness and a place of healing for me personally. Being

here has served as a call to remembrance: Specifically, to remember and fulfill the

pastoral call to which Christ called me many years ago. I have benefited more

from our time together than anyone else.

To the leadership team here at Hilltop, I want you to know what a privilege it has

been to serve God’s people with you. You all have allowed me to step right in

and hit the ground running. I have felt at home from day one. Pastor Dennis,

Leigh Anne, Roberta, Kathy, Caitlin, Melissa and Chris, thank you for the hospi-

tality and trust. To the many volunteers and lay leaders that I’ve had been able to

meet, it is a joy to serve our Lord together. To the congregation as a whole, your

openness to me has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for giving me permission to

speak into your lives every Sunday morning. Again, to one and all, you have my

heartfelt gratitude.

“In the Groove.” It’s a statement that most of us understand. It usually means

that everything around us is working like it needs to. Life has found a confortable

rhythm and our day-to-day experiences find us in good places. We all long for

those days. It’s nice when we find ourselves in the groove personally. Ministry

has the same dynamic to it. We spoke last month about gearing up, a time of pre-

paring ourselves for a new season of Kingdom-minded work with God’s people

as we serve our community. Finding a good rhythm is crucial for sustainable and

healthy ministry. It doesn’t meant that everything will go as planned, anyone

who has spent more than one day in a church knows that challenges often arise.

Instead, it means that our sense of call is sure and our desire to serve Jesus, our

neighbors and one another is grounded in God’s agape love.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote the following:

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same

function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of

another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if

(Continued on page 7)

In the Groove

2 Hilltop Highlights

Pastor Dennis Shaw

Senior Pastor

pastor@

hilltopumchurch.org

Pastor’s Musings

Many, if not most, of us are familiar with

the Syro-Phoenician woman.

Her story appears twice in the Gospels,

Mark and Matthew, and because they are

a little different, I want to focus on Mark

… Mark 7: 24-30 (NIV)

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vi-

cinity of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and

did not want anyone to know it; yet he

could not keep his presence secret. 25 In

fact, as soon as she heard about him, a

woman whose little daughter was pos-

sessed by an impure spirit came and fell

at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek,

born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Je-

sus to drive the demon out of her daugh-

ter.

27 “First let the children eat all they

want,” he told her, “for it is not right to

take the children’s bread and toss it to the

dogs.”

28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs un-

der the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you

may go; the demon has left your daugh-

ter.”

30 She went home and found her child ly-

ing on the bed, and the demon gone.

Yes, I find it problematic that Jesus was

arguably guilty of a less than pastoral re-

sponse to the situation of this woman.

But at the end of the day, he listened.

One of the great problems in our current

world is that it is our normative practice

to listen in order to reply rather than to

truly understand. Bonhoeffer writes:

“The first service that one owes to others

in the fellowship consists in listening to

them. Just as love to God begins with lis-

tening to His Word, so the beginning of

love for the brethren is learning to listen

to them.”

Jesus listened the first time and gave a

problematic, not particularly loving reply

– he didn’t understand, it was momentari-

ly outside his feasible solution space. Did

he think he did not owe this outcast a

deeper debt of listening?

But instead of castigating him as an un-

feeling, moronic, anti-Syrian, anti-

Phoenician, anti-Greek speaking misogy-

nist, this unnamed heroine invited Jesus

to expand his ministry horizon beyond.

In the words of Mark Miller, she invited

him to “draw the circle wide, draw it wid-

er still … ”

And Jesus did, Jesus did draw the circle

wide, wider still…and instead of replying

that she was a two time loser with non-

Jew and non-man tattooed on her fore-

head, he actually listened to her and dis-

played God’s love, God’s Grace.

Mark’s red letter words are a little differ-

ent than Matthew’s. Jesus says to the un-

named woman “For such a reply, you

(Continued on page 3)

3 September 2017

Pastor’s Musings

may go” it is her logos – which the NIV

translates as reply – that got his attention.

Logos is a word used over 300 times in the

Greek bible. Our most familiar rendering

of it is from John 1 where we are told the

word/logos was with God and the word/

logos was God. But here, the word/logos

changes the very heart of God, through

the human manifestation of God actually

listening, in love, in Grace.

"For such a word, you may go ..."

I have to wonder a little if the reason Jesus

listened was at least in part due to the

negative critique he had just given the dis-

ciples. Jesus had just told the disciples

that what pollutes one is not what is out-

side of us, but rather what is inside of us.

Mark 7: 20b: ‘He [Jesus] went on: “What

comes out of a person is what defiles

them. 21 For it is from within, out of a per-

son’s heart, that evil thoughts come—

[fornication], theft, murder, 22 adultery,

greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy,

slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these

evils come from inside and defile a per-

son.”

Sounds like to me that this unnamed

woman advised Jesus that his own words

coming from deep inside Jesus were defil-

ing him – here arguably arrogance.

But instead of retreating into a world of

privilege, Jesus, listened. He didn’t

attempt to come up with some clever,

mind numbing, self serving, retaining the

old position, reply. Jesus listened, and

then he complimented her for the word

she spoke back to him and granted her

wish.

How often are we in the position of Jesus?

Invited to hear God’s word in a way that

is new, exciting, and refreshing, and in-

stead, we retreat into our own arrogance,

our own hubris, and we endeavor to reply

from our privilege?

I love this interaction. I love it.

This non-person times two in Jesus world

– woman, non-Jew – weighs the scales of

the dialogue, and she gives back to Jesus

what he had just given the disciples – a

righteous critique.

And Jesus after getting his answer right-

eously chewed up and given back to him,

responds in Grace, reminding the woman

that it was her word – her logos – her use

of his words – her use of the logos that is

Jesus – that won the day.

If “Jesus wept” is the shortest passage

most people can quote from the bible, I

wonder if this might not be summarized

as “Jesus listened.”

I think the challenge for us in the Church

is to be listeners like the second Jesus here

in this Mark 7 passage. We can retreat

into tradition, history, and rules, just to

name three things, ad nauseum (and yes

there are an infinite number of retreats

here) and engage in an enormous exercise

in missing the point.

(Continued on page 7)

4 Hilltop Highlights

When I was contemplating the theme “in

the groove,” although I understand what

it means, I thought “being in the groove is

perilously close to being in a rut.” Doing

the same thing over and over again and

“expecting different results.” Insanity!

I choose to think of being in the groove as

having a feeling for the rhythm of life,

“feel” and “rhythm” being the operative

words.

In music, groove is a way of stretching

and bending strict metronomic time.

Different styles of music have different

grooves. Groove is a propulsive rhythmic

feel – it has motion, it is going some-

where. Groove draws a listener in.

All groove comes from feeling. Having an

academic understanding of rhythm, and

being able to play in a groove are two to-

tally different things. Groove must be felt

in order for it to be created. (As an aside,

all groove, and the entire concept of

“groove” itself, is ultimately an African-

American innovation.)

Likewise in the church, groove must grow

out of a sense of feeling - feeling God,

Roberta Shimensky

Music Director

801.571-5777

feeling compassion, empathy, grace, love,

beauty and blessings. Without feeling, the

church groove can become a rut of repeti-

tion. People are drawn into listening to

music that has a good groove going on;

likewise, a church that is in the God-

groove draws people in.

Groove is felt; it is not academic. You

can’t groove unless you know where the

pulse is. The pulse of the church is God,

and with all of God’s people interacting,

the groove that is created is the rhythm of

life.

Things in music that do not occur on the

pulse are not separate from the pulse,

they describe where the pulse is. Our pro-

grams and activities at church should de-

scribe who our pulse is. But you have to

know (where) the pulse (is).

The pulse is God. In anything and every-

thing we do, we need to be aware of God,

we need to feel God, for the activities we

do describe who God is to the world

around us. Without our God-pulse, our

activities are not groovy, they are just bad

rhythm.

Music & Arts Ministry

Feelin’ Groovy

Fall Schedule Hilltop’s Music & Arts Ministry has something for everyone. As ensembles start the fall

season, now is a good time to jump in and experience the joy of being a worship leader and

nurturing your creative spirit. We are excited about the new season!

5 September 2017

Music & Arts Ministry

A native of the Mid-

west, Houts re-

ceived Bachelor of

Arts degrees in Sa-

cred Music and Reli-

gion from Wartburg College. She enjoyed

the past four years in Boston, MA, where

she made a home with her husband,

Ryan, and their three young children.

They arrived in Salt Lake City at the be-

ginning of August and are excited to ex-

plore their new home in Utah.

Welcome Katie and family!!

Welcome Katie We are so excited that Katie Houts will be

serving as accompanist for the Chancel

Choir this fall!

Katie is the Sacred Choral Editor for Chor-

isters Guild, a nonprofit music publisher.

She brings a diverse instrumental skill set

which includes expertise in classical and

jazz piano, organ, guitar, brass, and chil-

dren's developing voices. For the past 15

years, Houts has also served as Director of

Music for ELCA and UCC churches in

Iowa, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.

From 2008-2013, she was the developer

and director of a large children's choir

program in Minneapolis.

6 Hilltop Highlights

Caitlin Collins

Children’s Ministry

Director

801.571-5777

Children’s Ministry

Nursery Help Needed Children's Ministry is looking for help in

our Nursery. We have volunteer and paid

positions available. If you are interested

please email

childrensministry@hilltopumchurch.org.

Sunday School & Children's Church Sunday School and Children's Church

classes resume Sunday, September 10th.

There are still volunteer positions that

need to be filled to keep the classes run-

ning all year. If you can volunteer, please

contact Caitlin at

childrensministry@hilltopumchurch.org

Mother’s Morning Out “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it

springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will

make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the

desert.”

—Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

As summer comes to an end, it can be

hard getting back into our daily routines.

Especially if our summer happened to be

particularly demanding and we are start-

ing off frazzled- instead of refreshed and

organized. I particularly appreciate this

passage of scripture that points to a God

who knows our need before we even ask,

He makes a way where there is none and

brings clarity and peace to our soul. He

comforts us during times of unrest and

spiritual dryness. Even when we can't

perceive God working for good in our

lives, the Bible promises we can trust Him

to be faithful. He is a good Father who

cares deeply for his children!

We also play a part in demonstrating

God's care to a hurting world. He calls us

to love and serve (just as he has loved and

served us). This upcoming year, as in pre-

vious years, the youth will continue to

spend numerous activity nights doing

service projects for our local community-

being the hands and feet of Jesus to SLC.

We will also spend time with each other

in some fun community activities (Fall

fest, hiking, watching movies, etc) to help

nurture relationships with one another.

Youth groups resumes Sunday, Septem-

ber 10th at 4:30 pm and we'd love to see

you there for our semi-annual "Parent/

Student meeting" where we will welcome

new families and go over our activities for

the year. See you soon!

7 September 2017

In the Groove

will find ourselves In the Groove and

ready to tackle the challenges of ministry

head-on, empowered by the Spirit, with a

love that reflects that of Jesus. That is, not

to be served, but to serve.

On a personal note, your leadership team

at Hilltop genuinely loves and cares for

you all and each other. I witnessed marks

of maturity: A desire to see others become

as fruitful as they can be. Maturity, no

doubt, often develops through challeng-

ing experiences in the past, but it is en-

couraging to see this dynamic within the

life of God’s people. You have a warm

and welcoming community. Continue to

grow in grace, trust the Spirit’s lead, rely

on the promises of God’s Word, and take

comfort in the gift of community. The one

who makes all things new will sustain

you and keep you, In the Groove.

prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service,

in our serving; the one who teaches, in his

teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhorta-

tion; the one who contributes, in generosity;

the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does

acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Chapter

12:4-8)

When I think of being In the Groove ,

these words of encouragement from Paul

come to mind. Ministry is not a solo oper-

ation. We all serve together, according to

our gifts and abilities. No one’s contribu-

tion is less needed than others. Some of us

will have a more public role; others will

happily serve in the background. All are

gifts of grace; all lend themselves to the

overall health of the church and to the

common good of our community. When

we serve with the idea that we need each

other and we all have a part to play, we

(Continued from page 1)

The point of all of us being here today is to

help deploy resources that make the ba-

silea – kingdom, kin’dom, reign, pick the

one that works for you -- of God just a

little bigger, a little larger, a little more Je-

sus like, surely a little more Syro- Phoeni-

cian woman like. I think many if not most

of us can recite or at least paraphrase the

United Methodist mission statement but

we must stay focused on the why, how

and where of our collective community

task: Our why echoes from John 3: 16

Pastor’s Musings (Continued from page 3)

about why God gave us the gift of Jesus --

love – love for the world. How we reflect

that love is transformation (our what), and

our where is the local church.

In our listening, are we the first Jesus,

ready to see things the way they had al-

ways been seen, or the second Jesus, new,

creative, fresh, drawn from the very words

of God. The choice is our – how do we

listen?

Selah, Pastor Dennis

8 Hilltop Highlights

September Events

Friday, September 1

7:30 pm Voice Class

Saturday, September 2

9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal Sunday, September 3

9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Praise Band Rehearsal Monday, September 4

LABOR DAY OFFICE CLOSED 7:00 pm Cub Scouts 7:00 pm Stewardship Meeting Tuesday, September 5

7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm BSA Adult Committee 7:15 pm Carillon Belles 7:30 pm Worship Team Wednesday, September 6

8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm SPRC 7:15 pm Communications 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 7

8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 6:30 pm Missions Team 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers Friday, September 8

7:00 pm Rescue Mission Service Saturday, September 9

9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 9:00 am Carillon Belles 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal

Sunday, September 10

9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Hilltop Orientation 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Monday, September 11

1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts Tuesday, September 12

10:00 am Silver Songbirds 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm Priscilla Circle Wednesday, September 13

8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm Finance Meeting 7:00 pm Trustees Meeting 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 14

8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 6:00 pm LS&D 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers

Rehearsal Friday, September 15

7:30 pm Voice Class Saturday, September 16

9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal Sunday, September 17

9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Hilltop Orientation 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Children’s Ministry Meeting 12:00 pm UMW Fall Kick-off Monday, September 18

1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bell Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts

9 September 2017

September Events

Wednesday, September 27

8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 28

8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Sanctuary Singers

Friday, September 29

5:30 pm Lay Speaker Training 7:00 pm Girl Scout Troop 400

Saturday, September 30

8:30 am Lay Speaker Training 9:00 am Christ Centered Yoga 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal

Sunday, October 1

9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship 12:00 pm Praise Band Rehearsal

Monday, October 2

1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts 7:00 pm Stewardship Meeting

Tuesday, October 3

5:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm BSA Adult Committee 7:30 pm Worship Team

Wednesday, October 4

8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm SPRC 7:30 pm Communications 7:30 pm Boy Scouts

Tuesday, September 19

6:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:00 pm Church Council Wednesday, September 20

8:00 am UMM Breakfast 9:30 am Women’s Bible Study 12:00 pm Diggin’ the Bible 1:00 pm Shawl Ministry 5:00 pm Young Ringers 6:00 pm Joyful Ringers 7:00 pm Consignment Sale Set-up 7:30 pm Boy Scouts Thursday, September 21

8:00 am Hilltop Gardeners 8:00 am Consignment Sale Set-up 12:00 pm Ada Circle at Elaine Norberg’s 7:00 pm Grapevine Group 7:00 pm Consignment Sale Pre-Sale 7:30 pm Chancel Choir/Summer Singers Friday, September 22

9:00 am Consignment Sale

Saturday, September 23

8:00 am Consignment Sale 12:00 pm Organ Rehearsal 2:00 pm Consignment Sale Break-Down Sunday, September 24

9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Monday, September 25

1:00 pm Staff Meeting 6:00 pm Evangelism Meeting 6:30 pm Hallelujah Bells Rehearsal 7:00 pm Cub Scouts Tuesday, September 26

10:00 am Silver Songbirds 6:00 pm Children’s Choir 7:00 pm Venture Crew 9411 7:30 pm Music & Arts Ministry Meeting

10 Hilltop Highlights

Get Involved

Grow Our Sale Generate some buzz—the more we tell, the

more we sell!

The Children's and Maternity Fall Con-

signment Sale is up and running. It will be

September 22-23. Be a volunteer. Go to

hilltopsale.org.

Be a shopper! We will have over 15,000

top quality items for babies and chil-

dren— all bar-coded and organized by

size & gender. We fill two floors plus the

patio with bargains.

Be a friend! Friends tell friends about this

opportunity.

This sale blesses many families and good

causes. And, it is fun!

Women’s Bible Study The Women's Bible Study begins a new

topic on Sept. 6. "When Christians Get it

Wrong" by Adam Hamilton, tackles the

issues of the world and the hows and

whys of Christians getting it right, when it

comes to "being Christ" in the

world. Please join us for this 6 week DVD

assisted study. We meet each Wednesday

in the Wesley Room at 9:30. If you have

any questions, call Deb Hale at 801-755-

9877

Sept 22-23

Family Promise Update By Mike Montoya

We had a successful hosting this month!

We hosted 8 adults and 10 children and

celebrated a third birthday. Two families

moved into their own homes.

Our host home is unique in that we are

the only “home” in the network. Summer

is a great time to host at Hilltop as our

home is cooler than many of the churches

within the network. We also have a large

lawn for the kids to play which is right

outside the back door so it’s easy for the

parents to keep an eye on the littluns.

Our Latter Day Saint brothers and sisters

from the Crescent Stake pitched in to help

as well providing meals, groceries and

helping with hosting. Our ultimate goal is

to have HUMC serve a week with Cres-

cent Stake folks hosting the week af-

ter. This provides more stability to the

families as they do not have to move for

two weeks.

Just FYI: Stats turned in to Leigh Anne

today for last week's volunteers - HUMC

47, Crescent Ridge Stake 4, and Family

Promise 2. Pretty amazing!

Claudia Bilbao is retiring from Family

Promise after 10 stellar years. She will be

greatly missed. We are looking to add an-

other volunteer to our group. This person

will be responsible for getting the house

ready to receive families and notify the

team of needed repairs. Please prayerful-

ly consider joining the Family Promise

Team. Contact Mike Montoya 801 755-

0339 or Mikemontoya666@gmail.com

11 September 2017

United Methodist Women

Attention All Women Please join us in welcoming the United

Methodist Women of the Rocky Mountain

Conference for the 45th Annual Meeting

and Celebration on 10/20-10/21. Hilltop

has the opportunity to host this event for

women from all around our confer-

ence. We are very honored to have the

Distance Learning Officer from the

UMW National Office as our keynote

speaker. We will also be hosting Bishop

Karen Oliveto as well as the deaconesses

that serve our conference. Registration is

due 9/20/17, and Hilltop UMW has schol-

arships available to assist with

fees. Registration forms are available in

the fellowship hall or you can register

electronically at

www.rmcumw.org. Please contact Sarah

Burton at sb1645@hotmail.com for further

information.

You Can Hear Us Now Connecting for God’s Ministries

45th Annual Meeting and Celebration of

Rocky Mountain Conference

United Methodist Women

October 20 and 21, 2017

Hilltop United Methodist Church

You are being called! Can you hear God

calling? Can you feel God? Join Alana

Walls, Distance Learning Coordinator as

we explore how to tune our hearts and

sharpen our minds to receive God’s call to

ministries no matter where we are!

Friday morning you will be able to partici-

pate in one of 3 Ubuntu experiences-

UMCO West, Crossroads Center, or Days

for Girls project will be completed at

Hilltop UMC.

Friday evening you will meet Alana Walls

from the UMW National Office and dis-

cover ways to connect with sisters in

Christ throughout the Conference

Mark your calendars! Priscilla Circle

will meet Tues Sept 12 at 7:00 pm. We will

outline our plans for the year and Mari-

lynn Tetrick will lead a discussion from

the Upper Room.

Fall Kick-Off

Join us Sunday, Sept 17 for the UMW Fall

Kick-off. Watch the Sunday bulletins for

more information.

Ada Circle

Ada Circle will meet at noon on Thurs

Sept 21 at the home of Elaine Nordberg.

Christmas Dinner

The UMW Christmas Dinner will be Mon-

day, Dec 4. Plan now to attend.

Sarah Circle

Sarah Circle will not meet in September.

12 Hilltop Highlights

by Marilyn White

When I was a little girl my Methodist

grandmother told me stories about Meth-

odist missionaries in Africa. These were

missionaries sent beyond the end of the

road to establish or sustain churches,

schools and hospitals to spread the gos-

pel, instruct and treat those neglected by

their own national governments. I don’t

imagine that the tasks were easy. It took

willing souls to deploy as missionaries. It

had to require financial resources for

training, travel, and provisions. What is

amazing is that any of this happened. But

it did, not by any one Methodist church,

but by congregations like my grand-

mother’s from all around the United

States joining their resources to make

these extensions of God’s grace, mercy

and healing hands a reality beyond the

end of the road. I was fascinated and

proud to be the granddaughter of one

who supported that outward expression

of God’s love and was proud to be a

Methodist.

What impact did these early mission ac-

tions have? For one, Nelson Mandela was

educated at Clarkebury, the oldest Wes-

leyan mission and school for the Thembu

people - his people - and at Healdtown

Methodist Boarding School. He was the

first in his family to attend high school.

We can’t know whether he would have

become the man he did without this edu-

cation, but we can say that the education

which he used to better the world was

Missions

made possible by the loving generosity of

the Wesleyan and Methodist peoples.

Fast forward to today. In the news cover-

age of the Ebola crisis in Western Africa a

couple of years ago, more often than not

the Methodist Cross and Flame were on

the signage of hospitals and clinics beyond

the end of the road dispensing care, espe-

cially in Sierra Leone.

Why did the World Health Organization

(WHO) and the Gates Foundation seek

support from the United Methodist

Church for their Imagine No Malaria

(INM) campaign? They asked us because

we had clinics, local health workers, and

pastors beyond the end of the road. These

were people who were trusted and who

could help educate people on how to pre-

vent that scourge. They were there as a

result of actions taken long ago to minister

to God’s people.

Hilltop UMC supported the INM effort

wholehearted - raised more than $10,000 -

and joined over 6 million Methodists

around the globe to fight this preventable

disease. To date, thousands of peer and

community educators have been trained.

Sixty-one facilities have been renovated.

More than four million nets have been dis-

tributed and more than 2.7 million people

have been treated. The WHO estimates

that the mortality rate has fallen by almost

60 percent. It is amazing what we can do

when we join in community to act. I am

proud to be part of this group of Chris-

tians who live their faith in actions.

Beyond the End of the Road

13 September 2017

Another crying need beyond the end of

the road is for clean water. We take if for

granted here, but for millions, it’s not

available. Last year Hilltop embarked on a

campaign to raise $8000 that will be com-

bined with donations from other churches

to finance a water treatment system in the

Dominican Republic at a church serving

the poorest of the poor. In the past year,

we’ve raised over $2800. This year Hilltop

with your help will meet our goal and

provide safe water and the Living Water

(The Gospel) to thirsting souls beyond the

end of the road.

As long as there are generous hearts like

my grandmother’s and millions of others

who supported earlier missions, those

who live beyond the end of the road will

know God’s love. I am proud to a mem-

ber of this denomination with its global

reach.

Updates:

Serving at the Rescue Mission of Salt

Lake. David and Jackie Huff are taking

over as the volunteer coordinators of this

ministry. Hilltop Praise Band and servers

will continue to be at the Mission every

second Friday of the month. If you or

your family would like to serve, sign the

volunteer sheet on the bulletin board. We

need about 6 servers every month.

Missions

Hilltop House Coordinator. Claudia Bil-

bao is stepping down at the end of the

year from this role of overwatch of Hilltop

House. We will be seeking another with a

servant’s heart to take over. More to fol-

low.

Family Promise. We reached out to the

LDS Crescent Stake community to see if

they would want to join us in hosting the

families in the Family Promise program.

Our goal and prayer is that the Stake will

decide to take a week and use Hilltop

House so we can keep families stable for

two full weeks. The Stake is going us and

two couples served during our FP hosting

in August.

Smith’s Community Rewards Program.

Smith’s has changed the program so that

everyone who wants to participate has to

re-register every July. SO, please sign up

next time you buy your groceries.

HUMC’s organization number is 75252.

Every time you buy groceries, Smith’s will

put a little aside to support HUMC mis-

sions. But we have to meet a minimum to

benefit so we need all our Smith’s shop-

pers to sign up.

14 Hilltop Highlights

Learn More About Hilltop & Methodism The Evangelism Team will be hosting a

Hilltop Orientation on Sunday, September

17 and 24 at 9:00 am in the Ada Room for

anyone interested in learning more about

the United Methodist Church and the

Belong

Pastor Dennis’s Electronic Hangouts

His sermons can be found at mantuan.podbean.com.

You can read his thoughts at mantuan.blogspot.com.

hymnals are dedicated, and a bookplate

will be placed on the hymnal with the

name of the donor and the name(s) of the

person(s) being honored or memorialized.

Those wishing to contribute without mak-

ing a dedication may do so as

well.

Please pick up an order form

in Fellowship Hall and place it

in the offering plate or return

it to the church office. Make

your check payable to Hilltop

United Methodist Church

(HUMC) and specify

“Hymnal” on the memo line.

The cost is $20.00 per hymnal.

Any moneys received in excess of the cost

of the hymnals will be donated to the

HUMC Missions Committee.

Purchase Hymnals Psalm 98:4 tells us to “Make a joyful noise

unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud

noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”

Hilltop United Methodist Church needs

additional hymnals so all worshipers in

the sanctuary, narthex and

choir loft have hymnals availa-

ble and those Hilltop programs

using hymnals have them.

The HUMC Worship Com-

mittee invites members of the

congregation to contribute to-

ward acquiring these addition-

al hymnals by purchasing

hymnals in honor of or

memory of loved ones and oth-

ers. All honorariums and memorials will

be listed in the bulletin on the Sunday the

ministries at Hilltop. If you think you’d

like to become a member of our church,

we encourage you to attend. RSVP to

sdunlap28@hotmail.com or 801-598-0626

if you plan to attend the orientation.

15 September 2017

David Shaw ...................................... Sept 1

Betty Brown ..................................... Sept 5

Kate Van Zee ................................... Sept 7

John Davison ................................... Sept 8

Kathy Wheeler ................................. Sept 8

Jack Thomasson ............................... Sept 8

Savannah Reddin ............................ Sept 9

Don Bowlin .................................... Sept 10

Madison Phillips ........................... Sept 10

Jan Bender ...................................... Setp 12

Andre Montoya ............................. Sept 13

Claudine Haight ............................ Sept 16

Bruce Cockrell ............................... Sept 17

Katell Coquemont ......................... Sept 17

Tim Owen ...................................... Sept 19

Tom Ferraro ................................... Sept 21

Ashley Agrelius ............................. Sept 24

Jasmine Shepperson...................... Sept 26

Lace Elliston ................................... Sept 27

Susan Dunlap ................................ Sept 28

Paper Recycling Bin Our Boy Scout troop benefits from all the

paper products you put in the recycling bin

in the church parking lot. For every ton we

put in per month, the BSA gets a stipend.

Please bring your newspapers, cardboard

boxes, and junk mail.

Hilltop Hikers A weekly hiking group that meets every

Tuesday morning, we are starting our

third year and continue to explore and

enjoy the many trails along the Wasatch

front. Pick and choose the hikes/

weeks that fit your schedule. To be added

to the email distribution, please email Su-

san Dunlap at sdunlap28@hotmail.com

From the Office

Birthdays We want to recognize your birthday in the

newsletter. Send your birthdays to the of-

fice, with or without the year. You may cele-

brate a birthday by purchasing chancel

flowers, and that person will be lifted up.

You are also welcome to provide and serve

cake at coffee fellowship.

Hilltop United Methodist Church

985 East 10600 South

Sandy, Utah 84094

Published monthly by:

Hilltop United Methodist Church

985 East 10600 South

Sandy, Utah 84094

801-571-5777

office@hilltopumchurch.org

www.HilltopUMChurch.org

Sunday Schedule

Sunday School for All 9:00 am

Worship 9:00 am

Fellowship Time 10:00 am

Worship 10:30 am

Fellowship Time 11:30 am

Pastor C. Dennis Shaw

Email: pastor@hilltopumchurch.org

Pick one up in

Fellowship Hall