July 2018 Charge

Happenings

****NEW**** Worship Times: Stitzer – 8:30 a.m. 11542 Kluckhohn St Stitzer, WI 53825 Livingston – 9:45 a.m.

415 Woodward Ave Livingston, WI 53554

Arthur – 11:00 a.m.

473 Center Street Platteville, WI 53554

Website: www.lsaumc.org

Invite your friends to like us on Facebook at: “Livingston, Arthur & Stitzer United Methodist Churches” and our children’s ministry page at: “Kingdom Kids Ministry”

Hello!

This month is all about Vacation Bible School (VBS)!

On Sunday mornings we are focusing in on the

Biblical story the kids will be learning while at VBS.

Our churches are getting transformed into deserted

islands for our Shipwrecked VBS where kids will

learn that they can be rescued by Jesus.

Our sign-up sheets are up for snacks and dinner.

Please take a look at how you can donate to VBS. If

food donations are not for you, feel free to donate

monetarily.

Stitzer VBS is July 9-12th from 5:00-8:30 pm. (A

light dinner will be served while kids are there.)

Livingston VBS is July 29th-Aug 2nd from

5:45-8:45 pm. Free dinner will be served at 5:00 pm.

The month of VBS is also a great time to invite

families to come to our churches for a week of fun

and learning about Jesus. It is an easy way for

people to learn more about our churches and for

them to feel connected.

Who can you invite to our VBS? Who do you know

that you can say “I’ll meet you at church, eat dinner

with you, and help your kids get registered for

VBS?” Personal invitation is the best way to connect

people with our churches.

Looking forward to seeing you at VBS!

Pastor Ty

Livingston UMW’s Music Night with

Randy Warne Tuesday, July 17th at 7:00 p.m.

at the Livingston UMC

Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy an evening of

music and fun! A light lunch will follow the program.

Family Promise Week

Volunteers will be needed the week of July 22 – 28. Please

keep your Monday, Wednesday & Thursday open to help!

Helping our Communities

Fennimore Food Pantry

Stitzer collects items for the

Fennimore Food Pantry. Items

needed most are: oatmeal, peas,

canned fruit, cream of chicken

soup, cereal & toilet paper.

They also take any non-perishables,

cleaning or paper products. Place donations

in the basket in the back of the church.

Mobile Second Harvest Food Pantry

at Ss Anthony and Philip Church

Livingston collects donations for the

Mobile Second Harvest Food Pantry in

Highland. This month the personal care

item is Body Wash (16-18oz) or

Bath Bar (4 oz). Donations are to be

placed in the wicker basket in the church

entryway. Thank you to Mary Sue Divine

for delivering the items.

July 9-12 – Stitzer VBS from 5:00 – 8:30 pm

July 17 – Livingston UMW Music Night at 7 pm at Livingston UMC

July 22-28 – Family Promise Week

July 29-Aug 2 – Livingston VBS from 5:45 – 8:45 pm, Dinner served at 5 pm

This Month in Livingston

Worship at 9:45am Greeters: Rogstad & Connolly Families Ushers: Rod & Lavon Allen Acolyte: Maddy Rogstad & Hope Connolly Special Music: July 1 – Communion July 8 – Isaiah Hines July 22 – Kleist kids July 2 – Council Meeting at 6pm July 17 – UMW Music Night with Randy & Nikki Warne 7pm

This Month in Stitzer Worship at 8:30am

No UMW this month No Council Meeting this month

VBS from 5:00-8:30 pm – July 9-12 This Month in Arthur Worship at 11:00am

Anniversaries

July 2 – Gilbert & Cindy Knutson

July 3 – Ryan & Anne Hill

July 3 – Ben & Cara Biddick

July 6 – Jamie & Theresa Braudt

July 17 – Terry & Trina Slack

July 19 – Mike & Sharon Mueller

July 20 – Brian & Sarah Grunenwald

July 21 – Herbert & Kathy Schultz

July 22 – Max & Mary Edge

If you or anyone you know is missing from the calendar, please contact Beth at the office: 943-6606. We want to celebrate you!

VBS Sign-up Sheets

Now in the entryway! Check them out

& sign-up to help with snack & supper

donations! Or give monetary

donations to Michele.

VBS Prep Nights

We still need lots of help to make

our church an island where kids

will learn they are rescued by

Jesus! Please come join us in

transforming our church!

Come from 6 – 8 pm every

Sunday night in July!

Items Needed for VBS:

-Brown packing paper (of any amount)

-Boxes, LOTS of boxes (of any shape or size!)

Items to Borrow for VBS:

-thick, brown rope for decoration

-lanterns

If you have any of these items & are willing to let us

use them, please mark them with your name (if you

want them back) and leave them in the entryway at

church! Thank you!

Color some VBS buddies!

DEAR PARENTS:

Send your kids on an impacting island adventure!

At Shipwrecked VBS, kids discover how Jesus rescues us through life’s storms. Shipwrecked

is filled with incredible Bible-learning experiences kids see, hear, touch and even taste!

Sciency-Fun GizmosTM, team-building games, cool Bible songs and tasty treats are just a few

of the standout activities that help faith flow into real life. (Since everything is hands-on,

kids might get a little messy. Be sure to send them in play clothes and safe shoes.) Plus,

we’ll help kids discover how to see evidence of God in everyday life – something we call God

Sightings. Get ready to hear that phrase a lot!

Your kids will also have the opportunity to support the poor and orphaned in Haiti in Jesus'

name through a local non-profit organization called Schools 4 Haiti.

Parents, grandparents, and friends are invited to join us at Sail Away Sendoff each evening

at 8:20 p.m., a daily exploration of our Jesus’ rescue!

So, mark these dates on your calendar: Sunday July 29th - Thursday August 2nd. The fun

starts at 5:45 p.m. and will end at 8:45 p.m. There will also be a FREE dinner served to

participants and their families at 5 p.m. in the church fellowship hall.

Registration forms can be found at the Livingston United Methodist Church lobby or the

Livingston public library, or you can call the church office at 943-6606. VBS is open to

children age 4 to those who have finished 5th Grade. If you have a child older than that who

doesn't want to miss the excitement, let us know and we can use them as a helper! Your

children will not want to miss this life-changing adventure!

Sincerely,

Michele Wetter

Your Shipwrecked VBS Director

2018 Livingston VBS REGISTRATION FORM

July 29th-August 2nd

5:45 p.m.-8:45 p.m.

(FREE dinner served at 5 pm for participants & families)

Livingston United Methodist Church ~ 415 Woodward Ave

Child's Name: ___________________________________ Child's gender: _____________

Child's age: _______ Date of birth: _____________ Last school grade completed: ________

Name of parent(s): _________________________________________________________

Street address: ___________________________________________________________

City: _________________________________ State: _____________ Zip: ___________

Home telephone: (______) _____________ Parent's cell: (______) ___________________

Home email address: _______________________________________________________

Home church: ____________________________________________________________

Any special circumstances/requests: ___________________________________________

I give Livingston UMC permission to post and/or print my child/children’s photograph or video

on newsletters, bulletins, Facebook, or Church website. Yes____ No____ (Must check one)

Allergies or other medical conditions: ___________________________________________

In case of emergency, contact: ____________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________________________

Relationship to child: ____________________________________________

[Church use only] Crew number: ____________________

WHERE IS THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH HEADED? (PART 3)

From the Desk of Mike Mueller – Livingston Administrative Council Chairman

First we had some United Methodist history. Then we had some United Methodist polity. Now some context for

the question- where is the UMC headed?

When the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren denominations merged in 1968 to form the

United Methodist Church, a study commission was appointed with the thought it would come up with a new set

of doctrinal standards. Even though the Methodist Church and EUB Church were related to one another because

of a similar history (They both were offspring of John Wesley’s ministry, teaching, and theology.), each had its

own set of doctrinal standards. The 1968 General Conference appointed a study commission thinking the study

commission would present the next General Conference with a new set of doctrinal standards.

The study commission surprised the 1972 General Conference when it proposed that the UMC retain both the

EUB and Methodist doctrinal statements without making any changes to either one. The proposal was adopted

along with a new “Theological Statement” for the UMC. The new Theological Statement embraced what is

called “Theological Pluralism”. Like the pluralism that was influencing our culture (Cultural pluralism

maintains all ideas, philosophies, etc are true, and we must accept all as being valid.) Theological Pluralism

resulted in the development of a smorgasbord of theologies within Christianity: liberation theology (influenced

by Marxist thought), feminist theology (influenced by feminist thought), process theology (influenced by

pantheistic thought and a denial of the divine inspiration of Scripture), and other theologies. These new

theologies found their way into the UMC. These different theologies certainly contained some Christian truth,

but they also embraced ideas that were outside of what the entire Christian Church has understood to be the

basic and undeniable doctrines of the Christian faith. See the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. The late

Anglican theologian, Dr. John Stott pointed out the effect pluralism had upon Christianity in an interview in

1998, “Religious pluralism is an affirmation of the validity of every religion, and the refusal to choose between

them, and the rejection of world evangelism….” As new theologies came to the fore and began to be accepted

and taught by UM Seminaries the UMC became fragmented in theology and in mission because we no longer

adhered, as a united denomination, to what was understood to be traditional Christianity.

At the same time new theologies were making their influence upon the UMC, its seminaries and its clergy, the

1970’s also saw the establishment of caucuses (special interest groups) within the UMC. Some of those groups

are: Methodist Federation for Social Action, Good News, Reconciling Congregations Network, Black

Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR), Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic

Americans (MARCHA), Native American International Caucus (NAIC), National Federation of Asian

American United Methodists (NFAAUM), United Methodist Queer Clergy Caucus (UMQCC), Transforming

Congregations, and National Hmong Caucus of the United Methodist Church to name a few. The proliferation

of so many caucus groups within our denomination has caused some to label this as “caucus Methodism.” And

critics began to say our denomination looked more like a large political party with various constituencies,

instead of a church with core beliefs and a common mission/ministry.

Another 1960’s, 1970’s influence upon Christianity and the UMC, was a relaxing of moral standards within the

non-religious culture. What precipitated this relaxation was a shift from regarding truth to be absolute and

knowable to the acceptance of the philosophical idea that truth is relative and not knowable. Consequently,

moral values came to be understood as relative as well and were no longer considered to be absolute. This

change affected the thinking and the culture of the developed Western nations and societies in many areas of

life including abortion, divorce, sex before and outside of marriage, the definition/makeup of a family, the

definition of marriage, human sexuality, ethics, government laws, regulations and policy, to name a few.

At the 1988 General Conference a new theological statement for the UMC was adopted in response to the

perceived confusion about what United Methodist’s actually believed and stood for. This new theological

statement removed the term “theological pluralism”, refocused our denomination on our Wesleyan theological

heritage, and re-affirmed the primacy of Scripture as our authority for preaching, teaching and living our

Christian faith and life. Theological pluralism had already taken root within the UMC when the 1988 General

Conference voted to remove it and so there were some within the UMC who were not accepting of its removal

from the UMC Theological Statement. This, in combination with caucus Methodism, and the differences

created by seeing truth and morality as relative in juxtapose to understanding truth and morality as absolute

created some major differences in understandings of Scriptural authority, interpretation of Scripture, who Jesus

Christ is, and the mission of the UMC.

In last month’s newsletter, Pastor Ty mentioned UM’s are encouraged to use reason, experience and tradition

when studying the Bible. These four elements (Scripture, reason, tradition and experience) are what is known as

the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral”, a methodology for theological reflection and development. John Wesley never

used the term. He used the Anglican theological tradition which emphasized Scripture, reason and tradition for

theological development, and in addition to those three Wesley added experience. Thus for us as United

Methodists, “Scripture is considered the primary source and standard for Christian doctrine. Tradition is

experience and the witness of development and growth of the faith through the past centuries and in many

nations and cultures. Experience is the individual's understanding and appropriating of the faith in the light of

his or her own life. Through reason the individual Christian brings to bear on the Christian faith discerning and

cogent thought. These four elements taken together bring the individual Christian to a mature and fulfilling

understanding of the Christian faith and the required response of worship and service.” (From A Dictionary for

United Methodists, Abingdon Press)

This move back to the primacy of Scripture by the 1988 General Conference was in response to what some

would call theological confusion within the UMC and in response to the efforts by some within our

denomination to change our denomination’s position on human sexuality. For the past 45 years the UMC

denomination has been discussing and debating the issue of human sexuality, and what should our

denomination’s position and response be to the issue of human sexuality as an organized church. This same

debate and discussion has been going on within society and within many other denominations. In our

denomination the debates and discussions have not just included American United Methodists, but also United

Methodists from Africa, Europe, and Asia because we are connected to one another by means of our

denomination’s structure and government.

This is an important factor to remember because while the UMC in the United States has been declining by at

least five per cent every year for the past twenty years, the UMC in Africa and Asia has been growing at a much

higher rate than our United States decline. Here are some real numbers: in 1968 there were 11 million UMC

members in the United States and by 2016 UMC membership in the United States had fallen to 7 million-but,

worldwide UMC membership grew to 12.5 million worldwide because of church growth outside of the United

States. At this pace UM’s in the United States will be a minority within the UMC worldwide in a few short

years.

The consequence for UM’s in the United States is we are losing our political clout when it comes to influencing

what is in our denomination’s Book of Discipline-the book by which we as UM’s are governed. Remember, the

number of delegates that an Annual Conference or Central Conference sends to General Conference is based

upon church membership within the Annual Conference or the Central Conference. As UMC membership has

declined in the United States, so has the number of delegates sent to General Conference from the United States

has declined. Across the ocean, as UMC membership has increased in Africa and Asia, so has the number of

delegates sent to General Conference from that part of the world has increased. UM’s from Africa and Asia are

more conservative on theological issues and social issues than U.S UM’s, so they vote differently than many

U.S. UM’s. This reality has already affected what has been added or retained in our Book of Discipline over the

past forty plus years and will affect the future direction of the United Methodist Church in the years to come.

More “context” next month.