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Dear Friends in Christ,
As we move through the season of Easter and approach the celebration of
Pentecost, it is always a good idea to get reacquainted with the third per-
son of Trinity. The Holy Spirit is not often talked about because he is al-
ways behind the scenes but make no mistake he is central to God’s mission
of salvation and the Kingdom. So who is he?
There are many places in scripture where we can learn about the Holy
Spirit but the two most direct places are Jesus’ farewell discourse to his
disciples in John 14-17 and the Acts of the Apostles. Because the book of
Acts is so big, I will look mainly at the words from John but if you have time
you should pick up the Book of Acts and read through it. It is a blast!
So,,,Who is the Holy Spirit?
What does he do?
What does that mean for us?
Who is the Holy Spirit? Jesus tells his disciples in John’s Gospel that the
Holy Spirit will come after he ascends to the Father and that the Spirit will
be their “Helper” or “Comforter”. He is also called the “Spirit of Truth” and
is sent from Jesus and the Father. We can look throughout scripture and
see the Holy Spirit at work wherever God is at work. In the early Church
disciples began to recognize that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
always seemed to be working together to accomplish the things of God.
This led to deeper revelations regarding the Trinity and the knowledge
that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead. He is equal to the Father and the
Son.
What does he do? Jesus tells his disciples on that final night that the Holy
Spirit will come and abide within us, teaching us all things, reminding us of
all of Jesus’ teachings, glorifying Christ, and empowering us to witness to
Christ as well. What the Holy Spirit does can never be understated because
he is the very presence of God dwelling within us and among us. He is the
Spirit who raised Christ from the dead and who leads us into all truth. He
searches the mind of God and as we grow in relationship with the Holy
Spirit we are brought into that same mind (1 Cor. 2: 6-16).
What does all of this mean for us? The main work of the Holy Spirit is to
bring us help and comfort in our Christian walk toward sanctification. As
we say yes to Jesus, we turn away from an old life that was set in the crum-
bling reality of the world and we turn toward a ever renewing reality that
is set in the Kingdom of God. It is difficult learning how to live in a new
reality and we need help. The Holy Spirit guides us in this path of transfor-
mation. He sets up camp within us so that we grow steadily in God’s pres-
ence, wisdom and love. The Spirit that we have been given is one “of power
and love and discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). If we surrender to God’s Spirit we say
yes to holiness and becoming more like Christ. And so, we should be pray-
ing in the Spirit as scripture says and also asking fervently for the gifts of
the Spirit. It is by the power of the Spirit that we are called to live
and operate.
There is so much more that we could say about the Holy Spirit but if there
was only one thing to say about him it is that we need him. Jesus tells Nico-
demus in John 3:5 that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he can-
not enter into the Kingdom of God”. It is by the Spirit that we are born
again into a new creation and God begins his great restorative work within
us. So let us pray to be born again from above and then let us also pray to
be used by the Spirit that all that we do may testify to the glory of God in
Jesus Christ.
May you have a blessed Easter season and a Happy Pentecost.
Amen.
In Christ,
Reverend Rob
July—August, 2019
Lindenwald UMC . . . a Stephen Ministry Church
Our Mission Statement: The LUMC exists to make disciples!
Winds of the Spirit
FREE COMMUNITY MEAL
Feeding the Body & Soul Community Meal offers
a free meal to those who may be hungry and
have no food. This meal is free and open to the
public and will be served from 5:00 to 6:30pm
on Saturday, July 20th & August 17th. Our
food pantry is also open during those hours
and bags of groceries are given to those in at-
tendance. Transportation is available, if need-
ed.
PRAYER DRIVE THRU
Upcoming dates for the Prayer Drive-Thru is
July 11th & August 8th from 4:30 to 6:00pm
(weather permitting), when we open our park-
ing lot to our community for drive thru prayer.
As you're driving home, stop in and our prayer
team will listen to your request and pray with
you. Volunteers are always needed. Call Freda
Halderman at 513-829-2375 if you’d like to
help.
FOOD PANTRY
The Church would like to thank everyone who
faithfully donates food to our pantry each and
every week. Your generosity allows us to contin-
ue this important ministry to feed those in need
in our community. You are greatly appreciated.
Thank You!
Upper Room Prayer Line
Effective May, 2019, there have been some changes
to the Upper Room Prayer Line. Please see the at-
tachment in this newsletter for directions on ac-
cessing the prayer line on your computer or phone.
UMW CIRCLE MEETINGS
Genesis Circle—Meeting on July 9th and August 13th
(locations to be determined.).
Mizpah Circle—No meetings in July or August,
UMM Meeting - Meeting on Saturday, July 13th and August
10th @ 9:00 am—Perkins Restaurant in Fairfield.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
There are many committees within LUMC that are seeking vol-
unteers to help throughout the year. Please contact the person
at the number listed to see how you can help.
Fundraising Committee: Matt Hoffman @ 513-919-1981
Van Drivers: Ed Gebhart @ 513-266-8605
Nursery/Youth: Lisa Gebhart @ 513-203-3587
Community Meal: Carrie Titus @ 513-235-0733
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 4th: 4th of July Parade; Downtown Hamilton; 10:00am
Visit the Amaizing Grace Kettle Corn Booth, located by the old
courthouse.
July 8th—12th: SummerShine Vacation Bible School at LUMC
from 12:00noon—3:00pm.
July 12th: Youth/Teens Program “Shipwrecked” - LUMC Sanc-
tuary @ 3:00pm. All are invited.
August 1st, 2nd & 3rd: World’s Longest Yard Sale—LUMC
Parking Lot—8:00am. Concessions will be available.
STEPHEN MINISTRY—CARING CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
When someone you know is hurting, it can be tough to know
what to say. There is no magic formula, but here are three
caring phrases that can make a difference:
1. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”
2. “That sounds so hard.”
3. “ I’m here and I’m listening.”
A caring word spoken with sincerity, a smile, an attitude of “I
SEE YOU” can make a difference in someone’s life who is
experiencing difficulties. We are all caregivers in some form
or another to others. Caregiving can, also, be in the form of a
planned, one-to-one caring relationship between a person
who is hurting and a trained Stephen Minister.
Since 1996, Lindenwald UMC has been offering STEPHEN
MINISTRY training classes for those members who have a
calling into a deeper Christian caring ministry. These folks
are STEPHEN MINISTERS and are available to meet on a
regular, one-to-one basis, for as long as necessary, with any-
one who is hurting. If you are interested in this rewarding
opportunity, please contact Neil or Julia Hayes @ 867-1027,
Nancy McCormick @ 374-3179 or Pastor Rob @ 863-8822
for more information.
*******************************
The Missions Committee will be collecting school supplies
now through July. They will be given to the elementary
schools in Lindenwald. Here is what is needed:
Ear buds
# 2 Pencils
Pink Erasers
Spiral Notebooks—Wide rule
Small bottles of hand sanitizer
2 Pocket Folders
Contact Edie Simons @ 513-313-6154 for more info.
LUMC Children/Youth Program
The Children's/Youth Program is in need of volunteers .
Contact Lisa Gebhart @ 513-203-3587 for information.
We have partnered with the UMC Food Ministry to pro-
vide food for our Children's/Youth Program. They are
providing them with a variety of cereal , breakfast and
lunch items, fresh fruits and vegetables, along with milk
and juice.
The theme for VBS this year will be “Shipwrecked: Res-
cued by Jesus”. The program will be held from July 8th—
12th from noon—3:00pm. Contact Lisa Gebhart at 513-
203-3587 to sign up.
A BIG THANK YOU……..
- To all who donated to our special collection for UMCOR.
Over $2200.00 was collected. Blessed that we have a gener-
ous church family!
- The Genesis Circle , who provided meals to all six of the
firehouses in Hamilton. The United Methodist Men has pro-
vided meals twice to the first responders at the Lindenwald
firehouse. The Mission Team is grateful for all of the support
of this program.
Clean out your garage and your attic! The World’s Longest
Yard Sale will be held on August 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Contact
Dick Begley @ 513-860-1933 to reserve your space!
- The Lindenwald UMC Youth/Teens will be participating in
the Fourth of July Parade in Hamilton, which starts at
10:00am.
- The church office will be closed on Thursday, July 4th in
observance of Independence Day.
By: L isa Gebhart
Children and Youth Newsletter
Volunteers need in the Children and Youth Ministries: How can the children
and youth meet Jesus if we don’t tell them? Do you have two or more hours a
month where you can come and be a part of discipleship for the next
generation! Here’s how you can help!
- Our Children and Youth Wednesday night program will resume on
September 4th. The program is growing with lots of youth who want to come
to a safe place, eat a healthy meal and most important to learn about our Lord
and Savior.
We are looking for volunteers to assist with children and youth K-12th. Come
and sit with a child or youth, become a mentor, come and assist teachers in the
bible classroom.
-Other opportunities: Come and help at our Children Sunday school once a
month either at the 9:30am or 11:40am service. The lesson plan will be
ready- no planning involved. Come and let a child know that Jesus Loves
them! Please Pray about volunteering with the children and youth.
Our children and youth need you!
Volunteers Needed!
July/August Newsletter 2019
On April 5th we had a wonderful Spring Break Youth lock- in. We all enjoyed pizza and tons of snacks.
We watched the movie Evan Almighty and the kids played hide and seek! They all love to play hide and
seek in the church. Loved seeing all the smiles and hearing all the laughter!
Wow! On April 10th we had another beautiful Wednesday night tonight! We
had 40 kids that came through our doors! The kids enjoyed the famous
walking tacos, singing to our Lord and Savior and learning more about
Easter. The kids and youth loved decorating and eating Easter cookies. We
would like to send a very special Thank You to the four lovely ladies from
Park Ave UMC who brought in cookies and cookie decorations for our
Easter Party. The kids had a fantastic time! We hope everyone will have a
blessed week!
Sunday school Pictures:
.
At the Easter Egg Hunt on
April 20th-At the
Lindenwald Easter Egg
Hunt we had a thief.
Sammy the squirrel decided
he wanted to start the egg
hunt early and took an egg!
He went into the park took
the egg and climbed the
tree! We posted this to the LUMC Facebook page
and it has received over 7,100 likes and views!
Despite the weather we had about 250 children at the egg hunt. Thank you
all for all of your donations! We received over 3700 filled eggs and 18
prizes!
We had a wonderful Spring Program on April 24th. All the kids and youth
did an amazing job! Thank you for coming out and supporting our youth!
We would like to
wish one of our
youth a very
special 13th
Birthday!
Happy Birthday
AJ!
Ability to Thrive Prom!
Wow! What a beautiful day for a prom! God's light was shining down on all
of us on Monday, April 29th at Lindenwald
UMC!! It was such an honor and a blessing to
be able to help "Ability to Thrive" at their
2019 Prom. Ability to Thrive is an
organization that provides fun activities such
as going to the gym, swimming, arts and
crafts and so much more for special need
adults ranging from 18 to 50 years of age.
Our church had an honor in helping them celebrate their 5th Prom in the
fellowship hall. There were about 50 guest in attendance that included the
special need adults, along with Ability to Thrive staff members, and a lot of
other volunteers to help make their prom a special prom.
It was truly amazing to see all the staff and volunteers at Ability to Thrive
come together to put on an awesome prom. There was hair dressers, makeup
artist, girls painting nails, an awesome DJ, and so many others that came out
to help on this glorious day!! They had lots of food, dancing and lots of
laughter!! Truly amazing day!!
The prom also had an honorary special guest to make
her appearance that day and it was Edna Palowski, a
long time church family member. Edna really enjoyed
watching everyone having a fun time!
All the Ability to Thrive adults told us that we made
their prom so special and thanked our church for
having them here and they would like to come back
again next year to celebrate their 6th prom!
UMC Food Ministry!
We are so excited to announce that our Children and youth
program will embark on a journey with UMC Food Ministry. The
UMC Food ministry is largely federally funded. They serve all of
the meals based upon USDA, which include a combination of
bread/grains, protein, fruits, vegetables, and milk. UMC Food
Ministry will provide hot meals with fresh fruit and vegetables on
the side.
Our church has qualified for a free year round feeding program for
our programs such as: Wednesday night dinners, Summer Shine
and Sunday mornings. This journey will start on Sunday, May 26th
UMC Food ministry will buy, prepare and deliver the food directly
to our church at no cost to us.With this wonderful program the
church will save money on food and paper products. We are
excited for our children and youth who will be receiving these
wonderful meals.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.” Matthew
25:35
Wow! On Thursday, May 23rd we celebrated the 10th dance recital! The
kids, youth and adults come in every Thursday to learn about dance, learn
about God though music, exercising, and meeting new friends.
We would like to say how much we so appreciate Ms. Darla’s dedication,
time and all the love she puts into the dance ministry. Thank you Ms. Darla!
Wow! It was a beautiful night on Wednesday, May 8th for our LUMC
family picnic at Joyce Park. We had lots of kids, youth, adults and lots of
food! God was shining his light down on all of us! It was a glorious night!
Contact Information
Phone: 513-863-8822
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lindenwaldumc.org
Church Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:00am—2:00pm
Newsletter Deadline: 15th of month
Bulletin Deadline: Wednesdays @ Noon
LUMC Staff
Senior Pastor Robert Ulmer
Children & Youth Director Lisa Gebhart
Choir Director/Organist Nancy McCormick
Office Manager/Adm. Secretary Vickee Campos
Custodian Ray Kissinger
Treasurers Joyce Magly, Suzete Miller
Financial Secretaries Jerry Smith, Carrie Titus
Lindenwald United Methodist
3501 Pleasant Avenue
Hamilton, Ohio 45015
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