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May Link

Crazy Month V.2.0

I have a confession to make. I’ve not set foot in my church since Ash Wednesday. Yes, lent had just

started when my wife and I headed out on vacation. Lent has now come and gone, Palm Sunday is

over, and Easter has passed us by, and I’ve yet to set foot on PVUMC property.

Upon our return in mid-March, per the bishop, churches were closed. My first act after arriving home

on Saturday, was to get up on Sunday, make my way downstairs and record the message for posting to

our podcast system. Not knowing what else to do, and with little time to plan, it felt complicated, a bit

empty and somewhat not-so-uplifting.

That was the first Sunday in a long while that I felt an emptiness, and I vowed to never let that happen

again.

We stumbled along over the next few weeks as we began figuring out how this whole online worship

thing can work. What technology we needed to work with, how to involve others in our service, and

how to make Sunday worship service thrive with the Spirit of God in a way that may be different, but

definitely divine.

When will we be back in building? Well we’re not really sure, perhaps at the beginning of June. As it

stands, bishop has announced our churches remain closed at minimum through May 24. So, prepare

yourself, prepare your hearts, prepare your lives to worship at home.

We’re all locked away, sheltering in place, how can we possibly outreach. I’ll be honest, I struggle with

this myself. But I’ve seen many commercials, posts and stories about people making signs thanking

first responders, and medical personnel, etc. That’s outreach, that’s a powerful outreach, but let’s see

if we can take it a step further. . .mix some Jesus in those thanks. Mix a little bit of God’s grace in, toss

some scripture on there, and thank those workers, thank those that may do good works, but don’t

know Jesus. They’re already halfway there, so let’s bring them home!

I’m sure many of you have already felt God working during these troubled times, from new moments

with your family as you see more God in your home than ever before, to neighbors reaching out to one

another that normally would prefer stay on their own sides of an opaque fence. If that’s you, again,

take it one step further and use the name of Jesus to let them know who’s you are!

Blessings Always

Pastor Mike and Karen Antici

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A little “quarantine” humor I found on Facebook. Hope you enjoy it!

Just be careful because people are going crazy from being in lock down! Actually I've just been talking about

this with the microwave and toaster while drinking coffee and all of us agreed that things are getting bad. I didn't

mention anything to the washing machine as she puts a different spin on everything. Certainly not to the fridge

as he is acting cold and distant. In the end the iron calmed me down as she said everything will be fine, no

situation is too pressing.

The vacuum was very unsympathetic... told me to just suck it up, but the fan was more optimistic and hoped it

would all soon blow over! The toilet looked a bit flushed when I asked its opinion and didn’t say anything but

the door knob told me to get a grip. The front door said I was unhinged and so the curtains told me to... yes, you

guessed it... pull myself together.

HOPE EVERYONE IS SAFE

AND WELL.

**Not my words copied and pasted

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Scriptures for May

May 3: “The Three Seashells”: Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36 May 10: “We’re gonna need more handbaskets”: Zechariah 5:5-11 May 17: “House of Cards”: Matthew 7:21-27

May 24:“Five Shiny Stones”: 1 Samuel 17:16-58 May 31: “Believe”: Exodus 34:4-37; Joshua 24:14-18; Matthew 7:21-23

May Schedule

May 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31

Nursery Care Volunteer Needed VolunteerNeeded VolunteerNeeded VolunteerNeeded VolunteerNeeded

Cleaners

Perry Perry Millahn Millahn Sherwin

Ushers Dawn & Wayne Renfrew Nick & Jennie Peck Sandy Slemmer& Dennis Delaney Shelley & Evan Bailey Steven Shaw & Judy McKay

May 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31

Greeters

Shaw Family Judy McKay Volunteer Needed deRoode Family Volunteer Needed

Lectors Jonah Gerber John Baum Karen Dietz Suzanne Hurley-Gerber Shelley Bailey

Coffee Hour Men of the Congregation

May 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31

Children’s Message Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed Volunteer Needed VolunteerNeeded

May 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31

Lector Readings Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36 Zechariah 5:5-11 Matthew 7:21-27 1 Samuel 17:16-58 Exodus 34:4-37; Joshua 24:14-18; Matthew 7:21-23

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**Because of the COVID-19 virus all meetings and Church Schedules are tentative. Please call or email me to confirm.

May

SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THUS. FRI. SAT.

1 2

3

10:00AMWorship

Service with

Holy

Communion

4

5

10:00AMBible

Study

7:00PM Trustees

Meeting

8:00PM AA

6

7

6:45PM AA

8

9

10

10:00AMWorship

Service

Mother’s Day

11

6:00 – 8:00PM

Food Bank

12

10:00AMBible

Study

7:00PM

Admin./Finance

Meeting

8:00PM AA

13 14

2:00 – 4:00PM

Food Bank

6:45PM AA

15

16

17

10:00AMWorship

Service

18

19

10:00AMBible

Study

8:00PM AA

20

21

6:45PM AA

22

23

24

10:00AMWorship

Service

25

Memorial Day

26

10:00AMBible

Study

8:00PM AA

27

28

2:00 – 4:00PM

Food Bank

6:45PM AA

29 30

31

10:00AM

Worship Service

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Church Humor:

******************** One Sunday morning, the minister told the congregation that he was going to say a series of words, and he wanted them to sing the song that came to mind, when he said each word. The first word he said was "rock" They immediately started singing "Rock of Ages." The second word he said was "Blood" and they sang "Power in the Blood." The third word was "Cross" and they began singing "The Old Rugged Cross." The fourth word he said was "Sex", everyone gasped and then it got very quiet, then way in the back of the church an 87 year old lady stood up and started singing "Memories." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh theater. When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat." The man groaned but didn't budge. The usher became impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager." Again, the man just groaned, which infuriated the usher who turned and marched briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager. In a few moments, both the usher and the manager returned and stood over the man. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move him, but with no success. Finally, they summoned

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the police. The cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?" "Sam," the man moaned. "Where ya from, Sam?" With pain in his voice, Sam replied, "The balcony."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Before going to Europe on business, a man drove his Rolls-Royce to a downtown NY City bank and went in to ask for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer was quite taken aback, and requested collateral. "Well, then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce", the man said. The loan officer promptly had the car driven into the bank's underground parking for safe keeping, and gave him $5,000. Two weeks later, the man walked through the bank's doors, and asked to settle up his loan and get his car back. The loan officer checked the records and told him, "That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest." The man wrote out a check, thanked the loan officer, and started to walk away. "Wait sir," the loan officer said, "while you were gone, I found out you are a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow? The man smiled. "Where else could I securely park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and pay only $15.40?"

May Announcements

Because of the uncertainties with the Corona Virus the Church has decided not to have the Bean Hole Supper in May.

Church office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00AM to Noon. Pastor Mike has office hours on Sunday from 12:30PM to 3:30PM or by appointment. Church contact info:

Visit us online at: pleasantvalleyumc.com Church Office: 860-379-2157 Church Kitchen and Food Bank: 860-379-0346 Church email address: pvumc181@gmail.com Pastor Mike’s email: mike@antici.com Pastor Mike’s phone number: 203-997-5069