SELWYN United Methodist Church

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Newsletter February 2019

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Way Forward Conversations As you may already know, the United Methodist Church is working on its official stance

regarding the marriage and ordination of lesbian and gay people. Beginning in the 1960’s

the General Conference of the United Methodist Church added to its rule book, The Disci-pline, a paragraph that says the marriage and ordination of homosexual individuals is in-

compatible with Biblical teachings. Therefore, such marriages and ordinations are not al-

lowed in our denomination.

Over the last decade, however, there is a growing sentiment among Methodists, particularly

in the United States, that this ruling is discriminatory and needs further discussion. In the

last meeting of the General Conference, attendees asked the United Methodist Bishops to come up with a plan to address these concerns. A diverse group of leaders in the UMC

were asked to develop recommendations for a special session of the General Conference in

February 2019 to discuss and possibly act upon.

To help our congregations better understand the concerns and

activity surrounding these issues, Pastor Tim Webster at Grace

UMC and I agreed to lead a series of discussion meetings at our churches. The first session took place at Selwyn on January 20th

and was attended by 22 people from both congregations. At

that meeting we heard about the history of this issue in the

United Methodist Church and what has happened so far.

The next discussion meeting will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 10th at Grace

UMC where we will hear about three different plans that have been developed to hopefully address most people’s concerns. I encourage all of our members to attend this discussion so

that you will be better informed about what is happening.

A third discussion session will take place right after the special session of General Confer-

ence and will meet at 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 3rd at Selwyn. There we’ll learn about

what happened at the national level and what we can or need to do (if anything) in re-

sponse.

This is an important time in the life of our denomination, and I invite you to pray with me for God’s will to be done.

Blessings, Pastor Brooks

Newsletter February 2019

PRESCHOOL NEWS

SALLY SWANSON

DIRECTOR

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One-year-olds painting with ice cubes

Barnes & Noble Book Fair results: Thank you for the huge response to this annual December event! As a result, we had our best Book Fair ever, earning over $585! We've purchased over 50 new books, games, puzzles, puppets, and more!

Registration: Enrollment for Fall 2019 classes is going well. We still have openings in every age group, so please tell your friends and neighbors about our program. We offer a loving, caring school with a longer day than many other preschools. Tours conducted daily.

Summer camp registration is also going on now for seven weeks of fun-filled activities, including water play. Currently enrolled families are eligible for early registration and a tuition discount. These popular camps fill quickly, so if you know anyone who is interested, have them contact us soon.

Wish list: Ongoing needs: baby wipes, disinfecting wipes. If you find them on sale, please pick up a package for us.

Also on our wish list: one good snow day! Since we haven't had one yet, we're making do with winter artwork.

Liked these pictures? See many more on our Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/SelwynPreschool

Hope you “Like” and “Follow” our page!

Peggy Washko

Director Of

Community Engagement

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Community Outreach Programs

Newsletter February 2019

Monday Morning Praise & Wor-ship held in the Sanctuary is a dedicated time to come together to praise & worship our Father together.

Join Peggy & friends each Friday, 9am for a walk around the neigh-borhood. Faith & Fellowship. Meet in the Selwyn Parking lot

Presented by Pfeiffer University & Selwyn UMC. This month Jojo Skinner will be talking about coping with a loss during the Valentine’s season. Bring a notebook & pen to take notes as Jojo brings experiences from her life to the discus-sion to assist those who are experiencing heart-ache.

Held at Waltonwood Cotswold, 5215 Randolph Rd, Charlotte

Friday, February 15th Time: 5:30 - 7:30pm Kid’s Night Out is a special night of fun for children ages 3 to 16. Free pizza & drink will be provided for dinner. This month the children will be involved in Valentine Stations consisting of bead making brace-lets & Valentine picture drawings that they will take home. Participants will create their own customized valentine cookie from Kim Greer. RSVP your name, your child’s name & age, mobile phone number & any allergies to: peggy@selwynumc.org

Movers News Senior Adult

Ministry

Missions

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Newsletter February 2019

February 19the The Movers will dine at Park Place Restaurant in Pineville. Meet at 11:30am, 10517 Park Rd.

A meeting is scheduled for the Movers and Mission Teams on Feb. 7th at 10:30 am. Meet in the Library.

Life Line Screening will take place Feb. 13th in Flynn Hall. Information is available in the atrium, on the website www.selwynumc.org or by calling the church office.

Attic Sale on Saturday, June 1st - If they have anything to donate we will be glad to have it. Donations can be dropped off at the church. Please call the church office or Jackie Shore to make arrangements.

Scouting for Food wraps up Saturday, February 2nd. Thanks for the support. Selwyn UMC supports Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry throughout the year. Next time you are at the grocery store consider adding a few extra items to your cart. The bins are in the atrium year round. Mike Lynn is faithful to empty the bins and take the donations to Loaves & Fishes.

Our neighbors are excited at the return of The Blessing Box! Pick up some items to add to the box, or take what you may need.

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Newsletter February 2019

A Special Invitation

Fifth Anniversary of Vietnamese

Joining Selwyn UMC

A few Sundays ago, I preached about something called “Cana Grace.” That message was based on Jesus’ attending a wedding and turning the water into wine. The point is that Jesus celebrated the

joys of life as often as possible and encouraged his followers to do the same. Do you realize that it was five years ago that the Vietnamese congregation joined our church and became United Methodists? It has been a won-derful experience for our church to be part of the rich diversity of another culture among us and at

the same time realize how much we have in com-mon with them. Therefore, on Sunday, March 3rd we will cele-brate this important anniversary with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We will begin by worshipping together at 10:30 am in our sanctu-ary and then have lunch together afterwards in

our fellowship hall. No need to prepare anything for the meal. Our Vietnamese members are tak-ing care of everything. Please make plans now to be with us for this very special occasion.

Pastor Brooks .

Reminder Bake Sale items may be brought to the church on Sat., Feb. 9th, 10 am - 12 pm All are welcome welcome to stay on February 9th, 10 - 12 to help set up.

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Though John Wesley is called the father of Methodism, his brother Charles Wesley (1707-1788) may be called the father of Methodist congregational singing. Charles disliked the prevalence of the psalms in worship songs of his time. Out of that, he gave Methodism and modern hymnody many original hymn texts, including “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” which he wrote for Sunday, May 21, 1739—the first anniversary of his con-version on Pentecost Sunday, or Whitsunday as it was known then. The conversion had preceded by three days John Wesley’s famous reaffirmation of his faith at Al-dersgate Chapel. The hymn was first published in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists(1780). The significance of this hymn in the Methodist tradition is symbolized by its appearance as the first hymn in the United Methodist Hymnal (1989). Isaac Watts (1674-1748), an early contemporary of the Wesley brothers, introduced hymn singing as a common experience. Watts bridged the era between rigid metrical psalm singing and the freer expression of hymns, and is often called the father of English hymnody. However, the Wesleys emphasized the nature of human experience within a hymn rather than the more objective perspective of Watts. In this, Charles Wesley reached much further into the emotional realm of human experience. Wesley’s poetic response to his conversion is replete with literary elegance and beautiful control of language. In the text set in the UM Hymnal, Wesley employs hy-perbole right from the start with “O for a thousand tongues to sing,” to heighten the emotional impact of the poem. According to several scholars, this famous open-ing line may have been inspired by Charles’ spiritual mentor, German-born Moravian missionary Peter Böh-ler, who said, “Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise him with them all!”

History of Hymns: “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” by MaryBeth Sanders - The United Methodist Hymnal #57

Submitted by Dawn Patterson

To further heighten the emotional nature of the poem, Wesley punctuates words like “Jesus” and the last words of phrases with an exclamation point. Other poet-ic devices used to express the incredible nature of salva-tion include the oxymorons present in stanza six: “Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your savior come, and leap, ye lame, for joy.” Wesley uses antithesis throughout to contrast the dark-ness of sin with the light of the atoning blood that heals and humble our hearts, and replaces our fears with the rejoicing for a new life. This contrast underscores the nature of Wesley’s own conversion. The original hymn had 18 stanzas. The seventh stanza became the first stanza of the hymn that we now know. Lowell Mason’s (1792-1872) arrangement of the Carl G. Gläser (1784-1829) tune AZMON is used with “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” in the UM Hymnal. Gläser was a German composer and contemporary of Beethoven. Though Charles Wesley’s text has been sung to a number of tunes through the years, AZMON is the dominant choice throughout the hymnody of the mainline denominations. Though most arrangements are basically the same, there are differences in the number of stanzas used. For ex-ample, some hymnals contain just four or five stanzas as opposed to the seven present in the UM Hymnal. More than two centuries after its composition, the hymn still has international appeal, combining Wesley’s 18th-century English sensibility with a sturdy German tune by Gläser and harmonization by Mason, a 19th-century American.

Newsletter February 2019

“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” by Charles Wesley

The UMC Hymnal #57

O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of his grace!

Charles Wesley

Ms. Sanders is a candidate for the Master of Sacred Music degree, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and studies hymnology with Dr. Michael Hawn.

February Birthdays

Altar Flowers

The 2019 Flower Calendar is posted on the bulletin board beside the Church Office. What a great way to give praise to God and show a loved one you are remembering them with this dedication. Flowers may be ordered through the church office (approximately $45) with your choice of colors/flowers, order with another florist or arrange your own.

Church Contact Information

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00-1:00 704-525-1326

www.selwynumc.org

Pastor: Linwood Brooks pastorbrooks@selwynumc.org Director of Vietnamese Ministry: Nam Nguyen msnamcharlotte@yahoo.com

Director of Community Engagement: Peggy Washko peggy@selwynumc.org

Director of Music: Gary Chapin gchapin1000@gmail.com

Director of Preschool: Sally Swanson preschool@selwynumc.org

Church Office: Barbara Helm, Diane Griffin admin@selwynumc.org

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2/01 John Nguyen 2/03 Kelly Burkholder 2/04 Dylan Johnson 2/05 Glenda Thomas 2/07 Jessica Uyen Xongly 2/09 Gerald Shore 2/15 Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen 2/18 Charles Heidel 2/20 Ann Pearce 2/20 Nicoli Zaragoza 2/28 Andrew Johnson

Newsletter February 2019

Call 1-888-653-6450 to schedule your Life Line Screening. Screenings will be done at the church on Wednesday, Febru-ary 13th. See the flyer posted on the bulletin board or at the back of the Sanctuary for details and cost.

SELWYN UMC CALENDAR

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 9:00am Community Walking Group-Meet in Selwyn parking lot

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3 10:00am Sunday School 10:00am Youth Fellowship 10:30am Worship - Vietnamese 11:00am Worship English 2:00pm Girl Scouts

4 9:00am Weekly Morning Praise Sanctuary 6:00pm YOGA Church

5 6 6:00am - 8:15am Young Life

7:30am Men’s Group-Brueggers Park Road

9:30am - 11:00 Preschool My Gym Flynn Hall

2:00 Waltonwood Seniors Bible Study

5:30-6:00 Rehersal Prince & Princess-Flynn Hall

7:00pm Church Council

7 All Day-Flynn Hall Charlotte Quilters 10:00am Mission & Movers Teams Meeting Library

8 9:00am Community Walking Group-Meet in Selwyn parking lot 5:30-6:00pm Rehersal Prince & Princess Flynn Hall

9 10:00am Prayer Circle Library 5:30-6:00pm Rehersal Prince & Princess Flynn Hall

10 9:30am UMW Valentine Sale 10:00am Sunday School 10:00am Youth Fellowship 10:30am Worship - Vietnamese 11:00am Worship English 3:00pm Discussing a Way Forward - Grace UMC

11 9:00am Weekly Morning Praise Sanctuary 6:00pm YOGA Church

12 13 6:00am - 8:15am Young Life 7:30am Men’s Group-Brueggers Park Road 8:00am-5:00pm Life Line Screening Flynn Hall 9:30am Preschool Board Meeting

14 15 9:00am Community Walking Group-Meet in Selwyn parking lot 5:30pm - 7:30pm Kid’s Night Out Flynn Hall

16 10:00am UMW Meeting Flynn Hall

17 10:00am Sunday School 10:00am Youth Fellowship 10:30am Worship - Vietnamese 11:00am Worship English 2:00pm Girl Scouts

18 President’s Day PreSchool Closed 9:00am Weekly Morning Praise Sanctuary 6:00pm YOGA Church

19 9:30am - 11:00 Preschool My Gym Flynn Hall 11:30 Movers Lunch Meeet at Park Road Restaurant - Pineville

20 6:00am - 8:15am Young Life 7:30am Men’s Group-Brueggers Park Road

21 6:30pm Beekeepers - Flynn Hall

22 9:00am Community Walking Group-Meet in Selwyn parking lot

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24 9:30am Community Breakfast-Atrium 10:00am Sunday School 10:00am Youth Fellowship 10:30am Worship Vietnamese 11:00am Worship-English

25 9:00am Weekly Morning Praise Sanctuary 6:00pm YOGA Church

26 27 6:00am - 8:15am Young Life 7:30am Men’s Group-Brueggers Park Road

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February 2019