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So I figured that it would only be right

for me to do an article on fathers in the

Bible since last month I did mothers in

the bible.

There are many narratives in the Bible

of fathers. Here are some and lessons

that we can learn...

Adam

(Genesis chapters 3 & 4)

“GOD formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!” Genesis 2:7

Adam was best

remembered as eating the fruit and

being tossed out of Eden.

“The Man said, ‘The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.’” Genesis 3:12

Adam neglected his God-given

responsibility. He blamed Eve and

made excuses for himself when he

committed a sin. Rather than admit his

error and face the truth, he hid from

God in shame.

Adam's story shows us that God wants

his followers to freely choose to obey

him and submit to him out of love. We

also learn that nothing we do is hidden

from God. Likewise, there is no

benefit to us when we blame others for

our own failings. We must accept

personal responsibility.

Will we freely choose to follow God?

Will we accept our responsibility when

we fall instead of blaming others?

June 2017

Newsletter

Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors

Red Lion UMC

Mission:

To Serve God, Christ’s Church and the

Community: Proclaiming Salvation

To All.

UMC Mission:

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the

transformation of the World.

Red Lion UMC

3466 N SR 741

Franklin, OH, 45005

937-746-2131

Rev. Sandy Vogele

svogele@fuse.net

513-476-7673

Follow us on

Facebook:

www.redlionmethodist/

facebook.com

Red Lion United Methodist Church

Noah (Genesis 6-8)

“Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Genesis 6:9

We remember Noah for obeying God

and building the ark.

Noah was a man who clung to God in

spite of the wickedness all around him.

Noah was far from perfect, but he was

humble and protective of his family. He

bravely carried out the task God

assigned to him.

What could be more relevant today?

Can we remain faithful to God instead

following world-values?

Isaac (Genesis 17, 21, 22, 24,-28, 31,35)

“Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’”

Isaac was a miracle

child, born to

Abraham and Sarah

in their old age as

the fulfillment of

God's promise to Abraham to make his

descendants a great nation.

Many may feel intimidated trying to

follow in the footsteps of their own

father. Isaac must have felt that way.

(Con�nued on page 2)

FATHERS IN THE BIBLE

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things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived.’

Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-20, 24-25

Joseph was a man

of strong conviction

who lived out his

beliefs in action.

Mercy always

triumphs. Joseph

could have acted

severely toward Mary's apparent

indiscretion, but he chose to

offer love and mercy, even when

he thought he had been

wronged.

Walking in obedience to God

may result in humiliation and

disgrace before men. When we

obey God, even in the face of

adversity and public shame, he

leads and guides us.

How can we show love and

mercy to others in the face of

possibly being ridiculed from

man, but in obedience to God?

God (too many scriptures to list)

God, among other names, is

called Our heavenly Father. We

are shown compassion,

forgiveness, and love—among

many other blessings—every

day.

His father Abraham was such an

outstanding leader and faithful

man of God. But he watched

and learned from Abraham—

even as a child.

“When they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his

son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. But the LORD’s angel shouted from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’

‘Here I am!’ he answered.

‘Don’t hurt the boy or harm him in any way!’ the angel said. ‘Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.’”

Isaac never forgot how God

saved him from death and

provided a ram to be sacrificed

in his place.

Isaac could have resented his

father for offering him as a

sacrifice, but instead he learned

an invaluable lesson from

Abraham—trusting God.

Who have you learned from?

From who did you learn to trust

in God?

Joseph

(Matthew 1, Luke 1)

“Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of

(Con�nued from page 1) Give thanks for

God our

Creator, Jesus

our Savior, and

the Holy Spirit

our Counselor.

These are but a few of the fathers

in the bible. It doesn’t tell their

whole story and does not include

all of them. During the month of

Father’s Day, take an opportunity

read about the different fathers in

the bible.

OK, so he wasn’t in

the bible , but I

would be remiss in

not saying

something about

lessons learn from

my father, Harold.

He taught me the importance of

helping others improve

themselves—he was coach for

baseball, basketball and hockey. I

even got to be a bat girl for the

women’s baseball team. He

taught me the importance of

persistence and that it is OK if

you can’t do something after you

gave it your best—just move one

and find your gifts/talent in

another area. I was a horrible ice

skater, always skating on my

ankels. But I was better at roller

skating and switched to that

activity. Dad supported me in

anything I tried. I love you dad.

Thanks for shining the light of

Jesus on me.

Shine the l ight of Chirst out on everyone you meet everywhere you go.

Pastor Sandy

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their relationship with God and

others. Did they face similar

challenges that we have today?

What were their joys? What

possible message do they have

for us today? Join us and find

out.

FATHER’S DAY

(The above picture was taken

after last year’s Father’s Day

worship when the guys surprised

everyone by singing “This is My

Father’s World”)

Our Prayer Station on Sunday,

June 18th will be dedicated to

fathers. Bring a picture of your

father or a “father figure” in

your life and place them on the

Prayer Station before worship.

If you do not have it in a stand

up frame, we will have frames

that you can use. If you do not

have a picture, write their name

on the board that will be

provided.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL

Date: Every

Sunday

Time: 10:00 AM

Everyone welcome!

John Wesley, our founder, once

wrote “My ground is the Bible...I follow it in all things, both great and small.”

Come and join our lively, spirit-

led discussions which are based

on scripture.

CHILDREN’S CHURCH

Date: Every Sunday

Time: After Children’s Moments

in Worship

Children’s Church

(ages 5-10) includes a

bible lesson and fun

activities (these may

include crafts, singing,

games).

YOUTH GATHERING

Date: First Sunday of

the Month

Time: 12:30 PM

ALL YOUTH

WELCOME

(grade 6 and up)

This is a time of food for thought

and food for nourishment. Join

(Con�nued on page 4)

SUNDAY

WORSHIP

Date: Every

Sunday

Time: 11:00 AM

Our doors are open to

everyone!

June 4 Pentecost

Baptism of Larkin.

June 11 Trinity Sunday

Celebrating our High

School Graduates,

Caleb and Taylor

June 18 Father’s Day

Start of new sermon

series

SUMMER SERMON SERIES

Abraham...Ezekiel...Ruth…

Daniel...Habakkuk...Esther…

Joseph...Jacob...Haggar...Jonah...

Jeremiah...Samuel...Samson...

Jocebed...Hannah...Eve...Adam...

Deborah...Isaac...David—some

of these names may be

familiar—some not. These are

but a few of the people in the

Old Testament. This summer,

starting June 18th, we will

explore a few of their lives and

Fully Rely

On God

On Sunday, May 14th, Bill Erwin, Jamie

Keeton, and Jean Poff joined our faith

family. Jamie and Jean were also baptized

that day. We are excited to have them

worshiping, growing and serving with us.

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1. Pray! (names in the bulletin)

2. Help set up: between 2:30-

4:30 pm

3. Help serve: 4:30-6:00 pm

4. Bring supplies for the

dinner. Check the sign up in

the Fellowship Hall on

Mission board for what is

needed.

� June 6 (bring to

church June

4),,,,mashed

potatoes (3 GFS big

bags), brown gravy (3 big

cans), 100 cupcakes

� June 27 (bring

to church June

25)...6 loaves

of bread, 2 big

jars of peanut

butter

MARCHING FOR MISSIONS

Each week we offer an extra

sacrifice for missions that touch

our hearts.

For May, we collected for

“Running Strong for American

Indian Youth”. Thank you for

your generosity.

For June 4, we will collect (as we

do annually) for the special

offering at the West

Ohio Conference.

Here is an excerpt

from Bishop

Palmer’s letter about

the offering:

Tuesday morning worship will be of special importance as we launch the LIGHT THE WAY CAMPAIGN to support the bold leap of starting new diverse worshipping communities and

collaborating with congregations to extend their vitality for our mission across Ohio. I am inviting you to join me in raising at least $200,000 in this offering. Our mission is clear – to equip local churches to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world…a world of justice, love and peace filled with people growing in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Our strategic plan guides us in reaching more people, more young people, more diverse people with the love of God through Jesus Christ. We have already made significant progress in just one year of identifying, assessing, training and preparing a new band of new church pastors. At the same time, vital congregations are reaching out in new and significant ways to those on the margins.

For the rest of June, we will

march for ISA-Haiti. Through

humanitarian, educational, and

leadership initiatives, they strive

to make a significant and

enduring difference in the lives

of the Haitian people. This is

one of our annual March for

Missions.

us for fun, food and fellowship

while we learn.

For the period of April through

November, we will be having

session for confirmation

preparation. Youth are welcome

to attend even if they are not

looking towards confirmation.

COMMUNITY SUNDAY

DINNER

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Sunday, June 11, 5:30 PM

Our Community Sunday Dinners

are the Second

Sunday of every

month. For June,

we will be

celebrating all

fathers.

The dinner will be

grilled hamburger

(you doctor it up with

all the fixings you

like) with a variety of

side dishes. And of course,

wonderful desserts

Come and enjoy! Invite your

neighbors, friends, family or

anyone that would enjoy a meal,

some fun and some fellowship.

MISSION DINNER

Date: 2nd, 4th & 5th Tues. each

month

Time: 2:30 OR 4:30 PM

Place: Franklin UMC

Be a disciple of Jesus and join us

in mission to serve hot dinners to

anyone in the community. There

are a number of ways that you

can serve.

(Con�nued from page 3)

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MISSION COLLECTION

BINS

We have three bins for collecting

items for mission work. They

are under the Mission Bulletin

Board. Please consider dropping

in a contribution at any time

during the year.

♦ Pill bottles for Matthew 25:

Ministries. Acceptable

bottles are:

Prescription and over-

the-counter pill bottles,

large and small pill

bottles, pill bottles with

and without secure caps

(child resistant).

♦ Operation Christmas Child:

In the fall, we will again be

making up shoeboxes. This

is in case you see a deal on

items during the year, you

can drop them in the bin. A

full list is on the mission

bulletin board.

Some

suggestions for

this month are:

Toys...items that

children will

immediately

embrace such as toy cars, yo-

yos, jump ropes, balls, toys

that light up and make noise

(with extra batteries), etc.

♦ Mats for the homeless:

Hartwell UMC makes

mats for the homeless

out of plastic bags. One

mat takes a lot of bags.

Don’t throw your bags

out bring them in and

drop them in the

appropriate bin.

UNITED METHODIST

WOMEN (UMW)

Date: Third Monday of each

month

Time: 11:00 a.m.

You are invited

to join the UMW

for an evening of

bible study,

prayer and service. We are

currently studying 1 Corinthians.

As part of our service we send

cards to send to military, those

who are ill, or

anyone that is need

of receiving an

encouraging word.

If you have

someone who

could benefit from

receiving an

encouraging word, please let

Norma know.

OHIO RIVER VALLEY

DISTRICT SPRING

CELEBRATION

Doug and

Pastor Sandy

attended the

celebration.

Doug attend

the pre-

conference

session to get ready for his first

time as a lay delegate at the West

Ohio Conference in June.

Pastor Johnny

from Hope

UMC was there

at the table for

Festival of

Sharing encouraging people to

participate.

They both enjoyed the

celebration service of those

(pastors and lay) taking the next

step in their service to the Lord.

The District also announced their

new Strategic Plan based on

input from surveys that we done

by members of carious churches

(a number of our members did

complete a survey). It will be

posted on the district website

www.orvumc.org. A few copies

are available on the table outside

the Pastor’s office..

EXPLORER CAMPS

OFFERED FOR NEW

CAMPERS

"Explorer Camps." West Ohio

offers these short camps at

Otterbein, Widewater, and

Wesley. Whether you are new to

camp or looking for a shorter

stay, this week is perfect for you.

You will get to explore all that

camp has to offer in this fun-

filled 2 night, 3 day stay.

Campers will get to enjoy

swimming, hiking, archery,

campfires, worship, and tons

more! Check out

www.westohiocamps.org for

more information.

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CALENDAR

Every Sunday... Bible study at 10:00 am Worship at 11:00 am

June

6/4, Sun., 11:00 am ...........Larkin’s baptism

6/4, Sun., ...........................Bring in donation for Mission Dinner

6/4, Sun., 12:30 pm ...........Youth Gathering—Confirmation

Preparation

6/4-6/7 ...............................West Ohio Conference

6/6, Tues., 4:30 pm ............Opportunity to Serve, Franklin UMC

Mission Dinner

6/11, Sun. 11:00 am ..........Celebrating our Graduating Seniors—

Caleb & Taylor

6/11, Sun., 5:30 pm ...........Community Sunday Dinner—Early

Fathers Day celebration

6/18, Sun., 11:00 am .........Bring in pictures of fathers for Prayer

Station at worship

6/19, Mon., 11:00 am ........UMW meeting

6/25, Sun. ..........................Bring in donation for Mission Dinner

6/25, Sun., 12:30 pm .........Board of Directors meeting—DATE

CHANGE

6/27, Tues., 4:30 pm ..........Opportunity to Serve, Franklin UMC

Mission Dinner

June

June 14 ... Erica B.

June 15 .... Gene Miller

June 15 .... Brenda G.

June 17 .... Norma B.

June 24 .... Shannon W.

June

June 23 .... Josh & Katie G.

June 25 .... Rick & Bonnie G.

If we missed listing your birthday or anniversary, please let Marty C. know so we can add it to the list.

WEST OHIO CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH VISION

For the past decade, The West Ohio Conference of The UMC has been pursuing the vision in which every

congregation is a healthy, growing, spiritually vital, risk-taking center for making and equipping disciples

of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This vision includes an intentional plan focusing on four key Breakthrough Ministry areas designed to

increase our ability to fulfill our shared mission and vision:

1. Living a Culture of Call

2. Resourcing for Making Disciples and Fruitful Congregations

3. Connecting for Mission, Justice and Healing

4. Exemplifying a Commitment to Stewardship

In working to align the vision of the Annual Conference more

closely with the mission of The United Methodist Church, Bishop

Palmer and the cabinet have spent time seeking to understand

what the mission of The UMC looks like within the specific

context of The West Ohio Annual Conference.

After prayerful discernment, Bishop Palmer has shared the mission statement of The West Ohio

Conference. It reads, "The Mission of the West Ohio Conference is to equip local churches to make

disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world... A world of justice, love, and peace filled

with people growing in the likeness of Jesus Christ."

Bishop Palmer has had this statement beautifully designed as word art to be displayed at the District

Office. Stop by the office soon to say hello and to be inspired by this statement of the mission of our

annual conference.