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The Faith Flyer June 2017

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Revive Us Again was the theme of our

2017 FLORIDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE. Annual Conference Activities & Meetings

from June 8th at 6:30 AM to Saturday, June 10th at 10:30AM Buena Vista Palace Hotel

Orlando, Florida

Rev. Barry Andrews; Pastor Rigo Felico and Saine Rivas, and their sons Magdiel and Jahaziel; Maria Carvajal; Rafael and Ingrid Diaz, and their children Britney, Iveth, and Rafael Jr.; Marisol Melendez; and Samuel Rojas represented our church.

They met with our Bishop, Ken Carter; our District Superintendent, Jay Therrell; and all of the other D.S.’s, pastors, and lay people representing our conference. They heard speakers to revive them again, learned of initiatives to revive all of us again, reviewed the missions and ministries we will support, and handled the business of the conference.

They discussed proposed resolutions on Drivers Licenses for all Florida Drivers; Welcoming the Migrant in Our Midst; Resolution to Support Equality of Love and Value for Both Born and Unborn Children; Resolution Calling for Death Penalty Reform in Florida; Abolishing the Systems of Mass Incarceration; Resolution for Protecting the Right to Peacefully Address Injustice Through Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions; Black Lives Matter: A Movement For All United Methodists; and Combating the Erosion of Human Dignity.

Voting pastors and delegates voted on the five proposed constitutional amendments below passed by the 2016 General Conference.

I. The first Constitution is an affirmation that, as part of our core foundational beliefs, this church will forever stand against any actions, organizations or individuals that discriminate or dehumanize women and girls anywhere on this planet.

II. Adding “gender” (meaning male and female) to the Constitution affirms and protects The United Methodist Church’s commitment to gender equity throughout our worldwide connection. The addition of the proposed final clause allows gender-specific groups like United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men.

III. The provision helps clarify that General Conference delegates shall be elected by the body of annual conference instead of simply being appointed by the bishop.

IV. As is the case for the jurisdictions, episcopal elections in the central conferences should be held in the regular sessions of those conferences, except when unexpected vacancies occur because of the death or early retirement of one or more bishops.

V. Judicial Decision 475 ruled unconstitutional the Council of Bishops holding its individual members accountable for their work, referencing ¶ 50 of the Constitution. This legislation follows Judicial Decision 1275 requirement of a legislative resolution from General Conference so the Council of Bishops may provide oversight of its members.

If you want to know more, go to http://www.flumc.org/aboutus and http://www.flumc.org/welcome-packet-items-ac2017 or talk with Rev. Barry, Pastor Rigo, and the other representatives from our church. We look forward to hearing from them about their experiences.

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The Faith Flyer June 2017

RIDDLE: What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, the rich don’t need it, and if you eat it, you’ll die? (See the answer at the bottom of this page.)

Moved by Christ’s love to pursue reconciliation and peace, and honoring the dignity of every individual made in God’s image, The United Methodist Church is unwilling to turn a blind eye to injustice.

June 11th is PEACE WITH JUSTICE Sunday. This special offering is authorized by the General Conference to be taken up throughout the denomination on the second Sunday after Pentecost. The focus of the observance is on a witness to God's demand for a faithful, just, disarmed and secure world. The General Board of Church and Society is responsible for the general supervision of the observance of this special Sunday. Gifts on Peace with Justice Sunday fund programs that advocate for peace and justice in the United States and around the world. One-half remains in the Annual Conference for Peace with Justice projects, and the other half goes to the General Board of Church and Society for its program of Peace with Justice ministries. Because you give:

•Methodists spearhead a peace ministry uniting Arizona border communities; •United Methodists in Liberia are being equipped to implement the denomination’s Social Principles to address social-justice issue; •Pennsylvania students are educating their community about sex-trafficking at home and abroad.

These initiatives, and hundreds of other ones, are possible because you give. Your giving makes possible the proclamation of Christ’s peace and empowers United Methodists to speak out for removing structures and systems that harm God’s children globally. To learn more, go to http://www.umcgiving.org/ministry-articles/peace-with-justice-sunday.

Did you know that the winner of Season 12 of NBC’s “The Voice” was the worship leader at the Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee? Hear him at http://www.FrancisAsbury.com and read more about this at http://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/05/24/knoxvilles-chris-blue-wins-the-voice-season-12/339080001/.

RIDDLE Answer: The answer to the riddle is “nothing.” Nothing is greater than God! Nothing is more evil than the Devil! The poor have nothing. The rich need nothing. And if you eat nothing, you’ll die.

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A word from Rev. Barry Andrews, Senior Pastor

Thinking about a few things:

1. Thanks for your patience during May as I visited three of my old appointments; Ellzey, Florahome, and Williston. It was for me a trip down memory lane, a good time to renew old friendships, and a chance to see how much things have changed, and stayed the same. Thanks to all of those who looked after Sunday affairs back home in Jacksonville.

2. We’ll transition from the Christian season of Easter to Pentecost the first Sunday of June. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Church, the Body of Christ. It’s a chance for us to commit ourselves to an open heart to God, trusting him to work in our lives with his presence.

3. June is also Annual Conference time in Florida. We’ll meet for the second, and last, year in Orlando, and tend to the temporal and spiritual business of the church. It’s another chance to connect and reconnect with colleagues and friends, and cast our net a little wider and further, looking to make progress for Faith.

4. The garden has begun to take shape on the field, and it occurs to me that, in our zeal to make it available to our refugee friends, we’ve not made any allowance for Faith members to try out green thumbs. Any farmers out there?

5. We’ve welcomed several new members into both worship services these last several months, and it has not escaped notice that all of our new members are from disparate countries – from Sierra Leone to Cuba. Lord bless these new members, as we extend the right hand of fellowship, and offer our love and friendship as we all join together to do God’s work.

6. We were also blessed the second Sunday of May to have Jacob Loveland and Steven Long share their testimonies in church. They have earned their diplomas from Paxon High School, and are headed off to FSU in August; Elena Cobas has graduated from Douglas Anderson, and will be enrolling at JU; Chloe Loudermill graduated from Bishop Kenney and, after spending the summer working as a counselor at Warren Willis Camp, will go to college here in Jacksonville; and Josh Deal graduated from Paxon and is undecided about plans for the future. How very good God has been to us, putting these young people in our lives! We pray them all well in their new adventures.

7. I’m sure that’s not all, but it is all for now. If you see a common theme, besides the wonders of our God who knits so many people from around the globe together here at church, and allows us the luxury of not only multi-cultural but intergenerational ministry, it might be the centrality of friendships in church. Jacob and Steven had this idea as a central theme of their testimonies, and I’m sure they’ll excuse us for using their idea, but these times remind us of what a church like Faith can offer in the multiplicity of churches in the city – a genuine connection to one another, not based on any other commonality but faith. Think about that, and let’s offer thanks for the blessing of being a part of such a church, Christ’s Body, here in Jacksonville.

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Yasmarelis Freddys Samuel (with Rev. Barry Andrews) Yosvania Juan Freddys Frontela, Fajardo, Torres, (with Pastor Rigo Felico) Fajardo, Pena Fajardo, Jr.

We welcome our newest members who joined our church on June 4th!

Damos la bienvenida a Yasmarelis Frontela, Freddys Fajardo, Samuel Torres, Yosvania Fajardo, Juan Pena y Freddys Fajardo Jr. a la familia de la Iglesia Metodista de Faith.

Our Hispanic congregation has been truly blessed because Freddys and Yosvania are singers and Freddys Jr. is a drummer. Combined with Saine Rivas’ singing and Jahaziel Felico on the keyboard, their music is powerful. Even if you don’t understand Spanish, you can feel their passion. You can hear an excerpt at: https://www.facebook.com/395740163800856/videos/1533363553371839/.

If you know of anyone who would like to join our Hispanic Ministry, please invite them to their worship service at 12:00 Noon on Sundays and to their Prayer, Praise, & Bible Study on Wednesdays.

P.S. Gracias for the delicious Mother’s Day lunch!

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In Memory Of

Marilyn DiViesti

November 14, 1923 – May 14, 2017

Marilyn H. DiViesti, age 93, went peacefully to be with the Lord on May 14, 2017, at Ogeechee Area

Hospice in Statesboro, Georgia, with her son and daughter-in-law by her side. She was born on

November 14, 1923, the youngest of three children to Bartow and Euzebia Hardy in Vaughn, Georgia

and was raised in Dublin, Ga where she was a 1940 graduate of Dublin High School. She later

married Nicola DiViesti in 1946 and moved to Jacksonville, Florida where they lived for over 50 years.

They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1996. She was preceded in death by her husband

Nicola and son Nicky. She loved animals, especially her cat Max, enjoyed gardening, and grew

greenhouse orchards. She was an active and dedicated member of the Faith United Methodist

Church in Jacksonville, Florida, where she was a Red Hat Society lady. She also served as past

President of the Englewood Homemaker Extension Club. She was an exceptionally kind and

generous woman, blessed by many friends and loved by all who knew her. Those left to cherish her

memory are her son and daughter in Law, Vincent and Klaire DiViesti of Statesboro, Georgia,

grandson Nicholas DiViesti and granddaughter Natalie DiViesti, both of Jacksonville, Fl., nephews

Pat and Larry McGowan of Ft. Smith, Ark., stepdaughter Madeline Vaphiades, numerous step grand

and great- grandchildren, and several distant family members. Services were held at 2 pm Thursday

May 18, 2017, at Greenlawn Chapel, 4300 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, Fl. Burial followed at Greenlawn

Cemetery with Pastor Barry Andrews of Faith UMC presiding. Her son Vincent delivered the eulogy.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions to your local Alzheimer's Association will be greatly

appreciated. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Hardage-Giddens Greenlawn Funeral

Home and Cemetery, 4300 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32207 (904) 396-2522.

www.hardage-giddensgreenlawnjacksonville.com or www.dignitymemorial.com

UMW Upcoming Events: UMW Board Meeting (Asbury Hall) – Thurs June 1, 6:00 Father’s Day (Wesley Hall) – June 18 – Breakfast Faith UMW will host a Father’s Day Breakfast at 9:00 on Sunday June 18th, in Wesley Hall. We plan to keep the program short enough that those who wish to attend Sunday school can still get to their classes with enough time to complete a lesson. The entire congregation is invited to join us in celebrating Father’s Day.

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Faith UMW is sponsoring Undies Sundays for the month of June. Please place new, packaged, adult underwear in the laundry basket in the Narthex. They will be donated to City Rescue Mission.

Missionary Update

Delbert and Sandy Groves are our Missionaries in Zambia. You can join their Facebook group New Life Center Zambia. There you will be able to get updates on PET (Personal Energy Transportation), watch videos and view posts of how God is working through their ministry.

World Relief: We had a wonderful Mother’s Day luncheon with Brenda Boydston sharing World Relief information. We collected $460 for them – thank you for your generosity! You can like their Facebook page World Relief Jacksonville to keep current with their posts or go to their website http://www.worldreliefjacksonville.org for more information, including volunteer opportunities.

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Happy Father’s Day to all of the men in our church, whether you are a father biologically, by adoption, or in spirit! Let us remember all of our fathers --- in memory of those who have gone before us, in honor of those with us, and in anticipation of those to come! Thank you!!!!!

Funny Christian One Liners

Telling a girl to calm down works about as well as trying to baptize a cat.

If God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining.

Deja Vu – When you think you're doing something you've done before, it's because God thought it was so funny, he had to rewind it for his friends.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Did Noah include termites on the ark?

Why wasn't Jesus born in the USA? Because God couldn't find three wise men and a virgin.

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

I have as much authority as the Pope, i just don't have as many people who believe it.

Read more at http://onelinefun.com/christian/.

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The Faith Flyer June 2017

Fathers in the Bible Search-A-Word

All the names of Biblical Fathers listed below to the left can be found in the puzzle below – left, right, up, down or diagonally. Find each name in the puzzle and circle it below. Good luck!

B S A V M L K T L S V Y N J F H I

G N M M E H S M G A Q S O O X E S

V J M H I N A X A Y J A M S J S M

C A I N S B O M M T S I O E P S H

G I N N A Y A S B A H E L P A A W

H R A O A G S H J M A U O H I N Q

M U D A C Q V R U D Q Y S R E A W

U S A H S D J T A B L T A A O M I

N C B W H I H M Q X O H N W L Z A

D C V S S A I R A H C A Z J Y A G

H I R P E P T D H E I K Z M C S G

I Y V L W T G T Z C C L E K G T I

F E L A C I H I I B O U M O S E S

E L U A D Y Z G A O S N J I G V T

J I S E O D S G Y J Z U E W G O H

M T O Y J A C O B K Y H L F L O N

Y N I S A G A B R A H A M Y G B F

Adam

Seth

Enos

Enoch

Mathusala

Noah

Shem

Abraham

Lot

Isaac

Jacob

Amminadab

Moses

Gideon

Boaz

Eli

Manasseh

Job

David

Solomon

Asa

Zechariah

Joseph

Zacharias

Jairus