A Note from Pastor Susan

Dear Family, How in the world are you? I imagine we are going through all the feelings imaginable. Some are venturing back to work. Some are going stir crazy at home. Some think openings are happening too fast and others think openings are happening too slow. At La Plata, we are finalizing our re-opening plan and will certainly share ours publicly with everyone, but we all have a plan for our own individual particular circumstances. We all are doing the best we can to make decisions for our good. Plans are good. They help us focus and they provide a framework from which to act. However, I wonder how much we ponder God's plan for us? Not just in the age of Covid-19, but well beyond that. Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Perhaps you are familiar with that scripture? It is often quoted as an affirmation of God's continuous action on our behalf in the world. What you may NOT know is that God says this to God's people in the midst of the exile and oppression of God's own. God didn't speak this truth when times were good, but precisely when times were bad. In this time of unrest and struggle, it is easy to align with this person's plan for politics or that person's plan for protest, but those are the plans of human beings. God's Plan is still unfolding, though we may not always see it happening. God will have God's way in these times and always. Let us mean our words of prayer: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. God knows God's Plan for us. Let us align with God's Plan and work for his Will in our world. His... and Yours, Pastor Susan

The Grapevine Weekly Newsletter of La Plata United Methodist Church

June 18, 2020

In This Issue Father’s Day - Post Father Pics to FB THE PLAN! THE PLAN! A Special Note of Thanks & Celebration! UMW Book Reading Sisters - Join Us at the Bell Tower Appalachia Service Project Update ASP Volunteers in Action! Survey Says! Prayer Mask Ministry Second Chances CD’s Available! Employment Opportunity - Deadline Aug 1 DIY Face Masks We Are One Text Your Tithe “Charles County Cares” Initiative Opportunity to Participate Kids’ Korner Let’s Celebrate! Let Us Pray Our Dad Facebook Find

3 Port Tobacco Road La Plata, MD 20646

301.934.2288 laplataumc.org

laplataumc@gmail.com

Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr. Susan E. Boehl

Summer Sunday Worship Service:

10am Facebook Live Online Worship

Courage Corner

Fathers have a way of lifting you up and giving you the courage to do things

that you never thought you could.

Text Your Tithe

Text 844-905-2671 enter the amount as the message

and send the text

Father’s Day - Post Father Pics to Facebook Father's day is June 21 and we would like to celebrate all our dads! How wonderful would it be to see all the dads in our church and church family online? Instead of trying to put your pictures in the comments section of the live broadcast, please submit them by loading them to the church's Facebook page. The tech team will compile them and make a slideshow for our Father's Day time in our service. If you don't have a scanner, just take a picture of a picture with your phone. Or, if your dad is nearby, snap a photo LIVE. And, if you have no pictures or if you have a troubling or no relationship with your dad, find a picture of Jesus and put that online. Jesus said, "if you have seen me, you have seen the Father." And, God is a good, good heavenly Father and worthy of our praise.

Don’t miss the Preacher’s Pop-Up Prayer on FB Live! Thurs at 7pm!

THE PLAN! THE PLAN! Remember Tattoo, the aide to Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island?? Yes, I know I am dating myself. He would exclaim, The Plane! The Plane!, when he saw it come into view. Well I am excited to proclaim, The Plan! The Plan! Our church has put the final touches on a plan for re-opening safely and confidently! Much time, work, and prayer has gone into this plan. It is a working document that will be continuously monitored for specifics as they change in relationship to state, health, and denominational guidelines. Please look for an email with the Plan contained therein. Constructive suggestions are always welcome and all feedback is taken seriously. We understand that there are those who think we will open too soon and those who think we are not opening fast enough. We ask for your understanding that we are all learning as we go and are doing everything we can so that all may come in safely. The Plan will be available on our website, by postal delivery to those who do not have electronic access, and in email form to everyone with an email address in our system. If your email has changed, PLEASE alert the church office. Having said that, please be advised that THE BUILDING IS STILL CLOSED. With a Plan in place, now comes the work of training our volunteers. As a reminder, please email or call the church office to put your name down as someone who will help us move the church forward in these challenging times. ALL OF US are essential workers to the Kingdom of God. Join in and make a difference!

Proverbs 22:6

Start children off on the way they should go,

and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

The Grapevine Editor: Sherri Hastings

Publisher: Karen Hamner Circulation: 750

Weekly deadline for submitting articles is Wed. at 4pm.

This Past Week

352

299

Facebook Views Preacher’s Pop Up Prayer

Church Income

$ $ $ $

11,655 7,259 10,207 10,393

May 24 May 31 June 7

June 14

UMW Book Reading Sisters - Join Us at the Bell Tower

On Tues, June 22 at 10am, the UMW Book Reading sisters will bring their lawn chairs and meet under the LPUMC bell tower to study "Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World." Since 1999, this nonprofit group has enabled women to advocate for social justice and support democracy. These women are equipped with business skills that create jobs in their communities for others. Kathy Cox will lead the discussion. Visitors are welcome - just bring a lawn chair, an open mind and a wish to learn about how other women of the world live and improve their world on a daily basis. Questions? Call Carolyn Rogers at 301-934-3157.

A Special Note of Thanks & Celebration! Dear Church Family, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers. For the last couple of years, I have been dealing with CLL (a form of leukemia) and you prayed for me. Then, a few months ago, the Lord directed me to all the RIGHT doctors and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. You prayed for me through 40 radiation treatments. Those prayers really got me through and when I had my last treatment some of you were there to celebrate with me - with posters and bells. It was such a blessing!!! I have received my results from my doctor and my PSA went from 14 to 0.8 and I my prostate cancer is gone! Then, just last week, I had a telephone appointment with my VA doctor and she said my CLL numbers have gone into the normal range and I am cancer free! God is so good! Pastor Susan has encouraged us to share our joys with each other, so I just wanted to let you know what your prayers have done in my life. Thank you again! Your Brother in Christ, Sandy Tull

Appalachia Service Project Update

Hardware / lumber pickup: √ Load tools in truck: √ Fill up the water cooler: √ Arrive at job site: √ Chat with home-owner / make friends with the dogs: √ Unload materials and tools: √ Begin roof, deck, joist, landscaping, wall, floor repairs: √ Just a typical day somewhere in Central Appalachia working on behalf of Appalachia Service Project (ASP) to make homes warmer, safer and drier. Except, this year ASP had to cancel their summer program to insure the well-being of home-owners, ASP staff and volunteers; leaving about 13,000 eager volunteers with not only time to fill, but more importantly, an emotional void, a hole in their hearts caused by the loss of the opportunity to serve. That check list above is not just theoretical. We have been doing just that for the past few weeks as we embarked upon what we are calling “ASP @ Home,” our way of keeping our ASP team engaged but more importantly, serving folks in need right here in our congregation or community. Over the past month our team has been active with the following projects:

• A major clean-up and landscaping project: pruning, trimming, weeding, mulching, planting shrubs, power-washing, assembling a picnic table.

• Replacing an old deck and tearing down an old mini-barn. • Taking down a dead tree and tearing down another old mini-barn. • Building & delivering 25 benches and creating 10 pair of Christmas angels for our ASP

fundraiser. • Fixing a roof leak; cleaning out a crawl space and laying down new vapor barrier; repairing

damaged band joist, floor joists, sub-flooring, studs, drywall and plywood sheathing.

We are missing the fellowship that comes with being away for a week serving with 80 like-minded folks; enjoying the beauty and serenity of Appalachia; and meeting the many families being helped. With many legitimate local needs, we are getting our ASP fix one day at a time this year. If you have or know of church members, neighbors, or community organizations that might have needs we can help with, please tell Karen in the church office, Pastor Susan or myself and we will be happy to see if it fits our skill set and availability. A sincere thanks to all who purchased benches and angels (yes, we have a few of each available) and for your on-going support of this incredible ministry. John Carns 301.848.0060 carns@comcast.net Quotes from two of the families we helped: “My yard needed work. The picnic table had rotted and had to be replaced. I needed a flower bed dug on the side of the house and the back yard was full of weeds. John Carns and the ASP team built a new picnic table and dug a flower bed on the side of the house and planted slow growing bushes that needed little maintenance. They pulled all the weeds from the backyard and put down landscape fabric, mulch and gravel. The put gravel in small flower beds as well, then power washed the patio. The difference is astounding! The backyard is an oasis of calm and now requires little maintenance to keep clean. I cannot thank the team enough for transforming my back yard into a clean, maintenance-free, and beautiful space!” “I had a roof that had leaked for sometime along with problems with a floor that sunk, and I didn’t know the two were connected. The roof, wall, and floor repair along with the crawl space cleaning out was a true blessing to behold. It was and has been a blessing that I can only give thanks to God for it could not have been brought about by my hands. Watching the ASP team work was like seeing God working through such gifted people as I ever have seen.”

Appalachia Service Project Volunteers in Action!

Second Chances CD’s Available! We have a limited supply of CD’s and a devotional available from Second Chances. The cost is a donation, first come, first served. Call the church office to reserve your copy.

Survey Says! 109 persons responded to our survey about re-opening La Plata UMC for in-person worship! Some surveys were representative of families, so a good portion of our church family was heard from! To help us understand how our brothers and sisters are feeling about re-opening, we would like to share an overview of responses from our survey: 32 percent of our church family are ready to return to in person worship now, or sometime in June. Add to that those ready to return in July and we increase the percentage to 43 percent. Of those safety measures deemed very important to re-opening:

No shaking hands – 80 percent Masks – 70 percent No Passing of the Peace – 70 percent Hand sanitizer – 70 percent Sanitizing between services – 62 percent Social distancing – 62 percent No sharing items, communion, offering – 60 percent No nursery/Sunday School – 47 percent No fellowship time – 45 percent No Hand held/Printed items – 45 percent One way traffic in and out – 42 percent No singing – 40 percent Temperature checks – 20 percent 64 percent of our responses came from those who are at high risk or at home with a person of high

risk 90.3 percent of responders believe our online services meet or exceed expectations The largest age group responding are those between 64 and 75 38.5 percent of responses will be worshipping more online in the future

As you can see, we are well on the way! Another survey will be coming out in the next week or so. Please keep an eye out for it.

Prayer Mask Ministry The Prayer Mask Ministry of La Plata United Methodist Women is off to a strong, blessed beginning! In order to support the "Re-opening Well" efforts of our church building, we are sewing face masks and praying now for the people who will eventually wear them. If you are interested in joining this ministry through sewing, cutting out materials, or providing for supplies, please contact Kathy Cox at mrskathylcox@yahoo.com. Best yet, pray for this ministry to grow and perhaps provide masks for others in our community in Jesus' name.

Getting Prepared to Re-Open: DIY Face Masks As La Plata UMC prepares to re-open its doors, we want you to be prepared too. Everyone entering the building will need to wear a face mask to meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. While fabric face masks are not as effective as the CDC-approved ones, like surgical masks or N-95 respirators, wearing a mask can help prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus from people that are contagious without knowing it. Here are quick and easy instructions for making the CDC’s no-sew face mask with supplies you likely have at home: What you need:

a bandana or a piece of cotton fabric cut 22” x 22” (Note: The best fabric is tightly woven, 100% cotton) a flat coffee filter two rubber bands or hair ties

What to do: Lay out the bandana or fabric Fold bandana in half Place the coffee filter in the center of the rectangle Fold the top and bottom in towards the center. Fold the sides in towards the center. At the folded creases, loop your rubber bands or hair ties. Tuck one end of the fabric into the other. Lift the mask to your face and secure the straps by looping the rubber bands or hair ties over each ear. Adjust as needed. Make sure that your mouth and nose are completely covered.

Employment Opportunity - Deadline August 1 Children and Youth are our greatest resource. They are not only the future of the Church, they are the PRESENT! La Plata Church is currently accepting applicants for the position of Director Of Christian Education and Youth Ministry. Corrie Roberts, who will hold this position until May 31, has tendered her resignation to serve God in other ways. This is a 20 hr/wk PART-TIME staff position. Applicants should submit a resume and references. At least one year experience working with children and/or youth or comparable training is preferred. If you have a heart for children and youth or know someone who does and may have an interest, please contact the church office for more information. Make a difference in the life of our church and in the lives of the younger members of our church family. Position specifics are available upon request. Deadline for applicants is August 1. Thank you!

We Are One La Plata UMC is a church family and when one hurts, we all hurt. If this extended time of hardship has impacted you in financial ways, we want to help. Please call the Pastor or Karen at the church office number and let us know. Your information will remain confidential and NO ONE except the pastor and/or our Administrator will be informed. La Plata Church wants to walk alongside you!

Text your Tithe

In less time than it takes to write a check, you can make weekly offerings by sending a text message. Just read the instructions below of how to get started and you can continue to support the work of our church by texting your tithe.

“Charles County Cares” Initiative End Hunger in Charles County, LifeStyles, and other organizations are working on a program that will allow those in need to receive food, toiletries and information about resources during this COVID 19 Crisis. This initiative, Charles County Cares, is designed to allow for the delivery of groceries, meals, toiletries, etc., to eligible homebound individuals, curbside pickup of same, and promotion of operational food pantries. End Hunger in Charles County: Services Available during the COVID-19 Crisis End Hunger in Charles County is working collaboratively to provide emergency food, prepared meals, and other meal items to children and households in need. The goal is to work in a coordinated effort to maximize all available resources and to avoid duplication of effort. The organization will assist existing programs through funding and other resources as needed. We have partnered with agencies to provide the following services in Charles County: · Community Cabanas: LifeStyles is working with volunteers to build, install, and maintain ten cabanas throughout the community, located in areas such as Waldorf, La Plata, Indian Head, and Nanjemoy. These cabanas will provide necessities, such as toiletry items, ready-to-eat food, and water, for those in need. This drive-through process will be maintained by volunteers who will provide services each weekday from 11am – 3pm. This is done through a partnership with End Hunger and Charles County Government. · Meal deliveries: LifeStyles in partnership with other providers and Charles County Public Schools are coordinating the delivery of meals for households with school-age children that are not able to access the daily school meal distribution sites, to seniors who are homebound, and also for those that are homeless that need access to nutritious meals. These meal deliveries are scheduled for weekday deliveries, utilizing homebound delivery protocols developed by the Maryland Food Bank. When the purchase of groceries is more efficient and economic, it will be used as an alternative. Households must be pre-approved and requests for same-day delivery may be considered, but not a guarantee of availability. · School meal sites: Charles County Public Schools has 11 drive-through sites throughout the county to provide three meals for children 18 and under from 11am – 1pm Mondays through Fridays. Educational materials are also being distributed at that time. Children must be present in the vehicle to receive food. Southern Maryland Food Bank is providing groceries at these sites on Fridays to assist families. · Curb-side Food pantries: End Hunger has provided an updated listing of sites that are currently operating to provide non-perishable food items to the community that last from 3 – 7 days. Persons are served without direct contact, and information is collected from staff and volunteers via phone, email, or from a social distance. This list of food pantries will be maintained frequently as the situation changes. LifeStyles is currently providing curbside food pantry services from its satellite Waldorf location each weekday from 8am – 4pm. The link for pantries and meals in Charles County continuing service during this time is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z_I3HvqqMTjtUmjaCP70_CCZ-3wvsI9tqoUbHk2Ev-c/edit?ts=5e7b5294#gid=1433775003

· Groceries: End Hunger in Charles County will provide grocery gift cards to persons to purchase grocery items to supplement pantry items or to homeless individuals to access hot meals from grocery stores when appropriate. End Hunger will coordinate with local farmers to purchase food for families that have cooking facilities and are able to prepare their meals. · Hot meals: Southern Maryland Food Bank is providing hot meals through the Meals of Hope mobile unit at designated locations throughout the county that are considered food desert areas, i.e., Cobb Island, Bryans Road, etc. Our Place is also providing curb-side hot meals at their location in Waldorf on Designated days (to be determined). Please call if you are in need or have donations. · End Hunger in Charles County: 301-383-3683 · LifeStyles: 301-609-9900

Opportunity to Participate FAMILY! Now is the time! Help is needed to care for the vulnerable among us. Let us roll up our sleeves and work for the community and her welfare. Please see where the Lord is urging YOU to help! Charles County Cares – Community Cabanas We Need Help! Ten “Charles County Cares Cabanas” are being constructed, measuring 4’x3’x6’, and placed in strategic locations around the county. These Cabanas will contain bags of non-perishable food items and water, toiletry kits, and information about available resources. Cabanas will be open five days a week, Mondays through Fridays, from 11am – 3pm. Families and individuals will be able to pick up bags each day. Cabanas will be stocked daily with 50 bags of food and 50 bags of toiletry. The first cabana was placed at the New Hope Church of God in Waldorf on Monday, March 30th with four more scheduled to be placed soon. The remaining cabanas will be put in place as they are completed. We will eventually need 3500 meal bags each week, but for now we estimate needing 1750, to have 50 bags of food at each cabana. The same is true for hygiene kits. Volunteer Staffing of the Cabanas We desperately need volunteers to commit to a one-hour time frame to stand (or sit in your car) at a six-foot distance from the cabana to instruct individuals to limit themselves to one bag per person. You are NOT expected to enforce rules or engage with clients. A sign-up volunteer list has been created on the following website: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094FA4A92BA4FB6-charles1 Volunteers will be assigned to Community Cabana Captains. If volunteers are sick, have potential COVID-19 symptoms, or are considered the ‘vulnerable population’ during this COVID-19 virus pandemic, we ask that you not volunteer. Persons must be 18 years old to volunteer. Volunteers should not bring children to the site with them. Food and Toiletry Donations We also need volunteers to donate non-perishable food items and toiletry items, and to bag those items for distribution. The process and suggested ingredients are detailed below. You are instructed to wear gloves and to wash your hands often with soap and hot water. Donors can have them pre-made in bags or drop off assorted requested items. Donors are asked to call LifeStyles at 301-609-9900 or End Hunger at 301-383-3686 to state they will be delivering items, so staff are available to assist. Donations can be made daily from 8am – 4pm. Cabana Captains can access additional bags from the Fuller House. If volunteers are donating checks or items but have not assembled them into bags, they can drop them off at the Fuller House located at 3470 Rockefeller Court, Waldorf, MD 20602. Checks should be made payable to End Hunger in Charles County. Please write COVID19 food in the memo. Thanks and God bless you!

Hygiene Kits: Items Needed (Male/Female/Child)

Shaving Cream Shampoo (Family Size Optional/Travel Size Preferred)

Lotion Conditioner (Family Size Optional/ Travel Size Preferred)

Razor (Optional) Hand Sanitizer (if possible)

Floss (Optional) Pads/Tampons (Women’s Personal Care Items)

Toothpaste Comb/Brush (Optional)

Toothbrush (Individually Wrapped) Deodorant

Mouth Wash (Alcohol-free/Optional) Soap/Body Wash

Anytime Bags/Lunch Bags: Items Needed (Nonperishable Items Preferred)

Tuna Lunch Kits/Chicken Salad Kits Cookies

Vienna Sausages Slim Jims

Chips Apple Sauce

Water 16 oz (Preferred) Fruit Cups

Juice (Bottle or Boxed/Optional) Microwaveable Spaghetti, Ravioli, etc.

Crackers Plastic cutlery/napkins

Kids’ Korner

Friday, June 19 Jon Atterbury Glenn Belmore Corey Legagneux Saturday, June 20 John & Meighan Hungerford-28 Frank & Mary Ann Wade-56 J.T. Hindle Tuesday, June 23 Sarah Leonard

Wednesday, June 24 George & Arlene Berts-53 Morghan Hungerford Thursday, June 25 Jerry & Charlotte Bowie-37 Gloria Beatty Friday, June 26 John Bohner & Jane Beswick-21 Kyle Beckett Jane Beswick Cecil Deihl George Morris

Saturday, June 27 Christine Barber Bruce McAfee John Schaecher Sunday, June 28 Cecil & Cora Deihl-62 Brian & Jenifer Pyle-12

For our friends and family who are living in nursing homes, and assisted living or home bound:

Tom Berry Wade Beswick Karyl Beverage Frank Brinson Patricia Buckler Sue Carns Jennifer Carpenter Jerome Church Cathy Compton Harolly Coombs Joyce Dean Lane Duque Sandra Fykes Remy Zachary Gordon Carl Greene

Laurie Hamilton Peggy Hamilton Randy Hill Christina Kingsbury Francis Lewis Donna McKenzie Ed McKenzie Johnny McPherson Renee Nash Carl Occhipinti Frank Quinn Mary Beth Reckeweg Bonnie Richards John Richards Melissa Faith Rollins

Crystal Rupprecht Patty Rupprecht Donna Sarnacki Tabitha Schneider Carol Sorenson Rosalie Snyder Don Stapleson Michael Stewart Brian Thomason Jeanette Tull Sandy Tull Linda Valente Cora Westmoreland Mike Williams

Let Us Pray

Ann Bergerstock Lennis Bridgett

Iris Dickerson Sharon Ferguson

Mike Merritt

Our Law Enforcement Officers as they risk their lives each day to protect their communities. Medical personal as the put their lives at risk caring for those with Covid19. Researchers as they strive to develop a cure for this virus. The leaders of our country, may the Holy Spirit be present at every meeting as they keep us informed. Our Pastors as the continue to find new ways to minister to their flock and keep us all connected. For each other that Christ will calm our fears and keep us safe.

Continue to pray for:

Let’s Celebrate! Birthdays & Anniversaries

For our friends and family who have medical issues:

Our Dad

Author Unknown

Facebook Find

God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle’s flight, The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete, And so, He called it…

Dad