Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
THE PASTOR’S PAGE
As the quarantine is extended once again, questions and concerns are surfacing about what precautions will need to be in place in order for us to offer live worship services once the restrictions are eased or lifted. Of course opinions vary, but our church leader-ship is in agreement that we do not want to jeopardize the health or safety of any of our Church Family or friends—especially those who fall into the most vulnerable “high risk” category for the coronavirus. Our conference has published a set of guidelines intended to aid us in this discussion. It has the catchy title “Principles and Directions for the Reopening of UMC Facili-ties in Michigan” and can be seen and downloaded from the Michigan Conference website: www.Michigan UMC.org. (Hard copies are available upon request from the church office.) While we are anxious to resume active participation in the life of our church, we need to remember that things will not be the same as they were before and begin to brace our-selves for the necessary changes and proper precautions. You probably saw on the news how different the auto assembly plants looked when they reopened in mid-May and how restaurants were attempting to make “social distancing” more palatable by placing mannequins or blow-up dolls in every other booth. We will probably have our temperatures monitored before entering public buildings and I suspect face masks will be a part of our wardrobe for the foreseeable future. Singing in public will require some sort of shield to keep germs from being projected and propelled as far as they would by coughing. Church will definitely look different than it did before the pandemic. I encourage you to be patient as we continue to “shelter in place” and wait for the spread of the coronavirus to slow down or halt. We have done a good job so far. Many more of you are tuning in to our on-line worship services. I believe we have a way to make those services available to those without internet access, but I must defer to our A/V Team. Julie is continuing to offer “Dial-a-Hymn” calls as a way of staying connected. Becky is reading a story each day and hosting Zoom “reunions”, Suzanne is keeping our prayer list of “front line” responders updated and finding hymns from our archives to include in our weekly services. Cindy is sending our prayer requests and praises, e-blasts and putting together the slides for the scrolling announcements in our virtual worship ser-vices. Anna is finding creative ways to engage our Youth via Zoom. We have sub-scribed to Zoom and a “how to” page is available to help us organize virtual meetings of church groups, committees and study groups. Individuals are dropping off surprise packages and contact free care packages. We are calling, emailing, Zooming and facetiming and even resorting to “snail mail”. And, of course, we are praying for each other, for those combatting the virus, recovering, or coping with a loved one’s suffering or death. We have a long history of being a caring Church Family—and that has NOT changed! Keep the faith, do not lose hope, observe the “rules” and trust in God to see us through—and beyond—this pandemic. Stay home, stay safe and stay healthy.
Pastor Gregg
Big Beaver
United Methodist Church,
3753 John R Road
Troy, MI 48083
Phone: 248-689-1932
Fax: 248-689-8705
Gregg Mayberry, Pastor
Parsonage Phone: 248-689-2839
Church Email Address:
Website:
www.bbumchurch.org
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/
BigBeaverUnitedMethodistChurch
YouTube: https://
www.youtube.com/bbumchurch
BIG BEAVER UMC
Banner 2020
PEACE WITH JUSTICE SUNDAY June 7, 2020 is Peace with Justice Sunday, a special day in The United Methodist Church to celebrate and re-commit to peace and social justice efforts, locally and globally. BBUMC has a long tradition of addressing social justice issues. In 2013, our church earned recognition as a Detroit Annual Conference Peace with Justice Congregation and committed to actively work on behalf of peace and justice. In the past few years, BBUMC has addressed the issues of human trafficking, access to clean water, and the global refugee crisis, and has supported equality, diversity, and inclusion activities. While major decisions about our denomination have been delayed until next year, the global United Method-ist Church continues to wrestle with issues of human sexuality. Our Michigan Conference Bishop David Bard has encouraged local churches “to continue to develop a deeper capacity in your churches for having challenging conversations about difficult topics and to develop a capacity for doing ministry even in the midst of uncertainty.” Jointly with Troy First United Methodist Church, we will offer a series of programs to provide the opportuni-ty to listen, share, learn, and grow in our understanding of this topic. Please look for future educational opportunities on this topic, as we navigate a variety of event formats in accordance with the church's safe meeting protocol. BBUMC contact: Brenda Balas, [email protected].
STEWARDSHIP UPDATE – MAY 2020
Although we have spent the past 2 months in “stay at home” mode and only been able to come together virtually, our BBUMC family once again has shown their strong financial commitment. Despite not being able to come together each week, many have found a way to continue honoring their pledges, whether on-line or through the mail. Our receipts and expenses so far this year are very similar to same period last year: 2020 receipts are $113,200 vs. expenses of $113,300 compared with 2019 receipts of $116,600 and expenses of $117,700. Beyond the general offerings, we also continue to support our missions. We collected a special Easter offer-ing of $1,742, which will be distributed to the following charities: Helen Roberts-Evan United Methodist Missionary, Dan & Ann Miller CRU Missionaries, Henderson Settlement serving Appalachian people and Cass Community Social Services in Detroit. As always, thank you for your generous support! Another special offering that we missed this year during this time of quarantine is UMCOR Sunday. Howev-er, as this is such an important ministry, we will find a way of taking up this collection in the near future. So, stay tuned! Finally, we applied for and were approved for a Payroll Protection Plan loan offered to small businesses and non-profit organizations. With this loan, we will be able to cover our payroll and utility obligations through the months of May and June. The decision to apply for this was made based on the uncertainty of the times we are in. All in all, through YOUR commitments, BBUMC currently is in a stable financial condition. Joe Lorenz Stewardship Chair
AN UPDATE FROM RETA GRIFFIN... Due to the Coronavirus outbreak and recent closures,
the following have been cancelled at BBUMC:
Summer Polar Café Coffee Hour July Cass Luncheon
July Kitchen Meeting July UM Women Mission U
The annual church picnic scheduled for Sunday, June 28 is postponed until summer 2021 (date to be determined). We look forward to a time that we ALL can come and fel-lowship together safely.
VBS 2020 Stay tuned for more information…
Knights of the North Castle previously planned for July 20 -23, 2020
has been rescheduled for Summer 2021 (date TBD).
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATING SENIORS! We would like to celebrate you off as you go on the next adventure. Stay tuned for more information as we plan to send you off the BBUMC way!
Dear BBUMC family, Thank you all so much for the thoughts, prayers and cards during Al’s recovery. We appreciate our church family so very much.
Al and Melody Piasta
ANNIVERSARIES BIRTHDAY’S
Gregg Mayberry Pastor
Suzanne Bianchi Organist and
Contemporary Music Director
Julie Kohring Choir Director
Becky Lorenz Christian Ed Dir.
Cindy Gavin Admin. Secretary
Anna Balas Youth Director
Ingrid Hayes Nursery Care
June 1 Bob & Laurie Huber
June 11 Jerry & Rhoda Lafever
June 13 Jim & Nancy Cormier
June 17 Steve & Denise Moilanen
June 20 Al & Melody Piasta
June 24 Clayton & Dianne Osburn
June 25 Richard & Laura Cummings
Lord, we lift up Christian men everywhere and pray that Your Spirit of grace and truth may rest and remain on each one. We pray that these men may grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord, and that they become strong in the Lord and in His mighty strength – and not rely on their own abilities but rest in Him alone. May the beautiful character of the Lord Jesus be increasingly reflected in each one, and may all men throughout the world be godly witnesses to the truth of the gospel both in their own home and with others. Build up the body of Christ we pray with an army of Christian men who will become a reflection of the Lord Jesus so that they may grow into mighty men of God. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
June 1 Martin Griffin, Ed Hannum, Keith Meadows
June 3 Bob Renshaw
June 4 Jean Cummings, Annalise Lorenz
June 5 Mike Jones, Kim Sutton
June 6 Kerry Sutton
June 8 Chris Hill
June 9 Maria Momeyer
June 11 Kathy Kerry
June 12 Doris Brown, Greg Scott, Larry Sporer
June 13 Debbie Tollafield
June 15 Gladys Clippard
June 19 Greg Purcilly, Scott Tollafield
June 25 Dempsey Cabe
June 27 Tami Morris, Darlene Wilson
June 28 Allison Taylor
June 29 Louise Itami, Ed Morris
