The United Methodist Church of Merced

899 Yosemite Parkway

Merced, California 95340-5137

change service requested

Sunday Services

9:30AM worship

10:45AM Sunday School

12:PM Hmong worship

THIS

MONTH...

May 2016 Volume 16, Issue 5

@UMCMerced

Sharing

the liberating

love of Jesus

to empower and

mobilize all

in service

for God.

Inside this issue:

UMW

2

Money Matter$

3

Food Pantry

4

April

calendar

5

The United Methodist Women of Merced will grant scholarship money total-

ing $1,000 per school year to chosen women. Each applicant is to be a mem-

UMW to give Women’s Scholarship

ber of the United Methodist Church of Merced and a

woman who, after a lapse of time from graduating high

school or attending college, is now ready to begin, contin-

ue, or complete a college education by taking at least six

units per semester. A complete guideline and an applica-

tion form is available in the church office. Application

deadline is Friday, July 1, 2016.

Page 2 @UMCMerced

Membership News

March 20th was Membership Sunday. By baptism or profession of faith,

the following people are now officially a part of UMCMerced.

We joyfully welcome them into our growing family!

The purpose of my life is to

serve God faithfully. My family

is small - my parents live in the

Bay area and I have no children -

so I love spending time with my

church family. I work as a nurse

and also garden, hike, kayak,

read, write, and make stained-

glass windows.

Lynn Cody

profession of faith MacKena Dean

baptism/profession of faith

MacKena Dean is a full-time

student at Merced College who

enjoys music, making jewelry,

and meeting new people.

Kristina Manilay

profession of faith

Persistent, ambitious, diligent,

affectionate, friendly, percep-

tive, enthusiastic, honest, sin-

cere, loving, intelligent, motivat-

ed, dedicated, demand excel-

lence from myself, endearing,

determined, exact, caring, warm

-hearted, comical, tenacious,

athletic, adventurous, giving,

optimistic.

Pat Richardson baptism/profession of faith

Funny, loud, poet, saddle bronc

rider, cowboy to the bone,

distinguished, slim, good friend,

friendly, kind, honest, artist,

colorful, teaser, sarcastic, profi-

cient speaker of English, sar-

casm, and profanity, hard-

working, clever, emotional,

loyal, generous, good cook.

Corinne Werth

baptism/profession of faith

I enjoy my friends and family and

ride my three-wheeled bike eve-

rywhere. I also enjoy reading.

Zaydi May Cabrera

baptism

Zaydi is daughter to Mayla and

Isaac and sister to Zoe Mai

Cabrera. Mayla says, “We

would not be where we are

today without the love and

support of our families. Our

family is truly blessed.”

With three months complet-

ed for 2016, I can now re-

port the numbers that are

contained in the financial

reports for the month of

March year-to-date.

All income categories com-

bined totaled $71,073 and,

individually, most categories

fell below the budgeted

amounts. When com-

pared to the same

month one year ago, to-

tal income decreased by

$13,152 or 15.6%.

Total expenses of $78, 483

were $89 below the amount

budgeted for the period of

March YTD. Included in

total expenses paid was

$7,082 in apportionments,

which represents one-

fourth of the total due for

2016. Total Expenses

exceeded Total Income

by $4,241

Pledged income in March

exceeded the monthly budg-

eted total by $501, but re-

mains behind the budgeted

total year-to-date by $1,867

(or 3.3%.) However, we’ve

seen unpledged giving in the

first three months fall no-

ticeably below expectations,

now down more than 26%

compared to the budgeted

number. This is very con-

cerning if the trend contin-

ues. The church’s bills must

be paid timely which means

we will have to dip into re-

serve funds if expected giv-

ing continues to drop. Let’s

see if we can get back on

track with our May giving!

Remember, you can always

find the most current finan-

cial report in the Fireside

Room. For more detailed

financial data, please feel

free to contact me directly

in person, by phone,

or by email

(umclarry@sbcglobal.net).

In Christ’s service,

Larry Hall Treasurer, Church Administrator

Money

Matter$

Page 3 @UMCMerced

Cindy and Gary Moon

Monday 5/2 - 1:PM @ Jane Matthews (209.383.5129)

3159 San Pablo Avenue

Marilyn Chan Thursday, 5/19 - 9:30AM

@ Timmi Zuniga (209.384.3801) 2640 Stretch Road

Executive Board Meeting

Thursday, 5/12 - 6:PM (fireside room)

General Meeting

Thursday, 5/12– 7:PM (fireside room)

“Merced United Way”

Presented by Carol Bowman

UMW events: fellowships:

Jane Kies

Thursday, 5/19 - 1:30PM

@ Jan Wilson (209.617.8142)

740 West 15th Street

Hearts and Hands Monday, 5/23 - 7:PM

@UMCMerced fireside room

The Valley Crisis Center is always in need of items for their clients. Visit http://

www.valleycrisiscenter.org/get-involved/wish-list for ideas. Items can be brought to

the UMW general meeting or left in the box available in the Fireside Room.

Church Women United will be hosting

a pot-luck lunch on Friday, May 6th

from 11:30AM to 1:30PM at Shepherd of

the Valley Lutheran Church in Merced.

Estate Sale: Friday and Saturday,

May 20th and 21st

1892 Canyon Drive 8:AM to 1:PM

5/1 Mayla Carlos

Michelle Lee

Karen Macedo

5/2 Bob Richels

5/3 Emily Bennett

Ethan Currin

Nancy Lee

5/8 Bill Stockard

Lisa Viney

5/11 Lee Greenawalt

Jillian Hall

5/12 Glenn Wood

5/13 Richard Blodgett

Joyce Hall

5/14 David Elgin

5/15 Fran Demro

5/17 Connie Jones

5/18 Clarita Buyao

5/19 Doug Boister

5/20 Vernette Doty

5/21 Jerry Weaver

5/22 Jan James

Jacob Mumford

5/23 Jill McCabe

Denise Rohm

5/25 Betsy Franks

5/26 Sierra Keyworth

Andrea Morris

Mary Ellen Wood

5/27 Tommy Vang

5/31 Lucas Walker

If we have missed your birthday,

please contact the church office.

Our next food distribu-

tion will be May 19th.

We are continuing the

clothing ministry in con-junction with the food pan-

try distribution. Jackets and clothing, especially for

children, are greatly appre-

ciated.

Our Good Neighbor Food

Pantry distributed 120 bags o f food in Apr i l .

18 volunteers helped pack and distribute the food

bags and offer clothing. If you wish to help,

give a check (made out to the church with a notation for the food bank) or bring

a sack of non-perishable

groceries from home.

If you would like to be a

part of this mission by picking up food, packing

food bags, or distributing bags and c lo th ing ,

please call Terry Kruest (209.631.1057) or the

church office

May Birthdays

Good Neighbor Food Pantry

Page 4 @UMCMerced

Food Pantry Sunday

is the first Sunday

of the month!

On your birthday,

our prayer intercessors

thank God

for your birth and life

and ask God

to bless you

in a special way.

Starting April 1, Save Mart S.H.A.R.E.S. will become Shares powered by eScrip.

Your old S.H.A.R.E.S. card will no long work at checkout.

Registering for eScrip is easy! Go to www.escrip.com and click on ‘sign up.’

Fill in your information and select ‘Your Non-Profit Organization.’

Enter “United Methodist Church of Merced” and check the box.

Select ‘Cards and Phone Numbers to Register to Earn When You Shop’

and enter card information and phone number. The S.H.A.R.E.S program gen-

erates money for our church; we’d love to see more people get involved.

Thanks for your support!

S.H.A.R.E.S Program Update

This story can fit 150-200

words.

One benefit of using your

newsletter as a promotional

tool is that you can reuse con-

tent from other marketing

materials, such as press releas-

es, market studies, and reports.

While your main goal of dis-

tributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service,

the key to a successful newslet-

ter is making it useful to your

readers.

A great way to add useful con-

tent to your newsletter is to

develop and write your own

articles, or include a calendar

of upcoming events or a special

offer that promotes a new

product.

You can also research articles

or find “filler” articles by ac-

cessing the World Wide Web.

You can write about a variety

of topics but try to keep your

articles short.

Much of the content you put in

your newsletter can also be

used for your Web site. Mi-

crosoft Publisher offers a sim-

ple way to convert your news-

letter to a Web publication. So,

when you’re finished writing

your newsletter, convert it to a

Web site and post it.

This story can fit 75-125 words.

Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.

Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re

trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.

Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into

your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.

Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the im-

age near the image.

Inside Story Headline

Inside Story Headline

Food Pantry News

visited and served 50 meals at the D Street Shelter on the first Wednesday in June. To sign up to provide this meal, see the sheet in the Fireside Room. We are continuing the clothing ministry in con-junction with the food pantry distribution. Clean, usable items may be left in the box in the Sunday School hallway.

Gently worn children’s clothing is in high de-mand. If you would like to be a part of this mission in Merced by picking up the food, packing food bags, or distributing bags and clothing, call Terry Kru-est at 631.1057 or the church office at 722.5777.

Our Good Neighbor Food Pantry distributed 142 bags of food in June. Twenty volunteers helped to pack and distribute the food bags and offer cloth-ing. Please remember to give either a check (made out to the church with a ‘food bank’ nota-tion) or bring a sack of non-perishable groceries from home. The Van Dyken Family

The first Sunday of the month is Food

Pantry Sunday.

Next food distribution is June 18th.

Page 5 Volume 16, Issue 5

Caption describing

picture or graphic.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Office Closed

Bible Study

4:PM - FSR

3

Women’s Study

10:AM - room 4

Native Daughters

6:30PM - room 4

4

Pastoral Care

9:AM - FSR

Troop #3007

5:PM - room 8

5 Men’s Breakfast

7:30AM - FSR

Journey 4 Justice

6:PM - FSR

Hmong Comm. 6:PM - room 7

6

Etz Chaim

6:PM - MR

7

8 AM Worship

9:30AM

Sunday School

10:45AM

Hmong Worship

12:PM

9

Office Closed

Mom’s Club

9:30AM - room 7

Bible Study

4:PM - FSR

10

Women’s Study

10:AM - room 4

Troop #3007

5:PM –room 8

Welcome Team

6:30PM—FSR

11

Grief Support

2:PM - FSR

Chancel Choir

6:30PM - MR

12

Men’s Breakfast

7:30AM - FSR

Social Action

12:PM - library

Hmong Comm. 6:PM - room 7

13

Troop #35

6:PM - room 8

Etz Chaim

6:PM - FSR

14

Muslim Comm.

11:AM - rooms 5, 7

15 AM Worship

9:30AM

Sunday School

10:45AM

Hmong Worship

12:PM

16

Office Closed

Bible Study

4:PM - FSR

17

Women’s Study

10:AM - room 4

18 Troop #3007

5:PM - room 8

Chancel Choir

6:30PM - MR

D-Group

7:15PM room 2

19 Men’s Breakfast

7:30AM - FSR

Food Pantry

5:PM - WH

Hmong Comm.

6:PM - room 7

20

Etz Chaim

6:PM - FSR

21

22 AM Worship

9:30AM

Sunday School 10:45AM

Hmong Worship

12:PM

23

Office Closed

Bible Study

4:PM - FSR

24

Women’s Study

10:AM - room 4

Troop #3007 5:PM - room 8

25

Grief Support

2:PM - FSR

Chancel Choir

6:30PM - MR

26 Men’s Breakfast

7:30AM - FSR

Leadership

6:30PM - FSR

Hmong Comm.

6:PM - room 7

27

Etz Chaim

6:PM - MR

28

Muslim Comm.

11:AM -rooms 5,7

29 AM Worship

9:30AM

Sunday School

10:45AM

Hmong Worship

12:PM

30

Office Closed

Bible Study

4:PM - FSR

31

Women’s Study

10:AM - room 4

May 2016

Pacifica Senior Living

Virginia Taylor

Hylond

Ann Adams Ray Adams

Joanne Sasaki

Better Living Care

Myrtle Jacobs

Park Merced

Enid Olive Phoebe Benjamin Lorraine Morris Roy Harris Harvey Schlintz

Courtyard Health Care Center (Davis)

Mary Maxfield

Just Like Home Care 11

Merodine Converse

Rev. George S. Bennett - Lead Pastor

Rev. Wang Pao Thao - Hmong Pastor

Rev. Victoria Schlintz - Pastor in Residence

Warner H. Brown, Jr. - Bishop California-Nevada Conference of the UMC

Debra Brady - District Superintendent (Central Valley)

California-Nevada Conference of the UMC

We pray for those in hospital or care facilities

The United Methodist Church of Merced

Other prayers for the people

We hold in our hearts…

...missionaries serving

throughout the world.

...United Methodists stand-

ing for justice for immigra-

tion reform.

...families who have lost

their homes to fires, floods,

tsunamis and other natural

disasters.

...all those affected by vio-

lence and war at home and

abroad.

...our military personnel

and their families at home.

...the homeless.

Wayne Smiley Connie Jones Eileen Hastings Jenni Durbin

Annie James Guy Near Richard Huntley Mary Ellen Wood Harlan McCollum Sara Bates Bill Stockard Pat Davey

Kitty Towe Shirley Phillips Hal Hambley Linda Royal Jeanette McCollum Tom Keene

Jack Drouillard Bill Stockard Dorane White

Page 6 Volume 16, Issue 5

Office hours:

Tuesday through Thursday: 8:30AM - 4:30PM

Friday: 8:30AM - 12:PM

209.722.5777

laura@umcmerced.org

umcmerced.org

Transportation is available for Sunday worship.

Contact Larry Hall (209.756.6105) before noon

on Friday.

For pastoral emergencies, call Pastor George

(775.343.8695). Your call will be returned as

soon as possible.