A Service of Death and Resurrection for Jerold D. (Jerry) Rittel will be held Friday, August 1, 2014 in the Sanctuary. I will be officiating Rev. Stan Norman will deliver the message.
New Church Directory
The following article was written by Mary Reimler:
Many of you have been asking when a new church directory would become available, and it is our hope that we will have one ready by the end of the summer. This directory will also be available on-line which will allow us to add to or delete photographs as necessary. Pastor Collins has proposed that we obtain the services of a volunteer who is a “camera-bug” at heart and who will take the digital photos of our members which will then be downloaded onto the computer and eventually into the new directory. A digital camera will be provided to anyone interested in taking on this fun task; or you are welcome to use your own camera so long as it is digital. If you already have a favorite photo of yourself or your family, and it can be sent to me by e-mail, please feel free to do so and we will try and use that particular photo. Please remember to list each family member that appears in the photo in the correct order. For additional information or to volunteer your photography skills, please contact me at 785-263-2623; or e-mail, mary@abilenefirstumc.org.
Tentative 2015 Confirmation Schedule
In the United Methodist Church confirmation is an important event that marks the transition of youth from baptized to professing membership. It is a time for them to understand and affirm for themselves the vows their parents took at their baptisms. (Those who have not yet been baptized are baptized on confirmation Sunday). Wendy Robinson has released a tentative 2015 confirmation schedule.
October 5, 2014 (Sunday): Confirmand/Parent Information Meeting at 4:30 pm
January 3, 2015 (Saturday): Confirmation Retreat form 8:30 am to 7 pm
January 25, 2015 (Sunday): Confirmation Lesson from 6 to 8 pm
February 8, 2015 (Sunday): Confirmation Lesson from 6 to 8 pm
February 27-March 1, 2015 (Friday-Sunday): Wichita Faith Weekend
March 8, 2015 (Sunday): Confirmation Lesson from 6 to 8 pm
March 22, 2015 (Sunday): Confirmation Lesson from 6 to 8 pm
To Be Announced: Confirmation Rally
April 18-19 or 25-26, 2015 (Saturday-Sunday): Spiritual Retreat
May 3, 2015 (Sunday): Confirmation Sunday
Confirmation is open to all seventh and eighth graders.
Sunday’s Sermon: Table Manners
One of the questions I didn’t get an opportunity to on question and answer Sunday was this:
“I remember something from the Bible about taking communion ‘wrongly’—or without the right heart or something like that, that would cause illness, death, etc. What’s the story/explanation?”
If my understanding is correct, this question stems from 1 Corinthians 11.27-30, where Paul writes:
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. … For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”
We’ll be celebrating communion next Sunday and so it seems to me a fitting week to address this question. I’m excited about the chance to talk about this passage because along with the warning comes a powerful proclamation of the importance of the sacrament and the power of the gospel. I hope to see you there.
Help Wanted: Children’s Sunday School Teachers
First United Methodist Church is looking for at least two volunteers to help teach children’s Sunday School this fall. Right now we have a large gap between the nursery and the youth Sunday School (that starts at 6th grade). Power and Light helps fill this gap during the week, but we would be a more faithful church if we could offer classes for this age group on Sunday mornings.
Volunteers will need to be certified to work with children and youth by the Great Plains Conference, but that only takes a few hours and First UMC will cover the cost of the training and background check. Let Jenny or me (John) know if you’re interested or even just willing.
America Must Help Iraqi Christians
Mostly unnoticed amidst the tumults in Israel and the Ukraine, Iraq’s ancient Christian community is under siege. They have been given the following options: “pay an exorbitant tax, convert to Islam, leave, or be put to death.” Their suffering is part of the “collateral damage” of the Iraq War (the result of social disruption and the subsequent unleashing of religious fanaticism).
I feared this would happen back when the war was just beginning. And I guess I knew in the back of my mind that it was probably happening with the rise of ISIS. But this article in The Week brought it home for me. I would encourage you to take the time to read it and then pray about this issue and for our Christian sisters and brothers in Iraq. If I learn of some other way we can help, I’ll pass it along.
Link: http://goo.gl/7LhpbL
Sunday’s Sermon
This Sunday I’ll be preaching on Malachi 3.8-12. It’s a passage popular among prosperity preachers but mostly ignored by mainline denominations (it does not appear in the Revised Common Lectionary). I don’t think this passage can be taken woodenly, but I do think it speaks a profound truth. I’m going to try and place it in its context that we might learn what it has to say to us about the practice of faithful Christian stewardship today.
The other two scripture readings will be Genesis 29.15-28 and Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52. We’ll have special music from a bell quartet.
Best Medicine Improv Coming to First
Like many of you, we’re grieving the loss of the Great Plains Theatre to a fire yesterday. But we’re incredibly thankful for the opportunity to host the Plain Great Players’ Best Medicine Improv Show this Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 6:30 pm in Wright Fellowship Hall. The suggested donation is $5.
This is a great chance for us to show our support for the theatre and open our doors to the community at the same time.
Great Plains Conference Public Education Partnership
At this year’s Great Plains Annual Conference, a resolution was passed establishing the Great Plains Conference Public Education Partnership. The resolution invites all local United Methodist Churches in Kansas and Nebraska to:
- Strengthen an existing or establish a “hands-on” partnership with a local public school or schools;
- Encourage and equip members to contact their state legislators to advocate for public education; and
- Attend a conference-sponsored regional event supporting public education.
The event being held nearest to us is at Topeka First UMC on July 31, 2014 at 6:30 pm. Let us know if you’re interested in making the trip, but Jenny and I think the best option might be sharing a video of the event in either the sanctuary or fellowship hall at a later date that does not coincide with the rodeo.
Judging from the passion with which many of you worked for the passage of the recent school bond issue, I know that this issue is important to you. Let Jenny or I know if you would like to get more actively involved with this ministry. I have posted the original resolution along with a letter from Bishop Scott Jones on the church website.
The Seed, the Soil, and the Sower
A couple of Sundays ago my mother, Mary Collins, was responsible for the community worship service out at the federal reservoir near Council Grove. She put the following devotion together using multiple sources. I wanted to share it with you. It’s based on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 and she titled it “The Seed, the Soil, and the Sower.”
“There are two parts in the scripture that we just heard. In the first part, Matthew 13: 1-9, commonly known as “The Parable of the Sower”, Jesus is at the lakeshore teaching to a large crowd from a boat. In the second part, verses 18-23, Jesus is interpreting to his disciples what the Parable of the Sower means.
After reading the first nine verses, most of us have probably asked ourselves “what kind of soil am I?” Are we the beaten path where the seed falls and is eaten by the birds – not having an opportunity to grow? Or are we the rocky soil where the seeds fall and sprout quickly but wilt and die under the hot sun because they don’t have deep roots. Or are we like the soil infested with thorns and weeds that choke out the life of the seeds that try to sprout. I am confidant that we all hope to be the good, fertile soil where the seeds can grow and produce a wonderful crop.
If we are honest with ourselves we will probably recognize that we are a little bit of all the soil types that Jesus used in his parable. We have known the beaten path of life. We have stumbled through rocky patches. We have been scratched and cut by thorns of life. And we have planted our roots deep in the sacred soil of God’s Word that feeds and encourages us to grow and become a bountiful harvest.
This parable challenges us to be self-reflective and to be willing to embrace the good news and to grow as followers of God. But it goes deeper than that. I don’t believe this parable is just about what kind of soil we are and how we receive the ‘seed’.
In his explanation to his disciples of what this parable meant, Jesus referred to it as the “Parable of the Sower” and the Sower refers to God who sows the seeds of the Good News everywhere – not just on fertile soil, but on hard, beaten paths; in among the rocks; and where there are weeds and thorns. He does not discriminate as to where He sows. He is abundantly generous – sowing seeds with equal toil and hope. ‘There is no soil left unsown. No ground is declared undeserving of the Sower’s seeds.’* This parable is not only about the quality of the soil – it’s about the generosity of God, the divine sower. We may try to determine what kind of soil we are. God simply wants to sow His life into ours. With God, no life, no person, no soil is left unsown.
The Parable of the Sower is not just about how receptive we are to God’s Word – it is also about God’s faithfulness to us. God does not give up on us. He will keep casting seed our way until we are ready and able to receive it. Because of His faithfulness to us, our lives have been and will continue to be sown with God’s seeds – may we grow abundantly in His love, mercy, and grace.”
*Michael Marsh, “It’s About God, Not the Dirt.”
Young, Younger, and Youngish Adult Bible Study
This fall, Jenny and I are looking forward to beginning a Bible Study on Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture by Adam Hamilton for young, younger and youngish adults. We’re excited about the book, the possibilities for discussion and the opportunity to fill one of the gaps in our adult Christian education program. We have some great classes, but we don’t currently have anything explicitly targeted for adults our age and under (an admittedly broad category). We plan on starting on September 7, 2014 in the church library.
Voice of the Day: Søren Kierkegaard
Jesus’ telling of the parable of the good Samaritan was prompted by the question, “who is my neighbor?” At the end of the parable, it is clear that the despised samaritan is the neighbor and so we learn that everyone is our neighbor. That’s the key point of the parable, but Søren Kierkegaard makes the point that the parable itself actually says less about who the neighbor is than about how to be a neighbor:
“The one to whom I have a duty is my neighbor, and when I fulfill my duty I show that I am a neighbor. Christ does not speak about knowing the neighbor but about becoming a neighbor oneself, about showing oneself to be a neighbor just as the Samaritan showed it by his mercy. By this he did not show that the assaulted man was his neighbor but that he was a neighbor of the one assaulted.” — Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love.
This reading the parable is supported by Jesus’ final word of instruction: “go and do likewise.”