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The
Messenger First
United Methodist Church of Mexico March, 2011 From the Pastor… Do
you ever wonder what our church will be like in 10, 20, or 50 years from now? I
don’t mean the building so much as what we will look like to the community of
Mexico. Will we be a leading force for “the kingdom”? Will we be a beacon of
hope to those folks in need of Christ’s light? Will we be a vital and growing
center of worship and mission, essential to the everyday lives of our fellow
citizens here in Mexico, NY?
Will we exist at all? Or, will we be only a memory? Will we be just a
part of Mexico’s history?
I don’t want to be an alarmist, and I really don’t want to pretend to
know the future. But I pose these questions because it is very important for the
church to understand that what we do today has a direct impact on what our
future together will be. How the church sees itself, and how we relate to the
world and its challenges, will have direct bearing on where we will “be” in
years ahead.
Is our largest concern self-preservation, or do we see our primary role
as serving those around us in need? Are we “institutional” or are we “missional”?
I want to share just a couple of thoughts from Drew Dyson, who teaches at Wesley
Seminary in Washington, DC: “The
missional church of the future understands that God is at work in the world, and
that our primary task is to discern how we, as individuals and communities of
faith, participate in God’s mission. Missional churches shift the questions
being asked from those of institutional preservation to those of missional
witness.” “It
is critical that we ask not only how to attract more people to join our church;
but also how we invite more people to participate in the church’s mission in
the world. We must look not only at how many people come to our services; but
also how many people our churches serve. The missional church that I envision
challenges and equips all of God’s people to live as agents of God’s grace
in their homes, workplaces, schools, and communities.”
Is the challenge to us large, complex, and a little scary? YES! But, dear
friends, Jesus told us that following Him was large, complex, and scary at
times.
The Good News that promises salvation to us has never been as needed as
it is right now; it is our joy and our responsibility to share the News with the
whole world, starting right where we live.
The journey continues… Sincerely, Bill *************************************************** Many of us turn to
religious behavior in order to deal with it, but alas. There's no magical
solution. Even by doing good things, you can't 'do' your way around it.
The God who
sees all isn't fooled for a second. What does He say? 'You've got your reward
now -- the attention, the 15 minutes of fame. But that's all.' Those who seek to
be treated highly will be brought down, and their deeds turn to ash. Those who
get real about their humble
place
before God and others will be treated highly. A simple, helpful rule: if you love
the Jesus of the cross and of the empty tomb, then don't draw attention to
yourself or boast about how good you are - draw it to Jesus by actually
following Him. Father,
please help me to remember
who I am. And please help burn into me the truth that I will die, and
Your Son already has -- and He shows me that death is not the end of it. Amen. (This comes from a website called spirithome.com; you can read other devotionals for Lent there. All documents on site are registered copyright © 1995 - 2010 Robert Longman Jr. *off-line only*. ) ********** March's
IMPORTANT DATES 1:
ASAP Meeting, 6:30pm
THANK
YOU, THANK YOU, TO: ~
all who donated food for the luncheon following Rosanne Russ’ funeral.
Also, to all who served the meal. ~
the cooks and helpers for Monday’s Meal. ~
all who visit the homebound or those in nursing homes. ~
the bell choir for entertaining the residents at Seneca Manor on February 23. ~
the laundry ladies who faithfully take home the church table cloths and dish
towels for washing. ********************************* Our
Sympathy to… the
family of : Rosanne
O’Neil Russ who passed away on ********************************* Our Sympathy to… the
family of: Timothy
Comerford Who
passed away on February
9, 2011 ********************************* Oh,
To Be Irish… When Irish eyes are smiling, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lenten
Worship Services As
you know, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday-which falls this year on March 9. The
season of Lent lasts for forty days (not counting Sundays!), and ends on Easter
Sunday (April 24 this year). We will be worshipping during Lent on these days;
please come and join us. Ash
Wednesday (March 9)-6 PM: a simple meal, and worship (with the imposition of
ashes). Maundy
Thursday (April 21)-7 PM: service of Holy Communion at First Presbyterian
Church, Mexico. Good
Friday (April 22)-7 PM: a dramatic worship service, including the Christian
churches in the area. Easter
Day (April 24)-7 AM: a sunrise worship service on the hill at Diane & Jim
Barbur’s home, with breakfast at the First Presbyterian church. And, we will of course be together each Sunday during Lent at 9:45 AM. Also, the Lenten Bible study “Bread and Broth” will begin on March 6 in Minetto, at 4 PM. Give the pastor a call with any questions about any of these worship opportunities. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Save the Date… The Tug Hill Players will
return for a performance at our church on Sunday, June 12, at 2pm. Stay tuned! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recipe Corner:
This month’s recipe is both in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and in
memory of our friend in Christ, Rosanne Russ, who most recently passed.
Rosanne
was proud to be Irish and this recipe for shepherd’s pie was one of
her favorites. Shepherd’s
Pie 1
cup diced raw or cooked carrots
1 cup beef gravy If
using raw carrots, cook them in boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10
minutes. Drain and set MONDAY’S
MEAL UPDATE As
we move through the winter months, the soup pots at Monday’s Meal filled with
good hot ingredients.
The cooks, helpers, and dishwashers are ready to serve up hearty bowls of
soup to all who enter in – 11:30am-12:30pm.
Following are the cooks scheduled so far for the month of March.
If you like to cook, please contact Maggie Palmer to be added to a team.
Remember too, that cooks are reimbursed for all ingredients that go into
the soup pot! Thank you to all who support Monday’s Meals and to all who come
to eat the soup!
March
7: Rick
and Leslie Sherman/RoseAnne Myers March
14:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATING
THE MEMBERSHIP RECORDS AT THE
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
It has been several years since we have had an active Membership
Committee and subsequently our membership records are being looked at thoroughly
and updated. In doing so, we have found that there are some members that
still live locally but whom we have not seen in a while, others that have moved
to another city or state, and still more that we simply don't know what their
current status is. In any case, in the coming weeks there will be a
membership letter sent out to those people whom we have missed being among us.
It is not our intention to offend anyone by sending a letter, but simply a
vehicle to let them know that they have been missed and to find out how we can
assist them in their spiritual journey. Please know that this has been and
will continue to be a time-consuming effort and that each and every name has
been thoughtfully and prayerfully considered. Perhaps even this short note
will remind all of you that you are part of our church family and we look
forward to seeing you whenever you are able. The members of the Membership Committee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angelfood
Help Wanted: Assistance is needed on the Anglefood Co-op Ministry team. If you are available to assist Christy Hall with overall organization and the dispersing of monthly menus prior to the day the food is delivered, please call her at: 412-3135. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An Evening of Country Worship God’s
Country Nite Jamboree Sunday,
March 13, at 6 - 7pm Cicero
United Methodist Church 8416 Brewerton Road (RT 11) Cicero, New York 699-2731
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CELEBRITY
CHEF’S COOKING CLUB The
next meeting of the 4C’s (Celebrity Chef’s Cooking Club) will be Saturday,
March 26, starting at 5PM in the church kitchen.
Hosts, Chuck & Dotty Parker, and Had & Linda Fravor , will guide
the assembled group in “ Cooking on the Wild Side” with recipes from master
chef of field care and cooking, Milos
Cihelka, local Chef Michael Cali, and Others Make reservations by March 20, by calling Maggie Palmer (963-3272) or Kelly Freihofer (963-3936). This group is open to all adults in the church. Participants share (per person) in the cost of the meal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ASAP
FUNDRAISER A HUGE SUCCESS The ASAP committee wishes to thank all who participated in making the ASAP fundraiser at the Bake Shop Eatery on February 9, such a success. $100 more was added to the elevator fund helping us rise halfway to our goal of $80,000. We are going up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spring
Cleaning? The
date for the Annual Attic Treasure Sale has been set by the Outreach Committee:
Saturday,
May 14. We welcome any spring cleaning treasures that you discover and need to pass on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bread
and Broth: We
will gather on Sunday afternoon from 4-5:30pm beginning March 6th for
six weeks at six different churches We
will begin with worship and then share in the meal of Bread and Broth as we
study. Books will be available for The
following is the schedule of sessions: March
6
Minetto UMC
Jacob
and Lentil Stew Please join with us for one or all of the sessions. You’ll be enriched-soul and body!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Need to Contact our Church?? Our
Church Phone Number: 315-963-3066 Our
Church Website: www.mex1umc.com Our
Church email address: fumcmexico@verizon.net |