May 2020

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

www.facebook.com/rapidcityfirst

629 Kansas City Street, Rapid City, SD 57701

Phone 605-342-4498

www.rapidcityfirst.org

Messenger newsletter

Prime Timers 2

Children’s Ministry 3

A Minute with Michele 4

Youth/Confirmation News 5

Financial News 6

Church Family 7

UMW News 8

Announcements 9

Reflections 10

Helping Others 11

Prayer 12

Barry’s Thoughts

2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. Spring is here!! Or at least it feels like it, new calves in the pastures, and the smell of fresh soil as the crops are planted, new buds on the trees, tulips poking through the ground. All the signs of a new season, the sunshine brightly warms our hearts. Yet we are still dealing with the Covid-19 isolation which feels like it may never end. We love spring because it brings new life no matter how long the winter or the Covid-19 isolation lasts, spring always brings a fresh new start. Our celebration of Easter reminds us of God’s love for us and a fresh new start for all who call Jesus Christ Lord and Savior. In this time of isolation take time to quietly look at the new life that comes with the spring season. And reflect upon our new life given through Jesus Christ. The old is gone the new has come. We lift our hearts in prayer together for all who feel the effects of this season of isolation and we pray that God will become real in our hearts as God gives us strength for each moment of this season. In Christ,

Sermons and Scripture May 2020

May 3rd, 2020 John 10:1-10

“The Good Shepherd”

May 10th, 2020 Esther 4:12-17

“A Mother’s Heart”

May 17th, 2020 John 14:15-21

“The One Who Never Leaves”

May 24th, 2020

Act 1:1-11 “When Will He Return?”

May 31st, 2020

Acts 2:1-21 “Listen for the Spirit”

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PRIMETIMERS EVENTS All events have been cancelled unil June. We will keep you

all updated if that changes and will get schedules to you when activities commence.

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Look for emails and updates on our

FIRST CHURCH KIDS Facebook page for

weekly events each Wednesdays at 6:30pm

and Sunday mornings at

10am.

Parents, children, congregation members of ALL AGES! We are working on a very special

project. Send us your photos by May 3rd! Send to rcfumcchildrensministry@gmail.com

or destri@rapidcityfirst.org

Miss Jessica is sad to announce that VBS will be cancelled for June for the safety of our families and kids.

More information will be coming via email in the weeks to come.

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Shortly after the first of the year, we heard that a local, sister clergyperson was going to be leaving ministry due to health issues. Pastor Barry and I were approached a few weeks later by our District Superintendent, Rev. Rebecca Trefz, to explore how we might partner to help.

After a number of discussions and meetings, I can now announce that as of July 1, 2020, I will be helping to fill a gap. When Open Heart (previously South Maple) UMC says goodbye to Pastor Holly Sortland, I will also start being sub-contracted ¼ time to coordinate Open Heart’s pastoral needs. I will remain a full-time appointment to First UMC, but Open Heart will reimburse First Church for ¼ of my payroll expenses to compensate for my time.

I do not go into this new effort alone. They have a solid team of volunteers and staff at Open Heart, and a number of other clergy and laity will help me ensure that folks attending there will continue to have worship, clergy visits in the hospital and in hospice, youth and other study programs, plus coverage of funeral, wedding and baptism needs. My main role will be coordination or project management of it all, but I will also preach there once a month and fill in needs when others are not available.

I will continue to fulfill my role at First Church ¾ time. I will be away from Sunday worship here when I fill the pulpit at Open Heart and will spend some time at their church office, meeting with staff, volunteers and leadership. We will explore how we might do some cooperative Youth programs between the churches. We look to find efficiencies to serve all the youth in a creative, Holy Spirit-led manner. More information will be shared as plans come together.

This is a brand-new way to do ministry. Please pray that these efforts may be glorifying to God and prepare to be a bit flexible as we figure out the best way for it all to work. Thank you all, and Praise Be to God!

+++Pastor Michele

Michele’s Minute

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Youth/confirmation News Hello Youth and Parents!

Thank you so much for sticking with us virtually as we observe physical distancing guidelines recommended by all the powers that be. We continue to connect with Youth on spiritual matters in these ways:

CONFIRMATION – Zoom video @ 10:10 a.m. Sundays, or YouTube makeup classes

• We offer class through Zoom.us video conferencing at 10:10 a.m. Sundays and will work through select lessons of the Confirm curriculum by Cokesbury through May.

• Currently, shortened versions (< 30 min) of the Zoom video lesson are being uploaded to YouTube, so absent students may watch on their own schedule. There is just a bit of homework (brief written response or recorded audio if they don’t like to write) they send to me, showing they have participated in and internalized the infor-mation. Students need the link to watch. I send it out via Remind each week, but let me know if you are missing it!

• Past lessons that were shared in person before COVID-19 became a thing, WILL be recorded in a video format and also posted to YouTube, again with a bit of response homework from students required. Youth will need the links, made available through Remind, but please let me know if you need them another way. NOTE: This is in lieu of a makeup day/weekend I had been trying to plan. I will try to get one or two old lessons posted each week until they are all available. Please be patient as I adapt the lessons!

AS OF TODAY, Confirmands are encouraged to get caught up by May 31, in the hope that we would enjoy a Confirmation Sunday together as a church family, ASAP, hopefully early this summer. Date TBD.

YOUTH GROUP – Zoom Video

@ 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays

We continue to meet Wednesday nights through Zoom.us video conferencing and encourage youth 5th-12th grades to join us for that. We try to have a fun activity, some Bible discussion relating to the world today and how we live out our Christian faith, and sometimes share music videos and other things. We will meet through May 13 or longer, depending on what kids want to do.

Senior Sunday – We’d like to celebrate our High School Seniors before they start the next chapter of their lives. SENIORS: Please submit a photo of yourself and a 25-50 word description of your after-high school plans to Michele@RapidCityFirst.org by May 15. We will either integrate with online worship or include you all in the first possible in-person worship opportunity.

If/when meeting in-person is an option again this summer, we will stop doing Zoom and institute perhaps a Sunday Fun Day, with stuff like disc golf, hiking, and other activities and/or find service opportunities. Stay tuned!

+++ Pastor Michele

Monthly Contribution Update:

March 2019 March 2020 March 2020 Actual Actual Budget $45,943 $39,234 $46,518

• March Contributions were below last year and budget.

• In March we shorted apportionments in the amount of $6,007 and $14,197 YTD.

If you have moved or changed phone number/address please notify the church

office so we can update the church records. Also we need updated EMAIL ADDRESSES as the church will start sending church information

via the internet!

If you are interested in giving through electronic funds transfer (EFT) call the office or visit our WEB Site.

If you have any questions on finances, please call me at the church office.

--Bill Waugh, Business Administrator

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Financial News

Ways to Tithe

With the COVID-19 causing the cancellation of all church services our church is asking everyone to make the effort to continue

their giving.

Online at www.rapidcityfirst.org click the Giving to the Church tab– then press Online Giving

Send a check to: 629 Kansas City Street, Rapid City SD 57701

We can email EFT (electronic funds transfer) forms to you or you may pick up form at the church office

Call Vanco at 1.800.675.7430 to directly donate

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Thank you for sending us pictures of you all watching our Live Stream services. Keep them coming - email to destri@rapidcityfirst.org!

Even our furry friends got

involved with online services:)

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UMW Notes UMW Cancellation and Rescheduling The July 2020 Mission u events at the southern and northern sites have been cancelled. The June North Central Jurisdiction Event taking place at the Best Western PLUS and Ramkota Convention Center in Sioux Falls, SD will be rescheduled. The event team, with guidance form the National Events Management Department and legal counsel will work to find the best alternative date while continuing to monitor the unique health crisis. “Stay Tuned” Future Local United Methodist Women events will be rescheduled when it becomes clear we can do so. Whenever they happen, let’s resolve to return in force to reconnect with one another and recharge to live out the UMW purpose with “Faith, Hope, and Love in Action.” Thank you Thank you to UMW members calling, texting or writing notes to other members during this time of distancing.

ALL CHURCH RUMMAGE SALE

Save your rummage! An all-church rummage sale is being planned. The

funds will be donated as the planners decide. The tentative date for the sale

will be at the end of July or beginning of August.

As you go through things in your house, please keep the items you would like to

donate to our rummage sale. Thank you!

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Church Office and Staff

All staff will be remotely working at home. The physical

church office will be closed but you can still get ahold of us by

calling 605-342-4498 or emailing: Pastor Barry: barry@rapidcityfirst.org Pastor Michele: michele@rapidcityfirst.org Destri Fagerland: destri@rapidcityfirst.org Jessica Makoutz: rcfumcchildrensministry@gmail.com Brady Wichmann: brady@rapidcityfirst.org Stephen Branch: sfbranch@gmail.com Diane Ketel: dkketel@live.com Bill Waugh: bill@rapidcityfirst.org

We will keep you updated on dates when we will be opening up the church again and other important information. Just know that we as a staff are continually praying for you all. These are ever changing circumstances. If you would like to keep up to date on all church information please send your email address to destri@rapidcityfirst.org and you will be added to our mass church emails.

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Reflections

Are we blessed? Oh, yes. Through the kind efforts of Pastor Barry, Pastor Michele, and our dear church staff, we are able to heed insofar as possible the instructions given in Hebrews 10:25 to forsake not “…the assembling of ourselves together...so much the more as we see the day approaching.” Bless the Lord.

The ‘day’ is the Day of the Lord. In Matthew 24 and Mark 13, Jesus described events and attitudes that will occur as that day draws nigh. Are we living in such a time? Opinions differ, of course, but the virus/plague currently affecting the world—185 countries thus far—makes a person wonder. However, whether this year, or next, or a thousand years hence, our path remains the same. Ephesians 5:1 exhorts us to “Be ye followers of God, as dear chil-dren.” We are comforted by the words of our Lord: “…I am the Lord, I change not….” Malachi 3:6a.

Beyond obvious precautions, what does one do with a virus/plague? Revelation 16 illustrates what not to do. Vs. 9: “…men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God…and repented not...” vss. 10b & 11: “…they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Vs. 21:…there fell upon men a great hail…and men blasphemed God because of the hail….”

We cringe to even read such words, but the Lord knows and warns us of what will one day be. The Parable of the Sower sheds some light. The seed—the Word of God—went forth, but thorns, stony ground, and the cares of the world took their toll on the hearers. In one fine field of wheat, an enemy even secretly sowed weed seeds. Verses 18-30 in Matthew 13 explain a lot. In our built-in quest for sureness and love, we free-willed ones are quite capable of sliding into stuck places with no clue how to get out of them. Pride, hatred, igno-rance—these are just some of many stumbling blocks that short circuit any notions of turn-ing to God. Jesus stands ready to rescue whosoever will turn to Him, but not everybody is willing.

After the 9/11 attack on our country, churches were crowded, for a while. Currently, churches are not open, much less crowded. Will pews one day be open? Probably. Will crowds arrive? Hopefully. In any case, the faithful stay faithful, not fearful. In 2 Timothy 1:7 we are assured that “…God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind.” As Believers we are to “…think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3b. Jesus said (Mark 11:22) “Have faith in God.” John Wesley observed, “It seems God is limited by our prayer life—that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him.” The world needs an awakening to God. The body of Christ needs a revival. We need to stay healthy. The virus needs to go. We must pray.

Love, prayers, and virtual air hugs all around, Kathy Moose

For those of you collecting Family Fare UPCs: Thank you!

• Make sure you save only Family Fare UPCs. The barcode includes “70253.”

• UPCs from other brands sold at Family Fare do not qualify for the Labels for Education program. Thank you for helping support UMW missions.

• 0 70253 16109 (Sample UPC number)

Donations Needed Rapid Ride Bus tickets

Travel size shampoos & conditioners

Laundry detergent (powder or pods)

Paper cups Small food trays

Sanitizer Deodorant

Toilet Paper Blankets

Toilet Paper Postage Stamps

Canned Food Sack Lunches

Coffee Frozen food items

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Keep The Receipts Coming—- Once we reach $150,000, the church receives $1,000 from Nash Finch to help with church expenses. Please turn in your entire receipts in the metal basket on the red wall by the Welcome Center. To date, we have collected $98,348. You can turn in when we all get back to church!

Thank you to Jon and Nila Boone, for totaling the receipts each Sunday.

“We Care” food certificates are a great way to give to your church and your community! Simply write a check to

First UMC and get a food gift certificate (Safeway, Walmart or Family Fare) for

the amount of your check. You are given the full amount, but Church Response

and First UMC both get a percentage! It is a win-win proposition!! Please keep

portion of receipt that says, “Direct your Dollar” with number on each receipt.

Cornerstone Rescue Mission Meal

A big THANK YOU to Delane Rains for organizing food to be dropped off to donate in April. If you’re interested in helping with this (we serve din-

ner on the third Sunday of every month), call the office at 605-342-4498 and we’ll help make it happen!

Church Response

Please consider bringing any kind of canned tomatoes for our church response food drive. Call office if you would like to drop off.

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Please email prayer requests to destri@rapidcityfirst.org

Specify if you would like your prayer to be prayed during our Live Stream service, for our prayer chain email or during our staff meeting each Tuesday.

Great God,

You are an ever-present help in times of trouble,

and that’s why we’re praying now. We are troubled and we’re worried things

are going to get more troubling. This virus is spreading around the world:

so many are seriously ill or will be seriously ill,

so many health care systems are stretched or will be stretched.

Be with front line medical workers, give them courage to do their work

and keep them safe. Be with public health officials

as they make decisions for the common good, and politicians as they roll those decisions out.

Help us to be kind to one another, because anxiety can make us snappy. Help our communities to be resilient

and expansive as we reach out to help all who are isolated and afraid.

In these times of shutdowns and slowdowns, when travel is restricted or banned,

as routines are disrupted and we spend less time together or more time together,

help us zero in on what is essential. Thank you that love is also contagious

and stronger than any virus. You will be with us,

and we will be with each other in sickness and in health.

Amen.