inside this issue: from the pastor’s pen...college covered in prayer! august 19. our regular youth...
TRANSCRIPT
Foster Falls Picnic 2
Youth Pittsburgh
Mission Trip
3
Youth Upcoming
Events
3
Annual
Conference Report
3
July Birthdays &
Anniversaries
4
July Worship
Attendants
4
Inside this issue: From the Pastor’s Pen
These are the lyrics to the first verse of the hymn, “God of the Ages.” To
me they are a reminder that each day begins a new walk with God. Each day is an opportunity for us to grow closer to God so that we may gain strength through our relationship with our Lord. It is this relationship that brings us joy. It is this relationship that brings us peace within our souls. It is this relationship that gives us the strength to face new challenges and the hardships in our
daily lives.
Each day we step in faith with those who have gone before us. As we walk our own faith journeys, let’s be thankful for those who
faithfully walked with God before us and influenced us in our faith.
This month, I am blessed to begin serving my second year as pastor of Rural Retreat United Methodist Church. I look forward to seeing where God leads us in the coming year.
My prayer for each of you is that you start each day renewed in your faith and filled with God’s spirit.
Blessings …
Pastor Bob
Budget thru end of June $78,078
Offerings thru end of May $73,003
Below Budget ($5,075)**
**At the current trend we will miss our goal for the year by about $ 10,000. Your additional support would be greatly appreciated to avoid possible reductions in church programs or staff.
Newsletter Printed Monthly
RURAL RETREAT UNITED METHODIST RURAL RETREAT UNITED METHODIST
E XP A N S I ON P R OJ E C T
L OA N B A L A N C E
As of 12/31/16 $163,850
As of 05/31/17 $154,718
Please remember to put “EXPANSION” on the memo line
when writing your check.
We will meet every Tuesday at 7:00pm in the Epworth House living room. We will be using a book titled Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst for our first Bible study. This is a six-week study where we take the tie to look deep inside our own hearts to uncover any past hurts or rejections that keep us from fully embracing God’s love for us. We learn to Live Loved sowe can better share His love with others. For more information, contact Susan Spraker at 620-5608.
Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst The enemy wants us to feel rejected … left out, lonely, and less than. When we allow
Small Women’s Group
Activities/Outreach Committee Update: Upcoming Event
July 15th is our next picnic at Foster Falls State Park. We have reserved shelter #1 all day and plan to start the festivities at 11:00 a.m., winding down about 5:00 p.m.. The Activity/Outreach Committee will provide all the hotdogs and fixins’. Please bring a dish to share to go along with the hotdogs.
There are lots of activities you’ll
want to check out at Foster Falls: horseback riding, bike riding, tubing, etc. Everyone is on their own for the activities so information and fees for these can be found at:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/new-river-trail#recreation.
Feel free to bring the corn hole boards. And please invite your friends and neighbors to attend as well … the more the merrier! We hope to see you all there. If you have any questions, please contact Ginny Smith or Mary Ann Williams.
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him to speak lies through our rejection he pickpockets our purpose, cripples our courage dismantles our dreams, and blinds us to the beauty of Christ’s powerful love. In Uninvited , Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences with rejection — from the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father to the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over. Uninvited reminds us we are destined for a love that can never e diminished tarnished, shaken, or taken .. A love that does not reject or uninvited.
New
Page 3
Twenty-one youth and
seven adults representing
RRUMC left for Pittsburgh on
June 30th. Please keep the group in
your prayers for safe travels,
for hearts to be opened, and
for lives to be touch by God in
unforgettable ways. They will
be returning Sunday, July
2nd.
Saturday, Aug. 12th. You can plan on camping with us for one or two nights. Stay tuned for more details to follow. This will be a fun weekend to celebrate Cameron, Devon, Jacob, Grayson and Keirsten, and send them off to college covered in prayer!
August 19. Our regular youth meetings will resume on August 19th with our 3rd Annual RRUMC Amazing Race!!
The Holston Annual Conference was held June 11th through June 14th at Lake Junaluska, NC. It was busy and productive. Pastor Bob mentioned the passage of the proposed reduction of districts from 12 to 9. Other voting included raising vacation time of less experienced pastors to match that of veteran pastors, approving some changes in language in the discipline, affirming that we welcome all to our churches from any nation, and disapproving online communion. We were told that there will be a called meeting of the General Conference in early 2019 to receive the report from the Council of Bishops on t h e s e x u a l i t y i s s u e t h e y a re studying; and we are all asked to pray for the bishops in their discerning continually but especially Sept. 24th to Sept. 30th (a special time of prayer for them). My sister—in—law and I experienced firsthand how "Rise Against Hunger" uses volunteers to pack thousands of nutritional pouches of rice, vitamins, dried vegetables, and soy to ship to orphanages and schools
overseas. We were impressed and tired. You can see that a lot goes on in the four days of annual conference. Most decisions require quite a bit of discussion, but varying opinions are a l m o s t a l w a y s e x p r e s s e d respectfully. One pastor's motion to ask Lake Junaluska to make a formal apology for its past discriminations against African Americans was delivered with absolute grace and was affirmed by the gathering. As usual, the worship services and music were great! The reports we heard about the church's programs, finances, ministries, and missions made me proud to be a Methodist. I am so glad our local church has been able to meet our district and conference tithe that supports these amazing efforts. Thank you for letting me represent our church family again. If I can answer any questions about the conference, please let me know.
Your sister in Christ,
Barbara
Upcoming Youth Events
No regular youth meetings in July We will try to plan a
middle school activity to welcome all upcoming 6th graders to RRUMC Youth. Please check bulletins for details!
August 11-13. We will be celebrating all our college-bound youth with a trip to Claytor Lake for camping and fun on the water! We have pontoon boats rented all day on
Pittsburgh Youth
Mission Trip June 30–July 2, 2017
Annual Conference Report - by Barbara Rudolph
ACOLYTES
Jul. 02 - Houston Bear Jul. 09 - Delanie Trivitt Jul. 16 - Grant Spraker Jul. 23 - Abbie Pollard Jul. 30 - Catherine Cregger Aug. 06 - Daniel Spraker
Page 4
CONTEMPORARY GREETER & USHER
Jul. 02 - Stephen Bear Jul. 09 - Michael Spraker Jul. 16 - Pete Fiscus Jul. 23 - Jerry Davis Jul. 30 - Mark Haynes Aug. 06 –Sean Viars
NURSERY SCHEDULE
Jul. 02 - Amy Bear Jul. 09 - Tracy Trivitt Jul. 16 - Mitzi Haynes Jul. 23 - Alison Pollard Jul. 30 - Amy Bear Aug. 06 –Tracy Trivitt
TRADITIONAL GREETER & USHER
Jul. 02 - Tim Carter & Frank Reasor Jul. 09 - Chad Trivitt & Dale Steffey Jul. 16 - Michael Spraker & Tony Rudolph Jul. 23 - James Bear & Frank Reason Jul. 30 - Tim Carter & Chad Trivitt Aug. 06 –Dale Steffey & Tony Rudolph
CHILDREN’S CHURCH SCHEDULE
Rural Retreat United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 307
Rural Retreat, VA 24368
Phone: (276) 686-6429
Fax: (276) 686-6429
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ruralretreatumc.com
If you are unable to serve on your Sunday, please call someone to cover for you.
And, if time allows, please let Kaye (Church Secretary) know so that she can update
the bulletin. Thank you.
R E M I N D E R:
AUGUST NEWSLETTER ARTICLES &
INFORMATION DUE BY
NO CHILDREN’S
CHURCH
DURING THE
SUMMER
Jul 1 - Larry Crigger Jul 5 - Cody Bear Heidi Lyall Shawn Presgraves Bowker Jul 6 - Monica Hilton Patton Jul 7 - Nancy Umberger Jul 9 - Sheila Hall Jul 12 - David Evans Frances Kite Grubb Sara Kite Miller Jul 13 - Karen Stidham Jul 14 - Freddye Wood Jul 16 - Ginny Smith Jul 18 - Greg Smith Jul 19 - Becca Smith Jul 20 - Fran Horne Jul 23 - Alison Pollard
Jul 2 - Matthew & Sara Miller Jul 20 - Greg & Ginny Smith - Kathleen Kirk & Marcel Legare
P A R T - T I M E Y O U T H D I R E C T O R P O S I T I O N AVAILABLE for qualified applicant. Salary commensurate with experience. Applicant must be proficient in leading church youth (6th to 12th grade students). Please forward resume with references to:
RRUMC 503 Church Street,
Rural Retreat, VA 24368
or email to: [email protected].
Questions regarding position should be emailed.