May

June

2013

Contents:

Pastor's Message ............ .. 1

This & That .................... .2

Calendar .............. ........ ........ 3

Ladies Page ...................... 5

Just a Thought ................. 6

Care Ministries ...... . .......... 7

Guiding Light

LITTLE UTICA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Reverend Elizabeth Morey 474-3516

Linda Honicker, PPRC Chairperson 315-626-6576

Donald Day, LU Lay Leader 315-598-6327

A Message From The Pastor:

Several years ago, in the midst of "spring cleaning" the church office, I ran across some "gems" of wisdom from other church newsletters. The following, from the Tully UCC News-letter ( ca. 1990) seems to be as timely now as it was twenty or so years ago:

"Ten church members came to worship all the time.

One "fell out" with the pastor, and then there were nine.

Nine church members stayed up late.

One overslept, and then there were eight.

Eight church members on their way to heaven.

One took the low road and then there were seven.

Seven church members all chirping like chicks.

One didn't like the music, and then there were six.

Six church members seemed very much alive,

One got "travelitis" -this left five.

Five church members pulling for heaven's shore,

One got tired and grumpy - and this left four.

Four church members, busy as can be.

But one got his feelings hurt, and then there were three.

Three church members and the story's almost done,

For two of them got weary and left only one.

Now everybody knows there's not much one can do­

So one brought a friend - and then there were two.

Two church members and each brought one more.

Now don't you see? 2 + 2 = 4.

Four church members worked eagerly and late;

Each one brought another and now there are eight.

Have you got the message, pointed and true?

Come on folks, we've got a job to do!

For you see, these eight members,

Continued on page 4

Volume 9 Issue 3

Bookshelf in John Snow' s classroom at the Hannibal High School.

Many of these books were purchased by the church in support of literacy initiatives started by John. 35 books are currently signed out and students from 15-18 years old are enjoying the selection.

On behalf of our family, Lea & Ed Windhausen wish to thank the people of Little Utica Church and the UMW for the generous contribution sent to First Baptist Church of Woodbridge, Virginia.

Page 2

They will be doing part of our mission statement-11

• ••• share the Gospel and create new disciples. 11 Our family going on this mission trip are: son - Ed, daughter - Candi, and granddaughter - Erika. They will be gone from July 24 until August 9, 2013.

If you would like to follow this mission, the site is missionzambia.blogspot.com.

The Little Utica and Warners churches will say "thank you and farewell" to Pastor Betty, June 30. We will gather for a pot luck luncheon at Warners, 12:30 pm.

It's our chance to say goodbye. So put it on your calendar.

FLOOR FUNDRAISER

Our fundraising campaign to replace the carpet in the parlor with a tile floor is going very well.

We had a $753 .01 balance left from our Stained Glass Window Fund to start off this new project. As of April28, 2013, I have received $1525.00 in new donations. Giving a total of$2278.01. Our goal is $4500. We are halfway there. Let's get this done by the end of the year. .. we can do it!

Shares (blocks) can be purchased for $25 each. Please make out your check to the "Little Utica Floor Fund" and give or send to Sylvia Day, 1 South Granby Road, Fulton, N.Y. 13069. Please let me know if you want your donation given in memory or in honor of a loved one.

Sylvia Day

**** Floor Fundraiser ****

$25.00 a block

Given by: ___________ _ In Memory of: ________ _ __ _

In honor of: --- - - --- - - ---

Return this along with your check or cash to Sylvia Day, so it can be logged into the book and put on the Floor Chart.

Page 3

DATES TO REMEMBER

LONG TERM CONCERNS

Ann Benedict, Jeanette, Jim, Bob, & Ron Billings, Duane Bunyea, Alberta Carpenter, Art Coville, Clarence Crandall, Sylvia Day, Roy Friot, Jim Gravelle, Nick Grasso, Bonnie Jarrett, Gladys Kline, Betty Luke, Ellie McAllister, Ar­den Painter, David Pittsley, Don Pittsley, Tiffany Rothrock, Mattie Rose, Roxanne Stewart, Mike Warner. Richard Mosher, Margaret White, Arlene Williamson, Lawton Williamson

OUR NATION:

Our President Barack Obama, his cabinet, our congressional leaders, and the men and women of the Armed Services

OUR CHURCH:

Our church families, our Bishop, Mark Webb, our District Superintendent Rev. Darryl Barrow, and the Enoch Thomas Cluster.

OURPASTOR:

Rev. Betty Morey

Mother's Day

Rummage Sale

Memorial Day

Chicken & Biscuit Supper

Community Lunch

Flag Day

Skyline Chapel (6:30pm)

June 21 Rain Date

Father's Day

Summer Begins

Night at the Ballpark

Farewell Rev. Betty

12:30 noon at Warners

Independence Day

Newsletter Deadline

Administrative Council

Skyline Chapel (6:30pm)

Rain Date July 19

VBS

May12

May 17-18

May27

June 1

June 12

June 14

June 14

June 16

June 21

June 25

June30

July 4

July 7

July 9

July 12

July 22-26

Community Garage Sale (Warners) Aug. 17

The Vacation Bible School Theme for 2013

Everywhere Fun Fair, come and meet Godwin Merrifeather "Where God's World Comes Together" For ages 4 and up July 22- July 26, 5:30 to 8:15PM

with a light supper served from 5:30- 6pm.

There will be registration forms available during our upcoming rummage sale in May or contact VBS Director Diane Weller@ dweller@twcny.rr.com to have one mailed to you. There is a registration form on page 9.

You can also download the form online at our website, www.littleuticaumc.org

Come to our Carnival! With Godwin and friends! See you in July!

Happy Birthday

Jim Billings Candy Burtch Alice Homer Reggie Homer Arden Painter Steve Weller Anne Welytok Lela Windhausen Helen Wolford

Happy Anniversary

Chris & Al Ardiuni Sylvia & Don Day

Candy & Charlie Burtch

Linda & Ray Honicker Connie & Reggie Homer Sally & David Smith

Income Snapshot

Loose

Pledges

Regular Donations

Easter

Chicken Dinner

Native American Totals

March

464.75

1726.28

1342.00

70.00

4338.20

* All income not itemized

April

616.75

2913.22

1453.00

375.00

1765.75

31.00 7616.74

Page 4

A Message From The Pastor continued

If they double as before,

Injust seven weeks would be 1,024!

In this little jingle there is a lesson true.

You belong to one or the other:

The Building or the Wrecking Crew."

This will be my last "Pastor's Message" as you will be welcoming Rev. Michaela St. Marie on July 1st. We began our time together under sad circumstances with the passing of Rev. Jarrett. We are fortunate to have a Church system that can provide pastoral support in unforeseen emer­gencies. It has been a blessing for me to serve you in this time. We have spent good time to­gether celebrating in worship, and planning for the future of the church. I have enjoyed my time with you. Someone asked me the other day if I would miss the ride to Little Utica. They were surprised when I said "yes!" You have made a long, cold winter quite enjoyable and I will miss being with you. God bless you on your faith jour­ney with Rev. St. Marie and on the mission and ministry of the Little Utica United Methodist Church.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Betty

Here are the expense numbers for March and April

March April

Clergy Support $1084.65 $ 967.17

Parsonage Utilities 714.59 99.03

Church Utilities 1072.57 1056.78

Missions 581.18 219.99

Operating Expenses 1125.40 1477.70

Apportionments 825.42 825.42

Total Expenses $5413.81 $4646.09

Gen. Fund Balance $2013.98 $4249.43

*Not all inclusive

Page 5

The Ladies Page

Our Morning Apart at Little Utica on April 13 drew 29 ladies from various UMW groups in the Crossroads Dis­trict. Spiritual Growth Coordinator, Pat Carpenter talked on John Wesley and how we should be in solitude and meditation so we can listen to God communicating with us. She had hands-on activities- pictures to meditate on and even color­ing pages for a time of quietness. We enjoyed singing and fel­lowship time too. I want to thank John Snow, Jr. for playing for our singing. He remarked there were several good singers in the group. Lots of harmony. It was a great day.

Spring District Meeting is Saturday, May 18 at Liverpool UMC. We will be giving out the Five star and Mission Today Certificates. The speaker will be Nasha Barnes who will talk on women's issues, She is a local woman who grew up on the west side of Syracuse. Lunch is $8; reservations need to be in by May 10. Let Carole know if you want to go.

On Friday, March 22, our group served 60 for lunch at the Lenten Service held at Baldwinsville UMC; Plainville UCC did the main dish and our group brought pies. The lunches are put on by Church Women United each Lenten season. CWU took in over $850 from the lunches and $112 from the Bread For Life Bakeless Bake Sale. This money was distributed to Meals on Wheels, the Commu­nity Food Pantry, Dorothy Day House and Peace.

Our spring Rummage Sale is Friday, May 17, 9-6 and Saturday, May 18, 9-2. Saturday is Bag Day- all you can fit in a bag for $2. Lunch will be avail­able. Come and join us and have fun discovering treasures you can't live without.

Just a reminder, we are still collecting items for the UMCOR school kits. The list is available at church plus it was in the last newsletter. We will be collecting until June 30. Carole Menzel

Craft Fair

The 15th Annual Little Utica Craft Fair will be November 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you would like to donate craft items for the fair, the summer would be a perfect time to either start or finish unique crafts.

This will be my last year organizing the Fair so if there is anyone interested in carrying the torch, I'll be more than glad to brief you on how it works. Candy Burtch, 695-4365

Just a reminder - the UMW is still sell­ing RADA CUTLERY- The best knives and kitchen utensils. All items are made in the USA since 1948 and all knives come with a lifetime warranty.

These utensils are great gifts for any oc­casion! And certainly for YOU, just because "you need them".

We have inventory of the best selling items available -please contact Helen Wolford, 315-678-1646, whelen6@aol.com, or any UMW member. If item (s) desired are not in stock (here), they can be ordered and have the items back in two weeks.

Page 6

Just a thought... by John Snow, Jr.

I have three questions for you.

#1: How do you fit in with the mission of our church? I think about that often, as sometimes it seems as if we are not on a common direction. Sometimes I don't see our mission clearly. We were tested by our pas­tor on how well we knew our mission statement: "Our vision is to grow spiritually through outreach. We want to include all people as we share the Gospel and create new disciples." I am not sure how my spiritual growth is doing; something I need to work on. I have a lot of ideas for outreach, such as walking through the neighborhood introducing myself, migrant ministry (still researching and not looking promising, but it is a dream), and supporting the other outreach ministries such as Care Ministries. I haven't really been sharing the Gospel too much. At school I try to set an example and plant seeds, not using Gospel language but by Gospel deeds. So maybe that covers me on that. (If anyone would like to have a Bible study this summer let me know.) The last part- create new disciples- I do need work on that. How do you fit in with the mission of our church? #2: Are you living out what has been planned for you? I am not even sure ifl know what God has in store for me. I am good at teaching and working with youth. I am doing that at school but not in church. I took a spiritual gifts assessment and found that I am an exhorter. I didn't know what it meant, but after I looked it up it basically means I can talk a lot. Yup, that is true. I enjoy talking about my faith, but only ifl am asked. I have been told I have interesting ideas about religion and the Bible which I love to tell peo-ple. Again, only if they ask. I am not sure ifl am too vocal at meetings or in some cases not vocal enough. I do want to have the opportunity to express my opinions and feelings about decisions in the church. Maybe that is my role in life- to have a big mouth. How are you living out God's plan for you? #3: What is going to be said at your funeral? I admit, this sounds unrelated to the others two ques-tions. But if you think about it our funeral sums up our life in 30+ minutes. I have attended many funerals because I enjoy playing at them (weird, I know). I have to say that on a few occasions when the pastor asked if anyone would like to say something, total silence came over the sanctuary and people looked down and at their bulletins. And then you have the celebration of Cora Williamson's life that had the building packed and people told such wonderful stories before, during, and after the service. It was a great celebration. I wonder sometimes what would be said at my funeral and if anyone would even come. What is going to be said at your funeral?

As morbid as it sounds, we are writing the eulogy through the way we are living. What is said at our funeral depends on how we fit in with the mission of our church and how we are living our lives. Hope that last sentence related all three questions.

We are getting a new pastor. It is a time to renew ourselves and start fresh. Think about these ques­tions and figure out what you need to work on, make a plan and most of all, get excited. I have quite the list for myself. If we are all fitting in to the mission of our church and living out our "plan", we will be a united United Methodist Church, just a thought. ..

One Sunday in a Midwest city, a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour.

The parents did their best to maintains some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle.

Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congre­gation "Pray for me, Pray for me".

Care Ministries

The Care Ministry com­mittee has an Emergency Food Pantry available. All requests are confidential. Please contact: Jeannette Billings at 678-2131.

**************************************** Community Lunch, Wednesday, June 12th, from noon - 2 The menu is: hotdogs, salads, baked beans, chips, Desserts, Punch, milk, coffee, tea

*************************************** If you would like a greeting card sent to a

family member or friend, from our church family, please see Dale Snow. Thank you everyone who has donated cards for this ministry.

**************************************** 2013 Community Garden

It is spring so our thoughts ~ tum to new growth - the trees are _ "

budding, the grass is growing, the B flowers are blooming and our com-munity garden needs planting. -

Last year we had a very sue- -.. cessful garden and we would like to repeat that this year.

Anyone that is interested in being part of this year's garden please, contact Anne Welytok; 678-1646 or email awelytok@yahoo.com.

The garden is in a new location and it is all ready to be planted once the weather warms up a bit. We will be setting up a meeting to get together soon so that we can plan to get our crops in the ground soon.

*******************************************

In His Care Vi B. chevalier

May God above look down and bless Your life with love and happiness And may His holy grace impart abiding peace within your heart.

M is for the miracle of Being. 0 is for the origin of love. T is for the tenderness of seeing. H is for a home no wind can move.

E is for the ecstasy of living. R is for the recklessness of giving.

Page 7

Are you still interested in receiving the "Guiding Light" the Little Utica UMC newsletter? If you do not wish to receive it, please mail your decision to Marj Olds, 2009 Lamson Road, Phoe­nix, NY 13135 or email molds@twcny.rr.com.

Have you seen the church newsletter on the church website? To save time and money the Little Utica newsletter has been posted on our website. Those who are computer savvy and have access to the internet can help your church cut expenses by retrieving your copy from www.littleuticaumc.org. on the items of interest page. To read it you must have Adobe Reader, which is free from Adobe.

The newsletter should appear within a week of the submission deadline. Please do not send the newsletter to me.

Name __________________________________ __

Address ----------------------------------

"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was for forgiveness

and acceptance, So God sent us a Savior.

(source unknown)

From the Lay leaders Desk

A busy few months it has been for lay lead­ership classes and fellowship. We have had several different and challenging classes offered at Little Utica.

I am so very proud of the 5 members that took the Unbinding The Gospel~ 8-week study. Special recognition goes to Connie, Marj, Jim, Ray & Linda. Thank you for completing this course, it took a lo~ of your time.

The Basic Lay Speakers Class held its last lesson on Sunday May 51

h. Sunday May 19 there will be a special service where the lay class mem­bers will be presented with their Lay Servant Minis­tries Certificate. I want to thank Rev. Morey & Doug for all their help.

UMM Tribute to Wade was held on April 27th with members from many churches in atten­dance. The men cooked a delicious lunch for all. A love offering was taken and $785 was collected. We are sending checks to Watson-Homestead and Camp Casowasco in Wade's memory. It was the UMM's way of showing how important Wade was to all of us.

Father's Day Sunday, June 161h the UMM

will be presenting the UMM Man of the Year Award. To a deserving man from our church who has served Little Utica UMC and his community well.

I am taking a few months off from teaching spiritually based classes. New and exciting Lay Leadership and Bible classes will begin this fall. Our July/August newsletter will have all the dates for the new studies and classes that will be offered at Little Utica.

Don Day, Lay Leader

What Makes a Dad?

Page 8

Trustee Report

The Trustees from Little Utica and Tom House from Warners met on Monday, April29 to discuss renovations to prepare the parsonage for our new pastor, Rev. Michaela St. Marie and her family.

Paul Thompson, Bowens Comers, will re­pair dry wall and paint most of the first floor. Tom House, Charlie Burtch, Ed Windhausen, Steve Weller and Ray Honicker will share all other re­pairs. A firm to do the carpet cleaning is still be­ing considered.

Anyone interested in helping with the final cleaning in June, Please contact Ray Honicker at 626-6576.

Ray Honicker, Chair, Little Utica Trustee Tom House, Chair, Warners Trustee

Does everyone remember when our church was featured on Baldwinsville's local access chan­nel two years ago? The producers had inter­viewed several of us during a chicken and biscuit dinner and provided us with a copy ofthe DVD, which was subsequently loaned out.

I would like to provide this DVD to our new incoming pastor, Rev. Michaela St. Marie, so she could see it as well. Please search through your DVD collections to see if you have it and please return it to me so that I can give it to Michaela .soon. Thank you!

Doug MacEwen

God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, the calm of a quiet sea, The generous soul of nature, the comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, the power of the eagle's flight, The joy of a morning in spring, the faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, the depth of a family need, Then God combined these qualities, when there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete, and so, He called it ... Dad. ~Author Unknown

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Page 9

The Blossoms of Springtime

Chris Zambernard

Gaze into the wonder

Of the stillness of the night,

And then survey the beauty

Of a new day filled with light.

The thrill of fun and laughter

Is etched deep within our mind,

Then a note of passing sorrow

Will soon leave the joy behind.

The springtime and the winter

Oh how far apart they seem

But soon one is just arriving

And the other one just a dream.

The gift of life is awesome

A treasure to behold,

So just keep cultivating

And new chapters will unfold.

Like the summer, spring and winter

Oh how quickly they pass by,

Until the barren winter

Reveals a mournful sigh.

But there's life beyond the winter

For God willed it to be.

And a new spring will keep on blooming

For all eternity.

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