August 1, 2012

Vol. 29, Issue 16

OFFICE: (818) 886-1555 FAX: (818) 886-9105

WWW.NORTHRIDGEUMC.ORG WEEKDAY PRESCHOOL: (818) 886-4949 SUNDAY WORSHIP AT 9:00 & 11:00 AM

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

Page 1

BISHOP MINERVA CARCAÑO

DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT CEDRICK BRIDGEFORTH

REV. STEVE PETTY

KATIE KEVORKIAN, DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH MINISTRIES

Jazz Vespers Presents…

Llew Matthews and Jennifer Hart Joined by Benjamin May

Sunday, August 12 at 6 PM in the Sanctuary Llew Matthews met Jennifer

Hart and hit it off immediately. The

duo Hart and Soul came into being in

June 2005. Jennifer and Llew were

asked to sub for six weeks at Brus-

sels Bistro in Laguna Beach, CA and

recorded their first CD with

Jennifer’s vocals and Llew on

piano. Both Llew and Jennifer did

some of the arranging of the tunes on

this project, and many are songs they

regularly perform at their club and

private party gigs.

Llew and Jennifer have worked

together regularly since. Their in-

spired collaborations not only give

Llew opportunities to stretch out as a

pianist and to write arrangements for

Jennifer, but he also joins her on oc-

casional vocal duets. Their well-

received concert at the

Orange County Pavilion

has been made into a

DVD.

Benjamin May was raised in the Midwest from a musical family and has strong roots in classical music. In 1987 he moved to LA and has

been a fixture in the jazz scene ever since.

Benjamin has performed with Joe

Pass, Annie Ross, Rosemary

Clooney, Ernie Andrews, The Jimmy

Dorsey Big Band, Ray Brown and

others; and has opened for such

greats as Tony Bennett. He has per-

formed in Japan, Thailand, Europe

and across the US, in addition to live

concerts in the LA area. Benjamin

makes his home in Long Beach, CA,

where he continues to perform and

teach music for all levels.

Pianist-arranger-composer Llew

Matthews started playing ukulele

when he was four and later played

French horn because that

was the instrument that

was available in school.

He sang with a neighbor-

hood doo-wop group. Llew

had a scholarship to the

High School of Music and

Arts and became interested

in composing.

Continued on Page 5

Mark Your Calendar

Homecoming

Sunday, September 9

One Service at 10:30 AM

Followed by a BBQ on the Patio

Rally Days:

Ministry Teams on Display

For four weeks, various NUMC

ministries will provide displays of

their programs — and will host

Fellowship Hour.

August 26

Education (Christian Education /

Children and Youth Ministries)

September 2

Celebration Ministries (with NUMC

Music Groups)

September 16 Outreach (Mission, Church and

Society, Senior Ministries and

Lay Ministry)

September 23

Fellowship Groups

The Preacher’s Part

Page 2

Upcoming Sermons

New Sermon Series:

“Thank God, I’m a Methodist!”, Part II

August 5

“Free Thinkers” –– Matthew 23: 1-12

August 12

“Involved in the World” –– Matthew 28: 16-20

August 19

“Grace before Grace” –– 1 John: 4:19

August 26

“Joyful Singing” –– Psalm 100: 1-2

In the last issue I shared about our recent addition

of Char Anderson to the church staff. As we move

into August, there are additional staff developments

and changes that I should report to you.

Back in June, we made the decision to hire

Richard Grijalva full-time. When Bill Margadant

retired we weren’t sure we could find someone to fill

all the various needs we have for a building mainte-

nance person. So, initially we split up pieces of the

job and ended up with three people working 5, 15 and

25 hours.

After working with Richard for six months we

were pleased to see that he has all the tools to handle

the whole church plant as well as give supervision to

the other custodians. So, the SPRC made the decision

to consolidate the largest two positions. Unfortunate-

ly this meant saying “Thank you very much but your

job has been eliminated” to Sean McGuire, who has

done the job of cleaning the Weekday Preschool clas-

ses. We are sorry to have to do this, especially to

Sean, who is a valued member and remains a Trustee

of the church. But we are pleased to have Richard

full-time and to benefit from his skills and experience.

At the end of June I received a letter of resigna-

tion from Jane Blomquist. This was both surprising

and not unexpected. When we hired Jane last summer

she informed me that within the next few years she

and Robin would be selling their home in the Valley

and moving to Oregon to be near family. This is

something that they have considered for some time,

and it just seemed that the time was finally approach-

ing to make the move. They still have to prepare and

sell the house, and Jane feels her attention will need to

be devoted to the move and not to choir.

We have enjoyed working with Jane; the choir has

continued to grow under her leadership. Also in the

past few months, with the help of Daria Enfield,

Barbara Stiles and Allegra Wilson, she has complete-

ly reorganized and computerized the music library.

We will all have an opportunity to thank Jane for

her leadership with the choir at a reception after

worship in August — date to be announced.

To lead the choir in the future, the SPRC has

decided to undertake a two-step process. We will hire

temporary leadership to move us through the fall and

Christmas season. We will use that time to find the

best choir director to move our program forward with

the hope that we can have that person in place by

January 1.

The ripple effect here is that the position of

Director of the Celebration Ringers will also be put on

hold until the new choir director is hired. We will

hire someone to a short contract while we look to fill

the choir position first.

While all of this activity has been taking place, we

have been busy this past week with our second Vaca-

tion Bible School. It has been a pleasure to see Katie

Kevorkian pull this effort together. Katie’s amazing

organizational skills have given us a fabulous week

with over seventy children and nearly as many volun-

teer staff. If you were in church for VBS Sunday you

got just a snippet of the fun we had with Operation

Overboard, diving deep into the meaning of God’s

word.

Our college young adults, home for the summer,

have enjoyed the first-ever Summer Movie Nights in

the YAC. Ministry with young adults is perhaps the

most difficult age group to develop. But we have

seen a growing group attending the Thursday night

showings that Allegra Wilson has put together.

We are blessed to have a wonderful staff doing

great things. We sadly say goodbye to Sean and Jane.

We excitedly look forward to whom God will bring us

in the future for our new staff. We know that God

will be faithful with us as we are faithful to God.

Love,

A

Prayers of healing for:

Pearl Adams; Freeman Crutchfield; Marion

Dugan; DeWayne Johnson; Tony Mayhall;

Robert Pavlik; Catharine Phillips; Ruth

Scheppers; Sal Sciortino; David Scott;

Marvin Shapel; Richard Summers; Jean

Thompson.

Prayers for all those undergoing treatment and

those in pain.

Prayers of safety for all our Service Personnel

serving at home and abroad.

Page 3

Sundays at 8 AM in the Kendall Building

DVD Study: From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early

Christianity, by Professor Bart D. Ehrman, M. Div, Ph. D.

In a world where Christianity has been — in the words of

Professor Ehrman — "the most powerful religious, political,

social, cultural, economic, and intellectual institution in the

history of Western civilization”, most of us have grown up

believing we know the answers to fundamental questions

about our faith. This series will introduce you to lost Christian-

ities and their sacred writings, and will show how many of

those writings were originally proscribed or destroyed, only to

be rediscovered in modern times. What were the origins of

what we now consider the distinctively Christian liturgical

practices of baptism and the Eucharist? How did we produce a

canon of sacred texts — the New Testament? Using a DVD

format, we will hear 30-minute lectures and follow each with

discussion about questions he raises.

Wednesdays at 6:30 AM in the Library

This Bible Study sets aside time each week to

read and reflect, using The Upper Room Daily

Devotional Guide.

Issues of The Upper Room are available in the

Narthex and online at www.upperroom.org.

Thursdays at 10 AM in the Library

Led by Rev. Petty

On Break until September

Thursday Evening Fellowship and Bible Study

Singles, couples, teens — All are welcome

2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month, Rooms 5/6

Dinner Fellowship at 7 PM

Followed by Bible Study at 8 PM

Join an NUMC Bible Study

We wish to express our

love and appreciation to our

Northridge UMC family for

your prayers and support as

Richard continues to regain

his strength after his hospi-

talization for pneumonia.

Beth and Richard Summers

“Traveling Angels” are NUMC members who

are willing to provide a ride

to those in the congregation

who are not able to drive

t h e m s e l v e s . T h e

“ T r a v e l i n g A n g e l s ”

transport their rides to wor-

ship services, church activi-

ties, medical or other ap-

pointments, and meet

other transportation needs of those in the congrega-

tion who cannot drive themselves.

If you are unable to drive yourself and need a

ride, call Nancy Leverage or the church office, and

we will connect you with someone who can provide

that ride.

And, if this is a ministry that appeals to you, and

you have not already responded to the call to be a

“Traveling Angel”, call Nancy Leverage or the

church office and let them know you can help.

Thank you so much to Nancy Leverage and all

those in the NUMC family who are helping in this

important ministry.

Bear one another’s burdens,

and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

NUMC “Traveling Angels”

Food Donations Collected Monthly

Church & Society and Missions will

collect food donations once a month in the

Narthex on Communion Sunday. The next

collection will be August 5. Food will be taken

to North Valley Caring Services.

Page 4

Children and Youth News

Vacation Bible School was held at NUMC July 23 to 27.

Children in Pre-School through Grade 5 experienced “Operation Overboard: Go Deep with God”.

Thank you to Tandy Wilson and Rev. Petty

for the pictures.

Thank you to all the volunteers and contributors to Vacation Bible School this year. I am touched and overwhelmed

by your generosity. Thank you for making this week so memorable for our VBS kids!

Katie Kevorkian, Director of Children's and Youth Ministries

Page 5

School Supplies Needed School starts early this year and, to

prepare for it, Church and Society and

Missions are sponsoring a drive for

school supplies for students with

financial needs at North Valley Caring Services

and local Elementary schools (Camellia Avenue in

North Hollywood, Topeka Drive in Northridge and

Fullbright in Canoga Park).

Items needed are pencils (regular and colored),

pencil sharpeners, paper (lined, construction and

tissue), notebooks, markers, staplers and staples,

scissors, glue, erasers, backpacks, beads, yarn,

math facts and crayons. A red container will be

found in the Narthex on Sundays and in the church

office during the week through mid-August.

L Llew began playing

piano near the end of

high school. Although

trained primarily in

classical music, Llew had no difficulty switching to jazz.

He attended the New York College of Music and worked

with alto great Jackie McLean and the masterful trumpeter

Kenny Dorham.

While serving in the Air Force, Llew had opportunities to

do a great deal of writing in addition to playing French horn.

He was asked to arrange for the Air Force Bicentennial

Band. Frank Sinatra performed with the orchestra, as did

Ray Charles. Also in the Air Force he had an opportunity to

arrange for the King of Thailand. After the Air Force, Llew

settled in Southern California and played sophisticated rock

and roll, reggae and R&B with the two-keyboard band Katz

and Jammers. Next up was an association with Lena Horne

in the show “Pal Joey 79”, and with Bobby Hutcherson and

Kenny Burrell. Llew also co-conducted the Jazz Ensemble

at UCLA from 1999 to 2004 with trombonist-arranger

Garnett Brown under the leadership of Kenny Burrell.

Llew got a call to work with Nancy Wilson and has worked

with symphony orchestras and such big bands as those of

Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and the Diva

band. In each case Llew has written arrangements for the

different groups. In Nancy Wilson’s recent 70th birthday

concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, Llew

performed with such major singers as Kurt Elling, Patti

Austin, Nnenna Freelon, Natalie Cole and Dianne Reeves.

Don’t miss this special Jazz Vespers.

Jazz Vespers Presents…

Llew Matthews and Jennifer Hart, Joined by Benjamin May

Sunday, August 12 at 6 PM in the Sanctuary Continued from Page 1

Senior Scene

So what is this thing called Senior Ministries? In truth some of the

initial pieces of Senior Ministries have already been put into place.

We already have several groups to assist seniors, though we will

be developing more as needed. We have a large list of medical

equipment ready to be loaned. One call to Bill Thompson or me and

the equipment will be picked up from the lender and taken to the

person in need within 24 hours. For those who may need rides to

church, doctor’s appointments or other places, Nancy Leverage has a

group of folks called Traveling Angels who have already volun-

teered to help with this transportation. When there is a need for

food, Earlene Belsey and Gretchen Keeler will call on their Food

Angels to see that food needs are met.

Recently we held training for those interested in being a Lay

Pastor. Jenifer Hemstead and I are coordinating the Lay Pastor pro-

gram, which already has twenty people who have been matched with

those who are homebound or needing a friend from NUMC to assure

them that their church cares. These Lay Pastors will meet with their

person at least once a month or more often when there is a need.

The Lay Pastors will learn where there is a need for food or rides

and pass on that information to the Food Angels or Traveling

Angels.

A number of years ago NUMC had a group called Primetimers

that planned trips to the theatre, Hollywood Bowl, and other fun

events. Watch for news of your New Primetimers coming soon.

Please let me know if you think of things you would like to do or

places you might like to visit or events that we might schedule.

We have lots of ideas on how we can serve our seniors and baby

boomers. These will unfold as the months pass. As always, please

share your thoughts with me on what NUMC can do for you.

Char Anderson, Director of Senior Ministries

OVERSTOCK! No, we do not mean that we have too much

change on hand. Here’s the problem. Our high

powered procurement staff has gotten so many

jars for your change to CHANGE THE WORLD

that we have run out of storage space. Here’s what

you can do to help. Just take one of those jars

from the Narthex. Put it on the dresser or some

other good spot and store your loose change.

Bring it back. By that time we will have figured

out something. More importantly, the change you

bring in those jars will help

CHANGE THE WORLD.

Page 6

Saturday Morning Breakfast

August 18 @ 8 AM in Fellowship Hall

Saturday Morning

Breakfast will be held on

August 18 at 8 AM in Fel-

lowship Hall.

Join us for the best break-

fast in town.

The Saturday Morning

Breakfast is sponsored by

the NUMC Men’s Club.

“Eat Out

Monday”

at

Chili’s .

Dessert Bridge

Saturday, August 11 at 6 PM

At Virginia Jackson’s Home

Sign up at Coffee Hour or in the Church Office.

9200 Reseda Blvd.

Northridge, CA

Get a flyer in the church office

or on the website.

“New You” will meet on Monday, August

13 at 6:30 PM at the home of Fran Ulrich for

the Annual Pool Party. There will be swim-

ming, relaxing and a potluck salad and dessert

buffet.

For more information, call Barbara Hamilton

or Joann DeSantis.

Church and Society

Sponsoring Two Family Events

During VBS' Opera-

tion Overboard, our chil-

dren learned many les-

sons about taking care of

our world's oceans as part of God's creation.

On August 27th at 7 PM in the Kendall Building, Church

and Society will be screening Disney's Oceans, an ecological

drama/documentary filmed throughout the globe. Part thrill-

er, part meditation on the vanishing wonders

of the sub-aquatic world, this movie ex-

plores Earth's five oceans and took over four

years to film. It reflects the need to respect

nature and demonstrates the negative aspects

of human activity on animals. It is narrated

by Pierce Brosnan. It is rated G and has a

running time of 84 minutes.

Then, on Saturday, September 15th, Church and Society

and Family Ministries are sponsoring a Beach Clean-Up.

Coastal Clean-Up Day is the largest volunteer day on the

planet. This will take place from 9 AM until noon with

BYOB lunch on the beach. Meet at the church at 8:30 AM

to carpool.

Citrus Sunday will be on the following day, September

16th.

More details to follow. Make sure you mark your calendar

for all these events.

All-Church Hike Saturday, September 1 at

Cheeseboro Canyon, a

popular trail along an oak-

studded canyon floor to

Sulphur Spring. 5 miles

round trip, picnic table rest

stop in the shade, fairly level, dogs welcome. Carpool from

the church parking lot at 8:30 AM.

Save the Date & Save Your Stuff Annual NUMC Yard Sale

Friday and Saturday, September 21-22

Hold on to your still usable items. Reduce your clutter and help our church and others at the same time. We welcome donations of toys, books, music, small elec-tronics, small/portable furniture, housewares, kitchen-ware, children's clothing, art, home decor, bags & lug-gage, bikes, china and crystal, jewelry, and more. Please, no large heavy furniture or television sets. Bring your donated goods on Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16, or bring items directly to Fellow-ship Hall on September 19 to 21.

Members Exchange Thoughts The Book Club will meet on Monday,

August 27, at 7 PM, at the home of

Barbara Clark. We will discuss Astrid and Veronika by

Linda Olsson. Please call the church office if you

would like to join us. The selection for September will

be The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Page 7

Regularly Scheduled Meetings

Tuesdays:

Cracker Barrel 10:00 AM Library Sr. Exercise Class 10:45 AM Fellowship Hall Worship Band Rehearsal 7:30 PM Sanctuary

Wednesdays:

Devotional Group 6:30 AM Library Maintenance Volunteers 8:30 AM Church Office WORMS 9:30 AM Kendall Building

Thursdays:

Rev. Steve’s Bible Study 10:00 AM Library On summer break until September

Chancel Choir 7:30 PM Sanctuary On summer break

Bible Study 2nd & 4th Thursdays Singles, couples, teens 7-10 PM Room 5/6

Young Adult Movie Night 7:00 PM YAC Through August 16

Young Adult Study Night 7-11 PM YAC

Beginning August 30

Fridays:

Cracker Barrel 10:00 AM Library T’ai Chi Class 10:00 AM Fellowship Hall

Sundays:

Adult Study 8:00 AM Kendall Building Sunday School & Nursery 9:00 AM Library Youth Choir 10-11 AM Fireside Room

On summer break

Cherub Choir 10:15 AM Room 5/6 On summer break

Sunday School & Nursery 11:00 AM Ed. Bldg. Preschool to Kindergarten in Nursery Grades 1 to 5 in Room 5/6 Youth (Grades 6-12) in Room 4

MYF 11:15 AM-1 PM YAC

Worship Services @ 9 & 11 AM Exception:

One Service at 10:30 AM on September 9

Childcare available at all services.

United Methodist Women

Contact Person

UMW Pat Small

Prayer Chain Dorine Collins & Ruth Sanders

Hearts & Hands Betty Kinzy

WEEKLY:

Mondays at 9 AM Arts & Crafts Phyllis Nelson

Ongoing Community Groups

Sundays: Narcotics Anonymous at 7 PM in Fireside Room Mondays: AA (Women) at 6 PM in Fireside Room Tuesdays: Alanon at 10 AM & AA Book Study at 8 PM in Fireside Rm Thursdays: AA at 7 PM in Fireside Room Fridays: Alanon at 12:30 PM in Fireside Room Boy Scouts - Troop 911: Tuesdays at 7 PM in Fellowship Hall Call John Orlick at 818-886-6229 Cub Scouts - Call Gary Kuykendall at 818-426-8195 Girl Scouts - Call Tandy Wilson at 818-886-9376

All age levels, various days.

Newsletter Articles Are Due Articles for the next newsletter, dated August 15, 2012, should be submitted before 4 PM, Tuesday, August 7. Please send pictures, articles and/or information to:

announcements@northridgeumc.org.

Remaining August Events August 6… Youth to Hurricane Harbor at 6 Flags Magic Mountain

Contact Katie ASAP if interested in going.

Long-Range Planning Meeting @ 7 PM in the Library

August 7… Ministry Team @ 7 PM in the Library

August 8… Friends of Music Meeting @ 7 PM In the Library

August 9… Special Events Meeting @ 6 PM in the Library

August 11… Dessert Bridge @ 6 PM at Virginia Jackson’s Home

August 12… Family Ministries Meeting @ Noon in the Kendall Building

Jazz Vespers @ 6 PM in the Sanctuary

August 13… “Eat Out Monday” @ Chili’s, from 11 AM to 11:30 PM

Celebration Committee @ 6 PM in the Library

New You @ 6:30 PM at the Home of Fran Ulrich

August 15… Leadership Development Meeting @ 7 PM in the Library

August 18… Saturday Morning Breakfast @ 8 AM in Fellowship Hall

August 20… Caring Ministries Meeting @ 11:30 AM in the Kendall Building

Lay Ministry Advisory Board Meeting @ 12:30 PM in the Library Mission Meeting @ 7 PM in the Kendall Building Church and Society Meeting @ 7 PM in Room 4

August 21… Finance Committee Meeting @ 5 PM in the Library Trustees Meeting @ 7 PM in the Library

August 26… Christian Ed., Children & Youth Ministries Rally Day August 27… Book Club @ 7 PM at the home of Barbara Clark

Methodist Money Makers @ 7 PM in the Library Church and Society Movie @ 7 PM in the Kendall Building

Early September Events

September 1… All-Church Hike to Cheeseboro Canyon

Carpool from the church parking lot at 8:30 AM

September 2… Celebration Ministry Rally Day

September 3… Labor Day Office Closed

September 4… Ministry Team @ 6 PM in the Library

September 5… Soul Food Café @ 6 PM in Fellowship Hall

September 8… Dessert Bridge @ 6 PM at Virginia Jackson’s Home

September 9… Homecoming Sunday

One Worship Service at 10:30 AM Followed by a Barbecue on the Patio

Don’t Miss Young Adult Movie Nights

Hey, Young Adults! It's time to relax and have fun! Join NUMC Young Adult Ministries as we celebrate summer with Weekly Movie Nights in

the YAC at 7 PM on Thursdays, now through August 16th! Complete with free snacks.

Do you have a movie suggestion? Contact Allegra at allegra@northridgeumc.org with questions.