pastor dennis - midway locust...
TRANSCRIPT
In Luke chapter 11 the disciples
ask Jesus to teach them how to
prayer, “Lord, teach us to pray, as
John taught his disciples.” Jesus’
response was what we have come to
know as the Lord’s Prayer.
Every Sunday we end our con-
gregational time of prayer with:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer teaches us more than how to pray, it teaches us how
to live. It is a daily bending of ourselves towards God who in Jesus Christ
bends so graciously towards us.
During worship in August we are going to focus on how the Lord’s
Prayer shapes us as we strive to follow Jesus Christ. How do we pray and
actually live the Lord’s Prayer?
Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Volume 27
Number 8
August 2014
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Ministries & Missions 2
Pastor-Parish News 3
Library News 4
Birthdays, Births 5
Youth Mission Trip Report 6-8
Grow by Faith 9
Food Ministry 10
Calendar 11
MLG Gallery 12
THIS MONTH
See Calendar Page 11
Mondays at 7-8 a.m. Wake Up With God
All are welcome.
Mondays — 6:30 p.m. Boy Scouts Troop 68
Tuesdays — 7 p.m.
Women’s Bible Study
August 3 — 2:00 p.m. Midway Historical Society
August 12 — Noon Second Tuesday Lunch
August 19 Columbia Public Schools
Classes resume
Please join us for worship. Sunday School: 9:15
Worship: 10:30 Communion first Sundays.
Pastor Dennis Harper
Beyond the Pulpit
Bring > Connect > Serve Making Disciples for Jesus Christ
Since 1817
Thanks to our walking
neighbor John Wilke for
this symbolic view of
our church, upon which
the sun always shines
and the end of the rain-
bow fills us with bounti-
ful gifts.
Women’s Bible Study Continues
The Gospels
The Women’s Bible Study group continues its chronological
reading of the Gospels. The group meets Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the church. All women are invited to join in this study. Please contact Marjorie McFann for informa-tion at 445-5650 or by email at [email protected].
2
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
St. Francis of Assisi
August 3 Eugene & Lori Tebbe
August 10 Joe & Barb Boillot
August 17 Gene & Mary Kaye Baumann
August 24 Gilbert & Barbara Harville
August 31
Call Kathy Koehler at 875-8772
about being a Fellowship Host for 2014
Midway Locust Grove is once again participat-
ing in Warm Up Columbia, a program offered by
Voluntary Action Center to provide winter items
for our neighbors in need. We will collect August
thru October. (They have a later pick-up/
distribution date this year) And, please tape a note
to any item that needs repair (button missing,
small tear, etc). Please bring these new or gently
used clean items to the designated place in the fel-
lowship hall during August for this important col-
lection:
coats
jackets
blankets
hats, gloves and scarves
socks
If you have questions please contact Lori at the
church office [email protected] or Shari Thomas
Festival of Sharing collections to begin
It’s time to get ready to Warm up Columbia
Thank you from Linus
Thanks to everyone who made blankets ear-
lier in the year for Project Linus~~we donated
23 blankets for infants and youth in need in our
community! Shari Thomas
Paper products are the focus of this year’s
Festival of Sharing donations, according to co-
ordinator Sherri Perry.
Each kit will have three packages of toilet
tissue (four double rolls each), two rolls of good
quality paper towels and two large rectangular
boxes of facial tissue.
Boxes will be placed in the Fellowship Hall
for collection as follows:
August 3-17 — toilet tissue
August 24-September 7 — paper towels
September 14-28 — facial tissue
Donations may be placed in the collection
boxes at any time or by the schedule above.
Kits will be assembled and delivered Satur-
day, October 18 to the Festival of Sharing ac-
tivities at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Se-
dalia.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
Locust Leaves _____________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wee Care Wee Care will start September 2, 2014. We
have a new Director, new staff and Christian mate-rial. We need your help to tell your family and friends to consider their children to come to the church for our program twice a week. See the in-formation material in the entry way of the church. An Eagle Scout project will soon make the church playground beautiful and children want to play there often.
Nursery Worker Position needed Our church needs to hire a nursery worker and
you can help. Please ask your family or friends if a good Christian person would want a job taking care of our kids for a few hours each Sunday.
Nursery Worker Function: To provide quality care for children from infancy through pre-school age. Our nursery workers will assist Midway Lo-cust Grove United Methodist Church in having an inviting and safe place for children during worship and other church events.
Hours: Up to 3 hours (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.) on Sunday mornings primarily.
Qualifications Demonstrate a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. Must be Safe Sanctuary certified and abide by
Safe Sanctuary Policy Have a deep passion for providing the most
hospitable and loving environment for children under care.
Have the ability to work with other adults, staff, and youth volunteers in the nursery.
Foundation Grant
We have received a matching/challenge grant for audio visual and lighting needs at the church from the UM Foundation. We will be completing the work needed to complete our part of this grant this summer. You will hear more about this grant and what we will be doing next month.
Church Needs We need a volunteer to coordinate the wor-
ship leader position. We need a volunteer to coordinate greeters. We need a teacher for a new Pre-K Sunday
school class. We need a chair, vice chair and members to
start a 200-year anniversary small group We need people to participate and be active in
our small groups. If you are interested see Gary Hughes or
Rev. Dennis.
Beginning in August we are going to take 6
weeks and focus on the Lord’s Prayer in worship.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how
to pray, the Lord’s Prayer is the answer they re-
ceived. Rarely does a Sunday go by that we do
not recite the Lord’s Prayer together. There is
much that this prayer can teach us about what it
means to follow and live a life devoted to Jesus
Christ.
Following our time with the Lord’s Prayer, you
are invited to study the book, Three Simple Ques-
tions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope, and Pur-
pose, by Rueben P. Job.
The questions are:
Who is God?
Who am I?
Who are we together?
During the 6 weeks beginning on Sunday,
September 14, Rev. Dennis will be preaching on
what the book has to say and everyone is invited
to join a small group that will be studying the
book together. Beginning this month, there will
be sign-ups for groups. If you have any ques-
tions, Rev. Dennis will be happy to speak with
you.
Pastor Parish Relations
Spiritual growth opportunities coming up: The Lord’s Prayer
4 Locust Leaves
By Deshay Rust
Lincoln’s Battle with God
I am writing this a few days after my return
from several days in Springfield, IL. I think it is
fair to say that I immersed myself in Lincoln and
his times for those days. It’s hard not to do this in
Springfield where nearly everything has some
connection to Lincoln. Even our hotel was named
President Abraham Lincoln by Doubletree and
had a likeness of Lincoln at the top of the building
which lit up at night and could be seen for blocks
away.
You may not know that I have had a fascina-
tion with Abraham Lincoln since I was 7 or 8
years old. I have to confess that I was born in Illi-
nois. That probably started the process. The state
of Illinois takes the Land of Lincoln stuff pretty
seriously. My interest in the Civil War simply
added an entire dimension to my Lincoln obses-
sion. It is impossible to read about the war or the
years before the war without the actions and
words of Lincoln permeating every event.
My husband, who knows I have read many,
many books about Lincoln, asked me if I was go-
ing to buy any books in Springfield. Silly man.
Silly question. He asked me to see if I could find
a book about Lincoln and his relationship with
God. It is a fascinating aspect of Lincoln and one
that I have also been interested in. How do you
live in such dramatic, challenging, heart-breaking
times like the 1850s and 1860s without a belief in
God?
So here I was in the National Park Service
Visitor Center for the Lincoln Home in Spring-
field. I had just toured his home and I was taking
a bit of time to browse the books and other items
for sale. What is the first book I notice? Lin-
coln’s Battle With God by Stephen Mansfield.
The subtitle is “A President’s Struggle With Faith
and What It Meant For America.” I bought it.
I have not had a chance to start the book. But I
thought I would share some of the thoughts and
comments from the blurb and back of the book
and some of the reviews posted online:
“I enjoyed the book as it portrayed a side of
Lincoln rarely seen. Lincoln grew up in a home
that was overly religious. In his reaction to it, the
pendulum swung to the far extreme - away from
God. He was a cynic that slowly warmed to the
truths of the gospel message. I don't think one can
fully understand the emotional trauma that Lin-
coln experienced as he dealt with a nation torn
apart by war and a family that was plagued by
death as well.”
“In a day when secularism and political cor-
rectness try to edit religious overtones and influ-
ences in our history, this book tells the true story
of Lincoln's faith that often leaves a lot untold.
Being a student of history, I know quite a bit of
Lincoln's faith - his struggle with it and personal
resolution to the sovereignty and will of God for
him, his family, and the life of the nation. Highly
recommend. For you who are religious doubters
or scoffers, this story may or may not make sense
to you, but it is the story of Lincoln's faith told in
a truthful and scholarly way.”
“Very thorough study of the evolution of
Christian faith in the life of a complicated man.
The author presents ample information at every
step in the changing attitudes of Lincoln toward
Christian beliefs and how they seemed to influ-
ence him as he matured as a man and a president
in the face of the most difficult time America has
known.”
“Lucidly written, engagingly plotted, and well
researched, this book depicts one of the most
thoughtful minds in the history of democracy tak-
ing on the most important question facing any-
one.”
“To study Lincoln is to contemplate the ways
of God in the affairs of men. No one who reads,
for example, his Second Inaugural Address can
doubt that Abraham Lincoln had a profound sense
of God. In the tone of a grave religious poem, it
bears the terrible weight of our worst war, and
still it finds in that war an act of divine justice,
‘true and righteous altogether.’ Stephen Mans-
field investigates with charm and sympathy how
Lincoln looked to heaven for the strength to carry
burdens beyond the human.”
That is just a small sample of the many, many
reviews and comments about this book. Looks
like I have a fascinating and rewarding read
ahead of me!
Happy Reading.
Andy and Kelsey
Strubel are the par-
ents of Jackson Brad-
ley, born July 1,
weighing in at 8 lbs.
1 oz. and measuring
21 inches long.
Jackson is des-
tined to be a fishing
partner for granddad
Billy Cook when
he’s not helping his
grandmother Jill.
Locust Leaves
August 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August is the eighth month of the year and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It was named in honor of Augustus Caesar. It once had the Anglo-Saxon name of Weodmonath, or “weed month,” probably for obvious reasons. This year August has five Saturdays and five Sun-days, as will November, and as did March also.
2 Louise Stanley
11 Eugene Tebbe
12 Tessa Gerzen
16 Stephen Rust
26 Mike Thomas
26 Dalli O’Neal
28 Joe Boillot
28 Jaclyn Yaeger
31 Susan Zahringer
Grandbabies
Galore
If someone’s name does not appear here and they do have a birthday this month,
please let Lori know by email and she will update our records.
Jackson Bradley Strubel
Emerson Brileigh Jones
Mary Kaye and Gene Baumann have a new great-
granddaughter, Emerson Brileigh Jones, born on
Mary Kaye’s birthday, June 24 in Overland Park,
KS. Emerson’s parents are Ryan and Amanda Jones
of Olathe, KS. Grandparents are Marcia and Phillip
Spruytte of Olathe. Emerson weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz
and was 19-1/2 inches long at birth.
Sidney Brook Hire
Sidney Brook Hire made her appearance into this
world at 8:47 p.m., when fireworks were filling the
air on July 4. Parents Mallory (Martin) and Justin
Hire are doing well. Tony, LeeAnn, Shawn, and Coo-
per Martin made a mad dash of 14 hours to get to
Augusta, GA for the birth. A long labor was a
good thing for the travelers, although Mallory
may have felt differently. Sydney weighed 7 lbs.
15 oz., and was 21 inches long at birth.
LeeAnn and Tony
do what grandpar-
ents do with a new
grandbaby. . .a lot
of huggin’ and
kissin’. Sidney
played her role
very well.
Of all the joys that lighten suffering earth, what joy is welcomed like a new-born child? — Mrs. Norton
6 Locust Leaves
Mission Possible with The Grove
This unique chainsaw trophy honors Gareth Greenwell as outstanding group leader.
They represented Locust Grove proudly at the 2014 Youth Mission Trip to Hinton Rural
Life Center. In the back row, Tim Rost, Landon Wiswall, Brady Wirth, Gareth Greenwell,
Brendon Rost, Monica Strawn, Austin Frietag; front row, Kylie Jacks, Kyra Florea, Dani
Brown, Sarah Brown, Matt Praiswater, Curtis Brown, and Tammy Strawn
In addition to those they helped in their mission projects, The Grove youth made many new friends in the work groups to which they were assigned.
Locust Leaves 7
When I was copying the pic-tures to send, the song Make New Friends came to mind. I believe it summarizes our trip very well. Tammy Strawn
Make New Friends Submitted by Sue Lynch Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I will be your friend. A fire burns bright, it warms the heart. We've been friends from the very start. You have one hand, I have the other. Put them together, We have each other. Silver is precious, Gold is too. I am precious and so are you. You help me and I'll help you and together we will see it through. The sky is blue, The earth is green I can help to keep it clean. Across the land, Across the sea, Friends forever
Memories are made of this. . .
Members of The Grove who at-
tended the 2014 mission trip to Hin-
ton Rural Life Center issued their
report and analysis of the trip for
the congregation July 20.
Ten youth and four adults served
their mission time on a variety of
home repair projects in the Hinton
area of North Carolina. Their service was greatly
appreciated by the residents. The group unani-
mously agreed that of equal or more value was the
personal contact they experienced with the resi-
8 Locust Leaves
The Grove reports on their 2014 mission trip to Hinton Rural Life Center
Matt Praiswater Gareth Greenwell Dani Brown Monica Strawn Brendon Rost Kylie Jacks Sarah Brown Landon Wiswall
Tim Rost Tammy Strawn
dents. Their visits created in the youth an
understanding and appreciation for human
contact in an oftentimes lonely environ-
ment. The photos below tell of a special mo-
ment on the trip, that followed the mission activities at Hinton. The group detoured to Warner Robins, Georgia on their return to Mis-souri, to visit friends made in previous mission trips. There, the group witnessed the baptism of their friend and fellow missionary, Kyra Florea. July 20 they gathered around Kyra as she became a member of Lo-cust Grove at the conclusion of the worship service.
Above, Kyra receives her baptismal sacrament in Georgia water. At left, she tells of the experience, and below the congregation stands with her as she becomes a member of the Locust Grove UMC congregation.
Locust Leaves 9
GROW in Faith by your actions Intentional Faith Development (IFD) Small
Group develops ministries that will help us grow in faith outside of weekly worship. IFD members have developed four foundational classes that will cover the basics of our Christian faith and our United Methodist beliefs and structure, as well as our program opportunities. After completions of the four classes members will be promoted to an “Ambassador at Large” for Jesus Christ.
Our Church’s four recurring courses :
Class 101 Discovering MLGUMC Church This course was developed to orient a new per-
son or member to our church history and beliefs. The course was taught on July 27th at church. Next course will be taught in November.
Class 201 Growing in Christ This course was developed to focus on how to
grow in being like Christ in attitude and behavior. The course uses the Five G’s of Grace, Growth, Group, Gifts and Good Stewardship to provide ex-amples of how you can change.
This course will be taught in November at church.
Class 301 Spiritual Gifts This course was developed to find your spiritual
gifts that you have been given by God. The course is tentatively scheduled for early
spring 2015 and taught by Cathy Atkins. This is an excellent course that all can benefit from attending and participating in here.
Class 401 Calling in a mission This course was developed to find a mis-
sion for your spiritual gifts. This course is being scheduled for August.
Activities Adult Sunday School continues on the book
from Charles Stanley “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” on from 9:15-10:15 a.m. at the church. A short study of the book “Get their Name” will be done in August. “Dancing with Words” book and Methodist course will start August 24. This course will show you how to develop and tell your story.
A new book called “The Three Simple Ques-tions” book and video study will start in Septem-ber. More details will be published.
Marriage Group based on an Alpha Marriage
course continues and the next meeting is Septem-ber 5th. The meetings are being scheduled by the group. This effort focuses on couples talking and
not group discussions. A Guest Sunday for October 5 to invite the com-
munity is being planned. Tentative dream schedules are being arranged.
These faith development efforts depend on you chal-lenging yourself to help our church CONNECT with others.
Intentional Faith Development refers deliberate efforts, purposeful actions, and setting high priorities and urgency. More courses and opportunities will be developed to allow church members to mature and climb their faith mountain in grace, growth, group, gifts and good stewardship.
Intentional Faith development (IFD) Small Group (IFD) needs people to support and to develop 2015 IFD Dreams for the church. IFD needs people with a variety of spiritual gifts and talents to teach courses, plan meals, facilitate Alpha and Marriage events, support youth Alpha courses, lead Sunday school classes and many other activities. Contact Gary Hughes
In Christ, Gary Hughes
We welcome into membership in our congrega-
tion, from left to right, Dalin Stufflebean, Dawn Lin-
ville, Brittney Keith, and Raina Linville. The family
joined Locust Grove UMC on June 29.
As an added touch to their important day, Raina
and Dawn pro-
vided special
music for wor-
ship earlier in
the service.
Please wel-
come our new
members.
10 Locust Leaves
By Mary Kaye Baumann
We don’t get very many new neighbors, as there are
only five houses on our street. This Christmas, how-
ever, we were blessed with a new couple as neighbors.
Before I could “whip up” some food to welcome
them, we got a plate of wonderful peanut butter cook-
ies from new neighbor Jill.
Recently Jill brought over another treat. . .Veggie
Pizza. Fantastic! A wonderful way to be sure you get
your veggies.
I asked Jill for the recipe, and she graciously gave it
to me, and has now earned a Magic Mixing Fork as we
share it with you.
Veggie Pizza 8 oz. Cream cheese
Dill weed
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Vegetables — broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, red
and yellow peppers, finely chopped.
Crescent rolls or flat bread
Jill used crescent rolls, rolling the dough out flat
and baking for eight minutes at 400 degrees. I didn’t
have crescent rolls, so used flat bread which works
fine.
Blend the cream cheese with dill, garlic and onion
to suit your taste and spread it on the cooled rolls or
flat bread. Add the chopped vegetable and press into
cream cheese to hold in place. Slice into single serving
size and refrigerate until ready to serve.
P.S. Got a spider on the ceiling? No problem. Hold your hair dryer in one hand and fly swatter in the other. Turn on the hair dryer to hot and max flow and aim it at the spider. He’ll drop from the ceiling and you will be able to kill it with the fly swatter.
Veggie Pizza
Dalli Jo O’Neal holds the trophy she won as the 2014 Boone County Fair Baby Contest winner in the 1-2 year old class. Grandpa Joe Burkart says he is now looking forward to the 2032 Miss Amer-ica Contest. Proud parents are Travis and Mi-chelle O’Neal.
Dalli Jo is a winner at fair
2014 Confirmation class
scheduled to start in September Do you have a student that would be interested
in taking part in a Confirmation Class? Confirma-tion in the United Methodist tradition is a rite through which young Christians affirm the faith of the church, renew (or prepare to take) the vows of Baptism, and commit to lives of discipleship as professing members of The United Methodist Church. Confirmation class is geared for those as young as 6th grade. We are looking to begin in September. More information will be coming out over email and on the yellow card this month. If you have any questions, Rev Dennis would be happy to answer them.
Mentors Needed for Confirmation We are hoping to have a Confirmation Class
this fall. Rev Dennis is looking for adults who are interested in serving as mentors for our confir-mands. Mentors would be available to talk with students about what they are learning in confirma-tion if he or she has any questions. The biggest part of being a mentor is making a commitment to pray daily for his or her student and walk along side them during confirmation. If you are inter-ested please talk to Rev Dennis. Information will be coming out on the yellow card in worship this month.
Locust Leaves
Please re-confirm dates and times of listed events. Check Worship bulletins
for events not posted on this calendar.
Give us your events for our September calendar
Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Church 2600 N. Locust Grove Church Rd. Columbia, MO 65202
Our Mission
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Bring people to Jesus Christ By embracing our community with God’s love and grace.
Connect people to Jesus Christ By encouraging people to grow in faith through prayer,
fellowship, study, and worship.
Serve people in the name of Jesus Christ By empowering ministries of compassion and outreach.
Volume 27 Issue 8 August 2014
Visit our Web Site: www.midwaylocustgrove.com
Pastor: Rev. Dennis Harper Church phone: 573-445-4667 Parsonage phone: 573-446-9264 Pastor’s cell phone: 816-769-3705 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Office: Lori Concannon, [email protected]
Locust Leaves Editor: Gene Baumann [email protected] 445-1998
Find the hidden cross in this issue.
Christian Humor
MLG Gallery Here’s another good reason
you should consider coming to Wake Up With God on Mon-day mornings at 7:00.
As I approached Midway from the west on Highway 40, at the top of the hill by the school, the sun was shining on a clear day. In the valley ahead I could see a blanket of fog covering downtown Mid-way. As I approached the church, the photo shown here was demanding to be taken.
As luck would have it, I did not have my Nikon with me, so I took a chance that my cell phone would produce an ade-quate image. I was pleasantly surprised at this quality image.
Come to WUG; bring your camera. Gene Baumann
Share your photos with us in the MLG Gallery. We’d like
to see your photos of the church or any other image that
represents a visual statement of your faith.
Christian One-Liners
A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on
the Promises” are just sitting on the premises.
We are called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.
Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation keeps
banging on the door forever.
The good Lord didn’t create anything without a pur-
pose, but the mosquito comes close.
Thanks Lucy Schwartz for clipping these.