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METHODELMA ELMA UNITED METHODIST

WWW.ElmaUMC.org • ELMA, NY • 716-652-5427

Please note the website has changed

Contact: Church Secretary ElmaUMoffice@gmail.com

Lay Leader: amja1201@gmail.com

716-949-8844

The Lenten Season

“You are dust,” God says in Genesis 3:16, “and to dust you shall return.” The day that we are born we begin a

race toward our death. Time will grind us all to dust again. We will without exception dissolve into our constituent parts. These bodies that have walked and talked, thought, ate, loved, swam, laughed, hugged, cried—these bodies will disintegrate.

Lent begins with the words to us, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We can deny death, flee from it, become obsessed with maintaining our beauty or our health, but we'll die. As we begin Lent we don't have to pretend we don't know the end. We need only consider the seriousness of our lives

and faith. That faith says to us that we will be raised from the dead with Jesus Christ our Lord. God looks at us through the eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ and says, “You are dust, and I love you.” God's love came for us at

the cost of a cross.

In Lent, if you haven't done so before, you can join with your brothers and sisters in Jesus' church to get into the practice of dying, dying to yourself, dying to your desires. The Apostle Paul said, “I die daily.” Then

you practice living for Christ, living for others, living for eternity. If Lent helps us to take the next step in our faith journey, we are asked not to backtrack forty days later. We are to go on with our Lord Jesus. We need

to pray and trust that our Lord will take us further beyond dust and ashes.

Dust we are, but the cross of ashes I will place on your forehead on Ash Wednesday means that you know for whom you now live and how you are to live with the Spirit of the Risen Jesus within you. If you don't

know how, Lent will give you five weeks and a few days to concentrate on finding out.

I pray that you will attend our Ash Wednesday Service on March 1st in the Sanctuary beginning at 7:00 PM. I will be at the White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, NY conducting interviews with the Board of

Ordained Ministry March 2-8 for those who are seeking Commissioning or Ordination at our Annual Conference in June. Pastor Daryl Bennett will be providing pastoral coverage and will be leading worship on Sunday, March 5th. Please support her with your prayers and your presence.

As always, I can't wait to see you in church when I return. Pastor Wayne

“Blow the horn in Zion; give a shout on my holy mountain! Let all the people of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is near--'Yet even now , say the LORD, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting,

with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.'” —Joel 2: 1, 12—13:1

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Christian Education & Youth Ministry

Beginning Thursday March 2, Pastor Wayne will be out of town and not available through the 8th. Rev Daryl Bennett will be covering and can be reached by her cell phone, 716-380-6706.

Lenten Bible Study

A 6-week Lenten Bible Study will begin at the Par-

sonage on Thursday, February 23rd starting at 7:00PM. The study is based on Tom Berlin’s new book entitled, “Restored; Finding Redemption in Our

Mess.” Sometimes our lives are in such a disarray we can’t envision a way through redemption. But when

we look at the mess through the eyes of Christ, we not only find redemption, we can clearly see spiritual res-toration. The study uses Scripture, devotional tools,

and the writings of Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, St. Augustine, John Wesley, Evelyn Underhill, and others. All are welcome! A sign-up sheet is out-

side Pastor Wayne’s office.

Spaghetti Dinner/Train & Hobby Display Tickets on sale now

March 18 from 4:30 – 7:00, the Mini Youth Group will be hosting a Spaghetti Dinner/Train & Hobby Display. The money raised will benefit the Mini Youth Work Camp held in July.

The menu will be spaghetti, meatballs (optional) and sauce, one trip salad, dessert, and drink. Tickets will be sold downstairs between services, or you can pur-chase a ticket from any of the Mini Youth or Deb Coatsworth.

Adults: $10.00 Children ages 4 – 8 years old: $5.00 Children under 3: Free.

We are asking the congregation to donate a dessert. Please look for the sign-up sheet posted on the fellow-ship bulletin board. Train & Hobby Displays will be set up in different areas of the church. Everyone is welcome to set up a Display. Please see Deb if you would like to set up Hobby Display. This dinner is open to the public. All are welcome!

Ash Wednesday

Our Church will hold a traditional Ash Wednes-day Worship Service on Wed, March 1st, in the Sanctuary beginning at 7 pm. The service will include Holy Communion and Imposition of Ashes

From Jean Kron Thank you to our church family for your uplifting prayers during Mavis Cornwell’s hospital stay and death. The “Cookie Monster” would have been pleased to see so many cookies at her service! AND so many people also enjoyed root beer floats! The Lockhart Church of God in Lauderdale, Mississippi (Mavis’ southern church) sends their many thanks to EUMC for your prayers and Memorial gifts after the tornado. The roof and front porch are fixed and they are working on the bathrooms and

2 Sunday School classrooms. They have heat and electricity in the sanctuary now! Praise the Lord! Deborah Mayfield, who lost her home in the tornado, sends her thanks to EUMC for their prayers. She says, “they keep me going!”

The annual ecumenical World Day of Prayer service for the East Aurora/Elma area will be celebrated at Baker Memorial UMC in East Aurora on Friday, March 3 at 10:00 a.m. The program this year has been composed by the women of the Philippines who invite women and men of many faith traditions to come together to observe a common time of wor-ship. World Day of Prayer begins at the first sunrise on March 3 in the Pacific region and, fol-lowing the Earth’s orbit, spreads all around the world. A free will offering will be taken to help meet the needs of families in regions of turmoil around the world. Refreshments and fel-lowship will follow the service. Come and join us!

Movie Night: Friday, March 31st at 7 pm. Showing The Warroom. Come and relax and watch this inspiring

movie on what prayer can do in your life and for your troubles. Popcorn provided! More details soon! Preview

link on the website calendar Or HERE if you get this electronically

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Stop Hunger Now

Coming again on Sunday, May 21, we will be celebrating STOP

HUNGER NOW. This program was such a success last year, that the

Administrative Council voted to do it again. Both services came

together to package rice and nutrients to be sent to wherever they’re

needed. More details will be forthcoming, but save the date and

participate. Shortly a committee will be formed to help with the ar-

rangements on that day. If you’re interested in serving on this

committee, please contact the office.

“One Great Hour of Sharing-Be There. Be Hope” Once a year, during one Great Hour of Sharing, United Methodists join together by participating in this

special offering to support humanitarian aid through UMCOR. When catastrophes cause suffering, Methodists will be in the lead to bring healing, hope and a place of refuge. UMCOR responds and remains until the job is done in the United States and in 81 countries around the world, illustrated on the Missions bulletin board. The suggested date for “One Great Hour of Sharing” is March 26th, but donations may be made at any time.

FISH

The FISH item for March is canned ravioli. Two people are needed for our Annual day helping at FISH on Saturday

morning, April 1. Let Elaine DeLisle know if you would like to assist in this volunteer opportunity.

Seneca Street UMC Fundraisers

The teens at Seneca Street UMC will have their annual Disney Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday, April 8. It’s a fun evening and will support their activities.

Orchard Park UMC (3700 N Buffalo Street) will host Lenten fish dinners on March 10 and 24 to help support the ministries of Seneca Street UMC in the Seneca-Babcock area. Another great way to have a good meal while supporting a good cause! The dinners are from 4:30 to 7 pm. Dinner includes fresh fried haddock, German & cold potato salad, coleslaw, bread & butter, dessert & beverage. Take out available. Adult meal is $11 and children are $6.

Mark your calendars-Sunday, September 24 from 1:00-4:00 will be the 100th anniversary celebration

Missions/Outreach Report

United Methodist Women

Our church will be hosting the Niagara Frontier District United Methodist Women's Lenten Communion breakfast on Saturday, April 8 at 9:30 AM. The breakfast will be

followed by a Communion service in the sanctuary. We will need help with set up on Friday April 7, serving and cleanup on the 8th, as well as people to bake coffee cakes and muffins, including gluten free items. There will be a sign up sheet on the bulletin board in March.

All women are invited to the breakfast.

The next UMW board meeting will be Friday, March 24, 9:30 AM.

Save the Dates UMW retreat at Camp Asbury, Silver Lake; Friday, May 19-Saturday May 20.

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3/1 George Blair Jr

3/3 Caleb Parete

3/4 Patricia Sommersdorf

3/4 Ty Talty

3/5 Brittany Wojnar

3/6 Bryan Green

3/18 Chris Erhardt

3/19 Ray Piscitelli

3/22 David Guenther

3/22 George Beyer

3/24 Michael Coatsworth

3/24 Matthew Karp

3/25 Chloe Garbacz

3/26 George Hake

Tuesday morning Bible Study meets at 9:30 in the Library. All are welcome and perfect attend-

ance is NOT required.

The Lunch Bunch will meet on Monday, March 20th at 12:30 at the Olive Tree on Broadway in

Lancaster. Separate checks are available.

F3 (Fun, Fellowship & Food) will meet again on Tuesday, March 21st, at 6:15 pm at Forestview

Restaurant 4781 Transit road, near French. Please sign up if you plan on attending.

Prayer Knots for Veterans meets to make fleece blankets Thursday, March 9th at 9:30 in the Li-

brary. All are welcome.

Wool Gatherers meets in the Study Room on Tuesday at 10:30 after Bible Study. Join to knit,

crochet or just visit and chat.

N.A.M.I. (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Family 2 Family meets the second Wednesday of

each month in the Library at 6 pm. Contact the office to be put in touch with someone for more

information.

Marilla UMC is hosting a free Irish Dinner, Sat. March 4th, 4:30– 6:30. Your choice of Shepard’s

Pie or Irish Stew, beverage & ice cream for dessert.

Please check out the calendar for different activities and groups meeting during the month. It can be found at the end of this printing, or on line at www.elmaumc.org There is a link to the calen-

dar on the home page.

Elma Page Turners meets monthly in the Library at 7 pm for a book discussion. Anyone is wel-come. Because of Ash Wednesday, the March meeting will be on Wednesday the 8th.

The books for analysis are: 3/8/2017 True Colors by Kristen Hannah

4/5/2017 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

5/3/2017 Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

6/7/2017 News of the World by Paulette Giles

Cabin Fever? It’s Time to Let Your Creative Self Appear! Perhaps it’s time to try painting, knitting, crochet, or knit a baby blanket, sewing, write a poem? Make something from the heart

for a loved one or a special friend. (or start creating for the 2017 Christmas Bazaar.)

Whatever you put your mind to—enjoy, relax and use your God-given talents with joy in your

heart knowing that Spring is just around the corner.

Musical Talents Wanted: looking for those with musical talents to provide special music during the Worship Service. Contact John Mitton or the office. Still need voices for music for the Holy

Week. Sign up at the bulletin board.

Preschool Garage Sale This year our Preschool hosts the annual Garage Sale on Saturday May

9th. Please start saving items you may be able to donate.

3/6 Cody Lombard

3/7 Kathy Majeski

3/9 Kyle Woods

3/11 Philip Hill

3/11 Kevin McCarthy

3/12 Martha Horohoe

3/17 Deborah Wilson

3/18 Chris Erhardt

Something for everyone!

3/26 Brian Krah

3/28 Greg Fuer

3/28 David Schaaf

3/29 Belle Jacobs

3/30 Leah Schmitz

3/31 Emma Fisher

3/31 Barbara Jones

3/31 Scott Zimmerman

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Orders due March 12th

Flower Cost Quantity

Total

8” Hydrangea, pink $16.50

8” Hydrangea, blue $16.50

8” Azalea, assorted $17.50

6” Daffodil, yellow $5.50

6” Tulip, yellow $5.50

6” Tulip, red $5.50

6” Tulip, pink $5.50

6” Tulip, white $5.50

6” Lily, white $7.50

6 1/2” Mum, pink $7.00

6 1/2” Mum, yellow $7.00

6 1/2” Mum, white $7.00

6 1/2” Mum, purple $7.00

6 1/2” Senetti, asst. $7.00

Total Enclosed $

Name: _________________________________________________________

In honor of:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

In loving memory of:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Easter Flower Orders The order form for Easter flowers is listed below. Envelopes are also available on the Flower Bulletin Board and outside the office. Please complete one with your or-der, and include payment. Your order may be returned to the office or placed in the collection plate. Orders are due NO LATER than March 12th.

Notes from the Trustees Mary Schuetz will step down from Trustees to become Ad Council Chair. Jackie Moyer has agreed to step into her place. The Trustees are a very busy group with many projects completed and many more in the planning stages. Below is an update on some of the bigger projects: For any ladies who are wondering what is going on in the Ladies bathroom downstairs, the leak in the ceiling

has been located. Because the water in the building has to be shut off to fix it, it will need to wait until school is out or on a break and the building is not busy.

The Sound System will be undergoing an overhaul to make it simpler to use and hopefully eliminate the squawking that has happened during large services.

If anyone has a large (40” or bigger) flat screen TV they could donate, we are looking to redo the youth room. It will need a little painting. A quote for new carpet is pending, and hopefully some furniture in better shape can be procured.

The biggest project to be done is re-roofing of the Christian Education /Fellowship Hall wing. It has been patched in the past, but has lived out its life. We are in the process of getting quotes and deciding on a contrac-tor. Once the roof is finished, the ceiling in the CE wing, which has been damaged by the leaking will need replacing and updating to be sure it is a safe place for all.

If you look around the church you will see many improvements, some small, some large that the Trustees have done. There are a few church members that always come to help on Church Work Days, but we can always use more people. If you cannot come on the work days but want to pitch in, please speak to Peter Buechi and we may be able to set you up with some jobs. The next Work Day is Thursday March 16th beginning at 9 am.

Notes from Administrative Council Our heartfelt thanks to Joanne Harris for her years of service, as she steps down from Ad Council chairper-son. Mary Schuetz will attempt to fill the role. If you have questions or are interested in serving on Ad Council or in another area, please feel free to contact her or Pastor Mort. At the Feb 13th meeting, it was affirmed that Jackie Moyer would take over in Trustees as Mary Schuetz steps down. It was also recommended that SPPRC hire Cheryl Zelasko as the church Bookkeeper. The Finance committee is hard at work on policies and procedures on all aspects of the management of the churches money and finances. If you are interested in participating, please contact Pastor Wayne, or the office

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