Northridge United Methodist Church

March 2018

Volume 35, Issue 3

Northridge United Methodist Church

9650 Reseda Blvd.

Northridge, CA 91324

(818) 886-1555 www.northridgeumc.org

office@northridgeumc.org

To celebrate God's grace and love

while inspiring disciples of Jesus Christ for ministry in our community and the world.

Pastor.............................Rev. Dr. Joseph Choi Associate Pastor….............Rev. Karen Murata Dir. of Senior Ministry….........Char Anderson Business Manager…..............Dorrel Atteberry Facilities/Office Manager…..........Joan Coston H.R. Coordinator................Elizabeth Beckman Dir. of Youth Ministry…........Jason Obermeier Dir. of Preschool………........Debbie Goodman Dir. of Music……..……………..Scott Lehmkuhl

Section Leaders…….Carol de Leon (Soprano)

….……………………..…….Rachelle Kye (Alto)

....……...….…………....Manfred Anaya (Tenor)

……………….……....Benito Galindo (Baritone)

Organist……….........................Dr. Joseph Lee Dir. of Handbells.....................Ruben Mendoza Sunday School Lead Teacher

& Music Leader……….......Chelsea Obermeier

Sunday School Assistants……...Leslie Orozco ..............................................Lindsey Woerner Sunday Childcare..................Ashley Anderson .........................................................Liz Piceno Buildings and Grounds............Richard Grijalva Custodian..................................................TBD

Sunday Custodian.....................Matthew Nash Sound Technician………..…...Adrian Boluarte

Sunday Worship at 10 AM

Sunday School & Nursery

10 AM in the Kendall Building

Childcare available

UMW Spring Boutique Sunday, March 18

8 AM – 12:30 PM in the Kendall Building All proceeds go to missions

Labyrinth Vesper Service Sunday, March 25

6 PM in the Fellowship Hall Come experience the labyrinth journey

with music, prayer, and healing

Good Friday Friday, March 30 7 PM in the Sanctuary

The Chancel Choir presents “Requiem” by Maurice Duruflé

Upcoming Sermons

March 4 (Communion Sunday) Love Completely

John 13:1-11

March 11

Rev. Karen Murata Learn humbly

Philippians 2:5-11

March 18

Leave Boldly Matthew 7:21-27

March 25 (Palm/Passion Sunday)

Live Like Jesus Matthew 21:1-11

From February 11 Jazz Vespers Service

Upper Room Devotional Sundays at 8 AM 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.

Book Study Sundays at 9 AM Join us for our study of the book “One Month to Live” by Kerry and Chris Shook.

(From L to R) Keith Fiddmont, Steve Pemberton, Jerry Vivino, Jon Papenbrook, Del Atkins, Mel Collins and Duane Benjamin.

Missing is Curtis Brengle. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Priem)

Artist Lynn Bassler with her artwork

Videos of all services are archived on

YouTube. https://youtube.com/numcvideo

Children & Family

Children & Family

Easter Scavenger Hunt! Please join us for our March Family Ministries Event on Sunday, March 25, an Easter Scavenger Hunt! We will meet at 11:30 a.m. in the Kendall Building, following children’s choir. All ages and families are invited! We will be forming teams and embarking to find clues which reveal the glory of Christ’s resurrection through meaningful scripture. At the end, there will be a fun Easter Surprise for every team who completes the scavenger hunt. We will conclude by 12:30 p.m. Looking forward to seeing you at this fun event!

VBS 2018 – Rolling River Rampage!

Save the date for NUMC’s Vacation Bible School coming

this July 23-26 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and July 27 5:30 –

8:00 p.m! We will be having a more traditional VBS for

children entering preK – 5th grade in the Fall of 2018. Our

VBS will include a family night on Friday, July 27 where

the entire family can participate together in VBS activities

and see their kids perform what they have learned!

Our theme will be Cokesbury’s Rolling River Rampage,

“an action-packed adventure that invites children on a

white-water rafting adventure to experience the ride of a

lifetime with God!” We will have a youth and adult

volunteer program as well! Youth going into grades 6th –

12th in the Fall of 2018 will have some awesome

leadership opportunities!

Registration for children and youth/adult volunteer sign-up will be coming in March. Come join us

in our adventure full of God’s wonder and surprises!

SPOTLIGHT ON SENIORS: Sally Taylor

“I’ve known him or her for years; I know all about them (at least what they are willing to share!)”

We found out that wasn’t quite the case when Senior Ministries hosted the Legacy Luncheons. And

sadly, we also come by personal histories as part of a Celebration of Life service.

As a beginning to this ongoing feature in The Methodist, Sally Taylor was asked and accepted to be

“first up”. It was a wonderful experience to sit with her and discover more sides of Sally!

Born: April 4, 1936 (date printed with permission). Her parents moved quite a bit, from Buffalo to

Philly, to Kingston and Reading, Pa. The worst and best move was to a suburb of Chicago in the

middle of her junior year in high school; she lost all her friends but met Doug and went to the senior

prom with him. She graduated from U. of Michigan in 3 ½ years and married Doug on winter break

on Dec. 28, 1957. They are parents of two daughters, one son, plus five grands and 2 great grands,

and she has two sisters, all of whom she treasures.

In 1962, they moved into the same house in which they presently reside. Asked how they found

NUMC, Sally responded that they looked around and our church had a great Sunday school

program, perfect for their three growing children. Although raised as a Methodist, her parents

were not church frequenters even though her Dad started

Syracuse University to become a minister. So, Sally found

her way to church on her own, always, as she said, a bit of a

contrarian.

Music has been a true companion throughout her life; she

did study piano and, as a child on her own, managed to find

a piano and church willing to let her practice since there

was none at home. She was always interested in harp

music so she learned and owns a small Irish harp. And we

can include hammered dulcimer, baritone ukulele, guitar,

English handbells and choir to her musical

accomplishments. Sally has used her musical gifts through

Hospice Care with Kaiser singing and playing her Irish harp

to her assigned care patients.

Pastor Joseph recently spoke about 3 types of prayer

answers: yes, no and not now. I asked Sally about a prayer

being answered and was very touched by her reply: “Every

time I cold call with Healing Touch (for more information, please ask Sally), I pray that I will be able

to make a connection. Each time I do, that is a prayer answered; the same was true with seeking

strangers in hospice care.”

Senior Ministries

In addition to serving at the NUMC Pre-school as director for 17 years, she served as chairperson of

the committee to open and license the pre-school. Sally has participated in a myriad of programs

and committees at our church: Roof Raisers, music programs for kids, music appreciation study for

gifted students, Family Ministries, Family Camp, Caring and Senior Ministries, Grief Group, New

You, Book Club and Tai Chi. These are only highlights!

Now on to Doug. Sally credits him with giving her a great appreciation of the wilderness and great

outdoors and for helping her enjoy the simple things in life. After she retired from pre-school, she

and Doug put 100,000 miles on their trailer, have visited all 50 states and all but a few National

Parks. Without the trailer they have visited the continents of Asia, Europe, South America, Africa

and a list of islands-nations. Watching Sally and Doug together you can see a very loving and

wonderful marriage 60 years strong.

Sally’s favorite bible verse is 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8; her favorite song: “I Will Raise You Up on Eagle’s

Wings”. Both speak volumes about Sally Taylor. – Peggy Walters, Chair, Senior Ministries

Primetimers Take a Peek Behind the Scenes and Discover the GOOD in Goodwill! Did you know that there is more to Goodwill Southern California than just retail stores and

donation centers? They actually Transform Lives Through the Power of Work. Many people don’t

realize that when they shop at and donate to Goodwill Southern California, they create

opportunities for individuals with disabilities or disadvantages to receive job training and

placement services. This year your donated stuff has helped Goodwlll get 29,928 people back to

work. Join the

Primetimers to learn

about the opportunities

offered by Goodwill.

Meet the bus in the

parking lot by the YAC at

9:30 AM on Friday,

March 16. Cost of the

tour is free; bus is $22.

The tour is limited to 15

so sign up early.

Prayers Delora Bloomingdale, Frank Perez, Ted Knox, John Landon,

Nate Carmody, Kyle Catterlin, Don Miller, John Turner, Christine Coons

Prayers for Joyce Scanlin and her family on the sudden passing of Pete.

Have you ever regretted missing an opportunity to become part of something new and exciting?

Soon you will have the opportunity to become an integral part of walking with and leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

On January 21, 2018, The Welcome Team and Invitation Team joined forces. We will now be known as “The Connections Team.”

While we have always been a welcoming and hospitable church, we want to go beyond the friendly smile and hearty handshake. By combining the Welcome and Invitation teams, we hope to foster more opportunities for the newcomer to connect with the congregation and build relationships with each other. And most importantly for new guests as well as long time members to deepen their spiritual growth with Christ.

As a newly formed team, the first step taken was to have a Welcome table where First and Second Time Guests can stop and pick up a gift. The current gift they receive is the book “One Month To Live” being used in the Discipleship classes and for the Lenten Sermon Series. We have also included a free ticket for Sunday Brunch in Fellowship Hall. We are establishing new ways to connect with and follow up with new guests and we will be asking the congregation to try out some new ways of connecting as well.

The Connection Team will keep the congregation up to date as we begin to implement changes.

We are excited about how this will affect our church in terms of growth but more importantly about the lives we may touch and inspire, especially those who may not have or never have had a church family or relationship with the Lord.

Nancy Kaplan and Nick Mendoza, Co-Chairs, Connections Team

ARE YOU CRAFTY??

Can you knit, sew, paint or use a glue gun? If so, the Northridge United Methodist Women could use your skills to make items for their Spring and Fall Boutiques. Crafts meets every Monday morning at 9:00 am in the Kendall Building. However, if that time doesn’t fit in your schedule you can always work at home and bring the finished product to church. And this is not for women only. Surely there are some crafty men in the congregation. Remember all proceeds from the boutiques go to the missions supported by the NUMW. Please contact Phyllis Nelson for further information.

Connections Team

Church and Society Movie Night

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

On Monday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. in the Kendall Building, Church and Society will screen a 2018 Academy Award nominated documentary.

"Abacus: Small Enough to Jail" is a play on a phrase that was popularized during the 2008 financial crisis that certain banks were "too big to fail" and had to be rescued by the United States government to stave off total economic collapse. "Abacus" tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves and their bank's legacy in the Chinatown community over the course of a five-year legal battle. In 2017, this documentary, directed by Steve James, the director of "Hoop Dreams", won a Critics Choice Award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary. This film has a 88 minute running time and is Not Rated. Please join us for this interesting and compelling film.

See’s Easter Candy Sale!! Remember last Easter? Remember how happy your family and friends

were when they received the See’s Easter Candy that you picked out just

for them? If you don’t remember, maybe it’s because you forgot to order

that candy at last year’s sale? Don’t let that happen again! This year,

Northridge UMC is once again offering you an opportunity to choose high

quality, scrumptious Easter candy items for your loved ones, AND help out the general fund of our

church at the same time. Once again the process will be easy and save you a trip to the See’s Candy

store, and once again there will be a variety of items in different sizes that will ensure that there is

something for everyone on your Easter list. Ordering of the candy will take place after church

during Coffee Hour in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, February 18, 25, and March 4, 7 (at Soul

Food), and on March 11. There will also be an opportunity to place an order at New You, at Choir

practice, and at Cracker Barrel. The candy will be available for pick-up on Sunday, March 18 and 25

in the Fellowship Hall, and during the week of Monday, March 19 through Friday, March 23 in the

Church Office. Please note that there will not be any candy items on hand to buy, either on the

ordering days or on the pick-up days, so plan your list carefully to avoid being caught short at the

last moment. We hope that you’ll take advantage of helping out our church while preparing for

Easter at this fundraising event. Happy Easter!

Fellowship

Each Sunday during this Lenten season, directors from various organizations or people who are involved in these mission projects listed below will come and share about what they do and how we can support them.

February 18

North Valley Caring Services Ivette Pineda, Director

http://nvcsinc.org/

February 25

Philippines Parsonage Project Eleanor and Bob Serrano

March 4

Madagascar Project Pastor Edmond Razafimanantsoa

March 11

UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) Sue Fritsche

http://www.umcor.org/

March 18

SF Valley Rescue Mission Wade Trimmer, Director https://sfvrescuemission.org/

March 25

Change the World Gordon Short

Resurrection Moments

March Events and Meetings

1 10 am Discipleship Group-Library

3 8:30 am All Church hike Meet in church parking lot to carpool

4 11:15 Grief/Caregivers support-Bride’s Room 11:30 am Discipleship Group-Library 5 7 pm New You–Lynn McCue’s home 7 6 pm Soul Food Café–Fellowship Hall

NO 7 pm Discipleship Group-Library

8 10 am Discipleship Group-Library

6 pm Special Events-Library

10 10 am Walk for Madagascar-Reseda UMC

11 11:30 am Discipleship Group-Library

6 pm Jazz Vespers–Sanctuary with

Judy Wexler (singer) and Friends

12 11:30 am UMW Board meeting-Kendall Bldg.

4 to 8 pm Eat Out Monday-Panera Bread

19662 Nordhoff St

7 pm Church/Society Movie-Kendall Building

13 5 pm Cook & Host SFV Rescue Mission

14 7 pm Discipleship Group-Library

15 10 am Discipleship Group-Library

16 9:30 am Primetimers bus trip to Goodwill

18 9 to 12 UMW Spring Boutique

11:30 am Discipleship Group-Library

19 11:30 am Caring Ministry

7 pm SPRC meet-Library

7 pm Missions meet-Kendall Building

20 11:30 am Noon Fellowship Lunch-Kendall Bldg.

7 pm Connections meet-Kendall Building

25 11:15 All Children Scavenger Hunt

6 pm Labyrinth Service-Fellowship Hall

26 7 pm Book Club–Sally Taylor’s home

7 pm Methodist Money Makers-Library

29 6 am to 7 pm Prayer Vigil-Sanctuary

30 7 pm Good Friday concert-Sanctuary

Regular Weekly Events

Mondays: UMW Arts and Crafts 9 am Kendall Bldg T’ai Chi (1st & 3rd) 10 am Fireside Rm

Tuesdays: Cracker Barrel 10 am Library

Wednesdays: Maintenance 8:30 am Church Office Volunteers (WMD) WORMS 9:30 am Kendall Bldg. Jubilee Bells 5:45 pm Room 5/6 Celebration Ringers 7 pm Room 5/6

Thursdays: Chancel Choir 7:30 pm Sanctuary

Fridays: Cracker Barrel 10 am Library T’ai Chi 10 am Fellowship Hall

Sundays: Devotional Group 8 am Library

Adult Study 9 am Library

Infant/Toddler Care in Nursery All morning

Worship Service 10 am Sanctuary

Brunch at 11 Fellowship Hall

Sunday School 10 am Kendall Bldg.

Grades Preschool-5 Kendall Bldg.

Children’s Choir 11 am Kendall Bldg.

Northridge United Methodist Church

818-886-1555 www.northridgeumc.org

April 1 ~ Easter Services

6:30 am Sunrise on the Patio Breakfast all morning in Fellowship Hall

10 am with Choir, Bells and Brass

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