volume 16, issue 1 trinity outreach growth continues ... · 11 a.m. contemporary worship 12:00...

Youth Winter Camps 3

Missions 4

Angel Tree 5

UMW Events 6-7

Calendar 8-9

Confirmation Class 10

Advent Activities 12-13

Birthdays/Anniversaries 15

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Volume 16, Issue 1

January 2016

9 a.m. Traditional Service

9 a.m. Vietnamese Worship

9 a.m. Children’s Classes

10:30 a.m. Adult Bible Class

11 a.m. Contemporary Worship

12:00 Youth Confirmation Class

1 p.m. Korean Worship

Childcare is provided all morning

Sunday Schedule

Trinity United Methodist

Church has demonstrated its

love and support for the Las Ve-

gas community with its local

programs and has pledged to

support the global ministries of

the United Methodist Church

despite facing tough economic

times.

Like in 2015, senior Pastor

Khalif Smith will continue to

make reaching out to the Las

Vegas community in the coming

year a priority due to the dedi-

cated efforts of many individu-

als at Trinity and other commu-

nity supporters.

Trinity wrapped up its ef-

forts this past year with a

Thanksgiving luncheon for

church members and the

neighboring community. About

150 people showed up in the

church’s Fellowship Hall to

break bread, enjoy a Thanksgiv-

ing feast and enjoy some fellow-

ship with friends and newcom-

ers.

The luncheon was a way

Pastor Smith and his wife Nikki

could express their appreciation

to Trinity’s congregation for

their support and growth in the

development of the many ongo-

ing programs at the Methodist

church.

The Trinity minister and his

wife spent much of the morning

in the kitchen of Café Trinity

cooking and carving six turkeys

for the luncheon held the day

before the national holiday. Vol-

unteers transported the rest of

the menu items to the Fellow-

ship Hall so all would be ready

for an afternoon rush of hungry

people.

While 2015 would be con-

sidered a success at Trinity be-

cause of its many programs,

Pastor Smith is optimistic about

the future.

The Society of St. Stephen

ministry, after staging a suc-

Trinity Outreach Growth Continues

Inside This Issue

Continued… page 2

Pastor Khalif Smith

… Optimistic in 2016

By Dan Sahagun

The Word

THE W ORD

Outreach

cessful fundraising golf tourna-

ment during the past winter,

has announced plans to offer its

food pantry services to the com-

munity from once a week to

twice a week starting Wednes-

day, Jan. 6.

“We’ve been trying to do

this since June (2015),” said

Mary Lovelady, one of the co-

chairs of the ministry and the

longest running volunteer of the

project. “We always had inten-

tions of offering more hours be-

cause of the need to serve more

people.”

When the ministry originally

opened in a temporary con-

struction trailer on campus in

the 1980s with a food pantry

and clothing boutique, it was

open to the public three times a

week.

Over the years due to in

part because of the hard-hit

economy and overstretched vol-

unteers, St. Stephen operated

only twice a week and then fi-

nally once a week starting in

April 2014.

“I worked nine years on

Continued from… page 1

Wednesdays from

2005 to part of

2014,” said Mary

Lovelady, who shares

the St. Stephen minis-

try with chairs Patti

Haber and Paul

Brooks.

In 2016, St. Stephen,

now housed in an up-

graded facility on

campus, will continue

to be open on Mon-

days from 10 a.m. to

2 p.m. and will now

be open on Wednes-

days from 4 to 6 p.m.

In addition, there

will be an attempt to

also make the pro-

gram’s discounted and used

clothing boutique available on

Wednesdays.

The ministry will con-

tinue to offer its Thursday Res-

cue Program of food donated

by Las Vegas agency Three

Square food bank from 11

a.m. to 1 p.m. and its Bless-

ings Bag ministry of snacks

and literature of city and state

support programs on Wednes-

day from 2 to 3 p.m.

The Society of St. Stephen

is not the only ministry that

continues to serve the Las Ve-

gas community.

To name just a few of its

other programs, the church is

involved with a Mission minis-

try that supports a youth in

Peru, the United Methodist

Women invite speakers from

the community at their func-

tions, a church bus offers

transportation to Sunday wor-

ship services, midweek ser-

vices and Bible studies are of-

fered on Wednesdays, a grow-

ing Youth program will begin

Confirmation classes with Pas-

tor Smith, Trinity’s Living Na-

tivity play has been growing

strong for 35 years, Nativity

Director Gillian Kabat and

church members were part of

a Nativity play at the Las Ve-

gas Speedway, a new cooking

class conducted by the Col-

lege of Southern Nevada to

be held in Café Trinity has

been added, Vacation Bible

School will continue to be of-

fered and the Crafters for

Christ group will still busily

create crafts throughout the

year for church-sponsored

fundraisers.

The Wednesday Bible

classes will resume on

Wednesday, Jan. 6 with at a

five-week class. The first

week Pastor Smith will have a

study from his mission trip to

South Korea followed by a

four-week study of the life

and times of Jesus by Lay

Speaker Bill Jacky comple-

mented from his visit to Jeru-

salem.

In February, Wonderful

Wednesdays will return with

an annual six-week Lenten

Bible study leading up to the

Holy Week season. The Wel-

coming Ministry team,

chaired by Carol Bumgarner

and Darlene Goldstein, is pro-

viding the curriculum of

study.

In an unrelated matter,

Lois Wynn has volunteered to

fill the last remaining seat on

the Staff-Parish Relations

Committee in 2016. Three

new members have joined the

SPRC committee for this year,

which will be chaired by

Alene Unger.

The United Methodist Women and supporters

helped serve at the Thanksgiving luncheon for

church members and the community. Serving

were (from left) Donna Canfield, Ema Herbert,

Zoe Smith, Kirstey Thomas, Kathy Vornberg,

Solangel Baluarte and Linda Jara.

VOLUME 16, I SSUE 1

Youth Winter Camps Set

Plans are underway to offer Desert Southwest Conference children and youth winter camps at nearby

Potosi Pines. The Junior/Senior high school level camp will be held Jan. 16-18 and the Elementary camp is

scheduled for Feb. 13-16.

Junior/Senior High Winter Camp “Glow in the Dark!”

Jan. 16-18 for youth in grades 6–12, cost is $150

Have you noticed that sometimes the world feels like such a mess, full of drama and stress? The dark-

ness can be so overwhelming that you just want curl up and hide. But here’s the thing — God empowers

each of us to make things different, to be a light in the dark.

We are each called to come out from under our basket and make things better. Come join the fun as

ways can be explored to discover that we can be that light because God is calling us to “Glow in the Dark!”

Elementary Winter Camp “God’s Discovery Lab!"

Feb. 13-16 for children in grades 2 to 6, cost is $150

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” — Job 11: 7.

Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue, how the stars twinkle in the night skies, what causes the

rain to fall? These are some of the great mysteries of our universe. The world we live in is full of mysteries,

but nothing is as mysterious as God.

Join the Methodist camp for a weekend of probing some of the mysteries of the universe through scien-

tific examination while an attempt is made to fathom some of the mysteries of God; His love, His grace, and

His goodness in “God's Discovery Lab!”

For questions about the winter camps, contact Tracey Brown, Camp Director, at 702-875-1980 or by e-

mail at [email protected]. To register on-line, visit http://www.dsccamps.org. If you have questions

about registration, contact Dina Reid, Desert Southwest Conference Camping and Retreat Ministries, at 800-

229-8622 or at [email protected].

(Top left) Pastor Khalif Smith and his wife Nikki carve Thanksgiving luncheon turkeys for members of the congre-

gation and the Las Vegas community who all stopped by the day before the national holiday. (Top right) Ema Her-

bert serves as Greta Medberry fills her plate.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dsccamps.org


THE W ORD

Churches Help Homeless

Pastor Susan Holden,

whose candidacy for the minis-

try was sponsored by Trinity

UMC and a former member of

the church, was among the

more than 1,000 volunteers

who gathered at Cashman

Center for Project Homeless

Connect to provide a day of

services to the Southern Ne-

vada homeless community.

According to the North

District of the Desert South-

west Conference newsletter, at

the well-organized Nov. 17

event, individuals and families

received free services includ-

ing medical, dental, vision ser-

vices; haircuts; housing; job

readiness counseling; benefits

assistance; bus passes; legal

and court services; pet ser-

vices; phones to call home for

the holidays; pastoral care,

and food and clothing.

Susan Holden, whose hus-

band Joe is chair of Trinity’s

Trustees, is an associate minis-

ter at University United Meth-

odist Church where she leads

the college campus ministry at

UNLV. Before entering the min-

istry, Susan was active in vari-

ous programs while worship-

ping at Trinity.

For the past five years, lo-

cal United Methodist churches

through their Hats and Hands

ministry knitted, crocheted

and weaved for this event.

Volunteers from the congre-

gations also distributed the

handmade items.

Without the hard work of

the Hats and Hands small

groups from Boulder City

UMC, Green Valley UMC, De-

sert Spring UMC, First Hen-

derson UMC, Journey UMC

and University UMC, which

collectively made 3,625 knit-

ted scarves, hats, gloves and

layette items, and St. Francis

of the Foothills UMC in Tuc-

son, Ariz., many homeless

people would not have re-

ceived the needed items to

protect them from the cold of

winter.

Unwind Knitting, a relax-

ing knit shop in Henderson,

and its owner Brenda Johan-

nesen also provided support

and yarn and their customers

contributed beautiful crafted

items.

Mission Team Wrap-up

On Sunday, Dec. 20, the

Missions team honored two

very dedicated bus drivers, Joe

Holden and Casey Laub, for

their service to Trinity mem-

bers within a five-mile radius

of the campus lacking in trans-

portation to attend worship

services. Getting up early on

Sunday mornings and driving

the church bus to pick up peo-

ple and take them home is a

real labor of love.

The Missions team so ap-

preciates their service to Trin-

ity and the Lord. Gift cards of

appreciation were presented to

Joe and Casey, as well as ac-

knowledging Melissa Laub,

who coordinates the route of

the bus riders’ residence with

the drivers’ Sunday bus sched-

ule. God and Trinity so appre-

ciate your time and service to

help others.

In addition, the Missions

team wants to thank the

church’s United Methodist

Women for their gracious gift

of $200 toward the work of

Trinity Missions work, locally

and globally.

The Missions ministry has

been in written contact with

Trinity’s Peruvian foster child,

Axel Gomez Infa, over the past

few months and have sent the

youth Christmas gifts of his

desire, including soccer balls,

soccer socks (for his team) and

a sturdy backpack. Of course,

this is only possible because of

your generous gifts to Trinity’s

Mission team. They thank you,

most kindly for your generos-

ity during the past year and

look forward to further this

ministry in 2016!

Pastor Susan Holden of University UMC

(right) inspects one of the many items

donated at the Project Homeless Con-

nect event held at Cashman Center.

(Photograph courtesy of the North Dis-

trict newsletter)

VOLUME 16, I SSUE 1

Angel Tree Remembers Children

Thanks to the support of

the congregation, Trinity UMC

was able to assist nine families

from the community, consist-

ing of 28 children, in having a

nicer Christmas this year.

Toys, hats, gloves, stuffed

animals, games, puzzles, and

clothes were given in the name

of love to these deserving chil-

dren. The children’s ages

ranged from newborn to 18

years. The families were also

given a box of nonperishable

food items, including cookie

mixes and icing.

Some of these children

had no toys or books. Some

were not sure where they

would be sleeping in the next

few days. Some asked for

warm clothes. One boy asked

for a backpack and school sup-

plies. A five-month-old girl was

in need of basic items and

clothing. The newborn baby

girl spent the first week and a

half of her life in ICU with lung

problems, going home just be-

fore Christmas. The family did-

n’t even have a single baby

bottle for her.

You, the people of Trinity,

helped these children and you

should feel proud of the help

you gave.

“Verily I say unto you, inas-

much as you have done it unto

one of the least of these my

brethren, you have done it

unto Me.” – Matthew 25:40.

Jo Ann Magner, Director of

Christian Education and organ-

izer of this ministry, said, “In

looking over all that was given,

my heart was full and my eyes

brimmed in tears. In behalf of

all these families, thank you.”

Jo Ann Magner (left) and Nikki Smith prepare to wrap Christmas gifts for

deserving boys and girls from the community for the Angel Tree ministry.

Pastor Khalif Smith played Santa

Claus for a day. The Trinity minister

went shopping to purchase gifts

with all the gift cards that were do-

nated for the Angel Tree ministry.

Due to the huge response of do-

nated gift cards, Pastor Smith hap-

pily spent a long time shopping for

just the right presents. Volunteers

finished up wrapping all the new

toys meant for the boys and girls.

Trinity hopes this ministry will be

even bigger next year.

Some of the

wrapped gifts

ready to be

distributed to

families who

needed a little

extra help during

the holidays.

Families not only

came to Trinity to

receive holiday

presents for their

children, but they

also received a

bag of food.

THE W ORD

UMW Rings in New Year with Party, Luncheon

Fifteen United Methodist

Women and guests attended

the annual United Methodist

Women Christmas Luncheon

and Party in festively decorated

Fellowship Hall. A delicious

potluck of casseroles, salads

and desserts was enjoyed by

all at the Dec.15 event.

Special guests Jo Ann Mag-

ner, Director of Christian Edu-

cation, and Greta Medberry,

charter church member and

currently a Loyal Office Volun-

teer attended the luncheon.

The UMW participates in the

Angel Tree ministry for disad-

vantaged boys and girls and

members also brought in

canned goods for their Mission

project at the December meet-

ing.

Following the luncheon and

short business meeting, an en-

tertaining White Elephant gift

exchange was enjoyed by at-

tendees.

Officers for 2016 were

voted upon at a November fel-

lowship meeting and an-

nounced at the Christmas

function. Officers include Presi-

dent Donna Canfield, Vice

President Darlene Goldstein,

Secretary of the UMW Executive

Board Alene Unger, Secretary

of UMW Fellowship Denyse

Royer, Treasurer Frances

Bower, and Secretary of Pro-

gram Resources Martha Trol-

lier. Ema Herbert and Kathy

Vornberg remain in charge of

Secret Prayer Partners and

Sandy Hobbs will be serving as

Sunshine Fund Chairman.

The event wrapped up ac-

tivity for the year. UMW also

had a successful Cook Walk,

the organization’s main fund-

raiser of the year that offered

baked goods in the Fellowship

Hall between Sunday worship

services on Nov. 22.

Over 180 DOZEN cookies

baked by members of the con-

gregation were purchased by

Trinity members and guests!

The cookie containers were

decorated by Trinity’s Crafters

for Christ. The major fund-

raiser generated a profit of

$613. Since the focus of UMW

is Missions, the women’s or-

ganization donated $400 to

the Society of St. Stephen min-

istry and $200 to Trinity’s Mis-

sion team fund.

The next UMW Fellowship

meeting will be held Tuesday,

Jan. 19 at 12:30 p.m. in the

Fellowship Hall.

Call Donna Canfield at 702-

255-3883 for inquiries.

Donna Canfield serves at the annual UMW Cookie Walk.

UMW members celebrate another successful UMW annual Cookie Walk. (from

left) Alene Unger, Ema Herbert, Denyse Royer, Mary Ann Novotny, Leatha Hill,

Frances Bower, Mary Sue Karstetter, Lynn Mooren, Ragen Johnson, Donna

Canfield, Darlene Goldstein, Mac Pursel, Sharon Contner and Gillian Kabat.

VOLUME 16, I SSUE 1 PAGE 7

(Top left) Lynn Mooren

serves cookies. (Top

right) UMW’s Mary Sue

Karstetter, Alene Unger,

Donna Canfield, Denyse

Royer, Lynn Mooren, Fran-

cis Bower also served

treats. (Center) Cookie

tins decorated by the

Trinity Crafters for Christ.

(Bottom left) Sarah, Cathy

and Alex Morgan with

Helen Rounds choosing

their favorite cookies for

the holidays. (Bottom

right) Francis Bower and

Denyse Royer were busy

collecting donations from

the congregation and visi-

tors for their tins filled

with cookies.

THE W ORD

Legend:

ESL = English as a Second

Language

HSE = High School Equivalency

O.A. = Overeaters Anonymous

N.A. = Narcotics Anonymous

TOPS = Take Off Pounds

Sensibly

F.H. = Fellowship Hall

All these groups are accepting

new members

3

9 am Traditional service

11 am Contemporary

service

9 am Vietnamese, Room 11

1 pm LV Korean, Sanctuary

4

10 am - 2 pm Society of St.

Stephen, Potter’s Place

7 pm O.A./Mon., Room 9

7 pm Welcoming Comm.,

Carol B’s home

5

5:15 pm N.A., F.H.A

6

2–3 pm Blessing Bag Lunches

4 - 6 pm Soc. St. Stephen,

Potter’s Place

5:30 pm WOWednesday

6:00 pm O.A./Wed, Room 9

10


11 am Contemporary ser-

vice


12 pm Confirmation Class,

Room 7


7 pm Home Based Team

Carol B’s home

11



7:00 pm O.A./Mon., Room 9

12

5:15 pm N.A., F.H.A

13

10:15 am UMW Board, Rm 3

12 pm Keenagers, Denny’s



Potter’s Place

5:30 pm WOWednesday


17


11 am Contemporary ser-

vice


Room 7



18

Church Office Closed today

Society of St. Stephen,

Closed today


19

12:30 pm UMW Mtg, F.H.A

5:15 pm N.A., F.H.A

6 pm Trustees, Room 4

6:30 pm Missions, Room 9

20



Potter’s Place

5:30 pm WOWednesday


24


11 am Contemporary service


Room 7



31 10 am 5th Sunday

One Church Service

and Chili Luncheon

25



5 pm Finance, F.H.A

6 pm SPRC, Room 4


7 pm Society of St. Stephen,

Meeting, Potter’s Place

26

2:30-4 pm CSN Vegan Class

Trinity Campus, Café

5:15 pm N.A., F.H.A

27



Potter’s Place

5:30 pm WOWednesday


Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

January

read the North District Newsletter at

www.desertsouthwestconference.org/north

and Connect with Desert Connection

The newsletter “The Desert Connection” is available at both

http://desertsouthwestconference.org/desertconnection (PDF version) and at

http://desertconnection.org (web site version).

Facebook - "DSCUMC" “Trinity United Methodist Church Las Vegas”

http://desertsouthwestconference.org/desertconnection

http://desertconnection.org

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1 Church Office Closed

Happy New year!

2

6 am Korean Prayer Time

Sanctuary

7

11 am Food Rescue

Program

6:15 pm TOPS, Room 9

7 pm Adult Choir, MR


1 pm Crafters for Christ,

Room 10

9


Sanctuary

9 am Computer, Room 5

9 am ESL, Room 5

14

11 am Food Rescue

Program





Room 10

16


Sanctuary


9 am ESL, Room 5

21

11 am Food Rescue

Program





Room 10

23


Sanctuary


9 am ESL, Room 5

9 am UMW Training Meeting,

University UMC

28

11 am Food Rescue

Program





Room 10

30


Sanctuary


9 am ESL, Room 5

2016

Sunday Worship

9 am

Traditional Worship

Children in grades

K through 5th

attend opening in church

then go to Room 9 after

the “Children’s Time.”

The Youth, for grades 6 to

12th, meet in Room 7 for

lunch and Confirmation

class with Pastor Smith

and Miss Maria

10:30 am

Adult Bible Class, Rm 10

11 am

Contemporary Worship

Childcare for toddlers up

to 4 years in Room 8

during both services

Las Vegas Korean

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Pastor Eun Jin La

12:00 pm

Choir Rehearsal, Room 11

1:00 pm

Sunday Church School

1:00 pm

Worship, Sanctuary

2:00 pm

Followed by Lunch, Café

6:00 pm

Worship, Sanctuary

7:00 pm

Dinner, Café

Saturday Prayer

6:00 am, Sanctuary

VIETNAMESE

Pastor Linh Phan

9 am The Chapel, Room 11

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Read the latest church news at: http://www.tumclv.org/

http://www.tumclv.org/

THE W ORD

Exciting Wonderful Wednesday to Return

Trinity’s Welcoming Minis-

try has been working diligently

to plan the next course of

study when Wonderful

Wednesday returns in February

with dinner, worship and Bibli-

cal studies.

The team of nine people

and other supporters, organ-

ized by Carol Bumgarner and

Darlene Goldstein, has been

working with Jo Ann Magner,

Director of Christian Educa-

tion, to involve the entire

church as six different classes

will be available for everyone

to become more knowledge-

able and be able to better en-

joy the Lenten Wonderful

Wednesday season.

The Adam Hamilton DVD-

based book study of “John,

The Gospel of Light and Life”

will be used as the all-church

study beginning Ash Wednes-

day and continuing for six

weeks.

Further information on

signing up, classroom assign-

ment and facilitators will be

available around mid-January

for the first class scheduled on

Wednesday, Feb. 10. Please be

sure to check upcoming Sun-

day worship bulletins and the

church’s website for the latest

information.

Planning the next Wonder-

ful Wednesday study is not the

only program the Welcoming

Ministry is developing, espe-

cially since it consolidated with

the Caring Ministries program

last year.

“We had an exciting

(recent) meeting, focusing en-

ergy on individuals and group

teams stepping up to take on

leadership in some much

needed areas of welcoming

and sustaining,” explained

Carol Bumgarner in an e-mail.

“We are beginning to work

on quite a few areas to

strength our church, especially

in the area of new members,

i.e., followup with visitors,

contacting them not only with

a letter the LOVs (Loyal Office

Volunteers) send out but a per-

sonal phone call from one of

our members, inviting them

and actual new confirmed

members, too, to participate in

Big Events at the church as

well as committee (team)

work,” she continued.

One area members of the

Welcoming Ministry may be

able to assist church staff is in

outreaching to the congrega-

tion and the community. Train-

ing with the church’s software

program would allow the team

to become more involved in

outreaching with church mem-

bers and visitors who may

have been absent and free up

this responsibility from others.

When Caring Ministries

joined Welcoming Ministries, it

meant the mission of meeting

the needs of shut-ins and visi-

tation needed to be addressed.

The Welcoming Ministry will

continue to develop this area

of ministry.

In addition, the Welcoming

Ministry will be planning an

event in April to seek more

volunteers of ushers, greeters,

LOVs, and coffee support in

Cafe Trinity to help church

members recognize their ser-

vice to the church.

Confirmation Class Offered

Confirmation class for

grades six through high school

is being offered at Trinity with

Pastor Khalif Smith from Jan.

10 through Feb. 21. Classes

will be held from noon to 2

p.m. each Sunday and will

meet the first week in Room 7

where a pizza luncheon will be

served.

Confirmation Sunday will

be March 6 during the 9 a.m.

worship service in the Sanctu-

ary. In May, there will be a

Bishop’s Retreat at Camp Po-

tosi for the confirmands from

throughout the Desert South-

west Conference.

Besides learning about and

living the Methodist faith, the

class will also work on a pro-

ject, sit in on a church Council

meeting, visit a Las Vegas Ko-

rean worship service, visit an

Orthodox church, have a lock

down night at Trinity, and

many more things are planned.

While the class will be led by

Pastor Khalif, it will be assisted

by Youth leader Maria Astete.

This class is open to youth

from other churches. Contact

the church office for an appli-

cation and information pam-

phlet.

Please note confirmation

classes will replace the 9:00

Youth Sunday School classes.

The Youth classes will resume

Sunday, March 13 at 9 a.m.

VOLUME 16, I SSUE 1

The Society of Stephen

ministry continues to be an

inspiration to the Las Vegas

community with three sup-

porting services offering food

and new and most gently

used clothing three days a

week.

Chair Mary Lovelady is

happy to announce the food

pantry, currently open each

week on Monday, will now be

open to the public on

Wednesday, starting Jan. 6

from 4 to 6 p.m.

It’s only a small step but

certainly a step in the right

direction as the food pantry

program has been a life saver

for so many people who rely

on this program.

“It has taken several

months to find volunteers

who meet our agreed-upon St.

Stephen Food Pantry volun-

teerism requirements, but I

am very excited,” explained

Mary Lovelady by e-mail who

chairs Trinity’s outreach with

Paul Brooks and Patti Haber.

In 2016, the Food Rescue

Program will continue to of-

fer to the needy perishable

food donated by another Las

Vegas organization, Three

Square food bank, each

Thursday. And the ministry’s

Blessings Bag outreach will

continue to be distributed to

people in need on Wednes-

days.

The fact that Trinity will

be able to offer a second day

of its food bank on Wednes-

days, even for only a few

hours, is the realization that

there is such a great need to

help others in the Las Vegas

community.

It has not been an

easy to get to this

point in serving others.

“One nice thought is

that as I look around

Trinity on any Sunday,

MANY members al-

ready volunteer for So-

ciety of St. Stephen in

some capacity. That is

so awesome!,” she

said. “They do Food

Rescue, Clothing Bou-

tique, Food Pantry - or

a few do some volun-

teer tasks at home.

With so many members

already involved, find-

ing qualified volun-

teers for Wednesday

was a challenge. Natu-

rally, some who would be

wonderful pantry volunteers

work on Wednesdays until 5

p.m. or later.”

The other difficulty is

that potential volunteers may

be gone part of the year or

others may travel.

Nevertheless, the Society

of St. Stephen ministry will

continue to strive to meet the

needs of those who are most

vulnerable.

In addition to the food

pantry, the ministry may be

able to open its clothing bou-

tique for additional hours.

Yvonne Gains, one of the

main clothing boutique vol-

unteers, has been trying to

find enough volunteers so

that clothing services may be

offered on selected Wednes-

days during the month.

As it is, St. Stephen plans

to be open every Wednesday

throughout the year except

the week of Thanksgiving.

St. Stephen Ministry Expands Services

Instructor Gail Johnson (left) and her Centennial High School Naval

Junior ROTC cadets donate canned goods to the St. Stephen minis-

try. The Cadets support the program as well as other programs at

Trinity throughout the year.

THE W ORD

Advent Filled with the Spirit

T he month of December is an exciting time of the year

and it is also a time when members of the Trinity UMC

congregation can come together and feel the anticipa-

tion of the coming of the Lord with fellowship, wor-

ship and wonderful music during Advent.

The holiday season began when volunteers dropped by on

a Saturday to beautifully decorate the inside of the Sanctuary at

the annual “Hanging of the Greens.” Not only was the entire

room decorated with the holiday spirit, two Chrismon trees

were set up in the Sanctuary and adorned with all the trim-

mings.

The Angel Tree, also displayed in the Sanctuary, was well

supported by the congregation as deserving boys and girls

from the community were remembered with toys or gift cards

at Christmas.

So many members of the congregation and other support-

ers participated in the Living Nativity, another Trinity favorite.

Gillian Kabat directed the Living Nativity inside the Sanctuary

for the 35th year in a row and has showed no signs of letting

up.

The Nativity, the retelling of the birth of our Savior, has

been a generational activity as many cast

members were in the performances as chil-

dren and are now adults. These adults have

included their own children in the recent

plays. It can also boast about the fact that

many families and their relatives have also

participated as cast members.

In addition, Gillian directed a one-night-

only Living Nativity at the Las Vegas Speedway

as part of the annual Glittering Lights display.

Many Trinity members participated as cast

members along with Gail Johnson’s Centennial

High School Naval Junior ROTC cadets.

Joe Holden drove the church bus loaded

up with, among others, Pastor Khalif Smith

and the Centennial High students to the world

famous Speedway, which is more known for

staging NASCAR championship events.

While the spiritual season is highlighted by

the four Sundays of Advent, the two perform-

ances of the 13th annual Christmas Cantata

was again an experience not to be forgotten.

Through the tireless effort of Director

Carol Bumgarner, the Chancel Adult Choir and

the HeartStrings Multigenerational Choir were

featured in the production and accompanied by

professional musicians.

Carol, a retired educator and former Ne-

vada Principal of the Year, brought all partici-

In photo above, the Living Nativity was staged at Trinity for

the 35th year. At bottom, Scott Watson leads the HeartStrings

Multigenerational Choir at the 13th Annual Christmas Can-

tata entitled “What Child is This?”


Phelps, Sara Morgan, Stephen Sauer, Scott

Watson, Alex Morgan and James Lemmons.

Sharon Watson, who can be found at

the keyboard nearly every Sunday worship

service throughout the year, accompanied

the production at the piano.

Narrators were Christi Ferrari, Carol

Bumgarner’s daughter who grew up in the

church, and Darlene Goldstein.

Musicians included Bonnie Tanouye

(flute), Dani McCracken (oboe), James

Koperski (clarinet), Doug Beasley (French

horn), Alan Lewis (bassoon), Carl Baker

(trumpet), Bobby Scann (trombone), Ryan

Dudder (bass), Nick Stamanis (drums), Cara

Froelich (percussion) and Laura Friedlander

(string reduction).

After both performances, Pastor Smith

thanked the entire cast, narrators and

sound technicians Joe Holden and Steve

Goldstein for their efforts.

Trinity was again filled with the spirit as

Pastor Smith led three Christmas Eve ser-

vices with traditional scripture reading, mu-

sic, Holy Communion, carols and the light-

ing of candles by the entire congregations

to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The

second service at 7 p.m. included the distri-

bution of a special gift to attending boys

and girls.

pants together as one with perfect timing that

warmed the souls of attendees through music and

narration of the story, “What Child Is This? by com-

poser Joel Raney.

The cast of the Chancel Choir included Bob

Beasley, Bill Jacky, Sumi Joachim, Richard and Sally

Jost, Gillian Kabat, Carlos and Kay LeBrilla, Teuila Le-

talu, James Lemmons, Cathy Morgan and Lois Wynn.

Members of the HeartStrings included Lorene

Lorenzen, Cathy, Alex and Sarah Morgan, Beth and

Chris Britt, Karen McIntrye, Autumn Phelps, Helen

Rounds, Erica and Stephen Sauer, Zoe Smith and

Scott and Sarah Watson. Both James Lemmons and

Cathy Morgan sang in both choirs.

Soloists in the various numbers included Autumn

Above, Director Gillian Kabat receives gifts from Pastor

Khalif Smith at the Living Nativity. Below, main cast of

the production.

Stephen and Erica Sauer reprieved their roles as

Mary and Joseph in this year’s play. They were

joined by Abigail Muus-Cooper as the baby Jesus.

THE W ORD

Youth Leader Awarded Scholarship

Trinity Youth leader Maria

Astete was congratulated by

Pastor Khalif Smith and Jo Ann

Magner, Director of Christian

Education, in a worship service

held in late November for re-

ceiving a second college schol-

arship from the General Board

of Higher Education and Minis-

try (GBHEM) from The United

Methodist Church.

Maria received a framed

certificate during the service

noting the $1,000 Ethnic and

Minority scholarship. As the

leadership development

agency of The United Method-

ist Church, the mission of the

GBHEM is preparing global

leaders for a global church and

the world. The Methodist or-

ganization administers over 70

scholarship programs. The

type of scholarship was from

the General Scholarship fund

which nationally awards yearly

scholarships up to $1,000 per

year.

Maria, a single mother of a

young son, applied for the

Methodist church scholarship

by submitting a 500-word es-

say and met the minimum re-

quirement of a 2.5 grade point

average. A senior at UNLV, she

plans on graduating in May

with a Bachelor of Arts degree

in International Business.

It’s been a long experience

for the 2010 Cimarron-

Memorial High School gradu-

ate. Maria, who has been wor-

shipping at Trinity since she

was 12-years-old, credits her

close-knit family as being sup-

portive and the key to her suc-

cess in life.

“It has been challenging

working, going to school full-

time. I have a family who has

helped me so much. I owe eve-

rything to them along with

God,” said Maria about her par-

ents Manuel Astete and

Patricia Letelier, longtime wor-

shippers.

Maria, who has been lead-

ing the church’s Youth pro-

gram for the last three years,

is excited about her future.

She is hopeful in launching a

career in the hotel, airline or

mining industries after gradua-

tion.

“Whatever doors God

opens for me,” she said while

standing in the church’s court-

yard after a December Sunday

worship service.

With the new semester at

UNLV starting in late January,

it promises to be a busy last

semester for Maria. In addi-

tion, to working with church

youth and her college courses,

she also is employed by Bank

of America where she works

up to 30 hours per week.

Maria Astete (center) was presented a certificate for receiving a scholar-

ship from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM)

of The United Methodist Church. The UNLV senior celebrated the occa-

sion with Pastor Khalif Smith (right) and Jo Ann Magner.

VOLUME 16, I SSUE 1

January Birthdays

Wiley Thomas 1/01

Max Michael Hamm 1/02

Arnett Cooper 1/03

Tony Koffi Zotchi 1/04

Deborah Zotchi 1/04

Alan Lewis 1/10

Tom Deley 1/11

Kirstey Thomas 1/11

David Dunn 1/11

Larry Canfield 1/12

Nikki Smith 1/12

Jerry Magner 1/13

Jennifer Bartlett 1/16/2010

Jerry & Linda Mazo 1/19/1989

Tim & Barbara Cegavske 1/26/1980

Jean Schultz 1/14

Fran Ledoux 1/17

Samantha Rounds 1/18

Frances Bower 1/19

Samuel Beach 1/22

Dan Sahagun 1/22

Amber Thacker 1/23

Frank Spencer 1/25

Carol Bumgarner Lewis 1/26

Elaine Bickford 1/29

Stanley Blessley 1/30

Adam Cegavske 1/31

January Anniversaries

The North District of the

Desert Southwest Conference

is sponsoring a Leadership

Training Conference at Green

Valley United Methodist

Church, 2200 Robindale Road,

Henderson, on Saturday,

Jan. 30.

Registration is $14

(includes lunch) when enrolled

by Jan. 20 deadline and $16

after deadline and at the door.

Guest housing is available for

out-of-town registrants, and

childcare will also be provided

(bring a brown-bag lunch with

your child).

Check-in and registration

will be at 8 a.m. followed by

worship and conference until

North District Training Offered

CSN Classes Continue

The College of Southern

Nevada classes on the Trinity

campus finished up on Dec. 17

and will begin with a new se-

ries of classes, including a

brand new cooking class. On

Tuesday, Jan. 26, the CSN

Community Enrichment

Classes will begin a new class

entitled, “Intro to Veganism &

Easy Cooking.” This class will

run for six weeks every Tues-

day in Café Trinity from 2:30

to 4 p.m. This class will end on

Tuesday, March 1.

CSN will again use campus

facilities to host two ESL Eng-

lish as a Second Language

classes. Orientation and test-

ing will be on Trinity campus

from Feb. 2-3 from 9 a.m. to

noon in the Fellowship Hall.

Classes will begin the fol-

lowing week and will run Mon-

day through Wednesday each

week, terminating on Wednes-

day, April 6. The ESL classes

will meet in the Fellowship

Hall, Rooms A & C from 9 a.m.

to noon.

10:05. Two workshops will be

held throughout the afternoon

and wind up about 2:15 p.m.

Speakers from the North

District include Pastor Mark

Maddox of Green Valley UMC

whose topic is “3 Keys to

Church Growth”; Rev. Michael

Bryant of St. Michael’s UMC,

Lake Havasu, Ariz., whose

topic is “Yes, We’re All Called

to Ministry”; Rev. Ann Thomas

of Journey UMC whose topic is

“Virtual Friends and Real Peo-

ple: meetup.com”; and Rev.

Billy Martin of Community

UMC, Williams, Ariz., whose

topic is “Can I Get a Witness.”

Rev. Martin is well-

remembered for his colorful

presentations given at previ-

ous Trinity UMC services.

Other topics will range

from finance, marketing, con-

necting to people from vari-

ous backgrounds to new tech-

nologies.

The on-line registration

form for this training is avail-

able from the North District

office and a flyer with com-

plete registration information,

including session descriptions

and guest speakers, is avail-

able at the North District web-

site at

http://desertsouthwestconfer

ence.org/north-district-events.

Continued… page 16

The WORD Staff

The publication The Word is published monthly by Trinity United Methodist Church for its congregation,

families and neighbors. Submissions are welcome and can be submitted to the church office or electroni-

cally at [email protected] by the 10th

of the month, unless otherwise noted.

Bulletin information should be emailed to [email protected]

Staff members and volunteers:

Rev. Khalif Smith – [email protected]

Dan Sahagun, Editor – [email protected]

Richard French, Staff – [email protected]

Jo Ann Magner, Staff – [email protected]

Ann Copeland, Photographer – [email protected]

Newsletter Deadline Policy

This newsletter is by you and about you, the family of Trinity. If you have an event planned, or if your event

has been held, please share it through The WORD. The publishers and editor produce the newsletter

… but it is your articles we want to produce. We also reserve the right to use all or part of your submissions.

The Conference Board of Laity

and District Superintendents are

requesting that the Trinity congre-

gation commit to praying for other

churches and agencies in the North

District. Several churches will be

listed each month for your prayers.

This list will be published each

month in the church newsletter. It

is important to know churches are

praying with and for each other.

Please pray for the following

pastors, the congregations and

communities.

Needles, CA

Reorganized under

Pastor Eugene Stouffer

Boulder City UMF, Boulder City, NV

Pastor Sandy Lynn Johnson

Hope UMC, Bullhead City, AZ

Rev. Lujet McCullough

Prayers for Our Churches

Read the newsletter on-line at http://www.tumclv.org/

Classes Continue

The next High School

Equivalency class will not be-

gin until April 11. This class

will meet in Room 6 from 9

a.m. to noon, Monday through

Thursday. The HSE class will

terminate on Thursday, June

16.

Trinity is pleased to be

able to offer these classes

through CSN. The ESL and HSE

classes are no charge. If you,

or someone you know are in-

terested in these classes,

please contact CSN at 702-

651-4747 for enrollment infor-

mation.

Trinity Classes

Trinity member Manuel

Astete continues to offer

classes to the congregation

and to the public in ESL and

Beginning Computer on Satur-

days from 9 a.m. to noon.

There is no charge for these

classes and attendees work at

their own pace.

These classes try to meet

throughout the year and will

be held in Room 5 beginning

Saturday, Jan. 9.

Prospective students can

contact the church office at

702-870-4747 for more infor-

mation, or show up on a Satur-

day.

Continued from… page 15



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