The BELL

Pastor’s Point of View

With the advent of March we know that this record winter is soon over.  Many are finding renewed energy, mood, and hope with this knowledge.  We have just begun the season of Lent.  The celebration of Easter is soon to come!  May our spirits find renewed energy and hope as we journey through this season toward Easter together!

Some times the changes we make to adjust to ice, snow and cold for safety or other reasons that have kept us away from church don’t change back unless we make an intentional decision and take intentional action to start again.  If you are well, the weather is good, and you are around – see you in church!

You are still invited to join us on Sunday evenings 6 p.m. for a light supper, and 6:30 p.m. for the study “24 hours That Changed The World” by Adam Hamilton lead by me and occasionally by other folks.  The sessions focus on 1 - The Last Supper;

2 - The Garden Of Gethsemane;

3 – Condemned By The Righteous;      

4 – Jesus Barabbas, and Pilate;

5 – The Torture and Humiliation of the King;      

6 – The Crucifixion;

7 – Christ The Victor.

Each session is self contained, so if you miss some sessions, it will still be worthwhile to come to what you can.  This series is really good with DVD     segments from the Holy Land sites you would see on a trip! Hope to see you there!

God Bless, Rev Lee Webb

“Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control.”  

— Proverbs 25:28

Missions Meal at Trinity...Making a Real Difference!

Most of us don't think twice about where our next hot meal will come from, but unfortunately people in our city, maybe even our neighborhood, must rely on meal sites at places like Trinity United Methodist Church. The Mission Committee has chosen to continue serving the evening meal on the first   Saturday evening of the odd months.  Our next date to serve is March 6th. Help will be needed for cooking the meal, delivery and serving the food.   Donations of bars or cookies for dessert would be greatly appreciated. We will be preparing the food on the afternoon of March 6th and leave the church around 4:15 p.m. to deliver & serve the meal. We are normally cleaned up and back to the church around 7:00 p.m. Please prayerfully consider this mission opportunity to make a difference in our community. Contact Kathy Hatfield, home phone 244-6426,  office 557-9418

or e-mail genoh@mchsi.com if you would like to participate this month.  

MISSION REPORT:

The Mission Committee has completed the report form for the Conference to be a Rainbow Covenant Third Mile congregation.  This means that we have 1) fulfilled our apportionments obligations, 2) given $12 per member in 7 different color categories of giving, and 3) supported missionaries at least $2/member – our church supports at $3/member.   We had a total reported amount of $9,714 that we gave as a church!!!  What a witness and difference we are  making in the church, community, state, country and our world!   Please continue to support the various projects we have available for you.   At any time, you may give to the mission fund and either designate it for one of our projects specifically, or undesignated mission giving, and the committee will put it toward a needed area.  Thank you!!

LENTEN OFFERING:

The Lenten Offering has been designated to the Mission Committee for one of their projects.  The committee has decided to use the offering funds for Women at the Well ministries.   This worthwhile project is a prison ministry at the Mitchellville Correctional Facility for Women.  The United Methodist Church Conference of Iowa has an appointed pastor that serves the women. These funds help support that congregation.    If you would be   interested in attending worship with the women, they worship on Thursday nights.

Contact Lee or Cathy Webb to get on an approved list to go.  

HAITI RESPONSE:

The response to the needs in Haiti has been  amazing.   Thank you for your generosity.  We have collected over $1200.  The children have put together 31 health kits thus far and have more to assemble.  If you would like to give to the kits or funds, you may still do so.   

FOOD PANTRY:

Thank you for the support of the food wagon!!  We filled it to overflowing the end of January (took 105 items to the Food Pantry), again on Super Bowl     Sunday, and we are ready for the last Sunday of the month again in February.  Thank you to Dick and LaVaughn Bachman for being our current delivery folks, to Greg and Virgil for filling in on occasion, and to Herb and Doris Kingery for this last summer.  These folks are a great help. 

United Methodist Women Update:

United Methodist Women will have a program centered on their annual, special offering, “A Call to Prayer and Self-Denial.”  You are invited to come on Thursday, March 4th at 1 p.m.  This year’s offering will be used to expand, repair and renovate mission institutions, related to Women’s Divisions, that serve women, children, and youth.  We were sent Prayer Cards for our personal devotional times to help us   respond to the “Call to Prayer and Self-Denial”  offering.  A good prayer for all of us to use:

“Gracious God, as we enter into a period of prayer and reflection, give us the clarity to remember your goodness in our lives and the lives of those we love and hold dear.  

Keep before us the fact that we are fortunate, and that you expect us to share your love with others in     whatever way we can.  Guide us on this journey of self-denial.  Show us the path you want us to take.  May our actions be what you desire you’re your     children to do.  This we ask in the name of your son, Jesus the Christ.  Amen.”

This year’s offering will be divided between U.S. and international projects.

District and Conference United Methodist Women plan events that provide opportunities for women to “develop a creative, supportive fellowship, and to expand concepts of mission...” (part of our purpose).  Consider taking advantage of the following events:

Sat., Mar. 20th-Our District “Day Apart Spiritual Growth” event at West Des Moines UMC. Registration is at 9 AM.  Participants please bring a salad to share.

Sat., Mar. 27th at Staves UMC there will be a Racial Justice Seminar, “Welcoming the Stranger,” from 8:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m.  A $6 registration fee includes lunch.

Sat., Apr. 17th is the District Mission Study Day.  We will be using the UMW Mission Study, “The Beauty and Courage of SUDAN-Why a Dream of Peace is Possible.”  The study is from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. with a salad lunch at noon.

Camping and Conservation Club:

It’s almost time for the Camping and Conservation Club monthly meeting! This meeting is also a small event—an old school “show and tell”.  Some of the club’s members are going to share their ideas on what equipment they use and why they use it.  This is open to fishing and fire arms because not everyone likes to fish or hunt.

We would like to get as much participation as possible, so if you would like to share what works best for you, feel free to join us. All are welcome on Tuesday evening, March 2nd, at 7 pm in the David Wright room downstairs. Come check it out and bring your favorite hunting/fishing gadget!

Also, recently the Camping and Conservation Club got some exciting news. We have been interviewed by  the United Methodist Communications for a website article. They interviewed Jim Kerner, Rev. Webb and Ron McClelland to get different points of view from some of the other people in the Club.

Susan Passi-Klaus will let us know when the article will appear on the United Methodist website.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the Conservation Club the success that it is.

Volunteer in Mission Team Leader Training

Sunday, March 14th Sibley UMC from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Are you called to lead a mission team? Do you want to learn more?

Iowa Conference Volunteers in Mission is ready to assist you. Learn the ins and outs of leading a team for service in Iowa, in the United States or anywhere in the world.  You are invited to join new and experienced team leaders for a time of education,    fellowship and spiritual growth.

Cost of the training is free. There is a manual available for $20, one per church would be sufficient. There will be a light meal served for a free will offering.

Please reserve a spot by emailing Kathy Martin at kmartin@morningside.edu by March 8th.

3 Month Update From Office:

First, I would like to sincerely thank those of you who have been so supportive and served as such a great resource to me while I settled in.  

Second, the first three months have been incredibly busy with a variety of activities.  Some of what I’ve accomplished so far are:

Establishing a weekly email update

Redesign of the monthly Bell newsletter

Brought the address labels up to date, which lowered our cost of mailing (and returned pieces)

Shortened the weekly bulletins (still in progress)

Built and maintained a “master calendar”

Spent time cleaning and reorganizing the office

Established tracking procedures for such things as flower orders, office supplies, and petty cash

Established a Facebook for Union Park UMC.

None of this is to “toot my horn” because I am here merely as a resource to all of you in the church family that work so hard around the church.  A large part of accomplishing what I have has to do with great input and communication from you.  I just feel that it’s important that you know what I spend my time in the office working on.  There are many more projects to be tackled and some to be improved upon, so I definitely have my work cut out for me.  However, I couldn’t be happier here at Union Park and am finding the people here are awesome, caring, and hard-working—all for the glory of God!  

WOMEN OF FAITH CONFERENCE:

March 12th & 13th

The conference theme is “Over the Top”. Speakers and performers are Marilyn Meberg, Patsy Clairmont, Lisa Whelchel, Sandy Patty, Mandisa, Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman and Nicole Johnson. 

The conference runs from 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and 7:00-10:30 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Group tickets for 1-10 are $99.00 or $89.00 for over 10 (cost includes box lunch). The conference will be held at Vets Auditorium. 

Register at http//www.womenoffaith.com/desmoines 

One Great Hour of Sharing—Special Offering March 14th

One Great Hour of Sharing is one of the six church-wide Special Sundays with offerings of the United Methodist Church. The special offering is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent. One Great Hour of  Sharing enables the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to live out its mission to alleviate human suffering.  UMCOR responds to natural or   human made disasters - those interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community's ability to recover on its own.

UMCOR is the humanitarian arm of The United Methodist Church. OGHS gifts underwrite UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” That means every penny of every gift you make to a specific   UMCOR project will be spent on that project—not on home office administrative costs.

Offering gifts over and above those used to cover   administrative costs are channeled where they’re most needed. UMCOR’s specialized ministries—responding in disaster, fighting hunger, alleviating poverty, providing relief supplies around the world, and offering hospitality to immigrants and refugees—assist the most vulnerable people whose need is   greatest.

UMCOR receives no World Service funds or any other apportionments. Your gifts mean we’re right there with hardworking families, people affected by storms or war, disaster or disease. Self-sufficiency is the goal.

Through OGHS, we share the goodness of life with those who hurt:

On the Gulf Coast of the United States, where Hurricane Katrina and other storms devastated families from Florida to Texas;

In Sudan, where hardworking families persist despite war and displacement;

In Sierra Leone, where we’re fighting the spread of malaria.

One Great Hour of Sharing makes all of the other United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) programs possible. 

Lent: A Time for Renewal and Restoration

Excerpts-The Center Point, Mar. 2010

Lent is usually a time of spiritual reflection, a time to focus upon our relationship with God, and to walk with Jesus in preparation for Easter. Within our   secularized society, this often hard to do, especially a society that idolizes “busy-ness”. It seems that the more busy we are, the more important we are. What we have forgotten in our ‘busy-ness’ is God’s       instruction to observe the rhythm of Sabbath rest.

“The practice of Sabbath is designed specifically to restore us, a gift of time in which we allow the cares and concerns of our work to fall away.” 

(W. Muller, Sabbath:  Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest)

Practicing Sabbath doesn’t mean surrendering to a list of “can’ts” or restrictive activities. Sabbath is meant to create time and space for rest, relaxation, prayer, song, and fellowship. We need time from our work to restore our souls, relationships, and minds so that we feel a renewal of mental clarity and a restoration of physical energy that allows us to continue our work effectively and joyfully.

Sabbath practices are often connected with Jewish traditions. In reality, you can develop your own     activities of Sabbath. The essential element is that this time is set apart for renewal and relaxation.

Intentionality is a key component. Sabbath doesn’t have to be a whole day; it could be a specific meal or just a section of the day. What is important is that the Sabbath activity allows you time to slow down, gives you space from the ‘busy activities’ and permission to connect with your inner self, significant people, and God. Think of Sabbath as “pampering your soul”

“Get away with me and you’ll recover your life”

(Matt. 11:29 The Message)

This Lent, I invite you to explore how you may create Sabbath time for yourself or your family. Give yourself permission to “waste” some time with God.

Kae Tritle, RN; Wellness Coordinator

Mark Your Calendars and Clean Out Your Closets...

The All Church Rummage Sale will be held April 8th, 9th, and 10th with set-up running April 5th-7th.  Donations are being accepted at the church right now.  To volunteer to help with the event, watch for sign up sheets in the Fellowship Hall.  Look for more information in next month’s Bell!

Over 80 people enjoyed the music of the Ballyhoo Foxtrot Orchestra on Feb. 14th (Valentine’s Day)!   Great music, enjoyable company-all around good time! 

In a thank you note from John Benoit, he says, “Thank you for inviting the BFO to be part of your concert 

series.  The Union Park UMC concert series is a wonderful benefit that is being provided to the church and to the community.  It has been our pleasure to be part of that series for a second time now.  Hopefully, the series will be able to continue for many years in the future.”

Lectionary Readings

March 7th-3rd Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 55:1-9 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Psalm 63:1-8 Luke 13:1-9

March 14th-4th Sunday in Lent

Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Psalm 32 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

March 21st-5th Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8

March 28th-Passion/Palm Sunday

Palms Lit.: Luke 19:28-40 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Passion Lit: Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16

Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 22:14-23 or Luke 23:1-49

Need help shedding those extra pounds?

It’s not too late to join UPUMC’s Weight Loss Support Group.   

Meetings are held Tuesdays at 7:00 pm.  Get support on your  weight loss goals!  Share tips, recipes, etc.  If you have questions, please see Melissa Nelson or Cathy Webb.

Worship Volunteers Needed!!!

Do you feel like God is calling you to participate in the worship service at Union Park UMC? Liturgists, greeters, and ushers are needed! Please contact Tom Williams at 201-9527 to sign up for March helpers.  Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board that you may also use to sign up for volunteer spots.  

Many thanks!

Thank you for your visits, cards, phone calls, prayers and other kindness I received during my lengthy   hospital stays.  I also appreciated the calls you made Pastor Lee and in addition, I want to thank the   Methodist Women for their gift to Missions made in my honor.  Lu Verne Zoss

I am so very blessed to belong to this church family. I truly appreciated your incredible kindness with all the prayers, cards, calls, emails, flowers, food, and visits from so many. Pastor Lee's visits and calls always brought cheer, and the gift to Missions in my honor from UMW lifted my spirits. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and your friendship. 

With gratitude, Nita Brower

We would like to thank Pastor Webb for the beautiful baptism ceremony performed for our daughter, Reagan on February 21st. We would also like to thank the congregation for welcoming our family and friends with   homemade cookies.  It was very thoughtful and much appreciated.  We are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful church community.  God bless, Andy, Rochelle and Reagan Wallace

March Birthdays

3/1 Barbara Brekke

3/2 Pulani Cumpston

Lisa Ruth

Mahina Cumpston

3/3 Alex Curtis

3/4 Molly Potts

3/5 Marge Sparks

Steve Wallace

3/6 Edna Johnson

3/7 Alexis Handel

3/9 Aletha Dykstra

Bev Eyerly

Ron McClelland

Lyman Michael

Brandon Lass

3/10 Patrick Scott

3/15 Richard Cameron

3/17 Karen Packard

Joanne Devin

Hollie Coon

3/18 Kenneth Brower

3/20 Harlan Christensen

3/21 Donald Hess

3/26 LaVaughn Bachman

Steven Hess

3/27 Dale Colorado

Ben Potts

3/28 Jonathan Michael-Trejo

CHURCH HUMOR:

A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.  Finally she spoke up, “Grandpa, did God make you?” “Yes, sweetheart” he answered, “God made me a long time ago.” “Oh,” she paused, “Grandpa, did God make me too?” “Yes, indeed, honey,” he said, “God made you just a little while ago.” Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, “God's getting better at it, isn't he?”