May 2008 ” From the Pastor…”
From the Pastor… “Church Growth Part Two: Getting Involved”
The purpose of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. This starts with those of us who are already involved in the life of the church. There is a growing awareness of a fact that the Church thorough the centuries has known: One hour on Sunday is not enough. There is no way that we can meet all our needs to be nurtured, educated, encouraged, and challenged or our needs to help others. The worship hour was never intended to be the sole outlet and context for the creation and maintenance of meaningful and transformative relationships. One hour is insufficient for us to share in the daily struggles and victories that we each have as we strive to live a life that is holy and acceptable to God. If you are serious about growing in the love and knowledge of God and want to become more connected to a family that is loving and supportive… you need to become more involved in more of the things that the church currently offers for this purpose.
Current opportunities for growth-
Sunday School: A place to gather around the word of God with others of similar age and experiences to discover where the Story of God’s redemption and salvation overlaps our own stories. Sunday School is place to make deep connections and cultivate lifelong sustaining relationships. We have a place for every man, women and child to participate in such life giving fellowship. Sunday Mornings 10:00 am.
Lectionary Bible Study: A place to gather around the word of God in a focused and concentrated way to discover as a community how the Scripture Lessons of the coming week speak to us where we are in our lives and how we can apply the word of God to our continuing efforts to become the people that we are all called to be. There is a focus on preparing and sharing to make worship as inspiring and liberating as possible. Deeper understanding of the Bible, authentic and responsible liturgical planning, increased participation, better musical selection and effective preaching are the stated goals of this weekly study that is open to all interested adults. Wednesday Evenings 6:00 pm.
God’s Kids/ Junior UMYF: A place where fellowship, learning, service, worship and fun blend together in a time that helps the Church of the future to be nurtured and strengthened today. Age appropriate programs are offered for all children. This is a place to make friends and make a difference while learning and growing in the love and knowledge of God. Wednesday Evenings 6:00 pm.
Current opportunities for fellowship-
The Quilters: A place to fellowship and share as we struggle to put together the pieces of our lives and in the process discovering that even the scraps and remnants of our experience can come together in beautiful and functional ways. They also work together to make awesome quilts. Tuesdays
The Dinner Group: Once each month we gather at different restaurants to spend time around the table sharing in the things that feed us and make us whole. And someone else does the cooking and washes the dishes. This is a public witness of the love we have for one another and is open to all who desire an evening out and hunger for Christian conversation. Third Thursday Evenings 6:30 pm.
Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church Softball: Sometimes referred to as the “Good News Bears” our own team is currently engaged in an active and challenging season providing an opportunity for players to come together as a team and for the rest of us to come together and cheer for these athletic missionaries to our community. Games TBA
Church Fellowship Suppers: Becoming more frequent these are times for us to come together and share great food and holy play. This month we will be having a cookout in celebration of our graduates and in honor of our mothers and the Christian home. Saturday May 17th at 6:00 pm
Current opportunities of service:
Choir Practice: A place to make a joyful noise to the Lord as we gather and learn to harmonize our diverse and unique voices into a single harmonious witness to the goodness of God. Hard work and practice is mixed with learning and sharing for the purpose of preparing to lead the congregation in worship. This is a lot of fun and all fun loving persons with a song in their heart are invited to join us. Wednesday Evenings 7:00 pm and Sunday Mornings at 10:50 am
Third Verse: A place where people of different ages and musical experience gather to learn different ways to express our faith in musical ministries. Gospel, Bluegrass, Contemporary, Praise, Jazz, Classical, Folk and Old Time favorites played on guitars, drums, mandolins, clarinets, keyboards and kazoos…nothing is safe from our eclectic approach to learning the songs of our hearts as a part of the Song of God. Anyone with a desire to play in a new form of musical worship are welcome. There is a place in our menagerie of musicians for you. Wednesday Evenings 8:00 pm
Neighborhood Watch: A place where concerned citizens gather to find a way to make the Pleasant Grove Community a great place to live. Informative reports and guest speakers help to keep us informed on the needs, concerns and opportunities unique to this community. This is where Local Law Enforcement, Elected Officials, Service Groups and the Church come together to make a difference. Of course there is always great food! Fourth Thursday Evenings 7:00 pm
Visitation Ministries: Taking worship and fellowship beyond the walls of the sanctuary, members of this ministry team work together to bring the Gospel to local Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and the homebound. The need for these services is beyond our current capacity to effectively minister to them. We have an urgent need for dedicated volunteers to participate in, lead and organize this vital ministry. Give us an hour or so of your time each month and together we can make a difference in the lives of many.
Current Opportunities for Worship:
Sunday Morning Worship at Whitesville UMC: Each Sunday morning at 9:00 am Rev. John Mattox and the folks of Whitesville UMC invite you to join them for a simple service and intimate preaching in a beautiful and historical setting. This is a wonderful new option for those times when you just can’t make it to the 11:00 am Service or when you just need a little more inspiration for your day. Sunday Mornings 9:00 am at Whitesville UMC
Sunday Morning Worship: A place where is all comes together. This service is the focal point of our life together. Excellent music, meaningful liturgy, inspiring worship, community and sacramental celebrations, affirming fellowship, songs of faith and praise, sincere prayer, offering of gifts, children’s sermon, readings from Scripture and Biblical and relevant preaching all meet in this authentic expression of the Church’s experience of the grace of God and celebration of God’s love for all. All that we do each week flows into and out of this time of Christian Worship in a Traditional Methodist style. Centered on the themes of Scripture and the Christian Calendar each element of worship is intended to flow into a single expression of our common experience and faith, hope and trust. We confess that the grace and love of God includes all persons and everyone is invited and encouraged to join us. Sunday Mornings 11:00 am
Sunday Evening Worship: At the close of the day and the dawning of a new week we gather to offer praise to God. Driven by spontaneous congregational singing and prayer we come with no agenda except to be drawn closer to God and each other. Often the sermons at this service are more spontaneous and informal than in other settings taking the themes of the day or season to a new and personal level. If you are looking for a place to connect the things of the mind to the workings of the heart and spirit, this might be the answer to prayer. Sunday Evenings 6:30 pm
While this has not been an exhaustive catalogue of opportunities currently available at PGUMC, I hope that you are reminded that we take your spiritual health and development seriously. Each of these ministries offers a different avenue to help you draw nearer to God and each other. But they will not be helpful to you unless you become involved. We invite you to become active in the life and ministry of the church knowing that this is the key for a better church, a better community, a better life and a better you. You might just hold a key ingredient for real church growth within you waiting for a chance to spring forth and shine.
May God continue to find us as faithful servants and stewards of all the persons and blessings trusted to our care.
In Christ,
John