April 2016 - Harper Chapel UMC

APRIL 2016
LETTER FROM THE PASTOR
Bonfires, Sunrise Services, too many pancakes and sausages (translate I ate too much
again), wonderful music in both services, Easter lilies, large crowds in attendance (325
total), lots of extra help from the United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women, laughter, fun and celebration. All of this comes together to make Easter a Special Day. But, with
all the extra activities we must always remember Easter is not all the things mentioned
above, or any of the other things we do on this special day. Easter is about what God has
done for each and every one of us. It is because of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness that
we can celebrate. And, celebrate we did. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Thanks be to
God!!
This next week we will be finishing up our Spiritual Gifts classes. The plans are to offer
additional classes this summer so that if you were not able to attend these sessions you
will have a chance later on. It is important that we discover who God has created us to be,
what gifts we have been given and how we can best use those gifts to make disciples of
Jesus for the transformation of the world.
One of the things that have developed over the past several weeks is the recognition that
the mantra for the Praise service has become “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). So, to remind us of this
and keep this in front of us, we will be changing our countdown start time starting Sunday,
April 3 to 10:27. (No, this is not a typo!)
Sunday afternoon, April 3rd we will be starting our confirmation classes with several of our
young people. Please keep them in prayer as we explore faith and grow together.
Our worship for the next few weeks will be focusing on the Road to Amazing: Basics of
Christian Practice. We will start with a look at Baptism and then move to discover “Who
Was Jesus?” and then seek to understand Christian Hope.
The church Administrative Council has formed three sub-committees to revisit our mission
statement and develop a logo for the church so that we send a consistent message in everything we do, plan for the church’s 150 anniversary (2018), and plan for a capital campaign
to help us reduce the debt on the building which will free up funds for ministries like Youth,
Missions, Outreach and new things we have not thought of yet. If you would like to be part of
these efforts let me know.
Looking forward we have the Miss Fitz sale coming up. The team has started planning for a
great day of missions and service to and for others. Having not seen this activity before, I
don’t know exactly what to expect, but I know this…we will need lots of helpers. Currently, I
know we need department managers for each of the areas including: Man cave, furniture,
jewelry, shoes, books, Christmas, crafts, lawn and garden, house wares, cashiers, greeters,
and setup and tear down. In some of these areas we have some help, but there is always
room for and a need for more. If you can help, give me a call at 573-348-2617.
The Harper Chapel Ignite
Youth would like to thank
everyone who attended and
donated to the Wednesday
Lenten suppers.
They raised $1600.00 from
the suppers, which will be used
toward their summer mission
trip and other youth activities.
The youth would like to give a
special thank you to the United
Methodist Women for providing desserts each week for the
meals! They will be donating
10% of the proceeds raised to
the United Methodist
Women’s group.
Yes, we are busy and will continue to be. But remember we do all this because of what God
has done for us on Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Rev. Jim Day, Pastor
5567 Osage Beach Pkwy., Osage Beach, MO 65065
Pastor Jim
Phone: 573.348.2617
Fax: 573.348.1885
www.harperumc.org
office@harperchapel.org
*A memorial donation was made to the Harper Chapel Stephen Ministry Fund in memory of
Walt Malcolm from Patricia Wilcox.
*A memorial donation was made to the Harper Chapel Stephen Ministry Fund in memory of
Walt Malcolm from Elgin Rees.
*A memorial donation was made to the Harper Chapel Stephen Ministry Fund in memory of
Walt Malcolm from R.M. Howerton.
Harper Chapel
Welcomes New
Members
We are excited to welcome 16
new members to the Harper
Chapel church family:
Julia Clark
Carol Day
Steve & Linda Hofstetter
Ivan & Carol Rapp
Buck, Dawn, Miranda & Mason Swarts
Travis, Christine, Sydney & Jack Troyer
Harold & Carol Wheeler
Welcome to all who joined the
church on March 20th!
Our Custodian, Bob Berning, has
announced his retirement! His last
day at Harper Chapel will be April
22nd. Bob has done a great job of
keeping the church clean and will be
missed! Please stop by the church
in April and thank Bob for a job well
done. We wish him a very happy
retirement and appreciate all he has
done for the church during his time
of employment.
Please submit your information for the
May newsletter to the church office by
April 25th.
Thank you! Your
promptness is
greatly appreciated!
The Connections Team is
working on updating
addresses, phone numbers
(both cell and land lines)
and email addresses in the
church data base.
Jeanne
If any of your information
has changed, or you are not
sure if the church has your
contact information, please
contact the church office.
HOPE HOUSE REPORT
FEB. 2016
Clients
Also, if you are not receiving
the church wide email blasts
and would like to be included in those, please let the
church office know. Thank
you for helping everyone at
Harper Chapel to stay
connected!
New Clients
Returning Clients
Total
Financial
Gasoline
Utilities
Health Care
Total
Clothing
Food Pantry
Adults
Children
Total
Carts
21
308
329
2
5
1
8
31
541
262
803
326
Harper Chapel is in need of empty cereal boxes for
Vacation Bible School! If you can help, please drop
them off at the church office.
READER’S
CIRCLE
PLEASE JOIN
US ON
APRIL 28TH,
1:30 P.M.
AT
LAKESIDE
MEADOWS!
Attn: Church Ladies
All ladies of Harper Chapel are invited to attend our monthly
meeting, Thursday, April 14th at 10:30AM in Thompson Hall. (We
meet the second Thursday of each month.) The Program will be on
Spiritual Growth. Lunch will follow at noon.
Any woman may become a member of Harper Chapel UMW by pledging
to share with it her prayers, her services, and her talents.
If you're new to Harper Chapel and would like to attend, please
RSVP to Jane Myers at 573-348-5334.
Centerpiece or Peace of the Center?
Many of us have worshiped together through Lent which culminated in our Passion Week activities and
finally Easter. Pastor Day led us to remember the roots of our religious beliefs and many of the people who
were the spiritual leaders that brought a factionalized group of believers in this one nameless God of Israel
into the focus of Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago. We recounted Bible stories and their characters and
carried away fresh thoughts to guide us in our Lenten pilgrimage of spiritual renewal.
As we used palm branches on Palm Sunday to begin our Holy week we reflected on the “red carpet treatment
“Jesus received on his final entry into Jerusalem. Did you feel like you were part of that hope-filled and
joyous crowd?! As we moved through Passion week and remembered the arrest and trial and death by capital
punishment for Jesus we recalled a different crowd. Were they the same people with a changed demeanor or
were they a different group of people? Did you feel yourself in that crowd outside the court house or along
the road leading to the hill of the crosses?
It seems that our contemporary focus is on the Passion of Jesus and the details surrounding his death. The
graphic nature of modern cinematology and its technical production has certainly played to our curiosity in
such a torturous means of death. It is uncommon for us but it was common for the time. In the four decades
following Jesus there were tens of thousands of such deaths among the Jews in that area – many of whom
were followers of Jesus teachings. How many of them can you name? How many made it into the writings of
the New Testament?
The point is that we have the wrong centerpiece if we are focused on death on a cross. Jesus did not get
remembered and talked about and written about and believed in because he died a commoners’ death of
capital punishment. He is remembered because God chose to complete his message by defeating the very
death that was enforced on Jesus by the legal system in place at the time. God did not allow His message
from His Messenger to die and it took a miraculous act to make such a common death uncommon.
It is the resurrection, not the cross which is the centerpiece of our Christian message. It is not as easy to
depict as a death on the cross – even the unbeliever can do that well. But to know the resurrection takes
belief. And God’s Grace acting on that belief makes for the gift of Faith. If we want peace at our center it will
come from the resurrection being our centerpiece – in our worship and in the way we live our lives; loving
God and loving our neighbor.
A graduate of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY said it very well. No, not our own Rev. Jim Day, but one
who many of us know as the author of the Cotton Patch version of the Gospels and Paul’s Epistles. Let us
grow in our understanding of the Good News as we reflect on Resurrection Sunday with a quote from
Clarence Jordan.
The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the
empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples.
The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave,
but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but
a carried-away church.
How can we honor God with our fresh understanding of the Easter
event as we engage in our study and practice of our discipleship of
Jesus Christ.
Jim Killam
Lay Leader
AFTER EASTER…...
Thank you to everyone who purchased a Lily to help
beautify the church for Easter!
We appreciate each of you and hope that you enjoy
your Lily for the rest of the spring season.
In Honor Of
*In honor of our Grandchildren from Dave & Cindy Logsdon.
In Honor Of…
*In honor of our parents from Mike & Diane Williams.
*In honor of Lyla Grey Richard from the Richey Family.
In Lieu Of…
*In honor of my Miraculous Mom, Hazel C. Croy, from Carol L. Croy.
In Loving Memory...
In Lieu Of
*In lieu of a Lily, a donation was made to the General Fund in loving
memory of Jim Depew from Eleanor Depew & Family.
In Loving Memory
*In loving memory of Neil Williams from Joan Williams.
*In loving memory of Ned Day from Rev. James & Mrs. Day.
*In loving memory of Mr. & Mrs. Chester Cook from Rev. James & Mrs. Day.
*In loving memory of loving parents Stanley & Virginia Graeser from Mike, Carol & Hayden Patrick.
*In loving memory of Francis Patrick from Mike, Carol & Hayden Patrick.
*In loving memory of Arline O’Connor from Dave O’Connor.
*In loving memory of our parents & sister Carolyn from Bill & Barbara Osborn.
*In loving memory of Betty Pease and Bill Buckler from Bob & Judy Pease.
*In loving memory of our son Paul and brothers Paul and Bill Dexter and Bob Pasley from Jim & Pat Dexter.
*In loving memory of Cleve and Maxine Brown from Tom & Vickie Walker.
*In loving memory of Eugene and Catherine Walker from Tom & Vickie Walker.
*In loving memory of Jim, Liz, and John Kahrs and Ray Miller from Jody, Pete & Steve.
*In loving memory of Martha Harvey from Harold Harvey.
*In loving memory of Dean and Phillip Anderson from Louise Anderson.
*In loving memory of our parents and sisters from Steve & Linda Hofstetter.
*In loving memory of Wilbur and Betty Donnell and A.K. and Eilene Golden from Don & Chris Golden.
*In loving memory of Leiton Goswick Carr from Gary & Marilyn Goswick.
*In loving memory of James G. Clark II from Julia Clark.
*In loving memory of Gray Richey from the Richey Family.
*In loving memory of my Daddy, Vernon D. Croy, from Carol L. Croy.
Saturday,
April 30th
Save the date! Stay tuned for more
information as plans develop!
Attention Gardeners
Don't forget. We will have a community
garden workday beginning at 9 am on
Saturday, April 9th. Please plan to be
there. Lunch will be provided.
Hope to see you all there.
Diane & Mike Williams
Miss Fitz Sale
Saturday,
June 11th
Please join us for the
next meeting of United
Methodist Men!
Thursday, April 28th
6:00 p.m. in
We will begin accepting donations for
the Miss Fitz sale on April 1st!
Donations and volunteers are needed
for the sale, which will be held on
June 11th.
Thompson Hall
*All men are invited to
attend!
Stay tuned for more information as it
develops. Donations may be dropped
off in the Miss Fitz room in the church
basement.
Tickets go on sale April 3rd!
PRAYER LIST
SHARING CONCERNS, JOYS AND WITNESSES
Please call the Church Office to add or delete a name from the list.
If a name has been rotated off the list and you want it back on, please call.
Sally Everhart
Pam Heil
Mary Lu Johnson
Jerry Thompson
Fern McGrew
Wilma Penfield
Milt Pueschel
April bIRTHDAYS
Shawn Pederson (son of Dolphin & Karen Pederson)
Brad (brother-in-law of Ruth Fowler)
1st
Terri Francis
2nd
Karen Christensen
5th
Pat Beffa
5th
Elaine Blackwell
Paul Samuelson (brother-in-law of William & Nancy Culver)
10th
Sarah Hockley
Janie Parker (daughter of Marilyn & Gary Goswick)
13th
Joan Dietz
Makenzie Moriarty (granddaughter of Richard & Bev Elefson)
16th
Deanna Pottinger
20th
Brandon Everhart
23rd
Todd Pasley
28th
Spencer Duncan
Bob Myers (son of Jane Myers)
28th
Joan Williams
Nancy Pope (friend of Marcie Crandall)
28th
Sydney Woods
Martha Woods (friend of Marcie Crandall)
29th
Paul Prater
29th
Betty Prater
29th
Judy Smits
29th
Bonnie Carlson
29th
Karen Frazier
30th
Corie McKibben
Jeanine Dirks (daughter of Louise Anderson)
William Ray Price (son of Jean Price)
Janice Reynolds
Billie Sandifer (friend of Bev Elefson)
Karen Kersten (cousin of William & Nancy Culver)
Dolores Keck (sister-in-law of Wilma Penfield)
Kylie Becker
Rick Myers (son of Jane Myers)
Members and friends facing hard times because of economic situation
Bahula UMC, Mozambique (our sister church)
All Men and Women serving our country
Local families in need of food, employment & financial assistance
Members and friends residing in Nursing Homes:
Donna McClaughry, Lakeside Meadows
Jackie Ufheil, Lakeside Meadows
Irene Schulte, Jefferson City Nursing & Rehab Center
Ruby Short, Ozark Rehabilitation and Health Center
Phyllis Hovendick, Lakeside Meadows
Margaret Berry, Lakeside Meadows
Ruth Craig, Lakeside Meadows
Elaine Blackwell, Lakeside Meadows
Fern McGrew, Lakeside Meadows
Milt Pueschel, Lakeside Meadows
Reasons for prayer requests are omitted to protect individual’s privacy. If you would
like the reason for the prayer request published, please email the church office at
office@harperchapel.org.