March 2015 - Lindenwald United Methodist Church

March 2015
Winds of the Spirit
Lindenwald UMC . . . a Stephen Ministry Church
Our Mission Statement: The LUMC exists to make disciples!
Greetings to All of You!
March is finally here and the weather has been
challenging with extra snow and ice as well as very
cold temperatures. We will soon experience a time
change as we “spring” forward and go back on
daylight savings time. I certainly look forward to
longer days of light and sunshine. For we know that
Spring is just around the corner!
During the month of March, we continue our Lenten
sermon series from our denomination’s “Rethink
Church” worship resources. We are
on a Journey to Hope and our final
destination is Easter Sunday and
the hope all Christians experience
because of Christ’s Resurrection.
Of course, during the Lenten season,
Christians take time to prepare,
reflect, pray, learn and grow as we
joyfully anticipate the Resurrection
on Easter Sunday. Our Lenten
sermon series will find us traveling
with Jesus to the cross and we will discover the hope
that can be found in the midst of life’s most difficult
circumstances. No matter what life may bring, we
travelers on this journey will discover how faith in
Christ is relevant to everyday life and how being a
part of a church family can make all the difference in
the world because we’re traveling together!
Final preparations have been made and so now I am
able to share with you the following life-changing Holy
Week Schedule and Special Worship Services:
Palm Sunday, March 29—We will have palms together
at both Sunday worship services as we prepare our
hearts and minds for the passion of Christ during Holy
Week. Our Sanctuary Choir will sing at 9:30am and our
Praise Band will lead us at our 11:40am service. Sermon
Title: “Journey to Hope: Suffering” Mark 11:1-10
Maundy Thursday, April 2—7:00pm in our Sanctuary,
our Sanctuary Choir will sing and we will remember
“The Last Supper” that Jesus shared with his disciples on
the night he was betrayed. We will also share together in
Holy Communion.
Good Friday, April 3—”The
Way of the Cross” noon, downtown Hamilton Ohio—We will
join other area churches in
walking the path that Christ
took on his way to the Cross.
At each station a brief liturgy
will be read and a short prayer
lifted up. We will begin at the
old courthouse across from the
former Elder-Beerman stores
which will be the first station
and then walk across the street to the Presbyterian
Church and then on to other churches in downtown
Hamilton. Lindenwald UMC will be assigned a station
along the way where Pastor Val will share some devotional words. All are invited.
Ecumenical Good Friday Service, April 3—7:00pm
at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 4601 Fairfield
Avenue, Fairfield, Ohio 45014, phone 513.844.1818,
“A Service of Tenebrae.” We will tell the story of Christ’s
passion and we will move from light to darkness remembering Jesus’ suffering and death. At the end of the
service we will remove everything from the altar symbolizing the crucifixion of our Savior. All are invited.
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Easter Sunday, April 5—Easter Sunrise Service, 7:00am at the River’s Edge Amphitheater on the Great Miami River in Hamilton, hosted by area churches of Hamilton. We will
welcome the sunrise and celebrate together Christ’s Resurrection. Don’t forget to bring
your lawn chairs! All are invited.
Easter Sunday, April 5—Lindenwald UMC Sanctuary, 9:30am, traditional service with our Adult Sanctuary Choir
singing their anthem. Holy Communion will be celebrated.
Easter Sunday, April 5—Lindenwald UMC Fellowship Hall, 11:40am, contemporary service with our Praise
Band. Holy Communion will be celebrated.
Please join us for this amazing Lenten Sermon Series and, of course, for our life-changing Holy Week activities and
services.
See you in Church!
Caring Cards For Our Homebound
To meet the needs of our homebound church
members and friends, we are starting a card
ministry to remember them.
During their birth month, cards will be provided
in the Welcome Center and Fellowship Hall.
Please stop, read the list, pick up a card and
sign your name, with a note if you wish. We will
address and mail the cards monthly. In this way
our homebound family and friends will still feel
a part of our church family.
Please contact the church office [513.863.8822]
if someone needs to be added to the list. Thank
you for taking part in this outreach ministry.
Here are the March birthdays:
Mickey Bramble – March 13
Don Gray – March 27
Wendell Gibson – March 29
Verill Marchant – March 29
NOISY
sUNDAY
The next Noisy Sunday is on March 29, 2015.
Our Noisy Sunday Offering of loose change
as well as paper money will go toward our
“Brother’s Keeper Fund” which assists church
members and friends with emergency needs.
So, let’s make some noise!
The beautiful spring came; and
when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to
revive also.
—Harriet Ann Jacobs
Save Those Empty Pill Bottles
The Outreach Team continues collecting pill bottles (both prescription and
over-the-counter) for Matthew 25
Ministries. This is a ministry that
helps in all parts of the world and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Matthew 25 Ministries collects used pill
bottles in order to shred and then sell to companies
that recycle. The ministry uses this money then to
support their outreach. There will be a containers in
the Welcome Center and Fellowship Hall in which you
can place your empty pill bottles. The labels do not
need to be taken off as they are shredded also. If you
prefer, you can take a marker and mark through the
name on the label.
United Methodist Women
March Meetings
Friendly Circle
March 4 ~ 11:15am
LaRosa’s Restaurant
Genesis Circle
March 10 ~ 6:30pm
La Pinata Restaurant
Mizpah Circle
March 12 ~ 1:00pm
Room 204
Streaming Video
Yep! We’ve got it!
Well, folks, you heard correctly . . . we now have
the ability to live stream our worship services.
Don’t forget our Lindenwald Food Pantry. Watch for
the following items when you’re out shopping . . .
•
12 oz. cans of tuna
•
Canned chicken breast; Spam
•
Spaghetti and Spaghetti sauce
•
Regular size can of vegetables
•
Regular size can of fruit
•
Pancake mix and Pancake syrup
•
Macaroni and Cheese
•
Beans
•
Peanut Butter and Jelly
One Great Hour
of Sharing
Watch for offering
envelopes in the
March 15th bulletin!
Visit our church website
www.lindenwaldumc.org
click on the “Live Streaming”
picture, and check it out!
Adult Sunday School News!
Emerging Bible Study
The Emerging Bible Study Class, led by Jim
Mullaney, is completing the study of the Book
of Job (that began last July) this month. Their
next study begins in April with the New Testament Book Matthew. They will step aside
from their Matthew study for a short time
in May to join with the other adult classes
for an in depth study of the Prodigal Son. The
Emerging Bible Study class welcomes all participants whether well versed or have never
picked up a Bible. They invite you to join them
for some exciting exploration and discussion
around God’s Word.
BARNABUS CARDS
Immersion Welcome Pastor Dawn
These cards are just waiting to be picked up
and sent out to encourage someone you know!
Just fill in your message, the person’s name and
address and return to the church office. We’ll
take care of the postage and getting them in the
mail. Look for them in the Sanctuary, Welcome
Center and the tables in Fellowship Hall!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015, Immersion Service, 7:00pm
in our Sanctuary — We welcome Pastor Dawn Trapp
who will be preaching. Please join us and greet Pastor
Dawn who used to be on staff here at our Lindenwald
Church as our Children’s Director. She received a call
into the ministry and she is currently the pastor at
Elizabethtown UMC.
From the desk of LUMC Teen Director Tony Brown
Teen Guard went to the Winter Jam Concert at US Bank Arena on February 20. Nine
teens attended and it is always a joy to see the looks on the faces of youth that are
experiencing something for the first time. Our teens are so well behaved and reflect
the light of Jesus through their actions.
Teen Guard will have an overnight lock-in on March 27. This will kick-off their Spring break. They are going
skating and bowling and then will spend 8 hours in the church doing various activities. They will watch the
movie “God’s Not Dead”, They will play an intense game of the Bible version of Apples to Apples, They will have a
few activities in learning about acceptance, judging others, and esteem of self in God. I look forward to spending
the evening and morning with our teens.
The teens continue to work at being disciples of Jesus. They are getting stronger every week and I can see it as
they share about their lives and where they see Jesus.
Prayer Drive Thru
Free Community Meal
What’s a Prayer Drive Thru, you ask? Well, it’s
Feeding the Body & Soul Community Meal offers a
kinda like a regular drive thru, except in place of
free meal to those who may be hungry and have
the soft drinks and snack items, we offer prayer.
no food. This meal is free and open to the public
We open our parking lot to our community for
and will be served on the third Saturday of each
drive thru prayer. As you're driving home on that
month from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. Our food pantry
evening, stop in and our prayer team will listen to
is also open during those same hours and bags of
your request and pray with you. Volunteers are
groceries are given to those in attendance. If
always needed; call Pastor Val (863-8822) if you’d
transportation is an issue and you live within the
like to help. The next Prayer Drive Thru will be on
limits of Butler County, Ohio, we will arrange to
Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 4:30 to 5:30pm in
have our church van pick you up and take you
the front parking lot of our Lindenwald Church.
home.
Wow! I can’t believe that our 8th year of Summer Shine
day, July 22nd. He will talk about how God protected
will begin in 5 short months. Yes, I said Summer
the Native American’s land, just like how God protected
Shine!! Summer Shine will be here before we know it.
Moses and his battle against the Amalekites.
We will have kids pounding on our church doors wanting to learn and grow closer to our Lord and Savior.
Summer Shine will be just one week this year starting
on July 20th through 24th from Noon to 3pm. We are
offering the lunch and sports program as we have in
The children will have fun as well in playing baseball,
basketball, soccer, kick ball and water games. They
will also create fun crafts and practice singing fun
songs!
the past. Last year we had a total of 230 kids from
This year Summer Shine children will put on a program
Kindergarten – 6th grade who participated and fed 330
on Wednesday, July 29th. The play will be about “From
children from Kindergarten – 12th grade. We had 20
the Creation to the birth of Baby Jesus”. So please mark
youth helping each day.
your calendar for
Wednesday, July 29th.
This year’s theme is The Many
We will serve dinner at
“Wonders” of God. Each day the
6pm and the children will
kids will take a journey and learn
perform at 7pm at the
more about God the CREATOR,
Immersion service.
God the PROVIDER, God the
PROTECTOR, God our SAVIOR
and God our KING.
If you would like volunlisa_gebhart@lindenwaldumc.org teer with Summer Shine
On Monday the children will learn that God is our
CREATOR. They will learn how God created people
to be holy and how he let Adam and Eve choose to be
Holy or to sin. On Tuesday the children will learn about
how God is our PROVIDER. This lesson will be about
Abraham and how God provided for Abraham and his
wife Sarah. On Wednesday the lesson will be God is
our PROTECTOR, about how God protected Moses and
his battle against the Amalekites. On Thursday the
lesson will be about how God is our SAVIOR! Yes, we
will have Christmas in July. The kids will pack their
2015 and have a great
opportunity to show a child in our community that God
loves them, please let me know. Please let me know if
you would like to volunteer as a Bible Teacher either
on Monday-Friday, help in the craft area from MondayFriday, help with sports from Monday-Friday, help as a
Group leader Monday-Friday and help in the Kitchen
from Monday-Friday. The possibilities are endless
when volunteering with our children in our church
family and in our community. Come on out and laugh
with a child of God!
bags and fly to Jerusalem and will travel by donkey to
We will have the Bible Team meeting Thursday, June
a little town of Bethlehem. On Friday the children will
11th at 7pm in room 209 and Kitchen Team Meeting
learn how God is our KING by learning more about the
will be on Thursday, June 18th at 7pm in room 209.
Armor of God. As you can see we have a fun packed
Our Teen Youth Party will be hold on Thursday, July
adventure waiting for our children in our church family
16th will be in the Fellowship hall.
and in the community.
Our special guest this year will be Pastor Fred Shaw.
Pastor Shaw will make his appearance on that Wednes-
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even
when they are old they will not turn from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6 NIV)
WE HAVE GOOD EGGS
AROUND HERE!
Our Lindenwald Church celebrates with much handclapping applause all of the faithful and hard-working
people who continually give of themselves in doing
God’s Kingdom work. Usually, their
efforts are behind-the-scenes and we
do not always realize their faithful
We also appreciate their almost monthly shopping
trips to the grocery store to purchase any additional
items we may need in preparation
for the bags of groceries we give
out at every Community Meal.
ministry efforts. We do have good
eggs around here though. Let’s mention a few of them:
 Greg Albright—for painting
Room 204 and Room 209; for moving furniture into Room 204 and
 Linda Teague—for painting
Room 209 and the new Music Re-
Room 209, the new Music Re-
source Room; for steam-cleaning
source Room, the Women’s re-
the carpet in our new Music Re-
stroom outside the sanctuary, for
source Room.
even painting the handrails on the
interior steps leading up to the
sanctuary, washing down class-
 Matt Hoffman—Chair of our
room doors, ordering new carpet
Trus tees who has kept our boil-
for the Church Office, Chapel and
ers running smoothly and efficient-
new area rugs for Room 204 and
ly all throughout this winter heat-
Room 209.
ing season.
We’ll mention other “Good Eggs” in
 Ray Kissinger—for shoveling snow here at our
the weeks ahead as well.
Lindenwald Church in February and March in order to keep all of the sidewalks clear and the outside doorways clear as well as salting the same
sidewalks and doorways.
 Phyllis Scales, Joyce Magly—for putting away on
a weekly basis in our non-perishable Food Pantry
all of our donated canned goods and boxed goods.
“Unselfish and noble actions are the most
radiant pages in the biography of souls.”
– David Thomas
Lindenwald United Methodist
3501 Pleasant Avenue
Hamilton, Ohio 45015
Return Service Requested
Contact Information
Phone: 513-863-8822
Email: lumc@lindenwaldumc.org
Website: www.lindenwaldumc.org
We’re on Facebook!
LUMC Staff
Senior Pastor ............................................................... Valerie Waibel
Youth Director ................................................................. Tony Brown
Children’s Director ....................................................... Lisa Gebhart
Organist/Choir Director .................................. Nancy McCormick
Adm. Secretary/Office Manager .............................. Linda Rouse
Custodian ........................................................................ Glen Chastain
Treasurers ........................................ Nancy Albright, Sue McPeek
Financial Secretaries ........................... Jerry Smith, Carrie Titus
Church Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:00am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Newsletter Deadline: Fifteenth day of month
Bulletin Deadline: Wednesdays—5:00pm
See Pastor
Val’s article for
the Holy Week
Schedule!