From the Pastor’s Heart         

 From the Heart – October 2007

"...an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."

A couple of weeks ago I attended an “end of the quarter” meeting of the new group at SUMC, the Care Callers.  Though I got the meeting late and left early, I came away with two impressions about the process of care calling as a ministry.  I was struck by the intentionality of the process and the callers and the issue of vulnerability as a characteristic of a true caring relationship. The first is a function of the caller and the second is an outgrowth of relationship (i.e. an ongoing conversation between two members of our congregation).

I recall a discussion with a few fellow seminary students about intentionality.  The basic question being bantered about was this:  Does a believer’s good intentions fulfill the mandates Christians have in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission…or must those good intentions become embodied in activity?  Well, you can imagine five or six students of United Methodist doctrine and biblical theology each having points common and diverse to make on the subject…and the rising decibel level as the conversation went on.

We finally came to the agreement that intentionality is a temporary salve for the soul (which is of a decidedly eternal nature).  Without works that provide testimony to our faith, it is difficult for to see that we are serious about living a faithful life.  In the gospel of John, Jesus uses the image of a vineyard, asking us to understand that, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (15:5, NIV.)  Thoughtful Christians regularly ask themselves, “How full will my harvest basket be at the end of the growing season?”

Intentionality must give birth to action.  That is why it is such a blessing to see the team of Care Callers doing what every one of is intends to do…when we have some extra time on our hands.  They are acting upon their faith in a way that will have a positive and inclusive impact on all members of SUMC.  The Care Callers are setting aside time to act on their intention to make SUMC a more connected congregation.

The other impression about the participants in the Care Callers process I wanted to share with you is the ongoing nurturance of an environment of vulnerability.  In a mobile and competitive society such as we live in, we hide our vulnerability from all but our most trusted friends.  We don’t know who to trust – so we trust no one.  We have been taught that vulnerability is a sign of weakness and incompleteness.  Who wants to be looked upon as vulnerable?

Actually, the capacity to express vulnerability is a great human strength. We sometimes wish our vulnerabilities would disappear so we wouldn’t have to worry about hiding them. Without these pesky vulnerabilities, we could convince the world that we have it all together; that we have no unsatisfied needs; that we can care constantly for others and never need care ourselves. It is hard to let people see our vulnerable parts — our fears and insecurities, our sadness and shame. To express vulnerability requires courage. Only in exercising this courage, in bravely showing our “weakness” to another, do we achieve a form of real power — the power to ask for help when needed.

In time, Care Callers will help connect us with the body of Christ – the Stewartville United Methodist Church – and will also help us live as vulnerable people able to share our lives with each other.  Thanks be to God.

           Church World Service Blanket Sunday - Tools of Hope

Over the years, our Church has generously supported Church World Service Blanket Sunday and in recent years, this support has been expanded to include Tools of Hope.  Church World Service Blanket Sunday/Tools of Hope still include the blankets that have been provided to areas of desperate need for many years, but it now includes many additional items that are desperately needed by families to supplement the blankets.  In addition to the blankets, our contributions will also purchase such items as hoes, shovels and rakes along with the seeds necessary to raise food to feed the hungry recipients of our mission offering.  Also included might be fish nets to harvest the rivers, lakes and oceans to provide the fish protein missing in so many diets.  Tents and bedding may also be required to supplement the blankets for those who have lost everything.  Tools of Hope goes even further.  One of the most desperate needs in third world countries is for clean, safe water, and Tools of Hope funds may be used to drill wells that provide dependable clean, safe water for an entire village. Contaminated drinking water is responsible for much of the illness and many of the deaths in third world countries, especially the deaths of babies and young children who become dehydrated from dysentery.  So this 4th Sunday of October, October 28th, dig deep as the black bags of the second offering go by.  $5 will provide a blanket for a refugee that has no shelter.  $15 will provide a hoe, shovel and rake for a rural family to develop a garden to provide fresh produce.  $75 will provide wire for a chicken coop and a batch of chickens to supplement a families diet and income.  $175 might provide a tent giving shelter to a whole refugee family.  Our gift coupled with gifts from other churches may provide the $3,770 needed to bring safe water to a village where dysentery has been killing the very young and the very old.  We can make a difference in the lives of these of God’s children who have less than we do, perhaps even provide life itself for some of God’s children who will die without help, our help.  To paraphrase Isaiah 58: 6-10: “I’ll tell you what it really means to worship the Lord ..... Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless.  Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun.”  As servants of our Lord, let us at the Stewartville United Methodist Church make our light shine in the world by pushing back the darkness of evil and despair with our generosity and our prayers.  As individuals and as a congregation we can make a difference.  The Eternal Faith Fund has agreed to match contributions, so your $5 becomes $10 and your $20 becomes $40.  Please give generously so that we in the Stewartville United Methodist Church can say with pride, that we are helping to build a better world through our compassion, through our stewardship to the needy.  Only in this way are we heeding our Lord’s direction as He tells us that we must do unto the least of these as we would do unto Him.

                     SE MN Rebuilding Supplies Needed

Sheetrock squares                          Utility Knives

Chalk Lines                                      Hole Saws

Carpenter Pencils                            Sharpeners

Tape Measures                               Regular Staplers—T50 Staples

Dimplers                                          Sheetrock Screw Guns

Portable Drills                                  Rechargeable Batteries(for drills)

25 Foot Extension Cords               Sheetrock Lights

4,6, 10 Inch Blades                         4 Inch & 2 ½  Inch Tapered Paint Brushes

Paint Rollers(3/8 inch nap)             Roller Handles and Trays

Refill Blades for Utility Knives        Gloves

Tubs                                                 Chalk—Pint & Gallon Containers

60 Watt Bulbs                                  ¾ Inch and 2 Inch Masking Tape

The need for supplies continues, so items can still be placed in the box at the mission table.  Thank you.  Complete lists available at the mission table.

Health Kit supplies needed: hand towels, wash clothes, combs, fingernail clippers, 3 oz. or larger soap bars, toothbrushes, toothpaste (3.5 oz or larger) and bandages.
  
Flood Bucket Supplies needed:  5 gal. bucket with re-sealable lid; 1/2 or 3/4 gal. bleach; liquid laundry detergent-50 oz.; 12 oz- liquid Lysol cleaner concentrate; antibacterial dish soap 28 oz. approx; air freshener 9 oz.; insect repellent 6 oz.; scouring pads; scrub brush; cleaning towels--reusable (Easy Wipe, etc); sponges; clothespins (snap); clothesline 100 ft 3/16"; dust masks; latex gloves; work gloves; trash bags 30 gal. or larger.

                            NEED A RIDE?

Would you like to attend Sunday morning worship, but do not have transportation? If so, please call the church office (533-4625) and someone will return your call to make arrangements to provide transportation to church.

Children's Time ~

                          October

If you are unable to serve as scheduled, please find a substitute and call the church office by                                                                                                                                                           

                                    Wednesday at 533-4625 or call Barb Warren at (507) 867-3006.

Lay Readers ~

                                        October

If you are unable to serve as scheduled, please find a substitute and call the church office by Wednesday at 533-4625 or call Wilma Menshik at 533-9591.  

                              PRAYER PAGE

  MMDC TRIP:

      Please mark your calendars for the MMDC trip next year on March 30^th through April 5^th, 2008.

 MISSION TRIP:

     A work team mission trip to Biloxi, MN is being planned for October 13-20, 2007.  This will be a collaborative effort by eight UM churches in SE MN.  Each congregation is invited to send five members and their pastor.  The cost is estimated to be $200 per person with $100 per person due by the sign-up deadline of August 1^st. Please contact Pastor Jef for more info.

UMW MEETINGS:

     The next quarterly meeting will be held on Saturday, October 20^th at 9:30 a.m. at SUMC. Lydia Circle is hosting.  Agenda items will include:  UMW Annual Meeting Report and Planning for UMW Sunday Worship Service.  All UMW members are invited.   The UMW-SE Leadership Training that was set up for November 13^th, 2007 has been rescheduled to February 9^th of 2008 from approximately 9:00-3:00 p.m.   

 ANNOUNCEMENT: 

     School supplies and medical supplies /vitamins are needed by OC Ministries.  There is a collection box in the Narthex.  I  These supplies are needed by October 3^rd.  Supplies are also needed for teams rebuilding in SE MN.  Please see the complete lists on page 3 or at the Mission Table in the church Narthex.

ANNOUNCEMENT: 

     It’s that time of year again and we are in need of volunteers to help out with our Sunday School program.  We are in need of teachers, helpers, shepherds, and special event coordinators.  Please sign up at the back table in the Narthex.    

THANK YOU:

     Thank you to all who sent me get well cards and kept me in your prayers following my injury.  Sincerely, Wilma.

LYDIA CIRCLE:

     Lydia Circle will be meeting on Monday, October 1^st at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Beth Thompson, 111 Ferson Ct, NE.

THANK YOU:

     Thanks to all who participated in the Feed My Starving Children project on September 8^th in Eagan, MN.  Watch for future opportunities to participate.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

     The Stewartville Lioness Autumn Baked Potato Supper will be held on Monday, October 8^th from 4:30-6:30 pm at the Stewartville Civic Center.  Tickets are $6.00 with children 6 and under free.

ANNOUNCEMENT: 

     The Stewartville Volunteer Fire Department is having their annual pancake breakfast at the Stewartville American Legion on Sunday, October 7^th from 8-Noon.  100% of contributions will go to support your local fire department.

ANNOUNCEMENT:    

     The Stewartville Lions Club will hold their 15^th Annual Harvest Dinner on Sunday, October 7^th at the Riverview Greens Golf Course Club House, from 4:30 – 7:30 pm.  This will be a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  Tickets are available from any Lions member or various businesses around town.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Open auditions for the 2008 PROMISE  are being held on October 6, 8, and 9^th at Bethel Lutheran.  For more information contact Paul Mainz at 507-951-1540.

SEASONS HOSPICE:

     Volunteer Training being held on Oct. 15, 17, and 19^th from 8:30-3:30.  For more info call 507-285-1930.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE(Invite from Laurie Helmers)

     A murder mystery event will be held at the Plummer House on October 26^th at 7pm.  For more info call 285-5272.

PROGRESSIVE DINNER:

     Tickets are now on sale in the church office for the Dinner on November 4^th, which starts at 4:30 pm at Grace with a Band Concert and Hors d’oeuvres at 5pm, main course at 6pm at Zion(SUMC helping) & dessert at St. Bernards at 7pm.

Church World Service CROP WALK

Every year, Church World Service sponsors a CROP Hunger Walk to support the ministries of Church World Service as well as our local Channel One.  Normally, ¼ of the funds raised go to Channel One with ¾ of the funds going to Church World Service, but this year in recognition of the flood devastation in SE Minnesota, the split will be ¼ to Channel One, ¼ to SE Minnesota Flood Relief, and ½ to Church World Service.  The CROP Walk will start and end at Peace United Church of Christ located at 1503 2^nd Ave. NE in Rochester on Sunday, October 14^th with registration starting at 1:30 p.m., and the walk starting at 2:00 p.m. with a round trip distance of about five miles.  The route will go around Silver Lake and along the Zumbro River then back to the church.   The walk will be held rain or shine, so dress accordingly.  Walkers can do any part of the walk or the whole walk.  Stewartville United Methodist Church has previously participated in this CROP Walk, but not in recent years.  This is a great way to get some exercise (most of us need that!) and at the same time support a very worthwhile project.  Each of the walkers is expected to recruit sponsors that make pledges to support the walker.  The pledges can be a flat amount, or so much a mile.  The sponsors should be recruited as soon as possible and the pledges collected in advance of the walk.  If you are interested in participating in this walk, see George Menshik to get a walker/sponsor form, and start rounding up your sponsors.  The funds going to CWS (Church World Service) are used around the world to help God’s children in desperate need.  CWS has been active in the recent SE Minnesota flood disaster, they were very active in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and they are currently helping the desperate refugees in Sudan, and the starving people of Zimbabwe and other places in Africa and around the world.  Please prayerfully consider participating in this year’s CROP Hunger Walk.  See George or one of the other Mission Ministry members to get your forms so you can start recruiting your sponsors (you can also sponsor yourself, so your name should be the first sponsor). 

                                                            UMW NOTES

The Quarterly UMW Circle’s meeting was held on July 14^th with representatives from all the circles present.

Profits from the International Luncheon were designated to kitchen supplies, UMW meeting expenses, youth requests and gifts, special missions, kitchen equipment, and trustee prioritized projects.

The next Quarterly meeting was moved to October 20^th due to the annual UMW meeting being on October 6^th.

The next International Luncheon was set for June 11, 2008.

The SE District UMW Leadership Training meeting to be held at our church on November 13^th has been cancelled and rescheduled for February 9^th.  All circles will be asked to provide help with hosting and meals.

Detailed minutes from the quarterly meeting can be obtained from circle members who attended the meeting.

            Happy Birthday to the following church members and friends who celebrate

October birthdays!  Do YOU have an October birthday?  Is YOUR name on the list?  If not, please call or drop a note to the church office to let us know. We don't want to miss the opportunity to wish you a very Happy Birthday!!