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Clipping Coupons

A couple of months ago, it was suggested that we collect coupons. Nancy had an article about a lady that collects coupons and distributes them to military families because many of those families do not have access to the coupons. The church discussed sending our coupons directly to Ogden Friendship House (outside of Ft. Riley, KS).

The concept of this type of mission is great. However, for me, this has proven a challenge to support. By the time I get around to clipping the coupons, they have very little time left and thus probably aren’t useful.

Thus, I have several questions.

1. If everyone brought the coupon fliers to church on Sunday morning, is there someone in the church willing to clip them each week?
2. Is there a need within the community of Seneca for coupons? If so, how do we get them to those in need?

3rd Sunday of Easter

Scripture Passages for Sunday, April 26, 2009

• Acts 3:12-19
• Psalm 4
• 1 John 3:1-7
• Luke 24:36b-48

Comments on these scripture passages are available on the Revised Common Lectionary Site.

Reflecting on Peter

We will be utilizing the Church of the Resurrection’s GPS (Grow, Pray, Study) guide from last week for Sunday School this week. The following scriptures will be read.

• John 20:24-31
• John 21:4-19
• Acts 2:14-41
• Acts 4:1-31
• 1 Peter 5:6-11

Additional insights on these readings are available at GPS – Insights. Participants may also want to listen to and/or view the sermon by Jeff Clinger, A Week Later: Peter – Redeemed and Called.

Lectionary Readings April 19, 2009

Acts 4:32-35 (NIV)

1 John 1:1 – 2:2 (NIV)

John 20:19-31 (NIV)

Invitation to Participate

Seneca UMC may host a ‘Town Hall of Hope’ site. This is dependent on our ability to have dependable high speed Internet access in the church.

I will be testing that connection on Sunday evening at 5 pm with the Internet broadcast of the Church of the Resurrection’s contemporary worship service. Pastor Adam Hamilton will be preaching an ‘Easter’ sermon about Peter. This service incorporates a worship band/choir, contemporary music, prayer and sermon. It will last about 75 minutes.

Anyone wishing to participate in this worship service is welcome to join me in the sanctuary — with the understanding that this is a test of the technology.

If successful, we will become a host site for the Town Hall of Hope on Thurs. April 23rd at 7 pm. Since we are registering at this late date, it is likely that our ‘crowd’ will be small. Those wishing to participate in a larger venue may wish to go to Northridge at Sabetha.

Town Hall for Hope

Town Hall for Hope is your opportunity to sit down with people in your community for a nationwide town hall meeting led by Dave Ramsey. Thousands of venues across the country will host the event, broadcasting Dave’s live presentation. In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more. He’ll carefully explain where we’ve come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time. Then, Dave will spend an hour answering your questions live!

Birthing Kits Needed

Joe and Pastor Shirley Edgerton, General Board of Global Ministries long-term volunteers in La Gonave, Haiti, would like to encourage members of the Kansas East Conference to make kits available for VIM teams now and for the Bishop’s Round-up for Hunger event in November.

On the island of Lagonav, Haiti, less than 10 percent of births are attended by a midwife or nurse; many mothers are younger than 17; and one out of 17 mothers die from blood loss or eclamptia, exhaustion and exposure. If the mother dies, generally the baby dies also.

The birthing kit, a recent item from UMCOR, provides all the necessary clean items needed to care for the infant at birth. These items are generally not available in remote settings.

The simple kit, contained in a gallon-size, zip-lock bag can be given to the pregnant woman to have available in her home, where 99 percent of births take place on rags on the floor.

The kits can be made available to midwives and provide a “training moment.” Some of the more experienced community midwives ask at clinics for gloves and antiseptic solutions.

There are many other countries just like Haiti, where the majority of births are unattended or perhaps only have a neighbor or grandma to coach and catch the baby.

To help Haiti mothers, kits can be assembled and sent to Central UMC, 1501 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS 66004.  Contents of the birth kit

Advanced Disaster Response Training

Due to new guidelines set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and United Methodist Committee on Relief, volunteers who wish to assist in the early stages following disasters must have Early Response Team Certification to volunteer.

The Kansas East Conference will offer the Early Response Team course on April 25th, 2009 at Lawrence First UMC’s West Campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Course size is limited to 15 people. This class will have a $5.00 registration fee to help cover the cost of student materials. Registration deadline is April 20, 2009.

For more event and registration information, visit the event description on the conference calendar.

Rethinking Church

UMC Rethinking Church

What if church …

• was less about Sunday and more about the other days of the week?
• wasn’t just a place we go but something we do?
• wasn’t just a building but a 1000 doors each opening to a different experience of church so that whoever knocks will find a journey of their own?
• looked at itself with seekers eyes, recognizing that even the smallest steps thru one of our doors is an act of courage, a moment of vulnerability?
• realizes that solving secular need can lead to spiritual interaction?
• recognizes that for a skeptical world actions do speak louder than words?
• see opportunity to prove what we say we believe with our lives!

Lord, help this church become a ‘rethought’ church and
enable each one of us to be examples of our faith as we live out our daily lives.