the bell ringer february 2017
Christ United Methodist Church P.O. Box 710 Levelland, TX 79336
THE BELL RINGER FEBRUARY 2017 COMING IN FEBRUARY Sundays, February 5, 12, 19, 26 – Women’s Study Group at 2:30 p.m. UMY at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, February 7 & 21 - Grief Support Group with Ann Akin in the parlor at 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15, 22 - A Glimpse of Faith Lunch, noon, Housing Authority Building Sunday, February 5 – Fifth Sunday After Epiphany/Imagine No Malaria Sunday & Communion Sunday, February 12 – Boy Scout Sunday/Sixth Sunday After Epiphany St. Michael’s Sausage Festival after church Tuesday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 19 – Seventh Sunday After the Epiphany Donation Lunch – Mexican Stacks Church Council Meeting following lunch Monday, February 20 – Office closed - President’s Day Sunday, February 26 – Transfiguration Sunday Tuesday, February 28 – Shrove Tuesday - Fat Tuesday – Pancake Supper 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
February Birthdays – LaShea Niblett- Feb. 3, Henry Olis – Feb. 5, Erica Montez - Feb. 10, Connie Verschuren – Feb. 20, Cianna Richard – Feb. 20
February Anniversaries – John & Brenda Clanton – February 8
Donation Lunch for February The donation lunch for February will be February 19th following church. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day and President’s Day as well as all February birthdays. We will have mexican stacks for the meal. All the donations go toward Shared Ministries. The signup sheet is on the podium in the narthex.
Church Council Meeting Church Council will meet following the donation lunch on February 19th. An important item of business will be discussion of and voting on 2017 goals recommended by a committee of church leaders.
Lenten Study to begin Monday, February 27, 6:30 p.m. Adam Hamilton has prepared a study for Lent entitled Creed: What Christians Believe and Why – Exploring The Apostles’ Creed. Following this first session we will meet each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
2017 Directory Available On Sunday, February 19th, new Church Directory pages will be available. Be sure to pick up your new copy to ensure you have current information to reach everyone.
Youth Attend Restore Retreat Six youth will be attending the mid-winter “Restore Retreat” at Ceta Canyon February 4th & 5th. Please pray that they will have safe passage to and from and that they will have a Christ-filled experience.
Altar Flowers Please consider donating flowers for the altar for worship service. A sign up chart is in the Narthex. You may donate flowers in honor or memory of someone if you desire.
Shrove Tuesday is Coming! (Fat Tuesday) Featuring Grandmother’s “Original” Recipe Pancakes February 28, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Come, bring friends, and enjoy our traditional Pancake Supper. Once again we will be using an original recipe for the pancakes that originated with Nancy Joplin’s grandmother. We will also be serving ham instead of bacon. There is plenty of
room for you to sign up to help and/or bring juice and fruit. Tickets will be $6.00 each and will be available Sunday, January 24. Funds raised will help send our youth and children to camp.
A Word from the Pastor Dear Decision-Making Saints The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church informs us that “the Christian witness, even when grounded in Scripture and mediated by tradition, is ineffectual unless understood and appropriated by the individual. To become our witness, it must make sense in terms of our own reason and experience” (Book of Discipline, 77). For United Methodists, decision making is not as simple as pointing to a specific scriptural reference. For example, when examining Scripture for support of our understanding of Christian baptism, we read the word literally and then examine it within the context it was written and explore the heritage of Christian writers as they provide their own thoughts and interpretations concerning baptism. We then open our hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit and pray for guidance as we make decisions concerning our stance. Indeed, our understanding of Scripture is that it is a dynamic entity which holds truths which may yet to be discerned. The Bible is a living book which serves as a tool for daily living. United Methodists will look at a situation and then say: “What does the Bible say?”. After finding the answer to that question, they then discuss the results in the light of their own personal and group spiritual experience and use their reason to find a solution or direction. John Wesley reminded us that the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary for salvation. He also knew that it was important for one to use reason to appropriate the scriptures and act on them with conviction. This is of most importance for the United Methodist Church to understand. If we are to be effective in ministry and dynamic in our response to the needs of the world, then Scripture must be meaningful, personally and in community. For that to happen, we need to focus on new ways for small groups to live into application of Scriptural truths to humankind’s struggle for meaning. Scripture is sufficient for salvation, if through it we are able to experience God’s Word and use our ability to reason to test the traditions which have led to our present condition. Grace and Peace Pastor Dennis
THE BELL RINGER FEBRUARY 2017 COMING IN FEBRUARY Sundays, February 5, 12, 19, 26 – Women’s Study Group at 2:30 p.m. UMY at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, February 7 & 21 - Grief Support Group with Ann Akin in the parlor at 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15, 22 - A Glimpse of Faith Lunch, noon, Housing Authority Building Sunday, February 5 – Fifth Sunday After Epiphany/Imagine No Malaria Sunday & Communion Sunday, February 12 – Boy Scout Sunday/Sixth Sunday After Epiphany St. Michael’s Sausage Festival after church Tuesday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 19 – Seventh Sunday After the Epiphany Donation Lunch – Mexican Stacks Church Council Meeting following lunch Monday, February 20 – Office closed - President’s Day Sunday, February 26 – Transfiguration Sunday Tuesday, February 28 – Shrove Tuesday - Fat Tuesday – Pancake Supper 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
February Birthdays – LaShea Niblett- Feb. 3, Henry Olis – Feb. 5, Erica Montez - Feb. 10, Connie Verschuren – Feb. 20, Cianna Richard – Feb. 20
February Anniversaries – John & Brenda Clanton – February 8
Donation Lunch for February The donation lunch for February will be February 19th following church. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day and President’s Day as well as all February birthdays. We will have mexican stacks for the meal. All the donations go toward Shared Ministries. The signup sheet is on the podium in the narthex.
Church Council Meeting Church Council will meet following the donation lunch on February 19th. An important item of business will be discussion of and voting on 2017 goals recommended by a committee of church leaders.
Lenten Study to begin Monday, February 27, 6:30 p.m. Adam Hamilton has prepared a study for Lent entitled Creed: What Christians Believe and Why – Exploring The Apostles’ Creed. Following this first session we will meet each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
2017 Directory Available On Sunday, February 19th, new Church Directory pages will be available. Be sure to pick up your new copy to ensure you have current information to reach everyone.
Youth Attend Restore Retreat Six youth will be attending the mid-winter “Restore Retreat” at Ceta Canyon February 4th & 5th. Please pray that they will have safe passage to and from and that they will have a Christ-filled experience.
Altar Flowers Please consider donating flowers for the altar for worship service. A sign up chart is in the Narthex. You may donate flowers in honor or memory of someone if you desire.
Shrove Tuesday is Coming! (Fat Tuesday) Featuring Grandmother’s “Original” Recipe Pancakes February 28, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Come, bring friends, and enjoy our traditional Pancake Supper. Once again we will be using an original recipe for the pancakes that originated with Nancy Joplin’s grandmother. We will also be serving ham instead of bacon. There is plenty of
room for you to sign up to help and/or bring juice and fruit. Tickets will be $6.00 each and will be available Sunday, January 24. Funds raised will help send our youth and children to camp.
A Word from the Pastor Dear Decision-Making Saints The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church informs us that “the Christian witness, even when grounded in Scripture and mediated by tradition, is ineffectual unless understood and appropriated by the individual. To become our witness, it must make sense in terms of our own reason and experience” (Book of Discipline, 77). For United Methodists, decision making is not as simple as pointing to a specific scriptural reference. For example, when examining Scripture for support of our understanding of Christian baptism, we read the word literally and then examine it within the context it was written and explore the heritage of Christian writers as they provide their own thoughts and interpretations concerning baptism. We then open our hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit and pray for guidance as we make decisions concerning our stance. Indeed, our understanding of Scripture is that it is a dynamic entity which holds truths which may yet to be discerned. The Bible is a living book which serves as a tool for daily living. United Methodists will look at a situation and then say: “What does the Bible say?”. After finding the answer to that question, they then discuss the results in the light of their own personal and group spiritual experience and use their reason to find a solution or direction. John Wesley reminded us that the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary for salvation. He also knew that it was important for one to use reason to appropriate the scriptures and act on them with conviction. This is of most importance for the United Methodist Church to understand. If we are to be effective in ministry and dynamic in our response to the needs of the world, then Scripture must be meaningful, personally and in community. For that to happen, we need to focus on new ways for small groups to live into application of Scriptural truths to humankind’s struggle for meaning. Scripture is sufficient for salvation, if through it we are able to experience God’s Word and use our ability to reason to test the traditions which have led to our present condition. Grace and Peace Pastor Dennis
