Church News: Hospitality

The youth Sunday school classes enjoyed the annual Easter Egg Hunt on Palm Sunday, April 1. There were approximately 10-12 youth who participated in and helped with the festivities.  Special Thanks go out to Kaye Broadbent, Shawna Melnykowski, Bret and Dee Nemeth, and Katrina Yeigh for hosting this activity.

Independence Home Days is around the corner! Mark your calendars for Friday, August 3 & Saturday, August 4 for the 96th annual home days event. The theme this year is all about CARS!


The Hospitality committee made and entered a float in last year’s home days and are looking for volunteers to help again this year. Please let us know if you are interested in helping either by donating supplies or money, your time, or walking in the parade. For all interested, there will be a sign up sheet on the bulletin board outside Pastor Jared’s office. 

General Conference Preview

Once every four years, delegates representing the entirety of the world-wide United Methodist Church gather to worship, discuss the myriad issues facing the church, and to set policy to govern how the church as a whole will operate during the following four years.  Because it is a top to bottom look at the church, this is an exciting time.  However, the vast number of issues that have to be addressed during the 10 day conference is almost overwhelming.  Here is a summary of the biggest issues facing the church:

• Being more Worldwide:  United Methodist Churches in the US have declined in membership and attendance for the last forty years while the church in Africa and the Philippines have grown.  Thus, 40% of all the delegates at this year's conference will come from outside the states.  As we consider how to organize ourselves, increased emphasis is being placed on giving leaders from outside the US a proportional place at the decision making table.

• Restructuring:  Driven by the continued decline in the US church, a major restructuring has been proposed.  We currently have 13 different agencies  that help to conduct ministry throughout the world.  The most prominent restructuring plan would combine most of the agencies into one body and then appoint 15 individuals to oversee their work.  Considerable concern has been raised as to whether that is shrinking the church too far and whether we will still have a diverse range of voices giving input into the direction of the church if power is invested in the hands of so few.

• Clergy Effectiveness:   One of the most controversial proposals is a major change to the relationship between clergy and the conference.  Currently, clergy agree to be appointed wherever in the conference the bishop deems they are best needed.  In return, upon ordination, clergy have been guaranteed that they would receive a full-time appointment if they remained in good standing.  Some have expressed concern that this allows clergy who are no longer effective to remain in pulpits and that as the church continues to shrink, we may not have places to put all clergy.  Many clergy have protested to say that the growth of a church has far more to do with the attitudes and openness of the people in the church and that removing the guarantee without giving the clergy a choice of where to serve is fundamentally unfair.

• Social Issues:  The UMC is a living organism that constantly tries to sense where God is calling us to be on social issues.  As such, at General Conference we adopt both policy and position statements that reflect where we are as a church.   This year, the most prominent issue regards working toward inclusivity in the church (with sexuality and sexual identity being the most debated).  Furthermore, issues of immigration, abortion, health care, economic justice and Peace in the Middle East will receive prominent discussion.

I will be attending the conference as a legislative monitor on behalf of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition and have been tasked specifically to work on the restructuring issue.   The hours will be long, but I look forward to being part of the discussion about how we can be church for many years to come.  I will appreciate your prayers and support.  You can follow all the action at General Conference at gc2012.umc.org.  

Church News: Trustee Corner

The Trustees would like to announce the results of our Pork and Kraut dinner on March 24th. We raised $690 from the dinner. We would like to thank Mike Naso, Pam Blair and Sue Kotabish
or helping with the cooking. The Boy Scouts from Troop #297 and their adult leader Pam Young were extremely helpful at our event. Jeanne Veverka, Tess Foltz, and Sue Kertianis were among the volunteer dessert bakers who helped us. Bret Nemeth and his friend Paris were a wonderful help in the clean up process. Thank you for the help from congregation members who supported this event!


Your trustees have selected a local contractor to waterproof and install new drain tile on the south and west sides of the church house on Hemoga. A new drain will be installed to keep the water from flowing up against the back wall, too. 


We have been working in the sanctuary's south wall fixing water damage by scraping, priming and repainting the wall. We hope to get a few volunteers to assist with painting the north wall, too. 


You will soon see the light at night as we have purchased materials to relight the bell tower. Church yard clean-up was begun before Palm Sunday. 


Beverly Veverka responded to our call for help in weeding. She has been busy weeding the numerous beds around the church. 


We would like to remind members that our building has numerous exits which are fire exits. Please keep that in mind as we have recently been inspected by the fire department and we need to keep the doors clear of tables and other items. Also as you enter the sanctuary in the area where the choir gathers on Sunday morning look up at the hidden fire gate. It is designed to drop down in case of a fire to keep a fire isolated. Please keep the area under the fire curtain clear of tables and chairs. 


Before the end of the Sunday school year, we will be having a fire drill. 


We appreciate all the help members have provided to help keep our facility in the best condition.
In an attempt to straighten up and clear up clutter, after the next coffee hour we will be making available the mismatched cups and saucers to the congregation for a donation. After that we will sell the mismatched cups and saucers on E-bay. 

Praying with the News: Educational cuts in Cleveland

The Cleveland School board announced massive layoffs and big cuts to the music, art, library and gym classes in Cleveland city schools.  Though our church is located in Independence, we do need to care deeply about the condition of the hub community just a few miles north.  We care because Jesus calls us to care for all children (especially the poor).  We care because we know that children raised without adequate education will be ill prepared to earn a living wage later in life.

In 2008, we as Methodist's declared that our founder "John Wesley was a “unique and remarkable educator (who) gave to the whole Methodist movement . . . a permanent passion for education.  Wesley believed that persons develop their full God-given potential when they educate their mind as well as nurture their spirit;"  Read the full resolution.

Lord- help us find a way to educate all of the children in our midst.  Help us to make decisions that allow them to grow into the people you created them to be.  Forgive us when we place our priorities elsewhere.  Amen.

Church News: Sunday Morning Adult Group

Great discussions about heaven followed our reading the adult written copy of HEAVEN IS FOR REAL. Recall it’s about a boy’s trip to heaven and back. This prompted further study of heaven and we started on March 25th the book SURPRISED BY HOPE, Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright. We study on Sunday mornings in the parlor at 9:15 a.m. with the use of a DVD and study guide loaned to us through the East Ohio Conference UMC Media Center. We have copies of the book available.


Shawna Melnykowski invited anyone to join the youth study group on the weeks they would be viewing/discussing the video SOUL SURFER, about a teenage surfer girl who summons the courage to go back into the ocean after losing an arm in a shark attack. Our study group joined them for three weeks and were glad to hear from, share faith and be enriched by the youth of IUMC. Thank you, Shawna!

Praying with the News: A tragic Shooting

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   Praying with the News:

   
   Lord- have mercy on the souls of all who have died. That they were all of one family is such a tragedy. What brokenness we experience in this life. Be with the family of the shooting victims. Let your grace be upon all those who experienced the terrible shooting. Help us to create a more loving world. Amen.

   
   

   Shooting at Cracker Barrel restaurant in Brooklyn leaves three dead, one injured

   www.cleveland.com

   An apparent domestic dispute left three people dead and a child injured Thursday night at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant in Brooklyn.

    ·  · Share

Praying with the News: Whom shall we fear?

There is an old maxim that says that the best pastor preaches with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. I think that that goes for all Christians. We have to engage with the world and seek to draw inspiration from it. Thus, we are going to periodically posts some events- local, national, and internationally here and on the Facebook page and try to think just a bit of how to connect it to our faith. Feel free to comment or post your own news stories as they touch you.


We are in an Easter season in which we testify to a savior who was willing to stand up against the evil forces of the world- even when it cost him his life. The miracle of Easter tells us that death, and indeed allinjustice, is not the last word. The last word is always the mercy and justice envisioned by God. If we really believe this, why does fear pervade our life? 


Regina Brett argues, persuasively, that fear is at the heart of the tragedy of the Trayvon Martin shooting. 

Psalm 27:1 says, 



The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid? 


Lord-  Relieve us of our fears.  Allow us to overcome our fears so that we might be freed up to respond in love.  Help us to trust in your grace and mercy.  Amen.

What keeps society afraid? What keeps you afraid?