The Grapevine

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA

(707) 253-1411

March 15, 2010

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors:
the People of The United Methodist Church

…from Doug’s Deck:

I’m back! Martha and I thoroughly enjoyed our vacation time up on the Oregon coast – mysteriously in sunshine as it rained here in Napa, I understand. Who would’ve thought?

In this same space last month I reminded all of you of those that have been engaged in a dialogue about the book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. I’ve already talked a bit about the first two of those five: “radical hospitality” and “passionate worship.” The others, again, are “intentional faith development,” “risk-taking mission and service,” and “extravagant generosity,” and that by our focusing on just these five practices we will become a more vital church.

So what might you be doing about your “faith development” – and just how “intentional” are you about it? Curiously enough, it’s been my experience that most United Methodists stopped going to Sunday School around the time that they were in Jr. High School. Now, that’s not bad in itself, and yet it means that too many adults are walking around with a Jr.-High-School-level of theological understanding. Wouldn’t you think that they’d like to know more? How about you? Do you still take much of the Bible literally? Would you be shocked to understand that God didn’t write it? Would you be angry at me if I showed you how all seven of those passages of scripture used against gays and lesbians were never even meant to condemn the reality of a person’s sexual orientation? Would you be upset with me if I told you that I don’t think God is anything at all like a person – especially one with a specific gender?

The “practice of intentional faith development” will allow you to come to your own comfortable conclusions about such questions – and a whole lot more. Being able to critically and intelligently dialogue about your faith might just draw someone else into this church, because they’ll come to understand that your doubts, as well as your convictions, will allow them to have their own – and that they’ll be welcome at the 1st United Methodist Church of Napa.

There’s only one question worth asking: “How do we love the world?” We need each other. We build some of our strongest and longest lasting relationships with others through small groups – and one of the best places to do that in the church is in a Sunday School class. What would you like to explore in such a group? Let me know how I may help…in the cause of shalom, always,

DOUG

Holy Week Services

March 28, 2010 through April 4, 2010

Sunday, March 28th – Palm Sunday Worship Service - 9:30 am

Palm Sunday Concert – 3:30 pm in our Sanctuary

Palm Sunday Community Outreach Service – 7:00 pm
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church
Our Cathedral Choir will join with the choirs of other churches
in celebration of making music together

Maundy Thursday Worship Service – 7:00 pm
April 1st - FUMC Sanctuary
Communion will be served

Community Good Friday Service – Noon
April 2nd – Napa Valley Lutheran Church
Music, readings from John’s Gospel and prayers

Easter Sunrise Service – 7:00 am
Tulocay Cemetery, Napa
The service will be led by Michael Herzog, Lay Speaker
Communion with be served and
God’s House Band will provide the music

Easter Worship Service – 9:30 am
First United Methodist Church Sanctuary

Church Family News

Rev. Dick Kendall, retired, who resides at the Piners Nursing Home, was crowned Mr. Sweetheart of the year at their Valentine’s Day party.

Three of our own youth were in the recent production of “Beauty and the Beast” that was presented by Vintage High School. Julian Nolan and Rebecca Neal were actors, Alexis Woodruff was in the orchestra and Kay Neal made some of the magnificent costumes. Congratulations to all of you. The play was just wonderful and all of you were terrific!

The FUMC Talent Show was a huge success! This is, indeed, a very talented congregation and a good time was had by all! Thanks to the Fun and Fellowship Committee for all their hard work and great ideas.

Get On Board the GRAPE Express!!! Ages 3 years through 5th grade

Our March study is centered around "Signs of Faith".  The main scripture is "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  (Matthew 28:19 ) The lesson is about how symbols were created by Christians as a way to express their faith. These symbols help us understand and remember what we believe about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  The symbols covered are the star (Matthew 2:2), dove (Matthew 3:16), fish, (Matthew 4:18-22) heart (Matthew 22:37-39), cross (Mark 15: 21-24) and triangle (Matthew 28:19). Come join us!

Free Tax Help

The Napa Senior Center is offering a free, volunteer run tax preparation counseling service for low and middle income seniors with special attention to those aged 60 and older. They will be doing tax returns on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until April 15th, 2010. Call 707-255-1800 for an appointment.

One Great Hour of Sharing—Offering for UMCOR

You will find a special offering envelope in your Grapevine today. All money collected from this annual offering goes to cover the administrative costs of UMCOR. This enables UMCOR to send 100% of all disaster and relief offerings that you give during the year directly to the cause you’ve specified. Please be generous.

The Oakland - East Bay Gay Men's Chorus Returns to Napa!

The Oakland - East Bay Gay Men's Chorus is performing its Spring Concert Series this coming April. The Friday night performance will be here in Napa.

Friday, April 16th at 8:00 pm – Peace Within

***a portion of the proceeds from this concert will benefit PFLAG Napa*** 

First United Methodist Church
625 Randolph Street
Napa, CA 94559

Napa Ticket Prices: $15 Adult, $12 Children, Seniors, Students with ID
Advance tickets are available through the church office or online at: www.oebgmc,org or www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-706-2389.  Tickets may also available at the door on the day of performance, prior sales permitting.

The OEBGMC Spring Concert traditionally is an array of more classical music offerings. This year is no exception. The title of this year's Spring Concert is Peace Within, featuring Requiem in D Minor by Cherubini. Life and death are so intertwined that to celebrate either requires an understanding of both. Regarded by Beethoven as the greatest composer of his time, Cherubini grappled with his own death by composing this impassioned Requiem for Men's Chorus. Intertwining each movement, you will hear twentieth-century American works that celebrate all that is life: love, happiness and friendship. In this way, we juxtapose death with life, opening the possibility of finding Peace Within. 

Marian Long has survived yet another fall! After spending two weeks at Napa Nursing Home, I have returned to the comfort of my own home with much gratitude for the loving support of my church family, your prayers and your love. I’m deeply moved by your acts of kindness. I hope to soon grace you with my presence in church, maybe even in my new wheelchair!

For Fun Book Club

The Just For Fun Book Club is open to anyone and everyone!   We meet the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm and would love to have you join us!   For our next book, we're reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett, another New York Times best seller which  I found it at Costco.   "In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers and friends view one another.  A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't."   Sound intriguing?  Join us next month, April 6th.   In the meantime, happy reading.   Barb Thompson

Fun and Fellowship News

In honor of St. Patrick's Day we'll view "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Ward Bond at our Pie & A Movie group on Friday, March 19th. The director was John Ford in this 1952 film, a favorite for many. Bring a dessert to share.

On April 17th our Pie & A Movie Group will meet on Saturday night. We are inviting families to join us for a children’s film and activities plus an adult movie playing at the same time! The adults will view “Julie and Julia” which was released in 2009. We will have a potluck dinner beginning at 5:00 pm so save the date and look for more information as time draws closer.

Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd, we will have a finger food Potluck luncheon following the church service.

We’ll have a summer Pancake Breakfast on July 11th right before church.

Our All Church Family Picnic will be held this year on our own church grounds! Save the date of Sunday, August 22nd. It’s much more fun when everyone comes!

FAITH PARTNERS MINISTRY

Mark your calendars for a special forum after the worship service on April 11th sponsored by the Faith Partners ministry.  Watch and listen for further information.

BUILDERS LUNCHEON CANCELED

The Builders regular luncheon will NOT be held on March 13, because of some circumstances beyond our control, plus the small number of attendees. The February meeting had a wonderful presentation of pictures and comments by David and Loie Whitmer about their travels to other Wine Countries, following the typical good food shared by all. The presentation was very deserving of more than the 13 Builders in the audience.

A BLUNT STATEMENT TO OTHER CHURCH MEMBERS

The Builders was originally formed by an enthusiastic group of young adults to help the church physically and financially in large and small church projects. With very few new members joining us, the membership has aged until younger church members probably think of Builders as an “over-the-hill” gathering. Builders has gone on meeting with shrinking attendance, helping the church with some expenses, and enjoying the time together for luncheons and a Christmas dinner. At many other church functions we enjoy the company of others in our church, and we don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t enjoy sharing our gatherings. Any money we raise goes back into church needs. Builders is in danger of not existing any more, and the church would lose a group with good intentions of being useful and helpful, while having good social times together. I didn’t join the group to become its last president, but that appears likely unless new people join us. We need eager folks, younger than most of the current members, to gradually take over with an active agenda.

The next potluck luncheon meeting is scheduled for Noon, April 10, with a good program lined up. I hope all current members will make a special effort to investigate what we could do to be more attractive to members, and to extend this invitation for possible new members to give us a try. These are the facts as I see them. If ANY of you have ideas that would help save the Builders, please tell me or any members! Bill Crane

Sierra Service Project 2010

During the last week of June the youth will be participating in an urban immersion experience in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South Los Angeles.  They will repair homes for four days and another day will include a tour of the city, visiting social services agencies and feeding the homeless on Skid Row. 

Fundraising for this adventure begins in March with Sponsorship Month.  Each Sunday you will have an opportunity to meet the youth, read their autobiographies and purchase a tool to display with your name on it.  We appreciate your prayers and support!! 

Opportunities for United Methodist Women

At the circle meetings, information from the executive meeting will be shared. There are many exciting things going on in the coming months. A few opportunities for this month are listed below.

Knit a prayer shawl to be taken to the UMW Assembly in St. Louis. Four of our members will be attending. Bring your shawl into the office by March 25th labeled for the UMW Assembly.

"Out of Bondage" will be a Legislative Event on Monday, March 22nd at the Sacramento FUMC, 2100 J St. sponsored by the CA/NV  UMW. Focus will be on Human Trafficking with guest speaker: Rohida Khan, Dept. of Homeland Security. The event lasts from from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration is $30, due by March 15th, and includes breakfast, lunch, and resources. Checks can be made out to: CA/NV Conference UMW and mailed to: Trina Smith, Social Action Coordinator, Shasta District; 1100 Plumas Links St.; Plumas Lake, CA 95961. Include your name, address, phone, email, & church.

A Bay View District, UMW, Spiritual Growth Retreat will be on Saturday, March 27th, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lake Park UMC, 281 Santa Clara Ave., Oakland. The theme is: Gathering Together...Women Make A Difference. The retreat leader is: Rev. Emily Lin. Registration is $12 (includes morning goodies, lunch, & beverages) due by March 17th. On site registration is $14. Contact Joan Feury 287-2024 to be put on the group registration form.

First United Methodist Church

625 Randolph St. Napa 94559
Office: (707) 253-1411 Fax#: (707) 253-1976
www.napaumc.org
Facebook: Napa First United Methodist Church
Pastors: Douglas J. Monroe
Roger Kimble, III
Sunday Worship - 9:30 a.m.
Child and Infant Nursery Care is available
Church Office Hours:
Monday—Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
The Grapevine is published bi-monthly.
Editor: Dianne Mahler

Grapevine Schedule

The next deadline is March 18th and it will be mailed out on March 24th.

Please email your articles to secretary@napaumc.org

Help For Haiti

Please make your checks out to FUMC
and write Haiti on the memo line.
100% of all donations go directly to
UMCOR for earthquake relief efforts.
Thank you for your generosity.

Mission Statement

The First United Methodist Church of Napa unconditionally welcomes all people wherever they are on their faith journey. As a congregation rooted in scripture, tradition, experience, and reason, we promise opportunities to grow in the Spirit to become active followers of Jesus Christ. We are affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity and a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network.

Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 am

Coffee, cookies, lemonade and friendship are served at 10:30 am

Adult Bible Study: 10:45 am Parlor

Sunday School for 3 years old through 5th grade—10:45 am—Kagawa Rm.

Middle School Group—10:45 am—Beall Library

Youth Group—11:00 am—Youth Room

Come and see what your church has to offer you this year

Visit us on Facebook—Napa First United Methodist Church

Mar. 14 Scripture: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Luke 15:103, 11-32

Rev. Doug Monroe—One Great Hour of Sharing Cathedral Choir

Mar. 21 Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4-14; John 12:1-8

Rev. Doug Monroe—Fifth Sunday in Lent Cathedral Choir

Mar. 28 Scripture: Isaiah 50:4-9; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56

Rev. Roger Kimble—Palm Sunday God’s House Band

Apr. 4 Scripture: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-24; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; John 20:1-18

Rev. Doug Monroe—Easter Sunday Cathedral Choir