The Grapevine

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA

(707) 253-1411

January 15, 2010

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

…from Doug’s Deck:

It’s not too late to get involved in the discussion about the renewal of our church! Michael Herzog (our Lay Speaker) and Barbara Thompson (one of our Lay Leaders) are leading a Sunday School Class that ought to be of interest to us all. They’ve initiated a dialogue about the book entitled Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations – you may have heard me mention it last June and read more about it in my report to the Church Conference on November 29^th. I suggest that if you’re at all concerned about the future of our church here in Napa, you ought to get involved in the dialogue.

The five practices, again, are “radical hospitality,” “passionate worship,” “intentional faith development,” “risk-taking mission and service,” and “extravagant generosity” – and that by our focusing on these five practices we will become a more vital church.

Think about that first practice for a moment – “radical hospitality.” Why do you come to church? What (or who) brought you here? Why do you stay? In my own case it started with my parents. Unless my four brothers or I were sick with a fever there was only one place we’d be on Sunday morning and that was at church (and, believe me, we all tried every excuse to try to get out of it!). For a time our mother was the Sunday School Director. We all played our parts in practically every Christmas pageant there was during the formative years of our childhood. My favorite Sunday School teacher was my father; and at one point I was proud to hear him deliver the sermon on Sunday morning. I was baptized by my maternal grandfather who was a pastor in the Church of Christ; and yet I never believed that I’d end up being an ordained pastor, myself – apparently it was just part of my genetic make-up.

My point is, simply, that church became important to me because those people around me – who I loved and admired the most – considered church worthwhile. Every single one of us who belong to this church have become part of it because of somebody else’s hospitality. Somebody invited us and found ways to make us feel welcome. If we hadn’t felt that way we wouldn’t have stayed.

So, ask yourself two things: “Who reached out to me and made me feel welcome?” And, secondly, “Who am I reaching out to with a welcoming invitation to come to our church?” What, if anything, have you found here that’s worth sharing? What’s so special about our congregation that you think others ought to hear about us?

The future of our church is in your hands.

Shalom, Doug

United Methodist Women

Members, please join us in this New Year’s pledge that was made by the members present at the installation unit meeting in December:

As United Methodist Women we lead and develop the faith community by listening fully, to hear one another’s stories, to respect one another’s identities and to value our differences. We will lead in this community that asks us to build upon all our gifts. This diversity of gifts offers new insights, boosts our creativity, imagines new dreams and creates a renewed community. Let us pledge in this New Year to know we are strengthened by this community bound together in Oneness, let us commit ourselves to the Napa Unit to which we have been called. We commit ourselves to the responsibilities that we have received. We commit ourselves to the community that we will become.

We welcome new members to this, our community. Join us this year and sign up on January 24^th as we share more of who we are and what United Methodist Women are doing here.

Co-presidents Joan Feury and Barbara Thompson

For Fun Book Club

Please join us in reading our next selection: Say You’re One of Them, by Uwem Akpan. This collection of stories “pays tribute to the wisdom and resilience of children.” You’ll have plenty of time to catch up as we decided to skip a February meeting. Come discuss your favorite story on Tuesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Kay Stevens. This book club is for all ages and genders – the only qualification is loving to read!

Grapevine Schedule

The next deadline is January 21st

and it will be mailed out on January 27th

Please email your articles to secretary@napaumc.org

First United Methodist Church

625 Randolph St. Napa  94559

Office:  (707) 253-1411      Fax#:  (707) 253-1976

www.napaumc.org

            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

NEW CONFIRMATION CLASS

Young people (sixth grade and older) and their parents who are interested in Confirmation are invited to meet with Pat Hitchcock on Sunday, January 17, 2010, in the Asbury Room. We meet on Sunday mornings weekly until Easter at which time Confirmands will have the opportunity to join the Church.

For more information, please contact Pat at 224-8586 or dnhitchcock@sbcglobal.net.

Church Women, Come, Join the Fun!

We’re going green and recycling, making new cards and reminder magnets for UMW. Come make Birthday Cards with us so that we can send them to our missionaries and friends on the prayer calendar. We need your loving hands to help.

Date: Thursday, February 4th at 7:00 p.m. in the Kagawa Room

If you can, bring one or more of the following items:

Old cards, just the side with the picture or decoration
your favorite glue
scissors (labeled with your name)
cutting board
cutting mat
ruler
ribbon
stickers
lace
buttons
wash cloth & towel
If you need a ride call Joan Feury. There is a member close to you that can pick you up.

Please mark your calendars for January 24th for UMW Sunday. Plan to be at the church and participate by sharing what it means to be a United Methodist Woman. Hope to see you at both events. 

Joan Feury, co-president, UMW

Special Concert

The Bromley School for Girls Choir from England will be performing in our sanctuary on Friday evening, February 12th. Be sure to save the date and plan to attend and invite your friends, neighbors, family, etc., to come with you!

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. beginning February 5th, 2010. Please bring the following with you when you come:

Copy of last year’s income tax return

Social Security benefit statement

All 1099 forms showing interest, dividends, etc.

1099-R form from your pension or annuity

Social Security cards for yourself and all dependants for identification

Call 707-255-1800 for an appointment

Our Deepest Sympathy

To the Crozier Family on the loss of our dear friend,
Joe, who died on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.
Joe will be greatly missed by his many friends in Napa
and especially by his church family.

Next Sarah Crosby meeting:

 February 13th  - 1:00-300 p.m. - Kagawa Room

     Contacts:    Janeen Breyman             265-6918

                       Amy Herzog                  251-8768

Next Unit meeting:

 February 18th – 10 a.m. – Program “What Gift Shall I Bring?”  

 February dates for UMW meetings are as follows:
February 9th—7:30 p.m. Susanna Wesley Circle-meet at member’s home
February 11th— 10:00 a.m. Patricia Riddell Circle-FUMC in Kagawa Rm.
  1:00 p.m.  Judith Newton Circle-meet at member’s home
  1:30 p.m. Lillian Wallace Circle-meet at member’s home    
February 13th – 1:00 p.m. – Sarah Crosby Circle—FUMC in Kagawa Rm.
February 18th – 10 a.m. – Unit meeting in the Kagawa Room—                                         Program “What Gift Shall I Bring?”  

 Hope you can come.  All are welcome.  Bring a friend.

Thank You From the Nursery Staff and Kids

Please accept our sincere appreciation for the gifts you’ve provided for the new, remodeled nursery: the beautiful quilts, blankets, pillows, rugs, toys, cleaning products, blinds and pictures. We are all very grateful.

Kerrie Rutherford

Report from the Growth and Outreach Committee

Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be appropriate to let you all know what the Growth and Outreach Committee has planned for 2010 (at least so far!). Hopefully most of you are now aware that we are working on building a database of our gifts and services. We want to build a church database of things that we are good at or enjoy doing. So, if you haven’t filled out a yellow card yet (handed out in the bulletins on Sunday and also available in the church office), please prayerfully consider how you might serve the church with what you are good at, enjoy doing or are willing to do for others. The sky is the limit on this so be as creative as you want.  Nothing is too small or insignificant.  You never know what someone else might need or want, or enjoy doing with you! We hope to complete the database in the next few months. We will then share this with all of you and explain how we hope to make it work.  Our long term desire/goal for this project is to be so successful within our church that we can spread it to the greater Napa community as a true outreach endeavor.

Those of you who are up to date on social media will know that we launched a Facebook page for Napa FUMC back in December. We already have 67 fans! We hope to use this as one method of communicating important information quickly, as well as keeping people informed about upcoming events and activities within the church. We’re still in the early stages of executing this, but hope to expand our reach to a wider audience. If you don’t have a Facebook account but do have email, you should consider joining. It’s a great way of communicating with friends and many businesses have also recognized the power of this tool for reaching a lot of people via their extended friends and family network. From an administrative aspect, it’s also very helpful because we don’t have to constantly try to keep up with changes in email accounts. Each person maintains this information themselves, so it makes our lives much easier!

In addition to Facebook, our other big project for this year is the church website. We spent most of last year trying to update all of the information on our website and make it as current and relevant as possible (a never-ending task!). We want our website to truly represent Napa FUMC. For those of you who aren’t aware, the web is where most people search for information these days and so having an attractive, easy to navigate and appealing website is critical for us. Most people make up their minds within 15 seconds of entering a site whether they’re interested or not, so we need to capture their attention quickly. There are some good tools out there now for church websites and social and visual media, which we plan to explore during the coming year. It’s a daunting task and with a small group, our time and resources are limited.

There are other small projects we are working on as well, but those are the big ticket items that we wanted to make you aware of. On behalf of the Growth and Outreach Committee, I wish all of you a productive and happy new year!

Elke Wood, Chair

New Love, New Mercy Stewardship Report

Thank you to all who have provided an estimate of giving towards our 2010 Budget. The final total at the end of 2009 was $317,216.00 pledged by 155 households. While this sum is less than we need to maintain a 2 pastorate church, it represents generosity and sacrifice for many. Is it ever too late to turn in a “pledge?” NO, our financial secretary will be glad to add you to the tally! Cards are available in the church office. On behalf of the entire committee, I thank you for your giving spirit.

Barb Thompson, Chair

In Deepest Sympathy

The Church has received word this week that Milt Munger, a longtime member of FUMC, Napa has passed away in Eugene, OR.
His son said “Thank you all for your friendship and support. The church meant a lot to him.”
Our heartfelt sympathy to Charles’ family.

Pie & A Movie

Just a reminder everyone that this Friday night we start off the new year with "Singing in the Rain"..... 6:30, our regular time… bring along something to share.
Next month the date will be Feb. 19th. We chose, on a recommendation, the movie "Muppets Take Manhattan"...now don't laugh...it's light, funny and very adult.  Fun for the gloomy days of February.
March will be on the 19th and in honor of St. Patrick's Day we'll view "The Quiet Man".
Mark it down and we look forward to seeing all who can make it.

Martha

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

Jan. 17 Scripture: Isaiah 621-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 121-11; John 2:1-11

Rev. Doug Monroe—Human Relations Day Cathedral Choir

Jan. 24 Scripture: Nehemiah 8:1-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21

Rev. Roger Kimble—UMW Sunday Bonner Bells

Jan. 31 Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30

Michael Herzog, Lay Speaker Cathedral Choir

Feb. 7 Scripture: Isaiah 6:1013; Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Rev. Doug Monroe—Communion Sunday and Evolution Sunday God’s House Band

Feb. 14 Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-43

Rev. Roger Kimble—Experiencing the Black Church Cathedral Choir