The Grapevine
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA
(707) 253-1411
April 1, 2008
Pastor’s Column…..
By now many of you have heard that I will be appointed to serve a new congregation as of July 1, 2008. The Bishop has appointed me to serve as the Associate Pastor of the South Reno United Methodist Church in Reno, NV. It is important for you to know that I requested this change of appointment. I have been very happy in ministry here at FUMC, but the time is right for Mike and me to move on to new challenges and opportunities.
I will join a strong ministry staff at South Reno that includes Senior Pastor, John Ruby, as well as a Christian Education Director and Youth Director. The South Reno congregation was founded 22 years ago and is a vibrant, growing community with 850 members and four worship services each Sunday. They are dedicated to faith development and mission; sending adult UMVIM teams to Bolivia annually and both junior and senior high youth to SSP and other youth mission trips. I look forward to the adventures that God has in store for me in this community.
Yet, I will miss all of you and our work together deeply. This congregation has meant so much to me, professionally and personally. You helped shape me as a student intern 7 years ago and have continued to help me grow and develop in ministry over the last 4 years, as your Associate Pastor. I look forward to sharing the joy of my ordination with you at Annual Conference on June 21st and cannot imagine a better way to celebrate than to hear the voices of the Cathedral Choir on that day! And, Mike and I will always cherish your love and support as our relationship developed. It was a true pleasure to join in marriage with so many of you there as witnesses. What a blessing to be surrounded by the love of a church community and the beautiful music of Anita Davies, the Bonner Bells, the Cathedral Choir, and God’s House Band!
You have nurtured me well. I can only hope that my ministry has also nurtured you and that we have grown together in faith along the way. In the next few months, Mike and I hope for many opportunities to “say goodbye” to all of you. Whether it is on Sunday mornings, over dinner or cups of coffee, or just “dropping by the office,” I want to take the time to end our time together as beautifully as we began. I will carry you and the lessons I’ve learned here always. We are the Church Together!
With Love,
Jennifer
SAVE THE DATE
Jennifer
Edenborough’s Ordination
will take place at our Annual
Conference
in Sacramento on June 21, 2008.
All her church
family is invited.
Details will follow in subsequent mailings but
if you’d like to be there,
please let the church office know.
We will plan carpooling, etc.
Please let us know your needs.
SSP NEWS!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Dreamweavers Theatre Benefit Performance. We made over $1200 to help fund SSP 2008!
April is Sponsorship Month! Come to the Fellowship Room to meet our youth, read their biographies and support our mission.
SSP Gourmet Dinner will be in May – Tickets will be available on April 20th for $50.00 per person. Our menu will feature Peruvian food. Parents are invited to an organizational meeting on April 27th at 4PM in the Kagawa Room to continue work on this fundraiser.
BUILDERS
The Builders continue to dance! At the next meeting on Saturday, April 12th at noon Susan Edenborough will give a lesson and demonstration on tap dancing. Come one and all. Let’s see some bounce in those steps! Please bring a potluck dish to share and your own table service. This group is open to everyone so please come
Behind the Scenes
Have you ever wondered how things get done? We have many volunteers in this church who give their valuable time to make sure things get done. Here are some of the people we owe a debt of gratitude for:
Our Grapevine Angels,
Millie Collins, Mary Hudler, Jeannie Marco, Martha Ricci, Helen Slack, Lavonne Van Cleve, Eleanor Greig and Jan Geren. This committee meets twice a month to collate, fold, address and prepare the bulk mailing of your Grapevine.
Mary Herzog,
our Financial Secretary - I’ll bet that most of you don’t know that she is a volunteer. She puts in so many hours of hard work, taking our offerings to the bank, keeping track of contributions, making sure they get credited to the fund you designated, and sending out your yearly statements of giving, balancing our bank statements, etc. And on top of all of that, she is also our Church Historian, preserving our memories and the history of our church for the generations to come. She also hosts and ushers.
Our Money Counters
This team meets once a week to count all the money we have received. Thanks to Hugh Silcox, Kay Stevens, Georgene Fly, Eloise English and Loeta Stocking.
Many Thanks to All of You
Holy Week Thanksgivings
Thanks to all of you who made Holy Week and Easter a time of sacred celebration! Doug and Jennifer would like to thank the Worship Committee, and co-chairs, Susan Edenborough and Holly Zaccone, for their creativity and dedication. We are grateful for all those who participated in the worship experiences of the week: the Palm Sunday drama participants, the readers on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunrise, and all those who read and shared in the Easter morning procession. Thanks also to Michael Herzog and Ward Thompson for providing coffee and pastries on Easter morning and to Kathryn Tolman for her beautiful communion table at the Sunrise Service.
We are especially thankful for our music staff – to Jan Lanterman for your leadership and vision and your piano accompaniment on Holy Thursday, to Anita Davies for always delighting us with her music and her earthquake sounds, to God’s House Band for a beautiful Palm Sunday and Easter Sunrise, to the Bonner Bells for your wonderful additions to our Easter morning Call to Worship, and to Bill Crane for your amazing trumpet sounds!
And last, but never least, a special note of gratitude to Joellen Pope for the beautiful flowers that graced our sanctuary on Easter morning. Many members contributed to the purchase of flowers in honor or in memory of loved ones and we thank you, also. Those special flower sales at Christmas and Easter are the main sources of funding for flowers throughout the year. We purchase enough poinsettias and lilies to ensure that all those who indicate a desire to take one home can do so and the remainder of the income goes toward the flowers that grace our sanctuary during the rest of the year.
The Worship Committee would also like to thank all of you who contributed to our Lenten Devotions for 2008. The booklet was a helpful addition to our Lenten meditations. Thanks to the Easter Processional Decorators, Mark and Bonnie Andersen, Crystal and Linda Bradas, Emily and Wendy Couch, Kip, Susan, Mike and Jennifer Edenborough, Holly Zaccone, Kaley, Laura, Taylor and Tom Lewis, Dianne Mahler, Doug Monroe, Ryan Olson, Natalie Schiefferly, Bill Sharp and Kathryn Tolman, and a special thanks to our acolytes, Carson Lewis and Haley Olson.
It takes many hands and many hearts to share the Gospel in ways that challenge, shape, and inspire us. Thanks to everyone of you who help make that happen!
Alleluia! Christ is Arisen! Spread the Word! Amen!
Note from your Staff Parish Relations Committee
In case the news has not yet reached you, Jennifer announced on Sunday, March 16th that "the Bishop intends to appoint her" to South Reno UMC! It's a huge church.. As you can imagine, there were many mixed emotions. I personally feel a sense of pride that the Bishop was smart enough to recognize what a gem we have here! Starting as our Student Intern, then as Associate Pastor, we have watched Jennifer grow over the years. We have helped equip Jennifer for ministry, and now should launch her off and proudly watch her be successful in South Reno! And even brag, maybe!
News from your Board of Trustees
The Trustees have been busy with a number of repairs and
upgrades to our church facilities. I am certain everybody
has noticed the replacement carpet in the Fellowship Room, offices,
and hallway. But other less noticeable repairs have also
been done. There remains much that needs our
attention. Some of the items will not require
technical "know-how" and the Trustees are planning a church
"Work-Day" as a way of having FUN and working together for
the benefit of our facilities. In the meantime, some of
the projects might be done by individuals at their own schedule.
Or members might want to fund an item.
Here is a partial list of
things the Trustees are considering:
1
Install new gutters on north side of Adams Hall
2.
Trim in Lydia and Ruth rooms
3.
Replace pine board at top of stairs
4.
Repair door and door jam in copy room and Doug's office
5.
Paint Asbury room
6. Paint halls on
first and second floor of Bonner Building
7.
Put shelves in youth room closet
8.
Put shelves in storage area for ladder, buffer and steam cleaner room
9. Build a cover for junction box
area in Kagawa room
10. Carpet
replacement in Jennifer's office
11.
Door closer, women's restroom, second floor
12.
Men's restroom partition needs paint
13.
Carpet cleaning in Beall Library
14.
Mini blinds in Wesley-Grenfell room
15.
Paint trim on church, south side
16.
Wooden benches in garden area
If
any of these chores excites you with either labor or $$$, you can
contact either Dianne in the office or Kathy Martin, Chairman of the
Trustees.
G.R.A.P.E. Express
Our travels take us Out of Egypt during April. As we learn our verse, Exodus 5:1, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’”, we will discover that God wants all people to be free, to be treated equally, with respect, justice and kindness; we can trust God’s guidance and God’s care and know that God is always with us and we will learn that we are called by God and can respond to God’s call in many different ways.
Please join us as we begin our next exciting journey.
Our next stop in May is The Ten Commandants—Psalm 119:34—tickets on sale now!
Welcome Baby LaRue
Vickie Poli and the LaRue family welcome Connor Riley LaRue, 8 lbs., 8 oz. and 22”. Congratulations to all!
UMW
2008 Reading Program
Book Review of
“Enrique’s Journey:
The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to
Reunite With His
Mother”
by Sonia Nazario
This true story recounts the unforgettable journey of a Honduran boy who braves hardship and peril to find his mother in North Carolina. She had been forced to leave Honduras and her starving family to find work. With gritty determination and a deep longing to be by his mother’s side, Enrique travels through hostile, unknown worlds. Enrique’s Journey is the timeless story of families torn apart, the yearning to be together again and a boy who will risk his life to find the mother he loves. Based on the LA Times newspaper series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, this book puts a human face on the ongoing debate about immigration reform in the US. This book is now available for check out in the UMW Social Action section of the UMW Reading Program Library.
Put your Grapevine article here. The next deadline is April 3rd and will be mailed out on
April 9th
What Does It Mean to Be United Methodist?”
All who may be interested in receiving information about membership in The United Methodist Church are invited to attend our next “Discovery Class” that’s to be held over “a month of Sundays.” Beginning on Sunday, March 30th and ending on Sunday, April 20th, a class will be offered to explore just what it means to be a United Methodist in this day and age. Besides exploring your own spiritual journeys, participants will be encouraged to engage in a dialogue, alongside the pastors and lay leaders of our church, about what it means to them to be a Christian in a pluralistic culture such as ours.
Using the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” as our framework - a balanced way of approaching theology through a look at scripture, tradition, reason and experience - we will explore some of what United Methodists believe. You will have an opportunity to meet a cross-section of leaders from some of the committees of our church, and those who wish to become members will be invited to do so on Sunday, April 20th.
Please call the church office at 253-1411 or speak to either Doug or Jennifer if you’re interested in church membership; but if you’re simply “an enquiring mind,” you’re also welcome to join us!
UNITED
METHODIST WOMEN
April Meetings
Judith Newton - April 10 @ 1:00 pm Loeta Stocking’s home
Lillian Wallace - April 10 @ 1:30 pm Dorothy Gaster’s home
Patricia Riddell -April 10 @ 10 am Kagawa Room
Susanna Wesley will not meet in April
Unit Meeting - No meeting in April
V.O.I.C.E.S.
Learn more about this organization that assists young people who have “aged out” of the Foster Care Program - Come to the Kagawa Room at 10 am on Thursday April 10th. Representatives from this organization will give information and answer questions. Please call 224-9305 to RSVP.
Mission Statement
The First United Methodist Church unconditionally welcomes all people in greater Napa 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 and to become active followers of Jesus Christ.
March 30 Scripture: Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Lay Speaker Michael Herzog Bonner Bells
April 6 Scripture: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
Pastor Jennifer Edenborough Cathedral Choir
April 13 Scripture: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Pastor Jennifer Edenborough God’s House Band
April 20 Scripture: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
Pastor Douglas J. Monroe Bonner Bells
April 27 Scripture: Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21
Pastor Douglas J. Monroe Cathedral Choir
Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 am -- All Sunday School Classes at 10:45 am
Adult Bible Study: Parlor
GRAPE Express for ages 3 years thru 5th grade: Kagawa Room
Junior High School Group: Beall Library
High School Youth Group: Sunday at 4:00pm - Youth Room