The Grapevine

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA

(707) 253-1411

October 1, 2009

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

…Pastor’s Column:

One of the hardest things to deal with in life is uncertainty. You can see it in the eyes of your kindergartner as you walk away from them the first day of school, or the eyes of your teenager as they pull the car out for the first time. You can see it in the soldiers’ eyes, as they board the plane to far away places or the grooms as they await their beloved’s walk down the isle towards their future together.

Life is full of uncertainties. Through all of life, God is the constant. God does not change. God loves you regardless. You, however, will change and go through changes. It is inevitable. Life is seldom with out challenges, heartbreaks and uncertainty. Just remember God is there to walk with you every day. The storms of life will pass over and around you. God is the constant thru it all .... even the break ups and divorces, loss of jobs, death and taxes.

You must believe you are not alone and that God will keep your head above water. Learn to relax and float on the power of the Holy Spirit. God has a life guard called, Jesus, who is willing to wade out to the deep end of life to bring you safely back to shore. It simply takes trusting God.

Give it a try the next time you are uncertain about something in your life. God never disappoints. God just points you in a different direction and you must walk in faith. Uncertainty does exist, but faith exists to escort you thru and around the obstacles life can place in your way. Remember, God never changes, is always there and will always love you. Shalom my friends.

Roger

VBS Report

What a great Vacation Bible School we had this year! We visited Paul who was under the watchful eye of Brutus, the Roman Guard, found Christians who worshipped in a cave, and experienced Brutus’s decision to follow Jesus even though it meant that he had to work in the stables for the rest of his soldier career. There were chariot races, a high jump competition and hula hoop races. We visited a leather works shop and everyone purchased a leather wrist band with their name on it with a gold Roman coin. There were wooden tops to paint and an abacus to make (the first calculators). There was good food to purchase at the market place as well. A big thank you to all who came and took part in our Rome adventure and a special thank you to Paul (Michael Herzog, Roger Kimble, and Kip Edenborough), Brutus (Jim LaRue and Dana Zaccone), the Christians in the cave (Dianne Mahler and Jan Geren), the food store keeper (Janeen Breyman), the leather works shopkeeper (Krystal Stacy), the hula hoop race organizer (Taylor Lewis), Roman soldiers (Crystal Bradas and Krystal Stacy) and Marcus (Taylor Lewis) for sharing your stories and gifts with us. A special thank you to Holly Zaccone who put the logo on our coin bags and Susan Edenborough who made the brightly colored family sashes. It does indeed take a church to teach the faith. Hope to see all of you next year!

FUN BOOK CLUB

Tues., Oct. 6th  is our next evening to meet and discuss the classic Catcher in the Rye,  by J.D. Salinger.  Remember that one from high school or college?  Dust it off or check it out at the library and join us at Kay Steven's home at 7:30pm.  The November book is My Stroke of Insight.  We encourage everyone to attend the meeting even if you have not read the book.  There is always a lot of information generated about books you might want to read and we need input for future choices. 

See Pictures and Introductions of our New Members at:

http://www.napaumc.org/new_mem_Sum_09.html

Church and Society/Missions

has the following activities planned for this year:

Oct. 4—Potluck to welcome Katherine Parker, Missionary to Cambodia after worship

Nov. 14— Napa River Clean-up #2 from Kayaks—We’ll use kayaks from a local kayak rental shop—starts from Kennedy Boat launch.

April or May—Reading group reading Picking Cotton, Kingdom of Simplicity

MISSIONARY KATHERINE PARKER TO SPEAK IN CHURCH OCT. 4TH

Ms. Parker will give a report on her work in promoting health and agricultural programs in Cambodia. She previously spent 15 months in rural Japan in similar programs.

Please join together following the church service for a Potluck where we can meet and greet Katherine and further discuss her work in mission. Please bring finger foods to help minimize set up time.

Missions/Church and Society Committee

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

Save the Date!

Thursday, November 19th

A Benefit for

The Table

Dreamweaver Theater

“Over the River and

Through the Woods”

Reception at 7pm

Performance at 8pm

COME PLAY WITH US! FUMC Play group meets each Thursday from 9:30 to 11:30 am in the church nursery. Babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their caregivers are welcome!

Call Eva at 252-0708 for more information.

Grapevine Schedule

The next deadline is October 8th

and it will be mailed out on October 14th.

Please email your articles to secretary@napaumc.org

Fun & Fellowship Committee Upcoming events:

“Saints Among Us” - on October 18, 2009 we are celebrating our “nonagenarians” after worship service.  If you have someone you would like to nominate, please contact Patty Renfrow at 252-4763. 

 “Chile Cook-off” January 24, 2010 - get those recipes ready!

 “Talent Show” March 6, 2010  - more to follow, but we hope you will share your talent with us, whatever it is!

Builders

The Builders will be having the pot-luck luncheon meeting Saturday, October 10th at noon.  Marian Long has planned another program on the general theme, "Celebrating Who We Are," and is focusing this time on the legacy of Margaret and Ed Whitmer, who personify the Saints within our Builders' group of wonderful people who did so much for our church and our community, and whose families continue that legacy.

And Marian says, "Stay Tuned" for second Saturdays' events, in a great year of Celebrating Who We Are.

They will soar on wings like eagles.....Isaiah 40:30

Congratulations to Troop 2's newest Eagle Scouts

Ryan Frank Baskett

Aaron Christopher Rubin

Gregory David Spinelli

Brent Clayton Quade

Eagle Scout Court of Honor

October 10,2009

3:00 pm

Camp Coombs on Napa State Hospital Grounds

BBQ to follow

RSVP ktrubin2@aol.com

A Small Miracle (…this from the mother of our missionary, Martha Parker, Individual Volunteer in Mission)

I don't know how this really happened. I only know that when I prayed with a young girl in Cambodia, the prayer was answered. I would like to tell the story from my point of view.
My daughter, Katherine Parker, is a missionary in Cambodia working to improve the lives of the poor. I am a community health nurse in California, serving the elementary schools of Mill Valley, my home community. The schools have a long break during the summer and I volunteered through the UMVIM program of our church ("United Methodist Volunteers in Mission"). I raised money for my expenses and to provide funds to carry out the work of the CHAD program within which Katherine works. "CHAD" stands for community health and agricultural development.

While in Cambodia, Katherine and I visited a newly formed congregation in rural Kompong Chhang province. At the end of the Sunday worship service, the pastor told us that one of the families that was present that day had lost all hope of finding help for a 12-year-old daughter who had a heart that was not healthy. The mother said she had been to many doctors in Phnom Penh and that the girl needed to have surgery, but the family had used up all its money. In fact, she said she had sold all her land to try to get help for her daughter. She said her husband had deserted her and that she and her three children were destitute.

What I had learned from Irene Mparutsa, the nurse with the CHAD program, was that the government hospital in Phnom Penh would care for the very poor if they had documentation from their village chiefs. I also knew that CHAD had pastors who were trained to assist families with the process of going through this system. I asked the mother if we could pray about this, and the congregation and the family prayed together. I asked the mother to prepare her documentation and gather what she needed and that we would contact her. Then, I talked directly to the young girl through an interpreter. The girl said she wanted her heart to be healed, and we prayed together.

Being a nurse, I knew she probably had lived with the condition her entire life. The mother said the doctors just told her not to drink coconut milk; they did not say anything else she could do. I could feel a murmur when I placed my hand on her chest, probably something that would have been corrected as a young child in the US. It was like looking at medical books that were 50 years old about children who had murmurs that kept them from activities and that meant they always would be tired and weak. This girl had difficulty breathing and her muscles were not well developed, because she had to rest so much.

The following week, I started my volunteer teaching of the nurses at a hospital in Phnom Penh. I found out from CHAD's Irene Mparutsa that a team of Methodist missionary heart surgeons from Korea were coming the following week. All was very vague and we had no easy way to communicate directly with the woman and her daughter other than by going to the village that was a three-hour drive for us.

We reported to the pastor and made plans on our end to help the girl come for the heart clinic, but were disturbed to hear back a few days later that the girl's condition had worsened, that the mother was also sick, and that they had set out from their rural village for Phnom Penh with their letter from the village chief, but without the information from us as to the specific hospital to which they should go.

I was so upset! I had so hoped to connect the girl with the heart surgeons from Korea, who I had learned were doing their surgeries at Phnom Penh's large public hospital. All I could do was continue to pray, and I asked my home congregation and healing prayer group in Mill Valley also to pray.

Another week went by, and still no one had word of the woman and her daughter. The surgeons had come and gone. Katherine and I visited the village again and we all continued to pray together.

Two more weeks passed and, one day, the pastor called Katherine and me with the joyful report that the girl had returned to the village! She had had open heart surgery and was better! We drove the three hours to the church that Sunday . . . and, who was there? The girl herself and her mother arrived by bike at the small bamboo-stilt church, beaming and praising God for the miracle of the surgery.

We asked where she had the surgery and it was at the hospital where the missionary team of Korean heart surgeons had been, and it happened the week that they were there. Did they do it? No one knew, except that the girl now had a heart to provide her a normal life.

If I have ever seen a miraculous answer to prayer, this is my witness.

from http://bokashi.blogspot.com/

NOTE: We hope that you all will join us for the worship service and program to follow when Katherine, herself (accompanied by her parents, Howard & Martha), will join us on Sunday, October 4^th – “World Communion Sunday” – to share more of her story during the worship service, as well as in a program to follow.

Pastor’s Class
…from Doug’s Deck

I was very encouraged to find that in response to the “Vital Signs” survey back in June, a significant number of you indicated that our church’s education plan…

…should include activities relating to personal spiritual growth development

…should include “core” activities that relate to what it means to be a progressive Christian

…and that there should be opportunities for Bible study, but preferably within a more manageable time frame – i.e., a shorter time commitment

Over the past several weeks I’ve been giving everyone a chance to sign up for one or more small group gatherings:

…one offering an invitation to the Christian spiritual life, based upon a book entitled Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson

…a repeat of the class entitled Remedial Christianity – What Every Believer Should Know about the Faith, but Probably Doesn’t, using the book of that name by Paul Laughlin and Glenna Jackson

3. …and a beginning approach to a study of the Bible entitled Listening to Scripture – Strategies for Interpreting the Bible

Based upon the sign-ups I’m going to begin with #2 – a repeat of a class that I offered some years ago based on the book Remedial Christianity. Sometime at the first of next year, then, I’ll be offering #1, and later in the spring we’ll move on to #3. Each gathering will be a six-to-eight-week commitment on Sunday mornings between 11:00 and noon. We’ll begin on October 11^th and conclude this first offering on December 20^th – if you want to calendar the exact dates, they’re 10/11, 10/18, 11/1, 11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13 and 12/20. Even if you can’t make every Sunday, but find that you’re still interested, see that you order a book and join us whenever you can! I look forward to the rich dialogue that these gatherings will create for us.

In the cause of shalom…always, Doug

Attention Men! Clean out those closets! The Thrift Shop could use good mens shirts, pants, shoes, socks and underwear. Large and extra large are especially needed but there’s always a need for everything. Thank you.

New Love, New Mercy

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3: 21-24

It’s time for our Financial Stewardship Campaign and this year’s theme is New Love, New Mercy based on the Lamentation scripture above. Hopefully you will notice the logo and theme related articles in your Grapevine, Sunday worship folder, and in mailings from your church over the next few weeks.

“I promise to support the United Methodist Church with my prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.” Did you know that you can fulfill 4 of those promises by fully participating in our financial Stewardship campaign? Pray for the success of our campaign so that we may continue to support 2 pastors. Come to church each Sunday from October 11 – November 1. Prepare an estimate of giving card for the November 1^st Stewardship Sunday and present it in an act of witness to your faith.

Our 2010 church budget will be prepared after the Stewardship campaign and is based on your estimates of giving. We will not come door to door and there will be no arm twisting; we encourage you to give out of gratitude for all that God has given you.

“Summer and winter, springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is thy faithfulness!

Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed thy hand hath provided;

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

Barbara Thompson, Stewardship Chairperson

UMW News

October dates for meetings are as follows:

October 8th

10:00 a.m. Patricia Riddell Circle FUMC in Kagawa Room,

1:00 p.m. Judith Newton Circle at member’s home

1:30 p.m. Lillian Wallace Circle meet at member’s home

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

September Program

The program “Gleaning to Fill the Baskets” was presented by the Sarah Crosby Circle .  Members brought produce and canned items to share with The Table as well as the Napa Valley Food Bank which were placed on the beautiful table of harvest bounty.

Susan Dunaway-Tsujihara led the singing of “Bringing in the Sheaves’ accompanied by her guitar.

Katherine Proctor began the program with a discussion of how many people in the United States go hungry and/or are undernourished.  Other program participants were Amy Herzog, June Moroney, Joan Feury and Janeen Breyman.  1 in 10 households are living in hunger. The Biblical emphasis/perspective is gleaning left over produce and it is becoming more common today, as it was in Bible times.   Gleaning should not be the dregs, or substandard products, but the best we can give and it can make a big difference in the world.   

Katherine told us of the Society of St. Andrew, a grassroots gleaning hunger relief ministry that relies on volunteers to glean fields and orchards to distribute to the needy.  Their Potato and Produce Project salvages truckloads of unmarketable potatoes and other produce and delivers it to agencies that serve the poor and bridge the hunger gap.  It is the largest non-profit food agency i n partnership with the United Methodist Church and UMCOR.

Other gleaning agencies are Fields of Grace in Washington State and Fallen Fruit, which maps food resources.  September is Feeding America Hunger Awareness Month and October 16th is World Food Day, a worldwide event to increase awareness. Bread for the World has strategies on how to end hunger via education and research and urges us to contact our nation’s decision makers on how to help feed the world.  Feeding the hungry is a social justice issue.

The Unitarian Church in Napa has asked us to partner with them to help with the Napa Food Bank, which is i n trouble, having lost their permanent base and it does not get much local press.  Some services have been cut, including the senior brown bag programs. Shirley King is the director for the food bank.  The program closed with the singing of “For The Fruits of This Creation". 

TAKE A PEEK AT THE FINANCIAL PICTURE

$284,692 -- anticipated (budgeted) expenses through August 2009

$254,098 -- actual income through August 2009

$  30,594 -- shortfall

The shortfall is almost entirely the result of lower than anticipated giving -- pledged, non-pledge, and loose plate offerings.

At the time of the September Finance Committee meeting (21 Sept 09) there were nearly $20,000 of unpaid bills in hand.  These included two-plus months apportionments and a quarterly medical insurance for our clergy.

The Finance Committee feels an obligation to keep the congregation informed of our financial situation.

Michael S Herzog, Secretary
FUMC Finance Committee

Water Projects in Africa Change Women's Lives

Join us Friday night October 2, 2009, 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Room of the First United Methodist Church to hear from Deborah Katina of Yang'at . Yang'at is a Church World Service supported project in Kenya and Uganda, and Deborah is in California to share her experiences with several faith communities in the Bay Area.

“When we go to the communities, we’re not just talking about water” says Deborah Katina, Executive Director of Yang’at in western Kenya. When founding Yang’at in 1999, she and three other university educated women called the new Non-Governmental Organization a “girl child potential sensitization project”. Yang’at-organized community water projects have also led to a rise in girls’ enrollment in school, girls’ resistance to traditional female initiation rites, improved health for all members of the family, increased literacy and increased earnings by women.

The sand dams Yang’at helps communities build are a low cost, low maintenance water collection and conservation technology that has been adopted by other grass roots organizations. The dams, often in tandem with a shallow well, provide clean water year round and are a great time-saver for women who have had to walk an average of 20 kilometers (about 13 miles) daily for water. Deborah Katina will speak and answer questions about how the Yang’at (“to care” in the Pokot language) water projects in Kenya and Uganda have transformed lives as well as saved communities from the extreme water scarcity.

Deborah will show slides and speak about her work, and light refreshments will be served. For more information contact Pat and Don Hitchcock, 224-8586 or dnhitchcock@sbcglobal.net.

PIE AND A MOVIE GROUP—Our next movie night will be October 16th at 6:30.  This months selection is called "Best In Show"....a comedy spoof on the dog show world. No reservations required just come and join the group! Any questionscall Martha Monroe at 226-6794.

Volunteers

Thanks to Louise Cade for volunteering as our new pew tender and to Julie Jerome for joining our Grapevine team.

We still need a head usher and a van driver. If you are interested, please call the church office.

FUMC Youth Perform

Singin’ In The Rain

Justin-Siena HS Theatre

Justin-Siena High School Theatre is in rehearsal for the musical, “Singin' in the Rain”, to be performed the weekends of November 6th and November 13th.  We have two high school students and one middle school student from FUMC family in the production.  Mary Kate Francis is the lead female role of Kathy Selden. Christopher Marks has two parts, Young Don and The Butler, along with singing/dancing in the ensemble, and William Francis will be cast in the role of young Cosmo.  Tickets will be for sale after October 5th at www.justin-siena.org.  Buy your tickets early as Justin-Siena sells out all their theatre productions. 

HELPING the HOMELESS

Project Homeless Connect on November 20^th helps homeless people not just learn about available services, but actually gets them some services on the spot. Many caring volunteers are needed to help make this happen. To volunteer, contact Katie Meehan-Rubin, Volunteer Center of Napa Valley, 252-6222 or katier@volunteernapa.org.

Organizers: the Volunteer Center in partnership with Community Action Napa Valley.

Sierra Service Project 2010

We will have our first SSP planning meeting on Sunday, Oct. 18th at 11 am in the Youth Room. All interested parents and youth are encouraged to attend. All youth in the 8th through the 12th grade this year are eligible and welcome to attend. You may gather information on locations and dates at www.sierraserviceproject.org. Please come prepared to vote on where you would like to go and when. If you would like to be a counselor please attend this meeting.

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.

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 and Youth Group are on vacation until September

Rally Sunday: September 13th

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

Oct. 4 Scripture: Job 1:1; 2:1-10; Psalm 26 or Psalm 25; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16

Missionary from Cambodia, Katherine Parker World Communion Sunday Bonner Bells

Oct. 11 Scripture: Job 23:1-17; Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31

Rev. Doug Monroe with April Dawson All Abilities Sunday Cathedral Choir

Oct. 18 Scripture: Job 38:1-7; Psalm 104; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45

Rev. Roger Kimble Laity Sunday Cathedral Choir

Oct. 25 Scripture: Job 42:1-17; Psalm 34:1-8; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52

Rev. Roger Kimble Childrens’ Sabbath God’s House Band

Nov. 1 Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6; John 11:32-44

Rev. Doug Monroe Communion and All Saints Day Cathedral Choir