Beyond the Green Doors – July 2019
BEYOND THE GREEN DOORS
The newsletter of the
Peterborough United Methodist Church
43 Concord Street, Peterborough, NH
July 2019
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Weekly
Sun Worship Service 10a
Sun Adult Bible Study 11:30a
Mon Confidential Meeting 6-8p
Tue Office Hours 9-12
Wed Office Hours 9-12
Wed Choir Rehearsal 11a
Wed Life Groups 6:30p
Thu Office Hours 9-12
Jul 14 Free Community Breakfast 8a
Jul 19 Open Mic Night 7p
Jul 21 Sizzlin Sunday 10a
Jul 23 Missions Meeting 6:30p
Jul 27 Men’s Monthly Breakfast 7:30a
Jul 28 Free Community Breakfast 8a
Jul 30 Newsletter submissions due
CHURCH FAMILY CELEBRATIONS
Birthdays:
Richard C Clason Jul
Bronwin Southwick Jul 6
Steve Griggs Jul 12
Vic (Linda) French Jul 15
Membership Anniversaries:
Ron LaRoche
Charlie Munroe
Tammy Munroe
PRAYER CORNER
“God, as Brother Giles said, is a great mountain of corn from which man, like a sparrow, takes a grain of wheat: yet even that grain of wheat, which is as much as we can carry away, contains all the essentials of our life.
We are to carry it carefully and eat it gratefully:
remembering with awe the majesty of the mountain from which it comes.”
—Evelyn Underhill
Gracious God, we thank you that You provide for our needs
and that You have entrusted us to each other’s care.
Help us to receive with humility and to give with joy.
Help us to share what we have without fear of tomorrow.
Come to us, and fill us with Your Spirit,
that we may serve You in the world. Amen.
PUMC BOOK GROUP
PUMC Book Group will not meet during July, but starts back up at the end of August when when Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko will be the topic of discussion. An historical novel that begins at the beginning of the 20th century and covers several decades of a family’s movement across Korea and Japan, Pachinko has gained great reviews and has been picked up by Apple TV for development as a mini-series. The book is available through library loan, Kindle and on-line book purchase. All are welcome to join the reading group. The next meeting will be at Ken and Charlene Schultz’s home on August 27th @ 1 PM. Hope to see you there!
SIZZLING SUNDAY IS COMING
The first Sizzling Sunday Church Service and PotLuck Lunch will be held on Sunday, July 21st. Our Sunday service will be held in the sanctuary, followed by grilling and pot luck dishes outside. Please look for signup sheets for volunteering dishes and help in setting up, grilling, and cleaning up afterward! Many hands make light work!
Let’s pray for sunny weather and breezes for that Sunday!
SPECIAL MUSIC SUNDAYS
There’s some special music coming to Peterborough United Methodist this summer! Look for Vladimir Odinokikh to bring beautiful piano to the sanctuary on July 7th. Mid-month, Judy Terwilliger will return to give us her beautiful violin/fiddle tunes on July 14th. At the end of July, Andrew Wyndham will return to provide classical guitar pieces for our service on July 28th.
PUMC is truly blessed to have so many talented people to tap so that our choir and organist can take some time to relax during these summer days! If anyone has ideas for other musicians who might be willing to bring their songs to church, please contact Wendy Dunning, Rev. Kathleene Card, or Susan Lindquist. Many thanks!
CHURCH ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS
Life Groups
• Men and women Life Groups have been practicing various spiritual disciplines together.
• Members selected a discipline to practice for the week and encouraged each other and held each other accountable for their chosen discipline.
• Final session is June 19th which will be a sample meeting in format for long-term groups.
Worship Committee
• Committee met on May 29th to plan for Pentecost service and summertime worship.
• Summer services will include at least two guest speakers, Michael Robidoux and Mark Welty.
• The choir is planning to continue throughout the summer on a more informal basis.
• Wendy Dunning and Susan Lindquist are working on providing music for the dates that the choir is not singing.
• Wendy Dunning will be posting a sign-up sheet for anyone who is interested in volunteering to sing with the choir or participate in a special music offering.
• There is currently a survey out to see if there is interest in doing a Sizzling Sunday.
• Matt Keenan will be hosting a second usher training session this summer for anyone who was not able to attend the first one.
United Methodist Women
• Annual Salad Supper was held June 4th and was attended by nine women at Susan Lindquist’s house.
• They are working on planning a mission project of making exit bags for women escaping domestic violence.
• UMW also hosted the reception for George Eastman’s funeral on June 1st.
• Their next meeting will be in October.
Youth Group Report
• The Youth group is hosting a mission trip to Camp Mechuwana in Maine July 7th-13th.
• All are welcome and encouraged to join. Contact Michael Robidoux if interested.
• Vacation Bible School will be held August 12-16th. The theme is biblical and local heroes.
• Registration is open and we are looking for volunteers to help with teaching and food.
Adult Bible Study
• The group has continued their studies into the Acts of the Apostles.
• This series tells the story of the history of the early church and how the word of God was spread to the rest of the known world.
• Lessons are taught by Jim Poplin.
• These stories help us show first-hand how we can become an Acts church.
PUMC Sunday School Superintendent
• Sunday school classes will be continuing throughout the summer this year.
• This committee is seeking additional volunteer assistant teachers to help over the summer so Linda and Susan can take some time off during it.
Pastor’s Report
• Reverend Card is grateful for the commitment and participation of church leaders she has witnessed this past month working to serve God. Below are just a few of these examples:
• PUMC hosted a wonderful service for the Eastman family.
• PUMC went to sing for Bob Johnson.
• Bible studies are reaching a wide variety of members through Jim Poplin’s classes, Life groups, and Sunday School.
• PUMC is supporting a summer intern who is helping with VBS and mission trips.
• PUMC hosted the UMW salad supper in the home of Susan Lindquist.
• PUMC is excited to welcome back the people who travel in the winter.
• The reach of congregational care has expanded under Sue Poplin’s leadership.
• PUMC is blessed to be able to continue to provide lots of good food.
• Outreach of open mic participation has expanded.
• PUMC offered usher training.
• PUMC held a very successful yard sale both in raising funds, supporting families, and offering fellowship to the community, especially children.
• PUMC was well represented at the Annual Conference.
• PUMC has participated in many community events such as 100 nights.
• PUMC honored children with Andy Dunbar having a lesson with the kids and gifting them Marigolds.
• PUMC created a beautiful garden at Riverside with Sue Poplin’s direction and the help of Jim Poplin and Andy Wallenstein.
• PUMC has monthly men’s breakfasts on Saturday.
FACTS FROM THE NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE STATISTICIANS REPORT:
• 590 total churches in New England Conference.
• This includes 6 states and 9 geographic districts.
• New Hampshire District has 5,142 professing members.
• 76,369 total professing members in the New England Conference.
• This is a 3.3% decrease from 2017-2018
• All districts had an overall decrease in worship attendance 2017 to 2018.
• Resolutions were passed at the conference to close 8 different Methodist churches.
• 3 new churches opened in the Central Mass District.
• 26% of churches in NE Conference experienced an increase in worship attendance
• 21% of churches in NH district experienced an increase in worship attendance and we should all be very pleased that PUMC is one of them.
• Youth attending United Methodist camps increased by 4% in 2018. This is the greatest increase in attendance for any of the UM programs.
• Vacation Bible School attendance increased 1%.
• 68 million dollars were spent collectively by all the UM churches in the NE conference during 2018.
• The churches, buildings, and assets of the Methodist Church in NE conference are valued at 847 million dollars.
• The NE Conference also ordained 13 elders (including Pastor Lourey who is now Reverend) and commissioned nine elders and two deacons. This is the largest class of new clergy in living memory for the NEUMC.
UMC HERITAGE LANDMARKS
Are you traveling outside our general area this year? Consider visiting one of the 49 UMC Heritage Landmarks. An introduction to the landmarks and a list by state can be found on the UMC website:
http://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/heritage-landmarks-a-travelers-guide
YOUTH GROUP MISSION TRIP IN MAINE
The PUMC Youth Group is excited to be hosting a week-long mission trip this summer at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop Maine. Everyone of all ages is welcome to join us. The trip will include participating in service activities such as house building/repair, gardening, and helping out with local ministries in the community. The week includes four days of service work and one free day in between where volunteers are welcome to explore the surrounding area to hike and swim. The trip will take place the week of July 7th-13th. Please email Michael Robidoux at michaelr@peterboroughumc.org if you are interested in joining or if you have any questions.
Take me out to the ball game…… The Richards enjoying a Fisher Cats game. It was a beautiful evening and the Fisher Cats won 8 to 3. Yea!
WILL OUR CHILDREN HAVE FAITH?
By Kathleene Card
It is really exciting to watch how our children at PUMC are showing an increased interest in knowing God more fully. They ask good questions, and they respond well to the questions we ask of them. In John Westerhoff’s book, Will Our Children Have Faith, he compares faith development to the rings of growth in a tree. I want to share some of his ideas, so that we can think about what it means to nurture faith in a child.
If we think about cutting through a tree, we would see the season’s growth in its rings. Mature faith, like the rings of a tree, happens over time. These rings of our faith formation would, according to Westerhoff, belong to four basic types: he calls them experienced faith, affiliative (or belonging) faith, searching faith, and owned faith. Each person, just as each tree, has his or her own personal pattern, but the sequence would happen in the order outlined above.
Experienced faith is the center or the heartwood ring. The Judeo-Christian belief about God is that God seeks us. The foundation of faith is not an intellectual exercise, but an actual encounter. The Scriptures record many such encounters as well as how people respond to God seeking them. So, children learn first—not from their heads—but from their experiences. By coming to church and participating in Sunday school, children are forming the heartwood of their Christian experience by living among God’s people.
Affiliative (or belonging) faith is the second ring, and it is a lot like peer pressure. While peer pressure is often times destructive, affiliative (or belonging) faith should be positive. As children listen and observe what the community says and does, they learn shared values and behaviors. The goal is for the group to help each other in healthy ways to learn from those who have gone before. Many people stay in affiliative (or belonging) faith even into adulthood—where they look for others to explain how God seeks them out. This means that Christians with a mature faith—pastors, teachers, music instructors, youth leader, and all who come into the community and call themselves Christians—are the example. Children learn about faith by watching us—every one of us.
Searching faith is faith that doubts and struggles and questions. Very young children do not have the critical, abstract thought for this kind of faith. Searching faith usually starts in the teen years where young people learn to evaluate everything that the faith community has taught them. This is one of the reasons we have teens write their own faith statements before Confirmation. It helps them see the growth of their own faith in years to come. This stage is exciting. It is important for children and for us as adults to be comfortable with their questions. This is how they will learn to develop critical learning skills.
Lastly, owned faith is evident in people living according to their understanding of how Christians live. How do people act as Christians in their day-to-day lives? People who have an owned faith are uncomfortable when the church preaches one thing but does not do what it preaches. Martin Luther is an example of a man with an owned faith that questioned his church openly. The church has learned a lot from his struggle.
We are all a part of this exciting community called Peterborough United Methodist Church. We all part of the faith encounters our children will experience here. We can help the children at PUMC when we share our faith experiences with them, or when we listen to their questions, or when we struggle with them as they test what they hear against what they see. God is seeking us, sending us many opportunities to nurture faith, and I think we can say our children are experiencing faith. How about you?
CHRISTMAS IN JULY DOUBLE DONATION MONTH FROM UMCMARKET.ORG
The entire month of July our church will earn double donations from select retailers, as a way to turbo boost our fundraising efforts. Just like we do now, supporters sign in to the mall and select from your favorite retailers. When you do their normal shopping, our church earns a donation on each purchase with donations from featured retailers being doubled. All. Month. Long. https://www.umcmarket.org/
CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATES
Ari
Bek
Ella
Hannah
James
Jasper
Lexi
Sadie
ADULT BIBLE STUDY
Dear Church Family
Are you confused by the Scriptures and frustrated by so many differences in contexts and phrases? If so, I would like to ask you to join us after services on Sunday for one hour to explore the Scriptures. We have started a twenty-four-part series into the Acts of the Apostles. Our instruction is lead by one of the foremost authorities on New Testament Studies, N. T. Wright. Professor Tom Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in England and is research professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. And has taught at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford Universities. His texts are geared for the lay person and offers an insightful reading and contextual review of the church’s struggles and challenges.
This study takes us verse by verse into the works of the early church. This week we will be looking at the ninth lesson, Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Things are moving along quite rapidly for this new religion because as Professor Wright says Acts should have been named “The Acts of Jesus Part Two.”
After the conclusion of lesson 12 we will take a few weeks off to catch up on work around the house and to spend some time with relatives. We will begin with lesson 13 again after Labor Day.
Texts and study guides are provided so you don’t have to worry about ordering the books. If you would like to join, please let me know so I can make sure we have enough seats and texts to support you.
With God’s help we want to follow Christ’s great challenge to become an Acts church and bring those who have not heard the gospel to learn of the changes in life than can occur when Christ comes into our lives.
Grace and Peace
Jim Poplin
BEYOND THE GREEN DOORS
Everyone is invited to contribute to the newsletter! Send in your thank yous, birthdays, photos, events, testimonials, prayer submissions…
Please submit all materials for the next newsletter (August) to our editors by the LAST TUESDAY, July 30. This is the newsletter that will be released August 4 and cover until Sunday September 1. Send to Melissa French at 924-4294 or email info@PeterboroughUMC.org, with the subject “Newsletter submission.” Thanks!
PETERBOROUGH UMC COMMUNICATIONS
In addition to “Beyond the Green Doors,” Peterborough UMC offers the following ways you can keep in touch.
We are at the church. Come visit us, Sunday at 10 am!
We are on the web: http://www.PeterboroughUMC.org
We are on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/peterboroughunitedmethodist/
This newsletter was compiled by Melissa French. Any concerns with content can be addressed with Reverend Card.