August Newsletter

August Chimes

Angel Food Ministries
Angel Food Ministries isn’t just about providing food—which is a very important factor in living a long, healthy life—but it also allows a group of folks who trust God to work together in meeting the needs of their neighbors. It gives church members an opportunity to build relationships and make vital connections in their communities, and with each other.
More than 5100 churches and organizations provide “hope and hand up” through the Angel Food Ministries food relief program to 500,000 families each month! Here’s how… AFM purchases high quality food at volume discounts from top industry providers. A $30 box of Angel Food retails for at least $60. Anyone can purchase Angel Food. Available for people in need & those who want to cut their food budget. No limits or qualifications. A variety of offers are available to suit your needs. Take a look at this month’s menu and see for yourself! Local volunteers distribute Angel Food providing opportunities for neighbors to connect. It just adds up! High quality food purchased at significant discounts plus making connections with folks who care about you equal a great experience!

The church does not exist for itself, but for the world that God loves so much that God gave “his only Son” (John 3:16). Living missionally means that the church takes the time to observe its cultural context – the world in which it lives and breathes and has its being. Living missionally means a congregation is learning to distinguish between the positive and the negative, to figure out what is right with the world and what is wrong, in order to offer the Good News and love of Jesus Christ.
Parsonage kitchen cabinets
We need some help in the kitchen!! The parsonage is in need of some new kitchen cabinets. The existing cabinets are over thirty years old, built in place and starting to fall apart. New cabinets have been ordered and will be installed by Dale Stephens and other volunteers when they arrive. The Trustee Committee is asking for donations to help pay for this much needed update to the parsonage. Please specify that your donation is for the kitchen cabinets. Thank you for your help and consideration!
Larry Koger Trustee Chairperson

Pastor’s Reflections:
The summer is going quickly and both churches have been very busy with a variety of activities. I have experimented with a variety of approaches to our worship services in an attempt to appeal to a broad base of people in our communities. You will notice in the coming months that I will continue to make greater use of Power Point in the announcements and my sermons.
I am intrigued by an article titled Shopping For a Church written by Scott Hibben the Conference LDM for Evangelism and New Ministry. Scott names several important things that couples in their twenty’s and thirty’s feel is essential when they go shopping for a church.
(1) A church needs to be a place (community) where Jesus is clearly there, at the center of everything they say and do. Churches really don’t offer anything different from what any other club, organization or league offers in our communities. (fellowship, activities, ways to get involved in the community as well as educational and personal betterment opportunities) The only thing that we offer different from anyone else is Jesus. We need to ask ourselves “ How does Jesus affect our fellowship activities, our recreational ministries, our child through adult education programs, and our community involvement?” The truth is that most church shoppers reject a church because they don’t see Jesus present in that church’s activities. Friends it really is all about Jesus!
(2) The church needs to be family friendly for people with children. Today the word “family” can mean all kinds of different combinations such as blended, single parent, racially mixed, cohabitating/common law, combined these groups of people make up 70% of the people who are potential members of your church. What then does it mean for your church to be truly “family friendly” with everyone and not just a chosen few? It really is a hospitality question, asking “in what way have you set a place for everyone at the table?”
(3) It is no surprise that young adults gravitate to young adults. Therefore when young adults, whether they are single or married, don’t see other young adults in church they often go where other young adults are. We need to intentionally put the young adults that we do have in places of high visibility. The real work that young adults do is to set an atmosphere of welcome and vibrancy for Everyone, but especially for church shopping young adults.
I invite each of you to keep these thoughts in mind as we continue on our Missional Transformation Journey. Blessings and Journey On!! Pastor Carl
Joint Vacation Bible School:
I would like to thank Paula Singleton, Leslie Foss and all of the teachers and helpers and those who furnished food for Vacation Bible School and the picnic at noon. It was well attended (almost 30 youth) and presented a wonderful learning opportunity for all. Let’s make it even bigger next year!!
Fall Confirmation Class:
I will once again be offering a Fall Confirmation Class for those youth who are in Junior High School and up. If you know of someone who would like to take advantage of this class please feel free to tell them about this opportunity. Adults are also welcome to enroll in this class. I anticipate that it will begin on Sunday September 13. and last for approximately fourteen weeks. Feel free to contact me (Pastor Carl) for details.
Calling All Potential Missional Transformation Interviewers:
Each church is at the point in it’s Transformational Journey that we have available six very exciting and important opportunities to go out into each of our respective communities (Malvern and Strahan) and interview people about their views of their community and their respective church. We have three of these volunteer positions available in each church that we want to fill by August 23 with training to take place on September 1 at 7 P.M.. These six people will be asked to undergo two hours of training by Ed Kail FOM for our District to prepare them for this important interview process. If you are interested in one of these positions contact at Malvern: Brenda Scott or Pastor Carl; at Strahan contact Helen Pollock, or Scott Hillyer or Pastor Carl.
Landon Klindt was baptized on June 28th, 2009


Malvern United Methodist Church
Meeting Minutes – July 22, 2009 7:35-9:20 p.m.

Pastor Carl Opened with a devotional reading from the Upperroom.

Attending the meeting were Sue Roenfeld, Judy Waller, Nicki Poort, Harold Tornquist, Cliff Scott, Brenda Scott, Pastor Carl, Cathy Stephens, Diane Schroeder and Sharon Chickering.

Discussion followed regarding topics of last meeting in May included Angel Food Ministries, VBS, and _parsonage kitchen remodeling. Brenda Scott volunteered to make a poster about the kitchen remodeling showing before and after to encourage our Church family to donate to this cause.

Cliff gave the Treasurers Report saying the balance in the account includes the money donated to Terri for her medical expenses and a check will be written within the next two weeks to be given to her. Motion to approve Treasurers report was made by _Diane Schroeder seconded by __Cathy Stephens. Motion carried.
Cliff Scott gave us a notice that his 3 year term as treasurer will be up Jan. 2010.
Pastor’s report was given proving that he does so much more than give a sermon on Sundays. Exact numbers are unavailable.

Committee Reports
Cathy Stephens– Casseroles will be taken to Kathy Ryan this week while she is undergoing treatments. And casseroles will be planned for Pastor Carl and Jan the week before the wedding. Cathy reported for Janella Stephens and Angle Food Ministries - there were 39 units (not actual orders as some people ordered more than one units) sold. It was a lot of fun on distribution day. Janella has cut down the time for orders to be turned in from two hours to 1 ½ hours on the order days. Pastor Carl will put order forms in the bulletin the first Sunday of every month.

A motion was made to take $200 out of the Emergency Fund and deposit into the Angel Food account to be used for start up cash.

Sharon Chickering – Since no youth have come forward needing funds for camp the UMW will give some to the Sunday school fund.

Judy Waller – Will place information regarding funds needed for cabinets in the Chimes. Researching information regarding prayer shawl ministry and had actually made a couple of fleece shawls already and knitting one now. Will be planning a corporate Prayer time for anyone interested in praying for the church, community, etc.

Nicki Poort – asked about the committees that had been in existence since Pastor Kim and Pastor Carl said he would be addressing it in New Business.

Harold Tornquist – Researching the possibility of Faith In Action providing a taxi (if we had drivers) to take people to doctors appointments as well as Cargill providing meat that we could then distribute to West Central or along with the Angel Food Ministries program.

Brenda Scott –
Logo, Motto, Hymn have been designed or chosen. Ed Kail conducted the Conference on the Past were we Created a shared picture of our church’s collective past, printed in the Chimes. Additional Training for Core Team was June 27th . July 1st Wednesday Core Journey team met with our Coach Rev Ed Kail to Analyze all the data collected from the Conference on the Past. Learning from the conference on the Past was to explore the implications the past may have for our church’s future. There will be a continued focus on Bible study to get God’s perspective on what He wants for us. An essential part of this Journey to Missional Transformation is going to be Fact Finding Field Research team. Team will consist of friendly good listeners, willing to find out the truth about what is really going on out in the community. Names need to be given to Ed by 23rd of August, Training in September. To Interview teachers/principles/law enforcement/city council/beauticians/ bar tenders/mechanics/farmers
Why: Discover our “context” what surrounds us Church worldwide has been attractional in nature-come to us /become like us. (we matter) Journey is about They matter, the people that are in our community, that are unchurched term is incarnational – we are the body of Christ sent into the world. To embody the love of Christ. Unconditional love, forgiveness, we go to them. How: Engage our community individual meetings. Next Ad Board meeting we will be discussing an internal survey with Ed Kail. I will distribute to members two weeks before September Ad Bd meeting to give time to think about the answers.
Sermon series in November “What’s going on inside & outside” may incorporate some short “reality” skits to connect with sermon.
Prepare for the Conference on the Present! No date set…after the first of the year.

New Business:
Pastor Carl - on Labor Day will be asking everyone to give him a list of one or two talents and/or areas of ministry that each individual would like to be involved in the coming year. Something that the person enjoys doing since we will not put someone in a position just to fill a slot.
Aug. 9- Cheryl Stephens will plan service with Youth and Adults in Pastor Carl’s absence.
Aug. 16- Carson Praise Band followed with a potluck and softball game planned by Ann Chickering
Oct 27 Charge Conference at Red Oak.
Will be starting a Confirmation Class Sept. 13
Planning to Continue Boys Group on Wed nights with Scott Hillyer, Pastor Carl and Roman Woolery
Next Ad Board Meeting Sept 23, 2009 at 6:30pm with a light potluck with Ed Kail
.
August Birthdays
Aug. 1st: Joni Sell, Christian Baer
Aug. 5th:Ty Benton, Kim Kellison, Carol Roenfeld,
Haley Benton
Aug. 6th: Megan Dickersbafh
Aug. 8th: Bill Baer, Jr., Dan Zanders
Aug. 10th: Andrea Blackman, Adam Blackman, Bob Stille
Aug. 11th: Don Jones, Jordan Miller
Aug. 13th: Eunice Blackman
Aug. 14th: Nick Roenfeld
Aug. 17th: Norma Howell, Carrie Deel
Aug. 22nd: Kinley Chickering, Nicki Poort
Aug. 25th: Josh Jones, John Sayers
Aug. 26th: Chipper Blackman, Lacey Sayers, Jason Miller
Aug. 27th: Stephanie Tornquist
Aug. 28th: Brad Bolton, Kristi Salyers
Aug. 30th: Christina Androy


August Anniversaries
Aug. 3rd: Ken & Iva Scott
Aug. 8th: Cary & MinDee Sommerla
Aug 12th: Rod & Charlene Grindle
Aug. 19th: Tommy & Cleta Salyers
Aug. 20th: Steve & Linda Dickersbach
Aug. 26th: Donnie & Diane Schroeder
Aug. 29th: Don & Doris Schroeder