Growing in

IN THIS ISSUE

Celebrating God’s love, seeking God’s direction together November 2012

Monthly Scriptures 2

Greeters, Counters, etc. 2

Calendar 3

Youth/Children 4,5

Kids, Birthdays 6,7

Upcoming Events 8

Crop Walk, Stewardship 9

Choir News, Potato Bar 10

More News 11

Missions 12, 13

Charge Conference 14,15

More News 16

Trustees 17

From the Pastor Back page

Growing In Grace A publication of Grace United

Methodist Church 1209 Country Club Road

Newport News, VA 23606 (757)595-0017

Fax (757)599-1550 www.graceumcnn.org

admin@graceumc.hrcoxmail.com

Pastor: Helen Casey-Rutland

Sunday Services: Early Worship: 8:45 am

Traditional Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School 9:45-10:45 a.m.

Sunday, November 4, 2012 We Lovingly Remember

Polly Pursifull Bonnie Gall

Kathaleen G. Frost James I. Moore

Thordis T. Bennett Douglas L. Longwood

Elizabeth Bracey

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Scripture Readings: November 4 ~ Bob Taylor

All Saints Day

Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 26 or Psalm 146 (UMH 858)

Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34

November 11 ~ Blackie Jackson Laity and Stewardship Sunday

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127 or 42 (UMH 777)

Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

November 18 ~ Tina Fields

I Samuel 1:4-20; I Samuel 2:1-10 or Psalm 113 (UMH 834)

Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8

November 25 ~ Betty Hill

2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132:1-12 (UMH 849);

Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37

*Readings for the worship services will generally be chosen from the scriptures above.

(Readings may vary for special services.)

Counting Team #5

*Blackie Jackson

Betty Jo Jackson Susan West

Tom West

Lockup:

Betty Jo Jackson

4th ~ Frank and Audrey Wiggs 11th ~ Bob and Sally Taylor 18th ~ Ray Nobles/Gloria Champine 25th ~ Bob and Betty Hill

Ushers:

Team #4

*John Thompson Glen Banks

Bryan Jackson

Acolyte for November:

Presley Hobson

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

November 2012

Every Sunday Early Service 8:45 am

Sunday School 9:45am Traditional Service 11:00 am

2:00pm Nepali-Speaking Worship

Chapel Choir 9:30-10:00 am Cherub Choir 10:00-10:20 am

4th Sunday Fellowship

8:30 am Salv. Army Sandwiches 1:30 pm

Points of Grace 7:00 Susannah Wesley Circle

6:00 Praise Choir 6:30 Chancel

Bells 7:30Chancel

Choir

9:00 Senior Breakfast

1:30 Mary/Martha 7:00 Stewardship

/Finance Mtg

Noon Potato Bar

1:30 pm Points of Grace 4:30 Missions

Comm. 7:00 Trustees

10:30 UMW Board Mtg.

7:00 Living the Questions

6:00 Praise Choir 6:30 Chancel

Bells 7:30Chancel

Choir

6:00 Praise Choir 6:30 Chancel

Bells 7:30Chancel

Choir

6:00 Praise Choir 6:30 Chancel

Bells 7:30Chancel

Choir

7:00 Living the Questions

PORT Night Korean Baptist Church

10:00 Living the Questions

7:00 Old Testament Bible Study

No Living the Questions

No Old Testament Bible Study

4:00 Wedding

7:00 Living the Questions

No 7:00 Living the Questions

Wedding Rehearsal

UMW Bake Sale

10:00 Living the Questions

7:00 Old Testament Bible Study

10:00 Living the Questions

7:00 Old Testament Bible Study

9:00 am District

Training & District

Conference Wmsbg-UMC

Office Closed

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Baker McFall is continuing our Coupons for Troops

project. Baker would like to invite everyone to save your

coupons that you don’t use and bring them to church. The

donation box is a under the mailboxes in the

hallway in front of the church office. Baker will then mail them to a

contact person who distributes them, so that military families can use

them. The coupons not only provide economic help, but also help

families enjoy the support and connection to civilians back home.

Thank you to Kim Rumsey, Martha Platenkamp, and

everyone who helped with the wonderful and meaningful drama

about Genesis on October 21. The middle school youth did a wonderful job,

and we are grateful for all of your service to the congregation.

If you would like to help with food

or crafts for our annual Advent

Breakfast on December 2, please

contact Juliana Smith.

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Coming in November

November 4- 5:30 -7 All ages youth group

Youth Program- November 11, 5:30-7 pm. “Taste

and see that the Lord is good.”

The Milk and Honey Cooking School is a great way to explore the

history of the Bible through food. This program features food that

was mentioned in scriptures or that would have been appropriate to

the culture and time. Thank you to Jeri Davenport for helping us to

experience the flavors of the Bible.

November 18- 5:30-7 All ages youth

THIS TIME MAY CHANGE, WATCH FOR FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENT.

November 25- No youth due to Thanksgiving weekend.

Children’s Would you like to spend time with the children of the church but

don’t have much time to commit? We are trying to compile a list of

people who are willing to fill in Sunday mornings for children’s

educational time when their teachers are away. This is an easy, one-

time opportunity to be of service to the church and to help our

younger members learn about God.

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November Birthdays Happy Birthday To You! Happy

Birthday To You! Happy Birthday Dear…..

4 Ford McFall 12 Marie Boyd 18 Sandy Fisher

5 Brooke Garrett Wendy Knight 19 Celena Hale

6 Dan McDonald 13 Kristin Mitchell 20 Chelsea Frazer

7 David Thomas 14 Lee Johnson 21 Garrett Ouzts

George Richards 15 Sharon Winter Tina Fields

Tyler Rose Mickey Garrett 25 Ruth Huber

10 Jonathan Bennett Stephanie Lopez Sarah Crockett

11 Brett Kempa Emily Johston Christopher Mcdonald

12 Susannah Wornom Stephanie Wallace 26 Nancy Johnson

17 Wes Boyd Jr. 27 Louise Knemeyer

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you need someone to talk to? Contact the Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center 873-2273

Our thoughts and prayers for the

family of Elizabeth Bracey,

who died October 2.

Bulletin Board Please check the bulletin board for up-to-date information and announcements, including the recent Daily Press article focusing on Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees. A picture from Grace is included in the article.

Upcoming Holiday Event

Evening at Blackstone

December 9, 2012 Please see the bulletin

board for more information.

Dear Grace UMC Family, Thank you for your love and support with the loss of my husband, Robert. Your understanding, your prayers, and your support have been felt. Pastor Helen has been a huge blessing and support during my darkest days. You are a wonderful Church family to be with. Thanks, Delores Sutherland

Secretary

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Cookson Religious Freedom Lecture: Dr. Harvey Cox Dr. Harvey G. Cox Jr., Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and one of the nation’s preeminent theologians, will deliver the 2012 Cookson Religious Freedom Lecture on Monday, November 5, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Monumental Chapel at Virginia Wesleyan College. Dr. Cox’s talk is entitled “Freedom of Religion in America: Its Rocky Past and Its Future Prospects.” Free and open to the public. Cox, an ordained American Baptist minister, taught at Harvard Divinity School from 1965 until his retirement in 2009. While working in the campus ministry at Oberlin College in 1957, he hosted a dinner attended by Martin Luther King Jr. at which Dr. King met some of those who would become his closest advisors during the Civil Rights movement. Widely quoted and interviewed by both print and broadcast media around the world, Cox rose to international prominence with the publication of The Secular City in 1965. In this highly influential work Cox claimed that the church should be an agent of social change, arguing that God is equally present in both the secular and religious realms of life. The book became an international bestseller and has been called one of the most influential books of Protestant theology in the twentieth century. Dr. Cox has authored more than a dozen other books, taking up a broad range of subjects including liberation theology, religious pluralism and interfaith encounter, and Pentecostalism. His most recent book is The Future of Faith (2009), which addresses the increasing emphasis on spirituality over doctrine among large numbers of Christians. In his Cookson lecture, Dr. Cox will discuss the implications of this shift for religious freedom. The Cookson Religious Freedom Lecture Series is named for the Center’s founding director, Dr. Catharine Cookson. Previous Cookson lecturers include Dr. Martin Marty (2006), Dr. Diana Eck (2008), Dr. Ursula Goodenough (2009), Dr. Douglas A. Hicks (2010), and Dr. Charles C. Haynes (2011).

United Methodist Women’s Bake Sale

Our bake sale, which is traditionally held with a WNAG the week before Thanksgiving, is being

changed this year. Please note that it will be held on November 18th, Sunday morning, after 8:45 and 11 AM

services in the breezeway, outside of the chapel. We hope that you will stop by and see all the goodies that

we have prepared for you, and support this special project so that we will be able to reach out in mission

to others at the end of the year.

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CROP WALK Nine members of Grace participated in the annual Church World Service "CROP Walk" - Kim & Chris Rumsey, Carl, Cindy, David and Adam Brakman, Maggie Keator, Susan DeVane, Billie Ballard and Chuck Root. We raised $350.00 from our church and those funds will go towards hunger relief programs locally and internationally. It was a successful and beautiful afternoon with more churches participating this year than last. We will provide the final report next month. Thank you to all our walkers, volunteers and contributors.

Is Economics a Biblical idea? The word economy comes from Greek roots that have to do with the management of a

household. The root “oikos” (household) occurs over 100 times in the New Testament. We see the root “eco” in various English words, including ecology, which encompasses the relationships of living things and their environment – our natural “household”. A Biblical sense of economy would include the relationships of all of us in creation with one another and with God – the management of all things within the household of God. Seen this way, economics is central to our Christian tradition. We are stewards in God’s household, and all that we have – our time, our talent, our treasure – all of it is ours in trust, to use in keeping the purposes of God.

Sometimes when people hear the word stewardship, they think it only means money. But stewardship comprehends everything in our lives. How do we use our time? the things we have? the relationships we’ve developed? the church we’ve built? the education we’ve pursued? the talents with which we’ve been blessed? the resources at our disposal? the faith we’ve nurtured? the experiences we’ve had?

This fall, as you look over your plans for 2013, take time to prayerfully consider how you budget all things in your life. Our bishop has invited us to spend an hour each day in prayer – to build prayer into our budgeting of time. Worship, small group study, and care for others also have a place in our Christian time budgets.

In the same way, support of the church is part of our financial budgets. When you receive an invitation this month to estimate your giving to Grace for 2013, take the time to pray about not simply your financial stewardship, but the stewardship of all that you have. After all, we are all a part of the economics of the Bible.

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Choir News by Regina South (Chancel Choir, Bells and Children Choirs)

CHANCEL CHOIR

The Chancel Choir participates in CNU’s United Campus Ministries Festival of Church Music on Sunday November 4, 2012 at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church. Thanks to the choir for working hard in support of this ministry. We are working fast and hard for Christmas. Our Cantata,

“A Christmas Carol Gallery: Portraits of the Season,” will be on Sunday December 16, 2012 at 11 a.m. Please join us in celebrating the birth of our Savior.

CHANCEL BELLS

The Chancel Bells participates in CNU’s United Campus Ministries Festival of Church Music on Sunday November 4, 2012 at Hidenwood Presbyterian. Thank you to all our ringers! The Chancel Bells will be playing for the Cantata on December 16. The Bells meet every Thursday at 6:30 in the Small Fellowship Hall at Grace. We are always welcoming new ringers. We will teach you all you need to know. If you are interested, contact Regina South.

CHAPEL AND CHERUB CHOIRS

The Chapel and Cherub Choirs meet every Sunday upstairs in the Children’s wing, last classroom on the left. Chapel Choir is for age’s 1st -5th grade and Cherub Choir is for ages 4 and 5. If your children like to sing and move, please bring them to the appropriate group. For more information please contact Regina South.

For more information, please contact Regina South at 804-694-7756 or ReginaLSouth@gmail.com.

Grace Potato Bar Our Second Sunday Noon at Grace Potato Bar” will be on November 11th immediately following 11 AM Worship in the Large Fellowship Hall. Come join us in fellowship and enjoy baked sweet and white potatoes with all the trimmings, tossed salad and homemade soup. Don’t forget the delicious desserts, all for only $6.00 each. Please be sure to fill in a reservation form so that we know how many to prepare for. Doing this helps us to control costs. Thank you. Hope to see you there. For more information, call Joan Heaton at 898-6001.

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Recent computer for the library Guitar for the Nepali-speaking

community Piano for individuals in the Nepali-

speaking community Yarn for Points of Grace

Looking for a new way to deepen your faith? You might try one of these.

The Upper Room Disciplines 2013—A book of Daily Devotions Cost: $14.00 Journey Through the Days 2013—A Calendar and Journal for Personal Reflection Cost: $16.00

Available www.cokesbury.com or contact the church office.

Virginia United Methodist Advocate magazine The Virginia United Methodist Advocate is the official Virginia United Methodist conference magazine published monthly throughout the year. It provides information, interpretation and inspiration. To subscribe contact the Church Office or go to www.vaumc.org.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

The October newsletter included a Household Information sheet. Please fill yours out so we can make sure our records are up-to-date. Return completed forms to the church office as soon as possible. If you did not get a newsletter, let the office know and pick one up outside the church office.

District Conference and

Leadership Training

Saturday, November 17, 2012

9am – 12pm

Williamsburg UMC 500 Jamestown Rd.

Williamsburg, VA 23185 Overflow parking at Phi Beta Kappa Hall

Register at www.yorkriverdistrict.org or call 757-596-3476 or call the church office.

Stop Hunger Now

Packaging Event

occurring simultaneously

30,000 meals—3 hours

Let’s Do It!

Childcare available—

register number and

ages of children.

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MISSION COMMITTEE TRADITIONS FOR THE SEASON

THANKSGIVING BAGS

The Mission Committee will continue our tradition of collecting bags of groceries to take to LINK to help fill

their pantry shelves before the holidays. These food donations are put to immediate use to feed the hungry people in our community. The Thanksgiving Grocery Bags will be handed out on Sunday, November 4th, and should be returned to church by Sunday, November 18th.

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS FOR SALVATION ARMY

We will also be offering you the opportunity to fill stockings for the Salvation Army. As soon as the stockings are available, they will be distributed to the congregation. After the stockings are filled, please return them to church by December 2nd. The gifts in these stockings will be a blessing for many children living in poverty.

MISSION COMMITTEE BUDGET DEPENDS ON YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS

The Mission Committee operates on contributions from you in special offerings during the year. We receive no funds from the church budget. Please remember to give generously to the Thanksgiving and Christmas offerings. In doing so, you give us the opportunity to support a number of local and world missions.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUAL GENEROUS OFFERINGS OF MONEY, TALENTS AND TIME - GIVEN TO THE GLORY OF GOD!

Mission’s Night at WNAG With your support we were able to raise

$178.00 during WNAG on Oct. 10 for Kenya Partners. Thank you Susan DeVane for sharing

your incredible experiences from your mission trip to Kenya this summer.

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Fruit-ful Living Enjoy sweet Texas oranges and grapefruits, and your fruitful support will help Denbigh United Christian Outreach minister to families in our local community. Tree ripened – picked, packed, and shipped the same day. Ruby Red Grapefruit & Hamlin Oranges each have $24.00 & $42.00 options; Navel Oranges are $26.00 & $46.00 per box. (Each small box = 18 – 20 lbs.;

each large box = 38 – 40 lbs.) What a sweet holiday gift idea! Contact DUCO, 757-877-6211, ext. 5, or speak with DUCO Representative, Chuck Root, 757-599-0124 to order by November 28 with delivery expected no later than December 10. Chuck will contact you know when the fruit arrives and can be picked up at the DUCO office, 13193 Warwick Blvd., Suite 100, Newport News 23606 (just above Bland Ave., going North on the left side). DUCO thanks you for sharing in this fruit-filled harvest!

PORT Overnight Shelter—November 30 The cold winter weather is just around the corner, and the PORT Overnight Shelter for the Homeless is again underway. Grace will be a partner church for PORT on Nov. 30th and again one evening during the week of Feb. 27 – Mar. 6. We will be assisting Peninsula Korean Baptist Church on Harpersville Road on Nov. 30th. Grace is very fortunate to have the Friday slot, because it is much easier for those who work during the week to take the overnight and early morning shifts at the end of the work week. We will work in three shifts to serve dinner, monitor the shelter during the night, and provide breakfast on Saturday morning. We need people who can hear well and respond quickly to work the sign-in table when the guests are arriving in large numbers. In addition we need people to help guests with their belongings, hand out bedding, prepare meals, clean-up, and handle other tasks. We will have a sign-up list for those who are willing to make a casserole of baked ziti for the evening meal. This is the same recipe that we have used before and it is very easy to prepare. The sign-up lists will be circulating during November, so please look for them to see how you can become involved in mission and service. This is an opportunity to provide meaningful assistance to the least fortunate people in our community, and also to enjoy some fellowship with guests and other volunteers from Grace.

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What is Charge Conference? Charge/Church Conference – meeting of the leadership of a church (or group of

churches sharing an appointed pastor), led by a District Superintendent or other

fully ordained pastor, for the purpose of handling certain kinds of church business

and dealing with significant issues in the life of the church. Every church or group of

churches sharing the same pastor (“Charge”) holds at minimum one Charge (or

Church) Conference each year, generally in the fall. (A “Charge Conference” allows

voting by certain officers of the congregation; a “Church Conference” allows voting

by all members in attendance. Grace usually opts for a “Church Conference”.)

What are Apportionments?

Apportionments – the primary mission responsibility of the local church. The

United Methodist Church funds mission, outreach, education, administration, and

healthcare and pension for retired pastors by asking of each church a fair-share

portion of the total cost of these programs. The share of each church’s responsibility

is calculated based on the financial strength of each congregation. The name for

those fair-share askings is “apportionments”. Our apportionments are the amount of

the funding of the UMC’s work we are apportioned and asked to contribute.

Charge/Church Conference

We were blessed to have Christ UMC join with us for their Charge Conference and to

share our reflections together throughout the evening. Thanks to all who provided

hospitality and refreshments for the combined Church/Charge Conference. Thanks also

to all who continue to pray for wisdom and guidance for this congregation and to offer

their time, talent, and treasure in support of our ministry as together we seek to be

faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

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Part 1 On October 30, our District Superintendent Joe Carson convened our Church Conference. We formally adopted the 2013 budget and approved the Lay Leadership nominations for officers and committee members for 2013. (Check the January newsletter for a listing of 2013 Officers and Church Council members.) One of the requirements of the UMC is that the Church Conference approve the pastor’s salary. The District Superintendent explained that, in Virginia, the District Superintendents and the Bishop have adopted a policy of allowing increases in the pastor’s salary only in churches that fulfill their full apportionment obligations, which we have not done recently. So the Church Conference adopted for 2013 the same salary for the pastor as in 2012. (This was a slight change from the initial recommendation of the Staff Parrish Relations Committee and Church Council.) The discussion surrounding this issue reminds all of us that our apportionments are important and are our responsibility as faithful United Methodists. Our Church Council and our Stewardship and Finance Committees have been in conversation in recent months about how we might better meet our apportionment responsibilities. If you have ideas or suggestions, or if you would like to know more, talk with the pastor or anyone on the Church Council. If you would like to contribute over and above your usual contribution to help us meet our apportionment goal of 100%, simply mark those additional contributions “apportionments.”

The Church Conference also approved the

proposed changes to the Charter of the Ranhorne

Memorial Trust. These changes were endorsed

by Church Council at an earlier meeting.

Part 2 At our Church Conference, our District Superintendent Joe Carson led the group through a conversation about Christian discipleship and church membership. “Are they the same?” he asked. “Should they be?” Responses included the sense that all members should be disciples, but that sometimes members are not active in their discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple? People talked about reaching out to others, having a relationship with God, seeking to live a Christ-like life, growing in faith. Then came the question: “How does your church make more and better disciples?” Among the responses: personal contact and individual communication with others to invite and encourage, finding support in small groups, classes, Bible study, mission outreach. “How do we hold people accountable?” was another question. Our membership vows are to offer our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness – witness is a recent addition to the vows. The early Methodists met weekly and held one another accountable for their spiritual lives, supporting and encouraging each other. Concern was raised that we do not want discipleship to become something we do because someone will be checking up on us, a danger of too strongly stressing accountability. The DS pointed to the Vital Congregations initiative of the UMC as one way to help us be accountable in our discipleship. Vital Congregations stresses setting goals in 5 areas: worship attendance, professions of faith, small groups, members in mission, and dollars given to mission. We will be following our ministry in each of these areas over the coming year. Our DS encouraged us to continue the conversation about discipleship as we work to create more and better disciples of Jesus Christ. To learn more about Vital Congregations, go to www.umvitalcongregations.org.

Charge/Church Conference Report

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TREASURER’S NOTES by: Betty S. Hill

Budgeted update through October 28, 2012: Budgeted $215,294 Received $215,217

United Campus Ministries Festival of Church Music Fundraiser

What: Festival of Church Music Purpose: Fundraiser for United Campus Ministries of Christopher Newport University Day/Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012 Time: 4:00 p.m. Place: Hidenwood Presbyterian Church 414 Hiden Blvd., Newport News Light refreshments served immediately following

The Grace UMC Chancel Bells and Choir will be participating.

Turn Back Your Clocks Sunday,

November 4

You are invited to join the Christmas Cantata.

Even if you are not able to sing weekly with the choir, you may be a part of the Cantata. Rehearsals

are Thursdays, 730 to 8. The cantata is Sunday, December 16th at the 11:00 am service. Contact Regina for more information.

Watch your mailbox for your Estimate of

Giving Invitation!

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NOTES FROM YOUR TRUSTEES

By Gloria Champine

Your Trustees have been evaluating bids from several contractors on our top priority items of replacing the 27

windows and new roof at the Parsonage. Hopefully, with some negotiation, we will have enough with available funds to do some vinyl wrapping of wooden areas beginning with the space beneath the gutters. Work should be done sometime this fall. At the Church, the flat roof still has one very small leak. The contractor has been responding quickly to all calls and recently added a gutter to part of the Sanctuary roof to keep excess water off the flat roof. In addition, they have installed new flashing and reinforced the seams. The Trustees have approved a small amount of funding to improve the Sanctuary lighting by moving the Sanctuary lights and replacing light bulbs, but we are still negotiating with the electrician. We are not sure yet what is possible given our limited budget.

Other items: The parking lines have been repainted in both

parking lots and the resealing has been postponed until more funds are available.

The cracks in brick on the south side of the Church and above the windows of the choir room were recently recaulked.

A 10-position bicycle rack will be ordered this fall and will eventually be placed outside in an area that will not interfere with youth and children's activities.

New smoke alarms will be installed in the preschool area.

Additionally, replacement high chairs are needed and two new ones will be purchased for the Large Fellowship Hall. The riding lawn mower will be sent out for overhaul shortly to ready it for next year. As always, your Board of Trustees will continue to do the best job possible in maintaining the physical property of the Church and Parsonage, and in spending your contributions for the greatest benefit to our Church. We welcome your thoughts, ideas, and prayers ~Gloria

can choose to not forget those touched by this tragedy and by others – by Sandy’s damage in the Caribbean, by last week’s typhoon in the Philippines and Viet Nam, by earthquake, war, and storm. We can give to support the church's work to be the presence of Christ in the midst of disaster. And, just as important, we can attend to those close to home who suffer tragic but less public trauma – illness, death, broken relationships, loss of work or health or hope. Best of all, we can follow the lead of Jesus, who, over and over, chooses first to be with the suffering, to share their lot, and to make visible the love of God in even the most desolate places. And we can trust that, when we are the ones in desolation, Christ is with us.

Grace and peace ~ Helen

From the Pastor’s Desk (Cont’d)...

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From the Pastor’s Desk...

We lived 8 years in Florida. We saw many hurricanes. We lived in Polk County when it became the only county in the US ever hit by three hurricanes in the same year. We had some damage – a tree lost here, a damaged porch there. But we never experienced anything like what the people in New Jersey and other places have seen with Sandy. We did, however, see the response of the church to people suffering from natural disasters. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was on the scene, making sure the displaced had places to stay, organizing volunteers, providing emergency assistance, offering the shoulder to cry on, the patience to listen, the presence of the body of Christ. Meteorologists explain how multiple weather systems combined to turn ordinary hurricane Sandy into a “super storm”. Engineers will figure out how some structures survived better than others. But many who have lost homes or livelihoods or loved ones will ask other questions: Why? Why me? What did I (we, she, he) do to deserve this? When the disciples asked Jesus who sinned to cause a man to be born blind, Jesus responded that neither the man nor his parents sinned. Jesus steered them away from the endless spiral of “whose fault is it” questions and pointed them instead to the opportunity at hand. Here in this encounter with one who had too often been blamed for his troubles or blamed himself -- here was an opportunity for the love of God to be made visible. And Jesus healed him of his blindness. In trouble and tragedy, at our best, the church finds a way to make the love of God visible. The opportunities are always at hand. We cannot fix every problem. We can, however, offer our prayers. We

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