the beginning of a disciple - st. matthew's united
TRANSCRIPT
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g{x `ÉÇ|àÉÜ St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church
2738 MacArthur View, San Antonio, Texas 78217 May 2017 www.smumcsa.org
The Beginning of a Disciple Our Mission Statement and that of the Methodist Church is to make Disciples. Have you ever thought about what that means for us as a church? The history of this church, from what I have been told, is a lot of good family men and women came to learn how to be good people and teach their children to be good as well. That may be simplistic but it illustrates the point of my article. Good people usually get along with each other. It is easier for them to grow as disciples together than it would be if there were negative or critical people in their midst. So, would it be right to ask the negative people to leave for the sake of the larger group of disciples? Are we not called to make disciples of everyone including those who are difficult? Making disciples of people who don’t have normal social skills needs a dif-ferent tactic than the norm. Maybe it is like children with learning disabilities. They can learn, but they have to be taught differently than the majority of children. The information and goal are the same as everyone else but the method is different. We are facing this problem at St. Matthew’s as we reach out to the children living in the apartments next door. They do not come to us as calm children who have good manners. They come to us from broken or dysfunctional families. They don’t know what we expect of children who come to church. They are loud, unruly children who don’t take instructions very well. How do we disciple these children who have never heard of the love of God through Jesus Christ? I can tell you that a normal Sunday School program for children will not reach them. They need to be approached differently. They need people to love them and gently instruct them about how God would have all of us act. But these people must have the patience of Job and a spirit of peace and love. The statement, “They don’t care what you know until they know that you care” is exactly how this group of children behave. It takes time and patience for this to happen. They are excitable in new situations. Coming to church is new to them. But, if we are going to train them to be disciples isn’t this the first step? Getting them to church? Most members probably don’t care about this problem because someone else has to deal with it. But how will you feel when it is time to teach them to worship? Several years ago we had neighborhood children coming to church by themselves. There was no pa-rental oversight. Judy had to sit in the rocking chair by the children’s table and teach them manners. But, isn’t that where learning to be a disciple begins? How wonderful would it be if one of the children that we disciple becomes the next Billy Graham or Joel Osteen? But to get there will be a long road that will challenge all of us to grow in peace, patience and love. Of course there is one other option. We could tell them not to come back until they learn to behave. What would that tell them about the church? What would that tell them about God’s love? We all need to be in prayer about this. We need to pray for the adults who are on the front line of this discipleship. We need to pray for the children that they will see God’s love in all of us. And if we come into contact with them, we must all have the compassion of Christ. Alan
In This Edition: Page 2 Information, Admin Board Page 3 Sunday School Classes Page 4 Wednesday Night
Free, PNO
Page 5 Day School
Page 6/7 Agua Viva
Page 8 Outreach Ministry
Page 9 UMW
Page 10/11 Calendar - Prayer Concerns Page 12 Bible Quest, UMM, Youth News Page 13 Invitations Page 14 National Day of Prayer, Thank you Page 15 Fiesta Medal Page 16 Award/Bookkeeper Page 17 Easter Pictures
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WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Sunday Morning Worship
8:30 a.m.—Traditional Worship Service/Sanctuary
11:00 a.m.—Blended Worship Service/Sanctuary
Sunday School—9:45 a.m.
CHURCH STAFF
Pastor Alan Delafield Bookkeeper Bret Peterson
Associate Lay Pastor of Agua Viva Veronica Harvey
Children & Family Ministries Director Judy Langford
College/Youth Ministries Director Tim Diemert
Day School Director Nikki Irving
Secretary Diana Garza
Music Director Amy Ballenger
Pianist Richard Castillo
Nursery Coordinator Annalie Tamez
Custodian Raul Menesess
Church Office Hours
Monday-Thursday 9:00 am to 4:00pm
Friday - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Phone: (210) 822-0252 Fax: (210) 828-2195
Church Email Address [email protected]
St. Matthew’s Website www.smumcsa.org
St. Matthew’s Day School Phone: (210) 826-4850
Bible Studies at St. Matthew’s Monday:
Monday Night Bible Study, 7:00 pm, Room 105 Women’s Bible Study, 6:30 pm, Abel Chapel
Tuesday: Women of Faith, 8:00 am, Room 105 Tuesday Morning Bible Study, 9:30 am, Room 105
Wednesday:
Agua Viva Woman's Bible Study 10:00 am , Fellowship Hall Agua Viva Spanish Discipleship Class, 6:45 pm, Room 301 Pastors Bible Study, 6:45 pm, Room 603
Administrative Board 2017: Chairman Mike Langford
Vice Chairman Vivian Taylor
Lay Leader for 8:30 am Jo Reinschmidt
Lay Leader for 11:00 am Anne Verner
Conference Delegate Kathy Cain
Conference Delegate Alternate Sandy Beard
Treasurer Mike Verner
Secretary Jeanie Etter
MCC Chair Eugene Hileman
Finance Chair Fred Long
SPRC Chair Lucy Hoover
Trustee Chair
Month Church Sunday School Small Groups April 161 107
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9:45 am
PRESCHOOL 3 TO 4 YEAR OLDS – Meet in Room 606. Contact person: Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
KINDER THROUGH 1ST GRADE – Meet in room 604 Contact person: Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
ELEMENTRY 2ND THROUGH 4TH GRADE – Explore the Bible using music, art, sci-ence, games, story, and cooking. They meet in Room 611. Contact person: Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
TWEENS: 5TH THROUGH 6TH GRADE – Meet in room 602 Contact person: Judy Lang-ford (822-0252 ext. 105)
YOUTH 7TH THROUGH 12TH GRADE – Meet in the Youth Building. Contact Youth Team: Tim and Kelli Diemert (940-594-8633)
COME AND SEE CLASS (All ages) – Meet in Room 301 (Deats Bldg). A discipleship class on knowing Christ and making him known. Studying “Book of Daniel. Contact person: Jim Humphries (494-0112) assisted by John Shero
NEW SEASONINGS CLASS (Middle Adult) – Meet in Room 603. Will be starting a new study on the book “ The Grand Paradox” by Ken Wytsma Contact person: David Mack (654-0162)
SONSHINE CLASS (Senior Adult) – Meet in Room 605. Studying “The Book of Jeremiah”. Contact person: Marsha Humphries (494-0112)
VOYAGERS CLASS (Senior Adult) – Meet in Room 601. Adult Bible Study Workbook/Study (Spring 2016). Contact person: Frank Tyk (655-2324)
FRIENDS OF FAITH CLASS (Young & Middle Adult) – Meet in the Fellowship Hall. Contact person: Greg Klaerner (402-3711)
COVENANT BELIEVERS CLASS (All Ages) – Meet in the conference room. Starting a new study “The Christian Atheist” by Craig Groeschel. Contact persons: Anne Verner (655-7380) or Judy Langford (822-0252 ext. 105)
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Wednesday Night F. R. E. E. Will Resume in September
Fellowship Relationship Educate Energize
Supper, worship, study for children, youth and adults
5:45 - 6:15 Supper 6:10 - 6:40 Children’s Choir (Abel Chapel) 6:15 - 6:30 Worship 6:30 - 7:30 Study for all ages
Pre Kindergarten - 1st grade Second & Third Grade
Fourth Grade thru Sixth Grade Youth: Seventh grade through High School
Parents Night Out May 5, 2017 6:30 – 9:30 PM
Ages 12 months to 5th grade Volunteers are always needed for our monthly Parent’s Night Out Ministry Scheduled on the first Friday night of each month. Getting involved is such a blessing to the children. The children arrive at 6:30 pm for play, dinner, story, crafts, and games and stay till 9:30 pm. We are using our Power Xpress Sunday School curriculum as a basis for planning each month’s activities. It’s a blessing to reach children with the Good News of Jesus Christ. This outreach is a living expression of the vitality of this church.
If you have any questions, please contact Maria Cantu at 270-505-3578
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St. Matthew’s UMC Day School 2738 MacArthur View San Antonio, TX 78217
(210) 826-4850 Fax: (210) 822-5425 www.smumcsa.org
May 2017
Upcoming Events Look at the excitement that is coming…
May 12th – Mommy and I craft (During your class-room art time)
May 18th – Zoo Field Trip @9:00 if meeting at school @9:30 if meeting at zoo train depot station
May 19th – Family BBQ @ 6:00 (Please sign up for BBQ on your child’s classroom door)
May 23rd – Pre-K Graduation @6:30
May 26th – Pre-K Field Trip (details to come)
May 29th – Closed for Memorial Day
Parents please help us catch our teachers being awesome! On the sign in and out table there are some “caught you being good” slips. In the event that you see a teacher doing something that you really enjoyed, made you happy, or smile, please fill one out. Then turn it into the office. The teachers are win special incentives of their choice for each slip received Thank You.
Birthdays Happy Birthday to our friends:
Ben R. 5/6 (Purple Room) Ms. Holly 5/11 (Teal Room) Gibson H. 5/11 (Teal Room) Caitlin L. 5/16 (Red Room) Matthew H. 5/17 (Teal Room) Charlee F. 5/17 (Purple Room) Evelyn H. 5/28 (Blue Room) Callan K. 5/31 (Blue Room)
Inspirational Quote of the month:
"Graduation is a time of completion, of finish-ing, of an ending; however, it is also a time of celebration of achievement and a beginning for the new graduate." Catherine Pulsifer
Parents if you are looking for more information on child growth and development several resources are listed below.
(Community resources are available in the office upon request)
https://extensiononline.tamu.edu/secure_index.php https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/parents/child- development
MAY 2017
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The last Sunday in March was UMCOR Sunday, the successor to One Great Hour of Shar-ing. UMCOR is the humanitarian and development arm of the United Methodist Church. Through UMCOR, we reach worldwide to provide relief toward Hunger, Health, Refugees, Emergencies, and Relief supplies. We collected $300. On April 23, we distributed over 180 hygiene packs: bags of toiletries and such, as we fed the homeless and hungry Under the Bridge. The April communion offering for Homeless hygiene packs raised $130, enough for 20 packs. Many classes and groups worked together to pur-chase and assemble over 100 packs. The May communion offering will go to one of our church wide missions, Native American Sun-day. As a member of The United Methodist Church, your gift, on this day, equips Native con-gregations—like New York’s Onondaga Nation UMC and Nebraska’s Native American Sacred Winds congregation—to worship and serve as only they can. In June, we will highlight and dedicate the communion offering to Interfaith Welcoming Commit-tee, a local group serving immigrants as they make their way to new homes and jobs. St. Matthew’s continues to support the monthly clinic at JFON, Justice for Our Neighbors. One of the UMC Advance Specials, this group’s mission is to welcome immigrants by providing af-fordable, high quality immigration legal service, engaging in advocacy for immigrant rights, and offering education to communities of faith and to the public. Our task force is seeking ministry ideas to better serve our next door neighbors in the apart-ment communities. Please talk to Larry Etter or Leila Hileman about this. We are considering partnering with other churches to provide an after school opportunity for homework help. Would YOU like to lead this effort? Tim Diemert is working with neighborhood youth by providing an open gym on Sunday after-noons. We have seen as many as 20 youth. We need adult help with this outreach. Talk to Tim.
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PRAYER CONCERNS UPDATED 4/25/17
Please review our prayer concerns list below. If you notice an individual has been blessed by healing, or if you feel your name or another name should be removed from this list, please noti-fy the church secretary to remove the name. Church office 210-822-0252 or email [email protected] St. Matthew’s Church Family who are hospitalized or need prayers for healing and other ongoing prayer needs: Doug Campbell Al Cargen Norma Evans Jackie Fleenor Frank Fleenor Bob Goulas Jean Goulas Richard Hargis Carol Keim Nancy Leonard Linell Pipes Lisa Strand Zach Thompson James Washington Karen Zucker
This is for family and friends of our Church Family:
Meagan Wall, (Jerry Harvey’s Granddaughter) Michelle & Paul (Niece of Jackie Ledford)
Jim (Sandra Beard’s friend) Melissa Bradberry (Martha Bane) Geoffrey Scrimsher (Jas Marlin’s Dad) David Stringo (Austin Marlin’s Uncle) Joann Lieberman’s Brother Jennifer Ramirez ( 6yr old that has brain cancer)
Family and Friends in Healthcare Facilities:
Priscilla Grammer @ San Pedro Manor #312 Jeff Coffey @ Independence Hill Maurine Wells @ Emeritus Oakwell Farms Carol Keim @ Los Patios #226 Ylita Hoffman@ Los Patios Janet Leader @ Los Patios Jean McPherson @ Los Patios
Church Family and Family Members in active military:
Trey Willette, brother of Ginger Klaerner (Afghanistan) Kirk Hebert, nephew of Jeanne & Richard Adams (Afghanistan) Andy Miscisin, son-in-law of Lucy & Jack Hoover (Air Force) Jarrett Sonnen, grandson of Helen Olson (Afghanistan-Navy Seal) Dan and Stephan LaMothe (Air Force) Anna Virdell (Air Force) Matthew McConnell, grandson of Nilda McConnell (Navy) Zachary Herrmann, (Army) Tim Humphries, grandson of Jim and Marsha Humphries (Wisconsin,Army) Christian Wosnig, grandson of Linda Wylie (Marines) Kristen Jankoski granddaughter (Navy), Trace Douglass (Army) & Scott Higgenbotham (Airforce) nephews of Carolyn & Steve Schrader Paul Franco, Jackie Ledford son-in-law (Marines) Christian Cantu (Army)
This is for family and friends who have lost loved ones: Tracy Brown passed away April 14, 2017
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Bible Quest with Wesley Putnam A Huge Success Kinder through sixth grade students participated in the Bible Quest Event during Holy Week. The event started on Sunday morning with 8 students and by Wednesday evening, 37 children had participated in learning Bi-ble verses, hearing stories of Jesus and worshipping together with new songs. The total number of verses memorized by all children was 103. Fif-teen guests were brought to the event and each evening found more kids participating. Medals were given to the students who memorized the most verses and the one who brought the most guests.
Our medal winners were:
Bryson Hodges (Kinder—1st grade) Aiden Pistolich (Grades 2-3) Joaquin Cantu (Grades 4-6
There was a tie for the Evangelism Medal for bringing the most visitors. That award went to Joaquin Cantu and T.J. Diemert. A huge thank you to JoAnn Liebermann, Georganne Freund, Maria Cantu, Synthia Collins and Louann Hayes for assisting with the different age groups.
METHODIST MEN : Cancelled meeting in April due to other activi-ties. We will resume in May at 8:00 am with breakfast and meeting ROBERT FREUND
April is done do fiesta & Senior Sunday is behind us, which means it’s almost time for SUMMER break. Summer break brings summer camps, missions and so much more! Don’t forget to sign up your tweens & teen for summer events at https://form.jotform.us/timd7822/summer-2017-event-sign-up There is still time, but don’t wait spots are filling fast .
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Recently formed, this group of men meets on Thursday mornings at 9am in
Fellowship Hall. After coffee, we perform needed chores and maintenance
around the church. In the past few weeks, we have raked and hauled off five
truckloads of leaves, repaired pews and pencil racks in the sanctuary, replaced
the windows to the old audio/visual room, created window fillers to shield the
new a/v booth, repaired toilets, changed lights, and many more chores. We in-
vite you to join us any Thursday morning for coffee, fellowship and work. For
more information call Larry Etter at 416-4117, or email landjet-
Calling all
St. Matthew’s Artists…
In the very near future we will have an art
show & sale. If interested, contact Barbara
Gadsby
The Women’s group of MacArthur Park Lutheran church cordially invites you to a night of food, fun & fellowship.
A salad dinner will be served, followed by Bunco!
Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Dress: Casual
RSVP: Suzette Price at [email protected] or 655-3833
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May 4th is set aside as the National Day of Prayer. Our sanctuary will be open from 8:00 am to noon, if
you would like to came and spend some time in prayer that morning.
TO ALL THAT HELPED AND DONATED TO OUR FEEDING OF THE HOME-LESS MINISTRY, IT’S GREATLY APPRECIATED ! WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITH OUT YOU.
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Thanks to all our volunteers that helped to make our neighborhood Easter Egg
Hunt such a success!!
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Service Award recipients honored
Dozens of UT Health San Antonio facul-
ty and staff were honored April 10 at
the university’s biannual Service Award
Celebration, held in the Holly Auditori-
um foyer. Michael Tesh, M.B.A., vice presi-
dent for human resources, served as the
emcee, and William L. Henrich, M.D.,
MACP, president, handed out the awards.
“Our Health Science Center could not have accomplished so much
without the time and talent of each and every one of you,” Dr. Hen-
rich said. “Each of you contributes to our missions in a unique way,
and I thank you for your service.”
Bret Peters earned his MBA with a focus on accounting from St. Mary’s University in 2013. He spent three years in public ac-counting and two years as Controller for a large San Antonio Non-Profit before starting his own professional bookkeep-ing venture. He started working with St. Matthews United Methodist Church in ear-ly 2017. He is recently married and enjoys spending his free time with his wife and their dog.
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fàA `tàà{xãËá United Methodist Church
2738 MacArthur View San Antonio, TX 78217-4503
Comfort-Air Engineering, Inc.
“A New Generation of Comfort!”
11403 Jones Maltsberger / www.comfort-air.com / Phone: 210-494-1691
Robert & Georganne Freund
Commercial / Residential / Sales & Service
Keep trusting God, he is ALWAYS in control
May 2017
Check out our awesome website at - www.smumcsa.org