680 8th Ave. SW Valley City, ND 58072

Ph. 701-845-0340 Fax: 701-845-0347

www.epworthvalleycity.com

Dayne Zachrison Pastor

pastor@epworthvalleycity.com Office: 701-845-0340 Home: 701-845-0156 Cell: 701-840-7294

Anita Tulp Office Administrator

Newsletter Editor office@epworthvalleycity.com

Office: 701-845-0340 Home: 701-646-2123 Cell: 701-320-9058

Dawn Thomsen Director of Christian Education

christianed@epworthvalleycity.com Office: 701-845-0340 Cell: 701-490-0840

Rydel Samuelson Director of Youth Ministries

youth@epworthvalleycity.com Office: 701-845-0340 Cell: 701-426-2790

VirLyn Hoff Congregational Care Coordinator

virlynhoff@yahoo.com Office: 701-845-0340 Cell: 701-840-9285

July 2020

Epworth Events Living, Sharing, and Growing in God’s Love

Non Profit Organization US Postage Paid Valley City, ND

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Epworth United Methodist Church 680 8th Avenue SW Valley City, ND 58072 www.epworthvalleycity.com

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL

PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY

The Importance of Place

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1

For the last several years, listening to the promptings of a member of our congregation, I have asked questions for “greeting our neighbors” at the start of worship. Recently, Anita came up with the name “Connection Builders” for these questions that relate to the message of the day as well as enable us to know one another better. A common theme for Connection Builders has to do with place: “What, to you, is holy ground?” “Where do you go to be close to God?” “Do you have a favorite place to pray?” We have been thinking about holy places a great deal, lately, as we have begun participating in worship in so many places and so many ways. For me, the Sunrise Room at Epworth has always been a special and holy place. I know that for several years, there was an early worship that met in the Sunrise Room, using the worship furnishings from Salem United Methodist Church. Even though that worship expression came to an end, that memory remains.

Over the last several years, I have done my best to reorient the thinking of the congregation regarding the Sunrise Room. Even though it is no longer being set up as a chapel, the meetings, classes, and families that gather in that room reinforce its nature as a holy space.

Since the end of March, it has again served as a worship center for our congregation. After we attempted an online worship from the Gathering Space, we realized that the visuals of the cinder-block wall and echo-y sound would be different if we, instead, livestreamed in front of the warm orange-red brick and used the wooden ceiling of the Sunrise Room to warm up the sound of the music. Honestly, Aimee was the first to suggest this change, and it has greatly improved our online presence.

Over the last several months, we have become very comfortable with this space. We moved the Lenten decorations from the altar, and then celebrated the Easter season with lilies and white hangings. Over time, we have added display screens to our worship center, created a better mix of sound, chosen backgrounds that don’t “wash out” the lighting in the room, and done dozens of small things that have improved our online worship experience. If you don’t believe me, spend a few minutes viewing our first couple of attempts at online worship. We have worked hard to bring to our congregation an excellent online worship experience. (continued on page 8)

Open 6 am—6 pm, Mon.—Fri.

8 am—4 pm, Sat. Ph. 840-8713

Summer Lunch Program

FREE to all students 5 years – 18 years old

Where: Current distribution sites

Dates: Monday May 26 – Friday Aug. 14

Hours: 11:30am 12:15pm Mon. thru Fri.

(except July 4th )

Church Offices Closed July 3rd

The next funeral will be served by the August

serving group.

Have Questions? Please call: VirLyn Hoff (845-1721)

Serving for July CHAIR—VirLyn Hoff

Jon & Lori Jury Sandi & Chuck Mielke Betty & Fred Jorissen Pearl Pritchert Jim & Marie Leadbetter Pat & Don Malec Dawn & Brent Thomsen Dayne & Aimee Zachrison

1st Bev Enger

4th Tracy Eggert 7th Cassie (Fick) Werlinger Sarah Hansen 8th Mark Miller Tyler Jacobson 11th Linda Haak 14th Allison Baasch Denise Hansen 16th Simon Lint 18th Andrew Glaser Kyle Knutson 19th Bob Werkhoven 20th Tyler Elston Pat Stoen 21st Ben Baasch 24th Duane Borchert 25th Heather Schwehr 26th Pat Malec Ron Munkeby 28th Ryley Elston Pastor Dayne

6th Katy & Curt Van Dyke 11th Justin & Sherri Horsager 12th Dottie & Bob Werkhoven 13th Connie & Jeff Schlittenhardt 20th Dave & Tami Hanson 24th Pat & Tom Stoen 29th Abby & Kevin Rohrbeck 30th Eden & Anthony Cuypers Alicia & Chad Rexin

Evening Prayer on Facebook

Join Pastor Dayne for evening prayer

each night on Epworth’s Facebook page. At 7:00 pm, Pastor Dayne shares a brief message, a reading from Scripture, and a prayer by Georgia Harkness, a Methodist theologian and ethicist. You can join during the live post or watch it later.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

No Pastor’s Bible

Study

3

Church Offices

Closed in

Observance of

Independence

Day

4

5

10:30am

Worship Online

Socially Distant

Viewing in the

Dining Hall is

Welcome.

6 7

11:30 am –6 pm

Vitalant Blood

Drive @ Epworth

8

8 am –2:30 pm

Vitalant Blood

Drive @ Epworth

9

No Pastor’s Bible

Study

10 11

12

10:30am

Worship Online

Socially Distant

Viewing in the

Dining Hall is

Welcome.

13 14 15 16

No Pastor’s Bible

Study

17 18

19

10:30am

Worship Online

Socially Distant

Viewing in the

Dining Hall is

Welcome.

20 21 22

11am Theology

Lunch on the

EHG Deck

23

10am Pastor’s

Bible Study

24 25

26 10:30am

Worship Online

12:15pm Meals on

Wheels Delivery

4pm Men’s Drive

Thru Sweet Corn

Sale / UMW Bake

Sale

27 28

5:30pm Servant

Leadership

29

Mobile Food

Pantry

30

No Pastor’s Bible Study (Pastor is away)

31 Free Summer Lunch 2020 Bridges BackPack Program

Who: Free to all Kids Pre-School to 18 years-of-age

When: Meals served Monday-Friday, May 26th-August 14 (except July 3rd)

Time: 11:45am—12:30 pm Where: Current Delivery Sites

No pre-qualification necessary

July 2020

Pastor Dayne is on Vacation

Pastor Dayne is on Vacation

Blood Drive

Blood Drive—God’s love has

produced many miracles, large and small. One of these is the life-sustaining power of Blood. Blood is a valuable natural resource within each of us. We have the ability to share this miracle of life: to pass it along to others. The opportunity to share your healthy blood with those less fortunate will be on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 7th & 8th, here at Epworth UMC. Please call the church office at 701-845-0340 for more info or to schedule an appointment.

10 Epworth Events July 2020

May 30—June 29, 2020 Daily Expenses/Maintenance $14,333.60 Building/Trustees 385.00 Glory of God’s House Campaign 2,765.00 Apportionments (grant) 7,000.00 Matthew 25 600.00 Memorials 55.00 Parking Lot 335.00 Technology Services 911.91 Salem Church Funds 196.98 United Methodist Men 100.00 United Methodist Women 20.00 Worship Team 40.00

Sunday Online Worship Attendance (views)

May 31—76 June 7—83 In person—12 June 14—72 In person—12 June 21—57 In person—10 June 28—58 In person—12

Sunday School Attendance

May 31—12 via Zoom

THANKS to all who have contributed. We will continue to pay ahead as far as possible. We are paid out to September 2021, about 15 months ahead. Please keep debt-reduction in mind as you consider your financial gifts to the church. All of your gifts are greatly appreciated. —Wayne Winkler

July 2020 Epworth Events 3

Ways to continue your regular giving—Gifts may be dropped off at or mailed to the church, checks addressed to Epworth UMC may be

deposited in the drive through deposit box at First Community Credit Union, or you may use the online giving option on our webpage. Go to www.epworthvalleycity.com, choose the giving tab, click on the “Donate” button and follow instructions. Our online giving is managed by PayPal, yet you do not need to have a PayPal account to support our ministries. You may also choose to set up an Electronic Funds Transfer by downloading the EFT Form on the Giving page. Fill it out, sign, and return to the church office.

Radical Hospitality Corn Feed Fundraiser— This year’s United Methodist Men’s Corn Feed on Sunday, July 26 will be a do-it-yourself meal! We will have corn available for sale in at Epworth for you to take home and prepare. At the same time, our United Methodist Women will be hosting a Drive-Thru Bake Sale! Support our ministries by sharing in this meal in a new way!

Mortgage Balance 1 6/19/2020 $ 201,349.12 Pymt Due 9/15/21 $1,983.46 Mortgage Balance 2 6/19/2020 $ 200,000.00 Pymt Due 7/15/20 $ 821.91 Last Principal Payment 6/19/2020 $ 1,135.92 Principal paid YTD in 2020 $ 22,608.83 Interest paid YTD in 2020 $ 7,047.40

Total paid YTD in 2020 $ 29,656.23

Principal paid in last 30 days $ 1,135.92 Interest paid in last 30 days $ 1,792.28 Funds available for payment $ 821.91

Worship Plans We have new plans to share with you regarding in-sanctuary and in-person worship here at Epworth UMC. Beginning Sunday, July 26, we will be livestreaming our online worship from the Sanctuary. We know that for many of you, our beautiful sanctuary is a part of setting your heart in a mood of worship. We have brought what we feel is an excellent worship experience from the Sunrise Room, but that was never going to be a permanent answer to worship. We will be doing our best to transfer what we have learned about online worship to the larger setting of the Sanctuary Chancel. At our July 28 Servant Leadership Team meeting, we will be making decisions about in-person sanctuary worship, when it will start, what it will look like, and what participation will feel like. Regardless of when we move into in-person worship, know that we will continue to livestream our worship, as all of our plans include a long-term investment in our online presence. The health of our congregation continues to be a value we uphold.

Please continue to keep all of those suffering from COVID-19 in your prayers, as well as those health professionals who are working for our safety.

Parsonage Task Force Over the last several weeks, the Servant Leadership Team has created a Parsonage Task Force to consider Epworth’s options regarding the housing for the Pastor. The group is made up of current leaders, members of the Endowment and former Trustees, as well as those with experience in renovation and construction.

Our current parsonage was purchased when Rev. Dan Bader moved to Valley City, and has served us well, but there are several points of deferred maintenance and regular wear-and-tear that need to be addressed. Alternately, the existing Parsonage could be sold and a different home purchased. In addition to the research of the Task Force, there are several more steps that would need to be considered, including Charge Conferences, before a final decision could be made.

In the United Methodist Church, most congregations provide a home for the Pastor and family, as the Pastors move from community to community at the appointment of the Bishop. A few churches provide a Housing Allowance to their Pastor, but that would not be appropriate in Valley City’s housing market, and would be a continuing expense for the congregation to carry.

July 2020 Epworth Events 9 4 Epworth Events July 2020

Christian Education, Dawn Thomsen, Director Happy Summer everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

Vacation Bible School Update! Currently, we are revamping our plans just a bit for our “Knights Of

North Castle” VBS 2020. We are going to plan to have VBS Aug. 17-21,

the week before school starts. We have a couple of different plans in

mind, including possibly an outside-only event. I will be ordering the

last of what we need & confirming leaders soon! Please let me know

where you would like to help at to make this the most fun & successful

VBS yet!

Sunday School Update!

I am ordering our fall curriculum soon with a couple plans in mind for what we will do this fall. I

will be confirming our leaders soon!

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Have a fun & safe rest of your Summer!

Dawn christianed@epworthvalleycity.com

Dear Church Family,

“Thank you for the cards, memorials, and calls after Noel’s passing. I want to thank Don and Bev Enger for serving our family a noon lunch after the service. Thanks to Dorothy S. for the delicious bars, to VirLyn for decorating the tables, and to our friends at Landmark 2 for furnishing the food. Thank you to Pastor Dayne for the nice service for Noel. It is great to have a wonderful church family. Thank you.”

Pearl Pritchert and family

In Memory of Ty Pederson —Darrell & Becky Schroeder, to Matthew 25

In Memory of Richard Tulp —Bonnie Burchill, to UMW —Bob & Dottie Werkhoven, to Worship —Jeane Lang, to UMW —Richard Tulp family, to UMW —Richard Tulp family, to UMM —Richard Tulp family, to Wesley Acres Camp —Jon & Lori Jury, to Wesley Acres Camp

In Memory of Gary Cruff —Don & Bev Enger, to Building Fund —Donna Nelson, to Memorials —Warren & Brenda Ventsch, to Memorials

In Memory of Logan Kinslow —Tom & Diana Vagle, to Memorials

In Memory of Noel Pritchert —Gordon & VirLyn Hoff, to Endowment —Tom & Diana Vagle, to Parking Lot —Kevin & Anita Tulp, to Building Fund —Bob & Dottie Werkhoven, to Worship —Perry Roorda, to Endowment —Sheryl Hanson, to Parking Lot —H. A. & Pat Triebold, to Kitchen Fund —Lance & Marian Drevecky, to Parking Lot —Don & Bev Enger, to Building Fund —Darrell & Becky Schroeder, to Matthew 25 —Fred & Dorothy Schroeder, to Building Fund —Pat Nielson, to Building Fund —Michelle Grebel, to Matthew 25 —Richard Hanson, to Building Fund

In Memory of Lynn Van Dyke —Don & Bev Enger, to Building Fund

Pastor Dayne and Anita are taking some vacation and family time in July. From July 6th to 17th, the office will be open in the mornings only, 9am to noon. We thank you for this time to relax and refresh, to spend time with family, and to recharge for a new season of ministry.

We provide our box tops to Washington Elementary as part of our commitment to our neighbor.

July 2020 Epworth Events 5 8 Epworth Events July 2020

—Continued from pg. 1

Now, we are preparing to move our worship expression back to its original home, our sanctuary. We know that for many of you, worship outside of this holy space has been difficult. It is more than a large room with pews, an excellent sound system and an actual pipe organ. The presence of a worshiping congregation has literally shaped the feel and spirit of the space.

Just as worship in the sanctuary has changed and grown over the last 50 years, so we will continue to be shaped by how we hope to reach the hearts of those inside and outside our church family. We will be looking to move the best of our learnings for online worship into the sanctuary setting, and we know that, sometime in August, we will again be inviting people to worship in this holy place.

But what we cannot forget, is that God is not bound by place. We know that there are individuals and families that have connected with Epworth in this time. They have connected with us because we are striving to do our best to reach out online. This reach will continue, and will continue to shape our ministry here in Valley City and across the country.

In Christ,

We have been having a great summer for sales and for connections. Thank you to the volunteers who have been working so hard to build an outside deck behind Epworth’s Holy Grounds. When completed, the deck will have permanent seating and be a place for visitors to EHG to enjoy their drinks in the shade of the flowering crab. The deck is at the same level as the parking lot, so it is also handicap accessible. The deck is being paid for out of assets of the coffee kiosk, and we also maintain our regular giving to Epworth UMC’s General Fund.

Thank you to Lance Drevecky, Mike Watterson, Matt Nielson, and Dave Hanson for putting in the hours of work to add this great welcoming asset.

Recipe for Cooler Corn

Works for any amount of ears, and has all of the corn cooked at the same time.

It will not hurt your cooler, but you will have to wash the butter out when you are done.

Wash the inside of an insulated cooler. (It will warp a cheap Styrofoam cooler)

Stack the shucked and cleaned ears in your cooler.

Add a stick of butter for every dozen ears of corn.

Add enough boiling water to cover the corn.

Salt to taste (about 1 Tbsp per dozen ears).

Shut the cooler for 45 minutes.

Draw out the ears with tongs, and it will be cooked, buttered, and salted!

6 Epworth Events July 2020 July 2020 Epworth Events 7

Congregational Care

Church Family Supper

I am sorry to say we will not be scheduling a Church Family Supper for July. We still have health and safety concerns and want to keep our Church Family safe. We will revisit and try to plan for August! Thank you for your patience

and understanding. Please know that we are missing these times of fellowship and know that you are too! Our goal is to be responsible and to keep our Church Family safe and healthy!

VirLyn Hoff, Congregational Care Coordinator

Let Your Light Shine!

Thank you all for the donations for the salad luncheon that was not held. You can still mail a donation to UMW Treasurer Dorothy Schroeder.

Mission u, usually held in July, is cancelled. More than 8,000 people, men and women, attend Mission u events around the country. Attendees grow in understanding the mission of the church in the current world context. United Methodist Women use experiences like Mission u for leadership development, spiritual growth, transformative education, service and advocacy. I will miss the Mission u experience --- seeing UMW friends, the worship, learning and fellowship.

The August Brunch will not be held. This brunch is when we invite our Shepherdess and honor who are celebrating an 80th birthday. Who is having an 80th birthday? Out unit gives a named mission gift in your honor. It is one way we donate as a Five Star Unit for mission to women, children and youth.

Our local Epworth UMW team did meet and review our finances in view of what ministry can we fund during this COVID crisis. Our mission pledge is paid. We have a request to support the conference camping program in some way. We have no camping scholarships to present for this season. What do you think?

We do have an upcoming event! Our team is planning a limited bake sale to be held with the men’s corn sale. The Sunday-eve event will be held with the UM Men’s Corn Sale on July 26th.

For the bake sale, we are asking for whole, homemade pies, cookies in a dozen or half dozen baggies, and rolls also in smaller packages. The sale will be drive-thru. Michelle Grebel and Bev Enger are working with the men on how this event will go. Questions to Michelle and Bev. If you make a custard pie, please bring it in a cooler.

To follow through with the 2020 program theme of “Let your Light Shine”, I lift up the verse from Psalm 36: 9 – “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

Thank you, Sisters in Faith, for your light. In your light, I see light. In God’s light, we all see light.

—VirLyn Hoff, UMW Unit President

Farmers to Families Produce Distribution—In

partnership with the Great Plains Food Bank, The Farmers to Families Produce Distribution gave out 585 boxes of produce on June 9th, and 500 boxes of produce and 144 gallons of milk on June 24th. The distribution took place in our Epworth parking lot and included many volunteers from Epworth and the community. Thanks to all those that volunteered to help make this ministry a success!

Thank You! —Thank you to all of those that participated and donated to our unconventional fundraising Hunger Walk due to the Covid-19 Pandemic! Our organizing team is happy to report a wonderful response to this great need. The Valley City CROP Walk raised $6047.77 for world hunger, with $755.00 of that amount coming from Epworth! A portion of these funds will be donated to the Barnes County/Valley City Food Pantry, where it will be used for fresh food.

Thank you for your support!

Open Table Our Open Table Community Meal that is scheduled every last Tuesday will resume on Tuesday, August 25th. Serving will begin at 5:30 pm. We will

be looking to our Smart Restart Team to help us determine the best way to move forward with our Open Table Community Meal. Please know that the safety of our community and church family are our biggest concerns! A responsible response to the COVID-19 Pandemic is our goal. We are looking forward to figuring out this new normal and encourage everyone to practice safe distancing until we meet again! Blessings to you all! —The Open Table Team

We’re having a Bake Sale! We will be having our annual bake sale during the Men’s Drive Thru Sweet

Corn Sale on Sunday, July 26th at 4:00pm! Our Bake Sale will be held in drive thru fashion as well so we plan to limit our selection of baked goods to pies, cookies, and buns/breads. We welcome donations from all of our Epworth Church family. Monetary donations are welcome as well! All proceeds support ministries of the United Methodist Women.

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it is learning to dance in the rain.

—Vivian Greene

UMW Reading Program If you are participating in the UMW Reading Program, books need to be read and reported to Bev Enger by the August 1st deadline.