page 1 August 2016

the link A monthly publication of New Hope United Methodist Church

August 2016

Hope you are planning on signing up for a session or two to package meals for our on-site event August 7th. Each service will begin at it’s regular time but will be shortened to accommodate more time to package. All ages from 4 on up will be able to help. Chairs for those who can’t stand, and stools for children will be available. Sign up for the session that best suits your schedule on the Mission Table at the rear of Fellowship Hall. If your entire family wants to participate together, sign up early to ensure you have the time you want. Please leave your phone and email as we will be contacting you to remind you of your time and at which station/table. Donate: New Hope must pay for the food stuff making up the meal package. The cost

is 20 cents a meal, so we must raise over $5,600 as we also pay for the truck and gas for transportation. Please make our your donation to new Hope UMC and put Meals from the Heartland in the memo line. Thank you!!! FYI: Many of the meals we have packaged have gone to the food pantries in the Des Moines area because of the overwhelming need here. Isaiah 58:10 “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.”

Prayer Chain Request

If you have a prayer chain request, please call Jan Davisson at 251-4894 or the church office at 278-2097.

Thank You Thank you to our New Hope family for all of their thoughts and prayers on the passing of my dad, Clair “Spec” Messerschmidt. How truly grateful we are to have wonderful friends like you. Keith & Julie Craighton

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Prayer Concern Esther Stout; Dorothy Martin; Mark Homard; Pat Homard; Bob Reaney; Margaret Hemphill; Joann Pugh; Olive Walker; Bishop Julius Trimble; District Superintendent, Rev. Heecheon Jeon ; District Field Outreach Minister, Naomi Sea Young Wittstruck; Dr. Emmanuel Mefor, missionary. Prayers for the following military personnel: Kelsey Bartley; Dawn Bernal; Jason Homard; Cory Larson; Adam Larson; Joshua Larson; Zach McClain; Todd McGinnity; Matthew Plourde; Anthony Plourde; Devan Stanton; Jared Stanton; and our national and world leaders, our military and their families.

Rally Day Sunday, September 11!

One Worship Service 10am-11am

in the Family Life Center and will feature both

Traditional and Contemporary music

All-Church potluck 11:00am-12:30pm.

Please bring your favorite dish(es) to share

Games 11:00am-12:30pm for all ages

Please join us!!!!!

Thank You Thank you so much for the help and support with Girls United For Christ this year! The girls spent quality fellowship time together learning scripture, discussing topics of life relevant to the age group, grades 4th through 8th, and sharing their excitement of God's Word to the congregation in a few different ways. The purpose of this group is to help build friendships among the young girls of New Hope, boost confidence in themselves and each other and teach them how to be future leaders for Christ in our community. Alot to accomplish in a 6 week session, but we had lots of fun!! We will see you all next spring!

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It’s time for another…...Pie Sale!! Sunday, August 14 The Women’s Fellowship is having a pie sale on Sunday, August 14 after each worship service as a fundraiser for their mission projects. We are accepting ANY TYPE of pie from all members and appreciate your donations. Pies may be delivered to the church on Saturday, August 13, from 2pm-4pm. Questions? Please contact Sharon Lewis, 254-1692.

The Veterans Helping Veterans would like to thank the New

Hope Congregation for their generosity at the ice cream fundraiser on July 3. In the past, this fund has been used by the veterans for memorial flowers for Mel Ghee, and donations to the Veterans Home, and the Serviceman's fund at New Hope sending packages to our service people that are stationed outside the US in active duty. Thank you so much.

Our thanks to Tech Sergeant Michael McGhee for being the guest speaker at the July 16 breakfast. Mike is the historian for the National Guard at Camp Dodge. Our next breakfast will be Saturday, August 27, 8:30 a.m. at New Hope. All veterans, their spouses and supporters are invited to attend.

New Hope Chancel Choir Begins Wednesday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. Take your voice from the shower to one of the best seats in the sanctuary! Chancel Choir will begin Wednesday, August 24 at 6:30 p.m. to prepare for the upcoming church year. Please meet in the sanctuary. For those new to our congregation, most rehearsals last one hour and we share our “sermon in song” at the 10:45 a.m. service from September to May. The group sings many different styles so

there is something to meet all musical tastes. If child care is needed, this can be arranged (please let me know in ad-vance so I can be sure to have a provider available). If your schedule makes it impossible for you to sing with us on a regular basis, I encourage you to consider being a part of our Seasonal Choir that meets to prepare for our Christmas and Easter cantatas, as well as once a month during the summer. These rehearsals start after Chancel Choir at around 7:30 p.m. (except during the summer) and last for one hour. If you enjoy making music, we’d love to have you! We have a wonderful group of musicians and I’m always looking for new folks to join in the music ministry at New Hope. Mark your calendars, and I look forward to seeing you on August 24. Eldon Cross, Director of Music, elcatalia4@gmail.com or 515 250-1476.

Confirmation Class Dessert/Information Thursday, August 25 @ 6:00 p.m.

Attention 7th graders and families! Are you starting 7th grade this fall? Do you have a child/grandchild/niece/nephew/cousin/sibling/neighbor who is starting 7th grade? Are you interested in…Confirmation? Then plan on attending our special Confirmation Dessert/Information Meeting on

Thursday, August 25, at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. This informational meeting is for 7th graders interested in Confirmation, and their parents/families. We’ll take a brief look at the Confirmation year schedule, as well as discuss what one can expect in Confirmation. Please bring your family schedule. An ice cream dessert will be served. If you have any questions or are unable to attend that evening, please contact Pastor Gaul at 278-2097 or nhfamily@newhopedsm.org.

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Children & Youth Ministries Mission Statement

A church family working together to teach children to know, grow, and show the love of Jesus Christ.

We had a “farm-tastic” time at this year’s Vacation Bible School Program! We raised money to purchase two goats through Heifer International. Our church had the opportunity to touch the lives of 40 children from our church and in the community through our VBS program this year. And that wouldn’t have been possible

without the 50 youth and adult volunteers who helped with shepherding, leading activities, decorating, cooking, registration, and so much more! Thank you to all those involved for your hard work in making this a successful and exciting event for our kids, and for being the light of Christ to all those who walked through our doors. We’d also like to thank the individuals that donated items or just prayed for us during the week. Without your support this would not have been possible. A big THANK YOU needs to go out to our VBS Planning Team: Andy Sutton and Elaine Sheer for their incredible leadership and hard work they did behind the scenes the past 9 months, and for their ability to keep everything running smoothly. VBS wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Mark your calendars now for VBS 2017!!!

Sunday, July 16th – Thursday, July 20th We are starting to form our VBS Planning Team to provide oversight and leadership to the 2017 program. This way the work of organizing such a huge event can be shared among multiple people. Individuals are not required to help during the week of VBS to be on this team. The commitment will be no more than 1 monthly meeting starting in January and continuing through July. If you are interested in helping with the overall planning and organizing of Mighty Fortress VBS 2017 (this promises to be a very fun theme to work withJ), please talk with Andy Sutton or Elaine Sheer to hear their opinion on how great it is to be on this team, or contact sjacobson@newhopedsm.org. We hope you’ll consider joining our team!

Aug. 7 Title: "Just Believe It" Script.: (Suggestion-Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16--Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen) Guest Speaker/Meals from the Heartland Aug. 14 Title: "Just Run It" Script.: Hebrews 11:29-34, 39-12:2 (People who followed God by faith and the great cloud of witnesses) Aug. 21 Title: "Just Heal It" Script.: Luke 13:10-17 (Jesus heals on the Sabbath and is criticized. Jesus speaks of his critic's hypocrisy) Aug. 28 Title: "Just Host It" Script.: Luke 14:1, 7-14 (Jesus at a meal at a leader of the Pharisees and gives advice on where to sit)

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Children and Youth Ministry Volunteers Opportunities For those of you who may have missed your chance to fill out a Children and Youth Ministry Commitment Card back in May, or for those who now have a better idea what their fall schedules will look like, there is good news. You will have another opportunity to fill out a card and make a commitment to volunteering with our Children and Youth Ministries this school year. In August you will be presented with this card once again, and I hope that you will prayerfully consider how you help with these ministries. Here are some of the specific areas we can still use help:

Christian Learning Time Activity Leaders Looking for volunteers with our 3 yr—2nd grade CLT kids. We need willing leaders for the following activities: games, music, science, art, storytelling and cooking during the Sunday 10:45am CLT hour. This can be an ongoing commitment or one-time only. Curriculum will be provided as a guideline. See Sarah Jacobson for a detailed schedule and more information.

Jr. High CLT Teaching Team Looking for volunteers willing to team teach the Jr. High (6-8th grade class). Curriculum will be provided. If we can’t get any teachers for this class we will not offer it.

CLT Substitutes Looking for volunteers willing to be on our on-call sub list. You will always be given advance notice of when you will be needed, and a lesson plan will be provided for you.

Children’s Worship Leaders Looking for volunteers willing to lead Children’s Worship during the 9:30 service. We ask that you develop a short lesson/worship opportunity for our 3 yrs—2nd graders based on the weekly sermon/scripture. Lesson ideas will be provided for you. Commitment is 1-3 months per year.

TGIW Monthly Meal Teams The Good News is we have a majority of our main leaders in place! However, we are always looking for extra helpers with meal prep, serving and clean up on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. If you can commit to this even once a quarter, we’d greatly accept the help! Thank you for your continued support of our programs. If you have any questions, or would like to volunteer, please contact Children’s Ministry Coordinator Sarah Jacobson sjacobson@newhopedsm.org.

What’s new on the Children and Family Ministries Resource Board??? This month in the Parent Link and on the bulletin board you will find an activity puzzle for kids, and a meal time devotion titled “Just say ‘Cheese.’” With school just around the corner and on many parent’s minds, I have chosen the following Parent articles for this month titled “Back to School Challenges” and “Cultivate a Love for Learning in Your Children.” If you have any ideas for Parent Resources or other topics you’d like more information on, please contact sjacobson@newhopedsm.org.

Sr. BLAST (8th-12th grade) Leaders: Chris Higdon, Charity & McKayla Johnson, and Pam Frey

BLAST@NewHopeDSM.org

I am amazed at the beauty of the Black Hill and the Bad Lands of South Dakota; what a unique place…

We were truly blessed to get the opportunity to go out to Rapid City, South Dakota and serve in ministry out

there for a week.

This year the team served the community of Rapid City by working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Salvation Army, Hope Ministry, Chapel in the Hills, and a community feed on Thursday night. Just like in previous years, our team met up with three other youth groups; two from Colorado and one from Missouri. This was a great opportunity for our youth to meet new friends from different communities. Finally, the team got to dive deeper in the Prodigal Son scriptures (Luke 15:11-32) and explore God’s First Love for us through daily devotions. The team (Chris Higdon, Charity & McKayla Johnson, Pam Frey, Pastor Jon Gaul, Hanna Ferguson, Brianna Johnson, Caroline Christensen, Drew Wise, and Brandin Johnson) would like to share firsthand what they experienced during the trip; during a celebration lunch at New Hope on August 28th. Please plan now to come hear about their experiences and see the photos from their finished projects. Here are the some upcoming youth events for the next two months:

Aug. 28th ~ Rapid City Celebration Lunch at New Hope

Sept. 10th ~ Iowa vs Iowa State Service Project and Game

More information about the above events will be sent out in email and posted on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SeniorHighBlast).

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Youth Groups

Men’s Breakfast Saturday, August 13 at 7:30 a.m. at New Hope.

Women’s Fellowship No meeting in August. Next meeting is Thurs., Sept. 15, 9am at New Hope. Questions? Call Betty Holwegner at 278-8115.

New Hope Needlers The Needlers will not meet in August. The group will resume in September. If you have questions, contact Jody Rains at 278-8282.

Support Groups Al-Anon Every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Ruby Chapel. Alcoholics Anonymous Every Tuesday at Noon in the Ruby Chapel. Stroke Club of Iowa 3rd Tuesday of the month (February - October) at 7 p.m.

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Care Ministry Team This team ministers to congregation members who have had new babies, have been in the hospital, have been ill or are dealing with grief. This team meets on a quarterly basis and will meet on Thurs., October 13, 10am at New Hope. If you would like to join the Care Ministry team, please contact Clarice Rubek or Mary Ann Rice.

Blood Pressure Check Blood Pressure checks will resume in September First Sunday of the month, September 4, 9:30-11:00am will be the next BP checks in the Narthex.

Life Group (Bible Study): Are you looking for a place to connect with friends, build your faith, and get support? Join a Sunday Evening Life Group (small group):

1. Sundays 5:30 PM.. Contact Pastor Craig Ferguson at 515.984.0482 or Charity Johnson at 515.720.8299. This group will be held at different home each week.

And

2. Sundays 6:00 PM. Held at Dick & Netha Pipho’s 712 SE 4th St. Grimes 515.986-4071

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver Are you like Martha or are you more like Mary? We aren't that different from these two women in the New Testament. We long to spend time with Jesus, but find the demands of our day stopping us. Hopefully this book will show us how we can draw closer to our Lord. Join us on Mondays, 1pm in the Ruby Chapel for a Bible study using the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World . It will be led by Armenta Buckingham. Hopefully you will be able to join us!

Don't forget God Robert Brault said, “A vacation trip is one-third pleasure, fondly remembered, and two-thirds aggravation, entirely forgotten.” Much of the hassle involved with “getting away” comes from packing. What do we need? How can we save space? Where are the items we haven’t used since the last vacation?

Inevitably, we forget something — sunscreen, umbrella, diapers. Vaca-tioners miss these items almost immediately and quickly replace them. Do we also often “forget” the Bible at home? Do we leave our prayer and worship routines behind? Do we take a vacation from our faith? We may not notice those missing “items” as quickly, but they’re crucial nonetheless. God never schedules a “getaway” from us. This summer, take a vacation with God, not from God.

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AUGUST MISSION NEWS

MEALS FROM THE HEARTLAND: Thank you to all who have given to this wonderful project and have donated their time to package meals for the hungry.

CFUM: Our August mission focus is an inner city project at Trinity United Methodist Church, called CFUM (Children and Family Urban Movement). Some of their programs are: **Breakfast Club, with reading program on Wednesday morning **Programs for specific age groups: 5th Grade Wonder Girlz, 6th to 12th grade: Whyld Girls, 6th to 12th grade, Backyard Boyz: 6th grade to 12th grade **Supper Club: open meal for community Monday through Saturday **Community celebrations and events **Awesome Days: summer program, The Haven: after school program for K to 5th Grade, **Back to School Health Fair CFUM is supported on the Rainbow Covenant by the United Methodist Church. Our Mission team has purchased 96 backpacks for the Health and Back to School Fair. JR. BLAST stuffed the backpacks with necessary items, as well as 70 more backpacks for the Johnston Partnership.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of these backpacks, please indicate Missions on the memo line of your check.

WOMEN AT THE WELL: A group of 5 attended a wonderful worship service at the new chapel on the grounds of the Mitchellville Correction for Women, June 30th. We have 2 teams helping women reenter society from the Prison. We expect to help one or two women soon to be released. If you are interested in joining a team, please let Sharon Smith know as there is a training soon. (515-419-7082)

THANKSGIVING INGATHERING: If you are crafty and have items that you would like to donate to an auction or Bazaar at Greenfield such as quilts, wooden items, etc. please contact Sharon Smith. The money raised goes to Iowa mission projects. New Hope has received grants from this fund, that we have used for our Meals from the Heartland packaging event.

HAND OF LUKE, AUGUST 14: The 14th of each month, New Hopers donate food, cook a meal and serve it at the Central Iowa Shelter & Services, downtown. Sign up in the Fellowship Hall. Cooks meet at the church between 3:00-3:30pm. Servers transport the food to the Central Iowa Shelter & Services at 5:30pm, return by 8:00pm. When dropping off your non perishables, please see that they are clearly labeled HOL and clearly indicate who it is from and place on the kitchen counter. Frozen items may be placed on the marked shelves in the industrial freezer. If possible, please indicate on the sign up sheet where you placed your item(s) (for example, “in pantry”, or “in the refrig.”). Baked goods should be transferred to a disposable container if possible. Thank you!!

Enjoy the Convenience of Electronic Giving New Hope wants to remind you that we offer electronic giving as a way to automate your offering.

To setup online Giving go to www.newhopedsm.org OR www.johnstonriveroflife.org and click on the donate button. This will direct you securely to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation or view your online donation history. Changes can be made confidentially at any time. Or if you like, paper authorization forms are located on the table in fellowship hall. Please contact the church office for additional information.

If you decide to give electronically, please feel free to pick up a card that says “I give electronically” to put in the offering plate if you would like to participate in the offertory.

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New Hope Sunday morning Worship attendance

8:30 9:30 10:45 total June 26 39 78 72 189 July 3 28 74 91 193 July 10 31 85 89 205 July 17 32 60 64 156 July 24 28 109 81 218

Johnston River of Life Worship attendance

Sat Sun total June 25 48 June 26 45 93 July 2 49 July 3 46 95 July 9 51 July 10 33 84 July 16 57 July 17 50 107 July 23 41 July 24 65 106

Financial Report Finance Committee would like to thank all of you for your gifts of time, talent and money towards the work of the church. This month, we are reporting on our progress towards our giving goals year to date. We have good news to share! For the New Hope campus we are 103% over our giving goals through the end of June. For JROL campus, we have received 140% of our giving goals through the end of June. We are so very grateful for your continued generosity to advance the work of the church.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 12, 9am-3pm at New Hope UMC. This open to the public craft & gift fair will have crafters or national direct sales companies as vendors. Interested in being a vendor? Please contact Deb Henry at 515-282-0547 or mssci@aol.com.

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This is the season for the Major League. Baseball, America's National Sport, is in full “Swing”. (Sorry I couldn't resist that.) Americans spend hours, get caught up in statistics, wear their colors, paint their faces, throw parties or watch games at their favorite pub with all their friends. I know people who can tell me batting averages, RBI, names, and every detail about a players career. I would either call that fanatic or committed. This month at JROL we will be looking at a different set of Majors, the Major Prophets. Now this may not sound the most exciting, but let me put this in perspective. The major thing that shaped the early Christian Church was the way that Jesus taught and interpreted the Torah and the Prophets. Jesus even said in Matthew 22:37-40,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

What we call the Greatest Commandments are derived from out of the Old Testament Law and Prophets. We spend much time studying Jesus and the New Testament, but perhaps we should also look at the Old Testament prophets that so clearly formed Judaism and shaped our modern Christian Faith. Maybe you missed how these prophets have played a role in our culture and arts, such as Handle's Messiah, Feminism, Liberation theology, or prophetic themes that Jesus fulfilled, quoted, or populates the book of Revelation. Don't get nervous, I'm guessing most of us have a cursory knowledge of these Prophets at best. Let's consider the month of August a Major Prophets 101 class. Lets look at the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and WOW of each of these books together. Last month we spoke about the Ripple Effect that God's makes through our lives. Why not look at the Major Prophets and understand the Ripple Effects we still feel from them, and what they still teach us that is relevant today. Being Christ in Community, Pastor Craig Ferguson

Sunday Volunteers Greeters arrive at worship service fifteen minutes early to welcome worshipers. Lectors read the scripture lessons for the day at the 8:30 and 10:45 worship services. Children’s Church meets during 9:30 a.m. worship service in the sanctuary & 1st/2nd grade classroom. Volunteers read a Bible story to the children and supervise craft and play time. Hosts bake or purchase 6 to 8 dozen cookies (no peanuts/nuts), and serve coffee and water after the 9:30 contem-porary and 10:45 traditional worship services. After fellowship time the hosts wash, dry, and put away the cookie platters, rinse out and dry the coffee canisters, and take the trash out to the trash bin. When you sign up to host, a letter from New Hope will be mailed to you before you host with instructions on how to host.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions, please call Nancy Monthei, church secretary, at 278-2097.

8:30am Traditional Service

Greeters 7 Chris & Desiree Spring 14 Jessica Spring 21 28 Lectors 7 Billy Nuzum 14 Vicki O’Brien 21 Cathy Short 28

Traditional Service Callers 7 Bob & Marlys Borcherding 14 Norma Sutton 21 Bob & Marlys Borcherding 28 Norma Sutton Contemporary Service Callers 7 Eldon Cross 14 Rod & Lynette Cook 21 Eldon Cross 28 Rod & Lynette Cook

9:30am Contemporary Service

Greeters 7 14 21 28 Lectors 7 14 21 28 Hosts 7 Not needed 14 John & Joyce Turek 21 28 Sr. BLAST

9:30 Computer Support 7 14 21 28 \Office Volunteers 11 Marilyn Monroe 19 Pat Papenheim 26 Kay Goff

10:45am Traditional Service

Greeters 7 14 21 28 Lectors 7 Billy Nuzum 14 21 Spencer Sutton 28 Hosts 7 Not needed 14 Roberta Cave 21 Earl & Sharon Lewis 28 Sr. BLAST Money Counters 7 Clark Howland, Larry Wood, Rick Homard 14 Kim Traylor, Jerry

Kielsmeier, Open 21 Tony & Tracy Hoffman,

Glenna Ross 28 DeVonne Douglas, Randy

Jansen, Ron Zoss

Those who serve New Hope in August:

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HOSTS NEEDED!!! We are in need of volunteers to host after the 9:30 and 10:45 services. If no one volunteers, there will not be coffee and/or cookies served after the services. Hosting is easy to do. Either bake or purchase 6 dozen cookies.

9:30 Hosts set up and provide treats. 10:45 Hosts provide treats and clean up. You can split the hosting duties with others. The signup sheets are either on the hosting table or on the counter. There are signup sheets for every month. We really don’t want to see this gathering time end. Please signup!

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 1p, Bible Study, R.Chapel 7p, Trustees Mtg., R.Chapel

2 9:30a, Sr. Singers practice 9:30a, Alanon Noon, AA

3 7:30p, Praise Team

4 7p, JROL Mtg., Ruby Chapel

5 5p, Fine/Anderson Wedding rehearsal

6 1p, Meals from the Heartland set up 5p, Fine/Anderson wedding

7 Guest Preacher: Barb Mather Meals from the Heartland

8 1p, Bible Study, R.Chapel

9 9:30a, Sr. Singers practice 9:30a, Alanon Noon, AA

7p, Finance Mtg., R.Chapel

10 7:30p, Praise Team

11 Office Vol. Marlys Borcherding

12 13 7:30a, Men’s Breakfast 2-4p, pies to be delivered.

14 Communion Pie Sale 3:30p, Hand of Luke

15 1p, Bible Study, R.Chapel

16 9:30a, Alanon Noon, AA 7p, Stroke Club, Sanctuary

17 7:30p, Praise Team

18

19 Office Vol. Pat Papenheim Deadline for September LINK

20

21 Food Pantry Sunday

22 1p, Bible Study, R.Chapel

23

9:30a, Alanon Noon, AA

24 6:30p, Choir practice 7:45p, Praise Team

25 6p, Confirmation Dessert/Information Meeting 7p, AD Council Mtg., R.Chapel

26 Office Vol: Kay Goff 27 8:30a, Veterans Breakfast at church

28 Sr. BLAST lunch

29 1p, Bible Study, R.Chapel

30 9:30a, Sr. Singers practice 9:30a, Alanon Noon, AA

31 6:30p, Choir practice 7:45p, Praise Team

WORSHIP SERVICES New Hope UMC, Sunday mornings: 8:30, 9:30, 10:45 Johnston River of Life 5pm Saturdays and 10am Sundays at Beaver Creek Elementary in Johnston

August 2016

If you see that your name is not listed, please call the church office at 278-2097, or email at nhfamily@newhopedsm.org, so we can update our files.

“May God’s many blessings, be yours the year through.”

Happy Birthday to you!! Happy Anniversary!!!

Staff vacations: Pastor Jon will be on vacation August 1 - 12. Nancy Monthei, Office Admin. will be on vacation August 4 & 5; August 9; August 12. The Church Office will be closed on these dates. If you need access to the church building, contact Nancy ahead of these dates to arrange for someone to unlock/lock up. Sarah Jacobson, Children's Ministries Coord. will be on vacation July 29 - August 3. Pastor Craig will be out of town Aug 8 - 12 for mission trip; Aug. 17 - 21

1 Anita Gaul, Melisa Forbes, Jeffrey Duis, Jackie Johnson, Jackson Zimmerman 3 Ryan Dickey, Carly Mohrman 4 Mona Kirkpatrick 5 Chibs Ukabiala, Joyce Turek, Victoria Siffin, Evelyn O’Brien 6 Jamie Carlson 7 Richard Pipho 8 Owen Johnston, Patricia Ahnen,

Tammy Dann 10 Bev Kile, Megan Madison, Allison Lemke 11 Lucy Wilmoth, Sheldon Stout,

Linda Cooley 12 Joe Hoffman 13 Todd McGinnity, Judy Stout,

Kilee DeBates, Triston Nearmyer, Allison Christensen

14 David Cossa 15 Zoe Goodson, Lucille Thomsen 16 Gary Stubbs, Chandler Heiser, Carolyn

Burrough

1 Patrick & Georgette Kyenkya 3 Craig & Jody Ferguson 3 Joe & Cathy Short 6 Jeffrey & Beth Merrill 7 Chad & Alissa Strauss 8 Tim & Brenda McCulley 9 Lyle & Dawn Pritchard 14 Richard & Charlene Cobb 16 Bill & Pam Gibbons 17 Kurt & Angie Eaves 19 Wayne & Susan Clark 20 Bob & Sue Soards 24 David & Kate Cossa 25 Mark & Leah Scherer 27 Jerry & Linda Kielsmeier 29 Jody & Darla Wolfe 30 William & Katie Rock 31 Dan & Lucy Wilmoth

18 Jodi Christensen, Brock Moore, Marilyn Rapp, Carsten Thompson

19 Annabelle Carrigan, Monica Johnson 20 Margaret Hemphill, Katie Rock, Darlene Caldwell, Camryn Krebs 21 Tim Welter, Chris Hartung, Katarina Moore, Dan Hitchcock 22 Cari Gregg, Sophia Garside 23 Deb Cale, Nancy Wiles, Jessica Stern,

Roger Dann 24 Carey Hinman, Karen Johnston,

Brendon Riley, Stephanie Alcorn, Bryce Krebs

25 Esther Stout, Greg Meyers 26 Andrew Bogue, Owen Weih 27 Kadence Wigant 28 Donna Kinsey, Cameron Christensen,

Karen Campbell, Bradyn Johnson 29 Suzie Martz, Catherine Leyda, James Louk,

Armenta Buckingham, Brandin Johnson 30 Lynn Davisson, Sam Fairchild 31 Ethan Johnston, Guelda King

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The Season after Pentecost: Theme - “Just Church It! The Mission of the Church” Aug 7 Title: "Just Believe it!" Script.: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Meals from the Heartland

Aug 14 Title: "Just Run It!" Script.: Hebrews 11:29-34, 39-12:2 Holy Communion

Aug 21 Title: "Just Heal It!" Script.: Luke 13:10-17

Aug. 28 Title: "Just Host It" Script.: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Our One Thing I shared part of this in my sermon on July 17 to illustrate how we need to be open to what God is calling us to do personally. Now I share it for how churches need to do the same. So, at the risk of dating myself once again, go back with me to 1991 and the movie City Slickers, starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance. Billy’s character, Mitch Robbins, is having a mid-life crisis, so to “find himself” he and two of his friends go to a dude ranch to help with a cattle drive. At the ranch they meet a crusty cowboy named Curly, a real tough guy played by

Jack Palance. While on the cattle drive the following conversation takes place between Mitch and Curly: Curly: “Do you know what the secret of life is?” Then Curly holds up one finger and says, “This.” Mitch: “Your finger?” Curly: “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean [nothin’].” Mitch: “But, what is the ‘one thing?’” Curly: “That’s what you have to find out.”

The same appears to be true for churches. One thing is what churches need to find out. What is the one main thing, purpose, or mission God is calling them to do at this time? Having one main thing as a church’s centering focus jumped out at me when I went to the “Change the World” conference at Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio some years ago. This is one of our United Methodist “mega churches.” I have heard the pastor, Mike Slaughter, speak on a number of occasions and knew the story of how the church went from just over a hundred people to being a church with several thousand worshipping at multiple sites. I had always assumed they grew because they started doing new fangled wild and crazy worship, but apparently that is not the whole story. Although their worship is new fangled and high tech, they attribute much of their growth to their mission work. A member of the church, who has been there through all of Mike Slaughter’s 30 plus year pastorate, said from day one they were focused on missions, reaching out to help people in need. When people saw that this church really cared and was really making a difference in people’s lives, they wanted to be a part of that. Although they do more than “one thing,” they do have one MAIN thing that stands out and is their primary focus for mission and ministry. At that time it was their Darfur project in the Sudan. When they heard several years ago that this was the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world, they decided that’s where they wanted to be, where the need was the greatest. They raised money and worked through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to find the best way to utilize their support. Since the project began in January of 2005 they have established an agricultural program, child development program and safe water initiative that have expanded to reach a quarter of a million Suda-nese refugees and villagers. The Sudan Project has become part of the DNA of the church and everyone knows about it and it is regularly celebrated in their worship experiences. I have been very impressed by the mission work and outreach that New Hope and Johnston River of Life have been doing: the Hands of Luke meal served monthly at the shelter, the Johnston partnership sharing and regular donations to DMARC, helping build Habitat houses (I believe at least four have been worked on in just the past two years, the an-nual trip Senior Blast mission trip (which I tagged along with this past month and a meal and report from the youth will be coming soon), numerous adult mission trips (including tornado reconstruction in Pilgar, NE, an oversees mission trip to Honduras, and a trip the second week of August in Detroit). On August 7 we will have our annual packaging of 30,000 plus Meals from the Heartland at New Hope all on one Sunday morning--All hands on deck! We need your help! There are others too, including mission work done through our mission team, our conference connectional giving, Women's and Men's Fellowship, prayer shawls, lap quilts, meals for people who have been laid up or welcomed new babies, and I’m sure there are many more (let me know what they are). There’s also much more we can do. Does New Hope/JROL have or need a “one thing” centering mission? Let me know what you think and I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Blessings, Pastor Jon

Church address: nhfamily@newhopedsm.org Jon Gaul: jgaul@newhopedsm.org

Jon Gaul

Anita Gaul