Dear Friends in Groton &Conde

Lately, my thoughts and prayershave been centered on all of our farm-ers who are saying to me that we aredesperate for moisture. This week Ihave been in prayer for residents inColorado, friends and family that areperilously close to out of controlflames. Let’s consider other parts of thecountry that are getting scorched bytemps in the 100’s (already in June).For those who are part of communitiesbeing evacuated because of the wild-fires, to see their homes ablaze on theskyline is certainly traumatic.

Where doy o u s e n d85,000 peoplein a matter offew hours?House s o ffriends andfamilies be-come places ofrefuge as peo-

ple fear the worst about their homes,property and livestock. Perhaps forthose who are not as fortunate, truckstops and rest areas serve as parking lotmotels until all is declared containedand safe for their return? For thosecaught up in these moments of fieryterror, I pray that in the midst of thefirestorm, they’ll be greeted by Christthrough the power of the Holy Spirit.That somehow they’ll make it through

this temporary and earthly hell.

In many ways when we see otherssuffering, we are told to count ourblessings. We may thank God that’snot happening here or just simply, Iam glad we live where we live becausenothing too terribly bad ever happens.Friends, let us not be fooled into think-ing that we don’t have a share in theproblems facing our nation, or betteryet our global community. Through theact of God’s creation, we are in fact allbrothers and sisters; children in God’sfamily.

Often it is the case that while wetruly enjoy our lives here in a smallercommunity, our lives become enrichedby travel. Our lives become enrichedwhen we meet people outside of ourexisting communities. You never knowwho you’ll bump into or have a conver-sation with that will somehow make animpact. Our prayers can make an im-pact, how we lift others up can makean impact.

I hope to see you in church,

Pastor Matt

July 2012

United MethodistMessenger

Groton/Conde Par ishes

Notes from the Pastor

1.) Music rehearsal willbegin on July 10th@7pm and continue onTuesday nights @ 7pmin preparation forW.O.W. which will beon Wednesday nightsfrom 6-6:45pm

2.) Looking for femalesingers for the W.O.W.worship team youth andadults are welcome espe-cially those with a pas-sion for ContemporaryChristian music.

3.) If there are anyyouth or adults whowould like to share theirtalents or gifts in wor-ship, we are developinga "pool" for those whowould like to sing,dance and/or read inworship. Please contactPastor Matt or look forthe sign-ups on clipboards.

4.) Pastor Matt is work-i n g w i t h L i n d aThurston on a new con-firmation format, it willbe more interactive andgive the youth moreresponsibility in practic-ing their faith.

July 15 during coffee hour celebrate withJustin Morehouse & Amanda Bartels whowill be married August 25th. They are reg-istered at Target, Herbergers, and Menards.

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Wedding Blessings Shower

United Methodist Messenger

Groton Potluck CelebrationThere will be a potluckdinner on July 29th atnoon to celebrate the ordi-nation of Pastor Matt. TheJuly-August committeeswill supply the hot dishesand others can bring adish to pass. Dessert willbe provided.

keep each of you and your families as you share Hislove! Your Friends in Christ, Don & Donna Mohlwww.folkmountaingospel.com

Dear UMC, Thank you very much for the sweat-shirt. Also thank you for all the support throughoutmy 18 years of the Methodist Church! Thanks again,Sydney Erickson

Dear UMC, Thank you for the sweatshirt. It willbe very useful to me as I attend SDSU next fall. Again,thank you so much! Sincerely Katelyn

Thank you to Margaret Blader for the new micro-phone set

Thank you for everyone who helped/donated toVBS. We had about 30 different kids throughout theweek. Thanks Melissa

Dear Pastor Richards & folks at Groton, Thankyou all so much again for allowing us to come and pre-sent the message of Jesus’ love in song last Sunday!What a joy to worship the Lord together! Thank youfor your generous love offering and your encourage-ment and prayers as we travel. May the Lord bless and

The Groton UMW at 7 p.m. on June20th withCarna Atherton-Pray giving the program on Women’sHealth Issues and Services. She began by giving a set ofquestions through the Illinois Dept. of Public Health.Each question led to much discussion and answers tomany health issues that deal with women. Carna con-cluded her talk with health services for women that canbe found in Aberdeen.

President Gloria Pharis began the business meetingwith the twelve members present reciting the UMWPurpose.

The minutes and financial reports were given. Dur-ing old business, Gloria asked if anyone had demon-strated any “Radical Hospitality.” Twila Ruden re-ported she had paid a recent visit to Rita Washnok in

Aberdeen.

During new business, Twila shared a newspaperarticle on “Sweet Dreams.” Gloria noted that the com-mittees for the Oct.3 Fall Bazaar will have to begin theplanning stages. Upcoming events include the EasternSunrise Annual District Meeting to be held in Sept.and the Reading Program is due to Sharon Wheetingby Aug. 1

There will not be July meeting. The nextmeeting is Aug. 22, 2012 at 7 p.m. with Yvonne Langegiving the program “Walk with a Child.” Hostesses forthe August meeting are Jessica Morehouse and ChrisNyberg.

Jane Johnson and Linda Thurston were hostessesfor the June meeting.

July 2012

Groton UMW - June

Thank You

Page 3

Help Wanted!

Kay has many puppet scripts on cassette tapesand if they were dubbed over to CD’s they wouldbe easier to use and organize Puppet Shows. Ifyou have time to help me out, please let me know.The sound system at church does this processwith ease but it is time consuming.

Thanks Kay Brandt

There were twenty-nine participants plushelpers during the week of VBS who learned the'everything is possible with God.'

Amid the clouds, high-flying planes and bal-loons, we had a 'Sky high-flying' time as welearned and experienced Bible adventures,watched a movie, did experiments at the Imagi-nation Station, played games, made and atesnacks, and sang (danced and signed) to won-derful tunes each day. A Bible point was experi-enced each day as they learned that no matterwhat....we can trust God! The participants werechallenged to find God in their surrounding andshare those sightings with each other everyday. It was a wonderful week of sharing andlearning about the God who is present with useveryday of our lives!

Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey challenged usto 'Get up and Go' beyond the walls of our sanc-tuaries. Don't just sit in our pews waiting to befed, but we are to be a presence in our communi-ties as we reach out to help those near and far aswe offer Christ to them.

Special speaker was Rev. John Edgar; SeniorPastor of the Church for all Peoples and Execu-tive Director of Community Development for AllPeople. He encouraged us to minister to thepoor in our communities.

Workshops were focused on equipping thelocal church to making disciples for Jesus Christfor the transformation of the world. (areas relatedto mission work, working with demographics inyour community, worship designing, technology,after school programs and transforming thechicken dinner)

As a conference, we celebrated an average

attendance growth of 4%. ( Interesting since quiteoften the main-line churches have been notedas declining in members!)

The approved budget for 2013 is $7,317,754 -- a .3% increase from 2012.

The Conference Council on Finance and Ad-ministration and the Stewardship of ResourceLink are proposing a change in the apportionmentformula to a tithing of 12.5%.

A Sexual Ehtics Policy was debated and ap-proved. Connectional Ministries was renamed to'Extending the Local Church Link'; and extendingthe Health Medical benefit for retired clergy andtheir spouses was approved.

Highlight was the ordination of Pastor MattRichards as an 'official' clergy in the DakotasConference!

July 2012

Memo from Annual Conference held in Sioux Falls June 6-9

Conde VBS - June 11-15

Page 4

Conde MISSION STATEMENT

“The Conde United Methodist Church is seeking to satisfy the

spiritual and physical needs of all.”

ward the shore. About halfway there, he asked,“How’d you get rid of the gators?”

“We didn’t do anything,” the beachcomber replied.“The sharks got ’em.”

While a tourist vacationed on the Florida coast, hisboat capsized. Although he could swim, his fear ofalligators kept him clinging to the overturned craftand praying aloud. Spotting an old beachcomber onshore, the tourist shouted, “Are there any gatorsaround here?”

“No,” the man hollered. “They haven’t been aroundfor years!”

Relieved, the tourist began swimming leisurely to-

GrotonJuly 4 Seth Erickson

Madelynn GrenierJuly 5 Allen & Joyce Walter

Jasmine SchinkelJuly 7 Ida HannonJuly 8 David Tewksbury

Kelby HawkinsJuly 9 Jocelyn Peterson

Jordan VossJuly 10 Pernell & Noella GrafJuly 11 Roger & Marjorie OverackerJuly 12 Ashtyn BahrJuly 13 Jeff Voss

Jolene TownsendJuly 14 Ava Kramer

Christine NybergJuly 16 Linda Thurston

Richard VossJuly 17 Mackenzie AthertonJuly 18 Josh & Merrie Atherton

Kaitlin O’NeillKevin Pray

July 19 Carol StromJuly 22 Jean LowaryJuly 23 Joyce Walter

Chanda & Logan NilssonJuly 24 Maggie Oliver

Roger & Pam Rix

July 25 Hannah WebbJuly 26 Angela & Perryn Dobbins

Pat KnechtLaila Roberts

July 27 Ryland StromTony Madsen

July 28 Bob & Carolyn SnyderCraig Weber

July 29 Curtis KruegerJuly 30 Megan & Seth EricksonJuly 31 Lynette FurmanCondeJuly 1 Arvon TaylorJuly 3 Guy & Renee Hanlon

Norb & Donna HearnenJuly 6 Shanna GeistJuly 10 Ann MenziaJuly 23 Patty KnollJuly 27 Horace & Donna WalterJuly 30 Judy Zeck

July 2012

Our Church Celebrations

The water's fine?

Page 5

July 2012 Page 6

Conde

VBS

July 2012

Groton Father’s Day Extravaganza

Page 7

Greetings from the United States – that is rightI am state side. I have been a bit busy being ananny to my new nephew Daxton in Chicago. Istayed with my brother and sister in law and vis-ited churches on the weekends to sell Artisanproducts and share about Haiti. The first week-end I was in Traverse City, MI visiting with teammembers who had been in Haiti years past fromthe Traverse Bay, UMC. They had their AnnualMother’s Day Flower Sale raising money for theirnext trip to Haiti. I was able to sell many prod-ucts from Haiti too, including baskets, dolls, bagsand much more. I didn’t have any of the jewelryI make to sell, but sent them some a few weekslater for a large yard sale to raise money for theirHaiti trip this summer. During that weekend, Iwas in Concord, MI visiting another team. It wasa blessing to be there because 85% of the teamfrom the past year had their high school gradua-tion celebration at the church. I also had a won-derful visit with the pastor and her family. MoreHaitian products were sold, alongside some of mynew jewelry at the church. The weekend in be-tween I was able to visit the Urban VillageChurch in Chicago. It just so happened the weekI came, there was a Haitian visiting, raisingmoney for his foundation in Haiti. It was a greatconnection to make – I also met the leader of thelast team from the church to Haiti. It is amazingto me the connections that God makes andwhere those connections might lead you.

It reminds me of the random meeting last yearof a gentleman at a Kiwanis meeting from Minne-sota who had a bunch of desks to deliver toHaiti. They delivered 3 last fall while shooting adocumentary and amazingly the other 30 deskswill be delivered this summer to our newschool! That is what is happening in Haiti rightnow while I am back in the States. We are in theprocess of building a new school in the commu-nity that was adopted by LMi after another or-ganization abandoned them. It is considered a‘free school’ in the community. The kids pay avery small fee to attend the school and then theirbooks and uniforms are covered. It has beenamazing to watch this development – look out formore information on New Life School.

I have attached a Newsletter that I assistedwriting with the Director of Communications withLMi. It shares more about the school and otheractivities that I am involved with in Haiti throughLMi.

Over the next 2 months I will be all around theDakotas visiting friends and family, sharing aboutHaiti, and selling Haitian Artisan products. It ismy fundraising season, so in order to do the workI am doing in Haiti, I have to be back in thestates for awhile. Hoping and praying it is possi-ble to do this again another year. I am blessedto have the majority of my fundraising come fromthe 1st United Methodist Church in Vermillion,SD, who has set up a matching funds account forthe work I am doing. The other funds come fromother UMC churches I have spoke with and fromwonderful people such as yourself. It continuesto amaze me how God makes this possible. Sothank you for being a blessing. If you are inter-ested in continuing to support the work I am do-ing in Haiti this next year please send your dona-tions to 1st United Methodist, 16 N Dakota, Ver-million, SD 57069.

I will keep you posted over the next couplemonths as to where I will be and when. Thisweek I will be going to the Dakotas Annual Con-ference in Sioux Falls to see many of you and thechurch communities as well. I will be sellingsome jewelry as well as raising money for educa-tion in Haiti. The following week Christy Pill – afriend who had lived with me in Haiti for 2months and taught dance in the community willbe visiting Lee Rainboth, the director of LMi, inIowa and myself. Currently I am at my mother’shouse in Big Stone City helping her pack for hermove this year.

Hope your summer is going wonderful! Enjoy it.

Angelica Laudermithhttp://www.angelicaheartforhaiti.blogspot.com/

Volunteer through the 1st United Methodist Church in Ver-million, SD with Living Media International, Mizak, Haiti

July 2012

Friends and Family

Page 8

In Sifted (David C. Cook), Rick Lawrence exploresLuke 22:31-32, Jesus’ words to Simon Peter duringthe Last Supper. Jesus warns Peter that Satan hasasked “to sift you as wheat” but assures him, “I haveprayed for you … that your faith may not fail” (NIV).

Sifting, Lawrence notes, is a three-step process:beat, separate, reveal. “The essential effect of sift-ing is a violent separation followed by a beautifulrevelation,” he writes. “Sifting shakes us apart forthe purpose of destroying our complacent wholenessand revealing what is valuable and permanent andneeded.”

Satan, intent on destroying us through trials, doesn’trealize that God can use what was intended as evilfor good (Genesis 50:20) and that nothing can sepa-

rate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).

“Turning ugly into beauty is not a mere commentaryon what God does,” Lawrence writes. “It is an expla-nation of his genius and a summation of his redemp-tive strategies in our lives.”

July 2012

Sifted wheat

Page 9

"Summer Storm"Looking for a way to help a little one manage anxi-ety about thunderstorms? Read this prayer-poemtogether and remind children of God’s protectionwhenever we’re afraid.

I run outside to laugh and play.Keep me safe, dear Lord, I pray.I look about. Dark clouds roll near.The sky declares, “A storm is here!”

Then thunder rumbles, cracks and booms!I hurry home to watch the showof lightning flashing all aroundand raindrops tumbling to the ground.A rainbow, Lord, please send my way.Then I will run outside and play.—MaryAnn Sundby

When your ducks aren't in a rowOn the surface, people, like ducks, can seem to glide effortlessly through life. We’re often the picture of calm,in perfect control. But underneath, we may be paddling like mad to keep up a façade — or just to keep up.

Although we like to look and feel as if we have it all together, the truth is we often don’t. Think how much bet-ter we’d feel if we could just admit our weaknesses and doubts. Think how much more genuine our churcheswould be if we didn’t have to pretend we’re okay when we’re actually struggling.

Surely, God wants the pretense to stop. Set an example for friends and fellow worshipers by ending the madpaddling, embracing honesty and helping one another.

Honorary Members Dick Ruden Gerald & Ann Rix Irene Breitkreutz Don Walter Bob SnyderAugust Extra Responsibilities Mow the lawn as necessary August 5th change altar cloths to white for com-

munion Aug 12th change altar cloths to green

Laurel & Monte McNickelDiann & Brad MorehouseMarva & Lon GellhausJustin MorehouseJulie & Jesse MorehouseMendy & James JonesAngela & Perryn DobbinsBrent & Jessica MorehouseKay BrandtBob & Mary Ann WehdeMarjorie & Roger OverackerCarolyn Snyder

July 2012

Groton Family Committee - August

Page 10

Marlys Rodman 397-4570Audrey Thurston 397-8493Pat Dahlquist 397-2616Doris Zoellner 397-2417Marjorie Townsend 298-5221Ann Rix 397-8478Darlys Kampa 395-6996DeLoris Knoll 397-2681Gloria Pharis 397-2375Marvel Johnson 397-2425

*Currently 84 on email prayer chain. If youare not on this list or the email list, pleasenotify the church office.

We must have your permission to startthe Prayer Chain. So please call and re-quest this to be done. It is not automaticfor privacy reasons.

New Groton

UMC

Groton Mission Statement“Enriching Spiritual lives through

Christ.”

GrotonStewardship

ReportJune 2012

AverageWkly Giving

$1,702

Needed Wkly forChurch Mission

$2,045

Average WeeklyAttendance

67

Total Building FundDonations

$550

Our Church HappeningsJuly 10 Groton WOW Worship practice 7 pm and will continue wkly

July 15 Groton Wedding Blessings Shower during coffee hour forJustin Morehouse and Amanda Bartels

July 18 Groton Worship Mtg 7 pm

July 22 Conde World Hunger Sunday

July 29 Groton Potluck Ordination Celebration Sunday for Pastor Matt

July 29 Groton Trustees meet during coffee hour

Aug 5 Groton Ad Council 12:30

Aug 8 Groton Membership Mtg 7 pm

Aug 25 Groton Wedding for Justin Morehouse and AmandaBartels

Sept 5 Groton WOW (Worship on Weds) first service 6 pm

Sept 9 Groton Rally Sunday