MAY 2013

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 I don’t know about you, but thus far spring 2013 has tested my “attitude of gratitude.” It seems that our circumstances - from the difficult (a flu and cold season that just won’t quit), to the frustrating (unseasonably chilly, rainy days and subsequent delays in the fields) to the horrific (the Boston marathon bombing, the Texas explosion) - have provided few opportunities for rejoicing or giving thanks. One way to approach the Bible’s insistence on gratitude is to look for something noble or helpful even in the midst of a bad situation. For example, when I’m down with the crud, I am grateful for modern medicines that ease our symptoms and keep illnesses from becoming life-threatening (as was so often the case just a few decades ago.) I am glad that the spring rains are replenishing thirsty lakes, streams and aquifers. Even during the horrible events of the Boston marathon, I found myself moved to tears as I watched people running toward the explosions, ready and eager to help. And I am truly thankful for those first responders in Texas who recognized the

looming danger and courageously moved people out of harm’s way. Many folks have developed everyday habits of gratitude that help them when they face troubling times. Some write weekly (or even daily) notes or letters of appreciation to persons who have touched their lives. Some create “gratitude journals” in which they write down at least one thing for which they have been thankful that day. Still others practice the discipline of mindfulness – paying attention to all the gifts that surround them each day (like the smell of wet earth, the sound of morning birdsong, and the taste of fresh asparagus.) All of these are good and valuable disciplines, but I suspect that the biggest secret to gratitude is to remember the One to whom all thanks are due. “Pray without ceasing” means turning our hearts and minds to the one who gave us the capacity to appreciate everyday beauty, who gives us strength to fight for the good, who brings us into loving community and who never leaves us or forsakes us, even in the most difficult circumstances. In Christ may we rejoice and give thanks, always! Your Grateful Sister, Pastor Christie

SCRIPTURES

May 5- Psalm 96, John 4:19-26 Graduation Sunday Get Caught Up May 12- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Mark 3:31-35 Heart to Heart May 19- Jeremiah 1:6-9 John 1:35-51 Telling the Truth May 26- Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 When the Story Doesn’t Make Sense

Business Name

Geneseo Voice ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

WORSHIP ASSISTANTS 2

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

2

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

3

CHILDREN’S PAGE 4

MONITOR UPDATE 5

GOLDEN AGE REPORT 6

CALENDAR 8

May Ushers: Scott & Tammi Neuendorf May Greeters: 5th– Bob and JoAnn Higgins 12th– Bob and JoAnn Higgins 19st– TBA 26th– TBA

May Acolytes: Krystal Putz May Coffee Servers: JoAnn Higgins Lora Olson Heather Chingren Flowers:Pat Peckham

Dalton Adams 22nd Lora Olson 23rd Don Putz 28th

ANNIVERSARIES Chris & Lora Olson 12th

CELEBRATION DATES

BIRTHDAYS Jessica Cook 1st Maggie John 1st Alexa Weber 4th Orville Beenken 6th Taylor Howard 10th Garey Prouse 12th

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

—Albert Einstein

GENESEO VOICE

WORSHIP ASSISTANTS

PAGE 2

PRAYER REQUESTS

For God's Healing Touch Kylie Powell, granddaughter of Duane & Dixie Christian, recovering from surgery. Deb & Kelsey Mumm, recovering from auto accident. Chloe Hietmann, recovering from an auto accident. Chloe is now at home. Please pray that her rehab goes well. Please pray also for her family. Jean Beenken, healing from sciatica.

Living With Cancer Bill Wells, brother of Diana Sash Amy Kleene, Diana Sash’s niece, Larry Parizek, father of Kalyn Putz, as he continues with treatment.

Continued Prayer Support

Norman and Doris Mitchell, living in Friendship Village, Waterloo Hazel Minkel, living in Sunrise Hill assisted living, Traer

Volunteers are needed to help serve the noon meal at the Salvation Army in Waterloo on Wednesday, May 15th at 9:00 a.m. If you can help with this worthwhile project please let Delores Reints know.

May 20th there will be a UMW meeting at 6:30 p.m. where Pastor Christie John will be guest speaker, sharing about her trip to England.

UMW INFORMATION

NEWS FROM THE ENDOWMENT TEAM

PAGE 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

We are honored to have recently received a bequest in the amount of $30,000 which will be added to our endowment fund. All gifts placed in this fund are invested and the principal is kept intact while the interest earned is used for the benefit of our church and

community. Currently the proceeds from our endowment fund are used to grant scholarships to graduating high school seniors, to help families send their children to United Methodist summer camps, to support youth mission trips and to help promote special projects or

new ministries beyond our general budget. If you would like to know more about how you can support Geneseo UMC in this way and leave a legacy for generations to come, contact Duane Christian, Endowment Chair.

We were delighted to dedicate our new fellowship hall tables on April 7th. These were pur-chased with funds from the Forrest and Edith Hill memo-rial. We thank God for the generosity and enduring wit-ness of these saints in the Lord! Congratulations to Ryder Dale Messmore, baptized April 7th. Parents are Patrick and Renee (Mumm) Messmore; grand-parents are Deb and Ronn Mumm. Thanks also to the

Mumm family for allowing us to share in the delicious brunch they served after wor-ship! A big thank you to our Sunday School teachers Maggie John, Deb Mumm and Jana Ryan and to our Sunday School co-ordinator and teacher Lora Ol-son! Our Sunday School year ended on April 28th. We hope that families will enjoy won-derful after-church time to-gether as the warm weather begins! Whether you are going

on a picnic, visiting family or playing in God’s beautiful creation, remember that there are faith lessons to learn in all kinds of places – and that Je-sus is counting on you to share his love wherever you go! Congratulations to Heather and Caleb Hill on the birth of daughter Peyton Alexis on April 4. Proud Grandfather is Chris Hill.

CELEBRATIONS

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always

find forgiveness. —Honore de Balzac

GENESEO VOICE PAGE 4

CHILDREN’S PAGE

Church Council Summary – April 22, 2013 Pastor Christie and five members attended. The meeting opened with prayer by Pastor Christie. Ministry of Leadership – Discussion focused on review and feedback regarding Rev. Jaymee Glenn-Burns presentation: Simplified Church Structure. There was consensus to continue to explore the best ways to administer the ministries of the Church. Ministry of Management – Marlys Mitchell presiding.

Pastor's Report: The Golden Age Banquet was well attended – tasty meal, appreciated fellowship, interesting program. Many participated in the Adopt a Highway/Church Clean-Up event. The new banquet tables for the Fellowship Hall are appreciated. Pastor will provide the message at the Union High School Baccalaureate Service on May 15. Each Council member received a book, The Healthy Small Church by D. Bickers, and a reading assignment. Staff Parish Relations: The Ministry Appraisal has been completed. Board of Trustees; Restoration of the

parsonage front lawn is planned. UMW: Pastor Christie will provide the program at the May 20, 6:30 p.m. meeting. The topic will be “The Wesley Pilgrimage to England – October 2012”. Healthy Church Initiative: The Geneseo UMC team will participate in a Prayer Walk/Drive in the local community on April 27 at 8:00 a.m. A team meeting will occur on May 9. The final HCI meeting with Raymond and Hudson teams will be on June 2. MinistryWork Areas: Sunday School classes will conclude on April 28. Programs resume in September.

GRADUATION

“I remember my mother’s prayers, and they have always followed me.

They have clung to me all my life.” —Abraham Lincoln

PAGE 5 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

NEWS FROM THE BOARDS

Congratulations to our graduating senior! Whom we will recognize on Sunday, May 5th.

Dalton Adams

Conal Jensen, Richard Leipold, Kylie Powell. Nicole Jensen (graduating from Hawkeye Community College)

Matching Fund Opportunity An anonymous donor has offered to match contributions to the Monitor Fund up to $1500 total from now until May 30th, 2013. $7,000 will cover the cost of

purchasing and installing an LCD monitor in each corner in front of the sanctuary so we can more clearly see visual elements in worship (videos, pictures, words and film clips) without covering up the center cross.

As of March 30, we have received $3,950 toward this project. If you would like to contribute, make the notation "monitor project" on the envelope or memo portion of your check. Thanks!

SANCTUARY MONITOR PROJECT UPDATE

Youth group will be continuing through the summer. We hope that you guys are as excited as we are! Sunday May 19th we would like to invite the youth and their families to Hickory Hills for a picnic lunch and afternoon in the woods. For those who

have done or are interested in starting geocaching there are lots of caches hidden in Hickory Hills. We will keep you updated on where at Hickory Hills we will be otherwise people can carpool from the church at 11:15 am. If you would like more information on

Geocaching here is a website: www.geocaching.com In case of rain we will be at the church instead.We will provide Hot dogs, buns, condiments and drinks. Please bring side to share.

YOUTH GROUP UPDATE

On Wednesday, April 17 we served 52 people who came and enjoyed a wonderful meal at Geneseo UMC's annual Golden Age Banquet. This Geneseo tradition brings together seniors from our prayer-map area as well as those who graduated 50 years ago or more from Geneseo or Dysart-Geneseo High Schools. People come from near and far for a wonderful meal, fellowship with their neighbors or classmates, and

an inspiring message from a guest speaker. The last two years we've also enjoyed lovely dinner music provided by our talented neighbor, Ruth Beck. Many thanks to Ruth, our speaker Rev. Mike Gudka, caterer Donna Cooley, Dixie Christian and the Outreach Committee for planning the event and the UMW for serving and cleanup. You all helped to share the love of Christ and strengthen our community! We received the

following thank-you note after this year's banquet.

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GOLDEN AGE BANQUET

GOLDEN AGE BANQUET THANK YOU

dinner was most delicious. The brownie fudge sundae can’t be beat. The program was interesting and informative. I “Googled” Malawi when I got

home. Thank you again for providing this special time for so many of us to share memories. Submitted by : Golden Age Banquet attendant

Thank you for providing a wonderful banquet for the “Geneseo Golden Agers”. I always look forward to the times when I can reconnect. The

Stretch your legs and your spirit at the same time! Pastor Christie will lead a prayer walk on the third Saturday of each month be-ginning at 8:00 a.m. We will walk along roads in our prayer map area, quietly praying for the

places and people along our route. This form of prayer walking does NOT include handing out litera-ture or knocking on doors. Our walks will last no more than one hour and we will move at what-ever pace the walkers would like

to travel. We will begin with a brief time of prayer and instruc-tion, then drive to our prayer walking area. Anyone is wel-come! See Pastor Christie for more information.

PRAYER WALKING CONTINUES

So saddle up your horses, grab your cowboy boots and hats and be ready for a lifesaving adventure at SonWest Roundup VBS. Mark your calendar and spread the word. July15th– July 18th at 5:15 p.m.

Have a Rip-Roaring time with Jesus at SonWest Roundup—Git along to Geneseo United Methodist Church and get to know Jesus while riding the trail through the Old Testament stories of Moses.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

“If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has

not already been..” —Robert Brault

Here is a great way to save money at the grocery store and help

alleviate hunger in our community at the same time! Go to

couponsforchange.org and print the coupons you’d like to use.

Coupons.com will then donate a part of its earnings to “Feeding

America” – which supports the Northeast Iowa Food Bank! There

are over 250 coupons to choose from representing lots of name

brands.

A big thanks to all who participated in our twice-a-year Adopt-a-Highway and Church Cleanup day. One group walked along Highway 21 and picked up all kinds of trash. Youth cleaned

the bugs out of the overhead fixtures in the fellowship/kitchen area and cleaned and disinfected nursery toys. Other folks vacuumed the pews, washed down chairs, cleaned out and

organized kitchen cabinets and more! Still others prepared and served a great lunch. Didn’t get a chance to enjoy the fun this time? No worries – we’ll do it again in the fall!

“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.”

—Oprah Winfrey

GENESEO VOICE

TAKING CARE OF GOD’S EARTH

PAGE 7

SUMMER CAMP

up to 100% camperships for our children – see Pastor Christie for more information. To see a camp catalog or to register, go to: www.iaumc.org and click on “camping” – or let the church office know and we’ll get you a print copy of the catalog.

hopes and dreams are discovered, where memories and new stories are created, and ultimately where your faith will be discovered in a whole new way. It’s not too early to register for an Iowa United Methodist Summer Camp! Geneseo UMC offers

Camp means many things to many people. For some, camp has been a tradition handed down from one family member to another while for others it will be an exciting new adventure to experience. No matter which group you fall into, camp is a safe, exciting place to know Jesus Christ better. It also is a place where new friends are made, where

We need Greeters, Ushers and Acolytes for the months of June and July. These ministries help us provide a gracious welcome and meaningful worship in the name of

Jesus. You can sign up by the week if it makes it easier with summer schedules. Please contact Jana at 319-478-8788 otherwise there will be a

sign-up chart at the back.

Thank You!

NEEDING HELP

Here is a great way to save money at the grocery store and help alleviate hunger in our community at the same time! Go to couponsforchange.org and print the

coupons you’d like to use. Coupons.com will then donate a part of its earnings to “Feeding America” – which supports the Northeast Iowa Food Bank! There

are over 250 coupons to choose from representing lots of name brands.

COUPONS FOR CHANGE

PAGE 8 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5

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THE MISSION STATEMENT OF THE GENESEO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Our Christ-centered mission/purpose weaves God and persons together in an on-going journey of reaching out, receiving, relating, nurturing, and sending out to live as faithful disciples. As children of God, we embrace this mission in forgiveness, friendship, community, and love.

Geneseo United Methodist Church 3127 115th Street Buckingham, IA 50612 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Geneseo United Methodist Church

Geneseo United Methodist Church 3127 115th Street Buckingham, IA 50612

Phone: 319-478-8788 E-mail: gumc@fctc.coop Web-site:www.geneseoumc.org