As I reflect on experiences at the General Conference I was most moved by the evening worship experience on Thursday 4/26. (You can access it in the live streaming archives on the GC website www.gc2012.umc.org)

Bishop Robert Hoshibata from the Portland Episcopal Area preached powerfully on the healing power of God. He highlighted John Wesley’s writings on keeping oneself physically healthy with fresh air and exercise, proper diet, no alcohol and no tea or coffee for those with weak nerves! But more importantly John Wesley strongly encouraged his followers to inquire of one another, “How is it with your soul?” In the early class meetings members were expected to give an honest accounting of one’s sins (falling short of the mark) and requesting prayer and encouragement from the group.

Bishop Hoshibata inquired of us, “How is it with your soul?” He reminded us that we are spiritually unhealthy when we are speaking unkindly or falsely, disparaging others, judging, living in all kinds of ways that are contrary to the gospel of God’s love for all people and God’s world. Indeed, the entire Scripture from Genesis to Revelation speaks of God’s overarching love for God’s created and creation. The Bishop called on us to pray for healing in our lives and our churches and our denomination. He affirmed that healing is ours for the asking but that we must be willing to acknowledge our need for healing.

So often we get caught up in the sticky web of self righteousness looking around at others and thinking we are better than “them” whoever “they” may be. We are so quick to judge but so defensive when we are the one being judged. How can we see others through the eyes of God?

By the sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ.  The Christian Educator in me recognizes we may need a brief refresher in the Wesleyan understanding of grace.

John Wesley believed and taught that through God’s sanctifying grace, we grow and mature in our ability to live as Jesus lived. As we pray, study the Scriptures, fast, worship, and share in fellowship with other Christians, we deepen our knowledge of and love for God. As we respond with compassion to human need and work for justice in our communities, we strengthen our capacity to love neighbor. Our inner thoughts and motives, as well as our outer actions and behavior, are aligned with God’s will and testify to our union with God. (Excerpt from Teachers as Spiritual Leaders and Theologians.)

The experiences at General Conference has clarified for me how difficult the work of compassion and justice is but also how necessary. In a world where brokenness is the norm rather than the exception we are called, more than ever before, to be agents of healing. May God grant us healing and the power to heal our broken world.

Blessings on the journey,

Pastor Eva

In fact recent research on growing and declining churches found that the strongest positive relationship to growth among programs and activities was “the extent to which a congregation is involved in evangelism or recruitment.” One study showed that 80% of people first come to church because a friend, coworker or family member invited them, while only 13% saw the church and came on their own, and just 7% came because of church coverage on a website or in the media.  As Adam Hamilton, pastor of one of the largest UMC’s in the country reminds his members, “Most people who come to faith in Christ do so because a trusted friend shared their faith or invited them to church. The impact of each of us sharing Christ with others is astounding.”

This is a good reminder that no matter the size of one’s church, the call of Jesus to share the Good News with others as a natural result of God’s love for us is the work not merely of a pastor, the staff, or a committee — important as they are — but of all who bear the name Christian.

Now that doesn’t mean that you have to be a “Bible thumper” or knock on the doors of strangers to tell them about Jesus Christ.  It simply means that you need to be inviting.  And yet, says Lovett Weems, inviting friends to worship or another church-related activity is much less common and comfortable for many church members today than it once was.  

Why is that, I wonder?  Would you not willingly invite a friend, neighbor or co-worker to a jewelry party in your home or a favorite restaurant, or even your daughter’s high school play?  Why not, then, invite them to attend your church for worship or a special music program or Vacation Bible School?  Or, even better, invite them to come with you to an event that you think might be of interest to them.  

So think about three people you know who don’t go to church: the parents of your son’s best friend?  Your tennis partner?  The person who sits next to you at dinner?  What kind of activity or program might interest them?  Maybe even the simple invitation will open a door for you to share why you are a Christian and why the church is important to you.  And that’s all evangelism is, when it comes right down to it—it is sharing your story, and inviting others to discover their own story with Jesus Christ. 

                                                                                                                      Blessings,

                                                                                                                      Pastor Amy

The Book of Discipline, which regulates the manner in which local churches, annual conferences and general agencies are organized; consider 1600 petitions from individuals, churches and organizations concerning the church’s policies and positions; and vote on a recommended budget for the next four years of $603 million.

Pastor Eva is attending General Conference as a volunteer page. To receive email news updates from General Conference, tune into live audio and video streaming on the internet, or take an online course on General Conference 2012, go to www.gc2012.umc.org.

Adults: $6.00; children ages 5-11, $3.00; and children under four are free.

Hope and confidence—these are the gifts of Easter.  For the resurrection brings not just the hope of life after death, but the confidence of new life now, even in the midst of daily burdens and duties, of fears and failure.  In those times when perhaps we are inclined to plead with God for an easier life, God instead offers us an Easter life, with the strength, the confidence and the joy to yet live life to the fullest. 

May the power of Easter give us renewed faith and hope that enable us to overcome the fears and burdens of our own lives and fill us with new dreams, new plans, new energy.  Like the disciples, may we be compelled by joy to proclaim his resurrection and to live as resurrection people.

 Now let the heavens be joyful!

Let earth her song begin!

Let the round world keep triumph

And all that is therein!

Let all things seen and unseen

Their notes in gladness blend,

For Christ the Lord hath risen,

Our joy that hath no end.

 --John of Damascus, 8^th Century

                                                                                                                                                Easter Blessings,

                                                                                                                                    Pastor Amy

http://fumcphoenixville.org/gfile/75r4!-!HGDIIL!-!zrzor45!-!DLDOOQPL-OINM-HHKL-NQEP-HPRGGOIODIDR!-!72y1nq/fbbbff50-f3bb-4c75-a0f4-b5cc775dbc98.pdf

Resurrection Living

The resurrection of Jesus on the third day has become for Christians a symbol of newness of life. Jesus came out of the tomb different than he went in. The Gospels are full of mysterious appearances on the roads and into locked rooms and disappearance from a table where he had broken bread with traveling companions. But the Gospels each end with a variation of Jesus’ command to “go, tell and make disciples”.  Those closest to Jesus were commissioned to keep the movement alive. The “Kingdom of God” had arrived with Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection and the disciples were charged with keeping the momentum going. And so it has been, down through the generations to us, the Christians of today. We, too, are commanded to “go, tell and make disciples.” But how many of us actually understand how to do that?

In reading a bit about the term I discovered that the word “kingdom” is a translation of the Greek word basileia which in turn is a translation of the words malkuth (Hebrew) and malkutha (Aramaic). ^[1] These are feminine terms which meant "counsel" or "advice" and typically had a divine connotation. So maybe kingdom of God is better understood as the Divine Counsel of God. Does that change how we share the message of Jesus? When Jesus begins parables saying, "The Kingdom of God is like...," he is essentially saying that God wants to interact with his creation, not be separated from it. Jesus treats the kingdom of God as dynamic and alive. It empowers. It inspires. It doesn't constrain or confine. If anything, it opens up possibilities.

Jesus calls us to be proactive in living out the kingdom. So the go means “get out of these four walls called the church”, the tell means “behave with compassion and justice so our actions speak louder than words”, and make disciples means “bringing others along for the ride.”

Hmm . . . what do you think? Is that something we can do? I believe it is.

Blessings on the journey,

Pastor Eva

^[1] Wikipedia

(A True Story, My Story)

by: Cheryl Cini

I try not to work on Mondays.  I clean my messy house, recover from a busy Sunday and address my personal business and read my emails.

So on this Monday, I received an email from my son’s scoutmaster.  The email asked that I please give Stephen a heads up before tonight’s meeting.  You see, Stephen is a patrol leader; there are five different patrols in his troop.  The email stated that as of Monday night, Michael, a boy from a different patrol, will be switched to Stephen’s patrol effective immediately.  Stephen was to support him and help him achieve his next advancement. 

Okay, so I thought for a moment, why now, changes in patrols are usually done twice a year, this is an unexpected change.  So, I thought longer…

Back in July of 2011, Stephen returned from scout camp with plenty of stories.  But, one story was very disturbing.   Michael was being bullied by other scouts, even to the point that another scout pulled out a knife.  (This particular group of boys was the youngest of the troop, this was their first summer camp endeavor, and had just graduated from sixth grade.)  Stephen said, “Mom, I flipped on the kid, and told him, “we don’t do that here, you don’t use your knife that way”, he proceeded to report the incident to his scoutmaster.  I could tell he was very mad and upset with the whole incident.   Stephen likes Michael, the boy being bullied, hung out and kept him by his side the rest of the week.  Stephen continued to stick up for Michael, and mentored him. 

I was saddened to hear this story.  But, I did NOTHING and said NOTHING with this news!

I made the decision to let the boys and Boy Scouts handle the situation and not let my mom hormones invade the Boy Scouts.  But, I did want to talk to Michael’s mom.  Being summer time, we were very busy, most Monday nights were drop and run nights.  I kept looking for Michael’s mother, but we kept missing one another.  Time went by and I still never said anything! 

So, getting back to this Monday, I emailed the scoutmaster, that I would relay the message to Stephen, but, I also mentioned the summer camp incident of 2011.  He responded, “Yes, you read between the lines, correctly!”

I sat and stared at my computer for a moment and thought, oh my, the bullying never stopped!  Michael has repeatedly been bullied at the Boy Scout Monday meetings and at Boy Scout activities. 

My heart was broken, how did WE let this happen? Why did I not say anything?  What excuse did I have?  I let Michael down!  What can I do now?

So, I responded to the scoutmaster, “What are you going to do at tonight’s meeting?” He said, “I don’t know, I’m at work, and winging it, but were facing this head on!”  So, I spent my Monday, delving into the many resources I have.  The scoutmaster decided to use a Bullying resource gathered from the Boy Scout website and I quickly put together a team building game, erecting spaghetti, marshmallow towers!

We had a successful night, Michael looked and felt better, didn’t leave Stephen’s side.  The issue was addressed head on, and the kids built some really cool towers, too!  I'm proud of my Stephen, he has been a good person, a good friend and I continue to encourage him to remain a team player and be patient with the younger boys.  He can change Michael's heart and mind about boys and Boy Scouts, that's a big job for eighth grader, but I believe in him.

 I learned that I will no longer keep my mouth shut about bullying.   That no matter what day of the week, I really have “no day off” and that I will continue to listen to my kids, to other kids and bullying can happen anywhere, at anytime!

On Good Friday their heads were bowed in grief, their hearts filled with sorrow, their steps painfully slow as they climbed up the hill of Calvary and down its slopes to the tomb.  Then the disciples ran into hiding out of fear for their own lives.  But three days later, all had changed.  When the full impact of the resurrection flooded their lives, Jesus’ disciples couldn’t contain the surging forces of faith within, and they ran again—ran openly through the streets of Jerusalem, compelled by joy.  The flap of sandaled feet upon the stone pavement beat out the words “He is risen!  He is risen!”  The disciples had come through their anguish and fear by the power of Easter, been born anew to a living hope that gave them fresh confidence in themselves and in the future of the world. 

Hope and confidence—these are the gifts of Easter.  For the resurrection brings not just the hope of life after death, but the confidence of new life now, even in the midst of daily burdens and duties, of fears and failure.  In those times when perhaps we are inclined to plead with God for an easier life, God instead offers us an Easter life, with the strength, the confidence and the joy to yet live life to the fullest. 

May the power of Easter give us renewed faith and hope that enable us to overcome the fears and burdens of our own lives and fill us with new dreams, new plans, new energy.  Like the disciples, may we be compelled by joy to proclaim his resurrection and to live as resurrection people.

Now let the heavens be joyful!

Let earth her song begin!

Let the round world keep triumph

And all that is therein!

Let all things seen and unseen

Their notes in gladness blend,

For Christ the Lord hath risen,

Our joy that hath no end.

--John of Damascus, 8^th Century

                                                                                                    Easter Blessings,

                                                                                        Pastor Amy

Tasks:

• wash windows inside and out and replace screens
• clean up debris under the tree in the back
• cut down cedar on the left side of the sanctuary
• cover soffit vents
• clean up residual leaves on front lawn

If you can’t commit to the entire morning please consider coming out for an hour or two.  We need your help and we can’t do it without your help.

Members, please use the sign up on the bulletin Board across from the Chapel.

In order to avoid paying interest to a local bank, these projects have been partially financed by an internal loan from the Parsonage Fund.  A significant portion of this loan has been paid back, and at current contribution rates, should be completely paid back, plus interest, by late Spring.

The committee is still hoping to be able to fund renovation to our Kitchen to bring it up to code and improve its functionality.  On April 1st, the committee with be hosting an Open House after each of our worship services in our Kitchen with light refreshments to show the congregation some of the possible upgrades that are being considered, and to answer any questions that the congregation might have.

This three session seminar on achieving financial stability will be offered on Wednesday evenings April 18th and 25th and May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. Topics include: "What does the Bible Say about Money," budgeting, and "Seven Baby Steps (to Financial Peace)." Registration fee is $15 per individual or family.