This year UM ARMY (for high school youth) costs $215 and Big House (for junior high youth) costs $100. Check out the youth webpage for more information and to download registration forms. If you’re going on one of these trips, consider trying to raise the money. Download instructions for selling missions ‘stock’ here, and stock forms for UM ARMY and BIG HOUSE there.

Not a youth anymore? Consider a gift to help these teens go and share God’s love. God’s love is a gift for us all. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our youth had a tangible reminder that God loves them as they go out to work in the hot sun as a reminder to others of God’s love? Think about it, then find Cabe or the nearest youth for more information!

Make sure all checks are made payable to Aldersgate UMC Youth Fellowship with UM ARMY or Big House in the memo line.

Approximately 30 people attended the retreat that was led by Rev. Mary Tumulty. The session lasted throughout the day, gathering and exchanging information. The discussion ended with discussing the current identity of the congregation and with a communion service.
Here are some of the results of the discussion.
• Emphasis was placed on the need to know who we are before we move towards what we want to do, or prepare a vision for the future.
• Focus on our identity and how we are distinctive, how we are different from others
• That any time there is change, there is loss, and we should be respectful of that loss and how it impacts others.
• That the future will bring change, and to succeed with that change we need to increase communication and trust each other as we move through that change.
• Explore ideas for new programs that will thrive and bear fruit.
• As we explore and discuss an idea, we should always add on the words “so that”….. so that we understand the “why” we are pursuing that project. Ideas were collected during the day and a list compiled and will be updated as other’s make recommendations.
• Prayer life is essential and that for the first quarter of this year we should sit quietly alone with God, and sit quietly with each other with God, and seek guidance. Make no major decisions, start no initiatives or programs, but continue to exchange information, learn from each other and about each other. Meet intentionally to pray together, listen to the Holy Spirit, for God’s Voice. Be Still.
• To keep moving forward, and to strengthen our gifts and graces.
Next steps include a meeting of the Vision 2020 ministry team and to ask the chairs of all ministry teams and committees to share the results with their groups and provide feedback to the Vision 2020 team.

Ideas that were provided by attendees:
Purchase curtain for Asbury Hall stage
Sponsor more “open to the public” activities; example: Wylie College Choir activity was excellent. Public can see how great a church we are, offering food and with no admission cost.
Plan to focus more on service and less of physical facilities, so that we can be more of what the church should be
Purchase and maintain new 12 or 15 passenger van so that youth and families may travel to mission and field trips together
Start a summer program for students on free/reduced lunch where children can receive a full meal five times per week so that we might fulfill our call to feed the hungry so that we might extend our mission outreach to our local community. Possibly combine with our planned Fun Science Fridays
Start a prayer quilt ministry to those who are ill so that they receive a visible sign of love and warmth
Have a weekly meal served/delivered to poor or shut ins so that we can feed the poor
Plant a community garden so that we can feed the poor
Provide adult ESL classes so that ministries to other ethnic groups can be initiated. Might/should include babysitting which offers Bible stories/songs.
Local missions on a regular basis, greatly involving the youth or a committed basis; so that the church leadership and good news of God/Jesus/ Holy Spirit can be passed on. And the youth will see God’s love in action and the rest of the church will see the Youth as servants of God.
Children’s after school program (once weekly to begin) which would have snack time, homework time, puppets ministry, maybe drama class, hand chimes class and possibly move children’s choir to this or other similar program so that children are taught fine arts classes and learn Bible stories through classes offered along with a safe and fun place to be once a week
Convert old youth building to bunk house/shower facility so that we might extend hospitality to those in mission and also to respond in times of crisis or emergency, so that we might be Christ’s presence in our community.
Church wide study (possible 40 Days with the Word)

Questions for the ages.  Those same questions have been asked for centuries.  Those same issues have prevented humankind from finding God.  Even the disciples struggled with this man who taught a different way and spoke of love instead of hate, peace instead of war, joy instead of despair.  So who is the Christ to you?  How have you struggled with that question.  How have you answered that question who is God? Come to Aldersgate and experience who God is and wants to be in your life.  Be blessed my friends

Danny B

So Peter spoke up to set the record straight. They weren’t drunk, they were just receiving the beginnings of a gift God had been planning for a long time. The gift was God’s Spirit/breath, God’s life inside them, and the call to the adventure of sharing that Spirit life all over the world. But this was only possible because of another great thing that God did, that he’d also been planning for a long time.

In Acts we’re focusing on the idea that Jesus’ disciples, as they go out into the world as his messengers, as his Spirit-bearers, are accused of “turning the world upside down.” Peter’s speech to this skeptical crowd in Acts 2 focuses on the fact that God has already turned the world upside down by raising Jesus from the dead.

A lot of Christians don’t seem like they’re living with the bold, adventurous Spirit that the disciples carry through the book of Acts. A lot of people these days are just plodding along, trying to live as safely and securely as possible. But if we really believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then that’s way more interesting than living only for safety and security. That’s so interesting in fact, that if you really believed it you just might turn the world upside down.

John Mark McMillan, “Death In His Grave”

Though the Earth Cried out for blood
Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls on men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
The Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
And over turn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of men
Would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
When the day rolled a new

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

February is here the month of Love.  Who do you love the most, your spouse, kids, dog, cat, golf game, job, country, etc?  The question is asked all the time but we tend to leave our one item.  God. God loved you first, before you were ever conceived, before your parents even knew you, before the beginning of time.  How can we have a God that loves us that much and not recognize and acknowledge their presence in our lives?  It’s easy because we are absorbed in a world of technology that shows us all the reasons that God does not exist.  I was reading a demographic study for the area and I was amazed at the results.  It gave a topic of Religious Practices and it was eye opening.

1^st: 19.8% of people enjoy watching religious programs on TV.

2^nd: 49.4% consider themselves to be a spiritual person.

3^rd: 18.9% Important to attend religious services.

4^th: 36.9% Conservative Evangelical Christian.

5^th: 15% My faith is important to me.

The most glaring demographic is number 5.  Why does 85% of the population feel that their faith is not important?  Your faith is your entrance exam into the heavenly kingdom.  Faith is the foothold on the climb to heaven.  Faith is the very essence of our belief system.  I hope and pray that we can overcome this statistic and begin to increase our faith, increase our understanding, and increase our FAITH!

Where are you in the scale?  What are you doing to increase your faith?

Just a thought,

Danny B

The next big Lenten Study will be Three Simple Questions by Bishop Reuben Job.  I have perused the work and it seems to go with our present status.  Here is what will happen.  We will meet at 5: 30 PM for dinner, then adjourn to the Sanctuary for our study.  It promises to be rewarding and inspiring.  Don’t miss out.

The question Are:  Who am I?  Who is God?  Who are we together?  thought provoking I think.  Give some thought to those questions and see if it changes who you hope to become.

Be Blessed

Danny B

But this good news is not always received peacefully. At several points Jesus’ ambassadors are arrested, interrogated, run out of town, and even killed. People found these people to be offensive, even treacherous – a danger to society. For instance, at one point some people get upset at a few travelling Jesus followers, and so they start a riot mob and attack the house where they were staying:

And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7 ESV)

In a way, these people were absolutely right. The book of Acts records stories of ways that the church answering God’s calling ends up turning the world upside down. Some receive the Good News and the Holy Spirit with open arms, while others react to it by trying to snuff it out. The point of Acts is to put the question to you: How will you respond to this new thing God is doing?

Enough Stewardship Campaign Introduction

Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity

Stress. Anxiety. Fear. These words capture well the state of mind of many of us in America today. We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, and many bankruptcies and mergers. Every day seems to bring another piece of economic uncertainty.

A recent survey found that over three in four Americans are stressed about the economy and their personal finances. Half were worried about providing for their family’s basic needs. Over half of respondents reported feeling angry and irritable, and reported lying awake at night worried about this. The report concludes that, “The declining state of the nation’s economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide.”¹

Join us in worship the next 3 weeks for a sermon series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Our nation is experiencing what many have described as the “American Nightmare.” Increasing consumer debt, declines in savings, lower income growth, and a volatile stock market are all a part of our economic insecurity. We have lived in a society that tells us “you deserve it now,” whether or not we can afford it or really even need it.

All of us have struggled with these issues at one time or another. They are important issues that we cannot ignore. This is why, over the next 3 weeks, we will be having a churchwide study and worship emphasis called Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. During this time we will explore what the Bible teaches us about financial management through corporate worship. We’ll hear expert advice and stories about what others have learned by working through financial challenges. Each week we will provide you with some practical tools you can use to assess your financial situation and develop a financial plan with a biblical foundation.

At the conclusion of the emphasis, we will have the opportunity to make personal commitments of our offerings to God through our church in the coming year. We will consecrate these commitments in the worship service on two consecutive Sundays (see the schedule that follows).

I hope you will join us in the coming weeks as we look at how we can manage our financial resources and truly experience simplicity, generosity, and joy.

Schedule of Events:

01/15/2012      When Dreams Become Nightmares

01/22/2012                  Wisdom and Finance

01/29/2012                  Consecration Sunday 1

1 “Eight Out of Ten Americans Stressed Because of Economy,” by Madison Park, from CNN.com, October 7, 2008; http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/07/economic.stress/index.html.

Be Blessed

Danny B