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THE VINE NEWSLETTER OF BELLAIRE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
“THE FIRST IS, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE; YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ THE SECOND IS THIS, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ THERE IS NO OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER THAN THESE. MARK 12:29-31 (NRSV) MAKING DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD FEBRUARY 2017 VOLUME 53 ISSUE 2
F R O M T H E PA S TO R I have been a runner for about as long as I can remember. As a child, I ran everywhere, confident that I could be the first one to the car or up the stairs or wherever we happened to be going. Now that I have a three-year old son who is a runner in his own right, I have a be>er understanding of just how exhausAng that must have been for my mother! As I got into middle and high school, my running became compeAAve on the track and through the cross-country trails of northern Michigan. I really grew to love running over those years. At some point, it became not just something I did, but a part of who I was. Today, I am well past any compeAAve prime, but I sAll love to run; it remains a part of who I am, and if I go too long without running, I begin to hunger for the feel of my feet pounding on the pavement. But it’s hard these days to find the Ame to run as oIen as I would like. And when my runs are few and far between, they are harder to enjoy, because I never quite feel like I am in shape for them. So I’ve decided to do something about it. I’ve decided to re-commit myself to a running regimen. I signed up for a 5K in February, a 10K in March, and half-marathon in April. I put together a training plan to get me to and through those goals. And I’m going to sAck to it. Now, I’m well aware that the first few weeks of that regimen are going to be ROUGH. The truth is, I’m out of shape and inflexible, and I know that on day four or so of this new training plan I’m going to be sore and Ared, and I’ll probably want to take a break. But I also know that if I sAck with it, if I follow the plan, then I will get stronger. The runs will get easier—and they will become more fun! I know that I will begin to reconnect with the joy that running has always brought me. All this talk of running and training plans and half marathons is true, but you might also have guessed that it’s a metaphor for our spiritual lives. We were created to love God and to grow in that love through the pracAces of prayer, scripture study, worship, and ChrisAan community. It’s easy, though, to get busy and let those things fall to the side. And when we try to pick them back up, they feel harder than they should, because we’re out of shape spiritually. The season of Lent begins on March 1, so maybe this month, you’ll make a plan—a training regimen of sorts—that will get you back into shape during Lent, one that will reconnect you with the pracAces that God has given us to know and enjoy God’s love. We will put out some resources at the end of this month designed to help you do that. But start thinking about it now. What spiritual muscles have grown weak, and what's your plan to get them back in shape? In Christ, Pastor Seann Dear Church Family, Thank you for your overwhelming generosity! In December, you collected a love offering for the staff and pastors of Bellaire UMC, and we are deeply grateful for the giIs you have given us. It is a joy and a privilege to be in ministry with you, and we are excited for the work we will do together in 2017. With love, The BUMC Pastors and Staff
AHEAD IN WORSHIP You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. We should probably tremble every Ame we hear those words. AIer all, God is asking us to love God with ALL that we are. If we’re honest, we all have work to do to fulfill this greatest command! Our church’s mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformaAon of the world. Last fall, we did a series on discipleship, and we defined “disciple” as a follower of Jesus whose life is centering on loving God and loving others. That’s what this great commandment—and our series—is all about! We may have work to do to fulfill this command, but Jesus will lead the way and teach us how to love. Stay tuned in to our You Shall Love worship series as it conAnues through February 26. NOTE: We will celebrate Scou4ng Ministries Sunday on Sunday, February 12. Our church hosts or charters Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies, Sea Scouts, Venture Scouts, and more! Come support all our scouts as we celebrate and recognize them in worship at 9:00am and 11:11am.
LENT 2017 March 1 - April 16 Have you ever wondered what it means to have a relaAonship with God? Or how you could deepen your relaAonship with God? This Lent, we will learn how worship can help us build stronger relaAonships with God by focusing on what we are calling “verAcal habits.” Each week, we will pair relaAonal words like “I love you” with worship habits such as praise. Here are some of the relaAonal words and verAcal habits we will cover: I’m sorry
I love you
Why?
Ash Wednesday Wednesday, March 1
Help!
What can I do?
Bless you
Holy Week Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
7:00am and 7:00pm
April 13 — 7:00pm
April 14 — 7:00pm
Begin the season of Lent with this special service of prayer, repentance, and imposi4on of ashes.
Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday
April 15 — 8:00pm
April 16 — 6:30 sunrise 9:00, 11:11am
Lenten Dinners + Bible Study Make a commitment to connect to God and connect to people during Lent this year! Come have dinner at Bellaire UMC on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00pm and enjoy fellowship with others. Stay for a special Lenten Bible study with Pastor Seann from 7:00-8:00pm in the chapel with worship music led by Kenneth Sco> Peters
BELLAIRE A Note from Jordan Payne Director of Student Ministries As 2016 came to a close and 2017 was about to start, I began to look back and reflect on the year. I looked at events on my calendar, pictures, and a prayer journal that I try to keep. I also had many discussions with my wife, Rebecca. As I read, looked, and discussed, I began to noAce a couple of things that I had forgo>en about myself. I had forgo>en how I annually try to diet by giving up Dr Pepper but miserably fail by January 2nd. I had forgo>en how I am always opAmisAc about the Dallas Cowboys’ chances for the Super Bowl and then the season starts and all the hope is gone. I also noAced growth in my life. I noAced how I grew as a husband and how I grew as an adult. I noAced how God moved in my life without me even noAcing. I saw him move through the way students loved each other at BSM acAviAes. I saw God move through the way our students serve our church in work days. I saw God move through the deepening relaAonships with each other and God in our growing Men’s Ministry. This Ame of refecAon then gave me the iniAaAve to look back in my life and see how much I have changed, either good or bad, and to see where God was moving in my life, even if I couldn’t noAce it at the Ame. I began to think about my High School years when my dream was to be a pilot. I was healthy and driven and really wanted to have a career flying things or people. Well, during my Sophomore year, I led a couple of Bible Studies and spoke at area FCA events, and I remember a group of Youth Pastors approaching me and telling me that I might have the call to be a pastor on my life. Being a preacher’s kid, I replied with laughter followed with the response, “I will never work at a church.” Looking back now, that snarky, disrespecmul reply is something God used to humble me and, I think, laugh at me. Looking back at that moment, I can see how God uses His people to call out the best in us. I also learned that God had a sense of humor. Fast forward to just before my Freshman year in college. It was the Sunday before flight school started and I had an unforge>able encounter with the Holy Spirit. I remember feeling this uncontrollable peace and being completely inundated with the knowledge that God loves me. It was profound. It wasn’t a feeling of “God will love some be>er, future version of me” but it was a feeling that God absolutely loved me as I was. On that day in August 2007, I wrote in my journal, “I, for the first Ame, know that God loves me just as I am but I know that He loves me too much to let me stay this way.” That is when I learned and started to understand that God is infinitely powerful, yet intensely personal. About a year later, I was back in Texas going to a Junior College and trying to figure my life out. I started to volunteer at my dad’s church and help out with their youth and children’s ministries. About five months into this, the Youth Pastor decided to leave and the SPRC asked me to step into the role of Interim Youth Pastor. Thinking it was only a temporary waypoint, I agreed to become their Youth Pastor for six months. (con4nued on next page)
STUDENT MINISTRY Through those six months, I began to see the absolute importance of the Gospel. I began to see that the Gospel ma>ers in every sphere of my life. In that Ame, I kept using the phrase beau4fully offensive. The Gospel is offensive because it proclaims that my ways, thoughts, and acAons were broken and leading me to a life that I was not designed to live. But the Gospel is beau4ful because it stands on the promise that Christ paid the price for my sin and has given me Christ’s righteousness which enables me to live a redeemed life. It was through these six months that I understood that Christ had a plan for me and no ma>er where it took me, the plan was for Christ to always be there with me. The last stop on my journey down memory lane was in late 2011. I was at a UMC event in St. Louis called ExploraAon. It is an event where young people can explore their calling and how they might pursue it through the UMC. I was there because it was a free trip with excused absences (It’s ok. You can judge me.). I had no intenAon of really invesAng any Ame into the conference but God did something on the first night that sArred my heart. As Rev. Adam Hamilton was addressing the group with the opening message, I felt God pulling at my heart and telling me that I was supposed to become a ChrisAan Minister and shepherd the Church. I don’t recall what Hamilton said, I just remember, for the first Ame in my life, knowing what I was meant to do. When I returned back to Abilene, I went to the counselor’s office and changed my major to Religion and Philosophy with the thought of graduate school and then becoming a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Looking back now, I can see the events that have changed and molded me into who I am today. I see it in how I lead the students who come to Bellaire Student Ministries. I see it in how my lessons always point back to the cross of Jesus and how it is through God’s overwhelming love that we can love Him and each other. I see it in how I am now the Youth Pastor telling students about how God has giIed them and that no ma>er where they go and what they do, Christ is right there pursuing them. 1 John 4:19 says “We love because He first loved us.” Looking back and seeing how He loved me not only helped me be>er understand who I am today but it also showed me examples of how God loved me and how I am to love others. So my quesAon to you is, what if you looked back into your life trying to see how God moved in you and through you? I am convinced that you would look back and see the ways that God has loved you and the ways that He has shown you how to love others. So the quesAon is, will you do it?
Do you want to make a difference in the life of young disciples at Bellaire UMC? Learn how you can volunteer with Bellaire Student Ministries by contacAng Jordan at jpayne@bellaireumc.org. There are opportuniAes on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays each week and for special events throughout the year and during the summer.
CONNECTING Have a Heart for Others Dinner + Auc4on
February 25 — 5:00-9:00pm — BUMC Fellowship Hall What is Have a Heart for Others? OIen called HAHO, Have a Heart for Others is a dinner and live aucAon that happens each year here at Bellaire UMC. This year’s event is Saturday, February 25 from 5:00-9:00pm. Childcare is available. Why is HAHO important? The HAHO event provides an opportunity for us to grow as disciples by connecAng people to people and connecAng people to service. It’s a fun-filled evening where you will have the opportunity to visit and break bread with fellow BUMC members or strike up new friendships with people you haven’t met yet. HAHO is also one of our major fundraisers for the year. Proceeds from the dinner and aucAon directly support the mission work of Bellaire UMC and some of our community ministry partners like Amazing Place and ChrisAan Community Service Center. Over the past five years, we have raised over $100,000 for these ministries! How can I par8cipate? A>ending the event is the most important way to parAcipate. Tickets are $12 per person and will go on sale in the ConnecAon Center on February 5. You can also donate an item or service to be aucAoned off during the event. If you have further quesAons, please contact Fay Peters at adafay1944@yahoo.com.
Church Work Day - February 18
Put your faith in acAon with other BUMC members on Saturday, February 18 from 8:00am-1:00pm. We are planning projects right now, but there will be opportuniAes to work here at the church and out in the community. For more informaAon, contact Pastor Jim Love at (713) 666-2167 or jlove@bellaireumc.org. There’s a place for you at the table for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. This is a fundraiser for Boy Scout Troop 222, so come enjoy a great meal and support our scouts!
Community Service Group
Connect to service with our Community Service Group. Contact Barbara at barbara@nowotnycpa.com for more informaAon or to volunteer. Here are some opportuniAes this month. Saturday, February 5: Come to SEARCH to help residents make scarves and other clothing items from 10:00am unAl noon. Tuesday, February 21: Help sort canned goods from 2:00-4:00pm at CCSC, one of our community ministry partners.
Bellaire United Methodist Seniors (BUMS)
Mark your calendars and join the BUMS for a mystery ramble on Thursday, March 2. Contact Tom and Sandra Williams at (713) 703-1153 or tandswms@a>.net.
Houston Lay School of Theology
Register now for the Houston Lay School of Theology (March 30-April 1) at St. Paul’s UMC. At this event, you will learn from Dr. Wes Allen in a day-long course on the gospel of Ma>hew. Learn more and register at www.smu.edu/Perkins/HLS.
Volunteer on Sundays BUMC
There are a number of ways to serve right here at Bellaire UMC. Here are two opAons for you: Greeter Team: Every Sunday morning, a team of volunteers helps make sure that BUMC is a warm and welcoming place for visitors and members alike. Can you help? We will train you, and you can sign up for one week at a Ame. Contact Steve Smith at steve@roveroaks.com to learn more. Audio/Visual Team: There is a lot that happens behind the scenes in each of our Sunday morning worship services, and we are looking to add a few people to our A/V team. We will provide training, so if you’d like to learn more, please contact Kenneth Peters at kspeters@bellaireumc.org.
AT B E L L A I R E U M C Ignite 4th + 5th Grade Ministry
Ignite is an exciAng ministry for 4th and 5th graders to gather together, experience God’s love, and learn how the ChrisAan faith applies to their lives. Our spring meeAngs are on February 26 and March 26 from 1:30-3:00pm in the Youth Center. All parAcipants gather together to begin and then break off into a boys group and a girls group for a lesson and discussion. Please contact Jordan Payne at jpayne@bellaireumc.org for more informaAon.
Children’s Choir
Children’s choir (kindergarten through 5th grade) meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:00pm in Room 208. We are currently learning songs from around the world, many of which are sung in rounds. Come join the fun! Plus, mark your calendars for a special bell-ringing session beginning on March 1. Contact Jill Vaughan at jill.mgbellaire@gmail.com for more informaAon.
God’s Children Sing
Did you know that babies, toddlers, and preschoolers have a music class of their own? God’s Children Sing is a ChrisAan-based Musikgarten class that meets on Wednesdays at 5:00pm in Room 204. There is no charge for the class, but a grownup must accompany children.
Young Moms Bible Study
A new Bible study for moms of young children begins on Wednesday, February 15 in the BUMC Parlor. The group meets from 9:15-10:30am and lasts for six weeks. For more informaAon, or to sign up, contact Meghan Lutschg at mlutschg@gmail.com.
District Mission Day
The Central South District of the UMC will host a work day at Genoa UMC on Saturday, March 25. This is an opportunity to serve a sister congregaAon in Houston and is great for individuals, couples, or families. Contact Pastor Jim Love at (713) 666-2167 or jlove@bellaireumc.org for more informaAon.
Blessing of the Animals
Mark your calendars! On Saturday, April 1, we will host our Blessing of the Animals worship service and celebraAon. To learn how you can volunteer, contact Steve Smith at steve@roveroaks.com.
Easter Sunday
We will have four great worship services on Easter Sunday, April 16—sunrise service at 6:30am led by the BUMC youth, contemporary at 9:00am, tradiAonal at 11:11am, and internaAonal at 11:11am. Be on the lookout for ways that you can help invite your friends and neighbors to experience the joy of Christ’s resurrecAon here at BUMC on Easter.
Financial Stewardship Update Updated Year-End Financials Income through December 31: Expenses through December 31: Difference:
$1,218,697 $1,163,592 $ 55,105
The Bellaire UMC Finance Commi>ee has been hard at work preparing a ministry budget for 2017. At the end of January, the BUMC AdministraAve Council approved a 2017 Ministry Budget of $1,195,538, which is essenAally equal to our 2016 budget. If you would like to see the detail of the 2017 budget, simply contact our Business Manager, Elizabeth Lloyd at elloyd@bellaireumc.org to obtain a copy. Our Finance Commi>ee, church staff and ministry leaders are once again commi>ed to being careful stewards of the financial giIs you give to this church, and we believe that we will conAnue to grow in financial health and stability this year. Thank you for your faithfulness in supporAng the ministry of Bellaire UMC! Each giI makes a difference and helps us fulfill our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformaAon of the world. Lives are changed at this church and in our city because you give. Thank you! Have you considered giving online? Learn more at www.bellaireumc.org/give.
4417 Bellaire Blvd, Bellaire, Texas 77401 www.bellaireumc.org 713-666-2167 Bellaire United Methodist Church
THE BELLAIRE UNITED METHODIST NEWSLETTER USPS 048-820 is published semi-monthly by Bellaire United Methodist Church. Periodical postage paid at Bellaire, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address change to, The Bellaire United Methodist Newsletter, 4417 Bellaire Blvd., Bellaire, TX 77401, 713-666-2167; FAX 713-663-6397. Second Class Postage Paid at Bellaire, TX 77401