Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Godly Play Goes to Russia — How FUMC-Denton is shining God’s love into Russia Read the story on page 3
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Our Church, Our People
The Bigger Picture
Impact | Hispanic Ministries
Mary Harris and Elvis Stephens Impacting communities near and far
The Synergy of The United Methodist Connection
Saliendo de las Cuatro Paredes
IMPACT | Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
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Impact | Missions Taking Godly Play to Russia
16 Impact | From the Pastor Christian Faith Requires Action
17 Impact | Bigger Picture
The Synergy of the United Methodist Connection
18 Impact | Events Learn about FUMC-Denton’s Events
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Impact | People
Elvis Stephens in Tikal, Guatemala (Mayan ruins) last January.
19 Impact | Hispanic Ministries Saliendo de las Cuatro Paredes
On the Cover: B randi Southwell, Children's Director Photo effects by Brittnee Ide
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Editor’s Note
IMPACT Magazine: Opening hearts through the stories of incredible people.
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he name of our magazine, IMPACT, was chosen because we wanted to share how much members of our congregation impact the lives of our neighbors and our community, near and far. While interviewing people and writing stories for this issue, I was struck by the selfless commitment that some make to improve living conditions of total strangers; how they build long-lasting relationships through service; and how small actions can change a whole community. Through the opportunity of interviewing and re-telling their stories, I hear heartfelt experiences, transformations and realizations.
2 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
I learn the stories behind the stories. I have the chance to listen and learn, to change and to talk about change, and maybe, in a small way, help others to make changes. I see passion and compassion in their eyes. I see laughter and tears. I see open hearts eager to make a difference. The goal of this magazine is to open doors and open minds by telling stories of incredible people who care for their Christian brothers and sisters, wherever they are; people who give their hearts, their time, skills, and financial assistance; people who Shine God’s Love into Every Life. — Martha Ware, Managing Editor
Martha Ware, Managing Editor
,
IMPACT Content
First United Methodist Church of Denton, Publisher Alan Heath, Executive Editor Martha Ware, Managing Editor Erika Dorsey, Graphic Designer Martha Ware, Photography
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Janet Fisher (left) and Brandi Southwell in Moscow, Russia
Our Church, Our Missions 2 Story by
Martha Ware
S
aratov, Russia, was not one of the must-see cities on Brandi Southwell’s list of places-to-visit, nor was it on her bucket list to fly 14 hours and ride a train for 15 more. But God has interesting ways to put the right people in the right place to do the right thing. This story that eventually brought her to Saratov actually started years ago when Dennis Fisher, long-time FUMC-Denton member and Band Director for the University of North Texas, was invited to Russia to conduct the Volga Band, a professional band in Saratov. Dennis and his wife Janet, also a long-time FUMC-Denton member, went to Russia thinking it was a one-time opportunity. Their first trip was in 2002. Little did they know there would be 18 more for Dennis and 16 for Janet. On their first visit, they wanted to find a Methodist church to worship in. They asked Bill Crouch, WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 3
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Janet Fisher helping assemble Godly Play kits for our sister church in Saratov, Russia.
former FUMC-Denton’s pastor, for help. He referred them to a person in Dallas who helped them find a Methodist church just 15 minutes walking distance from where Dennis’ rehearsals were to took place. The services were held in a 150-year-old house with no signage and a locked door. It was quite hard to find. “We walked a hundred times in front of it because we knew it was the right address, but it did not look like a church at all,” said Janet. “We finally knocked on the door and a lady with a clerical collar answered very graciously. Once we were inside we saw a banner with the cross and flame and we knew we were at the right place.” That non-descript place of worship had been made possible by a Sunday School Class from Highland Park United Methodist Church 4 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
comprised of twenty-year-olds. The story of how the church ended up in their current place of worship is intriguing. A developer had decided to buy all the houses around that block in order to demolish them to build something else. Tatiana, the church’s pastor at the time, was the only one who did not want to sell, especially because the church would not have anywhere to go. She was able to hold out for three years. After three years, the developer asked her if she would sell the old property if
they built a church in another location for them. She agreed and the developer built the shell of the new church only a few blocks away. They had agreed that the congregation would finish the inside. A year went by and the small 13-member congregation couldn’t do anything to finish the church because they had no money. That’s when Janet and Dennis decided to get involved and help that congregation finish their worship space. “It is the only church in the Saratov region that is recognizable as a
“The opportunity to help that church was handed to us and we took it … we decided to go together. We made friends with Tatiana and that was the start of a long-lasting relationship.” — Janet Fisher
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Brandi Southwell training Sunday School volunteers on Godly Play.
Christian church,” said Janet. “Most of the Christian churches are in basements or in someone’s living room. Not this one. You can tell it is a Christian church. “The opportunity to help that church was handed to us and we took it. I’ve always wanted to go to Russia and when Dennis got invited to conduct the band, we decided to go together. We made friends with Tatiana and that was the start of a long-lasting relationship,” added Janet. Dennis has been conducting the Volga Band once or twice a year, so they go to Russia frequently. Tatiana dreamed that the basement of the new church might have a ping-pong table and for the basement to be filled with youth. While they still don’t have a ping-pong table, they do have three new rooms in the basement, more people in worship and now, Children’s Sunday School, thanks to the efforts of Dennis and Janet. Janet had heard about Godly Play from our Children’s Director, Brandi Southwell, and knew that our Saratov UMC covenant church wanted to start a Sunday School program for children. Godly Play is a Bible-based curriculum that allows the children to hear the story, see the story, create things that illustrate the story and re-enact the story using threedimensional materials from the
story box. It is a creative and imaginative approach to nurturing young children in the Christian faith. Brandi had been trained in the use of Godly Play and has been working with the program at our church since summer 2015. The program is highly successful and popular with our children, so when Janet learned about it, she saw an opportunity.
After learning about Godly Play from Brandi, she also learned that the kits are made in Ashland, Kansas. Janet is originally from Hutchinson, Kansas and thought: “Ashland? No one lives in Ashland! So, I drove up there. There was this warehouse with three employees. It’s the type of company that whenever someone answers the phone they yell: “They want to talk to someone is shipping! And the same person answers: Yes, this is shipping!” It is obvious that Ashland supports Godly Play, or maybe Godly Play supports Ashland, I don’t know. They hire lots of people who have ‘mom and pop’ garage workshops to make those little kits,” said Janet. Soon after, Vladislava, the wife of the current pastor of Saratov UMC Dmitri, contacted Janet saying they were ready to start a Children’s Sunday School program. At that point, they had seven children regularly coming to church. So, everything began falling into place. Vladislava is responsible for Children’s Sunday School and Godly Play for that church. She has
Brandi using Godly Play kits to tell Bible stories to children at our sister church in Saratov. WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 5
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
been dedicating all her free time to develop the program and is very excited about the new opportunity. She said that Pastor Dmitri fell in love with Godly Play after seeing it at FUMC-Denton. Soon after, they started to dream about introducing it to the children in their church. “When we arrived in Saratov as missionaries, there were no children in appropriate age for Sunday School. After four years in this church, our children have grown and we felt the need to find them a suitable Sunday School program. We needed a program that would be interesting for children ages three to seven. When I saw Godly Play’s video, I realized that it was exactly what we were looking for. Because of the structure of our church building, we are not allowed to have noisy programs in Sunday school. And Godly Play was ideal for us,” said Vladislava. Godly Play is based on Bible stories. There is a volume based on characters such as King David, Jonah, Noah, Samuel and others. There is also a story box for Ruth. There is a New Testament volume focusing on Advent and an Advent box that is used for four or five Sundays leading up to Christmas. Both were taken to Saratov. Other volumes are event stories such as creation, the plagues, etc. In all, 24 kits were taken on this trip. When Brandi learned that she was going to Russia she became
Vladislava, Saratov UMC's Pastor Dmitri's wife and daughter with Janet.
“I spent 14 days just to learn how to say, ‘Thank you.’” Brandi said the trip was amazing. They were able to do sightseeing in Moscow. “Moscow is like New York City. Janet and Dennis showed me many places, the culture and lifestyle. We went to the Kremlin, which is very intimidating, and inside the Kremlin, the Armory Museum, which is nothing like I have ever seen before. It is incredible! They happened to have an October Fest going on which was fun to visit. It was something new to Janet and Dennis as well, so it was fun to experience it with them.
“When I saw Godly Play’s video, I realized that it was exactly what we were looking for. Because of the structure of our church building, we are not allowed to have noisy programs in Sunday school. And Godly Play was ideal for us.” — Vladislava very excited but quite anxious about a month before the trip, especially because, “It is a long way from home and I had never experienced such a time change,” Brandi said. The language is something else that can cause some anxiety. 6 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
We went to a market and shopping. In Moscow, many people do speak some English.” Brandi stayed in Moscow for four days with the Fishers. It was her first time on a subway and she was amazed by the art and history exposed on their subway stations.
“There was one that impressed me. It had the walls painted in a banana yellow. And on the ceiling, walls and posts there were huge, incredible hand-done mosaic murals of knights on their horses dating back to ancient Russia. They were just gorgeous. Another one was decorated after the Olympics, so there were copper mirrors of the Olympic sports. It was definitely a great experience for me,” said Brandi. She’s also liked the food, which she said was not very processed, especially in Saratov. Everything was fresh. They grow all their food. “You don’t notice that as much in Moscow where we even ate at a KFC!” she joked. They took an overnight train ride of 15 hours to Saratov. “The train ride was what I was most looking forward, after the mission itself. It was my first time riding a train and the country-side views were mesmerizing. I had the chance to see things that I wouldn’t otherwise. Some villages with small houses were located right by the tracks. People there still get water out of wells in buckets. There is no electricity and you can see their gardens where they grow their food. It reminded me of an Amish village.
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
You can see the clothes hanging on clotheslines. Yet, in the middle of nowhere, you notice that your phone has wi-fi. It’s incongruent how those two things could co-exist.” Once Brandi got to Saratov, the “cultural shock” really hit. “No one speaks English, I couldn’t read any signs. The first few hours there, I really felt like a fish out of the water.” After stopping at the hotel and dropping off nine bags full of supplies, they went to a little deli where everything was super fresh. Not speaking Russian, Brandi had to point at things and was not really sure what she was ordering. Dennis Fisher speaks some Russian, so they were able to get by. After lunch, they went to Saratov UMC and set up a work schedule for the next five days. Vladislava speaks a little English but communication was not necessarily the easiest thing. “Lucky for us, she was
very fluent in Google Translate, so we’ve used that a lot!” said Brandi. Part of their work was to train adults on how to teach the children and part was to assemble the kits. Saratov has about one million residents. “It is definitely behind our times. I kind of related it with the early nineties.”
“The building is in pretty good shape, and most of the work done was made possible due to the help of our church and Marfa Ministry.” — Brandi Southwell Janet gave Brandi a tour of the church and gave her the history of the mission work that both FUMCDenton and Marfa Ministries have
done in that church. (Marfa Ministtries was established by Janet Fisher to help churches like Saratov UMC to become self sufficient.) Their church consists of a small sanctuary, a couple of meeting rooms, a kitchen, a dining room and two other tiny rooms. The Pastor’s family lives on the third floor of the building. About 25 people attend their Sunday morning service. “The building is in pretty good shape, and most of the work done was made possible due to the help of our church and Marfa Ministry. They tell you a million times how appreciative they are of our help because they wouldn’t be able to do what they do without it. I feel like it is a well-functioning church and they were ready to start Sunday School with the children. Attending the training were four adults and an interpreter, who ended up far more interested in the program than he did in translating. It was
Pastor Dmitri with his family (left), Dennis Fisher, Brandi and another Saratov UMC family. WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 7
IMPACT | Missions Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
nice to see that half of them were young adults,” she said. Vladislava believes that after the training, including reading and practice, all four are a fit for the role of Godly Play teachers/narrators. “They are all excited to prepare for their Sunday classes,” she said.
The interpreter, who grew up in a fundamentalist church was impressed with how the program allowed children to think for themselves and develop their own beliefs. “It was incredible to see how it impacted the adults in that church!” said Brandi.
“In today's reality, it is difficult to do everything yourself, without support. The experiences we learn from you help us serve our people better. And we don’t stop at our church, we pass it on to other churches as well. We share experiences, new ideas and create a relationship with other churches. We see your people selflessly devoting themselves to service, — Vladislava and that changes us.” Although children did not directly participate in the training, Vladislava’s five-year-old son was around, since he lived there. He came to listen to the stories. Three children attended Sunday School the day that Brandi taught. “The children had never participated or even heard of Sunday School. During their services, the children normally stay in childcare, just playing and one of the adults stays with the kids each Sunday and has to forfeit worship. There was an initial concern that the children would want to just play, as they were used to. But that didn’t happen. We put them in line, as we usually do, and took them to the classroom. They were amazed by the stories. The challenge was that I had to tell the story in English and someone had to translate them to the children. It was exhausting to me especially because I couldn’t understand what the interpreter was saying so I could only assume that the message was being translated correctly and had the right meaning to the children. Sometimes the translator had to ask me what I meant so he could find the best way to pass that thought on to the children. The way Godly Play is written and put together has a constant flow, which I didn’t want to lose when pausing the story to be translated.” 8 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
Vladislava said that what she most likes about Godly Play is the peace and spirituality process, but also the fact that it is executed under one of the main principles in Methodism: “Think for yourself and respect how others think.” She likes that the program leaves room for the children's imagination. The purpose of the program is not to teach all children's Christian songs or a lot of Bible verses. Its purpose is to teach the essence of the stories, on a child’s level. “The program is deep, not superficial, and that’s what I love about it!” This is their children’s first experience with Sunday School and they are loving it. “My son has the chance to play with the stories more frequently than the other children and he is always excited anticipating the next story. Children's Sunday School sows good seeds. It stimulates the adults who are teaching the stories and stimulates the children to think of God. If these seeds grow, children will be good Christians, which means good Methodists. Russia needs good and strong spiritual leaders. It needs people who will tell the stories of the gospel and missionaries in its most remote parts. And even if the new laws prohibit us from talking about God in public, no one prohibits us from
talking about God to your children. Godly Play is the best tool to reach children's hearts.” She also said that the children responded very well to the program. “They are very happy. The children are inspired by the creative part of the program. The better we tell the stories, the better they respond to them and develop their skills.” Vladislava has seen how FUMCDenton affected their church development and believes that it is a great example of what the church has to do to connect people’s hearts to God: “Godly Play, for example, was brought to our church and now other Methodist churches in Russia want to adopt our experience. This is a very good program and in Russia, there is nothing else like it. Our partnership with FUMC-Denton is a great blessing from God. We pray for all who support us, not only materially, although that is important too. But it's first about the invaluable experience and exchange of programs. For us, it’s not just a partnership, it’s friendship. We learn from your experience. We are growing spiritually and numerically. “In today’s reality, it is difficult to do everything yourself, without support. The experiences we learn from you help us serve our people better. And we don’t stop at our church, we pass it on to other churches as well. We share experiences, new ideas and create a relationship with other churches. We see your people selflessly devoting themselves to service, and that changes us. It makes us think and change our attitude and dedication to service. Our partnership with you is one of the best things that happened to our church. We thank God for having you in our lives. We are grateful for FUMC-Denton, Marfa Ministry, Dennis and Janet Fisher, and Brandi Southwell. Your help is changing lives.” And Brandi would add that her experience with our brother and sister Methodists in faraway Saratov, Russia, has changed hers, too.
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IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Our Church, Our People + Elvis Stephens
Story by Martha Ware
F
UMC-Denton has so many members who have led interesting lives with experience and wisdom that benefits not only our church but the greater community. Elvis Stephens is one of those members. FUMC has been his church for over 50 years since he joined in October of 1967. Elvis was born in Chillicothe, Texas, a small town about half way between Denton and Amarillo. He is proud of his Texas heritage. After graduating from high school in Pilot Point and marrying his high school sweetheart, he moved to North Carolina. He grew up as a Southern Baptist. After moving to North Carolina, he started looking for a church to call home. “Well, I didn’t look too carefully and ended up in Methodist church. My wife grew up Methodist so I decided that it was simpler for me to switch over to her denomination.”
Mary Harris
Elvis and Joyce at Presidents’ Council event.
Elvis was married to his wife Joyce for almost 52 years until she passed in 2008. “Some people asked me if it made me angry that she
passed. The way I see it is that I was blessed with 52 years of great marriage. I am luckier than most people,” said Elvis. WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 9
IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Elvis has two children, both with professional careers. His son lives in Tennessee, where he is the Associate Chair for a university Math Department and a daughter in Flower Mound who serves as a law librarian. After earning his Ph.D., Elvis moved his family to Denton in 1963. “There is everything I need here and it is a good town, close to the [DFW] airport. I used to do a lot of traveling so that was convenient,” said Elvis. Elvis began teaching Labor Relations and Human Resources Management at what was then North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in September of 1963. He's worked at UNT until his retirement in 1999. “When I started working there, I had some options for retirement funds through the Texas retirement system. I made the right choices.” Elvis was somewhat of an investing contrarian, rejecting the safe opportunities and charting his own path. “Against all the advice I received, I made my choices. When I retired I had earned seven times more than I would if I had followed that advice. I was blessed,” he said. In addition to his career as a professor, Elvis has been an arbitrator for a long time. An arbitrator is a person who serves as a judge in a “mini-trial” to help settle disputes between parties. “As an arbitrator, I don’t try to make the parties agree I decide for them. My focus was labor arbitration.” Even though Elvis has
Elvis in Egypt on January 9, 2009
acceptable to both union and management. There is a list in Washington, D.C. of over 1,000 arbitrators for federal cases at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. “To get on the list you have to have experience as an arbitrator which I received through the American Arbitration Association. My first arbitration case was in 1972,” he remembers.
“Methodism is very accepting about who can take communion. Some churches don’t allow you to take communion unless you are a member of that denomination.” — Elvis Stephens been retired from teaching for some time, he still takes arbitration cases. His most recent case was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To be an arbitrator, Elvis had to have a deep understanding of labor relations. Arbitrators also had to be 10 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
And Elvis has been arbitrating ever since. “I used to do about 40 to 60 cases during summertime for the Postal Services. I’ve been to Key West in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Phoenix and many
other places arbitrating. At one time, when we still had the Panama Canal zone I went down to Panama City in Panama. Most of the times, though, I stayed in a five-state area.” As an arbitrator, Elvis makes decisions for people who cannot decide or agree on something. “That can be hard sometimes because you have to do what is right but you also have to do what is in the contract. “The best example that I can think of is that in the Postal Service, the cardinal rule is an employee should never take mail out of the mail stream; they should always deliver the mail. I had some cases where employees threw away some types of circulars because they thought the postal patron did not want that kind of mail. Post Office rules say that mailers paid them to deliver their mail — no matter what the type of mail it is. It is not up to the carrier to decide what is to be delivered and what is not.”
IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Even if he personally thought the rules were in some cases harsh, he still had to make sure the contract was enforced. Elvis intends to continue arbitrating as long as he is able. He is 84 and says it is important to stay active and earn money for his passion for travel. One of the things Elvis likes about our church is the friendly people. The other is how accepting Methodism is of other’s religious beliefs. He believes John Wesley was right about many things. “Methodism is very accepting about who can take communion. Some churches don’t allow you to take communion unless you are a member of that denomination.” Elvis has been involved in the Searchers Sunday school class for many years. “It’s a Sunday school class that started out with younger people who have grown old together.” One of his biggest interests here is the FunStop program because he believes “it keeps kids off the streets, gives them something to do and it is a great thing. I have been supporting them by purchasing some equipment now and then. I have been blessed with good health, and a good marriage and want to give back.” Elvis gets great satisfaction in seeing what FunStop is doing. He remembers that once when he went to check on them, he saw that they had this old TV. When he saw that small old television he though: “Why do they have this really small screen?” FunStop folks told him that they couldn’t afford anything else. “And I had seen that Best Buy had a 42-inch TV on sale so two hours later they had a big TV!” he said. “Two years ago or so, when FunStop Director Chanel Knott was here, she mentioned something about ordering pizza for an end of year celebration. I said, “Hannah’s just across the street. Why don’t you take your staff for dinner? I’ll pay for it. And they did. I couldn’t attend because I was out of town but she told me that everyone enjoyed
it because many of them had never been there.” Elvis truly enjoys supporting FunStop’s end-of-the-year celebrations. FunStop has a great program and evidently the kids like what is going on there. Elvis has blessed the program by helping provide some of the equipment they need to keep going and fulfill their mission. He has a heart for the children and thinks that mission trips are a great way for us to involve the children in our church. “They are very interesting. It gives the children the
“We have lots of elderly people on pensions and they can only give so much and then you have the younger couples with two or three kids who can only give so much also. Those of us who have retired and have been successful can give more.” He believes the church is doing a good job trying to reach out to our community and supply them with the type of worship they are comfortable with. He also thinks that Pastor Mauricio has been doing a good job bringing the Hispanic
“[FunStop] keeps kids off the streets, gives them something to do and it is a great thing. I have been supporting them by purchasing some equipment now and then. I have been blessed with good health, and a good marriage and want — Elvis Stephens to give back.” opportunity to help others and also to realize how fortunate they are and that they should count their blessings.” He has also been with the Trippers travel ministry for nearly 20 years. While teaching, he couldn’t do much travelling. After he retired he had more free time which allowed him to travel more consistently. His most memorable trip is probably the one to France with about 40 other Trippers. He thought the old cathedrals were stunning and Paris was very pretty. “When we were planning a trip to Vancouver I suggested we take the Rock Mountain ride that goes up to Jasper. At first, the committee didn't think it was a good idea. When they finally decided to offer it, we had 80 people signing up. There were so many, we had to do it in two groups. One group flew into Vancouver and worked their way up over to Calgary and the other group flew into Calgary and went down to Vancouver. We met half way for about one hour and then travelled on to our respective destinations.” Elvis is also serving his second tour on the Finance Committee.
community into our church. “We need to provide services that meet our neighbor’s needs. The service in Spanish is a good thing and it indicates that they are welcome here. Speaking their language make them feel welcome.” “Because I am an old school type of guy, I like the traditional services. I still believe it is appropriate to wear a suit and tie to service.” Elvis may be “old school,” but he has been generous with his time and resources to help some of the youngest members of our community. He’s an unsung hero, like so many of our members. Thank you, Elvis, for your deep commitment to this church and its ministries! ~~~~ FUMC-Denton is a missionminded church made up of many folks who give of their time to support a number of missional programs serving our community, wherever the community is. One of those individuals who gives herself to multiple mission opportunities is Mary Harris. Mary and her husband Bob joined First United Methodist WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 11
Mary Harris (bottom left) with other FUMC-Denton members and Pastor Don Lee in Antigua, Guatemala during mission trip in 2014.
Church when they moved to Denton in 2000. She was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and was baptized as an infant. As a child, she was very involved with her family in Allison Methodist Church. After marrying Bob, she’s lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a member of the First United Methodist Church. At some point, Bob took a position at Kansas State University and they lived in Kansas for 13 years, where they had a really wonderful time being members of College
Other than a few years in Pennsylvania when Mary taught both elementary and secondary schools, she has been a faculty member in higher education. When Mary met Bob, he was a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins in Social Relations, also known as sociology. He majored in mathematics as an undergraduate and later switched to statistics. His favorite activity as a statistician was working with several sets of researchers who were interested in research related to
“New Horizons was and still is for us sort of the anchor of our connection. The people in New Horizons are our friends. They are the ones we turn to if we want to talk — Mary Harris something over.” Avenue United Methodist. From Kansas, they’ve moved to North Dakota where Mary took a job at the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks. While living there for another 13 years they were part of Zion United Methodist Church.
alcoholism in women. Most of the prior research was alcoholism in men. A position at the University of North Texas (UNT) brought Mary to Texas, where she stayed until retiring in 2014. Retirement was her
stimulus for getting more involved in volunteer responsibilities at FUMC-Denton. When Mary and Bob moved to Denton, Mary’s mother moved in with them. She believes they were destined to join FUMC-Denton because, “This church reminded us so much of our church in Carlisle. It even has similar stained glass windows and the building reminded me a lot of our old church. It was built during the same period, has a strong emphasis on music and the variety of programs that were available for us and for my mom closed the deal!” said Mary. When she first joined our church, both she and her mom joined the New Horizons Sunday School class. “New Horizons was and still is for us sort of the anchor of our connection. The people in New Horizons are our friends. They are the ones we turn to if we want to talk something over.” New Horizons is one of the largest Sunday school groups in our church and still growing. “We have to figure out how to fit more chairs
IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
in our room,” she added. A few years ago, Mary took over from Kitty Hudnall as the coordinator for our partnership with Rivera Elementary School. As a result, she became an “ex-officio” member of the mission team and later became a member of the Mission Team coordinating the Rivera partnership. “One of the most remarkable things about this partnership is the number of persons and groups within the church that are involved. One of the deepest personal commitments is becoming a mentor meeting with a child every week. That frequency of interaction guarantees a strong connection between mentor and mentee. Some of our congregation’s members have followed their mentees as they moved from Rivera to Betty Myers Middle School. The mentoring is under the auspices Communities In Schools of North Texas. We have approximately 40-45 mentors from our church.” Church groups supporting this effort include Youth and Children’s Ministries, Visions, Searchers, New Horizons and Bible Study 101 Sunday school classes. For some it can mean a significant investment of time while others help address specific school needs. Sometimes
the whole congregation participates. One of the best examples is collecting food and assembling baskets to help feed children over Spring Break who normally depend on school meals. Last year we assembled 50 baskets for Rivera’s kids and other Denton ISD schools through Communities in Schools. “Their social workers know which families will have difficulty feeding their kids during that time,” said Mary. Sometimes our MAD$ (Mission Appointed Dollars) also go to help. Last year, part of the money supported efforts of the school nurse, to help with a health educational program
to serve Rivera families. “We also do the Teacher’s Appreciation day, keeping our fingers a little bit on the pulse of the teachers. I think that Rivera has become a more loving and supportive place for all kids. I have grown in personal associations as well, but I can see that it is a place for all children,” added Mary. Mary’s career focused on schools and the opportunity to become very deeply involved in a school in our community has allowed her to continue to serve. She is also on the Denton ISD Adopt-a-School committee which focuses on outreach
“One of the most remarkable things about [the Rivera] partnership is the number of persons and groups within the church that are involved… One of the deepest personal commitments is becoming a mentor meeting with a child — Mary Harris every week.” with 4th and 5th graders. We were able to raise enough money to have ethnically appropriate products to give to the children.” When we do the Apple Tree (Interfaith) and Angel Tree (Salvation Army) projects, they allow us
Katy Dawson (left) and Mary Harris on the construction site in Guatemala.
and establishing relationships with the greater Denton community. ODIM (the Organization for the Development of Indigenous Maya) is another major missional opportunity that benefits from the volunteer spirit of Mary and her husband, Bob. “Several teams from our Sunday school class had travelled to Guatemala before Bob and I went for the first time in 2014. That was also the year when Pastor Don went with us and of course, that was really fun,” said Mary. Later Mary was invited to serve on the ODIM Board of Directors. “A colleague of mine at UNT knew of my grant writing experience and connected the dots, so I became a member of the board establishing a broader connection with ODIM.” Another member of our church, Molly Tampke, had previously served on the board. “The experience of going to Guatemala and living their lives for a short while is incredible! I think it is hard for Americans to understand the poverty of the villages in Guatemala, which are the focus of ODIM. People live on so little. A WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 13
IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
large part of the population is under 18 years-old, which means that adults carry an enormous burden to provide an education for their children. The primary diet is tortillas, which of course are wonderful, but not healthy if it is the only thing you eat!” ODIM has two clinics, one in San Juan and one in San Pablo La Laguna. They employ probably 20 full and part-time persons in those clinics. They are native to those villages and we have helped them develop professionally. One of the goals of ODIM is to help people help themselves. To address medical needs, the clinic assesses the capabilities of medical professionals on the trip and then seeks out locals who would benefit from training they can provide. The main way these professionals help is by sharing knowledge and developing expertise as well as using their skills to help individual patients.
ODIM has recently received their first grant money from Guatemala non-profits. A majority of ODIM funding is received from various congregations mainly in the US, some from the UK and Canada and other donations from individuals, churches, and organizations. Although patients pay small fees if they can, the majority of the funds come from United Methodist Churches. Many of the people on the mission trips do not have medical skills, so they do home construction. “We operate on the Habitat for Humanity model. ODIM has on staff two expert contractors who can guide volunteers. The model includes “sweat equity” which means each family involved also provides labor. “The native language of these villages is Azutuhil because they are of Mayan ancestry. Spanish is spoken by most and the contractors do
Mary with her children and grandchildren at dinner in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala. 14 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
speak English, too. When you are working nothing is more important than the culture exchange so we will always stop working if we have an opportunity to talk to somebody.” She adds that if you go more than once, you make friends but also begin to see the economic development of these villages; you see people in the two towns beginning to take leadership. One of the most important emphases of the program is the professional development. “If we were to leave, there would be a lot of people who live there who would be able to take over what we do, which is not always true of other mission projects.” “The most exciting part of last summer for me was when Bishop McKee (bishop of the North Texas Annual Conference) along with other six United Methodist bishops and staff from the General Board of Global Ministries came to visit on July 25. Bob and I were there and
IMPACT | People Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
it was really wonderful for ODIM to be selected as one of the stops on this Global tour. The agenda for the general secretary was to try to improve relationships. “ODIM has a grant from the General Board of Global Ministries to support some of the aspects of Healthy Mom and Me program, which is a thousand-day-program that supports a mother from the beginning of her pregnancy until the child is one year old. That’s really exciting. And the mothers come each week to be part of a support group. We run another program called Walk Together that is for diabetes education.” Mary and Bob went to Guatemala in 2014 and 2015 as part of a church group. But in 2017 they decided to go with their family of nine, including their grandchildren. They worked as a construction team. Travelling to Guatemala also provided an excellent opportunity to purchase items that could be sold at FUMC-Denton’s Alternative Gifts Fair, including fabric, jewelry, art and baby clothes. Serving Hispanic persons is the unifying aspect of many of the missional opportunities Mary and Bob are involved with. In addition, they were also on the first guiding committee for our Hispanic Ministry. “Bob thought he should learn more about Hispanic culture and since he was on the committee, I became involved as well. He can communicate in Spanish while I am not good at languages.” “We attend the services almost every week and because of that, we know the members of the congregation. Bob learned Spanish as a child. His parents met in Argentina, so he had a head start.” Mary thinks the church has done pretty well integrating all its ministries, including the Hispanic one. “Mauricio Orozco (pastor for the Hispanic ministry) has multiple roles in the church and is instrumental in establishing and maintaining connection to the larger church. I like that we have been
holding some joint services. “I’d like to encourage all the members of our church to attend the service in Spanish at least once so they can experience how different the worship style is. We are living in a place where our ability to interact with different cultures is important. It will remain a focus and a challenge for us. The Hispanic population represents significant growth numbers in our neighborhood.” Mary was thrilled with how many people enrolled in the Spanish classes that Mauricio led last spring. A big motivator for that was the mission trip to Costa Rica. “This is a much larger church
do some planning. I was always one of the children who was taught.” Mary does not believe there is that kind of training system anymore, but she does believe that finding ways for people to be confident in their leadership is very important. She also believes that supporting campus ministry is an important way to keep in touch with young adults when we have so many because Denton is a university town. “I wasn’t very involved in church as a college student. I had some connection. I think it is an important time to establish your independent identity and the church being there is really important. And
“I have made a lot of new friends since I retired because I have been moving in different circles. Knowing new people, making new friends is rewarding. I take to heart “Shine God’s Love into Every Life. I think that’s what we are doing here!” — Mary Harris than the others we have belonged to. I really enjoy all the people that I’ve become involved with. I have made a lot of new friends since I retired because I have been moving in different circles. Knowing new people, making new friends is rewarding. I take to heart Shine God’s Love into Every Life. I think that’s what we are doing here. “The style of how to involve volunteers has changed a lot. My mother wrote curriculum materials for Children’s Sunday school at the national church level when I was a child and she would go around the country during summer and lead what they called “Lab Schools.” People who were Children Sunday school teachers would get trained and learn the skills. My mom would train the Sunday school leaders. Typically they would watch my mom lead Sunday school class in the morning and in the afternoon they would dissect and look at the curriculum,
of course, some youth are going to recognize right away how that is important to them and the church has to be really available.” Sunday worship and Sunday school help Mary keep growing as a Christian. “I know from my involvement with Sunday school class that I am part of a group that will keep doing things together and will be there in a time of need. It is a safe place. I think our church is very good at being that safe place.” In addition to her volunteer work in mission projects, she also finds time to serve as a Stephen Minister. She truly exemplifies the adage, “If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.”
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IMPACT | From the Pastor Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
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IMPACT From the Pastor
We can become God’s answer to someone’s prayer
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ately it seems like we’ve had more than our fair share of natural disasters with multiple hurricanes making landfall and leaving in their path, death, destruction and chaos in places like Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas. Just what is the church’s role when tragedy strikes? Part of our role as a church is to view these disasters and crises through the eyes of faith instead of the eyes of fear. Those who view the world through eyes of faith simply choose to see this suffering as an opportunity to act on what we believe. In James 2:14-17, the New Testament writer is challenging the idea that belief is enough. He argues that Christian faith places demands upon us that require action: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
— Rev. Don Lee, Lead Pastor
Above: George Lopez on mission trip. Right: Chuck Rives and Dale Tampke on mission.
Faith that does not express itself in compassionate action has no life in it. The nature of Christian faith is that it compels us to allow Christ to not only live in us but also work through us. Praying for those affected by disasters or loss is certainly important, but so is giving those prayers legs in helping these communities heal. In the Bible, God acts primarily through people of faith. Another way to say this is we can become God’s answer to someone’s prayer. Faith that is alive and active refuses to “walk by on the other side,” but instead enters into the suffering of others to bring God’s healing and peace. At the end of last year one of our members, Tommie Nations, a retired firefighter and leader of our Lent Rebuild Project, shared in worship about serving as a coordinator for
the disaster relief effort in South Texas following the landfall of Hurricane Harvey. What Tommie found was widespread destruction and personal desperation. Many on the receiving end of assistance expressed the belief that God had answered their prayers. Over Thanksgiving break our church sent its own mission team down to Orange, Texas to do recovery work. We have 31 youth and parents that travelled to Beaumont, Texas, over the Christmas break to help folks there. I plan to participate in a mission team in the 2018 and hope you will consider joining me. I’ve often heard people say they cannot believe in a God who remains silent when prayers go unanswered. I have no doubt that God is counting on the faithful to act on God’s behalf. — Rev. Don Lee, Lead Pastor
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IMPACT | Bigger Picture Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
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IMPACT Bigger Picture
The Synergy of The United Methodist Connection
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United Methodist congregation does not stand alone. We are part of a connection or network of churches around the world that are identified not by its many parts, but by being part of a marvelous whole. This is not a theological treatise, but one that seeks to briefly outline our particular expression of the Body of Christ and the part First United Methodist Church of Denton plays in the Bigger Picture. While most of our experience as the church happens on the local church level, the United Methodist Connectional System is organized in a way that is much different from many so-called congregational churches. One of those differences is that we do not “call” our pastors. Our pastors are “sent” to us through our basic unit of governance, the Annual Conference. Each conference is presided over by a bishop and a cabinet made up of District Superintendents. Each conference provides a variety of services designed to help the local church fulfill the mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. FUMC-Denton is part of the North Texas Annual Conference presided over by Bishop Mike McKee. Our conference is organized into four districts, each with a District Superintendent. We are part of the North Central District led by Dr. Ron Henderson. Each local church elects lay members of the North Texas Annual Conference which convenes each year in early June. That conference is made up of Dr. Ronald Henderson an equal number
Map of the geographical jurisdictions
of lay and clergy persons who hear reports and act on a number of legislative items pertinent to the operation of the conference. Each annual conference is part of a Jurisdiction. In the United States, there are seven geographic jurisdictions. Our conference is part of the South Central Jurisdiction. The primary purpose of the jurisdictional conference every four years is to elect bishops. The electorate is made up of equal numbers of lay and clergy persons elected every four years at Annual Conferences. The last Jurisdictional Conference was in Wichita, Kansas, in 2016 where Bishop McKee was returned to us for a second term. And every four years, delegates elected at all the Annual Conferences of the church worldwide gather in what is called the General Conference. Lay and clergy delegates meet for two weeks with the purpose of developing, considering and passing legislation that will impact the book of governance for the United Methodist Church called The Discipline.
The last General Conference was in 2016 in Portland, Oregon and the next will be in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our own Tim Crouch has been a delegate to General Conference in the past. A special General Conference has been called for Feb 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri for the specific purpose of acting on a report by the Council of Bishops, based on proposals from the Commission on a Way Forward. The 32-member commission, appointed by the bishops, was charged with finding ways for our denomination to stay united despite deep differences around human sexuality. The Discipline is the “law book” that governs the operation of the United Methodist Church. While
Continued on page 18 WWW.FUMC-DENTON.COM 17
IMPACT | Events Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
Experience IMPACT at FUMC-Denton
June 17–21 Vacation Bible School— Rolling River Rampage 6:00 – 8:00 pm
July 30 - August 3 Children’s Choir Camp 3rd floor – East Wing 8:00 am – 12:00 pm (optional afternoon activities available)
May 2, 4, 6 Children’s Musical — The Sailors’ Bible Finn Hall Wednesday, May 2, 7:00pm Friday, May 4, 7:00pm Sunday, May 6, 4:00pm
IMPACT | Bigger Picture continued from page 17 each church has considerable latitude to organize itself for effective mission and ministry, there are certain key committees that are mandated by The Discipline. One is the Church Council (called Administrative Board here). The other committees are the Board of Trustees, the Finance Committee, the Committee on Lay Leadership (sometimes called Nominations), and the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC). Each of these four committees is responsible to the Administrative Board and each has a specific set of roles and responsibilities. The Trustees are responsible for maintaining the buildings and property of the church, receiving bequests to the church, and acting as the Board of Directors for the church as an incorporated 18 SHINING GOD’S LOVE, TRANSFORMING LIVES
body. The Finance Committee is responsible for creating and recommending an annual budget for the church and ensuring adequate funds are raised to meet the budget. Lay Leadership nominates persons to serve on the various committees of the church. The SPRC serves as a Human Resources oversight group to help ensure we have the right lay persons in the right staff positions, consults and advises clergy leadership, and represents the members of the church as it prepares an annual church profile and evaluation of pastors. While our focus as a church congregation is our own community and the various missions and ministries we create and support to fulfill our mission, we are blessed to be part of something so much bigger, with the knowledge that the synergy
Bishop Mike McKee
created by our connection enhances our ability to Shine God’s Love Into Every Life and to Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. — Alan Heath, Executive Editor
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IMPACT | Hispanic Ministry Volume 4 Issue 1 | Spring 2018
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IMPACT Hispanic Ministry
Saliendo de las Cuatro Paredes
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endiciones, mi nombre es Mauricio Orozco, pastor del Ministerio Hispano Jesús Fuente de Vida de la Iglesia Metodista Unida de Denton, Texas. Este es mi segundo año en esta linda ciudad y me he propuesto junto con mi equipo de trabajo a alcanzar nuestra comunidad, saliendo de las cuatro paredes de nuestra iglesia para llevar el mensaje de salvación y esperanza. Estamos visitando comunidades con estudios bíblicos donde compartimos un momento de la palabra de Dios como también de un tiempo de calor humano y fraternidad. Es nuestra tarea reflejar el amor de Cristo y su maravilloso mensaje de gracia y amor con todos aquellos que lo necesitan. En la comunidad de Denton hay una gran necesidad de conocer el plan eterno y maravilloso de Dios para con nosotros y de cuanto Dios nos ama. Es por ello que nos hemos sentido honrados de participar en actividades de ayuda a personas indigentes y familias en necesidad, y quizás no podamos solucionar todos sus problemas pero al menos hemos extendido nuestra mano para solventar una necesidad diaria tanto en lo económico como lo espiritual. Estamos aquí para ser, en la manera posible, portadores de buenas noticias y alien-
Las mujeres de nuestro ministerio hispano prepararon una deliciosa comida para nuestra familia de la iglesia. Women from our Hispanic Ministry prepared a delicious meal for our church family.
to para aquellos que lo necesitan. El pasado día de acción de gracias, fuimos parte de un grandioso evento en el que se proveyó alimento para aquellos que no tenían un lugar donde compartir tal importante fecha. Como ministerio, estamos llamados a servir a nuestra comunidad y ser de bendición y transformación en medio de nuestro entorno. A eso hemos sido llamados por Dios y confiamos en que Dios siempre proveerá todo cuanto necesitamos para lograrlo. ~~~~ Blessings. My name is Mauricio Orozco, pastor of the Hispanic Ministry, Jesus Fuente de Vida, of the First United Methodist Church of Denton, Texas. This is my second year in this beautiful city and, together with my team, I have committed to reach our community, getting out of our church building to carry the message of salvation and hope to our community. We have been visiting communities with Bible studies
— Rev. Mauricio Orozco, Associate Pastor
where we share the Word of God as well as a time of warmth and fraternity. It is our task to reflect the love of Christ and his wonderful message of grace and love with all those who need it. There is a great need to know God's eternal and wonderful plan for us and how much God loves us in our local community. That is why we have been honored to participate in activities to help indigent people and families in need. Perhaps we cannot solve all their problems but at least we have extended our hand to solve daily needs both economically and spiritually. We are here to be, in any possible way, bearers of good news and encouragement for those who need it. Last Thanksgiving, we were part of a great event where food was provided for those who did not have a place to share such an important date. As a ministry, we are called to serve our community and be a blessing and transformation in the midst of our environment. We have been called by God and we trust that God will always provide everything we need to achieve it. — Rev. Mauricio Orozco, Associate Pastor
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FUMC-Denton Service Times
Worship with Us It’s our members who make FUMC-Denton a welcoming church. We hope you will join us. Visit our website www.fumc-denton.com to learn more about the different services.
Sunday Worship Schedule: 7:30 am – First Meal A free breakfast for those in need followed by an informal worship service. Located in Monroe Fellowship Building.
8:30 am – Traditional Worship Traditional, formal worship service featuring liturgy, organ-led hymns and choral music. Located in the Sanctuary.
9:45 am – Mosaic Worship (Contemporary service) An informal service in a relaxed, contemporary setting with a praise band. Located in Monroe Fellowship Building.
9:45 am – Sunday School classes for all ages each Sunday
First United Methodist Church of Denton 201 S. Locust Street | Denton, TX 76201 (940) 382-5478 | (940) 381-9124 (FAX)
www.fumc-denton.com
11:00 am – Bible Study in Spanish 11:00 am – Celebration Worship (livestreaming and televised on Charter 191 and Verizon 39) Incorporates elements found in traditional worship supporting the Bible-based preaching of our lead pastor. Located in the Sanctuary.
11:00 am – Open Worship A place to experience God’s radical love, in a community that is uniquely Denton. Located in Flinn Hall.
11:15 am – 3rd Day Family Service (third Sunday every month) A family service, designed to help children find their place in worship. Located in Monroe Fellowship Building. 12:30 pm – Jesus Fuente de Vida (in Spanish) A service of joy, praise and worship for the whole family. A time of gratitude with vibrant singing where God’s presence touches your soul. Located in Flinn Hall.