Ramona United Methodist Church
The Valley Spirit
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
October 2011
Pastor Steve’s Reflections Inside this issue: Opportunities to Participate
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UMYF
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UMW News Mark Your
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Calendar Birthdays &
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Anniversaries October Calendar
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LPLC
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Prayer Chain Info. Art Exhibit Fall Fest Update
OUR VISION: An inclusive community of faith, learning and serving for the glory of Christ
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Ramona United Methodist Church rocks! And rolls and whirls and jumps and spins around and eats funnel cakes and tri-tip sandwiches and tamales and chili and ice cream and drinks fruit punch and rocks to great music and greets the town and makes new friends and puts our church on the map as a great place to be. We don’t just have fun, we celebrate our community; not just in small ways, but in spectacular ways as well. That’s just part of what our first annual Fall Festival and carnival demonstrated. It also gave us an opportunity to do something new and exciting, drawing our members together from the oldest to the very youngest. Along the way, we raised funds to help support our ministries here locally and beyond. Congratulations to all who participated in the hard work. You demonstrated strong leadership as well as faithful dedication. This was big! And you did it! On the Monday following the Fall Festival a group of us gathered in
the narthex and discussed what we had learned, what we did right and what we could do better. One of the most frequent statements was “next year.” Yes, the planning has already begun. Everyone was positive about the results. Of course we would like to have made scads more money, but this was a learning year. But, next year…. In addition to all the logistical and functional lessons we learned, the do’s and don’ts, I also learned a few valuable lessons as well. (Actually, they were more like confirmations). I was affirmed in my belief that this community has incredible talents and abilities far beyond what was previously considered common sense. I was affirmed in my belief that this community can do anything into which it puts its heart and mind. I was affirmed in my belief that we have been given incredible potential to do God’s work in the world. It was proof that we can always think bigger than we are, act in ways that seem bigger than our individual abilities and accomplish Con’t on Page 2