Ramona United Methodist Church
The Valley Spirit Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
January 2014
Pastor Val
Inside this issue: New Year Resolution
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Friendship Circle UMC News Bishop Carcaño
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Birthdays
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Anniversaries Birthday Club Volunteers RUMC Calendar
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UMW
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District Event LPLC SCRIP
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Greeting Cards A Thank You Church Info
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Opportunities
OUR VISION: An inclusive community of faith, learning and serving for the glory of Christ
Christmas is over! I’ve heard that several times this past week and each time I’ve wanted to reply with a firm ‘NO!’ Christmas didn’t end when the clock struck midnight. Christmas didn’t end with stores offering great postChristmas sales. Christmas didn’t end just because the neighbor’s outdoor lights didn’t come on and used trees began to accumulate at the ends of the driveways. Christmas didn’t end with the birth of Christ…it began! By the church calendar Christmastide ends on January 5th and is celebrated as the Epiphany of the Lord, the day the Magi appear. But wait, can’t Christmas last a little longer?…a lot longer! As the children shared with us on Christmas Eve, the greatest gift of Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ. He is God’s gift to us on that night, in fact since the beginning of all things. God has been giving to us since the beginning and God won’t stop giving to us. So what do we do with this gift? This gift isn’t like the book we received that we read once and put on the shelf to collect dust. It’s not like the gift of a beautiful candle we place on the mantle to light only when company comes. It’s not like the toy opened, played with a few times and then banished to under the bed. No, this
gift is to be acknowledged and shared every day, every minute of our life. This gift of love is to be shared with each and every person we meet…family or stranger, friend or foe. Those are the terms of this gift which we opened the minute we invited Christ into our lives. This is what is expected of and commanded to each of us. My hope is that during the Christmas season you experienced the joy in giving whether it was a fantastic gift, a warm embrace or a friendly greeting. My hope for all this coming year is the joy that comes with sharing the gift of Christ. Share openly and freely, you’ll never run out of God’s love and grace through the gift of the son, Jesus Christ. And if you ever do feel you’ve run out, don’t fret. God will renew and fill you with the Spirit of Christmas, the Son. God’s gift of Love is unending. May the peace of the season be with you always, Pastor Val
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January 2014
New Year Resolution Many of us will ring in the new year with noisy celebrations. Some will choose to watch the events at iconic places like Times Square. Some of us will make resolutions to lose weight or exercise more or to in some way become a better person. Some of us may even resolve to be a better Christian, to find a way to be closer to God. Recently my friend Jennifer posted something on Facebook that is helping to form my 2014 resolution: "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life--to God--is vigorous and requires total attention." --Eugene Peterson, The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language, paraphrase of Matthew 7: 13-14 In an advent sermon Pastor Val asked us to consider what part from the Christmas story we are being called to play. Go to the RUMC web site or Facebook page and listen to "Hope in a Surprise Adoption" if you missed it. There are many parts, and there is certainly one for each of us. But there are no shortcuts. For each of these parts there are people who are called to play them. We are called to live each moment of each day with God. Sometimes He leads us, sometimes He walks beside us, and sometimes He carries us, but always He is with us if we just pay attention. Make your resolution to play your part with vigor and joy and keep your attention on God in your life. J.D. Baker, Certified Lay Minister and Lay Leader
Friendship Circle Friendship Circle will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8th at the home of LaVina Stromberg, 23911 Berryessa Ct. Shirley Erickson will lead the devotions. All women are invited for a morning of inspiration, fellowship and refreshments.
For More UMC News On Facebook? Like The United Methodist Church and UMCOR—United Methodist Committee on Relief Or Visit: www.cal-pac.org www.umc.org
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Words from the Resident Bishop of The Cal-Pac Conference Brothers and Sisters, At our annual conference session earlier this year we celebrated the visionary leadership of Bishop Gerald Kennedy who in 1963 invited to come to the West 8 Methodist pastors from Mississippi who had been condemned and ostracized by Methodists and others for standing against racial discrimination. Among the 8 who came from Mississippi to become a part of the ministry in what is now the California-Pacific Conference were the Rev. Inman Moore and the Rev. Ed McRae. We rejoiced when these two surviving pastors stood among us this past June and shared with us a word of deep witness of what it meant to be supported and welcomed. I want you to know that on this day following in the footsteps of Bishop Kennedy and with the support of his bishop, Bishop Peggy Johnson, I invited the Rev. Frank Schaefer to come and join us in ministry in the CaliforniaPacific Conference. At this moment Rev. Schaefer and I have agreed that he will enter into a time of prayer and discernment with his wife Brigitte and their family about whether God is calling him to life and ministry in our conference. While I recognize that our brother Frank has been defrocked by those in authority in his conference, I believe that those who have acted in such a way have done so in obedience to the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, an imperfect book of human law that violates the very spirit of Jesus the Christ who taught us through word and deed that all God’s children are of sacred worth and welcomed into the embrace of God’s grace. I believe that the time has come for we United Methodists to stand on the side of Jesus and declare in every good way that the United Methodist Church is wrong in its position on homosexuality, wrong in its exclusion of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and wrong in its incessant demand to determine through political processes who can be fully members of the body of Christ. Frank Schaefer chose to stand with Jesus as he ex-
tended love and care to his gay son and his partner. We should stand with him and others who show such courage and faithfulness. At our 2013 annual conference session you the lay and clergy members of the California-Pacific Conference determined that you would be biblically obedient, excluding no one from our care or ministry, and committing to work to eliminate any barriers that would prohibit anyone from being included in our covenantal life together or our witness to Christ Jesus. You declared that you were acting out of the belief that God’s grace and love are available to all persons. This decision of the conference was challenged. As the presiding officer I had the responsibility of issuing a ruling of law in response to the challenge. I ruled that the conference had the right to express the hope of many in The United Methodist Church that the day will come when inclusion and justice will be extended to all God’s people. I further ruled that the conference had the right to give witness to the belief that The United Methodist Church is in error when it states that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. My ruling of law was upheld by the Judicial Council of our denomination. In inviting Frank Schaefer to come and join us in ministry and witness, I am choosing to stand with you and to lead us in being biblically obedient. I acknowledge that I do not have the authority to restore the ministerial credentials that Frank Schaefer has lost. Only a board of ordained ministry can recommend such a reinstatement of credentials, and only the ordained clergy of an annual conference can determine whether a person will be credentialed for ordained ministry. What I can do, however, is invite and welcome others to love and serve Christ Jesus among us, accompany those who choose to be faithful, and exhort us all to be biblically obedient. This I will do for as long as God gives me breath. Your Sister in Christ, Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño
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January 2014
Birthday/Anniversary Club We celebrate Birthday/Anniversary Club each month by making a gift to our church in the amount of $1.00 for each year of life. Birthday/Anniversary Club is an expression of thanks to God for giving us another year.
January Birthdays:
Please don’t forget about Birthday Club each month.
6th 8th 9th 10th 14th 24th 28th 30th
Checks can be made payable to RUMC and labeled “Birthday Club”
Carol Pina Danny Edwards Ben Weise William Holzhauer Mari Martinez Lily Sager Jim Spencer Ryan Shelton
January Anniversaries: 1st 1st
Paul & Connie Humphrey William Holzhauer & Tammy Rimes
If you have any questions please contact Paula Miller.
January Volunteers Liturgist: January January January January
5 12 19 26
Mary Lou Gray Kim Woods Terry Carlson Karen Johnson
Greeters: January 5 January 12 January 19 January 26
Scott Wilkinson & Mike Dasher Open Open Open
Flowers: January January January January
Bernard & Adelaide Young Open Open Open
5 12 19 26
Coffee/Fellowship Hour: January 5 Scotty & Karena Hunziker January 12 LaVina Stromberg & Dolores Sasway January 19 Fern Ball & Dorothy Allen January 26 Karena Hunziker Communion Assistants: January 5 Jim & Joanne Bowden Golden Share Food Driver: January 25 Open
January 2014
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January 2014 Sunday
Monday
5 Choir 8 am Youth Group 11 am
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13
12 Choir 8 am Education Team 11 am
Trustees 6:30 pm
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20
Choir 8 am
Finance 6 pm
Youth Group 11 am
Ad Council
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27
Choir 8 am
UMW 6 pm @ Home of Doris Nixon
Book Exchange 11 am
RAMONA UMC Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Men’s Breakfast @ Ramona Café 6:00 am Thursdays
Office Hours: Tuesday Thursday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
1 Office Closed
2 Choir every Thursday 6:30 pm
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8 Friendship Circle 10 am @ Home of LaVina Stromberg
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10
11
Worship Team 5:30 pm
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Women’s Breakfast @ McDonald’s 6:30 am Tuesdays
Worship Service 9:45 am Sundays
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Saturday
Choir 6:30 pm
Pack 692 6:30 pm
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23 Choir 6:30 pm
7 pm
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29
30
Choir 6:30 pm
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UMW
January 2014
District Visioning Events
The United Methodist Women will be meeting at the home of Doris Nixon, 1343 Olive Street, on January 27th at 6 pm. All women are welcome to join us for an evening of fellowship and good food. We will be planning our programs for 2014 and drawing names for Secret Sisters for the new year.
The District Visioning Events are a called meeting for all clergy by Bishop Carcano and members of the Mission/Vision Discernment Team. The event will continue our work of discerning God’s Vision for the Annual Conference. We seek broad input from clergy and laity. Anyone with a passion for the work of the church is welcome to attend. South District will hold our Visioning Event on Saturday, January 11, 2014, at the following time and location:
Hope UMC 16550 Bernardo Heights Parkway San Diego, CA 92128 9:00 am—Noon
Little People’s Learning Center Happy New Year! As always things are busy at preschool, learning happens and fun activities are everywhere. This year we are starting off with pajama day. Don’t bother getting dressed on Friday Jan 3rd, we’ll be in pajamas all day. Our themes for the month include: Wheels are Everywhere, Animals that live in the Snow, What can you do with an ice cube? and Famous Painters. We have a couple of special days planned – pasta lunch day, a visit by a Safety Officer, Officer Stowers, white day, rectangle day, jumpy day and the usual
birthdays, chapel, story lady and fun & fitness. Reminder we will close for New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday on Monday, January 20. LPLC is honored and blessed to have the trust and ability to care for children in our community. Please keep us, the children and their families in your prayers.
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We have more SCRIP companies
An easy way to Recycle
Many of us are familiar with the scrip we regularly use, but our scrip program probably has scrip for stores, restaurants, and other retailers where we regularly shop. Did you know that we now have iTunes, Amazon, Circle K, and Hallmark scrip? You’ve seen the big blue folders full of scrip cards on Sunday mornings during coffee hour. Stop by the scrip table and check out some of the many choices we have that you may not have seen. In addition, scrip can be ordered from our supplier for hundreds of other companies.
Did you know that an angel has mailed our first box of used greeting cards? They have now been flown off to St. Jude’s Children’s Ranch in Nevada where the children give greeting cards new life and receive payment for their work. You may access all the details at stjudesranch.org/shop/recycled-card-program. They accept any type of greeting card except for Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards. Unless you keep every one of the Christmas cards you’ve been receiving, you may cut off the fronts (the office paper cutter is a quick and neat way to do so) and place them in the USPS flat rate box by the window in the narthex. Your cards will be used to make the card fronts into “new” cards that are sold to support programs and services for abused, abandoned, neglected and homeless children, young adults and families. We invite you to join us in this project and give new life to the greeting cards you receive.
Using scrip costs you no more than you would usually spend and the church gets a percentage rebate. You can also purchase scrip online; pick up the information handout on the patio after church. You are invited to grab a cookie and come see us, or you can stop by the office Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Adopt-A-Family/Wish List Tree Thank you so very much for all of your wonderful generosity with our Adopt-A-Family / Wish List Tree this year! We were able to give every child in our LPLC Preschool 2 books, underwear and socks. They were so excited to each receive a package with their name on it at Chapel Time! What a great way for us to connect with our preschool families. The tree still has many ornaments on it and will be up until Epiphany for you to still pick something to help out here at our church in the next year, if you choose to do so. Thank you to Karen Johnson and Donna Bakarich for jumping in with both feet to take this mission over this year. They are already talking about what to do next year and how to make it even better! God's blessings on all of you! Paula Miller, President / UMW
Ramona United Methodist Church 3394 Chapel Lane Ramona, CA 92065-3640
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
We’re on the WEB! Ramonaumc.org & umc.org Bishop: Minerva Carcaño District Superintendent: Rev. John Farley Rev. OFFICE: HOME: EMAIL:
Val Weise, Pastor 760-789-7106 858-248-9828 pastorval @ramonaumc.org
Joey Lee, Admin Assistant office@ramonaumc.org Jason Purtle, Music Director Kevin Cavanaugh, Accompanist Ministers: The People of the Church Little People’s Learning Center Jill Bacorn, Director 760-789-3435
Opportunities to Participate in the Life of RUMC Sign up on the bulletin board in
Faith Weaver
Golden Share
the church nar-
Friends Begins
Food Program
thex to service
in late January
(866) 570-5099 Order Today!
and participate! See Jill Bacorn (greeters, coffee
for more info or
Drivers Needed
hosts, flowers
to volunteer
Sign Up Today!
on Sunday) Articles for next month’s Valley Spirit are due by January 22nd