FEBRUARY 2018 EDITION
THE WOODLANDS UMC
POINT A MESSAGE FROM
DON MEADOR PASTOR TO SENIOR ADULTS
LUNCH BUNCH Seated: Virginia Cray, Lynne Turner, Dale Birran, Ann & Jerry Armstrong Standing: Margi Davies, Mark Lewis, Linda Owen
Lunch Bunch recently met at Pallotta’s Italian Grill. Please join us this month on Tuesday, February 13, at 11:00 a.m. Pappadeux Seafood Kitchen, 18165 I-45 (on the east side of I-45). There is a new lunch menu. Reservations are due by Monday, February 12. For more information, contact Dolly Loftiss at 210.844.2062. All senior adults are welcomed to attend!
Mary Kerr, Nancy Gonzalez and Lynn Birran
A NOTE FROM
CHEF BEN
Dolly Loftiss, Lunch Bunch organizer
Mary and Jerry Armstrong
Happy New Year! It has been a great pleasure for me and my team to prepare your meals for the last few years, and we are continually impressed with the growing attendance and touched by your compliments. To help continue Prime Timers success, your RSVP for the luncheon by noon on the Friday before is crucial to insuring we have plenty of food for all our guests. Thank you and I look forward to a great 2018!
As my wife and I were completing the annual January ritual of putting away all the “Christmas stuff,” I pondered the meaning of this activity. Every year it seems we have more to put away and every year we say “we really need to get rid of some of this.” Why does that seem to be such a difficult task? We really need to “cull out”, to downsize and simplify. It seems to me the problem is we do not want to let go of the past. Most of these “things” remind us of precious moments with family or friends, of special friends from the past and significant events connected with Christmas. One of the great challenges of reaching “senior adult status” is to determine what to do with the things we have accumulated over the years. Do we give it away to family or friends? Do we pack it up for thrift shops? Do we donate it to charitable causes? When we’ve run out of room in the attic for all the “stuff”, it’s time to act. Perhaps the first step is to recognize that what we have doesn’t determine who we are. Giving away the things that marked all the stages of our lives shouldn’t leave us feeling empty. On the contrary, it should free us to concentrate on the core values of our lives and on who and what really matters. It can be a time to become what all the living has enabled us to be. It is not a matter of letting go of the wonderful memories of the past. It is just the practical matter of getting ready to “travel light” and not be burdened by “things” as we anticipate the future. In her book, The Gift of Years, Joan Chittister has written these words: “A burden of these years is the temptation to cling to the times and things behind us rather than move to the liberating moments ahead. A blessing of these years is the invitation to go light-footed into the here and now, because we spend far too much of life preparing for the future rather than enjoying the present.” May your days be filled with more joyful moments and fewer ‘things.” Your Friend,
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MARCH 1
RSVP for the March 7 Prime Timers by noon today.
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
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8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
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SATURDAY
WH – Wesley Hall DC – Dunnam Conference Room AP – Allen Parlor GC – Gallaway Conference Room OB – Otterbein IC – Infant Care Room
10:00 a.m. Men’s Book Study (IC)
MS - Music Suite RC - Robb Chapel
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Goldenaires Rehearsal (MS)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Goldenaires Rehearsal (MS)
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2:30 – 5:00 p.m. An Afternoon at the Movies (AG)
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2:00 p.m. Shepherd Care meeting (JL)
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Senior Adult Game Night (AG)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
FRIDAY
12:30 p.m. Peggy’s Book Club (AP)
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
10:00 a.m. Men’s Book Study (IC)
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THURSDAY
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
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11:15 a.m. Prime Timers (WH)
WEDNESDAY
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Goldenaires rehearsal (MS)
11:00 a.m. Lunch Bunch (Pappadeux Seafood)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Goldenaires Rehearsal (MS)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. Senior Fitness (AG)
TUESDAY
Location/Legend: JL – Jones Library AS – Asbury Hall AG – Aldersgate Hall
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8:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. The Gathering Place (AG)
MONDAY
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Souper Bowl of Caring
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SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 2018
UPCOMING EVENTS SMALL GROUPS SOUPER BOWL OF CARING FOOD DRIVE Sunday, February 4 Please bring food or money to help the hungry. Drop off items at the southeast door by Aldersgate Hall. Please make checks payable to Montgomery County Food Bank. For more information, contact Neil and Phyllis Johnson at 936.271.1697. THE GATHERING PLACE Monday, February 5 | 10:00 a.m. in Asbury Hall The Gathering Place is an outreach program for adults who have early to moderate Alzheimer’s or dementia. Volunteers arrive at Aldersgate Hall at 8:45 a.m. and our guests arrive at 10:00 a.m. The theme will be “Be My Valentine.” For information, contact Chuck and Jean Abernathy at 936.449.6450.
PRIME TIMERS LUNCHEON Wednesday, February 7 11:15 a.m. in Wesley Hall Join us for our monthly luncheon. Mary Margaret Mann, an accomplished actress/monologist and speaker who specializes in the one-woman presentation, will perform “How Do I Love Thee” based on the life of the spirited poetess, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Please RSVP by noon on Friday, February 2 to Joyce and Ken Nesmith at 281.367.5519. The cost is $7 per person and checks are preferred, payable to TWUMC.
SENIOR ADULT GAME NIGHT Friday, February 9 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. in Aldersgate Hall Join us for a night of fun, fellowship, games and light refreshments. Games include Mexican train, bridge, hand and foot, and Rummikube. $1 per person. For more information, contact Ann and Jerry Armstrong at 281.419.2666 or Jerry and Lil Whitehouse at 225.937.4893. Everyone is invited. Please bring a snack. LUNCH BUNCH Tuesday, February 13 | 11:00 a.m. at Pappadeux Seafood Each month we meet at a different restaurant for good conversation and Christian fellowship. This month, please join us at Pappadeux Seafood Kitchen, 18165 I-45 (on the east side of I-45). There is a new lunch menu. Reservations are due by Monday, Monday, February 12. For more information, contact Dolly Loftiss at 210.844.2062. All senior adults are welcomed to attend. SHEPHERD CARE MEETING Thursday, February 15 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in Jones Library Contact the Senior Adult Ministry at 281.297.5935 for more information. AN AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES Friday, February 23 | 2:30 p.m. in the Music Suite Come see the movie, Luther, following the life of Martin Luther. Snacks will be served. Please RSVP by Tuesday, February 20 by signing up or by calling Dee and Dave Megee at 281.364.7114. All senior adults are welcome.
GOLDENAIRES CHOIR Tuesdays | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the Music Suite The Goldenaires, our senior adult choir, is the perfect way for you to spread joy through singing. This group is open to those 55 and older and is directed by Stephen Jones, The Woodlands UMC’s Music Associate and Organist. Performances include providing beautiful anthems once a month for the 8:30 a.m. worship service in Robb Chapel and singing at community events for Interfaith, The Gathering Place, and area nursing homes. We would love to have you join us! No audition is required. For more information, contact Ed Wandling at 281.355.0053. SENIOR FITNESS Tuesdays & Fridays | 8:30 – 9:20 a.m. in Aldersgate Hall Join us up to twice a week for a muscle toning workout for men and women featuring strength training and some stretching using hand weights, tubes and chairs. Lite body sculpting is an unintimidating, less strenuous class with modifications for any fitness level. Segments include warm-up, strength, stretching and cool-down. There is no charge. Please wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes. For more information please contact Jackie Martini at 281.451.3844. MEN’S BOOK STUDY Wednesdays, February 14 & 28 | 10:00 a.m. in the Infant Care Room Join us for a men’s book study/Bible study, which meets twice a month. We have begun a new book, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski. Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives. The book is available in the church bookstore or it can be ordered from Amazon. Contact Jerry Barney at 281.826.323 for more information. PEGGY’S BOOK CLUB Tuesday, February 20 | 12:30 p.m. in Allen Parlor Bring a brown bag for lunch, we will discuss the book Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Amy Belding Brown. Coffee and cookies will be provided. Contact Libby Heintz at 936.271.7660 for more information. Everyone is welcome – men and women! SINGLE LIFE WIDOWS For information on February activities, contact Terry Loughridge at 281.297.5932 or tloughridge@twumc.org.
SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY NEW ORLEANS GETAWAY April 17 – 19, 2018 • • • • • •
Tour of Avery Island Two-night stay at Bienville House Dinner aboard the Creole Queen Guided city tour of New Orleans Tour of National WWII Museum Dinner/Cooking Class at New Orleans School of Cooking • Court of Two Sisters Jazz Brunch • Tour of Oak Alley Plantation For more information, please contact Helen Burgdorf at 713.822.5728.
The Woodlands United  Methodist Church 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive The Woodlands, Texas 77380 281.297.5900 thewoodlandsumc.org
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID N. HOUSTON, TX PERMIT #296
Return Service Requested
SENIOR FITNESS
The senior fitness class was treated to coffee and doughnuts by the fitness instructors on December 22.
ROMEOS
The ROMEOS met on Thursday, January 4 at Spring Creek BBQ. This group of men from the Perspectives Sunday School Class has been meeting together for years at a restaurant chosen by one of the men. There is a prayer to open the gathering and sometimes the host will offer some words of inspiration. Twentyfive to thirty men meet, every two weeks, for a meal and fellowship.
Visit thewoodlandsumc.org for information about these and other church events.