April 2007

You may have noticed that we have some new fluorescent light fixtures in the church office, one of the hallways, and Room 102. We’re doing this because the current light fixtures are so old that replacements for broken covers would have to be custom made. For this reason, the entire fixture can be replaced for only a little more than the cost of one of these custom covers. In addition, the new fixtures are even more energy efficient. We’re replacing all the fixtures in a room, and saving the unbroken covers and fixtures that are taken down to replace single units that need replacing or repair in other rooms.

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We’ll be watching VeggieTales’ Sumo of the Opera for our next movie event, which will be held on May 20, 2007 at 4:00 pm. Please note the change of time. Because of a Dance Recital being held in the Fellowship Hall we’ll be meeting upstairs in the youth room. Anyone who has a good idea about how to get the popcorn popper up stairs is encouraged to let us know.

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Eugene H. Peterson, translator/paraphraser of The Message version of the Bible has the following words of wisdom:

Be still and know. Civilization is littered with unsolved problems, baffling impasses. The best minds of the world are at the end of their tether. The most knowledgeable observers of our condition are badly frightened. The most relevant contribution that Christians make at these points is the act of prayer -determined, repeated, leisurely meetings with the personal and living God. New life is conceived in these meetings.

—Eugene H. Peterson,from “Earth to Altar”

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My article from the most recent Parish Visitor:

As you may know, First United Methodist Church currently has a book study on the book Eight Life Enriching Practices of United Methodists by Dr. Henry H. Knight. Last Tuesday, we were discussing chapter five which is about worship. One of the areas where discussion became most animated was on the subject of Holy Communion, Dr. Knight says

If the word [scripture and the sermon] is the heart of worship, the table is its goal. Worship culminates in a profound thanksgiving for God’s victory over sin and death, gift of new life, and communion together with the risen Christ at his table. Because of this, John and Charles Wesley, like Martin Luther and John Calvin before them, would have us restore the New Testament church practice of celebrating the Lord’s Supper weekly. Many United Methodist churches today have at least moved toward Wesley’s ideal of “constant communion” by celebrating it monthly.

The desire of the early Methodists to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as possible is well known. The enormous crowds of communicants would sometimes take hours to serve. Why this hunger for the sacrament? They were convinced that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the risen Jesus Christ was present in this meal, and by receiving his gifts of bread and wine, they would be given new life. They came with expectant faith, seeking to remember all that God has done and promised through Jesus Christ and open to receive all God has to give.

Dr. Knight makes a compelling argument, one with which I fully agree. Jesus’ words of institution, “Do this, as often as you drink it,” are also a powerful argument for more frequent communion. Jenny and I would like to celebrate communion weekly at the Sunday services, but we assumed there would be little support for this position and so contented ourselves with monthly communion on Sunday morning and almost weekly communion Wednesday evening. I was pleasantly surprised by the response of those participating in the book study, there was great support expressed for weekly communion at the Sunday morning services. I now want to throw open the question to the entire congregation. What say you?

Send an email to john@coffeyvillefirstumc.org and let me know what you think.

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An update: You can donate to “Nothing but Nets” on the page linked in the entry below.

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Jenny talked about the “Nothing But Nets” campaign to fight malaria in her sermon tonight. The United Methodist Church has been part of this campaign since the beginning. You can learn more at: www.umc.org

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The youth just finished watching The End of the Spear, the movie that Jenny referenced in a sermon last Sunday. This was the second time I have seen it. It has great lessons about faith and forgiveness. A documentary about this story is Beyond the Gates of Splendor. There are books of the same name as both movies. I would recommend the movies to anyone, with the caveat that you need to be ready for the violence that was endemic to the Waodani’s existence before their conversion to Christianity.

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We’re happy to announce that we have a VeggieTales movie event planned for 3:00 pm on Sunday, April 22, 2007. The movie is The Ballad of Little Joe. This is the story of Joseph told as a western and is the “prequel” to Moe and the Big Exit. It’s been described as “Joseph and the technicolor leather vest.”

As before you’re encouraged to bring camp chairs, sleeping bags, etc. to make yourselves comfortable. You’re also more than welcome to bring friends and invite others to join us. We look forward to seeing you April 22.

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April Foreman, our instructor, has a funeral visitation for a family member, so there will be no Yoga on Tuesday.

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