Monday – today              

• Worship team meets at 6:00 p.m. in the library
• Boy Scouts meet at 6:30 p.m. in the scout room
• PFLAG meets at 7:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall
• SCA group meets at 7:00 p.m. in the library and meeting room 1

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet at 10:00 a.m. in the library
• “Walking the Bible” new study begins at 10:30 a.m. in the library, unless the group is too big!  All are welcome to attend this very interesting video based study.

Thursday

• The Race to Reach Out meets at 1:00p.m. in the church library. 

 There are 42 campers at Ocean Park campground that now having the time of their life!  Many of them have been going since they were old enough and some are new to the experience.  They will come away with memories that will last their life time and the wonderful experience of knowing God’s love.  Both campers and staff members were excited and anticipating a wonderful week. 

 The United Methodist Women that we had a successful rummage sale last weekend, bringing in around $1400.  Many people worked long and hard to make this a very good event.  Thanks to all who donated merchandise, helped sort, price, display and clean up afterward.  The remaining merchandise will be donated to ARC, which will pay the church a minimal amount, and to The Red Hat Store, which supports the Emergency Support Shelter.  I called the support shelter this morning and learned that they will benefit from the furniture that didn’t sell being donated to the Red Hat Thrift Store.  The store supports the shelter and when women leave the support shelter to make a new home they are able to “shop” the Red Hat Thrift store to furnish their new home.  I thought you might all appreciate that information when you are donating items you no longer need and that won’t go in the ARC barrel at the church.

We welcome home Volunteers in Mission who spent 9 days in Juneau, Alaska working at the UM Eagle Creek campground and the Douglas Community United Methodist Church.  Ask Don, Jacq or Ann about their trip.  I’m sure they’ll be glad to share their experiences.  Watch for your August newsletter for more about their adventures. elcome home the

• Church Council meets tonight at 7:00 p.m. in meeting room 1.  As always, anyone involved in the life of this congregation is welcome to attend.  Those who hold leadership positions are expected to attend. 
• Active Listeners meet Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in the library.  A Tuesday morning study is going to begin next month. 
• Spring Fling is next Saturday!  Meet at the church at 10:15 to carpool to Hoffsadt Bluff for lunch at noon.  If you have not yet let us know you will attend, please do so soon.  Check your email from last week for the menu choices.  This does not need to be prepaid but we do need to let the restaurant know our menu choices very soon.

 Painting began on the parsonage this morning.  Several people are hard at work right now.  I know they can use more help.  Painting will continue each day beginning at 9:00 a.m. until the project is finished.  Come on down and bring brushes if you have them

The meeting schedule is really scaled down for the summer months, but there are still plenty of opportunities for fellowship. 

Remember you can bring your clean reusable items for the UMW rummage sale to the church any time.  Items can be placed in the choir room.  The sale is scheduled for July 9^th & 10^th.  You can help support the UMW, which supports many areas of the life of this congregation, by donated merchandise to sell, helping to set up for the sale (the week prior) and by shopping at the sale and encouraging your friends to do the same!  This is one on two major fundraisers the UMW does that allows us to support many local and international mission causes as well as many areas of our own church and it’s local mission.

Speaking of fund raising, we have a great opportunity coming up this summer!  The following message tells how you can help.

Our fund-raising committee has signed up to serve ice cream and brownies at Art in the Park on Saturday, Aug. 14. We had hoped to sell our delicious desserts at Go 4th, but vendors from last year’s event got first priority and we didn’t quite make the cut.

The Aug. 15 event is new and will give us a chance to test our food vending skills prior to the Hilander Festival in September, where we are also signed up. The art event is sponsored by the Columbian Artists Association and the Longview Parks & Recreation Dept. — they are looking for fine-art and fine-crafts artists for the juried event.  It will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lake Sacajawea Park.

We need volunteers to help — Crews that will spend a few hours selling or scooping ice cream, baking brownies or helping to set up or take down our booth.

Our fund-raising functions this year are an important part of our budgeting efforts and our ministry. Please check your calendars — we will have sign-up sheets at the church beginning next Sunday.

Thanks,

Margaret Vockrodt and the Fund-raising committee

I have great news!  The summer campfire services are beginning next Sunday, June 29^th!!  If you came to these events at all the last two summers you won’t want to miss it this year!  If you didn’t come before, you still should not miss this!  It’s great fun and a wonderful way to have fun, fellowship and worship in a very informal setting.  We’ll meet at 5:30 at the outdoor worship area just west of the church building.  We’ll roast hot dogs and eat and then begin an informal worship service with lots of singing accompanied by Pastor Jerry’s guitar.  It’s a wonderful way to enrich your spiritual life and a good opportunity to invite others, especially those who might not be as comfortable in the more traditional worship setting.  The campfire services will be held every-other Sunday evening through July and August. 

Newsletter articles are due to the church office by Wednesday.  Anyone who has information they would like to share is welcome to submit an article.  The preferred way to receive articles is by email but can also be presented in writing to the office.

This weeks schedule: 

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet at 10:00 am.
• Quilt and sew group meets at 1:00 pm.

Wednesday:

• Choir practice is at 6:30 pm.

Thursday

• United Methodist Women meet at 10:30 am for their regular monthly meeting.  In case you didn’t hear yesterday, the Spring Tea has had to be postponed. 
• Trustees monthly meeting is at 7:00 pm.

Remember that the Auction will be held Friday May 14^th!  Several people have indicated that they will donate items to be auctioned.  Keep them coming!  Be sure to mark your calendars to come at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and silent auction, followed by a live auction.  Bring your friends, neighbors, anyone you can think of.  This is a great chance for people to get some wonderful deals.  We should be sending out a list of items as soon as it is available.

The funeral service will be tomorrow, Tuesday April 20^th , 2:00 pm. at Columbia Funeral Service.  There will be a reception for friends and family at the church following the service. 

Due to the funeral, the Edith Allen Circle meeting will be rescheduled and the Quilt and Sew group will not meet.

This weeks schedule:

Monday

• Mission Team meets at 6:00 pm in the church library.
• Church Council meets at 6:45 pm in meeting room 1.

Tuesday

• The Ocean Park Site Advisory Team meets at 7:00 pm in meeting room 1

Wednesday

• NEWSLETTER ARTICLES DUE AT THE CHURCH OFFICE!!  Must be received by 7:00 pm on Wednesday.
• Choir practice at 6:30 pm in the sanctuary

Saturday

• The Second Annual Medieval dinner begins in Wesley Hall at 4:00 pm.  If you attended last year, you’ll know it is a 5 course meal!  The food just keeps coming!  There will be an intermission from eating to enjoy some of the arts and crafts recreated in SCA.  If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, contact Margaret @ 431-8307 to reserve your space.  If you attended this event last year, you know you don’t want to miss it – if you weren’t here last year, be sure to come this time so you know what all the excitement is about!  And remember, the profits fund the Christian Education program for the year!

Next Sunday

• Potluck lunch after worship.  Last Sunday of April already!
• Beginning next Sunday at 6:00 pm. – a new adult study.  “Uppity Women of the Bible”.  The first session is on the book of Judith, which can be found in The Apocrypha.  If you don’t have access to it, Jerry says it can be accessed on line.  It would be best if you read the book before coming to the first class.  There are 6 sessions to the study, which will have us finishing by the end of May if we don’t miss any Sundays.  The study will be held in our home, 2673 – 42^nd Ave.  It is a video study.  We’ll watch a brief video and discuss it using the questions provided.  You can get the study guide for the series on line:  www.uppitywomenofthebible.com  Go to Volume 4:  Judith, and you can print just the study questions or more if you want to.  All are welcome!  We have space that can be easily arranged to accommodate the group.  Any of you who have done any of the Living the Questions studies know that they are of excellent quality. 

COMING SOON!  The United Methodist Women’s Spring Tea!  This year it will be held May 8^th, which is the day before Mother’s Day.  It will be a great treat for Mother’s and/or daughters!  This is a catered luncheon tea held at the church.  It begins at 11:30 a.m.  Watch for the fliers around the church.  Tickets are $12.50 and will be available next week.

This weeks schedule:

Monday meetings

• Worship team meets at 6:00 p.m. in the church library
• PFLAG meets at 7:00 p.m. in Wesley Hall
• SCA meets at 7:00 p.m. in the library and meeting room 1

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet at 10:00 a.m. in the church library.  As Dan Smith shared in worship yesterday, they can use more people with a heart for listening, welcoming and sharing and who are willing to write notes of encouragement, welcome, etc. as needed.  If this describes you, come by tomorrow or any Tuesday at 10:00 and check it out.

Wednesday

• Choir practice is from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.   

Friday

• Our United Methodist Women have been invited to a salad luncheon at Rainier UMC.  This is an annual event hosted by their UMW and it always fun, worth while and delicious!  If you would like to attend, please contact Ann Ford right away so that she can RSVP with how many will attend from our church.   We’ll meet at our church at 10:00 a.m. to carpool to Rainier.

Have you purchased your tickets for the Medieval Feast?  If you haven’t already done so, you should do it soon.  There is a limit to how many our fellowship hall will hold!  If you attended last year you know it will be a feast like no other!  If you didn’t attend last year, you definitely don’t want to miss it this year!  Tickets will be available after worship next Sunday or you can contact Pastor Jerry to reserve yours.

We are offering a new Bible study opportunity that I think will interest a lot of you.  This is a brand new study that just became available from the Regional Media Center at our Conference office.  The series is  “Uppity Women of the Bible”.  It is the latest in the “Living the Questions” series with which many of us are familiar.  This study differs from the others we have done in that there is just one presenter.  The title alone caught my attention.  Here is the description of the series and a biography of the presenter.

This series by Dr. Lisa M. Wolfe explores the stories of strong, confident, amazing Biblical women who stepped out of the conventional roles for women of their days and earned respect and a lasting place in Biblical History. The series includes DVDs on Ruth, Esther, Judith (apocrypha/Roman Catholic Canon) and the book titled Song of Songs (aka Song of Solomon).

Dr. Wolfe earned her PH.D. in Hebrew Bible from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University’s joint program in Religion and Theological Studies. Dr. Wolfe is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and currently works as an Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Oklahoma City University.

We will offer the study at our home on Sunday evenings beginning April 25^th.  The first study will be on Judith, which is a book in the Apocrypha but not in our standard Bibles.  There are 6 sessions so we can conclude the last Sunday of May.  Here is the description of the “Judith” study.

This fascinating video examines the story of a woman who took things into her own hands–including the head of a brutal warrior chief. Dr. Lisa Wolfe takes you on a tour of the Book of Judith, posing provocative questions along the way. Judith, from the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Old testament, reads like a historical novel rife with warfare, lust, espionage, and intrigue. Told in six sessions which take you from a mythological battlefield and a besieged city into the studio and psyche of the Baroque painter Artemesia Gentileschi, Dr. Wolfes’ style is a refreshing balance of careful scholarship and a genuine love for the story of this amazing woman.

If the series proves as interesting as it looks, we can begin one of the other three studies next fall.  The other studies are Ruth, Song of Songs (Solomon) and Esther.  Please let me know by email or by phone if you would like to attend.  The class will be at our home:  2673 42^nd Ave., will begin at 6:00 p.m. and last until about 8:00.  I hope you will want to join us!

Monday

• Social Justice team meets in the church library at 6:00 pm.
• Boy Scouts meet in the scout room at 6:30pm.

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet in the church library at 10:00 am.
• “Jesus of Nazareth” the study concludes this week.  They will meet at Christensen’s at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday

• Choir practice in the sanctuary at 6:30 pm.

Thursday

• United Methodist Women meet in the at 10:30 am.  ***Guest speaker will be David Freece from the Cowlitz County Museum.  All women of the church are welcome and encouraged to attend. 
• Seder meal begins at 6:30 p.m.  All are welcome – please come
• Trustees will meet briefly following the Seder meal.

Friday

• Good Friday service begins at 7:00 p.m.  There will be special music by the choir.

Sunday

• Easter brunch provided as a fundraiser by the Worship committee:  free will donation.  It will be a lovely Easter breakfast.   What a great way to start the Easter celebration!
• Easter worship will be beautiful and meaningful!  The choir will sing and the celebration will be joyous! 

In case you missed the announcement yesterday, Easter lilies will be provided by the Worship Committee next Sunday.  If you would like to purchase a lily and have it in honor or in memory of someone special, contact Pastor Jerry of chair of the worship committee, Margaret Vockrodt.  The cost is $10.00 each and you may take them home after the service.

We had a beautiful Palm Sunday worship service yesterday, making the beginning of Holy Week.  This is one of the busiest and most meaningful times of the Christian year.  We have special services this week:  Maundy Thursday when we will participate in a Seder meal, similar to the meal Jesus shared with the disciples, Good Friday, commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion and finally Easter Sunday, celebrating Jesus’ triumphant resurrection!   

Many joys and concerns were raised during yesterday’s worship service.  I’ll attempt to recount them for those of you who weren’t there or who could use a reminder.

Prayer concerns

• Thelma and her family
• Eileen’s Dad who will begin radiation treatment for cancer
• Roger Pedersen, hospitalized for a couple of days last week and now recovering at home
• Strength and clarity for all people who suffer from addiction
• Peggy, recovering from cataract surgery and preparing for surgery on the other eye

Thanks and praise

•  Paul and Ann in worship after Paul’s hip replacement
•  For all the gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender people connected to this congregation
• The parsonage is rented!

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet in the church library at 10:00 am
• Quilt & Sew group meets in the large meeting room at 1:00 pm
• “Language of God” study group meets at the church at 6:30 pm

Wednesday

• Choir practice in the sanctuary at 6:30 p.m.  Robert was in the office earlier this morning and told me he has chosen some special Easter music.  He attended a workshop last weekend where he got some good inspiration and ideas!  I’m excited to see the music.  This would be a great time to join the choir!  New voices are always welcome!

Thursday

• United Methodist Women meet at 10:30 a.m. (Officers meet at 10:00 – membership at 10:30).  The UMW will be presenting the worship service next Sunday and will finalize plans at this meeting.   Bring your own lunch & stay & visit after the meeting!
• Trustees meet at the church at 7:00 pm

Some of the prayer concerns that were shared in worship yesterday:

• Cynda Webb’s sister Sharon is in the hospital and may be undergoing surgery soon.
• Joy Westervelt had surgery last week.  She was expected to be released from the hospital yesterday.
• Thelma Meyers is still having a lot of pain and in unable to attend worship service. 
• Bob Martinson experienced a lot of unexplained bruising while they are in Hawaii.  He spend a couple of days in the hospital there being treated for extremely low blood platelet count.  His counts are up after receiving medication and he is relaxing the last few days of their time in Hawaii.  They are returning later this week, when he will be seeing his doctor.

Please keep these people in your prayers during the week.

One more reminder about the church directory:  I am preparing a revision and would like your input on what information you would like published.  If I have not already checked with you, please let me know if your current listing is correct and the way you want it to read. 

Next Sunday the United Methodist Women will be leading the worship service.  It is Blankets + Sunday and that will be the focus for the service.  You won’t want to miss it!

Monday 

• Social Justice team meeting at the church at  6:00 pm

Tuesday           

• Active Listeners in the library at 10:00 am                                                                           
• Quilt & sew in the large class room at 1:00 pm                                                                
• Children’s Christmas Choir at church  5:30 pm

Wednesday      

• First Light study in the library at  10:00 am
• Choir practice in the sanctuary at 6:30 pm

Thursday          

• UMW will meet at the church at 10:30 am    Xmas bow making lesson & cookie exchange.  All ladies of tare welcome to attend.  For the cookie exchange, bring the number of cookyou would like to take home.  It’ll be a fun time!  A brief business meeting will  follow.  Bring a sack lunch.                                                         

Saturday          

• “Race to Reach Out”  The following is the information that came in the District Office
                                                                                                            
  Please join us on December 5 at Vancouver First United Methodist Church for The Race to Reach Out. This exciting seminar, designed and led by Doug Anderson of the Bishop Rueben Job Center for Leadership Development, assists pastors and lay teams to understand the unique and important ministry of hospitality and assimilation of newcomers, to help newcomers experience a life transforming encounter with Jesus Christ.As Lyle Schaller shared, “Systems produce what they are designed to produce.” So learn how to design an assimilation system that produces disciples, and not inactive members.
   
  Participants will learn practical skills, strategies, and models for the essential ministry of connecting people to the church and to Christ in the race to reach out! Bring a team of several persons because this ministry takes a dedicated, motivated team to do it well.
   
  Childcare will be provided for children Kindergarten age and younger. Childcare only available for requests made by Monday, November 30.  Please bring a labeled sack lunch for your child.For additional information and registration, please click here

 Choir director Robert Mumford announced yesterday that there will be children’s cantata during the worship service December 13^th.  This is for kids from pre-school age through elementary.  There will be rehearsals Tuesday s at 5:30 p.m.  If you have children/grandchildren/neighbors/friends – whatever – please encourage them to come.  It’s not a long-term commitment.  There is tomorrow, December 1^st and the following Tuesday and the next Sunday will be the performance.  It’s always great to have the children perform, especially at Christmas!  Special thanks to Robert for being willing to put this together.

Our great accompanist Phil has sent an invitation that I’ll pass along to you all.

 I’ll be singing in The Messiah this time.  There are two performances: 

            December 12th @ 7:30pm   (Saturday Night) 

            December 13th @ 3:00pm   (Sunday Afternoon) 

 This takes place @ The Longview Community Church.  There is a freewill offering.

The Community House item for December is canned green beans.  Large cans are preferable, but Community House will accept and be thankful for any size.

• Worship committee meets at the church 6:00 p.m.
• S.P.R.C. meets at the church 7:00 p .m.

Tuesday

• Active Listeners meet at the church 10:00 a.m.
• Bazaar set up begins in the fellowship hall 10:00 a.m.
• Quilt & Sew (bring your project & join us!) 1:00 p.m.
•  First Light study at Christensen’s 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday

• First Light study at the church 10:00 a.m.
• Bazaar set up continues in fellowship hall 10:00 a.m.
•  Choir practice (starting work of Christmas music) 6:30 p.m.

Thursday

• UMW meeting 10:30 a.m.
• Trustees meeting 7:00 p.m.

Friday

•  Bazaar set up 10:00 a.m.

Saturday

•  Bazaar 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

“Our Passion for Justice” is coming up soon, November 14th. Ann Ford will have the sign up sheet next Sunday. It will be a wonderful day devoted to learning about the effects of poverty on Children. Our Bishop Hagiya will be here in our very own church! Cost of the event is $12.00 per person and includes lunch. I know you are hearing a lot about this, but it is really going to be a special event and I hope you will all plan to attend. If registration cost is a problem for you, speak to Pastor Jerry.

As most of you will already know, Pastor Jerry is on the sick list. He has been hit hard by the flu bug and is resting at home. I hear he hopes to be ready to lead the Wednesday morning study. Please pray for Jerry to return to good health and for his family to stay well.

More thanks to Ann Ford for being willing and able to step in at the last moment and lead the service and deliver a beautiful sermon on such short notice. 

A very special prayer request was shared in worship yesterday and has gone out on our prayer chain. One of our church families has asked me to share this email. It says so much about the power of prayer! Here are their words: Please put Chris on our prayer request email. Our prayers have been answered and Chris is in a rehab clinic in. He hit bottom and asked for help. He will be there 90 days. Chris needs mentors from our gay community. If people could write notes of encouragement and such it would be wonderful. We plan to visit Chris tomorrow after church, he can have visitors from 1-5 on Sundays. He would love notes from all our members but especially our gay members.  I know the prayers people in our church prayed when Cindy talked at our church two weeks ago helped make this all happen! God is so good! Love Janie I know it is very important that Chris hears from people in the gay community of our church, but I think he should know that all of us value him as a beloved child of God. He needs to know that we all are happy he is getting help, so please consider sending a note or card.  Sharon has his address in the church office.

Monday

• Church Council meets in the fellowship hall  at 7:00 pm.  If you are on the council (chair a team or committee) you are expected to attend.  Anyone interested in the life of this church is welcome and encouraged to attend these monthly meetings.

Tuesday

• Active Listners meets at 10:00 am
• “First Light” study meets at the Christensen’s at 7:00 pm

Wednesday

• “First Light” study meets at the church at 10:00 am
• Our UMW are invited to attend brunch and hear a guest speaker at the Kelso UMC.  Let Ann Ford know if you can attend.
• Choir practice in the sanctuary at 6:30 pm

Saturday

• The Vancouver District will hold their annual meeting at Salmon Creek UMC