10:20am – Children Age 3 – Youth (up to Grade 12) are invited to gather in the Narthex of the Sanctuary to prepare for processing with Palm Branches to the altar rail, reliving Jesus’ triumphal entry;

11:30am – Join us for the Berean Sunday School Class Spaghetti Lunch in Fellowship Hall.  Get your tickets Sunday:

• $7 / Adult (Grade 7 and Up)
• $4 / Child (Grade 6 and Under)
• $25 MAX / Family
• Bring a friend, and your friend eats free
  (thanks to the Evangelism Committee)
  

During Lunch – Children & Youth (Grade 4 and up) are invited to help hide Easter Eggs!

Following Lunch – Children (Toddlers – Grade 3) are invited to take part in the Easter Egg Hunt (please, bring your Easter Basket).  Each child will receive an Easter Gift for participating, and we anticipate a special guest!

Here is the procedure for purchasing a kneeler.  The kneelers will be on display at FUMC before and after church on the 21st and 28th of March.  They will be in the Kay Classroom, by the main office, beginning at 9am.   After you have seen the kneelers, if you are interested in further information about purchase, please contact Ann Clarkson at 322-0753 for a price list.

Currently, John Laine, of the Texas Ramp Project, said there are over 20 ramps that need to be built in our area now (and that is without doing much publicity).  We plan to try to build at least a ramp per month, and hopefully at some point we can get a warehouse to be able to pre-build and store components which will allow more people to participate and make the actual build go faster.

Contact Rev. Sims if you’d like to participate in helping with any aspects of this project!

Click the strip below to see pictures!

Join the monthly study group known as the 3rd Thursday St. Simeon Group to learn some of the history behind the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament from which our English translations come.  Would you believe there are more differences between the thousands of manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament?  Do these differences matter?  Come to one of these classes and lets discuss it!

Details:

• Day / Time:
  3rd Thursday of the Month, beginning April 15, 2010
  7:00-9:00pm
• Book Cost:  $11
  (must receive payment before we will order the book)

Register NOW below!

Click the image to view The First Word:

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• Special Music by Macy Bretschneider and Denise Koncelik
• Offertory by the Asbury Ringers and a Vocal Ensemble
• Rev. Lydia Pellikan’s Children’s Sermon about the faith of a mustard seed
• Rev. Paul Goodrich’s sermon based upon John 12:1-8.

Real Audio
Real Video (High Speed Connection Required)

In preparation for our discussion:

What are your initial thoughts about these hot topics?

Why do you feel that way?

Have your opinions changed over the years concerning these topics?  If so, how and why?

Are these topics related at all?  Why or why not?

What, if anything, does the Bible say about these topics?

What the UMC Thinks About . . . Death Penalty, Abortion, Fertility & Infertility

Here is a brief summation for each of these topics:

Death Penalty:

The UMC is against it.  Why?  Because, in its finality, it “denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings” (The Book of Discipline of the UMC:  2008, ¶ 164).  As I like to say, the death penalty says that God’s grace is amazing enough to save a wretch like me, but not that poor sap in prison.

Many, of course, will quote the Hebrew Scriptures (aka the Old Testament to Christians) saying, “The Bible says, ‘an eye for an eye,’ so capital punishment is okay.”  Yet, as I once heard a theologian say, “When the Bible and Jesus disagree, Jesus trumps the Bible.”  That applies here.  Take a moment to read Matthew 5:38-42.  Jesus quotes that same passage but follows it with, “BUT I say to you . . . turn the other cheek.”  Of course, properly interpreted, that does not mean that they get off scott free, but it also does not mean we get to act in like manner to the perpetrator.  Jesus is calling us to a higher standard. Likewise, Romans 12:9-21 also reminds us that it is God’s job to avenge, not ours.

Plus, knowing that we are called to the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:16-21), the UMC recommends restorative justice, which

grows out of biblical authority, which emphasizes a right relationship with God, self, and community. When such relationships are violated or broken through crime, opportunities are created to make things right. . . .  Through God’s transforming power, restorative justice seeks to repair the damage, right the wrong, and bring healing to all involved, including the victim, the offender, the families, and the community. The Church is transformed when it responds to the claims of discipleship by becoming an agent of healing and systemic change.  (The Book of Discipline of the UMC:  2008, ¶ 164)

Abortion:

The UMC, being “bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child,” “cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection”  (The Book of Discipline of the UMC:  2008, ¶ 161).  Likewise, unless the mother’s life is in danger with no viable alternative or there are severe abnormalities with the unborn child, which would be incompatible with meaningful life, the church opposes partial birth abortions.

Yet, the church feels it is important to be in ministry to women who have had an abortion, helping them cope with the stress following the procedure.  In addition, the UMC desires to provide ministries that might prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as working with agencies to help provide viable alternatives to abortion – especially adoption.

Fertility / Infertility:

Article 8003 of The Book of Resolutions of the UMC:  2008 states:

A human embryo, even at its earliest stages, commands our reverence and makes a serious moral claim on us, although not a claim identical to that of a more developed human life. For this reason we should not create embryos with the intention of destroying them, as in the creation of embryos for research purposes. Neither should we, even for reproductive purposes, produce more embryos than we can expect to introduce into the womb in the hope of implantation.

Thus, the UMC is in support of providing means for couples to have children so long as the means are not abused, creating more embryos than are needed.

Questions:

How do you respond to the summaries above?  Where does your response come from?  How do you support it?

What other options might we have to the difficult decisions discussed above?