Aldersgate United Methodist Church
Grace Happens                                                                                                                          June 18, 2009 

This Sunday's Message: "A Heart for God"
Jean Harris, lay speaker, Preaching 

Join us this Sunday as Jean shares ~

~the characteristics of a true heart for God and practices and qualities to enhance this relationship.  

Read 1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49 & Mark 4:35-41.

 Annual Conference begins this Thursday at UPS.

Bishop Hagiya will convene the 2009 Annual Conference celebrating the core values of Visioning, Inspiration, Celebration & Fun! 

Help AUMC Address Homelessness!
Come to the ALC Meeting on Tuesday, June 23rd, or contact Stacy Chilberg 

A generous donation has been given to AUMC to address Homelessness in our community. Please help the ALC determine how to best appropriate this donation as well as determine how our church can use our talents to serve those who are homeless. There are three ways you can help:

• Come to the next ALC meeting at 8:00 pm THIS Tuesday, June 23rd in Friendship Hall. The meeting focus will be:
  o   St. Andrew's Housing will be providing a presentation about their organization;
  o   Background for the financial donation and the ALC discussions that have already taken place will be reviewed;
  o   Those interested in addressing homelessness can be part of a Mission Action Team to reach our goals for this donation.

• Call or email Stacy Chilberg if you cannot attend the meeting but are interested in being on the MAT: 425-746-0264 or stacych@comcast.net;

• Email or write Stacy Chilberg if you have any input to provide but cannot volunteer at this time: 5672 171st Avenue, SE; Bellevue, WA, 98006.

Nathan Young joins our worship team!
 

This week, Nathan Young was hired to lead our 9 a.m. Blue Jean service.  Nathan has been playing music and leading worship all his life.  He says, "For years I have been involved and had employment in the ministry of Jesus Christ through the church, but thought my calling was outside the church.  This past year, my heart has been pulled and I feel my calling is ministry.  My passion has always been music and the arts, and there is no more powerful place for my gifts to coalesce than in worship."

He has served and directed many church music teams of varying sizes and styles, and feels comfortable in any setting.  "I have a love for modern instrumental arranging, as well as a band lead guitar driven musical experience."

Some of the positions Nathan has held previously:

Music Director, Capital Playhouse

Pianist/organist & worship Leader, Sammamish Presbyterian Church

Creative Services Director, Presbytery of Olympia, managing web, print and visual communications (current posiiton part-time)

Temporary Director of evening worship at University Presbyterian Church, Seattle.

Nathan's first Sunday with us will be July 5th! 

Come and welcome him!

Susie and Ben's Celebration of Service
Sunday, June 28th at Both Services

Taco Bar Lunch Following 2nd Service

From 2004-2007, Susie and Benjamin Barr-Wilson were actively involved at Aldersgate UMC. Susie served as the Youth and Family Ministries Coordinator and Ben played in the Praise Band and assisted with youth group events. In July 2007, Susie and Ben left home to answer a calling to serve with the United States Peace Corps for two years in rural South Africa. Their service was conducted in the village of Mokuruanyane, located in the Waterberg District of the Limpopo Region, just south of Botswana.

Susie served as a Young Women's Empowerment Program Coordinator under the Peace Corps's Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Project. Her primary project took place at Abbotspoort Higher Primary School, where she worked with women educators to create and implement Chrysalis Girls Club, a comprehensive after-school young women's empowerment program for grade 7 girls that emphasizes women's health and HIV/AIDS prevention. Susie's Peace Corps service also included empowerment programs for girls in grades 8-10, organizing a celebration for National Women's Day, and assisting Abbotspoort Home and Community Based Care in computer training and developing children's activities.

Benjamin served as a School and Community Resource Project volunteer. He used his prior experience as a secondary physics and math instructor to work with South African educators in the village to implement year-long and daily scope and sequence planning, promote and teach effective classroom management techniques and instruct grade 12 learners in math and science. He also acted as the village tech, repairing computers, setting up and maintaining labs, and teaching a seven week computer literacy course.In the end, Benjamin worked to serve South Africans through the United States Peace Corps in the manner expressed in the following quotation by Lao Tsu (China, 700 B C.): "Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know.  Build with what they have. But with the best leaders when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, 'We have done this ourselves.'"

Thank you Meghan

Meghan Bondor will be leaving Aldersgate as our youth director effective Tuesday, June 16th. We wish Meghan great success in her future endeavors.  We greatly appreciate her dedicated service and devotion to our youth at Aldersgate!

Staff-Parish will begin the search for a replacement as soon as possible.  Pastor Rody will be calling together a concerned group of parents and youth in the next few weeks to talk about the future of our youth ministry and begin to plan for new leadership.

If you have an interest in this or in volunteering to organize some summer activities for the youth in the interim, see Pastor Rody.

Staff-Parish Relations Committee

Ginny Truscott, chair.

The New Church Directory
Online Now! 

The new church directory will be posted to the church's website: www.aumcgrace.org soon!  Until then, the direct link to the directory is http://directory.instantchurchdirectory.com/73858014/churchdirectory.pdf. 
 
If you do not have computer access, and need a print out of the directory, see Kelli in the church office.
 
A password is required in order to view the directory.  The password is beloved.
 
If your information changes, or you are not in the directory but would like to be, email aldersgate3@juno.com. 

Summer Children's Sunday School
Began Last Sunday 

Summer Children's Sunday School will be offered for children in preschool to first grade during the 10:45 service.  Starting on June 14th and running throughout the summer we are offering story, craft, songs, snack and play in a loving Christian environment.  Older children are welcome to stay in service with their parents. 

Receive Your Quarterly Donation Reports By Email
Email Dave Sanford 

In the interest of saving postage costs, Aldersgate can now distribute your quarterly donation report to you via e-mail. 
 
If this is something you can participate in, please send an email note to Dave Sanford from the email account you want toreceive the report, and include the phrase "Aldersgate donations" in the subject. 
 
Dave's email address is dtsanford@comcast.net.

All Church Retreat

September 18-20, 2009 

A. W. E.~ Awaking to Wonder Everywhere

 Visit Volunteer Park NOW!!!!

On my day off this week I visited the Conservatory at Volunteer Park and was knocked out by the beauty there.  Everything from cacti to orchid was in bloom~ and the blooms were astonishing each in their own way.  It would do a heart good just to take in such lavish glory!

Bruce Sanguin, tells of theologian priest, Matthew Fox who has developed a new ritual he calls the "Cosmic Mass."  This Mass begins with a prolonged period during which participants experience and express awe through images, movement and music.  Sanguin says, "I think Fox gets it right.  Ritual needs to begin with people sharing awe and wonder.  It is the way of the child who recognizes each and every creature as a mirror of God that glistens and glitters (Hildegard of Bingen).  Fox says we should fall in love at least three times a day with something like a galaxy, a tree, a cat or a song."  ~from Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos.

God of unchangeable power,

when you fashioned the world the morning stars sang together,

and the host of heaven shouted for joy;

open our eyes to the wonders of creation and teach us to use all things for good,

to the honor of your glorious name;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.   The Angelican Church in Aotearoa & New Zealand

Practice a little A.W.E. this week.     Pastor Rody