CROSS CURRENTS

PRESCOTT VALLEY UNITED METHODIST

CROSS CURRENTS MAY 2019

HE HAS RISEN!!! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!! We have traveled to the cross. We have stum-bled, we have fallen, we have cried. But, we have gotten back up and made it all the way

to the cross, to the grave, to the empty tomb and to a new day of redemption, forgiveness for our sins and a permanent residence with Jesus in heaven. How was your journey this year? Was it hard? Was easy? Did you take time to reflect on where you are in your journey with Christ? Me? I had one of the best season’s of lent in a long time. I had time to share what I was “giving up” for lent. I had the opportunity to let it fall along the way side. I spent more time examin-ing where I have been and where I am and where I hope to go with Jesus. I came up short on so many levels. But the tomb was empty!!! Christ has risen and so have I!!! I have risen above doubt. I have risen above trials. I have risen above failures. I have risen beyond sin because Jesus has risen above it all...and he did it for ME!!! He did it for YOU!!! He did it for ALL!!!! By the time you are reading this there will have been an announcement that I have been assigned to Mes-quite UMC in Mesquite, Nevada. I will share more with you throughout this month and we will have conversa-tions. We will have hugs. We will have laughs. We will share memories and yes, we will share lots of tears. Right now it may feel like a dark night that will last for a very long time. It won’t. Just as Jesus went from the darkness of the tomb to the bright shining Easter, so you and I will go from this that feels like darkness to a bright and wonderful future as we continue on our journey with Christ together and apart. Much love and peace be with you, Pastor Wendy

MOTHER"S DAY - A BRIEF HISTORY Celebrations of mothers & motherhood date as far back as the ancient Greeks & Romans, who held festivals of the mother goddesses, Rhea & Cybele. But the roots of present-day celebrations in Ameri-ca date back to the 19th century. Ann Reeves Jar-vis of West Virginia helped in initiating "Mothers' Day Clubs" in an effort to teach local women in the proper care of their children. Such clubs became a unifying force in a region of the country still divid-ed by Civil War (1861-65). In 1868 Jarvis organized "Mothers' Friendship Day, at which mothers would join with former Union & Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation. Yet another precursor to Mother's Day came in 1870, when Julia Ward Howe, and abolitionist & suffragette, penned the "Mother's Day Proclama-tion", a call-to-action, asking mothers to unite & organize in promoting world peace. Some three years later, in 1873, Howe campaigned for a "Mothers' Peace Day" to be celebrated every June 2nd. But, the official Mother's Day holiday took root in the 1900s, as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. As a tribute to her mother, who died in 1905, she conceived of Mother's Day as being a way of honoring the sacri-fices that mothers had made for their children. Hav-ing obtained financial backing from Philadelphia

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Annual Church Picnic – June 9, 2019 We’ll meet at Mountain Valley Park on Loos Drive right after church. There will be sign-up sheets in the Narthex – we need to know how many will be coming…so, Charlie the Chicken can order enough chicken for everyone ! This has always been a great time of fellowship and good food….so, please, come and enjoy. Water and the chicken is provided by the church – and, we ask that you sign up to bring salads, other side dishes, and desserts. There are cement tables and benches, but you may bring your own fold-up chairs if you pre-fer. We are renting the large, covered Ramada area – which has level access from the parking lot.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please use this list to update your cal-endars. You wouldn’t want to miss anything – would you? May 19 – After church Potluck luncheon (sing-up sheets in Narthex) June 9 – Annual Church Picnic (after church) @ Mountain Valley Park Ramada July 20 – Christmas in July Arts/Crafts Faire August 6 – National Night Out (neighborhood get-together here) Your Event Team is always open to your suggestions for other activities/events….so, please do help if you have any ideas. Thanks, Carolyn Stock, Chairperson

Handmade Crafts Needed The church will have a table at the upcoming ‘Christmas in July’ Arts & Crafts Faire, where we’ll be selling handmade crafts. Do you have a special craft that you can share? All items must be handmade, not from a retail store. We are always excited and surprised by the crafts that our church members are mak-ing….and, we would appreciate donations of anything that we could display and sell. The event is Saturday, July 20, 2019, so we would appreciate having your items by July 13th. Thank you, in advance, for your help with this sale. The Event Team

CHURCH FINANCE UPDATE

General Fund Offering received through March 31, 2019—$32,089 Budgeted—$26,700 Total Income received through March 31, 2019—$36,147 Budgeted—$28,676 Total Actual Expenses through March 31, 2019—$35,651 Budgeted—$42,108 Your Finance Team

To submit an article for the Cross Currents Newsletter please send via email to pvumcnews@outlook.com or leave in the Newsletter mail slot at the church office.

May Gloria Riley—3rd Jon Braemer—3rd Vern Huebner—6th Liesl LaDuke—8th Gretchen Eastman—10th Linda Charles—19th Margie Krcmarik—20th Larry Wilson—23rd Sammy Badger—28th Nancy Kinsel—28th

June Helen Green—2nd Robert Chavira—7th Dick DeVault—16th Vern McGill—20th Jerry Cotner—24th

May

Steven & SallyJane Wyatt—1st Dave & Lu Statler—20th James & Marianne Totman—22nd John & Becky Dragomanovich—25th Archie & Nancy Kinsel—29th

June Kelly & Beth Sockwell—2nd Dick & Jackie Lavigne—2nd Rev. Gary & Shelda Simons—3rd Med & Anita Wulf—4th Jack & Carolyn Stock—11th Darrel & Yvonne English—12th Al & Jan Baker—15th Larry & Sally Wilson—16th John & Bonnie Arricale—21st

Hi everyone,

Your little church mouse from my

little corner, May is here !! Spring has sprung ! Isn’t it wonderful to watch the spring flowers blooming? Of course, this is the time of year that my ‘cousins’ from the valley decide to leave the heat and visit me. So, if you see a few more of us around for a few months – don’t worry. They love the Sunday worship as much as I do… Don’t forget to invite us if you have any special events…like pot-lucks ! Methodist potlucks are the BEST. Sooo, happy Spring – God Bless You, Your little mouse in the corner….

Bob Swanson and Pastor Wendy enjoyed a few days of fishing relaxation in Flag-staff.

SENIOR CONNECTION These educational, non-sales presentations are given by local experts in our community. They are free and open to the public. Five

weeks of interesting presentations by Senior Connection are listed below for the month of May.

May 3, Thursday, Noon-1 pm “Love It, Fix It, or Leave It—Is Your Home Senior Friendly?” By Bonny Lepore, My Home Group At Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Prescott

May 9, Thursday, Noon-1 pm “Anxiety—What It Is and What You Can Do To Con-trol It” By Chris Knack, Home Care Assistance At Las Fuentes Resort Village

May 16, Thursday, Noon-1 pm “Preparing for Joint Replacement Surgery Before, Dur-ing & After” By Bill McMann, Mt. Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hos-pital At Prescott Valley Christian Church

May 23, Thursday, Noon-1 pm “Effects of Aging, Illness & Medication on Oral Health” By Dr. Jason Campbell, Pro Solutions Family Dentistry At American Lutheran Church, Prescott

May 30, Thursday, Noon-1 pm “Alzheimer's—Signs, Symptoms & Support Along the Way” By Alzheimer's Association At Las Fuentes Resort Village A FREE Stroke Awareness Fair will be Saturday, May 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. At Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital. There will be stroke risk assess-ments, dietary education, pharmacy consultations, bal-ance testing and information from more than 20 commu-nity resources. Guest Speaker Presentations will be: 9:30-10:30 “Keeping Your Brain Sharp” by Chris Knack 11:00-12:00 “Act FAST! Know the Signs & Symptoms of Stroke” 12:30-1:30 Free Lunch and Learn (reservation re-quired) “Holistic Support for Stroke Prevention” Call Karen Russell at 602-540-5310 at make reservation

Shown are teacher, Bryan Tubera, Lion Gloria Grose and student, Madison Garfield who was honored as Student of the Month at the Prescott Valley Early Bird Lions Club. Madison attends Bradshaw Moun-tain Middle School which is the PVUMC Adopted School.

The Missions for the month of May is Members Choice. The Missions that you have previously donated to are: Hungry Kids Project, Out-

reach/Interfaith Brunch, Kairos Outside of Northern Arizona, Stepping Stones, CASA, UMCOR, Undie Sunday, and, Yavapai Food Bank. February and March 2019 Yavapai Food Bank donation was 77 pounds of food. The Mission Team thanks everyone who has donat-ed to the Missions of the church.

ADOPT A SCHOOL PROGRAM

Mary’s Circle gave gift cards to the Bradshaw Mountain Middle School kitchen staff for getting another Golden Plate Award. We were toing to buy them from Culvers, but, they gave us eight food coupons and eight ice cream sundae cards. Hooray to Culver’s and Bradshaw Mountain Middle School for their great work. Mary’s Circle

April 27, 2019 Dear Members and Friends of the Desert Southwest Conference, In these days following the resurrection of Jesus, I greet you in the name of the Risen One. Many have been waiting and wondering in prayer as the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church has been meeting to determine the constitutionality of the legislation that was passed at General Conference 2019. We give thanks for the difficult work completed by members of the Judicial Council and for the way they faithfully engage in their work. Yesterday, the Judicial Council announced their ruling. In their decision, they determined that some of the petitions of the Traditional Plan were constitutional while others were ruled unconstitutional, and a petition related to a plan for churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church was ruled constitutional. Those petitions ruled con-stitutional will go into effect on January 1, 2020 in the United States. In Africa, Europe, and the Philippines they take effect twelve months after the next General Conference. The petition on a gracious exit goes into effect immedi-ately. You may review the Judicial Council’s decisions at http://bit.ly/JCR1378 and at http://bit.ly/JCR1379. An explanation of both rulings is at http://bit.ly/UMNSApr26.

This news is being received with joy by some and with deep despair by others. Clearly, we remain a deeply divided church about matters related to the inclusion of our LGBTQIA siblings in the church, the community, and the world. We are conflicted about how we hold each other accountable and how we move into the future, perhaps unit-ed and together or perhaps divided and apart. I am moved by many conversations I have had with persons of solid faith and character representing the whole theological spectrum who have shared that although we think different-ly, we can and should work together in unity of mission for the sake of our call by Jesus Christ. But from others I am also seeing and feeling the excitement and perhaps the inevitability of something new and exciting emerging from the rubble of The United Methodist Church. At this moment, no one knows what our future is going to be. There are many conversations taking place in differ-ent groups and among various leaders throughout the world. There are huge differences of thought separating those who favor stricter enforcement of what they understand to be a Biblical prohibition against LGBTQIA persons and those on the opposite side of the theological spectrum who find those enforcements to be punitive and thus em-brace a much wider interpretation of the Biblical mandate to love one another as Jesus loved us. And there are a great many whose thoughts about human sexuality and Biblical interpretation are somewhere in between those two poles. As I pondered this moment when we would receive the ruling of the Judicial Council, these words from a hymn I love came to mind: Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me, I will bring you home; I love you and you are mine. (“You Are Mine,” by David Haas. TFWS #2218) These words remind us that we are loved by God no matter who we are; and that we are called by God to follow Je-sus. Each of us has heard that call and felt that call in our hearts at some time in our lives. Without it, our “faith” would be dead, nothing more than the “creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 113:1, The Message). But most im-portant for us at this time is a strong and sure reminder that no matter where our journey leads us, God is with us and we are reassured not to fear the future or the changes that it brings. At this pivotal moment in our church’s life, I am strengthened by my baptismal vows taken when I was a teenager. I recall those vows as I commit to lead our Desert Southwest Conference in this time of change.

• I renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of my sin.

• I accept the freedom and power God gives me to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they

A LETTER FROM BISHOP HOSHIBATA

Continued on page 6

• I confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put my whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve Christ as my Lord, in un-

ion with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races. And moreover, as I dream of a church that is fully inclusive, loving all persons, regardless of any of the roadblocks oth-ers might create:

• I promise to continue to call us to live into our vision of being a courageous church, loving like Jesus, acting for jus-

tice, and united in hope.

• I pledge to uphold in my leading, the reminder to us to hold to these values: trust, compassion, relationship, au-

thenticity, boldness and collaboration.

• I pledge to continue to lead us in ways that reflect the vision of a One Church Plan. I believe in this because it hon-

ors the freedom that pastors have to officiate at same sex weddings as well as the freedom not to do so.

• I will support churches that refuse to allow same sex weddings on their campuses; and I will support churches that

are called to do so.

• I will uphold the quality of our inquiry into the gifts and graces of candidates for the ministry of making disciples of

Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world at the district and conference levels without intrusive inquiry into a

candidate’s sexual orientation.

• I will lead in ways that encourage all to create spaces that practice open minds, open hearts and open doors.

• I will lead in ways that honor the gift of being fully oneself as we serve as laity or clergy.

• I will continue my strong commitment that disputes related to sexual orientation or gender orientation or about of-

ficiating at same sex weddings will not be resolved through church trials if at all possible. I will work so resolution to

these matters may truly come when we live fully into relationship with one another and with God.

• I will pray unceasingly for those whose hearts are hardened against another person because of the conflict our

church is in. My prayer and hope are that we will come to a day when we can decide with love and grace to live together

despite our differences or that there may be something new and fresh emerging from the ashes and rubble of our be-

loved United Methodist Church.

So as we travel together into an uncertain future, I pray that we will not lose hope or faith in God. We are, you will re-member, a people of resurrection faith! We hold fast in our trust that in all things, God will be with us. So, let us keep engaging our congregation and our community in mission to touch hearts and souls and transform lives. Let us share the love of Christ with all people. Let us love one another even when we disagree. Let us pray for each other as we discern what our future will be. And in the Wesleyan spirit, let us do no harm, do good, and last but not least, let us stay in love with God. In Christ,

Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata

Letter from Bishop Hoshibata continued

The Homecoming Feast—A Heavenly Reunion—was presented on Good Friday by The Anglican

Church of the Holy Spirit, Mingus View Presbyterian Church and the Prescott Valley United

Methodist Church. The play was directed by Jerry Cotner.

The Disciples arrive

Paul (Elton Anderson)

Matthew (RW Webster)

Simon the Zealot ( Dean Mickelson)

Peter ( Doug Van Selus)

Jesus (James Balog) James, Brother of John

(Jim Stevens) James, the Lesser (Med Wulf)

Philip (Jack Stock) Thaddeus (Larry Griffin) Nathaniel (Michael Mefford)

John (John Beal) Thomas (George Pierard)

The Communion Stewards (Jeannie Ward, Mila Anderson, Norma and Vern Huebner)

The Narrator (Anita Wulf)

The Director and Producer (Jerry Cotner)

The Ushers (Carolyn Stock and Susan Pierard)

The Sewing Crew (back row—Alice Kloss, Dianna Moore, Norma Huebner, Susan Pierard, front row—Carolyn Stock, Jeanne Mogler and Lisa Van Wormer,

seamstress and costume designer)

Communion Pastor Wendy and Pastor Lois

Others

Sewing Crew—Doris Nixon Fabric Angels—Sally Jane Wyatt, Jennie Ward, Mila Anderson

Technicians—Sound, Bill Johnson; Set, Ron Crandall Publicity—Carol Mason and Mona Rapsilber

Photographer—John Agan Advisor—Father Steven Balog

And, Many Others

PRESCOTT VALLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

8944 East Sommer Drive Prescott Valley, AZ, 86314

(928) 772-6366

Website: pvumcpv.org

Address Correction Requested

SUNDAY WORSHIP TIMES 9:00 a.m. Adult Bible Study 10:30 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 10:15 a.m. Traditional Worship

CLERGY LEADERSHIP Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata Dist. Supt. Nancy Cushman Pastor Wendy Swanson Pastor Emeritus Gary Simons Lay Leader Elton Anderson ……………………………………………… Admin. Assistant Lisa Van Wormer Choir Director Mary Roberts Accompanist Sarah Moglewer

Our Mission Statement

Reaching up in prayer, reach-

ing out in love, and reaching

in for guidance by the Holy

Spirit.