proclaimed at our joint service in June, our hope is to make this witness together.

It may not be the kind of light summer reading you're used to at the beach but it just may help you escape the cynicism and despair of our age by empowering our

ac�on and our way of being a "less-anxious presence" in a world desperately in need of such leadership.

Read it now and we'll discuss this Fall.

S u m m e r R e a d i n g

ph

oto

by

Fred

Gag

non

—-Michael Kinnamon.

Mar�n Luther King Jr., a man who lived with daily threat, said it memorably:

Normal fear protects us; abnormal fear paralyzes us. Normal fear mo�vates us to improve our individual and collec�ve welfare; abnormal fear constantly poisons and

distorts our inner lives.

The Witness of Religion in

an Age of Fear by Na�onal Council of Churches General Secretary, Michael Kinnamon, is a powerful and �mely book that gives us hope that fear can be addressed construc�vely through our faith. In this 97-page slender volume, the author issues a call for inter-faith engagement in the U.S., saying people of faith have an important word to say to a fearful culture. And just like Dr. Saleem Bajwa

Do not be afraid. We live in a �me when this biblical refrain cannot be repeated too

o�en. . . . Among all the things the church has to say to the world today, this may be the most important.--Sco� Bader-Saye

Mahatma Gandhi

Summer Worship Assignment

Are you on the look out for dirt this summer?

Don’t forget to collect a soil sample from your travels— we collect them this September. And bring in those stories of country roads for the August evening services.

We gather at 6:30p.m. on the lawn — bring your favorite lawn chair.

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Special health concerns: Bob & Diane F__ , Janet G__ , Hank K__ , Tom R__ , Eileen B__ Pastor Kelly & Phyllis R__ .

Edie Buckley - East Village

Marilyn Burns - LifeCare, Wilbraham

Dottie Barnes - Birch Manor in

Chicopee

Dot Buzelle - Redstone

Joan Kearns - Wells Country Village,

Vernon CT

Ruby Waide - Orchard Valley, Wilb.

Paul Willer - Reeds Landing

Church office hours for the summer:

Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Regular hours will resume September 6

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Thanks to all our gardeners for God who keep the property beau�ful.

A special thank you to Joan Clark for her weed whacking (Joan said she doesn't do photos so we thought this one was nice) and to Vance Gagnon who tend our gar-dens.

B����� R��� F����

File this 2 inch overflow in the boiler room under "This is why we do security." We were able to catch the prob-lem quickly before more damage was done. Upstairs the Vaca�on Bible Camp kids were singing about being God's superheroes. If you can help be a security super-hero, let Paul Kinney know--we always needs folks for this vital work.

W������ N�� P������

We welcome pastors newly appointed into

our district and pray for their ministries.

Richard Murphy, Danielson, CT

Tom Getchell-Lacey, New Covenant, East Har�ord, CT

Jacquelyn Tro�er Dove, Wesley, East Har�ord, CT

Joy Toll-Chandler, Hope, Belchertown, MA

David Hurst, Christ, Northampton-Easthampton, MA

Erin Newcomb-Moore, Associate, Trinity, Springfield, MA

C�������� T�� S��� �� ELUMC Saturday, Sept 9

8:00 am –2:00 pm

Like last year, there will be a community tag sale on the lawn of ELUMC. Members of the community will be able to pur-

chase space and sell their tag sale items. Anyone in the congrega�on is also welcome to purchase a space and sell their tag sale items. Each 10’ x 10’ space is $10. Applications are available on our church website. Ques�ons-see Liz Gelinas, Laurel Manley, Laura Kinney, Barbara Ollson or Julie Dunlop.

Sco� Grabowski and his rubber boots to the rescue.

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The 3rd Annual All-Church Camping Adventure was held the weekend of July 14-16 at the Partridge Hollow campground in Monson. The weekend included a hike around Dean Pond with turtle shell, heron, wild flowers, robin’s nest and mother/daughter hikers. Thanks to Rick Hutchinson and all the volunteers who made the campout a great success.

VBS 2017

You don't need to be big, or super, or fly to be God's hero--you just need a kind heart! We had a great �me in our epic adventure at the Hero Central Vaca�on Bible School! Children responded to the call to ac�on to “Do good, Seek peace, and Go a�er it!” by learning about the superheroes of the Bible.

A�er a high-energy opening assembly at Hero Central, the Heroes made their way to the Bible Story Headquarters. Interac�ve Bible lessons revealed Hero Codes

and a Hero Verse (Bible memory verse). The students expanded on what they discovered by par�cipa�ng in a variety of ac�vi�es: making their own art projects at Cra� Headquarters, singing and dancing at Music Headquarters, exploring the wonders of crea�on at Science Headquarters, playing games at Recrea�on Headquarters, and enjoying tasty treats at Snack Headquarters. By the end of the week, they had discovered their strength in God and learned that we are all heroes with Heart, Courage, Wisdom, Hope, and Power.

Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who helped make Hero Central happen!

Submi�ed by Laura Kinney

(for more VBS pictures please see the back of the calendar or the last page of the on-line version)

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The All-Church camping Adventure setup with fearless leader Rick Hutchison and his magical bins of camping gear.

Enjoying the campfire, toas�ng marshmallows for SMORES!

(for more VBS pictures please see the back of the calendar or the last page of the on-line version)

Pastor Kelly and mom, Carolyn, enjoyed the hike around Dean Pond with Tally, Xavier and Bailey.

SAFE SANCTUARIES

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Address Service Requested

East Longmeadow United Methodist Church 215 Somers Road, STE 2

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-2998

413-525-7416 • a reconciling congrega�on www.elumc.org

THE SUNDAY EXPERIENCE in August

6:30 p.m. – Worship on the lawn with ice cream fellowship to follow Nursery is open but unstaffed. THE SUNDAY EXPERIENCE in September

10:00 a.m. – Worship in the sanctuary Church School (star�ng Sept 17th) (pre-schoolers through Grade 5) Professional child care is provided for “Cribs & Creepers”/“Toddlers & Twos.”

The Methodist Messenger is a journal of the ministry of The East Longmeadow United Methodist Church. Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.

Worship Retreat October 13-15

Spirit Fire Retreat Center

Register now with Lay Leaders Rick & Chris Hutchinson or call the office at 525-7416

September 10th

Join us for a delicious French Toast Breakfast and register your children for

Sunday School.

Sunday School starts Sept 17

& we’re planning a fun, dirty time

collecting soil samples from

this summer

A na�on that destroys its soils destroys itself.

Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

For the on-line church calendar follow this link:

http://57650311.view-events.com/

G � � ’ � H � � � � � - “ D � G � � �, S � � � P � � � � � G � A � � � � I � ”

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Captain Shield & Flame, ie. Steve Hilbun & KC Leveille.

The students at the Science Sta�on led by John Deziel.

Taylor, Reese and Anderson flexing their Superhero power!

Pam Minahan was just one of the group leaders who helped us recognize we are all God’s heroes.

Andy Soucie, Steve Hilbun, Carolyn Turney, Evie

Soucie,& Rick Hutchinson get ready to enjoy a

weekend of grilling, swimming & hiking.

Winding down the day with

a game of Exploding Ki�en.

Kelly

Greene

lends a

hand

with the

children.