Rev. Helen Mansfield Church Phone: 541-884-4053 Cell Phone: 530-558-5473 pastorkfumc@gmail.com Pastor’s Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:00 -9:30 am Due to schedule variations, it is best to call ahead.

Rev. John Tucker, District Superintendent Office Phone: 541-689-3725 john@umoi.org Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. Adult Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Church Office Hours The church office is closed until further notice. We are checking mail and messages about once a week. klamathfumc@gmail.com www.klamathfallsumc.org

Inside this issue:

Pastor’s Note ..................... 2

Announcements ........... 3, 9

Birthdays/Anniversaries ... 3

Directory Updates ............. 3

Where We Have

Worshiped ..................... 4

Outreach ............................ 7

Operating Fund ................. 8

Thanks & Prayers .......... 10

UMW ............................. 11

The Gift

May 2020 - Team 1

Klamath Falls First United Methodist Church 230 North 10th Street

Klamath Falls, OR 97601

Making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world through Knowing God, Transforming Lives, Serving Others

See page 4 to read our stories of where and how we’ve been worshiping..

Columbus, Ohio

Where We Have Worshiped!

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I used to laugh at how my mom (a speech and English professor) would read like three newspapers every morning and tear articles out for her files for students to use when preparing speeches. She also would send me articles torn out that she thought I would be interested in. Today, I continue to open files and find those articles with quick notes scribbled in the margins. And she is right there with me in those times. One such article I recently came across was from the New York Times and its title caught my eye – “Where Heaven and Earth Come Closer.” The article was by a travel writer who had come to realize he was drawn to what the Celts referred to as “thin places” He went on to describe them as “locales where the distance between heaven and earth collapses and we’re able to catch glimpses of the divine, or the transcendent or, as I like to think of it, the Infinite Whatever.” These can be buildings, places in nature, experiences with fellow human beings, musical pieces, art, etc.

Worship should be one of those places, but sadly for most people who attend church or used to attend church, it is not. I think people are hungry for places like these. A while back I shared with you a little bit about a UMC worship designer named Marcia McFee. She did her undergraduate degree in theater arts, went on to get a Master of Divinity, and then did her doctorate combining the two with kinesiology. She found that kinesiologists found we all have “home patterns – ways of moving that bring us the most ease and power.” Those patterns connect our bodies with our minds and spirits.

The four basic patterns are as follows (found in McFee’s article Rhythms of Liturgy and Life):

· Thrusters – sudden neuromuscular patterns of movement, strong sense of direction, getting somewhere, song that represents We Are Marching in the Light of God (FWS 2235)

· Shapers – carefully placed movement, ability to hold and contain, stillness of pose, focus on proper structure and form, song that represents The Church’s One Foundation (UMH 545)

· Swingers – fluctuating movement, highly interactive, multidirectional, personal, direct relating, song that represents Halle, Halle (FWS 2026)

· Hangers – go with the flow, sustained and free flowing, willingness to meander, indirect in focus, sees the big picture, song that represents Come and Find the Quiet Center (FWS 2128)

I had hoped to do a complete worship service around these before I step down as your half-time pastor and move simply to being an ordained elder in your midst, and I still do at some point. The corona virus has sure wreaked havoc has it not? But it also is giving us the opportunity to do things differently, or as I quoted poet Sonya Renee Taylor in my sermon from April 26, “We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.”

I am not talking about worship styles here, i.e. Traditional verses Contemporary. I am talking about developing what McFee calls sensory rich worship that creates thin space. Each one of these patterns does tend to lend itself to a preferred style, but we must create a space where everyone gets some thin space. I love Robert Fulghum’s piece titled “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” and one of those things is sharing is good. By experiencing a worship service that involves all four basic patterns and sharing with your neighbors in worship which you tend to resonate with, we come to understand that sharing our worship space on Sunday mornings, really sharing it, is good!

Shalom, Pastor Helen

Pastor’s Note

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Directory Updates: For this information, please contact the church at klamathfumc@gmail.com. Please inform the office when you have a change of address, phone number, or e-mail.

MAY BIRTHDAYS

02 - Alise Walker 07 - Laurie Airhart 08 - John Foster III 12 - Scott Usher 14 - Marilyn Howell Ken Usher 16 - Spencer Moore 22 - Dixie Carson Rev. Al Trachsel 28 - Jaci Schillace

May Drivers: To be announced if we resume worshiping together physically.

From Marta’s House “Dear UMCW members, Thank you for your generous and kind donations to the women and children of Marta’s House. We appreciate your continued support! Wanda and everyone at Marta’s House

Notices from Bishop Stanovsky

Bishop Stanovsky has written several well thought out notices regarding COVID-19. In her latest notice, dated April 24, she stated that we are to keep church buildings closed until May 30, unless circumstances change and we hear otherwise She hopes that we will be able to gather for worship on the Day of Pentecost, May 31. Bishop Stanovsky has been keeping close watch on what each of the governors of the four states in our Episcopal Area are recommending based on their discussions with health officials. Below are links to the five notices Bishop Stanovsky has written to date regarding the virus. For those of you without internet who would like to read the Bishop’s notices, please contact Jeannie Boese at 541-273-9579 or 541-331-3464. I will be glad to print and mail copies to you. BISHOP’S NOTICES REGARDING COVID-19

Letter #5 – April 24, 2020

Letter #4 – April 23, 2020

Letter #3 – March 24, 2020

Letter #2 – March 19, 2020

Letter #1 - March 5, 2020

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Where We Have Worshiped While we are not able to worship together physically, many of our members have worshiped elsewhere. Below are some of the places and experiences of worshipping with others online. Louise Lesher has “traveled” the furthest, she’s been worshiping in England! Some of these services are live. Many are also recorded and can be viewed later. If you are interested in joining or watching any of these services, a list of links is at the end of this article.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their stories!

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Terri, one of my Portland area daughters, contacted me early Easter morning to suggest that I might tune into First United Methodist Church, Portland, to enjoy their virtual Easter Sunday service. She and her family, as well as daughter Karen & family, planned to tune it in, too. So - I did and was thrilled! The hymns were the traditional Easter hymns led by an excellent song leader and accompanied by organist Jonas Nordwall on their wonderful pipe organ! The opening hymn, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” brought tears to my eyes. The head minister Donna Pritchard gave an uplifting high-energy sermon. Sincerely, Pat Harris

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I've been enjoying the traditional services at First United Methodist Church in Portland, thanks to a tip from Pat Harris. I have subscribed to their YouTube Channel. The traditional Easter service was truly amazing and so uplifting!! Carolyn Lewert-Hagan

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Since our church building has been closed, I have attended virtual Sunday services broadcast from a number of locations. The first Sunday, I contacted my friend Pastor Pam Coy at Smith River UMC . She said she was preaching through Facebook. I was happy that I got to enjoy her preaching again (she was pastor at the church I attended in California). As I was clicking around on Facebook, I discovered that First Community Church in Columbus, Ohio was in the middle of a Facebook service. The pianist they had was exceptional and the preaching was good. As a bonus, I got to attend church with my younger sister! We have been virtually together at church every Sunday since then. I have also been attending the Carson City UMC online service with our congregation and theirs. I enjoyed waving the palms on Palm Sunday. On Easter I woke up sad, because I love to dress up and going to church on Easter and say "He is risen. He is risen indeed" over and over. So I decided to dress up anyway and attended as many services as I could find. First was the sunrise service with the Bishop of the California Nevada Conference. It was outside and you could hear the birds singing and see the light getting brighter as the sun rose. Next was the sunrise service at Smith River UMC an hour later. At 8:00 AM PDT, I signed on to the First Community Church Easter service in Ohio with my sister. We exchanged "He is risen" and "Happy Easter" via text. Then I listened to the service created by the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area. The Bishop preached a great sermon, the music was great and I especially enjoyed the montage of pictures from all over the conference. I then joined with the Carson City service and thought of all of you KFUMC folks. I guess I really like going to church! I certainly felt enriched and inspired by all that worshiping . Jean Somerville Freeman

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(Continued on page 5)

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Looking for a small church service, I came across one in England! Love it, been visiting last 3 Sundays, making new friends at Fleet Methodist. I just type Fleet Methodist Services in the search bar on Facebook. I've also been in AA meetings all over the world!!!! Love, Louise Lesher

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I have been watching the service in Carson City each week, have been really enjoying it. It would be fun to take a trip there sometime in the future to visit in person! I also watched the Greater NW service on Easter morning. Deanne Inman

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At Evelyn's suggestion we (Evelyn, Carol, and I) attended the Easter Zoom service led by the Wesley Foundation's pastor, Rev Warren Light, in Eugene. It was mainly folks (20 or so) from the other church that he serves part-time, Spirit of the Valley UMC in Halsey Oregon. Ken Usher

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I have been enjoying online services with Carson City and my nephews church Pendleton First Assembly of God in Pendleton, Oregon. I also got to watch an awesome video on Instagram of the Living Hope/Easter Virtual Choir performed by my sister’s church, Bethel Church Prosser, Washington. Truly amazing, and it is available on Facebook if anyone is interested in viewing. Donette Scogin

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David and I have been worshiping with the Carson City First United Methodist Church, including their very meaningful Tenebrae Service of Darkness on Maundy Thursday, and their Easter worship. Their choir sang an Alleluia chant, each from their own homes, as an anthem on Easter. After that service, we enjoyed their virtual Easter egg hunt. We also watched the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area’s Easter worship service, a worldwide United Methodist choir with over 300 people singing “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” from their homes;, and the Royal Choral Society singing the “Halleluiah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah” from their homes. We hope to take a trip to Carson City sometime in late Summer to visit our new online friends there. Now we are also watching Pastor Helen’s weekly sermon, scripture lesson, and joys and prayers on YouTube. In March, the United Methodist Now online magazine suggested setting up a worship center for online worship. We have been using our coffee table. Jeannie Boese The list of links is on the next page.

(Continued from page 4)

(Continued on page 6)

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Links to Where We’ve Worshiped Some links are to Facebook pages; some are to church websites as their link changes week to week; others are directly to YouTube channels.

Klamath Falls First United Methodist Church On-Line Worship:

April 26, 2020; April 19, 2020; or from our website

Portland First United Methodist Church

First Community Church in Columbus, Ohio

Smith River United Methodist Church in Smith River, California

Fleet Methodist Services

Carson City First United Methodist Church in Carson City, Nevada

Spirit of the Valley United Methodist Church in Halsey, Oregon (Zoom via Facebook)

Pendleton First Assembly of God in Pendleton, Oregon

Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Easter Worship

Additional links for Easter music:

“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” Worldwide Virtual United Methodist Choir

“Halleluiah Chorus” Royal Choral Society

Bethel Church in Prosser, Washington Easter Virtual Choir

(Continued from page 5)

Pastor Helen

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Food Pantry Needs: • Cold cereal • Canned fruit • Pasta sauce If you wish to donate items to our food pantry, please contact Jeannie Boese at 541-273-9579 or klamathfumc@gmail.com.

Pastor’s Discretionary Fund

What is this fund?

· It is a fund used by the pastor to assist people in our community and our congregation with emergency needs not provided by other sources.

· Checks are made out to the business rather than the person requesting funds; i.e., Avista Utilities.

How is it funded?

· It is funded through our birthday offerings and special donations, outside of our operating budget.

· If you wish to make a donation to this fund, please mark it “Discretionary Fund” or “Outreach Fund.”

Thank you for helping us to be ready to assist people in need!

Between April 7 and April 28, we have given:

· 2 households 2 bags of food

· 2 households some financial assistance Although the church office is closed, Pastor Helen has been in the church some of the time and has been able to help a few people with food or with financial assistance.

PALM Dinners Served From March 29 to April 28: 1,127 Year to Date: 4,986 Average Meals Served: 147 All PALM dinners are currently being served as to-go meals.

Reaching Out and Helping Others

PALM (Provide A Loving Meal) is a free dinner every Tuesday and Sunday from 5:00 to 6:30. It is located in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church, which is the lower level door closest to 9th and High Streets. PALM is a volunteer program. It is funded by your donations. The Klamath Falls First United Methodist Church provides the Fellowship Hall, some maintenance, and utilities. PALM provides from 85 to 257 plates of food each meal. Families, neighborhood residents, and even people who simply want the social interaction of a meal come in. Most people walk. Volunteers from the Methodist Church, colleges, other churches, and many others come together to help. Please come and visit, eat, help in the kitchen, or even donate.

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Financial Report

Youth Group: $576.86 Organ: $1,563.51 PALM dinners: $10,758.84 Camperships: $150.00 OR-IDA Chair Grant: $114.60 Ruth’s Rest Fund: $747.10 Memorial Fund: $13,830.47 Benevolences: $275.00

MEMBERS and FRIENDS

April, 2020 has closed. All bills and taxes have been paid. The monthly payroll was made. Operating income for the month totaled $37,938.02. Operating expenses totaled $6,866.61. Operating expenses included a $1,432.00 APPORTIONMENTS payment to the Conference. We have now paid in $5,728.00 or 33.3% of the $17,184.00 budgeted amount for 2020. Please note that April giving included a wonderful and very generous gift of $27,600.00 to OPERATING, as well as a $2,400.00 gift to PALM; both sums coming from one of our members! As we enter May, 2020, we have an Operating fund balance of: $118,348.77. However, a portion of these monies are contained in outside or side pocket funds which have nothing to do with budgeted operating monies. As of May 1, eight such funds existed. The funds and their respective balances:

After subtracting out the total of the 8 funds ($28,016.38), there is a carryover to May, 2020, of actual OPERATING monies totaling: $90,332.39. This sum represents a combination of generous stewardship and conversion to a half-time Pastor (resulting in a lower salary and the absence of Conference mandated benefits).

This month-to-month carryover is very large, and April, giving was unusually generous. That said, it is worth noting that we expect most months of income during 2020 to lag expenses by $1,500-$2,500, thereby causing a steady and continuous erosion of the carryover.

As one element of stewardship, the gifting of our money is important to the survival of our church but I would be remiss if I did not recognize the countless acts of stewardship in all its diverse forms practiced by the members and friends at KFUMC.

Peace & Grace for us all,

Byron Beach, Treasurer

2020 Operating Snapshot: 4 months YTD VS Year Ago

2020 YTD income: $55,571.86 + $29,223.95

December 2019 carryover: $64,906.67 + $20,825.47

2020 YTD operating monies : $120,478.53 + $50,049.42

2020 YTD operating expenses: $30,146.14 (-) $2,782.86

Carryover to May 2020: $90,332.39 +$57,832.28

Grocery Cards for Families in Need

When the closures due to the Corona virus first started happening, our Crater Lake District came up with a way to help families in need. The District Extension Society offered each church in the district $2,000 to purchase grocery cards that would be distributed to the schools. Here in an email from our District Superintendent, John Tucker, the program is explained:

“The idea for Grocery Gift Cards originated from Leroy Barber as a way of responding quickly to a need in a way that shifts our narrative from being concerned about our own congregations to giving ourselves away to vulnerable people. The cards are meant to empower people and give them the dignity to use the cards as they choose. The school districts are the conduit that gets the cards to qualifying families. We are the generous resource with connections to schools. Schools are the vehicles of distribution. Recipients of the cards control how they are used. This is not primarily about giving free food. Many areas are providing meals but people need other supplies that school districts will not provide.”

I mentioned this in an email way back, inviting anyone who wanted to contribute to the program to send a check. We received an additional $200. We purchased 110 grocery cards from Sherm’s (the store was selected because it was central to our city, along with Walmart is a primary place those in poverty shop because they can get bulk and larger sizes of items, and because they can restrict the cards to only grocery items, no alcohol or tobacco). Those cards were given to the Klamath Falls City Schools Superintendent Paul Hillyer who then distributed them to the principals of all the schools in the city district based on proportion of students. Because I have the connection at Mills, I am hearing firsthand the stories of how helpful those cards have been. Teachers are in regular contact with families and are hearing firsthand who is experiencing extreme need. What a joy to be able to help with that need.

Council voted to use $1,000 of Mission Outreach funds to purchase cards for the county school district. Several members of council are contributing to the fund and our hope is to get to $2,000 for the county schools. If you would like to contribute, just make your check out to KFFUMC with the note in the memo line of “Grocery Cards.” We are blessed to be a blessing to our world!

Click on the graphic above for an article on the Conference website about this program.

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Thank you to… All who have continued to support the church while we are unable to

gather in person. All who answered the question about where they’ve worshiped. All who sent pictures for our on-line worship. In Our Prayers… Pastor Helen’s friend’s daughter Devon had her baby, Kacen, at 28

weeks due to placenta previa. Kacen weighed 2 lbs. 14 oz. and is 15.5 inches long. Devon had to have three transfusions. Both are stable. Kacen is in NICU.

Jeannie Boese’s friend, Joyce Barber, recovering from a slight stroke; they believe she does not have permanent brain damage

All of us who are affected by COVID-19, whether health wise, economically, or the inconvenience of social distancing.

Lectionary Scriptures for May, 2020: May 3 Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23 ; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 May 10 Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16 ; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 May 17 Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 May 24 Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11 May 31 Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 7:37–39 Day of Pentecost

Pastor Rev. Helen Mansfield cell phone: 530-558-5473 pastorkfumc@gmail.com Administrative Assistant Jeannie Boese home phone: 541-273-9579 jaboese@charter.net Nursery Attendants Laura Wise

Accompanist Pat Harris

Upstairs Custodian Donette Scogin

Downstairs Custodian Mark Wilson

Chancel Choir Director Judy Neiswender

Bell & Chime Choirs Conductor Pat Mathis

First United Methodist Church PO Box 939 230 N. 10th Street Klamath Falls, OR 97601 541-884-4053 klamathfumc@gmail.com Church Website: www.klamathfallsumc.org Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/KlamathFallsFirstUMC

FIRST UMC STAFF & INFORMATION Open hearts, open minds, open doors.

Thanks and Prayers

The DAV has sent us a note of thanks for the $200 donation we recently sent them. The money came from our 2020 budgeted LOCAL MISSIONS and was directed to their meal program.

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United Methodist Women’s News

United Methodist Women’s Purpose: United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose PURPOSE is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the Global Ministries of the church.

This month’s suggested item for Marta’s House:

Underwear - women’s and children’s; please hang on to

them until we are able to be back together at worship.

United Methodist Women will not be meeting in the month of May.

Copyright © 2020 Alison Wong / Alison Wong's Comics Used with permission

To see original New Mom Comics please click here.

First United Methodist Church 230 N. 10th Street Klamath Falls, OR 97601

Please join us on-line!

The Champoeg Declaration We, the Klamath Falls First United Methodist Church, together with other

congregations of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, declare that persons of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, economic conditions, marital status, mental or physical

abilities are welcome to attend, join, and participate fully in the life of our congregation.

Copyright © 2020 Alison Wong / Alison Wong's Comics Used with permission