Volume 6, Issue 8

Pastor’s Corner

New Life United Methodist Church

Worship Times: 9:00am / 11:00am / Sunday School 10:00am (starting 9/9/12)

New Life News

Inside this issue:

Looking Ahead 2

Leone Whittum’s Poem 2

For Women 3

Birthdays / Anniversaries 4

Treasurer’s Report 4

Church Calendar 5

Church News 6

Heartland UMW Annual 7-8

Craft Sale Flyer 9

Admin. Council Minutes 9

Trustee Meeting Minutes 10

September 2012 Volume 6, Issue 8

Special points of

interest:

Sunday School Kick-Off

Preschool Begins

Worship Planning Meeting

Women’s Bible Study

Adopt-A-Highway Pick-up

Pig Roast

Heartland Dist. UMW Annual

Dear Friends, Over the last five weeks you have heard messages on Radical Hospitality, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Outreach (mission and service), Passionate Worship, and Extravagant Generosity. The importance of these five areas in the life of the church is vital. It is through the continual develop-ment and expansion of these areas that churches fulfill their mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are in the process of growing these five areas here at New Life. Bishop Robert Schnase says in his book, The Five Practices of Fruitful Congrega-tions, “These fundamental practices are so critical to a congregation’s mis-sion that failure to perform them in an exemplary way results in congregational deterioration and decline.” He goes on to say, “The task of repeating, deep-ening, extending, teaching, and improving these practices should fill church agendas, guide church boards, and shape leadership training.” Surely you will take joy in knowing that the Staff and Leadership Team here at New Life are doing all they can to strengthen and grow each of these areas. This should create lots of excitement for all of us as we live out our faith and answer our call to live out our lives in Christ. Let me encourage you to find a way to invest in, and invite others to, these areas here at New Life and in your own life as well. As we approach September and the school doors open to the children of our communities, we will be opening the doors to the church on Wednesday eve-nings for more than children. What has been called “Church Fest” will now be known as “The Gathering.” We will offer an inexpensive meal and program-ming for the entire community. Our Sunday morning worship schedule will shift by ½ hour. We will continue the 9:00AM service and move our 10:30AM service to 11:00AM beginning September 9th. This is also the Sunday we will kick-off our Fall programming. The change in worship times will meet two needs; practice and warm-up time for the Praise Band and a single Sunday School time (10:00AM-11:00AM). There has been some concern over the importance of our fellowship time that normally happens between services. While we don’t know exactly what to do about this, we are hopeful that there will be a positive solution. Beginning Wednesday September 12th at 8:00AM we will be offering a Men’s Discipleship Breakfast. Please let me extend an invitation to all the men of the congregation. We will fellowship together and focus on biblical lessons that deal with issues pertinent to men. These are exciting times! May God bless each of you! Pastor John

QUEST men's dis-

cipleship breakfast

The Quest begins at

8:00AM Wednesday Sep-

tember 12th. All men are

invited (even those NOT

members or attendees of

New Life)! Quest is a

time for men to come to-

gether, share a breakfast

and grow in their

faith. This study will be

ongoing and will be led by

Pastor John. Cost will be

$1.00 each week to cover

the cost of breakfast.

Volume 6, Issue 8 2

New Life United Methodist Church

The Message

‘Twas just an ordinary day

he came.

Perching near our window

we exclaimed!

His plumage of black and white

his gracefulness, pure delight.

Our spirits drawn unto this scene

what does it mean?

All too soon he was gone

upon us it would dawn.

A visitation to the lowly

with something Holy!

The message of the Kingbird

we have heard.

extraordinaire

~The King is Coming!~

in beauty, uncompared.

© Leone Whittum June 24, 2012

Rejoice greatly, O my people! Shout with

joy! For look — your King is coming! He

is the Righteous One, the Victor!

Zechariah 9:9 LB

Looking Ahead

Still Waters

Counseling Ministry KICK OFF TO HARVESTFEST

Spaghetti Supper and Auction

On Sept 11 t h, 5-7 pm dinner

Dessert Auction and Kids Games

wil l begin at 6:00 pm

Bring the family to enjoy an evening of dinner

and family fun

No charge, a free will

offering will be taken.

Location: Heritage United

Methodist Church

19931 W. Kendaville Rd,

Young Partners Christian Preschool

Open House: September 13, at 6:00pm First Day of Preschool: September 17, 8am

OUR YOUTH NEED YOU!

We have been praying for God to provide the

people that our youth need to be working

with. Has God been nudging you in that di-

rection? Do you feel a call to teach our

youth on Sunday Mornings or Wednesday Nights?

Talk with Meredith VanderHill or email

meredithvh@gmail.com.

FALL KICK-OFF:

Sunday School for Children and Youth begins on

September 9th at 10:00.

The Gathering (formerly Churchfest) on Wednesday Nights begins on September 12th at 6:00.

WORSHIP PLANNING TEAM:

Do you have a passion for Worship? our Worship Planning Team is having a fresh start- with a new mission

and we are looking for people to join us as we work together to create wonderful authentic spaces and services

to help our community encounter God in a new way. We'd love to have you join us! Contact Meredith, or email

meredithvh@gmail.com. Our First meeting will be September 4th at 6p.m. See you there!

Volume 6, Issue 8 3

As we plan for the year ahead, we want to thank each of you who have supported us as we work to meet our commitments. It has been suggested that some may wonder where the funds we earn go to. Our pledge to the district UMW is $1250, mission-ary, Barbara Pinkley and Kids to Kids each receive $20 per month. We support New Life Mission of the Month with $10. If prizes are purchased for Bingo at

Kelsey we cover that cost. All supplies for Coffee Hour on Sunday (coffee, punch, cups both hot and cold, napkins, creamer and sugar). Funeral expenses, if not covered by family donations. Each of our young folks who attend Church Sum-mer Camp receive $50. In December, if our treasury has a positive bal-ance, we hold just enough to take care of early expenses, then what ever is left over we disperse as we see the need.

Some who have benefited from our year end shar-ing are Six Lakes and Lakeview Pantries, R.A.V.E., Grand Rapids United Methodist Community House, Red Bird Mission, our men’s Joshua Ramp con-struction and our Emergency fund; just to mention a few. UMW President

Mary Lou Botma 989-365-4271

Women’s Circles

UMW Is it really September already? Time for the busi-ness of the fall start-ups; school, Sunday School, Wednesday Gatherings for food, fun, fellowship and lessons. Lots of opportunities to get out of that easy chair and away from the TV and get in step with the mission of the church. A big THANK YOU to Gordon, Linda and Cindy Andersen for inviting us to their lake on August 9. About 25 attended; what a nice evening for a picnic and to relax over dinner out of doors. Women’s Fellowship will meet on Tuesday September 11, at 1:30. We will be making plans for 2013, so if you have any suggestions for our coming year, please join us. Mary Main will be offering devotions and Cindy will treat us with a lite snack. Louanna Clark brings us information from The Response Magazine to help us follow our pledge money as it works for us around the world. Kelsey Recreation at 2:00 on Tuesday, September 18. Let Louise Shepard know if you can help. On Saturday, September 22 from 9am—3pm, Breckenridge UMW will be hosting the Heartland District Annual. We must register by September 15, and the cost is $8. Circle of Friends meet Monday, September 24th at 7:00pm.

Schedule Tue 11 Women’s Fellowship@1:30pm

Tue 18 Kelsey Recreation@2:00pm

Sat 22 Heartland Dist. Annual-Breckenridge UMC

Mon 24 Circle of Friends@7:00pm

Have you visited one of the county’s new recycle centers? Hopefully you will find them more conven-ient, no longer waiting a month to empty your recy-cle bins. Be sure to deposit only what is accepted. Lakeview’s new recycle center is located just north of the Post Office. Edmore’s is located in the Hitachi parking lot. Stanton’s is in the public parking lot across from the county offices. Other centers are located in areas where general pick ups were located. If you have trouble reaching the opening, walk around to the back side of the bin; there is a shorter access to the opposite end. Please be a good steward of the natural resources of the world. Reuse—Renew—Recycle

What can be recycled? Cardboard Paperboard Newspapers Phonebooks Magazines Catalogs Mail and Office Paper Plastic bottles, jugs, and Tubs (numbers 1-7 in triangles) Plastic shopping bags (numbers 2 and 4) Metal cans and foil Glass bottles and jars What cannot be recycled? Large plastics and plastics without recycle symbol (pool covers, tarps, pools, Toys, zip-top bags, cling wrap) Electronics Plastic caps and lids Styrofoam

Needles and medical waste Batteries, Scrap Metal Tools, screws, and hardware Propane and helium tanks Paint cans Pots, Pans, and silverware Ceramics Dishes, paper plates napkins Windows, doors, and mirrors Paper cartons and juice boxes Label and sticker paper Photographs Plastic-coated or waxy paper Spiral-bound notebooks Books Pet food bags Glitter, ribbon or embellish-ments Wrapping paper and tissue paper Greasy or dirty paper Hazardous substance con-tainers (antifreeze, motor oil, etc.)

RECYCLING GUIDE

Volume 6, Issue 8 4

Birthdays in September Bob Sadler 09/01 Virginia May 09/03 Kaitllyn Gilbert 09/04 Connor Burns 09/05 Gilda Nichols 09/06 Amber Torres 09/06 Elaina Ball 09/09 Andrew Hahn 09/09 Phyllis Porter 09/09 Chris Smith 09/09 Elmer Ashbaugh 09/12 Rob Brown 09/12 Nate Shurlow 09/12 Maddie Shurlow 09/12 Carol Andersen 09/13 Arlene Oberlin 09/13 Deloris Ingall 09/14 Drew Molitor 09/14 Jackie Main 09/15 Ruger Smith 09/15 Don Shurlow 09/16 Everett Boersma 09/17 Nancy Shepard 09/20 Audrey Crane 09/23 Amanda Olin 09/23 Mary Lou Botma 09/26 Rebecca Mathews 09/27 Jacob Mathews 09/27 Wesley Hahn 09/29

Anniversaries in September

Ron & Sue Medendorp 09/05 Dallas & Nancy Lincoln 09/08 Marv & D’Ann Fountain 09/12 Kevin & Michelle Outman 09/14 Carl & Jane Large 09/15 Ron & Tami Monks 09/16 Chris & Merisa Toellner 09/18 Michael & Jessica Peterson 09/22 Mike & Ann Minkel 09/24 Larry & Beverly Brown 09/30

NEW LIFE UM CHURCH FINANCIAL REPORT FOR JULY 2012

Yes they are still married! (Anniversaries missed in August—Sorry!)

Rob & Amy Andersen 08/30 Tony & Brook Burlison 08/17 Steve & Eva Fountain 08/10 Alger & Shirley Frandsen 08/30

Bob & Bea Horton 08/30

Eugene & Johanna Rentschler 08/06

Phil & Linda Seiter 08/15

GENERAL

Income for July

Balance Primary Chk Bk June 30 $814.17

Total General Offering $19,949.67

Total Offering $20,763.84

Expenses for July

Programs $1,669.09

Staff Ministry $11,512.55

Bldg & Properties $5,269.33

Non-budget Expenses $4,905.65

Operating Ministry $351.53

Apportionments $0.00

Extended Ministry & Missions $405.69

$24,113.84

July Income - General $19,949.67

July Expenses - General $19,992.66

July Savings Acct. $2,897.51

General Chk Book July 31 $751.18

General Designated Money $6,440.96

All Income - July $82,667.17

All Expenses - July $24,113.84

Check Book Balances $58,553.33

Budgeted Income YTD $121,614.14

Budgeted Expenses YTD $120,231.11

We have not been able to pay apportionments for March, April, May, June and July, which means

we still owe $14,499.50 to the church conference. We have

only been able to pay January and February apportionments.

BUILDING July 31, 2012 Bldg. Fund Acct.

Prev. Bal Chk. Bk. $29,369.02

Total Income $40,628.09

Total Expenses $4,121.18

Bal. Chk. Book $65,875.93

Less Designated $61,590.78

Cash Avail. July 31 $4,285.15

“Develop a passion for

learning. If you do, you will

never cease to grow.”

— Anthony J. D’Angelo

Volume 6, Issue 8 5

SEPTEMBER 2012

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Volume 6, Issue 8 6

The fall Adopt-A-Highway pick up is September 22 to September 30. There will be a signup sheet on the Connection Point wall. It takes 4 teams of 2 workers each to cover the two mile strip from M-91 Junction to the sign just west of New Life UMC. This is a great community project, and keeps the highways clean, with three ses-sions a year. Alger Frandsen has walked and coordinated this for 20 years. This may be his final year, as the walking has become difficult for him. While our home is a good ‘starting point,’ New Life may need more volunteers to keep this community pro-

ject going. Remember to sign up for the week of September 24th, the fellowship is always good. Through the years many workers have taken part . . . Our appreciation to all of them.

*LADIES BIBLE STUDY* SELF-ESTEEm

LifeGuide Bible Studies By: Jack Kuhatschek

“Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us”

9 week Lifeguide Bible Study Ladies and Young Women are cordially invited to participate in the nine week study of SELF-ESTEEM, seeing ourselves as God sees

us . This study will be lead by Anita Epolito on Thursday evenings, 7:00pm at “New Life Church” starting September 6 th – November.

A set schedule for the 9 week study will be determined at the “Meet & Greet” on Thursday, August 30th 7:00pm.

Please sign up asap so that Study Guides can be ordered—Sign up sheet located in the church lobby.

The cost of the Study Guide is $7; if the $7 cost is a problem – please let me know!

Feel free to contact Anita Epolito with any questions or comments at

(517) 282-3087 or anitaepolito@yahoo.com

Synopsis:

The world encourages you to love yourself, believe in yourself and tell yourself that you are intelligent, capable, beau-

tiful, wonderful. But deep down, what do you most want to know? What does God think of you? What is your true

worth?

As Jack Kuhatschek leads you through nine Bible studies on self-esteem, you'll gain an essential understanding of who you are.

“The Pig Roast is coming, DID YOU THINK WE HAD FORGOTTEN? The Pig Roast is coming!” The date has been set for Sunday, September 16th. Dinner serving from 11:00 to 1:30, with a Free-Will Offering. The public is invited, so bring your family and plan to invite your friends to enjoy the meal with you. The menu is being tweaked a bit to fit the fall season, but the food will still be a delicious meal. BBQ Pork

Baked Potatoes w/toppings

Cole Slaw

Baked Beans

Veggies

Dinner Rolls

and of course the dessert remains as the favored brownies and ice cream.

Take-out meals will be available, you may sign up or call the office at 352.7788 to reserve your ‘meals to go.’ And, there will still be the BBQ pork, Sausage, and Bacon for sale as always. Proceeds: The first $1,000.00 goes toward the Black Top Project (still within the cut-off date of $1.00 for $1.00) and the remainder of the proceeds will help on our New Life Apportionments obligation to the Conference.

Volume 6, Issue 8 7

Volume 6, Issue 8 8

Volume 6, Issue 8 9

WATKINS

PAINTED ROCKS

CERAMICS

STAINED GLASS

BAKED GOODS QUILTS

AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

6584 Howard City-Edmore Rd. Six Lakes, MI

Friday, October 12th 11am to 6pm

Lunch offered by the UMW from 11am

to 2pm

Saturday, October 13th 9am to 4pm

Lunch offered by the Men’s Fellowship

Fred’s Famous Chili from 10am until it runs out

BABY ITEMS

RADA CUTLERY

Volume 6, Issue 8 10

ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL MEETING

August 21, 2012

The August meeting of the administrative council of New Life United Methodist Church was called to order by Chairman Mel Houck who led us with a devotion. Present were: Mel and Linda Houck, Sue Brockschmidt, Mary Lou Botma, Eva Fountain, Bill Besemer, Arlene Oberlin, Barbara Ray, Linda and Cindy Andersen, Todd Horrocks, Janet and Paul John-son, Virginia May, Eva Main, Meredith VanderHill, and Pastor John.

The secretary's minutes were presented. Bill moved we accept the minutes with a second from Todd. Motion carried.

The treasurer's report was given by Linda. Under designated funds, Bill suggested that we change the titles of Emer-gency to Community Emergency and Mission Team Breakfast to Mission Team Trip. The consensus of the group was to make the stated changes. Barbara moved that we accept the treas. report as given. Sue B. seconded the motion. Mo-tion carried.

Information items: Mel reported that Paul and Janet Johnson will now chair the hospitality group. Todd informed the group that the parking lot is scheduled to be done by the end of Aug. or the 1st of Sept. It is a three day process. Mel reported that Leppinks advertising has been paid for by individual donations. Bonnie Buchner is working on getting dates set for more CPR training. Mel showed us the kit he has purchased for $100.00 for CPR. It is necessary to find a place to store this kit where it will be secure yet accessible in the case of an emergency. Pastor John will speak with other local pastors to see if we can take turns manning the food pantry with other churches in our area so that it will be easier for needy people to use it.

Action items: The worship committee would like to change the time of the second Sunday worship service to 11:00 from 10:30. Reasons for this change are to make it easier to staff Sunday School classes, more time for the musicians to prac-tice between services, and to make it easier for visitors to make their way to the sanctuary. The narthex is now filled with coffee hour people and it is confusing where a visitor should go. A discussion was held on the pros and cons of this change. Barbara moved that we change the time of the second service to 11:00. Sue B. seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Committee reports were given as follows:

SPRC Committee by Barbara Ray: The SPRC met on Aug. 20th to discuss staff evaluations.

Trustees by Todd Horrocks: The parsonage improvements are about wrapped up at this time.

Lay Leader by Bill Besemer: Bill signed up to take a class so that he might continue to be a certified lay speaker.

Men's group by Bill Besemer: The last meeting had seven in attendance.

Worship by Meredith VanderHill: She is working on setting up a second praise team and to coordinate songs etc with the themes of the sermons.

Small group by Linda Andersen: A new women's Bible study will begin on Aug. 30th. A men's Bible study led by Pastor John will begin in Sept. and will be held on Thurs. mornings.

Shepherding by Paul Johnson: He would like to see our church print a small brochure of what services our church of-fers.

Eva Fountain expressed a concern that our church is asking for contributions too often for special projects.

She wants us to be sensitive to those who are not able to give.

Bill Besemer moved that we use the yard sale profits to pay on our overdue apportionments to the conference. Todd seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Continued on page 11

Volume 6, Issue 8 11

Continued from page 10

Sue B. announced that she and Bonnie Reed are planning a pig roast to raise money which will be held on Sept. 16th. Sue moved that $1000.00 of the profit be used toward the parking lot project and the rest be used to pay for overdue apportionments to the conference. Barbara seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Pastor John led a discussion on what people would like to happen regarding our church if money were no is-

sue. Being no further business, the meeting was closed with prayer by Pastor John.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Ray, Secretary

Labor Day Reflections Labor Day brings to mind picnics, cookouts and family gatherings. Falling on the first Monday in September, it marks the unofficial end of summer and the unofficial end of summer and the begin-ning of a new school year. But the holiday was created in 1882 to honor the social and economic contributions of American workers. In a strong economy, it’s easy to take for granted the ability to work and be paid well. But times have changed during the past few years, with many people still struggling with unemployment and underemployment. During our holiday celebrations this year, let’s give thanks for the jobs we have, pray for those who aren’t as fortunate and offer words of encouragement or help to someone who needs it/

A Powerful Weapon Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.

— Samuel Chadwick

Volume 6, Issue 8 12

The New Life United Methodist Church was formed from three local churches. Realizing their need to come together and meet as one en-tity, brought this congregation to where they are today. This church was built in 2001, and has grown from that time on. There are ser-vices and activities for all ages and conditions of your life. Come and worship in a traditional format on Sunday mornings, at 9am, or come to the more contemporary service at 10:30am. We also have a children’s Sunday School at 10:00am.. You may be interested in coming to the Gathering on Wednesday evenings, at 5:45pm, for dinner and fellowship. Check our calendar and web site for other opportunities.

Sunday

9:00am Worship Service

11:00am Worship Service (new time starting September 9)

10:00am Sunday School (starting September 9)

12:00pm Girls Group

7:30pm AA & Al-Anon

Wednesday

5:45pm Gathering

(September to April)

You Are Invited To Join Us!

New Life UMC

6584 Howard City Edmore Rd.

Six Lakes, Mi. 48886

Phone: 989-352-7788

Fax: 989-352-1101

E-mail: newlifeumc@cmsinter.net

Web-site: www.newlifeunitedmethodist.com