St. Andrew UMC

Connections

New Bible Study beginning,

Thurs., April 3rd

at the SAY Center.

Really Bad Girls of the Bible

Eight shady ladies from Scripture stroll across the pages of Really Bad Girls of the Bible, proving that when it comes to badness, there’s nothing new under the sun. The Medium of En Dor dabbled in the dark arts. Tamar the Widow dressed as a prostitute. Herodias, Athaliah, and Jael committed murder. The Adulteress and Bathsheba committed scandalous adultery. And the Bleeding Woman suffered from an illness that marked her as a sinner and made her untouchable. Yes, they were Really Bad in their time. Yet a closer look at their lives reveals the sovereign will of God, shining through the centuries.  See Lesley Baskette or Betty Harris for details.

A Community Connecting People to God and One Another Through Unconditional Love and Faithful Service.

Message from Pastor Karen Kagiyama

This is the year my mother turns 70. Last month my grandmother would have been 100.  I like to think she had a big celebration in heaven.  As the years come and go, my perspective on time changes.  What used to seem like an eternity passes by in the blink of an eye.  At my daughter’s band concert, the band director urged the parents to support their children by attending their concerts and games.  Time goes by so fast, and you’ll regret being too busy to attend.  Of course, he was preaching to the choir.  We were there on a Saturday night listening to beginning band music only because we know how important the now is for the future.  We know how quickly our children grow and change, and we don’t want to miss a minute.

   God, who lives in eternity, has entered our time because God knows how quickly life passes.  Before you know it, we’ve been lost in the desert of pain and suffering and grief.  God comes to offer us a different path and to embrace our time with eternal grace and love.  The gift of eternal life isn’t for somewhere in the distant future.  It is for the now in order that the future will be with God.  Whether we are 7 or 70 or 100, God offers us this gift because God loves us and doesn’t want to miss one minute with us.

   I invite you in the remaining Lenten days as we move to the cross and the other side of things as we know them, to open the gift of God’s grace for your life.  In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, may we live and love forever. 

March News & Notes

Empty Bowls

Thanks to everyone who participated in Empty Bowls.  Your help was a great service to the clients of the Carroll County Soup Kitchen, whether you made bowls, volunteered during the event, or came to enjoy the art, soup and music.  This event shows how our community can really pull together to help our neighbors, and St. Andrews has always been a very active part of this effort.  Watch the Weekly Word for news of how much money we were able to give the Soup Kitchen, and don’t forget to bring canned goods to church all through the year and to volunteer to help there the last full week of each month.

Upcoming Events

Church Easter Egg Hunt

& Picnic

Saturday, March 22^nd

at Balte Beach

Fun for the whole family!  Each child who wants to hunt eggs should bring a dozen eggs.  Bring a potluck side dish to share.  Hamburgers and hot dogs provided

Laity Sunday

March 30^th

Aaron Bivins

Potluck Lunch after church

ALIVE

A UWG Campus Ministry Outreach Concert

Wednesday, March 5

5 – 8 PM

Back porch of student center

Women's Retreat

Women, Mark Your Calendar - August 15-16, is our next Women's Retreat.  The Rev. Linda Hessell will lead us on our spiritual journey.

 

Cyber Sunday School is under way! 

Check it out through the link www.standrewumc.com, then bookmark the site so you can keep up with reflections on Scripture, discussion questions, practical life exercises and prayer.  Feel free to add your comments—no need to worry about answering every question in grammatical essay style—but we’ll all benefit from sharing what God has placed in our hearts regarding the topics that especially speak to you.  If you have suggestions for the class, please feel free to post those as well.

Dinner and a Movie

Saturday, March 15^th, 5:30 pm

at the Baskette Home Theater

(100 Nugget Road). 

Pot Luck Dinner is the menu and our feature event is Amazing Grace!!  The movie is based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce.  Ioann Gruffudd plays Wilberforce, who, as a Member of Parliament, navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. Albert Finney plays John Newton, a confidante of Wilberforce who inspires him to pursue a life of service to humanity. Benedict Cumberbatch is William Pitt the Younger, England's youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 24, who encourages his friend Wilberforce to take up the fight to outlaw slavery and supports him in his struggles in Parliament.

Wild Animal Safari

Saturday, April 19^th

A family field trip planned to Pine Mountain for a Safari Adventure!  One of the area's most popular attractions, the 500-acre Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari, offers a unique, hands-on safari experience. Visitors can see, touch and feed hundreds of exotic animals from every continent - a true worldwide safari.

Meetings & More

Kids Club

Kids Club will meet in March on the following dates:

March 2

March 9 – Peter’s Walk

March 16

March 23/30 – No Kids Club

One Great Hour of Sharing

Sunday, March 2

Give to the

United Methodist Committee on Relief

Disciple Recognition

March 2^nd

Disciple Recognition during the morning worship.

Penny Sunday

Penny Sunday is every third Sunday of the month!  The children collect your pennies for mission.

United Methodist Men’s Meeting Minutes

St. Andrew United Methodist Church

United Methodist Men’s Meeting Minutes

Sunday, February 10, 2008

www.standrewumc.com

Next meeting: Sunday, March 9, 2008

In attendance: President Dr. David Newton, Secretary David Harris, Lee Rhyne, Dick Balte, Mike McCorsley.

Yet another in a long series of fantastic breakfasts was cooked up by chef extraordinaire, Dr. Newton! Thanks, Dr. D! We had an informative sharing session of what is going on in our lives. This is now a monthly tradition.

Devotional given by our President spoke on the relationship of perfection and our faith. In striving for perfection, can it be somewhat destructive? We may be blinded to how our dogged pursuit of perfection could hurt others or even ourselves. Having balance in our lives should be a goal as well. This was the first of a resumption of a past tradition we are now revisiting, that of volunteer devotional rotations. Anyone wishing to sign up please contact David Harris at harris0004@comcast.net.

Maudy Thursday service will be March 20, 2008. Volunteers will be solicited for roles in what has become an annual tradition of the men acting out the Last Supper. The practice will be 6:00 – 7:00 P.M. in the sanctuary the night before, on Wednesday, March 19^th. 

Mother’s Day breakfast will be May 11^th.

Playground fix-up is needed soon. Our goal is have it done by the end of February. Dick Balte will call us when he is not substitute teaching and will schedule very soon a few hours to work on it.

Meeting adjourned at 9:55 A.M.

May Events

A Day of Prayer

Sign up to pray for St. Andrew and our church family and friends on Thursday, May 1st, National Day of Prayer.  The church will be open from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm for prayer.

 

Women’s Day Brunch

The Second Annual Women's Day Brunch, Saturday, May 3 from 11 - 1 pm.  The Rev. Martha Dye will be our guest speaker.  If you would like to help plan this event, please see Ginny Kirkland or Lesley Baskette.

Callaway Garden

A Day at Callaway Garden, Saturday, May 10th.

 

Dinner A'ffaire

 Come learn to fix that special dish under the tutelage of our very own Bernie Wong will be held on Saturday, May 17th.  Space is limited, so sign up early. 

 

Announcements

Wesley Foundation Spring Break Retreat

March 16 – 19, 2008

The students at the Fish House are staying home and working on the house!  We will need lots of bottled water, drinks, snacks and homemade goodies.  Sign up on the hall table to help!

Call for Submissions

During Advent we issued a call for anyone to contribute poetry, essays, pictures, etc for a St. Andrew literary magazine.  Lent is another good time for introspection and trying to find ways to express what the Spirit means in your life.  Please e-mail any submissions to boydville@bellsouth.net or leave them in the outreach mailbox in the hallway.  If you have questions or would like to have a writing group, please contact me.

Spring/Summer Yard Sale

Calling all yard sale queens (and kings)!  It’s time to clear out your closets and raise a little money for projects and mission.  See Karen if you would like to coordinate this ministry.

Please let us know how people on the prayer list are doing.  Send prayer requests to standrewsc@earthlink.net or put a note in the pastor’s box.

Please send your articles for the newsletter to either madquilter8@yahoo.com or norma.west@carrolltoncityschools.net.