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The Connection

A weekly newsletter from United Methodist Church of Lenox
Rev. Nami Yu, Pastor
 
Notes from our Pastor  

    Do you need "Soul Reset?" - breakdown, breakthrough
    and the journey to wholeness written by Junius B. Dotson
 

                                    Everything was fine… until it wasn’t.

Reverend Junius B. Dotson was preaching at a funeral when suddenly he realized he wasn’t going to make it through the service. The next thing he knew, he was in an ambulance on the way to the ER, where he was diagnosed with extreme exhaustion. Recalling his own journey through grief, depression, burnout, and emotional breakdown, Dotson is passionate about calling for a Soul Reset for pastors, church leaders, and all disciples of Jesus Christ.

This 6-week study is for anyone who moves at breakneck speed through their daily lives, often relying only on their own strength to bring God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus shows us a different way—an easier, unforced rhythm of what kingdom living looks like. It’s a balance of work, rest, play, worship, exercise, and eating well —spiritual practices that keep our souls hydrated and healthy as we do the work of the church in the world.

Soul Reset is a call for the church and all of Jesus’ disciples to reset and reorder their lives around spiritual practices, to learn to walk through our difficult seasons with our souls connected to the source of Living Water so that we don’t burn out or break down. And if we do burn out or break down, we learn to lift one another up and point one another back to Jesus.

In the very beginning of new season, we may feel already tired and exhausted after having a dynamic summer. When we look at our new plans, events and ministries for the last quarter of this year, I hope we could bring our passion and our wholeness in everything we do. If you don't find God in what you do and what you serve, you may burned out yourself. If you discover God's work in you, you will be able to build up a mature relationship with God.

  I wish you would see your growing and transforming faith in yourself through the things you have in your life. God Bless you!


         What is Rally Day? It’s just for kids isn’t it?

Taking the last question first: No, rally day isn’t just for kids. It is for everyone in the church.

Now I’ll answer the first question so you can see why it is for everyone.

Webster’s Dictionary defines "rally" as:

1) a verb "to draw or call together for a common purpose"

2) a noun meaning "a renewal of energy in joint action"

During the summer, our many activities and vacations and events continually draw congregation members away from each other - especially on weekends. Summer can also be a spiritually draining time. You start the summer with the good intentions of sticking to your Bible-reading schedules. Good intentions of worshiping regularly.  But the reality is that summer’s hectic schedules can easily derail us from those good intentions.

At the end of summer, we need "a renewal of energy" when it comes to spiritual matters. It’s hard to renew your energy on your own. But it’s much easier in a group. That’s why we set aside one special day at the end of the summer to "rally" - to "draw together for a common purpose" seeking the Holy Spirit’s power to "renew our energy" for worship, for digging into God’s Word, for praying, for serving, and for witnessing.

On Sunday September 8th at 10 a.m. we will be "drawing together renewing our energy for the common purpose" of growing in trust and obedience to Jesus Christ." Before the worship, We will start the Christian education group  at 8:45 a.m. in the library.

                                                                                                                  Psalm 118:24
                                                                                          This is the day that the Lord has made;
                                                                                                  let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

                        Church Schedule

 

 
Thursday, September 5
Clergy meeting for Apple Squeeze Worship Service
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
 
Friday, September 6
Prep for Saturday dinner
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, September 7
"Thyme to Eat" Dinner featuring recipes from our new cookbook
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, September 8
Rally Sunday
Christian Education
8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Worship Service
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
 
Tuesday, September 10
Bible Study2
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
 
Wednesday, September 11
Prep the meal for the Habitat Volunteers
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Bible Study 1
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Serving sandwiches for the Habitat volunteers
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Gospel Gang
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, September 12
Prayer Shawl Knitters at St. Ann's
1:30 p.m.
Finance Committee meeting
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
 
Friday, September 13
Worship at Devonshire Estates
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Greeting Card Ministry
12:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
 
Sunday, September 15
Christian Education
8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Special Giving Sunday for Peace with Justice
Worship service
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Apple Squeeze Planning Meeting
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

                                "Thyme to Eat" Dinner
                                  Saturday, September 7
                                       5 p.m. to 7 p.m.


                        The menu will be featuring recipes from our new cookbook

If you contributed a recipe (dessert, cookies, salad, appetizer) to the cookbook and would like to prepare it to be served at the upcoming dinner on September 7, please let us know by signing up in fellowship hall or contacting Judy Upton at 201-394-8331.
If you are interested in helping with serving or setup/cleanup for the dinner please sign-up in fellowship hall or contact Judy Upton or Shirley Perkins.
Judy Upton 201-394-8331 judyupton1@gmail.com
Shirley Perkins 413-442-4738 shirleyjoslinperkins@gmail.com

 

                                     Christian Education
                  8:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings before worship
                                  September 8--October 6


                        Join us as we read “A Grace-full Life”

        
Grace. It’s a game changer. And when never-ending love comes from God, it sometimes feels like more than you can take. Why does God want
to have a personal relationship with me? How can I fully experience and respond to God’s grace? What    does "grace" really mean?n

 

In A Grace-Full Life, you’ll examine a Wesleyan understanding of grace for the common person. You'll learn about various forms of grace—prevenient grace, justifying grace, sanctifying grace, and glorifying grace—and you’ll come away knowing how God’s grace truly works in your life.

                    For more information or questions, contact Jill Wehry

                      Memorial Flowers at UMC Lenox

 
As a way to offer a remembrance of a loved one or to honor someone whom we love and is still with us, or to celebrate a special event the Worship Committee would like to bring back the Memorial Flower ministry. Any member of the congregation can choose to buy sign up to have flowers for the altar for a particular Sunday that is important to him or her. There are several options for supplying the flowers:
  • You can pick a bouquet and bring them in yourself. Someone from the Worship Committee will put them onto the altar
  • You can buy flowers and if you need help arranging them, someone from the Worship Committee will help you arrange them and put them on the altar
  • You can make a modest payment – approximately $25-35 – and we will order an arrangement to be put on the altar.
This can be a one time donation, or can be made as an ongoing, annual donation. When you arrange for the flowers, you’ll specify who the flowers are in memory or in honor of and that will appear in the bulletin for that Sunday, along with your name as the donor.
And, if flowers are not your thing, talk to anyone on the Worship committee about alternate adornments.
  Look for a sign-up sheet on the table in fellowship hall
                                    2019 Apple Squeeze

The 2019 Lenox Apple Squeeze is just around the corner and for the 5th year we will be hosting a booth.  Mark your calendars, Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The mission of our booth is to:
  • provide hospitality without expectation,
  • strengthen our relationships with the people of Lenox and surrounding communities and
  • inform visitors of who we are
This is a great opportunity for us to reach out to the greater communities of Lenox and Pittsfield.
As in past years we will be participating in an Ecumenical Worship Service.  The service will in Lilac Park at 10:30 a.m. so there will be no worship service at UMCL the Sunday of September 22.
Please consider spending a couple of hours at our booth, serving coffee and/or greeting visitors or assisting with our worship service Sunday morning. The sign-up sheets are located on the tables in fellowship hall.
We realize that parking during the Apple Squeeze weekend is a challenge and has prevented many of us from volunteering and/or attending the event, however this year there will parking at the Tanglewood East Gate lot with a shuttle to transport attendees.  The shuttles will be running all day both Saturday and Sunday. The shuttle bus stops will be in front of town hall for drop off and at The Curtis Hotel for return to the parking lot.
So please consider volunteering a couple hours of your time on that weekend.

 
                                   Life Line Screening

Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, is pleased to offer a preventive health event at United Methodist Church of Lenox on 9/17/2019. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes 4 vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. There are three ways to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call toll-free 1-888-653-6441 or visit http://lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle or text the word circle to 797979.
 

 
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United Methodist Church of Lenox, 6 Holmes Road, Lenox, MA 01240, 413-445-5918
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United Methodist Church of Lenox · 6 Holmes Road · Lenox, MA 01240 · USA

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