March 2017
Shepherd's Voice
A Monthly Newsletter
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Worship with us each Sunday,
8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary and
11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship in the Family Life Center.
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I am writing these words on Wednesday March 1st, 2017 - Ash Wednesday. In observance of Lent I have decided to read a devotional guide titled
40 Days with Wesley by the late Bishop Rueben P. Job, former editor of the
Upper Room daily devotional magazine. The reading for today included a
Prayer of Presence and within that prayer were these words that really spoke to me: "Invade our minds, senses, and hearts like a quiet sunrise, a refreshing rain, a beautiful bouquet, a commanding voice, a trusted companion, and a loving touch - because we want to know You and remember who You are with every breathe we take."
Until I read this prayer I had never thought of God as an
Invader. For me the word conjures up images of an enemy or of someone with criminal intent. Neither of those categories would include the gracious God that I know and worship. But perhaps I have put up so many fences and defenses that I have left a loving and gracious God no other options. God loves me too much to just walk away, so God launches a full-scale
invasion. Hopefully all of my fences will fall and all of my defenses will crumble; broken barriers will litter the landscape. What might some of those barriers be, for me and maybe for you?
Selfishness? An invading God will turn us inside out, taking our focus off of our wants and desires, turning our attention toward others. Our
thriving might have to take a backseat to the
surviving of others.
Fear? An invading God will certainly bump us out of our Comfort Zones into the Zone of the Unknown...unknown people and places and situations. Our Safe Places might be transformed from a destination to a rest stop.
Worry? An invading God will change the way we think about that little phrase,
what if. "What if the very worst thing imaginable happens?" might be replaced by "What if I trust in the God who has promised to never leave me?"
And there are so many other barriers that we could identify; fences that we build, defenses that we establish to turn back the advances of a
beloved invader. My hope and prayer for you and for me, during this holy season of Lent, is that we open our hearts anew to God, embracing the
Invasion!
Grace and Peace!
Charles
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M.O.P.S. Spring Consignment Sale!
Friday, March 3, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 4, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Catch our Spring sale this Friday and Saturday (with half-price day [for marked items] on Saturday)
There is also a PreSale on Thursday evening for sellers and volunteers (which are ALWAYS needed). There is still time to enter items for selling (and to sign up as a volunteer) until Thursday, March 2nd. See
mtnparkmops.bravesites.com for more details.
Mountain Park M.O.P.S. is entirely funded and supported by these sales. Thank you for your support, and we're looking forward to seeing you all there! Questions?
Please reach out to
Katie Reagin
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SAVE THE DATE: Trinity Table
Sunday, March 5, at 10 am - 3 pm
Mark you calendars to help donate home-cooked chili to be served to the homeless. Please bring your chili the morning of the event to be transported and served.
In addition, we need ham and cheese (no condiments) or PB&J sandwiches. Please package each sandwich in its own ziplock bag!
Interested in serving and building relationships with those that come hungry? Reach out to
Dan Settle to let him know you'd like to help!
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Sunday, March 12 from 5 - 8 p.m. in the Family Life Center
We're in need of more donations! If you're interested in donating an item (new or very gently used) or service to be bid on for the auction, then please submit donation cards. Donation cards are available at the church or by contacting Dan Settle ([email protected]). Please try to bring all donations to the church next week by Thursday, March 9! Thank you!
Tickets: Prices of tickets are $15 per person and are available for purchase at Wednesday Night Dinners and after each Sunday morning worship service. Final opportunity to purchase tickets will be Wednesday, March 8. Questions? Contact Mary Pope
Donations: We're in need of more donations! If you're interested in donating an item or service to be bid on for the auction, then please submit donation cards. Donation cards are available while purchasing tickets and by contacting Dan Settle. Please bring physical donations to the church no later than Thursday, March 9.
Questions? Contact
Mary Pope for tickets and
Dan Settle for donations.
Childcare offered from 5-8:30 pm, bring dinner for child, up to 5 years old, RSVP only (no drop-offs the night of the auction) by Wednesday, March 8 to Kathy Slaton.
The evening of the Mission Auction, we will have both silent and live auction opportunities along with entertainment and dinner! Please get the word out!
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The team had a joyful time building relationship and working on several projects including:
- pouring concrete floors in 6 homes (a total of about 23 tons of concrete);
- construction of 3 latrines and 3 pila's (wash basin / shower structures);
- and we planted 26 trees (orange and mango) near the homes.
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2017 Annual Spring Workday on Saturday, March 25, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
We have the opportunity to get our worship facilities sparkling for all our families and friends who will be with us for our Easter worship services on Sunday, April 16. All who are able to do light to heavy house cleaning, including dusting, vacuuming, polishing, cleaning windows, polishing brass, etc. are needed and welcome. The more volunteers we have, the more fun we have working together in anticipation of Easter. We hope to see you as we gather to prepare for the Good News of Easter!
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Garden Work Day - Saturday, March 4 from 9 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Weather permitting, we'll be working to prepare the Garden for the planting season! Want to learn more about what's coming up? Join us for our organizational meeting on Wednesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center. All are welcome to participate and anyone interested in helping throughout the summer please email Dorothy Kopp at
[email protected].
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1870 McFarland Pkwy. Suite 300 * Alpharetta, GA 30005
678.894.4833
Saturday, March 4, 2017 starting at 1:00 p.m.
Gateway Classic Cars is the world's largest classic/exotic car sales company with fourteen locations. The Atlanta showroom currently houses 132 of their consignment vehicles.
Mr. Robert Kopp has made arrangements for MPUMC to tour their Atlanta showroom on the above date (cameras are welcome). This event is open to both men and women and it is
free of charge.
There is also an optional lunch (lunch menu only) at Steak and Shake with each person responsible for paying for their own meal.
If you are interested in attending please notify Mr. Kopp via his cell phone at 770.564.2296 or by email at
[email protected]
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UMW Tea Party - "Hot Water Times"
COME JOIN THE ADOX DISTRICT UNITED METHODIST WOMEN
FAITH, FUN, AND EVERYONE'S
MOTHER/DAUGHTER/GRANDMOTHER/SISTER/AUNT/FRIEND
Saturday, March 11, 2017 10:00 am
Mountain Park United Methodist Church
"A woman is like a teabag -she never knows how strong she is until she is in
hot water" (quote by Eleanor Roosevelt)
Guest Speaker: Patsy Thomas, SEJ United Methodist Women Officer
December is going to be a busy month; mark your calendars!
We will be having our Advent Workshop on December 7th at 7:00 p.m. We will also not being having Middle School Bible study this night.
WEAR YOUR HAT AND GLOVES IF YOU HAVE THEM AND COME JOIN THE FUN!
The North Georgia Conference has had many "hot water" occasions with disasters lately, and we are asking participants to bring items from the attached UMCOR Health Kit list. We will use these items for our District UBUNTU Day in April when we gather to make the kits.
Hand towels
-15 x 25 inches to 17 x 27 inches (Kitchen, cleaning, and microfiber towels not acceptable)
Washcloths
Combs -
Comb needs to be sturdy and longer than 6 inches long (No pocket combs or picks Rattail combs & combs without handles are acceptable with a minimum 6 inches of teeth)
Bath-size soaps -
3 oz.& larger sizes only (No Ivory or Jergens soap due to moisture content; Do not remove packaging)
Toothbrush - Adult size only (Individually packaged. Do not remove from original packaging.)
Adhesive bandages -
¾ inch to 1 inch-size (Common household Band-Aids)
Plastic bags One-gallon size sealable bag only
Metal nail files or nail clippers
(No emery boards or toenail clippers)
Important Notes: All items must be new. Do not wash any of the items as they will be considered used
This event is for all ages and is a way to fellowship with the women who are important in your life while encouraging membership in our wonderful organization.
For further information please contact:
Sheila Woodruff
(770)923-1465
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A month of fun and mischief for our preschoolers as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day and welcome spring by waking up Mr. Bear!
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Camp-In Deadline Approaching!
March 24-25 for all 2nd-5th graders
$25 per child
Meet at the Church on Friday, March 24 at 6 PM
Pick up from the Church on Saturday, March 25 at 11 AM
Hotdogs & S'mores ~ Sleeping in tents under the "stars" in The Park ~ Games ~ Talks & Worship led by Trey Hockman.
On Sunday, March 26, we are inviting all campers to attend Worship in the Park for a special service to share with the rest of the children's ministry what they learned and conclude this special weekend.
To register, please turn in your $25 payment and
this
registration form to Rachel or Courtney by
Sunday March 5!
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Saturday, April 15 at 10:00 in the Family Life Center
For all children through 5th grade.
Join us for crafts, the egg hunt, and a visit from the Easter Bunny! Rain or shine! Bring your Easter basket!
Candy donations are now being accepted for the egg hunt.
Please drop off your donations in the designated bins located around the church (please make sure candy is individually wrapped).
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Save the Date - Summer's VBS
June 12-16, 9:00 am 12:00 pm.
Volunteer sign ups have begun!
Please contact David Brock if you already know where you'd like to serve: [email protected].
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Pray for our Confirmation Class
11 of our middle schoolers are currently going through Confirmation, learning more about what it means to follow Christ and commit their lives to Him. Please pick up a picture of one of our students in the Narthex or Family Life Center and commit to praying for them through Palm Sunday, when they will be confirmed during our 11:00 worship services.
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New Opportunity to Promote Your Local Business
New Opportunity to Promote Your Local Business
We are looking for fresh and creative ways to raise more funds for our annual Fall Festival fundraiser this year, and we need your help!
If you own your own business, or are a part of a company that is looking for advertising opportunities, please reach out to Rachel Hockman ([email protected]) about sponsoring a game booth or activity at our Fall Festival in October! Your business will be advertised the day of the event, as well as in our monthly newsletter. We hope you will consider this mutually-beneficial partnership with us!
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Camp Glisson Scholarship Available:
Thanks to everyone's generous donations, we are able to offer $200 off the price of a full week of summer camp (for our students in grades 3rd-12th), and $100 off the price of mini camp (offered for 2nd-4th graders for half a week). In addition, we will also be offering $150 off for our 11th-12th grade students serving in Glisson's ELI leadership program.
How to get a scholarship:
After you've registered your students for camp online (www.glisson.org), please contact Rachel Hockman ([email protected]) and notify her which week your student(s) will be attending camp. Please pay Camp Glisson up to the amount of your scholarship, and we will send them one payment for everyone before the final payment deadline on May 1.
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Crossroad's Youth News
Weekly Bible Studies
We still have our weekly Bible studies going: middle school on Wednesdays from 6:15pm - 7:00pm and high school on Thursdays from 6:30pm - 7:30pm.
Spring Retreat Registration
Our Spring Retreat registration has opened up, and we'll be headed to Camp Glisson the weekend of April 28th - 30th. For questions or more information please contact Josh Henley at
[email protected].
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Other Ministry Opportunities
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Relay for Life of Lilburn Relay Rall
y
Friday, April 21 at 5:00 p.m.
Lilburn Park
76 Main Street NW
Lilburn, GA 30047
For more information contact:
Roxanne Tigue or Rhonda Rice at
770.814.0211
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Boy Scout Troop #549 (Meet's at MPUMC) is Selling Pine straw
Troop #549 is selling and delivering pine straw to support their unit. They offering a bale of pine straw for $4.50 per bale this year. The scouts are also happy to spread the pine straw in your yard for a donation.
Pine straw sales will continue through March 6th and delivery will take place on the following 1 or 2 Saturdays. If you are interested in purchasing your pine straw from Troop #549, then email you name, address and number of bales to be purchased to Liam Madden, Scoutmaster, Troop 549 at [email protected].
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