February 2023

Here at Burke UMC, we welcome all to experience Christ's life-changing love as we worship, learn, and share in caring community!

We believe that a holistic approach to discipleship includes engaging in all the core ministry areas of worship, learn, care, and share. This includes all ages, from the youngest to oldest members of our community. Be sure to scroll through this newsletter and read about upcoming opportunities to connect and engage in February.

Last month in my newsletter article, I mentioned that we started a sermon series on community, which will continue in February up until we begin the season of Lent. We hope, if you have not already, that you will fill out our skills/interests sheet either through your Realm account, through a handout located at the Connection Center, or online at burkeumc.org/interests. This will help us create more streamlined opportunities for community building within the life of the congregation. At the tail end of the month, we begin the season of Lent once again, starting off with our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper, Ash Wednesday worship service and then we begin an emphasis on the Psalms. The Bible has lots of historical narratives, letters written back and forth to people, accounts of the lives of people, but the Psalms open a window into the way people are feeling. And it covers the gamut…from psalms of thanksgiving to psalms of lament; psalms that have people crying out to God and psalms where people worship God. So often we hear stories about the people of God, but not what they are thinking or feeling. The Psalms open us up to the breadth of emotions that we all feel. As we come to Lent and seek time to reflect, repent, and focus on who we are and who God is, what better words than the Psalms to be our guide. I hope you will commit to reading through the psalms this Lent through our devotional and experience the words that can inspire, challenge and connect with who we are. May we seek God’s presence once again this Lent and journey toward Easter with a renewed spirit!

-Pastor Jason

Here are upcoming opportunities to connect in worship at Burke UMC this month:

We continue our sermon series, "It Takes A Village," focusing on the importance of community
February 6: Worship includes communion. For our online worshippers, take home Communion boxes may be picked up from the office during regular office hours (9 am-3 pm) the week of January 30
February 12: Scouting Sunday

Lent with Burke UMC:

February 22: Season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday
Dispensation of Ashes: morning drive thru in the front circle from 7-8:30 am
Worship Service: 7:30 pm, Sanctuary. in-person and online.
Weekly Lenten Communion Services: Wednesdays at 11:30 am
Our Burke UMC Lenten Daily Devotional, written by Burke UMC participants, will be available in printed copy or by daily email. If you would like to receive by email, sign up HERE (select 2023 Lenten Devotional).
Stations of the Cross will be depicted during Holy Week on the windows of the entryway. If you would like to participate as an artist, please sign up HERE. Questions? Reach out to Pastor Evelyn.
February 26: 1st Sunday in Lent

Ongoing Worship Opportunities:

Weekly Sunday Morning Worship: 9:30 am, In Person and Online on our website at burkeumc.org/online
Children's Church: Children age 4 - 2nd grade, begin Worship in the Sanctuary with their families. They will be escorted to Children’s Church when directed. Contact Katie Glick with questions.
Interested in volunteering for worship? Click HERE.
Missed a worship service? Really loved a sermon and want to listen again? Check them out by clicking HERE.

The Prayer Education Event (Want to Talk to God?) is rescheduled for Feb. 19 at 10:30am. This is a great opportunity to learn about different approaches to prayer, as LENT begins!

Lenten Sunday Morning classes start up Feb. 26. Please check the website at burkeumc.org/learn to find updated study materials for each group. The classes that will be meeting on Sunday mornings include HOPE, GIFT, Parents Fellowship, and a short term prayer class.

Are you a parent of a child, and are looking for community and learning during the 10:30am Sunday School hour? Try Parents Fellowship, meeting in room 6 every Sunday. This conversation-based group requires no reading materials, and is a great way to talk about life and faith with other parents.

Want a class that takes place throughout the week? Check out WIS, Men's Fellowship, or the Tuesday Morning class. You can find the links to join these classes at burkeumc.org/learn.

We are offering the "Want to Talk" Just Faith class in February, taught by Beth Ann Velo! This class is a great opportunity to learn crucial conversation skills for communication in difficult circumstances. Whatever issues you discuss on a daily basis, this class gives you the tools to have a meaningful and productive interaction. It will be starting up Feb 28 at 7 pm via zoom, and running for 9 weeks. Everyone who wants to take it must sign up via the sign up genius below.

February 21 at 6:00pm: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper - Join us as we once again gather together for a Shrove Tuesday celebration. As we prepare ourselves for the season of Lent, join us for an evening of fellowship, pancakes, fun, and creative toppings. Sign up HERE if you plan to attend.

What happened to the kitchen? Many thanks to Farah Greeley, Jane Wilson, Steve Nash and Sally Ann Jaeger for putting in a couple of hours on a Saturday to start organizing & cleaning our well used kitchen. The work isn't done! If you would like to help with future clean up events or if you have input, please leave your name and comments on the sign-up sheet posted on the fridge in the kitchen.

College Student Ministry:

Thank you for helping us send love and let our college students know we are praying for them, week after week! Today we invite you to send cards to the student listed below, as well as sign the card from the congregation which is available at the Connection Center before and after worship.

This week's student:

Lauren Faulkner, Freshman at Florida Stat

#5463

75 N. Woodward Avenue

Tallahassee, FL 32313-5463

Our music ministries are sponsoring Broadway at Burke, coming up on March 25 at 6 pm! Free event in the Sanctuary! Come enjoy an evening of songs from your favorite Broadway shows. Music is sponsoring this event and looking for musical acts (solos, duets, ensembles). Sign up HERE by February 15 or contact Tammy Zerbo for more info.

Feeding Ministries

We are in need of volunteers for our various feeding ministries! We prepare breakfast for FACETS on third Sunday mornings, lunch for the Lamb Center on 3^rd Monday mornings, and lunch for Rising Hope on 4^th Sunday mornings. Interested in joining a team that cooks monthly for organizations in our community? Be in touch with Katie Glick (katieglick@burkeumec.org).

Burke Gives Back Community Co-op

Our co-op continues to grow and to serve the community in meaningful and profound ways! In December we registered 57 new families and served 225 families total! You can sign-up to volunteer with the co-op by visiting the BUMC website and clicking on the Share tab.

We always welcome non-perishable food donations in our donation boxes in front of the church.

Current Co-op Needs:
Pasta (any kind)
Rice
Peanut Butter
Cereal

Burke Gives Back Event-Save the Date!

Our spring Burke Gives Back event is scheduled for Saturday, May 13^th. Mark your calendars now! More details to come.

Kairos Prison Ministry

Church member Randy Jones is active with Kairos Prison Ministry and invites others to join him. Kairos is adding new team members for the first post-Covid Kairos Sussex weekend event at the end of March. If you are interested be in touch soon-the application process is lengthy. Visit the Kairos website for more information: www.kairosprisonministry.org

Free The Girls

We have begun collecting bras for the Free the Girls campaign. Gently used bras can be left in our donation bins in front of the church. How does your bra donation support survivors of sex trafficking? The Free the Girls website explains: “We partner with individuals and organizations to work with survivors of sex trafficking and help answer the question of “What happens next?” We are committed to addressing the circumstances that created the vulnerability towards exploitation in the first place - namely, isolation and poverty. The foundation of our answer is to provide a pathway for the women to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship and relationships; granting them the capacity to earn a sustainable livable wage while they focus on all others areas of healing. Our most successful initiative to date has been equipping the women in our programs to run and operate their own bra-selling businesses using the new and gently used bras we collect from donors around the world as their inventory.” You can learn more at freethegirls.org!

Click below to see highlights of upcoming opportunities for kids and youth this February! Visit our website for a full list of opportunities.

We also want to invite you to save the date for Vacation Bible School, which will take place July 24-28, 2023. Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more info coming soon!

Just for Kids and Youth: February Newsletter

Leadership Board:

The Leadership Board met in January and heard updates on end of year finances and talked about anticipated emphasis this year on clarifying and refining our mission, vision and values. Our next Board meeting will be February 16 at 7pm via zoom. If you’d like to attend, you can register for the meeting by clicking HERE.

Finance Report:

Thank you for your support to BUMC. Your generosity enabled BUMC to end the year on a financial high note. Tithes and offerings to the Operating Fund was over $1,047,000, exceeding 2021’s total by about 3%. And 2023 is more encouraging. The total giving commitments for 2023 is 3.5% more than the amount pledged for 2022, including 12 new pledges. Over 63% of these commitments are for increased amounts than what was pledged for 2022, with an average increase of almost 8%.

Giving to the various restricted accounts was also robust. Between gifts and grants, the church received over $92K for the food co-op, $17K for UMCOR, $10K for the Rachel Fund, $5K to support scholarships at the BUMC preschool, $22K for other mission related activities, and $13K to pay down the mortgage.

This good news is due to your faithful service and financial commitment to the missions of BUMC. Thank you again.