Church Group Onsite Meeting Option Begins in July – with Guidelines

The worship onsite relaunch has gone very well in June with all being respectful of the safety guidelines – thank you! Beginning in July adult church groups {meetings, classes} have the option to meet onsite. They also have the option of meeting via Zoom, or doing a hybrid of both. Our children’s and youth group have already begun meeting onsite.

The Building Relaunch Team has released the safety guidelines for this next step of our reopening. The leaders of each group are asked to become familiar with them and help the group in adhering to them. These guidelines were emailed as well as sent by U.S. mail this week to church leaders, chairpersons, and other current church group leaders. If you are planning to lead a group, meeting, or event onsite and did not receive the guidelines, please contact the church office.

For those attending meetings onsite, the processes will be the same as we have for worship:

In addition, groups are asked to sanitize chairs and tables used at the end of the gathering.  Supplies will be in each room.  The available rooms and maximum capacity with 6’ chair spacing are: 

The Building Relaunch Team is working on the next phase which will be to allow certain outside groups who are directly part of our mission outreach to resume meeting in the building. There will be safety guidelines for them to follow – the same as church groups plus some additional items. Currently, these groups would be the two Al-Anon groups and one AA group who all meet on Thursdays.  

Racial Justice Spotlight

As mentioned during last week's service, The Church and Society team is hosting a Racial Justice Corner on the UMCE website listing resources for the congregation on Racial Justice. The resource list includes programs, videos and resource listings/information to help all learn more about racism, anti-racism and racial justice and to provide ideas for all on ways to help combat racism in our world.

Going forward, each week in Happenings we will spotlight current or new links listed on the Racial Justice Corner webpage to encourage and remind everyone of the importance of continual learning and action regarding racial justice. Should you have any suggestions for resources we might want to add to our list, please send them to Jessica ([email protected]) or Heather McGaughey ([email protected]).

We Received a Mtn. Sky Conference Relaunch Grant



We received a $475 grant from our Mtn. Sky Conference to offset costs incurred for relaunching worship and ministry onsite. The maximum for the grant was $500. A big thanks to Matt Sailor for preparing the grant application!

Mtn. Sky Annual Conference Session

A two-day virtual annual conference session was held June 17 & 18. Lay leader Jeanne Ambrosier and I were voting members of this 16-hour event.  The technology in place was excellent, allowing the planned format to flow smoothly. 

Covered were basic business items voted on each year and a few other items. Business items and other activities were reduced this year to accommodate the format. Of note for our congregation is that the conference budget will be cut by 23% for 2021 to adjust to the income coming in because of COVID19 and the uncertain denomination direction until General Conference is able to meet in fall of 2021. Also, the conference trustees are looking to sell the current conference headquarters to save costs and move to something smaller, as many staff members are now spread out throughout the four-state region and even many Denver based staff are working remotely. 



We saw well-produced short videos on ministry projects and conference youth events. The conference lay leaders and Bishop Karen shared their annual addresses woven into worship. Vocal number videos submitted by local churches and individual UMC members in the region broke-up the time waiting for voting results.  Given the times we are in, this came off in the best way possible. We celebrate our connection and the effective, timely and prudent ministry happening for our Lord.  – In Christ’s mercy & peace, Pastor Deb

Ministry Jottings

Integrity

The Lord God is a sun and shield;

The Lord will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.  – Psalm 84:11

It seems as if the whole town had shown up for the trial. A black man charged with raping a white woman, and white attorney Atticus Finch is charged with defending the accused, Tom Robinson. The fact that Finch delivers a rousing defense doesn’t win him any with favor in the small, depression-era Alabama town depicted in Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

“Scout” says Atticus to his young daughter after a particularly ugly ribbing she’s taken at school, “It’s not fair for you and Jem {Scout’s brother}, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves, when the chips are down – well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you’ll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn’t let you down. This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience – Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man . . . Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.”

Atticus was a man of integrity during a time in the Deep South when it could cost your life to stand for your principles. It calls to mind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from the Bible who were thrown into the fiery furnace because they would not bow down to a golden idol. However, they did not die. The king promoted them and gave status to worshipping their God.

It doesn’t always work out well when we stand up for what we believe in. Atticus knew that he had to do what was right, even when his children were taunted at school and he was threatened by the accuser’s father. Shadrach and friends certainly didn’t know they would be rescued by God, but they were willing to go into the fire anyway.

Are you willing to “step into the fire” to defend something you believe in regardless of the cost to you? Large issue or small, remember what Atticus Finch said: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”  

We will be having our annual Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, July 12th at 8:30am . All critters are welcome – furry, fuzzy, or scaly! If your pet would not be fond of such an event, please bring their favorite toy and we will bless that in their honor.

The service will be 30 minutes and will be held outdoor at the church. Safe distance protocols will be in place, please bring your own mask. Join us for this fun celebration of the pets that bring so much joy to our lives.

In response to the circumstances we’re facing in our nation regarding systematic racism, the Church & Society Team is going to lead a 4-week book study on, “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown. This incisive memoir takes a penetrating look at race and the Christian faith. Brown describes the weight of white supremacy within American institutions, which African Americans and other people of color face on a daily basis.

This study is for you if:

This study will occur on Monday nights from 7-8pm on July 6, 13, 20 and 27 via Zoom, so you can do it from anywhere; even if you’re going on vacation!

Invite your friends, relatives, neighbors. Anyone with an open heart and an open mind is welcome and encouraged to participate.

Sign up and/or invite others to sign up to participate and receive the Zoom instructions by emailing Jessica at [email protected].

Please purchase your own book and try to read Chapters 1-5 before July 6. 

Church & Society Team: Carolyn Hohne, Jeanne Ambrosier, Ann Gerteis, Bill Graf, Donna Mullins, Clyde Sacks, Joyce Snapp, Jan Thurling, Heather McGaughey

Delayed to November, 2021 -- Western Jurisdictional Conference and Scheduled Retirement of Bishops 

On May 26, the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church  announced new dates  for the 2020 Jurisdictional Conferences in the United States that were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jurisdictional Conferences in the U.S.  will now be held Nov. 10-12, 2021. The Mountain Sky Conference will still host the Western Jurisdictional Conference.  General Conference will have been held Aug. 29 - Sep. 7, 2021.

" Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

But that's not who we are! We CAN speak up for precious lives that matter by sharing with others about the work of JOY International! We CAN walk the Barefoot Mile on August 29 to raise funds essential for the lifesaving rescues and healing of enslaved young people. We WILL join a movement of people in Barefoot Miles across our country who stand for those who cannot stand for themselves.

Plan to walk the Mountain Community Barefoot Mile, either on August 29 at Marshdale Park, or virtually on your own timeframe anywhere you choose. Maximize your walk by forming a team of family and/or friends with each person having reached out for sponsors! Last year the JOY Team raised over 21,000! Sincere thanks to many of you who participated and made that happen.

You can donate, register to walk in person or virtually by visiting  HERE.

The JOY Team thanks you abundantly on behalf of the children who wait. If you have questions or have an item to donate for the silent auction, please contact Jan Thurling, Bill Graf or Dave Loomis. Keep JOY in your heart!

THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF EVERGREEN

Growing a community of faith by serving a world of need and changing lives. We affirm a spirit of openness and hospitality to all, including persons of all races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, financial strata, and abilities who seek a closer walk with God.

Visit us on the web:   www.evergreenumc.org