The Scroll a Wesley: T HE S CROLL Who Knew?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SHARON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH NOVEMBER.DECEMBER.2016 V OLUME 4. ISSUE 6 The Scroll A Wesley: T HE S CROLL Who knew? Charles Wesley, younger brother of John was by all accounts a prolific composer. Depending on what site you are looking at, he composed from 100’s of hymns to over 7000. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Charles was born December 18, 1707, and was the eighteenth child of Samuel and Susanna. Despite their closeness, Charles and his brother John did not always agree on questions related to their beliefs. Charles was strongly op- posed to the idea of a breach with the Church of England into which they had both been or- dained. Charles experienced his conversion on May 21, 1738 followed by John’s conver- sion a few days later. He began his hymn writing in 1739. There are 150 hymns that are included in the Methodist hymn book Hymns and Praise published in New York and Chicago in 1892, and his hymns are largely notable for being interpretations of Scripture. The 24th of May 2007 was celebrated as the tercentenary of Wesley's birth, with many celebratory events held throughout England, even though Wesley was in fact born in December 1707. The date of May 24th is known to United Methodists as "Aldersgate Day" and commemo- rates the spiritual awakening of first Charles and then John Wesley. In 1995 The Gospel Music Academy recognized his accomplishments by listing his name in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. What is your favorite Wesley hymn? To name a few: O For a Thousand Tongues; Come Thou Long Expected Jesus; Love Devine, All Love’s Excelling; Ye Servants of God; Jesus Lover of My Soul; A Charge to Keep Have I; Christ From Whom All Blessings Flow. And the favorite of Christmas Carols, Hark The Herald Angels Sing The hymn was composed originally as a Hymn for Christmas -Day and included in the 1739 John Wesley collection of Hymns and Sacred Poems and was based on the scripture from Luke 2:14 In 1855 William H. Cummings, British musician, adapted Charles’ words to Felix Mendelssohn’s secular music from Festgesang . Charles himself heard the words sung to the music of his Easter Song, Christ The Lord is Risen Today. What ever the changes that have affected this piece through the years, it without question never fails to lift the heart and the spirit when it is sung. Luke 2:132:13----1414 “14 “ At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him . “ from The Message translation Submitted by Beth Cheffer PAGE 2 VOLUME 4. ISSUE 6 In Connection - UMCOR at work In this last quarter of 2016, UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) contin- ues to be in mission around the world: Potable Water in Iraq: More than 3.2 million people are currently displaced from their homes because of violence in Iraq. Of that total, about one third are living in un- safe, unsuitable shelters, where access to clean drinking water and basic hygiene supplies is severely limited. A recent grant from UMCOR to Globalmedic allowed the charity to dis- tribute family emergency kits to 1,087 families (some 5,447 individuals) in the camp. Kits included a Rainfresh household water -purification unit, two tubes of toothpaste, and 12 bars of soap. GlobalMedic also delivered 90 winterization kits to vulnerable persons in the camp . Help on the Home Front: Nearly $2 million for disaster response funding for flooding in four U.S. states was approved during the annual fall board meeting of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The states of Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas and Missis sippi are continuing to work with local resources and UMCOR as they repair their lives from the flooding. Hurricane Matthew: The provision of emergency supplies, food, health kits, and other assistance builds on UMCOR’s sustained presence in Haiti, work that has contin- ued since the disastrous earthquake in January 2010. More than 500 deaths in Haiti have been attributed to Hurricane Matthew, with the greatest loss and storm damage in the southern region. When desiring to make donations to organizations like UMCOR, or to communities in need from disaster keep these guidelines in mind as suggested by UMCOR: DONATE UMCOR RELIEF-SUPPLY KITS, not supplies such as bottled water , Relief-supply kits answer a need for disaster survivors while, at the same time, offering an important con- nection for the giver DONATE STUFFED (WITH CASH) ENVELOPES, not stuffed animals , Thinking of children in the wake of a disaster is a great gesture of compassion, but stuffed animals too often pile up in churches so quickly they take over closets, pews and even entire warehouses DONATE CLEANUP, not clothing , Used clothing is the most oft-given inappropriate dona- tion. Responders call used clothing “the second disaster.” DONATE PRAYERS, not parts of toasters, cars, or furniture ,Christ's directive to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, should remind us that if we were survivors of dis- asters ourselves we would probably not want to receive someone's discarded items, but be given as much choice as possible. PAGE 3 VOLUME 4. ISSUE 6 9 Jimmy B 1 Jazmine N 13 Jim J 3 Hannah M 14 Jeremiah L LJ B 27 Caleb N 6 Gabriella L 28 Amber K 11 Tiffanie N 29 Caylee L 18 Melissa H 21 Brandi T 22 Olivia K 27 Bruce P 12 Joe and D M 15 Gary and Robin C 19 Amber and Matt K -P 29 Hugh and Judy Z 21 Al and Karin O Young Eun and Seung Hee C 28 Kim and Chris M PAGE 4 VOLUME 4. ISSUE 6 HISTORY OF THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS BY LINDA KEENE Fish are mentioned and given symbolic mean- ing many times in the Gospels. Several of Jesus’ twelve Apostles were fishermen. He commissioned them with the words "I will make you fishers of men”. Christ fed the 5,000 with 2 fishes and 5 loaves. Water baptism, practiced by immersion in the early church, created a parallel between fish and converts. Greeks, Romans, and many other pagans used the fish symbol before Christians. So the fish attracted little suspicion, making it a perfect secret symbol for persecuted believers. During their perse- cution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, early Christians succeeded in transforming an already powerful symbol, a fish, into a way Christians could identify themselves to each other without either the government or the religious leaders recognizing them. Christians used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs or to distinguish friends from foes. When an early Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian some- times drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew the other was a follower and baptized believer of Jesus Christ. Now known as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish", it is a well -recognized symbol consisting of two curved lines that resemble the image of a fish. The symbol is also known as an Ichthys, coming from the ancient Greek word for fish. This “Fishers of Men” window was given in memory of Pauline Keene by the Keene family. Pauline lived by her Christian standards and was a great influence and role model for all who met her. She was active in the Baptist church, a Sunday School teacher, faithful in her attendance. In the Heritage in Stained Glass booklet Ruth Keene wrote, “Pauline had an unsurpassed love for missions and her zeal had an impact on the world, especially in New Guinea”. All who went to visit her in the nursing home came away blessed and encour- aged instead of Just the other way around! Mark 1:17 “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” Linda Keene, Historian PAGE 5 VOLUME 4. ISSUE 6 YES - CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ! Combined event on Saturday December 17th: Cookie plate preparation and Ladies brunch in Fellowship Hall. Bring your cookies for the Cookie Sale the next day and stay for some brunch, some candy making and some fellowship. We’ll gather at 9:30. A flyer will come out soon with all the important details. December 18th - Cookie Plates for sale during Fellowship time December 24th - Christmas Eve Services at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. December 31st - Early Bird New Year’s Eve potluck 5 to 7 - what will this year bring? Stay tuned. 8 cups whole milk 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 3 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cinnamon scks pinch cloves 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 3 1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee or espresso whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, caramel sauce, and gingerbread cookies for garnish (oponal) Slow Cooker Gingerbread Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker. Latte Cook on low for 3 hours or unl heated through. Monitor to make sure it doesn't boil. Serves Turn slow cooker to warm seng and cook for another 2 hours, srring 6-8 occasionally. Sr again right before serving and taste. Dip rims of cups in caramel sauce and then in graham cracker crumbs to create the look above (oponal). Top with fresh whipped cream and caramel syrup if desired.