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Don't Forget God Is Great – and So Are JUMC Faithful Members

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Don't Forget God Is Great – and So Are JUMC Faithful Members March 2021 INSIDE!!! Pg. 2: Upcoming sermon topics & Church Mice information. Pg.3: JUMC Outreach. Pg. 4: Message from Pastor Andi & God Is Great – And So Are JUMC El Refugio update. Pg. 5: Bible Trivia. Faithful Members Pg. 6&7: From the Conference: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the Annual Conference News; fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Getting ready for Project (I Corinthians 1:9 NKJ) Agape. Pg. 8 & 9: Behind the scenes with virtual worship. Greetings from the Finance Committee. Just as God is faithful to us, JUMC membership is faithful to the ministry of Jonesboro UMC. We are Pg. 10 & 11: What is Lent? all living in unprecedented times, but through your faithful giving in 2020 I Pg. 12: Song for this month’s theme. am pleased to report that our church’s budget obligations were met in full. Pg. 13: Youth news and Family All Glory to God is in order and, to you, a special thank you. Promise news. Pg. 14: Focus on our members; The pandemic created many challenges in 2020, but a number of factors Birthdays & anniversaries reduced expenses through the year. When inside worship was cancelled, the and “In Our Prayers”. utility costs were reduced and through proceeds from the Payroll Protection Pg. 15: JUMC Core Values & Plan loan, all staff obligations were met. And, because of the proper Military Ministry update. processing and documentation of the loan by the JUMC staff, this loan has Pg. 16: Regular church activities. been forgiven. However, what really made this a success was your faithful giving. Don’t Forget As we move forward in 2021, we will continue to face challenges, but we will do this with the knowledge that God loves us. And with your Cereal is still needed even though faithfulness to our ministry, “To Know Christ and Make Christ Known,” we we are no longer meeting on will overcome these uncertain times. Wishing you and your family a Safe Sundays. Please bring your boxes and Happy 2021. to the church office on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of any week. Call Brad Butler at With love in Christ and sincere thanks, 919-498-5068 if you need a pickup. Eddie Campbell Finance Committee Chairman Page 2 Life Together Church Staff Senior Pastor: Andi Woodhouse Traditional Worship Music Director & Church Organist: Dr. Daniel Hester March 7: Communion. 3rd Sunday in Lent. 1 Corinthians 1:18-23, John 2:13-22; “Proclaim Christ!” Secretary / March 14: 4th Sunday in Lent. Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-21; “The Gift of Life.” Bookkeeper: March 21: 5th Sunday in Lent. Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 12:20-33; “Know the Lord.” Kim Gunter March 28: Palm/Passion Sunday. Psalm 50:4-9a, Mark 1:1-11; “The Final Journey.” April 1: Holy Thursday. John 13:1-17,31b-35; “A Night to Remember.” April 4: EASTER. Communion. Mark 16:1-8. “The Greatest Comeback!” Nursery Director: April 11: John 20:19-31. “Believe.” Melanie April 18: Acts 3:12-19; Luke 24:36b-48. “The Big Picture!” Yarborough April 25: Acts 4:5-12; 1 John 3:16-24. “Truth and Love.” Communication Ministries: Deb Taylor Web Editor Brad Butler Newsletter Editor Kim Gunter Bulletin Editor Custodian: Jackie Watson If you enjoy “Church Mice” as much as I do please consider making a donation today. Your gift ($1, $5, $10, $20 or more) is appreciated and will make a big difference. (Receive an autographed comic for your gift of $20.00 or more!) Thank you, and may God bless you. Mail checks or money orders to Karl A. Zorowski 9195 James B. White Hwy. S. Pastor on call Clarendon NC 28432 919--292-2612. Check out the Church Mice website at http://wptest.churchmice.net Archives of old cartoons, weekly sermons, and much more. Life Together Page 3 JUMC Outreach JUMC 2021 Church Council As the pandemic continues to modify our lives, so has the pandemic modified Joe Cavalluzzi “Outreach” at JUMC. However, modify does not mean halted, JUMC has been busy reaching Chairperson out to the community. Our Military Coupon Ministry reports $682,627.06 coupons clipped and 22 phones donated. Donations to Haven have continued with the gifts of handmade quilts Eddie Campbell and children's clothing. And the good men and women, who volunteer their time on the second Wednesday of every month at the Bread Basket report serving 120 meals each time Finance Committee they gather. Chairperson We may have had to put aside some of our John Shontz normal outreach projects this year, but the needs Lay Leader of the community still persist. As we have not Church Treasurer been able to meet in the parking lot the past Sundays, please know you can drop off Deb Taylor CUOC Cereal donations or donations to Financial Secretary Haven at the office any day Kim is there. We will make sure the donations make it to the right place. Marilee Ostman Staff-Parish Relations Upcoming for Outreach - In place of our Committee Chair annual Easter Egg Hunt, for the JUMC Day Care, we will be collecting school supplies and Dave Carmony providing goodies for the Day Care Easter Trustees Chairperson Celebration. Please look to the weekly JUMC email for details. Jennie Lanane Missions Coordinator Jean Spivey Memorial Committee Chairperson Deb Taylor David Taylor (alternate) Lay Member to Annual Conference Sherry Williams Christian Education Team Chairperson Bill Huggins President United Methodist Men Page 4 Life Together “We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone” (Psalm 33:20-22, NLT). During Lent we confront our waywardness and mortality. As we examine our hearts in daily devotion and prayer we realize how far we stray from the life God intends for us. Sin has a grip on our lives. What would we do without the grace made possible through the death and resurrection of Christ?! Christ is our only hope! We read repeatedly in the epistles where Paul calls Jesus our “ hope.” This “hope” is not merely wishful thinking; this hope is grounded in certainty and assurance! We do not despair! The One who lived a perfect, sinless life shed his blood and gave his life for all of humanity! It is a sacrifice and love that we cannot fathom! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”(1 Peter 1:3). God bless you and keep you and your loved ones safe! With Christian love and gratitude, Rev. Andi Woodhouse Keeping Up with El Refugio El Refugio has launched a periodic e-newsletter to share success stories, insights and updates. Sign up to receive it by email -- go to the bottom of the home page at www.ElRefugioLeeCo.org and fill in the blanks. (When it says “to be listed on” the newsletter, it just means you join the list to receive it!) El Refugio recruited more than 75 adult language students by mid-February. Online classes are offered both morning and evening in two ESL levels, civics and one-on-one tutoring for citizenship preparation or basic literacy. The 2021 International Culture event is being planned for late spring, with a whole new format and setting that adapts to COVID-19 realities. Stay tuned for details! Anna Sessoms, agent with eXp Realty, and Erica Vazquez, branch manager with BB&T, have joined the El Refugio Board of Directors. Other directors include Oscar Roberto (chair), Bob Bridwell, Bob Finch, Debra Groce, Angel Mills, Roberto Montero, Sandra Ruiz, Deb Taylor, Andi Woodhouse, and Sandra Torres (Executive Director). Life Together Page 5 Bible Trivia “El” in Hebrew means “God”, which is why so many Old Testament names contain an “el” at either the beginning or the end of the word. Names in Hebrew had to MEAN something, not just sound good. (Daniel’s name, for example, means “God is judge.”) Each answer (name) below contains an el. For extra credit, can you tell what the name means? Some names are used multiple times. 1. What prophet was a thorn in the side of wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel? 2. What town in Israel has a name meaning “God’s house”? 3. Who was John the Baptist’s aged mother? 4. What prophet was noted as being bald? 5. What great leader of Israel anointed Saul and David as kings? 6. What was Jacob’s new name after he wrestled all night with an angel? 7. According to one Old Testament prophet, there will come a day when young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams. Which prophet? 8. What was the original name of the young Israelite man named Belteshazzar? 9. What prophet’s name means “God is strong”? 10. Who told Mary that her son was to be named Jesus? 11. What prophet did God tell to shave his head and beard? 12. Who was the mother of the Levitical priesthood? 13. What prophet was a very hairy man? 14. Which prophet, famous for his vision of dry bones, was with the exiles in Babylon? 15. Which prophet predicted the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon all people? 16. What prophet outran a king’s chariot and a team of horses? 17. Who was forbidden to mourn the death of his beautiful wife? 18.
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