STREAMSSTREAMS

TRANSFORMING OUR COMMUNITY FOR ETERNITY

Riverton United Methodist Church

From the Pastor’s Desk April 2017

appy Easter my friends. This is the most significant season of the year for the church. More people are in a formal worship service this weekend than any other of the year. Out of 52 Sundays, Easter Sunday is Number 1.

So, for a pastor, this is the super bowl. The big show. The challenges are unique, mostly superficial with the added knowledge and pressure that what is at stake the eternity of souls. There are winners and losers but it’s very hard to determine if the day was a success or not. Happy Easter is a greeting card platitude that misdirects the masses from hearing or seeing the cosmic importance of this day. Eggs, bunnies, chocolate and bonnets are all a Sham!

Whoa! Pastor Marc, just a minute there. That’s way too serious for a Happy Easter message. Yeah, sorry. But listen to me for a minute. What we celebrate Easter weekend is really a matter of life and death. Literally a matter of life and death. If you “get it” you GET IT ! If you don’t, well, you don’t.

Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph, baptized by John, worshipped by thousands for healing, teaching and inspirational talks, was arrested and put on trial for claiming to be God. Or at least claiming to be the Son of God and thereby on equal ground with Him as far as the universe is concerned. They found Him guilty... Continued on page 3

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE 9:00am–3:00pm M-TH Traditional Worship in 8:30 AM 9:00am–12:00pm F Prayer & Quiet Reflection, in Prayer Parlor 9:15 AM CONTACT INFORMATION Worship Service in Sanctuary 10:00 AM 55 E. Strasburg Rd. Front Royal, VA 22630 Children’s Worship (Children Check-in) 9:45-10:15 Phone: 540-635-3878 Fax: 540-636-4418 Visit our website! www.RivertonUMC.org Email: [email protected] And our facebook page

Riverton United Methodist Church To Know Jesus Christ and to Offer Him Freely

Riverton Staff Rev. Marc Roberson Pastor, [email protected]

Beth Moon: Administrative Assistant, [email protected]

Margie Moore: LSP & K Director, [email protected]

Te Roberson: Director of Connectional Ministries, [email protected]

Gretchen Henderson: Interim Children’s Ministry, [email protected]

Table of Contents Ministry Leads 2017

Greetings from Pastor Marc 1 Pastor Marc Roberson Staff & Ministry Leads 2 Dir. of Connectional Ministries Te Roberson Pastor’s Page, cont. 3 Passover Seder 4 Children’s Ministry Gretchen Henderson Easter 5 Adult Discipleship Trish Anderson Baptism of Adelynn 6 Coming Up… 7 Little Sheep Preschool Director Margie Moore Children: Little Sheep 8-10 Youth Director Ella Mae Harper- Children: Children’s Ministry 11-13 Mueller Youth 14 Trustees Fred Boyer Benefit Dinner for Mason Langlais 15 Wednesday Evenings 16

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From the Pastor’s Desk

Continued from page 1 … Not guilty of being God mind you, but guilty of claiming to be. This claim was considered, and still is, blasphemy, which was punishable by death. So Jesus was sentenced to death. He was beaten, mocked, embarrassed and marched out of the city gates to a raised, rocky area where crucifixions were carried out and could be seen as example and deterrent for others, to help keep the peace. He was indeed one of three crucified that morning, two thieves, one on each side. He did die. While on trial He implied that if He really wanted to get out of this punishment He could and there really was nothing that could stop Him. However, he chose to allow it to happen because this was His Father’s will for Him and for all of humankind. He was buried. One of His followers owned a tomb for burial that had not been used yet and offered for Jesus’ burial. A rock was rolled in front of its entrance and sealed with the personal mark of the Commanding Officer of the city. No one was to mess with this grave. In the Gospels, there are many strange and wonderful tales of what happened that day. The sky turned black, an earthquake, open graves, the walking dead, curtains being torn from the top to bottom. While all that is amazing, the real story of that day is that Jesus was actually killed on a Roman cross. That was the first day. On the second day, everyone that knew Jesus mourned. They stayed inside, they hid from the police, they cried and they prayed. On the third day they went to the grave to honor Jesus, to take spices and gifts. We do this too. We go the cemetery and place flowers at our loved one’s graves to honor them and remember them. Jesus’ grave was empty. The stone had been rolled away from the entrance. The seal was broken and Jesus was gone. Of course the search began. The rumors were spreading like wildfire, trying to explain what had happened. They couldn’t. No one knew. Then an appeared to some of the women who really loved Jesus and were very upset that his body was gone. The angel told them, “He is not here, He is Risen!” Jesus came back to life. He wasn’t dead any more. We say Happy Easter, Jesus is Alive. And because His grave is empty, when we go to visit the graves of our loved ones we believe that they are not there either. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we will be resurrected too. Because Jesus lives, we will live also. Because Jesus’ death was only temporary, our deaths are only temporary. Because He lives forever, we can live forever too. Easter is really a Happy Easter for all who truly believe in what happened on the very first Easter. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! See ya Sunday,

Reverend Marc Roberson Pastor Marc [email protected] 3

Experience the heritage of the faith:

Dinner & Program

To be held at: North Warren VFC#10 – Fire Station Social Hall 89 Rockland Rd., Front Royal, VA 22630

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Sunrise Service 6:30 * Breakfast 7:30 Easter Egg Hunt 9:00 * Worship 10:00

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Riverton’s Children

LITTLE SHEEP PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN

Margie Moore Little Sheep Preschool & Kindergarten Director 9

When Deja is off duty, loves to swim, play, and chase grasshoppers. Deja wants all of you to stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in school.

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Riverton’s Children LITTLE SHEEP PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN

Thanks to all of you who volunteered, donated, participated in the Silent Auction, and waited patiently for us to catch up in the serving of your meals. It was a huge success! We will be putting $2,167.87 into our first Scholarship Fund. God continues to bless us. We will celebrate Easter with fun activities, special snacks and an egg hunt that honor our Lord on April 6th and 7th.

7th- Easter Program with the Children of Riverton begins at 7:00pm. Please come join us as we pay tribute to Jesus. Refreshments will be served afterward.

9th - At the 10:00am Palm Sunday service, the Children of Riverton and LSP&K will again unite to perform a mini program for the congregation.

10th-17th- Easter Break No School

16th- Easter Sunday Services are 6:30am and 10:00am.

20th & 24th- WCPD Officers, Winner and Seal, will be fingerprinting the students. These will be sent for the parents.

4th- Charlotte Tomb 18th- Abby Winner

20th- Kamden McIntyre 26th- Emersyn Fox

Margie Moore Little Sheep Preschool & Kindergarten Director 11

Riverton’s Children CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Throughout Lent, our Sunday worship classes continue to study the life and ministry of Jesus. The Last Supper was the topic for two Sundays. The boys and girls washed each other’s hands to help them understand how humble Jesus was when He washed His disciples’ feet. We also learned about how Jesus instituted our Christian celebration of Communion.

While we didn’t celebrate a Passover Seder like Jesus and His disciples did, we tried foods that people in Jesus time would have regularly enjoyed.

Our Wednesday Fellowship group is also studying the amazing miracles and lessons Jesus taught during His ministry. We are learning to recite The Lord’s Prayer. We also studied its meaning by making pictograms. We invite you to look at our work displayed on the bulletin board outside the Children’s Ministry room.

Gretchen Henderson Children’s Ministry Director 12

Riverton’s Children CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

We also learned about how Jesus fed thousands with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26) We had fun using peanut butter clay** to make (and eat) our own loaves and fishes.

The Children’s Ministry needs volunteers to help with the Wednesday Children’s Fellowship. This is a large group of terrific kids who really love learning about God. A volunteer group of 4-8 adults would ensure every Wednesday has a rotating team of helpers. Please see Gretchen Henderson or email [email protected] if you are interested.

**(2 c creamy peanut butter, 1 ½ c powdered sugar, 1/3 c honey. Enjoy!)

Gretchen Henderson Children’s Ministry Director 13

Riverton’s Children Keeping your children safe and teaching them about the Lord are our top priorities! Check-in system on Sunday mornings  Check in for Children’s Worship will open at 9:30 am in the lobby and end at 10:15am.  All children in Nursery – Tweens(4th-6th grade) must be checked in at the kiosk and receive a name tag in order to attend their class.  Children will begin in the sanctuary and be dismissed to their classes from there  Children attending Nursery/Preschool must be escorted to the class by the parent. Exciting Lessons for our Children ON SUNDAYS: In our Nursery/Preschool, Miss Sidney, Miss Colleen, and a group of wonderful volunteers in the Nursery/Preschool class on Sunday mornings are here to help our little ones learn all about the love that Jesus has for them. In our Children’s Worship class (4 yrs-3rd grade), a dedicated team of volunteers are passion- ate about sharing God’s love and teaching children God’s Word through robust lessons, crafts, and games. This interactive approach helps engage the children’s curiosity and forms the basis of a life-long faith in God. In our Tweens Breakout class (4th-6th grades), the young people are encouraged to think deeply about their faith. By using discussion and real-life experiences, they are inspired to not just know what they believe but live it out in their everyday lives.

ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS: Our Children’s Fellowship class (4 yrs.-5th grade) is devoted to helping boys and girls build a foundation of Bible knowledge. Highly engaging lessons help to instill fundamental Biblical principles that the children can apply in any situation. Our Nursery/Preschool program with Miss Sidney and Miss Colleen is also available for our youngest.

ARE you looking for a place to volunteer? Do you feel called to serve or have questions about serving in the Children’s Ministry? If so, come talk to Ms. Gretchen for more information!

Gretchen Henderson Children’s Ministry Director 14 Riverton’s Surge 120 Youth

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JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS AT RIVERTON!

DINNER: Dinner is free and is provided from 6:00-6:30, usually pizza & salad or something easy

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS FOR KIDS AT 6:30-8 PM: Childcare: We provide childcare for children 3 years old and under, which is upstairs Children’s Fellowship: Our Children’s Program, which is for children 4 yrs. old through 5th grade Youth Group: For kids in Grades 6-12

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS FOR ADULTS AT 6:30-8 PM: Young Families Group: A great group of folks with young children who seek the Lord together. The studies themselves vary. See if this is the group for you. Going Deeper: This is a class that you can come to at any time. They take the Sunday message and study it, going deeper than time allows on a Sunday morning. Gospel Christianity: What is the gospel? What is Christianity? Who is God? How do We change? Come join us! AND other adult studies offered regularly!

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