GROOMEGroome UNITED United METHODIST Methodist CHURCH Church AUGUSTSeptember-SEPTEMBER-October 2016 2015 William Law, On a Devout and Holy Life William Law lived from 1686 to 1761. He was an English divine and fellow at Emmanuel College. Most notably, he was the tutor of Edward Gibbon, the father of the famous historian and author of, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. Law, as influenced by John Wesley and subsequently wrote his most famous work, “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. The following is an excerpt from this work and defines Law’s vision for a faithful life, well lived. Devotion is neither private nor public prayer, but a life given to God. He is the devout man, therefore, who considers and serves God in everything and who makes all of his life an act of devotion by doing everything in the name of God and under such rules as are conformable to his glory. If contempt for the temporal and concern for the eternal are necessary attitudes for Christians, it is nec- essary that these attitudes appear in the whole course of their lives. If self-denial be a condition of salvation, all who would be saved must make self-denial a part of their everyday life. If humility be a Christian duty, then the everyday life of a Christian is to be a constant course of humility. If we are to relieve the naked, the sick, and the prisoner, such expression of love must be the constant effort of our lives. If we are to love our enemies, we must make our common life a visible exercise and demonstration of that love. If contentment and thankfulness be duties to God, they are the duties of every day and in every circumstance of our lives. If we are to be wise and holy as the newborn sons of God, we must renounce everything that is foolish and vain in every part of our daily life. If we are to be new creatures in Christ, we must show that we are so by new ways of living in the world. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in the way we spend each day. It was this general intention that made the primitive Christians such eminent examples of devotion, that made the goodly fellowship of the saints and that made all the glorious army of martyrs and confessors. And if you will stop here and ask yourself why you are not so devoted as the primitive Christians, your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability but purely because you never thoroughly intended it. While William Law clearly set the bar very high, his assessment of the devout and holy life pretty much identifies why the modern church is nothing at all like the early church. These thoughts might be worth some reflection. Blessings, Will SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2016 THE SEINE PAGE 2 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Methodist Men Groome United Methodist Men are gear- Richard and Connie Todd ing up for their monthly breakfast get to- 30454 Park Pavilion Way gether. The first meeting is scheduled for The Ridings Monday, Sept. 12, at Ocean Grille located Lewes, DE 19958 in the Food Lion shopping center at Five SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER Points. Irene Hazzard 10/11 William & Judy Hoffman The men meet the first Monday of the Gisela McCafferty 09/16 19803 Shirling Lane month at 8:00 a.m. unless it falls on a holi- Gerry Frampton 10/26 Lewes, DE 19958 day; then they meet on the second Mon- Bernie Welsh 09/29 day. Meetings are held September thru Barbara Willin 10/24 May. After breakfast is ordered, there is a Yvonne Martz 09/30 short spiritual message before orders are Tom Pierson 10/11 served, followed by a brief business meet- Ceil Pierson 10/13 ing which includes a treasurer’s report and Peg Stewart 09/03 discussion of any projects they might like Bob Stewart 09/17 to pursue. Darlene Charles 09/06 Mid-Week Gathering In 2011, the men voted to assess them- Don Dieringer 10/08 selves $60 in yearly dues to pay for items Lorraine Messitt 09/15 The fall Mid-Week that come up not covered by the church Tracy Mitchell 09/25 Gathering will begin, budget. Gregory Woodward 09/11 September 22 from As a nice gesture by Ocean Grille, their Michelle Phillips 09/20 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. wait staff offers all in attendance separate Ashleigh Martz 09/22 Note the day and time change for checks, and 10% of proceeds of the bill are John Beauchamp 10/16 the gathering and Bible study. given to Groome each month when MaryKaitlyn Elias 10/01 Groome UMC is written on the check. Ben Ashby 09/24 Lunch with soup and sandwiches Please join them and get to know a little Barry Dietz 09/06 will be served at 11:30 a.m. fol- better the men you see in church every Joan Dietz 09/27 lowed by Bible study from noon Sunday until 1:00 p.m. Jack Welsh, President/Treasurer, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER Groome Men’s Club FINANCIAL CORNER Groome has been holding it’s own, trimming the sails, and offering many prayers that all aspects of the Church con- tinue to run well. The last two months were good to us, and we ended in the black, but the year is still down as a whole. Norm & Jennie Hansen 10/15 (61) We are receiving new members, seeing new faces and continuing to Yvonne & Ron Martz 10/29 (56) spread God’s word and his love in the community. Jeff & Sherry Mitchell 09/12 (53) Bob & EleanorCordrey 10/30 (46) Thinking “outside the box” , as an example, instead of thinking of Lent Dave &Sue Woodward 10/15 (40) just at Easter, maybe give up that ice cream cone and place that extra $5 in Bob & Peg Stewart 09/18 (34) the collection plate. All of us can come up with an "out of the box" way of Dale & Ann Truitt 10/29 (33) helping with stewardship and getting an even greater reward in return. Tim & Lisa Martz 10/09 (17) Remember that life is not about what you do, or have, or keep for yourself, but about the memories you make by helping others. They are truly the greatest and most rewarding in sharing God’s love. Prayerfully consider what the Lord would ask you to do to continue the Please notify the church secretary of any work for His kingdom. changes or additions to birthdays or anniversaries. Blessings in Christ, Sue Lehman, Finance Chair PAGE 3 THE SEINE SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2016 MONDAY MORNING PRAYER WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S The Monday morning prayer group con- tinues to meet every Monday at 10:00 a.m. On October 22 Debbie Foxx will be walking to end Alz- at the home of Jennie and Norm Hansen. heimer’s in memory of her mother and mother-in-law and Ten to twelve people gather to worship and many loved ones who have been affected by this disease study the scriptures. They begin with open- or some sort of dementia and is asking for your sup- ing prayer and lifting up prayers of the peo- port. More information will be placed in the church bulletin in October. ple to the Lord. If Debbie can count on your support, please make check payable to: After sharing in the Word, they close by standing in a circle holding hands with a ALZ-DVC, and in the memo place her name (Debbie Foxx) or her team prayer and a song. Afterwards, everyone name, Liz's Lads & Lassies. This is the 14th year Debbie has been joins in Christian fellowship and refresh- walking and raising funds for those affected by this disease. ments. The door is open for everyone to join them each Monday morning and lift up their Stewardship Message prayers, concerns, and praises to the Lord. The Church is more than paying bills. It supplies spiritual THERE IS NO ONE WAY enlightenment to the entire church family. Christian stew- TO PRAY AND WE ardship is the practice of systematic and proportionate giv- KNOW THIS FROM THE ing of time. Abilities and material possessions are a trust EXAMPLE OF JESUS from God to be used in his service for the benefit of all hu- HIMSELF. mankind in grateful acknowledgement of Christ’s redeem- PRAYER WAS THE ing love. The oldest system of religious giving on record is tithing. In the NATURAL ATMOSPHERE OF HIS DAILY LIFE, THE Old Testament we see evidence of tithing as far back as Abraham. Jesus BREATH OF HIS SOUL, AS WE LEARN also approved of FROM ALMOST EVERY PAGE OF THE tithing. GOSPELS, WHERE IT IS RECORDED THAT When we give one-tenth of our income to the church, then the church JESUS PRAYED. becomes responsible to God for the wise use of our gifts. May we all set a goal to eventually tithe and begin working towards that goal? Lighthouse Historical Cruise “Think of us in this way as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s myster- ies.” I Corinthians 4:1-2. Cape Water Taxi and Tours When new people are received as new members into the church, they are The historical cruise around the East asked to profess their faith and their intentions. They are asked for a com- End Lighthouse was a beautiful ride on mitment to support our church spiritually and financially and use their the Cape Water Taxi and a wonderful talents to volunteer in the ministry of the church.