Chris United Methodist Church of Waynesboro J UNE The Messenger 2015 Rev. Dr. A. Robert Cook, “Serving God’s People To Get People To Serve God.” Pastor Inside this issue: 2015 Vacation Bible School! 2015 Graduates 2 Evangelical Lutheran Church, Christ United Methodist Church and Adult Education 2 Waynesboro Church of the Brethren invite all children to join us at Church Membership Class 2 the 2015 G-Force Vacation Bible School which will be held at Pastor’s Column 3 Church of the Brethren, 117 S. Church St (across the street) UM Men - Cookout 4 G-Force VBS, kids explore how to put their faith into action. In Women of CUMC 4 this mission-focused VBS, kids experience e God’s unstoppable love and discover how to fuel up and Prayer Breakfast 4 move in and through life with God. Watch as the church comes Pilates 4 alive with movement and images of all sorts of kid-friendly Prayer Shawl Ministry 4 transportation, such as skateboards, running shoes, roller Youth Group 5 blades, and more! Watch the G-Force meter climb illustrating how God is at work around the world and how God’s people Relay for Life: Update 5 are on the move. Office Coverage & Hours 5 The overall Bible verse for the program is Acts 17:28a, "In Think Green - Recycling 5 God we live, move, and exist." A life with God is one of Rock ‘n Roll Bible Study 6 movement! VBS Volunteer Form 6 Be a part of all the excitement at G-Force!! Registration form on page 8 Newsletter Deadline 7 of newsletter, in Frank Hall, and online via UMCChrist.org UMC Summer Camps 7 If you'd like to help with this year's VBS, Volunteer form in on page 6 of newsletter, in Frank Hall, and online via UMCChrist.org Mission Central 7 Susannah’s Pantry 7 VBS Registration Form 8 Noah’s Ark 9 Serving This Month 10 Altar Flowers 10 Calendar 11 Vacation Bible School will be held t Sunday, June 21st - Thursday, June 25th Our Purpose We Are Dinner at 5:30 PM A Shepherd People Offering Care and Guidance; Program following until 8:30 PM Tending All God’s Children With . at Waynesboro Church of the Brethren Faith, Hope, and Love. Page 2 The Messenger CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2015 GRADUATES! We are very proud of our High School and College Grads: Congrats Hannah Oney Waynesboro Area Senior High School Addison Slick UMBC with a Bachelor in English Literature Alexandra Slick Shepherd with a Regent's Bachelor degree Class of 2015 Margaret Weber Penn State with a Bachelor in Economics We will publically congratulate them during services on Sunday, June 7. May God guide your steps as you open the doors of a bright future! (We regret if we missed anyone … if we did, please let us know) Adult Education Series Sunday Mornings 9:30 AM in the Wilson Class room Rediscovering The Missionary Character of Christianity. Pastor Cook will be leading an adult education program on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM in the Wilson classroom. We will study the biblical basis of mission work, great epochs in mission work and what we’ve learned, the birth of the modern mission movement and its outcome. We will also look at how to participate in a mission trip for local, national or international ventures and the work that the United Methodist Church is involved in around the world. A few speakers will also be invited to address our class. We hope you will attend. We begin on June 28th. MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Pastor Cook will be leading a session on a Saturday in the Church Parlor for those interested in joining the Church. The session will cover the basics of our Wesleyan heritage, the mission of the church and responsibilities involved in membership. We welcome those who wish to transfer membership to attend as well. If you are interested in becoming a Member of CUMC, please contact Pastor Bob or the Church Office at 762-7011 or [email protected] th CHURCH PICNIC will be held on Sunday, August 9 (after 10:45 AM Service) at the Otterbein Picnic Grounds on Welty Road Save the date! Pastors Column: Praying For Persecuted People Ramadi fell to ISIS yesterday (May 18th). I started listening to news reports about the fall of the regional capital of the Anbar province in Iraq. I recalled that many U.S. troops fought there during the Iraq war. At least 1,000 Americans died there. Thousands more were wounded. And yesterday it fell to ISIS. The reports coming in suggested that the victors would begin a blood-bath against the citizens of Ramadi. Though it is mostly Sunni in religious identity and ISIS is a supposedly Sunni backed force, there will surely be a considerable backlash against its inhabitants. At its core, this is not about religion; it’s about power. It’s always about power. The 20th century was unprecedented for its slaughter of innocent civilians in war. This present century is shaping up to be just like it. It is overwhelming and horrifying. But the problem is that it is too easy for us to turn away and not care. Jesus says to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Mat. 5:44). The Spirit of Jesus in the prophets and in the apostles also tells us that those who turn a blind eye to the killing of others are wrong. So, we ought to pray. How should we pray? What should we pray for? Should we pray for the military defeat of ISIS? Or, should we pray for the soldiers and supporters of ISIS that they may realize their wrong-doing? The fact that we feel contradictory praying both for justice against the Islamic State and for salvation for Islamic State terrorists is partly because we fail to distinguish between the mission of the state in the use of the temporal sword against evildoers (see Rom. 13:4) and the mission of the church in the use of the sword of the Spirit against sin and death and the devil (See Eph. 6:10-20). If we are to be peace-makers is it wrong to pray for the defeat of our enemies on the field of battle? If they were not doing wrong, then yes. But, this terrorist group is raping, enslaving, beheading, crucifying our innocent people— Muslim, Christian, Yazidi and others. To not pray for swift action against them is to not care about what Jesus said we should seek, what we should hunger and thirst for, for justice. A world in which murderous gangs commit genocide without penalty is not a “merciful” world but an unjust horror show. As Christians, we ought to be, above all people, concerned with such justice. We not only have the common grace standing of caring about stopping murder and injustice, rooted in the image of God and the law written on the heart. We also have the personal implication here. The Middle East is our spiritual homeland. It’s the very place where our church began. Those are good reasons to pray; nevertheless, wherever innocents are persecuted, Christians have a duty to pray and to care. So, how should we pray? We should bear up those persecuted before God daily. Let us pray for God to sustain them, and for the Holy Spirit to strengthen them. Let us pray for their safety and deliverance. And we ought to pray for Christians that they might have the courage to witness fearlessly to Jesus Christ. We should pray that those experiencing persecution would return to their homes in safety, to have jobs and food and life’s necessities. But how should we pray for an enemy? We should pray for God to first take the log out of our own eyes. Enemies do not just show up out of nowhere. There are reasons for their presence. It is important to be informed so we might pray as informed people. St. Paul summarized this way of Jesus well when he said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” ISIS is evil, but we can pray for God to work so that they can ultimately be overcome by good. We can pray for their evil counsel to be overthrown. And we can pray for justice on behalf of their victims, even while praying for God’s mercy upon those who are perpetrators. We would do well to remember here that the Apostle Paul was once a terrorist on his way to kill Christians when Jesus intervened and extended him mercy. It is the province of the State to take up arms to defend the nation. But it is the duty of Christians to care when evil is perpetrated upon the innocent. Our part is to be engaged by weapons of the Spirit. Let us care and let us pray. But let us not be indifferent, uncaring or fearful. Those who are victims need us. -Pastor Bob Cook Page 4 The Messenger th UM MEN - Monday, June 8 UM Men will meet on Monday, June 8th at 6:00 PM for a cook-out at Quincy Village. The location is next to the Stone House off the main road in the village. This would be a good time to have men come that have not been a part of the man’s group. If you are a member you will be contacted. If you are not and would like to attend contact John Eier at 762-6362 or e-mail [email protected] All men are welcome.