November 2017 Elkhorn Valley District Monthly Newsletter Great Plains Annual Conference 406 W. Phillip Ave, Ste. 301 United Methodist Church Norfolk, NE 68701 [email protected] Office Phone: 402-371-1313 Office Hours Monday ~ Friday 8 a.m. - Noon & 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Rev. Eldon Davis, District Superintendent Kathy Hoesing, Administrative Assistant ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Networks: Remember to keep the District Office informed of meeting dates/times/locations and submit Please double check the charge conference schedule meeting minutes to the District in this newsletter to ensure you know the date, time and Office to retain in the Network file. location of your scheduled conference. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All charge conference paper- work should be completely ALL charge conference packets are due to signed when we leave charge conference & ready to submit the District Office, at least one week prior to the conference. ONLY Page 2, of the Disas- to your scheduled charge conference. ter plan is needed to be sub- mitted to the District Office. NOTE: ALL clergy compensation forms Your complete Disaster plan should be a work in progress MUST BE in to the District Office by No- and retained at the Church for easy accessibility, if need- vember 29th, regardless whether you have ed. had your charge conference yet or not. 1 The ARK after school kids are painting pumpkins. At First United Methodist Church of Ponca. WithSandy, Ken, Jane, Theresa, Jodie & Peggy Connecting Council Training in Salina, KS October 20 & 21 https://www.flickr.com/photos/greatplainsumc/albums 2 History of Hymns: “It Is Well with My Soul” UM Hymnal, No. 377 by C. Michael Hawn When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. With this hymn comes one of the most heartrending stories in the annals of hymnody. The author, Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888), was a Presbyterian layman from Chicago. He had established a very successful legal practice as a young businessman and was also a devout Christian. Among his close friends were several evangelists including the famous Dwight L. Moody, also from Chicago. Spafford’s fortune evaporated in the wake of the great Chicago Fire of 1871. Having invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michi- gan’s shoreline, he lost everything overnight. In a saga reminiscent of Job, his son died a short time before his financial disaster. But the worst was yet to come. Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck tells the story: “Desiring a rest for his wife and four daughters as well as wishing to join and assist Moody and [his musician Ira] Sankey in one of their campaigns in Great Britain, Spafford planned a European trip for his family in 1873. In November of that year, due to unexpected last-minute business developments, he had to remain in Chicago, but sent his wife and four daughters on ahead as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Havre. He expected to follow in a few days. “On November 22 the ship was struck by the Lochearn, an English vessel, and sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survi- vors were finally landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, ‘Saved alone.’” Spafford left immediately to join his wife. This hymn is said to have been penned as he approached the area of the ocean thought to be where the ship carrying his daughters had sunk. Another daughter, Bertha, was born in 1878 as well as a son, Horatio, in 1880, though he later died of scarlet fever. After the birth of daughter Grace in 1881, Spafford and his wife moved to Jerusalem out of a deep interest in the Holy Land. There they established the American Colony, a Christian utopian society engaged in philanthropic activities among Jews, Muslims and Christians. After decades of benevolent activities, the Colony ceased to be a communal society in the 1950s, though it continued in a second life as the American Colony Hotel, the first home of the talks between Palestine and Israel that eventually led to the 1983 Oslo Peace Accords. On a personal note, this was a hymn often sung on Sunday evenings in my congregation as I was growing up. Its somber and peace- ful music, written by gospel songwriter Philip Bliss (1838-1876) and named after the ship that carried Spafford’s daughters to their death, was spellbinding to a young boy. Yet I had difficulties identifying with the text in many ways. The hymn came to life for me in the summer of 1981. I had taken a group of youth to Chicago to work in an inner-city church that housed several congregations of immigrant groups. I chose to attend the Vietnamese service, which I was told consisted of refugees from the Vietnam War—the famous Boat People who had fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. I hadn’t been back to the Chicago area since I had graduated from a college in a nearby suburb in 1970. During my time in college, the draft was reinstated, protests of the Vietnam War were numerous and the riots surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Con- vention in the city were infamous. Returning to Chicago 11 years later, the memories of the Vietnam War were fresh on my mind. As the Vietnamese congregation gathered to worship, they sang the same song every Sunday to begin their worship, “It Is Well with My Soul.” I didn’t need the words in English as I had memorized them as a boy. I was amazed at how closely this text, written over 100 years earlier, coincided with the struggles of these immigrants as they fled a hostile Vietnam in frail ships, miraculously arriving in Australia and other places. As the Vietnamese congregation, now residing in Spafford’s hometown of Chicago, sang the final stanza, I understood the power of a hymn to transcend time and culture to address human tragedy with assurance. Though the hymn begins with loss, it ends in es- chatological hope for the day when “faith shall be sight.” https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-it-is-well-with-my-soul 3 Pastor Judy Carlson, Wausa/Randolph UMC would like to offer some us- able confirmation and Sun- day School materials for an- yone looking for some addi- tional material. Please con- tact her if you could benefit from these resources. [email protected] GRACIE SERVING UMCOR As part of her confirmation require- ment to find a mission and complete it, Gracie Dawson of the Wausa United Methodist Church chose UMCOR as her mission. More specifically she chose “hygiene kits” which include things like: washcloth, hand towel, tooth- brush, comb, soap, and other personal hygiene items. The items are put into plastic bags and when disaster strikes, the bags are given out by UMCOR to those who find themselves without housing and the bare necessities. Gracie collected a lot of the items her- self, and the church helped to finish what was needed. Fifty-Four kits were completed. Thank you to all who helped. Thanks goes to the Wausa Quilters who provided the $1 per kit that is required to help with the ship- ping. Thank you to Gracie for seeing a need and acting on it. The kits were delivered this week to Norfolk where they will be picked up by an UMCOR truck. 4 5 First United Methodist Church of Ponca, ARK - acts of random kindness after school group learned a bible verse. "Make me to know your ways o Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation." Psalm 25:4-5 Upcoming Dates to Remember: November 10: Kathy will be out of the office November 23 & 24th: District Office CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holi- day. November 29th: All compensation forms are due into the District Office, whether you have had your charge conference or not. December 1st: Appointive Recommendation Forms are due in the Dis- trict Office (1) from the Staff Parish Committee & (1) from the Pastor. December 19 - 28th: Rev. Davis on Vacation. Cindy Karges will be covering for Rev. Davis in his absence. December 25 & 26: District office CLOSED for Christmas Holiday. January 1, 2018: District Office CLOSED for New Years Day Holiday. January 17 - 19: Orders & Fellowship - Kearney, Nebraska 6 Camp Fontanelle Christmas Camp 2017 Our corn maze season has two weekends remaining but that does not mean we are finished! In December, Camp Fontanelle will be holding its annual Christmas Camp from Friday, Dec. 15-Sunday, Dec. 17th and we need help finding campers and donors. While the Nebraska UM Foundation has given us a grant to operate the camp, we are in need of sponsors to be Christmas elves for our campers. Each camper will receive clothing and gifts valued at $100.00. These gifts and donations are from supporters of the program. Our Christmas elves may either give a monetary donation and camp people will shop for gifts, or the donors may shop for the gifts from a list given by the camper. Attached is a link to the online application and Christmas Camp information. There is no cost to the camper. This camp was created to help those in need of blessings during the Christmas season. Our campers should be between 9 & 12 years old. We have room for 20 females and 20 males. Christmas Camp is meant for children/youth between the ages of 9-12 who are in need of some Christmas Spirit.