LIVE ! LINE, June 26, 2011
June 24, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NCÂ 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
What a great opportunity for bluegrass fans…
Sunday night marks the return of the Back Porch String Band!
Come out and enjoy.
The meditation continues our series on David, “Love Covenant,” from 1 Samuel 20:1-11.
See you… and you “morning folk” who have been away for the weekend? This is your chance to worship!
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS, June 26, 2011
June 24, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
This has been quite the week!
* Last night at Vacation Bible School, over 40 folks packaged 7,000 meals for some of the world’s most vulnerable. Thanks be to God!
* Air conditioning for the sanctuary is not only repaired (cool!) but 98% paid for. Thanks be to God!
* Sunday, our VBS young people will offer us their experience from a wonderful week. Thanks be to God!
I look forward to seeing YOU in morning worship.
Will you be in that number?
Peace,
Pastor Steve
PS – This week’s “Day in the Life” contains a couple of links to short pieces I believe you’ll find intriguing, and connect to Sunday’s service.
A Day in the Life….WITH*
June 24, 2011
Just back from annual conference, I’m continually reminded of how good it is to be a “connectional” church. Congregational churches guard carefully their independence, and are beholden to no one–put more bluntly, no one ‘tells them what to do!’ Reminds me of a goal from my adolescence. Not to besmirch those who live out their faith differently, I do lift up our United Methodist connection.
The space here and attention spans both limit what I want to share from conference, which has its share of tedium. As a United Methodist Church, we are clearly in a time of transition. Our inherited models for ministry gave required not mere makeovers (been there, done that, several times) but heart deep transitions. In our North Carolina Conference, as in the entire denomination, we are continually told that these three drivers mark the vitality of our congregations:
Worship attendance (how are you doing?)
Professions of faith (we have 8 so far this year)
Missional giving (especially “apportioned” giving)
We do many things well, but our record on those three is, well, checkered, to say the least. As we refocus on them, we will certainly grow in grace. I will write more about them in time to come.
Since 2008, the United Methodist Church has sought to move these forward:
1) starting new congregations
2) developing leadership
3) engaging in ministry with the poor
4) extending health ministries
In recent days, it is the third of those that has caught my eye. A new website, video and resources have been launched this month, “Ministry WITH* the Poor.” The web link is here. (it’s an easy click away at ministrywith.org and a mere 2.5 minutes). The site and materials have been produced by the General Board of Global Ministries and United Methodist Women–that’s our connection at work.
The new site includes facts and information about poverty in the US and how our United Methodist Church is responding. It includes ways churches and individuals can involved in the effort, with many of the programs relating to our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To learn more, visit umcor.org .
But back to WITH*. John Wesley was adamant that ministry not be just done for the poor (or as we sometimes see, to the poor!), but with them. It is crucial that we sojourn together. Is that why Jesus called them closer? Accepted them? Fed them? Sat at table with them? Mr. Wesley seemed to think so. What say we? When many of us have visited the sites above, let’s talk some more.
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE, Sunday, June 19, 2011
June 17, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
Happy almost Father’s Day!
In honor of the day, we will offer a Fairmont Men’s Ensemble.
The meditation continues with David, 1 Samuel 17:57-18:11, “Loyalty.” David is a great character study!
See you Sunday?!
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS, Sunday, June 19, 2011
June 17, 2011
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
A Day in the Life…Father's Day
June 17, 2011
Is this the “overlooked†holiday? The, Oh-yes-better-include-them day? I read somewhere that Father’s Day “complements†Mother’s Day. Oh, okay.
Leave it to us to find a missional way to regard these cultural icons. Fairmont is the only place I know where Blanket Sunday coincides with Mother’s Day and Tools of Hope are “tool boxed†on Father’s Day. Admittedly, those are pretty traditional ways of thinking about the gender roles of our forebears, our progenitors, the very lineage from which we have sprung. How about this: we have probably donated over $10,000 to each cause over the many years of these celebrations. Think of that.
So there I was, minding my own business, doing my on line research about Father’s Day. I’m reading along, “a celebration of fathers inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother’s Day†(oops! there it is!), yes, okay… “variety of dates worldwide†and so on… “involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathersâ€â€”okay, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
As I was about to lose interest, I read that “The first observance of Father’s Day actually took place in…†[get ready for it—seriously—I mean it now—ready ] Fairmont, West Virginia. Well alrighty then! Unfortunately, it wasn’t that fun to start with, July 5, 1908. Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to celebrate the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monongah Mining disaster on December 6, 1907. Think of that. Mrs. Clayton had lost her own father, and chose the Sunday nearest his birthday.
The obvious connection is that we are Fairmont United Methodist Church. Did you know this neighborhood was named “Fairmont†because the NC State Fair was here (you’re sitting in the horse barn, no doubt) in the years 1873-1922. Countryside was all around, and what is now the Rose Garden was a race track for trotters… most easily imagined now on the “curve†of the northern end. Doubtless the horses’, uh, “legacy†has helped those roses grow.
The less obvious connection with us is that the first Father’s Day was a kind of an act of justice—wasn’t it? Think of 210 families losing their father, devastated in a single disaster. Another source adds that the dead were not all men—362 workers, including children, were lost, 1000 children left fatherless. So there were child laborers; there was methane gas that was somehow ignited, causing the coal dust to explode. Such events (this was said to be the worst) gave rise to the movement for mine safety and inspections, and the removal of children from harm’s way. Those are things our Methodist movement has always been about, from John Wesley’s time until now.
So, Dads. We all had ‘em, for better or worse. I count myself most blessed, and will seize the opportunity to say so. A happy Father’s Day all around. May God add to your blessings, both fathers and the fathered.
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LIVE June 12, 2011
June 10, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
What a moment we’ll share Sunday night…One of the early vocalists with the Fairmont
Gospel Revue was Claudia Brockington. She was SO good! She experienced a very serious
illness, and by God’s grace survived. I am thrilled to welcome her as our singer Sunday!
The meditation is the first in a series on David, 1 Samuel 17:41-50, “David Rocks!”
See YOU?!
Peace,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS June 12, 2011–Wear Red!
June 10, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Sunday is the Day of Pentecost. It is our tradition to where something/anything red. If you don’t know why, you’ll find out!
Vacation Bible School begins with dinner Monday, June 20 and continues through the 23rd. More details next week!
Some updates: we have raised over $3,000 toward the $12,600 for emergency air conditioning repair, which was completed Tuesday. Help finish the job?! In addition, we have raised $960 of the $1750 needed for our Vacation Bible School food packaging through Stop Hunger Now. One more, “Tools of Hope” (honor thy father) is June 19.
From time to time, it is good to give you an update of UMCOR’s work in Haiti. That follows… and below it is the place you can go to sign up for regular updates.
“Heavy concrete that in homes and buildings in Haiti divided one story from another was meant to protect the constructions and those who lived or labored in them from severe storms. During last year’s earthquake, however, it became one of the leading causes of the great loss of life.
“The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) understood that it would be of no use to the Haitian people to simply rebuild in the same way. Rather, it was important to find innovative ways to rebuild homes and make them safer and stronger than they were before. In May, the Rev. Jim Gulley, who serves as UMCOR and General Board of Global Ministries coordinator in Haiti, reported on the Reconstruction and Pure-Water Supply Forum that was held April 26 -29 in Petionville, Haiti, to address the issue.
“UMCOR, Eglise Methodiste d’Haiti (Methodist Church of Haiti), and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission sponsored the event that will lead to the development of pilot projects in two communities to build a total of 40 permanent homes, using innovative designs and construction materials.
“Construction proposals are currently under review, and partners will be selected by June 21. Ground is expected to be broken by July 1 and the pilot projects completed by December 31. Read more .”
Web: http://www.umcor.org
UMCOR. Be There. Be Hope.
UMCOR’s mission is to alleviate human suffering-whether caused by war, conflict, or natural disaster-with open minds and hearts to all people.
See you in worship!
Pastor Steve
A Day in the Life…A Decade of Outreach
June 10, 2011
I’m not sure what day of the month it was, but it was a Sunday in June of 2001. We’d had our brand, spanking new church bus for only a couple of months. We had done the groundwork to open the way for the men of Wake County’s five months’ old Healing Place to share in Sunday Night LIVE! and afterward, a twelve-step meeting. By some grace, we have continued that relationship for ten years, over five hundred Sunday nights. Think of that.
On this auspicious occasion, it seems good to share a word about so vital a partner as The Healing Place for Men, now joined by The Healing Place for Women (near Umstead State Park). HP’s easily accessed web site has this:
“The Healing Place of Wake County is a non-profit 501(c)(3) recovery and rehabilitation facility for homeless people with alcohol and drug dependency, located in Raleigh, NC.
“Our mission is to offer innovative recovery and rehabilitation to homeless alcoholic and chemically dependent men and women through a continuing mutual-help program. The program is specifically designed to rekindle the client’s desire to return to a meaningful and productive life.
“Approximately 70 percent of our clients are sober and productive members of society on year after graduation.”
It has been remarkable to play even a small part in the “healing” of such men. Some we’ve seen just one time (not unusual in morning worship either!), others have been regular worshipers, and in some instances, the men have continued among us long after leaving the program behind.
I am so grateful for the times I have been the driver. The conversation on the way back to the Healing Place is at times jovial, at times somber, and much of the time, it is tying together what the whole evening has been about, from our worship together to the meeting that followed. People “in recovery” talk a lot about gratitude, a mood that is freely shared by these men.
I am grateful to everyone who has been a driver: Peggy Davis, Billie Jeanne Thomas, Henry Jarrett, Jim Chromy, Kirk Oldham, Walter Brock, Ronald Cox, Jack Michaels, Jesse Israel, Ken Dulaney…who’d I miss? I am guessing that each of them has had an experience similar to mine–these men are genuinely grateful for this small kindness we offer. They have lived through some badly broken places, they have done some of the breaking themselves, and we are witnesses as they find their way back–by the grace of God.
From the cold of winter to the heat of summer, through the beautiful evenings of spring and fall, these our brothers are testimonies to the workings of God.
When we purchased the bus, who could have imagined so important a ministry? Thanks be to God.
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE, June 5, 2011
June 3, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
June has arrived, and with it, waaaarm weather! So it’s time for a most honorable Sunday Night LIVE! tradition – home made ice cream!
We’ll enjoy worship first, and hear the music of Alan Smith.
The meditation is “Intergrity,” from Mark 7:1-8.
See you Sunday?!
Peace and prayer
Pastor Steve