LIVE ! LINE…October 2, 2011
September 30, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
What is it the USA channel says? Characters welcome? That would be true at Sunday Night LIVE!
We are “visiting” a raft of New Testament characters. Sunday, it will be “Mary M.,” of Luke 8:1-3, as well as other references.
Bringing the tunes will be our old friend, Mr. Sam Harris.
See you Sunday? LIVE!
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS…October 2, 2011
September 30, 2011
FLASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
October 2 is World Communion Sunday. We join in Christians around the world in proclaiming the oneness of the Body of Christ!
Below, you can see there is LOTS of room for you to sign up. As we meet together, we will talk about how to live generous lives in a “down” economy, and seek to widen our understanding of how “Money Matters.” PLEASE reply to me to add your name to one of these households. Apex-Cary folk may want to take advantage of the one Monday, Oct. 3…
Pastor Steve
Monday, October 3, 7:00 pm, Joyce Anne and Robert Porter, 1007 W. St. Julian Pl, Apex, 27502
Thursday, October 20, 7:00 pm, Lynne and Walter Brock, 4600 Grenadine Ct., Raleigh, 27612
Henry Jarrett
Saturday, October 22, 6:00 pm, Fairmont United Methodist (probably The Hut)
Peggy Hickle, Larry Burks, Syd Deck, Edith Futrell, Marianne Clayter
Thursday, October 27, 10:30 am, Barbara Maddrey, 4124 Jane Lane, Raleigh 27604
Margarete Hermanson
Thursday, October 27, 7:00 pm, Diane & Ken Dulaney, 207 Whitehall Way, Cary 27511
Kraus House
To follow up on last week’s missive, a correction of sorts:
The schedule of elections in Wake County is as follows:
11 October – Raleigh city elections, Cary city elections, and Wake County Board of Education elections
8 November – all other Wake County municipal elections and any runoff elections from the October election (if necessary)
No county commissioners this year.
Please vote!
A Day in the Life…Walk for Hope
September 30, 2011
We’ve seen the stats…
- The number one reason for hospital admissions nationwide is psychiatric disorder
- one in four families will be impacted by mental illness
- Approximately 2.5 million Americans suffer from a schizophrenic disorder
- Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, heart disease or arthritis (approximately 54 million people in the US suffer with mental illnesses)
- Mental illness can and does strike all age groups, nationalities, genders, and economic backgrounds
- The cost of mental illness to society, including lost productivity, absenteeism, and substance abuse exceeds $180 billion a year.
- 1/4 of all Social Security Disability payments are for individuals with severe mental illness.
Why am I thinking about that? Despite those daunting numbers, there are a courageous few who are fighting the good fight. Together, we have witnessed slashed funding, misdirected reform efforts, and the shrinkage of services delivered. But they refuse to quit. Many are consumers of those very services, many of them have benefited enormously from them. When their voices articulate what is being lost, or missed, or misguided, the public ear should open wide.
On October 9, there will be a large gathering of such folks: consumers and families, friends and advocates all will walk in the annual Thad and Alice Eure “Walk For Hope.” It has caught my imagination because several of our number will be there. They have raised the funds, now they raise awareness—which I hope these few thoughts will also do.
To bring it closer to home, how does mental illness affect North Carolinians?
22.1% or 1,392,371 North Carolina adults (18 and over) have a diagnosable mental disorder.
9.5% or 598,532 ND adults have a depressive disorder.
11.1% or 699,336 NC adults receive mental health treatment in a year
18.4% or 374,715 NC youth (age 12-17) receive mental health treatment in a year
$4.7 Billion? That’s the cost of mental illness in North Carolina.
(Stats are from The Foundation For Hope, www.walkforhope.com)
You might get asked to support a walker. See what you can do. Together, we make a greater difference than we do apart.
Pastor Steve
To All The Saints In The Making… Charge!
September 30, 2011
I love baseball. It doesn’t matter who is playing – I’ve been known to stop the car to watch little leaguers chasing around the sand lot. At minor league games, I’ve noticed that there are two times when one hears the trumpet sound and the cheer goes up – da da da dat dada! Charge! (Try that in your spell checker!) The first is when things are getting kind of slow, the second is when things are getting really exciting.
Our very own “charge conference” offers us a bit of both. With a nod to the centuries old system of meeting as a “pastoral charge,” we also catch the excitement of what’s afoot. I nearly get lost in the paperwork, but come up for air in time to look around and say – look at what God is doing!
This year I’ll report that we boldly set out for a place we had not gone before, to “become a praying congregation.” Yes, we prayed at home, yes, we prayed at church. But then we imagined what could happen in a life of prayer. What began as a single strategy has now developed into five significant aspects.
- In the spring, fourteen of us met for several weeks, using Bishop Reuben Job’s book, When You Pray.
- In August, we set aside four weeks of morning worship to work out a biblical framework for a life of prayer.
- During that time, we began to distribute more widely the books, When You Pray. With the study group, a women’s retreat, morning worship and Sunday Night LIVE!, we have about 80 of those books in use – daily, I’m sure!
- In September, we began a 10-week DISCIPLE Bible Study of “The Psalms,” which are also known as “the church’s prayer book.” The group has nineteen members.
- The trustees have worked to establish a “labyrinth,” which will provide a beautiful outdoor setting for prayer. It will have the additional benefit of the church “offering” that to the community around us.
My annual reportings have been filled with the remarkable variety of missional outreaches, musical offerings, diverse worship settings, and initiatives of many sorts. In a whole lot of ways, Fairmont continues to “give ourselves away.” No? Consider the seven week project to renovate “The Upper Room” – used mostly by people recovering from addictions. The paint, carpet, window treatments, tables and chairs all add greatly to the warmth of our welcome.
Fall always has us “charging” ahead, full speed. Just around the corner is our annual campaign (Money Matters!), the Bazaar, a “month of Sundays” (see front page), All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, and all Advent holds – including our young people offering, “Dude, You Hear What I Hear?” Our choir… you know, I better save a little for November’s Focus!
‘Til then: da da da dat dada! Charge!
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE…September 25, 2011
September 23, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
God has blessed us in remarkable ways!
One way, most assuredly, is through the faithfulness of our many SNL! musicians.
Sunday night, the wonderful Brenda Foster will be BACK to lift her voice in praise.
Our “character study” continues with a woman in deep need, Luke 8:40-56, where
she will be “Touching Grace.”
Be touched by grace at SNL!
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS…September 25, 2011
September 23, 2011
FLASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Sunday morning, we’re looking forward to visuals and comments shared by our own 2011 Louisiana Work Team.
The Women’s and Men’s ensembles will be doing pre-service and anthem music.
I hope you’ll take a moment to read this week’s “Day in the Life” as the time for local elections is close. Why should we care? Let’s see!
AND
Remember to vote October 11.
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
A Day in the Life… Community Engagement
September 23, 2011
If you were to ask me what the Bible has to say about “elections,” I’d have trouble coming up with anything. Thinking on all the campaigning, which now never ends (it seems), all I could think of was a partial verse from 1 John that says, “and the truth is not in him.” Once I tracked down the whole verse, I was relieved to find that it was not a lesson in campaigning but about one who pretends to know Jesus, then disobeys—it even throws in liar for good measure. Maybe St. John did know a politician or two…but I digress.
What the sacred texts do have a lot to say about is “the truth.” They uphold the truth, assail those who distort the truth, uplift the sober truth, and urge us to tell the truth to our neighbors. In the midst of the great “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13 says, “(love) does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.” Day by day, there is a battle waged for that truth—the whole truth (not the half truth) and nothing but the truth. If it weren’t so important, it might be more entertaining to watch.
I am so grateful that Fairmont is not just watching, but is positioning itself as a community of faith engaged in the larger community. Crucial issues are at afoot. We have addressed mental health reform, racial diversity in our schools, and the environment. There remains much work to be done. Recently, we were contacted about hosting a forum for mayoral and city council candidates, and we gladly did so. Last Sunday, our church council voted to support the non-partisan “bond issue” concerning affordable housing and transportation, both vital issues in the lives of our impoverished neighbors.
October 11, there are three areas of concern that invite our votes. It gets a bit confusing, but it includes the Wake County Board of Education, City of Raleigh and Town of Cary Municipal Elections, and the aforementioned bond issues. To further confuse things, we vote for county commissioners in November—I think!
The 2011 Voters Guide is now on a website: (I provide this here for our on line edition) www.raleighchamber.org/votersguide. I’m told that the format of this year’s guide has been modified to make it easier to compare candidate responses.
On October 11, the polls will be open from 6:30am to 7:30pm. Do you know where you vote?
Did you know…A recent article in the News & Observer said that in our last school board election, there was a 12% turn out, with the prevailing 7% effecting large changes in policy. 88% did not address the issues with their votes—at all. This is OUR community!
I do not pretend to have a corner on the earlier mentioned “truth.” Is it not our task, however, to seek it, to find it, and to use it fully? Vote!
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE…September 18, 2011
September 16, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
The times, they are a-changin’ – or at least the weather. I’m ready to leave the hot days behind!
Sunday, we welcome Vanessa Paulson and the North Haven Church Music Team.
As we continue to examine the rich array of New Testament “characters,” Sunday night we’ll look to Nocturnal Nicodemus, from John 3:1-10.
Will I see you?
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS…September 18, 2011
September 16, 2011
FLASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
I trust you’re enjoying these glorious days! Our DISCIPLE class MIGHT suggest reading Psalm 8.
Sunday, we offer prayers and ask God’s blessing for three young people receiving Bibles. An important moment for them and for us.
On Thursday, I went to Rocky Mount to do some relief work (with other clergy), and got a sense of the damage there. I hope you’ll make plans to do some work “east” in the days to come.
Thanks to all of you who CAUGHT UP your giving last Sunday, and to all of you who WILL
this Sunday!!
Pastor Steve
A Day in the Life…Irene’s Footprint
September 16, 2011
It’s not pretty. Not far east of here, the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Irene is evident – and extensive. The Raleigh District clergy traveled Thursday to Rocky Mount and Halifax to do some hurricane debris removal. We were not “first responders,” as they were right behind the storm giving aid and beginning the longer process of assessment. Two crews put in a long day removing limbs of pine and oak, putting in order the property of families who could not afford to have that work done by professional tree cutters, although I’m guessing they would have had better luck keeping their chainsaws running. Just saying…
Bill Gross came to be with the Fairmont Men’s Fellowship that very evening. Bill is the Volunteers In Mission (VIM) for the North Carolina Conference. He is busy these days as he and other leaders work together to deploy the many willing hands stepping forward to assist our neighbors in need. Bill’s presentation was really helpful, giving us a view of how “we” respond to a crisis. We seem to have an abundance of “natural” disasters, no need to be adding the unnatural.
Of his several insights, one that struck me was that our United Methodist Committee on Relief, UMCOR, whose work is renowned around the world, is made up of mostly volunteers. What enables UMCOR to respond to tsunami and flood, earthquake and fire, war and famine is volunteers–and generosity. Each year our One Great Hour of Sharing offering supports the infrastructure of UMCOR. It is the special funds raised, called “advance specials,” that provides relief supplies, food and water and medicine and shelter. The vast amount of personnel it takes, from removal of debris to rebuilding of disrupted lives, comes from volunteers.
Our reach into eastern NC is not as global, but for people whose homes are flooded, with gaping roofs open to the elements, the crisis is huge. When we see enough disasters, our perspective says, “Well, it could have been worse” or “Look at how bad it is over there.” But for each family affected, their lives have changed by 100%. Folks with VIM and UMCOR (who, incidentally, work together hand in glove) have sensitized us to the plight of those who have endured such hardships. We may come and go in a day or three or seven, their crisis persists.
Bill shared that four of our districts are much in need: Elizabeth City, Rocky Mount, New Bern, and Goldsboro. These are our geographic neighbors – are they not also our spiritual ones?
So. The call is out to be assembling teams. They like teams of 7-14. Several areas are within reach for a Saturday “day trip,” while others will take an overnight. Who knows, next summer’s work team may head east. I hope you will be thinking ahead about a soon-to-come Saturday when you will be free to pitch in. Henry Jarrett has all the information about how to do just that. Ask him!
Pastor Steve