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EPUMC WEEKLY MEMO
You Are WELCOME AT EDEN PRAIRIE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Empowered by God's love, we are a community of Christ's disciples, centered in worship and fellowship with:
OPEN HEARTS to live and serve with compassion and to share God's love OPEN MINDS to seek spiritual formation and encourage each person's faith journey OPEN DOORS to invite and welcome all to join in discipleship
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Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – June 7, 2009 May God’s blessings be with you in
these beautiful days of spring. This Sunday we recognize our graduating
High School Seniors in worship and with a reception in Fellowship
Hall following worship, sponsored by the Youth Ministry Council. Worship this Sunday will include the High School Seniors offering worship music, reading scripture and serving communion. The scripture readings for this Sunday are from the letters of Paul: Ephesians 1:15-23 and Romans 12:1-3,9-21. The title of my message is: “Living Life on Purpose”. The Chancel Choir will provide musical leadership for our worship service. We will affirm the wide embrace of God’s love as we receive the sacrament of communion, which welcomes all to the table. Summer
Sunday school will be offered for children from 3 years through 4th
grade. The church nursery is available for younger children. The
children’s offering this month is raising money for the “Nothing But
Nets” program. This program is co-sponsored by the National United
Methodist Church and the NBA. You can give a gift to this important ministry
directly through the church or through your children when they come forward
for the Children’s Time. The cost of one mosquito net is $10, and will
protect a child from malaria carried by mosquitoes. In
the coming month, many graduation open house events will be held. I offer the
following blessing prayer for all graduates as they enter a new chapter in
their lives. Celtic
Journey Blessing God
be with you on
the road of life’s suffering. Christ
be with you in
celebration. The
Spirit be with you to
encourage and bless you at
all times and in all time.
Iona
Community, Scotland
I look
forward to seeing you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. as we
recognize our graduating seniors, and as we offer our lives and gifts in
service to the God who loves us to wholeness. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – June 14, 2009 There was a new silence in my
neighborhood this morning. No school buses keeping the schedule, no children
rushing out the door to catch the bus, no late Sr. High drivers trying to get
to school on time. Only silence! It will change in a few days as summer
routines and plans unfold. But for now, it is a pleasant quiet and calm. We
have been on the summer worship schedule for several weeks, and will continue
to gather for one worship service at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday for the
summer months. This Sunday we celebrate the sacrament of baptism for Hallie Ann Abel, as her parents present her for the sacrament of baptism. We will also hear a brief report from Ginger Eddy and Jean Myers on the recent Annual Conference gathering in St. Cloud. The title of my message this Sunday
is “Planting Seed on the Other Side of the
Fence” based on the “Parable of the Growing Seed”, found
in the Gospel of Mark 4:26-34. Summer
Sunday School will be offered for children from 3 years through 4th
grade. The church nursery is available for younger children. The
children’s offering for the rest of June is raising money for the “Nothing
But Nets” program. This program is co-sponsored by the national United
Methodist Church and the NBA. You can give a gift to this
important ministry directly through the church or through your children when
they come forward for the Children’s Time with their offering. The cost of one
mosquito net is $10, and will protect a child from malaria carried
by mosquitoes. This
week I offer you a prayer from a collection of prayers written and edited by
Richard Foster of the Quaker tradition called Prayers from the Heart. It is
an honest prayer about our humanity:
I am, O God, a jumbled mass of motives.
One moment I am adoring you, and the next I am shaking my fist at you.
I vacillate between mounting hope, and deepening despair.
I am full of faith, and full of doubt.
I want the best for others, and am jealous when they get it.
Even so, God, I will not run from your presence.
Nor will I pretend to be what I am not.
Thank you for accepting me with all my contradictions. The
God who accepts us with all our contradictions is always ready to meet us in
personal prayer and corporate worship. I look forward to being with you in
the sanctuary this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. as we celebrate the promise and gift
of God’s love through worship, through the sacrament of baptism, and as the
scripture invites and challenges us to be faithful in ministry in the weeks
and months ahead. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller
mikem@prairiechurch.org
Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – June 21, 2009 May God’s blessings rest upon you
and your household. We continue with our summer worship schedule: one
worship service at 9:30 a.m. with summer Sunday School for children from
preschool through 4th Grade. This Sunday we
give our appreciation and farewell to Pastor Lisa Dodd who will be
ending her ministry with us in the coming days. A reception will be held in
her honor following the worship service. The Staff Parish Ministry Team is
hosting this reception. Baskets will also be provided for your cards of
appreciation and blessings for Lisa. Worship this Sunday will include a time of farewell as we recognize Lisa’s ministry with us for the past two years. The scripture reading for worship is from Mark 4:35-41. The title of Pastor Lisa’s message is: “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Communion will be served. The Summer
Choir will provide musical leadership in worship. If you would
like to give choir a “try”, come to an 8:30 a.m. rehearsal at the church
this Sunday and sing for worship. All interested singers are welcome. For
further information contact Don Prestly, Director of Music. The
children’s offering for June is designated for the
“Nothing But Nets” program, co-sponsored
by the national United Methodist Church and the NBA. You can give a
gift to this important ministry directly through the church or through your
children when they come forward for the Children’s Time with their
offering. The cost of one mosquito net is $10, and will protect a child from
malaria, the disease carried by mosquitoes. This
is a time of transition in our congregation as we move from two pastors to
one. I have been working with the staff to care for the ministry of the
church based on our congregational Vision. The July Newsletter will outline
more details of how things will work. As we enter this time of transition,
the following “Prayer for Holy Boldness” challenges us to continue to
count on God for guidance, wisdom and faithful living as a church and as
individuals. As we enter this new phase of ministry in our staffing, may we
be guided by the boldness and wisdom of God’s Spirit. Make us bold, O God. Bold
enough to expect you to do far more than we can ask or imagine. Bold
enough to believe that you can take our small, faithful acts Bold
enough to proclaim that your church, the body of Christ, is
the hope of the world. O
God, now help us to be who we say we are. Amen. The God who
accompanies us on the journey is always ready to meet us in personal prayer
and corporate worship. I look forward to being with you in the sanctuary this
Sunday at 9:30 a.m. as we celebrate the promise and gift of God’s love
through worship, through the sacrament of communion and the scriptures which
invite and challenge us to be faithful in ministry in the weeks and months
ahead. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – June 28, 2009 God’s grace and peace to you. We
continue with our summer worship schedule: one worship service at 9:30 a.m.
with Sunday School for children from preschool through 4th grade. This Sunday marks the beginning of my 8th year serving as your pastor. It is a joy and honor to be in ministry with you. This Sunday we continue reading stories about Jesus’ ministry from the Gospel of Mark 5:21-43. Three healing stories are included in the scripture. The title of my message is: “Get Up! Keep Going!” Musical leadership will be provided
by the Praise Band. Come early so you can
sing with them for the Gathering Music. The
children’s offering for June is designated for the “Nothing
But Nets” program, co-sponsored by the national United
Methodist Church and the NBA. You can give a gift to this important ministry
directly through the church or through your children when they come forward
for the Children’s Time with their offering. The cost
of one mosquito net is $10, and it will protect a child from malaria,
the disease carried by mosquitoes. We have exceeded our goal of $400. Thanks
to children and adults for your ongoing generosity. On
Tuesday of this past week, the staff met for a “day apart” to talk about
the next steps in our staff transition. We discussed how the new
responsibilities added to our jobs relate to the mission and vision of the
church and about outcomes for our efforts. We also spent time planning and
working on the church calendar through next spring. We began the day with the
following prayer, which invites us to put God at the center of our lives and
of our daily living: Prayer
Partners are needed for the youth from our church who will be going
on Mission Work Team experiences within the next several weeks.
The confirmation group is going to Cass Lake area
July 5-10, and the Higher Ground (Sr. High Group) will be going to St. Louis
the following week, July 12-17. You can support them with prayer
and a packet of daily cards, notes or small token gifts. Sign
up this Sunday in Fellowship Hall, or reply to this notice and you
will be matched with a youth or mission team leader. Prayer
Partner Reply
Thanks
be to you, O God, for the stirrings of new life in me this day, For
rising from the dreams of the night to a fresh flowing of energy, For
the vitality that awakened my body and the desires that stir my soul. Let me know the power for life that is in me, the
life-force that is in my sense and the might that is in my heart. Let
me know you as the source of such force Let
me serve love with my strength this day, let
me serve love with my strength, in heart and body let me serve love.
( Sounds of the Eternal, J Phillip Newell) I
look forward to being with you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. as
we celebrate the promise and gift of God’s love through worship. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller mikem@prairiechurch.org
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