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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 – May 3, 2009 Peace be with you and your
household. As the Christian community we continue to celebrate Easter
– a 50-day season to affirm the Resurrection, which takes us to Pentecost
and the experienced presence of God’s Spirit. This Sunday worship will focus on the theme of making God’s love known through word and deed. The scripture reading is from 1 John 3:16-24. This is the letter of first John, not the Gospel of John. The title of Pastor Lisa’s message based on this scripture is: “Learning to Love in 3 Easy Steps”. Musical leadership will be provided by the Adult Handbell Choir. Last Sunday they provided music at the Fort Snelling Chapel worship service. This week they share their music with us. Communion
will be served at both worship services as a reminder of God’s love through
Christ. This
Sunday you will be invited to manifest God’s love by giving a gift to the
annual LOVE OFFERING sponsored by our Annual Conference.
Envelopes for your gift will be in the pew pockets. This offering is received
in United Methodist churches throughout the state of Minnesota, and all of
the gifts are brought to the Annual Conference gathering in St. Cloud at the
end of May. Your gifts will help provide support for the work of UMCOR
(United Methodist Committee on Relief), as it works to provide safe
drinking water for our neighbors in Africa. The offering will also provide
support for those in the U.S. who are rebuilding after disasters. The
Annual Spring Garage Sale moves into high
gear right after the second worship service this Sunday. The days of the sale
are May 6,7,8, however, your help is
needed in setting up the space and sorting out the donations beginning on
Sunday. Your participation is vital in making this event a successful
fundraising event for our church. A sign up sheet will again be included in
the Sunday worship materials. Your time, and donations of saleable items will
help make this a successful sale. Half of the money raised will be used to
provide support for mission projects and mission teams from our church who go
to places of need in the coming year. The other half raised will provide
financial support for the general operation of our church. The
season of Easter is a time to remember that the resurrection is not only an
ancient story but also a gift of new life and new beginnings offered to us by
a God of grace and transformation. The following poem/prayer is called “Hide
and Seek”. It speaks about our Easter experience. It is from
a book called: Fire and Bread, a resource book of Easter materials developed
by the Iona Community in Scotland. Sometimes
we go looking for God and sometimes we find God. Far
better to let God find us since God is always looking. The
real art is in discerning when God is right under your nose, familiar
yet surprising, comforting yet unexpected. No
wonder Easter is life changing! Our weekly
gathering for worship bears witness to the Risen Christ in the world. May His
love and His way guide us as we affirm once again the power of His love in
our lives. Make time in your weekend schedule to be present for one of
our worship services this Sunday at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – May 10, 2009 Peace be with you and your
household. As the Christian community, we continue to celebrate Easter
– a 50-day season to affirm the Resurrection, which takes us to Pentecost
and the experienced presence of God’s Spirit. It’s
been a busy week at Eden Prairie United Methodist! The Annual
Spring Garage Sale has taken up much of the space. The Wednesday
“preview night” brought a good response and shoppers continue to come.
Hopefully we will have a preliminary sale total to announce on Sunday. Thanks
to all who have taken time out of busy schedules to volunteer for the sale.
The proceeds will be divided between our church operating budget and
Hurricane Recovery in the Galveston area. In addition to shoppers coming
to the Garage Sale, Wednesday evening was also busy because of the combined
choir rehearsal preparing for the Gateway Churches Gospel Choir Concert with
Libby Turner at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at our church. This Sunday the scripture readings for worship are from Psalm 22:25-31 and 1 John 4:7-21. Linda Evans will be preaching. The title of her message based on these scripture readings, is: “God’s Address”. The
chancel choir will sing at both worship
services. We will celebrate the sacrament of baptism for Kaitlyn Grace
Anderson at the 10:30 worship service. Annual
Love Offering: You will again be invited to manifest God’s love by
giving a gift to the “Love Offering” sponsored by our Annual Conference.
Envelopes for your gift will be in the pew pockets. This offering is received
in United Methodist churches throughout the state of Minnesota, and all of
the gifts are brought to the Annual Conference gathering in St. Cloud at the
end of May. Your gifts will help provide support for the work of UMCOR
(United Methodist Committee on Relief), as it works to provide safe drinking
water for our neighbors in Africa. The offering will also provide support for
those in the U.S. who are rebuilding after disasters. This
Sunday is Mother’s
Day, an observance
started in 1907 by Anna Jarvis, a laywoman in the Methodist Episcopal Church
of Grafton, West Virginia. Mother’s Day is a time to honor mothers and
grandmothers and a time to be in prayer for families who mourn the loss of
mothers. As we reflect on the meaning of Mother’s Day, I offer you the
following prayer: Loving
God, we realize that we have not made our homes the dwelling for your love
that we would like. Too often, we act like individuals who happen to share the same building, rather
than family members who care for one another. Help
us to renew our commitments to the growth and development of those who share
our homes with us. Help
us to communicate openly with one another and to show our love in the homes
where we live. Amen. (Flames
of the Spirit by Dr. Ruth Duck) Our
weekly gathering for worship bears witness to the Risen Christ in the world.
May His love and His way guide us as we affirm once again the power of His
love in our lives. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary this
Sunday at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller mikem@prairiechurch.org
Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – May 17, 2009 Peace be with you and your
household. As the Christian community, we continue to celebrate Easter
– a 50-day season to affirm the Resurrection, which takes us to Pentecost
and the experienced presence of God’s Spirit. This Sunday we continue the celebration of resurrection and new life, as we hear words and stories of hope and faithfulness from the mission team who shared God’s love through their work in the Galveston, Texas area. Our scripture readings for worship this Sunday are from 1 John 5:1-6 and the Gospel of John 15:9-17. The title of the message is: “Love Like Jesus”, and I will be joined by two members of the mission team as they tell stories of transformation from their experience. Other members of the mission team will be leading in worship through the Children’s Time, serving communion and leading other parts of the worship service. The Chancel Choir will sing at both worship services. We
will celebrate the sacrament of communion at each worship service as well.
Don’t miss this special day of witness and inspiration. Annual
Love Offering: You will again be invited to manifest God’s love by
giving a gift to the “Love Offering” sponsored by our Annual Conference.
Envelopes for your gift will be in the pew pockets. This offering is received
in United Methodist churches throughout the state of Minnesota, and all of
the gifts are brought to the Annual Conference gathering in St. Cloud at the
end of May. Your gifts will help provide support for the work of UMCOR
(United Methodist Committee on Relief), as it works to provide safe
drinking water for our neighbors in Africa. The offering will also provide
support for those in the U.S. who are rebuilding after disasters. Two
special events this Sunday: 1.
“
Spring Tea” served in the Fellowship Hall right after the second
worship service. Advance reservations are not needed. Tea, scones and other
delicious items will be served. This is a “women’s” event. 2.
A Spring
Farmers Market, sponsored by our newly formed United Methodist
Women’s group will be held between worship services. It is a plant
sale to raise awareness and money for mission projects. The plants
are perennials from the gardeners of the church and can be “purchased”
for a donation. This
Saturday evening, May 16th, at 6:30 p.m.
you are invited to experience a special Gospel Choir
Concert in the sanctuary of our church presented by a combined
choir of 6 Gateway Churches. Libby Turner who has been a
featured musician at several of our Music and Fine Arts Concerts will direct
this concert. She will be working with the choirs on Saturday morning to
learn the Gospel style of singing and will then direct the concert in the
evening. Join others from our church and community along with fellow United
Methodists from the other Gateway Churches for this outstanding event. The
following “Prayer for Singing” is found in our United Methodist Hymnal. I
think it is an appropriate prayer whether we sing in the shower, attend the
Gospel Concert on Saturday evening, or sing music in worship during Sunday
worship: Glorious
God, source of joy and righteousness, Enable
us as redeemed and forgiven children Evermore
to rejoice in singing your praises. Grant
that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, And
what we believe in our hearts, we may practice in our lives; So
that being doers of the Word and not hearers only We
may receive everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Our
weekly gathering for worship bears witness to the Risen Christ in the world
through word, sacrament and song. May His way guide us as we affirm once
again the power of His love in our lives. I look forward to seeing you
in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller mikem@prairiechurch.org
Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – May 24, 2009 Grace and peace to you and your
household. This Sunday we begin our summer worship
schedule: one worship service at 9:30 a.m. followed by a time of fellowship.
This is Memorial Day Weekend, which includes remembering service men and
women. It is also a time of family gatherings and is the official start of
summer for many people. I would like to encourage you to participate in
worship this Sunday. Often the long three-day weekends are a time when more
visitors than usual come to worship, so your welcoming presence is an
important gift to give them. This Sunday is the last Sunday of the 50-day season of Easter. It concludes with the story of Jesus’ ascension. We will read this story from the Gospel of Luke 24:44-53. The title of my message is: “Jesus Shaped Disciples”. Our
music will focus on the exaltation of Jesus as the risen, ascended Christ. Annual
Love Offering: Thanks for your generosity in response to this
offering. So far we have received just short of $900.00. Our contributions
will be taken to the Annual Conference gathering in St. Cloud and be included
with gifts from all the United Methodist churches throughout Minnesota as we
support the ongoing work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Minnesota
Annual Conference will be in session this week in St. Cloud, May
26-29. Attending the four day gathering are: Ginger Eddy and Jean Myers as
lay members and pastoral staff: Lisa Dodd, Linda Evans and myself. This
past Tuesday I had the opportunity to hear J. Phillip Newell, a member of the
Iona Community in Scotland. His insights and prayers were very powerful as he
spoke about the important gift the Christian community can offer for the
transformation of the world, beginning with each one of us. He is a prolific
writer and has many fine books on prayer. Here is one of the many prayers
included in his material: O
God of heaven, you are present on earth. O
God of the stars and planets, you are in the midst of the city. O
God above all things, you are in the depths of our being. The
river of your eternal life runs through all things. Let
us be glad bearers of your eternity. Let
us be glad to find you in one another. Our
weekly gathering for worship bears witness to the river of Christ’s love in
our lives and in the world. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary
this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller mikem@prairiechurch.org
Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – May 31, 2009 May God’s blessings be with you in
these beautiful days of spring. This Sunday is Pentecost
Sunday. In the tradition of the church, you are encouraged
to wear red – the liturgical color
of Pentecost. This Sunday is also Confirmation Sunday, as 18 young people confirm their baptisms. The Confirmation students, small group leaders and pastors will lead the worship service. This is a great day of celebration in the life of the church. The scripture readings for this Sunday are Acts 2:1-21 (the story of Pentecost), and John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, (the promise of the spirit). The title of Pastor Lisa’s message is: “The Spirit is Alive and Well”. Musical leadership will be provided
by the Chancel Choir, and a special
musical selection will be sung by the entire Confirmation Class, led by
Jeanette Parr. A reception for the Confirmands will be held following
worship. This reception is hosted by the Youth Ministry Council. The
Minnesota Annual Conference has been in session this week, concluding
tomorrow. A report on the activities and decisions made at the Annual
Conference will be presented at the June Church Ministry Council meeting and
in worship on the last Sunday in June. Thank you for your gifts to the Love
Offering, dedicated in a special worship service this past Tuesday evening as
we came from the four corners of the state! This
week I offer you a “blessing”, which I keep with my weekly worship
materials. It is a word of challenge as we live the Christian faith each day: Live
simply Love
generously Care
deeply Share
the light of Christ. Leave
the rest to God. Our
weekly gathering for worship bears witness to the grace of Christ in our
lives and in the world. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary this
Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Be Blessed, Pastor
Mike Miller mikem@prairiechurch.org
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