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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 – February 7, 2010 God’s
peace to you and your household. I am grateful for your continuing
generosity to provide emergency assistance for the people of Haiti. Our
current total, including money from last Sunday, is now: $3806 which
will go to support the work of United Methodist Committee On Relief.
Thank you. A
recent email from United Methodist Communications told the story of
Louis and Madame Felix, age 74 and 76, who received their first food bag
from UMCOR containing 18 pounds of rice, three pounds of beans, a quart
of cooking oil and a one-pound bag of salt on January 29. They are
members of the United Methodist Church in Haiti, and along with ten
other members of their congregation, they helped to distribute bags of
food from UMCOR to 140 families who had been waiting on church pews,
pulled out from the wreckage of their church building and placed under
trees nearby. Those waiting, who did not receive food, because of the
limited supply, were given “Aquatab” water tablets to help purify
their drinking water. Our gifts through UMCOR are making a difference.
Thank you. This Sunday the scripture reading for worship comes from Psalm 138. It is a Psalm of thanks and praise. The title of my message is: “Thank you for Me”. The Chancel Choir will provide musical leadership for worship as they lead us in singing our praise and thanks to God. We will also celebrate the
sacrament of communion at both worship services. For the past six months, a
Mission planning team has been at work to develop a long-range outline
for sending work teams to various places of need around the world. To
help determine the number of local, national and international work team
projects that we can support with workers as well as dollars, the
planning group has developed a comprehensive survey. More information
and a link to the survey will be sent tomorrow. Please take a few
minutes to respond to the questions. Paper copies will also be available
at the church for your convenience. Over eighty people attended
our ANNUAL MEETING on January 24. Reports of Ministry Teams and a
listing of elected church leaders for 2010 are printed in the “Annual
Report” booklets which are available for you on the information table
in Fellowship Hall. Updated church directories are also available in
the same location. The following prayer echoes our Sunday theme of gratitude. It comes from the book Guide My Feet, by Marian Wright Edelman: In the middle of winter the buds prepare for spring. Thank you God for unceasing life. The dull, brown stalks of spent hydrangeas mirror my spent spirit. Yet green and blue and pink colors dance in my mind’s eye for the spring within and without about to come. I feel your presence in pealing cathedral bells, in insistent cawing crows, in intricate yellow petals of January forsythia, in new growth heralding coming spring. Thank you God, for hope. Amen. See you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we join together to express our gratitude to the Holy One, in worship. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – February 14, 2010 May
you be blessed with the beauty of winter. The snow continues to cover
the landscape bringing delight to some and frustration to others. The
church parking lot has many layers of winter snow and ice. Continue to
be very careful as you walk from your car to the building. This Sunday our worship will be led by the “United Methodist Women” group of our church. They have been meeting for one year as a chartered UMW group. Their leadership will include a three part message on the theme: “Who Is My Neighbor?” presented by Karen Drake, Ginger Eddy and Beth Holland. We will also learn several new songs that are a gift of insight and meaning, used at the statewide and national United Methodist Women’s gatherings. The scripture readings for this Sunday will be included in the spoken messages. The
Chancel Choir will provide musical
leadership for our worship gathering. Next week: Ash
Wednesday (February 17) marks the beginning of Lent. Our
weekly Lenten Wednesday evening format will begin with a “Soup
Supper” at 5:45 p.m. followed by a half hour worship service in the
sanctuary at 6:45 p.m. In keeping with the reflective nature
of Ash Wednesday, we will not have regular Wednesday evening events this
coming week but will conclude our evening with the Ash Wednesday
worship. Those usually coming to Wednesday night activities are urged to
participate in this special time of worship and renewal – youth and
parents. The regular classes and rehearsals will resume the following
week. (B.O.B. group, Choir rehearsals, Confirmation, Higher Ground and
“Living the Questions”). You should have received a lavender
Lenten brochure from the church in the mail this week,
outlining plans for weekly worship on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s, as
well as special classes and other offerings which are part of our 2nd
annual “Lenten
Sabbatical". If you
did not receive one, or would like another, they will be available on a
table in the narthex throughout the Lenten season. Since all meetings
are cancelled during Lent, you are urged to participate in at least one
of the opportunities provided for your spiritual formation and growth. Here is a prayer written by Carol Dixon, from a book: “Worship Live no. 26”, a British publication. Break into our darkness, formless God, with the light of your presence. Split the cosmic silence and speak in the void of our shapeless lives. Plant seeds of love in barren hearts; nourish us with your life-giving Spirit. Mold us, so we become the image of yourself, and every face of our universe displays the stamp of your creative love. Then help us rest in you and see that LIFE is good. Amen. Join with your sisters and brothers in Christ, as we are renewed and strengthened in worship with the gift of God’s creative, life-giving love. There is a place for you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – February 21, 2010 Greetings.
We are now in the season of Lent!
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40 day journey of renewal.
Each Wednesday evening we will gather for our Lenten
Soup Supper at 5:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, and then move to the
sanctuary at 6:45 p.m. for a half hour worship time, drawing
on the resources of the Celtic Christian tradition. The Lenten
Sabbatical begins this week, with the first class this Sunday
evening. Sign up on Sunday morning or contact the church office,
(952-937-8781 or office@prairiechurch.org).
This Sunday in worship we read the story of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness from the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13. Lent is based upon this 40 day wilderness experience. The title of my message is “Rethink Lent”. The other scripture reading this Sunday is Psalm 91, which is referenced in the wilderness story. Communion will be served at both worship services, and the Adult Handbell Choir will provide special music. During
our 10:30 a.m. worship service in the sanctuary, we have had to compete
with peripheral noise and conversation in the narthex area for the first
half hour of that worship service. Please be respectful of those who
worship at the second worship time. Take your conversations into
Fellowship Hall rather than in the narthex area. The glass doors are not
sound proof. You should have received a
lavender Lenten brochure from the
church in the mail recently, outlining plans for weekly worship on
Sundays and Wednesdays, as well as special classes and other offerings
which are part of our 2nd annual “Lenten
Sabbatical". If you did not receive one, or would like
another, they will be available on a table in the narthex throughout the
Lenten season as well as on our
website. Since all meetings are cancelled during Lent,
you are urged to participate in at least one of the opportunities
provided for your spiritual formation and growth. During the Wednesday evening Lenten Soup Suppers you can donate money to purchase food supplies for packaging for “Feed My Starving Children”. This past Wednesday evening $160 was given. Thank you for your generosity. The following prayer for the first Sunday in Lent comes from our United Methodist Book of Worship. Its origin is The Book of Common Prayer: Almighty God, your blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan. Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations. And, as you know the weakness of each of us, Let each one find you mighty to save; Through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord. Amen. Join with your sisters and brothers in Christ, as we are renewed and strengthened in worship with the gift of God’s love. There is a place for you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – February 28, 2010
May
you be blessed with God’s grace and peace in these days of Lent.
We continue with our weekly Wednesday evening Lenten
schedule:
Soup Supper at 5:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, and then move to the
sanctuary at 6:45 p.m. for one-half hour worship time, drawing on the
resources of the Celtic
Christian tradition.
You are encouraged to participate in at least one of the Lenten
Sabbatical offerings. Sign up on Sunday morning or contact the church
office, (
952-937-8781 or office@prairiechurch.org)
to let us know of your plans. If you have misplaced your Lenten folders,
additional copies are available in the narthex. This Sunday in worship we read the Gospel of Luke 13:31-35, the story of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. The title of my message is “Rethink God”. The Chancel Choir will provide musical leadership. The work team going to Mississippi will offer a “Mission Moment” describing how their work fits into a larger picture of ministry guided by United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). New
members
will be received this Sunday during worship as we join them in making a
commitment to serve the work of Christ through the church with our
“prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness”. Each Wednesday evening at the Lenten Soup Suppers you can give money to purchase food supplies for packaging for “Feed My Starving Children”. A basket by the soup bowls reminds us that we are called to share what we have so that others may have food. This past Wednesday evening $136.10 was given, giving us a total so far of $296.10. Thank you for your generosity. The following prayer has been around for a long time. Both humorous and poignant, it reminds us of our need for God in our daily living: I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been grumpy, nasty or selfish. But in a few minutes I’m going to get out of bed; And from then on, I’m going to need a lot of your help. Amen. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller
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