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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 – January 3 , 2010 Christmas
blessings to you and your household! This Sunday we will celebrate
“Epiphany”
(a few days early). The actual date for Epiphany
is January 6. It is the final chapter in the “Christmas
Story”
which commemorates the visit of the Magi as they bring gifts to Jesus.
Thanks for the gifts you gave to our annual Christmas
offering, which totaled: $3300. Don’t forget your 2009
contributions are due in the church office before noon, tomorrow,
Thursday, December 31, in order to apply to the 2009 year. This Sunday we return to our regular Sunday morning worship schedule. The scripture readings for worship this Sunday are the traditional Epiphany readings: Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12. The title of my message is: “Do you See What I See?” The
Chancel
Choir
will provide musical leadership for both worship services and we will
celebrate the sacrament of communion. The Children’s
Ministry will be holding a “Bake
Sale” after each worship service this Sunday. You may
purchase “freshly baked goodies” made in Sunday School. Money
received will be given to Simpson Shelter in Minneapolis. As we come to the beginning of a new year this week, I offer you the following prayer for a New Year, by Joyce Rupp, from her book: May I Have This Dance? God of this new year, we are walking into mystery. We face the future, not knowing what the days and months will bring to us or how we will respond. Be love in us as we journey. May we welcome all who come our way. Deepen our faith to see all of life through your eyes. Fill us with hope and an abiding trust that you dwell in us amidst all our joys and sorrows. Thank you for the treasure of our faith life. Thank you for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance of your walking through the day with us. God of this new year, we praise you. Amen. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we give thanks to God, the giver of light and life. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – January 10, 2010 Grace
and peace to you in these brittle winter days. It is good that the
symbol for the season of Epiphany
is light. In the dark days of winter we long for light and warmth. In
the same way, may we long for the renewing grace of God as we have seen
it through Jesus the Christ. This coming week, Nancy and I will be on a quest for warmth as we head south to Florida. It is a week with half training
/continuing education and half vacation. We will leave Minnesota this
Saturday morning. I am pleased to welcome Rev.
Judy Myers,
retired United Methodist pastor, to our worship this Sunday. Linda
Evans will lead
the worship service. The theme for worship this Sunday is the baptism of Jesus. The title of Judy’s message is: “Shall We Gather at the River?” based on Luke’s story of Jesus baptism. You can read the story in the Gospel of Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. The Chancel
Choir will sing at both worship services. The Children’s
Ministry will be again holding a “Bake
Sale” during the first “Fellowship Time” from 10-10:30
a.m. this Sunday. You may purchase “special goodies”
lovingly made in Sunday School. Money received will be given to Simpson
Shelter in Minneapolis. I was intrigued with the following prayer, which includes images of cold and warmth, written by St. Anselm, an English theologian and scholar, 1033-1109, who was often embroiled in bitter battles with English kings over the rights of the church. This prayer is called: “Prayer of a Dull Servant”. My prayer is but a cold affair, Lord, because my love burns with so small a flame. But you who are rich in mercy will not mete out to them your gifts according to the dullness of my zeal, but as your kindness is above all human love so let your eagerness to hear be greater than the feeling in my prayers.
Do this for them and with them, Lord, so that they may speed according to your will and thus ruled and protected by you, always and everywhere, may they come at last to glory and eternal rest, through you who are the living and reigning God, through all ages. Amen.
The sanctuary will be warm and ready for you to gather for worship this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as you give thanks to God, the giver of light and life. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – January 17, 2010
This Sunday I am pleased that
we can welcome Trish Vanni to worship. She first took the initiative to
develop the idea of an Inter Faith Thanksgiving Prayer Service in Eden
Prairie. Her credentials are many, and she brings a deep faith expressed
in acts of hospitality and social justice. Trish will bring the message "Encountering
The World With The Eyes Of Mary", and will participate
in communion. She is a long-time member of the Pax Christi Catholic
community and was previously a staff member for the congregation. She
served as lay preacher in the Catholic Church and also provided training
for Lay Preachers. The focus for worship this Sunday is hospitality and welcome and will include the following scripture readings: Isaiah 62:1-5 and John 2:1-11. This Sunday is also Human Relations Day as we join others in our denomination in giving a gift to this annual offering. Offering envelopes and additional information about how your money will be used to help others, will be inside your bulletin. The Chancel
Choir will sing at both worship services. Next Sunday, January 24th, we will hold our Annual Church Meeting right after the second worship service. We will begin with a potluck meal followed by the meeting at 12:15 p.m. It is my goal to conclude by 1:30 p.m. A special report will be presented by the Sacred Space Ministry Team. Your food contributions will be appreciated: those with last names beginning with A-I bring hot/main dish; J-Q bring dessert and R-Z bring a salad. As we come to Martin Luther King weekend, we reflect on the ways in which he provided inspiration and insight into human relationships. The following prayer speaks to the need for acceptance of others. This prayer was shared by Ruth Nubson at a mission meeting last spring. It is from a book of prayers written by members of the “Marianist Voluntary Service Committee”. This prayer is written by Dagmar Arango. I think it is a good prayer for every day and especially for the MLK weekend:
“Patient God: I have always struggled with the concept of acceptance. The very word immediately sends a rush of negatives that point an insistent finger at me. Things that we are challenged to accept are things that we usually don’t like.
To
agree to does not mean to agree with. When we are called to accept ideas, people or situations, we are asked to live in reality- and not just our view, our belief, our way.
Acceptance calls us to look at other lives, other modes of living and being. I may receive you willingly, though your ways seem different to me. And I may agree to understand your way, though I may not agree with it.
Acceptance begins with me. To be Christlike, we must accept first, and then be open to work with what we have accepted. I am still learning, and I thank God for the challenge to really see things as God does - as God accepts.” I look forward to being back with you for worship this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the gift of God’s acceptance, unrestrained grace and hospitality. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – January 24, 2010
Grace
and peace to you and your household. We continue to hold in prayer the
people of Haiti. Our prayers have turned into generosity. Last Sunday
you gave $2506 to assist those who are struggling to survive in Haiti.
This money will be sent to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on
Relief). Another opportunity to give will be provided this week.
Several churches (including ours) will soon be working together to
prepare health kits as part of the recovery efforts. The kits will be
taken to Haiti by persons from our Minnesota Annual Conference. Our
other offering last week, for Human Relations Sunday totaled $215. Thank
you for your generosity. This Sunday our worship will focus on considering what it means to be a “member” of the body of Christ through the gifts we share. The title of my message is “Time for Re-gifting” based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a and Luke 4:14-21. The Praise
Band will offer musical leadership for worship. Our ANNUAL MEETING will take place this Sunday, right after the second worship service at 11:40 a.m. We will begin with a potluck meal followed by the meeting at 12:15 p.m. It is my goal to conclude by 1:30 p.m. The Sacred Space Ministry Team will present a special report. Your food contributions can be given in the following manner: those with last names beginning with A-I bring hot/main dish; J-Q bring dessert and R-Z bring a salad. Thanks to the Hospitality Ministry Team for helping to coordinate this meal. Volunteers to clear and wash dishes after the meeting will be appreciated! As we hold in prayer the people of Haiti, we are reminded of the suffering throughout the world and the suffering in our midst. The following prayer is included in our United Methodist Book of Worship. It is a prayer “For Those Who Suffer” Almighty God, shield of the oppressed, hear us as we pray for the friendless and the lonely, the tempted and the unbelieving. Be merciful to those who suffer, in body or in mind, to those who are in danger or distress, and who have suffered loss. Be especially near to those who are passing through the valley of death. May they find eternal rest, and light at evening time; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Presbyterian
Church of South Africa
See you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we come together to be the Body of Christ in worship. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – January 28, 2010
Winter
time blessings to you. We continue to hold in prayer the people of
Haiti. Our prayers have turned into generosity. Our current total for
money given to assist those who are struggling to survive in Haiti is
$3551. This money will be sent to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on
Relief). We will have one more opportunity to give to Haitian relief
this week. You may continue to give money for Haiti throughout the
coming months. Be sure to designate “Haiti Relief” on the check memo
line. Several churches (including ours) will soon be working together to
prepare health kits as part of the recovery efforts. The kits will be
taken to Haiti by persons from our Minnesota Annual Conference this
spring. This Sunday our worship will focus on “LOVE”. We continue to read from Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth. His letter reminds them that love is the ingredient that makes the “body of Christ” function effectively and to be the Christ presence in the world. We will hear the reading from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. The title of my message based on this reading is “U before I” Special music
will be provided by Kim Palmer and Don Prestly. Over eighty people attended our
ANNUAL MEETING last Sunday. Reports and outlines of Ministry
Leaders for 2010 are printed in a booklet and are available on the
information table in Fellowship Hall. Updated church directories are
also available in the same location. This weekend, 33 women from our church are on retreat at Dunrovin Retreat Center near Stillwater, MN. Hold them in prayer as they spend time in conversation, prayer, worship and fellowship around the theme of: Food, Faith and Fellowship. The days following Epiphany are called “ordinary time” in the church calendar. In these ordinary days following the Epiphany we hold onto the promise of light for dark days and for the darkness and pain of our world. The following prayer, by Richard Foster, (Quaker writer and teacher) speaks to the hope of healing light. May we lift up in prayer the people of Haiti and all others who struggle with illness, including our loved ones and ourselves, as we all long for the miracle of healing. Let
your healing light shine, O God. Give researchers success in curing diseases. Give counselors insight and healing love. Give pastors discernment and tender compassion, Give social workers courage and boundless hope. Let your healing light shine, O God. Amen. See you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we join together to affirm the presence of God’s love in worship. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller
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