​GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE
CELEBRATION / POT LUCK
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 6p.m. on the church lawn
 
We're almost done with the work …and it’s time to celebrate and give thanks to God for all the great things that are happening at EPUMC.  We’re planning to “pile on” the Huddle and meet next Wednesday evening.  Nancy Peterson is organizing a Pot Luck (see details below). We will recognize some of the folks who have spent a lot of extra time planning and supervising.  And we will have a chance to pray and sing together as we thank God for what has happened “Right Here!….Right Now!”
 
Here is a note from Eric Hyde, the chair of our Board of Trustees that will get you ready to celebrate:
 
“A huge "thank you" goes to the EPUMC congregation, both present and former, for the wonderful support that has brought us a new flat roof, new air conditioning all around and a new parking lot!
 
“WOW, every one of these items has been talked about for a number of years, but we just couldn't seem to commit and get it done.  Yet, this time around, we committed to all three, and are coming in under the budget we approved for ourselves.  That's right, we approved a capital campaign budget of $368,200.  We are currently sitting under that budget by at least $10,000. And that is including several additional needs we just were not aware of at the time we started. 
 
 “Those additional needs that the Trustees thought necessary and smart for our church are:
            - A chain link fence around the ground-level air conditioning units for the narthex and sanctuary
            - Lattice work to visually shield the air conditioner units for the
                        Fellowship Hall from homes in the area (EP ordinance)
            - Paving of the driveway at the back of the church by the playground area
            - Full replacement of our damaged air conditioner unit for the sanctuary.
(This summer one of the two condensers of our sanctuary air conditioning system was damaged by a nearby lighting strike.  Insurance covered the cost of the condenser. There were several concerns we weighed:  We have an old system that very soon will be much more expensive to operate against the cost of acquiring a whole new system with rebates and other savings. The Church Ministry Council supported the Trustees’ decision to use Capital Campaign money as part of funds we will use to acquire a new conditioning system for the sanctuary.)
 
“So, the work will be done - - Thank you for continuing for being current on your pledges and any other contributions to this effort.”
 
It’s going to be a great time next Wednesday.  I hope to see you there.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan
 
Potluck Details: We will begin at 6 p.m. The Trustees will provide sloppy joes. If you last name starts with the letters A-M, please bring a salad or side dish. If your name begins with N-Z, please bring fruit or a dessert. 

I had a great break this summer and I want to thank all of those who make it possible for me to get away for a couple of weeks, a special thanks to our staff: Becky, Don, Deb and Rick and a shout out also to Drake Talbert for leading and preaching at worship last Sunday and writing the memo last week.  After reading that memo I understand why last Sunday at around 10:30 in the morning, without any warning, my face broke out in a red rash that lasted about 15 minutes and then was gone. 
 
One thing I want to report on is how I’ve done with taking the “leap of faith” reading scripture daily for my own spiritual formation.  I did a pretty good job, even on vacation.  I started reading a chapter or so of Acts the first thing every morning and now I’m into Romans. Two things I discovered: it really helped to tell you and my wife that I was doing this and to not bite off more than I could chew. I’m spending five minutes or so reading while the coffee is brewing.  I’d be interested to hear what are some of the “leaps of faith” you’ve taken this summer and how you’re doing.
 
I’ve come back to some great things happening at EPUMC.  The parking lot has been torn up and the first layer of asphalt has been applied.  It looks great.  The word is that the second and final layer will be added the last week of August.  We are hoping it is before Wednesday, Aug. 31, the day we’ve planned to have a party and celebrate completing the “Great Things are Happening Here” projects.  If the top layer is not ready to park on, park on the street or in the lot to the east of our parking lot. We’ll start things off at about 6 p.m. with a potluck picnic and then have a short program saying thanks to couple of people who have given a lot of time to these projects this summer.
 
This Sunday we begin a sermon series I’ve been waiting all year to preach.  Don’t you think it’s a good sign when the preacher is excited to preach? The series is called “Overcoming Barriers.” We’re going to be talking about what are some of the barriers that church people put in the way for those who are no longer a part of a church community. You’ll have a couple of barriers to walk around when you get here to get in the mood. I’m excited about this series in part because the questions came from conversations I’ve had with people I’ve met outside of church, who when they found out I was a pastor, had something they had to say to me.
 
We are so blessed here at EPUMC. Let’s continue to work together to discover the ways God is using us to invite others to the fullness of life we have come to know in Jesus Christ.
 
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan
 
 
 

Hello to all!

Pastor Dan has asked, besides giving the sermon this Sunday, to also provide the memo for this week.  My thoughts recently have been mostly about the sermon which I’ve titled “Opposites Attract.”  The idea for the sermon began after a conversation I had with a friend after our Sunday morning Adult Spiritual Formation.
​
By the way, if you have been giving some thought to join—please do!  We meet before church from 8:30 to 9:30 (coffee provided) to discuss the week’s sermon scripture.  Pastor Dan leads us in learning about the writers, history, setting and audience as to when the scripture was written, which leads to great discussion.  I provide color commentary.  I know this because I’ve seen Pastor Dan’s face turn red at times.

But this week my thoughts have also been around a discussion in the Friday Morning Men’s Group I attend.  We were discussing a book that was challenging us to “have a purpose bigger than ourselves.”  That led us to a discussion about one’s purpose and often the difficulty in finding or knowing one’s purpose in life—a great big question.  Fortunately, one of us said that he believed he had a moment of inspiration surrounding this thought.  He said that too often the search to find one’s purpose in life leads to not finding one’s purpose, or at the very least to frustration and depression.  He said it doesn’t have to be that difficult, that in fact, it can be very simple.  He suggested that one’s purpose in life can simply be to be faithful to God and do your absolute best with the opportunities to serve others in front of you.

Over the years, I have recorded in the blank pages of my Bible words of wisdom that I have heard or read—I have some really good ones.  I added this one.  I added it because if someone ever asks how they might find God’s purpose for their life, I would like to remember to simply suggest: “Be faithful to God and do your best with the opportunities to serve others in front of you.”  Sounds a lot like John Wesley, doesn’t it?

So here’s my memo to you this week:  If you don’t know your life’s purpose, start with this one.  And please join us for Adult Spiritual Formation—its kind of fun to watch Dan’s face turn red.
​
I hope to see you this Sunday and may God’s blessings be made known to you this day! 
Drake Talbert

​Greetings, everyone!   This week’s memo is coming from your Director of Worship and Music, Don Prestly.  Pastor Dan is enjoying a couple of well earned weeks off spending time with his wife Katie at a family lake cabin doing his favorite three “R’s” – relaxing, reading and (of course!) riding.  Dan has for years taken vacation over the last week in July and the first week in August. So what this usually means is that on that first Sunday in August we would not celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion, since there is no ordained United Methodist Elder here to preside at the Communion Table. However, this year we will celebrate Holy Communion, even in Dan’s absence.
 
This Sunday we will have the pleasure of welcoming back to EPUMC Rev. Mary Brown. Rev. Brown and I have worked together a few times over the past several years. We served on the planning team of the last Eden Prairie Interfaith Service in 2013, and I have also led two summer services here with Mary when we observed the Sacrament of Holy Communion. And we’ll be doing this again Aug. 7.
 
What makes this Sunday and those previous two Sundays so important is that Mary is not an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church; she is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have had since 2009 a “full communion agreement” which means that each church acknowledges the other as a partner in Christian faith and the ordained clergy of both denominations can preside over the sacraments in either church. So it is a real ecumenical joy for me and for EPUMC to welcome back Rev. Brown.
 
As I was thinking about just how to put my thoughts on paper for this week’s memo, I kept having one choir anthem that’s in our music library run through my head. It’s an anthem that neither the Chancel Choir or Praise Team has sung, but you can bet you’ll hear it this coming year.  It’s a great piece written by Joel Raney titled “The Welcome Table”.  Joel is a prolific composer and arranger and does a masterful job with his works, either original compositions or arrangements of existing works. “The Welcome Table” is one of his best. Joel has crafted together two great spirituals – the traditional “I’m Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table” and a communion song that most of us are very familiar with, “Let Us Break Bread Together.”
 
What kept running through my head were the opening lines from each of these songs and how they capture what we will experience this Sunday. Those two lines are – “I’m gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days, Hallelujah” and “Let us break bread together.” And for me, “let us break bread together” is something that so many people not only here in Eden Prairie, but across the country and around the world need to do. Let anyone and everyone sit at the welcome table and break bread together!
 
I hope that you will be able to be here Sunday and experience the meaningful coming together at our welcome table as we celebrate Holy Communion.
 
See you in church!
 
Don Prestly
Director of Worship & Music