July 2018
June Memories
Pastor's Note
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already been a whole year that I’ve been blessed to be the pastor here at Lakewood UMC! And it has been such a full, exciting year as we had a group try out the new discipleship program called Lakewood Way, we started a church and society task force that has built bridges with a refugee family, we have restarted children’s church and put together a music and art camp for kids, we have become more involved at Dan D. Rogers Elementary and with the Methodist Children’s Home, we have served the needy in our own neighborhood, Oak Lawn, Puerto Rico, and many who were evacuated for hurricanes, all while still coming together for several Bible studies and weekly worship that I hope warms your heart as much as it does mine.
Whew! I can truly say that it takes a whole church to do all that and so much more.
As I look back on this past year, I naturally seek the best ways to measure it. And, though it is all too cheesy, I think of the song “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent, which encourages us to measure our life in love. That’s a beautiful sentiment, but what does it really mean to measure a life in love? Is there a love ruler out there I don’t know about?
But if we take 1 John 4 seriously, we see that love is a measure of life. When we respond to the love God breathes into us, when we abide with God, when we act out of love instead of fear, when we accept and care for neighbors, we define our lives by love. And I think it is a good thing to measure our lives by all the loving things we have done.
And that leads me right back to the list above of all the loving actions that have defined and measured this church this past year. It is a love that has rooted us in God and has stretched us to show more compassion to our neighbors. I’d say we measured up very well over the past year!
As great as it is to look back on all that, I hope we also push forward to continue loving in every key, in every flavor, in every way. I look forward to all the creative, inspired ways we will define and measure out the next year in love. In order to guide those efforts, I will be having a “State of the Church” meeting in September, where I will be sharing a vision for what this next year together can look like and how we can all join together in what God is leading us to do. Until then I hope you join me in giving thanks for all the love God has demonstrated in and through us!
Coming Up...
Friday, June 29
7:00 p.m. Blast Off! - Come see the musical our summer campers have been working on for the last 2 weeks!
Sunday, July 1
11:30 a.m. Hamburger Cookout and Hymn Sing - stay after church for some freshly grilled burgers and a good, old-fashioned hymn sing! Bring your friends and join us for fun and fellowship.
4:30 p.m. Meet at Oak Lawn UMC if you plan to volunteer for Community Meal.
Tuesday, July 3
6:00 p.m. Float decorating party (see below)
Wednesday, July 4
Independence Day - Church Office Closed
8:00 a.m. Gather at the church if you want to walk in the Lakewood 4th of July parade
Thursday, July 5
7:00 p.m. Church and Society meeting (see below)
Monday, July 16
1:00 p.m. DoveNotes (see below)
Thursday, July 19
Time TBD: Reconciling Congregations Ice Cream Social (see below)
Blast Off!
Our summer music camp is underway! Our campers are getting ready to perform “Blast Off!” for us tomorrow, June 29, at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Join us as we celebrate our campers' (and church members') hard work!
4th of July Parade
Last year, LUMC won an award for Most Patriotic float in the Lakewood 4th of July Parade! Help us get this year’s float ready this Tuesday, July 3, starting at 6:00 p.m. We will provide pizza and it’s sure to be a fun time! On Wednesday morning, meet us at 8:00 a.m. at the church to line up for the parade.
Church and Society Meeting: Immigration
Our nation’s current immigration policy has made headlines over the last several weeks and has left many of us wondering how we can serve and support people arriving in the U.S. right now. Join our Church and Society Task Force this Thursday, July 5, as we discuss what policies are in place and how we, as a congregation and as individuals, can help.
DoveNotes
On Monday, June 16, gather with us in the Fellowship Hall at 1:00 p.m. for an afternoon of card-making! DoveNotes is a ministry to our neighbors which sends handmade greeting cards to our homebound members and people on our prayer list. We always have fun making cards together and we know the cards are filled with love when we send them out. PS - you don't have to have any crafting skills to join us! We promise you will have something to do even if you think you're not a crafter!
Reconciling Congregations Ice Cream Social
Laura Young, South Central Jurisdiction Organizer with Reconciling Ministries Network, will be here at Lakewood on Thursday, July 19 (time TBD) for an information session and Q&A. Come meet Laura and learn what is being planned for the February 2019 called General Conference in St. Louis. Laura will answer questions and help us brainstorm how we can make a difference between now and February.
Ushers
Do you have a heart for greeting people and welcoming them into our worship space? We are strengthening our welcome and hospitality team on Sunday mornings and need a few more ushers. Ushers help pass out the bulletins and offering plates, and they also have the opportunity to be one of the first welcoming faces as people come through our doors. It is an important job, but we promise it requires very little training and is a flexible commitment with a rotation to help every 3 months.
Lakewood Way
Last year, we started a new program called Lakewood Way, which is kind of like an adult confirmation program, but where the emphasis is on living out your faith rather than learning about it (though a lot of learning certainly happens from the living it out). We are going to start another round of it this fall, which will include two introductory meetings followed by 4 months of personalized spiritual practices you work on at your own pace. There are no regular classes after the two intro meetings, but rather a framework for helping us all develop rhythms of life.
Participants in Lakewood Way identify several individual goals that deepen spiritual growth, practice those goals for 4 months, and regularly check in with one another on how it is going.
Patrick will be leading 2 introductory meetings on August 5 and 12, immediately after worship. The meetings are purely for information; you can decide after them if you want to stick with it or not. But if you are interested in trying it out, please plan on coming to both meetings or contact Patrick if you cannot make those days.
Worship Time Change
On August 19, we will be moving our worship time to 10:30 a.m. It is a small change, but one which we believe will free up just a little more time in the morning, not only for people to get to worship but also for ease of current and future Sunday School classes and any other Sunday morning programs we may start. Plus, you will still get out early enough to beat everyone else to lunch!
Happy Birthday to...
Tom Fomby 7/5
Jean Fowler 7/5 (turning 100!)
Laura Beil 7/7
Carol Stone 7/7
Carolyn Miracle 7/8
Jane Hughes 7/12
Ginny Venable 7/12
Melba Westbrook 7/19
Barbara Brooks 7/20
Pierre Falco 7/20
Hannah Bednar 7/22
Charlie Estee 7/27
Eileen Boyd 7/29
Tom Cherry 7/29
This month, we pray for...
Kathryn Bagley; Gail Baldwin; Lynn Bruce; Linda Castor; Fred Dallas; Wilma Elrod; Buford Finley; Mary Ann Finley; Jean Fowler; the family of Glenn Hastings; Harold Logan; Jan Logan; the Masullo family; Carolyn Miracle; Marie Miranda; Mike Miranda; Tim Miranda; Pat Norvell; Jorge Ortiz; Brandon Owen; Susan Price; Kathy Purvis; Elizabeth Robbins; Robin Robbins; Ginny Salinas; Beth Saxton; Debbie Schwartz; Jeanne Scroppo; Linda Simmons; Alan Smith; the family of Edith Smith; Kelly Smith; Travis Smith; Barbara Venable; Chris Venable; Betty Watson; Louise Williams; the people of Guatemala