June 2018
May Celebrations
Dan D. Rogers Elementary School by giving each student a free book!
Thank you to everyone who donated and helped set up to make this happen.
and welcomed into our church family!
Pastor's Note
As many of you know, I have been preparing for a lot of change in my life this month. My wife, Erin, and I have been transforming our house and learning all we can in preparation for baby Lucy, who should be here any day now. We are excited, nervous, and everything in between!
I will also be ordained this month (unless Lucy decides to interrupt it!). In the United Methodist Church, the process for ordination includes many steps, and over the past two years I have been in a sort of residency, where I have all the rights and responsibilities of a pastor, but have been going through extra evaluations to make sure I’m effective. So, not much will be different in my week to week presence at Lakewood (really just that I get to wear a stole in worship), but the ordination still represents a significant moment of change that I have been working toward for many years now.
These two moments have allowed me to face the different ways we experience change– sometimes that which transforms everything in an instant and sometimes that which comes after years and years of dedicated work. And I am increasingly aware of how God is present in all variety of change. God was present in the sudden outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in the ongoing transformation of the movement of Jesus followers that became a worldwide church.
In all those changes God moved among people who were open and willing to follow. God enabled and guided whole communities to embrace the new movement of the Holy Spirit.
So I hope you will join me in thinking about how God is present in the changes in our lives, our church, and our world. How can we listen attentively to God for direction and prepare our house for all that God is doing? May we be open to the way God is bringing new life all around us and how God is confirming our calling through the ever transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
P.S. Even though I’ll be out a few weeks with baby Lucy, we will have some really great guest preachers, including Mike Baughman of Union Coffee, Mary Zaby of our very own congregation, and Amber Oxley of the Francis House next door to the church. I hope you will come out to support and welcome them, and learn a lot from them!
Coming Up...
Sunday, June 3
4:00 p.m. Meet in church parking lot to carpool to Oak Lawn Community Meal
Annual Conference
Monday, June 4
Annual Conference (church office closed today)
7:00 p.m. Ordination service (see below)
Tuesday, June 5
Annual Conference (church office open today)
7:00 p.m. Knitting Group
Monday, June 18
9:00 a.m. Summer Camp begins! (see below)
Church Office
Eva will be on vacation beginning Monday, May 28 and returning Tuesday, June 5. If you need anything during this time, please contact Patrick at littlefield.patrick@gmail.com or (903) 814-4173. Thank you!
Annual Conference and Patrick's Ordination
Annual Conference will begin this Sunday! Conference will take place at First UMC Richardson, 503 N. Central Expy, Richardson, TX 75080. All are invited to worship services on Sunday and Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (the Monday service will include Patrick's ordination, which you can find more information about below). You are also welcome to visit First UMC Richardson during the day to see vendors and organizations or sit in on Annual Conference events. For more information about Annual Conference, visit the North Texas Conference website.
Patrick's ordination service will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 4, at First UMC Richardson (address above). This service is a part of Annual Conference and is always quite crowded - we recommend you carpool and arrive at least 30 minutes before the service begins. We hope you will join us as we celebrate our pastor!
Summer Camp!
Calling all campers! Lakewood is excited to host a music camp this summer. Over two weeks in June we will learn and produce a children’s musical, build the sets and make the costumes, and perform the musical on the last day of camp. Camp will take place Monday—Friday, June 18—29, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is open to campers from ages 7-12. Cost is $200 per camper. We also need counselors, ages 13-17. Counselors may attend for free and will be credited for community service hours if desired. Contact the church office for more information or to volunteer with us!
We invite you to share our Facebook post about our camp with all your family and friends, or print the above flyer and hand it to people in person!
Craft Items Needed for Camp:
- Shoeboxes
- Empty paper towel rolls
- Empty and clean food cans
- Glass bottles and lids
Boxer Shorts Needed
Oak Lawn UMC is collecting new men’s boxers in sizes M-XL for their homeless neighbors. The collection runs through Father’s Day, June 17. If you would like to bring boxers, please leave them in the church office. Thank you!
Online Giving
Are you going on vacation and want to make sure your summer pledges are paid while you are gone? We have your answer! Lakewood UMC now has the capability for online giving! We are definitely still able to accept cash or checks as we have always done, but this is a helpful option for individuals who want to give while out of town, those who want to do away with carrying a checkbook, or those who wish to pay pledges by credit card. You can even register for events like our Summer Music and Arts camp, which has already received several registration payments through our online giving process. If you would like more information about the process, please contact the church office. If you want to try it out yourself, here are some basic steps to follow:
1. Go to our church website: www.mylakewoodchurch.org
2. On the left-hand side bar you will see "Online Giving: Click here to give to Lakewood online!" Click the link.
3. That will take you to a separate page where you can enter an amount to give, then select the frequency (one-time, weekly, monthly, etc.), and pick a start and end date for any recurring donations. Once you have entered that information, click continue.
4. Next you will see a page where you can fill out your name and address, and your payment information. Please note- you can either give by credit card or bank account. If you give by credit card, you will have the option to cover the 2.75% processing fee (if you do not, the church will have to pay it). If you give by checking account, the processing fee is only 1%. At this moment there is not an option to cover the processing fee for payment by checking account, but we will update you as that becomes available.
5. Finally you have the option to save your profile and create a password. We recommend this if you plan to make recurring gifts or use this service regularly. Once you are finished, click the "Process" button, and you are done!
You can also access this through a mobile device (i.e. smartphone). The only difference is that you will be asked to select whether your donation will come from checking, savings, or credit/debit card on the same page where you enter the donation amount and frequency. After that it is the same process.
We Need 3 Ushers!
Are you looking for a way to get involved at Lakewood UMC? We are looking for three people to serve as ushers on Sunday mornings (don't worry, not every Sunday morning - ushers serve on a rotational basis). If you are interested in being an usher, please see Sally Hoover or contact the church office. Thank you!
Happy Birthday to...
Julie Stauble 6/3
Becky Heflin 6/4
Darren Smith 6/4
Carol Ann Ravert 6/5
Megan Smith 6/17
This Month, We Pray for...
Gail Baldwin; Lynn Bruce; Linda Castor; Fred Dallas; Wilma Elrod; Buford Finley; Mary Ann Finley; Jean Fowler; the family of Glenn Hastings; Olie Heflin; the Liljequist family; Harold Logan; Jan Logan; Rev. W.W. McNeill; Carolyn Miracle; Marie Miranda; Mike Miranda; Tim Miranda; Pat Norvell; Jorge Ortiz; Brandon Owen; Susan Price; Kathy Purvis; Elizabeth Robbins; Robin Robbins; the family of Mauricia Rodriguez-Martin; Ginny Salinas; Beth Saxton; Debbie Schwatz; Jeanne Scroppo; Linda Simmons; Alan Smith; Edith Smith; Kelly Smith; Travis Smith; Barbara Venable; Chris Venable; Betty Watson; Louise Williams