August 2018
July Memories
Pastor's Note
As a United Methodist Church, we have a rich and complex heritage that stretches back to the methodical communities guided by John Wesley (that were themselves a part of the Anglican Church). Those communities developed and adapted decade after decade with the forming of a unique American denomination and then separations and mergers with other denominations.
In light of so much change over a rather long period of time, it can be hard to pin down exactly what is the core hallmark of being United Methodist. Is it something we believe or something we do or some mission we share? What unites United Methodists and what guides us forward? (Interestingly, the “United” in United Methodist comes from a merger with the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church, primarily bringing together the two titles, and secondarily describing a hoped-for nature of our denomination).
These are important questions not just for historians and theologians, but for all of us. They are important in this time as our church considers how to move forward in light of differences of belief around full inclusion of LGBTQ pastors and members. And they are important questions in any time as we seek to be the United Methodist church in our daily lives.
So, during the next several weeks in worship, we will be exploring a series called Why We Are Methodist. We will look at the methodical approach to living out faith that first gave rise to the name Methodist, a boundary-breaking belief in the omnipresence of God that guided John Wesley and still impacts us, and our General Rules, which ground us in how to be present with God and one another.
I hope that this month you will rediscover why we are United Methodist – in worship and in other ways, such as our program called Lakewood Way, which seeks to adapt the core values of Methodism in a modern, local context (more details below).
Coming Up...
Sunday, August 5
11:30 a.m. Lakewood Way
4:30 p.m. Meet at Oak Lawn UMC to serve Community Meal to homeless neighbors
Tuesday, August 7
7:00 p.m. Knitting Group
Thursday, August 9
6:30 p.m. Church and Society Task Force meeting
Sunday, August 19
10:30 a.m. Worship Service (note time change - see below)
Monday, August 20
1:00 p.m. DoveNotes
Lakewood Way
On August 5 and 12, immediately after worship in the Conference Room, we will have introductory meetings for anyone interested in joining in Lakewood Way. Lakewood Way is a 4-month program that guides participants to live out their faith in a customized process. Participants 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. There are no regular classes after the two intro meetings, but rather a framework for helping us all develop rhythms of life within our already existing schedules. The intro meetings are purely for information; you can decide afterward 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.
Church and Society
Our Church and Society Task Force continues to provide transportation to enable a refugee from the Congo to attend English lessons at Richland Community College. If you'd like to know more about how Lakewood serves the wider community, or if you want to get involved, come to our next Church and Society meeting on Thursday, August 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Service Time Change
Don’t forget! On August 19 we will be moving our worship time to 10:30 am. 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. On Aug. 19 we will also be blessing students and teachers before they head back to school, so come be a part of the fun!
Time for Some Yarn...
We are collecting supplies for the art classroom at Dan D. Rogers Elementary until August 19. We would love for you to start gathering any of the following:
- Yarn scraps—any size, any kind of yarn
- Fabric scraps, any size
- Magazines for cutting and pasting
- Calendar pictures for cutting and pasting
- Animal pictures for cutting and pasting
- Wrapping paper roll ends—both the small scraps of paper that are left over and the cardboard tubes
Thank you for helping us enrich the art projects at Rogers!
UMW Buckets
Help us make a difference in the lives of those affected by natural disasters! Lakewood UMC United Methodist Women are sponsoring an “Adopt-a-Bucket” project during July and August. We will collect monetary donations for cleaning kits to be distributed by the United Methodist Committee on Relief after natural disasters. Adopt a full bucket for $75, a half bucket for $37.50, or 1/3 bucket for $25. Please make checks out to Lakewood UMW, not to the church. Thank you for your generosity!
Listening for the Way Forward
The Conference Committee on Lay Servant Ministries, along with the Board of Laity of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, announce the 4th annual conference-wide laity event on August 18, 2018, at Aldersgate UMC, 3926 Old Denton Road, Carrollton, from 9:00 AM to 2:15 PM.
This years’ timely topic is Listening for “The Way Forward”. A Special Called General Conference will be held February 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, MO that will address petitions related to the UMC’s positions on human sexuality. This event will be an opportunity to learn more about the proposed legislation that will be considered by the General Conference.
Some highlights of the program will be the role of the Laity in the process, an overview of the proposed legislation, voices from the North Texas delegation to the special conference, conversations from around the conference over lunch, and a time for individuals to express their hopes, interests, and apprehensions about the impact of the different proposals that will be considered.
This laity sponsored event is open to the entire church (clergy and laity). The cost is $20 which includes lunch.
To register, visit https://ntcumc.org/laity-event-form, or call Susan Anderson at 940-497-2707. (Deadline for registration is Monday, August 13.)
DoveNotes
Join us on Monday, August 20 at 1:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for an afternoon of card-making! DoveNotes is our way of staying in touch with our homebound members and people on our prayer list—we send them handmade cards throughout the year. You don’t have to have any crafting skills to have fun with us, just come along!
Reconciling Ministries News & 2018 Pride Parade
Laura Young from RMN of the South Central Jurisdiction spoke at our church in July to a group from the Reconciling ministries in the Dallas area. She discussed the One Church plan which will be presented to the called General Conference in February in St. Louis. She encouraged everyone to be in contact with our delegates and thank them for their support.
Here at Lakewood, we plan to have other conversations about the special General Conference during the fall.
Pride parade will be Sunday, September 16. All the local Reconciling congregations will march together, and Lakewood will have its own float within that contingent. The theme will be coordinated with the other churches. Pride Parade is always a fun and sparkling (literally and figuratively) experience, so we hope you will join us!
Happy Birthday to...
Herb Sheaner 8/12
Gayle Landis 8/24
Gail Davis 8/27
Mark Ridlen 8/27
Kathryn Bagley-Whitson 8/29
This Month, We Pray for...
Kathryn Bagley; Gail Baldwin; Lynn Bruce; Linda Castor; Fred Dallas; Shirley Dunn; Wilma Elrod; Buford Finley; Mary Ann Finley; Jean Fowler; the family of Glenn Hastings; Leck and Cynthia Heflin; Harold Logan; Jan Logan; the Masullo family; Carolyn Miracle; Marie Miranda; Mike Miranda; Tim Miranda; Pat Norvell; Jorge Ortiz; Brandon Owen; Pontis Ministries; Susan Price; Kathy Purvis; Elizabeth Robbins; Robin Robbins; Ginny Salinas; Beth Saxton; Debbie Schwartz; Jeanne Scroppo; Linda Simmons; Alan Smith; Kelly Smith; Travis Smith; the family of Barbara Venable; Chris Venable; Betty Watson; Louise Williams; the people of Guatemala