Everyone Has a Call

As he prepares to retire from pastoral ministry, John Buchanan, editor of the Christian Century magazine, writes about his call to ministry. John is a Presbyterian and lifts up an important Protestant principle: the ministry of all believ-ers. This concept is central to our understanding of being a disciple and of how we might work together as the church in service and ministry. Here’s what he has to say:

One of the best ideas in our tradition is that God calls a woman or a man not just to a clergy or religious vocation, but to become all she or he was created to become. One of the worst ideas is that only clergy are called and that everybody else is left to his or her own devices. Luther said that no one profession is dearer to God than any other and that each of us is called to love God with heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. God calls us to follow, to be faithful, to live life to its fullest, to love God and neighbor and to give our lives away not just once but every day.

I witness many of you giving your lives away lovingly, graciously, and gracefully. Thanks be to God for the calling that we share of being Christ’s representatives in the world.

Blessings,

Worship Times and Topics for May Sunday Morning 8:30 and 10:45 Pastor Lynn Pier-Fitzgerald, preaching

May 6 Our Mission: Transforming the World with Love

Luke 14: 12- 24 The Lord’s Supper

Youth Music Sunday

May 13 George Ward, Preaching Mother’s Day

Angelic Choir

May 20 All Music Sunday Featuring adult choir and ensembles

May 27 Jan Lancaster, Preaching Pentecost Prayers for Memorial Day

Church Events, Caring

Ministry, Birthdays

2 & 3

Nurture Ministry 4 & 5

Outreach Ministry , UMW,

Finance, Witness Ministry.

PET

6 & 7

Senior Sketch, Miracle

Saturday

8

Youth Ministry, calendar, 9

Inside this issue:

Fo

cu

s

FI

RS

T

UN

IT

ED

M

ET

HO

DI

ST

C

HU

RC

H

May 2012

Liz Carr at 616-298-7723 for info about this event and to be placed on the email evite list for this group.

Full-length audio recordings of each Sunday worship are available in the church library, with the equipment to hear the service. Contact Barbara Webber (399-3547) to

pick up the player. Recordings of the sermon only are available on line at the church website

Farewell Celebration for Outgoing DS Laurie Haller Sunday, May 20th 3pm Celebration Service; 4pm Reception Trinity UMC • 1100 Lake Drive SE • GR

The GR District Superintendency Committee invites you to a celebration service and reception to honor Laurie Haller for her loving dedication to the GR District. Since July 1, 2006, Laurie Haller has been a caring and compassionate GR District Superintendent.

If you feel moved to make a love gift to honor Laurie, the Superintendency Committee suggests the Africa University Ubuntu Gathering Center Project. If you’d like to make a contribution to the Ubuntu Gathering Center Project in honor of Laurie, please remit your check, payable to the West Michigan Conference Treas-urer, add Laurie Haller in the memo section and mail to the GR District Office, 11 Fuller Ave. SE, GR 49506.

Come join the Lunch Bunch on Sundays following the 10:45 a.m. service. We will gather at the Good Shepherd window to get a head count and head out to a local

restaurant. All ages are welcome to join including singles, couples, and families. Check the bulletin for the days’ location or contact David Newton.

EPSILON— will meet at Beechwood Inn on May 16 at 11:30. Reservations needed by the 14th to Dave or Dorothea John at 392-3493 .

will NOT meet in May. Please consider volunteering for Tulip Time a few hours at the church or Civic Center. Call Sharon Rocker at 392-1966 for information about this group.

will meet Monday, May 14 at 6:30 in the Conference Room. We will be discussing I Still Dream Of You by Fannie Flagg. The book contains equal parts southern charm, murder mystery, and a perfect combination of comedy and old fashioned

wisdom. This will be our last meeting of the year. Kids in Tow is a group for families with young children. Their May event will be a trip to the Grand Haven Kite Festival on the 19th. Please call

The deadline for article submissions for the June Focus is May 16. Please email articles to mhaney@fumcholland.org by that date or earlier. If a hard copy must be used, please bring to main office by that date also. If you would prefer not receiving the Focus in the mail, please let Marj Haney know at mhaney@fumcholland.org.

Page 2

Happening this Month

F OCUS

Who Are Stephen Ministers?

Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10:8b

Stephen Ministers are church members who have gone through training to provide Christian care to people experiencing a life challenge. Whether the challenge be divorce, re-location, loneliness, or an unexpected health situation, the Stephen Minister provides a one-on-one confidential relationship that lasts as long as necessary.

Stephen Ministers and their care-receivers may meet for espresso, or a game of bowling via X-Box. They may have lunch, or work on a wood project at Evergreen Commons. The relationship isn't just “crying over coffee”. It can also be: “Let's go for a hike this week at Hemlock Crossings.”

For more information on becoming a Stephen Minister, contact Ann Niewukoop (399-7203; niewukoo@gmail.com) or Marsha Burnham (395-0054; marcib70@yahoo.com). To refer someone to be assigned a Stephen Minister, call Sharon Rocker (392-1966) or Pastor Lynn (396-5205).

May

3 Ivy Cammenga 630 Hastings Ave. #328 Holland MI 49423

5 Ella May Evans 145 Columbia Ave. Apt. 315 Holland MI 49423

9 Alice McGeehan 630 Hastings Ave. #114 Holland MI 49423

11 Isla Heavener 755 E. 16th St. #108 Holland MI 49423

13 Bob Sparks 47 E. 32nd St. Holland MI 49423

25 Paul Mc Ilwain 12156 Parkview Ln. Apt. 1B Holland MI 49424

Happy Birthday Wishes!

Please be in prayer for these congregation members and friends...

Jennifer VanEenenaam; Jan Lancaster; Bob Bain; Kaleb Doty; David Salisbury; parent of teenagers; Laurie Bos; Donna Wiegerink; Ivy Cammenga; Henry Carbine; John Knoll; those with difficult medical conditions; those seeking jobs.

Congratulations to Alisa Crawford on the birth of Alistair Edward born Saturday, April 7.

Sympathy to the friends and family of Jacquelyn “Jackie” Daining,, who passed away April 12.

Sympathy to family and friends of Jean Pierson, former choir director, on the death of her husband Ned April 15.

Sympathy to family and friends of Eloise Schmidt, who passed away on April 22.

Notes of appreciation received since the last Focus:

Donna Bocks wrote: A big apology for being so late. Being laid up with a broken

ankle totally undid my organizational abilities. Thank you for the flowers and the visits from two very special ladies.

Gail and Ron Clay wrote: Thank you for thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers. Mom will be greatly missed by her family and friends. The support and comfort we feel from all of you is appreciated.

Loretta Tiethof wrote: Thank you for David Newton and Sharon Rockers visits. I would also like to thank everyone for their prayers, phone calls, and get well cards during my recent surgery and recovery.

Tim Haney thanks everyone who sent a card or came to visit him while he was in the hospital. He is doing well and feeling great.

Thanks to all those who helped in the preparation before and during the Tulip Time meals and Marktplaats. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by many.

M AY 20 1 2 Page 3

Caring Ministry

Sharon Rocker, Director of Visitation Ministry (ext. 13)

These friends are celebrating at least their 85th birthday this month. Please extend your well wishes!

We need more adults to help out with VBS this year. We would really like to have two adults traveling with the groups from center to center. We hope to have 4 groups, which means 8 adults each evening to help. You don’t have to be there every night, if you would like to commit to just one or two nights during the week, that would be great! Please see Marj Haney for information. An adult training night will be held May 29 at 6:30 for all adults interested in working this year. Hope to see you there!

Something new for VBS this year is that we will be training youth who wish to help out during the week. All youth 5th grade and up should have received a letter about the dates and times for these trainings. If you didn’t and are interested, please see Marj Haney. If you don’t attend training, you won’t be able to help out.

is payable upon arrival at the camp. See Marj or Tim Haney for more information.

In the ongoing planning for our annual VBS, we will hold 2 more decorating workshops where we will prepare the decorations for the rooms and hallways used during VBS. All are invited, even if you can’t help with VBS in August, we would love to have your help on this big project. Workshop dates are May 15 in the evening from 6:30-8:30 and June 23 from 9-11. Also, check the Nurture board for items needed to be donated!!

There is still time to sign up for Summer Camp!!

All camps must be paid for in full on May 15. So when you register, you must pay your portion of the amount and let Marj Haney know ASAP that you are signed up. She will then let Liz Travis know and a check will be sent for the church’s part to the Con-ference Center. You might mention on the form that the other half is coming from your church.

If you are a first time camper or bring a friend back to camp with you, there is a $50 rebate you can get. This rebate does expire so check out the brochure for more information.

Family Camp will be August 10-12 this summer at TriPonds Family Campground just north of Allegan. The cost is $70 for the weekend. We have 18 sites and 15 have been spo-ken for already! A $35 deposit is required to reserve your site, the rest

Page 4

Nurture Ministry Marj Haney, Director (ext. 15) Heidi De Moss, Director of Adult Ministry

F OCUS

Adult Nurture Ministries would like 2012 to be the year that everyone at FUMCH gets to know their Bible better. Be on the look out for programming with Small Group studies, and other classes and presentations that will give you the opportunity to engage with your Bible and your God in a new and deeper way.

Sunday Evening Led by George Ward Coffee Klatz & Conversation Monday Morning in the lounge Led by David Newton Monday Evening Led by Jim Searls and Pat Beals Monday Night (every other) contact Bill & Sharon Rocker

Ladies Only Tuesday Morning(every other ) contact Lucy Larsen Young Adult’s Bible Study Tuesdays at 5:30 in the Conf. Room Led by Pastor Lynn Tuesday Evening Led by Sandy Snyder Young Mom’s Bible Study Wednesday Evening in the lounge Led by Pastor Lynn

Small Group Ministries is a great way to grow closer to God, and closer to others. Mostly, it is build-ing connection. If you haven’t tired SG yet, talk with one of the leaders, a member, or Heidi and find out more. Some groups are done or will be ending for the summer. See the leaders for their schedules.

M AY 20 1 2 Page 5

Adult Jubilant Journey

2012 ~ FUMCH’s year of the Bible How will you participate? A Bible Study on a book of the Bi-

ble? Become part of a Small Group. Commit to personal devotions. Need and idea ~ talk to Heidi, Marj,

David, or Lynn. Have and idea ~ please share it with

Heidi or Marj.

Ongoing Classes

Open Minds Class Conference Room Conflict and Community in the Corinthian Church by J. Shannon Clarkson, Edi-tor We have a mixed relationship with Paul and his letters. We love I Corin-thians 13, but some other parts of Paul’s letters seem not to apply to us, or to hit to close to home. Come dig in to a study on some of both I and II Corinthians and see what there is to learn about yourself, your commu-nity, and your God. (Books available in class.) May 6 ~ Conflict and Consolation May 13 ~ Contested Gender Roles May 20 ~ Women Prophets In the Corinthian Church May 27 ~ Memorial Day Weekend

Faithlinks Class

Filling Station This class invites you to join them. They are a Small Group, open to any one, which happens to meet during Jubilant Journey on Sunday morn-ings. The topic they are studying may change, but the love and support for

each other and the Christian journey remain constant. May 20 ~ Annual Spring Brunch (In the Lounge) Potluck celebrating our time together during the regular program year. Look for a special Summer class based on the book “Green Church” led by David Marckini.

Pastor Lynn’s Class Heritage Room Sermon based Discussions Pastor Lynn will lead group discus-sion on the lectionary text for the day. This will correspond with the worship for the day. May 6 ~ Our Mission: Transforming with Love -- Luke 14:12-24 Other weeks TBA

Coffee and Conversation Fellowship Hall A time to gather and visit with each other, or just relax and refresh. Cop-ies of the newspaper are present, as well as coffee, tea, and often some light refreshments. Coming this Summer... “Green Church” led by David Marckini Green Church's use of Scripture and Science reminds us of our responsi-bility to creation and, even more im-portantly, that we are truly an inte-gral part of creation. Building upon the traditional conservation concepts of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, Green Church adds the Scriptural elements of Repentance,

Reclamation, and finally, Rejoicing in God's world. Amazon.com “Touch” by Rudy Rasmus led by Doug Dinkins --- August Rudy Rasmus is a Methodist Pastor in Houston Texas. He grew a church of 9 members in 1992 to more than 9,000 of which 3,000 ei-ther are, or formerly were, home-less. His faith journey is told in his book “Touch”. He spoke at our an-nual conference in 2011. Come in August to listen and discuss his book, his unconditional love for all people and his unique journey to do God’s calling in a place with which most of us are unfamiliar. The Movies A class where the things that a mov-ies can teach us about life, faith, dis-cipleship, God... all the big stuff might come up. Clips will be used from the movie of the week. That movie will be shown at church mid-week either before or after the Sun-day discussion. Watch for movie ti-tles and dates. What do you see in the movies?

Protect our planet - bring your re-cycling to church or Tree Huggers on 8th Street (in the old Post Jewelry store).

On the first and third Sunday of each month we will collect clean Styrofoam, ink cartridg-

es, batteries, and cell phones. These items can be brought the east end of the 9th Street hallway or to Tree Huggers on 8th Street for recycling. Please be sure all recy-cling items are CLEAN.

Buy Fair Trade and support fair prices to farmers.

On the first and third Sunday of each month, fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate bars are for sale in Fellowship Hall.

Volunteer for mission work - we need people to lead mission trips in our local area and beyond.

Talk with Tracy Garrett, Outreach Director, to find out if there is a way you can help facilitate a mis-sion trip that fits your schedule and area of interest. Tracy can be reached at tgarett@fumcholland.org or 396.5205 ext. 11.

Check out all of the opportunities for service and giving during the month of May!

Please prayerfully consider your ability to reach out to others through these great opportunities for service and giving.

Bread Pan Offering on Sunday, May 20, will support PET Holland.

PET Holland is a local ecumenical factory producing per-sonal energy transportation vehi-cles (similar to a hand- cranked tricycle) for children with sever mobility limitations in impover-ished countries. PET Holland op-erates on 100% volunteer labor, donor funding, and much of the raw materials are donated as well. PET units are free of charge to the recipients. See the article and web-site link on the next page for more information on PET Holland or visit their website at petmihol-land.org. Please prayerfully consid-er your ability to positively change the lives of children with your fi-nancial gifts on May 20.

Donate food and household products to Community Action House.

We always collect non-perishable food, house-

hold cleaning, and personal hy-giene items for the emergency ser-vices pantries at Community Ac-tion House. Donations can be placed in the baskets at both main entrances any time.

Thank you! You have generously supported our special offerings in April.

Communion Offering (April 1) in support of Haiti Hot Lunch, your gifts totaled $300.43.

Holy Week Special Worship Services (April 5 & 6) in support of Pastor’s Discretionary Fund (general aid to church and com-munity members in need), your gifts totaled $669.00.

Bread Pan Offering (April 15) in support of Neighborhood Con-nections (partner program with Good Samaritan and neighbor-hood churches), your gifts totaled $1536.81

Community Garden Update

Come on down to the garden on May 19 at 10:00 AM to begin the process of putting the garden together for the grow-ing season of 2012. The middle school youth worked there at the end of April and things are looking good!

Tim Haney is the garden coordi-nator, and he looks forward to hearing your suggestions. See him if you need more information about the Saturday workday or about the garden in general.

Page 6

Outreach Ministry Tracy Garrett, Director (ext. 11)

F OCUS

Joy Circle--Service

No circles or general meeting this month

Everyone (not just UMW members) is invited to help with Tulip Time projects May 7-12. If you are able to help at Marktplaats (selling food at the Civic Center), call Dorothy Chamness (396-3292). To help prepare meals to be served at the church, call Susan Kuite (836-2184). Those who are able to serve the meals are asked to call Phyllis Boal (399--0273) or Linda Den Uyl (298-2781).

Witness and Invitational Ministry Liz Travis, Director (ext. 12)

United Methodist Women

M AY 20 1 2 Page 7

Finance Update Liz Travis, Treasurer (ext. 12)

The next three-class session new member class continues Sunday, May 6 at 4:30 on “mission and ministry of the U.M. church and Sunday, and ends on June 3 with “spiritual gifts, expectations, and belonging to our church”. We will welcome those

choosing to join the church on Sunday, June 10.

PET Comes Into Focus by Keith Laidler

YOU … members and friends of First UMC, are among PET Holland’s best supporters . Your offerings, your donations of needed plastic bags and tin cans, and the number of you giving volunteer hours at the shop; it’s really GREAT! The Certificate of Appreciation with a ‘border’ of PET stamps tells how many PETs your of-ferings have produced. They each bear a tag that says: Made in Holland, Michigan. A fun mental exercise is to look at the certificate (on the bulletin board at church), then close your eyes and ‘open’ your imagination. What do you ‘see?’ “Your PETs” (did you count the number of stickers on the certificate?) belong to “that many” children now. They are sitting up, not crawling anymore. ‘See’ them on their PETs, getting accustomed to hav-ing mobility on their own. It must be so much FUN for them in their ‘new’ life style. It is ‘you’ they wish to thank for it! May I say ‘thank you’ in their behalf!!

First UMC family of Holland: YOU DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS! We, at PET-Holland, are ‘more than pleased’ to be your hands and feet, making and taking these ‘symbols’ of God’s Love to such special children. God’s Love, channeled through your love is reaching and blessing children around the world!!! What a wonder-ful witness you are to the Christian faith, caring for “the least of these, my children..” so that your love is felt by our Lord Jesus too!

You can read this article in its entirety, including pictures and video at http://fumcholland.org/site/default.asp?sec_id=180010141 (hold ctrl and click on link)

The Capital Reserve fund was at $51,200.87 as of the end of March. Withdrawals for the boiler were $20,000 leav-ing 31,200.87. Pledges and gifts of $6109.41 have been received through April 24the leaving a balance of 37,310.28 in the Capital Reserve Fund. The Church Council voted a number of years ago to re-tain 10% of out budget in the Capital Re-serve Fund and that amount is $56,214 for this year. Thank you for helping to replen-ish this fund. We still need about $18,900.

Page 8 F OCUS

Senior Sketches

(Alice) Darlene Working

“That two-bedroom house had a very interesting furnace!” laughs Darlene Working as she remembers the first house she and her husband Gene bought. “It was directly below the one and only floor register which tried to heat the whole house. It was good for raising bread dough, however!” She made a lot of bread in those days to feed her growing family. Near that warm register was also where Gene rocked their children to sleep.

The couple bought the house when they moved to Holland right after they were married. Darlene had grown up in Burton Heights at the corner of Bur-ton and Division in Grand Rapids, at-tended Burton Junior High and South High School, graduating in 1949. She worked for Home Insurance Company after graduation, operating their switch-board. While working there, she was introduced to Gene by a neighbor. “It was almost ‘love at first sight,’” she smiles.

While Gene was working in the ware-house at General Electric, Darlene

worked for Herb Marsilje Insurance Company where she wrote insurance policies. She quit her job there when their first child Brian was born, fol-lowed by the birth of daughter Susan and second son Mike. Moving to a larger house on the north side of Hol-land, Darlene raised their family, creat-ed a lovely flower-bedecked yard, in-cluding her lilies from the church, and knitted in between her church activities as a member of Women’s Society. One her vivid memories of participating at the church was doing dishes after Tulip Time meals.

These activities were in addition to their many camping trips in northern Michigan. “Come here! I want to show you something,” Gene said to her when they woke up one morning in their camper while on a family vaca-tion. She hurried to the door to see bear paw prints all over their trailer quite near to where their children and their dog were sleeping. “The bear obviously paid a visit during the night, but we never heard it.”

The family stopped camping after Gene had open heart surgery which was followed by Darlene’s heart surgery

a little later. After her surgery, Darlene returned home, but a few days later she fell and broke her hip. Complications with her recovery and neuropathy in her feet caused her to move to Resthaven on 40th Street where she has been living for the last five to six years. Gene eventually joined her there when he had his own health problems.

Darlene said her faith has comforted her through the difficult times in her life, especially when Gene died a few years ago and when Susan passed away with cancer last September. “I still ex-pect to see her walk through the door and say, “Hi, Mom!” God has helped her through her family, her church friends, and care-givers at Resthaven.

Making jewelry, attending church ser-vices at Resthaven, and baking cookies and cupcakes to provide for other resi-dents are secondary activities to loving her children and grandchildren, her full-time pleas-ure. She says her plans for the future are to take each day step by step.

Ready to Grow?

More than 2000 years ago, Jesus called upon 12 disciples to help Him spread the Good News. Today, that call is being celebrated through the invitation of 12 members from our church and every church in the West Michigan Conference to attend the final day of Annual Conference, called Miracle Saturday, for a spectacular day of wor-ship, fellowship and self-discovery. Our Pastor is being asked to attend “Miracle Saturday” with our Lay Mem-ber to Annual Conference plus 10 or more members who feel are ready to grow in faith and put it into action. The conference has arranged for seat-

ing up to 5000, so more than 10 can attend. This year's theme is "A Healthy World: mind, body, spirit" and will be led by world renowned pastor and humanitarian Dr. Tony Campolo. Dr. Campolo is a media commentator on religious, social and political mat-ters.

Following lunch and a mid-day minis-try fair with hundreds of faith-based exhibits, take-aways and hands-on activities, will be followed by a series of keynote speakers. They will talk about health from the perspectives of mind, spirit and body, beginning with the Rev. Dr. Les Longden, Associate Professor of Evangelism and Disciple-ship at Dubuque Theological Seminary and concluding with the Rev. Charles Boayue, pastor of Second Grace UMC in Detroit. Those speakers bookend a unique event led by the Rev. Gary

Henderson, Executive Director of the Global Health Initiative of The United Methodist Church.

Henderson introduces the Imagine No Malaria Slam Dunk, an effort that be-gins today and culminates in Van Noord Arena as West Michigan raises funds to combat malaria. The global church is currently engaged in a cam-paign to raise $75 million toward the eradication of the disease by 2015. More information is available each week in the bulletin.

The cost of the entire day is just $25 Adult/$10 Youth and includes wor-ship, lunch, ministry fair, mission experience and all speakers. Please ask the church office to sign you up today for Miracle Saturday. To get complete information on this awesome event visit http://bit.ly/Ahealthyworld

For times and locations of events and meetings each week, refer to the calendar available at our website, www.fumcholland.org on the right hand side of the page. Staff can be reached via the website by clicking on Contact Us at the top. Check out our new website!

Youth Ministry LuAnne Stanley Hook, Director (ext. 19)

M AY 20 1 2 Page 9

Schedule of Events

May 1 FUN School Board 7:00 PM

May 1 Outreach Team 7:00 PM

May 8 Staff Parish 7:30 PM

May 11 Tulip Time Handbell Concert

7:30 PM

May 14 Book Club 6:30 PM

May 15 Finance 7:00 PM

May 17 SM Supervision 7:00 PM

May 21 Trustees 7:00 PM

May 22 Church Council 7:00 PM

Each week:

Tuesday noon: Senior Meal (not May 8)

Thursday 7:00: Volleyball (not May 10)

The school year is winding down, and so is youth group for this year. We have had a great time together, learning and growing closer to each other and to God. Please pray for our youth during the summer, that their faith would con-tinue to grow!

All children and youth, ages first grade and up, are encouraged to sign up for a United Methodist church camp, and FUMC will pay for half of the cost. Please let LuAnne Stanley Hook or Marj Haney know if your child is plan-ning on going to camp in order to get the scholarship. Camp registrations need to be in and paid for by May 15, but a few camps may still have open spots afterward. Thanks to our $10–for-10 donors and the UMW once again for providing this opportunity!

For those who don’t know, Mary Chamness has coordinated our Sun-day night youth group meals for the

past five years, setting up a schedule among the parent cooks and making sure that it all happens. It has been such a help to have that taken care of! She has now stepped down, as her last youth is about to graduate, and Liz Carr, one of our new members, has taken on this task. Liz is a veteran of youth camping, and is deaning a camp at Lake Louise this summer. Her work schedule and young family keep her busy, but coordinating the youth group meals will keep her connected with the youth program. We are so thankful to have her on board!

Here’s what’s happening as we close out the school year and our youth group year:

Sunday, May 6: Confirmation Class to visit Senior High Sunday School class. Meet at 9:40 in Heritage Room, and we’ll walk up together.

Youth Group-- 5:30- 7:30 p.m. It’s the

annual Taste of Tulip Time! Bring between $10 and $20 to buy your own dinner and treats as we walk around downtown and enjoy the bounty of Holland’s junk food vendors. Dress for the weather.

Sunday, May 13: MOTHER’S DAY—no youth group—spend time with your mom!

Sunday, May 20: Confirmation Class out to breakfast together. Drop-off at IHOP at 9:00 a.m. We will carpool back to the church in time for the second service.

FINAL YOUTH GROUP of the school year, 5:30-7:30 p.m. It’s a pot-luck picnic at the Hooks’, at 6618 Butternut Drive in West Olive. Wear your bug spray and dress for the weath-er. Parents, be on the lookout for a request for food for the potluck. Thanks so much for all of your help this year!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

May 2012

Pastor Rev. J. Lynn Pier-Fitzgerald

Phone: 616-393-6242

Nonprofit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Holland, MI

Permit No. 445

57 W. 10th St.

Holland MI 49423

Return Service Requested

FI RST UNIT ED MET HODI ST CHURCH

Highlights

Phone: 616-396-5205

May 2012

We’re On the Web

www.fumcholland.org

Tulip Time Help Needed!

Tulip Time is May 8-12. For many years we have served meals to busloads of visitors. Already we have nearly 800 reservations and counting. We have an ideal location - near downtown events and convenient parking for buses. We also offer Dutch food, cafeteria-style, at Marktplaats in the Civic Center. There we serve Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.

Last year the net profit of our combined efforts was $14,331, in support of mission projects locally, and around the world. United Methodist Women sponsor both food service events, and are supported by many men as well as youth. We invite you to be a part of this minis-try. Volunteering with our Tulip Time food service is an enjoyable and satisfying way to help a third-world family to dig a well or plant a garden

We are challenged to provide the person-power need-ed to serve all our visitors, so we are asking for your help. There are many different jobs, most with no culinary experience necessary! You can interact with the public, or

you can work behind the scenes. Volunteering is also a great way to get better acquainted with members of our church family. Shifts are two or three hours and are flexible to suit your schedule. Our 10th street parking lot (a 3-minute walk to the Civic Center) is reserved for volunteers.

If you can share an hour or two of your time to help at our church and/or at the Civic Center or if you would like more information, please contact one of the volunteer co-ordinators listed below. You may also sign up on the bulletin board by the church kitchen.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

Volunteer Coordinators:

Meals at the Church - Phyllis Boal 399-0273, phyllisboal@netzero.net

Dining Room - Linda DenUyl 298-2781, Ldenuyl1@comcast.net

Chief Chef at the Church - Susan Kuite 836-2184, susankuite@gmail.com

Civic Center Booth - Dorothy Chamness 396-3292 jkcham@wmol.com