When John Wesley began the Methodist movement, anyone who wanted to be a Methodist had to be a member of a class meeting. A class meeting was a crucial tool for enabling Methodists to “watch over one another in love,” to support and encourage one another in their lives with God. In fact, John Wesley thought the spiritual formation and support that the class meeting provided was so impor-tant that it became a requirement for membership in a Methodist society. To be a Methodist meant that you were involved in a weekly class meeting.

In this small group, Methodists studied scripture, prayed for one another and encouraged one another in fol-lowing Wesley’s General Rules: do no harm, do good, and practice the means of grace (i.e., prayer, searching the Scriptures, receiving Communion, etc.). The phrase that I believe best captures what the Methodists believed was so important about the class meeting was “watching over one another in love.” Early Methodists were asked to invite oth-ers into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace. They were committed to the idea that the Christian life is a journey of growth in grace, or sanctification. And they believed that they needed one another in order to per-severe on this journey.

In addition, the class meeting was a place where every Methodist weekly answered the question, “How is it with your soul?” Bob Anderson, the director of the Bishop Rueben Job Center for Leadership Development has re-phrased this question for the 21st Century: “How have you experienced God recently?” Every time they met the

members of the small group had to be ready to answer this question. This question formed the Methodists into a peo-ple with eyes wide open for signs of God at work in them and around them.

While there are other contributing factors, during the time when the Methodist church used these small groups as a key part of their ministry, the church grew to the point that in the 1850’s one-third of all Americans considered themselves Methodist and there was a Methodist church in every county in the country.

In 1904 a decision was made at General Conference to no longer require membership in a small group as a require-ment for membership in the church. Our church has been in decline ever since.

Methodists stopped doing small groups but other churches haven't and many growing and healthy churches attribute their vitality and health to their use of small groups. Small groups help church members to apply their faith to their lives in the world. They encourage all the members of the church to be committed to their faith and to the mission of Christ for his followers. These small groups that churches use now don’t look all that different from the class meetings John Wesley started around 1742, nor are they very different from the gatherings of the early disciples described in the book of Acts.

Small groups are not new but throughout the history of the church have proven to be a successful way of “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Look this summer for information on new small groups at our church forming in the fall.

THE UPDATE June 2011

“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”

How is it with your soul? By Pastor Geoff Helton

PAGE 2

JUNE 2011

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1

Kid’s Summer Enrichment: 3:00 - 6:00 PM Youth Group @ Bookery: 3:33 PM Choir: 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 Men’s Fellowship: 7:30 AM

SUNDAY, JUNE 5

Food Bank Donations Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Youth Group BBQ at Pastor Geoff & Meagan’s House: 1:00 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7

Quilters: 9:00 AM Grief Talks: 4:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8

Youth Group @ Bookery: 3:33 PM Choir: 7:00 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 (Celebration Sunday)

Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM All Church Picnic Following Worship Service Youth Group Pool Party at the Goeden’s: 3:00 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 14

Quilters: 9:00 AM

SUNDAY, JUNE 19 (Father’s Day) Worship Service: 10:00 AM Chet Dorsey to Preach

TUESDAY, JUNE 21

Quilters: 9:00 AM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22

Update Deadline: 12:00 Noon

SUNDAY, JUNE 26

Worship Service: 10:00 AM Chet Dorsey to Preach TUESDAY, JUNE 28

Quilters: 9:00 AM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29

Update Folding: 9:00 AM

THURSDAY, JUNE 30 Community Dinner: 5:30 PM

ANNUAL CONFERENCE TRAC CENTER

PASCO, WASHINGTON June 23—26, 2011

Mike Slaughter - Teaching Pastor

“Be Blessed” was the theme for the May meeting. The Fellowship Hall was deco-

rated with bright sunflowers – on the tables, on the buffet tables and on the gifts given to all who attended.

A special “Be Blessed” mug was given to our guest speaker, Ellen Hunt, from NEW HOPE. NEW HOPE is an agency that provides help for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. UMW gave $50 to NEW HOPE and the ladies also brought personal gifts for the clients.

Geraniums grown by Ann Chandler were given to all. The salad potluck was a treat for the ladies.

There will be no meeting in June. A summer brunch will be held at the home of Tura Yount on July 25th.

PAGE 3 Youth Ministries

Backwoods Camp: July 5th-July 8th 6th-8th Grade. Camping in teepees, cooking + adventuring in the woods. Night Owl Camp: July 11th—15th 8th-13th Grade. Go nocturnal for the week. Junior High Camp: July 31st—Aug. 5th 6th-8th Grade. Sr. High Discovery: July 31st—Aug. 5th 9th-13th Grade. Challenge Course, backpacking, whitewater and faith + a whole lot of adventure. Sr. High Camp: Aug. 7th—12th 9th-13th Grade Mid High Wranglers: Aug. 7th—12th 7th-10th Horsemanship, riding, equestrian science.

Looking for something fun to do this summer? Consider a week of church camp! There are lots of camps to choose

from with different dates and activities.

For more info and registration go to: www.lazyfcamp.org

Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center is a ministry of the United Methodist Church. The camp's mission is to be a sanctuary of hospitality, renewal, and learning within God's natural world. It is a sanctuary that celebrates diversity, inspires love and service, and fulfills our special partnership with lo-cal churches in the development of Christian disciples and spiritual leaders.

PAGE 4

Our church’s soup kitchen ministry, Community Dinners, will have a meal on Thursday, June 30th at 5:30 PM. Please contact Camille and Christy Price to see how you can help our church share God’s love in this practical way.

Other News

In May our church began taking pictures for a new church photo directory. Alan and Mary Fulk graciously agreed to be our photographers.

If you have not yet had your picture taken, there are still several options, so please contact us at the church office (754-4664). We can use a picture from previous directories, use another picture that you supply or, if necessary, arrange to have someone from the church take your picture.

The church’s Scholarship Committee has voted to award the following $500 scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year:

Olive White Memorial Scholarship — Cassidy Goeden United Methodist Scholarship — Thomas Pheasant United Methodist Scholarship — Sara Price

The Olive White Memorial Scholarship is possible through the generosity of the White Family and the

United Methodist Scholarships are made possible through the church’s Permanent Endow-ment Fund. The recipients will be presented with their scholarships on Celebration Sunday, June 12th, at the 10:00AM worship service.

Celebration Sunday BBQ! Sunday June 12th after the service!

Please join us after church for a BBQ to celebrate a successful Sunday school year. We will BBQ outside in the parking lot and eat inside in the Fellowship Hall. The church will provide hamburgers, hotdogs and drinks. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

TOWNHOUSE TO BE SUBLET BY THE MONTIEL’S

Located at 1225 – 2nd Ave NE in Ephrata

GREAT NEIGHBORS!

Available July 1, 2011 (this date is flexible)

Beautiful three bedroom, 2 ½ bath townhouse with hardwood floors and custom cabinets. Also

has an attached single car garage and a fenced back yard with an herb garden.

The rent is $1200 a month and is available for showing anytime!

If interested or you know of someone who might be, call 409-789-9178.

PAGE 5

Our Big Giveaway

“Given in love

Because God loves you!

Ephrata United Methodist Church”

That sticker will be on all the books (new and

used), games, cards, videos, puzzles and educa-

tional toys that are given away to the kids in our

area from 3 PM to 6 PM on Wednesday, June 1st.

The Witness Committee has planned and worked

hard to gather the items and publicize our event

at schools and food banks. Now we pray that the

kindergarten – 6th grade kids will come!

At three Wednesday workshops, (May 11th, 18th

& 25th) members cleaned up the donations, sorted

them by age levels, and added our stickers.

Beverly Dell made over 70 cloth bags so each

child could have a “game bag.” Other bags to be

used were saved from the Yard Sale.

In order to encourage attendance, a drawing will

be held. The Grant County Museum donated a

Family Day Pass. A Splash Zone Family Day

pass and two Lee Theater tickets will also be

given away.

Joan McDonald, a Grant School reading special-

ist, helped with the list of what to buy. She has

helped to sort the donations by age level. She is

excited about getting these materials into the

homes for the summer.

UMW will serve refreshments. If you can pro-

vide cookies, sign-up on the kiosk. Also, we need

some people to play card games with the kids.

We also need guides to lead the kids to their

section and help them pick out their allotment.

The Witness Committee consists of Dolores

Pheasant, Marilyn Grass, Linda Bryant-Smith

and Vivian Plew. Others advising were Beverly

Dell, Mary Holleman, Carle Jo Pheasant and

Maggie Reynolds.

Martin Hooyer (owner of Secondhand Prose) gave

us 50% off children’s books. With our $75, we

were able to buy some more books. We appreci-

ate his support for our kids reading program.

Fun and Fellowship

There will be no meeting in June, July or

August.

The May 12th meeting was hosted by Joan

and Francis Jensen. A delicious potluck

was enjoyed by fifteen people.

Joan researched the origin of Mother’s

Day and gave a talk on the history of the

day. Each person read their place card

which had quotations about mothers from

famous people or humorous “Momisms”.

The next Fun and Fellowship will be in

September. The hosts will be Ed & Betty

Rogers and the date and time will be an-

nounced later.

Men’s Fellowship

The June 4th meeting will be at 7:30

AM – the usual time and usual Satur-

day. Come and enjoy the Men’s

Fellowship. This session will conclude

our current study.

The breakfast host will be Denis Plew.

July and August will be vacation time

with no meetings.

Ten attended the May meeting that

was hosted by Bob Winters.

PAGE 6

YARD SALE

The May 7th Yard Sale and May 3rd Fabric Sale brought in $2300. It will be allocated

as follows: $500 to UMW, $100 for Kid’s Summer Enrichment and $1700 to the sound sys-

tem repair.

Although fewer workers put in more hours, the sorting, pricing, hauling, cashiering,

floor watching, providing snacks, advertising, setting up, taking down and counting the

profit was accomplished.

In addition, all who worked at home to collect all the items and take them to the

church were a part of the team. It took everyone to make this venture a success.

Remember also that a service was provided to our community – recycling at reason-

able prices. When we see that room and yard filled with merchandise, we see dollars for

missions and church needs.

THANK YOU TO ALL THANK YOU TO ALL THANK YOU TO ALL

Outreach and Missions Committee Project

Do you know the many deserving organizations and programs that our church supports? Do

you know their names and purposes and how they serve our communities, region, nation and

world? Well, I didn’t and perhaps many of you don’t either. So this year, your Outreach and

Missions Committee plans to highlight the various programs that our church supports with

donations. This month we will spotlight the OMNY program right here in Ephrata.

OMNY is an acronym for Outreach Ministry for Neighborhood Youth. It is a non-profit organi-

zation for children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. The primary objective of OMNY is to provide a

safe, nurturing, and fun environment for children. School counselors recommend children to

attend OMNY based on their social, emotional and/or economic needs. The program uses

games, skits, role playing, discussion, music and movement to teach skills such as cooperation,

respect, empathy, conflict resolution, honesty and responsibility. This organization is non-

denominational and the counseling staff attend many different churches in our area. The

counseling staff is trained yearly in child development, behavior management and confidence

building. OMNY serves 60 children, three days a week for four weeks in a day camp format.

Children participate in typical camp activities, such as arts and crafts, group games and field

trips. In addition to those activities, the program also focuses on appropriate social interaction

skills, character building skills, bike safety, community service and literacy skills. Prayer at

meals and a daily devotional are also a part of the program. Children are served breakfast and

lunch in a family style atmosphere.

It costs approximately $19,000 to operate the OMNY program each summer. This is about

$325 per child to provide the OMNY experience.

We hope you found this article interesting as well as informative. Next month we will highlight

another worthy organization or program that we support.

Tura Yount

NEW HEALTH PROBLEMS

Ed Hoople Hazel Scobe

Joan Archer Janet Nelson

Steve Pederson Dave & Family

Wilma David Clees

Betty Rogers Ann Colliander

Bill Gardner Neal

Susan Aidan Linday

Lauren Tom Price

Norman Wilkinson Martin

BEYOND OUR WALLS

Irene Armstrong

Opal Burck

Louise Gallaway

Bill Lowry

Bill Turner

Helen Ruth

Don & Arline Callan

Louise Moore

Lenora Walters

Jim & Ruth Walker

Linda Morris

ONGOING HEALTH

PROBLEMS Bob St. Clair Jr. Dee Gray

Bob St. Clair Sr Jean Stetner

Bill Black Lee Ann

Cami Krumm Rafael Montiel

Patsy Meyer-Odell Jim Walker

Verna Irving

Prayer Requests “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing

songs of Praise” James 5:13

One of the most wonderful gifts we are given is the gift of prayer. We can pray for

one another in times of need as well as times of celebration.

PAGE 7

Wedding Anniversaries

June 3 Joe & Cammy Hatch

June 4 Bob & Marilyn Bluhm

June 13 Francis & Joan Jensen

June 16 Tom & Vonna Wendt

June 18 Rob & Amanda Christensen

June 22 Dick & Von Hoyt

June 24 Jeff & Carla Jo Pheasant

Birthdays in June

June 15 Tyler Bassuer

June 19 Sally Johnson

June 19 Mona Kaiser

June 24 Thomas Pheasant

June 24 Vivian Plew

June 25 Ashley Smith

June 29 Marilyn Grass

June 30 Alan Fulk

For Grieving Families

Family & friends of Eleanor Mordhorst

Family & friends of Gwen Lowry

Family & friends of Theresa Forster

Treasurer’s Report

As of April 30, 2011

Income $ 40,335.20

Expense $ 41,005.95

Total $ - 670.75

Congregational Notes

WORSHIP SERVERS— June 5, 2011

Assistant of the Day: Merle Gibbens Ushers: Marilyn Grass & Bob Miller Greeters: Merle & Lois Gibbens Liturgist: Lois Gibbens Sound Tech: Thomas Pheasant & Ken Slininger Coffee Hour: Vonna Wendt Lead Counter: Denis Plew Assistant Counter: Louise Ingebrigtson Flowers: Bob & Marilyn Bluhm Activity Time: Mary Holleman Sunday School: Mary Holleman

WORSHIP SERVERS— June 12, 2011

Assistant of the Day: Bill Nixon Ushers: Cammy Hatch & Lonny Holleman Greeters: Bill & Judy Nixon Liturgist: Camille Price Sound Tech: Thomas Pheasant & Ken Slininger Coffee Hour: Shirley Pederson Lead Counter: Shirley Pederson Assistant Counter: Georgia Bassuer Flowers: Mona Kaiser Activity Time: Cammy Hatch Sunday School: Cammy Hatch

WORSHIP SERVERS— June 19, 2011 Father’s Day

Assistant of the Day: Ed Rogers Ushers: Barb Deycous & Mona Kaiser Greeters: Camille & Christy Price Liturgist: Ann Chandler Sound Tech: Thomas Pheasant & Ken Slininger Coffee Hour: John & Shirley Morris Lead Counter: Kathy Buhl Assistant Counter: Marj Burkhart Flowers: Francis & Joan Jensen Activity Time: Maggie Reynolds

WORSHIP SERVERS— June 26, 2011

Assistant of the Day: Bob Bluhm Ushers: Bob & Marilyn Bluhm Greeters: Mike & Beverly Dell Liturgist: Beverly Dell Sound Tech: Thomas Pheasant & Ken Slininger Coffee Hour: Margaret Treiber Lead Counter: John Morris Assistant Counter: Linda Bryant-Smith Flowers: Ann Chandler Activity Time: Carla Ryan

Origin of Father’s Day

Father's Day celebration had a modest begin-ning. The history of Father's Day dates back to 1909, in Spokane, Washington. Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother's Day sermon, at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. The lec-ture inspired her to have a special day dedicated to her father, William Jackson Smart, who had brought her and her siblings up, single-handedly, after their mother died. Sonora realized the greatness of her father and wanted to let him know how deeply she was touched by his sacrifices, courage, selflessness and love. To pay a tribute to her great dad, Sonora held the first Father's Day celebration on the 19th of June 1910, on the birthday of her father. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance. In 1913, a bill in accordance with making the day official was introduced. The idea was ap-proved by US President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Later, in 1924, the idea gained further momentum as it was supported by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. However, it was thirty years later that a Joint Resolution of Congress gave recognition to Father's Day. Another 16 years passed before President Richard Nixon established the third Sunday of June, as a permanent national observance day of Father's Day in 1972.

PAGE 8

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

Paid

Ephrata, WA

Permit No. 5 Fax: 509-754-1433 - E-mail: info@ephratamethodist.org

The United Methodist Church of Ephrata

117 C. Street NW, Ephrata, WA 98823 - (509) 754-4664

For information on Lazy F Camps - Turn to page 3.

You can also go to www.lazyfcamp.org for

more dates and info.

Our front page article explores the role of

small groups in the history and development of the Methodist movement in

America.

July Update Deadline June 22nd 12:00 noon

Get your articles and announcements in!

Thank you for supporting the work of the church through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness as we pursue our mission:

“Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.”

June 2011

Celebration Sunday BBQ Sunday June 12th

At the church!

Join us in celebrating the end of the school year!