NEWSLETTER STAFF: Mary Lou Pennell, Editor Phone: 746-8538 mlpennell@comcast.net Linda & Chuck Connors CHURCH INFORMATION: R. Spencer Broce, Pastor Lisa Beckwith, Youth Minister Linda Kennedy, Choir Director Sarah Davis - Accompanist Meredith Vogel, Nursery Associate Bonnie Field, Adm. Assistant

Worship Services; 9:00 am and 11:00 am Church Office: 746-0980 Pastor’s Home: 550-2734 Lebanon UMC 8492 Peaks Road Hanover, VA 23069

MARCH, 2017

We wil l resume ou r reg ula r worsh ip schedule on Sunday, Sept . 18 with contemporar y worsh ip at 9 am, Sunday School at 10 am, and t rad it ional worsh ip at 11 am.

Wednesday Night Fel lowship and Study Schedule . . .March 8 - Apr i l 5 - 6:45 to 8 pm

“The Easter Exper ience” - Nursery Prov ided

This v ideo based s t udy br ings the passion and resu r rect ion of Jesus to l i fe th rough d ramat ic s tor y tel l ing and chal leng ing teach ing done in a h igh ly cinemat ic s t yle. Th rough these in-depth teach ings , i t is ou r desi re that we wi l l g row deeply in fa ith as we st udy and exper ience the eter nal message of Easter. Th is class wi l l meet in the Chapel. Nurser y prov ided.

A n alte r nate Bible s t udy on the books of Esther and Ruth wi l l be led by Hol ly Maslan ka and Robin Br uce. Th is class meets in the back cor ner of the Fel lowship Hal l . Nurser y prov ided. Come ea rly and enjoy d in ner f rom 6:00 to 6:45 pm - $5 Adult s , K ids ages 3 to 8-$3, K ids 2 and under-Free - $20 max per family. I f you would l i ke to help with the meals , contact Cathy Fet t y at cat t in inva@yahoo.com.

Also at 6:45 to 8:00 pm - Elementa r y - Middle School Bible St udy (Youth Bldg. Basement)

High School Bible St udy (Youth Bldg.) Beginning at 6:30 pm and cont inuing for 2 hours , a group of k nit ters i s a lso meet ing mak ing al l si ze hat s for the Hanover Ch r is t mas Mother. You do not need to k now how to k n it as they can show you how. Contact June Chappel l at 730 -1418 or at june.bug@live.com for more in fo.

A re you in the midst of spr ing clean up and clean out? Find ing odds and ends that a re too good to th row away, but a re no longer usef u l to you and you r family? Wel l , we have just the place for those items! The Lebanon women’s SPR ING YAR D/ BAK E SA LE i s set for Sat- u rday, Apr i l 1 f rom 8 am to 1 pm! Household i tems, toys , and ch i ld ren’s clothes (no adult clothes , please) can be d ropped of f at the back of the Fel lowship Hal l on Sunday, March 26 or du r ing set-up on Thursday and Fr iday, March 30 and 31, beg in n ing at 6 pm. It is most helpf u l i f you a re able to pr ice you r items! Baked goods may be d ropped of f the even ing before or the mor n ing of the sale bet ween 7:30 and 8 am. I f you need help with la rge items, contact JoA n ne Nessel rodt at 537- 5753 or Bet t y Pit t man at 746 -2170.

Before I was bor n , my parents had a ch ihuahua named Tr ix ie. Tr ix ie was bonded ver y s t rongly to my mother. So when I came along, Tr ix ie became ver y jealous to the point where my folks couldn’t keep her any longer. Tr ix iewent to l ive with my g randparents , where she f it i n ver y n icely. Back in those days , my mom and g randmother com municated a lot th rough note wr it ing. Each t ime my g randmother received a note f rom my mom Tr ix ie would gobon kers. She’d cl imb up in my g randmother’s lap and sn if f a l l over the le t te r,mak ing it a lmost impossible for my g randmother to read. There was some-th ing of my mom on that note that spoke as much to that dog as the words d id to my g randmother.

Con nect ions a re impor t ant . We a re made to be con nected to others as wel l as to ou r Creator. As we enter into the month of March we enter into a season, Lent , made for renewing con nect ions with ou r fa ith and with ou r God. Lent is a per iod of 40 days where we a re meant to prepare for remember ing the events of the cr ucif ix ion and the resu r rect ion. The ancient chu rch t reated it a lot l i ke a per iod of mour n ing, consider ing thei r role in the death of Jesus , as i f to say, “Not on ly d id Jesus d ie for me, but because of me and my own sin f u lness , I am in pa r t responsible for Je -sus’ death.” It is a power f u l approach to th is season. However, Lent has much more to of fer us when we t ake it as a t ime to recon nect with ou r fa ith and recogn iz ing ou r dependence upon God.

Fast ing, g iv ing someth ing up, has been a t y pical means by which Ch r is t ians have ach ieved these ends th roughout Lent . I th in k that we must do more than g ive someth ing up. I bel ieve that we could be add ing some th ings as wel l , or instead. P rayer, s t udy and medit at ion , each of these a re wonder f u l spi r it ual d iscipl ines we can add to ou r dai ly l ives th roughout Lent and can be exper i-enced in a va r iet y of ways. It is a lso helpf u l to put ou r fa ith into act ion. I have seen d i f ferent models for th is d i f ferent places. Some people have ident i f ied a l is t of concepts to t ake a pict u re of ever yday th roughout Lent and share it v ia social media . Others pledge to be engaged in some ser v ice oppor t un it y th roughout the weeks of Lent con nect ing with Ch r is t’s sacr i f ice to the world . I a lso l i ke one I recent ly d iscovered , wr it ing a note each day to someone in ou r l ives. Recon nect-ing with people as we recon nect with God.

The a r t of note/ le t te r wr it ing is being lost in ou r world with most of ou r non-personal com muni-cat ion being done elect ron ical ly. Please consider using act ual pen and paper for these notes. It of fers a more human touch. Before you wr ite to each of these people, t ake t ime to pray for them, whether it is someth ing specif ic you a re aware of or someth ing more general . Give than ks for whatever it is about them that is mean ingf u l in you r l i fe. Then when you put pen to paper it is more than a com municat ion of words , i t becomes a spi r it ual exercise. The notes need not be long or compl icated. You don’t have to tel l them why you’re wr it ing, except to say someth ing along the l ines of “I was th in k ing of you today. I sa id a prayer for you. I than k God that you a re a pa r t of my l i fe.” Or someth ing l i ke that .

Than ks for Rev. Robb McCoy who came up with fol lowing l is t shown on the next page.

May God r ich ly bless you as you obser ve a Holy Lent;

Pastor Spencer

LebYouth Annual Easter Egg Sale has begun! Al l prof it s wi l l suppor t the Leb Youth Mission Fund that helps pay for va r ious act iv it ies they do year-round , such as LebCamp. Orders a re due by March 26 and you can pick them up Apr i l 9 th and 16th in the Gather ing A rea . Avai l-able f lavors include Peanut But ter with da rk , mi lk , or white chocolate; Marsh mal low with da rk , mi lk or white chocolate; Coconut with da rk , mi lk , or white chocolate and But tercream with da rk , mi lk or white chocolate. You can order on l ine at w w w.LebanonU MC.org under For ms/ Regist rat ion. A ny orders with more than 10 of a f lavor, please emai l you r order to Don na Tim mer man at d lt im mer man@comcast .net . Payment can be made upon pick up v ia cash or check to Lebnaon U MC with Youth Easter Eggs in the memo. Quest ions? Youth@LebanonU MC.org.

Sunday, Apr i l 2 - 12 Noon to 2 pm Dayl ight Sav ings Time! Easter Egg Hunt Remember to set your Pi zza for ever yone! clocks ahead an hour Egg Hunt for babies through on Saturday, March 11 e lementar y age before going to bed!

The R ighteous Outlaws Rock ing for Liberat ion Veteran Ser v ices

Liberat ion Veteran Ser v ices (A Lebanon U MC suppor ted organ izat ion), t ak ing homeless vet s of f the s t reet s and get t ing them back into pro -duct iv it y and pu r pose, wi l l be feat u red when the R ighteous Outlaws t ake the s t age on St . Pat t y’s day (Fr iday, March 17 f rom 8 to 10 pm) at Tin Pan RVA, Quioccasin Stat ion Shopping Center, 8982 Quioccasin Rd., R ich mond. The Outlaws have been blessed with a g reat oppor-t un it y to play a venue the s t at u re of Tin Pan RVA and wi l l use th is to br ing awareness and needed f unds to a g reat organ izat ion work ing hard to restore the respect and d ign it y for those that have ser ved us. Please join us on th is spe-cia l n ight and be prepared to rock it for a g reat char it y pa r t ner! Th is is an a l l age event and t ickets may be pu rchased in advance on l ine at ht t p: //w w w.t inpan r va .com /event /1422213-r igh-teous-out laws-st-r ich mond / or at the door the day of the show. Hope to see you there!

Lebanon’s Church Counci l wi l l meet on Tuesday, March 14, at 7 pm. These a re open meet ings to anyone who at tends Lebanon and we encou rage as many people as possible to come.

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, Lebanon wi l l host the month ly cof fee hou r/cook ie sale at the Her-mitage. We wi l l need volunteers to bake cook-ies or brownies and to help with the act iv it ies by at tend ing the event . Baked goods need to be at the chu rch by 8:30 am on the 14th. Those at tend ing the event wi l l leave the chu rch at 9 am and ret u r n a round noon.

Money f rom the sale of cook ies is deposited in the A ngel Fund at the Her mitage. Th is f und prov ides personal items for the residents un-able to af ford them. The Her mitage is the U MC Ret i rement Cont inu ing Care faci l it y for the R ich mond a rea .

I f you have quest ions or need more in fo, con-t act Ly nda Hawkins at hawkinsly nda9@gmail .com or 746 -5943.

A chu rch work day is plan ned for Sat u rday, March 18 beg in n ing at 8 am. There a re several project s scheduled to t r y to complete on that day. I f you can help with any of the project s below, please contact Cathy Mercer v ia emai l at themercer5@comcast .net .

-v inyl replacement at the main Church ent rance - pr ior exper ience needed

- s t a in wooden playg round equipment - can you paint? - d ig a shal low t rench bet ween the Chapel and Youth bui ld ing to bu r y wi r ing - - any sk i l l level

-weed /mulch /t r im /plant - a l l exper ience levels

Rain date is tentat ively set for March 25.

Hanover Chr ist ian F irewood Ministr y St . Patr ick’s Day Dinner 5:30 pm, Saturday, March 18

at Lebanon!

This year’s St . Pat r ick’s Day Din ner feat u r ing cor ned beef and cabbage and I r ish music wi l l be held in Lebanon’s fel lowsh ip hal l . The cost is f ree, but donat ions wi l l be accepted.

Al l members of the cong regat ion a re inv it-ed , but you a re asked to make a reser vat ion by complet ing the for m in the week ly bul let in or by contact ing Ch r is Miles at 550 -2056 or v ia emai l at ea rlygo27@hot mai l .com by noon, March 12.

To Shayna (Tignor) and Owen Thul in as they g r ieve the loss of Owen’s father, Joh n Thul in .

To Lynn and Alan Nesaw as they g r ieve the loss of Ly n n’s mother, Gly n n Parker.

The cantat a , “Upon This Rock ,” by Pepper Cho-pl in wi l l be presented by the Chancel Choi r on Palm Sunday, Apr i l 9, at both worsh ip ser v ices.

The Lebanon Missions Team wil l be meet ing Sunday, March 5, at 7 pm to plan for the remain-der of 2017. We wi l l be d iscussing the suppor t of many mission ef for t s . A nyone interested is welcome to at tend! I f you can’t at tend but have quest ions or ideas , please d i rect them to Beth Roper at roper.beth@mail .com

Changing Lives , One Pair at a Time - In just about any home, one can f ind a pai r of eyeglass-es that a re no longer being used. That same pai r of eyeglasses can change another person’s l i fe. The Missions team is suppor t ing Recycle for Sight to help ch i ld ren read , to help adult s succeed in jobs , and to assis t sen iors in main-t a in ing independence. Th roughout the year, volunteers col lect used eyeglasses , sunglasses , and hear ing a ids and del iver them to reg ional Lions Eyeglass Recycl ing Centers where they a re cleaned , sor ted and d is t r ibuted to people in need. I f you would l i ke to suppor t th is mis-sion , i tems can be placed in a col lect ion box on the g iv ing t able at the rea r of the sant uar y. Special than ks go to Suzan ne K r use for volun-teer ing to ensu re they a re col lected and del iv-ered appropr iately!

ACES (Ashland Chr ist ian Emergency Ser v ices)

Lebanon suppor t s th is g roup by members br ing-ing com mercial ly can ned and packaged goods a long with household and cloth ing items to be donated to them. Also, one hal f of the of fer-ings lef t at the com munion ra i l is sent to them.

Liberat ion Fami ly Ser v ices

Our next oppor t un it y to ser ve d in ner to th is g roup of veterans wi l l be Sunday, March 12 and the menu includes ch i l i , baked potatoes , sa lad and more. Please use the inser t i n the week ly Sunday bul let in to ind icate how you can help. For more in fo, cont act Linda Wilde at (804) 405-3663.

Circles , Ashland, an organ izat ion ded icated to end ing generat ional pover t y in the Ash land a rea has shown an almost th ree -fold increase in pa r t icipants (Ci rcle Leaders) for 2017 f rom last yea r. Th is g roup is a “hand up” as opposed to a “hand out ” char it y focused on coach ing and mentor ing the Ci rcle Leaders out of a pat te r n of pover t y. They accompl ish th is th rough men-tor volunteers (Ci rcle Al l ies) who make them-selves avai lable in helping the Ci rcle Leaders with home budget ing, secu r ing needed edu-cat ion and more gainf u l employment; af ford-able housing, e tc. In add it ion , Ci rcle Coaches volunteer thei r t ime to teach related cou rses and oversee focus g roups to help d iscuss and st rateg ize with Ci rcle Leaders in helping them to a bet te r l i fe. With 7500 ind iv iduals and famil ies l iv ing in pover t y in the Ash land a rea , there is a g reat need for Ci rcle Al l ies to help ra ise ou r local com munit y to increased eco -nomic s t abi l it y. Cu r rent ly, Ci rcles could use coaches who wi l l volunteer to pa r t icipate in 3 each , t wo hou r sessions of Ci rcle Al ly t ra in ing and ag ree to meet with thei r assigned Ci rcle Leader for 2 hou rs , t wice each month. Please pray and consider becoming involved in Ci r-cles , either as a Coach or Al ly. Find them at ht t ps: //ci rclesash land-va .org /.

Hermitage Countr y Store

The next scheduled date for the Cou nt r y Store at the Her mit age is Fr iday, March 24, 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. The Her mit age is located at 1600 West-wood Ave. I f you a re i nte res ted in more in for ma-t ion , cont act Judy Ladd at wladd94653@aol.com or 994 -5129.

The women’s group repor ts thatthey are ver y excited about the great progress they have made with the Steeple project! They have placed a char t in the Gather ing A rea so that ever yone can t rack thei r prog ress with them.

Cur rent ly, they have ra ised $9,354. Thei r goal is $20,000 by 2020! Than k you so much for you r on-going suppor t!

Lebanon United Methodist Church8492 Peaks RoadHanover, VA 23069

Please note the fol lowing in for mat ion regard ing Lebanon’s WiFi: Name: “LebU MC”. Password: “ join lebumc”

Please use responsibly.

March 12 - Liberat ion Fami ly Ser v ices Din ner March 18 - Chu rch Work Day - 8 am - St . Pat r ick’s Day Cor ned Beef & Cabbage Din ner - 5:30 pm March 24 - Her mit age Cou nt r y Store - 10:30 am to 2:30 PM Apr i l 1 - Chu rch Yard Sale - Women’s G roup - 8 am Apr i l 2 - P izza Lu nch & Easte r Egg Hu nt - 12 Noon Apr i l 9 - Palm Su nday Cantat a - 9 & 11 am Apr i l 16 - Easte r Su nday Ju ne 25-29 - Vacat ion Bible School Ju ly 23-30 - Leb Camp October 21 - Leb Fest - 10 am - Chu rch Yard Sale - Missions Team - 8 am Nov. 18- Dec. 2 CA R ITAS - Women’s G roup

Please add the above dates to you r ca lendar!!!

Operat ing Budget Data* Beg inning Balance 01/01/2017 $ 4 .255

Add: Of fer ings & Other Receipts including e -g iv ing $ 68,685 Value of Grocer y Cards on hand 725 Total to be added $ 69,410

Subt ract: Expenses/Al locat ions to Capit al Improvement Accts. $ 54,519 Funds “Rest r icted” for specif ic projects 4,391Total to be subt racted $ 58,910

Avai lable Operat ing Fund Balance As of 2/26/2017 $14 ,755

Year-To-Date Budgeted Need $ 63,888Year-To-Date Act ual Receipts $ 68,685

Total Grocer y Card Revenue $ 142Total Amazon Smiles Revenue $ 26

*Fig u res do not include other chu rch f unds , i .e., Missions , Capit a l Improvements , Cemeter y, or Pastor Discret ionar y.

Ful l t reasu rer’s repor t s avai lable at a l l Counci l meet ings where a l l a re welcome to at tend.Quest ions? Contact you r t reasu rer, Mar y Lou Pen nel l , mlpen nel l@comcast .net or 746 -8538.

For 2017, boxes of g iv ing envelopes have been made avai lable and most have been picked up. Using these envelopes is a t remendous help to ou r Sunday count ing volunteers and makes thei r process more ef f icient . I f you d id not receive a box with your name on it , please let Susan Mar t in , ou r f inancial secreta r y, k now. There a re plenty of boxes for ever yone. She can be reached at Susan9591@yahoo.com.

You can also contact Susan for in for mat ion on set t ing up an e -g iv ing account to g ive elect ron i-cal ly.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED GOOD STEWAR DSHIP!!!

Greeters

March 5 - Jim Dore 12 - Jim Dore & Lynda Hawk ins 19 - Lynda Hawk ins & Judy Ladd 26 - Judy & Weston Ladd Apr i l 2 - Weston Ladd Flowers Please put a note in Bonnie’s mai lbox (Adm. Asst .) , leave a message on the church of f ice answer ing machine or send emai l to of f ice@lebanonumc.org i f you would l ike to designate your f lowers in honor or in memor y of someone.

March 5 - Laura Koon 12 - Kel ly Snavely 19 - Suzanne Kruse 26 - Cathy Fet t y Apr i l 2 - Suzanne Kruse

Col lect ion Count ing Teams

March Team Captain: Randy Eye Par t icipant: Carolyn Lane

Apr i l Team Captain: Donna Timmerman Par t icipant: Mary Ford

Nursery (Serv ing with our Nursery Associate , Meredith Vogel)

9am 11 am March 5 Judy Ladd Mary Ford 12 Open Open 19 Open Open 26 Open Open Apr i l 2 Judy Ladd Mary Ford

Lay Reader - 11 am

The Wimmer Fami ly

MARCH, 2017