PASTORS LETTER

THE BELLS ARE RINGING AGAIN!!

MISSION HIGHLIGHTS THANK YOU FROM WESLEY

VILLAGE

FAMILY LIFE MINIISTRIES

Sight & Sounds Theatre trip to see “Jonah” Son Seekers Children’s Ministry

DISCIPLE FAST TRACK

ALTAR FLOWER DONATION

DATES AVAILABLE

To my brothers and sisters in

Christ:

These are certainly difficult

times! Regardless of your politi-

cal leanings, we see ourselves

living in a day of tremendous

division and angst. People are

quick to choose sides and

place their hopes and dreams

in one leader or another, one

political party or another or

one life style or another. When

carried to an extreme, such

“choosing sides” can lead to

fear, anxiety, anger and worst

of all, violence.

The unrest is beginning to af-

fect so many areas of our lives.

In the face of such uncertainty

and the resulting nastiness, I

find myself remembering that

such divisions were experi-

enced in the city of Corinth in

the days of Paul, the Apostle.

Corinth was the ancient

world’s equivalent of New

York City. Every ethnicity,

every religious belief and po-

litical position was alive and

well in the city.

I am sure that what we read

in Paul’s first letter to the Co-

rinthian church was Paul’s at-

tempt to address those many

divisions. In the first part of the

letter Paul sounds tired of

hearing such side choosing as

“I belong to Apollos. I belong

to Cephas. I belong to Paul.”

As if believing in or following a

particular person encom-

passes all the necessary truth

needed for life. This attitude

was seriously hurting the

church in his day.

Paul goes on to say that such

choosing of sides happens

whenever we take our focus

off of the purpose of the

church… to be the living body

of Christ alive and present in

our own day! As Christians our

focus must remain upon Jesus.

Although the line became a

cliché some time back, per-

haps we had better ask the

question again as we see our

communities, our country and

our world choosing sides.

What would Jesus do? What

would Jesus say? And so,

what should we say? What

should we do?

The primary purpose of the

church is to help persons fol-

low Jesus in their lives. We pro-

Rev. Mike Bealla Senior Pastor

Telephone: (570) 342-8263 Email: office@elmparkscranton.org Website: ElmParkScranton.org

claim the grace of God, we celebrate the

love with which God saves us from hell and

death, and we then journey on in our lives

trying more and more each day to live like

Jesus lived!

Our own United Methodist Church loses its

primary focus whenever it finds itself divided

over particular issues like same sex marriage.

I truly believe that when we fail to be able to

talk with each other and therefore become

divided around a particular issue, it is evil’s

way of destroying all the good the church

accomplishes every day! We will probably

never all agree on every potential divisive

issue, but when our focus is Christ, and Christ

crucified, there is so much more at stake

than being individually right.

I hope you will join me in deep and sincere

prayer for our country, our communities and

our church. What would Jesus do? What

would Jesus say? Because, if we take our

faith seriously we cannot experience real life

without asking that question over and over

again!

Grace & Peace!

Rev. Mike

Received from Wesley Village:

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MISSION HIGHLIGHTS

•2016 ended with 630 Volunteer In Mission

hours logged

•Our Mission and Outreach room is now locat-

ed in the back of the recital hall where any do-

nated goods can be left for distribution

•Currently we are focused on providing 2

meals a month to the Shelter at Bethel

•Hygiene supplies are needed to complete

homeless backpacks provided by the Peace-

meal

-wash cloths, hand towels, tooth

paste, deodorant, lip balm

February is

African-American History

Month

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ALTAR FLOWERS

January 1

The flowers for the worship ser-

vices have been given to the

glory of God and in loving

memory of husband, RONALD

and son, MARK by Susan Muro.

January 8

The flowers for the worship services have

been given to the glory of God and in lov-

ing memory of ROBERT AND BEULAH JEN-

KINS by Mary Gordon.

January 15

The flowers for the worship services have

been given to the glory of God and in lov-

ing memory of HARRY & LEONA GORDON

and STANLEY & RUTH FLOREY, parents of

Marilyn and Gordon Florey, by Marilyn

Florey.

January 22

The flowers for the worship services have

been given to the glory of God and in lov-

ing honor of BETTY LEE & JANE MILLER by

Betsy, Bill & Jane Miller.

January 29

The flowers for the worship services have

been given to the glory of God and in lov-

ing memory of GRACE LUCZAK and in hon-

or of LYDIA BUNNELL by their children, Jill

and John Luczak.

IN SYMPATHY

The sympathy of the congre-

gation is extended Marie Muir

and family on the death of her

husband, Dr. W. Douglas Muir

who died on Tuesday, January

3, 2017.

The sympathy of the congregation is also

extended to the family of Wendell A.

Beppler, Sr. whose funeral service was

here at Elm Park .

ALTAR FLOWER DONATIONS

If you would like to donate altar flowers in memory or in honor of a friend or loved one,

the following dates are available:

February 5, April 30, May 7, June 11, July 2,

July 30, August 13, and August 27.

Please call the office if you would like to donate flowers on one of these Sundays - 570-342-8263.

02 Daniel Roberts Jr.

03 Allyson Fitch

03 Sandra Hill

04 Victoria Andres

04 Paul Freeman

04 Rebecca Kameroski

04 Arthur Wilford Jr.

05 Charles J. Rinaldi Jr.

06 Andrew Sucheski

07 Scott Grassi

08 Brittany Schoeter

09 Barry Bennington Jr.

09 Meghan Eidenerg

09 Bryan Fisk

09 Gregory Jones

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FEBRUARY

RECEPTIONIST ACOLYTES

05 Andrew Sucheski/Elizabeth Swartz 05 Elaina Barron and Katie Cooper

12 Sue Muro/Tina Kohanski 12 Mandy Magnot and Sarah Armstrong

19 Carole Anderson/Renee Aston 19 Keira Brogan and Carolyn Burke

26 Lacey Stanton/Marcy Jesse 26 The Warring Boys

05 Holy Communion

HOSPITALITY HOST/HOSTESSES

05 Renee Aston/Connie Dempsey

12 Conrad Bosley/Mulrine Family

19 Rev. Bill & Marianne Wolf/Warring Family

26 Butch Barron/Cindy Fisch

SANCTUARY USHERS

05 Ralph Cooper, Sarah Cooper, Katie Cooper, Jill Luczak, John Luczak, Leigh Redmon

Jill Eidenberg, Sean Eidenberg

12 Elm Park Youth

19 Mike Kleha, John McDonald, Cheryl McDonald, Paige McDonald, Sadie McDonald

Leigh Redmon, Dawn Redmon

26 Phil Scotch, Marge Scotch, Aaron Magnot, Maribeth Magnot, Elizabeth Swartz, Nacy Swartz

Jill Luczak

CHAPEL/SANCTUARY READERS SANCTUARY GREETERS

05 Susan Crane/Leigh Redmon 05 Jill Luczak and Cathy Hunt

12 Conrad Bosley/Elm Park Youth 12 Elm Park Youth

19 Ed Rogers/Cheryl McDonald 19 Jill Luczak and Cathy Hunt

26 Elizabeth Swartz/John Warring 26 Phil Scotch and Marge Scotch

CHAPEL USHER/GREETERS

05 Jim Keller and Mary Gordon

12 Jennifer and Chris Kresock

19 Scott Sadowski and Alan Cunningham

26 Ed and Paula Bugno

21 Lisa Peters

21 Paul Stephens

22 Michael Adomiak

22 Maree Greenwood

22 Jodi Griffiths

22 Sharon Reese

22 Barbara Roberts

24 Jill Eidenberg

24 Michael Serge

25 Dorothy Bosley

25 Joseph Cole Jr.

25 Marie Martin

25 Rachael Scotch

26 Rebecca Baum

27 Tammy Brier

27 Jack Daubenhauser

28 Kelsey Fisch

28 Gayle Hamilton

09 Willmon Keiser

09 Rebecca Mikesell

09 Charles Miller

09 Ron Stewart

10 Daniel Grassi

10 Debra Swingle

11 Jeffrey Jones

12 Patrick Fisk

14 Jean Barziloski

16 Lynn Ewaskiw-Gordon

17 Lacey Stanton

18 Howard Gordon

20 Helen Evans

20 Gail Gianacopoulos

20 Marc Refice

20 Alona Wagner

21 Alison Cortazar

21 George Mansour

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The Bells Are Ringing Again!!

Our magnificent bell tower stands high in the city of Scranton as a symbol of God's pres-

ence. Located high in the tower are 10 cast bells manufactured well over 100 years ago.

According to the work of Ed Rodgers in his About Elm Park history book, William Connell who

served as the president of the Board of Trustees, turned the first soil over as ground was bro-

ken for the current church building on September 8, 1891. It was announced at that ceremo-

ny that Mr.& Mrs. William Connell in addition to large gifts to the building fund, was also to

give the donation of 10 bells which would become the tower chimes. Fascinatingly, nine of

the ten bells have the name of one of their children inscribed upon them as well as the tenth

and largest bell having Mr. and Mrs Connell’s name and two other children inscribed.

Cast before bells were "tuned" by machining, our bells

are beautifully honest in their pitches which produce

sharp and clear tones when they are struck. Over the

years they have reminded folks within earshot of God's

presence here at Elm Park.

But for too many years they have been si-

lent. Behemoth chunks of bell metal waiting patiently

to ring out. When I arrived last July I heard the sadness

of the silent bells which once announced Elm Park's

presence amidst the noise of the city. The Trustees

prayed that somehow, someday the carillon could be

repaired although estimates were received in the tens of thousands, well beyond the gifts

that were pledged for the repair.

I shared the story of the “silent bells” with my oldest son

Jeremy who was so excited about the prospects of re-

pairing the bells; he investigated how we might restore

the system again. Thanks to the commitment of our Board

of Trustees and the labor of my two sons Jeremy and Wes-

ley, who they jokingly call "Bealla and Sons Bell Repair

Company," the bells of the tower are no longer silent!

Each bell now has a new electronic mechanical strik-

er. They ring the Westminster Chimes on each quarter

hour as well as tolling the time at the top of the hour! All

of this has happened for less than 1/4 the estimated cost

which faced the Trustees.

Although there is a bit more updating to do to finalize the repair, (they will soon be playing

hymns again at noon and 6 pm), they are ringing again and the city knows Elm Park contin-

ues to proclaim Christ's presence throughout the city!!

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The Elm Park staff celebrated a very special

person’s birthday; Eva Moretti. Eva has

been a faithful volunteer at Elm Park United

Methodist Church for over 30 years. Eva

helps with the newsletter mailing and all

other office duties. We appreciate all the

time she has devoted to her church and

the talents she has shared with us over the

years. She is a true blessing from God!

Congratulations to our

very own Carole Mason

on her award she re-

ceived during the Martin

Luther King, Jr. Ceremo-

nies held in Scranton.

We are so proud of you,

Carole! (Submitted via

Facebook by Julie Miller)

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Family Life Ministries Carole G. Mason, Family Life Minister

570-342-8263 ext. 17

cmason@elmparkumchurch.org

The children’s ministry of Elm Park United

Methodist Church is for ages seven (7) through

twelve (12). The mission of the children’s ministry

team is to partner with parents to lead every

child that comes through our doors to be a Son-

Seeker! We will begin gathering twice a month

beginning Tuesday, February 28th at 6:00pm.

Butch Barron will be joining the Family Life

Ministry Team to create an atmosphere where

our children will LEARN and GROUP TOGETHER

with JESUS!

Our gatherings will be filled with fun activities,

crafts, games, bible stories, music, and more ex-

citing ways to invite Jesus into the lives of our

children.

Please call Carole Mason at 570-342-8263 to

sign up your children to be a part of this exciting

new ministry at Elm Park. If you would like to as-

sist with this new ministry, please let Carole or

Butch know.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE!

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Ashley Greening auditioned for and earned

the part of Bagheera in her creative and per-

forming arts school production of “The Jungle

Book”. She performed in two shows with this

leading part where she acted, sang, and

danced. Congratulations Ashley!

Nevaeh Harrington’s

poem “Tree of God”

was selected for pub-

lication in a book that

features today’s best

student writers. The

following poem was

written by seven year

old Neaveh!

THE TREE OF GOD

The tree is so old.

God said to watch the tree before it gets older.

The tree will not be there any more.

Then the shepherds will grow another one.

So God said, “Let there be light!”

They never saw light before now

There were happy forever.