The Gathering March 2012
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Transcript of The Gathering March 2012
PASTORS’ PEN
During this past month we celebrated “President’s Day” and recognized several of our Presidents who so nobly and power-
fully affected the people of this nation for good and for God.
One of those Presidents whom we recognized was Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States…a man of God
and a President who guided this country through one the darkest hours of our nation’s young history. Mr. Lincoln on two
separate occasions made these two statements about his life that I believe sum up his life and devotion to God and to others
so well:
“I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins
of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be
down inside of me.”
“I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing it to the end. If the end
brings me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all
wrong, then a legion of angels swearing I was right will make no difference.”
Whatever you are doing, whatever relationship you are engaged in, whatever act of service you can offer to others, and
whatever cause you find worthy of giving yourself to…give it:
-Your whole heart
-Your undistracted attention
-Your complete commitment
-Your maximum energy
For in doing so, this is our greatest act of worship to our God who created us.
Therefore, we ought to give our “all” to every task and every person our life
touches. This is how we measure the effort of our lives and the true measure of
our devotion to God and others.
As we think of our season of Lent, often we focus on what we give up or surren-
der so that we might be again be reminded of what Jesus gave up for us on the
Cross—His Life. Yet I challenge us to consider not only what Christ gave up, but
also consider that in giving up He was also serving.
This is my challenge, to myself and to you for Lent. Find something new this Lent not only to give up, but especially look
for someone or something honorable to serve and to give it your all… show them Christ in your service and thus reveal to
the world Christ through you.
Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Pastor Ed
March 2012
The Gathering
COMING EVENTS
MEN’S LENTEN
BREAKFASTS The following dates have been as-
signed for locations of our 2012
Men’s Lenten Breakfasts. The
start time for each Saturday meet-
ing is 7:00 a.m. An offering will
be taken at each meeting to cover
expenses, with proceeds to go to a
mission project.
March 3 - St. Mark’s UMC
March 10- Goshen First UMC
March 17 - Faith UMC
March 24 - Bristol UMC
March 31 - Dunlap UMC
YOUTH —
CREATION
MUSEUM All youth are invited to go to the
Creation Museum in northern
Kentucky on March 16-18. The
museum gives a fresh perspective
on how God created everything
that we see.
The youth will stay in a church
for a couple of nights while there.
The cost will be around $50 per
person for the weekend. Contact
Jeff Karnes, 238-1939, if you
would like to go. We will be tak-
ing one of the church buses.
SOUP/ SANDWICH
LUNCH - YOUTH
FUNDRAISER The youth will be having a fund-
raiser meal for everyone on Sun-
day, March 25. They will serve
soup and sandwiches. There is
no charge, but donations are wel-
come! Serving will begin at
11:30 a.m. at the downtown cam-
pus, and at 12:00 noon at the Life
Center. Come and enjoy a good
lunch and support our youth
group! All proceeds will go to-
ward the youth summer mission
trip to Cleveland, Ohio, on June
10-16, 2012.
PRIMETIMERS The Primetimers will meet for lunch at the church on Thursday, March
15, at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be chicken penne pasta, salad, and brown-
ies, provided by the South Side Soda Shop. The cost is $5.00. Our pro-
gram will be given by Susie Warner. Susie will speak about notable Indi-
ana women she has known.
The bus will pick up at Greencroft at 11:00 a.m. All others will drive to
the church on your own. If you have questions, please call Bob Morris at
534-2791.
MOVIE On Sunday, March 18, at 4:00
p.m., we will have a free movie
night at the Life Center. The
movie we will show is
“Fireproof.” Everyone is wel-
come.
NEW DOWNTOWN CUSTODIAN Bobbi Smith has been helping out as our downtown campus custodian and
she is doing a wonderful job! She writes this about herself:
“I am married to my wonderful husband, Matt, who supports me in every-
thing I do. With a great passion for music and youth, I am coordinator for
youth music as well as a small group leader for the senior high girls. I also
enjoy singing on a praise team on Sunday mornings at the Life Center. Hav-
ing a knack for the creative, I take part in the worship design committee to
help come up with various ideas and themes for each week’s service. I have
also spent a year serving as a missionary in Honduras, teaching kindergarten
and first grade. My hobbies include: traveling, using my Spanish, reading,
scrapbooking, and watching movies with my amazing husband.”
NEW YOUTH PASTOR AT FUMC “Hi! My name is Brad Miller. I will be taking over as
youth pastor in June. I started working part-time on Febru-
ary 1. My family and I are extremely excited about this
new opportunity and have been enjoying meeting all of
you.
My wife, Sarah, who is the youth pastor at Faith United
Methodist Church, and I have lived in Goshen for 4 1/2
years. We’ve been married for seven years and have two
wonderful children: a daughter, Layla, who just turned 4,
and a son, Griffin, who is 2.
Thank you for welcoming us into your church family as we
take on the new challenges God has placed before us.”
-Brad Miller
SEASON OF LENT The Season of Lent is an important one in the life of Christians. Just as
we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we also celebrate his resurrection. There are
Lenten calendars with daily readings, activities, and prayers available at
both the Downtown church and at the Life Center. Please feel free to
pick one up as we journey these forty days to Easter. As you prepare for
this journey, you are invited to pick up the story of the pretzel or “little
arms” crossed in prayer. This visual is a reminder to us not only of the
history of this food, but of our attitude and prayer life. Blessings!
-Pam Kling
EASTER FLOWERS This year we will again be order-
ing flowers for our Easter church
service. The price is $12.50 for a
lily, and $9.50 for tulips. You may
take it home with you after the
Easter church service. The last day
to order is March 25. Please call
the church office, 533-9518, or fill
out the bulletin insert at church if
you wish to order an Easter flower.
From The Desk of the YP
Hey Everyone ... It looks like Spring is just around the corner and winter wasn't that bad!
Hope everyone is having an exciting 2012 ... As I know this has already been an extremely busy year for me and
is just going to be getting busier ... Especially with the job change coming up later this year and the big event I
have worked with WFRN Family Friendly Radio to bring everyone in the area ... with the WFRN Friend Fest ...
Hope all of you can be a part of that.
In addition to that, as most of you know, the church has already hired my replacement ... Brad Miller ... and he is
already helping out with youth ministry so that the transition can be a smooth one.
In addition to that ... We have a lot of things planned that are coming up soon in the Youth Ministry.
First of all ... March 16 - 18 we will be taking a group down to the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky (just
outside Cincy) to get a fresh perspective of how God created everything that we see. This should be an exciting
trip, and we will be staying in a church for a couple nights while there ... The cost will be about $50 per person
for the weekend and we are hoping for a good size group to go along.
In addition ... March 25th at both campuses the youth will be doing a soup and sandwich lunch as a Mission Trip
fundraiser. As you may know, we are headed to Cleveland June 10 - 16 and need to raise around $5,000 for the
trip. Hope you can help by eating lunch with us this day.
As if that wasn't enough ... We will be doing another Mission Trip Fund Raiser on April 22nd at both campuses,
as the youth will be serving Spaghetti and Salad just after the morning service. All proceeds from this dinner goes
to the summer Mission Trip as well.
That is just a few things we have going on as I finish up my time here ... If you have any questions feel free to
contact me!
In Christ
From the desk of the YP
Jeff Karnes
574.238.1939
FITNESS CLASSES
*A healthy mind, body, and soul.*
6 week sessions starting March 5th.
Monday—6:00 a.m. & 9:30 a.m.—Body Sculpting
Tuesday—6:00 a.m. & 4:30 p.m.—Cardio Dance
Wednesday—6:00 a.m.—Kickboxing
Wednesday—9:30 a.m.—Cardio Dance
Thursday—4:30 p.m.—Pilates
The cost is $5 per class or you can purchase
a punch card for $25.
For more information, contact Aimee Brinson, at
(574) 343-4770.
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No.136
Goshen, IN
First United Methodist Church
214 S. Fifth Street
Goshen, IN 46528
Phone: 533-9518
www.goshenfirstumc.org
www.goshenlifecenter.org
Address Service Requested
“Thank you for your contributions to our church in memory of Morrie. We have loved the church so very much
and we have been so happy here. Thank you again for loving us so much and giving us so much spiritual food.”
-Peg Herring
“Thank you for your donation of 184.45 pounds of food to The Window in 2011. It was helpful in feeding and
giving hope to many.” -Sharon Helmuth, for The Window
“Thank you so much for the pink carnation for my birthday. It brightened my day. And also thanks for a great
church family and the Sheets family for delivering it.” -Betty Kessler
“To the GIFHN Hosts—I wish I could remember all of your names. We really enjoyed your company and loved
the food. Thank you also for all the help with the homework and advice. With great appreciation.”
-Stephanie & Brandon Palmer
“Thank you for the beautiful birthday carnation, and to the Sheets family for bringing it. I appreciated it.”
-Carol Eldridge
“Thank you so much for all of the cards, visits, well wishes, and prayers during my recent hospitalization. It is a
rich blessing to have the support of my church family during times of need.” -Bob Morris
March 1
Angela Hutchings
March 2
Eric Groves
March 5
Joel Hach
Dorothy Timmons
March 6
Mallory Payne
Phyllis Flora
Gary Huber
March 8
Audrey Miller
Brittany Beers
Margaret Perrin
March 9
Todd Gingerich
Carolyn Hach
Abigail Miller
Natalie Miller
Karen Lyndon
March 10
Jeff Showalter
Jeff Battles
March 11
David Mehl
Merle Yoder
Patty Ford
March 12
Rachelle Crowder
Kylie Gran
March 13
Wayne Smith
Dan Blucker
March 14
Gene Stutsman
March 15
Michelle Meier
Susan Colglazier
Jessica Elliott
Tim Giddens
March 16
Fred Feick
Keri Silcox
Bobbi Smith
March 17
Ellen Oswald
John Potter
Patricia Puffer
Lauren Grant
Alison Taylor
March 18
Don Showalter
March 19
Dora Aust
Jean Morris
March 20
Carole Evans
Garrette Wilde
Alexis Johnston
March 21
Evelyn Moyer
Jamie Stoll
March 22
Alison Mattern
Don Wallace
March 23
Wanda Erickson
March 24
Mardell Wiggins
March 26
Terry Beres
Arthur Beutter
Diana Kendrick
Trisha Stewart
HAPPY MARCH BIRTHDAYS!
March 27
Mike Stutzman
March 28
Garry Anglemyer
Kayla Miller
Blak Wiess
March 29
Deborah Starnes
Ron Troyer
John Fisher
March 30
Bryce Bender
Marlene Eldridge
Reagan Sheeley
March 31
Dick Hinckley
Don Stevens
Anthony Campagna
Tiffany Stoll
THINK ABOUT IT! “The difference between persever-
ance and obstinacy is that one
comes from a strong will, and the
other from a strong won’t.”
-Henry Ward Beecher
“The race is not always to the
swift, but to those who keep on
running.” -Author unknown
“It’s often the last key in the bunch
that opens the lock.” Author
unknown