Monthly Newsletter of Hillcrest United Methodist Church June 2017

The Messenger Grandma’s Musings

by Julie Lininger It’s funny how significant events can lead to meaningful thoughts.

Most of you reading this know that I became a grandmother last June. Emileigh Grace entered the world on June 21, 2016. This means, of course, that my granddaughter will turn one this month. I’ve tried not to talk about her uninvited because I don’t want to be obnoxious about the subject, but ya’ll are welcome to stop by my office anytime to look at her pictures!

She and her parents, my son and daughter-of-heart, live way down in the bayou of Louisiana (which is why I sometimes say “ya’ll”). I don’t get to see them nearly as often as I’d like, but I am thankful for the technology-laden world in which we live. Emileigh recognizes me now with a smile when we video chat.

Becoming a grandma triggered a flood of memories of my own grandparents - visiting their homes in Illinois and Florida, the monotone voice in which Grandpa S would pray, Grandma S’s cupboard that always had pretzel sticks in it, Grandma B’s phenomenal sewing skills – all enveloped with love. In my home I have pictures, furniture, and books that belonged to them. In my heart I carry lessons learned from them and truths taught. I am blessed by the rich heritage they left.

For all of you seasoned grandparents out there, bear with me. This may seem obvious, but I’ve decided that becoming a grandparent is different from being a grandparent. Being a grandparent, more specifically, being a meaningful grandparent, is purposeful.

So, as I’ve watched Emileigh grow and mature, I’ve been pondering these questions: What heritage will I leave for her? What do I want her to remember about me? What memories will she “unpack” someday? And will they be enveloped with love?

I want to be a perfect grandma. But since that isn’t possible, I’ll take some cues from this quote: “A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” (Author Unknown)

A little bit parent I certainly have to make sure she washes her hands before eating, takes her nap when it is time, is respectful of others, understands Stranger Danger, and looks both ways before crossing the street.

A little bit teacher I can teach her to sew on a button and create a PowerPoint presentation, help her learn songs, poems, and Bible verses, model how to graciously admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness, and teach her about our wonderful heavenly Father and how He can be completely trusted.

A little bit best friend I’ll want her to know that I pray for her, will accept and love her no matter what, and that she can come to me anytime. I’ll listen to her thoughts, tell funny stories about her parents, and keep fun secrets she shares with me.

I’m thinking this will be more fun—and challenging—than I originally had thought! Grandparenting is a wonderful physical, mental, and spiritual grace.

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Our June Caregivers’ Support Group will meet on Thursday, June 29, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Pastor Mike’s office. —Cathy Bloss

June Special Days Celebration

June birthdays and anniversaries will be celebrated Sunday, June 4, in the HeBrew Café after the worship service. Everyone is welcome as we eat cake and sing to those of our congregation with special days in June.

Birthday Cake Schedule: June: Gerald Huntington July: Mary Herschberger August: Bill Moore September: Cathy Bloss October: Jo-Ann Smeltzer November: Rene and Dave Wenger December: Bev and Larry Slaughter

If you would like to provide a cake for a 2017 celebration, please sign up on the sheet posted on the HeBrew Café bulletin board. If there are any questions, please see, call, or e-mail Tracy Donati: 849-2803, tldon78@aol.com.

Susanna’s Kitchen Our next day of serving is June 5.

Questions? Contact Henrietta McCaul at 264-1688.

Reminder: Our gym is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week for walking. You may come between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (must be out by 2 p.m.). Please sign your name

on the sheet of paper that we have so we can track the interest of everyone and see if we need more or fewer days.

This ‘n’ That

Thursday, June 8, through Saturday, June 10 Indiana Convention Center

Please be praying for Pastor Mike as he attends.

"You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness." (Ephesians 4:4-6 - The Message)

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Primetimers Thursday, June 15

gather @ 11:30 with lunch @ noon

Summer has arrived, and it’s a beautiful one that God has shared with us. May this summer find you happy, healthy, and loving Christ even more.

Patty Moore will be here this month. We gave her the month of May off because she is always doing for us. So she will be here to delight us with a skit about our memory. What??? Our memory? Where are my keys? What is the passcode to get in the church? Where are we meeting? Oh, dear! You can see where this is going. It will be a fun time so be sure to bring a friend, a dish to pass, and $2. Can’t beat this for some good times!

Happy Summer, Jane Hershberger

Hillcrest Community Childcare Ministry

We are stil l taking registrations for the 2017-2018 preschool year. Children need to be

3 or 4 by September 1, completely potty-trained, and up-to-date on their immunizations.

We do have openings in our Latchkey Program for the summer and the fall. For more information on either of these programs, please call Teresa at 266-7427.

Teresa Irelan HCCM Director

On the last Wednesday of every month, except for December (the third Wednesday), The Lerner in downtown Elkhart offers

a free lunchtime concert. Doors open at 10:00 a.m. and the show starts at 11:00.

The June 28 show will feature the Marty Miles Band, a simultaneously divergent and classic group. Guided by the smooth vocals and lyric songwriting of front man Marty Miles, an audience can expect a musical journey through the human condition – the question of disenchantment, the crossroads of doubt, a point of faith, a moment of whimsy, a tenuous hope.

For more information about LunchtimeLive!, you can go to www.TheLerner.com or call The Lerner at 293-4469.

Lifestyles Class Sundays, 10:30 a.m.

For June, July, and August, the Lifestyles class will be using the summer quarterly of the United Methodist Church Adult Bible Studies, which follows the theme, “God’s Urgent Call.” This theme reminds us that God continues to speak to us through the written Word. God calls ordinary people from diverse backgrounds to make a difference. From the days of the judges to the prophets to the early church leaders, God called, and the faithful answered.

During this summer study, we will discuss and discern how God may be calling each one of us through His Word. Each lesson stands alone, so you can attend any or all Sundays throughout the summer. Invite a friend and join us for a time of faith and fellowship! The Lifestyles class meets in the HeBrew Café classroom and is facilitated by Patty Moore.

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Scoutmaster Minute by Ronn Foster

Seems hard to believe, but June is here. This is the month where all of our planning and fundraising pays off. Soon we will be heading out to summer camp. This is the troop’s 50th anniversary and should make the trip extra special. Please keep our boys and leaders in your prayers as we finalize our plans and head out.

As I have discussed in previous editions, our ministry continues to grow, which is great. Unfortunately, we are outgrowing our equipment. Our not-for-profit is currently raising funds for a larger trailer and other equipment. Please pray that the Lord continues to bless our work and provide for our needs.

If you are interested in helping, donations can be made to: Partnership For America’s Youth, Inc. Donations are tax deductible.

While hanging out with her father in his workshop, a preschooler tried to imitate him by using a tape measure. When she couldn’t quite reach the distance she wanted to measure between herself and an object, she moved the object closer to her!

No matter how much we try to finagle God’s rules, His standard of holiness won’t be moved. As sinful beings, we can’t reach that standard on our own. We’re stuck without Jesus’ grace. Thank God that He helps us measure up!

June’s Mission of the Month Faith Mission

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

Faith Mission of Elkhart is an inter-denominational Christian social service agency which provides food, shelter, clothing and other services for needy individuals. The Mission is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization independently governed by a volunteer board of directors. Funding for Faith Mission comes from individuals, churches and local businesses. They are not a United Way member agency and receive very limited government funding. Faith Mission is a member in good standing with the Better Business Bureau.

Faith Mission provides Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing to men, women, and children. Meals are provided three times a day, seven days a week, all year long. Residents who work are given a lunch to take with them. Faith Mission also provides lunch and dinner seven days a week all year long for their free community walk-in meals program. Chapel services are provided on Sunday and another service is held each evening. The Mission helps residents acquire employment either for full-time, part-time, or day labor. Faith Mission also offers counseling and classes for residents to help them become a part of the community as effective family members, workers, and citizens.

Let’s give generously to this important mission and ministry in our own community that touches so many lives!

Thank You, The Missions Committee

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Did You Know?

Air conditioning This wonderful invention was originally an industrial process in textile manufacturing. The word conditioning was applied to the determination of the moisture content of textiles, control of which was essential to spin fine cotton yarns. The original purpose of air conditioning was to purify air and regulate moisture.

In 1906, Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, N.C., and Willis H. Carrier of Buffalo, N.Y., independently devised methods of using a fine spray of water to cool air. Self-contained air conditioning units, complete with refrigeration equipment, were widely used to cool air in U.S. stores, restaurants, etc. from the 1930s. An earlier name for such a device (using ice and fans) was air cooler (1875).

Swim Suit Although sea bathing was fashionable in the 18th century, it was considered proper to keep the skin white and untouched by the sun. Ladies were known to sew weights into the hem of their smock-like bathing gowns to prevent the garment from floating up and showing their legs. Modesty ruled over fashion.

Flip flops Although the name “flip flops" originated in America in the 1950s, flip flops go way, way back in time. Experts believe flip flops have been around for at least 6,000 years. Ancient Egyptian murals on tombs and temples show flip flops were worn around 4,000 B.C.

In Japan, shoes similar to flip flops are called zori. People believe flip flops first appeared in America after World War II, when returning soldiers brought zori back from Japan as souvenirs. The name comes from the slapping sound they make against one’s feet when walking.

June Birthdays

12 Brandi Foster 25 Gerald Huntington

13 Mary Herschberger 29 Jim Hensley

19 Nelda Schalliol Karen Quarandillo

22 Ronn Foster 30 Larry Herschberger

24 Lee Lehman

Anniversaries 4 Linda and Chuck Vredingburgh

7 Peggy and Terry Replogle

12 Jami and Mike Franks

16 Jane and Mike Hershberger

17 Carol and Bob Hartranft

28 Diane and Gari Lewandowski

Lorraine and Bob Whitmer

Please let the church office know if your special date was missed.

Your Presence

May 7 May 14 May 21

86 85 75

In the Know

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Staff Parish Relations Committee

The Staff Parish Relations Committee welcomes Anna Vukmirovich, a graduating senior of Penn High School, who will be providing song leadership and piano accompaniment for the 9:00 a.m. worship service. We so much appreciate Anna filling in for the summer while the SPRC seeks candidates to fill these positions full time.

Music is an integral part of our worship service, so our committee welcomes any referrals from the congregation for candidates for a pianist, a song leader, or someone who can perform both. Compensation will be based upon qualifications. Please pray for God’s guidance in the search for people to fill these important roles.

Thank you.

Patty Moore, Chair 2017 Staff Parish Relations Committee “Connecting the Pastor, Staff, and Congregation”

El Refugio Church

We had an AWESOME Kids’ Day celebration! 280 people attended. We had 24 families totaling about 150 unsaved guests!!! We preached the Gospel and have their contact information. We are praying for and reaching out to them. Thank you to all who bought chicken and ribs. Our fundraiser goal was met, and we were able to pay the circus with this money.

Our upcoming events in which the Gospel will be preached: Saturday, June 3—Police Appreciation Day Sunday, June 4—Baptisms July 10-14— Vacation Bible School from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Volunteers needed! Please call Lisa Collio if interested— (574) 370-5410.

We appreciate your prayers and support for our church. Lisa Collio Refuge Baptist Church Multiplying Disciples of Jesus

The Indiana Miracle Offering for Global Health

Bishop Julius Trimble has invited the 1,120 United Methodist (UM) congregations of Indiana to receive an offering to support two important UM health initiatives: The “Imagine No Malaria” and “Global AIDS Fund” campaigns. Through the work of both of these causes, United Methodists are saving lives around the world and educating communities on better practices to prevent infections, as well as assisting people with options for treatment.

Most people do not realize that $10 is enough to prevent a malaria infection in a child or provide education to a mother that will prevent her from passing HIV/AIDS onto her unborn child. Bishop Trimble’s hope is that each member or friend of a UM congregation will donate at least $10 toward saving 50,000 lives with a victory goal of saving 100,000 lives.

I invite each of you to participate in this offering which we will receive on June 18 and June 25. Could we raise $1, 000 to be part of this miracle offering? Let’s try so that one day we can say we helped wipe out malaria and stopped the spread of HIV/AIDS. —Pastor Mike

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Our Women's Ministry prayer:

Father, thank you for helping us to grow closer as a sisterhood in your service. Help us to be compassionate and to support each other, to accept our differences gracefully, and to show appreciation for the contributions of others. Remind us to be aware of the impact that our small services may have on others. We ask your blessing on our sisterhood. Amen .

Circle of Friends Stamping Ministry

Take a look on Sunday mornings and see what we have to offer.

Thank you for your continued support. And remember that every card you purchase helps someone in need. —Marilynn Anson

HILLCREST WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Artistry in Bloom Tuesdays from 10:00—noon

Fellow painters, crafters, friends, and helpers: We invite you to our class on Tuesday mornings. Stop by for a visit to see if you would enjoy it, also. We will help get you started. —Carol Hartranft and Carole Julian

L.I.F.T. (Ladies In Fellowship Together) 1st Tuesday of each month – 9:00 a.m.

Perkins Restaurant (107 North Pointe Blvd., Elkhart)

Our L.I.F.T. (Ladies In Fellowship Together) group will meet for breakfast on June 6, at 9:00 a.m. All ladies are welcome to attend, and new guests are always welcome. Our May breakfast had 20 women in attendance.

2017-18 Women’s Ministry Board: Nikki Behne and Cathy Bloss, co-leaders;

Terri Longacre, board member; Martha Sims, advisor

Hillcrest Women’s Book Club Thursday, June 29, 6:00 p.m.

in narthex comfort

The June Hillcrest Book Club selection will challenge all readers with its passion, its honesty, its strong narrative that won’t let you put down the book or stop listening to the audio. Jodi Picoult, has written a number of can’t-put-

it-down books, usually with an underlying message designed to show the need for justice in some aspect of our world.

Small Great Things is a novel, but so real that the reader feels caught up in a story in the news. It is frightening in how easily evil takes over and destroys comfortable lives. It is hopeful in the realization that not only is change in attitudes and lives imperative, but possible. Picoult has outdone herself in presenting an emotional issue shouting for understanding and compassion.

An obstetrical nurse, Ruth is the heroine and the victim in this story. She loves her work, her patients, the babies…and she’s very good at her job. She has to be content with her own joy, though, because as a Black woman she soon learns that she is to keep her “place.”

White supremacy activists who go way beyond talk play a major role in this story, some of which is tough reading. It is eye-opening in its examination of all sides of racism. So, we have a Black nurse, skinhead father, and a public defender to create a story that Picoult develops in part to understand her own views as well as to point out those of our society.

Read it for the awakening or for the great story-telling, then join the Club at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, in the narthex for a great discussion. We welcome all points of view!

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Serving in Worship

Date Scripture Readers

Greeters

Ushers Communion Media

June 4 Fay Keck Dawn and Jim Givens

Diane and Gari Lewandowski

Linda and Chuck Vredingburgh

Laura Miller Dan Null

June 11 Phyllis Osborne Dawn and Jim Givens

Martha and Harry Sims Tracy Donati

June 18 Chuck Vredingburgh Dawn and Jim Givens

Nancy and Jerry Rowe

Dan Null

June 25 Denise Hensley Dawn and Jim Givens Tracy Donati

Itty-Bitty Builders Wednesday, June 14, 10:00-11:00 a.m.

HeBrew Café

GARDEN SCENE: Last month, we decorated little flower pots, and now it’s time to fill them with blossoms and paint some birdhouses to mount on the privacy fence behind them. If you choose, you may even build the fence!

All tools and supplies will be provided. It’s easier than you think, and no experience is needed. Just bring your inner child and come play with us!

Questions, suggestions, whatever: Martha Sims, simsville3537@comcast.net, 596-4918, or 264-9740.

The beloved hymn “How Great Thou Art” came together across many years and miles. In 1885, when Swedish preacher Carl Boberg wrote a poem titled “O, Great God,” he probably never dreamed he’d hear it performed years later to an old Swedish tune. Or that a Russian version would impact Stuart Hine, an English missionary to Poland, several decades later. Hine penned his own English version, resulting in the now-familiar lyrics.

From “the rolling thunder” echoing off the Carpathian Mountains, to the “woods and forest glades” of Romania, to powerful conversions to Christianity, Hine was inspired to craft each verse. Sometimes the Holy Spirit takes time to complete a work, and that journey is as important as the destination.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Grandma’s Musings 1

This ‘n’ That 2, 3

Missions Scoutmaster Minute

4

Calendar 5

In the Know 6

Ministry Updates 7

Women’s Ministry 8, 9

Serving in Worship 9

Looking Ahead:

Susanna’s Kitchen Monday, June 5, 10:30 a.m.

SPRC Tuesday, June 6, 6:30 p.m.

Trustees Monday, June 12, 7:00 p.m.

Primetimers Thursday, June 15, 11:30 a.m.

Ministry Council Monday, June 19, 6:00 p.m.

Brentwood Service Sunday, June 25, 1:30 p.m.

Caregivers’ Support Group Thursday, June 29, 1:30 p.m.

STAFF

Pastor: Mike Butler

574-274-5114 m.h.butler@comcast.net

9:00 a.m. Pianist: Anna Vukmirovich

the 10:30 Worship Leader: Dan Vukmirovich

Administrative Assistant: Julie Lininger

secretary@hillcrestumc.comcastbiz.net

Ministry Council Chair: Janice Dean

Trustee Co-Chairs: Gari Lewandowski, Harry Sims

Staff-Parish Chair: Patty Moore

Hillcrest Community Childcare Ministry: Teresa Irelan, Director

574-266-7427 hccmdir@gmail.com

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHEDULE

9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship 10:00 a.m. HeBrew Café fellowship

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service and Adult Studies

2:00 p.m. El Refugio Church

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday

8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

JULY NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: June 16

Hillcrest United Methodist Church 4206 East Bristol Street * Elkhart, Indiana 46514

E-mail: secretary@hillcrestumc.comcastbiz.net Web site: www.hillcrestelkhart.com

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” —John Steinbeck