July, 2018

July 1 Holy Communion

6th Sunday after Pentecost “Promises Made with Gifts”

1 Corinthians 9:1-9

July 8

7th Sunday after Pentecost “ASP Sunday”

July 15 8th Sunday after Pentecost

GBUMC Worship Experience in the Park

@ Physicians Park Pavilion Mark 16:15

July 22 9th Sunday after Pentecost “Locked in A Room With

Open Doors” Matthew 25:14-30

July 29

10th Sunday after Pentecost “Making Your Frustrations

Fruitful ” Colossians 1:9-14

2 Corinthians 4:8-98

Ponderings On Annual Conference and Beyond

We have recently returned from the Annual Conference that was held in Traverse City, Michigan. Special thanks to Tom and Carol Cerny and Susie Hagenstein for being our Lay Members to this Conference, soon to become the Michigan Annual Conference in January of 2019. The work of the Annual Conference includes numerous worship services, legislative sessions, plenary sessions, conference reports from different boards and agencies, and the reading of appointments of clergy to churches and ministries beyond the local church. The conference also votes on resolutions that cause lively debate as voices on both sides need an opportunity to be heard. It also involves a memorial time of remembering the names of those who have joined the church triumphant and retirement celebrations. Our very own Pat England and his wife Lisa were honored this year as they head off to retirement in Holland, MI. Reverend Laurie and I had a chance to chat with them both about their upcoming plans. I was honored to share my experience at one of the legislative sessions that addressed funding grants for churches that are intentional in creating a plan for growth and outreach in their community. Susie and our District Superintendent, John Hice, were also in attendance at this same legislative session. Recently, both clergy and laity of our denomination from annual conferences across the country have boldly made their concerns known about the current government policy and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ quoting of scripture to justify the treatment of separating children from their parents. The following is the statement made by United Methodist laity and clergy. I am quoting from the official United Methodist website: “As his denomination, we have an ethical obligation to speak boldly when one of our members is engaged in causing significant harm in matters contrary to the Discipline on the global stage.” “More than 600 United Methodist clergy and laity say they are bringing church law charges against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a fellow United Methodist, over a zero tolerance U.S. immigration policy — a policy that includes separating children from parents apprehended for crossing into the U.S. illegally.” The group claimed in a June 18 statement 1 that Sessions, a member of a Mobile, Alabama, church, violated Paragraph 2702.3 of the denomination’s Book of Discipline. Specifically, the group accuses him of child abuse in reference to separating young children from their parents and holding them in mass incarceration facilities; immorality; Dr. J & Isabella Petry

This and That from Dr. J.

Continued on page 2

Continued from Page 1…

racial discrimination and “dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrines of The United Methodist Church.” If you remember my sermon on June 17th, I referred to the Bible passage that Jeff Sessions used, Roman’s 13, “to obey the laws of the government.” It was taken from Roman’s and used by the Romans of Jesus’ time to attempt to enact the unjust laws of the land going against the morality of Jesus teachings. Let’s be careful not to proof text and quote scripture out of context for our own purposes. We will see how this action by the United Methodist’s unfolds on the national stage. But please remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:14, “let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” It has been proven over a long period of time that children forcibly removed from their parents experience long lasting trauma. I reference you to history: the holocaust Children, the Native Indian Children, and the African American Children. The Consequences are deeply negative and life altering. Children must not be used as political pawns by adults in any context! Lord help us all!

1Printed copies of the June 18th statement are available in the office.

Abbey Park 3221 E Baldwin Rd Grand Blanc, MI 48439

Brookdale Grand Blanc 5080 E. Baldwin Road Holly, MI 48442

Great Lakes Christian Home 2050 Washington Road Holt, MI 48842 Lighthouse of Roscommon 1290 E. Michigan Hwy Roscommon, MI 48653 Marycrest Manor 15475 Middlebelt Road Livonia, MI 48154 Mission Point of Holly 313 Sherwood Street Holly, MI 48442 Tranquility Estates 4069 E. Cook Rd Grand Blanc, MI 48439 Wellbridge of Fenton 901 Pine Creek Drive Fenton, MI 484230

Please see the

office for a list

Senior High Leaders: Junior High Leaders: Cathy Mitchinson Jennifer Lengyel Dan Carvill Matt Anderson

Please pray for all our youth and adult team leaders during

this week of serving from their hearts for Jesus

July 1 through July 7

Dan Carvill Cathy Mitchinson

Greg Reigle Alex Trinidad

Sarah Anderson Megan Bunker

Nathan Bunker Libby Greenlees

Katie Lengyel Alex Martin

Bailey Schultz Ashley Trinidad

Magoffin County, Kentucky

Please

join us on

Sunday, July 8

for ASP SUNDAY

Where we will learn

all about their

mission

experiences!

Youth: Watch the Sunday morning announcements and your email for possible summertime activities!

Youth Group will officially resume in the Fall. Our kick-off will be on Sunday, September 9, 2018!

News from the

Education Committee

Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus July 30—August 2

9:00am—Noon

Junior Church will remain available throughout the

Summer! Sunday School will resume in the Fall beginning

Sunday, September 9, 2018 Thank you to all our

teachers!

It’s time for 2018 Vacation Bible

REGISTER ON CHURCH WEBSITE:

GRANDBLANCUMC.ORG

OR YOU CAN PICK UP A FORM IN THE

CHURCH OFFICE.

Lay Visitor Training For those interested in learning more about Lay Visitor Ministry, or helping as a lay visitor, there will be an orientation and training session Tuesday, July 17 @ 11:00 AM. There are a variety of ways to reach out to those who are ill, who may feel alone, or are unable to participate in the life of the church. We have many shut-ins who would profit from a visit, a phone call, or a card.

The Holy Spirit endows each of us with gifts and graces that enable us to help others/ are meant to be used for the benefit of others. We are never alone when we ask God to help us be instruments of His love.

If you are interested in learning more about this vital ministry contact Carol Cerny or the church office. A second evening orientation and training session will be planned if there is interest.

You may volunteer to host coffee hour during

the summer.

Ask a friend to help!

The sign-up sheet is on the kiosk in the Narthex.

Hurry, before all the dates are taken!

Thank you!

Gail Lutton

It is summer time and that means it is camping time! Camping with your friend and your GBUMC family!

GBUMC has a group campsite reserved at Myers Lake Campground (United Methodist owned campground in Byron, MI ) We are camping Friday, July 27 & departing on Sunday, July 29th . We have a group campsite towards the back of the campground. We will be gathering Saturday, July 29 at 6:00pm for a group potluck and bonfire. S’Mores will be provided!

Al are invited; invite your friends s well! Whether you have a camper or are a tent camper we will have a great time. never been camping? Come join us for the potluck and campfire.

If you will be camping, please contact Myers Lake Campground directly at 810-266-4511 or 810-766-0233 to make your reservation. Our group site is being held for Grand Blanc UMC (Julie Koerkel– Coordinator, )

YOU! Yes…. YOU! Are invited- - Wait! STOP! Don’t judge your ability to do this! If you can talk, or even croak out a tune, then you are able to sing in the Chancel Choir.

This is a non-judgmental, stress reduction, and health en-hancing climate for fun, merriment and song with friends.

Please come, sing, and laugh with us beginning on Sep-tember 5th at 7:30pm. You will be glad that you did!

Please contact Lee for more information.

God Bless,

Lee

You can help! We need volunteers for

Vacation Bible School!

Monday, July 30—

Friday, August 3

If you are able to help,

please contact

Jessica Smith

EVENTS COORDINATOR

We would like to introduce you to our new events coordinator:

Angela Campbell.

In addition to her duties in the office, Angela has agreed to help

us out when anyone who is not a member of the church wants to

use Fellowship Hall or any of the rooms in the building.

She will be paid by the individuals renting the space and will

take care of these duties outside of her office job. She will

answer their questions, help them with the facility and unlock

and lock the doors on the day of the event and stay in the

building during the event, if necessary.

This will alleviate the problem of these events taking time from the office staff and/or the Board of Trustees committee.

SEASONED CITIZENS PICNIC

“For this is the message you heard from the be-ginning: We should love one another.”

1 John 3:11

It’s time for some mid-summer fellowship, food and fun at NOON on THURSDAY,

JULY 12, 2018. Please bring a picnic side dish since meat

and buns will be provided. There is no program this month, just time

to enjoy each other’s fellowship.

Thanks to Bob Mills who has agreed to take on leadership for the day.

If you need any other info please contact: Dennis or Sally Keeney

The oldest computer can be traced back to Adam & Eve.

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! It was an Apple.

But with extremely limited memory. Just 1 byte … Then everything crashed!

2018 Michigan Annual Conference

We were so grateful to have had the opportunity to represent GBUMC at the 2018 Michigan Annual Conference at

Grand Traverse Resort along with Pastor J and Rev Laurie and Susie Hagenstein who represented UMW.

These are exciting and hopeful times! “ENGAGE WITH MINISTRY AND MISSION" was the focus and theme of

AC—engagement with, not just service to our neighbors. There were 10 TOM Talks (Tools of Ministry), a few of

which were given in each plenary session, that focused on ministry and mission initiatives that are effectively

meeting needs in churches and communities. There were also several workshops focusing on tools for ministry, all

of which opened our eyes to possibilities for ministry with OUR neighbors in our communities and beyond. We

brought many resource materials back to share—please see us if questions. And we encourage everyone to check out

http://michiganumc.org/ to learn more about our new Michigan Annual Conference, its structure, the new District

organization (GBUMC is now in the East Winds District) and the many resources available to us all.

We are truly blessed to have Bishop David Bard leading the Michigan Annual Conference into the future. He is a

man with many gifts and talents, deep faith, an engaging style and a wonderful sense of humor. His enthusiasm is

contagious.

The Detroit Annual Conference and the West Michigan Annual Conference members had to vote on a few separate

official business items to finish their respective responsibilities. In all other ways we enjoyed getting to know each

other and function as the new Michigan Annual Conference. Special events celebrated those servants who have

passed in the last year, and celebrated clergy who are retiring, including our former Pastor Pat England.

Everyone was engaged in furthering the mission of the UMC, not just ours, but all Methodist churches around the

world. The worship services were powerful with nearly two thousand people singing, clapping, and praising God.

The sermons and talks were enlightening and challenging. Discussion on some very sensitive issues was respectful

and courteous.

We left Annual Conference confident about the future. There is work to be done but with faith and trust in God great

things will be accomplished.

Carol and Tom Cerny

Exercise for People Over 60

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-lb potato bag in each

hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full mi-nute and then relax. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. Then try 50-lb potato bags and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level). After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag. ~ Church Press Newsletter, May 30, 2018

All Connection/Newsletter articles are due by the 15th of the month in order to get it published in the following month’s Connection. We apologize if this causes any inconvenience, but far too many people have been requesting leniency on this date and it has made it difficult to get the copies made on time. Thank you for your assistance with this request.

Cathy & Angela

It's Christmas In July Everyone loves Christmas, the spirit of love all around as our cups runneth over. And wouldn't it just be wonderful to experience these feelings in the nice warm weather with no freezing weather and not a snow flake in sight.

Well starting July 2 we can all do just that as we help Fish replenish their closet with socks and undies for the children of Grand Blanc. A Christmas Tree will be in the narthex with red and green tags representing sizes needed. Please take as many tags as you feel you can and bring the items back before the end of July. No need to wrap these. Val Wise will be using them when the children come to the closet the night of back pack giveaway Aug 8th.

This is mission project idea from outreach, reach out and take a tag or two.

Thank you and many blessings upon you.

One Thing Two-Thirds of Parents Will Bring Their Kids to Church For June 5, 2018 By Eric Geiger

What church activity or program or event grabs the attention of parents who go to church and those who don’t? If you had to make a list of what a kids ministry and church could offer the community that reso-nates with parents from all types of backgrounds, what would make the top of the list?

There are not many activities hosted by a church that parents of all backgrounds share a mutual respect and trust for, but VBS is one of them. LifeWay Research recently released their findings of an extensive study done on Vacation Bible School. And there are some fascinating data points: Two-thirds of all adults surveyed plan on bringing a child to VBS this summer, including those parents

who do not go to church anywhere. 95% of parents who have taken their children to VBS believe it was one of their child’s most meaningful

experiences. More than half of those adults who did not go to VBS as a child believe that doing so would have helped

them understand the Bible better and contributed to their spiritual growth. 83% of those who don’t send their children to VBS still have a positive view of VBS. Parents who bring their children to VBS are extremely glad they have done so. And parents who don’t go to church have a high view and an appreciation for VBS. As the director of LifeWay Research, Scott McConnell said, “Even parents who don’t go to church want their kids to go to VBS.” Some may consider VBS “old-school,” but the majority of parents from churched and unchurched backgrounds know what it is and will gladly send their kids to one because of the positive impact it will have on their children.

Mission/Outreach Update Your Mission Dollars are hard at work! Listed below are the recipients of your mission donations so far in 2018. $ 520.00 Anti Human Trafficking (in lieu of poinsettias at Christmas) $ 642.50 ASP trip for GBUMC (from Advent envelope) $ 961.00 FISH of Grand Blanc (from third Sunday offering and special gifts) $ 768.00 HEIFER International (from third Sunday offering) $ 259.00 Human Relations Day (Special Sunday collection) $ 300.00 Elizabeth Frakes for mission trip to Ukraine (she is the granddaughter of Ron and Ruth

Frakes) $ 600.00 Church Conference offering (for Haiti/Liberia/Puerto Rico) $ 600.00 Family Promise of Genesee County $ 400.00 Love Christian Services of Genesee County $ 475.00 Restoration Place (Human Trafficking, Genesee County) $ 500.00 Reach/Traverse Place (for Flint homeless youth) $ 500.00 Alaska Native American Pastor Charley Brower (summer camp for kids) $ 6,525.50 sub total GBUMC budget items paid so far 2018 include: $ 700.00 Mission & Ministry projects; $175 each to Baldwin Center, Cass Community, United Method-

ist Retirement Community and Asbury Family Development Center $ 1,200.00 Missionaries Dan and Rachel Gabler for salary support $16,315.50 Apportionments paid - January through April $18,215.50 sub total

$24,741.00 TOTAL MISSION & OUTREACH PAID SO FAR IN 2018

The last meeting of the book study

group was held at Sophia’s . . . .

Annual Conference Notes:

Excitement was in the air at the Grand Traverse Resort which was the second time both the West Michigan and Detroit Renaissance Conferences had come together at the same venue during the same timeframe to make decisions together affecting the soon to be (Jan. 1, 2019) official “Michigan Conference”. My distinct impression was of an energetic younger generation of United Methodists eager to learn and offer dynamism and new life to traditional ways of operating. Renewing friendships, making new ones and observing the growth of ministries across the connection was an integral part of meeting face-to-face. Personally, I said goodbye to volunteer service as Treasurer of the Detroit Conference Clergy Spouse Association for 7 years, handing over the binder of records and procedures to a younger newly formed Michigan Clergy Spouse Association. At the request of Bishop Bard’s wife Julie, the Detroit Conference Clergy Spouse group was enlisted to bring the West Michigan Clergy spouses into the fold. We met as a group ahead of the conference to organize. It was an honor to spend most of my time sitting at the Clergy Spouse table handing out all of our 200 lapel buttons, inviting new clergy spouses to become a part of the group, and encouraging all visitors to flip through the historical binders of creative invitations and photographs (most of which were taken by yours truly) of Clergy spouse luncheons and retreat gatherings. The group was formed 50 years ago in the Detroit area to support area Clergy families. It had been an honor to serve such a valuable organization for 7 years and to see such an enthusiastic young board take up the torch! I’m looking forward to seeing how this young team reframes the vision and goals based upon the needs of a younger Clergy Spouse group coming into the fold. The Michigan Area Annual Conference 2019 promises to be an exciting one on many fronts! Bless those who attended from GBUMC this year (Susie, Tom and Carol) and please consider attending in 2019.

Rev. Laurie Del Pino

Lansing Lugnuts Baseball and Fireworks

Friday August 3, 2018 Game Time 7:05 PM

Cost: $11pp Fun for the whole family! The GBUMC Men’ Club is again coordinating the annual GBUMC baseball outing to the Lansing Lugnuts. Join the fun and enjoy a great fireworks display as well as ball game against the South Bend Cubs! Bring family and friends! Freebie Friday: Seniors Eat FREE; Christian Family Night Senior fans age 55 or older receive a free hot dog, Pepsi and popcorn! Plus, a night of Christian fellowship begins with a pre-game All-Star Pastor lineup! Eat at the ballpark or at one of the restaurants in the area. The Nuthouse Sports Grill is across the street from the ballpark—excellent food & reasonable prices. Last year many enjoyed dinner at Dagwood’s Tavern and Grill (an MSU Athletic hangout) on Kalamazoo St just west of 127. We will try to coordinate carpooling for those who would like to carpool.

Sign up sheet on the kiosk in the narthex. Deadline Sunday July 22.

To reserve seats and order tickets contact Tom Cerny or Leland Mitchinson

Happy

Birthday to

Our July

Birthdays Happy

Anniversary

to Our July

Anniversaries