Rev. Dr. Okitakoyi

Michel Lundula Pastor

Debra Young Administrative Assistant

Jane Rowe Financial Secretary

umclfinanceoffice@gmail.com

901 3rd AVE SE Le Mars, IA 51031

Phone: 712-546-4037

Fax: 712-546-5771 office@lemarsumchurch.org

Office Hours

8:30 am—3:30 pm Hours may vary Monday - Friday

Prayer Chain

Connect with our prayer chain by e-mailing or

calling the church office or calling Mary Laughton

at 562-6584

Change of Address?

Please let us know by e-mail or phone at the

church office office@lemarsumchurch.org

546-4037 Website:

www.lemarsumchurch.org

April 2019

United Methodist Church of Le Mars

“Transforming Hearts, Minds, and Lives

by the Gracious Love of Christ”

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is

good; his steadfast love

endures forever!”

Psalm 118:1-2

Friends, for about twenty years, I have been enjoying watching Bill and Gloria Gaither’s musical performances on television. Their first song that attracted my attention to stay connected to their music and shows was “Because He Lives.” This is one of my favorite Easter Songs that always revives my hope and gives me the assurance of God’s presence in my everyday life. Every year when we celebrate Easter, we proclaim the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His resurrection confirms our victory over the power of death and other challenges of this life that make us sometimes feel hopeless, abandoned, rejected, discriminated against or even ignored. In their hymn, “Because He Lives,” Bill and Gloria remind us that, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!”

Friends, there cannot be resurrection without death. Christ had to suffer and die for us on the cross for the salvation of the world for us to have Easter. His resurrection reveals the faithfulness of God who loved us unconditionally and who gives us hope in our different moments of life. This year, our Easter Celebration Sunday is on April 21. We will have two services; the first Easter Service is at 8 am with our

Confirmation Students and Pastor Lundula leading the worship and Communion. The second service with communion is at 10 am. Let us continue to reflect on the passion of Christ as we look forward to proclaiming His resurrection. Let me conclude this pastoral letter with the writing of the Apostle Paul that says, “…if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14. May your Lent and Easter Celebration be spirit-filled and also an opportunity to renew your faith and believe in God’s faithfulness. Have a blessed Holy Week and Happy Easter. Pastor Lundula

Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow

April 2019 Page 2

2019 LENTEN & EASTER ACTIVITIES

Ash Wednesday Services:

9:30 a.m. Good Samaritan Society 10:45 a.m. Park Place Estates 7:00 p.m. UMCL

Daily Lenten Prayer Calendar: Find a copy of our Daily Lenten Prayer Calendar in the

Fellowship Hall, or request it from the Church Office. Visit our Prayer Wall to engage in Prayer Discipline.

Noisy Money: Starting March 10, through April 14, Kids for Christ (K4C) will be moving around the Sanctuary collecting loose change, or any gifts, during the Children’s Time. The Noisy Money for this year will go to the Le Mars Public Library for the Sensory Wall.

Lenten Study: Every Sunday at 8:30 a.m., during the Season of Lent, we will be studying the book, He Chose the Nails, by Max Lucado.

Lenten Sermon Series: for the next seven Sundays in Lent: “Anointed for the Mission”

Lenten Coffee: (Wed., April 17, 2019) @ 9:30 a.m. for all. The UMW is hosting and Berth Lundula will be our Guest Speaker, sharing experiences of her trip to Congo.

Maundy Thursday: (Thursday, April 18, 2019) 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service With Communion 8:00 p.m. Easter Movie: Jesus of Nazareth

Easter Sunday: (Sunday, April 21, 2019) 8:00 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service with Communion, led by Confirmation Students and

the Pastor; 9:00 a.m. Easter Fellowship by Confirmation Class in Fellowship Hall. 10:00 a.m. Easter Sunday Service with Communion 11:00 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt for Kids for Christ (Green Space)

Prayer Coffee: Wed. Apr 24 at 10a in the Multi-Purpose Room. Join us to pray for our church fami-ly, our community and the world.

Friends & Family

April 2019 Page 3

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CONFIRMATION STUDENTS

Join us on Sunday April 28 during the worship to celebrate the Confirmation of our Youth.

Honoring our Graduates

2018 Noisy Money Congratulations to our K4C on their Noisy Money Ministry. They have raised $502, so far, that will go to the Le Mars Public Library for the new Sensory Wall. Thank you so

much UMCL family and the Mission Team for your support.

Don’t Miss it!!! Our Confirmation Class will lead the worship on Sunday April, 21st Easter Morning, 8:00 am. Let us be there to support our youth as they continue to grow in faith and service to the church.

Youth and Children’s MINISTRIES

We are gathering names, addresses and e-mails of all high school, college seniors and all who are graduating this spring! Please provide school name and area of study. Please reply using this email ad-dress-(office@lemarsumchurch.org) or call office 546-4037 BY Monday, May 6th,

All the Activities for Youth & Children Available This School Year

Our Leaders: KIDS FOR CHRIST (Preschool—5th Grade) Sharon Pratt Joan Smith Volunteers: Parents BLAST April Leusink Curt Allen Lori Kasel Volunteers: Parents CONFIRMATION Pastor Lundula Angie Haack Volunteers: Parents, Mentors JOURNEY Jay Jensen Joshua Parkin Tracy Sullivan Joyce feuerhelm Volunteers: Parents CAMP ACTIVITIES Diane Hodson Barb Johnson

April 2019 Page 4

UMCL invites children 3rd thru 5th grades (6th in fall) to experience God at “To Mars and

Beyond,” our 2019 Vacation Bible School!

This exciting program comes with new music, amazing science, creative crafts, fun recreation

and memorable Bible stories that will help children know God is always with them!

The adventure runs from July 15-18th, Monday-Thursday. A Free-will meal at 5:30 pm,

followed by VBS from 6-8:00 pm.

Join us for the 2019 VBS by calling Joan Smith 712-

540-4785, or jsmith1878@yahoo.com, or VBS

website www.cokesburyvbs.com/umcl or call the

church office 546-4037.

Camps run from June 18 thru August 11.

Please see Diane Hodson about financing camp and Barb Johnson about registering for camp. Camp . . . The Adventure of a Lifetime!

Youth and Children’s MINISTRIES

Confirmation Class On Wed, April 17, the Con-firmation Class will give their Statements of Faith in class.

The Confirmation Party is

Wed, April 24, from 5-8:30p.

K4C, BLAST and Journey

LAST CLASS for this school year is Wednesday, April 10th

@ 6:45 pm. SEE You There!!

April 2019 Page 5

United Methodist Women

Peace Circle Wed. April 10 @ 9:30am

Church Fellowship Hall Hostess & Program: Julie Hopkins

Priscilla Circle

Thurs. April 11 @ 7:15pm Hostess: Carol Willer

Program: Debra Young

Lenten Coffee Wednesday, April 17 @ 9:30 am

Executive Board

Mon. April 29 @ 9:30am

NW District Study Mon. April 16 @ 8:30am

Grace United Methodist Church Marcus, IA

United Methodist Women at Work

These projects were supported

in 2018:

Shesler Hall

Back Pack Program Christian Needs Center

Center for Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Le Mars Ministerial Association

Gospel Mission Pastor Neighbor Helping Neighbor Fund

Larry & Jane Kies Missionaries Henry Muller Hall

Compassion Education Ministry UMW NW District Donation

Meal-On-Wheels Sponsored Church-Wide Rummage Sale

Purchased Additional Silverware Valentine Care Packages

Library Books

To join a UMW Circle, please contact

Mary Laughton 562-6584 for more information

Our Ministries

On Sat., March 23, the UMW celebrated their 150th birthday. Eight Methodist women in Boston responded to two wives of India missionaries. They told of a need of the women and chil-dren. These eight women organized a group of women who raised money to sponsor a woman doctor and a woman teacher. What they started is still going today, in India, about the same time Liz-zie Hoffman of the United Brethren Church started a group of women to do mission work in Sierra Leone. 150 years later, United Methodist Women are still doing mission work for Women and Children around the world and in the United States. Sunday, March 24, the UMCL United Methodist Women pre-sented Berth Lundula with a Special Membership Pin representing the mis-sion work she does. Money for mission work is sent to the National Headquarters in her name.

UMCL February Financials

Income General Fund $ 19,722

Expenses General Fund: $ 17,709

FIF Contributions: $ 7,771

FIF Expenses: $ 8,290

Average Weekly Attendance at Worship

2019 2018

January 105 122

February 96 115

March 110 127

Our Ministries April 2019 Page 6

“Trustees' Update:”

The Trustees have approved the removal

of the brick sign on the northeast corner of

the lawn. At the same time, the sprinkler system will be reconnected (after having been

disturbed when the sidewalks were put in). Family Tree Landscaping has been con-tracted to do the work. The stone from the

sign will be put on pallets and stored for pos-sible future use. If you have ideas for how the stone can be re-purposed, please share

your ideas with a trustee.

The trustees continue to research and

discuss the best options for security and lock systems for the church. We want to make

the church safe while allowing access when needed. Possible ideas include cameras at the front entrance, a buzz-system while the

office is staffed, and swipe cards when the office is not staffed.

On Saturday, 13 April, 9:00-noon, we

will be having a church-wide spring-

cleaning day. Please, come and make the work lighter with a big group! Check the newsletter, bulletin, and mid-week an-

nouncements for more details.

French Ministry

Pastor Lundula helps with a minis-try in Sioux City, at the 1st United Methodist Church; referred to as French Ministry. Every Sunday after-noon, at 2 p.m., services are held in the native language of many resi-dents of Siouxland. In fact, French is Pastor Lundulas’ first language. Eve-ryone is welcome. Translators help lead the service.

"Church spring cleaning is set for April 13, 2019, from 9:00-noon. Items to address in-clude: dust, cobwebs in corners and stair-steps, checking the integrity of pews, de-junking, cleaning windows (upper entrance), furnace intakes, ceiling air vents and returns, etc. The work is lighter and more fun when many gather!"

Support our Ministry Candidates

At our 2018 Charge Conference, we approved Barb Johnson and JR Kamanda to start their candidacy pro-cess toward the local pastoral ministry. This process

consists of making trips to the District Office and Con-ference for interviews and Psychological Assessment. They will also attend the Licensing School Dubuque, IA

in May. The Licensing School requires buying many books to complete their many assignments. The Admin-istrative Council would like to invite the church family to support our ministry candidates with any donations to

cover some of their journey to pastoral ministry costs. You can write a check to UMCL and put on the memo “Ministry Candidates.” If you have any questions, don’t

hesitate to contact Pastor Lundula. Thanks for your sup-port to Barb Johnson and JR Kamanda.

The UMCL Prayer Team would like to inform the

Church family that we now have a PRAYER WALL in

the South Hallway in our church building. The Prayer

Wall will help us to engage in prayer for ourselves

and help others beyond our Congregation. You will

find prayers for Hope, Healing, Addiction,

Thanksgiving/Praise, Marital Concerns, Salvation,

those who are Grieving, Anxiety/Stress/Worry,

Forgiveness and Depression. Feel free to take one of

these prayers for yourself or somebody who may

need your support.

Our Connections April 2019 Page 7

UMC PRAYER WALL

Check our the Prayer Wall– we have added

some new things!

On the right, feel free to leave a Praise or a

Prayer. On the left are Lenten Prayers es-

pecially for the Lenten season. Please take

one for yourself or pass it on.

The Jars on the table-

God’s Word and God’s Promises– feel free

to take one each week. There are 8 differ-

ent verses in each jar, so if you grab the

same verse, put it back and choose again.

Please stop and see what is new on the

Prayer Wall.

Safe Water International Ministries– S.W.I.M.

Making water safe for the needy of the world. And sharing the “Living Water” with those who

thirst spiritually. “Chlorination of water has been used in the United States for over 90 years and has proven to be safe, fast, and effec-tive as a disinfectant. SWIM uses a simple ready-to-use de-vice that generates chlorine and other oxidants by the elec-trolysis of common table salt. The 12 volt power needed can come from a small battery pack and be recharged by a solar panel. The devices are portable and compact, yet ca-pable of meeting the needs of an entire village of 1,000 people. There are no harmful by-products and training takes only minutes.”

UMCL is hosting a Build Project: Saturday, April 6, 2019- 2 Sessions 10:00a-11:30a 12:30p- 2:00p **(Free lunch provided between shifts.) UMCL Missions Team still needs a couple of help-ers for each shift. Lunch is provided between shifts. S.W..I.M. is a non-profit 501 © 3 ministry and such your gift is fully tax deductible.

.

National Day of Prayer

Love One Another John 13:34

Thursday. May 2, 2019

Le Mars Convention Center 11:30 a-1:00pm

April 2019 Page 8

Hope Haven, Inc.

will host their Annual Benefit Auction on Friday evening, April 5 at Te Slaa Trucking (corner of

Hwys.75 & 18). Help support the local and global ministries of Hope Haven through this exciting

evening of fun and fellowship. www.hopehaven.org. The whole family is invited

to this community event!

Care Packages to College/Trade

School Students

The UMW will be sending out care packages to those who are family or friends of members of UMCL who are preparing for the last weeks of their education. They will be making these and sending them out directly after Easter, April 22th.

Please contact the Church Office with the names and addresses of those you would like the UMW to send care packages with goodies to by April 10th.

Life Light John 8:12

Le Mars LifeLight Event

will take place on June 14

During Ice Cream Days!

www.LifeLight.org

Our Connections

Northwest District Conference

Sunday, April 29 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Spencer Grace United Method-ist Church

All Clergy and Lay Members are expected to

attend! Sunday, April 28, 3 pm to 5 pm at

Spencer, Grace United Methodist Church.

This will be a time of celebration of our District

Ministries and planning for the future!

Christ in the Passover Presented at

Le Mars First Baptist Church

Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.

Christian Needs Center

Thank you for you contin-ued support! God Bless Susan Van Driel April Needs Rice, soup, jelly, Boxed Potatoes, juice, shampoo, toilet paper

Le Mars Backpack Program

On behalf of the Le Mars BackPack Program, I would like to thank you for your donation! It is so wonderful to have such support for this important work. We couldn’t do this without people like you.

Your generous gift is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!! Brenda Nohava & Brandy Sanchez

The Le Mars Ministerial Association provides lo-cal area Care Centers to provide Worship Ser-vices every Sunday. * Our Church is looking for people who are interested in helping to lead the Care Facility Worship on Sunday afternoons throughout the year. Pastor Lundula is willing to provide a quick training on how to be a part of this ministry. It is a rewarding experience to minister to our neighbors in our community. Please consider being a part of this.