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Chronicle
Greetings Saints at Saint Lukes: By the time you read this, we
would have heard Matthew 18: 15-22 in the I Love the 70s sermon on
March 30. Whereas that message focused on the Fruit of the Spirit
known as self-control and healthy steps for reconciliation amongst
Chris-tians, the points Jesus makes about forgiveness in relation
to reconciliation cannot be over-emphasized. As we prayerfully
approach the Good Friday cross upon which Jesus, an inno-cent man,
was killed, and joyfully celebrate the empty tomb from which he
arose on Easter Sunday, we need to ponder the depth and healing
power of forgiveness. Indeed, in to-days world, forgiveness is
often cited as a key to overcoming chaos. Unfortunately, the worlds
definition and application
of forgiveness is sometimes quite different than the kind Je-sus
prescribed, lived, and equips us to apply for ourselves and all
people. Below are six wonderful, challenging thoughts on
for-giveness. First, there is given a myth about forgiveness with
an explanation. Then, a Biblical perspective is offered. I pray we
will read through these and ask God to help us reconsider and
differently apply forgiveness as needed. In fact, here is a
challenge for us: Beginning on the Monday of Holy Week (April 14),
reconsider #1 and ask God to help you apply the Biblical version of
forgiveness for that myth for one person or situation in your life.
On Tuesday, April 15, go to #2 (its Tax Day, so finding somebody or
some organization we need to forgive should be rather easy), and so
on ending with #6 on Saturday, April 19. Lets see if embracing and
applying
Gods forgiveness doesnt deeply affect how we worship on Easter
Sunday. My prediction: the joy and love of Christ will be all the
more powerful and meaningful not only on Easter Sunday, but every
day. Why Forgiveness Is a Gift You Give Yourself Is a Dangerous
Myth by Leslie Leyland Fields 1. Forgiveness is a gift you give
yourself. So said a mega church pastor on CBS This Morning a few
weeks ago. Hes one of a parade of Christian and secular writers and
speakers in the last decade, including Fred Lus-kin, the founder
and director of the Stanford Forgiveness
Projects, who states outright that forgiveness is for you and
not for anyone else. Biblical forgiveness is a gift to the
offender. We release another persons debts for their sake and
for
Christs sake. Forgiveness enables us to care about the good of
the other rather than just ourselves. This is the gospel: loving
our neighbors and our enemies. Yes, the forgiver often heals
through forgiveness as well, but as a consequence of loving their
neighbor. Its not all about us. 2. Forgiveness is about letting go
of the past. Secularized forgiveness, emphasizing self-empowerment
and letting go, focuses mostly on the future, giving insufficient
attention to what happened in the past. In biblical forgiveness,
God redeems and heals the past rather than erases it. God
continually admonishes us to remember Him and to remember the
events of the past, both the triumphs and the disasters. When we
turn from the past entirely, we will miss the wisdom and compassion
that we can learn from our wounds. As Dr. Dan Allendar has written,
Every tragedy in the past is an opportunity for redemption. And
each time we forget, we lose another moment to experience Gods
mysteri-ous redemption in our lives. 3. Forgiveness is entirely
your choice. Dr. Robert Enright, one of the foremost authorities on
for-giveness, emphasizes this in his book Forgiveness Is a Choice.
Even in churches, forgiveness is made more appealing by pitching it
as a choice. Which means not forgiving is an equally valid choice,
particularly if it doesnt meet our needs and expectations. Biblical
forgiveness is required. We are repeatedly commanded by Jesus to
forgive as weve been forgiven. Our forgiveness of others is to be a
natural outworking of Gods forgiveness of us. It is never
presented
as an option. In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the man
who was forgiven by God and who then refused to for-give anothers
much lesser debts was thrown into prison until he could repay.
A monthly chronicle to your home bringing you the news from St.
Lukes United Methodist Church
St.Lukes
Vol. 10 6325 West Main Street, Maryville, IL 62062 April No. 2 6
21 Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, if another member of the
church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as
seven
times? 22 Jesus said to him, Not seven times, but, I tell you,
seventy-seven times. Matthew 18: 21-22 (NRSV)
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Discipleship The XP3 youth schedule: April: April 2: finish the
Flipped series and April 2 thru 23: Easter series called Amplify.
April 27: Jr. & Sr. High youth and their counselors will be
preparing the meal. Please be here at 5:00 PM for set up and meal
preparation. May: May 7 thru 21: we will get back to our regular
Wednesday schedule for XP3 6:00 PM game, meal, video and small
groups. Our series is on Change and how it can help Gods kingdom.
May 25: meal and a fun night. June 4: Graduation party for our
seniors. The seniors will get to pick the meal and of course there
will be cake! Everyone be sure to be there to send them off with
Gods bless-ings and our love. Ladies Bible Study will be doing a 3
week study on Easter beginning Wednesday, April 9 at 9:30 AM. In
May we will begin a new study on the Holy Spirit by John Maxwell
and all ladies are invited to join us. Alpha for Parents will begin
a class in the Sunday school hour on May 11 if we have 10
participators sign up. You can do that on line at ourstlukes.org or
at the welcome center by May 4. VBS Meeting Thursday, April 24,
6-8:30 PM. Fifteen minute breakouts, please contact Karen Vollmar
(345-9911) for your time. VBS is June 9 thru 13. We are in need of
empty baby food jars. Please leave the empty jars in the office. We
are also in need of nursery wing helpers for the week. Please
contact Karen Vollmar (345-8881 or 345-9911) or email Karen at
[email protected] if you can help.
Continued... 4. Forgiveness will lift you up and advance your
career. Many purveyors of forgiveness promise success and
advancement. One pastor writes in his new book on forgiveness,
"Reading this book may be the most important step you can take
right now toward ... professional advancement." Biblical
forgiveness humbles the forgiver. The act of forgiving an offender
requires and fosters humility. The parable of the un-merciful
servant makes it clear that whatever debts others owe us, we have
been cleared of far greater debts by God. The goal of forgiveness
is not professional ad-vancement or exultation, but identification
with and compassion for the guilty: There but for the grace of God
go I. 5. Forgiveness frees you from obligation to the offender.
Secular forgiveness brings freedom by releasing the victim from all
obligation to the offender. Dr. Phil urges his followers to forgive
as a means of reaching emotional closure. But he advises us to find
the easiest thing you can do to resolve your pain. When the focus
is on self-healing, the hurt person is often advised to end their
rela-tionship with the offender. Biblical forgiveness frees you to
love the offender. Forgiveness does indeed free us: It frees us
from our self-focus. It frees us from hate; it opens our hearts
with empathy; it frees us to love even the enemy. Forgiveness frees
and strengthens us to bring us close to the offender. (Its
important to recognize, how-ever, that some people are so dangerous
and destructive that separation is necessary.) 6. Forgiveness is
primarily about making you happier and healthier. Many pastors,
authors and psychologists maintain that forgiveness is primarily
about our happiness and health, citing the hundreds of studies
demonstrating the benefits of forgiveness to mental, physical and
spiritual health. Biblical forgiveness is concerned with the
well-being of all people, particularly the guilty and needy.
Forgiveness is far more than a means of personal happiness and
health. God is con-cerned with the well-being of the whole world.
Believers, who have experienced Gods own forgiveness, are to be
concerned with the welfare of others as well, especially those who
are most in need of forgiveness and sent out then into the world as
agents of reconciliation wherever there is brokenness and pain.
Pastor Will
Pray For Our Church Family Healing for Jeremy Blair, Joel
Catlin, Shirley Clark, Cougar Clifford, Brenda Cook, Dan Cooper,
George Cowgill, John Cowgill, Joshlyn Davis, Kevin Davis, Carol
Day, Angela Dyer, Lesley Easton, John Fagala, Carol
Falkenbury,Walter Filliam, Karen, Fletcher,Chris Fultz, Leea
Gelarden, Michelle Gelarden,Walter Gilliam, Tracy Grasch, Nikki
Green, Linda Hunsche, Laura Kapp, Terrie Kruse, Kelley Liljegren,
Verka Lind-ner, Livie Little, Landon Miller, Nancy Miller, Ray
Miller, Bob Morgan, Jim Payne, Richard Peckover, Jeff Perry, Laura
Quattlander, Lynn Robben, Shari Russell, JoAnne Spencer, Jack
Umbraugh, Mary Webb, Ed Wentz, Sue Williams. Our Homebound Maxine
Gulledge, Charmaine Shadwick. Our MilitaryDavid Balint (Africa),
Russell Blattner, Rob Brickner, Nate Brown, Will Campbell, Matthew
Clark, Daniel Cremer, Brandon Cunningham, Dan Eads, Dale Eads, Jim
Eads, Todd Evans, Justin Griesbaum, Ken Hartung, Tim Heaton, Brian
Jamison, Eli Logan (Afghanistan), James Long, Adam Luebbert, Brad
Mayhew, James Mosher (Okinawa), Nick Muller, J.P. Snapp (Middle
East), Jeramiah Stewart, Luke Till-man, Jerico Witz, and others
serving around the world.
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Every Week at St. Lukes
Sunday 7:15 AM Prayer Time 8:00 AM Worship (Traditional) 9:15 AM
Sunday School 10:30 AM Worship (Contemporary) Monday 5:30 PM
Low-Impact Aerobics Tuesday 8:30 AM Low-Impact Aerobics 10:00 AM
Staff Meeting 6:00 PM Praise Team Study & Rehearsal 6:00 PM
Hands Held High 7:30 PM Prayer and Share Wednesday 9:30 AM W.O.W.
Bible Study (9, 16, 23, 30) 6:15 PM Youth Group Meal 6:15 PM Alpha
Meal 7:00 PM Youth Group XP3 7:00 PM Alpha Thursday 5:30 PM
Low-Impact Aerobics (3,10,24) Friday 8:30 AM Low-Impact Aerobics
(4, 11, 18)
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Prayers continue... Sympathy for Mike, Dawn, & Travis Birch,
on the death of their son & brother, Drew Birch, February 23.
Dawn and Al Peters, on the death of their father, George Peters,
March 19. Dawayne & Sharen Sanders, on death of his mother,
June Sanders, March 23. Shari Russell, on the death of her father,
Richard Peckover, March 28.
Mission News The United Methodist Men are hosting a Men's
Community Breakfast on Satur-day morning, April 5, at 8:00 AM in
the Fellowship Hall. The catered breakfast will fea-ture Mark
Mestemacher as the guest speaker. Mark is the co-owner of Cerres
Corpora-tion, and will talk about the impact of Jesus Christ on his
life and business. Tickets are $7.00 and must be purchased in
advanced from any of the Methodist Men, or by contact-ing John
Ashbrook (314-374-8919).
Feed The Hungry at New Life Evangelistic Center On Saturday,
April 12 at 11:00 AM, we will be serving a meal to the homeless at
the New Life Evangelistic Center. Before we go and serve the meal,
we need to prepare it. So, we need two teams: One team will come to
St Luke's at 9 AM and prepare the meal. The second team will leave
at 10 AM to go and serve the meal. This is a family event and
everyone needs to fill out a release form. Please join us as we
feed the hungrySign up at the guest center and online.
St. Lukes will participate in the Community Easter Egg Hunt on
April 19, at 11:00 AM. Volunteers are needed to help hide the eggs
at 9:45 AM. If you would like to donate candy, please drop it off
at the Maryville Pharmacy by Saturday, April 12. We are set-ting up
a table at 10:30 AM and providing cookies, drinks, and wristbands
for the kids. Volunteers are needed to help with this. Please sign
up on line and in the narthex.
Maryville Food Pantry is in need of the following items:
cleaning products, personal hygiene items, and paper products, as
well as non-canned food items like sugar, peanut butter, coffee,
flour, vegetable oil and cereal. Please place items on the cart in
the nar-thex.
Grandmas Attic needs items to sell. They can take clothing,
books, toys, and small household items. They do not accept
electronics. Please be sure to drop off items only when the Center
is open.
Fall Mission Trip The Mission Team has planned an adult mission
trip to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Ky. Sept. 7, 2014 thru
September 13, 2014. We hope to take 8-12 people. The cost is $215
per person for room and board, which we plan to raise through fund
raisers. A non - refundable $50 fee is required with your
application. This amount will be deducted from the total cost. Sign
up is April 1 thru April 20 in the narthex and on line. Our first
group planning meeting will be May 4 at 1 PM.
The Missions Ministry Team stocks ice-cold cans of soda and
bottled water in the refrigerator in the kitchen. The cost is fifty
cents for water and seventy-five cents for soda, and the proceeds
go towards our mission work in Liberia. Put your money in the cup
in the refrigerator. Thanks! Mark the Dates The Mayors Prayer
Dinner Thursday, May 1 at 6:30 PM Cost: $10 for adults (children 12
and under free). Tickets are available in the office. Please see
one of the staff to purchase. Make checks payable to Maryville
Ministerial Alliance. St. Lukes former Pastor, Sig Bjorklund, is
being honored as this years recipi-ent of the Fred Winters
Award.
Water Distribution at Drost Park Saturday, May 24. Rain date May
31. Contact Ann Hale if you can help. Watch for information in the
May Bulletins.
Tailgate Tuesday May 27 at 6:00 PM.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Monday Thursday 9:00 AM 4:00 PM
Closed Friday
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Cribs for Christ 6 Karen Phelps & Madelyn Reay 13 Angie
& Natalie Malawy 20 Robin Fischer & Joseph Jackstadt 27
Maria & Lauren Matthews
Joy Jumpers 6 Meghan & Matt Dittman 13 Shari Russell &
Erin Tillman 20 Denny Vollmar & Camryn Lee 27 Kim Morris &
Joel Cluphf Preschool Praisers 6 Laurel & Kaila Juenger 13
Tiffani & Luke Tillman 20 Renee & Nathaniel Jackstadt 27
Nancy Gulledge & Anna Hunsche Kings Kids 6 Mark Cook &
Hanna Beck 13 Parker & Breanna Robertson 20 Karen Vollmar &
Logan Green 27 Bekey Zawada & Lois McLain Childrens
Message:
6 Karen Vollmar 13 Karen Vollmar & Tom Beck 20 Puppets 27
Terri Green
Liturgists: 8:00 AM 10:30 AM
6 Roxanne Patrylak John Ashbrook 13 Charles Dye Shellie Lee 20
Roxanne Patrylak Mary Harris 27 Charles Dye Dannette McKellar
Counters:
6 Denny Vollmar & Stan Clark 13 Tom Beck & Jeremy
Pfeffer 20 Wes Harris & Barb Anderson 27 Marc Mayhew & TBD
Connectors: 10:30 AM
6 Kathy Hall 13 Terri Green 21 Marlene Fagala 27 Hanna Beck
Acolytes: 10:30 AM 6 Lauryn Lee & Maggie Fitzgerald 13 Brock
Luebbert & Pearl Tillman 20 Brady ONeill & Gavin Zawada 27
Elly Harris & Kaidynn Green
Ushers:
8:00 AM
6 George Cowgill, Terry Hale, Don Sexton 13 George Cowgill,
Dawayne Sanders, Don Sexton 20 George Cowgill, Denise Foutch, Don
Sexton 27 George Cowgill, John Eads, Don Sexton 10:30 AM 6 Todd
Bell, Cindy Clark, Larry Clark 13 Mark Cook, Matt Dittman, Meghan
Dittman 20 Chris & Lynn Kusnerick, Glen Weeks 27 Julie Clark,
Stan Clark, Nancy Gulledge
Greeters
8:00 AM
6 Ann Hale & Betty Tomic 13 Charles Dye & John Eads 20
Ann & Terry Hale 27 Denise Foutch & Betty Tomic 10:30
AM
6 Jeremy & Monica Pfeffer 13 Jamie & Bekey Zawada 20 Sue
Gonterman & Kim Morris 27 Tiffany Tillman & Karen
Whitchurch
Tech Team: 8:00 AM 10:30 AM
6 Terri & Steve Green Steve Green & Monica Pfeffer 13
Denny Vollmar & Jeff Allen Steve Green & Sarah Stone 20
Terri & Steve Green Steve Green & Bekey Zawada 27 Denny
Vollmar & Jeff Allen TBD & Jenn Oberkfell If you cant serve
it is your responsibility to get a sub for that day and call the
office (345-9911) by Wednesday morning with the cor-rection for the
bulletin.
April Servants: Please note! If you are unable to fulfill any of
the responsibilities, please call to switch with someone on another
week and then call the church office (345-9911) by Wednesday
morning so we can update
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April Special Events
3 6:45 PM Cub Scouts Committee Meeting 5 8:00 AM Mens Community
Breakfast 8 8:00 AM Clergy Covenant Group
11 6:00 PM Puppet Competition in Ferguson, MO.
12 9:00 AM Preparing food for the Homeless 12 10:00 AM Leaving
to Serve Meal to Homeless 13 Palm Sunday
13 5:00 PM Ad Board
17 6:30 PM Maundy Thursday Service
18 7:00 PM Good Friday Services @ The Assembly of God Church
19 11:00 AM Maryville Community Easter Egg Hunt
20 Easter Sunday
22 8:00 AM Clergy Covenant Group
24 6:00 PM VBS Meeting
26 Carlson & Jefferson Wedding
Anniversaries: 11 Barb & Keith Anderson 24 Meghan & Matt
Dittman
April Celebrations
Birthdays: 1 Shellie Lee
Chad Weeks 2 Terri Dyson 3 Luke Tillman 5 Erin Tillman 7 George
Patrylak
John Wright 12 Isaac Cluphf 16 Jeff Allen
Kim Flaugher Danielle Foley
19 Daniel Cluphf
20 Denny Vollmar Carol West
21 Harper Stone 23 Dianna Bickel
Tyler Oberkfell 25 Don Buck
Barb Schillinger
Staff Email Addresses Will Campbell [email protected]
Jeff Allen [email protected] Terri Green
[email protected] Karen Vollmar
[email protected]
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St. Lukes Chronicle
St. Lukes United Methodist Church 6325 West Main Street
Maryville, IL 62062 (618) 345-9911
Who We Are At St. Lukes Mission: We exist to make and grow
disciples of Jesus Christ.
Purpose: 1. Support: the Saint Lukes mission. 2. Enhance:
clarity in communications 3. Improve: consistency & excellence
in ministry practices.
Finance Report: "How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness
to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of
the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all
His people." Psalm 116:12-14
Giving to Budget: 79,444.73
Expenses: 78,234.99
Facts & Figures
Attendance:
DATE Mar 2
8:00 AM Church
10:30 AM Cancelled
TOTAL SS Giving
Mar 9 41 141 182 81 11,427.61
Mar 16 36 156 192 64 7,409.00
Mar 23 63 114 177 78 7,659.00
Mar 30 55 114 169 70 5,741.24