Loving God - Serving Others - Building Christian Community
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The Methodist Youth Fellowship (grades five and up) and the elementary youth group (grades four and below) will have an end-of-the-school year pool party on Sunday, June 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ayden Golf and Country Club.
Families are asked to bring finger foods and their favorite beverage to share. All are families are invited, and kids can bring a friend. For more information, contact Allyson Meyer or Dee Stroud.
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April 11th, 8:30-12:30- for the Spring Session of Laity University.
Check in begins at 8:30 at Trinity UMC-New Bern
4 Sessions will be offered – two in each time slot.
9:15 am -10:15 am & 10:20 am – 11:20 am.
Discipleship:Small Group Development – lead by Reverend Jay Buckingham (Covenant UMC)
Evangelism:Reaching Young Families-Worship Through Music – lead by Reverend Angelo Sanchez (Swansboro UMC) and Reverend Jodi Lampley (Trinity UMC Jacksonville)
Missions:Partnering In The Community – lead by Reverend Martin Armstrong (Calvary Memorial UMC) and Mike Dobbs (Laity – Mt. Herman UMC)
Stewardship:Christian Stewardship – Reverend Reggie Ponder (United Methodist Foundation)
There will also be Round table Sessions 11:25-12:15 dealing with “Hands On Missions”
To register your attendance, please follow this link: http://sounddistrictnc.org/laity-university/
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By Rev. Jim McConnell
As the church, we are currently smack dab in the middle of the season of Lent; the 40 day period of penitence and preparation that Christians around the world observe in preparation for the season of Easter. Lent begins with ashes on foreheads reminding us of our mortality and it ends with the glorious celebration of Jesus’ resurrection reminding us of the promise of eternal life found in Christ.
Now, as a pastor I would like to believe that people have strong feelings about Lent. That they either love it or they hate it. But the reality is that while there are certainly those very vocal people who give something up for lent and then make sure everyone knows how hard that is for the next six weeks, it seems that Lent passes most of us by without much consideration at all. Like the New Year’s resolutions we didn’t keep, Lent reminds us that we wish we were better people, but really, who has the time or energy?
You do. I do. We all do.
For many Christians, the life of faith can become something of a spectator sport. We go to church. We sing hymns, pray and shake hands on the way out the door and then, like fans leaving the stadium, we go back to “reality” until next Sunday. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Imagine going to watch your favorite team play basketball, and all of a sudden the coach turns around, points at you in the stands and says, “Hey, suit up. I want you out there in the game.”
Lent is an opportunity for us to “get in the game” and to take seriously all of those Christian practices like fasting, prayer and studying God’s word. It is also an opportunity to start doing all of those other things Christians are called to do, such as care for the marginalized and offer hospitality to those in need. Lent isn’t a time to pull away from the world so that we can be more holy. It’s about taking the practices of a Christian life more seriously so that we can go into the world and help the world become a holier place to be. The disciplines of Lent help fit us to be disciples in the world we encounter around us every day.
Easter is coming. It’s time to get in the game.
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The March/April/May 2015 issue of the Ayden UMC newsletter is now available by clicking here. Articles include:
