The
Calvary Chronicle
____________________________________________
News
and notes from Calvary United Methodist Church
Home
of:
Calvary
Christian Learning Center 623-849-1651
November
2009
7949
W. Indian School Rd
Phoenix,
AZ 85033-2902
623-849-1676
Rev.
John Fairchild, Pastor
SEEKING OUR VISION - LIVING OUR
MISSION
Jesus said, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side
of the boat and you will find some.”
When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large
number of fish. –John 21:5-6
Jesus also told of a time when we
will be asked to account for how we responded to God’s call; “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger
and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was
sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They
also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He
will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least
of these, you did not do for me.’”
– Matthew 25:42-45
We are expected to respond to God’s work in our
lives –that’s transformation – to help care for those who are in distress but
we do so from an understanding of what God is doing within us. Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of
life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me
will never be thirsty.” – John6:35 Not
only are we asked to feed the hungry, but to be fed ourselves.
This means there are two things we need to be
doing as faithful followers of Jesus Christ (well, a least two things, but I
believe all others stem from these two activities.) First we feed ourselves.
We must have full bellies of the Holy Spirit and generous amounts of the
Word which brings us the Bread of Life.
We do that through worshipping together, becoming a part of a Bible
study and personal devotion giving us time to hear, read, and share ideas and
understandings of the Word as we consume it making it a part of our everyday
life.
Second we help others to be fed. Before someone is ready to hear the Word, it helps if they have a
full belly so they can listen without their stomach growling. November 2 we kicked off a new food ministry
called The Treasure Box which I wrote about last month. At the time of this writing, well over 2
dozen boxes have been purchased. Over
$65 of food for $30 will help many trim and manage their food budget in these
difficult times. I believe it will help
us provide even more food than ever for those who are struggling.
This means we’re not only feeding
the hungry, but helping people to feed themselves. From Bible studies to supporting Amigos Center there are many
ways to get involved and I encourage you to find at least one new way to get
involved this holiday season. If you’re
not in a small group, find one or start one.
If you are not actively working in a ministry, seek one that fits your
gifts – and feel free to see me if you want some help in this area.
Grace,
Pastor John
Leading Through
Service
Inside the Chronicle, you’ll find an “Interests and Gifts
Survey.” I hope you’ll take a few
minutes to fill it out and mail it back to the church office or drop it in the
offering plate. It will help us shape
ministry next year, find appropriate places for all to serve and identify new
ministry opportunities. There are about
175 people in regular worship at Calvary; that’s 175 ministers…and one
pastor. If we’re all serving in areas
where we have gifts and talents, then there is really no limit to how God can
work at Calvary and in our lives.
I have a friend when asked about the “Body of Christ” says
that he’s “The spleen; it’s never seen and you don’t even want to think about
it, but it’s still needed!” Seen and
unseen, every part of the body has a role to play and is important to the whole
and so it is with the Body of Christ.
God equips each body with all the parts it needs to work well….what part
are you? Fill out the survey and turn
it in so we can be a healthy, whole body serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
Leadership by Example and Service
This fall, George and Dora Tweedy have retired from two
significant and important ministries they have led and nurtured for many
years. Each winter we participate in
providing meals once a week for a UMOM (United Methodist Outreach Ministries)
overflow shelter. Initially, this was
every week from around November through February or so. Fortunately there are many churches who want
to be a part of this ministry so now we serve every other week. Putting together teams of 6-10, folks
prepare a meal and then take it to the shelter where anywhere from 25-80 people
are fed. Leftover food (If there’s any)
is left for the shelter to use. Lori
Murphy has stepped up to head up this ministry and is putting teams together
now for the season. Check with Lori at
623-935-6923 to see how you can be a part of this great ministry.
Once a month George & Dora would head up to the St.
Mary’s food bank and load up George’s truck, then travel around delivering food
boxes to members and others in need of groceries. They have been so faithful caring for many of our Calvary family
and neighbors! Let’s all give them a
hearty “Well done!” I know they will still be committed to the ministries of
Calvary and participating wherever needed, but we celebrate their example of
service and gentle humility as they have cared for others. To say thank you is inadequate, so we simply
say, “God bless you!
News & Notes from
the Calvary campus
Stewardship: Our 2009/10 Stewardship campaign is
underway. “Calvary – Fishing for the Kingdom” will help us see how our
stewardship of financial resources is integrally linked to the way in which
people’s lives are being transformed through their faith in Jesus Christ. Along the way we’ll have some fun as we
“fish” our way along the journey of faith and see if we can’t “catch” the excitement
of seeing our stewardship of finances, energy, time, talents, and witness
become the “catch of the day!”
(Okay….’nuf bad puns!)
By
now you should have received your stewardship letter along with an estimate of
giving card. This year we’re pushing to
have all the cards returned. We know
that this has been a difficult year, but God provides and nearly all of you
have contributed through the year, so we’re asking you to just put down what
you think might happen this year so we can budget well. God has been faithful and despite the poor economy
our tithes have remained fairly stable.
As we plan for next year, we believe, with God’s help, we will continue
to expand our ministry and reach more people with the Good News of Jesus
Christ.
We
ask you to pray how God would have you respond on your finances and with your
time, gifts, and witness. We’re praying
for you!
-Your
Finance Team
Men’s Bible Study: We have a new opportunity for men
to gather on Thursday evening at 7:00p.m.
Right now we’re following a study “Uncommon” by Tony Dungy, retired coach
of the 2007 winning Super Bowl team, the Colts. Come and join us anytime.
GAIN: Getting Arizona Involved In Neighborhoods once again held an event on Campus October 17 with two associations participating. There were games, book exchanges, displays from community resources, dance teams, music, and short appearances from city officials. It was a great morning to be host to our neighbors letting them know we care about them and their quality of life.
Thanksgiving Celebration: On Sunday evening
November 22 at 5:00 we’re going to gather in Fellowship hall for a Thanksgiving
celebration fish fry. Mark you calendar
so you don’t forget and we’ll have a great time of food, fellowship, and Holy
Fun.
Community Thanksgiving Dinner: Once again, we’ll be helping with
the Maryvale Ecumenical Council in providing a meal for the neighborhood on
Thanksgiving afternoon. The dinner will
again be held at Maryvale Church of the Nazarene, 3201N. 51st
Ave. Information on how you can help
will be coming out in the Sunday Bulletin and email shortly. In addition to volunteers to serve, clean
up, visit, we’ll have the privilege to help provide some of the food. Last year they fed about 250 families from
the neighborhood who otherwise wouldn’t have had a “Thanksgiving” meal.
|
|
A Hearty Calvary Welcome to our new pianist, Patrice Higgins! On the Friday
before Joann retired, we interviewed Patrice. God’s timing is always perfect! Patrice comes to us with experience in Lutheran and United
Methodist churches where she has led both traditional and contemporary
worship. Patrice is mother to
Elizabeth, 3 and Daniel, 15 months. A
gifted musician, she has already made a mark on our worship. Please join me in welcoming her and making
her a part of the Calvary family. |
The Advent Conspiracy: Ever feel like Christmas is just
another excuse for advertising, selling, and that the secular is stealing our
sacred holiday? So do I. This year, we’ll be joining in a church-wide
Advent study on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary. I hope you’ll join me as we take a look at
Christmas and ask, “Can Christmas still transform the world.” I am also suggesting you postpone your
Christmas shopping until you have a chance to experience this study.
Over
the years, Valerie and I have found several alternative ways to celebrate
Christmas besides the usual hassle and hustle of buying presents that people
often don’t even want or need. One year
we pooled all of our Christmas money as a family and donated it to Valerie’s
brother-in-law who was waiting for a heart transplant. Other times we have contributed to the
Raptor Center in Juneau, Alaska which rehabilitates injured birds, donated to
our girls at the Webb School in India, and helped other similar projects. We’ve found it really helps us focus on the
true “reason for the season” and this new study, “The Advent Conspiracy” takes
it one step further. I hope you’ll come
and join in and see how you can make Christmas feel completely new this
year. The first class of four begins November 29th.
-Pastor John
SOCIALITES
Well,
Socialites has been busy this year! We
started the year off with some bowling and will end it with a trip to see the
leaves changing color. We have done
outdoor activities including the Desert Botanical Gardens and the Hassyampa
River Preserve and we have enjoyed indoor events including a cookie exchange
and a progressive dinner. We have grown
considerably this year, going from 4 to 5 to 10 to 13 at an event. We will be
having a game night at Hal and Nancy Valora’s home on December 12th
starting at 6:30 PM. Bring a snack and
a game. I am including a list of things
that we are planning on doing this coming year. As always, if anyone has any ideas of things to do, let me know!
Dates may change. I put in what I THINK is the dollar amount
for everything, but as they say in the commercials, prices are subject to
change! If anyone knows of events going
on that day, please let me know and I can change it.
·
January
22nd, 6:30 PM, bowling at Glenfair Lanes, $10
·
February
6th, 10:00 AM Glendale Chocolate Fair, free but bring $$ to buy
samples with! We can find a cheap place
to go to lunch if you want.
·
March
?, 8:00 AM, Desert Botanical Gardens, $18 ($15 to get in, $3 to see the
butterflies!) Bring a picnic lunch.
·
April
17, 8:30 AM, Phoenix Zoo, 16. (We can
either picnic or find an inexpensive place for lunch if you want.)
·
May
22nd, 10:00, Mystery Castle, $5.
·
June
18th, 7:00 PM, Game night, free either Fellowship Hall or if someone
wants to volunteer their house, let me know.
·
July
23rd, 7:00 PM, Video night, free, I need a volunteer to open their
home for this.
·
August
21st, 5:00 PM, Progressive Dinner, I need 3 volunteers to open their
homes for this. We need appetizers,
dinner and dessert. If we get enough
volunteers, we can add a salad stop as well.
·
September
24th, 6:30 PM, Applebees $15 - $20.
·
October
23rd, 8:00 AM, Sedona, meet in East parking lot, bring money for
food and museums, etc.
If you
have any questions, call me at 602-432-4086.
Erin Scott
Facilitator
CRAFTY CHICKS
Crafty Chicks are meeting on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 to
noon in the choir room, only they will not be meeting on the 3rd
Tuesday of the month because United Methodist Women meet that night. Do you have a project to show or need help
with? Or do you just want to visit with
other Christian ladies? That’s
great! We are working on bazaar items and
some cool ideas for December 5th, the United Methodist Women’s
Bazaar. For more information, call Joyce
Kohler at 623-846-1936.
UNITED METHODIST
WOMEN
Our United Methodist Women were pleased to be able to host
the Desert Southwest Conference UMW Conference on October 23rd and
24th. There were 140 women
in attendance.
On Saturday, December 5th, we
will be sponsoring a bazaar and dinner in Fellowship Hall. Some of the ladies have been very busy
making special items for this event.
Our next monthly meeting will be on
November 17th in the Fellowship Hall. Lori Murphy will be presenting the program on “What’s Globalization
to Me?” All of you are invited to come
and join us. Come and see what we’re
about.
PRAYING FOR OUR CHURCHES
The Conference Laity Team and District Superintendents ask
you to pray for other churches in our district. It is important to know that other churches are praying with and
for each other. Please pray for the
pastors, congregation and the community.
I am including the addresses of the churches so that you might send them
a note/postcard to let them know that you are praying for them this month.
Chino
Valley UMC Mountain
View UMC
735 E.
Road One South 901
S. 12th Street
Chino
Valley, AZ 86323-1869 Cottonwood, AZ 86326-4518
Dove of
the Desert UMC Grupo
Amistad
7201 W.
Beardsley Road P.O.Box 4904
Glendale,
AZ 85308-5673 Phoenix,
AZ 85075-9049
Thank you
for your prayers,
Frances
Solanki,
Lay Leader
George
Tweedy November 1st
Ray Cooper November 3rd
Nathaniel
Valora November 9th
Don Poole November 13th
Jacob
Hughes November 13th
Billy Goad November 15th
Jane
Leppla November 24th
Marg
Heuser November 25th
Alicia
Ladd November 27th
Theresa
Smith November 28th
November ANNIVERSARIES
Peter
& Lori Murphy November 6,
1993 16 years
David
& Mary Blum November 13,
1982 27 years
Sunday 8:30 AM Traditional Worship Service
9:30
AM Fellowship Time in Fellowship Hall
10:00 AM Sunday
School
11:00 AM Celebration
Worship Service
4:00 PM Junior & Senior High Youth
Monday
7:00 PM Bible Study at Valora’s
home
Tuesday 10:00 AM Crafty
Chicks in Choir/Music Room
6:00 PM Cub Scouts Rooms Café, 7 & 8
Wednesday 10:00 AM “In the Bible”
with Pastor John in Music Room
7:00 PM Choir Practice in Choir Room
Thursday 6:00 PM Weight Watchers in Fellowship Hall
7:00 PM Men’s Bible Study
Friday
Saturday 6:00 AM Men’s group meets at
Royal Café, 10793 W.
Grand Ave., Sun City (107th Ave. & Grand)
FELLOWSHIP TIME HOSTS/HOSTESSES
1ST Sunday of each month –
Mission Committee
2nd Sunday of each month –
Trustees
3rd Sunday of each month –
United Methodist Women
4th Sunday of each month – Tom
Brown & Family
5th Sunday – LAFFERS
SCHEDULED MINISTRY
MEETINGS THIS MONTH
Finance Team Meeting – November 2nd
– 6:30 PM
Staff Parish Team Meeting –
November 10th – 6:30 PM
Day Care Board Meeting – November
11th – 5:00 PM
LAFFERS
The
Laffers will be meeting at 8:30 AM on Tuesday, November 12th, at the
Royale Café at 10793 W. Grand Avenue, Ste. 26 in Sun City for breakfast and
fellowship. Remember to call in your
reservation to either Jessie Gretter at 602-237-1312 or Ann Thacker
623-583-1673.
HYMN OF THE MONTH
At Calvary
William R. Newell
When Dr. R. A. Torrey was president of
the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, he received a letter from a distressed
father. The man, a pastor, had a
prodigal son named Bill who was breaking his heart. Would Dr. Torrey let the boy enroll at Moody? Dr. Torrey replied that while he sympathized
with the man, it wasn’t possible to admit the boy. Moody was a Bible school, not a reformatory. The man wrote back, doubling his
entreaties. Finally Dr. Torrey agreed,
provided the boy meet with him daily and abide by the rules.
The arrangement didn’t go well at first,
and Dr. Torrey thought the experiment was hopeless. The boy had serious problems and seemed torn
apart by turbulence. But he did keep
the rules, and day by day he ventilated his frustrations to Dr. Torrey and—as
it turned out—was more attentive to Torrey’s answers than it appeared.
To make a long story short, several
years later that boy, William R. Newell, himself, was a beloved professor at
Moody Bible Institute.
In 1895, William began thinking of
putting his testimony into verse form.
The idea rolled around in the back of his mind for several weeks, then
one day on his way to lecture, the lines came to him. Ducking into an empty classroom, he jotted down the words on the
back of an envelope. As he hurried on
to class, he happened to meet Dr. Daniel Towner, director of music at the
Institute. Handing him the verses,
William gently suggested they could use a good melody. By the time Dr. Newell finished his lecture,
the completed tune was ready.
“Bill,” said Dr. Towner, “I was so taken
with the poem you gave me that I went immediately to my studio and composed a
tune. I feel that it could be the best
song that either of us will ever write in our lifetime.”
The two men sang it together, and it was
published shortly after.
Bill Newell went on to become a
well-known Bible teacher throughout the Midwest and the author of a popular
series of Bible Commentaries. He once
said that had he not gone through his troubled years, he might never have fully
understood the importance of Calvary’s grace.
Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.
Chorus:
Mercy there was great and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty,
At Calvary.
By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.
Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything;
Now I gladly own Him as my King;
Now my raptured soul, can only sing of Calvary.
O the love that drew salvation’s plan!
O the grace that brought it down to man!
O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.
|
Calvary United Methodist Church 7949 W. Indian School Rd. |
Phoenix, Arizona 85033-2902
