WEEKLY CALENDAR

SUNDAY JULY 5
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 
9:30 a.m. Godly Play (contact Lynda Hepler)
10:00 a.m. R.L. Pope Class Pre-Recording on WGOS AM 1070
11:00 a.m. Live Worship Online via Facebook and on WGOS AM 1070

MONDAY – FRIDAY
10:00 a.m. “10@10” Weekday Devotions via Facebook

TUESDAY
8:00 a.m. Men’s Prayer Meeting Online via Zoom (contact Brian Russell)
5:30 p.m.  Outdoor Yoga in the Church Back Yard (Weather permitting)

WEDNESDAY
The Weekly Update via Facebook
6:00 p.m. Youth Small Groups via Zoom (contact Rodney Denton)

SUNDAY JULY 12
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 a.m. Godly Play (contact Lynda Hepler)
10:00 a.m. R.L. Pope Class Pre-Recording on WGOS AM 1070
11:00 a.m. Live Worship Online via Facebook and on WGOS AM 1070

PRAYER CONCERNS

If you or a loved one would like to be added to the prayer list, please contact Lorna McCullough at 336-259-5814. If you put a name on the list, please keep in touch to let us know how that person is doing, as names are removed after three weeks.

During the coming week, please pray for…

Shell York and Family
Gerry Arthur
Richard Herman
Cindy Murphy and Family
Peace and justice in our nation, state, and city
Delores Davis
Dwayne Faircloth
Grant Brinkley and Family
Kaylee Turner
Finley Price Family
Our First Responders, Medical Community, and Essential Workers
All those affected by Coronavirus
Robert Miller
Andrea Cain and Family
Dave Ogren
Dallas Hutchens
Tyler Oldaker
Tim Priska
Chris Eddinger
Tracy Brinkley
Our UM Missionaries
All Military Personnel
The United Methodist Church

SAVE THE DATE: CELEBRATING REV. PEGGY FINCH, SEPT. 20TH 

With gratitude we acknowledge the innumerable contributions of Reverend Peggy A. Finch, whose retirement is effective July 1, 2020. We look forward to gathering, in a safe way, to honor Peggy and express our thanks, in worship and a celebratory reception to follow, on Sunday September 20th.

As with all church plans, we will be closely monitoring the health climate and will adjust plans if needed. In the meantime, please save the date for these special events.  

2020 MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST WOMEN SCHOLARSHIP

In the early 1980s, money was given to Memorial United Methodist Women by an anonymous donor to be used at the discretion of the UMW Executive Committee. The Committee recommended designating this gift to establish a scholarship fund for high school graduates. Over the years, additional contributions, as well as proceeds from fundraising events such as the Valentine Tributes bulletin, have been added to the fund.

Scholarship assistance is granted to youth who are members of Memorial United Methodist Church and/or actively participate in the Youth Fellowship program of the church and intend to pursue their formal education beyond high school. Recipients should demonstrate sound moral character and have a record of academic achievement.

A scholarship committee administers the application process, determines the number of recipients and the amount of each scholarship to be awarded. The first scholarships were presented in 1982, and 117 young people have benefited from the scholarship fund.

UMW greatly appreciates the support of our church members.

This year, UMW is pleased to announce that the 2020 Scholarship recipient is Brandon Downs.

Brandon Downs is a 2020 graduate of East Davidson High School. He has many academic and athletic accomplishments. He received a 2019-2020 All Conference Award in Football. He was awarded the East Davidson High School Senior Athletic Award for Football and Track, as well as being awarded the Most Valuable Player for Track. He earned the Boy Scout Eagle Award as well as the Boy Scout Order of the Arrow. He received the APUSH award for completing the United States History Advanced Placement Course.

Brandon plans to attend East Carolina University to major in neuroscience, with the aspiration to be a Clinical Pharmacologist.

Congratulations to Brandon Downs, and we wish him well!

PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED

Thank you for your continued giving to CCM. Current needs are listed below. You may drop off donations at the church, placing them on the Mission Racks in the breezeway.

DISMANTLING RACISM: PRESSING ON TO FREEDOM
JULY 1 TOWN HALL RECORDING

VIEW THE TOWN HALL

The upcoming July 4th holiday has many of us thinking about our nation’s history and wrestling with how we can most faithfully understand and interpret the realities of this present moment. As part of vital work around anti-racism, the UMC Council of Bishops, the General Commission on Religion and Race, the General Board of Church and Society and United Methodist Women held a Town Hall conversation on July 1. The goal was to take a deep dive into the true, and sometimes suppressed, history of our nation and church, engaging with difficult questions around how the denomination has both helped and harmed the cause of racial justice. Watch the recording to explore how a careful look into this past might enable us to build a more Gospel-grounded future together — for the church, the country, and the broader world.

Look for the next Town Hall on a July/August date to be announced.

(Paraphrased from https://www.umc.org/en/content/dismantling-racism-town-hall.)

CLERGY AND STAFF ARE AVAILABLE

You may contact members of the staff directly or by calling the church office at 336-472-7718 and following the instructions on the recording. Here is a list of staff phone extensions and email addresses, for reference:

Danny Leonard, Senior Minister – Ext. 16; dleonard@mumctville.org
Rodney Denton, Minister of Youth and Young Adults – Ext. 18; rdenton@mumctville.org
Lynda Hepler, Minister of Children and Families – Ext. 11; lhepler@mumctville.org
Brian Russell, Director of Contemporary Worship – Ext. 20; brussell@mumctville.org
Danny Frye, Director of Music – Ext. 12; dfrye@mumctville.org
Susan Frye, Secretary – Ext. 14; sfrye@mumctville.org
Peggy May, Financial Secretary/Treasurer – Ext. 13; pmay@mumctville.org
Jarry Oldaker, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds – Ext. 17; joldaker@mumctville.org

CLOTH FACE MASKS BENEFIT SALE

Memorial’s Doris Link is selling handmade cloth face masks for $5 each, with all proceeds going to offset medical expenses for her daughter’s journey toward a kidney transplant. You may reach Doris at dlinksewgirl@gmail.com. She wants you to know she may be slow to respond to email as she is also working, but she will follow up with you to arrange delivery and payment (cash is preferred). Fabric options are shown in the photo at left, numbered so you can let her know your choices.

FINANCIAL GIVING OPTIONS WHILE THE OFFICE IS CLOSED

Thank you for your ongoing generosity to Memorial. While the office is closed, there are three options for making gifts to Memorial:

The address for mailing checks is:
Memorial UMC
P.O. Box 428
Thomasville, NC 27361-0428

Online gifts can be made securely at https://onrealm.org/mumctville/give/now which can also be accessed from our website homepage.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) giving can be set up for your recurring tithe. For information on how to arrange this, please email or leave a message for Peggy May, Financial Secretary, at pmay@mumctville.org or 336-472-7718.

FEATURED DEVOTION

We close this week’s eNews with a 10@10 devotion shared by Lynda Hepler on April 6, 2020.

I always like to begin my devotion time with a prayer. Will you please join me:

Father, you created us and put us on earth for a purpose.

Jesus, you died for us and called us to complete your work.

Holy Spirit, you help us to carry out the work for which we were created and called.

In your presence and name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we begin our reflection.

May all our thoughts and inspirations have their origin in you and be directed to your glory. Amen.

Recently I challenged you to look for God Sightings: Where have you seen or experienced God’s love in action? If you’ve never looked for God Sightings it can be difficult at first, but when we slow down and reflect on our past week or even a day, we begin to see patterns of where God is working in our lives and in the lives of those around us. The more you look, the easier the process becomes, and we should give thanks, just as Danny preached to us yesterday. In all things, give thanks.

So today I want to share some of my God Sightings with you. On Saturday, I came up to the church to prepare my Godly Play classes for the children and found Katie Conant in the parking lot with a pressure washer! She was cleaning all the chairs and tables that belong in the CEC building. What a selfless act to show her love and care for our church facilities. I saw God in the laughter of my daughters spending time together. I saw God in cooking dinner with my love Philip! I saw God giving Payton the strength and endurance to work all day until 4:00 on school assignments, well beyond her regular class time at school!

I want to share with you the lectionary text for today since it is the beginning of Holy Week.

Reading from John 12:1-11:

“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

“But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, ‘That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.’ Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

“Jesus replied, ‘Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’

“When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.”

At this point, Jesus has turned toward Jerusalem for the last time and this text reflects a lot of different dynamics going on among the group. But I want us to continue to look at the God Sightings we find in the text.

The first God Sighting I see is that Jesus spent time with his closest friends: Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and the Disciples. As we are in this time of social distancing, we are painfully aware of not being able to be close to our family and friends within our church and outside of our church. What a gift Jesus received! I know that I have taken for granted the gift of being with others, and maybe you are experiencing this, too.

Another God Sighting is the extravagant love Mary shows to Jesus by anointing his feet with the oil and her hair. Last summer, when we took my daughter Paige on her graduation cruise, we spent one day at the spa. I bought salt scrubs and special milk bath moisturizers that were very expensive. One bottle cost as much as a 60-minute hot stone massage! So naturally, I’ve been using this sparingly throughout the year to make it last. There’s no doubt that I’m a Martha through and through. Practical, frugal, and task oriented! Oh, how I long to be like Mary and splurge the whole bottle, but my conscience won’t let me do it! She didn’t use a little oil on Jesus’ feet, she didn’t even use half the bottle—she used it all! Enough so that Judas got upset and scolded her for it. I can imagine the comfort and love that Jesus received from Mary that day. Can you picture Him smiling down at her? And can you see Mary looking up at Jesus and seeing the love reciprocated in His eyes?

The third God Sighting that I believe can almost be overlooked in this narrative is the greatest one of all! It’s Lazarus; he’s alive! Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and now they are in his home sharing a meal together. This is what Jesus offers to us—the opportunity to feast at His banquet when we gather for Holy Communion. And ultimately, He offers us resurrection! I have seen churches offering Communion online, and I know it doesn’t seem the same. It’s not and yet it is. Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in His name, He will be there. Whether online or in person, we are gathered—just as we are right now. That is a gift. I’ve seen people hosting online bible studies. I’ve taught and posted Sunday school stories for the kids. There are so many ways we can stay connected to each other as the body of Christ. The Sewing Ministry team is putting together facemask kits to be sewn by anyone who wishes to help. These masks will go to patients all across Davidson County.

For those who are in church leadership, many of you will be familiar or at least have heard of Fresh Expressions. Fresh Expressions is a denominational initiative for us as the Church to discover and implement new ways of being the church that may be outside of our usual worship practices. As I reflect on this season God has gifted us, I think in some ways it is forcing us to be the Church in new and innovative ways. God can use all things for His glory and purposes. Just look at our scripture at how the people flocked to Jesus and Lazarus when word got out that He was in town. More people believed in the Good News.

So maybe you’d like to dust off your sewing machine, or maybe you’d like to write letters and send cards of encouragement to the folks who are serving on the front lines of this medical pandemic. Maybe you’d like to go do some “window visits” at the retirement centers. Maybe you have thought of something even better and beyond that can show God’s great big love for us through Jesus.

We’ve been given the greatest story ever told. God made us in His image. This is the creative and imaginative God who paints sunsets and places the stars in the sky. This creative God has given you this same ability to express His love in many ways. So this week, Holy Week of 2020, I want you to be a God Sighting.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

YOU CAN WATCH AND READ ALL 10 @ 10 DEVOTIONS HERE.