Grand Valley United Methodist Church
August 2023 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. Shoe distribution
3. Movies Under the Stars
4. Grand Valley Days Pancake Breakfast
5. New carpet
6. Mefor Update
7. Birthdays
8. Calendar
9. Event Details
10. Church Reports
11. Just for Fun
From the Pastor….
A 4-year-old boy was asked to return thanks before New Year’s dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation..
He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the whipped cream.
Then he paused, and everyone waited and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, “If I thank God for the broccoli, won’t he know that I’m lying?”
I think I’ll start one of those vegetable diets. What could be better for me than broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, celery and such? Why, just last week I was sitting around with friends discussing the merits of zucchini. I had no idea how many ways you can hide the stuff in so many things, from breads to pies! I think a real vegetable kind of diet would be just the ticket to health and happiness. Did you know the diet industry in the U.S. is a multi-billion dollar enterprise? Most of us do care about our bodies and our health, but only within reason. My problem is, I can’t really stand too much of a good thing, especially vegetables!
Prayer, however, is one of the health topics I do know something about. Researchers are finding out how much prayer adds to the recovery of folks in the hospital. It can lower your blood pressure, help to relieve stress, promote healing, and it builds community. I think that we need to look at prayer at least as creatively as we look at zucchini. How many different ways can you find to work prayer into your everyday life? It doesn’t necessarily have to be formal or even spoken prayer. We worship God in spirit and truth; we sometimes pray with our actions. We pray with our hearts when our spirits need to be uplifted. We pray with our thoughts as we witness the world around us. We pray at night when we struggle with sleep.
Any good diet needs creativity and routine patterns; most diets do not come “naturally.” A really good dieter keeps track of how well he or she is doing. Likewise, a prayer journal can be a good idea; internationality about your prayer life (with or without a journal) is even better. If we can find so many ways to work zucchini into our diet, maybe we can find even better ways of working prayer into our lives! Hope to see you in church soon. Bring your, prayers, your hopes and your talents with you as we worship God together.
Shalom, Michael
Shoe Distribution
Our annual shoe and socks distribution for school children will be held on Friday, August 11th here at the church. If you are able to help on that day, please contact Laurel – she can use all the hands that she can get!! We are planning on around 100 children. Also, if you would like to donate monetarily to this, please bring a check to the church or mail it to GVUMC, PO Box 125, Parachute CO 81635. Please put “Shoes” in the memo line of your check. As always, thank you so much for your support.
Movies Under the Stars
GVUMC will be sponsoring the August 18th Movie Under the Stars. We will be providing hot dogs and drinks for those in attendance. If you can help with this fun event, please contact Laurel.
Grand Valley Days
August 18-20
We will be holding our Annual Pancake Breakfast for Grand Valley Days on Saturday, August 19th from 7:00-10:00 – cost will be $6.00.
WOW!!! Does the church look great!!!! We have newly painted walls in the Sanctuary, and new carpet in the Sanctuary, Office, hallways and Fellowship Hall. It looks FABULOUS!!!!
Newsletter B. 23
Mutambara Mission Hospital
Cashel Road Nhedziwa Chimanimani,
Zimbabwe.
[email protected];[email protected]
Dear Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ,
We send you greetings from Mutambara, Zimbabwe in the name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We want to thank you for supporting us steadfastly this year. We appreciate it and are praying God to replenish you resources according to his riches in glory.
The weather status of the country has shifted to cold condition. It is now becoming very chilly in the mornings, a bit warm in the afternoon and from warm to chilly again in the evening. Lowest temperatures in the country for today was from 1 degree centigrade in some areas to 9 degrees in the mornings and in the 20s during the day.
We said we were going to update you with the efforts being made to achieve sustainability in the Mutambara Mission Centre, but particularly the Mutambara Mission Hospital. We have raised 20 piglets into adult pigs. Our broilers are meant for consumption by the pregnant women in the Waiting Mother’s Shelter. The local village chickens have been slow in production, and we are not meeting up with the community demand. To boost the production of the local chickens we decided to get the eggs hatched in an incubator. We hope there will better yield.
Maize production last planting season was poor compared to the previous year. This was due to a combination of factors. Principally was the problem of obtaining funds for weeding at the right time. It was disappointing, but we hope to do better next planting season.
Our nurses are having hard times about taking care of their little ones (usually under 5s) when they are on duty. Some of them have complained that the maids they hire to look after these little ones are not doing a nice job. Some threaten to relocate to be nearer their spouses. They say it would have been better for them if the hospital has a Day-Care-Centre where they can comfortably leave their babies for care while on duty. Following these complaints, we wish we can put up a Day-care centre to assist the nurses, the lady pastors and teachers who may have such needs. We are looking at an estimate of about $10,000. But we think it is better to get a quotation for the real cost.
Lastly, we have run out of funds to support our doctors. We are still working out a sustainable means of supporting the doctors. Meanwhile we appreciate your support and looking forward to your further assistance. We pray that God will replenish your resources according to his riches in glory.
Prayer Requests:
1. For Improvement in our quest boost agricultural produce for sustainability.
2. For funds to put up the Day care Centre.
3. For World Peace by bringing to an end the numerous wars world-wide.
4. Pray for Florence’s follow up treatment in Emory Atlanta in the next few weeks.
Some pigs are scheduled for sale.
Local chicks hatched through incubators at the corner of the wall, while the two day old broilers are under the light for warmth.
Adult local chickens feeding. Their number will be boosted by the young chicks above in the next few weeks.
Six weeks old Broilers almost ready for supply to the Waiting Mothers for consumption. There is so much duplication of Birds production business in this area, that the demand for broilers is very low.
Health Appeal Fund for Fellow Staff.
We have a fellow staff who is a teacher in our High School here in Mutambara Mission Centre. His wife was diagnosed as having heart disease which requires valve replacement in India. Surgery will cost $8000 while total expenses including flight and other logistics for him and his wife is $13,000. While efforts are being made towards financial support from the family members and the community, he approached Florence and I, requesting us to ask our friends for financial support on their behalf. We could not say no. We are humbly asking you to please assist them, however small. We have attached the medical information, and other necessary details for us to assist as we are led by the Spirit. Thank you for assistance. ((Anyone interested in helping out, the information is on the church bulletin board by the Fellowship Hall.))
Thank you and God bless
Florence Mefor, Advance # 13991Z, Emmanuel Mefor, Advance # 13390Z
Mutambara Mission Hospital Advance # 3022286.
August birthdays:
2 – Liz Larson
4 – Sharon Temple
5 – Karen Gibson
6 – Phil Gibson
7 – Mary Miracle
11 – Jim Landrum
22 – Al Reuter
25 – Dan Temple
27 – Roxann Ingersoll
28 – Ron Olson
29 – Luke Smith
Our Seekers Class(Adult Sunday School) meets every Sunday morning at 8:30. We invite all to attend.
Join us for Bible Study every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall or at 6:30 p.m. in the Faith House. We hope you can join us.
Choir and bell practices are now on summer hiatus and will start up again next month, after Labor Day. We are always looking for participants, so if you would like to join either of these wonderful musical groups, please contact the office at (970)285-9892 or by email: [email protected]
Prayer Partners meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 10:00. If you have anyone that you would like to add to the Prayer Partner list, please contact Bert Botkin at (970)216-8682.
Church Council Report
COUNCIL MUSINGS
Some notes from the July 11th Council meeting.
Mitzi Burkhart has remembered the Church in her will. As of the date of her death, last September, the amount was a little over $24,200. There are no restrictions on the use of the money. The funds will be held at Vanguard until the Council decides what to do with them.
The parsonage will need a new renter, but before it is rented out again, the Trustees want to do a walk-through to see if there are some updates that need to be done.
By the time you read this, the new carpet will have been installed and the sanctuary has been painted. Hope you like it.
August 18th the Church is sponsoring the Movie Under the Stars. August 11th will be the shoe distribution.
Look for the book entitled “The Book” that the Pedersens left us. You will find it on top of the bell cabinet. Interesting reading.
The next Council meeting will be August 10th at 10:30 a.m.
Treasurer
FINANCIAL NOTES
The Church is doing well through June. It is in the black, whereas it was budgeted to be in the red. Thank you for your support. June did see some larger than normal expenses for the parsonage because the water heater had to be replaced. But June’s income still managed to be greater than the total expenses for the month.
Our long-term investments also are doing well. They have increased $9,600 this last six months. We will be looking at our certificate of participations (like CD’s) to see if they are our best investments, taking into account the current interest rate environment.
The complete financial statements and writeup are posted on the bulletin board by the fellowship hall.
The importance of proofreading
Sign outside bathroom: Toilet out of order. Please use floor below.
Sign in laundromat: Automatic washing machines: please remove all your
clothes when the light goes out.
Sign in department store: Bargain Basement upstairs
Sign in office: Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please
bring it back or further steps will be taken.
Outside a second-hand store: We exchange anything – bicycles, washing
machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?
Notice in a health food shop window: Closed due to illness
Spotted in a safari park: Elephants, please stay in your car.
Seen during a conference: For anyone who has children and doesn’t know
it, there is a day care on the 1st floor.
Notice in a farmer’s field: The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for
free, but the bull charges.
Message on a leaflet: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.
On a repair shop door: We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door – the bell doesn’t work)
Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
[email protected]
www.GrandValleyUMC.com
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon