Grand Valley United Methodist Church
February 2024 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. New Chairs
3. Ash Wednesday
4. In Loving Memory
5. Birthdays
6. Calendar
7. Event Details
8. Church Reports
9. Just for Fun
From the Pastor….
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil:
Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money. Prosperity does not ruin people; the bible says prosperity ruins a fool. So why is it that whenever a minister mentions money in the church the atmosphere changes for the worse? It is because inherent in us all is the belief that our money is ours! Lord you can have my life, but my money is a different story. You know I have bills.
Consider this. Whatever and whoever you love, that’s where your money is spent. As a wise man said “Us do, what us want to do!” Check your calendar and your checkbook, therein lies your allegiance. How much time and how much money are you investing in the things of God? I’m not talking about being silly and giving everything away so that your household suffers. For the bible also says he who does not take care of his own is a fool.
Tithing is a given. There is no gray area there. Even Jesus said it is what we “ought to”. Offerings are what we give in addition to tithes. I do believe that coercion in giving has no place in the church. There should be no schemes or gimmicks to try to get people to give. When you study the Bible about giving you learn there are a lot of blessings tied to generosity. Giving needs to come from the heart.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Money certainly is a treasure for all of us. We all work to get it. And the effort that goes into earning it and what it can give us makes it valuable to us. So it is important to know that the leadership of this church has developed a track record that demonstrates proper stewardship of the resources to which it has been entrusted.
Luke 16:10-12 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
So just what are these true riches in life? Would you not consider your marriage or your children to be true riches in this life? Maybe a close and intimate walk with God could be considered one of the true riches in life. It might even be more than that. Love, Joy, peace, and contentment could be considered true riches as well.
These things are more valuable than any amount of money, and money can’t purchase them. But, it may be that God uses money to see if He can trust you with these true riches.
New Chairs
Our new chairs arrived the afternoon of January 3rd. Thank you, Michelle, for all your footwork to get these ordered! A HUGE thank you to John Chapman, Fred Inman, Shawn McElroy, John Koning, Jennifer Gisner and Devin for unloading them from the truck and getting them in the Sanctuary. We would also like to thank the “set up” crew, who came in on the 4th and removed the old chairs and set up the new: Shawn M, John C, Jane C, Barb M, and Michelle F. Our old chairs were taken to a small church in Mesa where they were greatly appreciated!
What is Ash Wednesday for the United Methodist?
It marks the first day of Lent. It is the beginning of a period of reflection and penance. In the Bible, sprinkling oneself with ashes was traditionally a sign of one’s sorrow for having committed sins.
We will be holding an Ash Wednesday Service on February 14th at 4:00. Please join us.
It is with great sadness that we are letting you know about the passing of Jean Ives. She passed away on January 4th at home. At this time, there is no information regarding a service.
February Birthdays:
2 – Bruce Knuth
3 – John Koning
5 – Barb McElroy
6 – Steve Shaw
8 – Carol Lamb
11 – Anne White
15 – Thom Hamick & Grace Reuter
17 – Greg Smith
20 – Sarah Orona
26 – Michael Ingersoll
27 – Sue Knuth
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. We hope you can join us.
Choir and bell practices are back in full swing. Choir meets at 4:00 on Wednesday and bells meet when necessary. 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 10:30. 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
The Council met on January 9th at 2:00. The minutes of the December meeting were approved.
Treasurer: We purchased new chairs for the Sanctuary. All in all, 2023 was a good year – we ended up with a surplus. Pledges are still coming in for 2024.
Mission: Bert reported that we need to appeal to the congregation for food donations. The Soup Lunch will begin again on Monday, January 15th.
Trustees: The back door has been fixed so that it will open and close more easily. The gutter in the back has also been fixed.
Worship: There will be a Maundy Thursday service – a Service of Shadows – much like we had last year. We are also looking into what it takes to stream our services on the internet. Penelope will look into our internet speed.
Christian Education: Bert reported that work is being done to organize VBS for this summer.
Treasurer
Great Year-End Financial News
2024 was a good year for GVUMC. The long-term investments increased by almost $17,500 to $130,500. We transferred our unused cash into CD’s and Certificates of Participations, mainly short-term, and those increased by $29,500 to $73,100. We received a bequest of $25,000 from Mitzi Burkhardt.
All those are great. But the greatest story is your faith in the Church. Giving was $10,000 above what was budgeted at $84,400. Total revenues came in at $117,100. This allowed the Church to cover all its operating expenses and have an excess of just over $8,000. Thank you.
In addition, new chairs were purchased, a new deck was put on at the parsonage, kids were provided with shoes and they received gifts at Christmas, VBS happened, and you gave to Special Sundays. I will give you these numbers next month.
Thank you for your faithful giving to GVUMC.
How To Write Good
1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. They’re old hat.
4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
5. Be more or less specific.
6. Writers should never generalize.
Seven: Be consistent!
8. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
9. Who needs rhetorical questions?
10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
[email protected]
www.GrandValleyUMC.com
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon