Grand Valley United Methodist Church
July 2024 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. VBS report
3. Birthdays
4. Calendar
5. Group Details
6. Church Reports
7. Just for Fun
From the Pastor….
Oh my head is spinning. It’s already the end of June and when you read this newsletter article it will be July. A third of summer will have been lived to its fullest. The first third was filled with Vacation Bible School and a picnic at Bert’s.
I am reminded that June 21 is longest day of the year. The days will start getting shorter but the business will not slow down. The end of July we will visiting family in Michigan and Ohio. The first two day of August we watch our daughter defend her dissertation and then her hooding for her Doctorate. During the third weekend of August our daughter will be helping her daughter move into her dorm room at CU in Boulder. Hopefully we will be able to meet up with them.
The question that surrounds me when I think of the summer months and all the activity is how does a person have prayer and time to center oneself in the midst of this kind of craziness? The only way I know is to be intentional about your relationship with God. I know who and what I need to pray about for each day. In the morning I begin praying while I am waiting for my coffee to brew and then I sit and talk with God about the concerns I have for family, friends and the world. During the day I just give thanks for what I see and what I experience. When I am in bed I give thanks for another day of life and all the good things that I have been blessed with.
I find I like the prayer of gratitude the best. It’s just a simple prayer of thanking God for your life, your health, the beauty of nature, and for whatever you can be grateful.
What a fun week we had June 10-14! We had right around 40 children that attended our VBS daily, and they really seemed to enjoy themselves – we had lots of activities for them to participate in. Enjoy some pictures taken during the week….
VBS Summary Report
Our Vacation Bible School met Monday, June 10th – Friday, June 14th and the theme for this year was Hometown Nazareth – Where Jesus was a kid. We had a record number of children this year – 40 kids a day average!!! This was a 43% increase from the average attendance in the past! There were 5 shops set up in the Fellowship Hall: Bead Bazaar, Carpentry, Rock Quarry, Olive Oil and Food Market where the children did different activities. We also had Mary’s house set up in the Faith House and the Synagogue School up in the Pastor’s office. For the groups of kids, we had 5 Tribes: Joseph, Napthali, Joshua, Levi and Simeon. Everyone – children and adults alike – seemed to have a really good time!
None of this could have been accomplished without the amazing VBS Team: Bonnie Gana, Dave Penrose, Bert Botkin, Eryn Alexander, Michelle Foster, Jessica McElroy, Cindi Smith, Tom and Pam Haskell, Ted Birdsill, Steve Shaw, John Chapman, Michael Ingersoll, Randy Jorgensen, and everyone from the Pentecostal Church. A HUGE thank you to all of these volunteers!!! We would also like to thank all those who helped out with monetary donations and/or items. We seriously couldn’t have done it without your endless support! See you all next year!!!
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Joe Cason passed away early morning of Tuesday, June 4th. There will be a memorial service for him in the near future – we will keep you posted. Joe was an integral part of this church and will be missed greatly.
July Birthdays:
9 – Milli Dunham
11 – Linda Elliott and Marietta Kovacs
14 – Bonnie Gana
15 – Sara Francis
16 – Carol Schelling
21 – John Zacharias
25 – Garland White
27 – Blanche Shaw
Our Seekers Class(Adult Sunday School) meets every Sunday morning at 8:30. We invite all to attend.
Please join us on Tuesdays at 10:30 for our Parables of the Bible study. All are welcome.
Join us for Bible Study every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We hope you can join us.
Choir and bells are now on summer hiatus. They will start up again 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 10:30. If you have anyone that you would like to add to the Prayer Partner list, please contact Bert Botkin at (970)216-8682.
Our Ambassadors (Care Team) meet on the 2nd Friday at 1100 in the Fellowship Hall.
Church Council Report
No Report
Mission & Outreach
No Report
Treasurer
TWO SIDES TO A COIN
May brought us flowers but the financial picture at the Church was not as rosy for May, in a way. Expenses out stripped income by about $1,800. And year-to-date, the Church is in the hole by about $1,900. But the upside of this is it had been anticipated that the situation would be much worse. It had been expected that the Church would be in the hole by $6,000 at the end of May. So, we can see the glass as half full instead of half empty.
But that is not the only part of our finances. We have plenty of money in the bank to cover the shortage. We have $15,300 in the checking and money markets, and $70,300 in CD’s and CD-like investments, and somewhere in the neighborhood of $133,000 in long-term investments. Of those funds, $60,400 are funds that are donor restricted, that is they have been designated for a specific purpose.
These financial statements may be found on the bulletin board outside the fellowship hall if you would like to see more detail. Contact me with any questions.
Penelope Olson
The following appeared in church bulletins or were announced at church services:
The Sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water’. The Sermon tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus’.
Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
Don’t let worry kill you — let the Church help.
Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again’, giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing ‘Break Forth into Joy’.
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5 pm – prayer and medication to follow.
More next month…..
Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
[email protected]
www.GrandValleyUMC.com
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon