Grand Valley United Methodist Church
April 2025 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. VBS
3. Special Services
4. Birthdays
5. Calendar
6. Group Details
7. Church Reports
8. Just for Fun
From the Pastor….
Several years ago I attended a workshop on organ and tissue donation. As I sat at the computer trying to decide how to tie the gift of organ donation with Easter, I came across this story.
Patrick Gahagen is surprised to be alive this Easter. Just one year ago, “I never thought I would live to see the leaves change,” he says. Cystic fibrosis was slowly killing him and his dream of becoming a Lutheran pastor. “My lung capacity was about 20 percent of normal,” he recalls. “On a good day when I was completing my studies at Philadelphia Seminary in 1996, I might have been able to walk about 70 feet without stopping to catch my breath.”
Then came summer 1997 and what Gahagen calls a miracle of modern science and God – a miracle that dramatically altered his perspective on life and faith. Doctors at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis began an ambitious medical plan to make him as strong as possible for a double lung transplant that might let him live. The pre-surgical regimen of diet and exercise had him feeling so much better that he sometimes wondered whether surgery was a good idea. But he went ahead, only to wonder why he agreed to it.
“I was in terrible discomfort after the operation,” he recalls. But doctors reminded him in the ensuing days that he had made the right choice. “They told me that in 10 years of doing the surgery they had never seen lungs as badly deteriorated as mine,” he says. And now, less than a year after the surgery, he has “no trace” of cystic fibrosis in his lungs. Friends who recall seeing the frail Gahagen at his sister’s graduation from The Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia in spring 1997 can’t believe how well he looks today.
Gahagen’s eyes sparkle. He tries to jog two miles each day, and he eagerly anticipates the call process that will bring about the fulfillment of his dream of being a pastor. “I have a whole new perspective on things I used to take for granted,” he says. “I’ve just returned from Florida. I noticed while I was running near the ocean that life truly is everywhere – on the beach, in the sea, in birds and fish and plants. God is constantly overcoming death with life. It’s there for everyone to see if people will just take the time to notice it.”
Gahagen says his experience gave him a new perspective on Easter. “The spiritual aspects of my recovery have been more powerful for me than the physical side,” he says. “I have no idea who served as the donor for my surgery, but I feel a special closeness to that person. I think of the donor as a guardian angel. I don’t believe for an instant that God wanted this donor to die so that I could find life. But God found a way to make life possible after death, and that gives this Easter season a special meaning for me.”
Stories like Gahagen is an inspiration that we take time to see the miracles around us. Easter is that time we need to take to see and experience how God continues to bring life out of death in our lives and others as well as this wonderful world we live in.
I wish you a happy Easter
Michael
For the week of April 6th, there will be a change in the office hours. The office will be open
Tuesday, April 8th 9-noon
Wednesday, April 9th 9-noon
Thursday, April 10th 9-noon
Friday, April 11th CLOSED
Thank you for your understanding.
Our 2025 VBS planning is well under way! This year, the theme is “True North – Trusting Jesus in a Wild World” and it looks to be an exciting time! VBS will be held on Monday, June 9 – Friday, June 13. You can help get things started by saving your empty cardboard paper towel and toilet paper rolls for VBS projects. There is a box in the Fellowship Hall that you can drop them into. And also think about volunteering during that week!
We will keep you updated on plans, and know that we appreciate any help/support you can give us!
Easter Season is here! We will be having a few special worship services to celebrate:
Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 13 – worship service at 10:00 am
Maundy Thursday/Tenebrae – Thursday, April 17th – worship service at 5:00 pm
Easter Sunday – Sunday, April 20 – worship at 10:00 am with an Easter dinner immediately following the service. Ham and potatoes will be supplied – please bring a dish to pass.
Please join us for any or all of these special worship services, and plan on staying on Easter Sunday for dinner!
April Birthdays
9 – Cindi Smith
10 – Christina Seets
12 – Cindy Day
25 – Ron Palmer
30 – Ken Carlson
Our Seekers Class(Adult Sunday School) meets every Sunday morning at 8:30. We invite all to attend.
Our Tuesday Bible Study group is focusing on the Apostles’ Creed. They meet at 10:30. 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 meets at 4:00 on Wednesday and bells meet when needed. 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 Wednesday at 11:30 in the Fellowship Hall.
Church Council Report
Council met at 2:00 on Tuesday, March 11th
Ron Olson, Penelope Olson, Michelle Foster, Bert Botkin, Al Reuter, Lee Allen, Len Allen and Grace Reuter attended.
The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Treasurer: Penelope reported the lease of a new copier. John Chapman signed the new lease as a trustee. The church is in good shape with a year-to-date excess operating income of $6,613.00.
Finance: We are ready for the audit of the books.
Mission: We will have a 5th Sunday potluck on March 30th.
Music: The Bells will play Easter Sunday.
Memorial: The stone for Jim Ness has been laid.
Worship: We have new banners for Easter. We are going to have the quilt and alter cloths cleaned.
No further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Allen, Secretary
Mission & Outreach
M&O donated some of their funds so that we could meet the goal of money sent to the Mefors. This extra money made the total sent to them – $2,200.
On Friday morning, April 25th, we will be hosting 90 kindergarten children from CFL. They will be coming in groups of about 20. They will be over at the garden learning about how plants grow, and each child will take home a starter plant that they can come back and plant in our garden if they want. This should be a lot of fun, and we will need hands to help out!! Please let Laurel know if you are available that morning to give a hand.
Treasurer
February was GRRRREAT!
When it comes to finances during February, the month was great. Pledged income was higher than anticipated, though it is mainly due to timing. Other income was mainly on-budget and the Church ended up the month with income of $12,111. Expenses were kept in check by those responsible and were under budget. This left excess revenues of $5,425 for the month. For the first two months of the year, the Church has excess revenues of $6,613. These excesses will help take us through the leaner months.
Money sent to the Mefors totaled $2,200. Florence said,” Please pass our greetings to our pastor in charge and all the sisters and brothers that contributed this huge amount of money. May the good Lord replenish all your resources in Jesus mighty name Amen. Blessings of God to you all.” Thank you for your generosity towards them.
A copy of the financial statements may be found on the Fellowship Hall bulletin board. Contact me if you have any questions.
Penelope Olson
The last of the fun puns…..
– A vulture boards an airplane, carrying 2 dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says,” I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.”
– Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, “Dam!”
– Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.
– Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, “I’ve lost my electron.” The other says, “Are you sure?” The first replies, “Yes, I’m positive.”
– Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal procedure? His goal: transcend dental medication.
And finally…
– There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
[email protected]
www.GrandValleyUMC.com
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon