Grand Valley United Methodist Church
June 2025 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
1. From the Pastor
2. VBS
3. Sunday, June 29th Service
4. In Loving Memory
5. Birthdays
6. Calendar
7. Group Details
8. Church Reports
9. Just for Fun
From the Pastor….
As I was thinking about my trip to Nicaragua I found myself thinking about my call to ministry. I found a correlation. Feelings were at the beginning of both journeys. My call into ministry was a deep desire to serve God and my trips to Nicaragua came out of a deep desire to help the Nicaraguans. Those feelings served to push me into action. I would not have responded without those deep feelings. What sustained me through the schooling and the years of ministry was more than the feeling of wanting to serve there came an understanding that I was part of something larger than myself.
Several years ago I was in a workshop on counseling and Barbara the presenter was explaining her family. She talked about her great grandparents, her grandparents, uncles, and aunts. She talked for 20 minutes about her family and she said, “All these people help me to have deep roots. I realize that I am part of something greater than myself and that I am just one person who is helping this family to continue.”
Well I am just one person who is part of something greater than myself by trying to help the family of God to continue. I help by serving as a pastor and I help by going to Nicaragua to help them rebuild and let them know people care. You are just one person and you help the family of God to continue by being faithful to your call as a child of God. Each time you reach out with your love and compassion you help someone in our very large family know that they are not alone. Being part of something larger than ourselves is understanding that we are not alone. I think that being alone is one of our greatest fears. God invites us and want us to be part of something larger, so we don’t have to stand-alone, and in turn we can help our family to continue.
Shalom,
Michael
It’s time!!
Our VBS will be held the week of June 2-6 from 9:00-noon. They have been doing lots of planning to make this week run smoothly. Thank you to all who have already volunteered to help out during that week – there’s still time to help out if you want, just let Dave P know.
Sunday, June 29th Worship
Service on the Mesa
Our Sunday Worship on June 29th will be held at Bert Botkin’s on Morrisania Mesa. There will be a potluck picnic immediately following. Directions below, and will be in the bulletins the 2 Sundays prior.
Here are the directions to her house from the Church:
Turn left on Parachute Ave towards the Rest Area
Turn right onto County Road 215 (the road that takes you up into Battlement Mesa)
Continue up the hill until you reach the road to Morrisania Mesa – this will be the first intersection past Spencer Parkway.
Turn left – County Road 301.
Stay on this road for 1.66 miles – her home is on the left.
2943 County Road 301
See you there!
It is with great sorrow that we report the death of Jim Landrum. We found out recently that he passed away on March 22nd of congestive heart failure. Jim was a member of the church and moved to Arvada a couple of years ago. He will be greatly missed.
June Birthdays
7 – Brenda Braspenninx
17 – Alice Alvord, Tom Haskell & Donald Morton
20 – Susan Stoakes
21 – Tom Meader & Carol Morton
26 – Penelope Olson
28 – Beanie Branaman & June Zacharias
Our Seekers Class(Adult Sunday School) meets every Sunday morning at 8:30. We invite all to attend.
Tuesday Bible Study
Our Tuesday Bible Study group is on hiatus until mid-late August.
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 and 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: office@grandvalleyumc.com
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
Due to a jack-knifed truck blocking the route to church, there was no meeting this month.
Treasurer
WHAT’S NEW ON THE FINANCIAL FRONT?
Although April was not like February and March, it still was a good month for revenues. The Church is still ahead of budget in giving and total revenues for the four months.
Each month, we send a portion of our revenues to the Conference – the Church’s tithe. A mistake was discovered in the calculation made for January through March which was corrected in April. This increase caused April’s net income to be a deficit. But year-to date is still in the positive to the tune of $8,000, so the Church is still looking good.
Our long-term investments increased a tad, $175. At least it wasn’t a loss this month. And a CD matured and was reinvested in a Certificate of Participation at the Methodist Helping Methodist Foundation. It is paying a bit less than the CD, but that is because it is a longer term. The Finance Committee and Council are building a ladder of maturities to protect ourselves against interest rate drops.
The financials are available on the Fellowship Hall bulletin board. Questions are always welcome.
All Men/All Girls
When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, “And all girls.”
This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, “Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?”
Her response, “Because everybody always finishes their prayers by saying ‘All Men’!”
Say a Prayer
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother’s house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. “Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer,” said his mother.
“I don’t need to ,” the boy replied.
“Of course you do,” his mother insisted. “We always say a prayer before eating at our house.”
“That’s at our house.” Johnny explained. “But this is Grandma’s house and she knows how to cook.”
Church Contact Information
PO Box 125
Parachute CO 81635
(970)285-9892
office@grandvalleyumc.com
www.GrandValleyUMC.com
OFFICE HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday
9:00 – noon