Newsletter - March 2018 Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Greetings to you and blessings on your Lenten Journey! On February 14, we observed Ash Wednesday, and began the journey of these forty days together. While this is a time for reflection and to look inwardly to our personal faith lives and can often be a somewhat somber or even sad time of year, I am also, despite the recent weather, aware of much that there is to be lifting our spirits at this time of year. After all, Spring is just around the corner, and there is much excitement taking place in our church! The Steering Committee for our Parish House Renovations project has begun meeting regularly and welcomes a new chair, Matt Klusmeyer, who will be leading the way as we explore potential projects and timelines. Other members of the committee include: Ruth Spayde, Jennifer Moorehead, Rick Alexander, Eric Lembke, Dennis Potter, Jessica Quint, myself and Danielle Norton (our Governing Board Chair). If you have thoughts you want to pass along to the group to consider, please take a moment to reach out to Matt or one of these folks and let us know. We ve surveyed the congregation, have presented the findings, and now are working on a plan to present to you this summer on our way forward, and we want to make sure you remain an important part of that process! Your voice matters because this is your church and our shared vision. Susan Craig is busy with our children, youth and families! Seven students went to WOW in Springfield, and on any given week, between our Wednesday night children s program and Sunday night youth program, we have between 20 and 25 active young persons! You ll also see later in this newsletter that we have hired as a youth intern a delightful CMU student, Trevor Roebke. In music, we re excited to have the choirs of St. Paul UMC and First Christian Church join us for a joint cantata for Maundy Thursday, and Pastors Paula and Karen will join me in planning the rest of what will be a (Continued on p. 6) Easter Lilies If you plan to bring an Easter Lily in honor or memory of someone for the Easter Sunday service, please send an email to info@linnumc.org or bring a note to the church office with dedication information no later than Monday, March 26. Bring your lily to the church prior to the Easter Sunday service. Pastor: Rev. David Hutchison drhutchi@centralmethodist.edu Cell: 816-808-5242 Mrs. Susan Craig, Director Children, Youth & Families (573-289-8337) Barb Gregory, Music Director Ruth Spayde, Organist Church Office: 660-248-3157 info@linnumc.org Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. - 12 noon Administrative Assistant: Cindi Innes cindi@linnumc.org Coffee & Donuts - Sundays 10 a.m. & following service Sunday School- 9:15 a.m. Sunday Service - 10:30 a.m. Altar Guild in March Barbara Alexander Cathy Masonholder
Page 2 Board Hires Ashley Klusmeyer Starting March 8th, there will be a new face in the church office Mrs. Ashley Klusmeyer, who will be taking on the newly created role of Office Manager for Linn Memorial UMC. Ashley, and her husband Matt, along with their children joined Linn Memorial UMC on Easter Sunday 2016, and have become well engaged in our faith community, with Matt also now serving as the Chair of the Parish House Renovations Steering Committee. Ashley, a former Marine and current Science Education student at Central Methodist University, will be taking functions carried out by Cindi Innes, such as reception at the front desk, bulletins, mailings, and other secretarial tasks, but will also be expanding the role to take on broader administrative and financial duties, such as the church s bookkeeping and management of paperwork. Also new will be Sunday Morning hours, to help create better connection and communication between the church members and the staff. Mrs. Klusmeyer s hours will vary by semester, as a CMU student, so please watch the Bulletin and newsletter/website for changes each semester. Opportunities for Service, Fellowship in March Mary Circle Mary Circle will meet on Wednesday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Parish House Fellowship Hall. Amia Pridgeon is the hostess and program leader for the evening. Debbie Hanson will share a devotion.. Lydia Circle Lydia Circle will meet on Friday, March 23 at 10 a.m. at Sandy Marshall s home. The group will study Book 2, The United Methodist Men will meet for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 17 at St. Paul s. All men are welcome. Prayer Shawl Ministry will meet Sunday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. in the Parish House Parlor and Wednesday, March 21 at 7:15 p.m., also in the parlor. Anyone interested in this ministry is welcome to attend. If you are interested in learning to crochet or knit this is the group for you! Carry-In Dinner Come join the fun at the All-Church Carry-In Dinner on Wednesday, March 28 at 6 p.m. in the Parish House Basement. Bring a dish to share. Invite a friend. Enjoy good food and good fellowship. Easter Egg Hunt Linn Memorial UMC is inviting all children in the area to a Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31. Children are invited to gather on the lawn in front of the Parish House shortly before 10 a.m. Members of Quest will hide the eggs and help with the hunt. Members of the congregation are invited to provide plastic eggs, candy to put in the eggs and/or money to purchase materials for the hunt. Church to Welcome Fayette Band Students with Your Help Friday, March 2 is CMU Music Festival. Once again, our church will host a hospitality room for the Fayette band and choir students. Our students do not have a bus to store their instruments and robes so we have opened up the Quest Room on the 3rd floor of the Fellowship Hall. We will provide snacks and drinks as well as board games and puzzles for entertainment. What we need from the congregation is quick grab snacks, quick grab juice boxes/pouches (no soda, no Gatorade, etc.), and adults to monitor the room. Monetary donations are also welcome. Contact Jessica Quint at 573-289-8723 or jessicaquint@hotmail.com to let us know how you can help.
Page 3 What s Happening in March March 4 CMU Choir Concert - 4 p.m. - Sanctuary Quest - 6 p.m. - Fellowship Hall March 7 Energize - 5:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall March. 11 Prayer Shawl Ministry - 2:30 p.m. - Parlor Quest - 6 p.m.- Fellowship Hall March 14 Mary Circle - 5:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall Energize - 5:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall March 17 UMM Breakfast - 7:30 a.m. - St. Paul's March 18 Quest - 6 p.m.- Fellowship Hall March 19 Governing Board Meeting - 7 p.m. - Library March 21 Energize - 5:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall Prayer Shawl Ministry - 7:15 p.m. Church Parlor March 23 Lydia Circle - 10 a.m. - Sandy Marshall s home March 25 Palm Sunday Service, 10:30 a.m. Quest - 6-8 p.m. - Fellowship Hall March 28 Energize - 5:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall Fellowship Dinner - 6 p.m. - Fellowship Hall March 29 Maundy Thursday Service, 7 p.m. March 30 Good Friday Service, 7 p.m. March 31 Community Easter Egg Hunt in yard between Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall, 10 a.m. April 1 - Easter Sunrise Service - 7 a.m. - Lawn by church followed by Easter breakfast (Fellowship Hall) sponsored by Quest Easter Worship Service - 10:30 a.m., Sanctuary The special Easter Sunday offering will be used to support our covenant church in Mozambique pending Governing Board approval.. Musical Notes The Maundy Thursday service in the sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 29 will feature a cantata performed by a community choir under the direction of Linn Music Director Barbara Gregory and made up primarily of singers from Linn, St. Paul s and the First Christian Church. UtÑà áåá Elijah Klusmeyer, son of Ashley and Matt Klusmeyer, and Harper Norton, the daughter of Danielle and Stephen Norton, will be baptized during the worship service on Easter Sunday. The Klusmeyers and the Nortons will host a carry-in dinner immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall. Going Green Lembke Creates Digital Records Roger Lembke, in his role as church historian, has updated all of the written church membership records and has created a digital record of that information. The digital records may be sorted and searched electronically making it easier for the Minister and Office Manager to quickly access information including but not limited to the names of active and provisional members, births, baptisms, marriages and deaths. Howard County Head Start would like to invite any men to its 100 Man Lunch. It will be held on March 20 at 11:30 a.m. The address is 103B Furr Street in Fayette. Please call 248-2227 with questions. Bring your favorite book to read to the kids if you would like. The kids would love to have you there.
Page 4 The youth spaghetti luncheon on Feb. 18 was a success! Profits from this event totaled $183 and will be used to fund future youth activities. Energize, the children s youth group, will meet each Wednesday in March at 5:30 p.m. in the Parish House Quest, the youth group for middle and high school students, will meet each Sunday in March at 6 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. CMU Sophomore Serves as Youth Intern Trevor Roebke, a sophomore at CMU, has joined our children's and youth ministries team as our new youth intern. He is an elementary education major from Stafford, Missouri, and is a varsity runner for the cross country and track teams at CMU. Trevor has been a fun addition to our Quest and Energize groups, offering leadership and support to the youth of our church, Susan Craig, Director of Children, Youth and Families, commented.
Page 5 Susan Craig, Director Children, Youth & Family Ministries Notes from Susan Join the members of Quest on March 31 at 10 a.m. as we host a community-wide Easter egg hunt. Contact me, Susan Craig, if you are interested in supporting or volunteering for this fun outreach opportunity! You are invited to join the youth of Linn Memorial for an Easter morning breakfast immediately following the sunrise service. Freewill donations will be accepted. Keelings Honored Margie & Keith Keeling, longtime members of Linn, were honored at a reception on Sunday, February 17. The Keelings are moving to Tampa, Florida. They are pictured here with a prayer shawl presented to them by the Prayer Shawl Ministry. On Sunday and Monday, March 4 and 5, a professional photographer will take or retake individual and family photos for the 2018 Church Directory. Photos taken by former Pastor Katilyn WILL NOT be used in the directory so everyone needs to have a photo taken. The photographer will have professional portrait packages available ranging from $12 to $30. PLEASE Email David or speak to him about your top three preferred timeslots so your photo sitting may be scheduled! You do not need to be members of the church in order to be included. Time slots are listed below. At the time of the sitting each individual/family will be asked to provide information such as name, address, phone, email address for the church records and possible inclusion in the directory. Each person will have the option of keeping any or all of the information private. Upon completion of the photo-taking portion of this project, Roger and Linda Lembke have agreed to combine this information in booklet form. The booklets will be printed by CMU and will be made available for distribution. Photo Session Time Slots: Sunday, March 5 5 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 5:40 p.m., 5:50 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:10 p.m., 6:20 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 6:40 p.m., 6:50 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:10 p.m., 7:20 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 7:40 p.m., 7:50 p.m., 8 p.m., 8:10 p.m., 8:20 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 8:40 p.m., 8:50 p.m. REMEMBER Contact David with your top three choices. Monday, March 6 2 p.m., 2:10 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 2:40 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:10 p.m., 3:20 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 3:40 p.m., 3:50 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 4:40 p.m., 4:50 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 5:40 p.m., 5:50 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:10 p.m., 6:20 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 6:40 p.m., and 6:50 p.m.
(Continued from page 1) wonderful opportunity for worship that night. Mark your calendars for 7 p.m. on March 29! In addition, I am VERY excited to announce that Barb Gregory, our Music Director, and our leadership have created the Luther T. Spayde Church Music Fellowship, a new paid internship at Linn Memorial. Duties for this semester-based intern will include supporting Barb in her music ministries, recruiting new folks to join our music ensembles, helping lead music in worship, conducting our ensembles on a periodic basis and supporting children's music We have a fantastic school of music at the only Methodist college in Missouri, literally connected to our building, and now we are forming a true connection with these students and helping shape the next generation of church musicians. We ve begun the interviewing process for our first intern. For more information, email info@linnumc.org. Finally, I want to note our Holy Week schedule. Maundy Thursday, March 29 at 7 p.m. will be our combined cantata. Good Friday, March 30th, 7 p.m. will be a powerful and reflective time to begin Easter weekend. Saturday, March 31 at 10 a.m. we ll host a community-wide Easter Egg Hunt on our grounds, welcoming children from all over Fayette to come enjoy the morning with us! Then comes Easter Sunday. We ll begin with a 7 a.m. Sunrise Service out on the lawn, followed by an 8 a.m Easter breakfast cooked by our youth, with free will donations accepted. The main event will then be at 10:30 a.m. as usual, with our traditional Easter worship service. I hope you will consider joining us for all of this, and consider making an invitation to others to join as well. In Christ, David Page 6 Follow us at facebook.com/linnmemorialunitedmethodistchurch and visit our website at www.linnumc.org. 409 N. Church Street Fayette, MO 65248