Ring Out, WIld Bells!

December 21, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

“Ring Out, Wild Bells”

A Christmas Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

On behalf of the staff and lay leadership of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, I wish you and your loved ones a joyous Christmas and a blessed new year!

Merry Christmas!

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org



CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
We will gather to celebrate the arrival of Christ this Saturday at 5:30 pm for our Christmas Eve Service. It will feature carols, candlelighting, and a very unique "radio drama" sermon. Join us, and bring a friend! We will also have a regular service at 10:10 am on Christmas morning.

CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED
In observance of Christmas, the church office will be closed next Monday and Tuesday. Magrey and his family will be traveling after Christmas, so the Mid-Week Message will resume on Wednesday, January 11. Happy New Year!

YEAR-END GIVING
Help us end the year strong with your generous contributions to the church’s general budget. Just a reminder, to have your gifts counted toward your 2010 giving statement, they must be postmarked to the church by December 31.

Bearing the Word

December 14, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

This week’s message marks a bit of a minor milestone for me, as it is my 200th Mid-Week Message since becoming your pastor in 2007. I would otherwise let the occasion slide by unnoticed, except that I have to acknowledge some surprise at reaching this benchmark. I was quite unsure when I started writing these four years ago whether I’d have both the regular content and the ongoing stamina necessary to keep writing them. Nor was it clear whether I could fit it into the rigors of writing both the weekly sermon and the Sunday morning radio program. So it is not without some level of astonishment that I share this observance with you.

I can only hope that you’ve received as much benefit from reading these messages as I have had in writing them. The discipline of producing them has sharpened my command of language, in a form and scope quite different from the auditory experience of a live sermon. More importantly, as the messages have gotten longer, more substantive, and more varied, I have strengthened by ability to theologize on a broader array of contemporary issues at the intersection of life and faith. Words, after all, constitute my stock in trade, so writing these Mid-Weeks has made me a better preacher, a more effective pastor, and a more capable spiritual leader.


PASTORS WRITING BADLY

Whenever I’ve felt tempted to cut corners on the Mid-Week, I think about a shot in the arm I received exactly one year ago today. On December 14, 2010, Duke Divinity School’s Faith and Leadership website published an article by the Rev. Lillian Daniel called “Pastors Writing Badly.” [1] It is a call for ministers to give renewed attention to one of the most basic, yet most overlooked, forms of pastoral communication: the epistle. Daniel laments the lost art of simply writing to one’s congregation, whether it take the form of a monthly newsletter article or a weekly e-mail message. Too many pastors, Daniel argues, ignore the importance of writing these pieces well:


Pastors tired of writing newsletters would do well to remember that most Sunday worship attracts a fraction of our members. That means that more people may be touched by that newsletter than by our worship. The newsletter may be the only connection a home bound and elderly member has to the church. Just when I am convinced no one reads the newsletter, I hear a story about an article that truly turned someone’s attention back to God at a crucial moment.

And for good or bad, they have a wicked long shelf life. They lie on people’s kitchen counters for a neighbor to pick up, they get sent off or emailed to relatives if a child’s name is mentioned within, and they are even perused by petty clergy colleagues with an axe to grind.

I do have an axe to grind, and it is this. As much as I appreciate the minister’s workload, I want to suggest that even in the busiest week, we prioritize. As long as the newsletter is an afterthought, we miss an opportunity for ministry.

Lastly, sloppy newsletter articles are, in their frequency and practice, a rejection of one of Christianity’s historical treasures -- the well-written epistle. We are a religion in which we gather to worship, to hear the gospel, the prophecies, the songs, and then, as odd as it may seem, a letter. A letter from a pastoral leader to a church.

I don’t aspire to write like Paul in every issue of the Pilgrim newsletter, but I am humbled to note that 2,000 years later, we know him by his letters, and not his preaching. We also know those churches. And in their struggles, in their arguments, and in their growth, they had a leader who wrote to them carefully, critically, lovingly and with all he had. It’s time to reclaim the pastoral epistle at the local level, move the newsletter article higher up the list and take it seriously again.


Daniel captures perfectly why it is so important for clergy to maintain the discipline of good writing, and why writing these weekly messages is such an important part of my ministry to each of you. I’m grateful for any benefit it brings you.


BEARING THE WORD

In case you think clergy are the only ones who have the responsibility of influencing the world with their words, guess again. You do too. You don’t need to have a seminary degree, or formal religious training, in order to have the ability to be word-bearers.

Just ask Mary.

It is not a coincidence that this 200th message coincides with the Sunday that we turn our attention to Mary, for no one knew better the significance of bearing the Word than her. Orthodox traditions name her as the Theotokos, or “bearer of God.” Christian doctrine is careful to specify that Mary’s bearing of Jesus does not make her older than God, the creator of God, the source of Christ’s divinity, or even divine herself. What it simply means is that she was the vessel through which God gave the world God’s best, most complete self-revelation of love for humanity. Without Mary bearing the Word, the world would not know love in the Word made Flesh.

While most Protestants do not give Mary the kind of doctrinal prominence that our Catholic and Orthodox siblings do, hers is a critical example to incorporate into our discipleship. You don’t need to be a minister, drafting sermons and weekly messages to be a conduit of God’s grace. The Word that you bear may take a number of forms:

A timely word of encouragement to a troubled friend in need.
A prophetic word of truth for someone living amid the shadows of sin.
A liberating word of hope for a person gripped by grief, anxiety, or loss.
A reconciling word of forgiveness, to mend a broken relationship.

As noted preacher and author Barbara Brown Taylor once said, “You are a word, about the Word, before you even say a word.” And whatever form that word takes, yours may be the vital link connecting someone else to an experience of God’s love. Just like Mary, you may be exclusively chosen by God to carry that word for a specific person. So may you birth that word in the way you live, speak, and relate to others, that you may say, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Peace and Joy,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org

[1] http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/12-14-2010/lillian-daniel-pastors-writing-badly


WINTER OUTERWEAR REQUEST
Thank you for the tremendous response to our new winter outerwear ministry. Every day, new loads of coats, hats, and mittens arrive for distribution on Saturdays. There is now a need for snow boots, for all ages and sizes. If you have new or gently used boots to donate to families in need, please place them on the table outside the church office.

INCREDIBLE GENEROSITY
You all continue to prove to be a congregation of generous hearts. Thank you for your donation of over $750 to Stan Sitzmann’s Needy Children project, and for your efforts to ring bells for the Salvation Army, which has raised over $1,800 so far this December. You are truly putting God’s love into action!

END-OF-YEAR GIVING
Thank you for your faithful giving to support the ministries of the church throughout the year. You can help us end the year strongly and start 2012 without any operational deficits. For your gifts to be counted toward your 2011 statements, please postmark your contributions by December 31.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
Join us for another beautiful Christmas Eve Candlelight service on December 24 at 5:30 pm. We are also having a regular service on Christmas morning, Sunday the 25th, at 10:10 am.

Rhyming John the Baptist Sermon

For those interested, here is the audio from last Sunday, December 4, 2011. It's my rhyming sermon on John the Baptist, based on Matthew 3:1-17.

Matthew 3:1-17

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.” ’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

An Advent Prayer for Our Relationships

December 6, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Most popular depictions of the holiday season would have us believe that this is supposed to be a time of good cheer for everyone. Yet, despite musical pleas to make this “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and the “happiest season of all,” we find our relationships with others strained under stressors too numerous to count. You don’t need me to remind you that despite our best efforts, Christmas festivities tend to amplify our most deeply hidden family dysfunctions, and intensify the subtle fractures that exist in our relationships all year long.

We remember that even Jesus himself was born into a dysfunctional family. His mother bore the scandal of a pregnancy out of wedlock, and his father was the subject of public scrutiny. Even Jesus’ ancestry is a roll call of the scandalous and malfeasant, including a foreigner, a liar, a prostitute, and an adulterer. We might even come to the conclusion that when it comes to the Christmas story, there is no such thing as a “normal” family at all!

It is therefore in the spirit of that reality that I offer you this pastoral prayer, for any strained relationships you have with family members, friends, or loved ones.

An Advent Prayer for Healthy Relationships

O God our Creator, whose breath formed us into being, and in whose triune image we are called into relationships of mutual love and support, we thank you for the gift of yourself in Jesus Christ, whose Advent we anticipate once again.

Though you desire this season to be filled with joy and peace, we confess that we have fostered relationships soaked with brokenness and dysfunction. We admit our longing for health and peace in the way we treat one another, yet we are an imperfect reflection of your self-giving example, and we are prone instead to dispute and disruption.

For every household filled with chronic anger and wearying quarrels, bring to light neglected faults, in a spirit of new understanding and peace.

For every gathering of family and friends that verge on the edge of squabble and scorn, unstable because of fault lines of unnamed hurts and past sins, pour out your spirit of confession and forgiveness.

For every family dealing with the haunting influences of addiction, substance abuse, and mental disease, grant your spirit of courage and compassion, to be bold in truth and generous in love.

For every marriage troubled by unfulfilled expectations and chronic miscommunication, grant your spirit of understanding and empathy. Rekindle within them an awakening of boundless, unconditional love.

For every set of siblings long plagued by competition and resentment rather than encouragement and affirmation, grant a new spirit of peace and cooperation.

For every old wound bandaged by tenuous scars, whose injurious past can be recalled with the most inadvertent reminders, grant your spirit of healing.

For every person whose ongoing grief for loved ones lost skews this season of hope and promise into a time of sadness and loss, grant your comfort and constant presence. Remind these persons that in your being, the bonds of love never end.

For every young family adjusting to new life with a child, and negotiating new ways to relate as a family in the midst of transition, grant a spirit of child-like wonder, and a desire to mature.

For every couple struggling with infertility, in the midst of a season based on the birth of a Child, grant a spirit of hope, and the reminder that they are not without ability to provide other enduring legacies of love.

For older couples separated by distance from children and grandchildren, or widows and widowers who have long lived alone, grant a spirit companionship, and surround them with new friends and cohorts on their journey.

For those who live in the shadow of their own mortality, in fear of their own death and disease, offer a reminder that you are the source of all life, encouraging them to embrace their lives and the lives of others with courage, unafraid of joy and pain, sickness and health. May your love be made real in our care for others.

O God of hope and promise, you revealed your power in the self-giving love of Jesus, whose birth in lowly means exemplifies your call to servanthood and humility. May we, in the strength of your spirit, receive the gift of your son, living out his image in all that we say and do. May this season truly be one of preparation, that our hearts, minds, and souls may be awakened to a hope that brings holiness, for ourselves and the people we love. Enliven us by your spirit, that we may live in the fullness of your reign.

In the name of Immanuel, your presence among us, we pray.

Amen.


The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org



CANDLELIGHT SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE
Tonight we offer a worship service at Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 7:00pm for those grieving the loss of loved ones. In partnership with Bethlehem Lutheran, St. Paul’s UMC, Memorial Presbyterian, and Greenwood Funeral Home, the Candlelight Service of Remembrance features the reading of names and the lighting of candles in memory of people that we love. Join us for this meaningful worship experience.

CHRISTMAS CANTATA THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Our music ensembles have been diligently preparing a wonderful program of songs and readings to prepare us for the coming of Christ. Join us at 4:00 this Sunday afternoon for our annual Christmas Cantata.

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PROGRAM THIS SUNDAY
Our children’s ministry will be leading us in worship this Sunday for their annual Christmas program. Come experience the birth of Christ offered through spoken word and song. Following the service, you are invited to join us in the Fellowship Hall for a soup and hot dog luncheon.

CHRISTMAS COOKIE SALE
The Adult Class is once again sponsoring a cookie sale this Sunday. Reserve a batch or two of your holiday cookies and bring them to church this Saturday or before 9:00am this Sunday. They will be prepared by class members and offered for sale during the luncheon. Proceeds will fund projects sponsored by the Adult Class throughout the year.

COMMITMENT CARDS
Thank you to all of you who have already turned in a pledge for our annual stewardship campaign. Those who have not yet done so can pick up a stewardship packet in the narthex or in the church office. Thank you for turning it in as soon as you can, so that our Finance Committee can determine final approval of our 2012 General Budget.



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Good Work, Bad Days

November 30, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

If you’ve ever had a day you wished you could do over, reading some pages out of the journal of John Wesley might give you a bit of perspective. His entries offer vivid portrayals of a man struggling to do God’s work in the midst of people who wanted little to do with it. On Tuesday, April 22, 1736, Wesley records this exchange from one of those harsh critics, a man Wesley identifies only as “M____.”

“Tuesday, April 22, 1736. Observing much coldness in M____’s behavior, I asked him the reason of it. He answered, “I like nothing you do. All your sermons are satires upon particular persons, therefore I will never hear you more; and all the people are of my mind; for we won’t hear ourselves abused.

“Besides, they say, they are Protestants. But as for you, they cannot tell what religion you are of. They never heard of such a religion before. They do not know what to make of it. And then your private behavior: all the quarrels that have been here since you came, have been ‘long of you. Indeed there is neither man nor woman in the town who minds a word you say. And so you may preach long enough; but nobody will come to hear you.”

Talk about a tough day at the office, huh?

We know very little about the true identity of M____. But we can tell he was a pretty angry man who did not mince words or keep opinions to himself. Wesley records his response to M___ at the end of his journal entry, which we might find altogether appropriate: “He was too warm for hearing an answer. So I had nothing to do but to thank him for his openness, and walk away.”

Time and again, Wesley suffered harsh, and sometimes violent, criticism for simply doing God’s good work. Angry rioters disturbed his worship services in towns like Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, and London. On two separate occasions, mobs released oxen and bulls into the congregation, in an effort to disrupt his preaching. And someone in Drumersnave had the nerve to swipe the hat of Wesley’s head and stomp it to the ground. At every turn, Wesley calmly and coolly continued his work, perhaps turning to his journal for a daily catharsis from his miseries. On Friday, October 19, 1739, after preaching in an open field in Wales, Wesley recorded:

“I preached in the morning at Newport on “What must I do to be saved?” to the most insensible, ill-behaved people I have ever seen in Wales. One ancient man, during a great part of the sermon, cursed and swore almost incessantly; and, toward the conclusion, took up a great stone, which he many times attempted to throw. But that he could not do. - - Such the champions, such the arms against field preaching!”

Now, you and I may never have been subject to such harsh treatment. But I suspect there is a part of each of us that can relate to Wesley’s struggles. You might agree that some of our toughest days aren’t just the ones in which troubles arise unexpectedly or undeservedly. It’s the days when difficulties come as a direct result of our doing the right thing, speaking a truthful word, or performing a decent deed, that seem the most overwhelming. When injustice is coupled with irony, when the cosmos’ system of rewards and punishments seems grossly inverted, we question why we should bother doing the right thing to begin with.

Why confront a loved one about their self-destructive behavior when you will only be repaid with anger?

Why advance a posture of peace in a world so addicted to violence?

Why work for equality and tolerance when society is so warped by prejudice and ignorance?

Why bother speaking a word of truth when there are people waiting to release the bulls, pick up the stones, and stomp on our hats?

We can imagine that another man named John, some 2,000 years ago, found himself asking those same kinds of questions. On this second Sunday of Advent, the lectionary gospel turns our annual gaze toward the wild Nazarite in camel hair. Like Wesley, John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher sent by God to preach an uncomfortable message to unwilling ears.

Never does an Advent season go by without John the Baptist’s disruptive words that challenge our preferred Christmas comforts. Instead of lacing us with lovely tinsel and pretty garland, John shouts at us, “Repent, you brood of vipers!” Rather than listening to “Silent Night” and “White Christmas,” we hear his shrieking call: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John the Baptist was all business, from his leather belt to his locust lunch, and was the furthest thing from Perry Como or Currier and Ives.

Yet, we need John to be part of our Advent journey. He not only confronts our own apathies and challenges our own comforts; he encourages us to take up the elusive mantle of prophetic justice, and be unafraid to defy the stubborn powers of darkness around us. He calls us to stay fixed in our resolve to speak truth to family and friends who are reluctant to hear it. He stokes a passion for us to work for integrity and impartiality in our systems of government, economics, politics, and social structure. He would tell us not to quit, and not to give up. For there is someone coming, someone whose sandals we are not worthy to untie, who will fill every valley, raze every mountain, straighten every crooked path, and smooth every rough patch. And everyone, all flesh, Luke says, will someday see the salvation of God.

Thank God for John the Baptist. And thank God for the bit of John the Baptist inside each one of us.

Ultimately, may John’s message remind us of the best and most proper way to prepare for the coming of Christ: not through gift buying and party planning, not through Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays, but through daily, sober reevaluation of our priorities and a realignment of our values with the kingdom of God.

So, join us this Sunday as we continue our journey to Bethlehem, and let’s hear once again from the wild man from the wilderness.

(And, please, by all means, leave your oxen and bulls at home!)

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org




YOUTH SERVICE PROJECT TO MIDWEST CHRISTIAN CHILDREN’S HOME
All youth grades 7-12 are invited to join us for our annual service project to the Midwest Christian Children’s Home, a facility for troubled boys, near Peterson, Iowa. We will meet at 2:00 at the church and head to Kmart to purchase Christmas gifts using the proceeds from their recent cinnamon roll sale. We will then head up to spend the afternoon with the boys, and return to the church by 4:30. If you are willing to help drive, please contact the church office.

NEW WINTER OUTERWEAR MINISTRY
The Administrative Board has approved our lower basement to be used as a distribution site for people in need of cold weather outerwear. Every Saturday, from 12pm to 5pm, people in need can pick up items for use this winter. You can help by donating your new or gently used coats, jackets, snow pants, mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats to the donation table in the hallway outside the church office. You can also volunteer a small bit of your time on Saturdays to help with the distribution. Contact Kara Beasley or Karen Long to volunteer.

SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING
For the first time, the Missions Committee is sponsoring a service project for anyone interested in ringing bells at Fareway, K-Mart, and Hy-Vee to collect money for the Salvation Army this Advent. In the narthex you will find a full schedule for the Saturdays from November 26 to December 24. One or two-hour shifts are available, and you can share a shift with a friend. This effort helps fulfill one of our initiatives from our 20/20 Vision Plan adopted in 2008.

ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT CATALOG
This holiday shopping season, consider giving a gift that will make a real difference. Our Alternative Christmas Gift Catalog features many ways that you can make a charitable donation in honor of a loved one. Agencies include Heifer International, Church World Service, and Self-Help International. Your gifts are tax-deductible and help us achieve our Rainbow Covenant Missions goal for the year. Fill out the order forms included in the catalog and turn it into a member of the Missions Committee on Sundays to receive your personalized gift card that you can give as a gift.

NEW MEMBERS JOINING DECEMBER 11
We have a number of people joining the church on Sunday, December 11, the last opportunity before the end of the year. If you are interested in joining, please respond to this email or contact the church office.

WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Do you want to make a difference in a meaningful way on Sunday mornings? Our worship team is looking for people to serve in 2012 as lay liturgists, children’s sermon providers, ushers, greeters, and people to provide altar flowers. Consider using your gifts in any of these important ways. To volunteer, contact the following schedulers: Sue Parker and Kim Luetkeman (lay liturgists and children sermons); Nancy Knapp and Myrna Goodwin (altar flowers); Church Office (ushers and greeters).

On Being Grateful for Everything

November 23, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

On Being Grateful for Everything
By Henri Nouwen
(from Bread for the Journey)

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy,

But to be grateful for all of our lives—
the good as well as the bad,
the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow,
the successes as well as the failures,
the rewards as well as the rejections—
that requires hard spiritual work.

Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say "thank you" to all that has brought us to the present moment.

As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people
we would like to remember
and those we would rather forget,
we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.

Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.


On behalf of the staff and lay leadership of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, I wish you and yours a blessed time of remembrance and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org



NEW WINTER OUTERWEAR MINISTRY
The Administrative Board has approved our lower basement to be used as a distribution site for people in need of cold weather outerwear. Starting Saturday, November 26, from 12pm to 5pm, people in need can pick up items for use this winter. You can help by donating your new or gently used coats, jackets, snow pants, mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats to the donation table in the hallway outside the church office. You can also volunteer a small bit of your time on Saturdays to help with the distribution. Contact Kara Beasley (thereeohrtman@hotmail.com) to volunteer.

SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING
For the first time, the Missions Committee is sponsoring a service project for anyone interested in ringing bells at Fareway, K-Mart, and Hy-Vee to collect money for the Salvation Army this Advent. In the narthex you will find a full schedule for the Saturdays from November 26 to December 24. One or two-hour shifts are available, and you can share a shift with a friend. This effort helps fulfill one of our initiatives from our 20/20 Vision Plan adopted in 2008.

ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT CATALOG
Before you drown in the craziness of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, consider giving a gift that will make a real difference. Our Alternative Christmas Gift Catalog features many ways that you can make a charitable donation in honor of a loved one. Agencies include Heifer International, Church World Service, and Self-Help International. Your gifts are tax-deductible and help us achieve our Rainbow Covenant Missions goal for the year. Fill out the order forms included in the catalog and turn it into a member of the Missions Committee on Sundays to receive your personalized gift card that you can give as a gift.

NEW MEMBERS JOINING DECEMBER 11
We have a number of people joining the church on Sunday, December 11, the last opportunity before the end of the year. If you are interested in joining, please respond to this email or contact the church office.

WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Do you want to make a difference in a meaningful way on Sunday mornings? Our worship team is looking for people to serve in 2012 as lay liturgists, children’s sermon providers, ushers, greeters, and people to provide altar flowers. Consider using your gifts in any of these important ways. To volunteer, contact the following schedulers: Sue Parker and Kim Luetkeman (lay liturgists and children sermons); Nancy Knapp and Myrna Goodwin (altar flowers); Church Office (ushers and greeters).

OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS MUSIC!
Take time out of your busy holiday schedule to enjoy one hour of live old-fashioned Christmas music with David and Judi Klee on Saturday, December 10th at 3:00pm, at The Spice Rack store in Cherokee. The program will start at 3:00pm. Seating is limited, so come early to get your seat and refreshments for your mid-afternoon break. (The register will be closed from 3 to 4pm, during the program.) The program is FREE and open to the public.

Gifts for the King

November 15, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

What do you give to a king who has everything?

During our summer travels, we visited the Tower of London and made the compulsory tourist stop to see the Crown Jewels. This impressive collection features royal crowns, mantles, scepters, anointing spoons, and other coronation accoutrements from the past 900 years. Many of the pieces were originally given as gifts to the royal family, including the First Star of Africa, mounted atop the Sovereign’s Scepter. It is the largest flawless cut diamond in the world which, along with the Second Star of Africa on the Imperial State Crown, was cut from the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever found. They were given to King Edward VII by the government of South Africa in 1907.

Kinda puts that wedding toaster in perspective, huh?

Lest you think that royal gifts are all glitz and glamour, here are some other gifts that Queen Elizabeth has been given during her reign. According to the official website of the British Monarchy, Her Majesty has received more mundane presents, including lacrosse sticks, sunglasses, a pair of sandals, pineapples, eggs, a box of snail shells, a grove of maple trees, a dozen tins of tuna, and seven kilograms of giant shrimp.

Now that’s more like it.

I have royal gifts on my mind, given that this weekend is the convergence of several important observances: it is Christ the King Sunday, the culminating day of the Christian liturgical year, in which we celebrate the present and future rule of Jesus Christ. It is also our Commitment Sunday, when we will be bringing forward our pledge cards, giving our best offering to God in support of the ministries of this church. It is also our Thanksgiving Luncheon, when we will give thanks as a congregation for all of God’s blessings to and through us over the past year. Finally – and we might as well acknowledge it – Sunday marks the beginning of a week that will end with the mayhem and madness that is Black Friday, and the start of the holiday shopping season.

So, if you put it all together - gratitude, gift-giving, royalty, and celebration - it leads us back to the original question: What gift do you give to a King?

To put it more broadly, what are the best kinds of gifts to give this Christmas? Not gifts that will break or be outgrown, or fashions whose trends will fade over time. Not another useless trinket or mind-numbing gadget. Instead, how about the gift of love, compassion, and care?

In fact, if you want to make a real difference in your holiday shopping, I invite you to consider these three, brand new ministries offered by the church that we are rolling out even before Black Friday:


1. WINTER OUTERWEAR

As you may know, there is now no charitable agency in Cherokee that will give out clothing to needy persons. This is of particular concern during the upcoming winter months, when coats, hats, mittens, and other outerwear are of an absolute necessity. Thanks to St. Paul’s, that will soon change.

Last Sunday, the Administrative Board approved a new partnership with some of the local consignment shops to allow our basement to be used as a clothing distribution site for cold weather outerwear. Every Saturday from noon to 5pm, starting November 29, volunteers will give clothing out to people of all ages who need to stay warm this winter. You can help out in the following ways:

a) Donate your new or gently used winter outerwear. We are collecting coats, jackets, snowpants, hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves, which you can bring in during the week and place on the table in the hallway outside the office.

b) Volunteer a few hours of your time during the winter to help distribute the clothing. Contact Kara Beasley (thereeohrtman@hotmail.com), the owner of Kid to Kid, one of the stores helping with the project and will coordinate the clothing distribution.


2. SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING

For the first time, St. Paul’s is sponsoring a red kettle drive for the Salvation Army. We need persons to ring bells for a mere hour or two on Saturdays throughout the holiday season, along with Black Friday. Shifts range from 10am to 2pm on those days, and we will be ringing at K-Mart, Hy-Vee, and Fareway.

If we can fill all of the slots, St. Paul’s will be able to contribute 72 total hours of bell ringing to help people in need. Ninety percent of the money dropped into the red kettles will stay right here in Cherokee to help give out emergency assistance to those who need it the most. Sign-up sheets are available in the narthex.


3. ALTERNATIVE GIFT CATALOG

What do you give for the person who has everything? How about making a donation in their honor to one of four missions agencies that help people in need around the world?

Give the gift of hope this Advent through our Alternative Gift Catalog, sponsored by the Missions Committee. The catalog lists specific gifts you can give through Heifer International, Church World Service, SERV, and Stan Sitzmann’s Needy Children Project of Cherokee. Pick up a catalog this Sunday, fill out the order form, and turn it in with your payment to the office or to a member of the Missions Committee in the narthex. You’ll receive a personalized gift card that you can give to that special someone, along with more information about the agency to which you are giving.

All of the gifts you give are tax-deductible and help contribute to our Rainbow Covenant Missions giving effort this year. Most importantly, you can really make a difference!


I don’t know about you, but I think Christ the King much prefers any of the above gifts to jewels, crowns, and gems any day. It’s just like he told the disciples, in the grand apocalyptic parable in Matthew’s gospel: Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. (Matthew 25:40).

Come this Sunday in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, ready to respond to God’s blessings with gratitude, commitment, and generosity. And let’s make this Advent season one of hope for people who really need it.

See you Sunday!

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org




BISHOP WILL WILLIMON AT MORNINGSIDE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Come here one of the pre-eminent preachers and spiritual leaders in United Methodism on Wednesday night, November 16, 7:30 pm at Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City. Bishop William H. Willimon of the North Alabama Conference will be speaking as part of Morningside College’s annual Wright Lecture and will present on the topic “The Unexpected Jesus,” based on his book “Why Jesus?” The event is free and open to the public.

Bishop Willimon was a professor and dean of the chapel at Duke University in Durham, N.C., for 20 years. He now leads 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors as bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. A survey conducted by Baylor University listed Willimon as one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-speaking world. He is the author of 60 books, and over a million copies of his books have been sold. He has written articles for numerous publications, and curriculum materials for young people and adults.


INGATHERING THANK-YOU
Great work, St. Paul’s! Your efforts a few weeks ago produced 268 school kits, health kits, and book bags as part of the Iowa Conference’s Annual Ingathering. Thank you to all those who donated time and items, especially those who helped out with loading the trucks on Saturday morning. You really put God’s love into action. Thanks!

Another Great Year!

November 8, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

For those not present at our recent charge conference, I’d like to share my annual pastor’s report. Celebrate with me all the wonderful work that God is doing through your faithfulness and commitment, as we anticipate a great year to come.

Pastor’s Report
St. Paul’s UMC Charge Conference
October 27, 2011
Magrey R. deVega

Once again, this year’s pastor’s report is in the format of our mission statement, adopted as part of the 20/20 Vision Plan in 2008. Let’s celebrate all of the wonderful ways that we put God’s love into action in 2010!

WORSHIP: We worship with joy, because Christ is among us and deserves our praise.

St. Paul’s continues to offer dynamic worship services that honor God. Worship attendance continues to be strong, and lay people faithfully serve as liturgists, children’s sermon providers, tech support, and hospitality. Thanks to Chancel Choir director Larry Hunecke, Bell Choir director Joe Vanetta, Praise Band director David Klee, and Children’s Choir director Linda Christensen, St. Paul’s continues to offer music that is excellent and joy-filled. Earlier this fall, we honored the memory of Tom Kruse, our long-time director of the bell choir, who elevated that ministry to a high level of performance.

This summer also saw the service of Rev. Ron Kitterman as our visiting preacher, as I participated in a 12-week study leave funded by the Lilly Endowment. We thank Ron for his excellent work during this time. Finally, our sermon series have been varied and relevant, and have included series titled, “More to Life,” “Why the Cross?” “Strength for Tough Times,”” and “Joy!”.

GROW: We grow in our faith, practicing every day what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

This year has seen marked growth in our church membership. So far this year, we have received about forty people into the church, many of them by profession of faith. This is a reflection of God’s work in the lives of people through the ministries of this church and the welcoming spirit of the congregation. We give thanks to God!

We also launched some new Bible studies this fall, including a new senior high mid-week teen time. Thanks to Craig Schmidt and Monica Cowan for their wonderful leadership and guidance for the kids. We also started a new class on the New Testament and a monthly “Meet the Methodists” orientation to the church. Both classes have gotten off to very strong starts.

Ministry to children and youth continues to be vibrant and active. The youth went on a Ski Trip in February, and did a service project at the Midwest Christian Children’s Home last December. The Children had another wonderful Vacation Bible School and Children’s Sabbath, and raised money for Iowa Flood relief.

CARE: We care for each other as an encouraging, supportive, and growing family.

Last December, we launched a brand new outreach ministry to grieving families in Cherokee. In cooperation with Greenwood Funeral Home, we hosted a Service of Remembrance for those who lost loved ones over the past year. Bethlehem Lutheran, Memorial Presbyterian, and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church all participated in a service that was so well-received that we have been asked to participate again this Christmas.

The Helping Hands program, under the guidance of Sheree Hausmann and Marlene Kelly, continues to link the skills and energy of people in the congregation with those in need. The Visitation Program continues to link lay visitors with shut-ins and homebound persons. They receive audio recordings of the service and a bulletin, and check on them for pastoral and personal concerns. We are grateful for the wonderful team of visitors who make these connections every week.

St. Paul’s continues to be the epicenter of care for people seeking wholeness and health. We host several Alcoholics Anonymous groups throughout the week, as well as Moms on Meth, and Narcotics Anonymous.

As always, our Funeral Luncheon Team continues to provide an amazing level of generous hospitality for families grieving the loss of loved ones. Theirs was a formidable task repeated dozens of times over the past year, and they provided wonderful luncheons with grace and warmth. Thanks to Phyllis Parrott and Jean Anderson for their coordination.

SHARE: We share with others to meet their physical and spiritual needs, and invite all people to faith in Christ.

Earlier this year we celebrated the achievement of another Third-Mile level of giving through the Conference’s Rainbow Covenant Missions program. We are on track for another high level of missions giving, and inaugurated several new giving opportunities. The Alternative Gifts Catalog debuted last Christmas as a unique way of giving gifts to loved ones. It included the Heifer Project, the Wilmot Wells Project, Church World Service Blankets, and Cherokee Needy Children. We also supported Krista Taylor, daughter of former pastor Ray Hampton, in her work with Africa Inland Mission in Kenya. We took up first-time offerings for Builders Call and the Bishop’s FIT Challenge, and continued to serve a vital and active role in the annual Iowa Conference Ingathering.

Of course, March featured another successful Great Cherokee Pancake Day Race and Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. The event raised the visibility of both St. Paul’s and the town of Cherokee, and raised $1,000 for the two local food pantries. We continue to see an amazing response to Soles4Souls, an initiative that collects shoes of any size, style, or condition and sends them to needy people around the world. To date, you have contributed 1,969 pairs of shoes in the last 18 months! And, we continue to serve the community around us by hosting events for civic groups such as the Girl Scouts, 4-H, the Foster Care Review Board, and the American Legion.

This year we participated for the first time in the Cherokee Hot Dog Days, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The response was tremendous, as large crowds stopped by our booth and received information about Vacation Bible School. That likely contributed to the nearly 75 kids we hosted in VBS this year!

Also, our weekly Daybreak radio broadcast continues to run every Sunday morning on KCHE, reaching out to many people unable to come to church. The fifteen-minute program serves as a wonderful teaching medium and an evangelistic tool for the church.

Finally, this past year saw St. Paul’s boldly embarking on its next great wave of campus improvements, thanks to the successful “Together in Faith” Capital Campaign. We have made amazing strides towards energy efficiency and handicap accessibility thanks to the generosity of the congregation. In August, we were able to remove the two dead boilers and replace them with three high-efficiency units, which should drastically reduce our annual gas costs. We also dramatically reduced the debt on the parking lot, which adds a number of new spots on the accessible west entrance of the church. And thanks to Don Witcombe and the excellent work of the Trustees, we have seen improvements to the west stained glass windows and the kitchen storage room.

Once again, these are exciting days to be a part of St. Paul’s UMC. I count it a deep privilege to have served another year as this church’s pastor, and I look forward to another great year of putting God’s love into action!

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org




MAGREY IN FLORIDA THIS WEEK
I am in Leesburg, Florida this week to serve on the Florida Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. I am reviewing candidates for ordination and will be back Thursday afternoon. I can be reached by e-mail throughout my time away, and in the event of an emergency, please contact the church office.

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY: GIFTS FOR THE KINGDOM
This Sunday we continue our stewardship sermon series on the parables of Jesus with a look at Luke 12:13-21. We’ll learn about a man obsessed with material possessions so much that he lost sight of the treasures that really matter.

YOUTH CINNAMON ROLL SALE
This Sunday the youth will be selling cinnamon rolls and other breakfast items for their annual fundraiser. All the proceeds will support their service project to the Midwest Christian Children’s Home in Peterson, Iowa, in December. If you would like to donate items for the sale, please contact Karla Wilkie.

SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING SIGN-UP
For the first time, and in conjunction with one of our initiatives adopted as part of our 2020 Vision Plan in 2008, we are inviting people to sign up to ring bells for the Salvation Army’s “Red Kettle” this Christmas. Check out the display board in the narthex this Sunday to sign up for slots on Saturdays during Advent at Hy-Vee, Fareway, and K-Mart. Put God’s love into action and help raise money for those in need!

THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON NOVEMBER 20
Celebrate Commitment Sunday with us and plan on joining us for our annual Thanksgiving Sunday luncheon on November 20. We’ll provide turkey and all the fixings, and we’ll take up a free-will offering.

For All the Saints

November 1, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

There, so far as is allowed us, when we are gathered together in exultation and joy, the Lord will enable us to celebrate the birthday of the martyrs, both for the memory of those who have contended, and for the exercise and preparation of those to come.

This passage, written by an unknown author, is part of The Martyrdom of Polycarp, one of the earliest eye-witness accounts of Christianity during the age of persecution. Written in the second century, the work gives us insight into how early in the church’s infancy the lives of saints were venerated, long before canonization.

During ensuing centuries, the number of martyrs became so large that the church ran out of days to assign individual observances to each one. So, the practice of finding a common day to celebrate them evolved over time. John Chrysostom originally assigned the first Sunday after Pentecost for this occasion, a sensible date given the season’s emphasis on the nature and work of the church. But it likely wasn’t until the eighth century, under Pope Gregory III, that All Saints’ Day found its current resting place on this day, November 1.

Today is not a day that you’ll find observed by our commercial establishments. If anything, November 1 serves as a marketing transition from masks, costumes, and Halloween candy to the garland and tinsel of the holidays. Lost among all of this shifting seasonal retailing is this sacred and holy day, a chance to remember our spiritual ancestry, and to give thanks for those who have gone before us.


STEWARDSHIP AND THE SAINTS

In preparation for today, I did a bit of research on some notable sayings of the saints. With the start of our annual stewardship campaign this Sunday, I found some profound quotes from people who had a great deal to say about discipleship, commitment, and material possessions. Consider how each statement might challenge you to reorient your life around a healthy view of money and worldly wealth:


Be not anxious about what you have, but about what you are. – Gregory the Great

For those in the married state, the best example we can cite is that of St. Joachim and St. Anne, who every year divided their income into three equal parts. One was for the poor, the second for the temple and the divine service, and the third for themselves. – Ignatius of Loyola

If everyone would take only according to his needs and would leave the surplus to the needy, no one would be rich, no one poor, no one in misery. – Basil the Great

It would be considered a theft on our part if we didn’t give to someone in greater need than we are. – St. Francis of Assisi

It is well known that I had neither riches, nor talent, nor external charm, but I have always loved, and I have loved with all the strength of my heart. – Mary Euphrasia Pelletier.

Here is a rule for everyday life: Do not do anything which you cannot offer to God. – St. John Vianney

God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it. – St. Augustine

True humility consists in not presuming on our own strength, but intrusting to obtain all things from the power of God. – St. Thomas Aquinas


ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY

I hope that today you’ll take a moment to remember that your very existence on earth, as well as your unique qualities, is the sum result of countless people who have forged the path that charts your course. Find an opportunity to remember by name those whom you claim as ancestors, both by lineage and by influence. Say a prayer of thanks for dearly departed family members, faith founders, and spiritual companions who make you who you are today

And, of course, join us this Sunday, for our annual All Saints’ observance. We’ll remember those in our church family who have died over the past year, with the reciting of a name, the ringing of a bell, and the lighting of a candle. And, we’ll gather around the communion table, observing together the mysterious shroud of saints that accompany us on the journey.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org


TIME CHANGE
Don’t forget to adjust your clocks back one hour next Saturday night as we “fall back” to standard time next weekend.

INGATHERING
Join Methodists from across the state of Iowa this Saturday for our annual Ingathering effort. We will be gathering kits and assembling boxes to be delivered to people in need all around the world. Your help is needed from 7 am to 10 am, but any help you can give for part of that time is greatly appreciated. Meet at the old Hardee’s building across from Holzhauer’s. You are also welcome to attend the program and the mal at WITCC after at 10:00 am.

A Joyful Balance

October 25, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

If there is right in the Soul,
there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world.
- Taoist philosopher Lao Tze

How balanced is your life right now?

Many ancient civilizations recognized that a human being had three essential poles, or centers, at the core of one’s life. First is the mind, contained in the brain, constituting one’s reason, cognition, and intellect. Second is the spirit, housed in the heart, as the source for all passion, emotion, and capacity for relationships. Finally, there is the body, centered in the gut, encompassing all of one’s power, strength, and abilities.

Many cultures and religions have embraced this mind-body-spirit triad, even to this day. Taoism and Buddhism refer to these poles as the dantian, and many Chinese alternative medicines treat ailments along the sections of the body called the upper, middle, and lower dantian. Tae Kwan Do teaches a mastery of one’s Ha (gut), Jung (heart), and San (mind). Hinduism claims these three centers among the seven chakras, or “wheels,” that drive human existence. Many more cultures have similar teachings.

The truth is, you don’t have to look too far into the history books to see evidence of how much this triad has worked its way into contemporary culture. Dorothy’s three friends in The Wizard of Oz each sought a different part of the core: the Tin Man (a heart), the Scarecrow (a brain), and the Lion (courage and strength). A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh showed us three friends who embodied each of these strengths: an Owl (with the brains), Tigger (with the passion and zeal), and, of course, the silly old bear (driven by the “rumbly in his tumbly.”) And it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider the senior crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, with the mind of Mr. Spock (“That’s not logical.”), the passion of Dr. McCoy (“I’m a doctor, not a magician!”), and the gut bravado of Captain Kirk (“Khaaaaaan!”).

Even the Greco-Roman world of early Christianity recognized these centers, which explains why a few New Testament passages encourage a balance among one’s mind, body, and heart: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37, NRSV) “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV)


PAUL’S PRESCRIPTION

And then, there is Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Chapter four concludes with a sweeping, rousing encouragement to live the kind of joyful life we are created to live. To get there, Paul offers a simple plan: develop a healthy balance in all three centers of your life, and align each one with God’s joy and peace. Here is his tri-fold prescription:

For your anxious heart, prayer:
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (verses 6-7)

For your troubled mind, truth:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (verse 8)

And for your physical weakness, trust:
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (verses 11-14)

Most of the time, in our unhealthiest moments, we have an imbalance among our mind, body, and spirit. If you find yourself at this moment suffering any kind of mental, emotional, or physical duress, consider which one (or ones) of these three centers may be undernourished, under-exercised, or just flat-out ignored.

Do you have a headache from working, studying, and worrying so much? Tend to your body and to your heart. Get some good exercise, some restful sleep, and eat right. And nurture your relationships with loved ones. Restore trust, practice forgiveness, and spend quality time with them.

Do you have physical ailments that seem to keep you down? Try feeding your mind with helpful information that will keep you on top of what’s happening, and develop trustful relationships with companions who can aid you on your journey.

Are you feeling heartsick and joyless, without an ounce of passion or zeal? Then delve your mind both into the words of Scripture and into the wider world of ideas, filling your mind with things that are “excellent and worthy of God’s praise.” And certainly, remember that no matter what, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

As we wind down our sermon series on joy this Sunday, we’ll look further into Paul’s words of advice in Philippians 4. His prescription is nothing fancy, and it certainly has been around long before he came onto the scene. But his advice is too often ignored, and it would be well worth it for you to develop healthy goals for all three areas.

See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org


Philippians 4:1-13
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it.
11 Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.
12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.



CHARGE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 27
Join us at 6:00pm this Thursday, October 27, for our annual charge conference. We will celebrate our ministries from the past year, approve the 2012 budget, and adopt ministry goals for the upcoming year. Every member of the church is a voting member of the charge conference.


NEW MEMBER SUNDAY: OCTOBER 30
We have a number of new folks who are interested in joining the church, and we will be welcoming them into membership on October 30. If you or someone you know is interested in joining St. Paul’s, please respond to this e-mail or contact Andrea in the church office.


To view past editions of the Mid-Week Message, visit http://mdevega.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this e-mail distribution list, please reply to this e-mail and write "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line.

The Holy Work of Words

October 18, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 

"But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."
~George Gordon Byron
 

I hope that your Sunday schedule this past weekend included viewing the dedication of the MLK Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Assembled in our nation’s capital were about 50,000 people who, along with the millions viewing around the world, remembered the life, witness, and work of America’s greatest champion for civil rights and non-violence.

The memorial sits on four acres on the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin, on a perfect line between memorials to Abraham Lincoln – the “Great Emancipator,” and Thomas Jefferson – the “Apostle of Democracy.”  From these three great figures we get three of the most significant pronouncements on human dignity in American history:  The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, and the “I Have a Dream” speech.

We remember that our history, our collective conscience, and the hope of our future is grounded and shaped by the power of words.

Yes, words mean little if not complemented by conviction and implemented with action.  But, as Lord Byron wrote in the quote above, words can make “thousands, perhaps millions, think.”  Words can unlock our imagination, unleash our creative potential, and empower us to see a future that is better than our past.  Speeches can stir our hearts, essays can evoke hope, and documents can determine our identity as a people.  After all, one of the Latin words for word is dictum, whose root word dico originally meant “to consecrate.”  To participate in the power of words is to dedicate a part of ourselves for holy work, to partake in divine efforts for truth, dignity, and justice throughout the world.


JOSE RIZAL

I was eminently reminded of the power of words over the summer, during our trip to the Philippines.  This year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jose Rizal, the 19th century poet, novelist, and champion for Filipino pride and liberty.  Like Dr. King, his society was marked by injustice and oppression, stemming from three centuries of Spanish occupation in the Philippines. Perceiving the Filipino people to be savagely primitive and illiterate, Spain ruled the Philippines with a heavy hand, affording them little opportunity for cultural expression and civic pride.

But Rizal was an iconoclast.  Far more than merely literate, he was a polyglot: able to speak and write in twenty-two languages.  His extensive university education earned him degrees in Madrid, Paris, and Heidelberg, Germany.  From his studies, he wrote books and essays which promoted education for all Filipinos and the development of a national identity, all through non-violent resistance.   His significant works became the basis for peaceful reform, resulting in the Philippines Revolution of 1896-1898 and the secession of the Philippines from Spanish occupation.

King and Rizal shared more in common than their mutual belief in the power of words and non-violence.  They shared similar fates, as their growing influence and threat to the oppressive establishment resulted in their own untimely deaths. Rizal was exiled, imprisoned, and ultimately sentenced to execution in 1896 for acts of rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy.  Just days before his death, Rizal penned a poem called “My Last Farewell” that spoke of his pride as a Filipino, and his undying hope for a land filled with freedom, justice, and liberty for all people:

If over my grave some day thou seest grow,
In the grassy sod, a humble flower,
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,
While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below
The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.
Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,
Let the wind with sad lament over me keen;
And if on my cross a bird should be seen,
Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.
Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,
And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest
Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high
From thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest.

This poem is to Filipinos what Dr. King’s speech is to Americans:  a vision of the future, seeded in hope for today, and grounded in the power of words.


CHILDREN’S SABBATH

This Sunday you and I will participate in that same transformative power, as the children lead us in our annual Children’s Sabbath.  They will raise our awareness of the plight of children around the world, who lack access to adequate health care, proper nutrition, and safe homes and neighborhoods. But most importantly, they will use that same power of words to evoke hope and call us to action, as embodied by the words of Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Children’s Defense Fund, which sponsors the Children’s Sabbath:

“With faith, commitment, and hard, persistent work, if we stand united for healthy children and for hope and healing for all children neglected and left behind in our world, God will do the rest.”

So, as people of God, let us be a living word of hope and justice for the world.  In the spirit of Martin Luther King and Jose Rizal, let us seek the dignity of all people, including our children and the most vulnerable among us.  Let us participate in the “holy work” of words, with grit, courage, and non-violence, all in the manner of the Word Made Flesh.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey  

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org



NEW MEMBER SUNDAY: OCTOBER 30
We have a number of new folks who are interested in joining the church, and we will be welcoming them into membership on October 30.  If you or someone you know is interested in joining St. Paul’s, please respond to this e-mail or contact Andrea in the church office.

CHEROKEE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 5K FUN RUN / WALK
In support of Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative, the Cherokee Regional Medical Center Physical Medicine and Rehab Department will be sponsoring a 5K Fun Run/ Walk as well as a 1K “Tot Trot /Mutt Strut” on Saturday, October 22. Registration will be at 8:00 a.m., and the events will begin at 9 a.m.  They will start and finish on the CRMC campus.  All runners, walkers, pets on leashes and strollers are welcome.

The cost is $15 if you pre-register by noon on October 10th, and pre-registrants will receive a T-shirt. Registration fees after October 10th will be $20.00.  All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Hawarden, IA site of the Personal Energy Transportation (PET) project, a program designed to provide appropriate mobility for God’s children in need.

Visit www.giftofmobility.org for more information about the PET project.  You may pre-register by contacting the CRMC Physical Medicine and Rehab Department at 712.225.1502 or you may download a brochure and registration form at www.cherokeermc.org .

CHARGE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 27
Join us at 6:00pm on Thursday, October 27, for our annual charge conference.  We will celebrate our ministries from the past year, approve the 2012 budget, and adopt ministry goals for the upcoming year.  Every member of the church is a voting member of the charge conference.

In Connection We Become

October 11, 2011

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

There was a stretch of days last week in which I was reminded of both the grind and the gratification of pastoral work.  Multiple people on different occasions welcomed me into the midst of their difficult crises, allowing me into the most private and best-fortified parts of their lives, invitations which I always regard with great humility and privilege. While the content of our conversations must be kept confidential, I can tell you that their struggles would seem quite familiar to many of us.

Life is a nimble stride along the constant intersections of hope and sorrow.  When in the midst of our darkest difficulties, when our innermost resources to resist despair are depleted, we have little recourse but to reach out to others for love and support.  That mutual concern can awaken us to the subtle, unfeigned work of the Spirit, which incarnates courage and promise.

All these thoughts, along with the memories of people to whom I had ministered last week, culminated on my laptop on Thursday night, when I typed out the following few verses.  For me, they reflect the value of solidarity:  the comfort that comes in connecting with others in the midst of our struggles, and the promise that we claim together when we turn our corporate attention to Hope in our midst.

“In Connection We Become”

Down in the mire and the raw
Where brokenness, like grass withered in the crags
Recalls our earthly rigors, the dust from whence we came.

We yearn, and catch the glint in fellow eyes
Reaching for empathic nods and thin-lipped smiles
For evidence of companionship along well-worn paths.

Up to the heavens we long
For rains to saturate our thirsty souls, lavished on us, banquet-style;
The kinds of epiphanies that broker hope

Hope that is found, but not produced.
(For we are too weak to work with nimble fingers)
Then, a gift descends in free fall.  

Into our midst a form appears
Incarnating sunrise, breaking into our dawn.
Calling us into union with God and each other.

And so, we raise our calloused, weary hands
Palmward to the heavens, and outward to fellow sojourners
For in our connectedness, with the Connection, we become.

I don’t claim to be a poet (especially when it doesn’t involve Seussian couplets), and it is unlikely that this poem will launch me into a new stream of writing endeavors. Besides, there’s no way I could pretend to pace the power and passion of Paul’s pen (although, he probably couldn’t match my awesome abilities for alliteration).  In this Sunday’s scripture text, Paul envisions the capacity for people to join together in hope and expectation, rising above their earthly sorrows into a heavenly camaraderie:

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us….Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.  (Philippians 3:17, 20-21)

It may seem trite and cliché to say this, but no matter what you are facing today, you are not alone. We are called to become the body of Christ, to encourage each other with godly example, intimately joining together in the expectation of a Savior.  As we look ahead to these final few weeks in our Philippians sermon series on joy, you may be longing for a “rain to saturate your thirsty soul.”  I believe you’ll find it in connection with fellow sojourners along the way, which is precisely the subject of this Sunday’s sermon, “Soaring in Solidarity.”  This may be a great sermon to invite a friend to attend, if they are looking for real hope amidst their loneliness.

One, Together,

Magrey  

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org




NEW EVENING CLASS: MEET THE METHODISTS

“Meet the Methodists” is a two-part introduction to the United Methodist Church and an orientation to St. Paul’s.  Part 1 will be this Thursday, October 13, at 6:30pm.  It will be a 90-minute introduction to the history, beliefs, structure, and practices of the United Methodist Church.  Part 2 will be on November 10 at 6:30pm and will be an orientation to the history, mission, vision, and ministries of St. Paul’s.  Both parts will be offered on a continuing rotation throughout 2012, in case you miss one or both parts this fall.

This class will be perfect for people who have just joined the church, those interested in joining, and members who would like a refresher course on what it means to be United Methodist.


NEW MEMBER SUNDAY: OCTOBER 30

We have a number of new folks who are interested in joining the church, and we will be welcoming them into membership on October 30.  If you or someone you know is interested in joining St. Paul’s, please respond to this e-mail or contact Andrea in the church office.


CHEROKEE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 5K FUN RUN / WALK

In support of Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative, the Cherokee Regional Medical Center Physical Medicine and Rehab Department will be sponsoring a 5K Fun Run/ Walk as well as a 1K “Tot Trot /Mutt Strut” on Saturday, October 22. Registration will be at 8:00 a.m., and the events will begin at 9 a.m.  They will start and finish on the CRMC campus.  All runners, walkers, pets on leashes and strollers are welcome.

The cost is $15 if you pre-register by noon on October 10th, and pre-registrants will receive a T-shirt. Registration fees after October 10th will be $20.00.  All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Hawarden, IA site of the Personal Energy Transportation (PET) project, a program designed to provide appropriate mobility for God’s children in need.

Visit www.giftofmobility.org for more information about the PET project.  You may pre-register by contacting the CRMC Physical Medicine and Rehab Department at 712.225.1502 or you may download a brochure and registration form at www.cherokeermc.org .