Shaft United Methodist Church

Newsletter

March, 2010

Rev. Harry Burchell , Jr., Pastor

“The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Ps.119:130

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

”… that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter2:9

A few years ago, there was a television commercial for a car. I don't remember the make or model, but I do remember the commercial. A man was walking along a rugged coastline with waves crashing against the rocks. He was searching a way to safety. As he walked he pulled something out of his pocket and pressed a button. Immediately headlights of his car began flashing to guide the man to safety. Watching the commercial I thought, “How like Jesus those flashing headlights are.” Driving through dense fog and groping in the dark during a power failure can be frightening experiences. We need something or someone to guide us.

June Hunter relates an incident in her life when there was a surprise, total blackout of her neighborhood. “Suddenly in total darkness, I inched my way to the bedside table and fumbled for the flashlight. What frustration… it didn't work. How useless – a flashlight with dead batteries.” (Women's Devotional Bible, NIV, pg. 1253) What if the keypad for the car commercial had been dead? What if we don't have the matches we need to light a candle in the darkness? We would be left in a dense fog or total darkness - not comfortable situations. So what can we do in our daily lives when we are lost in a fog of despair or the darkness of a seemingly insurmountable problem?

We can turn toward Jesus. Scriptures, hymns, poetry, devotions and sermons can point out that the “Light of the World Is Jesus”. The second verse of this hymn written by Phillip Bliss reminds us:

No darkness have we seen who in Jesus abide; the Light of the World is Jesus.
We walk in the light when we follow our Guide; the Light of the world is Jesus.
Ch: Come to the light, it's shining for thee.
Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see.
The Light of the world is Jesus.

Follow the Light. Good advice, but how? I am reminded of times when Bob and I bought items with “some assembly required”. Like many adults, we ignored the instructions and began to assemble the item. SOON … “What's this piece for? Where does it go?” “I guess this doodad should have been put on before this thing-a-ma-bob.” “Okay, we'll try it your way.” Sometimes, (Not me !) squabbles happen. “Why didn't you listen to me?” or “Who made you chief engineer?” and so forth. Finally, reason takes over, “Let's read the instructions.” Something that should have been done first, but inside us we hear, “I'll do it my way.”

I have a router that needs to be installed for my computer. Having been there, done that in situations like the ones above, will I try to do this myself? No! I'm going to ask my son, Mark, to do it because he has read the instructions; he has done this before; he understands the process. If I tired to do it, the router may get connected to the refrigerator! Mark can guide me so that I will know how to install a router if I eve need to again. Manuals, instructions, experts; that's the answer. So easy; so simple.

Following the light of Jesus is similar: reading the manual (Bible), following instructions (scriptures and devotions and prayer) and looking to the expert (God's still, quiet voice). What happens when we “come to the Light”? First, we become part of the kingdom of God now and forever. Second, we become a light to others to help them find the path to Jesus. One light leads to another light which leads to another light…

Several centuries ago in Europe a nobleman wanted to leave the town and its people a legacy. He decided to build a church. No one saw the inside of the church until it was finished. When the people came to the church, they were impressed with its beauty. But one man became concerned about how the church would be lighted. “Where are the lamps?” he asked. The nobleman smiled and gave each family a lamp that was lit. “Each time you are here, the area where you sit will be lighted. But when you are not here, that area will be dark.” (June M. Bachar ) So it is for us.
If we, as Christians, follow the light of Jesus, we can brighten the world. Each path to Jesus is a personal path; a path that we alone establish with God. We can let our individual lights shine to show the way for others. A time-honored saying, “If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be!” is still true today.

Prayer: Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom. Lead thou, me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home. Lead Thou, me on. Amen

( from Lead, Kindly Light by John B. Dykas )

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Happy Birthday
Mar. 1 – Wendy Keady
Mar. 9 – Mary Ziler
Mar. 11 – Kelly Garlitz
Mar. 13 – Rachel Sheinfeld
Mar. 14 – Charles T. Clise IV
Mar. 15 – Regina Drew
Mar. 16 – Gavin Schneider
Mar. 19 – Willard Harvey
Mar. 21 – Wendy Atkinson
Mar. 21 – Jeff Howsare
Mar. 22 – Mike Neilson
Mar. 25 – Donna Winner
Mar. 28 – Harold ( Skiddy ) Skidmore

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Happy Anniversary
Mar. 16 – Kenny and Marsha Staggs
Mar. 18 – Harvey and Adelia McKenzie
Mar. 31 – Bill and Alice Monahan

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Ushers for March – Selina Smith and Susie Nies

Happy 1 st Birthday to Rachael Sheinfeld .
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Sincere Sympathy

We extend our sincere sympathy to and offer prayers for the family of Alberta Lancaster who went home to be with Jesus on Feb. 26 th . Alberta showed others the way to follow Jesus through her actions and quiet, peaceful manner. She always had a smile for everyone and was such a willing listener. All of us will miss this wonderful friend. We know that the Holy Spirit will give her family the strength they need as they mourn.
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Lenten Bible Study

The Lenten Bible study will be held at Shaft Church this year on Friday evenings. Light refreshments will be served at 6:00 p.m. with Bible study following at 7:00 p.m. The theme for this year's study is “Faith vs. Fear and is based on books by Max Lucado . The last meeting fo the study will be the Friday prior to Good Friday.

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To Say Thanks
~ Mary Ziler thanked the church for the wonderful surprise celebration held on Feb. 21 st in honor of her retirement from WMHS. She also thanked everyone for their prayers for her husband, Irvin. His hand has healed well.

~ Teen Challenge sent a letter to thank our church for our monthly donation of $50.00 to help support their ministry. Recently, a young man who was addicted to drugs called Teen Challenge to ask for help. He will be entering a rehab program sponsored by Teen Challenge.

~ Our church is very grateful to Mike Neilson, Todd Skidmore, Chris Skidmore, Leonard Howsare , Harold Skidmore and any others who helped keep our parking lot and sidewalks passable this winter.

~ Carol Skidmore cleaned our church kitchen this past month. Thanks, Carol.
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New Member
Michelle Lent became a member of our church family on Feb. 21 st during our morning worship service. She gave a wonderful testimony about her faith and its role in her life. Michelle has been active in our church for quite sometime, and we are so happy to have her become a member of Shaft United Methodist Church. She has many talents to share!
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Maryland “Walk for MS”
Bob Ashby, Sr. has registered to participate in the MS Walk on April 10, 2010. He is walking to honor Alice Zapp and Kelly Garlitz . The walk will take place at Canal Place in Cumberland. Bob will be accepting tax deductible donations from now until the day of the walk. Alice and Kelly never give up. They are an inspiration to so many of us.
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Congratulations
~ Ryan Zapp , who attends Sierra Christian School in California, was named to the Administrator's Honor Roll with a 4.0 Grade Point Average for the last grading period. He also received the Student of the Month Award for Christian Character and Student of the Day Award when his class prepared lunch and went to feed homeless men. Ryan gave encouragement to the students who feared going to a shelter. Ryan is the son of Joe and Alice Zapp and the grandson of Buddy and Faye Wolford.

~ Ashley Crowe, daughter of Jim and Karen Crowe and granddaughter of Marian Brown and the late “Pete” Brown, was awarded an $8000.00 academic scholarship to attend a college in Delaware .

~ Kayala Staggs was named to the all “ A ” honor roll at Mt. Savage Middle School for the second marking period.

~ Nathan Ashby achieved orange belt level in Tae Kwon Do on Feb. 17 th .

~ Dave and Regina Drew's grandson was named top wrestler in his region at the recent regional wrestling tournament for the Delaware area.

~ Gary and Pam Edwards announce the engagement of their daughter, Stephanie to Michael. Stephanie is the granddaughter of Harvey and Adelia McKenzie and Joanne Edwards and the late George Edwards.
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If you have extra yarn, bring it to church and put it in the basket that is near the altar. Sarah is knitting items for the local “Yarn Angels”
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Thank You Letter
Dear Church Members,
Thank you so very much for your generous contribution to our son's (Patrick Barry) liver transplant fund. Also, thank you for your continuing prayers and friendship. We hope to send you good news soon about his liver transplant.
God bless you,
Bob and Linda Barry
* We sent $300.00 from God's Helping Hands along with some personal donations to Patrick's fund.
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Arlene sent UMCOR a check for Haitian relief for over $1600.00 from our special collection.
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Making Joyful “Noises” to God!!
Sunday morning worship is a time to praise and thank God. Well, we have one little fella who sure knows how to do just that. Mike and Lisa Griffith's grandson, Dradon , puts us all to shame when it comes to making a joyful noise unto the Lord. He sings right along with us with the marvelous exuberance of a baby. Our worship service is so enhanced by our little ones, Dradon and Mariah. You never know who is going holding them. I think they have lots of aunts and uncles in our church! After all Jesus told us “of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Lord's Supper on the Moon
“That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” These words, known to just about everyone, were spoken by Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the lunar surface Sunday July 20, 1969. However, a little known fact of history, described by Buzz Aldrin in his memoirs, is that one of the first acts after stepping onto the surface of the moon involved partaking of the elements of the Lord's Supper.

He wrote, “I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice given to me by my church. (Buzz Aldrin was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church) In one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the scripture, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit.' I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute Deke Slayton had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O'Hare, the opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon on Christmas. I agreed reluctantly … I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting to me to think: the very first liquid poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there were the communion elements.”
The Webster Presbyterian Church in Webster, Texas has the chalice used for the communion on the moon. Each year on the Sunday closest to July 20 th , the congregation commemorates the event with a communion service.
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Bible Cryptoguote

I J    C B R H    F N M W C    U Q C P    N M    D B W     O H B M Q


I J    C O H A O P N B M     E B I Q C     F U B I     V N I


V Q     O H B M Q     N C    I J    U B E T     O M W     I J


C O H A O P N B M;     V Q    N C     F B U P U Q C C . 

Clue: The letter "F" = the letter "F". 

Shaft United Methodist Church
c/o 60 Victoria Ln .
Frostburg, MD 21532

“Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold on His willingness”
”The coin of God's realm is love.”

--From Apples of Gold, February 14 (a perennial calendar)