Vision and Mission:

The reduction of men and women that have not met with God, Savior through Jesus in the Country of Nicaragua.

Mission:

To reach people in Nicaragua to announce the salvation and make them become Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Before, Now and in the Future:

Since the beginning this congregation has been working on becoming a Methodist Church.  Its’ pastor has been involved in developing the program nation wide. In 2001 it was established as a church.  Now this congregation is starting the beginning steps for a new local church, located first in a neighborhood in Sacctera, Managua, but now located in the neighborhood of Villa Roma.  Worship is celebrated on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m.  Sunday is Sunday School at 9:30 a.m.  There is a dining area where they serve food to 70-100 children three times a week.  Thanks to God, the Church and the Fellowship Hall are built.

The congregation started in May of 2000.  Our brothers Oma and Rosa were members of the Central American Church before they became Methodists.

At the beginning they started their services under a mango tree.  It took almost 3 years for this church to celebrate its worship under these circumstances.  In 2002 with the help of our brothers from the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico and the local church that they started building a temple that was used until 2005.  In 2004, the UMC Covenant Church, Jackson, Tennessee helped with all the funds to buy the land (2500 sq meters) and the funds to build the Fellowship Hall.

At the end of 2005, the UMC Bethany Church, Ohio donated the funds to construct the church project that has been started and predicted to be finished by the end of September, 2006.
The congregation is about 120 people, 58% children, 42% young adult men and women.

On June 5, United Methodists across our Conference will make and IMPACT on our communities with the
love of Jesus Christ as we become the hands and feet of Christ seeking to meet the needs of others. In the
Albemarle District, projects are being planned by local churches; in Anson, Stanly, and Union Counties; and
through a “Mobilepack” event at Mineral Springs UMC, coordinated through Feed My Starving Children, to
package meals for the people of Haiti.
Our goal is for people from each congregation in the district to be in ministry on June 5. Then in worship on
Sunday, June 6, we invite you to celebrate the lives that were touched and the ways God worked through
you to make a difference in our world. We will further celebrate our impact on western North Carolina at
Annual Conference which begins the following week.

For MUMC’s part, our youth will travel to Mineral Springs UMC on Friday, June 4 to pack meals with other youth across the area.  On Saturday, June 5 other members of our church and community are invited to pack meals.  We will also be packing health kits at our Block Party on May 23rd to replenish those sent to the people in Haiti and to the flood and tornado ravaged parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahahoma.

Litany of Resurrection Life

We have just had the amazing opportunity to experience the Holy Mystery through which we journey from crucifixion to resurrection.

We give thanks that once again, we lived the depths of Christ’s sacrifice. We now offer ourselves to Christ’s great gift of resurrection.

Jesus, our Savior, who rose from the dead,

May your life rise within us in resurrected power.

Jesus, who came to Mary in tenderness and compassion in the early morning,

Speak our names. Come to us personally today.

Jesus, who knew the stone had been rolled away when the women were perplexed about how they would conquer that obstacle,

Remind us that you are already at work in the challenges that face us.

Jesus, who sent women with the message of resurrection which was met by skepticism an ridicule,

Keep us faithful to your call no matter what the response.

Jesus, who found His disciples very slow to believe the good news of resurrection,

Open our eyes and hearts to your transforming grace.

Jesus, whose original disciples retreated and huddled in fear after the resurrection,

Calm all our fears and strengthen our faith.

Jesus, who opened the eyes of the two disciples going to Emmaus on Easter evening,

Give us the hearts and eyes to see you present among us.

Jesus, who heard the testimony of the disciples going to Emmaus, “some of the women of our company  amazed us …”

May our witness for you be strong and amazing.

Jesus, who came to the disciples and, first of all gave them peace

Speak your peace to our hearts today.

Jesus, who confirmed resurrection by showing them your scars,

Confirm your resurrection anew in us.

Jesus, who came to fearful disciples and opened their understanding to Scripture,

Apply Your Word to guide us today.

Jesus, who gave your disciples power to forgive sins;

Give us grace to receive your forgiveness and extend that forgiveness to others.

Jesus, who sent apostles on their mission to go into all the world,

Fill our hearts with your wisdom as we deploy pastors to your service.

Jesus, who came back to Thomas,

Remind us not to give up on those you love.

Jesus, who healed Thomas’ reservation by your sacred wounds,

Use our wounds to draw people back to faith.

Jesus, who sent the Holy Spirit on the apostles equipping them to build your church,

Send your power on us anew.

~adapted from litany by Mary John Dye, Morning Prayers, April 6, 2010

Pastor Sherri

His “triumphal entry,” they call it,

riding into the city on a donkey.

Listen, you can tell where this is going

just by looking at him.

Dust of the roads on his feet,

speckled by sinners’ tears.

The smell of fish and baking bread,

incense and lepers on his clothes,

blood on the hem of his garment,

the frame of a man who walks a lot.

Rough knees and kind hands.

Eyes that sparkle with sadness,

everyone’s sadness, taking it all in,

and a smile that weeps with you,

that knows a world’s sorrow

without telling, and a world’s joy.

See how he notices the burdened ones,

the weepers and limpers,

the crutched and shunned ones,

old ones who hover in doorways,

a ragman collecting shame and shadows,

and those who live in them,

how it seems as if he’s gathering names?

Feel that wind? This praise is a spring snow:

it will soon vanish into what we really mean.

These are his royal subjects,

the cast-off and mangled,

possessed and dispossessed.

He draws these tatters and disasters into a kingdom,

rides his patient donkey down the road,

down into the crowd where it opens like a wound,

resolutely down into the tragedy and our longing

where we feed on him and he is with us.

No threats can stop him,

no force, no cross deter him from this,

(and not some aftermath) his hope, his throne,

his triumph.

Deep Blessings,

Pastor Steve

_______________________________

Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight@hotmail.com

John Wesley suggested that to “stay in love with God” we need to be disciplined.  What he recommended for us was to attend worship, to read Scripture, to pray, to receive Holy Communion, to engage in conversation with our brothers and sisters in the faith community and to fast.

I would suggest that most Christians attempt the first five things in the list.  We go to church on Sunday morning, we read our Bibles as part of our daily devotions, we talk to God (and sometimes listen), we go the table and receive the bread and juice when its offered, we engage our friends in conversation about our faith (in addition to what’s going on in college basketball and American Idol).  Fasting, however, is not something that we practice often.

But it may be helpful to remember that both the Old Testament and New Testament teach fasting.  Actually, the Scriptures talk a lot about fasting and feasting.  One way to look at it is that fasting allows us to put down the things of earth, so that we might receive the things of heaven.  St. Augustine  is to have once said that God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.

Most often we think of fasting as it relates to food.  And I would suggest that if you are considering an extended fast from food that you consult your doctor and a spiritual director.  But a fast doesn’t have to be complete or prolonged.  If you were to give up one meal a week, you might consider donating the time and the resources that you would have used to someone who has need. The cost of lunch at Wendy’s or a several cans of soup could go a long way in helping someone who doesn’t know where there next meal is going to come from.

Other types of fasting could include abstaining from media overload – yep, that means put down that cell phone, turn off the TV, drive-in silence.  Or maybe we could fast from over-packed schedules for ourselves and our families that leave us exhausted, depressed and short-tempered.  Marjorie Thompson the author of Soul Feast asks “what would it mean to fast from judging other, or even judging ourselves too harshly?

Ultimately, the question to be asked with any discipline is what does God want to accomplish in me through this practice?   Is my need to be connected 24/7 a sign of issues with control or fear. In my fast food life, could it be that what I’m consuming is actually consuming me?   Are there places in my overcrowded life where God is unable to find room?

As Marjorie Thompson writes, “It may help to understand that spiritual disciplines are not ends in themselves.  Rather, they are simply means of grace — by themselves the Spiritual disciplines can do nothing, they can only get us to the place where something can be done . . . They are the means by which we place ourselves where God can bless us.” (also quoting Richard Foster, Soul Feast, p. 10).

During this season of Lent may we continue to seek ways to be blessed and blessing.

Pastor Sherri

In years past making pancakes and eating pancakes was a way in which households prepared for the season of Lent which begins the following day, also known as Ash Wednesday.  On Tuesday, families would eat up all of the rich foods left in their pantries.  Those foods included eggs, milk, oil, sugar and meat.  Add some flour, and you’ve got the makings of a wonderful pancake supper.

By emptying the cupboards, people entered into a period of self-discipline and denial.  Giving up rich foods would serve as a reminder of all that Jesus gave up for them.  Today many of us continue to practice the Lenten discipline of giving something up.  The hope is that making a small sacrifice during the forty days of Lent will help to prepare our hearts, mind and bodies to more fully receive and appreciate the gift of Easter.

So enjoy the pancakes, and check out the calendar and worship tabs for ways to continue preparations for the journey of Lent.

Blessings,

Pastor Sherri

Well, consider the words of St. Paul  in Romans 8

“What then are we to say about these things?  If God is forus, who can be against us?  He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

Or consider John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his only Begottn Son, so that whosoever believes in him shall have everlasting life.

Or the words we hear following our Prayer of Confession – This is the Good news that Christ died while we were yet sinners that proves God’s love for us. (Romans 5:8)

Or 1 John 3:1 – See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.

As we celebrate this day of red and pink and white, I hope that we will take a minute to remember what “True Love” really looks like.  God’s love is available to all, through the power of the Son and the Spirit.  It’s a Valentine gift, you don’t want to miss!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Pastor Sherri

Haiti: Continue to pray; respect response process,
work though local church, conference, UMCOR

Jan. 21, 2010

Dear sisters and brothers,

For more than a week now our television and computer screens have been filled with images of the devastation in Haiti. We have witnessed the emotional stories of rescue, and the heart-breaking accounts of death and destruction. Like you, I have offered prayers on behalf of all who suffer and mourn as well as those who work for hours on end to rescue. Like you, I have offered financial resources to assist in the massive relief efforts that will extend for years to come. As members of the Body of Christ we know that as one part of the Body suffers, we all suffer and share the grief and pain.

One of the prayers posted on the General Board of Discipleship web site expresses our call and commitment well:  “These are our sisters and brothers, not projects for a time, but family for our lifetimes. When others leave, call us to stay. And keep our hearts stirred, not satisfied until these and all our family, in every place, can live with joy and dwell in peace. Lord, have mercy.”

As we through our many church and personal connections and through our United Methodist Committee on Relief prepare for the long work of rebuilding and restoring lives, I want to encourage all of you to do and be aware of several things.

First, I know that many want to rush in and offer assistance. There will be time for that, but for now we must allow those who are first responders, the trained rescuers and aid workers to do their work. We have been cautioned a number of times not to take teams into Port-au-Prince immediately. UMCOR and our Volunteers-in-Mission coordinators will be organizing and planning for our on-the-ground response. Please follow the news and developments either through our conference web site (www.wncccumc.org) or the United Methodist Church web site (www.umc.org). In both places you will find news and information that will be helpful as we go forward.

Second, there are some specific things we can do right now to assist. At several sites around our conference, United Methodists are responding by preparing meals for shipment through Stop Hunger Now. We are working to coordinate this effort with the hope of filling at least one entire container of meals (142,500 meals) to be directed to Haiti. Also, as many of you are already doing, making health kits is a hands-on project, and those kits are urgently needed. Contact your District Office, or Mike Collins at the Conference Office for details and locations. And, of course, please continue to make financial contributions through UMCOR. Again, check our conference web site for information.

Third, we are in the process of developing a conference-wide strategy for response that will invite all of us to focus our work in a way that will make a long-term difference. I have already had an initial conversation with several persons who have been actively involved in Haiti for years. As those plans are finalized, in partnership with our Haitian churches and friends, we will announce and invite your participation. We know this will be a mission effort of many years and we are taking that view as well as trying to meet the needs on the ground right now.

Thank you all for your gracious and generous response so far. In the midst of all the concerns and difficulties that some of you are facing in your own personal lives and communities, your primary commitment to Jesus Christ and to helping in this great need is evident. For that, I am, as your bishop, most appreciative and encouraged. Continue to pray. Continue to share. Prepare to serve.

Christ, have mercy!
Larry M. Goodpaster
bishop@wnccumc.org

Many of us have been busy this week, tying up loose ends as the old year ends, planning parties to ring in the New Year.  The holiday decorations are beginning to look a bit tarnished, and they will soon, for most of us, be safely tucked away until next year.  Throughout the seasons of Advent and Christmas I have read once again from Ann Weems’ work entitled Kneeling in Bethlehem.  As we go forward into the new year and as those in church planning look towards the coming of Lent and Easter,  I have found this poem to be most fitting.  May it help to guide us in the days ahead.

If there is no cross in the manger,

            There is no Christmas.

If the Babe doesn’t become the Adult,

            There is no Bethlehem star.

If there is no commitment in us,

            There are no Wise Men searching.

If we offer no cup of cold water,

            There is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.

If there is no praising God’s name,

            There are no angels singing.

If there is no spirit of alleluia,

            There are no shepherds watching.

If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk,

            There is no Herod, no flight into Egypt.

If there is no room in our inn,

            Then “Merry Christmas” mocks the Christ Child,          

            And the Holy Family is just a holiday card,

            And God will loathe our feasts and festivals.

 For if there is no reconciliation,

            We cannot call Christ “Prince of Peace.”

If there is no goodwill toward others,

            It can all be packed away in boxes for another year.

If there is no forgiveness in us,

            There is no cause for celebration.

If we cannot go now even unto Golgotha,

            There is no Christmas in us.

If Christmas is not now,

            If Christ is not born into the everyday present,

            Then what is all the noise about?