Tuesday, January 31, 2012

1/29/2012 Sermon Online

Listen to the sermon from 1/29/2012 given by special guest Ms. Doreen Petroza, visiting lay speaker from Crystal Lake Community UMC.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Souper Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012 — Proceeds to benefit MACC

Please help us on February 5th by purchasing soup, chili, pepperoni/mozzarella bread, sandwiches and/or additional goodies.  Check out what the youth are cooking up this year and pre-order get sandwiches or grinders and to make sure you don't miss out on the fast moving favorites.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

UMCatalyst News Notes 1/25/2012

Follow this link to read the latest in e-news for clergy and laity in the New England Conference:
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church.

January 22nd, 2012 Sermon - Gone Fishing

Hear the sermon from this past Sunday, January 22nd online.
You can also check out the whole service mashed into about 5 minutes. Full services may be heard at North United Methodist Church on Sunday mornings at 10am.

Friday, January 20, 2012

This Sunday

This is a reminder that there is a Leadership Breakfast Meeting this Sunday at 8:15. Worship is at 10 am as usual and there is a Power to Heal Class at 11:30. Additionally, there are Membership Forms and Talent Pledge Cards that have not yet been completed and returned, thank you very much to those who have, so please take a couple minutes to help our dedicated workers have the information they need.

MACC Food Pantry and SCRIP - Working Together

The MACC Food Pantry is always in need of donations, but we realize that many people are already pressed for time in their busy lives.

It's as simple as 1-2-3:
  1. Five minutes or less to order/buy a SCRIP grocery card - TIME SAVED!
  2. The purchase of a SCRIP card - MONEY RAISED FOR NUMC!
  3. The grocery card given to Marlene Camper to buy groceries for the food pantry - DONATION MADE!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

UMCatalyst News Notes 1/4/2012

Follow this link to read the latest in e-news for clergy and laity in the New England Conference:
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Interactive 'Wizard of OZ' Family Movie Night January 14th at 6:30 pm

Join us to watch Dorothy Gale (and her little dog too!) as they are swept up in a tornado from their Kansas farm, and then dropped in a magical and colorful land filled with a host of characters and adventures. We’ll follow them on their quest to return to Kansas because "There’s no place like home!"

Reserve the date and join in the fun!

All are invited to: dress up as a character, bring friends and family (especially your little "munchkins"), participate throughout the movie with some planned activities, sing-along, and enjoy freshly popped popcorn, and fellowship!

Sign-up in the Memorial Room!
Join on Facebook and it will remind you to come.

You won’t want to miss this fun filled evening!

Recent Pictures

Thanks Tim for posting some pictures of some of the recent good times at NUMC on Facebook.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Letter From The Pastor's Desk

Dear NUMC,

Greetings to you all in this new year. We look forward to the many opportunities we know will be presented to us to grow and expand, to reach higher and to realize our dreams in 2012.

Leaving the past behind us, for that is where it is, we look forward to improvements in our lives. We can bring the lessons of past years with us, as part of the guide to our future, but we are well advised to leave the disappointments, hurts and setbacks in the past where they belong. These negatives only serve to retard us, to drag us down and keep us from our destiny. On the other hand we also cannot bring the good times with us, we can bring the memories of those good times and these memories serve the purpose of inspiring us, of moving us forward, of helping us to cope with difficult situations which we will surely face.

So in this time of resolutions, we can determine to leave the negative experiences of the past behind and bring with us into our future only those things that will lift us up and move us forward.

One of the memories we can take with us into the future to inspire us as a community is the unexpected ways in which God has blessed us during this year. Although we still face a challenge with regard to our finances, God continues to surprise us with gifts. We can take this as a sign, an indication that God cares for us and provides for us, even when we are unaware of it. God still works, in an efficient economic arrangement, the vast reaches of which we can never fully understand in this dimension of life.

That is where our faith comes in. Faith in God to guide the future. Faith in God that when one channel of our good fails or is closed or cut off, that God provides another channel. Without faith we really cannot go forward, because we lack the knowledge of everything necessary to make correct decisions. So we do need God, because in God lies the divine and unlimited knowledge that is we need in order for us to reach our destiny.

I wonder how many of us think about our destiny, or how far into the future we think in terms of destiny. Is our destiny retirement from a job? Is our destiny wealth? Is our destiny creature comforts? Is our destiny health?

Or is our destiny bigger, larger, more expansive than that? I’d like to suggest that while these are worthwhile goals, our destiny should be much larger.

I’d like to suggest therefore that our destiny is heaven. Yes, heaven, which means being in the presence of God. This is the destiny for all of creation, and we can only be in the presence of God when we are reconciled with God. Some of us think that we have to die to be reconciled and be in the presence of God, But we do not have to die physically, only to put to death spiritually all those things that prevent us from reconciling with God. Some of those things were mentioned earlier — feelings of disappointment and unworthiness, jealousy and bitterness associated with negative experiences. Let us put these things to death, bury them in the past and move forward with the expectation and the hope that God will continue to provide and care for us as He has done in the past. And God will bring us to a glorious destiny.

Shalom,
Pastor Laurel

First New Tidings of the New Year

Read the latest NUMC news and happenings in the January edition of Tidings, our monthly newsletter.