February 2020
the Visitor Our Vision Statement
a publication of Flushing United Methodist Church
Preparing servants who make a difference in their community and the world by knowing Christ, following Christ and sharing Christ.
Church Staff Lead Pastor JJ Mannschreck Office Manager Rose Dessinger Director of Music Christie Dover Christian Ed. Director Lisa Mitchell Youth Leader Tramell Ferguson Custodian Marlene Cooper Play Place Director Brooke Daily Play Place Sandy Abueita Sarah Covert Hanna Nettleton Patricia Wisenbaugh
Sunday Worship
8:45 am Traditional Service 11:15 am Contemporary Worship Published the last Wednesday of the month (810)659-5172 Editor: Rose Dessinger
413 E Main St, Flushing MI 48433 www.flushingumc.org e-mail: flumc@sbcglobal.net Pastor JJ’s email: pastor@flushingumc.org cell #: (248) 219-8598
Greetings from the desk of the Pastor! Despite the ice storms and surprise snow flurries – FUMC has been a warm and cozy busy house of God. We have so many exciting things to talk about I want to jump right in. Many of you have had questions about the Protocol on Grace and Reconciliation Through Separation that was released on January 3rd – and we’ve dedicated another space of this newsletter to diving deeper into that discussion. But for the Pastor’s letter I really want to focus on all the amazing things we have been up to here in the local church. After all, the local church is where the real ministry is done – and you all do it so well! In 2019 I laid out a series of goals for this church. I used the normal measurements for how you tell is a church is healthy – we set goals for finances, attendance, membership and outreach. I set REALLY large goals. Impossible goals. Dream big goals – and we accomplished just about every single one. Attendance was up, we hit our financial goals over and over, membership exceeded our goal (which was over quadruple the previous year) and we put together almost twice as many big new outreach projects than I was hoping for. All in all, 2019 was an incredible year. But I have to admit something to you all – I don’t actually like talking about numbers and money. Focusing too much on how many and how much can be unhealthy. And the truth is we should get just as excited if we welcome 1 new member as we would if we welcome 100. Truth be told, I really only talked about numbers last year to show you what this church is capable of. I want you to believe in yourself. I want you to believe in what this church is capable of. I wanted you to see what was possible if we work together and keep our eyes on Jesus. A good administrator keeps track of those numbers and continues to push for growth, and I will continue to do those things in the office – but for 2020 I would like to focus on a different type of goals. I want to shift from numbers and money to setting goals based on projects. I have three big projects I’m looking to complete in 2020 for this church. First, as we talked about in last month’s newsletter – I’d like
to see a successful launch of our new Outreach Team and our Missions Team. Each group has a more specific focus, which will help them grow and do so much more in this church and in our community. Second, I’m very excited to unveil our brand new Men’s Ministry in this church. Many thanks to Jim Belanger for stepping up to lead this new effort as we rethink how Men’s ministry should happen. While much of the conversation is still up in the air, and nothing is set in stone – I can tell you tentatively that the new group is called The Forge, and our mission statement is “Building boys into men, and men into men of God.” To be honest, I’ve never been a part of a church that had a healthy thriving men’s ministry – and I think we’ve got a good start in the right direction. I believe that this could be a catalyst for pushing the men of our church community into a deeper relationship with God. Third and finally, I have a goal of completely overhauling the system for the Ministry Teams of this church in 2020. Some of the current leaders have hoped for this for a long time, and the moment is finally here. Ministry Teams are those groups that provide the basics of a successful Sunday morning. There are five ministry teams in our church – Nursery, Hospitality (coffee hour and greeters), Ushers, Sound Board Team, and our Worship Team (communion and scripture readers). We have wonderful people who have done an excellent job in those positions for years. But I am dreaming a bigger dream. We want to find new leaders, provide more support, and more comprehensive training. Rather than simply looking for bodies to fill volunteer slots – we want people to grow into their work in building the kingdom of God! I dream of Ushers who go beyond handing out bulletins and are trained for emergencies of all sorts. I dream of a jam packed fellowship hall where people linger and love to spend time together. I dream of a sound team that is always learning new tricks to provide the best worship experience. I dream of a worship team that is always lifting people to try new things and take charge in worship! We are coworkers, building the kingdom of God together. I’m so excited I can hardly wait - but until then, I’ll see you on Sunday!
Share The Love Brown Bag Sunday
February 9th, 2020 On Sunday, February 9th, we will be distributing brown bags after both services. Please take them home and fill each bag with pantry items to be donated to Flushing Christian Outreach Center’s pantry. Please return on/by Sunday, February 16th. Possible items to include: Juice Cereal Pancake Mix Syrup Peanut Butter Jelly/Jam Crackers Soup Raisins Cookies Canned Fruit Potatoes Canned Vegetables Jell-O Macaroni & Cheese Pudding Chili Beef Stew Tuna Flour Sugar Rice Spaghetti Sauce w/Meat Cooking Oil Hamburger/Tuna Helper Powdered Milk
Taco Kit Spaghetti Waxed Paper Napkins Ketchup Facial Tissue Paper Plates Paper Towels Mustard Bathroom Tissue Canned Meat Pasta Beans Canned Milk
Old Testament Stories
Spring Hill February 21-23 An awesome retreat for the Youth Group. Sign up today!
Help Feed Our Youth Group Lunch If you would like to help provide our Youth Group lunch during for one of their weekly meetings, please sign up on the see in the lobby. See Tramell Ferguson for information.
An Opportunity to Serve Family Promise at FUMC invites you to join us during 2020 as a servant. The host week dates are: Feb. 9-16; May 3-10; Aug. 23-30 and Dec. 20-27. Many opportunities are available to serve. We especially need servants for Saturday during the day and evening and dinner hosts most days. For more information, contact Carolyn Malaski or better yet, talk with someone who is already a servant.
Next Host Date: Feb 9-16
The schedule for servants will be posted in March and includes openings for hosts to serve during the week as well as other tasks that need to be done such as laundry, set-up and tear down. Watch for a Wish List that will be posted soon by Sue Martin. Denise Johnson, the dinner team leader, will be planning the menus and contacting people to help provide food for dinner.
($125 after)
Murder Mystery Gala 2020
Saturday, February 29th, 2020 ~ 6 to 11 PM Join us for a little mayhem, mystery, and murder!
A switch from our traditional gala format that will keep you guessing all night! Join us for complimentary cocktails and mingling with the characters from 6 - 7 pm. Murder begins at 7:30 pm - we will take a short pause around 8 for the Dessert Dash. FUMC will be a Silver Sponsor again this year. Tickets are on sale for $100 by Jan 31st or $125 afterward. Ticket information is located on the display in the lobby or on the Mission table in Fellowship Hall. You can check out the FPGC web site for more details (www.familypromiseofgc.org ). Donations are accepted if you are unable to attend the gala.
Flushing Christian Outreach Center The requested Food Pantry donation for the month is: The requested Personal Item donation for the month is:
Sunday Worship 8:45 am & 11:15 am
NAME Menosky, Michael Swigart, Preston Suchodolski, Ramsey Fleury, Louis Johnson, Denise Hawley, Nikki Keane, Kevin Walters, Kirk Sturgeon, Doris Dessinger, Rose Griffin, Michael Launstein, Barbara Michael, James Bigelow,Terry Griffin, Rhonda Riley, Ms Cathy Dover, Rachel Ann Johnson, Susie
DOB
2/2 2/2 2/2 2/3 2/6 2/6 2/7 2/7 2/8 2/8 2/9 2/10 2/10 2/11 2/11 2/13 2/13 2/14
Nixon, Cheryl Anderson, Cadence Nettleton,Carrie Dearing, Gary Triplett, Jim Jenkins, Donna Hall, Walker Stamm, Brad Winiarski, Nicholas Rowley, Jacob Baker, Linda Martin, Vern Judson, Katie Messina, Tracey Cichowski, Casey Hodges, Don Mosey, Caron Eavy, Rusty
2/14 2/15 2/16 2/18 2/19 2/20 2/20 2/20 2/20 2/21 2/22 2/22 2/22 2/24 2/24 2/25 2/25 2/28
Finance Snapshot through January 2020 January: General: $26,926 Capitol: $2,485 2020 Apportionments: $47, 397 Paid to date: $3,950 We are 100% current on our apportionments
THE GIFT THAT GROWS Early in the year is a perfect time to reflect on our many blessings and express our gratitude. Wouldn’t it make sense to remember our church and how we have been blessed though the years? The beginning of the year is also a perfect time to consider tax strategies for the current and forthcoming years. A gift in memory or honor of a friend or loved one is always appropriate at any time. Charitable giving is a great way to support your church, gain some “tax relief,” and receive a blessing in return. Consider and talk to your tax advisor about – • • • • •
A gift of cash or stock An IRA Charitable Rollover A gift annuity A charitable remainder trust A beneficiary designation
And, of course, consider the Flushing United Methodist Church Endowment Fund where your gift keeps on giving.
continues Feb 2nd at 12:30pm.
Diving Deeper Into the Protocol As many of you have heard in the media, or at least read about in my letter – there was a Protocol put forward recently that may be able to pave a way forward for the future of our church. If it all goes through, there will be two new denominations. The Post Separation UMC which will change the Book of Discipline language on LGBTQ inclusion, and the Traditionalist Denomination which will keep the language the way it has been for the last few decades. HOWEVER, the conversation goes MUCH deeper than that. The Traditionalist Denomination will be created by a group called the Wesleyan Covenant Association – and they have been working on their new structure since 2016, when the split first became possible. They have already circulated a rough draft of their own Book of Discipline. The core of this vote will be around the language of LGBTQ inclusion – we cannot brush that aside. But there are many other issues that we should take into account and I want you all to have as much information as possible. So in this section, in the coming months, I will seek to provide clarification on many of the other pieces to the conversation. The two new denominations will have different approaches to their structure. Some of those include: • Should Churches own their own property? (trust clause or no) •
Should Churches pick their own pastors? (itineracy or call system)
How much money should Churches give to Ministry Shares? • Should Ministry be centered in the local church OR at conference level? • What is the difference between Progressive and ProgressiveCentrist? Each issue is important and each side has pros and cons, and I want us to move forward into the future with as much transparency and understanding as possible. •
Next Month I will pick one topic and in this section of the newsletter I'll explain the basics of how they will be different in each denomination. But for today – let’s talk about the Protocol itself. Why did the media report that there was already a split – what is the protocol? The Protocol is a proposal. It is a plan that will be submitted at the General Conference meeting in May. It could be voted down OR it could be passed – it is merely one plan. Some media outlets reported that there was a vote, but that was careless reporting. They did not look carefully. The Protocol is one option that will be voted on in May. Actually, it is not the only plan proposed! After last February’s General Conference meeting in 2019 – when we realized that separation was regrettable, but unavoidable - all the big groups in the Methodist Church on each side of this issue began working on their own plan of separation. There is a plan put forward by the progressives, there is a plan put forward by the traditionalists, and a few others in the middle. You may have heard of some of them – they are called UMC Next, UMC Forward, The Indianapolis Plan, etc. Each of these plans came from one side or the other – supported by either progressives or traditionalists, but NOT both. The Protocol came around when a bishop from Africa reached out to the heads of EACH of the major UMC factions and brought them all together with a mediator. This was a plan forged by both sides working together. Neither side loves the whole thing, but it is a compromise. The reason it made the news is because it has the most wide-spread support and thus is the most likely of all the plans to pass. This merely scratches the surface – but I hope it provides some clarification. Please feel free to contact me by email or set up a coffee date if you'd like to discuss more. We will continue the conversation next months. Until then – God bless! -Pastor JJ
Our Church Family
Aware of a concern or joy in our family? Please notify the church, so we can share them with you. Only first names will be published in prayer concerns.
Please remember in your hearts and prayers: + Deborah, for good results for mammogram + Fred, challenged with ability to breathe + Sue, Barb, Katie and Betty as they address health issues + Sue, who has a spot on her liver
+ Carole, with breast cancer and severe hip issues + Michelle, with stage 3 breast cancer + Terry in ICU with severe infection + Kevin, with cancer on his tongue + Tylor to meet a friend that will lead him to Jesus + A sister just diagnosed with cancer
To Marilyn West, friends and family on the death of her husband, Charles West. May this family be uplifted by our prayers.
We both want to thank our wonderful church family for the warm hugs, heartfelt condolences and beautiful cards we received on the loss of my mom, Connie Gilmet. We are so blessed. -Cindy and Barry Pratt I would like to say Thank You... even when “Thank You” don’t seem to be enough. For all the cards, prayers, concerns, goodies and the fruit basket at Christmas. All that the church and my church family has done for me is so greatly appreciated. I wouldn’t have made it without you all. God Bless! -Bonnie Farrow
Worship Servants Greeters 8:45 am Feb 2 - Bill & Rose Dessinger Feb 9 - Jerry & Carol Dick Feb 16 - Barry & Cindy Pratt Feb 23 - Jim & Laragene Triplett Coffee Hosts 8:45 am Feb 2 - Jim & Velma Graham Feb 9 - Jim & Liz Fonger Feb 16 - Jerry & Carol Dick Feb 23 - Duane & Dawn Hiller Ushers 8:45 am Feb 2 - Jim & Laragene Triplett Feb 9 - Bill & Sue Martin Feb 16 - Jim & Liz Fonger Feb 23 - Lois Griffin, Larry Launstein Scripture Readers 8:45 am Feb 2 - Alta Parson Feb 9 - Joe Metz Feb 16 Feb 23 - Laurel Allyn
Greeters 11:15 am Feb 2 - Lori & Joe Dorman Feb 9 - Denise Sands, Becky Stamm Feb 16 - Kris Supernaw, Bob Halbedel Feb 23 - Carole Dewley, Jeff Welch Coffee Hosts 11:15 am Feb 2 - Kris Supernaw, Bob Halbedel Feb 9 - Marlene Cooper, Carole Dewley Feb 16 - Kris Burns, Teresa Casteel Feb 23 - Jim & Melissa Belanger Ushers 11:15 am Feb 2 - Denise Johnson, Tom Lawrence Feb 9 - Kris Burns, Teresa Casteel Feb 16 - Blair & Tracey Booth Feb 23 - Greg & Anne Winarski
Deadline: February 20, 2020
Jan 5 - 142 Jan 12 - 104 Jan 19- 135 Jan 26 - 200
January 29, 2020 – Issue #1
the Visitor
FLUSHING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 413 E MAIN ST FLUSHING MI 48433-2029
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