F irst Pulse
First United Methodist Church Grand Rapids | grfumc.org
May 2018
Enclosed are stories from First Church and the impact on the lives of our community.
F irst Pulse
May 2018
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Mission Trip to Nicaragua
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Open House at MLK Tutoring Center
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Thank you Peg Terkeurst for your 20 years of ministry at First Church. On the Cover: Faith Seeking Real Life Understanding sermon series B
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OUR MISSION
INCLUSIVITY
To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Inclusiveness means openness, acceptance, and support that enables all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community, and the world; therefore, inclusiveness denies every semblance of discrimination.
OUR PURPOSE To fulfill the call of Christ to be spiritually alive in the city while embracing the world. 2
First Pulse | May ‘18
By the time you read this article, we will be two weeks into the schedule of speakers during my renewal leave. So I decided that I would share with you the schedule for the remainder of my time away. We are blessed to have a wide diversity of speakers including a three-week emphasis on the Interfaith Dialogue that is occurring here in Grand Rapids. Please note the following schedule and plan to be in worship as often as possible. May 6: Communion Sunday – Rev. John Boley, Clergy Assistant to the Bishop of the Michigan Area of the United Methodist Church May 13: Mothers’ Day – The Youth of First Church will be leading both services. May 20: Pentecost Sunday – Confirmation of our Confirmation Class with Pastor Tim Tuthill leading the services Summer Worship Schedule Begins: 10:00 Am May 27: 10:00 am Worship – Rev. Joe Jones, 2nd Ward Commissioner to the City of Grand Rapids Council and CEO of the Urban League June 3: Rev. George Heartwell, former Mayor of Grand Rapids June 10: Communion Sunday – Bishop David Bard, Resident Bishop of the Michigan Area of the United Methodist Church June 17: Fathers’ Day/Stephen Ministry Commissioning – Imam Morsy Salem, the Islamic Center of Grand Rapids June 24: Rabbi Michael Schadick, Temple Emanuel, Grand Rapids July 1: Communion Sunday – Dr. Douglas Kindschi, Director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute of Grand Rapids July 8: To be announced July 15: Rev. Dr. Jennie Browne, Director of Clergy Excellence for the Michigan Area of the United Methodist Church July 22: Rev. Dr. Margie Crawford, new Grand Rapids District Superintendent
July 29: Rev. Karen Stokes, an Intentional Interim Pastor in the UCC and United Presbyterian Churches August 5: Communion Sunday – Steven Dry, a lay person from the New England Annual Conference who will be doing a focus day on August 4 on “Creative Spiritual Innovation” and then preaching on the 5th. August 12: Rev. Dr. Stephen Cady II, Senior Pastor of Asbury First United Methodist Church of Rochester, New York. Dr. Cady is a friend of Adam and Gretchen Townshend. August 19: Pastor Bob Hundley I am pleased to share with you the above list. I think our congregation will be inspired, enriched, and encouraged by such a wonderful array of speakers. I commend each of them to you and I encourage you to welcome them with open arms. Finally, Pastor Tim Tuthill and the entire staff are eager and ready to be of service to our congregation in my absence. We have a great team of capable people who will work together to manage anything that should come up. Pigeon and I are grateful for the opportunity to have these four months to spend time in travel and spiritual renewal. We appreciate the time away. It is sacred to us. Blessings to you all and see you in August. Pastor Bob
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Radical Hospitality Spring Growth I love Easter! The sanctuary bursts with songs of resurrection. Friends and family come together to celebrate. Snowbirds make their way back to Michigan. For many, Easter marks the beginning of spring and a time of growth. Like the flowers, we can use the extended daylight hours of spring for growth. Volunteering is a great way to make a positive difference, build relationships, and bring personal growth. When is the last time you tried something new or went out of your comfort zone? Here are a few First Church volunteer opportunities: • Family Promise, April 29 – May 6: Help us host homeless families for a week on the third floor of church. • Walk for Good Food (Hunger Walk), May 6, 1:30pm: Walk a 5K and raise money for local agencies fighting hunger. • Young Adults (ages 18-30) Chicago Mission Trip, June 20-23. • Arts Alive Camp (June 2528): Help our 1st-6th graders have an amazing week at an arts camp, right at First Church!
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First Pulse | May ‘18
• Work Program: On Tuesday mornings, welcome our neighbors who come to First Church for 2-hour job assignments throughout the community, earning $20. • Justice for our Neighbors (JFON): Provide support to our immigrant community. • Fixin’ ’n’ Fellowship (every other Thursday morning): Help with repair projects around the church. • First Church Hospitality: Welcome and greet on Sunday mornings, serve as an usher, host one of our fellowship opportunities. Grow and deepen your faith through one of our 9:15 am Sunday morning classes: • Methodist Connection (Racial Reconciliation) Sunday School Exchange, April 29. Class taught by a guest teacher from one of our Methodist Connection congregations. • Five Love Languages of Children, April 22-May 20. • Introduction to St. Paul, April 22-May 20. • Faith Link, May 6-20: Weekly drop-in class with lessons connect faith to major current news events and life issues.
How will YOU capture the energy of Easter and grow this spring? Sign up for these opportunities at grfumc.org/sign-up-sheet. Help First Church grow this spring, too! Invite your friends and family to join you for a worship service, volunteer opportunity, or class. Or do you have gifts, talents, skills, or contacts that might help us reach more people in the downtown area and continue to grow? I’d love to hear your ideas for growth and to put your talents to use! Email: samim@grfumc.org. Sami Marasigan Director of Hospitality and Invitation
Above: New members joining on Easter. Left: Kindness Feast
PASSIONATE WORSHIP Music and Arts Ministry
The Road Home "The Road Home” Tell me, where is the road I can call my own, That I left, that I lost so long ago? All these years I have wandered, oh when will I know there’s a way, there’s a road that will lead me home? After wind, after rain, when the dark is done, as I wake from a dream in the gold of day, Through the air there’s a calling from far away, there’s a voice I can hear that will lead me home.
Rise up, follow me, come away, is the call, with the love in your heart as the only song; there is no such beauty as where you belong; rise up, follow me, I will lead you home. (Michael Dennis Browne) One of the anthems that the choir sang during our Lenten series on “The Prodigal” is The Road Home by American composer Stephen Paulus (1949-2014). Paulus had been commissioned to write a “folk-inspired” choral arrangement and ran across an old tune in a book titled “The Lone Wild Bird.” Using this tune, he engaged the poet Michael Dennis Browne to write new words for the tune, and this was the result. The second stanza speaks powerfully about finding one’s way back after a period of wandering and being lost. The anthem touches on the experience of the younger son “coming to his senses,” following a time of trouble and despair. Reflecting upon this anthem can inspire one to think about the various roads and paths in one’s life being part of a larger spiritual journey. Roads are fascinating, and important to human history and development. Roads play significant roles in both the Old and New Testaments. Archeological excavations have revealed the existence of paved roads, even in early Mesopotamia, around 4000 B.C. Certainly, the Romans knew the importance of roads for commercial and military travel. Roads were kept safe for travelers, with inns, cities, and other infrastructure growing up along these roads.
“Road” can have a variety of meanings. It includes the physical: highways, footpaths, as well as other public and private passages. It can be used in a metaphorical way, describing not the actual road, but, rather, an imagined one. Road can refer to the journey, focusing on the events, and waypoints toward a destination. “Road” may refer to behavior, or the “way” one lives. The word “road” intersects with many images and ideas used in both poetry and prose. It is interesting to note that early Christians were known as people of “The Way.” The passage from Acts, is one of the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth, and the light.” The large piece of art above the mantle in The Upper Room is a photograph depicting of the iconic sculptures along the pilgrimage route in northern Spain known as The Camino de Santiago. “Camino” means “way,” and Santiago refers to Saint Iago or St. James. According to legend, the remains of St. James were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is today the city of Santiago de Compostela. The way can take a variety of paths from all over Europe. The pilgrimage was extremely popular in the middle ages. This year, nearly 300,000 pilgrims will travel the Camino, which concludes with a pilgrim’s mass, celebrated every day at noon. There is an excellent movie with Martin Sheen called The Way, which tells a fascinating story about modern-day pilgrims along this route. Getting back to the anthem, I think the heart of it is found in the final stanza: There is no such beauty as where you belong. This is a rather profound statement, and one that requires significant reflection. The spiritual path is a kind of finding where you belong. Encountering beauty is a signpost along the journey home. Eric Strand Director of Music and the Arts
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May 2018 Monday, April 30 Family Promise/IHN 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry Training Tuesday, May 1 Family Promise/IHN 7:00 am – Work Program 5:30 pm – SPRC Meeting Wednesday, May 2 Family Promise/IHN 5:15 pm – Legacy 6:00 pm – Young Adults Group: Bible Study at the Cottage Bar Thursday, May 3 Family Promise/IHN 9:00 am – Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship 7:00 pm – Chancel Choir Friday, May 4 Family Promise/IHN 4:00 pm – Wedding Rehearsal Saturday, May 5 Family Promise/IHN 3:30 pm – Wedding
Sunday, May 6 Family Promise/IHN Communion Sunday Blood Pressure Sunday Rev. John Boley, Guest Preacher 8:15 am – Nursery 8:15 am – Sunday Worship 8:30 am – Children’s Chapel 9:15 am – Musical Rehearsal 9:00 am – Nursery 9:15 am – Musical Rehearsal 9:15 am – Church School for All Ages 10:15 am – Children’s & Youth Choir 10:15 am – Coffee & Connections 10:45 am – Nursery 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 12:00 pm – Renovation Discussion with Pizza 1:30 pm – Walk for Good Food 4:00 pm – Couples in Faith Gathering at Eaveys’ 5:00 pm – Jr & Sr High Youth Group Monday, May 7 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry Training Tuesday, May 8 7:00 am – Work Program 8:00 am – Greenfield Village Trip 12:00 pm – JFON Advisory Board 5:30 pm – Finance
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Wednesday, May 9 5:30 pm – Young Adult Group Dinner Prep and Building Discussion 6:30 pm – Building Renovation Presentation and Dinner Thursday, May 10 9:00 am – Moms and Muffins Date 7:00 pm – Chancel Choir Saturday, May 12 9:30 am – Feeding America 10:00 am – Youth Service Rehearsal Sunday, May 13 Youth Sunday Graduate Recognition Sunday Coffee Can Offering Sunday 8:15 am – Nursery 8:15 am – Sunday Worship 8:30 am – Children’s Chapel 9:00 am – Nursery 9:15 am – Church School for All Ages 10:00 am – Sunday School Musical 10:15 am – Children’s Choir 10:15 am – Coffee & Connections 10:45 am – Nursery 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room Monday, May 14 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 5:00 pm – Trustees 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry Training B
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Tuesday, May 15 7:00 am – Work Program 6:30 pm – Missions Commission
Monday, May 21 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 12:00 pm – 60+ Luncheon 5:30 pm – Building Committee 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry Training 7:00 pm – Leadership Council
Wednesday, May 16 9:00 am – Caring Connection 6:00 pm – Young Adults Group at Kids’ Food Basket Thursday, May 17 9:00 am – Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship 7:00 pm – Chancel Choir
Tuesday, May 22 7:00 am – Work Program Sunday, May 27 Rev. Joe Jones, Guest Preacher 9:45 am – Nursery 10:00 am – Worship
Saturday, May 19 9:00 am - 4:00 pm – Plant Sale at Well House Sunday, May 20 Confirmation Sunday Pentecost Sunday 8:15 am – Nursery 8:15 am – Sunday Worship 8:30 am – Children’s Chapel 9:00 am – Nursery 9:15 am – Church School for All Ages 10:15 am – Children’s & Youth Choir 10:15 am – Coffee & Connections 10:45 am – Nursery 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 12:00 pm – Unplugged: End-ofYear Fun 4:00 pm – Couples in Faith Gathering at Millennium Park 5:00 pm – Jr & Sr High Youth Group
Monday, May 28 Memorial Day Church Building and Offices Closed 11:00 am – Offsite: Adult Bible Study Tuesday, May 29 7:00 am – Work Program Thursday, May 31 9:00 am – Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship 7:00 pm – Chancel Choir A B C
Pastors forum held on Sunday, April 8. Moments with The Children on Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday, April 1
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Intentional Faith Development 2018 Youth Service For the past couple of months, the senior high youth have been spending their Sunday evenings working diligently to put together a worship service that shares their faith. Now the youth of our church are ready to take over and would like to invite you to join us for worship on May 13. This year the Youth Service will focus on the topic of leadership. The youth will explain what leadership looks like to them and how a variety of leaders have impacted their lives. They will also share how they have demonstrated leadership in their schools, their community, and in our church. Last summer, twelve of our youth gave up a week of their summer to serve in Columbia County, New York. During that week, students learned how to be leaders in their faith while demonstrating what leadership looks like in the Columbia County community. Their experiences on the mission trip have helped shape this year’s Youth Service. During the service, there will be a special offering for our summer mission trip. This year we will be traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for a week of service. During the week, we will have the opportunity to serve in a variety of ways that could include: cleaning, interacting with individuals with disabilities, gardening, engaging with seniors in assisted living centers, 8
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and assisting with food distribution. The summer mission trip provides students with an opportunity to grow in their faith and serve a community outside of their own. We will also be recognizing all of the high school seniors who will be graduating with the Class of 2018. They have put in an enormous amount of time and effort to reach graduation, and we believe their hard work deserves to be celebrated. At the 10:45 am service we will be inviting all of the graduating high school students to come forward during the service to acknowledge their accomplishments and provide them with a gift. At this time we will say a prayer for them, as well as our 2018 college graduates. We hope you will join us on May 13 at the 8:15 am or 10:45 am service to support the youth and all of the work they have put into planning and preparing for the service. Heather Yzenbaard Director of Senior High Youth
Risk-Taking Outreach and Mission In March, the Healing Hands Medical Mission Team, led by Nancy Gillette, traveled for their 39th time to Nicaragua. This year the medical mission team of 9 adults and 2 teens were from Michigan, Iowa, and Minnesota. We arrived in Somoto, Nicaragua, which was our base camp and is 10 miles south of the Honduran border. We met up with Dr. Mir MD, Dr Allan DDS, 3 interpreters, and our cook. The first clinic was given in Somoto and we medically helped 200 people. Every day, we’d travel 1 ½ to 2 hours on a school bus on bumpy, gravel roads, going up mountains and down dusty roads to five smaller villages helping 1,000 patients, and had 80
people accept Christ for the first time. Three of the villages had never had any medical teams come to their town. Every person or child who comes to our clinic can choose to see a medical doctor, a dentist, and/or get reading glasses. We handed out approximately 800 tote bags and 2,500 tooth brushes and floss. Everyone gets parasite medicine because of their contaminated drinking water. We also give children toys and dresses for the little girls. Our team performs small surgeries, cleans out impacted ear wax so they can hear again, cleans teeth, and pulls teeth if needed. Before leaving Nicaragua, we stop at Casa Materna (Nicaragua’s Birthing House) and give them 50 handmade baby quilts. I helped in the pharmacy with Bob Gillette and prepared medications, labeled them in Spanish, and dispensed meds. It
feels good to give back and make a difference in someone’s life. For what I give, I receive much more from the Nicaraguan people. This year we met a 16-year old girl, Jackeling, with pop bottle-type glasses. She had previously passed the tenth grade in high school but had to drop out because she couldn’t see. After examining her, the team paid for her trip to Managua, where Dr. Mir gave her an eye exam. Jackeling will need either $500 glasses every year or a $2,000 surgery and a pair of glasses that will last many years. Healing Hands will also cover that cost. I see this type of life-changing help for communities in Nicaragua on every trip I have been on. Thank you for your heartfelt mission giving; we are changing people’s lives. Dave Terkeurst
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EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY Resource Development
Stewardship as a Part of our Faith When the subject of tithing comes up, do you get a bit uncomfortable? I’ve been involved in Finance Committee work at church for many years, and I can say that discussions about tithing move a lot of folks out of their comfort zone. I’ve had people literally get mad at me for even raising the subject. As Christians, we view stewardship as a part of our faith. As United Methodists, we actually make a formal vow to support the ministries of the church through our gifts. Yet despite these central truths of our faith, God’s call to return one-tenth of all we “harvest” back to God puts many of us on the defensive. At First Church, every single one of us is at a different place on our faith journey. Where we are on that journey impacts how comfortable we are with being generous in our giving. We are indeed blessed that many in our church family have discovered the joy comes from confidently returning a tithe (or even more) of all God has provided back to God through their gifts to First Church. We are also blessed with many who continue to grow in their faith and each year find a way to increase the percentage of their giving as they move ever closer to the tithe.
God has blessed most of us with ample abundance compared to the rest of the world. For nearly all of us at First Church, if we gave a tithe, we would discover that we really can live quite nicely with the remaining 90%! Tithing is not a question of dollars. Giving to God’s work at First Church is not to be thought of as a “bill” for being here. Rather, tithing is an indication of our faith, knowing that we have nothing to fear by sharing our abundance in extravagant ways! There are many “tithers” in our midst. They are usually the ones you would least suspect: folks of modest means who have discovered the joy of turning their lives over to God, knowing that God will provide all that we need. Thanks be to God for all of these faithful disciples, and for all the rest who continue to grow closer to God, and nurture their faith, which results in ever-increasing heartfelt generosity. So, don’t fear the word! Embrace it! Someday we hope to be a tithing congregation. We grow closer every day. Chris Hawkins Finance Committee
Left: MLK Tutoring Center; Above: Justice for Our Neighbors Art Fiesta Night ― Join JFON for another community art night on Wednesday, May 2 from 5 - 8 pm in The Vine! They will be making art to bring encouragement and vibrancy to our Grand Rapids office space. 10
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Congregational Care Christ Caring for People Through People! Stephen Ministry News!
“The idea of Stephen Ministry has always appealed to me” says Paula, “and when Suzy asked me to join the training class the ‛yes’ just popped out! God’s timing is perfect – I’ve been learning so much in class that I’ve already applied to my life. I am looking forward to journeying with a care receiver.”
Your Stephen Leader Team (Kim Hamilton, Marj Timmerman, Lois Walker and Suzy Wood) is excited to announce that we have four new Stephen Minister trainees! Janette Bremer, Mike Bremer, Paula Gibson, and Leah Haithcox are working hard to complete 50 hours of training, which include subjects such as Carry boundaries, confidentiality, spiritual care, grief support, and process each other’s versus results. They are being burdens, and in commissioned on Sunday, June this way you 17th. You won’t want to miss it! Janette shares, “In my struggle to find an outlet for my desire to be a contributing Christian and active in the congregation, Stephen Ministry really spoke to my heart as a way to do this. I pondered for a year and felt a strong pull, so when the opportunity came, we (my husband Mike and I) answered.”
will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
Mike had seen the Stephen Ministry invitation in the Sunday bulletins here at First Church and was drawn to the idea by hearing about Stephen Ministry in other churches. Mike feels God has gifted him with a servant heart and a compassionate ear and Stephen Ministry seemed like a natural fit.
Paula Gibson In a previous church, Leah was part of a congregational care team and so was drawn to take Stephen Ministry training here. Leah, with her joyful spirit and caring heart, will be a wonderful addition to our Stephen Ministry team!
Once commissioned, a Stephen Minister is assigned to meet with one person at a time. The person they are assigned to is called a care receiver (CR). The CR is usually going through a particularly tough time. They may have lost a loved one, have a family member in prison, be transitioning into a retirement community, having financial or employment concerns, going through an “empty nest” period, or having health challenges. There really are very few concerns - large or small, short-term or long-term - that a Stephen Minister can’t help a CR with. The goal of a Stephen Minister is to meet with their CR weekly for an hour. They show up, listen, and pray! A Stephen Minister can’t fix your concerns, but having someone listening, caring, and praying for you as you go forward is so powerful. I invite you to hold Janette, Mike, Paula, and Leah in your prayers as they prepare to begin an exciting new journey as Stephen Ministers!
Mike and Janette Bremer
Peace and joy! Marj Timmerman RN Parish Nurse and Stephen Leader First Pulse | May ‘18
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Building Renovation Presentation Dates • TUESDAY, MAY 1, 10:00 AM Offsite: Clark (1551 Franklin St SE) • SUNDAY, MAY 6, 12:00 PM Pizza and presentation before the Hunger Walk • WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 6:30 PM Presentation includes dinner (donation optional) • MONDAY, MAY 21, 12:00 PM Presentation during 60+ Luncheon ($8) Join us for updates and concepts from the building committee or learn more at GRFUMC.ORG/MASTERPLAN.