’Tis the month of love, Pleasant Grove. How many ways can you show God’s love to others?
Love — in our actions and our attitudes — is at the heart of Christ’s commandment to us, writes Pastor Paul Klepees. Read what he has to say about the role love plays in Christian service in his column on page 2.
“Love your neighbor,” Jesus said. And we do. Pleasant Grove is sharing the love in this month’s Fill The Cart collection of canned soup for the food pantry. Find out why February is a super time for soup on page 3.
There’s a lot going on this month and Pleasant Grove’s calendar is filling up: a workshop for getting your affairs in order, confirmation classes for kids and adults, fun with Valentine flower deliveries, and the ever-popular Valentine goody boxes for sale from Limitless youth group. Check out the events schedule on page 5, then get the details on page 13. You won’t want to miss a thing!
In church news, we’ve had some turnover in the PGUMC Administrative Board as members’ terms expire. Meet the three new
Pleasant Grove
members of the board — Stephanie Gilliam, Linda Nordwald and Cory Peck — on pages 8-9.
NextGen Minister Kris O’Neal poses a question for us: How do we show love to the less lovable among us? What does Jesus ask us to do? Kris refers to 1 Corinthians 13 for the answers. Learn more on page 11.
Pleasant Grove was hoppin’ last month when Heirborn Bluegrass brought its joyful celebration of faith for an afternoon of music and good times. See the photos on pages 16-17.
There are so many opportunities for outreach here at Pleasant Grove — you can teach Sunday School, help out with Vacation Bible School and UNITE youth camp, or even go on a mission trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Find out more on page 22.
And as always, dear reader, you are the reason for News from the Pleasant Grove Pews. Share your news, events, photos and suggestions with Kathy Casteel at kcasteel@ktis.net and Betsy Bell at mammabell003@gmail.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Peace and grace to you! As we reflect on this season of love, it is vital to remember that love is the foundation of our Christian service. Service without love is empty; it becomes an obligation rather than an expression of Christ’s heart. The Bible clearly speaks to the central role of love in our actions and attitudes, in the context of serving one another.
Love Motivates
In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus gives us the greatest commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love
your neighbor as yourself. Our service to others flows from the love we have for God and for people. When we love God with all our heart, we are moved to serve others as an expression of that love. True Christian service begins with a deep, personal connection to God’s love, which naturally overflows into actions that demonstrate care and compassion for others.
Love Transforms
In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul writes about the importance of love in our actions: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
This passage makes it clear that no matter how great or noble our acts of service may seem, if they are not motivated by love, they fall short of their true purpose. Love transforms how we serve — it turns simple acts of kindness into meaningful expressions of Christ’s heart. Whether it’s a smile, a helping hand or a sacrificial gift, it is the love behind the action that brings true value.
Love Compels Us to Serve
The apostle John reminds us in 1 John 3:16-18: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
pictured left to right front: spencer, paul, gibson back: margie, ezra, and maverick klepees
The ultimate example of love in action is found in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus gave His life freely and without expectation of anything in return. In the same way, our service should be motivated by love and should not depend on recognition or reward. When we serve others, we are not just helping with tasks — we are showing the love of Christ in practical ways.
Love Builds Unity
Finally, love is key to maintaining unity within the Church. In Ephesians 4:1516, Paul writes: Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
When we serve out of love, we not only help meet needs but we also build up the Church as the body of Christ. Each person plays a part in the mission of the Church, and when love is the driving force behind our service, it fosters unity, growth and maturity within the body.
Serving in Love
Christian service is not just about what we do, but how and why we do it. Let us remember that love is the foundation, the motivator and the sustainer of our service. As we serve one another, may we do so with hearts full of love — love for God, love for one another, and love for those whom God has called us to serve.
If you are looking for ways to get involved or need help discerning where you can serve, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s continue to serve and love as Christ did, for His glory and for the good of others.
Opportunities for Service at Pleasant Grove
As we strive to serve one another with love, there are many opportunities to get involved at Pleasant Grove. Below are some upcoming service opportunities where you can make a difference in our community and beyond.
• Youth and children’s ministry staff
• Sunday School faculty
• Food pantry
• Baby Grace ministry
• Building projects around the church
FILL THE CART
February is Super Bowl month (Go Chiefs!). It’s also a “souper” month for tackling hunger.
Pleasant Grove is right there in the heat of the hunger battle this month, collecting donations of canned soup for Fill The Cart. Nothing hits the spot like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day. All soup contributions will stay here for use in the church’s food pantry.
Pleasant Grove is a mobile site of the SERVE food pantry. We distribute food boxes on the third Thursday of every month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church gym. This month, distribution takes place on Feb. 20. Anyone who needs food is welcome; just stop by and register that day to start participating in the food pantry at Pleasant Grove.
Let’s Fill The Cart with cans of soup this month and warm somebody’s day!
EVENTSOF CALENDAR
WORSHIP
9
VALENTINE TREAT BOX PICKUP
BABY GRACE PICKUP
YOUTH
6:30-8:30 P.M.
Putting
Your House In Order
Sunday, February 2
12 Noon
Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church Lunch provided
Join Rev. Laura Murphy from the Missouri United Methodist Foundation for a workshop that lays out how to get your house in order. Workshop will cover:
Financial affairs
Important documents
Wills and trusts
Funeral and burial or cremation wishes
How to have conversations about your wishes
Ways to leave a lasting legacy
Registration required at MyPGUMC.org (What We Do: Putting Your House in Order).
CHURCH UPDATE:
THE 2025 ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
Pleasant Grove’s Administrative Board met Jan. 28 to elect this year’s officers and welcome three new members who replaced those with expired terms. The current makeup of the board for 2025 is:
The board meets the last Tuesday of each month; meetings are open to all church members.
Getting to Know the PGUMC Board:
STEPHANIE GILLIAM
Administrative Board member Stephanie Gilliam begins her three-year term this year, but it isn’t her first time serving at Pleasant Grove. Since she and her family began attending church here in 2017, Stephanie has been a trustee and Kids For Jesus teacher and currently teaches the junior high Sunday School class along with serving
as a youth leader for Limitless. Early service worshippers will recognize Stephanie as a member of the praise band.
A native of Bonne Terre, Missouri, Stephanie moved to Columbia to attend the University of Missouri. A registered veterinary technologist specializing in neurology/neurosurgery and small animal physical rehabilitation, Stephanie is the director of veterinary technology at Moberly Area Community College. She is also an adjunct instructor for the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mizzou, teaching in the veterinary technology B.S. degree program. Locally, she is a 4-H project leader and leads the veterinary sciences team for North Callaway FFA.
She married Kyle Gilliam in 2007; they have three children — Sawyer, Korban and Oaklyn, who together
started and run the free farm stand in Hatton in the summer. Her parents, Sterlyn and Becky Stevens, are also members of Pleasant Grove, and her sister Mikayla Childers and family also now attend.
The Gilliams live right down the road from Pleasant Grove on State Road E. “Our dream was always to raise our family in the country, and that is how we found our way to Callaway County,” she says. “God brought us to Hatton from Fulton in 2019, and we can't imagine being anywhere else.”
Stephanie says she looks forward to serving on the board these next few years. “This place and our people are my home,” she says. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to raise my family here and am looking forward to the opportunity to serve. I will focus my talents wherever God leads.”
Getting to Know the PGUMC Board: CORY PECK
New Administrative Board member Cory Peck is also a new member of Pleasant Grove — he and his family joined the church last fall after attending for the past eight years.
Originally from northwest Missouri, Cory grew up in DeKalb and moved to the Columbia area in 2005. He is married to Sarah Peck; the couple has three children — Liam, Eliza and Sawyer. The Pecks moved to the Hatton area about nine years ago when they bought Kurt and Jill Fansler’s house.
Cory is the owner of Allied Sawing & Services Inc. in Columbia, a concrete cutting shop. He and his company were instrumental in Pleasant Grove’s gym floor resurfacing project in 2023.
He is ready to offer his expertise to other church projects. “As a business owner with a construction background, I believe I could help with the business side of the church,” he says, “and help oversee any future construction projects that may arise.”
Getting to Know the PGUMC Board: LINDA NORDWALD
Administrative Board member Linda Nordwald has been attending Pleasant Grove since February 1976; she and Roy, her husband of 54 years, joined the church shortly after. They live about seven miles north of Hatton in Audrain County on a farm where they raise cattle. The couple has 3 grown children. 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Their daughter, Heather Dease, and her family are also longtime Pleasant Grove members.
A native of Eufaula, Alabama, Linda has lived in Audrain County for many years, where she worked
as a bookkeeper for MFA Inc. in Mexico before retiring several years ago. At Pleasant Grove, she has taught Sunday School from nursery/preschool to fifth and sixth grade. She helped with Vacation Bible School for many years and served as VBS director for a time. Active in United Methodist Women, Linda was president of the Pleasant Grove chapter and served two terms on the UMW District Mission team as the Reading Program director. She served Pleasant Grove as choir director for more than 30 years and also filled the role of worship chair. She still select hymns for the 11 a.m. Sunday worship service every week.
Now, she’s ready to lend her talents to the church again. “I will serve wherever I’m needed,” she says.
MyPGUMC.org/who-we-are/confirmation-classes
N EXT G EN NOTES
Loving Those Who Are Hard to Love
by NextGen Minister Kris O’Neal
February is a very busy month, especially in our youth group. We will be offering Valentine treat boxes again as a fundraiser for UNITE camp! A lot of work goes into this project, as well as a lot of love!
As we enter this month where we celebrate love, let us consider what Jesus taught us about our love of God, ourselves and our neighbors. Yes, ALL of our neighbors! Love is so much more than how we traditionally view it. As defined in Scripture, love should be about how we treat others and ourselves. As we focus on those we are closest to, we don’t want to forget those whom we overlook, or who are ugly to us at times.
How do we show love to those we don’t feel deserve it? Jesus loved all mankind, even those who did not know Him — and those who turned against Him. He asks us to do the same.
When someone seems hard to love, refer back to Scripture. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love never fails. We should always do our best to be patient, kind, not envious or boastful, or easily angered.
As hard as this may seem at times, it really doesn’t have to be. If we remain focused on being more like Jesus, and realize that He forgave the very men who charged Him and put Him to death knowing that they just didn’t understand what they were doing, we too can forgive others and love them anyway!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Putting Your House In Order
Join Rev. Laura Murphy from the Missouri United Methodist Foundation on Sunday, Feb. 2, at Pleasant Grove for a workshop that lays out how to get your house in order. We’ll gather for lunch in the basement after the 11 a.m. service, and then move to a meeting room upstairs for the workshop. The event runs until 3 p.m. and will cover the basics of organizing financial affairs, wills and trusts, burial or cremation wishes, leaving a legacy, and how to have conversations with loved ones about your wishes. Registration is required at MyPGUMC.org; click on What We Do: Putting Your House in Order.
Sisters in Faith Gather
Judy DeYoung will host Sisters in Faith at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, at Pleasant Grove. Find out more about Sisters in Faith from Angie Raebel at 573-4166438 or email Plote.hogan@gmail.com.
Sweets for the Sweet
Pleasant Grove’s Limitless youth group is once again offering treat boxes for Valentine’s Day. Enjoy such goodies as chocolate-covered strawberries, pretzels, Oreos, popcorn and marshmallows, plus cookies, chocolate bark and other treats. Each treat-filled box is $15; all proceeds go toward youth camp costs this summer. Order from any Limitless member or call Kayla O’Neal in the church office, 573-387-4822, and she will put you in touch with one. Order deadline is Feb. 5.
If you would like to help the youth by donating ingredients, sign up at SignUpGenius.com/go/ 10C084CA9AF2CA3F5CE9-54561578-limitless.
L.I.F.T. Meets
Sarah Peck will host Ladies in Faith Together (L.I.F.T.) at her home, 3450 Trophy Ridge Road near Fulton, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. The group continues its study of the Psalms. For directions, contact Sarah at 573-808-2324 or email cspeck428@gmail.com.
Special Delivery
Pleasant Grove’s Women’s Ministries volunteers will be out and about Columbia Feb. 13-14 delivering Valentine flowers for Allen’s Flowers. The florist pays the group for the service and the money raised goes to fund Women’s Ministries projects. Volunteers may contact Cindy Feutz at 573-473-6316 or email cfeutz53@gmail.com.
Confirmation
2025 Kicks Off
Confirmation classes will begin on Feb. 23 at Pleasant Grove. The classes take place on Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m. and are open to all students in 5th grade and above who are ready to deepen their faith and take an active role in the church. Whether you have been baptized or not, this class is for you. Students will explore the Kingdom of God, the life of the church, and the intersection of life and faith. To register, complete the form at MyPGUMC.org/who-we-are/ confirmation-classes.
Adults, Too!
Have you ever wondered, “What exactly is a Methodist?” Maybe you want to become more involved in the church or deepen your understanding of the Bible and grow in your faith. If so, our Adult Confirmation class is for you! Starting Sunday, Feb. 23, this class will run concurrently with the student confirmation class but will feature separate discussions and experiences tailored for adults. Register at MyPGUMC. org/who-we-are/confirmationclasses or talk to Pastor Paul Klepees for more information.
SERVE and Baby Grace
Pleasant Grove is a mobile site for SERVE food pantry and Baby Grace.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH, 11 A.M. - 2 P.M.
(We are open every third Thursday of the month.) If you are in need of a food box from SERVE, please stop by! You can register that day and participate in the food pantry.
The Baby Grace store offers free diapers, wipes and gently used or new clothing for ages birth through 5 years.
COMMUNITY LUNCH
The Discipleship Sunday School class invites you to join us for a homemade meal. Stay for a game of cards, dominoes, or bring a suggestion!
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH, 12 NOON
Pickin’ and Grinnin’ and Praisin’
Heirborn Bluegrass brings its joyful brand of gospel music to Pleasant Grove.
The toe-tapping was contagious when Heirborn Bluegrass began strumming their tunes at Pleasant Grove Jan. 12. The band, from Mexico, Missouri, and its youth bluegrass band (which includes Limitless members Cooper and Carver Safranski), treated its happy audience to an afternoon of energetic gospel music sure to brighten a winter’s day. You just couldn’t help but smile …
PSALM 98:4
SHOUT FOR JOY TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH, BURST INTO JUBILANT SONG WITH MUSIC.
JOIN US THIS SEASON FOR NEW SERMON SERIES
Help Out the Little Ones
Pleasant Grove’s Sunday School needs teachers! If you’d like to work with our littlest parishioners, come help out in the nursery or teach the 4-year-olds class. Check out the openings at SignUpGenius.com/go/ 10C084CA9AF2CA3F5CE9-54598566-nursery.
Vacation Bible School Set for June
Plans are afoot for a road trip-themed Vacation Bible School at Pleasant Grove June 20-22. The weekend adventure for children 3 years old to fifth grade begins Friday night, 6 to 8 p.m., dinner provided. It continues Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and includes snacks and lunch. We’ll wrap up with a family fun day on Sunday, noon to 2 p.m., including lunch.
If you would like to volunteer at VBS, please call or text Margie Klepees at 816-465-0396 or email klepeesm@gmail.com.
UNITE Youth Conference 2025
Pleasant Grove youth are invited to attend UNITE youth camp July 21-25 at Central Methodist University in Fayette. Open to students entering sixth grade to seniors graduating high school, UNITE is an amazing week of connection and empowerment for students to see themselves in the expanse of God’s love. To sign up, contact NextGen Minister Kris O’Neal at 417-718-4772 or email nextgen@mypgumc.org.
New Date for District Mission Trip
The North Central District’s mission trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has been rescheduled for June 21-27. Details are at NorthCentral.MoUMethodist.org. The deadline to register is Feb. 1.
Christian Leadership Class
The Missouri Conference is offering a class in Christian leadership and visioning on Saturday, March 1, at Community United Methodist Church in Columbia. The class runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Find out more at MoUMethodist.org/ layeducation or email Morgan Scott at mscott@ moumethodist.org. Deadline to register is Feb. 23.
BLESSINGS
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse … and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Join us in our mission to know Jesus Christ and make Him known. Your generosity enables us to help more and more people experience a life-changing relationship with Him. We are truly grateful for your donations and hope the convenience and simplicity of our ways of giving are helpful to you.
1. Try scanning our QR code.
2. To use mobile giving, download the “Church By Ministry One” app to your mobile device. Search for Pleasant Grove by entering the zip code 65231.
3. Online giving can be found at www.mypgumc.org/donate.
4. Text “GIVE” to 573-312-2909.
5. Cash and checks can be placed in the offering plates during worship services or mailed to the church office at 3686 State Road E, Auxvasse, MO 65231.
Consider becoming a recurring giver. Church statistics show that churches with high numbers of recurring givers experience the most growth.
If you need assistance or have questions about our digital giving methods, please reach out to Kayla O’Neal in the church office Monday through Thursday, by phone at 573-387-4822 or email admin@mypgumc.org.
