What does it mean to take up one’s cross? Why must we carry one in the first place? Didn’t Jesus die for all? Doesn’t his cross suffice for all? Didn’t he take up his cross so that we wouldn’t have to? Lent begins February 18 with Ash Wednesday and concludes on Good Friday, April 3. Lent traces the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, culminating in his crucifixion. It is a serious time of self-reflection, prayer, and of wrestling with the call to discipleship. Jesus invited people to follow him to Jerusalem and to take up their own cross. In taking up our cross, we are saying that we make our total identity with him. We join him in a life of self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice. We join him in a life lived for others. We join him in a willingness to pay some price for the privilege of following. It’s not a thing of Jesus does all the work and we just go along for the ride. We participate in his body broken and his blood shed. “Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.” Following, Milton Lewis Senior Pastor
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NLDF and Adult Special Needs Luncheon, 12—1 p.m., Worship Center 9 April Network deadline UMW Hope Circle, 6:30—8 p.m., Children’s 10 UMM Meeting, 7—8:30 p.m., Acts café, kitchen 10 UMW Circle of Love, 12—2 p.m., Acts café 17 Network folders, 9—11 a.m. UMW Faith Circle, 10 a.m.—12 p.m., Acts 1 New Life Emmaus Gathering, 7—9 p.m., Worship Center 29 Palm Sunday
Supper Lite: 5:30 p.m.—6:15 p.m. Worship (Traditional and LaRoca): 6:15 p.m.—7 p.m. Kids Choirs Practice: 6:15 p.m. Bible Studies/Classes: 7 p.m. Sanctuary Choir Practice, Youth Bible Study, and Children’s BAT (Bible Activity Time): 7 p.m.
March 4: Chalupas, rice, beans March 11: No Dinner (Spring Break) March 18: Parmesan Chicken Panini and Ceasar Salad March 25: Barbecue chicken, potato salad, beans
Thank you for saving your used postage stamps! I recently mailed 13 pounds of stamps. Every stamp helps! Remember to leave at least 1/4 inch border on the stamps, otherwise they may be unusable. By selling these stamps to stamp collectors we are helping our missionaries. I will leave a large box in the gathering area so you can continue saving your stamps. For more information contact: Ruth Graeter at
[email protected].
The Moving On group will be dining at the La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, located at 18747 Redland Road on March 21st. We will meet at 11:00 a. m. Please join us for good Mexican food and fellowship. Please RSVP to Maxine at 210-967-0294 by the 19th for table set up.
Thank you so much for your participation in Souper Bowl Sunday! Over 560 cans of soup were donated. And, thanks to everyone who wore their team jersey, a total of 450 jerseys were counted. That means our anonymous donor will match that 450 can-to-can for a total of 1,010 cans of soup for our Food Pantry. Additionally, our communion offering was $1,661 which goes to our Food Pantry.
Spring Break is the week of March 9 and while we won’t have Supper Lite, choir practice or any children’s activities on Wednesday of that week, there will still be a worship service at 6:15 p.m. led by Pastor Milton.
2 0 1 5 These figures include Wednesday worship and all Sunday morning worship services. 1/4: 808 1/11: 923 1/18: 955 1/25: 802
The fourth annual Great Event will take place on Saturday, April 11. The Great Event is a day of community service, where we go out to do great things for our great God. We work to identify non-profits, churches, and other serviceoriented agencies who need help with repairs, grounds, special projects, painting, etc. We also look for individuals whose homes need repair and maintenance. We then identify team leaders, build our volunteer teams, get the needed materials and tools, and go out on this "great day" to "let our light shine before others" so that God is glorified. Watch for your opportunity to sign up and/or suggest a project.
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55: 10-11 I remember one of my neighbors in Columbus Ohio who planted several beautiful rose bushes. I saw him mix the dirt, plant the seeds, water the plants on a regular basis, nurture the soil with special vitamins and protect the little flowers when they started growing. A few months later, the fruit of his work was evident! Beautiful roses of different colors were displayed at the entrance of his front yard! It was worth it! Northern Hills UMC has been doing the same thing. The Word of God that is in each of those volunteers that faithfully go to teach English as a Second Language or to read with the Reading Buddies are producing fruit. Several of the students approached us, without us being able to do a formal invitation to our church, to ask about worship services times. One of the students said “I went to your Posada party, I felt welcomed and I felt that I could belong and be real, I want to go back.” Another student said “I really would like to participate in one of your worship services, would you tell me more about it?”
This is the fruit of the witness of Christ through example, love and dedication that each volunteer shared through their gift of presence and teaching through these ministries. God can use you where you are through your witness, and as Wesley said, “If necessary, use words.” May we all keep nurturing the ability to share Christ through the different ways He equips us. I am thankful, happy and joyful to see the ways that Christ is proclaimed in our “ Judea” through our great congregation! As your Pastor, I am so proud of you! Estoy orgullosa de ustedes! If you are interested in participating, our next ESL session at NHUMC and Steubing Ranch (and if we have enough volunteers, Stahl) starts on April 15 and 16 and ends on May 20 and 21. It is one day a week for 6 weeks. For more information please e-mail us at:
[email protected]. Bendiciones de Dios, Lupina
ESL at Steubing Ranch Elementary School
Beginning February 22, The Current will start at 9:30 a.m.! There will be a time of refreshments and fellowship, a place for kids to color and occasionally a skit, special music or announcements before worship begins. Enjoy your morning coffee, visit with your church family and prepare for worship together!
Also beginning February 22, there will be a new Sunday School class at 11:00 a.m. called The Current Remix, which will meet in Children’s Annex 4. Join us for a time of fellowship and sermon/ topic review for The Current. Jim and Joy Burgess will lead this class.
The Current has its own Facebook page now! Find us at www.facebook.com/ thecurrentatnhumc.
A 6-week class called Table Talk and based on the message from the 9:45 Table communion service will be held each Sunday of Lent from 10:45 – noon in Children’s Annex 3. John and Jodi Sacks are leading this class, designed to build community among The Table worshipers while delving deeper into the morning’s message. You are invited to come to The Table, then stay for Table Talk each Sunday of Lent, which begins on February 22.
Your enthusiasm and willingness to get involved in the New Ministry Center has been much appreciated! We close on the building on February 17 and our first official presence in the neighborhood will be the following day, on Ash Wednesday. We will offer the imposition of ashes, as well as hand out water bottles and be available to visit and explain who Northern Hills Church is and our plans for the Ministry Center.
and stay for the dedication service/celebration at 6:15 p.m.
We will also have a team of people who will start working on the building/property as part of the Great Event on April 11.
There will be countless ways to be involved in this new ministry. We appreciate your patience as we continue to seek God’s guidance and get organized. Stay tuned for more details and opportunities to participate. And for now, your prayers are the most beneficial way you can contribute!
Wednesday, April 22 we will have supper and worship at the Ministry Center. Come for hamburgers and hotdogs at 5:30 p.m.
The Nominations Committee will elect a Steering Committee on February 24, and the Steering Committee will be charged with recommending the ministries that will be housed in the new center and take the lead in forming community partnerships. They will also coordinate a plan for design and refurbishment.
Milton Lewis will be preaching at all traditional services in the Sanctuary – 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 – each Sunday through March 29.
The UMM and UMW are selling tickets to the Battle of Flowers Parade on Fri. April 24 at noon and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade on Sat. April 25 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $12. The proceeds from the sale are used by each group to further mission work. The UMM provide scholarships for youth from NHUMC to attend Glen Lake Camp & Retreat Center, a Methodist ministry near Ft. Worth and UMArmy. The UMW supports Imagine No Malaria, Wesley Health & Wellness Center, Providence Place, Texas Diaper Bank, Jireh House and Campus Ministries at San Antonio College. Thanks to the generosity of NHUMC, 123 tickets were donated to children’s homes last year. Please consider donating a ticket so children can attend and enjoy the parade. Donations can be made at the parade ticket table in the Gathering Area in March, or you may leave a donation in the UMW mailbox in the church office.
Bill and Lynne Berry
Dan Harrington will be preaching at the 9:45 Current service in the Worship Center each Sunday through March 29. Lupina Stewart will be preaching 11:00 Oasis in the Worship Center and 1:11 La Roca in the Sanctuary each Sunday through March 29. After experimenting with shuffling the preaching schedule, your pastors have decided that, for now, for the sake of consistency and planning, we will remain in our primary places of worship leadership. We do so with the reminder that while we have many parts, we remain one body in Christ.
The next Beginnings class will be held on Sunday afternoon, March 1, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. Pastors Dan, Lupina, and Milton will be on hand to meet you and to lead this discussion of ministry, mission, and membership. The class will be held in the Acts Café in the main building. Child care is available.
Sandy Vogel and Judy Hammons
Freddie and Sabrina Trejo
Children’s Choirs will sing Palm Sunday March 29th at the 11:00 Traditional Worship service during the opening song with the adult choir. Youth Choir will lead worship at The Table service March 1st at 9:45. Please report to the sanctuary by 9:25. Youth Choir will also sing Sunday March 29th at the 8:30 Traditional Worship service during the opening song with the adult choir.
Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes). They also remind us of our mortality ("remember that you are dust") and thus of the day when we will stand before God and be judged. This can be linked easily to the death and resurrection motif of Baptism. To prepare well for the day we die, we must die now to sin and rise to new life in Christ. Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent indicates our recognition of the need for deeper conversion of our lives during this season of renewal.
The first thought that Lent brings to mind is giving something up. In my childhood, the standard was to give up candy, a discipline that found suitable reward in the baskets of sugary treats we received on Easter. Some of us even added to the Easter surplus by saving candy all through Lent, stockpiling what we would have eaten had we not promised to give it up. Some years ago a friend of mine told me that he had urged his children to move beyond giving up candy to giving up some habit of sin that marked their lives. About halfway through Lent he asked the children how they were doing with their Lenten promise. One of his young sons had promised to give up fighting with his brothers and sisters during Lent. When his father asked him how it was going, the boy replied,
"I'm doing pretty good, Dad—but boy, I can't wait until Easter!" That response indicates that this boy had only partly understood the purpose of Lenten "giving up." Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life. That always involves giving up sin in some form. The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Conversion means leaving behind an old way of living and acting in order to embrace new life in Christ. Lent is a period intended to bring their initial conversion to completion. - Andrea Runnels
Northern Hills Day School
ReGiStRaTiOn (________) Our Day School is preparing for the 2015-16 school year! Put it on your calendar. Open registration is Monday, February 23 from 8:00— 10:00 a.m. Please bring with you your child’s shot records, child’s doctor and hospital address/ phone numbers, plus your $100 registration fee. Please remember, the line forms early and spots are limited.
New! NH Day School Kindergarten Class! In response to interest, we are excited to offer a kindergarten class at NH Day School for the 2015/2016 school year! This class will meet the same days/times as our 4day program and be an extension of the loving, nurturing atmosphere we strive for at our school. One of our very own Pre-K teachers, who also has 15 years experience teaching kindergarten in public schools, will teach this class. Come be a part of this exciting new venture!
For more information or a tour of the school, please call Jennifer, Andrea or Dora at 210-654-8406.
Easter
Family Fun Saturday, April 4
4—6 p.m.
Bring the family, ask a friend and enjoy a fun afternoon. We will have games, crafts, a cupcake walk , an egg hunt and food trucks with food to purchase. Children including infants through 5th grade are welcome to hunt for eggs. Please bring cash for the food trucks. We need extra filled eggs (for the Miller Center), cupcakes and volunteers. For more information, call Wanda Stanley at 210-654-0881.
Wednesday Night Children’s Activities 6:15—6:45 p.m. Cherub Choir (4 and 5 year olds, including kinder) 6:15—7 p.m. Kings Kids Choir (1st through 5th graders) 7 p.m. Bible Activity Time (BAT) (kinder through 5th) If you are involved in a Bible Study at church, childcare is provided until 8:30 p.m.
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 Last month in a middle school Sunday school class, the topic of the class lesson was on families and communication. Our lesson looked at the fact the most complaints youth have about parents and most complaints parents have about youth are the same complaints. There is frustration and misunderstanding on both sides. Here are some statistics from the answers students gave during class: 65% of middle school youth felt that they were 50% responsible for miscommunications between their parents. 30% of students thought that they were more responsible for the miscommunications (60-70%) than their parents One student thoughtfully shared that they believed that they were 49% responsible for miscommunications and that her parents were 51% responsible. When asked “what’s one thing that drives you crazy about your parents?” they answered: When they won’t let me talk. Not listening to me. When they nag me. When they make me go to bed early. When they jump to conclusions. When they make me do chores on the weekend. When they make assumptions. When asked “what’s something you love about your family right now?” they answered: We are in it together. My sister. We hang out more than we use to. We play video games together. We watch movies as a family. We play sports together. We can’t be separated. We go to church together. A few things are clear to me from their answers. Firstly, parents your child values your time and togetherness. Secondly, students need to see parents seek first to understand and then to be understood. What can you do today, tomorrow, this week or this month to show your child his or her significance?
oo Weekly Activities
Sunday Worship
8:30am, 9:45am, 11am, 1:11 pm Sunday School 9:45 and 11:00am Impact 5:15pm Wednesday Dinner Worship Studies
k New youth director
5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm
calendar
June ‘15 14-20 UMARMY—HS Mission Trip 22-26 VBS 24 Landa Park
July ‘15 9-12 HEB Camp 19-23 PET Project—MS Mission Trip August ‘15 5-6 CityServe 12 Stock Holder’s Mission Meeting
The Staff-Parish Relations Committee is pleased to announce the employment of Carly Powne as our next Director of Youth Ministries.
Carly will begin on Easter Sunday. She has also made arrangements to accompany our youth group on their March trip to Arkansas for training in international missions. Carly served as the assistant youth pastor here at NHUMC from 2003-2006. For the past 8 years, she has been the youth pastor of Hillsboro Presbyterian Church in Hillsboro, Oregon. She brings a great love for Christ and young people, spiritual maturity, a heart for missions, and vast experience in youth ministry. We are confident that we will be blessed by Carly’s return as she builds on the strong ministry that has been established under the leadership of David Runnels.
Northern Hills United Methodist Church 3703 N Loop 1604 E San Antonio, TX 78247
Because our sanctuary is no longer able to accommodate Easter Sunday crowds, we are moving the main Easter celebrations to the Worship Center. The 8:30 and 11:00 services on Easter Sunday will be in “Traditional” style with adult choir under the leadership of Andrea Runnels and Milton Lewis preaching. The 9:45 service will be in “The Current” mode with worship team under the leadership of Abel Stewart and Dan Harrington preaching. Dan will also preach the 7:00 AM Sunrise service, which WILL be in the sanctuary. Lupina will lead the La Roca Easter celebration in the sanctuary at 1:11, and James Williams will lead the Deaf Church service in the NLDF Building at 11:00 AM.
7:00 AM Sunrise in the Sanctuary 8:30 AM “Traditional” Celebration in the Worship Center 9:45 AM “Current” Celebration in the Worship Center 11:00 AM “Traditional” Celebration in the Worship Center 11:00 AM NLDF in the NLDF Building 1:11 PM “La Roca” Bilingual Celebration in the Sanctuary
For more information, please call the church office at 210-654-0881.
