TIMES HARVEST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 14305 Covenant Way, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 941-907-7333 | OCTOBER 2017
Free will. Freedom. Don’t push me. I don’t like being coerced. You can’t legislate morality. You can’t legislate the heart. Choice. I want to. There is a world of difference between “I want to” and “I have to.” How does a person ever move from being against something to being for something? Or vice versa? What can trigger a person to go from unwillingness to willingness? One story found in the Bible has been viewed through many facets of the gem. This has happened, in part, because the miracle described is so unbelievable. The event is recorded in all four accounts of Jesus’ life: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is traditionally called “The Feeding of the Multitudes.” Thousands of people are gathered to hear Jesus and as the day draws to an end the crowd is getting hungry. The problem is there aren’t any markets nearby. The only food that could be scrounged together was five little loaves of bread and two fish. John records that these actually came from a young boy. The bible tells us that Jesus organized the crowd, thanked God for the food, broke the bread, passed it around and told everyone to eat up. And somehow that small amount of food fed everyone with plenty leftover. Here’s where the interesting turn of the gem happens for some interpreters. An understanding of the miracle was conceived this way: that generally people were far too smart to go out for a day with Jesus without packing lunch and dinner. When it got late in the day, the disciples asked if anyone had food to share, and everyone kept their remaining food hidden in their pockets. But the young boy shared, and Jesus lifted up this gift, and God blessed it. So it wasn’t that fish and loaves magically appeared out of thin air…it was that people’s hearts were opened to share. They opened their pockets which were full of loaves and fish. There are other interpretations, of course. It is certainly within God’s power to make bread and meat appear out of nothing—just check the Hebrew scriptures. At the same time, I wonder; isn’t changing human hearts an even more significant miracle, and the real miracle that God is after? May the Lord bless and keep,
WORSHIP AT
HARVEST 14305 Covenant Way Lakewood Ranch Sunday 9 AM Traditional Worship Sunday 10:30 AM Contemporary Worship Sunday 5 PM Harvest Youth Group We are called by Christ to offer hope by graciously welcoming people, intentionally growing disciples, and generously serving others locally, regionally, and around the globe.
WANT MORE? facebook.com/harvestumc harvestumc harvestumc welcometoharvest.org
[email protected]
Pastor Michael
HARVEST TEAM Rev. Michael Pestel Lead Pastor Rev. Katie Pestel Pastor Rev. Jennifer Potter Buff Pastor Jillanne Conelias Sprouts CDC Associate Director Reed Conley Director of Worship Arts Terry Cox Executive Assistant to the Pastors Carin Doddroe Facilities and Guest Readiness Director Dan Funk Comptroller Alan Hensley Custodial Manager Mike Kennedy Director of Discipleship Molly Lawson Director of Community Engagement Dave Lewis Choral Music Director Logan Lundstrom Accompanist Steve Maldanado Tech Booth Coordinator Bonnie McElravy Children’s Minister Ginny Scott Youth Minister Cindee Shevlin Sprouts CDC Director Paul Tassler Communications Director
HARVEST
YOUTH
HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY Sunday, October 29
CONNECT RETREAT
at Warren W. Willis Camp November 10-12 Deadline has passed, so sign up ASAP at hyfive.org
THANKSGIVING DINNER Sunday, November 19
CHRISTMAS PARTY Sunday, December 17
No Youth Group December 24 & 31
Visit hyfive.org for more info. Samaritan Counseling Services of the Gulf Coast
ADVENT
Dinner
Dan Whissell Associate Worship Leader
Staff can be reached via email at
[email protected] (ex.
[email protected]) Harvest Times | Harvest United Methodist Church | 2
SAVE•THE•DATE Thursday December 7 The Harvest Centre
HARVEST KIDS OCTOBER BIG IDEA
This month in Harvest kids we are learning that we need to take care of what we have because it all belongs to God. God has blessed us by trusting us to take care of what God has given us, our time, our money, our gifts! Our memory verse comes from Luke 16:10, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much!”
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Halloween is just around the corner and we will celebrate during Harvest Kids on Sunday, October 29—in our silly, non scary costumes! Invite a friend to play Halloween games, win candy, and even learn from a local police officer about Halloween Safety.
PRESCHOOL
Would you like to snuggle babies, or dance and play with preschoolers? We are looking for a few extra leaders to serve in our Harvest Kids Preschool environments. Ask Bonnie McElravy how you can get involved by loving God’s littlest ones (
[email protected]).
HARVESTERS GO SOLAR! Saturday, October 21
The Harvesters will visit the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the largest solar photovoltaic plant in the country. We will experience a presentation about solar energy and view the energy field from the Center’s observation deck. This trip is free!
DESOTO
NEXT GEN
SOLAR
ENERGY CENTER
Noon Lunch reservations have been made at the Magnolia St. Seafood and Grill in Arcadia. Cost of lunch will be on your own. Register at www.welcometoharvest.org/harvesters. Registration will close after October 14. Contact Bob and Mary Stark at 231-564-0677 if you have questions. Harvest Times | Harvest United Methodist Church | 3
Turning the Gem what is the bible? Sunday Messages
9/17 - 10/15
BAYSHORE MINISTRY Saturday, October 14 9 AM–12 PM
Join us on at the Bayshore property (5512 26th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34207). We’ll spend time getting to know neighbors and invite input from them about our Community Garden plans. We’ll also consider how we might do a block party for our neighbors on the 2nd Saturday of November. If you’d like to be part of this effort, come on out! For more information, contact Marilyn Potter at 941-737-1421 or
[email protected].
VIT L SIGNS
The people of Harvest are sowing seeds of faith, growing together in Christ
< 50+ people attended the Harvest Leadership 101 course < $13,000 was donated for Hurricane relief efforts < An average of 560 per week worshiped at Harvest & online (welcometoharvest.org) < 90 people participated in the Harvest Youth Open house < 60 people are attending the Fall Small Groups < 84 women are participating in the fall semester of TuesdayLive! People are giving generously! You can see our financial picture at welcometoharvest.org. For a full report of our Missional Vital Signs, go to tools.flumc.org/yearly.asp.
