MIGRATIONS AND MOVEMENTS I recently had the privilege of hearing Brian McLaren preach and lecture at the Festival of Homiletics, an annual national event for preachers held this year in San Antonio. It is sponsored by a Lutheran seminary and attracts upwards of 2000 pastors, mostly from denominational churches like United Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, along with a smattering of Baptists and Roman Catholics. McLaren is a noted scholar/ pastor/ writer/ theologian/ lecturer who has become a key spokesperson for the renewal of Christianity and Church. McLaren spoke of three “migrations” he has observed in Christianity in recent years: (1) a spiritual migration from faith as a system of belief to faith as a way of life; (2) a theological migration from God as a violent Supreme Being to God as a non-violent Spirit; and (3) a missional migration from organizing religion for its own self-preservation to organizing religion for the common good. McLaren zeroed in on the missional migration. He said that the problem is not with “organized religion” per se, the problem is with what religion is organized to do. Denominations for too long have been organized for the preservation of the bureaucracy and the institution, for surviving and not for thriving. A fresh movement is needed, not to dismantle organized religion but to reorganize denominational religion around the themes of love, justice, and mercy. He appealed to us denominational pastors to lead this renewal movement from within.
I’m definitely on board, and I believe our church has been on board for some time. How do we succeed where others fail? How do we grow while our denomination declines? I believe the simple answer is that we have been outwardly focused and been willing to do what we felt God calling us to do. While we have been intentional to take care of one another, we have not done so at the expense of mission and outreach. I believe we remain vital because we stick to the basic truths of our gospel message and do not get bogged down in the muck and the mire that plagues and divides so many. I believe we experience spiritual health because we are diverse and inclusive; because our doors and our hearts and minds are truly open; and because we value people as people. We are certainly not perfect, and we certainly fail sometimes to live up to our stated values and purpose. But overall, we “succeed” because we give ourselves away. It’s no big secret. When a church follows the model of our Lord, who came to seek and save the lost, who emptied himself to become a servant of all, and who told us to look for him in the least of these, that church will thrive. May we pray for our churches, our congregations, our staffs and pastors, and our denomination, that we may see increasing movement away from institutional preservation and toward purposeful organization for love, justice, and mercy. Milton Lewis Senior Pastor
calendar 2 4 5 9 10 18 19 20 23 29
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Church picnic, 11 a.m. Church office closed for July 4 holiday Kids Kamp begins, 9:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m. Acts of Service Project begins, 7 p.m. Special Needs luncheon, 12:15 p.m. Spanish Classes begin, 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Birthday card ministry, 9 a.m. Family event at the Ministry Center, 5:30 p.m. Senior High HEB camp begins Sonshine Project begins Ad board meeting, 9 a.m. Middle School Camp Eagle begins
Sonshine Project items due Family Event at the Ministry Center, 4 p.m. Sanctuary Choir rehearsal, resumes 7 p.m. Team World Vision mission event, 6 p.m. Newsletter/Program Guide deadline (for Oct-Dec) Backpack Blessing and Promotion Sunday Praise, Prayer and Worship Celebration, 6:15 p.m. Day School Open House, 6 p.m.
Church office closed for Labor Day holiday Hispanic Heritage Celebration, 5:30 p.m. UMW La Roca Circulo de Esperanza, 6:15 p.m. UMW Circle of Love, noon Full Wednesday evening programs resume: 6:15 p.m. Cherub Choir and Kings Kids Choir 6:15 p.m. Wednesday Worship 6:30 p.m. Youth Group 7 p.m. Adult Bible Studies/classes 7 p.m. Bible Activity Time (BAT) for 4th-5th graders 7 p.m. Sanctuary Choir practice 19 UMW Faith Circle, 10 a.m. 24 3rd grade Bibles presented Fun, Food & Follies ticket sales 30 Ad board meeting
announcements ACTS OF SERVICE PROJECTS Join us on Wednesday nights this summer after worship at 7 p.m. for family-friendly service projects! Instead of classes/Bible studies, we’ll gather together - adults and children - in B1&B2 (formerly Acts Cafe) for fellowship and acts of service. Hope to see you there! July 5: Create care bags July 12: Preparation for Project Transformation Family Events/Agape Gifts July 26: Children’s Bible Preparation August 2: VBS at the Ministry Center preparation August 9: Backpack Preparation August 16: Door Hangers
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ALLIANCE STAMP MINISTRY
MOVING ON GROUP
The Circle of Love just shipped 9 pounds of used postage stamps to the Stamp Ministry. For those not familiar with this program, these stamps are sold to dealers and the proceeds are used to fund Spanish language curriculum for Sunday Schools in Latin America, Spain and the US.
The Moving On group is a fellowship group for widows and widowers that meets once a month for lunch at different restaurants the third Saturday of each month. We have a great group, lots of fun and we welcome new comers, so please join us! Call Maxine Webber for details at 210-967-0294 or
[email protected].
In 2016, they donated $46,000 for a grand total of $946,000 since the inception. Thank you for donating your stamps to this cause. Please continue to leave your stamps in the collection box in the gathering area. For more information, join the Circle of Love on the second Tuesday of the month or e-mail Ruth Graeter at
[email protected].
July: Capparelli’s (Italian) August: Salsalito Cantina (Mexican) September: Bourbon Street (Seafood)
Ministry and more Thanks for your support! We want to thank the congregation of Northern Hills Church for so generously supporting efforts to give seats at the Battle of Flowers Parade to underprivileged youth (like a few of them pictured here; for privacy concerns their faces are not shown). With your help, 164 parade tickets were donated! The kids, and the adults who chaperone them, are always appreciative for the opportunity to enjoy some fun with the community at this historic event. Thank you for your love and support. United Methodist Women, NHUMC
July 4th concert The Heart of Texas band, directed by churchmember Mark Rogers, will have a concert at NHUMC on July 4th at 3 p.m. The concert is free and open to all. Come enjoy great music before heading out to find some fireworks!
Spanish classes NHUMC offers Spanish classes during the summer at basic and intermediate levels. Tuesdays, July 11—August 15 9:30—11 a.m. OR 6:30—8 p.m. Register by e-mailing
[email protected] Childcare provided with request
Attendance
Adult Choir
These figures include Wednesday and Sunday worship services.
The Sanctuary Choir will be back in action August 16th! Join us Wednesdays at 7:00 in the sanctuary, this is a great chance to share your gift of music. We will have a fun time of fellowship, singing, and growing closer together as we join our voices in song!
MARCH: 3/5: 1,079 3/12: 738 3/19: 740 3/26: 911 APRIL: 4/2: 657 4/9: 1,008 Holy Week/Easter: 1,840 4/23: 838 4/30: 1,032 MAY: 5/7: 934 5/14: 912 5/21: 962 5/28: 894
Instrumentalists are needed on occasion to join in worship at the Ministry Center to help lead music or just offer God your music during an offertory. Welcome pianists, brass, woodwinds, percussion, strings, guitar! You don't have to be a professional to play! Come share your love for serving God through your gift of music. Sign-up online, email or call the church office to participate. Worship Volunteers: We have so many opportunities for volunteers to get involved! Be looking for your invitation to join Planning Center, a unique way to schedule your time to volunteer, whether that's to read scripture, serve communion, help at the ministry center, sing or play in worship! If you haven't signed up for volunteering in a while, Katrina Gonzalez may be contacting you to schedule a time and place for you to fulfill your membership vows of service.
Blessing of the bikes Northern Hills United Methodist Church held its 3rd annual Blessing of the Bikes on Saturday, May 13th. Live music, free breakfast tacos, coffee and bike blessings were offered to all! The event grew from 29 motorcycles at last year's event, to 43 motorcycles attending this year's event, and 5 road bikes. God is moving in this area, we had a lot of new faces, this was our best event of the three, and this event is going to be huge one day, “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit” (Zechariah, 8; 12). Thank you to all the volunteers, see you next year, BB4, 12 May 2018. Ride On! Hershel Krigbaum, Event Coordinator
Ministry center On Easter Sunday we officially opened our doors at the Ministry Center. It was a joyful morning of worship, fellowship and celebration! Since then, we have started a Saturday evening meal and worship, La Roca bilingual worship on Sundays at 1:11 p.m. now meets at the Ministry Center, and the special needs adults have moved their game night to this location. We had ESL (English as a Second Language) classes this spring, Project Transformation (educational, faith-based summer day camp for about 80 kids from the nearby community) this summer and we will hold VBS for these kids in August. God is on the move! And we are blessed to be part of His plans. Feel free to e-mail
[email protected] with any questions or to find out how you can be involved.
Ministry center Move-in day
Northern Hills Elementary School students wrote thank you notes for the inflatable obstacle courses that NHUMC provided to the children so they could have fun during their annual field day this school year. Their playground was damaged by the tornados that hit the Northern Hills area a few months ago.
Special needs game night
La roca “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” - Jeremiah 33:3 Who do you have on speed dial? I am sure that when we analyze who our most important contacts are, it shows the priorities in our life. For example, we can have the number of family members, doctors, schools and maybe even pizza! I have heard that Jeremiah 33:3 is “God’s phone number” I believe that Northern Hills UMC decided to have God on “speed dial” in this season. We called on God for leadership and wisdom and He answered. He has allowed us to experience what we did not even imagine that we could do. In this year, we have experienced a lot of changes and growth: The Ministry Center is open and running amazing programs, La Roca worship service took the bold action of expanding to the Ministry Center and became on Pentecost the core group to sustain and lead regular Sunday worship services, the Blessing of the Bikes almost double the amount of participants, over 100 students were present in the ESL classes on the beginning of the year, 21 members took the Lay Servant Academy – making us one of the largest congregation with participants in this program in the Rio Texas Conference and the youth are growing in leading small groups around our city. While we celebrate these victories from the Lord, we are aware that changes and new adventures could become scary or confusing. This is when we need to see the context of the Scripture we read: New adventures and change should not be grounded in our lives, but in God’s direction. So, in unity with all of you, I will use the “speed dial” to the Lord again. I will pray and say: “God, we celebrate the great things you have done among us and we will be open to listen to your answer for the next “unsearchable” things where you would lead us! We will follow through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name…”
Bendiciones de Dios, Pastor Lupina
NEW ADVENTURES Spanish Classes – Basic and Intermediate Tuesdays 9:30-11:00 a.m. and 6:30 – 8 p.m. Child care provided (Please let us know in your registration) Duration: From July 11 to August 15th To register, please email:
[email protected] or register online at www.nhumc.org Summer of Service: (See Announcements page)
Night of Praise, Prayer and Communion – August 30th 6: 15 to 7:00 P.M. Come to recharge on the first week of back to school. We will have prayer stations to intercede for your family, life, health, etc Hispanic Heritage Celebration September 6th 5:30 to 7:00 P.M. Fall of Planting: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:… a time to plant…” Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 3 Wednesday classes: 7:00 p.m. beginning September 13th Learning opportunities for adults: Basic Bible learning, Lay Servant Academy training, Life skills, guitar classes, women focus classes, men focus classes and basic gardening tips class Learning opportunities for children: Children’s Choirs, Bible Activity Time Learning opportunities for youth: Youth Group and Small Groups
New members
Rick & Susan Huyck
Matthew & Viviane Maguire and Betty
Klay & Meredith Patteson Kaleb & Sydney
Aaron & Marisa Cook Christian & Siena
Warren and KB Totten Grant, Colin and Eoin
Jennifer Hall Nicholas & Madelyn
Nathan & Jessica Neal Margaret
Jessica Zink Addyson & Evelyn
David & Maria Beug
2017 Confirmands
Paul & Eileen Heath
Tonya Garza Hailey & Leslie
Ethan Waters, Derek Steele, Natali Gabriel, Bryce Hopkins, Luke Davisson, Ashlyn Pipes, Ashlee Sutton, Elizabeth Brown, Sydney Grona, Ashley Grona, Nikolai Nelson, Sophia Lukowski, Rachel Hopper, Sarah Hendrix, Hannah Futchel, Alex Sorrells, Ted Davenport, Anna Tirey, Kennedy Hagan, Zachary Wiedeback, Elijah Froiland
children Kids Kamp: July 5—Aug 10
VBS June 26-30 9 a.m.—noon Age 3 (potty-trained) through completed 4th grade $15/student Download registration form online or pick one up at church
CALENDAR June 4: Summer Sunday School begins June 26-30: VBS July 2: VBS Sunday July 5: Kids Kamp begins July 23: Sonshine Project begins August 6: Sonshine Project due August 7-10: VBS at the Ministry Center August 20: PJ Sunday August 27: Backpack Blessing & Promotion Sunday August 28: First day of NEISD August 31: Day School Open House September 5: First day of school for Northern Hills Day School September 13: Kids Choirs, Godly Play, and BAT resume September 24: 3rd grade Bibles presented (all services)
Sunday School Promotion August 27 New Kindergarteners: Room 8 in Children’s hall New 1st-3rd graders: Room 10 in Children’s hall New 4th-5th graders: Children’s Annex 1 & 2
Be blessed, be a blessing, be a Sunday School teacher! This Fall we have ab opportunity for you to share God’s love with our 1st through 5th graders on Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. We do all of the preparation, you come, have fun, learn with the kids, play games, watch skits and share I God’s work with our children. Contact Wanda Stanley, 210-654-0881.if you are interested or have any questions.
Kids Kamp is for children age 12 months through those that just completed kindergarten. The program runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We provide fun, activities, and snack, you provide lunch. Registration is on-going. The registration fee is $75 (due at registration) and tuition is $400 (due July 5th). Print the registration form online at www.nhumc.org or stop by the Children’s office. Contact Dora Aldrete at 654-8406 for more information.
PJ Sunday: Sunday, August 20 Back by popular demand! Sunday, August 20, take advantage of a few extra minutes of sleep. Kids, wear your pajamas to Sunday School and we’ll feed you a light breakfast! Room 11 in the Children’s hall, 9—10:50 a.m.
Backpack Blessing: Sunday, August 27 We want to send our kids—preschoolers, elementary, middle and high school—back to school with a special blessing. Bring your children with their backpacks to worship at 8:30, 9:45 or 11:00 a.m. for a blessing of the backpacks. They will be dismissed to Sunday School afterward.
The Sonshine Project Each year we provide opportunities for NHUMC to help supply the on going needs of our friends from the Miller Center and the Ministry Center. Visit the gathering area beginning July 23, take a request tag form the school bus and bring the items back (unwrapped) by August 6. Send a child to school with all the “supplies” to succeed!
Wednesday Nights Resumes September 13 Join us we begin a new year of kids’ choirs and Bible Activity Time! Cherub Choir (4 years old—kindergarten) Kings Kids Choir (1st—5th grade Bible Activity Time (BAT), Bible lessons & fun (4th—5th grade) Godly Play (Kinder—3rd grade)
3rd grade Bibles
Third graders will be given their Bibles at the service they typically attend (8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 services in the Sanctuary or Worship Center) on September 24. To reserve your child’s Bible, sign up at the Sunday School registration table. You may also contact Dora at 654-0881 or
[email protected].
youth We are in the middle of a great summer! There is still time to join the youth for some exciting adventures! You can pick up all registration forms outside of the youth office, across from the copy room in the main offices. Senior High HEB camp (for those going into 9th grade through graduating seniors) July 20-23. Cost $65. Deadline July 9 or when space runs out. Middle School Camp Eagle (for those entering 6th grade through graduating 8th graders) July 29-August 2. Cost $300. Deadline July 9 or when space runs out. August 6 - District Broom Ball. For all ages, join us for a day of Broom ball and worship with other churches from our district. Time TBA. September 15-17 Leader Retreat. For those who are currently leaders or who are interested in being youth leaders. Join us for a retreat as we plan, prepare, and pray for the year, and while we’re at it, we’ll play too! Join us for the weekend, or just for the day, this will be a weekend that sets us off on the right foot for a new year. Thank you for taking time to participate in our mission wall fundraiser in May! Because of you, we raised over $8,000 for our youth program! Your support goes to help send students to camp, mission trips, and other events throughout the year! Thank you for supporting our program! We’d love to have you stop by and see what we are doing! Join us any time, or consider being a leader to help our students grown in their faith. We’d love to have you!
Northern Hills United Methodist Church 3703 N Loop 1604 E San Antonio, TX 78247
Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit No. 3316
