The Circuit Rider - United Methodist Church Asburyasburyumcforestville.com/images/17-03CRandcalendar.pdf · Fr. Richard Rohr, “Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.”

90 Church Avenue, Forestville, CT 06010 | 860-584-0529 | www.asburyumcforestville.com

The Circuit Rider

Asbury United Methodist Church Newsletter Serving God in the community for over 150 years

MARCH 2017 | VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 3

March 2017

Dear Friends,

We begin March with the solemn observance of Ash Wednesday which leads us into our season of Lent. As is our tradition, we’ll have services at noon and at 7:00 pm for Ash Wednesday. How will you spend the season of Lent this year? I’m hoping that we can use some time in these weeks leading toward the Cross and the Easter celebrations to pray and contemplate what God has given to us in Jesus Christ. May our lives be changed through the Lenten journey.

Our theme for our Lenten Soup Suppers on Wednesday nights is centered around a prayer written by St Teresa of Avila that begins “Christ has no body now on earth but yours …” How can we be the body of Christ on earth now? Join us for some inspiring stories – and delicious soup! On Saturday mornings, we’ll join together for discussion of a beautiful book by Fr. Richard Rohr, “Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.” We’ll have coffee and munchkins and the blessed gift of conversation. And of course, we’ll be together for worship on Sunday mornings. You can find more information about the Wednesday night suppers and Saturday morning book discussion inside this newsletter. Please join us for any of these offerings as you are able!

Lent is a wonderful season to add a spiritual practice to your daily routine. If you’d like to add daily readings from the Bible or morning prayer, but are not sure where or how to begin, Asbury is here to help! We offer a great resource for anyone who would like it and it’s free: in the narthex (the area between the sanctuary and office), you will find copies of a booklet titled, “The Upper Room.” In the Upper Room, there are daily readings from the Bible, a brief meditation and a daily prayer. It is a wonderful resource to aid in your daily prayer and Bible reading.

Take time this Lenten season, avoiding the rush to Easter. Pray and study and meditate on what Christ has done for you … and what you can do for him.

God bless,

OUR STAFF Pastor The Rev. Laura L. Galbraith

Secretary & Newsletter Editor Melissa Gray

Custodian Bruce Lauzier

Music Director Michael Coderre

Organist Eugenia Kim

Bell Choir & Recorder Kristen Russo

Nursery Coordinator Briana Hoffman

CONTACT INFO Office: 860-584-0529 Fax: 860-584-0520 (call first) Dial-A-Prayer: 860-584-0520 Parsonage: 860-261-4131 Pastor e-mail: [email protected] Secretary e-mail: [email protected] Asbury Web Page: www.asburyumcforestville.com

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.asburyumcforestville.com/

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March 5 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worship Leader 10:00 a.m. Adeline Hazzard

Greeters ............................ TBD

Fellowship Hour ................. TBD

Altar Flowers ..................... The Motyl Family

March 12 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worship Leader 10:00 a.m. Norm Fusaro

Greeters ............................ Harriet Donovan&

Anna Dalfino

Fellowship Hour ................. Harriet Donovan &

Anna Dalfino

Altar Flowers ..................... Girl Scouts

March 19 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worship Leader 10:00 a.m. Gene Kelsey

Greeters ............................ The Costello Family

Fellowship Hour ................. The Costello Family

Altar Flowers ..................... The Landeen Family

March 26 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Worship Leader 10:00 a.m. Ken Clark

Greeters ............................ TBD

Fellowship Hour ................ Debbie Deprey

Altar Flowers ..................... Colleen Smith

Altar Guild ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Roxanne Pierce

Birthday Caller ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eula Foster

Soup Kitchen _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Norm Fusaro, Coordinator

8:30 a.m. Worship Leader ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carl Aspland, Norm Fusaro

Ushers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wayne Fuller, Bonnie Emery, Dennis Floyd, Roy DiYulio

M A R C H B I R T H D A Y S

G U S T S E R V I N G S C H E D U L E

01 Jessica Rossignol

Bonnie Partiss

Paula Felt

Jarod Luis

Sarah Ford

02 Rebecca Lauzier

Laura Galbraith

Helen Fraas

Thomas Pullen, Jr

03 Brian Denski

Wooda McNiven

04 Nathan Jandreau

Jeffrey Demarest

Patrick Keddy

05 Gary Felt

Marco Luis

Tanya Martin

Rachel Manning

Stephen Wilbur

06 Rocco Spirito

Mitchell Peterson

Keri Diaz

07 James O'Donnell

Kelly Pogemiller

09 JoAnn Bacon

10 Heidi Ingellis

Paul Brink

Deborah Deprey

11 Deryk Buckley

12 Fallon Richardson

Mary Lowrey

Carol Migneault

13 Fred St. John

14 Laura Lishness

Addison Eachus

Duncan May

15 Briseida Sanchez

Colleen Smith

Anastasia Heinzman

16 Charles Anderson

Eugene Kelsey

17 Mildred Gomez

18 Alexandria Rheaume

Emily Lasecki

Mary Hiltbrand

19 Joyce Weed

Michael Fiorini

Desiree Szydlo

Jason Dumont

20 Abigail Swanson Cyr

21 Katie Lauzier

Joyce Pullen

Michaela Coderre

22 Dylan Pelletier

Wendy Porrini

23 Stacy Brayton-Martinez

Lucy Krause

Dennis Floyd

M A R C H W O R S H I P A S S I S T A N T S

G U S T S E R V I N G S C H E D U L E

24 Lorna Baxter

Walter Bruce

27 Taylor Demarest

29 Anna Nyankomago

30 Brent Lafferty

Megan Coloske


Nancy Rhodes, Bobbi Dziekan, Jim Hasler, Scott Blumenthal, Richard

Kirschner, The Avery Family, The Maskery Family, Joyce Madore,

Steven Perrone, The Towle Family, The McIntyre Family, Dick

Peterson, Walter Bruce, Don & Judy Mazzerole, Elsie Lyons, Elene

Myers, and others who have needs of which we may not be aware.

If you wish to be listed in the bulletin and newsletter for prayers, please call the church office at 860-584-0529 or e-mail us at: [email protected].

If you wish to relate prayer needs to the prayer chain, please call Phyllis Petit at 860-589-6059 or Mernie Whitcomb at 860-583-5373, or e-mail Pastor Laura at [email protected]. Please keep your call brief, and be aware of the privacy rights of the person(s) for whom you are requesting prayers.

Gemma Mae Derench was baptized at Asbury

on January 29, 2017. She is the daughter of

Justin and Christina Derench and little sister of

Cameron Derench. They make their home in

Bristol.

Long time Asbury member Bonita “Bonnie”

Maskery passed away on Tuesday, January 24,

2017. A Celebration of Life service was held at

Asbury on Monday, January 30, 2017.

Long time Asbury member Dale Louis Avery passed away on Saturday, January 28, 2017. A Celebration of Life service was held at Asbury on Saturday, February 4, 2017.

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If you are Looking for a Church Home…

We hope that you will find it here at Asbury. If you would like to discuss

church membership, please speak to Pastor Laura Galbraith or call the

office at 860-584-0529.



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Dear AUMC Family, This is very belated, but I’d like to say thank you for last year’s scholarship. It helped me greatly.

Sincerely, Nathan Butler

Dear Asbury, I just want to say I am very, very thankful and most grateful for all that was done for me during my recent illness and subsequent move from my house to an apartment. Whew! What a job and I couldn’t have done it without your great help and your many prayers. Thank you for your Christian kindness. As you are a blessing, may you be blessed.

Praise God always, Audrey Kasakowski

Dear Eula and Senior Fellowship Group, The last few days have been cold and filled with SNOW – but your lovely card with its beautiful bouquet of roses fills my heart with joy and gratitude for your remembering my birthday. Don’t know why I’m still around for 96 years… I do remember our years at Asbury were a real blessing – your fellowship continues to reach out and make life better for all in your wide circle. Know that I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers and reminders of God’s love to all.

Jackie Watson

Thank you to Pat Sallstrom and all the ladies who are helping to make extra bears for our church pews. We continue to encourage parishioners to keep bringing in their new or gently useD bears (large, small and fuzzy!) as we would like to always have a variety of bears to choose from. As we sew and collect bears may we always remember Bonnie Maskery, who out of concern and comfort for others started this special ministry. She will be missed.

Karen Cranford and the ladies of WIF

We also received a letter of thanks

from St. Vincent DePaul for our

generous monetary contribution of

$250.00 in 2016.

The United Way of West Central

Connecticut is offering free tax preparation

to households that have a combined

income of less than $54,000.

You could qualify for a larger tax refund

this year! Working families may be eligible

for the Connecticut Earned Income Tax

Credit (CT_EITC), in addition to your usual

refund.

Call 860-356-2000 to make an

appointment. (Must request to have your

appointment at the Bristol site)


Clothing Drive

MYF

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 5 – 3:00 pm – Swimming at Giamatti

Pool

March 19 – Pizza and Planning Meeting

April 11 – Soup Kitchen

Join us at Wendy’s of Bristol

on 1247 Farmington Ave.

Tuesday, March 7

Tuesday, April 4

from 5:00 – 7:00 pm

Stay and enjoy fellowship or get take out. Ask to have your receipt put in the Asbury UMC basket! We receive 20% of all sales made! Proceeds are split between Apportionments and the Backpack Program.

Note to all college bound students

and/or parents

The 2017 Academic Scholarship Application is

now available on Asbury’s website

(asburyumcforestville.com). If you are a college

student continuing your education or starting

college for the very first time, you can use the

application to be considered for a scholarship

award given by the Scholarship Committee of

the Board of Trustees. If interested complete

this application and submit it to the following

address:

Board of Trustees Scholarship Committee

Asbury United Methodist Church

90 Church Avenue

Bristol, CT 06010

Three important points to remember: The

application must be completed entirely. A

transcript of your grades must accompany your

application. And it must be received by the

Church office no later than March 31, 2017.

Please free to contact anyone of the following

committee members if you have any questions:

Heidi Borkowski, 860-280-6574

or [email protected]

Wayne Devino, 860-973-3193


Linda Grey, 860-589-0151


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Join Us!




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What’s in the Shopping Cart for

2017!

It was thought that perhaps everyone would like to know what’s being collected for the Backpack Program for the entire year, so you can take advantage of sales prices. Below is the shopping cart list for 2017, and as always, thank you for supporting the Backpack Program by placing your donation in the shopping cart located in the Narthex. March Juice boxes

April Individual Snacks

(example peanut

butter crackers)

May Cans of Vegetables

June Cans of Tuna

July/ August Cans of Ravioli

September Boxes of Cereal

October Hearty Soups

November Boxes of Saltine

Crackers

December Canned Fruit

Do you know all the committees that keep Asbury flourishing? Do you know what each committee does? Would you like to join a committee, but not sure which one or how? Well, we’re here to help. Each month an Asbury Committee Chair will let you know a little bit about what their committee does, and how you can be a part of it. Our next submission is from Women In Fellowship (WIF) Chairperson, Karen Cranford.

Women In Fellowship began as an outlet to encourage closer friendships and connections among the ladies in our congregation. Also, we felt it was important to consider women in need in the community. Our focus has been Prudence Crandall, a women’s domestic violence shelter. We helped in these ways this past year. We attended and donated to Prudence Crandall’s brunch fundraiser, attended the annual prayer vigil and arranged a Hope Tour of their facility. We also held an ice cream social and used the funds for much needed sheets and towels for Prudence Crandall. We also invited them to speak to the congregation making us more aware of Domestic Violence in our community. The Teddy Bear Ministry is a ministry that was started by Bonnie Maskery and has been continued by W.I.F. It is intended to bring persons in need an extra “HUG”. We accept donations of “gently loved” or new Teddy Bears in order to keep this ministry going – any size will do. They are lovingly cleaned, repaired, tagged and placeD in the pews in the Sanctuary by Dick and Claudia Peterson. We also have some light-hearted get-togethers. We held a wedding shower for a member. We had a summer picnic, and we held our 4th women’s retreat. We meet monthly on the last Thursday of the month, mostly at someone’s home, but that is not a requirement to join our group. We usually share a potluck, hors d’oeuvres or dessert. We always encourage anyone to join us at any time. The ladies are very friendly and welcoming and would love to include you in anything that might interest you. Some of the ladies are there every month, some of them come for something that interests them and some come for a social outlet. All are welcome! We would love to get to know you!


A.A.C.T. GOES TO IRISH DINNER (Adults Only Event)

When: Thursday, March 16th at 5:30 pm Entertainment after Dinner at 7:00 pm

Where: Bristol Historical Society Cost: $10.00 per person

Price includes: Your choice of traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner or Irish Stew, Dessert and Beverages. (BYOB is allowed.) We only have 20 tickets for this event and 10 have already been reserved. If you are interested in going, please call the church office at 860-584-0529 to reserve your ticket.

F E L L O W S H I P

Save The Date March 1

Ash Wednesday

@ 12 pm – Worship Service

@ 6 pm – Pancake Supper

@ 7 pm – Worship Service

March 7

@ 5 pm – Wendy’s Fundraiser

March 8

@ 6 pm – Lenten Soup &

Sandwich Program

March 12

Daylight Savings Time Begins

@ 3 pm – Grace To Go

March 14

@ 3 pm – Soup Kitchen

March 15


Sandwich Program

March 17

St. Patrick’s Day

March 19

One Great Hour of Sharing

Collection

March 22


Sandwich Program

March 22


Sandwich Program

The deadline for the

April Circuit Rider is

Sunday March 12th.

Please leave all articles in the mailbox in the church office or e-mail

them to: [email protected]

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INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY

Don’t forget to tune in to WFSB

Channel 3 or NBC Channel 30 to

check for any delays or

cancellations of Asbury functions

and services.

SPRING FORWARD

MARCH 12TH

Set your clocks ahead one hour on

Saturday, March 11th before you go

to bed.

http://us.mc804.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]

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SPRING TAG SALE!

SATURDAY, APRIL 22 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM

(Early Bird Special, Friday, April 21st from 6 – 8 pm @2.00 door charge)

The Tag Sale will be upon us before you know it, and we need your help to ensure its success. We need people to set up, organize and price items before the Tag Sale. We will also need help with clean up and removal of leftover item to Savers after the Tag Sale. We also need someone to run the room in the Library where the higher quality tag sale items are placed. We are also seeking someone to run the grill, and head a bake sale on the day of the tag sale. If you can help, please speak to Ann Morin at 860-584-8576 as soon as possible.

Please remember:

Tag Sale Items cannot be

dropped off before

Monday, April 17th!

Daily Bible Reading Guide

MARCH 2017 God’s Faithful Word Of Prayer

Ash Wednesday

-11

-25

World Day of Prayer

-18

First Sunday in Lent

-28

-11

-29

-28

-51

-18

-37

Second Sunday in Lent

-52

-17

-14

-11

-31

-42

-22

Third Sunday in Lent

-36

-25

-38

Fourth Sunday in Lent


Headline text to go here

Onetur an honeste, qui vel men se

brevi vel toto est iunior anno.

Onetur an honeste, qui vel. Onetur

an honeste, qui vel men se brevi vel

toto est iunior anno. Onetur an

honeste, qui vel. Onetur an

honeste, qui vel men se brevi vel


honeste, qui vel.

Shoe Box Project

CLOTHING DRIVE

In conjunction with our annual tag sale, we will also be holding a clothing/accessory/shoe/linen drive. Our goal is

to get 12,500 lbs bags of items.

Bags can be brought to the church now and put on the stage or you can be an angel and bring them down to the

OREO room which is located through Memorial Hall on the lower level.

On the day of TAG SALE, bags can be dropped off from 9am - 2pm. There will be a truck parked outside ready to

be loaded with bags.

All clothing, such as hats, coats, pants, dresses, skirts, shirts, blouses, socks, under clothes, jackets, belts, gloves, all

bedding/linens, cloth, shoes/boots and accessories. These items should be placed in a plastic bag and tied. We will

receive $.20 per pound for soft items.

Please contact Geri Beveridge at [email protected] for any questions concerning the clothing drive.

EASTER FLOWER FUND AT ASBURY

Each year at this time an opportunity is given to those who would like to contribute to the Flower Fund of Asbury

Church. This fund is used to provide palms and altar flowers on Easter and other Sundays of the year, and altar

candles.

Contributions to this fund should be sent to the church office or placed on the offering plate by Sunday, April 9,

2017 along with the information attached. The names of those memorialized or honored will be included in the

Easter Bulletin.

______I plan to take it after the ______Please deliver it to a

10:00 a.m. service. homebound person.

Given In Memory of:________________________________________________________________________

Given In Honor of:__________________________________________________________________________

Given by:__________________________________________________________________________________

A suggested donation of $10.00 is requested. Please make checks payable to Asbury UMC.

Amount Enclosed____________

SENIOR SCHEDULE

FOR MARCH

March 1 – Puzzle Day – Lunch Out

March 9 – Movie – Eat In

March 16 – St. Patrick Pot Luck

March 23 – Game Day – Lunch Out

March 30 – Birthday Celebrations and Bingo – Bring a Sandwich, Cake Provided

SENIOR FELLOWSHIP

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honeste, qui vel.

Shoe Box Project

LENTEN OFFERING

Lent is a season to prepare ourselves for new life and beginnings. It is a season of giving up and taking up. There are many opportunities for you to observe the Lenten Season at Asbury. Pastor Laura will hold a study on Saturdays, we will gather for Soup and Sandwich on Wednesdays, with a focus on community outreach. Lenten Offering Envelopes have been included in this newsletter, and are also available in the Narthex. If you sacrifice just $1 per day for each of the 40 days of Lent, you will be helping support the various ministries at Asbury.

As is our tradition during Lent, we will gather for Soup Suppers during Lent on Wednesdays. This year, our programs will follow the theme of Saint Teresa of Avila’s prayer that Pastor Laura quotes in her letter on the front page of this newsletter. Each week, we will have a guest speaker to share their experience of serving others in the community. Pat Stebbins from Brian’s Angels (support to the community’s homeless); Kendra Morales from For Goodness Sake (assisting those in need to set up their apartments); Cathleen Whillock and Laura Fletcher from the Meriden Humane Society and Karen Zaorski from Wolcott Crossroads (drug abuse prevention programs for youth) will be some of our speakers. You will have the opportunity to share in their work by bringing a single item to fill a gift basket for each speaker to share with the population that they serve:

March 8: Household cleaning supplies – For Goodness Sake March 15: Snacks, individual canned soups/pasta, personal care items – Brian’s Angels March 22: Free-will offering to support Wolcott Crossroads March 29: Dog and cat food and treats – Meriden Humane Society April 5: TBA

Take some time during Lent to be with others for lively discussion and prayer. We will read Fr. Richard Rohr’s best seller and beloved book, “Everything Belongs” to guide our time together. To quote the publisher, “Fr. Rohr challenges people to move beyond the comfort of a settled life toward an understanding of themselves that is rooted in their connection to God. Only when they rest in God can they find the certainty and the freedom to become all that they can be.” We’ll meet Saturday mornings, 9:00 – 10:30, March 4th – April 15th, in the church library. Coffee, tea and Munchkins provided!

SATURDAYS DURING LENT

WEDNESDAYS DURING LENT

ASH WEDNESDAY

Asbury will begin its Lenten season with the U.M. Men serving a pancake supper on Ash Wednesday,

March 1 at 6:00 pm. Ash Wednesday services will be held at noon and 7:00 pm.

Both services will include ashes for those who would like them.











honeste, qui vel.

Shoe Box Project

CHURCH COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

In an effort to further engage members of Asbury in the life of our congregation, we will now be sharing highlights of Church Council meetings here in the Circuit Rider. Council meetings are open to all members of the Asbury community and we meet the second Monday of every other month at 6:00 pm in the choir room. The next meeting is April 10th. JoAnn Bacon is Council Chairperson.

Highlights of the February meeting:

The Worship Committee has planned for the Lent Soup and Sandwich suppers, Wednesdays during Lent. Special

speakers from the community will join us for a brief program each week following supper.

Christian Outreach Committee is planning on doing more on “Showing The Love” through their card ministry – Cards of

Comfort, Thinking of You Cards and Sympathy Cards. Amy Majors, chairperson, expressed interest in exploring ways to

reach out to the Muslim Community for learning opportunities for both Christians and Muslims. They are also

discussing the possibility of setting up “Blessing Boxes” for food, similar to the mini libraries that have popped up

around Bristol. Anyone in need could take food that is stored in the box, or leave donations. More to come!

Discussion arose in regard to outside groups who use our facilities for a fundraiser: can they hold a raffle when we, as

United Methodists do not hold them. Council members re-affirmed that any group using the building must abide by

our United Methodist Policies which includes no raffles for fundraising.

Amy Majors and Joyce Cannon will work with Pastor Laura on planning a Coffee House on a Friday night with a local

woman who plays Contemporary Christian music.

Possible program ideas that members discussed for the coming months: A day long retreat; a trip to the movies to see

“The Shack” when it comes out in March; a mission trip.

DESKTOP FINGER LABYRINTH

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Before you start any finger labyrinth “walk,” take time to breathe and relax. Set an intention or question for the walk. Without an intention a finger labyrinth walk can become an exercise in hastily and mindlessly moving your finger along the circuits and wondering why at the end of the walk you even bothered. Say a prayer, if you like, for support, healing, and guidance.

Place a finger from your non-dominant hand at the entrance to the labyrinth. As you trace the circuit, stay open to whatever presents itself: feelings, sensations, memories or images. At the center of the labyrinth, pause for a little while. The center is a wonderful place to relax, pray, or sing. When you are ready, trace your way out, staying open to whatever comes up for you. When your walk is done, place both hands on the labyrinth and give thanks for whatever you learned and experienced.

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Shoe Box Project

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 ASH

WEDNESDAY

12:00 & 7 PM Worship Services

6:00 PM Pancake Supper

6:00 PM Girl Scouts

7:30 PM Chancel Choir

2

10:15 AM Seniors

5:00 PM Exercise Class

6:00 PM TOPS

6:30 PM Boy Scouts

3

4

9:00 am

Coffee &

Discussion

5 Communion, Dial A

Prayer Collection

9:00 AM Adult Sunday School

11:30 AM Christian Outreach

1:30 PM Girl Scouts

3:00 PM MYF

5:00 PM Confirmation Class at Asbury UMC

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7:30 PM NA

7

9:00 AM Crochet Class


5:00 PM Wendy’s Fundraiser

6:00 PM Stephen Ministry

6:00 PM Bell Choir

7:00 PM Boy Scouts

8:00 PM AA

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6:00 PM Soup & Sandwich Program

6:00 PM Girl Scouts


9

10:15 AM Seniors


6:00 PM TOPS

6:30 PM Boy Scouts

10

6:00 PM Girl Scouts

11

9:00 am

Coffee &

Discussion

12 Daylight Saving Time

Begins


3:00 PM – Grace To Go

Circuit Rider Deadline

13

7:30 PM NA

14


3:30 PM Soup Kitchen

6:00 PM Bell Choir

8:00 PM AA

15


6:00 PM Girl Scouts


16

10:15 AM Seniors

5:30 PM AACT Goes To Irish Dinner

6:00 PM TOPS

6:30 PM Boy Scouts

17

St. Patrick’s

Day

18

9:00 am Coffee &

Discussion

11:30 am Private Party

19 One Great Hour Of

Sharing Collection


1:30 PM Girl Scouts

5:00 PM MYF

5:00 PM Confirmation Class at Prospect UMC

20

7:00 PM – American

Legion

7:30 PM NA

21


6:00 PM Stephen Ministry

6:00 PM Bell Choir

8:00 PM AA

22


6:00 PM Girl Scouts


23 10:15 AM Seniors

6:00 PM TOPS

6:30 PM Boy Scouts

24

25

9:00 am Coffee &

Discussion Boy Scout Court of Honor

26


27

7:30 PM NA

28


6:00 PM Bell Choir

8:00 PM AA

29


6:00 PM Girl Scouts


30 10:15 AM Seniors

6:00 PM TOPS

6:30 PM Boy Scouts

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Sunday Worship Services at 8:30 and 10:00 AM Fellowship Hour at 11:00 AM

Shoe Box Project

Shoe Box Project

Jesus said we’ll be happy (or “blessed”) when we’re meek, merciful, pure and so on (see Matthew 5:3-12). In other words, happiness results from putting others’ needs above our own.

Research confirms that helping others boosts people’s self-esteem, forges strong friendships, offers a sense of purpose, decreases stress, increases gratitude and sparks others to “pay it forward.” In fact, researchers have found that the “activism cure” is a great way to overcome bouts of sadness. So get helping — and get happy!

Documents

The Circuit Rider - United Methodist Church Asburyasburyumcforestville.com/images/17-03CRandcalendar.pdf · Fr. Richard Rohr, “Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.”