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The
...Prayers for healing, comfort, and health
PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID THE LINK LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA 93534 THE LINK (USPS 370-870) PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY: LANCASTER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
LABEL
Time sensitive
Please Deliver by April 8th
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. ~ 4:30 p.m. Closed Saturday & Sunday (661) 942-0419
Footprints Christian Children’s Center Office: (661)942-0812
Sunday Worship Services: 9 a.m. Contemporary-Sanctuary 9:30 a.m. Hispanic Worship-Fellowship Hall
10:45 a.m. Traditional (Sunday School both services) 11:00 a.m. Chinese Worship-Fellowship Hall
1 p.m. Megumi Kai (Japanese)-Sanctuary “Messy Church” 3rd Thurs., 5:30 p.m.
BRING A FRIEND!
Visit us online: http://www.lancasterunited.org See us in action: under lancasterunited on Find us on:
MEMBERS (remain on list for 2 months) Bill & Mildred Baer, Carter family, Cash family, Cynthia Christensen, Roger Counts, Lyn & Earl Devore, Theresa El-wood, Steve & Cindy Farrand, Vicki & son, David Fisher, Robert Fromer, Don Gatlin, Judy Hamilton, Carol Harden, Novelette Harries, Bob & Alice Hart, Joe & Wilma Howe, Edmond Jones & family, Danny Larson, Jennifer Lawrence, John & Cathy Lee & family, Velta Mann, Steve & Connie McDougall, Jessie Miles & family, Paul & Martha Minnicks, Dot Norris & family, Dick Perry, Annabel Pond, Mary Rockwell/Smith & family, Juanita Rodriguez, Shirley Sayles, Marguarite Shirley, Patricia Shook, Joann Silas, Mary Snyder, Bill & Mercedes Taylor, Bettie Urbina, Richard & Barbara Urmanski, Carlos Valdez, Mike & Vicky Vogel & family, Dorothy Williams, Tom Williams, Woodell family/especially Benny, Robert and Jean Youngquist.
FAMILY & FRIENDS (remain on list for one month) Esperanza Beltran, Michelle Blankenship, Ernie Bridges, Bill Brod, Barry Brokov-
sky, Henchies Carter, Jeremy & Sarah Cervantes, David Eslick, Marcus Estevane, Russ Falls, Eddie & Liz Galvan, Chuck & Lori Goesch, Jacquin Gonzalez, Shane & Nicole Gray, Faye Hamilton, Ashley Hargrove, Hubbard family, Pat Johnson, Family of Terrie Johnson, Kelleher family, Marian Kohler, Lynn (Stanley) McClung, Marcy Meyer, Crystal Moore, Roy Padgett, Pastor David Parker, Sallie Phillips, Dennis Potts & family, Charles Reneau, William David Robinson, Sabryna & Andy Torres, Mary Anne Trout, and Mason Washington-Flores family. PRAYERS FOR THE MILITARY (Please let us know if no longer in the military.) James Bonds, Steven Bowling, Michael Boyles, Cassie Braden, Sean Brosseau, Ryan Burwell, Daniel Cabrera, James Canady, Monique Lyda Carswell, Roberto Cervantes, Allen Conard, Penelope L. Conard, Don Cordell, De Andrew Cordwell, Hallie (Day) Herrera , Eric Joseph Dettling, Michael Doyle, John Doyle, Adam Duncan, Baylor Eslick, Matt
Fishler, Kelly Fishler, Jessie Garcia, Paul Gillum, Dee Harrington, Max Houser, Porsha Girard-Harris, Tommy Holland, Trevor Humphries, Bryan Jobe, Travis Jobe, Tim Jorris, M. Todd Kelly, John Lara, Gilbert Linton, Marlynn Lomax, Matthew McDougall, Heather McDougall, Kevin McGalliard, Brian Meyer, William Michelson, Joshua Nardi, Branden D. O’Carroll, Hugh Oney, Joseph Perez, Kevin Raczon, Hannah Richard, Sgt. Abraham Ridgeway, Ruben Salgado, Justin Shelton, Naithan Sischo, Anthony Trujillo, Zonka Watson, Bryan Wuest, Ricki Yates, and Monique Young.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES
918 W est Ave. J
Lancaster , CA 93534 www. lancasteruni ted.org
1
Inside this issue:
The
Link The monthly
newsletter of LANCASTER
UNITED
METHODIST
CHURCH Vol. 61 Number 4
April 2017
Pastor’s Soundings 2
Youth, Sunday School 3
Messy Church, Silent Movie Night 4
AV/DV Mission Area News; Relay for Life 5
More Church News 6
LUMC Profiles: Randy & Katy Day-Davis 7
Holy Week 2017
Palm Sunday, April 9th — Palm Sunday brunch, hosted by Youth Group, 10-2 p.m., John Wesley Hall Palm Sunday Concert — 2 p.m. in the Sanctuary, featuring the LUMC Chancel Choir and Oliver Handbell Choir
Maundy Thursday, April 13th — 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Good Friday, April 14th, — 7 p.m. at Christ Our Savior UMC, Quartz Hill
Holy Saturday April 15th, 10 a.m.— 1 p.m. Messy Church Easter Egg Hunt and lunch! (see p. 3)
Easter Sunday Services — April 16th 6 a.m. Sunrise Service in Courtyard 9 a.m. Contemporary services in Sanctuary 10:45 a.m. Traditional service in Sanctuary
Registration is now open for our Cal-Pac
weeklong, overnight, Christian based camps
where children engage in worship, small group
activities, large group activities and games. They
can also participate in activities, such as
swimming, archery, ropes courses and many,
many more. Children grow in their faith, learn
leadership skills, grow their self-esteem, develop
inter-personal skills with peers and adults, make
life-long friendships and have fun.
Summer Camp is held in locations throughout
Southern California. Learn more about dates,
pricing, and locations at
www.calpacumc.org/summercamp!
Register Now for Summer Camp 2017!
Silent
Movie
Night on
April 22
Page 4
2
Pastor’s Soundings -- April by Pastor Terry
and how well the existing buildings
and ministries were kept up. People
“took their turn” when it came to lead-
ership and relied on the fact that there
would be others following them who
would continue the activities and pro-
grams of the church.
People today no longer support
that model. Churches are becoming
“Discipleship Oriented” and this is
seeing great results. They now ask
different questions: “Have you made
an intentional and serious decision to
follow Jesus?” “Having so decided,
where in your life do you need support
in living out that choice of faith?”
They also ask: “Are all of our
actions and decisions made in the
wisdom of God and with the
unconditional love of Jesus Christ?”,
“How can we better share the power
of a life lived in the Holy Spirit?”,
and “Are we willing to share our
lives as a living example of what
God is doing?”
This revised understanding
focusses on the call of Jesus to “follow
me” (Mark 1:17) and to command
“Go, …make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).
The mission statement for all
United Methodist Churches is “Make
Disciples of Jesus Christ for the
Transformation of the World.” Our
“Readiness 360+ group” is taking that
call very seriously and we putting
them into action.
Besides the Study and Prayer,
we’ve attended some Saturday
workshops both here in town and in
Santa Clarita. (The next one is April 29
and will be in the San Fernando Valley.
You are welcome to join us. Please let
me know of your interest.) We have
also come up with some ideas that
strengthen our disciple-making effort:
— We studied about prayer and
Have you noticed any difference yet?
As you may know, since last Fall,
leaders in our church have gathered
together in the “Readiness 360+” group
that meets after church almost every
Sunday. (Everyone is welcome!) They
have been thinking, praying and studying
on what it means to be a Christian today.
Everything around us is changing,
contributing to much turmoil and
dislocation in families. New technology
grabs our attention. Political decisions
have consequences reaching every level
of our life.
How is the church of Jesus Christ
going to respond? What will the United
Methodist church look like in 10, 15 or 20
years?
With these questions in mind, our
leaders and others have been reading
DiscipleShift by Jim Putman et. al., along
with Missional Renaissance by Reggie
McNeal (both are available on Kindle and
at the church if you wish to read along.)
The major theme of these two books is
to understand that the future of the
Christian movement is to change from a
“membership” orientation to a
“discipleship” orientation.
In the past, an emphasis was put on
having new people join the church, get
involved in various ministries and
committees, and shoulder their fair share
of obligations: volunteer and financial.
This approach depended on seeing a large
number of people coming to the church
and seeking many things: a moral
education for their children, new friends
and acquaintances for themselves, a
quality youth and/or music program,
and/or serious mission ministries that
help others.
Membership was measured by how
many people came to Sunday worship,
how much money was collected,
learned that we can do much
more than offer a list of needs
(sometimes called “Talking at
God”). We can stop talking and
quietly listen to God, we can talk
with God about the condition of
our own souls, we can be with
Jesus Christ more and more each
day in an intentional way.
— A Sermon series and worship
time focused on Discipleship
starting with the “Real
Discipleship Survey”
(www.lancasterunited.org),
— Identifying the six major
facets of a life that is following
Jesus: Opening to Jesus,
Obeying Jesus, Worship,
Service, Generosity, Hospitality.
— Our Spring Stewardship
Drive will feature a “ministry
showcase” that will lift up each
ministry and give us all an
opportunity to talk about and
ask questions about them.
— We are encouraging our
church to move from “Program
Development” to “People
Development”.
— We are moving away from
“Measuring activities” to
“Helping People Grow.”
— We are seeing ourselves as
“Kingdom Oriented” rather than
“Church-focused.”
This last change in perception
is both very exciting and very
difficult to accomplish. In some
ways, the United Methodist
church is exceedingly well suited
for this shift. We have always
been respectful and aware of
other churches likewise seeking
to do God’s work. (cont’d p. 3)
7
Help! VAN DRIVERS NEEDED!
This is a special ministry that
provides transportation to folks
in need. If you feel a calling to this
ministry, please call the church
office at 942-0419.
LUMC Profiles: Katy Day-Davis and Randy Davis
Church Calendar Now Online
Master Calendar of LUMC is now available on the
web for all to check the availability of dates and to
request a date. It’s found at:
www.lancasterunited.org/LUMCCalendar.
A link to the request form is also found there.
(Anthony now lives in Mojave and
works in Tehachapi.)
Upon discharge from the Army, Katy
became a Civil Service worker for the
Army. She and Anthony moved back to
Lancaster in 2005. Katy now works for
the Air Force Contracting Office and,
while on assignment to NASA, she met
Randy Davis.
Randy was born in Oregon, but grew
up in Ventura, where and his brother
loved building and fixing things, which
they still do to this day. His father
served in the US Navy.
Randy and Katy became good friends.
Katy said she fell in love with
Randy’s faith before she thought of a
relationship beyond friendship — then
love bloomed. The couple married at
LUMC on August 15, 2015. Randy is an
active Catholic; he and Katy frequently
go to two worship services on Sunday.
Besides their home in Lancaster, they
maintain a condo in Ventura since they
Katy Day-Davis and Randy Davis will
gladly deliver, to a person of your choice,
a bouquet of purple and white flowers,
arranged in a purple toilet , emblazoned
with the words “Flush Away Cancer.”
This, of course, is one of the fundraiser
for the upcoming Relay for Life. They are
passionate about doing what they can to
fight cancer. Both have been impacted
by the disease — Katy as a cancer
patient, and Randy, whose first wife and
father both died of cancer.
Katy was born in London, England,
where she lived until the age of eight.
The family then traveled to several
places before being assigned to Edwards
AFB, where her father retired from the
military. A move to Lancaster allowed
Katy to attend and graduate from
Antelope Valley High School, where she
was involved in volleyball, basketball,
and track. She ran the 400 meter and
became na expert in discus and shotput;
in fact, she became the CIF champion in
discus two years in a row. Her mother
believed in the adage that “Idle hands
are the devil’s workshop,” so Katy and
her siblings were always involved in
sports, church, school, and family
activities.
After graduation, Katy attended
Antelope Valley College, where her
cheerleading coach was Donna Horn.
She then enlisted in the US Army, where
she served for 10 years at 10 different
posts. Her son, Anthony, was born at
Fort Hood, TX. During her
assignment to Fort Irwin near Barstow,
they were able to visit Katy’s parents in
Lancaster most weekends and Anthony
was baptized at LUMC at the age of four.
visit and care for Randy’s mother
frequently.
Katy has participated in Relay for
Life, a major fundraiser for the
American Cancer Society for eight
years; five of those years she has
been captain of the LUMC team. Katy
was diagnosed with bladder cancer
in 2008 when a softball size tumor
was discovered. Fortunately, the
tumor had not invaded the bladder
wall, and the tumor was removed.
The cancer returned in 2016, when
two new tumors were discovered
and removed. Katy does not hide
from problems, she confronts them
and does what she can to solved the
issue. You can help by joining the
LUMC Relay Team.
Katy loves her LUMC family,
especially the many women who
have been her mentors during her
faith journey. They truly have taught
her about the love of Jesus. She loves
attending worship with her mother,
Terry Day. Katy, with her boundless
energy, has been involved tin the
Prayer Team, Worship Council,
Trustees, Pumpkin Patch (where
she worked with Chuck and Kay
Engram), Disciple classes, the Five-
Alive team, Hanging of the Greens
(she brings her wonderful chili to
keeps to workers going), Capital
Campaign, coffee co-host with her
mother, and the SPARKS program.
Occasionally, she and Randy do
have some spare time. One of their
favorite activities is to go RV
camping with friends, which they
do at least once a quarter.
by Shirley Sayles
6
MORE LUMC NEWS
Need a ride
to church?
Call the church office to get on
our van pool list.
942-0419
Submit Prayer
Requests ONLINE!
bit.ly/quR8TE
ALL CHURCH COMMITTEE MEETINGS Tues. 4/4 7:00 p.m. Nominating Committee Conference Room
Thurs. 4/6 4:30 p.m. Worship Committee Grand Foyer
Thurs. 4/6 7:00 p.m. Trustees Conference Room
Tues. 4/11 7:00 p.m. SPRC Conference Room
Tues. 4/18 6:30 p.m. Stewardship/Finance Conference Room
Tues. 4/18 7:30 p.m. AD Board Conference Room
There’s a place for YOU….. You belong here!
Coffee with the Pastor - 1st and 2nd Thursday of the month @ 7 p.m. in the Grand Foyer. Pastor Terry and Donna Horn would like to invite you to "Next Step in Your Spiritual Journey" in learning more about our church family. This is designed to explain who and what we are as a church. Call church office to R.S V.P. 661-942-0419.
Centering Prayer —Led by Joanne Van Hook, 2nd & 4th Tues. 6:30 p.m. @ her home.
And much more! Visit our church website for info: http://www.lancasterunited.org
H&R Block Nonprofit Referral Program Hi. I am the church Treasurer for LUMC. I also
prepare taxes for H&R Block. I wanted to let you
know about H&R Block’s Nonprofit Referral
Program. H&R Block will donate $20 to the church
for every new client that uses the church’s referral
code. If you have your taxes done at H&R Block,
please give your tax pro this referral code, then H&R
Block will donate $20 to the church.
Referral code: 40010001090562.
Call if you have any tax questions, I’ll be happy to
help you. Please call me at 661-917-7735.
Best wishes, Susan Zahn
Scholarships for High School Seniors Available
LUMC gives out two, $500.00 scholarships every spring to graduating high school seniors who are going to college in the fall. The Centennial Scholarship is for students attending AVC in the fall. The Second Century Scholarship is for members of LUMC, or other local Methodist Churches who are attending any college in the fall. Students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher; deadline for submitting the application (which is available in the Grand Foyer or church office) is April 1st. Contact Karen Coy for questions.
If you would like to receive a visit from a Home Communion minister, please
contact the LUMC Office, so that you may be added to the visitation list.
3
Sundays @ 10:45 a.m. — Hangout in Room 16
by Pastor JasonFamilies and Youth (MS/HS) Students)
For the latest happenings with the youth group, check out Room 16 on Facebook!
http://bit.ly/2cs46i4 Features up-to-date calendars, forms, and current discussions!
April S.P.A.R.K. News On March 26th, we began a rotation on “The Last Supper” leading up to Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. The workshops are:
The Bible references for this rotation are Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-25, and Luke 22:7-20. Perhaps you can share these verses around the dinner table and talk about the importance of Communion, our faith family’s special meal. In conjunction with this study we would like to try a new process for Communion Sundays, usually the first Sunday of the Month. Our hope is that this process will reinforce the importance of this sacrament as we remember Jesus together. As has been our tradition, we will bring the children over from SPARK to participate in Communion. We will sit on the left side of the sanctuary close to the center aisle. As you come up the aisle to take Communion, stop to pick up your child so that they may participate with you. Your child will then remain with you until the end of the service. When you sign your child in on that morning you will also be signing that following communion your child will remain with you. Mark your calendars — the children will be singing Easter Sunday at both the 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services.
March 26 — Cinema April 2 — Art April 9 — Palm Sunday
April 16 — Easter Sunday April 23 — Easter Story April 30 — Five Alive Mission Project
(Soundings cont’d)
However, that has often led us to a passive approach that has waited for people to seek us out and to be attracted to
our church. This “Attractional Model” assumed that people will turn to the church when confronted by a spiritual,
parenting or loneliness need. That is no longer the case. While a few people still follow this decade old pattern, most
of the population does not. We need to be both ready and actively offer the deep loving relationship with Jesus Christ
that we experience here so strongly at Lancaster UMC. With that in mind we’ll soon be talking about how we can
become more intentional in our faithful lives when it regards to helping people on their spiritual journey. We’ll be
defining the roles of faithful people willing to help others on their spiritual journey For example:
Sponsor: Not only someone to stand with them at Baptism & Membership time, but a trained and knowledgeable
companion for their journey.
Spiritual Friend: Someone familiar with the many ways of prayer and other opportunities out church provides,
helping them out and pointing them in the right direction. They “coach” others into a deeper journey as a disciple of
Jesus.
Spiritual Director/Pastor: Someone trained and experienced in ways to help new friends, Sponsors, and Spiritual
Friends become better disciples and followers of Jesus. This is someone who regularly offers workshops and classes
and who counsels others along their spiritual path.
As you can tell, it takes a conscious effort to look at the task ahead for our church. However, it is an exciting and
hopeful development in that it results in deeply faithful and loving people. It is my prayer and hope that many of you
will join us as we seek the Kingdom of God unfold around us. You are welcome to our Sunday luncheons and also to
our upcoming Saturday workshops, April 29 and June 10.
What scripture has stayed with you this week? What have others learned about Jesus Christ because of you?
How goes it with your soul?
Grace and Peace,
4
LUMC News
GRIEF GROUP BEGINS AT LUMC Lancaster UMC hosted its first meeting of Grief Group on Tuesday, February 28th. Meetings will continue for the next few weeks, with the option of continuing later on. The group is facili-tated by Pastor Terry and Dr. Karen Coy.
In the announcement, Pastor Terry explained, “From personal experience, I know the many times of grief and the lingering nature of losing someone close. We have a number of people ex-periencing grief and the loss of someone close to them. Dr. Karen Coy and I are bringing a num-ber of people who have experienced loss together. Such a group will see how a prayerful, uncon-ditional love can be of help.”
The group is open to all in the Antelope Valley — they need not attend Lancaster UMC. The group will use prayer and also reflect on the Bible's insight into grief. Please spread the word! (Additional groups may be formed for different days and times based on interest)
Silent Movie Night!
The General (1926)
starring Buster Keaton
Saturday, April 22, 7 p.m. in the LUMC Sanctuary
Featuring Ken Rosen on organ
Free admission; all donations benefit the
Friends of the Moller Organ (FOTMO)
for the upgrade of
the LUMC Sanctuary Organ.
EASTER EGG HUNT AND LUNCH
Saturday, April 15th, 10 a.m.—1 p.m.
Doors open at 10 a.m. for crafts and walk-in
petting zoo. The hunt begins at 11 am.
Bring your friends and a basket.
(Not in a basket. That would be awkward. )
Come ready to celebrate God, the giver of life, and
Jesus his Son!
Children aged 1 to 11 years may participate in the hunt.
5
News from LUMC, AV/DV MISSION, CAL-PAC
Hispanic Ministry Schedule: Spanish Language Worship: Sundays @ 9:30 a.m. Groupo de Artes y Amistad (en Espanol) Crafts Group (in Spanish but all are welcome!)
Tarde /Afternoon— Jueves /Thursdays—time: 10 a.m.—Noon
Lí der: Maria Salcedo Para mas information, llame. 661-942-0419
Pastor Sergio Camacho, has been volunteering to help us initiate a Hispanic Outreach:
Biblia y Fe (en Espanol) Bible and Faith Growth
Weekly Prayer and Praise with Dinner (Fridays, 5-8pm in the John Wesley Hall)
Chinese Ministry Schedule:
Chinese Language Worship: Sundays @ 11 a.m. — Lunch following Worship 12:15 p.m.
Bible Study (Chinese): Wed. @ 7 p.m. Leader: Pastor Ray Sung, Dining room.
Chinese School: Fri. @ 8-10 a.m. —where Adults and Children learn Chinese. (Up Stairs in Church Office)
Sign up to be a Coffee Host!
We are looking for individuals who would like to sponsor coffee and light refreshments after Sunday services.
If you would like to participate in this hospitality outreach, please contact either Cathy Swords or Debi King.
JOIN OUR TEAM TO FIGHT CANCER! Relay for Life 2017 LUMC has had a successful team for several years participating in the American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life Walk. This year, our team will be walking from 29-30 April at Quartz Hill High School. Here are some ways you can help us be a success: • Volunteer to walk around the track for 30 minutes or an hour (we have at least one member of our team on the
track for 24 hours)
• Purchase a team t-shirt. We are using the "Benny Strong" t-shirts for our Team shirts this year!
• Commit to be a team member that collects donations/sponsorships to raise money to help ACS find a cure for cancer
• Donate to honor a friend or family member who had to fight cancer
• Sponsor the Flush Away Cancer Potty for $50. Have it placed in someone’s yard for awareness and support.
• Participate as a group, (i.e., Choir, Praise Band, Birthday Club, Youth Group) and see which group can get the biggest donation
• And, most importantly, pray for our LUMC team to be present, to be filled with grace, to make a difference, and to focus our efforts that bring HIM glory.
We, as a family of faith, have lost several saints to cancer, we are walking with members who are currently fighting (like our Benny) and we have several survivors as well. Let’s help to honor each of them by volunteering to participate in at least one way this year. Please prayerfully consider being a part of this HOPE for a CURE. The Relay community has seen the presence of our church in support of this effort. We can disciple to those who relay who can really use the outpouring of love from our congregation. Our team captain is Katy Day-Davis, a cancer survivor herself. Please see her after service in the Grand Foyer or call her to sign up at (661) 575-7581.