June
3 - June 16, 2007
Cover
Story
CHOIR
RECOGNITION SUNDAY: MUSIC TO OUR EARS
photos by Allan Walker
Highlights
UMW
AWARDS LUNCHEON
Sunday, June 3 @ 11:30 am
The UMW will be recognizing, celebrating and awarding our graduating
high school seniors with a potluck lunch for the entire congregation.
All are invited to this luncheon to support and congratulate our
seniors who will be furthering their educations. You will enjoy
the high school and college/university decor and will have the
option of sitting at your alma mater’s table or singing
along to your favorite fight song. In fact, if you have paraphernalia
from YOUR alma mater, the UMW would love to utilize it for the
event. Please drop your items off at the church office or drop
them off in Simkins Hall before worship on June 3. Make sure your
items are clearly marked with your name so that they may be returned
to you. If bringing a potluck dish is a problem, simply give a
donation for lunch. Proceeds will go to the UMW Scholarship Fund.
A
FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Sunday, June 3 @ 7:30 pm
Our Chancel Choir along with the SMC Concert Chorale and the Los
Angeles Concert Orchestra will perform their annual summer concert
including Requiem Mass in C minor by Luigi Cherubini and Misa
Tango by Luis Bacalov featuring Coco Trivisonno on Bandoneón.
Contact the church office
for tickets ($15 or $10 senior/student) or purchase at the door.
REV.
FARRIS BOOK STUDY & POTLUCK
Sunday, June 10 @ 11:30 am
Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day, by Anthony
B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall is now available in the church
library. The chapters of the book alternate between careful study
of the early church in the Book of Acts and issues and challenges
facing the contemporary church. It puts so much of what we currently
wrestle with in context. Get going on your reading so you’ll
be ready for a great discussion on June 10 at 11:30 am in the
Fireside Room. And bring your appetites for a potluck lunch!
CAL-PAC
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
June 20 - 24 @ University of Redlands
Our clergy and several Lay Members from our congregation will
be attending this year’s Cal-Pac Annual Conference at the
University of Redlands. Several special events will be taking
place throughout the Conference including Rev. Brad Beeman’s
ordination and special recognition of FUMC’s Mission giving.
The books on Bishop Swenson’s recommended reading list for
Annual Conference are available in the church library. Check them
out!
The
Spiritual Formation Ministry invites you to the
opening of the My Everyday Sacred Photo Exhibit,
curated by the Everyday Sacred Project Task Force,
on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 11:00 am in the Alcove.
Spiritual Formation will be sponsoring Coffee Hour
incorporating the theme of: Our Everyday Sacred,
The Spirituality of Chocolate and Other Healthy Food. |
SUMMER
ADVENTURES! IS HAPPENING
We are very excited to announce that Summer Adventures! will indeed
be happening this summer. The program will be smaller which allow
for more time spent with each child. Therefore, sign-ups will
be limited. You may register your child starting immediately.
The theme for Summer Adventures! 2007 is “God’s Wonderful
Creation.” Each session will include a special field trip
or fun activity, and a service project that will help one part
of God’s creation. Each week will include a “break”
on Wednesday for what has become the traditional day in the water.
On those days Summer Adventures! will be at the beach or at the
Santa Monica pool. The sessions will run from June 25 - August
31, Monday - Friday from 8:30 am - 4 pm. A schedule with breakdowns
of each session (sessions are one, two or three weeks long) and
the costs per child is available in the church office and on the
website. Don’t forget Vacation Bible School which will be
its own program but also a part of Summer Adventures! August 6-10.
You may sign your children up for VBS at any time in the church
office. Contact the church office
for more information.
LIFE
PLANNING: SOCIAL, MEDICAL & FINANCIAL
This Seminar sponsored by FUMC’s Health Ministry Council
will take place on Thursday, June 14 at 7 pm in Simkins Hall.
Guest Speaker Sue Hartenbaum, MA, Educator on Aging, will help
those over the age of 40 look toward their futures.
-What resources do you need?
government, other financial, community, private
-When will you need them?
retirement, illness, other life changes
-How do you find these resources?
medical & legal professionals, community organizations
-How do you start the planning process?
Come learn all you can about planning for your future. Contact
the church office to RSVP
or for more information.
Horizons
by
Patricia Farris
You may remember my tale of woe at the loss of our beloved jacaranda
tree from the front yard of the parsonage. Fortunately, God is
still making all things new through the season of Eastertide.
Thanks to the efforts of our landscaper, Joel Gomez, and our Business
Administrator, Bill Prescott, a new tree has been planted and
is proudly taking hold of its new terrain. It is a bauhinia, a
Hong Kong orchid tree. At the moment, it is small but mighty,
and arrived full of beautiful deep fuchsia blooms.
While
enjoying the gorgeous blossoms, David and I were also delighted
to observe that hummingbirds love our new tree as well. They visit
it regularly and add their own color and energy to the scene.
It’s as if God’s creation is dancing just outside
our front window.
It
turns out that our new tree has arrived in our neighborhood just
in time to witness to “National Pollinator Week,”
June 24-30. On Friday, June 29th, a beautiful new Pollination
stamp series will be introduced. Carol Greenwood brought this
to my attention at the recent Trustees meeting. Sure enough! Pollination
is vital in the life cycle of all flowering plants. 75% of all
flowering plant species need the help of animals and insects to
move their heavy pollen grains from plant to plant for fertilization,
ensuring healthy crops, harvests and seeds.
In
fact, pollinators are called “keystone species,” meaning
that they are critical to an ecosystem. There’s much more
to learn about pollinators and their role in the cycle of life.
Go to www.pollinator.org
and you might be amazed. But alarmingly, their habitats and well-being
are threatened by land development, the use of pesticides and
other environmental changes.
There
is much we can do as stewards of God’s creation to protect
and support pollinators and I commend this to your attention.
One suggestion is to “watch for pollinators”—get
connected with nature, take a walk and look for pollinators midday
in sunny planted areas. Another is to “plant for pollinators”—create
pollinator-friendly habitat and support pollinator havens.
Your
parsonage is ready to celebrate National Pollinator Week! The
new small-but-mighty bauhinia tree is not only a beautiful addition
to our yard. I like to think of it as a “statement,”
a witness to our neighborhood about our congregation’s faith,
our care for God’s creation and our love “for the
beauty of the earth.”
Patricia
Farris
Community
REMEMBERING
KEISKAMMA
Just because it’s no longer with us doesn’t mean that
we want to forget about the Keiskamma Altarpiece, its creators
and the reason for its current nation-wide tour. In our church
library you will find the DVD of the film “Yesterday”
which was viewed in conjunction with the Altarpiece’s presence
in our sanctuary. Also, you will find the DVD from the Fowler
Museum of Eunice Mungwane’s Keiskamma introduction. Continue
spreading the word about this important piece of art and the movement
behind it. Visit the Keiskamma
webpage for a list of the tour destinations.
PRAYER
QUILT THANKS
Thank you for the wonderful prayer quilt. I put it on my bed and
I sleep under all those prayers every night. What a comfort!
-Dorothy Smith Wilson
(Phyllis Johnson’s Aunt)
Thank
you all so very much for the prayer quilt during my recent surgeries.
Be assured of my prayers.
Love, Shirley Gholson
BIRTHS
We welcome into the world Wendolyn Reid Stanfill born to Katherine
and Chris Stanfill on Monday, May 14. She weighed in at 5 lbs
and was 18 inches long. The entire family is doing great. Congratulations
to Katherine and Chris!
We
congratulate grandparents Mary and David Clark on the birth of
grandson Christopher David Brooks born on May 22 weighing in at
7 lbs .
MEMORIAL
A Memorial Service for Grace Munn will be held on Thursday, June
7 at 2 pm in Gates Chapel.
