March
25 - April 7, 2007
Cover
Story
THE
KEISKAMMA ALTARPIECE
A heartfelt thanks to all our docents and staff who worked tirelessly
to host the Altarpiece and greet the many visitors and guests
who came to view it. May we carry the message of hope, empowerment
and transformation into the Easter season!
It's still
here through Friday, March 23.
Photos by Allan Walker. From top: docent training, Dr. Carol Hofmeyr
at Opening Reception, Patricia Farris, Mid-Week Recital, Robin
Henning and Joy Peterman
Highlights
MARCH
BOOK STUDY
Sunday, March 25
Rev. John Fanestil’s book Crossing the Border of Faith:
What We Can Learn about Life and Faith from Mexican Immigrants
to the United States will be the topic of discussion starting
at 12 noon with a potluck lunch in Room 300 (note room change).
More about our Book
Study...
EASTER
EGG HUNT & PICNIC
Palm Sunday - April 1 @ 11:30 am
You won’t want to miss this fun annual tradition of children
hunting for eggs and delightful picnic lunch with church friends
and family. It all begins after the second service in Simkins
Hall at 11:30 am.
SPRING
MINI-BOUTIQUE
Palm Sunday - April 1
This is no April fool’s! UMW’s Second Annual Mini-Boutique
will be held for your pleasure during coffee hour in Simkins Hall
after both services. Stop by to purchase Spring-inspired gifts
and goodies, knowing that the money will all go to missions.
MAUNDY
THURSDAY
April 5 @ 7:30 pm in the Sanctuary
We will share in the sacrament of Holy Communion and then move
into the service of Tenebrae, or shadows, remembering the Last
Words of Jesus at his crucifixion. This beautiful and powerful
service ends in silent darkness, and lends depth to our Easter
celebration to come. All are welcome.
LABYRINTH
3 - 8 pm on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
Come walk the Labyrinth in Simkins Hall on Maundy Thursday or
Good Friday any time between 3 and 7:15 pm as a way of meditating
and centering your spiritual self on the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ and the resurrection to come.
GOOD
FRIDAY PRAYER VIGIL
April 6 from 6 am - 12 midnight
Our chapel will be open for prayer all day on Good Friday. We
encourage you to sign up for a 15-minute time (or more) when you
will keep the vigil by praying. Look for the sign-up board in
the narthex on Sunday morning.
EASTER
LILIES
On Display on Easter Sunday
The deadline for ordering Easter Lilies is Monday, April 2. Please
contact the church office
to reserve your flowers and to give your dedication for the Order
of Worship.
UMCOR
AT WORK
As expected, UMCOR—our United Methodist Committee on Relief—was
on the job when tornados hit Alabama and Georgia earlier this
month. In addition to providing immediate relief, an UMCOR staff
person is helping communities such as Enterprise, AL, make plans
for rebuilding. Recent floods in Mozambique have displaced 250,000
people, many of whom have lost everything. UMCOR is on the scene
providing relief in our name. Contributions to UMCOR can always
be made through the church, either for general relief or for particular
situations. Your gift should be notated accordingly.
VBS
IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
With the Spring season just beginning it’s hard to imagine
that summer will be soon to follow. But, Vacation Bible School
is on the way! It will be held from August 6 - 10 and we’ll
be joined by the staff and children of Westwood United Methodist
Church so it’s bound to be a great group. The theme is “Lift
Off: Soaring to New Heights with God.” Children ages 3 through
5th grade won’t want to miss this fun annual summer event.
Be sure to mark your calendars!
NEWS
FROM NIGERIA
Our fellow United Methodists in Nigeria have a new bishop. The
Rev. Kefas Mavula was unanimously elected on March 3, replacing
the Rev. Peter Dabale who died last summer. Bishop Mavula’s
first order of business will be to bring about reconciliation
in the 400,000-member Nigerian church which has been divided by
factions in recent years. We have learned from the Rev. Eunice
Musa who attended the recent Conference in Nigeria that our partner
churches in the Iware District have a new superintendent. We hope
to make contact with him soon and learn more what is happening
in the Iware churches.
DO
YOU HAVE A CRAFTY NATURE?
The United Methodist Women’s “Work Party” works
throughout the year making all sorts of items for the Annual Holiday
Boutique in November for which the proceeds go to missions. They
invite you to join them any time! They meet every Wednesday from
9 am - 12 noon in the Work Room and lunch is always part of the
day. This year’s Holiday Boutique will be held on Friday,
November 16 from 5 - 8 pm and Saturday, November 17 from 9 am
- 12 noon. Mark your calendars!
The
All-Church Thrift Sale is on its way again. While
you’re in the midst of your Spring cleaning be sure to reserve
items like “attic treasures,” clothing, jewelry, shoes,
bed and bath linens, books, CDs/DVDs, and small appliances that
you want to donate so that it can be put to good use raising money
for United Methodist mission projects around the world and in
our own community. During the week of the sale, which will be
Friday, April 20 (9 am - 5 pm) and Saturday, April 21 (9 am -
1 pm), you may bring your items to the UMW work room. Mark your
calendars and spread the word about the sale and if you can lend
a hand to help with the event, please contact Bernice deLeon at
(310) 207-5228.
Horizons
by
Patricia Farris
TRANSFORMATION
For
ten days, we have been blessed to host the Keiskamma Altarpiece,
to learn more and more about the people of South Africa, about
the AIDS pandemic and about the responses of “ordinary people”
and of the faith community. There have been many “aha”
moments for me along the way, as we have planned and organized
this event, worked with new coalition partners as well as our
sister congregations here in Santa Monica, and opened our hearts
and minds to Dr. Carol Hofmeyr, Eunice Mangwane and the people
of Hamburg, South Africa.
I
hadn’t realized that the women of Hamburg began work on
the altarpiece at a time BEFORE any antiretroviral drugs were
available. Dr. Hofmeyr had brought them pictures of the Isenheim
Altarpiece as a source of inspiration and hope. Depicting powerful
images of the crucifixion and resurrection, it was created in
the early 1500s to celebrate deliverance from the plague. These
same themes of crucifixion and resurrection are now embroidered
into the Keiskamma Altarpiece to commemorate the determination
to prevail in the face of AIDS, the worst plague in modern history.
Hamburg
is now being transformed by AIDS education, by the trust necessary
to openly admit and confront AIDS and be tested, by the antiretroviral
drugs which make fruitful life possible for adults and children,
and by the hope engendered by all these developments. But…..the
work on the altarpiece was begun BEFORE all that, in the darkest
time, when people in the community were dying with no explanation
and no available treatment. The women, weighed down by sorrow,
shame and grief, gathered, designed the altarpiece and worked
for many months in groups of ten to sew its panels. As they stitched,
they talked, they grew to trust one another, they shared their
stories…and gradually hope was born.
On
Easter Sunday morning, we will hear again Luke’s story of
the faithful women going to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning,
before the sun had risen, before they knew that joy would again
be possible for them, before they knew that the stone had been
rolled away, before they had any inkling that their Crucified
Savior had become their Risen Lord. And we, now privileged to
stand on the other side, can look back and see how God was working
through it all to transform lives and bring forth hope. Because
of their courage, because of their witness, because of the mighty
power of God, we can face into the darkness of any “before”
situation of life with Easter faith. We know that fear and death
have been conquered. We know that the darkness can never extinguish
the light. We know that our Savior lives.
Community
Prayer
Quilt Thanks
-It’s hard to put into words the feelings I had after receiving
my beautiful prayer quilt. Just knowing how many prayers had been
said for me gave me such comfort and a sense of complete calm.
I knew I was definitely in God’s hands. Thank you to all
who made this wonderful quilt. I truly appreciate each of you
for the hard work and love that went into it. I will treasure
it always. With love, Terry King
-Pastor
Young sent 8 quilts and I have given them out. They have gone
to persons living in FEMA trailers, senior citizens, and a 100-year-old
in a nursing home in Nashville. You all have been such wonderful
partners to us. I realize more each day that where we are today
would not have been possible without your hands of love. We are
still the only church open in about a 10-mile radius. We are having
lots of visitors on Sundays. We have taken in 20 new members since
we started back a year ago. That is quite good for a devastated
community.
- Rev. Hadley Edwards
More
about our Prayer Quilt Ministry...
Greetings
from Chinese Central Asia
Thank you very much for your Alternative Christmas gift. Wow,
what a wonderful gift it was! We are encouraged and blessed. Your
generosity is a big practical help. The past year we’ve
had great opportunities, including moving to the western part
of China which overlaps into the Central Asian region. I was asked
to travel and teach a couple of times in a Kyrgyzstan school,
as well as in Uzbekistan. We were also able to get involved in
some good work here at home in western China. It has been very
exciting. And we are studying the Uighur language at a local university
(thankfully, it is close to the Kyrgyz language we already learned,
so it is not too difficult). Thank you for your partnership in
all we are doing. We have been helped, encouraged and blessed.
With deep gratitude, your missionaries in Chinese Central Asia
Condolences
We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of member
Mary Barrett who passed away on March 10. A Memorial Service will
be held for her on March 31 at 11 am in the sanctuary with a reception
to follow in Simkins Hall.
