Summer Scripture: Philippians

This summer, during Ordinary Time in our church calendar we are focused on Paul's epistle to the church in Philippi. The book of Philippians is full of great theology and teaching for any church. Though Paul finds himself in prison, he carefully encourages and offers advice to the young church. Let's see what we can learn! Join us!!

June 13, 1:1-11

June 20, 1:12-18a
June 27, 1:18b-30

Women's Retreat - Mount Eagle Retreat Center

On June 11-12, 2010 the women of Plummerville UMC headed to Mount Eagle Retreat Center for a women's retreat. We were blessed with 12 women including a guest speaker from Conway - Sue Higgs. We had such a wonderful time. We had a quiet time of prayer and group discussions. We started with a discussion of a great woman of faith in the book of Acts - Lydia. Mrs. Higgs shared her journey of faith and her heart for women/small group ministry as well as personal time in prayer. We also spent some time discussing the first two weeks of Donald Miller's book The Open Table. Sue then lead us to the outlook and through the labyrinth at the retreat facility.



It was a wonderful retreat. I am so blessed to be in a church with women who are so eager to spend time and grow together. Thank you to everyone who took time away from your family and friends to share a weekend together.

Here are a few pictures!

Top left to right: Patsy, Sue, Andrea, Valerie, Martha, Helen, Tracey

Bottom left to right: Nina, Janet, Jill, Becky, Halie

Thank you ladies for being such a blessing. We plan to continue through the last 3 chapters of book with meetings in July, August, and September. The tentative date for July is Wednesday the 21st. We would love for others to join us! It will be at our house. :)

-Jill

Upper Room and Mrs. Edwards

This year, The Upper Room, a daily devotional guide produced by the Global Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church celebrates its 75th anniversary. Wow! For 75 years The Upper Room has been guiding individuals in their devotional time with God, a very powerful and important ministry. The devotionals are written readers like you and me! Clergy and laity mail in their short devotion with a bible verse(s) and prayer focus. The devotions are collected and printed in two-month intervals. Copies of The Upper Room can be found in the foyer of many United Methodist churches free for the taking.

In a world where daily devotionals can be emailed to cell phones or laptops, it seems the paper booklet maybe past its prime. After all, The Upper Room itself is available online here, complete with tweets, retweets, and facebook sharing. Do we really need to keep printing the paper copy?

This afternoon, I had a chance to visit with Mrs. Edwards. She is an older member of our church who is now home bound. Because she cannot drive, she rarely leaves her house. Private care workers stay the night and part of the day with Mrs. Edwards. I always enjoy our visits; she is such a lovely woman. Today she shared with me how much she uses The Upper Room devotional book; she reads the paperback devotional everyday before breakfast. The ladies that stay with her also read the booklet, usually in the morning while Mrs. Edwards awakes. Later, they gather around the dining table to eat breakfast and discuss the day's devotion. Everyday. Everyday! Wow! These ladies use the devotions as discussion starters for their own small-group!

Perhaps, because Mrs. Edwards is so dependent on others, she fears she has little to offer God. She is wrong. She has much to offer. She has found an effective way to be engaged in ministry in her setting. And I am sure that she is more effective at her breakfast table using The Upper Room than many clergy could ever hope to be. We can learn a lot from Mrs. Edwards, even though she will not be twittering her latest thoughts.

We should probably keep printing those paper booklets of The Upper Room.

Happy 75th anniversary to The Upper Room!

And, thank you Mrs. Edwards for all you do. God bless you.

Annual Conference 2010- Hot Springs

Today, June 6th, Jill and I joined the 2010 Arkansas United Methodist Annual Conference in Hot Springs. We are here representing our church- Plummerville UMC.

Our first evening included the opening ceremonies and worship. The worship service was inspired and motivational. Haven UMC Choir opened the service, followed by a number of instrumentalists and vocalists. Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda of the North Katanga Annual Conference (Congo) delivered the sermon. Bishop Ntambo bragged on the Arkansas Conference for contributions already made to the Katanga and Kamina regions. By reminding members of the conference of the great number of resources Americans have been given, the Bishop challenged us to do even more. "You have been blessed, so that you may be a blessing."

Imagine Ministry Meeting May 23rd Noon

Sorry it's been a while since things were updated. We have been a little busy! Anyway,...


The church will host a meeting on Sunday May 23rd immediately following our 11am worship. At the meeting we will show a video produced by the ARUMC Conference. The video is a part of the larger Imagine Ministry conversation. Each church is encouraged to discuss the video, which includes research about recent church growth, and plan for the future. Each church has a unique ministry in their community and it is essential that we discover our calling to be the best church we can be- here and now. If you are a longtime member of the church and have concerns about the future, this meeting is for you. If you are new to the church and are interested in what the church will become, you need to be there as well. All are welcome. All opinions matter.

More information about the Imagine Ministry movement can be found here: http://www.arumc.org/imagine_ministry.php

Lunch will be provided by the church. This is not a potluck meal. Do not bring anything. We want everyone focused on the discussion, not worried about preparing a dish. Call or email if you have any concerns or thoughts. See you there!!

Congratulations to Coco and Joann Campbell

Sunday evening we celebrated the recent marriage of Coco and Joann Campbell with a potluck meal and fellowship. The couple brought along numerous guests from out of town including friends and family. We were glad to have everyone gather on such a joyous occasion.

Congratulations to Joann and Coco
We Love You Both

Joann and Jerry "Coco" Campbell

Bob and Charles preparing smoked chicken




Tommy, Patsy, Woody, Janet, Alidene and Bill...
sorry Bill, we caught you with your eyes closed




Ellen and Debbie arrange the food




Dane, Andrea and John pose for a close-up

Thanks to everyone who joined the meal and fellowship. A special thanks to all those who graciously provided a dish.

Feeding the Sheep, aka UCA Wesley Foundation Students

Thank you to Helen Bostian, Nina Kowerduct, Becky James, Debbie Campbell and others who helped provide a meal for the students of the UCA Wesley Foundation this past Monday. I think stomachs were full, with sweets to spare. I know the church was pleased to offer the meal and students enjoyed eating- I have been on both sides of this arrangement. What a wonderful circle of ministry and support. Bless all who participated in the shared table.

A big thanks to Shannon for this camera phone photo! (We were camera-less.)