THE CONNECTION

Jefferson United
Methodist Church
Located at
115 E. Main St.
Jefferson, NC 28640

March 2016

JESUS IS COMING
Chris Tomlin recorded a contemporary
Christian song entitled, Even So Come
with the following lyrics:

OUR SUNDAY
WORSHIP
SCHEDULE
9:30 A.M.
Sunday School
10:30 A.M.
Traditional Service

Pastor
Karen Miller
ON THE INSIDE
Our People
2
Responsibilities 5
Children, Youth and
Families
6
Calendar
7

All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon

about the end, he said, But about that day

and that hour no one knows, neither the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not
know when the time will come.

Like a bride
Waiting for her groom
We'll be a church
Ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing, Even so come

This passage, and the one that says that the

day of the Lord will come like a thief in
the night, remind us that we cannot know
when the time will come. I dont spend a
lot of time thinking or preaching about the
end time, nor do most United Methodist
pastors. One of the reasons is that we
have a strong sense of building the kingdom of God on the earth, so we seek to
feed the hungry, house the homeless, visit
the sick, and generally make the world a
better place. We believe that our energy
would be best spent caring for the social
and practical well-being of people here and
now.

Some people are looking at the many conflicts in the world and speculating that the
time is soon for Christs return. Christianity and several other world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism, believe in an end time. Christianity in particular indicates that Christ will return. Some
denominations focus a great deal on his
return and the end of the world as we
know it. United Methodists believe that
Christ will return, as we say in our Communion liturgy, Christ has died, Christ
has risen, Christ will come again!

In a parable in Matthew 25, Jesus said that

when the king judges the world, he would
look at how we treat our neighbors. Truly
I tell you, just as you did it to one of the
least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me. So whenever the
end comes, either by our death or the second coming of Christ, it is important to
have spent our time serving humanity.
Even though we might long for the troubles of the world to be done, we are encouraged to simply live faithfully and show
the love of Christ to our neighbors.

Call back the sinner

Wake up the saint
Let every nation
Shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon

Mark 13:32 records that when Jesus spoke

Karen Miller

OUR PEOPLE: GATHERED TOGETHER

REMEMBER IN
PRAYER
Members
Lois Ulrich, Bill Ashley,
Lee Lafferty,
Liz and Robert Poulos
Military
Ryan Avera, Casey Caudill,
Anatoly Ray, Riley Watson
John Wooten, Ben Jester
Jacob Hamilton
College Students
Jordan Ashe, Jason Baker
Shawn Baker, Katie Girtman
Matthew Hamilton,
Elissa Harrington,
Jake Harrington,
Michael Harrington,
Brandon Jones, Carter Kurtz
Anderson Moore,
Olivia Thore, Anna Wooten
Glenn Bailey
Friends
Bill Bailey, Benny Coe,
Dorothy Green,
Susan Little, Philip Santiago
Swader Miller, Larry Phipps,
Kirk & Ashley Wood,
Kimberly Jackson,
Ruth Reed, Kiersten Sharpe
Ron Joyal, Bill Weaver.
George Ray Gouge,
Smitty Jewell,
Heather Harmych,
Leigh Scurry, Zeda Wilkes,
Ed Baker, James Jones,
Ramos Family, Alan Miller,
Art Levi Family,
Becca Miller, Allie Heatherly
Nicole Armstrong,
Betty Ann McCloud Family
Family of Tom Jackson,
Family of Joe Worrell,
Megan Hughes,
Family of Yvonne Thompson
Our Staff
Karen Miller
Ashley Church
Maranda Thompson
Christina Wagoner
Zach Fulbright
Michael Bell
Clay Camp
Theresa Weeks
Brenda Jones
Jacky Brown
Andrea Gardner
Jimmy Taylor

UNITED METHODIST MEN

The United Methodist Men will not meet again
until April.

WORSHIP COMMITTEE
The Worship Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 8th at 4:00 PM.

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

The United Methodist Women will not meet
again until April.

ACTIVE ADULTS
The Active Adults will not meet until April.

If you would like to receive The Connection by email, please contact Ashley Church at
jeffersonumc@skybest.com or call the church office at 336.846.9512.

MEMORIALS AND HONORS

In Memory of Crystal Baker
Alan Baker Fund

Dana Colvard
Gerhard and Karin Kalmus

In Memory of Kate Barker

Legacy Fund
Ruth Gambill

In Memory of Emma Jewell

Food Pantry
Ashe County Clerks Office
Ashe County DSS Gift Committee
Legacy Fund
Dana Colvard

In Memory of Betsy Reeves

In Memory of Louis Miller

Food Pantry
William and Nancy Huff

Legacy Fund
Dana Colvard

WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Do you ever feel uncertain, empty or lost? You are not alone if you sometimes feel like a
holy mess! But when we walk in the way of Christ, even our struggles can provide spiritual awakening. Our worship during March continues the Lenten Worship Series entitled
"Redeeming Suffering". We will explore how the trials that cause of suffering can also
bring us unexpected gifts.
LENT
March 6
March 13
March 20
March 24

"The Gift of Getting Lost" Psalm 42 (Holy Communion)

"The Gift of Uncertainty" John 5:1-18
"The Gift of Being Misunderstood" Matthew 21:1-11 (Palm Sunday)
"The Gift of Disappearing" (Holy Thursday drama with Communion)

EASTER
March 27 7:30 Sunrise Service "Where Do We Go From Here?"
10:30 Service "He is Alive!"

We will return to having two worship services on

Sunday, April 10. The services will be at 9:00 and
11:00 with Sunday School at 10:00.
Page 2

THE CONNECTION

CONDOLENCES
We extend our love and condolences to the families of Cecile Worrell and Alice and Jimmy Thompson on the
death of Wendy Worrell and to Kitty Parmalee on the death of her brother, Bob Dube and to the Hurley family
on the death of Griers mother, Emma Jewell and Bryan Thompson on the death of his grandmother, Yvonne
Thompson .
Please send celebratory messages which reflect our members talents and contributions to our church and our
community to jeffersonumc@skybest.com or drop your items in the office mailbox.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE AT JEFFERSON UMC

For several years the American Red Cross held monthly
blood drives at the Ashe County Armory. In 2015, our
Board of Trustees reviewed and approved their request
to move their operation to our fellowship hall the third
Thursday of every month, starting in April. This is a
mutually beneficial situation, since their use of our
space fits our mission to serve the community, and our
fellowship hall, kitchen and restrooms fit their space
needs.

church may request the Red Cross to cancel its drive for
that day. The Red Cross will confine its use and the
movement of its donors to the fellowship hall, kitchen
and main bath rooms in the adjacent hallway. They are
to leave the bathrooms and other spaces clean and in
order, leaving no waste on the premises.

Representatives of the Red Cross and the church will

meet every 6 months and review the last 6 months usage. If both parties are in agreement they will renew the
The blood drive is sponsored and managed by a volun- agreement for the coming 6 months. Parking will be
teer group and is called The Community Blood Drive. made available for the Blood Drive at the rear of the
On each designated Thursday, the fellowship hall will building. This agreement can be terminated by the
be used exclusively by the Red Cross. In case of major church with one months notice.
unexpected conflicts (such as a funeral with a meal) the

WOMENS BIBLE STUDY BEGINNING MARCH 16 AT 10:00 AM

Have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up in Kingsbury, inspirational novelist, explores the life of
Jesus home? In his community?
Jesus by examining the stories of those closest to Him,
through a combination of storytelling and the study of
The Family of Jesus features 6 weeks of personal
scripture.
study material set up in daily format to complete between group sessions. This Bible study, led by Loyce Workbooks for this study are available for $14. A sign
Horan, takes a look at the lives of Joseph (step-father), up form is available in the narthex. Please sign up by
uncle Zachariah, cousin John the Baptist, aunt ElizaMarch 9 to allow time to order the workbooks. Anybeth, brother James, and mother Mary. Author Karen one can attend.

DUKE ENDOWMENT PROVIDES FOOD PANTRY GRANT

The Duke Endowment Rural Church program has granted the Jefferson
Food Pantry $30,000, divided equally between 2016 and 2017. The Endowment provided the same amount in 2015, which enabled us to serve
more of our neighbors than ever before. All of the grant money will go
toward purchasing food. We appreciate the Food Pantry Director Karen
Cooper and all of those who volunteer their time and money to serve our
neighbors in this significant way!

COMMUNITY HOLY WEEK SERVICES

The churches in Jefferson and West Jefferson gather at First Baptist Church in West Jefferson every year to celebrate Holy Week with worship and a meal. On Monday, March 21, Karen Miller will be preaching and volunteers from our church will provide sandwiches and drinks. The service will be at noon Monday through Friday.
The Holy Week gathering is sponsored by the Ashe Ministerial Association, of which our pastor is a member.

UNITED METHODIST MEN FUNDRAISER

The United Methodist Men are selling peanuts for $5 to
raise money for local missions. Peanuts are available by
contacting Paul Horan at 336-982-2682. The peanuts
are also available at Antiques Past and Present in
West Jefferson. Proprietors Pam and Glen Mores do

not charge a commission on the sale of these peanuts

a very generous gesture. Over the past few months,
peanut sales have generated a total income of $155.25
which will be used for outreach projects.

RAISING FUNDS FOR OUR FOOD PANTRY MINISTRY

Our children will pass the tin cans to collect money for Jefferson's Food Pantry during the worship service on
Sunday, March 13th. Our usual food delivery from Second Harvest food pantry is 15 boxes. They have reduced the amount of food that they will be shipping us to 12 boxes for an undetermined amount of time. This
means that we will be making up the difference by purchasing food ourselves at the grocery store prices instead of
discounted rates. Any donation you wish to make will be helpful.
On Friday, January 29th, Jefferson United Methodist Church hosted a Chicken and Dumpling Supper to raise
money for the food pantry. The profit from the meal was $2,137.99. This money will be used to support our
food pantry ministry and feed families in our community. Whether you donated items, volunteered to help with
the event, or came to the dinner, your contribution was vital and made this event successful. A special thank you
to Karen Cooper for her hard work and dedication as the Food Pantry Director and Peggy Philbrick, for her guidance and leadership in hosting this new event for our church.

LAY SERVANT TRAINING

Lay Servant Training is a two-day opportunity for youth
and adults to learn about ways to serve in the United
Methodist Church. Those who complete the course
become better qualified to take on leadership roles within their own church. Following completion of the basic
course, Lay Servants are eligible to take advanced courses and become Certified Lay Servants and lead in congregations outside of their home church.

16. The sessions will be at First (Lenior) United Methodist Church, 309 Church Street NW in Lenior, NC.
The classes offered include: Basic Lay Servant Training,
Lay Pastoral Care Giving, Worshiping with United
Methodists and Dancing With Words.
.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Pastor

Karen Miller and she will provide the application forms.
If you have questions about the training sessions please
The spring training will include two sessions, 10:00 AM contact the Katie Poplin at kpoplin@wnccumc.org.
- 5:00 PM on April 9 and 10:00 AM to 3PM on April

INCLEMENT WEATHER CLOSINGS

Church meetings will be cancelled if the entire school
day is cancelled or if school is released early. If there is
a delay and not a cancellation, the event will most likely
be held. Please call the church to confirm. In the case
of inclement weather on a Sunday, we hope to put out

a phone tree message early enough that everyone is notified of cancellations. We will also put a message on
the church phone to announce closings. We will have
the parking lots scraped if we have events at the church
following inclement weather.

JEFFERSON UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH

B
I
R
T
H
D
A
Y
S

6
7
10
11
12
13
14
15
18
24
26
27
29

Glenn Crawley
Robin Henson Goss
Diane Johnston
Dottie Waechter
Mike Bingham
Clarence Hardison
Leona Farrington
Morgan Girtman
Wil Hurley
Annie Claire Perkins
Matthew Hamilton
Nita Lewis
Gale Hurley
Debbie Jones
Jessica Segraves
Bill Henson
Jennifer Despain

March 2016
SERVICE
ACOLYTE
6
Becka Wonsick
13
Grace Zelesky
20
Claira Corley
27
Chloe Henson
CHILDRENS TIME
6
Jessica Roland
13
Donna Weaver
20
Colleen Dixon
27
Easter
NURSERY
We need people who are 20 or older to assist in caring for
our youngest children once a month during Sunday school
or worship. If you are interested in serving, please contact
Maranda Thompson.
11:00 USHERS
Tuck McClure and volunteers

ANNIVERSARIES

TRANSPORTATION
Jim Wooten and volunteers

9 Dan and Barbara Aycock

18 Gerhard and Karin Kalmus

**PLEASE CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE

IF YOU HAVE ANY CHANGES OR ADDITIONS.**

MIDDLE SCHOOL MISSIONS WEEK , JULY 11-15

This year, in lieu of our standard community wide Vacation Bible School, we have created our own scripture
based curriculum and will host a 'Middle School Mission
Week'. This will be an action packed week of community missions oriented for our middle school aged students.
Much like a standard VBS day, the day will be structured to include a daily lesson. This lesson will include a
scripture, activity and life applications. What makes this
so extraordinary is in addition to that, we will also go
around our community identifying how others are applying these lessons to their daily lives. The kids won't
just be memorizing scripture in a large world setting, but
rather see how their lives can help affect their own community by showing and sharing Jesus' love.
This idea was adopted last summer by Calvary Methodist Church, led by Brian Cornell. Brian had great success
and Brian and Maranda are so excited to partner together! The core fundamentals Brian has put into place will
help shape and lead both JUMC & CUMC to a great
mission based week!

Who can participate? We will have a tbd number of

open slots available which will go to JUMC middle
schoolers first. After that, pending slots available, we
will open the registration up to the community.
What's next? Brian
and Maranda, along
with help from Pastor
Karen, will be building the blocks to put
a great week together.
We will need 2 group
leaders for each day.
Each day will be
roughly from 8:00
am-3:00 pm and will
require loose fitting
clothing, uninhibited
notions and a childlike spirit. If you would like to volunteer at all, please let Maranda know!

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES NEWS

YOUTH GROUP
Our youth meets every Wednesday night, 6:30-7:30 P.M. in the Morphew house.
CHILDRENS CHOIR
Childrens Choir meets on Wednesdays, 6:00- 6:30 P.M. in the Johnston Classroom. For more information, contact
Mindy Wonsick at wonz35@hotmail.com.
CHILDRENS BELLS
Jefferson Youth Ringers meet on Wednesdays, 5:45-6:30. Joyful Ringers meet 6:30-7:00. Contact Kalen Fulbright at
fulbright@skybest.com for more information.
KIDS FOR CHRIST
Kids for Christ will meet on Sunday, March 13th at 11:30 AM1:30 PM. Bring a packed lunch!
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD COLLECTION
We have started collecting supplies year round for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. For the month of March, we will
be collecting Winter Accessories (hats, gloves and scarves). Please place these items in the box under Christmas Tree in
hallway.

KEEPING UP WITH OUR FRIENDS

Jana Pompier wrote to provide an update on her parents, Lois and John Ulrich, who moved to Virginia in November, 2010. John lives in an assisting living facility and Lois lives in a skilled nursing facility and is in Hospice care.
To contact them, write to Jana at 631 Calista Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23320.

Sunday Worship Schedule

9:30 AM Sunday School
10:30 AM Traditional Worship

Church Office Schedule

8:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Monday through Thursday

No 9:00 AM Service this month.

The office is closed on Fridays!

Sun

Mon

Wednesday Night Schedule

5:00 Dinner
5:15 Disciple Bible Study
5:45 Jefferson Youth Ringers
6:00 Childrens Choir
6:30 Joyful Ringers/Youth Group/
Adult Choir
7:30 Adult Hand Bells

Communion

Tue
1

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

5:00 PM
Dinner/Choirs/Bells/ Youth
Group/Disciple Bible Study
7:30 PM NA Meeting

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

5:00 PM
Dinner/Choirs/Bells/ Youth
Group/Disciple Bible Study
7:30 PM NA Meeting

4:00 PM
Worship Cmte
13

14

Tin Can Offering

15

16

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

10:00 AM
Womens Bible Study
5:00 PM
Dinner/Choirs/Bells/ Youth
Group/Disciple Bible Study
7:30 PM NA Meeting

6:00 PM
Finance Cmte

20

21

Palm Sunday

12:00 PM
Community
Holy Week
Services at First
Baptist

27
Easter
7:30 AM
Sunrise Service

28

Wed

22

23

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

10:00 AM
Womens Bible Study
5:00 PM
Dinner/Choirs/Bells/ Youth
Group/Disciple Bible Study
7:30 PM NA Meeting

6:00 PM
Trustees
29

30

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

10:00 AM
Womens Bible Study
5:00 PM
Dinner/Choirs/Bells/ Youth
Group/Disciple Bible Study
7:30 PM NA Meeting

Thu
3

Fri
4

Sat
5

7:30 PM
NA Meeting

10

11

12

7:30 PM
NA Meeting

17

18

19

7:30 PM
NA Meeting

6:00 -7:00
PM
Food Pantry
Night

24

25

6:00PM
Holy
Thursday
Service

Holy Week
NA Meeting
Services End

31

26

7:30 PM

Welcome!

USA

Jefferson United Methodist

Church
P.O. Box 236
115 East Main Street
Jefferson, NC 28640

FOREVER

Were on the web!

www.jefferson-umc.org

OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS

EXPERIENCE LENT AND EASTER
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays. This year it started with a snowy Ash Wednesday on February 10 and will end on Saturday, March 26. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means
"spring." The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and
preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination
and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus
on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for
others. As we observe Lent this year, our worship focuses on the gifts that emerge from times of suffering and
darkness in our lives.
We will gather in our sanctuary at 6:00 p.m. on the Thursday of Holy Week, March 24, to remember the passion of Jesus as he was betrayed and crucified. We will celebrate Holy Communion together as we recall the time
he told his disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me."
We will emerge from the darkness on Sunday, March 27, to a grand and glorious Easter celebration at the
Sunrise Service at 7:30 a.m. and the 10:30 a.m. service. A brunch will be served between the two services in the
fellowship hall for everyone and we will have Sunday school that day. You are invited to experience Lent and
celebrate Easter with our congregation. It is a time to grow spiritually, renew your faith, and share in the fellowship of the Christian community!