“Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can,
in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can”
– John Wesley
Wesley Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
There are a few links on the left margins, which will guide you in learning more “About” Newtown United Methodist Church (NUMC); how to “Contact” us, “Directions” on how to get to our Caring Community, the “Worship” Service schedule and “Events” shows a calendar of meetings, happenings and important events!.
Have a particular interest? Click a link in the Categories list in the left sidebar; like Missions or Membership, or any of the other categories listed.
Liturgists - @ 8:00 am: Chuck S — @ 10:00 am: Chuck S
Greeters – @ 8:00 am: Ray H — @ 10:00 am: TBA or ushers
Ushers – @ 8:00 am: Ray H @ 10:00 am: Tom & Robbin A
Acolytes – @ 8:00 am: N/A @ 10:00 am: Katelyn & Lauren Z Tellers – Tom & Jan D
Fellowship Hosts (after 10 am service): Please sign up for hosting coffee hours on the sign up sheet down stairs posted outside the kitchen in Rauner Hall.
WORSHIP NOTES: Message: “From Cradle to Grave” – Pastor Sibley
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11 - John 17:16-21 - Luke 2:44-53
Meetings This Week
Sundays
CT DISTRICT CONFERENCE - 2 pm – 4 pm @ the Nichols United Methodist Church - Trumbull, CT. - Prince Amukamara – Super Bowl Champion – New York Giants… plus – Musical presentation and testimonials by residents of Anchor House (NYC)
Mondays
7:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry -Betts
Tuesdays
10 am – Staff Meeting
7:30 pm – Adult Bible Study – office
Wednesdays
(1st and 3rd) - 7 pm – Supervision Group – Stephen Ministers – Betts
1st Saturday each month - NUMC Monthly Pasta Dinner , 5- 7:30 pm, $9 adults, $8 seniors, $3.50 children. Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, 203-426-9998… (September through June)
Upcoming Events and other Needs -
Faith Food Pantry is in need of the following items: Juices, Jelly, Pancake Mix. Donations needed to purchase meat. Bring your donations to the church narthex. There is a basket for your items. Thank You for caring!! Questions about Faith Food Pantry? Call 203-426-3446
Association of the Religious Communities (ARC) needs occasional help moving furniture for the formally homeless who have found a new home. If you can assist with a truck or trailer or human power, please let us know and we will add you to the volunteer list.
Wednesdays
(1st and 3rd) @ 7:00 pm – Supervision Group – Stephen Ministers – Betts
5 pm Sewing Little Dresses for Africa – Final night – We would love to see YOU! Please plan to bring your machine, extension cords, scissors etc. We provide kits, additional material and notions!
Preparing the way for the Lord to let God’s Word work in your life during the week to make your worship experience more meaningful. Sermons during Worship services are often based upon the Revised Common Lectionary. You are invited to log onto this site and Leave Comment on the readings presented with your questions and/or thoughts. If you have not already done so,you may register here.
May 20, 2012 Seventh Sunday of Easter
Through this Easter Season, 50 days leading to Pentecost, consider the wonder and joy and the confusion of the early Apostles. Our focus will move from the gospel of John back to the Gospel of Mark (occasionally Matthew or Luke). As you read the scriptures, consider how the Living Word speaks to you. Jesus is calling you to respond to his Word. Consider the hopeful questions: Where does my help come from? Where do I see God active in the world? How is God calling me to live my life? These scriptures point us toward these profound questions and to faith and to the saving grace of God. It is our hope and prayer that your worship experience be enhanced as you gain a greater sense that God is with you in Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:15-23 – In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning…
The writer of acts starts as he did in his other book, the Gospel of Luke!
And if you are wondering who is this fellow Theophilus, consider the greek meaning of the word…friend of God or beloved by God. It is you, of course!
Ephesians 1:15-23 – I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints…
Here we have a letter from the Apostle Paul to the young church in Ephesus, by many accounts in the middle of the first century AD.
What does Paul say about what God has done through Jesus?
Luke 24:44-53 – Then he said to them, “These are my words thayt I spoke to you while I was still with you- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”…
And so the “great physician”, Luke has preserved for us these parting words from Jesus to his disciples.
Notice what Jesus says about the Old Testament books of Moses and the prophets.
What does Jesus say are two things that must be proclaimed and to whom Jesus instructs his disciples to deliver his good news?
May the Living Word dwell and lead your heart. May you hear and respond to the Word fully, by seeking to live as Jesus intended and coming to know him through his grace and healing power. May the power of Living Word bring the presence of God in you. To God be the Glory.
NUMC is sending a team of ten to Haiti, January 20–28/2012 to assist our ongoing mission there, through “Mountains of Hope for Haiti.” The trip will take the team to the rural Haitian village of Furcy, southeast of Port au Prince. There the team will provide continuing support to the village that has been in the care of the United Methodist- New York Annual Conference (NYAC) for the past eight years.
Time For Donations & Prayers
Team members are hopeful the congregation and greater community of caring christians and nonchristians alike will support the upcoming fundraisers they have scheduled for this humanitarian mission trip; including an October 30 luncheon at the church.
To donate to the Newtown United Methodist Church Mountains of Hope trip in January, send checks made out to the Newtown United Methodist Church, memo “Haiti Trip,” to 92 Church Hill Road, Sandy Hook CT 06482.
More About the Mission
The Mountains of Hope mission of the United Methodist Church NYAC has sent numerous teams from New York and Connecticut to Furcy since 2003, establishing a school, a health clinic, a farmer’s co-op, and a store in a village where none of those things existed before. Over the past eight years Furcy has changed from being a village where everything was about each individual surviving day to day, to one where we are building a community. This mission will further those efforts.
The team will likely be doing some repairs and painting, cleaning the clinic, and helping with planting. They also plan to run an adult English-Creole exchange, and feed the children. The group hopes to bring with them some over-the-counter medications and other needed supplies to help the families of Furcy. The average income is only $2 a day, which must cover the cost of food and clothing, as well as pay for education. Haiti does not provide free education to its children.
Mountains of Hope provides meals for children, school supplies, staffs the clinic with a full-time nurse, and sponsors a doctor once a week at the clinic. The Newtown United Methodist Church has been a sponsor of the weekly visit by a doctor, and has also sponsored scholarships for students in Furcy.
The villagers have been assisted with supplies of seeds and farming techniques to grow their own vegetables, and the farmer’s co-op has encouraged a community for sharing and helping one another. The Furcy model has been so successful that the NYAC and Haiti Methodist Church plan to use it as an example for developing other rural communities in Haiti.
This article was written in The Newtown Bee weekly newspaper (9/15/2011) and is posted on their web site:
The NUMC OUTREACH Committee is collecting supplies for FLOOD BUCKETS. These Flood Buckets will be taken to our NYAC office in White Plains, NY, where they will be distributed to flood victims. You may donate individual items (listed below) or an entire Flood Bucket(s). Please drop off your donations no later than October 2nd, leaving individual items in the baskets marked “Flood Buckets” that will be located in the Narthex. Questions? Call the church office 203-426-9998 or contact Betsy K.
Thank you for your donations. You are helping to make a difference in people’s lives.
UMCOR Sager Brown Material Resources Specifications
The following resources are used in places where people may have suffered losses due to natural or human made disasters. Please follow the directions exactly. Include all items; do not add items that are not on the lists. Extra gifts, though given with the best of intentions, render a kit unusable and must be removed. Note: All items sent must be new!
Flood Bucket
These supplies enable people to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood or hurricane. For flood buckets only, if the requested sized item is not available, go down to the next available size. If nothing is available in the requested or smaller size, put masking tape on the outside of the bucket saying, “This bucket contains no _________.”
5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do not include bleach of you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
5 scouring pads
7 Sponges
1 scrub brush
18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
50 clothes pins
Clothes line (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
5 dust masks
2 pair latex gloves
1 pair work gloves
24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)
1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)
*Special requirements: Put all items in the plastic bucket and seal lid. Please ensure that all cleansing agents are liquids (not powder) and in plastic bottles.
Value: $45 per bucket.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.50 for each flood bucket to help with the costs of processing and shipping.
