The Lamplighter

FEBRUARY Look for: Pastor Note Ad Council Mtg 7pm, Feb 7 Trustee Mtg 7:30pm, Feb 20

Sunday Night, January 29 : MUSIC for MISSIONS - Casual evening of food/ Fellowship & Musical Fun
A light supper will be held at 5:00pm followed by performances from several musical individuals and groups including the adult choir.
The real emphasis of this Music for Missions is a focus on some of our youngest musicians. Several of our young instrumentalists will be sharing their talents for us. Members of the Sparta Lincoln band will be performing along with several of the young people of our church who are currently taking piano lessons. The evening is very informal. ANYONE who has a musical number is encouraged to perform. Just let us know and we will ut you on the song lists.
Bring lots of small bills or your loose change so you can "tip" your avorite performer. All the money raised will go to the Randolph County Humane Society. You won't want to miss this fun evening.

Sunday, February 5th - Chili Souper Bowl Meal Plan to et lunch after worship as our youth group provides their annual Chili Souper Bowl cook-off on Super Bowl Sunday! Everyone is asked to bring a can of soup for a donation to the local food pantry.

February 19th, 5:00pm Annual Youth Sweatheart Dinner - Enjoy a candlelight dinner with your sweatheart and entertainment by the Youth Group. Dinner menu: Chicken, Fettuccine Alfredo, Salad, Bread, Dessert.
An evening of fun with your hon! Don't miss it! Tickets $8.50 per person. Tickets are on sale now. Contact Michelle H or the church office (443-3714)

Ash Wednesday Worship: 6:00pm February 22
This is th eday of New Beginnings: Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent, a season where we are encouraged to make a spiritual assessment of our lives. We will begin with a simple supper that will be served starting at 5:15, and then have a worship service at 6:00pm; we look forward to beginning this special time with you. (Please note: The Confirmation class will have a brief meeting following the worship service.)

A Note From Pastor Scott

T, liars, cheats, idol worshipprhere is a song by Paul Thorn titled "I don't Like Half the Folk I Love," it is the song of a man at a family reunion, looking over the family gathered and realizing that indeed he loves his family but he really doesn't like them. It is filled with a lot of interesting lyrics, "I like it when they come, but I love to see them go."
I was thinking of this as I was considering Jesus family tree the other day. (See Matthew, Chapter 1 and Luke, Chapter 3 for a listing of their names). It is a list of people who were the great, great, great etc. grandparents of our Lord, and if you were to look at their lives you would find murderers, prostitutes, liars, cheats, idol worshippers, deal makers and breakers as well as people who faithfully served God in their lives, and who loved the Lord with all their heart and soul and strength, and some who lvoed their neighbors as themselves, but some who didn't do that too well.
Still, regardless of who or what they were, there they are in Jesus' family tree. God had them as part of his divine plan for the redemption of human kind. The Bible is filled with such people; folk who didn't always have such a gerat way of doing things, folk woh fell and yet were used wonderfully by God to shape the world more like the Kingdom of God.
God's promise is to not abandon us, to not leave us as orphans (John 14) but to walk with us in life, to bless us with the Holy Spirit and to give our lives purpose and meaning. As we discover in looking the call of the Apostle Paul (see the weekend of January 29) God calls all of us to be transformed. We will be looking at some of our spiritual ancestors as guides for our lives.
And so in February we will start to look at some of these men and women from the Bible: Abraham, Sarah & Isaac, Jacob & Esau, Joseph & His Brothers. To get yourself ready for this series, pick up your Bible and start reading at Genesis Chapter 12 through the end of the book, the stories are there, and know that if God can use these siners and saints, then perhaps you will also know that God has a plan and a place for you and me as well.

Remember you are loved, Peace
Pastor Scott

Lenten Study Begins - February 29 Once again we will have a Lenten Bible Study, we will begin with supper at 5:15 and follow with Bible Study at 6:00pm. This year our topic will be the signs, John uses in his gospel to point to Christ. Each week we will look at one or two of them. The signs all found in the Gospel of John are: Water to wine (2:1-12), Healing of the official's son (4:43-54), Healing of a paralyzed man (5:1-15), Feeding 5000 (6:1-15), Walking on water (6:16-24), Healing a man born blind (9:1-12), Raising Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44). This will be an enjoyable time of learning and conversation, I hope you plan on making it part of your Lenten experience. Child care will be provided.

Confirmation Class - As our Confirmation Class continues to work on their projects and as they continue to study the word of God, we ask that you continue to life them in your daily prayers. They are Olivia B, Olivia O, Hannah B, Gracie W, Rachel W, Christopher B, and Kelby B.

The Children's Puppet Ministry has taken on the Imagine NO Malaria Campaign Great job! Hats off to them! So far they have raised $1,124.70!

UMW Spring Banquet: April 10th 6:00pm Only 100 tickets being sold. Get yours now!

Who are we as United Methodist Women? We are as diverse as there are individuals. Some of us have "always" been a UM Woman, having grown up in the Church, with mothers and grandmothers who were part of predecessor organizations. Some are new to the organization, having recently joined, and learning about the mission of UMW. Some have participted, perhaps left for a while and have returend. Your background does not matter. If you have a heart for disadvantaged women, children, and youth, consider yourself now invited to join us in mission, in fellowship, and ... at the next meeting! See you there!
If you need a ride, call the Church office at 443-3714 or Dot H.

God's Gifts Choir Begins ...
God's Gifts will begin again on the first Tuesday of February7. The van will be at the school to pick up kids as school is dismissed. We look forward to starting back up and hope that your child, grade 3 through grade 8 will be able to participate with us this spring. If you have questions about the choir, call Mary H. Normal hours are Thursdays from 3pm - 4pm.

SonBeam Choir Begins ...
It is time for our SonBeam Choir to resume rehearsals, Wednesday, February 1, right after school on Wednesday afternoons from 3 - 4pm If you have any questions please call Michelle H.

SUMMER CAMP - the deadline to receive a discount of $25.00 is April 13, 2012!

It is time to sign up for summer camp. We are blessed that as a church we are able to offer a minimum of a 50% scholarship to help our kids get to church camp. Brochures are available at the church. Pick one up and look into some of the exciting offerings available this year! You can also check online at www.camps.igrcamp.org