THE CONNECTION

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

March 2015

WHERE TWO OR MORE ARE GATHERED

OUR SUNDAY
WORSHIP
SCHEDULE
NO 9:00 A.M.
Service
9:30 A.M.
Sunday School
10:30 A.M.
Traditional Service

Pastor
Karen Miller
ON THE INSIDE
Our People
Memorials
News /Notes
In Celebration
Responsibilities
Calendar

2
3
3
3
5
8

The worship at Jefferson United Methodist Church captured me, from the
first glimpse of pale yellow light filtering
through the stained glass windows, to
the smiles on the familiar faces, to the
familiar routines of our life together.
The ancient patterns of worship sink
into my bones, giving me a weekly sense
of joy and refreshment.
The prayers, songs and sacraments are
like anchors for my soul. I can participate in the Gods order in the midst of
my disorder. I love how there is truly a
place for everyone and all that is required is to come. We dont have to
know exactly what we believe or fit into
any human sense of morality to find
ourselves recipients of Gods grace. We
can simply be our true selves and receive what God has for us: love, forgiveness, wholeness.

As United Methodist we celebrate two

sacraments with all ages: baptism and
Holy Communion. We claim Gods
grace is for all, even for children too
young to understand it. We nurture
faith from birth to death, even sharing
words about life eternal in the presence
of a coffin at a funeral. At that sacred
transition from life to death to eternity,
we call on our faith to walk us from loss
and grief to release and hope.
When we repeat the ancient words of
our rituals, we are connected to generations long before us. We are invited to
come to communion with our cupped
hands open to receive the symbols of
Christs body and blood because we do
not take it or grab it. We receive from
God the blessings of being washed
from sin and entry into a life of faith
through baptism. This life of faith requires worship that regularly reminds us
who we are, whose we are and the purpose of life.

I probably err on the side of not trying

to get new people into membership
quickly. I dont want worship guests to
feel like a potential cog in the church
May our experiences of worship breathe
wheel. I try to
new life into our faith
give them time to
and life together.
participate and
Please invite your
feel what it means
family and friends to
to be in Christian
worship with us.
community. That
Pastor Karen Miller
is why it is essential we learn their
names and extend
our love.

REMEMBER IN
PRAYER

Members
Lena Bingham
Kitty Parmalee
Bob Hughes
Carson Staley

Military

OUR PEOPLE: MEETING

ACTIVE ADULTS
The Active Adults will not meet again until
April.
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN
The United Methodist Womens next meeting
will be held on Monday, April 20th at 12:00
pm.

CHURCH CHICKS
The Church Chicks will meet at Tamales on
Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:00 pm. Please contact Beth Kurtz at bethbk@gmail.com by February 28th if you plan to attend.
UNITED METHODIST MEN
The United Methodist Men will meet on
Tuesday, March 10th at 6:00 pm.

Ryan Avera
Casey Caudill
Anatoly Ray
Riley Watson
John Wooten
Jacob Hamilton

THE DUKE ENDOWMENT TO FUND JUMC FOOD PANTRY

Friends
Stan Hardison
Nancy Lewis
Colvard Family
Bill Bailey
Craig Wilkes
Max Knull
Family of Amanda Taylor
Family of Bob Saunders
John & Opal Miller
Jess Caudill
John Shatley
The Peeler Family

We are thrilled to announce that the Trustees of The Duke Endowment have approved a $15,000 grant to purchase food
for our Food Pantry Ministry. The original grant request was for $60,000 over
three years. A representative from Duke
who met with our Food Pantry leaders
said that usually the Endowment will give only a portion
of the request for a new grant,
then determine if more is
needed later.

Our Staff
Karen Miller
Ashley Church
Maranda Thompson
Christina Wagoner
Zach Fulbright
Michael Bell
Clay Camp
Tiffany Fulbright
Brenda Jones
Jacky Brown

Our goal was to increase our

ability to serve our neighbors
from once every two months
to once every month. We do

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

not yet know if the size of this grant will

enable us to expand to serving every
month and sustain it beyond the grant.
That will somewhat depend on whether
we continue to have the excellent number
of donations for the food pantry from our
church and community in the future that
we have had in the past.
However, the grant will help us
assist the ever-growing number
of people who struggle to put
food on the table in Ashe County. We appreciate all who
worked on grant writing and
supplying the information to
make this possible!

ADOPT A STUDENT
We are looking for families or individuals to "adopt" a college student for the rest of this academic year. You would
occasionally send them a card, a box of homemade goodies,
or anything you'd like. You could check with their parents to
ask how they were doing and send something at a particularly
challenging time. We want them to feel completely supported by their home church. To participate or receive more information, please call Lisa Camp at 982-9402. Thank you.
Page 2

THE CONNECTION

NEWS AND NOTES

TOTAL GIVING AS OF 2/22/15
Year-to-date Giving : $51,740.50

GIFTS MADE IN HONOR OF:

Rena McPhatter by Betty and Richard McPhatter

2014 Giving Total:

GIFTS MADE IN MEMORY OF:
Building Fund Giving: $440,067.00
Earl McPhatter by Betty, Rena, and Richard McPhatter
2014 Building Fund Giving:: $84,364.78
Capital Campaign Balance Through December 31, 2014
$446,182.30

SUNDAY WORSHIP AT 10:30 A.M.

We took a church-wide survey in November to
determine what time most people would prefer to
worship this winter. The majority said that of the
options offered, they would prefer to have one
worship service at 10:30, with Sunday school at
9:30. We intend to resume having two worship

services April 12. Early Worship will be held at

9:00, Sunday School at 10:00 and Traditional Worship at 11:00. Thank you to those who participated in the survey for carefully considering the impact of this change on our church.

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 have contracted to have the parking lots scraped if we have
events at the church following inclement weather.

Please send celebratory messages which reflect our members talents and contributions to our church and our
community to Ashley at jeffersonumc@skybest.com or drop your items in the office mailbox.

DONATIONS INTO THE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP REQUESTED

Our church currently has $1,766 available to provide
college scholarships for the top applicants from our
congregation. We would be happy to receive donations
into the scholarship funds to increase the amount available for our students.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

To be eligible for a college scholarship from our
church, students must be active in the church and apply
by May 1. The typed application letter can be turned in
to the church office and must include:
Student's name, address, phone number
If you would like to contribute to the college scholar College name, address and phone number of the
ship funds, please make a check to the church by May
department of admissions
1. Gifts cannot be marked for specific students.
Intended degree, major or field of study
Donations for music education can be marked "Bell
Information about the costs involved and funds
Scholarship" or for general scholarships can be marked,
available, including other scholarships
"Morphew Scholarship". Donations to the church are
Church activities the student has been involved in
tax deductible.
during high school
A paragraph about the student's intended career objective.
Page 3

THE STORIES BEHIND THE WINDOWS

The Stories Behind the Windows are biographical sketches of the men and women in whose
memory windows have been placed in our
church. The lives of these dedicated Christians
cover many years from the early 1800s until
the 1970s. Each story tells of devotion to and
love for this church, and those of us who feel the
same love can be thankful for their lives. They
helped make our church what it is today.
SALLY KOONTZ MCCONNELL
Sally Koontz McConnell was born in Ashe
County in the Nathans Creek community on
January 29, 1889. She was the daughter of John
and Cornelia Colvard Koontz. She came to Jefferson when she married Vonley McConnell in
1906 and they had two daughters, Kathleen and
Laura. She soon became a part of the Jefferson
Methodist Church and remained a member until
her death on October 3, 1966. She loved the
church and the people she was associated with.

carpet for the church. It wasnt much, but how

proud they were. The ladies worked to make the
church a nicer place for worship. They conducted Bible study courses. They were concerned
about foreign missions and studied and contributed to that. They remembered people and their
needs, both spiritual and material. Perhaps it was
harder for them to do these things then due to
the small number of members in their group and
the lack of money.

Some of the ladies are still with us and remember

the work they did. They must be proud of what
is happening today. Those who remember Sally
and these ladies who are no longer with us know
how proud they would be of our church today.
It is easy for us to think back about the past, but
now we want to think of the present and plan
for the future. This is what they would want us
to do. We are proud of the growth and improvement that has been made over the years. We are
especially proud of the fine people who have
She was away from Jefferson for thirteen years
but always kept her membership at the Jefferson become a part of the church. We are proud that
Church. She attended this church as often as she the church has continued to grow and to be a
could during these years. When she returned to caring church, reaching out to help others. We
Jefferson, she again became active in the church are proud of the leadership we have in doing
Gods work.
and worked with the wonderful ladies of the
Womans Society. It would be hard to tell of her I would like for this memorial window to my
work and interest in the church without including mother, Sally Koontz McConnell, to be thought
these fine ladies. They all worked together in so of as memorial to all ladies she worked with in
this church. They helped to make it what it is
many ways and they seemed so happy doing it.
today.
They worked together in Christian love.
During these years very little money was available. The ladies worked very hard on projects to
make money for needed improvements in the
church and of course Sally was right there with
them all laughing, having fun and enjoying
every bit of it. One big project was to operate
the Jefferson Caf when there was a request for
someone or a group to keep it open during
court week. They did not stop at the end of
the week but kept at it for several weeks.
It became a project to buy the first little bit of

-Laura McConnell
We are featuring one person from the windows each month. We would like to thank
Jennie Clyde Hightower for documenting
the church window history.
Two of the windows were restored in 2014. We
appreciate the donors who made this possible.

SANCTUARY STAINED GLASS WINDOW RESTORATION

We have received gifts or
pledges of $36,486.51
through 2/22/2015 to assist
with the repair and restoration
of the stained glass windows

in the sanctuary. Thank you

to the donors.

church. You can always make

a gift in honor or memory of
someone. Please indicate that
If you would like to make a
your gift is for Stained Glass
gift of any size, you may write
Restoration. Thank you!
a check or give cash to the
Page 4

JEFFERSON UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH

B
I
R
T
H
D
A
Y
S

6
7
8
10
11
12
13

14
15
17
18
24
26
27
29

March 2015

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

ANNIVERSARIES
9 Dan and Barbara Aycock
18 Gerhard and Karin Kalmus

SERVICE
FLOWERS
1
Beth Harrington
8
Glenn and JoAnn Crawley
15
Travis and Kendra Perkins
22
Lynn Graham
29
Palms
ACOLYTE
1
John Fields Perkins
8
Hunter Jones
15
Jordan Jones
22
Skyler Vannoy
29
Karsen Fazenbaker
CHILDRENS TIME
1
Jessica Roland
8
Donna Weaver
15
Colleen Dixon
22
Maranda Thompson
29
Karen Miller
NURSERY
Beth Harrington is our paid nursery attendant every Sunday.
We need four 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 at 276-768-0281 or jumcyouth@skybest.com.
LITURGIST
Wilma McClure
11:00 USHERS
Tuck McClure
TRANSPORTATION
Jim Wooten and volunteers

**PLEASE CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE

IF YOU HAVE ANY CHANGES OR ADDITIONS.**

CHILDREN, YOUTH, & FAMILIES

NEWS
YOUTH GROUP
Our youth meets every Wednesday night 6:30-7:30
in the Morphew house. Lately we have had 10-12
youth.

KIDS FOR CHRIST

Kids for Christ will meet March 8 at 11:30
AM. Lunch is provided for Kids for Christ
and Conformation Class participants only.

CHILDRENS CHOIR & BELLS

Childrens Choir will resume on Wednesdays, 6:006:30 in the Johnston Classroom. For more information, contact Mindy Wonsick at
wonz35@hotmail.com.

CONGRATULATIONS
We would like to congratulate Josh Hamilton and
Trent Baker for earning second place in the state
wrestling conference for their age group and
weight class. Also congratulations to Sawyer Eller,
Jackson Keith, John Fields Perkins, Wesley ThompJefferson Youth Ringers will meet on Wednesdays,
son and their teams win at the AAU basketball
5:45-6:30. Joyful Ringers will meet 6:30-7:00. Contournament on February 21st.
tact Kalen Fulbright at fulbright@skybest.com for
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
more information.
Vacation Bible School will be July 9-11 at West JefDaylight Savings Time begins March 8.
ferson UMC. If you are interested in volunteering,
please let Maranda know!

We had a wonderful time at our youth trip in Blowing Rock, NC. We had beautiful weather and a
great time enjoying each other's company. The Summit provided engaging music for us to enjoy as
well as two motivational speakers to help understand how we can be better disciples for Christ.
One of the most significant memories from the trip are the friendships that were formed in our group.
We all had a great time laughing and sharing stories. This is without a doubt a cherished memory for
all who got to attend!
I can't say thank you enough to those that made the weekend possible! Thank you to those who
supported our youth both financially and spiritually. Also special thank you to our chaperones; Laura
Kesler, Tracy Vannoy & Margo Levi who helped make our weekend extra fun!

UNITED METHODIST MEN FUNDRAISER

The United Methodist Men are selling peanuts, $5 to
raise money for local missions. They are working with
Ashe County Council on Aging to complete service
projects such building wheelchair ramps, home repairs,
etc. as well as meeting needs within our own church.
Contact Paul Horan 336-982-2682 or Gaylord Snyder
336-982-8861 to purchase these items or for more in
formation.

FOOD PANTRY TIN CAN OFFERING

SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Our children will pass the tin cans to collect
money for Jefferson's Food Pantry during
the worship service on Sunday, March 8.
Please bring your coins and cash!

FEEDING BODY AND SOUL

We need volunteers to provide a snack lunch for the confirmation
class and a few adults one Sunday after worship. There are 10-12
who attend and a meal can be brought in cooked, prepared in the
kitchen, or carried out from a restaurant. The following are the
dates that we need meals: March 15, March 22, March 29, April 12,
April 19 and May 3. There is a sign
up sheet in the narthex for those who
would like to support the young
adults who are learning about their
faith and growing closer to God
through the confirmation class.
Won't you be a part of this important ministry?

Wednesday Nights are Fellowship Nights

at Jefferson UMC. A delicious meal is
served from 5:15 to 6:15 for anyone who
wishes to come. The meal is $5 per person
or a maximum of $20 per family. Carryout
boxes are also $5. Reservations are required to eat in or carry out. The meal is
prepared by Jacky Brown with consideration for children, youth and adults. There
are musical rehearsals for our children and
adult choirs and youth group following the
meal, but families and individuals who are
not participating in music are welcome to
come.
PLEASE NOTE: If weather cancels
school or requires an early release, the
Wednesday meal and all programming
will also be cancelled.

THANK YOU NOTES

Dear Friends:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the
Ashe County Partnership for Children, the
staff, and the clients we serve, thank you
for your contribution of $200.
Warmest Wishes,
Kay Philipp
Executive Director
Dear Jefferson United Methodist Church,

Photo Caption

You Could
In partnership with Ashe Ministerial Association and Ashe Baptist
Association, Mission HeartStart
has invited our church to be one
of the first to receive a free Automatic External Defribrillator and
store it at our church. We have at
least 30 people willing to learn to
use of the AED, chest compression and other emergency
measures. Trainees must be at
least 16 years of age, but there is

WEDNESDAY NIGHT
SUPPER

no maximum age. Participants do

not have to be in our church, but
they do need to register so enough
materials will be available.
We appreciate all of those who
have signed up to be trained to use
the AED device. Training will be
on Saturday, March 7, 9:00-12:00
in our fellowship hall. Please
sign up on the sheet in the narthex
if you are willing to be trained.

Thank you for your generous donation to

A Safe Home for Everyone. Your donation, no matter how big or small, helps to
ensure that services are provided to survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual
assault 24 hours a day and their loved ones.
Your ongoing support lets survivors know
that their community supports them in
their healing and is committed to ending
domestic violence and sexual assault in
Ashe County. Thank you again for your
donation and A Safe Home for Everyone
looks forward to continuing our relationship in the future.
Sincerely,
A Safe Home for Everyone Staff

9:30 AM Sunday School

For All Ages

March

10:30 AM
Worship Service

Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Matthew 21:9

SUN
1

MON
2

TUE

WED

THU

Holy
Communion

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

11:.30 AM
Confirmation
Class

6:00 PM
Church Chicks

9:00 AM Womens Bible Study

5:15 PM Dinner/Choirs/Bells
6:30 PM Youth Group
7:30 PM NA Meeting

11:00 AM
Partners in
Prayer

10

11

12

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

9:00 AM Womens Bible Study

5:15 PM Dinner/Choirs/Bells
6:30 PM Youth Group
7:30 PM NA Meeting

11:00 AM
Partners in
Prayer

Tin Can
Offering for
Food Pantry

4:00PM
Worship Cmte
Johnston Class

11:30 AM
Kids for Christ
Confirmation
Class

7:30 PM
NA Meeting

13

14
6:00 PM
Youth Movie
Night
7:30 PM
NA Meeting

6:00PM
UMM

15

16

17

18

19

11:.30 AM
Confirmation
Class

*Newsletter
Due

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

9:00 AM Womens Bible Study

5:15 PM Dinner/Choirs/Bells
5:15 PM IVC
5:30 PM Christian Edu. Council
6:30 PM Youth Group
7:30 PM NA Meeting

11:00 AM
Partners in
Prayer

24

25

26

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

9:00 AM Womens Bible Study

5:15 PM Dinner/Choirs/Bells/
IVC
6:30 PM Youth Group
7:30 PM NA Meeting

11:00 AM
Partners in
Prayer

6:00
Finance Cmte

23

11:.30 AM
Confirmation
Class

6:00
Trustees

29

30

31

11:.30 AM
Confirmation Class
Easter Egg Hunt

Holy Week
Begins

9:00 to 12:00
Food Pantry

Wednesday Night Schedule

5:45
6:00
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:30

SAT

9:00 to
12:00
AED Training

Trustees
9

22

FRI

Jefferson Youth Ringers

Childrens Choir
Joyful Ringers
Youth Group
Adult Choir
Adult Handbells

20

21
7:30 PM
NA Meeting

6:00 7:00PM
Food Pantry

27

28
8:00 to 1:00
JUMBLE
7:30 PM
NA Meeting

Church Office Schedule

8:00 to 3:00 Monday through Thursday

The office is closed on Fridays!

Holy Week and Easter

Worship Events
Sunday, March 29, 10:30 a.m. - Palm Passion Sunday
with palm branches to place on the Old Rugged Cross.

According to tradition, the church will be gloriously decorated with lilies for Easter. Please fill
out the information below (or call the church
office) if you wish to provide a flower in
memory or honor of a loved one. All requests
need to be in by Sunday, March 30, so we will
know how many flowers to order. The cost of
each plant is $8.00.
Your Name

_________________________

In Honor of

_________________________
_________________________

In Memory of _________________________
_________________________
Please place the order form and money in the
offering plate or come by the church office.
Thank you.

Monday, March 30
through Friday,
April 3, Noon - Ecumenical Community
Holy Week Services at
First Baptist Church in
West Jefferson. Our
United Methodist
Women to bring sandwiches and drinks for
lunch on Monday.
Thursday, April 2,
6:00 p.m. Holy Thursday Service in our sanctuary.
Easter Sunday, April 5, 7:00 a.m. - Sunrise Service in
the sanctuary, followed by brunch in the fellowship hall.
Easter Sunday, April 5, 10:30 a.m. - Easter Celebration in the sanctuary.
Monday, April 12 - Resume having worship at 9:00
a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Our church will host an Easter Egg hunt

March 29
11:30 AM

after worship on Sunday, March 29 for

children through 5th grade.
Inclement weather would postpone to the
following Wednesday night after dinner at
6:30.

THE JUMBLE is coming!

To help raise the rest of the monies needed to repair the sanctuary stained glass windows we are having another Jumble! As a reminder
to those who participated last year and for those that did not the Jumble is like a yard sale. People sold treasures they no longer needed or wanted (NO CLOTHING), items they enjoyed selling, crafts they made, etc.
The difference is
Families or groups of individuals sold their items at their own table(s). Then, at the end of the sale, the monies they made were donated
by the family or the individuals to the Church for reparation of the windows. A receipt is written to the family or individual so the donation can be tax deductible. How about that!
It was simple
You sign up for a table(s), bring your items on Friday and set them up on your table(s) and then someone from your family or group
mans the table on Saturday for the sale. At the end of the sale you remove your own stuff. That means you take it back home, take
it to the dump, take it somewhere and donate it . The key word is YOU! YOU take it somewhere so that the fellowship hall returns to
its original state quickly!
Last year, the JUMC men had tool tables and the youth sold baked goods . What can you do to participate?
The Jumble will be advertised throughout the County on the radio and newspapers, Lifestore Bank and other places. Please spread the
word. It is a lot of fun and helps to raise money to restore our beautiful windows.
Begin to clean your closets, basements, enjoy crafting on these cold days !

THE JUMBLE is coming!

Saturday, March 28, 2015
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

DISTRICT RETREATFOR CLERGY AND LAITY

Theme: Shift From Membership to Discipleship

Cost: $50 for double room, $80 for single, $25 for commuters

Who: Dr. Phil Maynard- Director of the Coaching Network and Church Strat- Registration Deadline: February 25th, 2015
egist for Path 1 with the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church and Director of Excellence in Ministry Coaching
Space is limited to register soon!
Date: March 20-21, 2015
Location: YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, Inc. in Black Mountain, NC

Churches are encouraged to bring a group of laity for best impact. Thanks
to a grant from the Conference Leadership Development Team, costs are
unbelievably low for this event. Contact Pastor Karen if you are interested
in attending!

March Book Corner

The church library has many books by Christian author Max Lucado. I have written about a few of them. More are available
for checkout.
Grace For the Moment, a daily devotional, features inspirational
thoughts from many of Max Lucados books.
In A Heart Like Jesus, Lucado
asks, What if, for one day and
one night, Jesus lives your life
with his heart?

JIGSAW PUZZLE
EXCHANGE
Cecile Worrell has a collection of jigsaws puzzles that she is willing to share or trade with
others. Please contact Alice Thompson at
336-877-0700 if you have puzzles you would
like to share with Cecile or if you would like to
borrow one of Ceciles puzzles.

LAY SERVANT TRAINING

Its Not About Me discusses

shifting from a me centered to a God centered life.

Lay Servant Training is a two-day opportunity

for youth and adults to learn about ways to
serve in the United Methodist Church. Those
In Just Like Jesus, Lucado strives to help us understand the prowho complete the course become better qualicess of transformation. He wants to help us with the question,
fied to take on leadership roles within their
If God wants me to be just like Jesus, why do I still seem just
own church. Following completion of the
like me?
basic course, Lay Servants are eligible to take
Marilyn Wooten
advanced courses and become Certified Lay
Church Librarian Servants and lead in congregations outside of
their home church.
THE WONDER YEARS
The Wonder Years is an adult Sunday
School class that is focusing on all ages of
parenting. We enjoy lively discussions on
what works and what doesn't with our
children from birth through adulthood.
We're working on a contemporary 6 week
series called "You'll Get Through This" by
Max Lucado. It's a CD and book discussion series on working through life's challenges with our families. The class is led
by Karen Miller.
Challenges can come in all shapes and sizes such as helping a
grieving family cope with the loss of a child due to illness,
guiding parents that you may work with in finding resources,
adjusting to young adults moving out of the home and towards independence, helping our aging parents, or figuring out
scheduling of sports and meal times. We talk about anything!
You don't need to read the book because the CD covers everything.
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate is available in the classroom. We
look forward to having anyone join us at 9:30 on Sunday
mornings. It's a great place to hang out in while your kids are
in Sunday School!

The spring training will include two sessions,

10:00 AM5:00 PM on April 11 and 10:00
AM3PM on April 18. The sessions will be
at Wilkesboro United Methodist Church, 309
West Main Street in Wilkesboro, NC. The
classes offered include:

Basic Lay Servant Training

Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition
Transforming Evangelism
Spiritual Inventory

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
contact the Director of Lay Speaking, Roger
Eich, at eno1grampa@yahoo.com.

Several years ago General Electric came up with

a brilliant advertising slogan. "GE: We Bring
Good Things to Life." It's
a clever way of saying
that GE generates power
for all of the good things
we enjoy.
Our 2015 Lenten worship theme is: "Bringing God Things to Life!" Each week a key
word will describe the characteristics God wants to electrify.
March 1 - Key word: Inclusion.
Matthew 20: 1-16. (The parable of the laborers in the vineyard.) There is a place for
everyone at God's table, but bitterness and jealousy can pull the plug on our joy and
God's design. Communion Sunday.
March 8 - Key word: Preparation.
Matthew 22:1-16. (The parable of the wedding banquet.) God charges us up to invite
and welcome others into God's way of life and to receive what God has for us. Are you
charged up or burned out?
March 15 - Key word: Anticipation.
Matthew 25:1-13. (The parable of the bridesmaids.) Shocking news! Not everyone is
prepared for what God has in store. Get ready and live ready!
March 22 - Key word: Compassion.
Matthew 25:31-46. (The parable of the last judgment.) We can use the gifts and abilities
God has given us to demonstrate his power through compassionate action, or we can
use what we've been given for our own benefit. Ultimately God chooses who is on his
side by whether we act on his behalf or experience a power failure.
March 29 - Key word: Transformation.
Matthew 21:1-13. (The Palm/Passion Narrative) The day we call Palm Sunday looked
like a parade for a glorious hero. But then the lights went out. God took every evil
that people could dish out and through his transforming power, handed it back as a gift
of perfect love.

BENEFITS OF BANK DRAFT DONATIONS

1. When you arrange to have your monthly giving drafted from your bank to the church's account you make
the decision about how much to give one time, and
then it is completed for the year. The bank sends the
money to the church and you will see the donation on
your statement.
2. You will be one of the people who give when we have
a snowy Sunday and have to cancel worship!
3. You will be putting your gift to the church as a priority for the year, and live off the remaining funds.
4. Your gift will continue to be in place, even on those
days you forget to bring your check book or cash.
5. Your gift is still confidential and you are in complete
control of the amount you give.

The church uses Life Store Bank in West Jefferson for our
donors who wish to transfer funds directly from their
bank account into the churchs account. You may take
the form below directly to the bank.
Please clarify with your bank whether your current bank
draft needs to be renewed in order for it to continue in
the upcoming year. Also, please set up a separate draft if
you would like to make donation to a different fund other
than our general operating fund.
Thank you for your financial support of the ministries of
Jefferson United Methodist Church.

LIFE STORE BANK SCHEDULED TRANSFER FORM

DEBIT FROM

CREDIT FROM

BANK NAME______________________________

_________________________________________

ACCT.#___________________________________

_________________________________________

TYPE OF ACCT____________________________

_________________________________________

ABA/ROUTING #__________________________

_________________________________________

NAME ON ACCT___________________________

_________________________________________

AMOUNT $________________________________

_________________________________________

FREQUENCY______________________________

_________________________________________

START DATE______________________________

_________________________________________

I (We) hereby give consent to Life Store to debit and/or credit the accounts as instructed above. By signing below I (We) certify
that the above information is true and accurate to my (our) knowledge.

CUSTOMER SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________ DATE:________________

CUSTOMER SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________ DATE:________________
CUSTOMER PHONE #:____________________________________________________________________
BANK REPRESENTATIVE TAKING REQUEST:_______________________________________________
DATE RECEIVED:___________________

*DATE MAINTENANCED:_______________________

*MAINTENANCED BY:____________________________________________________________________
*COMMENTS:____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
*ELECTRONIC BANKING DEPARTMENT ONLY

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

How Generous Am I, Really?
Heres what Im learning: generosity makes you happier and healthier, whether you give money,
time, or even just attention. In the book The Paradox of Generosity, researchers from the University
of Notre Dame explain that people who give in any way feel very happy and are more likely to be in
excellent health. The researchers describe generosity as an upward spiral: the more you give, the
better you feel.
The tendency to get stingy can take hold when we feel that we dont
have enough time, resources, or energy. We can get stuck and become
unable to give or grow. Thats when we start sliding down the spiral,
not up.
Here is what Im doing to try to get unstuck: focusing on where I feel
the most resistance or fear about sharing, starting with the attitudes that
block gratitude. The idea of sharing what I have or what Ive learned
can feel like giving away something Ive worked hard to earn. I want
to make sure that the other person deserves it or appreciates it. But the
fear that makes me pull back from giving or sharing or guiding someone diminishes quickly when I
realize that my generosity can make a big difference to another person. It can demonstrate Gods
unconditional grace. Perhaps thats why we feel happier and healthier when we give!
Pastor Karen Miller