The United Methodist
Church of Anaconda
Post Office Box 893
219 Oak Street
Anaconda, MT
59711-0893
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Meditation
Pastor's Appointment News
Calendar & Worship Themes
LENTEN Programs
Quarterly Meeting
Healthy Congregations Retreat
We Partner in Prayer with John & Paula Ruth Ketcher on their New Venture for Christ
Parsonage Repair Progress
New Projection System
The Newsletter of
The United Methodist Church of
Anaconda, Montana
Kent H. Elliott,
Pastor 406/563-5390
LENT & EASTER 2008
The Lenten
Season begins with Ash Wednesday is February 6. We’ll have at
service for penitence and healing in the Memorial Fellowship Room at 6:00 PM. Companions in Christ will meet after the service at 6:45. Lent is the 40 days before Easter (not counting
Sundays, the Lord’s Day in every season). In the old traditions, during this
time new converts would receive instruction in preparation for their Baptism
into the faith at Easter. It is a time for reflection and renewal of our
commitment to be persons in Christ, that we may know Christ alive in us.
Companions in Christ: The Way of Grace continues
through Lent, each Wednesday evening from 6:45
to 8:30. To save on heating, we meet in that room that we
don’t have a name for that’s between the fellowship room, kitchen and rest
rooms.
During
Holy Week, we share in morning prayer for a few
minutes, beginning at 7:45,
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, on Holy Thursday, we’ll share in
remembrance of the Last Supper with Holy Communion at 7:00 PM.
The United Methodist Church (that’s us) will host the Community Good Friday
Service on March 21 at Noon.
Easter
Sunday will begin with Praise and
Brunch in the Memorial Room at 10 AM,
Celebration Worship at 11:00 AM
Meditation
(three
margin quotes from our current study, The
Way of Grace)
“Just as Jesus was taken into the
wilderness after his baptism, so we are taken into the experiences of
discipleship that we do not necessarily choose for ourselves.” – Reuben P. Job
“The fact is that, into all of our
lives, things enter unannounced, unpredicted, often
unprecedented. They change the whole structure of our living.” – Howard Thurman
“The grace of God invites all but
compels none.” – Timothy Ware
Following Our Dreams
John and Paula Ruth Ketcher
Dreams are gifts from our Heavenly Father. God spoke to
Jacob, Solomon and Joseph through dreams to communicate divine messages for each
of them. Over the years God has been communicating a divine message to me and
Paula Ruth. Those dreams involve stepping out on faith and becoming totally
dependent on the Provider of Life. Our new spiritual journey is leading us to
thirty acres of hills, trees and rocks in northeastern Oklahoma, just outside Spavinaw, the
birthplace of Mickey Mantle. God has provided plenty of building material on
our land to build our dream log house and spiritual retreat center. In some
ways we will be like the Desert Fathers of ancient times because there will be
no running water, electricity or the comforts that we take for granted. Yet, in
spite of all these seemingly overwhelming problems, Paul Ruth and I know that
God is the producer and director of making dreams come true. It will be rough
for the first year or two, but our Lord will provide us with our daily needs to
accomplish what He has started. We ask your prayers and support as we
faithfully follow our dreams for the glory of our Heavenly Father. In Christ,
John and Paul Ruth Ketcher
PO Box 892
Salina,
OK 74365
Pastor
Elliott Announces Change of Pastoral Appointment
Dear Friends,
Is this how it
happens? Recently I was in the kitchen of another local church, and I admitted
that I know where things are in the Anaconda United Methodist Church kitchen now. For years, whenever someone has asked me
where some item is located, I’ve replied with ignorance, on my theory
(Irrational superstition? Karma?) that as soon as I
know where the knives are kept the DS calls with word that it is time to move
on. And, sure enough, four days later she called. That is where we are today,
but for much better reasons than too much knowledge about cupboard contents.
On July 1, I will move to a pastoral appointment with the
Clancy United Methodist Church.
We’ll
have a few months for moving through the transition. I pray that this can be a
grace-filled time for us to be together exploring where we are as a church in
Christ, and get ready for what comes next for all of us. I invite us to be
together in prayer for our congregation and me, for the Clancy congregation and
their current pastor Lowell Uda, for our District
Superintendent Su DeBree and the Appointive Cabinet as the work begins with you
to toward your next pastoral appointment. In your prayers you’ll be seeking
God’s guidance, too, about how to answer the question, “What do we want to find
in a new pastor?”
May God bless us to make this time a blessing for all.
For a while yet – see ya in church!
Kent
Calendar of Events
Every Week
Sunday –
10:20 AM, prayer for our pastor
10:30 AM, Choir Practice
11:00 Worship (Communion on
1st & 3rd Sundays)
Noon, fellowship and refreshments.
Tuesday – 10:00 AM, Quilters. All are welcome to gather for fellowship while doing some mission
work. After the work we share lunch. Join us to quilt, and/or for lunch.
Wednesday –
10:00 AM, Bible study at Donivan’s (look for us in
a back booth)
Noon, at First Presbyterian Church, Lunch
Bunch for high school students
6:45
PM
(Through mid-March), Companions in Christ
Friday – Pastor Kent’s reading day. If you
need to reach him, leave a message. He will try to get back to you later in the
day.
Saturday – pastor’s day off.
Coming Up
See the outside page (online: scroll to top) for Lenten and Holy
Week services and events
Worship Plans
February 6 Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17 (UMH 785)
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
February 10 First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32 (UMH 766)
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
Greeter: Linda Nicholes
Liturgist: Ruth
Gustafson
Sermon:
Temptation, Freedom, Life
2:00
PM, Worship at Community
Nursing Home
February 17 Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121 (UMH 844)
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
Greeter: Jean
Wilson
Liturgist: Barb
Eveland
Sermon: The
Wind Blows Were It Will
February 24 Third Sunday in Lent
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95 (UMH 814)
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42
Greeter: Lucille
Vauthier
Liturgist: Mary
Alice McKinney
Sermon: A brief meditation, then a larger Mission
Moment(s) with John Rich of Intermountain Children’s Home and Services
March 2 Fourth Sunday in Lent; One Great Hour of Sharing
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23 (UMH 754 or 137)
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
Sermon:
Jesus Still Causes Trouble for Pharisees
March 9 Fifth Sunday in Lent
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130 (UMH 848)
Romans 8:6-11
John 11:1-45
Sermon:
Jesus, If You Had Been Here
2:00
PM, Worship at Community
Nursing Home
March 16 Passion/Palm Sunday
Liturgy of the Palms
Matthew
21:1-11
Psalm
118:1-2, 19-29 (UMH 839)
Liturgy of the Passion
Isaiah
50:4-9a
Psalm
31:9-16 (UMH 764)
Philippians
2:5-11
Matthew
27:11-54
Sermon:
Expectations
March 17, 18, and 19 Holy Week
7:45
AM, Morning Prayer in the Worship Center
March 20 Holy Thursday – 7:00 PM, Communion
Service
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 (UMH
837)
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31 b -35
March 21 Good Friday – Community Service, Noon, United Methodist Church
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 22 (UMH 752)
Hebrews 10:16-25
John 18:1-19:42
March 23 Easter Day
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (UMH
839)
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-18
Sermon: The
Risen One Calls Our Name
From Death to Life Eternal -- Jim Strang
James B. Strang departed this life on November 2, 2007. Services and Interment were held on Nov. 10 from
Jim’s home church in Oelwein, Iowa, the town of his birth on Dec. 20, 1936. A memorial remembrance time was held in conjunction
with our Sunday worship in Anaconda on Nov. 18.
Mission Moments
"God's glory, God's voice. . . . You'll
do well to keep focusing on it. It's the one light you have in a dark time as
you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your
hearts." --2 Peter 1:19b, The Message
Since opening in 1992, Africa University has grown at an astounding rate, with 1,300 students now enrolled at
the United Methodist-related school in Zimbabwe. This year Africa University's first satellite campus opens in Maputo,
Mozambique. The project is a collaborative effort of the Methodist University of
Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education
and Ministry.
"Africa University was designed to serve all the people of Africa,
"said Ken Yamada, special assistant to board chief executive the Rev.
Jerome King Del Pino. "We
hope to create a model in Mozambique."
The Mozambique Distance Learning project, housed in the
annual conference offices, has 20 new computers, with plans for expansion.
Classes will be beamed to Maputo via Very Small Aperture Terminal, a two-way satellite ground station
with a dish antenna. Enrollment will begin with about 40 students
focusing on theological education and public health. Since Mozambique's native language is Portuguese, curriculum was developed at the Methodist University in Sao
Paulo.
"Satellite learning gives students the freedom to
work and attend classes at the same time," said Eduardo Namburete, satellite campus coordinator. One key goal is to
serve students "in the rural areas who cannot afford higher education.'
from United Methodist
Communications
