NEWS

DIX HILLS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

NEWS

From New York Annual Conference

Camp Lead 2009 is scheduled for August 16-22 at Camp Epworth. Designed for youth entering the 8th through 12th grades next fall, this is an extraordinary opportunity for teens to develop their leadership skills. For more information visit www.umyouth.com

DHUMC Rocks.

A gliding rocker has been donated to the church to be used by anyone who needs to sit and rock a child during worship services. This will allow adult and child to continue to remain in worship and tells visitors how important families are to our congregation.

ARTISTS WANTED

Draw a picture of our church and we will use it on the

cover of the newsletter.

(Adults can do this too!)

Acolytes Wanted

If you are 9 years old or older, and are interested in helping with the opening and closing of Worship by carrying the light, please speak to Pam Ford or Sue Cirillo

Feb 1 Noah Ford

Feb 8 Jessica McLean

Feb 15 Shannon Ma

Feb 22 Kevin Ma

Young Adults Group

Are you missing something in your life? Do you feel the need to talk to other young adults about spirituality? Then this newly forming group is for you. If you are interested in joining or just finding out more information call Paul at 631-560-7568 or e-mail him at PSengineerTiger@msn.com.

Korean Culture Class

Our preschool is offering something in January that is fairly unique! We are blessed to have a Korean preschool teacher who is looking to begin a Korean-language preschool class. Ms. Soo will be teaching Korean culture and language, and the class will also teach Biblical stories from a Christian perspective. The class is looking to begin from 12:30-3:00 on Tues./Thurs. Anyone who might be interested can call the Community Preschool of the Dix Hills United Methodist Church at 631-499-1940.

DHUMC Goes Green!

Starting in January 2009, this newsletter will be sent completely by email, unless otherwise requested.

If you do not have an email address, you will continue to receive the paper version.

If you have email, and seldom check it, at least look at the beginning of each month for an email from umcdixhills@aol.com with "newsletter" on the subject line.

You may open it using Adobe Acrobat Reader (which you can download for free) and print out the whole newsletter or just the parts you want, such as the calendar.

Congratulations to…

… Pam Ford, Will Ford, Maren Roelofs, Fritz and Elisabeth Schaefer who celebrated birthdays in January.

… Hanna Kenagy, Molly Neill, Steven Boursiqout and Christina Boursiqout, who will celebrate birthdays in February.

… Dave & Linda Hees who will celebrate their wedding aniversary.

… Lauren Pyo who was accepted in to St. Anthony’s High School.

… Cliff Neill, who graduated from Kutztown University with his Masters degree in Electronic Media with a 4.0! He will be teaching 2 adjunct classes at Elizabethtown College spring semester and he has a part time job at QVC in the warehouse.

… Michael Caccavale who won first place in his age group at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

Evangelism Corner

Do you attend a church somewhere? Have you ever though about why? Perhaps you've been in the same church since you were a child. Perhaps you've drifted away and come back. Perhaps you've switched churches more times than pop culture has switched the "in" diet in the last 20 years. No matter what your journey, you may never have asked yourself the question before: "What experiences have I had in this church that have made it worth it?"

Asking this question is the key to good evangelism that isn't pushy and is natural, authentic, and real. If you can develop a genuine answer for yourself, you may find that (a) you have an easier time inviting others to come and worship with you, and (b) you have a newly-recovered love of your own church (and maybe even of Jesus). You may even be surprised what your answer is!

De-Mystifying the Bible (at Least a Little Bit)* By Diana L. Hynson

The Bible—the Holy Scriptures—is a book of books about God, what we have experienced of God over many centuries, what we have recorded about God's activities and interactions with Israel and the ancient world.

To those who are unacquainted with the Scriptures, there may be a certain mystique about what the Bible is, what is says, and what it means. At the same time, God longs to be known, and the Bible is one of the means by which God is revealed to us. Here are a few pointers to help new Christians or biblically inexperienced Christians take the plunge into the Bible.

First, and most important—don't be afraid to read it and try to figure it out on your own. Use a good study Bible with notes and cross-references to help understand customs, terms, history, and context. Since the Bible is one of God's many ways to speak directly to you, also try to leave your mind and heart open to what that word might be. Then check it out with others you trust.

The Bible is a book of books, written over time. Suffice to say here that much of the Old Testament, at least, was shared as oral history before being written and collected. The events in the Old Testament span several millennia; the New Testament, about two centuries. Keep in mind that the biblical text tends to compress time, as if events happened more quickly or contemporaneously than they did.

The Bible books are not in chronological or historical order (which is sometimes highly inconvenient!). What this means is that you need to do a bit of historical homework by reading the introduction to the biblical book in a good study Bible to help get oriented to the time, cultural location, and so on.

The chapter and line verses were not original to the texts, but added to aid in our reading and organization. Scripture references note the book, then the chapter (if there is more than one), then the verse or verses, such as John 3:16—the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16 or Philemon 10. Some books have the same name. That I, II, or III before the name of a book means something. There are two letters to the Corinthians, for example, and they are not the same. Another example—there are three short letters ascribed to John that are each different from the Gospel of John.

The Bible means what it means, but not necessarily just exactly what it says. Virtually any specific text is interpreted somehow.

There are some teachings, laws, practices, and portrayals of God that seem troubling and difficult to believe. Some are more benign, like the law against eating pork (Leviticus 11:3-8) or shellfish (11:9-12) and against wearing a garment made of different kinds of fabric (19:19), and Christians typically ignore them. Others are much more difficult. Some seem excessively bloodthirsty (1 Samuel 15:1-3 or Psalm 137:7-9, for example) or contradictory (see for example Matthew 10:34 and John 16:32-33). How do we reconcile all this? First, we return to the issues of culture and history. As a whole, the Bible portrays a God and Savior of love and grace, of justice and accountability. Any specific text is viewed and interpreted according to the best that scholarship (and God's speaking) can tell us about it as well as its place in the whole. Second, depend on the wisdom of the community. The Bible is a book for the community first, not just for any individual. Third, weigh the text against your best biblical/theological understanding of love, grace, accountability, and justice.

So, in short form, keep these questions in mind:

 What do I think this Scripture passage means?

 What do I know of the history, culture, and context of this passage and time period? How is God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit presented in this passage and is it consistent with the broad range of what we know and have experienced?

 How does it square with a biblical/theological understanding of love, grace, accountability, and justice?

 What might God be saying to the community and also to me through the Bible?

 How does the community confirm (or not) what I think is true about it?

*You can read an expanded version of this article at: http://www.gbod.org/education/articles.asp?item_id=47166