Page Title

Text Box: Greater Things   John 14:12      February 27, 2007                     Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church
4809 Bell Hill Road, Bessemer, AL 35022
Fax: (205) 428-6135    Office: 428-4056       Parsonage: 425-5388        FLC: 428-4920      e-mail: Pleasant Hill4809@aol.com
Bobby Scales, Minister     e-mail:RobtScales@aol.com     Cell Phone: 746-4547
Monica Hararger, Student Minister   e-mail: PHImpactyouth@aol.com
Web Page Address: www.ph-umc.com

Text Box: An evening under the stars
With
the joe Giattina orchestra

DATE: March 16th
TIME: 6:30pm-9:00pm
Minimum donation $12.50 per person

Dinner by Laura Jean McGhee
Children’s activities and meal provided
($2.50 per child 12 years and under)

BENEFIT EVENT FOR THE CHANCEL AND BELL CHOIRS
Call Ken or Jane Smith to make reservations

Text Box: Youth News
Whew!!! I have been on three retreats in 1 ½ months. If that is any indication of the spiritual growth of this group of young people, we are surely growing closer to God! The middle schoolers are coming off of their confirmation retreat this past weekend. We have 14 students who will be confirming their baptism, reconfirming their baptism or actually getting baptized. That is so exciting for this church to have such a large group of young people ready to accept Christ into their lives and work to seek out His will. We will be having an exciting day on Sunday as we all join to rejoice in this. A special thanks to Dale Gilmore and Suzanne Birchfield who put so much time and energy into educating these students during the Sunday School hour to prepare them for this retreat. Also thank you to Laura Jean McGee for joining us so that we could stay at Mountain Lakes Resort as well as cooking for us during the weekend. Bobby, Twink, Jake, and Ellen were gracious enough to be there during this important time. Theses youth are blessed to be surrounded with people who genuinely care about their souls and their relationship with God.
-Monica Harbarger

Text Box: God loves everyone, but probably prefers “fruits of the spirit” over “religious nuts!”

Text Box: How much would you give to help save lives?

I am preparing for the Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust for breast cancer research. As part of my journey, I have committed to raising at least $2200 to help fund these important foundations. That is where I need your help. You can donate easily with credit card or check on my fundraising website; www.the3day.org/atlanta07/liabrooks or make a check out to Breast Cancer 3-Day and mail to me at 9 Granite Way, NE, Rome, GA 30161.

I will be walking in the Atlanta walk on October 12-14. Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare for this amazing journey.
Thank you, Lia Brooks

Text Box: Chris and Jerri Wesson

Jerri, the daughter of Norma and Jerry Fields, was born and raised in Birmingport. The middle of three girls, she started school at Alliance Elementary and then went to Oak Grove High. She was involved in the “Future Homemakers of America” and “Students Against Drunk Drivers.” After graduation from high school, she went to work and to college part time for a while.
Chris was born and raised in McCalla. His family has a long history in the area and his great grandparents, Marion and Della Wesson, are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. His parents are Bill and Miriam Wesson. He went to McAdory school during 1971-1972 then went to Bessemer Academy, soon after the school was built. He was state wrestling championship in 1982 and 1983 and was elected state MVP state wrestler in 1983. He was involved in “Teens for Christ”. He said Pat Reaves was his Study Hall Teacher. After graduation from Bessemer Academy, he went to the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Faternity. He graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in English, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He went to work at Long Lewis Ford where he is still employed in the service department. He was chosen as the Most Value Employee of the Southeastern Region Ford Motor Company.
A friend at Long Lewis made arrangements for Chris to meet a young woman he knew. This young lady had a friend, Jerri, who came with her to meet Chris. For some reason, Chris and the young lady did not hit it off very well. However, Chris was attracted to Jerri. He did not know who she was or how to get in touch with her, but his friend said he would find out for him. It took several weeks before Chris was given Jerri’s phone number. Jerri agreed to see Chris and they started dating. They were married April 2, 2000.
   They settled in McCalla and have three active children: Joshua, aged five years, Ariel, aged three and Jessica, 18 months. Joshua and Ariel attend nursery school at Flint Hill Baptist School. Jerri is a stay at home mother and stays busy with caring for the children. Next year, Joshua will be going to kindergarten at McAdory and the two girls will stay at home with their mother.
Jerri attended Earnest Methodist Church in Hueytown for a while as a child and then Short Creek Methodist in Birmingport. Chris attended Flint Hill Baptist Church most of his childhood, then went to several other Baptist Churches including McCalla Baptist. After they married and settled in McCalla, they attended several churches over the next few years. They visited Pleasant Hill and decided that this was the church they wanted to belong to and joined on March 14, 2004. They say they love the people of the church, and will really miss Bobby and Twink when they leave.
   With three children to care for, they stay pretty busy and do not have much time for other activities. However, Chris likes to run and tries to run outdoors as many mornings as possible. Jerri enjoys going with friends to the Bessemer YMCA for work outs when she is able. They enjoy outside activities and working in the yard. They are staunch Alabama fans. They are members of the L.E.A.P. Sunday School Class but are attending the Praise and Outreach Class at this time. The class is having a James Dobson study entitled, “ Dare to Discipline.” Jerri says she has learned a lot from the study.
    We welcome this family as living stones and look forward to watching the children as they grow into mature Christians.
                                                                              -Jean Baswell

Text Box: Join Us for a Women’s Bible Study
Beginning Monday, March 5th in the FLC from 9:15-10:15 a.m.
We will be reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
By JoAnna Weaver.
Please call Monica (492-5513) or Ellen (497-6195) if you are interested

Text Box: FOR YOUR
INFORMATION:

    The newsletter is mailed out twice a month. The deadline for getting the information and articles in to the church office is 12:00 noon on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, unless a holiday falls on one of these days, then a notice will be put in the previous newsletter. If you would like to write a “Living Stones” article, please call Jean Baswell either in the church office (428-4056) on Mondays or Tuesdays or at her home (425-9772) any other time. She welcomes articles from everyone.
If you have a change in name or address, please let the office know so we can correct the church records. We would also like to know if anyone has received a special honor or award, graduated from school or college, gone on a special trip, etc.
The deadline for information for the Sunday bulletins is Wednesday. Please call or see Pat Reaves.
   If you have a question about your giving record, also call Pat Reaves.
   Jean and Pat will both help you with any other questions or requests you have from the church office.

Text Box: After hearing the story about how God took the rib out of Adam’s side, a little boy who had been running and had gotten a side ache told his mother, “I think I’m going to have a wife.”

Text Box: Hurricane Relief Mission Trip
What a wonderful trip we had to Oceans Springs, Mississippi. We joined forces with Discovery UMC and had 11 people to volunteer their time and talents to help 4 different families.
The first day we removed the sheetrock ceiling, insulation and wiring in the first home. We started with an empty 30 yard dumpster that was full at the end of the day. The second day we worked on two homes. Grouting tile, installing doors and trim at one home. We installed trim, medicine cabinets, light fixtures, and trim as well as wrapping pipes in the crawl space and finishing the base cabinets in the kitchen in the other home. The third and fourth day we worked on our fourth home. We mudded sheetrock, sanded walls and painted. We also installed sheetrock in two rooms. As you can see we worked on a variety of projects. When they state that you have to be flexible, you can see that this is true.
But the story does not end here or with just this trip. A staggering statistics was given that only 15% of the people displaced from their homes because of Hurricane Katrina have been able to return to their homes. They are living with friends or relatives or in a FEMA trailer that they call their home. One of the families that we worked with was actually staying in their pool house. The typical FEMA trailer consists of a master bedroom with a standard size bed, a living area with kitchen and stove, bunk beds, and a bathroom with shower. All of this fits inside of approximately 300 square feet.
The message is that the people that where affected by Katrina still need our help 16 months later and for many more months to come. For this reason I will be scheduling monthly trips to the Gulf Coast. There will be many opportunities for you to make a different in someone’s life.
I would like to thank all of you that donated monies to help make this trip possible. You are the Payers. I would like to thank all of you that prayed for those that went on this trip. You are the Prayers. I would also like to thank those that volunteered to make this trip. From Pleasant Hill UMC: Andrew, Andy, Phillip, Jamie, Gray, and Tammy. From Discovery UMC: Sidney, Dawn, Carleen and Patty. You are the Players.
-John Fillebaum

Text Box: Correction to Web Site Address
The new church directory has the wrong web site address for the church. The correct address is :
www.ph-umc.com. Please excuse this error.

Text Box: Book on Prayer in the Church Library
How I can make prayer more effective, by Herbert Lockyer. (Donated by Betty Ann Duncan in memory of Gerald R. Duncan.)

“Prayer is an instrument of God whereby He liberates power in the realms of nature and of grace in our behalf. Chief among the foundational principles of prayer is the right use of the name of Christ. If prayer is to be acceptable it must be offered in His name (John 14:13-14; 15:16).
There is a Dead Prayer Office as well as a Dead Letter Office. Many of our prayers miss their way because they are wrongly addressed. Jesus said, ‘No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) The prayers of the righteous have helped to shape the history of the world.

True prayer releases divine forces, and restrains evil forces:
Jesus prayed: the pillars of the Church was chosen.
The disciples prayed: Pentecost became a mighty factor.
The early Church prayed: Peter was liberated from prison.
Savonarola prayed: a city was won for God.
Martin Luther prayed: God broke the spell of ages.
John Knox prayed: tyrants were terrified and Scotland was blessed.
George Whitfield prayed: a thousand souls were saved in one day.
George Fox prayed: the great Quaker movement was born.
George Mueller prayed: hungry orphans were fed.
Hudson Taylor prayed: inland China was evangelized.
Ashley S. Johnson prayed: his poor boys had a Bible college.”