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Text Box: Greater Things John 14:12 March 13, 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: EASTER LILIES If you would like to purchase an Easter lily to be placed in the sanctuary on April 8th in honor or memory of a loved one, please complete an order form and attach payment of $20.00 for each lily. Checks should be made payable to Pleasant Hill UMC and marked “Easter Lily.” The completed forms with payment may be placed in the offering plate, submitted to the church office, or mailed to the church at 4809 Bell Hill Road, Bessemer, AL 35022. Order forms are available in the narthex of the sanctuary or the gathering space of the Family Life Center. Forms must be received by the order deadline, Monday, March 26th, at Noon. Acknowledgements will be included in the bulletin on Easter.

Text Box: Youth News It was a wonderful service on Confirmation/Youth Sunday. Three young people were baptized, nine confirmed their baptism, and two reconfirmed theirs as well. As I was walking with Bobby through the process, I would watch the faces of these teenagers as he marked them with the sign of the cross. It was as if I was witnessing a change in their face and posture. I knew their hearts were opened and the rainbow of faith was shining through them. I appreciate all the encouraging words you all shared with these young people that day and the support you continue to give them on their personal spiritual journeys. You enter into youth ministry thinking you have so much to teach them and you are shocked by how much you have learned. I am not the same person anymore…nor do I want to be. By trying to find ways to teach youth about Jesus, He, in turn, has transformed my own perception of Him. He is more than something we talk about. He is someone who walks with us. I can no longer see myself or this ministry in the same light again. I get excited when I think about what He has in store for this church and what this church has in store for this community. As we enter into a period of change, I pray that we will all be open to where He is leading us individually as well as a church family. - Monica Harbarger

Text Box: Easter Egg Hunt! Saturday, March 31 2:00pm-5:00pm Brackner's Park Everyone's invited, young and young at heart! Come enjoy games, crafts, face painting, snacks and of course, the egg hunt or bring a lawn chair and enjoy watching the kids have fun. Kids, don't forget to bring your Easter baskets. We still need some candy/toys (not chocolate) to put inside our plastic eggs. Please put these things in the plastic bin in the FLC foyer. Parents, we will be stuffing the eggs during Kid's Club the next two Sunday evenings, if you would like to come help. Kid's Club News Because of the egg hunt, there will be no Kid's Club on Sunday, April 1st. We will also not have it on Sunday April 8th (Easter Day). Sunday, April 1 (Palm Sunday) the kid's need to meet in the room outside the sanctuary at 10:45am to prepare for our Palm Sunday celebration. They will come in procession with palm leaves and then will sit with parents during the choir's Easter cantata service, so there will be no children's church that morning. Tonya Koll, tkoll@comcast.net

Text Box: EVENING UNDER THE STARS We still have a few spaces left if you didn’t get your reservation in. Please call Alan Brooks, 410-4224, if you would like to make your reservation. Come join us this Friday night, March 16 from 6:30 -9:00 p.m. A great meal (pork tenderloin) prepared by our own Laura Jean McGhee and entertainment by the Joe Giattina Orchestra led by Bill Jeffries.

Text Box: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Text Box: Living Stones Cindy and Steve Sawyer Steve, an only child, was born in Bessemer on August 29 and lived in Hueytown until 1959 when he and his mother, Helen, moved to Ensley Highlands. Cindy lived with two younger brothers and her parents, James & Frances Smith, in Fairfield Highlands from the day she was born (Dec. 4) until they married. During the course of their marriage they have lived in Green Acres, Pleasant Grove, Shelby County, and at their current residence in Bradford Park for the past 18 months. Cindy graduated from Hueytown High School and Steve graduated from Ensley High. They met in September, 1967 when they rode the same bus to Jeff State. Steve says that the very first minute she stepped on that bus he knew they would be together forever. Thankfully she felt the same! They dated exclusively for the next four years and married in June, 1971 when Steve graduated in the charter class at UAB of that year. Steve was in the Bessemer Army National Guard unit from 1971—1977 as a Military Policeman along with Joey Harbarger's dad. After graduating from UAB, Steve went into the financial industry where he still remains. He has been with the federal government US Small Business Administration for the past 22 years as Director over all three of SBA's Disaster Loan Servicing Centers. Cindy worked for Arthur Andersen for 26 years until the Enron debacle in December of 2001, then went to KPMG and hopes to be there until the couple is able to retire. The Sawyers have one son, David, who is almost 29. He graduated from Pleasant Grove High School and works at Jim Burke Nissan as a parts salesman. Steve says that Dave is his best friend and a good guy. Dave is not yet married and Cindy says, “If there’s a girl out there I don’t know anything about it!” Steve’s hobbies are working in his rose garden, tinkering with cars, cooking out, and numismatics. Cindy enjoys reading, in-house re-arranging, collecting tea pots, and watching Steve work. They travel to Tampa 3-4 times a year as they are not really into "traveling all over the place". When asked what they want to be when they grow up, they say “We don’t want to grow up, and don't plan to. Age is a state of mind and as long as you think young, you'll stay young. Mind over matter, life's too short!” Both grew up as Presbyterians for the most part, although Steve was in the Baptist church until 1959. About 10 years ago they joined the Free Methodist Church in Pleasant Grove which they really enjoyed. They say, however, that after having been in Pleasant Hill for less than a year, it is rapidly becoming their most favorite. Their neighbor, Joyce Binion, invited them to church. After their first visit last September, they agreed there was no need to visit anywhere else, and joined on Christmas Eve. They knew several people, so “it’s like a big reunion for us.” David (Wayne) Orange, Steve’s second cousin, answered the call to ministry while he was a member of PHUMC. The choir hopes to recruit the Sawyers since they have both been in the choir in the past and Steve formed a men's quartet at their Pleasant Grove church. Steve says, “The cantata last Christmas just blew us away. It was totally awesome!” They are members of the newly-reorganized Shepherd’s Class which has gone “co-ed” and targets the baby boomer generation. When asked about being members of PHUMC so far, they say they are enjoying new friends, a compassionate, wonderful parsonage family, encouragement from others, lots of smiling faces, great sermons and choir, and being in the presence of God. We are very fortunate to have these new Living Stones as part of the fellowship at Pleasant Hill. -Vicki Herring

Text Box: Mother-Daughter Luncheon Mark your calendar(s) for Saturday, May 12th for our annual Mother-Daughter Luncheon @ 11:30 in our Family Life Center. This event is sponsored by the United Methodist Women of our church for ALL the Ladies of our church, whether you’re a mother or not remember you’re always someone’s daughter. Our guest speaker will be Linda Plowman Fikes from Cottondale, Alabama. She will be sharing with us her Inspiration for the Journey through Singing and Sharing God’s Grace. Linda’s musical accomplishments in her early life have prepared her to sing a new song of faith in Jesus Christ in the face of great loss and adversity. Linda began singing at the age of 10. She was a regular on the Joe Langston’s Sunday Morning Show on Channel 13, Birmingham, Alabama. She toured extensively with Conway Twitty and shared performances with many great artists such as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Mel Tillis, The Oak Ridge Boys and many more. I could go on and on about Linda’s career but you will have to buy a ticket and come see for yourself how amazing this woman really is in person. Tickets to go on sale Sunday, March 25th........be sure to get your ticket(s) early.

Text Box: Would you like to write a “Living Stones” article? If so, please call Jean Baswell in the church office on Mondays and Tuesdays, 428-4056 or at her home, 425-9772. If you are not sure whether an article has been written on someone, please check in the two books that are in the library that are titled “Lilving Stones”.

Text Box: From the mouths of Children: Dear God, it is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can’t you do that with the moon? Jeff Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that. I am not just saying that because you are already God. Charles Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Really. Frank

Text Box: Newlyweds CONGRATULATIONS to the following couples who were recently married in the church: Brigitte Severance and Robert (Bert) Moore were married on March 3. Brigette is the daughter of Benny and Brenda Severance and Bert is the son of Bob and Sue Moore. Jennifer Cline and Jeremy Baswell were married on March 11. Jennifer’s parents are Jackie and Vickie Cline and Jeremy’s are Lynn and Brenda Baswell. Julian and Jean Baswell are Jeremy’s proud grandparents.

Text Box: Missions January and February have been busy mission months. We completed our White Christmas Offering in January which came to a total of $3,000.00. We have received a "Thank You" letter from the Children's Home.

We appreciate everyone who supported the rockers for the Rock-A-Thon in February. Our rockers received a total of $1,085.00. Our church came in fourth in contributors to the McCoy Senior Day Care. We also won a cake which Frances Howard brought to the Wednesday night supper to be enjoyed by everyone.

The mission trip to the Gulf Coast was a great success as reported by
John Fillebaum in the last newsletter. John will be having informationsoon about future trips to the Gulf Coast. There is still a great need to help the hurricane victims.

The mission team for the ASP mission trip in July will be having two pancake breakfasts in April to raise money. Watch for details in the near future concerning this.

You should have received a letter in the mail about our Fountain of
Loving offering for the United Methodist Homes for the Aged. This is a great opportunity for you to consider your Lent sacrifice and making a gift to this organization. If you want more information about the Fountain of Love, please let me know.

Last, but not least, there is another mission opportunity available to
assist the Society of St. Andrew in a potato drop on Saturday,
April 14. This will be at East Lake UMC. A great opportunity for
a Sunday School Class, Circle, Youth, Men's group to sack
potatoes for a few hours on a Saturday morning. If you are
interested, please contact me by March 19.

Text Box: Monthly trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast have been scheduled for the remainder of the year. We will leave the church the first Thursday of each month at approximately 4:30 PM. We will work all day Friday and Saturday. We will try to work on Sunday until about 1 PM and leave about 2 PM. This will put us back in town about 7 PM on Sunday evenings. The only exception to this schedule will be Easter weekend. We will leave after working Saturday afternoon on April 7th. These trips are open to anyone and are not just for the members of our church. Share this opportunity with your friends, neighbors, family or co-workers. You will be truly blessed should you decide to participate. It is not just about the work that is performed, but the lives that are touched. The following are the dates that have been scheduled. I have asked the United Methodist Disaster Response Center to reserve space for 8 volunteers for each of these dates. April 5-7 (Camp St Paul) May 3-6 (Camp Hope) June 7-10 (Camp St Paul) July 5-8 (Camp St Paul) Aug 2-5 (Camp Hope) Sep 6-9 (Camp St Paul) Oct 4-7 (Camp St Paul) Nov 1-4 (Camp St Paul) Dec 6-9 (Camp St Paul)

Text Box: OUR RECORD OF FAITHFULLNESS FOR THE MONTH OF February, 2007 Attendance at both Worship Services Month of February ...............1220 Year to Date 2494 Weekly Average Year to Date 312 Attendance at Sunday School Month of February 635 Year to Date 1220 Weekly Average Year to Date 153 Budget Giving Month of February $42,305.24 Year to Date $75,411.41 Weekly Average Year to Date $9,426.43 Needed Per Week to Meet Budget $10,221.00 Building Fund Pledge Giving Month of February $44,089.11 Year to Date $52,047.44 Weekly Average Year to Date $6,505.93

Text Box: CONFIRMATION CLASS We offer a warm welcome to all those who have recently become full members of our church fellowship. Those who joined on Confirmation Sunday are : Will Beavers, Colby Jeffries, Dylan Simmons, Aaron Bailey, Emma Campbell, Matt Douglas, Sam Harless, Bethany Huggins, Russell McBee, Tucker Parsons, Austin Swindal, Jacob Thompson, and Rachel Waters. The family of Emma Campbell is new to our congregation and is not listed in our church directory. Their address is: Mr. & Mrs. Mel Campbell (Carolyn) Emma and Ben Also joining recently is: Ms. Donna Pitts Kaylee